NewsHawks 4 March 2022

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WHAT’S INSIDE Friday 4 March 2022 BWUaSdIyNaEjeSnSa’s ‘SEPvOenRtTs will
US$3 million determine
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row Story on Page 11 Story on Page 54

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US$1.6bn
Command
Agriculture
corruption
bombshell

ALSO INSIDE Mnangagwa, Chiwenga peddle genocidal language

Page 2 News NewsHawks

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

US$1.6bn Command Agric
looting bombshell explodes

MOSES MATENGA port reads in part. role in the whole maize production matrix. Former Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa
Officials from the Agriculture ministry told Ministry of Finance officials, the report says, pear before the committee where they conceded
A DAMNING parliamentary report on Com- that they had made direct payments to contrac-
mand Agriculture has exposed how government the committee that payment to parastatals was were candid in their acceptance that there had tors and suppliers but only did so under instruc-
and former Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa supposed to be done in two parts, including been unauthorised expenditure through Com- tion.
superintended over a dodgy process involving through the ministry which, in turn, pays the mand Agriculture for the year 2017 and 2018
dubious approvals of Treasury Bills that have parastatals. as captured in the Auditor-General’s statements. “Through the RBZ Governor and Dr. Khu-
saddled taxpayers with a debt of nearly US$1.6 phukile Mlambo, the RBZ agreed that it had
billion. “They explained that in the case of the US$1 “They also accepted that they acted outside made direct payments to contractors and suppli-
559 713 867, Treasury paid directly to the ben- the law in incurring excess expenditure without ers involved in Command Agriculture but only
According to Parliament’s Public Accounts eficiaries and nothing about the payment had parliamentary approval and outside the budget. did so at the special instance and request of the
Committee (Pac) report presented on Thurs- been communicated to the ministry by 28 Feb- The ministry officials acknowledged that they ministry of Finance and Economic Develop-
day following a two-year investigation into how ruary by which date returns should have been erred in making direct payments to suppliers ment,” the report says.
funds were used under the Special Maize Pro- submitted.” and contractors outside the line ministry, which
gramme better known as Command Agriculture, is the ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water and “As to why it dealt with companies such as
government and Chinamasa disregarded pro- In their evidence, the report said, the minis- Rural Resettlement,” the report said. Sakunda whose contracts had been awarded
cesses in discharging the programme. Members try of Agriculture repeatedly made the point that without going to tender, the RBZ testified that
of Parliament are now calling on the Zimbabwe although theoretically they were being made to Responding to the PAC on why they engaged the issue of contracting was the sole responsibil-
Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) to probe account for Command Agriculture, they had no companies, including Sakunda Holdings, with- ity of the ministry of Finance,” the report reads.
their actions, which bordered on criminality. knowledge of the scheme. out going to tender, the ministry said as a result
of fiscal challenges, suppliers were appointed In response to inquiries as to why it effective-
MPs have also called for a forensic audit to es- “In simple terms they disowned Command without due process and respect of the Public ly “ran a parallel government” through Treasury
tablish how much the country lost in the shady Agriculture,” the report states. Procurement Act with those companies such as Bills that exceeded amounts approved in the
arrangement, done outside the tender process. Sakunda who had indicated that they had their budget, the central bank could only reply that it
“A similar observation was made in 2018. The own foreign currency and thus were able to sup- also operated on instruction.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa supervised ministry was allocated through the budget the ply government on credit.
Command Agriculture. sum of US$ 497 381 000. However, there were “As far as the RBZ quasi-fiscal activities are
no supporting documents for a sum of US$ 847 “When it was put to them that in fact all concerned, the bank’s involvement in Command
MPs under the committee chaired by Gweru 954 752 directly paid by the ministry of Finance Command Agriculture suppliers had received Agriculture and the issue of running a budget
Urban legislator Brian Dube said they also want and Economic Development to various service huge amounts of foreign currency from the deficit outside Parliament, was according to the
the executive to take the findings of the report providers,” the report reads in part. RBZ, contrary to their indication that they Governor the ministry of Finance and Economic
seriously and act. would source foreign currency on their own, the Development’s problem,” the report stated.
“Although the Auditor-General’s Reports re- ministry officials had no satisfactory response.”
Several companies, including Sakunda Hold- late the figures to the ‘Unallocated Reserve’, the Central bank governor John Mangundya, the
ings owned by local tycoon Kudakwashe Tag- amounts referred to above were in fact unbud- “The ministry officials acknowledged that report stated, also felt that the issues of compli-
wirei, who is Mnangagwa’s adviser, are impli- geted for expenditure spent outside Parliament’s they erred in making direct payments to sup- ance with the constitution and the law were not
cated in the report. Sakunda got the lion's share approved budget as shown in the figures in the pliers and contractors outside the line ministry, his problem, but were the ministry of Finance’s
without going through requisite tender process- Appropriation Account, the Budget and the Blue which is the ministry of Agriculture,” the report problem.
es. Book.” noted.
“The following evidence from the governor
Other companies which took part in the MPs said it was worrying that huge amounts In its recommendations, the committee says: portrayed a disturbing reflection of impunity
Command Agriculture programme are FSG, were spent outside the Appropriation Act, in “The ministry of Finance must desist from mak- and lack of respect for the country’s laws,” the
Quton, Pedstock, Cottco, Sable Chemicals, Val- breach of the Constitution of Zimbabwe and the ing direct payments to suppliers. All disburse- report says.
ley Seeds, Seed Co, Windmill and ZFC. Public Finance Management Act. ments should be made to line ministries to avoid
improper accounting of disbursements, with im- The government has since acknowledged the
The MPs said the report came about as a result But according to the report, the MPs accused mediate effect.” blatant over-expenditure through the Financial
of “normal routine” that looked into audited ac- the ministry of Agriculture of not being proac- Adjustment Bill [H.B. 19, 2019].
counts for the years 2017 and 2018. tive, adding they should have played a meaning- The central bank was also summoned to ap-
ful role in their operations by interrogating their On payments made to suppliers for Command
MPs said this quickly imploded into a major Agriculture and the Presidential Support Scheme
inquiry when the committee noted a huge “un-
allocated reserve” amounting to US$1 559 713
867 exposed by the 2017 report by the Audi-
tor-General on the ministry of Agriculture that
established the variance.

“According to a schedule received from the
Auditor-General, the ministry of Agriculture
was supposed to have received US$1 633 617
652 from Treasury. However, as at 10 May 2018,
the ministry of Agriculture confirmed having re-
ceived only US$73 903 785,” the report read in
part.

A similar observation was made in 2018. The
ministry was allocated through the budget the
sum of US$497 381 000. However, there were
no supporting documents for a sum of US$ 847
954 752 directly paid by the ministry of Finance
and Economic Development to various service
providers.

“Although the Auditor-General’s reports re-
late the figures to the ‘Unallocated Reserve’, the
amounts referred to above were in fact unbud-
geted for expenditure spent outside Parliament’s
approved budget as shown in the figures in the
Appropriation Account, the Budget and the Blue
Book,” the report states.

The PAC said it was “gravely concerned” that
these huge amounts were spent outside the Ap-
propriation Act, in breach of the Constitution of
Zimbabwe and the Public Finance Management
Act.

In giving oral evidence, Agriculture ministry
officials said they were supposed to be in charge
of running the Command Agriculture pro-
gramme, but their powers were usurped, leaving
the Finance ministry and the central bank in full
control of the murky scheme.

“They explained that the ministry of Finance
and Economic Development was in charge of
Command Agriculture and dealt directly with
contractors, suppliers and beneficiaries,” the re-

NewsHawks News Page 3

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

through Treasury Bills in 2017 and 2018, the In 2017 Sakunda Holdings was paid US$378 739 319.75, while in 2018 the company received US$235 954 143.85.
ministry of Finance provided the parliamentary
committee with a schedule of payments made for In debating the motion, MPs called for the nance Management Act. It is also contrary to the private companies were given tenders without
coming in of Zacc to probe with the matter that provisions of the Public Procurement and Assets any public notification, without any competitive
Command Agriculture and the Presidential created a huge debt for the country. Disposal Act. Those things do not do us well as processes. This is one of the worst forms of cor-
Input Scheme in 2017 and 2018 to suppliers. a nation.” ruption you can have in any country. It is a sad
“If you then check, you will realise that in indictment on Zimbabwe that we still, in this day
In the schedule, in 2017, Sakunda Holdings 2017, for instance, we spent more than US$18 Whange Central MP Daniel Molokela-Tsiye and time, have this kind of basic corruption. If a
was paid US$378 739 319.75, while in 2018 the billion and we also spent a further US$12 billion said: “The first and most important observation tender involves a lot of money like millions and
company received US$235 954 143.85. in respect of the Command Agriculture. The is that as a country, it looks like we are fighting a billions of dollars, there is no other option except
challenge we then face is the manner in which losing war in the fight against corruption which to put it under public process and the most de-
Total payments in 2017 and 2018 for tge Pres- most of the transactions are being done,” Dziva- is the biggest cancer that is affecting us as a coun- serving contractor wins.
idential Scheme were US$573 392 887.33 that resekwa MP Edwin Mushoriwa said. try. This report is clearly indicating that there is
was paid to FSG, Quton, Pedstock, Cottco, Sa- still a lot that we need to do as Zimbabwe to win “I want to appeal to the Zimbabwe Anti-Cor-
ble Chemicals, Valley Seeds, Seed Co, Sakunda, “. . . this means that quite a number of benefi- the fight against corruption.” ruption Commission to take this report seriously
Windmill and ZFC. ciaries during the 2017 and 2018 season did not and ensure that there is further follow-up on this
do anything in terms of paying back the money He said the report was only a tip of the iceberg, report. I heard a recommendation that there is
“. . . Both the Minister of Finance and Eco- that they had received through the various in- as a lot could have happened. going to be a forensic audit and I fully endorse
nomic Development and the RBZ breached the puts. However, that is a red flag in terms of how it. If we are to win the fight against corruption in
provisions of the PFMA (Public Finance Man- we should conduct our business during Public “I want to encourage the National Assembly to Zimbabwe, we need to show leadership with re-
agement Act) in purporting to issue Treasury Finance Management. summon the (RBZ) governor and also the minis- gards to the action in response to this Committee
Bills that were not in compliance with the law,” ter, through this committee, to explain the situa- report. We need to show leadership in terms of
the report says. “The fourth issue is this question of having tion. If we allow this report to sail through with- making sure that there are consequences for those
suppliers like Sakunda, FCG, all these companies out further public scrutiny, then we are clearly who are indicted or implicated in this report. I
“A careful perusal of all the correspondence — there was no tender. They were simply given not going to win the war against corruption,” the thank you Madam Speaker.”
dealing with Treasury Bills shows that it was the huge tenders amounting to billions of US dollars legislator said.
RBZ which asked the minister of Finance and and that is against the provisions of the Public Fi-
Economic Development to approve its (RBZ) “I also wanted to comment about the fact that
issuance of Treasury Bills.
The Parliamentary Committee report accuses the RBZ of facilitating payments.
“In other words, the party that was dominant
and created demand was not the ministry of
Finance but rather the RBZ. But this over-zeal-
ousness and exuberance to embark on what were
clearly quasi-fiscal activities is not supported by
the law, both the PFMA and RBZ Act,” the re-
port noted.

“Thus, the RBZ usurped the powers of the
Minister of Finance and Economic Develop-
ment defined in Part VI of the PFMA. As the
committee pointed out to the governor during
his testimony of 24 July 2019, once the minister
of Finance and Economic Development has ‘ap-
proved’ a Treasury Bill the RBZ ought to write
back to the same, requesting for a Treasury Bill
note as is reflected in the Treasury Bill of Sakun-
da.”

The report says Chinamasa’s conduct raised
eyebrows.

“The minister himself, a former Attorney-Gen-
eral, knew the law. After all, he had properly is-
sued Treasury Bill notes in favour of Sakunda
Holdings,” the report. reads

“He is accountable for manipulating the cen-
tral bank. Another concern arises from the split-
ting of Treasury Bills as shown.

“A further concern is the approval provided for
by Hon. Minister Chinamasa on the 10th August
2018 of a huge Treasury Bill in the sum of US$
737 904 758. 00.

“The 2018 election was held on the 30th July
2018, therefore Hon. Minister Chinamasa’s term
of office expired on the 29th July 2018. His po-
sition was that of a caretaker for emergency pur-
poses only until the President was sworn in.

“The committee finds it totally remiss that an
individual without power would create indebted-
ness to the state to the tune of almost a billion
United States dollars. This was unacceptable con-
duct.”

The report also questioned the action of the
RBZ governor in trying to clear the RBZ’s mess
by asking an individual without power to ap-
prove huge amounts of payments for its own
external indebtedness acquired without Parlia-
ment’s approval as required by section 327 of the
constitution before a new minister comes in.

The report accuses the RBZ of rogue be-
haviour.

“Nothing can be more roguish than the bank
asking for a powerless minister to approve an
indebtedness of almost a billion dollars without
Parliament’s approval,” the report says.

According to the committee’s observations, the
central bank issued Treasury Bills unprocedurally
in violation section 54 (3) of the Public Finance
Management Act.

“The RBZ violated the RBZ Act by failing to
play its advisory role to government. The RBZ
split Treasury Bills between different suppliers.
There were Treasury

Bills issued without supporting documenta-
tion from the minister of Finance and Economic
Development. Some TBs were undisclosed, had
no amount, no tenure, no interest rate, no tim-
ing, purpose and features,” the report says.

“The ministry of Agriculture is the one which
was supposed to generate demand for Treasury
Bills, rather that RBZ and Treasury.”

The committee recommended that a forensic
audit be conducted on Treasury Bills issued by
the RBZ during 2017/18 for the Special Maize
Programme/Command Agriculture, within 90
days.

Page 4 News NewsHawks

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

MOSES MATENGA Russia-Ukraine war
disrupts Zim supply
ZIMBABWE may be faraway from the Rus-
sian-Ukraine war, but it is set to suffer the con- Zimbabwe relies on Russia for at least 50% of its wheat imports.
sequences of the bloody conflict within the next
few days, as the southern African country largely Zimbabwe pleaded with the international tion to the situation. the direction of dialogue, saying it was actually
relies on Russia wheat for its bread, among other community to tirelessly work towards the facilita- He said the country was not convinced that pouring more fuel into the fire thus further com-
commodities. tion of dialogue aimed at finding a durable solu- the resolution adopted yesterday was pointing to plicating the situation.

Russia is the world’s number one wheat ex- The Russian-Ukraine war is disrupting the world wheat supply chain.
porter, while Ukraine is among the top five wheat
exporters worldwide and their conflict, observers
say, will harm vulnerable countries, including
Zimbabwe, which relies on Russia for at least
50% of its imported wheat.

Wheat from Russia and Ukraine constitutes
40% of world’s wheat production.

The Grain Millers’ Association of Zimbabwe
(GMAZ) confirmed the looming crisis this week,
saying the country was reliant on the eastern
European country that is now fully focused on
its attack of Ukraine that began last week and is
spreading across cities.

“In Zimbabwe, Russian wheat accounts for
50% of our imports and we use it mainly for
production of bread flour and self-raising flour,”
GMAZ chairman Tafadzwa Musarara said.

He said the impact of the war was already be-
ing felt across the globe and Zimbabwe was no
exception and warned that it will get worse.

“The world supply situation is expected to
worsen in the next weeks as market speculators
dig in. The Russian-Ukraine war is unsettling the
world wheat supply matrix and increase in wheat
prices are now being felt in Beijing, Egypt, Italy
and the entire African countries,” Musarara add-
ed.

“It’s heavily anticipated that Nato countries,
70% of them are wheat producers and exporters,
are going to escalate the war and consequently re-
duce drastically their wheat exporters, as they will
be prioritising their national grain cover.”

Musarara said currently, the imported wheat
in the country was on the low side, with prices
already increasing.

“The imported wheat component is currently
30% and the prices of this imported wheat has
started to surge, and expected to worsen,” the
GMAZ chairperson told The NewsHawks.

Government remained mum, however, on the
impending crisis, with Agriculture permanent
secretary John Bhasera initially requesting ques-
tions in writing, but was yet to respond despite
him seeing the inquiries from The NewsHawks.

Bread producers said hardly a week into the
Russia-Ukraine war, wheat prices have already
surged to record levels, with traders panicking
as traders fear exports from Ukraine could slow
down or stop completely, as Russian troops
swoop on the country’s ports.

Exports are being disrupted in Russia, as sever-
al companies are stopping business with President
Vladimir Putin’s administration.

“We’re talking about something that would re-
ally disrupt production,” Joseph Glauber, a senior
research fellow at the International Food Policy
Research Institute, was quoted as saying.

“The fact that it’s happening in one of the
breadbasket areas of the world is what’s so wor-
risome.”

Media reports state that even before the war
began, global markets were already strained by
the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and regional
droughts that severely affected production and
fueled inflation.

This is “coming on top of a tightness in global
supply. This couldn’t have come at a worse time,”
said Glauber, the former chief economist at the
US Agriculture Department.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe this week abstained
from voting against Russia when the United Na-
tions General Assembly put the Ukraine crisis for
a vote on Wednesday. The vote was 141 to 5, with
35 abstentions after the 193-member assembly
convened its first emergency session since 1997.

Acting Foreign Affairs minister Amon Murwi-
ra said Zimbabwe was for dialogue between Rus-
sia and Ukraine instead of sanctions as they will
only worsen human suffering.

“We wish to assure you that Zimbabwe is a
strong believer in the United Nations Charter
and all its principles and purposes including the
peaceful settlement of disputes,” Murwira said.

“The situation in Ukraine is a very complex
one and is deeply rooted in the history and geo-
politics of that region. Zimbabwe believes that it
is the duty of the international community not to
make that situation more complex than it already
is,” he said.

NewsHawks News Page 5

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

Page 6 News NewsHawks

Zim student Issue 70, 4 March 2022
retells Ukraine
horror escape Keith Chitunhu flees to Romania after Russia invaded Ukraine.

. . . dozens trapped as Zimbabwean and other African students at the Romanian border.
Russian army closes in

NYASHA CHINGONO for years.
Chitunhu and his fellow students walked
FINAL-YEAR medical student Keith Chitun-
hu, with only two months left to complete his about 10 kilometres to safety.
studies, fears he has wasted six years of study in “As you can see, there are hundreds of stu-
Ukraine after the country was violently invaded
by Russia. dents walking towards the border. We are going
to walk two or more kilometres before we get to
Last week, Ukraine was plunged into war the border. This is real,” he said.
following a Russian invasion after months of
tension, triggering an immigration and refugee The government of Zimbabwe has promised
crisis as millions flee. to provide flights for over 200 students holed
up overseas, but only if they manage to get out
Now a refugee in Romania, together with of Ukraine on their own.
thousands from different countries, the sixth-
year medical student at a university in Vinnit- Another student, only identified as Kuziva,
sia, a small town next to Kiev, faces an uncertain who is stuck in Sumy, a town which is 20 hours
future. by car to the Polish border, said students were
surviving on little food. The banking system
Back home, he carried the hopes of his family, totally collapsed, making it impossible to get
which sacrificed to give him an education. But money.
with hopes fading and his life at risk, Chitunhu
embarked on a treacherous escape from conflict. “It is tough, we are trying to save the little to
avoid starvation. In Sumy, every foreign student
Spending two days on the road, braving the is still stuck. Russia is close, but it is more dan-
cold nights, long bus rides and haunting fears gerous there, so we are just living each day as it
that Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s military comes,” Kuziva told The NewsHawks by phone
might close in on them, the Zimbabwean stu- from Sumy.
dent trudged on until he got to the Romanian
border. Philimon Chizoro, a fifth-year medical stu-
dent at Vinnytsia University, said some students
He recounts the relief when he crossed the had been shot with rubber bullets at the Polish
border into Romania, one of Ukraine’s neigh- border as they sought to flee the besieged coun-
bours which has opened its doors to those flee- try.
ing conflict.
Although there was little combat in Vinnys-
“I was left with two months to getting my tia, Chizoro and seven other Zimbabwean stu-
degree. The school has all my academic certifi- dents fled.
cates, meaning that we have lost six years’ worth
of life and sacrifice,” he told The NewsHawks in “The city I was staying in isn’t under attack in
a telephone interview from his base in Roma- any way. I just left because other students were
nia. leaving. It was safe, I just wasn’t sure for how
long,” Chizoro said.
Chitunhu recounts how he escaped death by
a whisker after a Russian spy was caught plant- Spending two days on the road was not mean
ing a bomb near his compound. task for Chizoro who had to endure hours on
the bus until he reached safety.
“The Russians are merciless. As we speak in
my neighbourhood, one Russian spy was ar- He said he would want to come back home
rested while planting a bomb, meaning if he until stability returns to Ukraine.
had not been caught, I wouldn’t be here today,”
Chitunhu added. The plight of African students in Ukraine has
sparked debate, amid accusations of racism at
He also narrates hearing haunting noises of the hands of the Ukranian authorities.
sirens every day since the invasion started, sig-
nalling that a missile had hit a few kilometres Ukraine attracts many foreign students want-
from his hostel. ing to study medicine because it has a strong
reputation for medical courses. Tuition and
“Every single day you would wake up, you other expenses are much lower there than in
would appreciate being alive and always pray other European nations.
for another day. As we speak, missiles are being
thrown into civilian buildings, orphanages and Social media has been awash with videos
kindergartens.” of African students being forced to disembark
from buses because of their skin colour.
The medical student said many Zimbabwean
students were struggling to get to safety due to Ukranian authorities have also been accused
financial challenges. of denying the students temporary shelter, leav-
ing them to freeze in the cold weather.
Those who fear the treacherous walk to
neighbouring countries are hidden in base- Others have been forced to pay bribes at the
ments, praying for a miracle. border to guarantee safe passage.

“For now, many students are just trying to Now with funds dwindling amid the shut-
save their lives. The ones that are still in Ukraine, ting down of banks, African students continue
the main reason is they did not have the money to suffer in a conflict that has shaken the world.
hence no clue on how to escape,” he said.
Many African government have not been
Chitunhu shared with The NewsHawks a able to rescue the students as air transport is
video of him pulling his suitcase as he walked grounded. Governments have only been able
towards the Romanian border with other Zim- evacuate the students when they get to a neigh-
babwean and African students. The video re- bouring country.
vealed the desperation on the faces of the young
students fleeing a country they had called home Africans have been sharing their experiences
online using the hashtag #AfricansInUkraine.
Their stories have prompted an outcry and sev-
eral crowdfunding appeals have been launched
to try and help those stranded in the country.

NewsHawks News Page 7

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

THE Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused a Ukraine: Why so many African,
mass exodus of civilians, including thousands of Indian students in the country?
international students from Africa, Asia and the
Middle East. African students have been among those seen crossing into Poland from Ukraine.

Ukraine was home to over 76 000 foreign stu- dents had spent the past week in a basement with African governments have been scrambling and passage of African and Asian students.
dents, according to government data from 2020. no light, listening to the sound of shelling and to evacuate their citizens from the country, with Will they be able to finish their studies?
gun-shots. some organising flights back home to those who
Nearly a quarter of the students were from Af- make it across the border. Having invested a lot of money in an education
rica, with the largest numbers coming from Ni- “It’s like a dead city, there’s no-one outside at in Ukraine, many students have told the BBC that
geria, Morocco and Egypt. India easily accounts all.” Ghana was the first African nation to welcome they were torn between returning home or staying
for the highest portion with over 20 000 students. home a group of students on Tuesday. in Europe to complete their degrees.
He said he had not seen any sign of African
The students — studying medicine, engineer- people being harassed during the conflict, but he Speaking to the BBC after landing in the capi- Jessica Orakpo, a sixth-year medical student
ing and business — are an important part of the thought it wise to stay inside. tal, Accra, student Jared Otumfuo Catey said: “A at the Ternopil National Medical University, was
country’s economy. few days ago, I didn’t know I’d be here right now. four months away from graduating when the
“It’s the most safe thing to do right now, we I’m feeling grateful that I made it through and I'm Russian troops invaded.
But, as Russia launched the biggest European don’t want to put ourselves in danger.” safe.”
invasion since the Second World War, thousands “I’m stuck now, I can’t move forward with my
of them fled, hundreds are still trapped, and many The international business student was one year Nigeria said it would follow suit and offer education because my school has all my docu-
remain uncertain about the fate of their educa- into his bachelor’s degree at the Kherson National flights for those wishing to return via Romania, ments,” she told the BBC on her way to the Hun-
tion. Technical University when the fighting began. Hungary, and Poland. garian capital, Budapest.

What was the attraction of Ukraine? “It’s difficult to imagine finishing your studies South Africa’s ambassador to Ukraine told the “I don’t have time to start all over again and I
Ukraine has long appealed to foreign students, in this sort of environment,” he said. BBC that he had to leave Ukraine for his own just want my degree. Maybe I can finish my mas-
which can be traced back to the Soviet era, when safety, but that he had been working hard to se- ter’s somewhere else.”
there was a lot of investment in higher education In another part of the city, Mamady Doum- cure the exit of South Africans and other foreign-
and a deliberate attempt to attract students from bouya, a computer science student from Guinea, ers from the country. Foreign students in Ukraine get temporary res-
newly independent African countries. said: “I want to go back to my country, we can’t idence for the duration of their studies, but this
Now, Ukrainian universities are seen as a gate- study in war.” South Africa’s ambassadors in both Poland and does not extend to neighbouring countries.
way to the European job market, offering afford- Hungary have also gone to the borders to help
able course prices, straightforward visa terms and He spoke to the BBC from inside a dark base- people get through, he said. Muokwudo said he would try to finish his
the possibility of permanent residency. ment surrounded by his classmates from Gabon, course elsewhere in Europe, if all else fails.
“Ukrainian degrees are widely recognised and Senegal, and Cameroon. The Ukrainian government has launched an
offer a high standard of education,” Patrick Es- emergency hotline for Africans and Asians fleeing, “I’m going to stay here and see if the situation
ugunum, who works for an organisation that “We don’t have water, we don’t have light,” he according to the foreign minister. improves,” he said.
assists West African students wanting to study in said.
Ukraine, said. In a tweet, Dmytro Kuleba said the authorities “Going back to Nigeria is not an option.”
“A lot of medical students, in particular, want What are governments doing to help? were “working intensively” to ensure the safety —BBC
to go there as they have a good standard for med- Ukraine halted all civilian flights when the in-
ical facilities,” he added. vasion began on 24 February.
Desmond Chinaza Muokwudo, a Nigerian
student who had been based in the city of Dni- Relatives in Morocco welcome back students who had fled Ukraine on Wednesday.
pro, said he was attracted by the relaxed admis-
sion requirements and the cheap cost of living
compared to other European cities.
He enrolled at the University of Customs and
Finance less than three months ago.
Many courses are offered in English, but
the 30-year-old was undertaking a preliminary
Ukrainian language course, before moving on to
study international relations.
“I was a welder back in Nigeria and I needed an
education to accomplish things,” he told the BBC
from a hostel in Poland after fleeing the conflict.
“Ukraine was the best option for me.”

Where are the students now?
Like Muokwudo, more than 10 000 other Af-
rican students have managed to flee the conflict
and enter neighbouring countries, according to
the EU. There have been reports of foreign stu-
dents receiving racist treatment at the border,
with social media footage showing Ukrainian of-
ficials preventing some from crossing.
Hundreds of students are still believed to be in
Ukraine, but it is hard to confirm exact numbers.
One Indian student was killed when he ven-
tured outside to buy some food.
Some students have told the BBC 1Xtra pod-
cast, If You Don’t Know, that their universities re-
fused to move their classes online before the inva-
sion despite repeated requests to do so.
“The university ignored our pleas and concerns
for over one month,” Mary, a Nigerian medical
student in her final year, studying in north-eastern
Ukraine, said.
She said they had begged the university to allow
them to leave but, she added, the students were
told they would be fined if they missed their class-
es, which is standard policy in some Ukrainian
universities, so “we didn’t have a choice”.
Mary is now stranded in Sumy, near the Rus-
sian border, a town that has been subjected to sus-
tained attacks.
“We didn’t come to Ukraine for all of this, we
came to study and then to go home.”
She said she and friends were now running out
of food and going out to get supplies was not safe
because of the constant shelling.
Mary’s university admitted that it did not be-
lieve Russia would really attack, but denied sanc-
tioning students who decided to leave the country
ahead of the invasion. It moved classes online for
all students the day before Russian forces entered
Ukraine.
Christophe, a 22-year-old Cameroonian stu-
dent, spoke to the BBC from inside a basement
in the southern city of Kherson, which has been
taken by Russian forces.
“We are not going outside because we are
scared.”
He said that he and more than 20 fellow stu-

Page 8 News NewsHawks

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

WHILE Zimbabwe pleaded neutrality when Russia-Ukraine War: Zim’s
it abstained as the United Nations General As- underlying vested interests
sembly on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted to
condemn Russia for invading Ukraine, while de- President Emmerson Mnangagwa with Russian President Vladimir Putin . . . Russia is trying to develop a huge platinum mine in Zimbabwe on the Great Dyke.
manding Moscow stops fighting and withdraws
its military forces, a move to further isolate the and that he had brokered an opportunity for “the of the March 2018 mission to Harare. Both shell The company was awarded a five-year “special
Kremlin, there were other underlying vested eco- creation of a mining enterprise.” companies appear to have been created specifical- grant” in May 2018 to mine for gold in a sec-
nomic and financial interests for Harare and its ly to take advantage of the opportunity afforded tion of the river. Within months, the company
leaders. Sheiman told Belarusian state television that by Viktor Sheiman’s official visit to Zimbabwe: was in trouble with Zimbabwean authorities. A
the trip had produced deals to explore for miner- Midlands Goldfields in both the Seychelles and December 2018 visit to the Zim Goldfields site,
Zimbabwe abstained from voting on the res- als such as gold, platinum and rare earths through UK were incorporated just a few months before led by the Mines ministry’s provincial leadership
olution, supported by 141 of the assembly’s a joint venture in mining. The mining deal was his trip, and Zim Goldfields was set up shortly in Manicaland, reported the company had violat-
193 members, passed in a rare emergency ses- presented as a collaboration between the two after. ed several safety regulations, though it is unclear
sion called by the UN Security Council, while countries, and Sheiman said it was intended to whether any penalties were levied.
Ukrainian forces were battling to defend their make “profit for Belarus”. Vytis Jurkonis, a political scientist at Vilnius
cities, amid air strikes and a devastating bombard- University and an expert on Belarus, called the The ministry of Mines, ZMDC, and Zim
ment that has forced over one million people to But in fact, the new joint venture, Zim Gold- arrangement an example of “nepotism” and a Goldfields did not respond to emailed questions
flee. The text of the resolution deplores Russia’s fields, was secretly co-owned by Sheiman’s son, “conflict of interest.” “I think it has all the signs sent by OCCRP. In September 2020, the Zimba-
“aggression against Ukraine”. Sergei, with no stake for the Belarusian state. Ser- of a really shady structure with direct links to the bwean government banned riverbed mining for
gei Sheiman’s partner in the gold venture was in- president’s administration,” he told OCCRP. Ser- environmental reasons. Both the Seychelles- and
The last time the Security Council convened an fluential Belarusian businessman Alexander Zing- gei Sheiman and Lukashenko’s administration did UK-based incarnations of Midlands Goldfields
emergency session of the General Assembly was man, who has served as Zimbabwe’s honorary not respond to questions sent by OCCRP. were shut down within days. Zim Goldfields did
in 1982. consul in Belarus since around early 2019. Zing- not appear to update its ownership records after
man was also detained for 12 days this March in Aftrade DMCC, Zingman’s Dubai-based com- the two Midlands Goldfields companies were
Officially, Zimbabwe said: “As you are aware, the Democratic Republic of Congo. pany, denied that Zingman had any involvement closed.
there was a vote in the UN General Assembly with the gold venture, despite his name, contact
yesterday on 2 March 2022 on a resolution on A Press release by his Dubai-based company, details, passport number and signature appearing Yauhen Zhouner, a director representing Mid-
Ukraine. Zimbabwe abstained in that vote. We Aftrade DMCC, specified that the reason for in company records for Midlands Goldfields Lim- lands Goldfields on Zim Goldfields documents,
wish to assure you that Zimbabwe is strong be- the incident was arms dealing allegations, which ited. appears on company records after September
liever in the UN Charter and all its principles Zingman flatly denied. He was released without 2020, suggesting the company may have remained
and purposes, including the peaceful settlement charge. Documents from the Pandora Papers — Alpha Consulting, which set up Midlands under Belarusian control. The joint venture agree-
of disputes. a massive leak to the International Consortium Goldfields in the Seychelles, said it complies with ment and articles of association gave the owners
of Investigative Journalists of nearly 12 million all local and international regulations and runs of Midlands Goldfields extraordinary freedom to
“The situation in Ukraine is a very complex documents from 14 offshore corporate service background checks on its clients and the source obscure their interest in Zim Goldfields.
one and is deeply rooted in the history and geo- providers, shared with media partners around the of their wealth.
politics of that region. Zimbabwe believes it is the world — show how the two Belarusians used shell The documents allow Midlands Goldfields to
duty of the international community not to make companies in the Seychelles and the United King- “Mr Zingman has no links whatsoever with ei- transfer its shareholding to “any partnership or
that situation more complex than it already is.” dom to mask their involvement and the conflict ther Zim Goldfields or Midland Goldfields Lim- other body whether incorporated or not” without
of interest at the heart of the deal. ited,” Aftrade DMCC said in a written response. the approval of its state-run partner ZMDC.
However, there are other economic and per- “Mr Zingman is also not involved in any business
sonal issues entangled on the matter. Thirty percent of Zim Goldfields was held by relationships or existing companies with Mr Ser- Mnangagwa and his government have eco-
Zimbabwe’s state-owned mining company, the gei Sheiman,” the company added in a separate nomic opportunities and deals he is fixing with
Russia is trying to develop a huge platinum Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation statement. Putin and Lukashenko, which they could not
mine in Zimbabwe, which from 1980 adopted a (ZMDC), but the other 70% was controlled by sacrifice, at the special UN General Assembly this
non-aligned position, on the Great Dyke belt. a UK shell company called Midlands Goldfields Viktor Sheiman, who left his position as head week.
Limited. Its ownership was masked by a proxy — of the Belarus President Property Management
But the deal recently stalled after Impala Plat- UK records name Robert Michael Friedberg as the Directorate in June 2021 with a personal message Similarly, Mnangagwa wants re-engagement
inum Holdings Ltd demanded transparency on director of the company — but leaked documents of gratitude by Lukashenko for “opening the win- with the West — Zimbabwe’s traditional eco-
the ownership of the state-run Kuvimba Mining from the Pandora Papers show that Friedberg was dow to Africa,” did not respond to requests for nomic partners who have imposed sanctions on
House before considering a joint venture. acting on behalf of its owners as a nominee for a comment sent through his former office. Harare and stopped international funding — to
Seychelles entity with a similar name: Midlands revive the moribund economy. He was in Brussels
Kuvimba is a shadowy state enterprise, whose Goldfields Foundation. Zim Goldfields obtained permits to prospect recently during the EU-Africa meeting pushing
private shareholders are hidden. for gold on nearly 55 000 hectares in three lo- re-engagement.
And that entity was owned by Sergei Sheiman cations, including a site along the Mutare River,
Impala, the third-largest producer of platinum and Zingman, who had both reportedly been part a waterway in eastern Zimbabwe whose name — THE NEWSHAWKS/ORGANISED CRIME AND COR-
group metals, was approached by Great Dyke In- means “river of metals”. RUPTION REPORTING PROJECT.
vestments, which owns the Darwendale project.
It wants clarity on the shady Kuvimba, which is
35% owned by private shareholders the govern-
ment is unwilling to identify.

Impala’s former chief executive, David Brown,
who was Kuvimba’s boss, recently quit the com-
pany.

Kuvimba, which bought its equity stake from
the military through Landela Mining, and Rus-
sian tycoon Vitaliy Machitskiy’s Vi Holding each
own 50% of Great Dyke Investments. Machitskiy
is founder and president of Vi Holding Group.

The plan to build the huge platinum mine at
a cost of about US$4 billion initially floundered
due to a military stake amid Western sanctions on
state entities, including the army, in the project
that deterred potential funders.

Three years ago, local tycoon Kudakwashe Tag-
wirei paid millions of dollars to a Zimbabwean
military-owned company so that Landela Min-
ing, a company he controlled, could purchase
50% of Great Dyke Investments.

Last year, a year after Landela Mining had
bought half of the platinum mine, Zimbabwe
granted Great Dyke Investments a five-year
corporate income tax holiday and exempted its
shareholders resident in the country from resident
shareholders’ taxes on company dividends retro-
actively applied to January 2020.

Mnangagwa met Russian President Vlad-
imir Putin in January 2019 to discuss this deal
and other issues. The Zimbabwean leader also
travelled to Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Belarus,
where he also met Putin’s ally in the Ukrainian
war President Alexander Lukashenko.

About a year before that, in March 2018, Lu-
kashenko had dispatched his righthand man Vik-
tor Sheiman to Zimbabwe to negotiate trade and
business deals on the government’s behalf.

Sheiman has been one of Lukashenko’s closest
allies ever since the 1994 electoral campaign that
brought the strongman to power.

While serving as Belarus’ prosecutor-general in
2004, he was sanctioned by the EU over the dis-
appearance of several prominent Lukashenko crit-
ics, and the US followed suit two years later. But
he was under no such restrictions in Zimbabwe.

After Sheiman returned from Harare, Belarus’
state-owned news agency said he had met with
Zimbabwean officials to discuss “expanding eco-
nomic cooperation” between the two countries,

NewsHawks News Page 9

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa and Mnangagwa and Chiwenga
his deputy Constantino Chiwenga now have peddle genocidal language
a record of using hate speech and genocidal
language which incites violence against the President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga (below) have been using hate speech while addressing supporters at rallies.
opposition.

In the 1980s, Mnangagwa called Zapu sup-
porters “cockroaches”, while Chiwenga called
the Citizens’ Convergence for Change “lice”
to be crushed.

“I have heard others here saying down with
triple C, let me assure you that there is noth-
ing that it can achieve, you see how we crush
lice with a stone,” Chiwenga said.

“You put it on a flat stone and then flatten
it to the extent that even flies will not make a
meal out of it.”

On 5 March 1983 at a rally in Victoria
Falls, amid genocidal Gukurahundi massacres,
Mnangagwa issued a chilling threat against
Zapu using language that would be echoed
11 years later by perpetrators of the Rwan-
dan genocide in which Hutu extremists killed
nearly 1 million Tutsis.

As the state-controlled Chronicle reported
at the time: “Likening the dissidents to cock-
roaches and bugs, the minister (Mnangagwa)
said that the bandit menace had reached such
epidemic proportion that the government had
to bring ‘DDT’ [pesticide] to get rid of the
bandits.

Gukurahundi was engineered by the late
former president Robert Mugabe and his
Zanu PF cabal.

Mnangagwa is accused of being the en-
forcer of the genocide, while Chiwenga was
commander of 1 Infantry Brigade at Khumalo
Barracks in Bulawayo, which provided logis-
tics for the killings.

Mnangagwa’s analogy was clearly and per-
fectly comprehensible to his audience.

The cockroaches and bugs were supporters
of founding nationalist leader Joshua Nko-
mo’s main opposition Zapu and, generally, the
Ndebele ethnic group which Mnangagwa and
Zanu PF leaders sought to exterminate.

The DDT “pesticide” to kill Zapu support-
ers was in the form of the Fifth Brigade, the
murderous North Korean-trained army unit
that had already begun a fierce crackdown
in Matabeleland and the Midlands, home to
most of Zimbabwe’s Ndebele-speaking popu-
lation

By the time Mugabe’s campaign of violence,
murder and destruction ended, from 1982-
87, about 20 000 people had been killed. This
figure has also been cited by the International
Association of Genocide Scholars, although
the death toll is almost impossible to verify
accurately.

The CCC forerunner, MDC, also lost hun-
dreds of supporters to Mugabe and Mnangag-
wa’s brutality. Zanu PF has since 1980 used
violence and murder as a tool to gain, consol-
idate and retain power despite dismally failing
to govern the country now reduced to a polit-
ical and economic fiasco.

Given the violence and killings that hate
speech has incited, Zimbabwean leaders
should be held accountable for their inflam-
matory actions and remarks. A law against
hate speech needs to be enacted to stop the
politics of violence and murder rife in the tox-
ic body politic.

Hate speech covers many forms of expres-
sions which advocate, incite, promote or justi-
fy hatred, violence and discrimination against
a person or group of persons — in this case
Zimbabwean opposition political parties —
for a variety of reasons.

Hate language poses grave dangers for the
cohesion of a democratic and free society, pro-
tection of human rights and the rule of law. If
left unchecked, it can lead to acts of violence
and conflict on a wide scale as it is an extreme
form of intolerance, as has been the case in
Zimbabwe.

In 1992, Leon Mugesera, a senior politi-
cian in Rwanda’s then ruling Hutu-controlled
party, told a huge crowd at a rally in Kabaya
that minority Tutsis were “cockroaches” who
should go back to Ethiopia where they came
from. That contributed to fanning hate and
genocide.

Mugesera was later jailed for life in Rwan-
da for describing Tutsis as “cockroaches” and
calling for their extermination after losing a
court bid to avoid extradition back home from
Canada. — STAFF WRITER.

Page 10 News NewsHawks

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

First Lady in nasty chieftaincy row

MOSES MATENGA l You can’t fire me like a dog: Negomo
l Fight sucks in Zanu PF, divides party
FIRST Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa’s family is em-
broiled in a nasty fight over a chieftainship in her But Chitsinde insisted he is still in charge, say- biggest, then others until the family of the First First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa.
rural village in Mazowe district, Mashonaland ing: “Is that the way to deal with chieftainship? I Lady. We are of the same blood. We have not spo- ing the then former MDC-T leader and prime
Central province, amid fears she used her influ- am still in charge. I was actually holding my tradi- ken for some time so I don’t know their views on minister Morgan Tsvangirai, alleging that he had
ence to have her brother Paradzai Kutyauripo take tional court sessions last Saturday and this Satur- me. I stay here in the village, they are in town and violated traditional custom by marrying in the
over from Luscious Chitsinde as Chief Negomo. day I am going on with my work. If the President we do not see each other from time to time.” “sacred month of November”.
writes to me saying I must step aside and say they
The fight has turned nasty and further divided want someone else, I will.” “We have had several meetings as a family on Tsvangirai had married Locardia Karimatsenga
the ruling Zanu PF in the province as the party the matter and it started I think around 2011 up Tembo in a November ceremony.
leadership is reportedly divided over who to sup- Kasinauyo is Negomo’s uncle, while the First to now and the families chose the acting chief to
port with those aligned to Auxillia in full support Lady is his aunt. The First Lady and Negomo’s be substantive. Why? I don’t know, but it is up to There was suspicion Chitsinde was working
of Kutyauripo’s rise. father are cousins. the family to decide on the chieftainship, not that with the late former president Robert Mugabe’s
a DA can just write to you just like that.” regime to fight the former premier who was fined
Kutyauripo is also director of State Residences. “Our grandfather Guruchena had several two cattle, two sheep, a 10-metre-long piece of
According to a 25 February 2022 letter to wives, close to 35. Out of the 35, our family is the Chitsinde made headlines in 2012 after fight- cloth and ball of snuff in absentia.
Chitsinde by the Mazowe district development
coordinator, Mark Kadaira, which was also copied The High Court overturned the ruling.
to Kutyauripo, Chitsinde was ordered to immedi-
ately stop acting as Chief Negomo and surrender Chief Negomo Luscious Chitsinde
his regalia to the district office.
“Be advised that His Excellency, the President
of the Republic of Zimbabwe has in terms of sec-
tion 283 (a)(i) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe
Amendment (No.20) Act of 2013 as read with
Section (4) (i) of the Traditional Leaders Act
Chapter (27:13) approved the appointment of
Paradzai Kutyauripo as substantive Chief Nego-
mo of Mazowe District with effect from the 6th
of February, 2022,” the letter read in part.
“You are therefore requested to cease perform-
ing duties of a Chief and allow a smooth hando-
ver to the incoming Chief. You are further asked
to handover regalia you have been using to the
District Development Coordinator’s office.”
But Chitsinde told The NewsHawks this week
that he was going nowhere as only President Em-
merson Mnangagwa has the authority to write to
him over such issues.
Chitsinde alleged a sinister plot against him,
accusing some political actors of “street corner”
conspiracies and undermining the authority of
the President who superintends over traditional
chiefs.
“This is not procedural. I was shocked that
in the letter, I was ordered to stop being a chief
immediately and asked to bring everything. The
President does not do that. He doesn’t fire a per-
son like a dog like that. We only concluded that it
was something being planned on street corners,”
he added.
Zanu PF officials were divided over the chief-
tainship issue with sources who are part of a senior
provincial officials’ WhatsApp group confirming
the fights after a Mazowe district coordinating
committee youth secretary for environment Rod-
erick Nyikadzino reportedly issued a stern warn-
ing against those opposed to Kutyauripo’s rise.
“It is clear the President never made such deci-
sions so we can only wonder where it is coming
from,” the source added, while alleging Nyikadz-
ino was a known disciple of the First Lady in the
district.
Nyikadzino is also accused of using unprint-
able words while verbally attacking Chitsinde’s
wife who had questioned his behaviour of using
social media to deal with family issues.
However, Nyikadzino told The NewsHawks
that there was nothing political about the issue as
the President has spoken through a letter appoint-
ing Kutyauripo.
“There is no issue, we now have a new chief and
we have letters of everything being approved by
the President. Everything is in order and we have
a new Chief Negomo after the families agreed to
that,” he said.
“There is no politics at play here. If he wants
to be political, why can’t he go to contest for po-
litical office? We cannot talk of politics on family
issues.”
A faction opposed to the rise of Kutyauripo
reportedly mobilised against the district develop-
ment coordinator, accusing him of working with
the First Lady’s camp to dethrone Chitsinde.
A family member insisted that the First Lady
and the chief have not met for a long time and
have never discussed the issue although the family
has been seized with the matter.
“They (Chief Negomo and Auxillia) have not
communicated for a long time particularly on the
matter so we would not want to say she stands for
anything particular in the issue,” a family member
who declined to be named said.

NewsHawks News Page 11

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

BERNARD MPOFU Police morale hits rock bottom

MORALE within the Zimbabwe Republic Po- A Parliamentary Portfolio Committee report claims that out of the human resource strength of 44 687, only 26 398 police officers resided in police camps.
lice over staff welfare-related issues has reached
its lowest ebb, amid serious concern that service accommodation, the committee noted that fol- in rented accommodation. The state of affairs committee even noted that some members of
delivery will be compromised, while corruption lowing the increase of the organisation’s human was appalling and left officers vulnerable to be- the police deployed on specific operations used
may reign supreme to justify survival, a Parlia- resources establishment to 50 000, the state ing compromised by some sections of the soci- corridors for temporary accommodation while
mentary committee has observed. of office accommodation in the organisation ety. Current statistics reflected that, out of the others slept in offices. Over and above that, most
reached unacceptable levels, with a deficit of human resource strength of 44 687, only 26 398 ablution facilities in the establishments were on
Appalling working conditions due to limited 3 000 offices. police officers resided in police camps. In most the verge of collapse while at some stations they
funding from Treasury were cited as the main cases, a single house was shared by three families were non-existent,” the reports further reads.
causes of the low standards of policing by the “The dilapidated state of most of the offices resulting in overcrowding. An estimated total of
country’s law enforcement agents. across provinces, districts and stations further di- 19 999 police officers resided out of camp which “Some members of the police service do not
minishes the public’s confidence in the organiza- affected the effectiveness and efficiency of police wear the prescribed ZRP uniform due to the
The Portfolio Committee on Defence, Home tion’s service delivery capabilities. Most severely operations.” nature of their duties. They use plain clothing.
Affairs and Security Services conducted an in- affected were rural stations where officers have The committee was very disturbed to note that a
quiry into the state of infrastructure and ser- now resorted to the use of tents, zinc and wood- The level of dilapidation of the existing resi- paltry ZWL$15.00 was paid as an allowance to-
vice delivery by the Zimbabwe Republic Police en cabins as offices,” the report says. dential infrastructure, the report noted, further wards clothing. The allowance currently pays for
(ZRP). compounds the dire situation. nothing less than a banana. Like in many other
“The committee was petrified to note that the such scenarios, members of the police service
The initiative was driven by concerns from Zimbabwe Republic Police had an acute short- “In some serious cases, horse stables and pris- were forced to dig deep into their pockets to buy
members of the police aervice and the general age of residential accommodation resulting in oners’ cells have been converted into rooms cur- clothing for use during the course of their work.”
public about poor service conditions which have almost half of its active human resource residing rently occupied by desperate police officers. The
led to the declining state of service delivery. This
prompted the undertaking of the inquiry which
culminated into a report compiled by the Parlia-
mentary committee.

“The committee observed that the morale of
officers across the entire police service was at its
lowest ebb despite their demonstration of resil-
ience and patriotism. Further procrastination
of redress of the various challenges in the entire
organisation has the potential of collapsing the
policing system due to increased indiscipline
and poor service delivery, reads the report titled:
The State of Service Delivery and Infrastructure at
Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Establishments,
which was submitted to Parliament this week.

“It was the Committee’s observation that the
problems with the ZRP were double-edged in
nature, that is, internally and externally. On one
hand the inquiry investigated thoroughly the
factors that led to a surge in alleged cases of in-
discipline among junior police officers, a dilem-
ma which has a direct impact on the citizenry
in terms of its constitutional rights and expec-
tations from the police service. On the other
hand, it did not neglect the views of the mem-
bers of the police service in terms of their day
to day functional prerequisites. The committee
observed that the aforementioned state of affairs
had the potential of compromising national se-
curity if left unaddressed.”

The committee concluded that most challeng-
es faced by the ZRP are a result of underfunding
and delayed release of funds by Treasury.

Commenting on institutional and housing

Page 12 News NewsHawks

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

MOSES MATENGA/ MARY MUNDEYA MPs fume over Dubai Expo fiasco

MEMBERS of Parliament are keen on interro- Agriculture minister
gating Agriculture minister Anxious Masuka and Anxious Masuka
some members of the official government delega-
tion over the Dubai Expo trip that saw parastatal commissioner general of the Zimbabwe pavilion Mnangagwa) will be going to Dubai with the by Dubai in the United Arab Emirates from 1
bosses flocking to the United Arab Emirates for at Dubai Expo 2020. state of the pavilion? From what happened, we October 2021 to 31 March 2022.
what they argued turned into “a vacation” that do not want holidays or vacations using taxpay-
will not benefit the country. Wadyajena said Parliament will summon ers’ money,” Wadyajena said. Originally scheduled for 20 October 2020
Mubi when the team returns from Dubai. to 10 April 2021, it was postponed due to the
The legislators, under the Agriculture portfo- Expo 2020 is a world expo, currently hosted Covid-19 pandemic.
lii committee chaired by Gokwe-Nembudziya “Are you happy that the President (Emmerson
MP Justice Mayor Wadyajena who were also
in Dubai last week, summoned tha managers
of four state-owned enterprises, including the
Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC), Agri-
cultural Rural Development Authority (Arda),
Agricultural Marketing Authority (Ama) and
the Cotton Company of Zimbabwe to (Cottco).
They questioned them over the motive behind
their trip and the benefit to the country.

The MPs fumed after the management of the
public enterprises and parastatals failed to give
satisfactory answers on the motive behind the
trip. The legislators argued the trip had turned
into a vacation at the expense of taxpayers.

AFC Holdings chief executive Francis Mache-
ka was the first to be interrogated before he was
ordered to present evidence of how much money
they got for the trip.

Macheka was also asked about the purpose of
their visit and what the country benefitted from
the trip, but he failed to convince the committee.

“Did you have meetings with the people
there? Remember you are under oath,” Wadya-
jena asked Macheka, whose responses were in-
coherent.

Macheka claimed they met several business-
people from different countries including India
and said they intend to make another trip for
further engagements.

But Wadyajena immediately voiced concern
over Macheka’s narration, saying: “l am getting
lost. We have India, Dubai and not all this. l do
not understand. Concentrate more on the expo.”

“Why did you go to Dubai? Who authorised
the trip? We know about the government, the
cabinet authority and all that. You were part
of the ministerial delegation, but do not tell us
about the minister or board, we don’t report to
them. We will invite the minister on his own and
the board. Taxpayers’ money was used. We will
invite the minister on his own to come here,”
Wadyajena said.

“We had an issue in the first republic where a
lot of so-called mega deals were struck, but it was
all for the television and nothing tangible came
out of that,” Wadyajena said.

Mberengwa MP Tafanana Zhou also quizzed
Macheka over the trip, questioning the feasibility
of issues he had raised on unlocking Green Fund
support on climate change mitigation view of
international financial restrictions imposed on
Zimbabwe.

“The CEO is mentioning the Green Fund
which finances climate change. We have sanc-
tions; how are you going to unlock it?” he asked.

Rushinga MP Tendai Nyabani said the dele-
gation had embarrassed the country in Dubai as
their exhibition stand was sub-standard.

“Your stand was pathetic. Kenya had proper
tea to drink at their stand and you could inter-
act from an informed position with them. You
had no sachets even to taste. Why didn’t you
go prepared? Why did you do that? They said
they were from ZimTrade. That did not show
(in terms of ) properly marketing the country,”
Nyabani fumed.

Macheka was quizzed on how much the team
received in per diem allowances, but he remained
quiet for some time before saying he will avail all
paperwork on the amounts they received.

ZimTrade chief executive officer Allan Majuru
said they secured over US$3 million in orders,
mainly for horticulture, describing it as small but
important. “There is US$2 billion consumption
market for horticulture in Dubai and the central
call we had was to have them invest.”

Zhou asked Majuru why they excluded the
private sector from the trip, considering that
they play a key role in the sector.

“I was comparing stands with others from dif-
ferent countries. There was a lot of private sector
(participation). Why did you leave the private
sector? You were organised in Durban (last year)
and in Dubai you were not organised. The stand
is not organised,” Zhou said.

But Majuru said the best to answer on that
was the ambassador Mary Mubi, who is the

NewsHawks News Page 13

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

Zanu PF terror gangs terrorise Kwekwe

. . . Mudha outed as Jessie Gardens owner

RUVIMBO MUCHENJE

AT the turn of the new millennium, dozens of Former State Security minister Owen ‘Mudha’ Ncube (standing) is accused of fermenting violence in Kwekwe.
Zanu PF supporters turned up at a newly built
lodge, Jessie Gardens and the guest of honour portray him as a violent person, just as they did terror groups that continue to wreak havoc in from to go and destroy our campaign material.
was Owen Ncube, better known by his moniker before Mnangagwa fired him from cabinet. the Midlands city. This is barbaric, this is not the new way of cam-
Mudha Mugabe then. paigning,” Chikwinya said last week.
Ncube was accused of busing into Gweru a It emerged that while Jessie Gardens is open
Ncube, that time a powerful figure boasting machete-wielding terror group he reportedly to bookings, it has over the years become more According to a police memo released on Mon-
of close links to President Emmerson Mnangag- commands, known as Al-Shabaab, which he of a brothel and has been turned into a tempo- day after the violent attack, law enforcement
wa, then a minister in President Robert Mug- used to violently force his way into a Zanu PF rary base to shelter Zanu PF activists for specific agents received a tipoff that the accused persons
abe’s cabinet, was introduced as the owner of the provincial executive meeting. operations. were hiding at Jessie Gardens. Police raided and
lodge that now houses Zanu PF terror groups arrested the accused persons.
for specific operations. The former state security boss refused to com- Another “base” for the Zanu PF youths in
ment when The NewsHawks contacted him yes- Mbizo is Black Wadada where the said youths Three motor vehicles were recovered at Jes-
The latest of the operations was the bloody terday and hung up his phone. spend most of their time devising their opera- sie Gardens and a silver Mercedes-Benz (reg-
attack on the Citizens’ Coalition for Change tional strategies. istration AFK 6958) owned by one of the ac-
(CCC) rally addressed by party leader Nelson But his loyalists insist linking him to the ter- cused persons was searched. Unbranded yellow
Chamisa last Sunday where Mbongeni Ncube ror campaign in Kwekwe and last week’s attack Last week, aspiring CCC Mbizo member T-shirts, one yellow bottom, one black trousers
was killed while over 16 were injured. was part of a scheme by his enemies within the of Parliament Settlement Chikwinya said the and one sjambok were discovered in the vehicle.
ruling party to confirm that he was the cause of youths, operating from Black Wadada and oth- In a black Honda Fit (AFC 3464), owned by an-
At the official opening of the lodge, Ncube Zanu PF's tarnished name in Kwekwe. er bases, were defacing the campaign posters of other accused person, a machete was discovered.
invited the late musician Tongai Moyo to play other candidates ahead of the 26 March by-elec-
to dozens of guests, including senior Zanu PF “We had a team from the national headquar- tions. In a white Toyota Chaser (ACK 0756), whose
officials and students from nearby schools. ters that came and investigated the issues raised owner is yet to be established, one machete
about Touch Bomber (Ncube) and they are “We are well-informed that Zanu PF has be- whose handle was wrapped in red cloth, as well
Jessie Gardens consists of two sections: rooms saying there is nothing that he did wrong. We gun reactivating its Al-Shabaab group such that as one homemade knife with a green handle,
for lodgings on one wing with a separate en- expect those findings are made known and that on the night of February 23, they destroyed two catapults, two small catapult stones, one
trance to the “garden” where there is a bar and he returns to cabinet,” a loyalist of the former CCC campaign posters. They have established Tecno cellphone, one Nokia cellphone, one gold
pool table. The lodge is built in the light indus- minister said. bases at Black Wadada, Rusununguko Creche, scale and two black and green caps inscribed ED
trial area of Mbizo Section 11, less than a kilo- Tafara Crèche and Amaveni Hall. They have were found.
metre from where the Zanu PF youths attacked Ncube is accused of leading violent cam- re-established bases where youths are operating
the CCC rally. paigns in Kwekwe and being the brains behind

Police on Monday confirmed that 16 suspects
were arrested at the lodge while several weapons
said to have been used for the attack were also
recovered. Most of the suspects have since been
released, according to reports.

National police spokesperson Assistant Com-
missioner Paul Nyathi said they were still inves-
tigating the violence that led to Ncube’s death
and promised to look into allegations that sev-
eral bases have been opened where the youths
are housed.

“We are still conducting investigations as we
said during the week,” Nyathi told The News-
Hawks yesterday.

Asked whether the police have probed owners
of Jessie Gardens over why they were harbour-
ing the “criminals” and the existence of terror
groups linked to Zanu PF in Kwekwe, Nyathi
said: “You are actually the first person to tell me
about this. I still haven’t gotten anything from
our Midlands team. Be that as it may, I will
check with Midlands province police.”

Zanu PF insiders confirmed that Ncube is the
owner of the facility but said it may have been
a coincidence that the attackers had booked at
the lodge.

Those close to the former State Security min-
ister accused some within the ruling party of
being the first to link Ncube to the attackers to

Page 14 News NewsHawks

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

HARDLY a day after combative Vice-President Slain activist’s vision shattered
Constantino Chiwenga, a feared former mili- . . . as violent culture haunts Mnangagwa’s backyard
tary commander, bellowed that the opposition
Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC) will be Victim of political violence . . . Murdered CCC supporter Mboneni Ncube month we were supposed to meet with the bride’s
crushed like lice, blood was flowing at the Nelson family as we had already paid lobola,” Khulani
Chamisa rally. Observers said Ncube, who according to his In an interview at the family home in Kwekwe, said.
family was not involved much in politics, be- a brother of the slain Ncube, Future Ndlovu,
Chiwenga told thousands of Zanu PF sup- came a victim of Chiwenga’s reckless incitement said: “What we want now is closure as a family The now deceased was a miner employed at a
porters at Mbizo Stadium in Kwekwe, Midlands and the Zanu PF youths’ appetite for violence in and mourn in peace without political involve- mine in Kwekwe.
province, that CCC will be crushed like lice. Mnangagwa’s backyard. ment. My brother was not a politician and was
not in the CCC. On the fateful day he had just Kwekwe has been a politically volatile area
“You see how we crush lice with a stone. You Aspiring Mbizo member of Parliament Settle- followed his friends to the rally and was probably since the turn of the new millennium.
put it on a flat stone and then flatten it to the ment Chikwinya, who will face off with Corne- drinking beer at a bar.”
extent that even flies will not make a meal out of lius Mupereri of Zanu PF for the Kwekwe Cen- Former Kwekwe Central MP Blessing Che-
it,” Chiwenga said. tral seat in the March 26 by-elections, told The Ncube will be buried in Lower Gweru where bundo, now a Zanu PF activist, was one of the
NewsHawks this week that suspected state securi- his family said the father of one and widower was first victims of politically motivated violence after
Chiwenga’s statements were likened to Presi- ty agents were hijacking the funeral wake of the trying to set up his small fortune after acquiring a he dared challenge Mnangagwa in the 2000 par-
dent Emmerson Mnangagwa’s statement in 1983, slain activist. herd of cattle. Khulani Ncube, a brother, said the liamentary elections.
at a rally in Victoria Falls, where then then State 30 year old had recently married a second wife
Security minister delivered a threat using chilling Chikwinya said the suspected state security following the death of his first one. His house in Mbizo’s Section 12, less than a ki-
language. agents threatened the family after twice trying to lometre from where Ncube was killed, was razed
influence the hospital officials to block any CCC “This was his second marriage as he had re- down by a Zanu PF gang known as the Taliban
As The Chronicle reported at the time: “Liken- officials from taking any further part in the fu- cently married. His first wife died and left him before it morphed into Al-Shabaab years later.
ing the dissidents to cockroaches and bugs, the neral process. with their baby girl who is now in Grade 2. This
minister said the bandit menace had reached such The violence has been worsened by politi-
epidemic proportion that the government had to cians fighting to control mines in the gold-rich
bring ‘DDT’ [pesticide] to get rid of the bandits.” city where their supporters have turned to ma-
chete-wielding militant gangs to protect their
His statement is believed to have emboldened territory.
the 5th Brigade soldiers who committed genocide
in Matabeleland and the Midlands regions. Bloody fights have also erupted within Zanu
PF itself in Kwekwe, where rival groups regularly
Hours after Chiwenga’s statement, which ob- exchange blows.
servers described as inflammatory and inciteful,
Mboneni Ncube’s (35) body lay lifeless. He is be- Recently, gunshots were heard during fierce
lieved to have been speared to death by a menac- clashes between supporters of former State Secu-
ing gang of Zanu PF thugs who besieged the rally rity minister Owen Ncube’s nephew Energy, and
addressed by Chamisa, leaving over 20 seriously businessman Kandros Mugabe, who were fight-
injured. The attack occurred while the opposition ing for a slot to represent Zanu PF in the primary
leader was addressing the rally in Mnangagwa’s elections.
hometown.
Mnangagwa was forced to chip in and block
Signs that violence was looming were always the two from contesting after the violence.
evident from the time Chamisa disembarked
from his car and greeted multitudes of support- Observers said Zanu PF was allowing a culture
ers, before he was quickly chaperoned by his se- of violence in Kwekwe by setting up terror camps
curity aides to the VIP tent, where he sat next to in the Midlands city with the police doing little to
his wife and other party leaders. root out the known “bases”.

Kwekwe is volatile and is home to the infamous Ironically, one of the terror camps is situated
Zanu PF-aligned local terror group Al-Shabaab in Mbizo’s Section 9 and known as Black Wadada
known for terrorising opposition supporters and where the Zanu PF youths congregate to guzzle
for causing chaos at gold mines. beer while plotting against their next victim.

Soon after Chamisa took his seat, commotion Another one is Jessie Gardens where the sus-
ensued just outside the VIP tent after CCC se- pects in Ncube’s murder case were found hiding.
curity tried to block suspected Zanu PF youths, The premises are owned by
who hastily retreated after being subdued.
Owen “Mudha” Ncube, who is also known as
CCC organiser Amos Chibaya had earlier “Touch Bomber”, among the Zanu PF militia.
warned of the impending violence, saying: “We
know that there are some Zanu PF individuals Jessie Gardens was opened over two decades
who have been planted amongst us to cause com- ago by Ncube when he invited the late musician
motion. However, let they be warned that our se- Tongai Moyo to perform for guests who had
curity is on high alert and they will be dealt with thronged the then new facility situated in Mbizo
accordingly.” 11, again less than 2km from where Chamisa ad-
dressed his rally.
Midway through Chamisa’s speech, the Zanu
PF youths struck again, this time with determi- “The people causing all sorts of problems in
nation. Kwekwe are known, their godfathers are known,
but we can only wonder why no action is taken
Chamisa’s pleas for his supporters to stay calm against them,” a Mbizo resident said, comment-
fell on deaf ears as the Zanu PF youths attacked, ing on condition he is not named.
while the CCC youths hit back.
— STAFF WRITER.
Stones, spears and all sorts of weapons were
thrown as the Zanu PF thugs unleashed violence,
leaving 22 injured and Ncube dead.

We’re in great danger, they want us dead: Chamisa

MOSES MATENGA dates that please eat with a lot of care, it is good the body, saying they were family. I abandoned He said we are the family and we have taken
to have appetite but control your appetite. Be what I was doing to check what was happen- over.”
THE opposition Citizens’ Coalition for Change careful, not everything is food, we are in a dan- ing. I was told they were saying they used to
(CCC) says its leadership is in danger, with the gerous zone. Be careful about your cars, just last work together with the late and were under in- “They want to block us from the funeral,” he
party leader Nelson Chamisa saying several at- night they sideswiped our car.” struction from their company to take over the added.
tempts have been made on their lives. funeral,” Chikwinya told The NewsHawks on
Chamisa told The NewsHawks this week that Tuesday. According to a relative in a recorded conver-
In the recent past, the party leadership has the regime believed in eliminating opponents, sation with Chikwinya, the family was worried
been under siege and, only this Thursday, yet indicating that they did that to the founding “They were told they were awaiting postmor- about politicisation of the funeral wake, saying
unknown assailants attacked CCC senior offi- MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai who died in tem as it was a murder case so the police was there will be consequences for them as a family
cial Tendai Biti’s house and physically assaulted 2019 after suffering from colon cancer. supposed to be involved.” if they do so.
his mother and security guard, seriously injur-
ing them in the process. “I will not say much, but that is who they are. “ln the afternoon I received a call from some- Ncube was killed after the suspects, who were
They thought they had poisoned us,” he said. one who said he was a Ncube and thanked us confirmed to be Zanu PF activists by the police,
Reasons for the attack were not immediately for what we have done so far, saying as a fam- unleashed violence on a CCC rally in Kwekwe.
given, but Chamisa this week said there is a plot “We exposed them but our focus now is to ily they were now taking over the process. He
to attack the party leadership and warned them prepare for the Bulawayo rally and the burial of said they no longer want anything political so The violence has received condemnation lo-
to be on high alert. (Mboneni) Ncube that they are trying to hijack. that they mourn their person. I said we have cally and internationally amid calls for a peace-
Just also know they killed Tsvangirai,” he said. been cooperating well and I chose the casket at ful campaign ahead of the by-elections and
“It’s only that we don’t say much and the Nyaradzo Funeral with one of the brothers be- 2023 general elections.
people who were doing this are the people who Chamisa is expected to attend the burial of cause we want to prepare and we are working
have been making attempts on our lives. They Ncube who was killed by Zanu PF supporters with Friday as the burial date,” Chikwinya said. Commenting on the attack on Biti’s house
were celebrating that we poisoned him when during the CCC rally in Kwekwe last Sunday. by four men armed with machetes and a gun
he was in Botswana, I don’t normally eat but it “We said the funds we have now can pay for who did not take anything after the raid, Crisis
shows you wicked people who believe in elimi- Aspiring Mbizo member of Parliament Set- some of the things so that we know we are good in Zimbabwe Coalition chairperson Peter Mu-
nating elements.” tlement Chikwinya said suspected state security to go after the postmortem. I asked him where tasa wrote on microblogging platform Twitter:
agents took over the funeral wake of slain CCC he was yesterday when we spoke to the family. “These gory pictures of Biti’s security employee
“We have told all our leaders, all our candi- activist until his burial. show that our situation has deteriorated. No
one is safe anymore.”
“I was told that there were people claiming

NewsHawks News Page 15

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

Wadyajena’s US$3m dodgy project proceeds

GOVERNMENT says the Golden Valley-Sanya- Zanu PF Gokwe-Nembudziya MP Justice Mayor Wadyajena
ti Road project being worked on by a company
linked to Zanu PF Gokwe-Nembudziya Member form according to the conditions of contract,” the and reached a conclusion that the contractor is ied to the chief director of roads, read.
of Parliament Justice Mayor Wadyajena is going letter read in part. unable to execute the works. In a response through a letter signed by one P
ahead despite reservations over alleged failure to
meet deadline. “It is the opinion of the Project Engineer that “Furthermore, the contractor has not yet fur- Wadyajena responding to the provincial engineer
the contractor is unable to execute the works in nished the client with requisite performance dated 6 January 2022, the company committed to
Mayor Contracting (Pvt) Ltd was contracted accordance to the approved programme of works. bonds and insurances required for contract sign- finishing the work as agreed and pleaded for an ex-
to work on the road but his task had come under ing,” Gomo wrote in the letter. tension within 35 days and blamed the Covid-19
threat following reservations by the engineer of “Find attached the notice of contract deter- pandemic and breakdown of equipment for the
the project over the delay. mination written to the contractor and response “We recommend that the employer proceed delay. — STAFF WRITER
thereto which the project engineer has studied with contract determination,” the letter, also cop-
In a statement, the ministry of Transport and
Infrastructural Development said Wadyajena’s
company was contracted to start work on 19 Oc-
tober 2021 and end on 10 December 2021 at the
total sum of US$3 930 397.21.

“Mayor Contracting Pvt (Ltd) won the tender
in a competitive bid MOTID/ERRP2/28/2021
for Golden Valley — Sanyati road re-construction
in accordance with Public Procurement Act (Pub-
lic Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets
Act),” the statement read in part.

“The tender was published in the Government
Gazette and Manica Post on 10 September 2021
and the Sunday Mail 12 September 2021. Mayor
Contracting Pvt is an entity registered with PRAZ
and CIFOZ and the road is in Mashonaland West
rural.”

“The works progress is at 5km base 2; 1.8km
base 1. The overall progress to date is 25%. The
work done to date meets standard and specifica-
tion. Contractor cited delays caused by Covid-19
restrictions and his key staff on site were affected
by the pandemic as well as rains.”

The government said no payment was made to
Mayor Contracting either “as advance for mobili-
sation or work done to date”.

“The project engineer is seeking for project de-
termination not termination. By determination
each party retains its rights and obligations under
the contract.”

But according to a letter dated 17 January 2022
addressed to the secretary for Transport and Infra-
structural Development written by an official who
signed off as S. Gomo, the Mashonaland West
provincial roads engineer, the company had failed
to perform, hence the proposal for determination.

“The project engineer, acting in terms of Clause
65 (1) (e) of the ZGCC4 (1984), hereby writes to
the employer certifying that the contractor, May-
or Contracting (Pvt) Ltd contracted to carry out
the above-mentioned contract has failed to per-

Page 16 News NewsHawks

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

Mines fined for polluting Angwa River

NHAU MANGIRAZI An Ema officer showing fish killed by cyanide poison along the Angwa River in Mashonaland West province . . . Pollution of the river has resulted in villagers
falling ill, death of aquatic life and livestock, such as cattle (above). — Pictures: Nhau Mangirazi
THE Environmental Management Agency
(Ema) has sanctioned three mines for polluting ventative approach by de-contamination of three Ema if they wish to proceed with implementation saster struck the areas along the Angwa River
the Angwa River, a major water source in Masho- points along the affected river. of the project,’’ Nhariswa said. around mid-February.
naland West province and a tributary of the Zam-
bezi River. “Take 25 Mine was not fenced at all, leading to The NewsHawks has established that villagers ‘‘We have disaster in Makonde district af-
three cows straying into the mine’s carbon rooms have been losing livestock as a result of the con- ter some slime dams at De-Troop mine owned
The pollution has resulted in villagers falling which had an open access point. tamination. by a Chinese gold mining company was swept
ill, as well as the death of aquatic life, including by heavy rainfall, taking hydrogen cyanide into
fish. Domestic animals have also been affected. ‘‘Three cows died due to cyanide poisoning at ‘‘We have endured such losses annually since Angwa River. This has affected the livelihoods of
the mine. The miner had no valid EIA certificate early 2015 when the Chinese kicked off mining communities after some cattle, goats were affect-
De-Troop Jiangxi Risheng, Morocco 7 Mine and hazardous substances storage and use licence at De-Troop mine along Angwa River. It has af- ed,’’ he said.
and Take 25 mines were slapped with fines for as required in terms of the Environmental Man- fected mostly communal farmers settled along the
spilling cyanide into the river, among other of- agement Act (Chapter 20:27). The proponent river for substance farming. Although some of the ‘‘People have not been spared, some have re-
fences. was penalised for failing to exercise due care in farmers are also into gold panning, livestock, in- ported to Mutala Clinic for help over suspected
the handling of cyanide. An environmental pro- cluding cattle, goats and sheep, have been part of poisoning resulting in diarrhoea,’’ the teacher
Ema’s provincial environmental education tection order to cease operations and fence off the their economic security,’’ said Regerai Mukanga added.
and publicity officer Munyaradzi Nhariswa con- cyanidation plant was issued to the miner who from Hurungwe’s Chikuti village.
firmed the development following investigations was ordered to apply for an EIA certificate and There was no immediate official comment
conducted on 17 February. hazardous substances storage and use licence from A local teacher who refused to be named on from the provincial medical director on the af-
professional grounds added his voice, saying di- fected communities at the time of writing.
‘‘Ema swiftly responded and did compliance
inspections at Morocco 7 Mine, De Troop Mine
Jiangxi Risheng Mine and Take 25 Mine. From
the compliance inspections conducted, we noted
environmental violations in the handling of cya-
nide, which is a highly toxic hazardous substance;
discharge of mining effluent and the absence of
spillage contingency strategies. We served envi-
ronmental protection orders on the said mines,
directing them to adopt appropriate measures
to avoid the recurrence of such challenges,’’
Nhariswa said.

‘‘We shall continuously work with other stake-
holders and law enforcement agencies to bring to
finality these pollution issues along Angwa River.’’

De-Troop is situated about 170 kilometres
north-west of Harare under Chief Magonde in
Makonde district along the Angwa River and run
by China’s Jiangxi Risheng Mining Company.

Morocco Mine is located at Kuti Farm, adja-
cent to the De-Troop mining claim.

“On site (at Morocco Mine) there was Den-
nis Mazhenda, who is the plant supervisor for the
mine. The project proponent was operating with-
out an environmental impact assessment certifi-
cate as required in terms of section 97 of the En-
vironmental Management Act (Chapter 20:27).
It was also noted during the inspection that the
proponent was in possession of 100kgs of cyanide
and the cyanidation tanks were constructed using
plastic material which exposes the surrounding
area and people to danger contamination in case
of an incidental spillage. The project proponent
was served with an environmental protection or-
der in terms section 37 of Environmental Man-
agement Act (Chapter 20:27) to cease operations
pending de-contamination of all the areas which
were affected by some chemicals spills at the mine,
and commission an EIA (environmental impact
assessment) report which should be submitted to
Ema for approval before commencement of any
works,’’ Nhariswa said.

‘‘De-Troop had its slimes dam failure which
occurred around 0300hrs on the 17th of Feb-
ruary 2022, resulting in the discharge of slimes
into Angwa River and leading to fish deaths in
the river.

‘‘The cut-off trenches along the mine were no
longer being maintained, leading to overflow of
slimes into the river and there was indeed a slow
reaction by the team manning the slimes dam,
resulting in slimes contamination in the nearby
river. The miner did not have an emergency spill
response strategy, nor did it have the required
ferrous sulphate to de-contaminate the affected
area. The resilient catfish was not spared due to
the contaminated water that led to poisoning of
the fish species in the river,’’ explained Nhariswa.

‘‘Also at De-Troop, the project proponent was
served with an environmental protection order in
terms section 37 of Environmental Management
Act (Chapter 20:27) to ensure continuous mon-
itoring and de-contamination, including engage-
ment of locals and downstream communities,’’
Nhariswa said.

The miner was ordered to put in place “mecha-
nisms to ensure compliance” with approved engi-
neering designs of the tailings storage facility and
ensure adequate monitoring mechanisms of the
tailings storage facility.

‘‘The miner was also ordered to submit prog-
ress report on de-contamination and engage-
ments with the local community. In addition to
the above-mentioned orders, the Ema took a pre-

NewsHawks News Page 17

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

MOSES MATENGA Fresh plot to block by-elections
‘. . . economy too weak to afford polls’
A deregistered lawyer, Tapera Sengweni, has
dragged President Emmerson Mnangagwa and by the Mwonzora camp in a bid last year to stop ration of Parliament in any way,” he said. that the party returns to the 2014 structures until
the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) to the by-elections. By-elections were necessitated largely by re- the holding of an extraordinary congress to elect
court in a fresh bid to block the March 26 by-elec- Tsvangirai’s replacement following his death in
tions, arguing they are a waste of resources and “In any event, there is no need for by-elections calls of MDC-Alliance members of Parliament February 2019.
were supposed to have been held within the stip- now. This country is due to hold its harmonised and councillors, who were accused by Mwonzora
ulated timeframe. elections in the next 16 months. It is prudent to of having expelled themselves from his party by Mnangagwa was expected to proclaim the date
wait for that date.” declaring allegiance to the Nelson Chamisa-led for the by-elections within 90 days, but Vice-Pres-
Sengweni, an MDC-T activist and a close ally party. ident and Health Minister Constantino Chiwen-
of faction leader Douglas Mwonzora, is the first “As a small economy, Zimbabwe has financial ga, through Statutory Instrument 225A of 2020,
applicant in the matter in which Vinnah Mbele, challenges that are affecting the greater majority This followed a March 2020 High Court ruling blocked the holding of the polls, citing Covid-19.
Edify Kudzaishe Vushoma and Phanuel Tsvanu of its population. The government is struggling to that nullified the appointment of Chamisa and
are the other applicants suing Mnangagwa and pay its employees a living wage. It is not prudent Elias Mudzuri as vice presidents of the MDC-T This was despite that several countries in
ZEC who are the first and second respondents to drag the country into another plebiscite, whose by the party’s founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai. and out of Africa were holding elections in the
respectively. outcome does not change the numerical configu- Covid-19 era.
The High Court ruling was interpreted to mean
However, in a statement, the MDC-T dis-
tanced itself from the application.

Sengweni, a former MDC-T Midlands South
youth assembly provincial chairperson, who
gave his address as house number 1 405, 238th
Crescent, Kuwadzana 2 in Harare, argued in his
founding affidavit on 2 March 2022 that Mnan-
gagwa failed to call by-elections within the stip-
ulated time, hence he is seeking a court order to
declare the proclamations unconstitutional, there-
fore null and void.

“This is an application for a determination that
the first respondent failed to call for by-elections
in all the 28 House of Assembly seats and council
seats within the time stipulated by the constitu-
tion of Zimbabwe and therefore an order declar-
ing that the two purported proclamations above
are unconstitutional, therefore null and void ab
initio,” Sengweni’s founding affidavit read in part.

He argued that it was his expectation Mnan-
gagwa would call by-elections within the set time-
frame, but the Zimbabwean leader “failed or re-
fused, neglected or absconded from proclaiming
dates for the by-elections.”

“As a citizen of this country, I believe in the full
and correct interpretation and application of the
national constitution. In other words, I have an
unalienable right to the correct and timeous inter-
pretation and effect of the national constitution,”
Sengweni said.

Sengweni also argued that by-elections were a
waste of resources, an argument previously raised

‘NGOs restriction to have ripple effects on Zim’

MOSES MATENGA The report says ban on NGOs will harm the tourism sector. violating the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms
of association, assembly, expression and related
THE banning of non-governmental organisations with recommendations by the Financial Action business from NGOs have consistently anchored political rights,” the groupings said.
through the proposed Private Voluntary Organisa- Task Force (FATF) to streamline administrative their city and country hotels segment,” the report
tions (PVOs) Amendment Bill will have dire eco- procedures and allow for the efficient regulation read in part. The Bill, those opposed to it argue, was a way
nomic and political consequences for Zimbabwe and administration of NGOs and prevent them to criminalise human rights work in Zimbabwe,
that could spiral into a serious crisis, human rights from undertaking political lobbying. “Clearly, NGOs are important agents in the including silencing lawyers who represent victims
groups have warned. country’s development process. Strong partner- of political violence.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has on sever- ships with NGOs and other non-profit-organ-
The government is pushing for the PVOs Act al occasions accused NGOs of involvement in pol- isations such as trade unions will strengthen the “By proposing harsh penalties, including jail
to monitor and ban NGOs perceived to be po- itics and pushing people against the government, implementation of the NDS 1 (National Devel- time of up to one year for NGOs deemed to sup-
litical. Parliamentary hearings have already begun, while pursuing a regime change agenda. opment Strategy) as well as attainment of Vision port political activity, the Bill is criminalising hu-
although wracked with violence in some parts of 2030.” man rights work.”
the country where suspected Zanu PF activists The Bill also prohibits trusts that are registered
have been accused of trying to block others from with the High Court, but are not registered PVOs, Indications made during the public hearings on The Bill, the observers said, paralyses humani-
contributing. from collecting contributions from the public or the PVOs Amendment Bill show that many peo- tarian work that will see thousands of families that
from outside Zimbabwe for any of the purposes ple are opposed to it, citing dire consequences if depend on food aid from NGOs facing starvation.
According to a report released this month specified in the definition of “private voluntary the proposals are allowed to prevail.
on the possible economic impact of the PVOs organisation”. “Corruption and violence will increase as
Amendment Bill gazetted in November 2021, by Some NGOs have given 10 reasons they say the NGOs help put pressure on the government to
the Southern Defenders, the Zimbabwe Human The report also noted that a ban on NGOs will PVOs Amendment Bill is bad for Zimbabwe, say- advance good governance and hold leaders to ac-
Rights NGO Forum and the Accountability Lab harm the tourism sector, which depends on activ- ing it violates the constitution. count. They document violence and corruption.
Zimbabwe, the country is set to lose millions of ities of the organisations for income. Without this pressure, leaders will be free to steal
United States dollars by banning the NGOs who “NGOs are forms of social participation, ex- with no questions asked. Those who ask questions
are contributors of the much-needed foreign cur- “Moreover, according to the African Sun Lim- pression and association. The Bill imposes unfair will be jailed and there will be no human rights
rency in the country. ited 2020 Integrated Annual Report, conferencing restrictions on NGOs and their activities hence lawyers to help them.”

“By restricting the activities of NGOs, the The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition has con-
amendment Bill will likely restrict political and demned violent attacks on some of the hearings,
economic freedom in the country. The country saying the continued disruption of hearings is un-
already performing badly in the major economic called for.
indices,” the report reads in part.
“We note with great concern that Zanu PF
According to the 2022 Monetary Policy state- continues to use violence and intimidation to en-
ment, NGOs are the third biggest earners of for- sure they dominate proceedings during the hear-
eign currency in the country after export proceeds ings in an attempt to push for amendments to the
and diaspora remittances. PVOs Act.”

“Total foreign currency receipts from NGOs On Monday, the grouping of over 30 NGOs
rose by 50.5% from US$647.78 million in 2020 said their member, Masvingo Centre for Research
to US$975.16 in 2021. This foreign currency is and Advocacy (MACRAD)’s director Ephraim
critical in sustaining the foreign currency auction Mthombeni was attacked by alleged Zanu PF
system. Any disruptions in the activities of NGOs activists who were targeting citizens opposing
through legal and or non-legal means could result amendments to the PVOs Act.
in the country losing out massively,” the report
noted. “The attack on Mthombeni followed similar
incidents of violence in Highfield and Rusape on
The PVOs Amendment Bill seeks to comply February 28, 2022 during the PVO Amendment
Bill public hearings,” the Crisis in Zimbabwe Co-
alition said.

Page 18 News NewsHawks

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

Zec will conduct a second voter registration exercise from April 11 to 30, 2022.

Mat North, South risk losing constituencies

LIZWE SEBATHA of reasons, including poor timing, lack of voter Former Nkayi South legislator Abednico Bhebhe ploughing and harvesting in certain instances,”
education and identity documents. “For now, food security wins as voter regis- Moyo argued.
MATABELELAND North and South had the tration is of lesser importance during this time
lowest number of new voter registrants during the Bulawayo-based analyst Mlungisi Moyo said of the year. The summer season affects the rural “And these being subsistence and commercial
jus-ended voter registration blitz, with analysts the first quarter of the year is a busy time for peo- population a lot. It changes their priorities. Now farmers, this is the time when they need to make
citing poor timing by the electoral management ple in rural Matabeleland as they will be busy in it is about food security as people would be pre- best use of their time. As such, it is not worrying
body among the reasons for the poor turnout. the fields. occupied with the field exercises, the farming, that the figures are low. This particular season de-
mands that they invest their efforts in the fields.”
This is at a time the Zimbabwe Electoral Com-
mission (Zec) has warned that the two provinces Zec will conduct a second voter registration
risk losing some constituencies as they fall below blitz from April 11 to 30, 2022.
the delimitation threshold of plus or minus 20%
of 26 308 per constituency. Zec had planned a mobile voter registration
outreach in December, but that was cancelled af-
A delimitation exercise — the creation of new ter it emerged that potential voters, particularly
electoral boundaries — will be conducted after the youth, did not have identity documents. The
the population and housing census scheduled for country’s youth represent over 60% of the pop-
April. Zimbabwe last carried out a delimitation ulation.
exercise ahead of the 2008 harmonised elections.
Former Nkayi South legislator Abednico Bheb-
Statistics provided by Zec show that Matabele- he said some potential voters were losing interest
land North and South had a combined total of in electoral processes because of endless infighting
just over 4 000 new voter registrants during the within political parties, the opposition included.
first phase of the voter registration blitz which
ended on 28 February. “The voter registration exercise was not fully
and extensively advertised hence the low figures.
The blitz began on 1 February. Secondly, there are so many small political parties
Matabeleland North had the least number of that are trying to claim space to an extent that
new registrants across the country at 2 091, fol- many people end up giving up and saying ‘where
lowed by Matabeleland South at 2 244. Harare are we going with these splinter parties?’ That on
had the highest at 16 437 followed by Mashona- its own does not energise the potential voters,”
land West at 5 275 and the Midlands at 4 391. Bhebhe said.
Bulawayo recorded 4 219 registrants.
In Matabeleland South, only four constituen- “The sooner we (the region) unite and speak
cies out of the 13 meet the minimum threshold with one voice, we will then be able to have peo-
of plusor minus 26 308 voters per constituency. ple having interest in politics. But, generally, peo-
These are Beitbridge East 34 733, Gwanda Cen- ple in the region have lost interest in politics.”
tral 27 592, UMzingwane 25 473 and Insiza
North 25 858. In Matabeleland South, there are reports that
The remaining constituencies such as Bulilima Zec officials were rejecting paper identity docu-
West and South, with 17 977 and 15 966 voters ments.
respectively, could be merged.
Bulawayo could possibly also lose two of its 12 Activist Siduduzile Masilela said: “The turnout
constituencies owing to low numbers of registered was very low mainly because the majority did not
voters. know about this voter registration. There was a
Critics said the low turnout during the voter lack of voter education, and those that were cho-
registration blitz could be blamed on a number sen to conduct voter education were not going
deep down into rural areas, but they were only
concentrated at business centres.”

Zec has budgeted ZW$8.2 billion for the first
and second phases of the voter registration blitz.

NewsHawks News Page 19

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

Fierce contest for Marondera Central

MARY MUNDEYA Ignatious Mateveke Caston Matewu
“I hope to lobby the government to upgrade
BATTLE lines for Marondera Central by-elec- vision, courage, integrity and humility. (BMKT) marketing degree and is the chairperson its water treatment plan and through devolution
tions have been drawn with Citizens’ Coalition He decided to contest in the by-elections as of the Business Against Crime Forum of Zimba- funds upgrade water pipes so that we get access to
for Change’s Caston Matewu seeking to reclaim bwe. the humanitarian right to water,” he says.
the seat despite a challenge from Zanu PF’s Igna- an independent candidate because he wanted to “I am offering to serve the community with my
tious Mateveke, MDC-Alliance’s Witness Muza- distance himself from party slogans and regalia as If elected to office, he hopes to address the heart and not for personal gain.”
vazi and independent candidate Carlos Tawanda well as being hampered by party politics. plethora of problems that Marondera has been
Pindire. facing such as water reticulation. Tawanda
Pindirire holds a Bachelor of Commerce Carlos Pindire
The seat fell vacant following Matewu’s recall
by the Douglas Mwonzora-led MDC-T in 2020. Witness
Caston Matewu (CCC) Muzavazi
Matewu was elected Marondera Central legisla-
tor in the 2018 general elections and was recalled
from Parliament by Mwonzora in October 2020
after declaring allegiance to Nelson Chamisa.

His political career dates back to the early
2000s when he was in the United Kingdom. At
one time he served as MDC youth chairperson
in the UK.

Being elected president of the students’ union
at the University of London where he read for his
Bachelor of Science degree in environmental sci-
ence, persuaded him to venture into politics.

If re-elected into office he hopes to serve the
people of Marondera to the best of his abilities.

“I assure the people of Marondera Central that
I’m going to work to the best of my abilities to
represent them in Parliament, to develop this
town, to speak out against issues that I feel should
be addressed,” Matewu said.

He said he was confident of victory despite be-
ing set back by the recall.

“It’s frustrating to come back after having won
in 2018, but of course we are back here again and
we are raring to go. We are a new entity, a new
party under the leadership of Advocate Nelson
Chamisa and we are going to hit these elections
and bring prosperity to the people of Marondera,’’
he said.
Ignatious Mateveke (Zanu PF)
The NewsHawks reached out to Mateveke, but he
declined to speak about his candidature.

Mateveke is the Zanu PF Mashonaland East
provincial secretary for production. He is also a
businessman and has held various positions in the
party.
Witness Muzavazi (MDC-T)
Muzavazi is a social scientist who is employed as
an administrator by the City of Harare.

Born in Buhera, Muzavazi (52) joined the
Movement for Democratic Change in 1999 and
was elected organising secretary for Marondera
Ward 4. He is the current information secretary
of the MDC-T.

Muzavazi’s quest of becoming a member of par-
liament was derailed after he lost the MDC-Alli-
ance primary elections to Caston Matewu, who
eventually won the seat. He is however confident
of victory and hopes to address the issue of policy
inconsistencies to be a voice to the voiceless.

“People are not getting what they should get in
terms of policies. Policies which are being put in
place are not normally people driven, they are not
people oriented because bills are being passed in
Parliament without proper consultations with the
people,” he says.

“I feel that I should represent people because
we have a lot of areas that should be addressed in
Marondera Central so that people will get repre-
sentation,” he said.

If elected member of Parliament for Marondera
Central, Muzavazi is promising to be a champion
for infrastructural development and a messenger
of the electorate from his constituency to Parlia-
ment. “If I get the chance to be in Parliament, I
promise to be a voice of the people of Maronde-
ra Central, I’ll report back 24/7 to the people of
Marondera through community meetings,” Mu-
zavazi said.

“I’ll work with the councilors who are the de-
veloping agents on the ground using the policies
to develop our infrastructure. Muzavazi is the best
candidate to be voted for because I have the vision
to take the people of Marondera to their desired
destination.”
Tawanda Carlos Pindire (independent)
Pindirire (37) says he is an individual with a clear

Page 20 News NewsHawks

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

‘We don’t respond to social media criticism’

ZIMBABWE’S political parties lock horns Zec spokesperson Joyce Laetitia Kazembe (right) says Zec has no power, authority or capacity to investigate criminal offences.
in by-elections scheduled for 26 March, but
there are allegations that the Zimbabwe Elec- laterally made changes to 156 polling stations released unprocedurally. voters and other stakeholders to act in good faith
toral Commission (Zec) is tampering with without following due process in violation of the MM: You are confirming that the ‘leaked’ vot- in relation to all electoral processes. Residents
the voters’ roll ahead of the polls, while there Electoral Act? and prospective registrants are reminded that
have been complaints that some parties are ers roll is a document that is in existence, why an affidavit is a sworn statement; if one presents
receiving preferential treatment ahead of the JK: The commission has already issued a state- does it have such errors and what is your elec- false information on affidavits used as proof of
elections, including by the police, thereby ment dismissing those allegations as pure malice toral commission doing to remedy the situation? residence, they commit an offence of perjury.
affecting the integrity of the polls. Violence bent on diminishing the public’s confidence on
has also been a major concern. The News- the voters’ roll and the country’s electoral pro- JK: The voters’ roll as it is now, has not gone MM: The public media is still not treating po-
Hawks reporter Mary Mundeya (MM) asked cesses. The so-called analyses being posted on so- through the processes of cleaning and verifying litical parties equitably. Why is Zec allowing this
Zec spokesperson Joyce Laetitia Kazembe cial media platforms are clearly targeted at con- the registrants in terms of the numbers, in terms unlawful conduct to continue?
(JK) to respond to the allegations. Kazembe fusing the electorate and tarnishing the image of of the addresses etc.
maintains that Zec is professional. Below are the commission. JK: Sections 160G of the Electoral Act pro-
excerpts of her written responses: MM: Since Zec introduced a biometric voter vides for equitable distribution of free airtime
The commission has also taken a position not registration exercise in 2017, you have never re- by the public broadcaster to contesting political
MM: On 20 February, the ruling Zanu PF to respond to issues raised on social media unless leased a full voters' roll showing pictures and fin- parties and candidates while section 160H of
and the opposition Citizens’ Coalition for this has been communicated to it through the gerprints to enable proper independent analysis. the same Act outlines issues to do with political
Change held their star rallies. The police im- formal channel. The commission is, therefore, Are you aware that the full voters' roll, by law, is advertising in both broadcasting and the print
posed unrealistic conditions on CCC, such as a calling upon the so-called governance watchdog supposed to be a public document? media. The commission has already shared the
prohibition on the busing in of party supporters, to approach the commission formally, if their in- ZBC schedule with political parties and inde-
but there were no such impossible conditions for tention is truly to get the correct position regard- JK: In the case of Mpezeni vs Zec and others pendent candidates contesting in the 26 March
Zanu PF. As the electoral commission, why have ing the voters’ roll. Incidentally, did the commis- (HH-475-18), the High Court granted an order by-elections. The commission encourages all po-
you remained silent in the face of such blatant sion indicate it ever issued a voters’ roll against interdicting the commission from publishing litical parties and candidates to use their allotted
bias? which allegations are being made? voters’ pictures in the voters’ roll, for whatever recording times, as given in the ZBC schedule.
reason. It was held that doing so would violate Any political party that fails to respect those re-
JK: The commission has no policy of com- MM: Zec has altered 170 867 addresses with- voters’ rights to privacy as enshrined in section cording times will forfeit their allocated airtime;
menting on issues it has not witnessed first-hand out following due process. Why have you not 57 of the constitution which says every person hence, the free airtime will thus not meet its in-
or on the basis of media commentary or social gazetted these changes? has a right to privacy. Please, be current and tended objective — opportunity for free space
media stories. However, the commission has properly educated on reasons pertaining to the and self-advertising or canvassing to the poten-
been on record calling on all political parties JK: And again these analyses are being made non-publishing of voters’ pictures and finger- tial voters. Any other time slot outside the allot-
and candidates to uphold provisions of the code on social media without any effort to approach prints in the voters’ roll: it can be highly dan- ted one will have to be paid for. Even as we write
of conduct which they signed and presented to the commission through the proper channels. gerous. this, some political players have already forfeited
the commission, along with their nomination Why is the so-called governance watchdog not their airtime by non-appearance. Incidentally,
papers, at all its engagements with various stake- willing to engage the commission directly if they MM: Zec has suspended officials it accuses “equitably” does not mean “equally”.
holder groups. The most recent engagement with are genuine in their analyses? of leaking a copy of the voters’ roll to be used
all political parties and/or candidates, including in the March 26 by-elections to local pressure The commission appeals to the media and
independent candidates, was at Pandhari Cen- MM: According to the voters’ roll, there are group Team Pachedu. Why has Zec made it so political players to also adhere to the media reg-
tre, where and when the commission launched many voters whose addresses are stated as “un- cumbersome for political parties and civil society ulations outlined in Statutory Instrument 33 of
the National Multi-Party Liaison Committee known”. This is unlawful. How do you register to access the voters’ roll? 2008 in the coverage of the by-elections.
on 23 February 2022, where the same call was voters whose addresses are unknown and how do
made. Steps to be taken by parties and individ- you designate the polling station if you do not JK: The suspension of Zec officers was purely MM: The number of new voters who have
uals affronted by unfair players and/or practices know where these people reside? an administrative matter. Voters’ rolls issuance taken advantage of the voter registration blitz
by anybody or other body are clearly laid out. is in terms of section 21(3) of the Electoral Act has not been impressive and this has been at-
JK: The commission issued out a statement [Chapter 2:13] and as per set procedures and tributed to the unresolved problem of lack of
The Electoral Act [Chapter 2:13] provides disassociating itself with the copy of the alleged upon payment of a fee. The process of acquiring national identity documents. Why are you not
for a number of electoral malpractices, some of voters’ roll with these and other claims. In any the voters’ roll is not cumbersome at all but pro- pushing for a national ID blitz?
which are considered criminal, for which per- case, allocation of polling stations to registrants cedures have to be followed, within the confines
petrators can be prosecuted. These malpractices is determined purely by their proofs of residence of the regulations governing this. JK: Honestly, it is conjecture that the Zim-
can and should be reported for investigation by presented to voter registration officers. In all the babwe Electoral Commission has the capacity,
the aggrieved party to the Zimbabwe Republic commission’s voter education materials and pub- MM: Your voters’ roll says there are 49 vot- let alone the authority, of pushing for a nation-
Police (ZRP), or the Zimbabwe Human Rights licity programmes, proof of residence is one of ers staying at House Number 1, Harare Road in al ID blitz. The Registrar-General’s Office is an
Commission (ZHRC). It stands to reason that, those requirements. Kwekwe. There is no residential residence at that independent institution that works according to
since in this case the complaint is against the po- address. Surely, there is no credibility in such a its schedule, dependent on its requirements and
lice, it is prudent that the matter be referred to MM: Team Pachedu is on record for saying voter register? needs for specific processes. Nonetheless, the is-
either the ZRP or the Zimbabwe Human Rights the voter’s role was acquired procedurally from suing of national identity cards will be resolved
Commission — or to both — for investigation. ZEC. Receipts of the payment they made to JK: The allocation of polling stations to reg- in phase 2 of the mobile voter registration ex-
your commission as required by law have been istrants is purely determined by their proofs of ercise that will take place from 11 to 30 April
Yes, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission can produced. How can a document that was paid residence presented to voter registration officers. 2022. Then, the Registrar-General’s Office will
receive complaints, but it does not have the pow- for be purported to have been leaked? Voter registration officers are not duty bound deploy teams that will issue identity cards during
er, authority or capacity to investigate criminal to go and physically check whether the details this phase.
offences; at best, Zec refers any such reports to JK: The receipts doesn’t matter. The docu- on the affidavits and other proofs of residence
the aforementioned institutions. ment was supposed to be cleared by the chair- presented to them by prospective registrants are
person and it wasn’t done so the document was correct or not. It is incumbent upon all eligible
MM: Police blocked thousands of opposition
supporters from reaching the venue of the CCC
rally in Highfield, yet Zanu PF supporters travel-
ling to the Marondera rally were not subjected to
similar treatment. How credible will the by-elec-
tions be, in view of such an uneven political en-
vironment?

JK: It is quite premature for one to come to
a conclusion that the political environment is
uneven on the basis of isolated incidents. It is
known that elections by their nature are highly
conflictual, and this is the reason why the elec-
toral law provides for mechanisms to deal with
such disputations whenever they arise. But as
already mentioned above, if a political party is
aggrieved, or has any issues with the police, the
relevant body to deal with such issues is the Zim-
babwe Human Rights Commission or the ZRP
itself.

But for any other disputation requiring im-
mediate attention, section 160C of the Electoral
Act outlines functions of a Multi-Party Liaison
Committee as follows: (a) to hear and attempt to
resolve any disputes, concerns, matters or griev-
ances relating to the electoral process, including,
in particular, any disputes arising from allega-
tions concerning non-compliance with the code
of conduct for political parties, candidates and
other stakeholders.

MM: Governance watchdog Team Pache-
du has extensively analysed the voters' roll and
unearthed serious anomalies. Why has Zec uni-

NewsHawks News Page 21

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

Stop political violence, says Lumumba

MOSES MATENGA . . . berates African politics for being toxic

POLITICAL parties must desist from violence Pictures: Ruvimbo Muchenje
but compete for power on the basis of ideas, a
prominent Kenyan public intellectual and law- “If you look at the history of many nations, “In your lifetime (yes), not in my lifetime, but gle currency that facilitates intra-Africa trade. It
yer says. there is successive leadership and successive de- I think I am beginning to see signs that tell me may take 20 to 30 years but it is coming,” he
mands for that which is good, that is carrying that Africans in the political class, in the busi- said.
In an interview with The NewsHawks on the those countries to where they are so I have no ness class, are beginning to recognise that the
sidelines of his public lecture in Harare this doubt in my mind that Africa will know de- more unified our economies are, the better for During the address, Lumumba described
week, Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba said poli- velopment economically, politically and other- the continent of Africa,” he said. African politics as toxic, adding that everyone
ticians must unite to rebuild Zimbabwe, a coun- wise,” he said. wants to be a politician as a way to avoid scruti-
try reeling from a severe economic crisis. “The African Continental Free Trade Area is ny from corruption.
“In a confederal Africa, all those who are a statement that we must trade more, that we
His presentation was titled Rethinking the running countries such as Zimbabwe, Ghana, must integrate our economies more and sooner “Let us introduce hygiene in African politics.
State: Is Africa Cornered on Resource Extraction Kenya would be governors of those units,” he rather than later we are going to recognize that It is toxic. Politics is the biggest industry now
and the Conundrum of Development in the 21st said, adding that it may only happen in 20 to even monetary policies are unified. Once you and everyone wants to be a politician because it
Century? and the event was organised by the 30 years’ time. do that, then it will be necessary to have a sin- immunises you from scrutiny. We must rethink
Zimbabwe Institute of Strategic Thinking our politics,” he said.
(ZIST).

Dozens of people, who included the Europe-
an Union Ambassador to Zimbabwe Timo Olk-
konen, businessman Nigel Chanakira, among
others, attended the Harare event.

“As I have always said, democracy is a compe-
tition of ideas, let ideas compete and, as I have
always said, it is not easy in nascent democracies,
but a competition of ideas is what gives birth
to sustainable development,” Lumumba said re-
sponding to questions on the blocking of the op-
position Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC)
rally in Gokwe on Saturday and the violence in
Kwekwe that led to the death of a young activist.

Mboneni Ncube (35), a father of one from
Mbizo suburb in Kwekwe, succumbed to inju-
ries he sustained following a violent attack by
Zanu PF thugs during a rally addressed by CCC
leader Nelson Chamisa.

Several activists were injured in the attack
while at least 16 suspected Zanu PF activists
were arrested. Eleven of the ruling party sup-
porters have since been released without charge.

Pockets of violence have also been recorded
across the country ahead of the 26 March 2022
by-elections and the 2023 elections.

Lumumba said Mnangagwa has had a slow
start to economic transformation, adding that
only unity with the opposition and stakeholders
will aid in rebuilding Zimbabwe.

In 2018, Lumumba expressed optimism that
Mnangagwa would transform the economy fol-
lowing the November 2017 military coup that
saw the political demise of the late former presi-
dent Robert Mugabe.

He said back then: “I believe Zimbabwe is on
the mend, it is not going to be immediate, it is
not going to be dramatic and people have to be
vigilant and I think the Sadc region is to be use-
ful in pushing them in that direction.”

But asked whether he was still as optimistic as
he was years ago, Lumumba said the Zimbabwe-
an economy has failed to grow “as robustly as it
should have grown.”

“Optimism must never die,” he said: “It is in
the nature of human society that we must re-
main optimistic. A number of things have taken
place, the world has been hit by Covid-19, there
has been economic difficulties (and) Zimbabwe
as a country has laboured under the weight of
sanctions.

“In the face of all those difficulties I think the
economy has not grown as robustly as it should
have grown.

“But I hold the view that if the leadership
both within government and within the oppo-
sition recognise that what they are struggling for
is one Zimbabwe; there are no two Zimbabwes.
There is no Zimbabwe for the government, the
current administration and another for the op-
position. It is one Zimbabwe and if people unite
to ensure that that Zimbabwe knows economic
growth then I have no doubt in my mind that
useful gains will be made,” Lumumba said.

Lumumba, a proponent of a united Africa,
said there was a need for unity among countries
for the continent’s economy to grow. But in re-
sponse to whether the current crop of leaders
were competent enough to push for that, the re-
spected orator and academic said: “Leadership is
inter-generational, but I will not judge Africa on
the basis of its current crop of leaders. I believe
that African men and women are capable in the
fullness of time, of carrying forward the agenda
that will ensure that Africa grows.”

Page 22 Ukraine Special Report NewsHawks

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

Who is Volodymyr Zelensky? Ukraine’s
wartime president is a former TV star

PRESIDENT Volodymyr Zelensky After "Dancing With the Stars" and voicing "Paddington", echoed many of the themes he ex-
has become the face of Ukraine’s he now leads country’s resistance to Russia’s invasion plored in the TV show and his po-
resistance against Russian Presi- litical party carried the same name,
dent Vladimir Putin’s invading forc- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “Servant of the People.” He won the
es. second-round runoff against the in-
presidential palace in Kyiv to urge exchange with Russia and moved EU — with many paying the ulti- cumbent, Poroshenko, with about
But Zelensky came into power on Ukrainians in their defense of the toward a deal on how to build on a mate price. “We are giving our lives 73% of the vote.
with little traditional political expe- country. It drew millions of views on 2015 ceasefire agreement. for the right to be equal,” he said, What is Zelensky’s family back-
rience. Before he was elected, he was Telegram and Facebook. Gone were unshaven and wearing a green army ground?
best known for playing a television the suits and ties, in came military Street protests  against his plans T-shirt. “Prove that you are with us Born on 25 January 1978, Zelensky
role as an ordinary schoolteacher sweatshirts. forced him to change tack. West- and will not let us go.” grew up in a gritty, Russian-speak-
accidentally catapulted into power. ern diplomats warned him that How did Zelensky rise from televi- ing region in southeast Ukraine.
The show, “Servant of the People,” Zelensky spoke frequently with Putin was trying to get him to sign sion comedian to president? His background was Jewish; several
ran for four years, making him a Western leaders, urging them to an agreement that would provide Zelensky studied law at universi- family members died in the Holo-
household name. increase sanctions on Moscow in him with long-term influence over ty but after graduating entered the caust while his grandfather served
the hope of breaking the Russian Ukraine’s future via Russia’s proxies entertainment business, founding in World War II as an officer in the
Since the Russian strikes began on advance.  As he pleaded with Euro- in the breakaway regions, with the a television-production company. Soviet army. His father, a mathema-
24 February, Zelensky has captured pean leaders in a video call to take goal of barring the country from He became famous for his skits, tician, and his mother, an engineer,
the world’s imagination, often dress- tougher action, he warned them that joining the EU or Nato, the North including one where he and some chose to stay in Ukraine while many
ing in ballistic vests as he urges peo- this might be the last time they saw Atlantic Treaty Organisation. accomplices dropped their trousers other Jews departed for the US or Is-
ple to press the fight during videos him alive, according to several dip- and pretended to play a piano with rael when the former Soviet Union
he posts to Telegram, Facebook and lomats. Mr. Zelensky instead turned something other than their hands. permitted them to emigrate. Child-
Instagram from the center of Kyiv. toward  persuading Nato to en- Later, he won the Ukrainian version hood friends recall how he stood out
At other times, the 44-year-old has “The silence in the room was im- gage in a closer relationship with of “Dancing with the Stars” in 2006 for his earring and his good grades
harangued Western leaders to step pressive,” a senior European Union Ukraine  while launching a popular and voiced the role of Paddington in in school. He later obtained a law
up their sanctions against Mr. Putin, official said. Shortly after, the 27-na- campaign to win back control of the eponymous movie about a young degree at Kyiv National Economic
speaking regularly with figures such tion bloc moved to significantly ex- Crimea. A person close to him said bear who visits London. University.
as US President Biden, UK Prime pand the range of measures as the Russia had begun to see him as be-
Minister  Boris Johnson  and French West hardened its response to Mos- ing too similar to Mr. Poroshenko, It was his TV show “Servant of the Zelensky himself has made lit-
President Emmanuel Macron, and cow’s aggression. whom he succeeded as president, People” that captured the mood of tle of his Jewish identity, saying in
describing Russian missile strikes as How has Zelensky’s stance against and someone Moscow saw as intent the country when the program first 2020 that he came from an ordinary
terrorism. Russia evolved? on pushing Ukraine closer to the aired in 2015, however. Mr. Zelen- Soviet Jewish family and that most
Zelensky initially sought a rap- West. sky played a humble schoolteach- such families were not religious.
As the Russian onslaught increas- prochement with Russia when he was er who candidly ranted on a video This appears to ignore how Jews in
es, with air and missile strikes wid- elected president in 2019.  Ukraine Political analysts said the prospect about the everyday corruption many the former Soviet Union, including
ening to hit more civilian targets, had been at loggerheads with the of Ukraine aligning itself more close- Ukrainians need to contend with. Ukraine, largely had to suppress their
Zelensky knows that he is at the Kremlin since 2014, when Russian ly with the West had enraged Putin, The clip went viral, launching a religious identity and were viewed as
head of the Kremlin’s kill-or-cap- forces annexed the Black Sea port who has long been trying to restore political career that ultimately pro- outsiders. Some commentators have
ture list, but insists that neither he of Crimea and stirred up a rebellion Russia’s sphere of influence, which pelled his character into the presi- suggested this has informed Zelen-
nor his family will leave as he tries that led to two pro-Russian regions had been curtailed severely since the dential palace. sky’s own self-image as an outsider,
to keep his battered country togeth- breaking away from Kyiv’s control. end of the Cold War more than 30 reflected in both his TV work and
er. “We will chase them away, with Zelensky pledged  to improve rela- years earlier. The success of the show convinced his presidential campaign in 2019.
shame,” he said in video message re- tions with Putin, and had some ear- Zelensky that he should try his hand
leased Thursday. “Every occupi- ly successes. He secured a prisoner On 1 March, the fifth day of at politics for real. His campaign Ukrainians appear more favorably
er must know they will not obtain the invasion, Mr. Zelensky said the disposed toward Jews than do the
anything here. They will not have Ukrainian people were now fighting people of other countries that were
anyone submit to them. Anywhere to become equal members of the in the Soviet bloc. A Pew Research
they enter they will be exterminat- Center poll in 2019 found that 5%
ed. They will have no rest. They will of Ukrainians were unwilling to ac-
have no food. They will not have a cept Jewish people as fellow citizens,
single quiet minute.” compared with 18% in Poland, 19%
How long has Volodymyr Zelensky of Czechs and 22% in Romania.
been president of Ukraine? And Ukraine’s prime minister when
Zelensky was elected president in Zelensky became president, Volody-
2019, defeating the incumbent Petro myr Groysman, is also Jewish.
Poroshenko by casting himself as an
antiestablishment outsider  bent on When Putin said Russia’s inva-
cleaning up corruption and securing sion was designed to “de-Nazify”
better relations with Moscow. His Ukraine’s leadership — a potent slur
pitch was largely based on the role in Russia, referring to World War
he played on his TV show, where he II — Zelensky was quick to ridicule
portrayed an ordinary man thrown the Russian leader’s claims.
into the presidency to clean up the What happened between Zelensky
country. Even his political party was and Donald Trump?
named after the show. Shortly after becoming Ukraine’s
How has Zelensky handled the in- president, Zelensky was thrust into
vasion? the center of US politics after Presi-
Early on, Zelensky directed much of dent Donald Trump was accused of
his energy toward projecting a sense pressuring him in a telephone call
of calm as Russian forces steadi- to investigate his chief rival at the
ly built along Ukraine’s borders to time,  Joe Biden. An  impeachment
eventually total as many as 190 000 resolution in the House of Represen-
troops. He said US warnings of an tatives alleged that Mr. Trump had
imminent invasion were overblown made the provision of US$391 mil-
and were damaging Ukraine’s econ- lion in US security aid contingent
omy. Zelensky pointed to an even on Zelensky publicly announcing a
larger Russian buildup last spring probe.
that was eventually withdrawn. After Trump’s actions came to
light, the resolution charges, he re-
But after the first Russian leased the aid, which was meant to
strikes began to hit Kyiv and oth- strengthen Ukrainian forces in the
er Ukrainian cities on 24 February, eastern part of the country.
he pivoted hard toward shoring up
Ukraine’s defense, securing as much Trump rejected allegations of
Western assistance as he could ob- wrongdoing and, while he was im-
tain. peached in the House, he was  ac-
quitted by the Senate.
With Russian propaganda claim-
ing he had already fled the country, Biden went on to be elected pres-
he made a hand-shot video of him- ident.
self out on the street in front of the
— Wall Street Journal.

NewsHawks Ukraine Special Report Page 23

Issue 70, 4 March 2022 What Putin’s mindset says 
about Ukraine fate amid war
MARY YANG A historian knowledgeable on Russian, Soviet Union to doing whatever was necessary to
and Ukrainian annals speaks on how Vladimir Putin’s sustain the Russian or Soviet state.
RUSSIAN President Vladimir Pu- history helps explain his current mindset and endgame. And he’s obviously still willing to do
tin’s modus operandi in Ukraine that.
has been grounded in an assertion
of genocide taking place in the Do- FP:  So what does Putin ulti-
netsk and Luhansk People’s Repub- mately want?
lics and a claim that Ukraine should
not exist. With Ukraine and even Belar-
us? What can Russia’s expansion-
Alexander Motyl — a professor ist tendencies tell us about Putin’s
of political science at Rutgers Uni- endgame?
versity in Newark and a specialist
on Russia, Ukraine, and the Soviet a nice, peaceful, democratic Russia at which point one could argue, Russian President Vladimir Putin. AM: [Putin] denies the existence
Union — said this is a distortion of but a threat to an authoritarian, qua- well, the guy was really concerned shortages in the Soviet Union, when of a Ukrainian nation. He insists
Ukrainian and Russian history. He si-fascist, Putin-like Russia. And it’s with defending the Soviet mother- Communist Party leaders demand- that Ukrainian statehood is ille-
expanded on Ukraine’s relationship certainly a threat to his imperial am- land. No, he joins at precisely the ed Ukrainian peasant households gitimate and artificial. Neither the
with Russia and explained what Pu- bitions. This is where the similarity time when they’re cracking down. surrender all food to the state.] And Ukrainians nor the state have any
tin’s past could reveal about his end- to Chechnya, Georgia, Transnistria, You know what you’re doing.  again, that was engineered. It was ar- right to exist; they’re actually Rus-
game.  and Crimea [comes in]. All of them tificial, and it was intended to break sian, according to his narrative.
represent steps in Putin’s reassertion This hasn’t been fully appreciated, Ukrainian resistance to his agricul- Any attempt by Ukrainians to assert
“The last 10, 20, 30 years have of the Russian Empire.  I think. You’re joining an institution tural and cultural policies. … No their identity and assert their inde-
seen a revival of Ukrainian identity,” that has one of the bloodiest histo- fewer than four million Ukrainian pendence, either in World War I or
Motyl said. “And now, Putin is try- For the Kremlin, Nato’s 1999 war ries of the 21st century. I mean, it peasants were starved to death. The World War II in the interwar period,
ing to crush it.” against Serbia is the West’s original is comparable to the Gestapo in its terror continues through 1953; then that is simply because they are on the
sin—and a humiliating affront that bloodthirsty nature. And this was it subsides under [former Soviet pay of foreign intelligence. So back
This interview has been edited for Russia must avenge. the case immediately when [former leader Nikita] Khrushchev. Repres- in 1918, the culprits were the Austri-
length and clarity. Soviet leader Vladimir] Lenin first sions continue — or revive, rather ans and the Germans, who ostensi-
FP:  What kind of world did established the Soviet secret police, — under [Communist General-Sec- bly were the paymasters of Ukrainian
Foreign Policy (FP):  Are you Putin grow up in? What does his known as the Cheka. … The whole retary Leonid] Brezhnev. It’s no lon- nationalists. During the interwar pe-
surprised Putin’s gone quite this biography and his background in point of that institution was to insti- ger on the same level as under Stalin, riod, it was the Poles and the Japa-
far in Ukraine, given his past? the KGB tell us about his mindset tute a Red Terror and to eliminate, but they were nevertheless severe, nese who were fomenting trouble in
today? ruthlessly eliminate, whoever hap- and thousands of Soviet political Ukraine. During World War II, it
Alexander Motyl (AM):  The in- pened to be a potential enemy of prisoners wind up in jail. This is the was the Germans. During the Cold
tensification of the carnage doesn’t AM:  Start with the fact that he Bolshevik rule.  institution Putin joins.  War, it was the Americans, and now
surprise me. I was surprised that joined the KGB in the 1970s, at the of course, it’s the Americans once
[Putin] attacked because it made no height of KGB repression against [Former Soviet leader Joseph] In my mind, that says it all. You again. There wouldn’t be any trou-
sense — and it still makes no sense. the Soviet dissident movement. He Stalin’s terror was even worse. He don’t need to go much further than ble with the Ukrainians. They would
But the fact that he’s upped the ante doesn’t join the KGB when the So- imposes this mandate founded on that. In order to understand his never identify themselves as being
in the last two days — civilian tar- viet Union was experiencing a thaw, the Ukrainians in 1932 to 1933. … upbringing, his personality and his different from Russians if it weren’t
gets, apartments, houses, schools — when the repressions were minimal, [The Holodomor famine in Ukraine own views. for the fact that outside evil forces
actually kind of follows logically.  refers to a period of extreme grain are causing trouble in Ukraine. 
This is a man who was committed
Recall what he did in Chechnya in So ultimately, the goal is to bring
the Second Chechen War. The Rus- Ukrainians and Belarusians all into
sians levelled the capital city, Grozny. the fold of Russia. And one expects,
It looked like Dresden, [Germany], if recent trends continue, that the
after World War II. Recall what he degree to which Belarusians, also,
did in a number of Russian cities in will have a separate identity from
1999 when he had apartment build- Russia is likely to decline. And at
ings bombed and blamed it on the some point, you know, even if they
Chechens as a pretext for the war. don’t merge the two states, officially,
Putin is a man who is willing to go it will be very difficult to distinguish
the full length to achieve his political where Belarus begins and where Rus-
goals. … He destroyed Chechnya in sia ends. And my guess is that’s what
order to pacify it.  he would like to do in the Ukrainian
case. Which means, of course, that
Initially, I was surprised that the he needs to eliminate all individuals
Ukrainians put up such an effective who have a separate Ukrainian iden-
fight. I knew they would fight, and tity. 
I was also quite certain that the vast
majority of the population would Now, the problem here is that ac-
take part in the resistance. But that cording to his somewhat deranged
they’d actually be able to hold off view of Ukraine, he thinks it’s just a
the Russians [is] both [a] testimony handful of troublemakers. But as re-
clearly to their skills, to their weap- cent events have shown, virtually the
onry, and, perhaps as well, to the entire population of Ukraine consid-
blunders made by the Russian mil- ers itself to be Ukrainian and differ-
itary. ent from the Russians. … So if Putin
is serious about eliminating people
The scary part now is that [Putin] who are separate from and want to
may be likely, or at least conceivably remain separate from Russia, then
could, apply the same sort of burn the only way that he can do that is
strategy that he applied in these oth- by genocide. It’s terribly disturbing.
er settings. It’s not inconceivable. … I’m not saying this is necessarily
And in a way, there is a logic. [For going to happen. But it’s an option
Putin], committing genocide would that has suddenly become thinkable.
actually make sense. It would solve Totally thinkable. And the more you
the Ukrainian problem once and for think about it, the more thinkable it
all. becomes.

FP:  And by “the Ukrainian *About tge writer: Mary Yang is
problem,” you mean? an intern at  Foreign Policy.  Twit-
ter: @MaryRanYang
AM: Ukrainians striving for in-
dependence. Ukrainians attempting
to assert their identity as a nation
that is separate from the Russians.
Ukrainians trying to build a dem-
ocratic country. It’s all those things
together. They challenge the Russian
imperial narrative of which Putin is
very much a captive and which he
also propounds in virtually all of his
statements. Ukraine, in that sense, is
a mortal threat. Not necessarily to

Page 24 Ukraine Special Report NewsHawks

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

The man behind Putin’s military
How Sergey Shoygu paved the way
ANDREI SOLDATOV/ IRINA BOROGAN for Russia’s Ukraine War invasion

ON February 25, barely 24 hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin (Left) with Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu. Sputnik Photo Agency / Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin or-
dered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, against the tsar in which several elite in Moscow. Arriving in the capital from never served in the army, and he did not Far more important, though, is Shoy-
Russian forces reached Kyiv. regiments tried to start a revolution.  Tuva, the region on the border with have a reputation among the military gu’s approach to military strategy and
Mongolia, just in time for the breakup hierarchy. Nor did his blunt leadership battle readiness. He has embraced high-
Even accounting for Russia’s vast- During the Soviet era, the govern- of the Soviet Union, he rapidly rose to style endear him to the old guard.   tech innovation, forming a cyber-com-
ly superior firepower, the speed of the ment was wary of the danger of the mil- prominence in the early 1990s as an mand and merging the air force and the
military advance has been startling. But itary gaining too much power, and the all-around trouble-shooter, becoming Consider Shoygu’s approach to uni- space force into the new Russian Aero-
it also has highlighted something else: KGB kept it under a watchful eye.   the minister of emergency situations, forms. According to sources in the mili- space Forces. He has also increased sal-
the extent to which the Kremlin’s entire a cabinet-level position that he himself tary, shortly after he became the defence aries for the officers’ corps. At the same
pressure campaign on Ukraine has been When he first came to power, Putin, invented. minister, Shoygu was walking along the time, he has made it almost impossible
driven by the Russia military.  a former KGB officer, stuck to Soviet corridors of the general staff headquar- for Russian youth to avoid army service.
tradition and promoted the security ser- In the 1990s  and the following de- ters in Moscow on Arbat when he spot- Yet above all were two early military suc-
In contrast to many previous efforts vices above the army. His first war, the cade, he cultivated an image as a brave ted a colonel in a grey suit.  cesses, which sealed Shoygu’s reputation
by Moscow to achieve political goals in one that began in Chechnya in 1999, and energetic  official who frequently with the Kremlin and helped give the
the West — or to exact retribution on a was run by the FSB, the successor to the visited the sites of natural disasters and According to the  old tradition,  the military new status within the govern-
perceived enemy — the Ukraine offen- KGB. The war was presented as a coun- terrorist bombings with an elite profes- officers of the general staff wore suits, ment.  
sive has not been driven by the Federal terterrorism operation, and the military sional rescue team; he even led some not military uniforms, but the practice Military success, where FSB failed
Security Service (FSB), Russia’s security was subordinated to the security service. rescue operations himself.  irritated Shoygu, who felt that officers Shoygu’s first military success, notably,
agency, which has often drawn the li- Meanwhile, Putin continued to rely on should dress for battle, not for the office. came in Ukraine. In 2014, when the
on’s share of Western attention. Instead, the FSB for keeping his elites under At the time, it was highly unusual He confronted the colonel and told him Euromaidan revolution erupted in Kyiv
it has been shaped from the outset by control and suppressing dissent, both in for a member of the post-Soviet elite to to report for duty the following week in against Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine’s
old-fashioned military power projec- the country and abroad. wear a field uniform and talk to victims a regiment in Siberia.  Russian-backed president, Putin’s first
tion: first by amassing an overwhelming Security over the military of a flood in Siberia  or a bombing in instrument of choice was the security
force on the border and then, with the By contrast, the military enjoyed little Moscow, as Shoygu did. His rapid-re- Only good connections saved the services. 
world watching, quickly and efficiently prestige. During those early years of Pu- sponse team — spearheaded by an air- colonel, but everybody got the point:
putting that force to use.  tin’s rule, Russians remembered too well borne unit of professional rescuers who Shoygu was serious about uniforms As per usual practice,  Putin  dis-
the failures in Afghanistan, as well as were always ready to jump on a plane and the suits had to go. Nor did he patched the FSB to Kyiv, where it was
In giving the military such a decisive two messy and bloody wars in Chechn- and go to any spot in the world where stop there. In 2017, Shoygu changed supposed to help local forces quash the
role, Putin is consolidating a dramatic ya that the army fought with outdated they might be needed — brought him the army dress uniform to make it re- uprising. But the FSB failed to stop
shift that has occurred in the Kremlin’s Soviet-era military equipment. The popularity both in the Russian leader- semble the Soviet uniform of 1945 — the protesters or prevent Yanukovych
security hierarchy over the past decade. younger generation made every effort ship and among ordinary Russians.  known in the military as the winner’s from fleeing the capital. As a result,
Whereas in earlier years, the army was to avoid conscription. As a result, many The public and Oligarchs  uniform.  Putin turned to the military, and under
not involved in Russian policymaking Western analysts did not spend much For Putin, Shoygu’s successful record Shoygu’s command, Crimea was swift-
and was kept subordinate to the security time scrutinising the Russian military: and large public profile made him a The new design became his uniform ly and efficiently annexed. Shoygu had
services, from whose ranks Putin him- to understand Putin, it was assumed, natural ally, and he quickly found him of choice when he  inspected military demonstrated that the military could
self came, in recent years, the army has one needed to fathom the inner work- useful to the Kremlin beyond his emer- parades on Red Square; it also, not succeed where the FSB had failed. 
taken on new importance, not only in ings of the security services. In 2012, gency missions. In 1999, Putin picked coincidentally, made him look like
Russia’s interactions with neighbouring however, Shoygu was appointed defence Shoygu to be one of the leaders of his Georgy Zhukov, Stalin’s vaunted field Soon after, Shoygu had another op-
countries but also in how policies are minister, and the fortunes of the mili- party, United Russia, giving him the op- marshal during World War II. (In an- portunity to show the military’s strength
shaped. At the same time, the military tary quietly began to change. portunity to tour the country and build other potential nod to history, Zhukov — this time, in a conflict much farther
has gained new public support at home.  a political base. More surprising, howev- is remembered not only as the Soviet away.
A veteran member of Russia’s politi- er, was Putin’s decision in 2012 to make Union’s most successful and ruthless
Previously regarded by many Rus- cal elite, Shoygu has had a notably du- Shoygu the minister of defence.  commander, but also as the man who ...to next page
sians as poorly run, underfunded, and rable career among the highest echelons helped get rid of Lavrenty Beria, Stalin’s
backward, it is now equipped with a An engineer by training, Shoygu had much-feared chief of the secret police,
new generation of technology and sup- after Stalin’s death).
ported by a military-industrial complex
that has growing reach in Russian so-
ciety. And with its newfound political
clout, it has emerged as one of the most
important institutions in Putin’s Russia. 

Leading this transformation is one
of the most ambitious members of
Putin’s inner circle: Sergey Shoygu. Al-
though he has received relatively little
attention in the West, Shoygu is a long-
time Kremlin insider who became the
defence minister in 2012. Moreover, in
contrast to the FSB, which has suffered
a series of setbacks and embarrassments
in recent years, Shoygu’s military has
enjoyed almost unbroken success going
back to the capture of Crimea in 2014
and the intervention in Syria a year lat-
er. Anyone seeking to understand why
Putin was willing to unleash Russian
troops, tanks, and planes in a hugely
risky invasion of Ukraine must look
first at the transformation of the Rus-
sian military under his powerful defence
chief.  
Guns without power
For nearly two centuries, the Russian
military, despite its importance in Rus-
sian society, was rarely involved in polit-
ical decision-making. Under Soviet rule,
the streets in some districts of Moscow
and in other big cities were dominated
by men in green uniforms. Military ser-
vice in Russia traditionally conferred a
degree of social prestige. 

In the later decades of the Soviet era,
the Kremlin promoted a mythology
about the armed forces shaped around
Russia’s heroic defeat of the Third Reich
in World War II. Yet through most of
the nineteenth and twentieth centuries,
the military never enjoyed much of a
voice in government. The last time the
Russian military played an independent
part in politics was probably in 1825,
during the failed Decembrist revolt

NewsHawks Ukraine Special Report Page 25

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

War in Ukraine has exposed liberal
Western media’s entrenched racism
When you have a systematic, across- are only good for two things — vod-
the-board demonstration of racism more about the people of Iraq than to the US used to be treated as “not before them were elevated to honor- ka and prostitutes”.
by all Western media channels, ev- Saddam Hussein.” She is now a ma- really white” till the Italians started ary white status. Incidentally “hon-
eryone just wants to ignore it and jor celebrity media talker and runs immigrating leading to the Irish be- orary white” isn’t a made up term — This slow mutation of unstated
pretend it never happened. her own crony company focusing on ing turned honorary white. The Ital- it’s a legal term employed by South reality into stated position has now
nepotistic connections for American ians suffered the same fate till Jews Africa’s Apartheid regime, who had become evident in press coverage.
Is it not curious how the loudest businesses without consequence. started migrating and Jews of course to designate the several non-whites Notice the cover of  Time  magazine
voices speaking against “white priv- Contrast this with the outrage over had to try double hard to play along as such, in order for them to avail when America started an entirely
ilege” for the last few years end up bombs falling on Ukraine, which with the WASPs or the White An- Japanese, Taiwanese and South Ko- unauthorised and illegal bombing of
being the most racist when you hold have resulted in around 200 civilian glo-Saxon Protestants. The New York rean business. What was legal termi- Serbia versus when Russia started its
them up against the spotlight. That deaths — not even a fraction of the Times’ owner, the Sulzbergers (them- nology in South Africa was unstated equally illegal bombing of Ukraine.
spotlight has been Ukraine where deaths caused by the US invasions, selves Jews), had to underplay their reality in America. In the past this But this time it goes much further.
the blatant and implicit racism of occupations and attacks on Afghani- Jewishness and suppress news of the unstated reality has been applied to Further because the primary guilt
the western press — clueless at the stan, Iraq, Syria and Libya. Holocaust even though they knew orthodox Christians, Eastern Euro- this time lies with Left-leaning or-
best of times — has come to the fore. about it early enough — simply to peans as well — as a former foreign ganisations that have been loudest
Mind you this isn’t simple rac- “fit in”. minister of a western country, who is about social justice and equality.
There are two levels of racism ism — it’s actually a complex phe- currently very vocal about Ukraine,
here — the innate racism of Western nomenon that also includes people The multiracial nature of immi- once told me over a scotch nine years Alan Macleod, a neutral media
Europe and North America towards deemed “not white enough”. Re- gration from the ‘60s and ‘70s meant ago, “Russia, Ukraine and Belarus critic, compiled a thread — some
Eastern Europe and the far more member, Irish Catholic immigrants that Jews like Italians and the Irish gems from it: The BBC got some-
blatant racism against the “brown one talking about why he was trau-
skinned”. While black lives have matised that “white people with
definitely begin to matter in Amer- blonde hair and blue eyes were be-
ica, black lives outside America have ing bombed”. A CBS correspondent
seldom, if at all, mattered. Take for claimed he was traumatised because
example how the world stood by and “This isn’t Iraq or Afghanistan …
did exactly nothing when the Rwan- This is a relatively civilised, relatively
dan Genocide broke out. At best we European city”. Ex-BBC Peter Dob-
would get human interest stories bie, now with Al Jazeera, produced
when the Second Congo War mor- this gem, “What’s compelling is
phed into the Kivu War — essential- looking at them, the way they are
ly Africa’s version of the World War, dressed. These are prosperous, mid-
with different countries supporting dle-class people. These are not ob-
different factions resulting in hun- viously refugees trying to get away
dreds of thousands of deaths and from the Middle East … or North
millions displaced. Honestly with- Africa. They look like any Europe-
out googling it, how many of you an family that you’d live next door
had heard of the Second Congo War, to.” The best was ultra woke NBC,
the Ituri War and the Kivu War? My “To put it bluntly, these are not ref-
guess would be almost none. Simi- ugees from Syria, these are refugees
larly we’ve seen zero empathy for from Ukraine … They’re Christians,
the “brown skinned” people of the they’re white. They’re very similar [to
world — not even a basic “brown us].”
lives matter” hashtag trend, if noth-
ing else. Understand — just because
things aren’t stated, doesn’t mean
Consider this.  The New York they’re not true. The fact is your lives
Times,  The Washington Post, BBC, simply don’t matter. Attacks on the
MSNBC (in all its previous avatars) western media as being “racist” in
were blatantly in support of horrif- the past have all been fended off say-
ic sanctions that killed hundred of ing this was Right-wing propaganda.
thousands of children in Iraq. The Ex-BBC journalist Nicola Careem’s
meanest cut was when liberal me- blatant and demonstrable lies during
dia darling and notoriously incom- Article 370 revocation and The New
petent and monumentally corrupt York Times’ disrespectful display of
“diplomat” Madeleine Albright — a Indian funeral pyres were apparently
product of the Clinton crony circuit journalism that “upset the right”, but
— was asked during her tenure as when you have a systematic, across-
US Secretary of State “if our coun- the-board demonstration of racism
try (can) delivers humanitarian sup- by all western media channels, it
plies and not death to the people of seems everyone just wants to ignore
Iraq (sic)”. Her concentration camp it and pretend it never happened.
guard-like response was: “We care
— News18.com

From previous page The man behind Putin’s military being shaped by an army that has openly
In the initial phase of the Syrian civ- ent stops across the country from Mos- before the sanctions were imposed, Sie- chief of foreign intelligence struggled embraced war — the bigger, the better.
il war, Russia’s ally, the Syrian dictator cow to Vladivostok, including Crimea; mens, the German company, provided for words, and the FSB director and the It is also being led by Shoygu, a man who
Bashar  al-Assad, seemed to be rapidly at many stops, it was met by jubilant engines for the Russian navy; today, the foreign minister acted as if they were has so far experienced only successes and
losing ground, and Putin’s diplomats crowds. In the wake of the successes in Ural Mining and Metallurgical Compa- automatons following commands. By who lacks the proper military training to
were not making much progress in sav- Crimea and Syria, popular support for ny, a Russian firm, holds that contract. contrast, Shoygu, having spent much of understand that a battlefield victory, no
ing the regime.  the military grew.  Meanwhile, Shoygu Buttressed by this combination of ris- the past decade building up the military matter how impressive, can sometimes
Once again, the army came to the began to enjoy a bigger military budget ing popular support and powerful ties into a powerful political force, sounded lead to an even larger political defeat.
rescue, carrying out a decisive military and a growing profile in the Kremlin. among the Russian elite, the military confident and ready to lead Russia head-
intervention in September 2015. At a In fact, the successes in Crimea and had emerged by 2017 as one of the most long into battle. — Foreign Affairs.
relatively low-cost to the Russian troops Syria had another important conse- powerful institutions in Russia.  *About the writers: Andrei Solda-
themselves, the military quickly turned quence: it brought the oligarchs closer In the weeks leading up to Russia’s in- tov is an investigative journalist and
around the course of the war, putting to the military and helped jump-start Over the past year, as Putin began vasion, many analysts doubted that Putin co-founder and editor of Agentura.
Assad back on track to survive and ulti- a new Russian military-industrial com- to plan his campaign in Ukraine, it was would actually launch such a large-scale ru, a watchdog of the Russian secret
mately triumph.  plex. Paradoxically, this effect was driven clear that he was no longer going to war of choice. But the militarization of services’ activities. He is a co-author,
It almost looked like Shoygu’s old by the Western  sanctions  imposed on look to the FSB for leadership. Instead, Russian society and the remaking of the with Irina Borogan, of  The Compa-
rapid-response airborne rescue unit had Russia’s elite following the annexation Shoygu and the newly revamped army military under Shoygu provided Putin triots: The Brutal and Chaotic History
rushed in — although now, it was fix- of Crimea.  Because of these penalties, would lead the way. Notably, when the with an overwhelming temptation, one of Russia’s Exiles, Émigrés, and Agents
ing Putin’s political problems rather than many oligarchs were losing money and Russian Security Council met on the eve that could not be slowed by intelligence Abroad.
helping people on the ground. contracts in the West; to compensate, of the invasion, the army seemed much misgivings or diplomatic considerations. Irina Borogan is an investigative
So successful and popular was the the Russian state  rushed to help them closer to Putin than his intelligence of- And now that the assault is violently journalist and co-founder and deputy
Syrian intervention that in 2019,  the by providing their companies with ficials did. After Putin announced his under way, the full implications of the editor of Agentura.ru. She is a co-au-
Russian army arranged a huge travel- huge  military contracts. For example, decision to recognize the self-proclaimed Kremlin’s new military strategy are be- thor, with Andrei Soldatov, of  The
ling exhibition of tanks, guns, and other republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, the coming clear. Not only is the campaign Compatriots: The Brutal and Chaotic
military hardware seized from Syria. It History of Russia’s Exiles, Émigrés, and
was transported by train to 60 differ- Agents Abroad.

Page 26 Ukraine Special Report NewsHawks

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

Ukraine conflict shows Africans still
fighting for their basic human rights

KAMOGELO SEGONE

THE fallout from Russia’s peace-building efforts are the bottom of the pile. this mean for Russia as a exports in 2021, economic
military attack on Ukraine, thwarted and human rights We often witness instanc- member of the BRICS com- development will be hindered
in which citizens of African are blatantly disregarded? munity in light of the hostile because our country’s econ-
countries caught up in the re- es of racist treatment met- environment they have creat- omy has been experiencing
gion have again been treated The crisis brought about by ed out to Africans when it ed which has placed African stagnating growth for de-
as second-class citizens, has war is not the reason for the is convenient for the West. people at risk? cades.
reminded us that humanity racist treatment meted out, For instance, African football
has a long way to go.  but it exposes the inherently players are hailed as heroes in Back home in South Africa, We need the government
discriminatory and down- France because of their skills, the war will negatively impact to outline a clear strategy on
Their basic needs such as right racist systems that re- yet as recently as 2021 they on the economy and African how this will be addressed.
water, food, shelter and safety main in place.  were the victims of racist in- women will yet again bear the Moreover, the government
have been secondary to those sults for losing a match. brunt because they are the needs to engage the public on
of Ukrainians who have been These systems are in place most marginalised when it the matter so that South Af-
given priority during this all over the world and can be The harsh reality of the comes to economic inequal- ricans from all backgrounds
conflict. In the Western gaze, seen even in formal institu- situation is that Africans in ity. The increase in the pet- have access to information
African people are not seen tions such as banks, for ex- Ukraine and neighbouring rol and paraffin prices alone about the situation. 
as human, an ugly truth that ample, where acquiring loans countries may be displaced means the cost of living will
has repeatedly reared its head and buying property is so because of the crisis unfold- be much higher, which will — Daily Maverick.
throughout history. much more of a challenge for ing in Ukraine.  deepen the racial and gender *About the writer: Kamo-
African people.  divide which is so apparent in gelo Segone is a research as-
As thousands of people Disturbing footage being the economy.  sistant at the University of
flood Ukraine’s borders to Discrimination is perpetu- circulated on social media and Johannesburg’s Institute for
seek refuge in neighbouring ated by society where the in- news platforms showing the Although the South Afri- Pan-African Thought and
countries, Africans trying to herently hierarchical system poor treatment of Africans can Revenue Service shows Conversation, and an MA
do the same have reported to keeps the white, heterosexual, requires African countries to that South African exports to candidate in Political Stud-
their embassies that they are Christian, able-bodied man at strategically plan and prepare Russia amounted to less than ies at Wits University.
being discriminated against. the top, trickling all the way to protect their people. What 0.4% of total merchandise
Reports on social media claim down to African women at plans are in place? What does
that border officials are in-
structing Africans to stand
in separate lines and to let
Ukrainian nationals cross the
border first.

This is disturbing and prob-
lematic and carries all the
oppressive hallmarks of colo-
nialism. It mirrors the treat-
ment experienced by Africans
whose homes became settler
colonies, such as in South Af-
rica. 

Those of us who were born
after segregation laws were
abolished are witnessing how
racism is still entrenched in
society, no matter where you
are in the world. Although
Polish and Ukrainian officials
have denied reports that Af-
rican people are experiencing
racism at the border between
Poland and Ukraine, videos
circulating on social media
contradict this.

The videos show officials
displaying a complete dis-
regard for human life and
for international law, which
is in place to protect all hu-
man beings. The videos al-
low the world to witness the
lived experiences of Africans,
whereby they are continually
pushed into the margins of
society — figuratively as well
as literally.

The situation on Poland’s
border begs the question, who
has the human right to safety
and security, and who does
not? How do internation-
al bodies such as the Unit-
ed Nations intervene where

NewsHawks Ukraine Special Report Page 27

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

Let the horror in Ukraine open our 
eyes to the misery of wars around us

As Ukrainian refugees scale over about as a result of a political and of policies as high as the heavens now on to Downing Street, the Home Of- mediate family members of British
one million and leave their land in media climate that has stripped the meets Ukrainians seeking to enter the fice was hoisting up the drawbridge, nationals normally living in Ukraine,
droves amid intensifying Russian humanity of those seeking refuge UK, even as family members. posting on its website: “Ukrainian or where the British national is living
shelling and bombing, too many so completely it has become a fact, nationals in Ukraine (who aren’t im- in the UK), are currently unable to
frame the invasion as an attack on repeated with no self-awareness or As the Ukrainian flag was projected make visa applications to visit, work,
“civilisation”, uniquely awful be- shame. study or join family in the UK.” Af-
cause it happened in Europe. That ter a barrage of criticism, the gov-
approach demeans us all. An extremely generous view of ernment  promised to ease these visa
these statements is that it is not, in it- rules, allowing the grandparents,
NESRINE MALIK self, an unusual impulse to care more adult children, siblings and adult par-
about, or be affected more, by events ents of Ukrainians who are settled in
VLADIMIR Putin’s bloody invasion happening closer to home than far- the UK to apply for visas under the
of Ukraine has sharpened two terrify- ther afield. Perhaps what these people scheme. Even those visa applications
ing realisations. are really trying to say is something that are allowed will have to navigate
along the lines of “this has not hap- an obstacle course of paperwork in
The first is that Putin does not pened in this patch in generations” in the middle of war.
function within the realm of the usual order to highlight the abnormality of
finely balanced checks and balances, this particular conflict. There is that. Exceptionalism means we are
sticks and carrots, that the west hoped doomed to repeat the complacencies
would contain him and maintain an But there is also much more to of the past, constantly comforting
uneasy truce in Europe. The second is it. There is an acceptance that war is ourselves that it can’t happen here,
that decades of work since the second natural in other places but an aberra- because it only happens elsewhere to
world war to learn from the mistakes tion here. That war happens only to others whose pain is somehow differ-
of the past and fortify against them in the poor and the uncivilised, not the ent from ours.
the future have failed. Here again, we well-off and stable. That the fates of
have not a civil war, but an invasion refuge and uprootedness are the lot of But their wars are no less unthink-
of a sovereign state in defiance of the others, and therefore less of an event. able, their uprootedness no less trau-
rest of the world. Here again, we have matic, their civilisation no less val-
images that are only known to us as These are beliefs that fall apart id, than the thousands now leaving
historical reels, of frenzy and panic as under the slightest of scrutiny to re- Ukraine.
thousands attempt to flee to safety. veal a worldview warped by what
has for too long been a popular, un- And in designing a world in which
But there is a third realisation that challenged discourse on refugees and we are sanguine about other people’s
appears to shape the perception of too asylum seekers. These opinions were war, we have ensured that we cannot
many western journalists justifiably shaped, concertedly and over time, in anticipate when war will happen on
appalled at the defiling of  Europe. order to justify inhumane and often our doorstep – and that when it does,
From the tone of much coverage, this violent policies passed to block peo- we are appalled, but then find our
seems uniquely distressing and more ple from entering European lands. humanitarian response systems hob-
alarming to them because the lives of For these policies to become accept- bled, calcified in cruelty.
non-Europeans have less value, and ed, their victims had to be portrayed
their conflicts are contained, far away as threatening and undeserving. *About the writer: Nesrine Malik
from us. is a Guardian columnist.
The legacy of that is a western
I thought it was just clumsy phras- world hostile to all those in need,
ing from a couple of reporters under blue-eyed or not. As ever, when we
pressure, but soon it became clear avert our eyes from the humanity
that it was, in fact, a media-wide tic. of one group of people, we end up
From Al Jazeera to CBS News, jour- building immigration systems that
nalists were appalled that this was not assail the humanity of all. A border
happening in “Iraq or Afghanistan”
but in a “relatively civilised Europe-
an city.” One said: “The unthinkable
has happened. This is not a devel-
oping, third world nation. This is
Europe.” Another reflected: “These
are prosperous middle-class people
… these are not obviously refugees
getting away from the Middle East.
To put it bluntly, these are not ref-
ugees from Syria, these are refugees
from  Ukraine  … They’re Christian,
they’re white, they’re very similar.”

Ukraine’s former deputy chief
prosecutor, David Sakvarelidze,  told
the BBC, unchallenged: “It’s very
emotional for me because I see Euro-
pean people with blue eyes and blond
hair being killed.” 

Daniel Hannan, Telegraph colum-
nist, former MEP, Lord Hannan of
Kingsclere; put it more bluntly, writ-
ing  that those suffering in Ukraine
“seem so like us. That is what makes
it so shocking … War is no longer
something visited upon impoverished
and remote populations. It can hap-
pen to anyone.” It is, he said: “civili-
sation in retreat.” 

This strange account of a history in
which wars, conflict and dispossession
mostly happened in “third world”
and “remote” countries (remote from
whom?) is a fiction that has come

Page 28 Ukraine Special Report NewsHawks

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he
has put his nuclear arsenal is a state of pre-

Nuclear weapons threat: Who paredness amid his invasion of Ukraine,

while he is shelling bombing old nuclear
facilities in the neighbouring country.
To understand, the history and current dy-

has what stockpile at a glancenamics of nuclear powers and their stock-

piles, we provide the narrative below.

AT the dawn of the nuclear age, the Unit- veloping tactical nuclear weapons capa- by the NPT. The treaty recognises these In 2020, the US Department of De-
ed States hoped to maintain a monopoly bilities to counter perceived Indian con- states’ nuclear arsenals, but under Article fence estimated that China had an op-
on its new weapon, but the secrets and ventional military threats. North Korea VI of the NPT they are not supposed to erational nuclear warhead stockpile in
the technology for building the atomic continues its nuclear pursuits in violation build and maintain such weapons in per- the low-200s but projected that number
bomb soon spread. The United States of its earlier denuclearization pledges. petuity. In 2000, the NWS committed could double over the next decade. China
conducted its first nuclear test explosion themselves to an “unequivocal undertak- has since accelerated its nuclear develop-
in July 1945 and dropped two atomic The world's nuclear-armed states pos- ing…to accomplish the total elimination ment, and the Defence Department esti-
bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and sess a combined total of about 13,080 of their nuclear arsenals.” Because of the mates, as of 2021, that China may have
Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945.  nuclear warheads. North Korea, the secretive nature with which most govern- up to 700 deliverable nuclear warheads
ninth nuclear-weapon state, is estimated ments treat information about their nu- by 2027 and 1,000 by 2030.
Just four years later, the Soviet Union to have produced enough fissile material clear arsenals, most of the figures below
conducted its first nuclear test explosion. for 40-50 warheads, although the actual are best estimates of each nuclear-weapon France: About 290 warheads.
The United Kingdom (1952), France size of its stockpile remains unknown. state’s nuclear holdings, including both Russia:  September 2021  New START
(1960), and China (1964) followed. strategic warheads and shorter-range and declaration: 1 458 strategic warheads de-
Seeking to prevent the nuclear weapon Nuclear-weapon states:  The nucle- lower-yield nuclear bombs, generally re- ployed on 527 intercontinental ballistic
ranks from expanding further, the Unit- ar-weapon states (NWS) are the five states ferred to as tactical nuclear weapons. missiles, submarine-launched ballistic
ed States and other like-minded countries — China, France, Russia, United King- missiles, and strategic bombers.
negotiated the nuclear Non-proliferation dom, and the United States — officially China: About 350 total warheads. The Federation of American Scien-
Treaty (NPT) in 1968 and the Compre- recognised as possessing nuclear weapons tists (FAS)  estimates  that Russia's mili-
hensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) tary stockpile consists of approximately
in 1996. 4,497 nuclear warheads, with 1 760 addi-
tional retired warheads awaiting disman-
India, Israel, and Pakistan never signed tlement, as of January 2021.
the NPT and possess nuclear arsenals. United Kingdom:  About  225  strate-
Iraq initiated a secret nuclear programme gic warheads, of which an estimated 120
under Saddam Hussein before the 1991 are deployed and 105 are in storage. The
Persian Gulf War. North Korea an- United Kingdom possesses a total of four
nounced its withdrawal from the NPT in Vanguard-class Trident nuclear-powered
January 2003 and has successfully tested ballistic missile submarines, which to-
advanced nuclear devices since that time. gether form its exclusively sea-based nu-
Iran and Libya have pursued secret nu- clear deterrent.
clear activities in violation of the treaty’s United States: September 2021  New
terms, and Syria is suspected of having START declaration: 1 389 strategic
done the same. Still, nuclear non-prolif- nuclear warheads deployed on 665 in-
eration successes outnumber failures, and tercontinental ballistic missiles, sub-
dire decades-old forecasts that the world marine-launched ballistic missiles, and
would soon be home to dozens of nucle- strategic bombers.
ar-armed have not come to pass. The United States also has an estimat-

At the time the NPT was concluded,
the nuclear stockpiles of both the United
States and the Soviet Union/Russia num-
bered in the tens of thousands.

Beginning in the 1970s, US and So-
viet/Russian leaders negotiated a series
of bilateral arms control agreements and
initiatives  that limited, and later helped
to reduce, the size of their nuclear arse-
nals.

Today, the United States deploys  1
357 and Russia deploys  1 456  strategic
warheads on several hundred bombers
and missiles, and are modernising their
nuclear delivery systems. Warheads are
counted using the provisions of the New
START agreement, which was extended
for five years in January 2021.

New START caps each country at 1
550 strategic deployed warheads and at-
tributes one deployed warhead per de-
ployed heavy bomber, no matter how
many warheads each bomber carries.

Warheads on deployed ICBMs and
SLBMs are counted by the number of
re-entry vehicles on the missile. Each
re-entry vehicle can carry one warhead.

Both Russia and China also possess
smaller numbers of non-strategic (a.k.a.
tactical) nuclear warheads, which are not
subject to any treaty limits.

China, India, and Pakistan are all pur-
suing new ballistic missile, cruise missile,
and sea-based nuclear delivery systems.
In addition, Pakistan has lowered the
threshold for nuclear weapons use by de-

NewsHawks Ukraine Special Report Page 29

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

ed 100 B-61 nuclear gravity bombs that Pakistan:  Approximately 165 nuclear it is restricted by the nuclear deal. Iran 2022, the IAEA's investigation into Iran's
are forward-deployed at six NATO bases warheads. has taken steps to breach those limits in past nuclear activities is ongoing. 
in five European countries: Aviano and response to the US withdrawal from the
Ghedi in Italy; Büchel in Germany; Incir- States that Declared Their With- JCPOA and reimposition of sanctions Syria: September 2007: Israel con-
lik in Turkey; Kleine Brogel in Belgium; drawal from the NPT: North Korea but maintains that it does not intend to ducted an airstrike on what US officials
and Volkel in the Netherlands. The total joined the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon pursue nuclear weapons. Iran’s nuclear alleged was the construction site of a nu-
estimated US B-61 stockpile amounts to state but announced its withdrawal from program remains subjected to safeguards clear research reactor similar to North
230. the NPT in 2003 — a move that has not by the IAEA, including continuous sur- Korea’s Yongbyon reactor.
been legally recognised by the other NPT veillance at certain facilities, put in place
On 5 October 2021, the US State member states. North Korea has tested by the JCPOA.  The extent of Syrian-North Korean
department issued a  declassification an- nuclear devices and nuclear-capable bal- nuclear cooperation is unclear but is be-
nouncement  indicating that the total listic missiles. Uncertainty persists about In 2007, Israel bombed a site in Syria lieved to have begun in 1997.
number of US  “active” and “inactive” how many nuclear devices North Korea that was widely assessed to be a nuclear
warheads is 3 750 as of September 2020. has assembled. reactor being constructed with North Investigations into the US claims un-
The stockpile figures do not include re- Korea's assistance. Syria has refused to covered traces of undeclared man-made
tired warheads and those awaiting dis- North Korea: Estimated as of January cooperate with the International Atomic uranium particles at both the site of the
mantlement. FAS  estimates  there are 1 2021 to have approximately 40-50  war- Energy Agency's attempts to investigate. destroyed facility and Syria’s declared re-
750 retired warheads awaiting dismantle- heads. search reactor.
ment, for a total of 5 550 warheads as of Iran: No known weapons or sufficient
early 2021. While there is a high degree of uncer- fissile material stockpiles to build weap- Syria has not adequately cooperated
tainty surrounding North Korea's fis- ons. with the IAEA to clarify the nature of
Non-NPT Nuclear Weapons Posses- sile material stockpile and production, the destroyed facility and procurement
sors: India, Israel, and Pakistan never particularly on the uranium enrichment The International Atomic Energy efforts that could be related to a nuclear
joined the NPT and are known to possess side, North Korea is estimated to have Agency (IAEA), the institution charged program.
nuclear weapons. 20-40 kilogrammes of plutonium and with verifying that states are not illicit-
250-500 kilogrammes of highly enriched ly building nuclear weapons, concluded States that had nuclear weapons or
India first tested a nuclear explosive uranium. The estimated annual produc- in 2003 that Iran had undertaken covert nuclear weapons programmes at one
device in 1974. That test spurred Paki- tion of fissile material is enough for six to nuclear activities to establish the capacity time: Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine
stan to ramp up work on its secret nucle- seven weapons. to indigenously produce fissile material. inherited nuclear weapons following the
ar weapons programme. Soviet Union’s 1991 collapse, but re-
North Korea operates its five-megawatt July 2015: Iran and six world powers turned them to Russia and joined the
India and Pakistan both publicly heavy-water graphite-moderated reactor negotiated a long-term agreement to veri- NPT as non-nuclear-weapon states.
demonstrated their nuclear weapon capa- to extract plutonium for its nuclear war- fy and significantly reduce Iran's capacity
bilities with a round of tit-for-tat nuclear heads and has done so on an intermittent to produce material for nuclear weapons. South Africa secretly developed but
tests in May 1998. basis since August 2013. There has also subsequently dismantled its small num-
been intermittent activity at North Ko- As part of this agreement, the IAEA ber of nuclear warheads and also joined
Israel has not publicly conducted a nu- rea's reprocessing facility since 2016, in- and Iran concluded an investigation into the NPT in 1991.
clear test, does not admit or deny hav- dicating that Pyongyang has likely sepa- Iran’s past nuclear weapons-related activ-
ing nuclear weapons, and states that it rated plutonium from the reactor's spent ities. The agency concluded that Iran had Iraq had an active nuclear weapons
will not be the first to introduce nuclear fuel. an organised programme to pursue nucle- programme prior to the 1991 Persian
weapons in the Middle East. Neverthe- ar weapons prior to 2003. Some of these Gulf War, but was forced to verifiably
less, Israel is universally believed to pos- North Korea unveiled a centrifuge fa- activities continued through 2009, but dismantle it under the supervision of UN
sess nuclear arms, although it is unclear cility in 2010. It is likely that Pyongyang there were no indications of weaponisa- inspectors. The US-led March 2003 in-
exactly how many. is using that facility to produce highly tion activities taking place after that date. vasion of Iraq and subsequent capture of
enriched uranium for weapons. US in- Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein definitive-
The following arsenal estimates are telligence suggests that there are several In 2020, the IAEA launched a new ly ended his regime’s pursuit of nuclear
based on the amount of fissile material additional centrifuge facilities in North investigation into Iran’s possible unde- weapons.
— highly enriched uranium and plutoni- Korea. clared nuclear activities. While the inves-
um — that each of the states is estimated tigation concerns materials and activities Libya voluntarily renounced its secret
to have produced. Fissile material is the States of Immediate Proliferation from the pre-2003 period, the Agency nuclear weapons efforts in December
key element for making nuclear weapons. Concern: Prior to the implementation of remains tasked with determining what, 2003. Argentina, Brazil, South Korea,
India and Israel are believed to use pluto- the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, if any, materials or activities were omit- and Taiwan also shelved nuclear weapons
nium in their weapons, while Pakistan is Iran pursued a uranium enrichment pro- ted from Iran’s initial declarations to the programmes.
thought to use highly enriched uranium. gramme and other projects that provided IAEA. At the June 2020 Board of Gover-
it with the capability to produce bomb- nors meeting, IAEA member states passed Sources: Arms Control Association,  Fed-
India:    Approximately 156  nuclear grade fissile material and develop nuclear a resolution calling on Iran to comply eration of American Scientists, Interna-
warheads. weapons, if it chose to do so. Iran’s urani- fully with the ongoing investigation into tional Panel on Fissile Materials,  US De-
um enrichment program continues, but its past nuclear activities. As of January partment of Defence, US Department of
Israel:  An estimated  90 nuclear war- State, and Stockholm International Peace
heads, with fissile material for up to 200. Research Institute.

– armscontrol.org

Page 30 Ukraine Special Report NewsHawks

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

Here's what we know about the 40-mile-long
Russian tanks convoy outside Ukraine's capital

FIR days, residents of Kyiv had been bracing congestion. The column has made little discern- jor military operation. have been built for years," he said in a Facebook
themselves for a 40-mile-long convoy of Russian ible progress in over three days," the UK state- Martti Kari, who previously served as Fin- post.
tanks, armored vehicles, and towed artillery to ar- ment said.
rive for an assault on the Ukrainian capital. land's assistant chief of defense intelligence, told The latest assessments on the convoy comes
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Wednes- CNN that being stranded like this is bad for mo- after the Russian military issued its first casual-
Days later, they're still waiting. day night that while the convoy and Russia's rale for two reasons. "First, the Ukrainians have ty figures from the war, saying 498 of its troops
On Thursday,  US intelligence suggested  that broader push towards Kyiv "remains stalled," drones and aircraft that could attack the convoy. had died and another 1,597 had been injured.
the convoy was still stalled some distance from there was a significant concern "that maybe the Second, when you sit around in the same place The UK statement on Thursday said "the actual
Kyiv, backing claims made by both the Ukrainian window is closing to be able to get aid into cities rumors circulate that affect your mindset. So you number of those killed and wounded will almost
government and UK's defense ministry. that may become under siege." become nervous and tired, which is not a good certainly be considerably higher and continue to
"We still assess that the convoy that every- combination." rise."
body's been focused on is stalled. We have no A senior US defense official told reporters on
reason to doubt Ukrainian claims that they have, that although the convoy is suffering shortages of The convoy is believed to have entered Ukraine Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov ex-
that they have contributed to it being stalled by fuel and food, the US has assessed that the Rus- via Belarus, a key ally of Putin where Russia had pressed "great sorrow" over Russian military ca-
attacking it," a senior US official told reporters. sians "will again learn from these missteps and moved huge numbers of troops in recent weeks sualties on Thursday morning.
Earlier in the day, the UK's defense ministry these stumbles and will try to overcome them." to carry out what they called joint exercises.
said the convoy appears to have stalled some 30 When the exercises ended, the troops didn't leave But Russia appeared to be meeting less resis-
kilometers (19 miles) outside Kyiv and had made The convoy's stalled progress could create and satellite images actually showed that Russia tance in southern Ukraine, where the mayor of
"little discernible progress" over the past three multiple strategic problems for Russia. increased their military presence in the country. the strategically important city of Kherson on the
days, citing intelligence. Black Sea indicated that Russian forces had seized
"The main body of the large Russian column First, as the key Russian supply line for any Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky control, though claims remain disputed.
advancing on Kyiv remains over 30 km from the major assault on Kyiv, it is a very large sitting tar- claimed on Wednesday night that the fierce
center of the city, having been delayed by staunch get for Ukrainian forces fighting back against the Ukrainian resistance had dented Russian morale. And the crucial southeastern Ukrainian city of
Ukrainian resistance, mechanical breakdown and invasion. Mariupol came under siege from Russian forces
"More and more occupiers are fleeing back to Thursday, as Moscow seeks to tighten its grip on
Second, sitting in a 40-mile-long traffic jam Russia, from us, from you ... we are a nation that the south of the country.
for days at a time could take its toll on the morale broke the enemy's plans in a week — plans those
and discipline of Russian soldiers ahead of a ma- — CNN.

NewsHawks Editorial & Opinion Page 31

Issue 70, 4 March 2022 CARTOON

Mnangagwa’s
dangerous game

THE spectre of 2008 is with us once again and the signs Ukraine War racism scandalous
are ominous as Zimbabweans drift into yet another bloody
election. WHILE the invasion of Ukraine by Russia commentary. On BBC, David Sakvarelidze, former
and the subsequent campaign of bombing, Trying to put context and dramatise the deputy prosecutor-general of Ukraine,
Nobody should be surprised. The architects of that vio- killing and destruction, as well as displace- made it worse: “European people with blue
lent election 14 years ago are still around — in fact, they ment of Ukrainians on a massive scale, was Russian invasion, some reporters, corre- eyes and blond hair being killed, children
now totally control the levers of state power and will not alarming, one thing was unexpected in all spondents and pundits veered into a trou- being killed every day” in his country.
hesitate to unleash their fury on perceived political oppo- this: Racism. bling narrative on race, class and status.
nents. Daniel Hannan, a former Conservative
It first manifested itself when Ukrainian These racist scripts started describing member of European Parliament, fuelled
To better understand what is happening, it is useful security authorities started blocking Ukraine as more “civilised” than other the problem in London’s Telegraph news-
to look back at that catastrophic election in 2008 which Blacks, Indians, Asians and Arabs, main- countries, such as Iraq, Afghanistan or Syr- paper: “They seem so like us. That is what
left hundreds of opposition supporters dead, maimed and ly students at different universities, from ia. Inevitably Africa was in the frame. makes it so shocking. War is no longer
raped. boarding buses and trains to escape war to something visited upon impoverished and
neighbouring countries. In a CBS News bulletin, senior foreign remote populations. It can happen to any-
The MDC’s founding leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, correspondent Charlie D’Agata, reporting one.”
stunned the world when he defeated one of the most cruel In the midst of Russian attacks and kill-
dictatorships in the world. ings, some people still had time for racist Hawk Eye Analysts say these remarks reflect Ori-
indulgence. Imagine how those people entalist concepts of “civilisation” that have
Robert Mugabe, the independence icon-turned-tyrant, would be like in peaceful times. Dumisani long been present in European colonial
was humiliated at the ballot box. After Tsvangirai spec- Muleya discourse and narrative. War is made to
tacularly outpolled Mugabe, bogus results were concocted Stories and video footage of incidents in appear like an African or Middle East
by jittery securocrats, dragging the country into a bloody which black people were being barred from from Kyiv, said Ukraine “isn’t a place, with phenomenon, not an economic, territori-
run-off. jumping into buses and trains began to fil- all due respect, like Iraq or Afghanistan, al or geopolitical contestation.
ter through a few days into the invasion. that has seen conflict raging for decades.
Mugabe and his shock troops murdered countless citi- They initially appeared like isolated cases, This is a relatively civilised, relatively Euro- It is not even acknowledged or under-
zens, all in a desperate bid to cling onto power. but as time went by it became clear it was pean — I have to choose those words care- stood by some that most wars in Africa
widespread and systematic. fully, too — city, where you wouldn’t ex- and the Middle East, for instance, have
Emmerson Mnangagwa was Mugabe’s brutal enforcer pect that or hope that it’s going to happen.” roots or links with global power matrices
for decades. It comes as no surprise that his default in- That seemed to reflect not just aberra- and geopolitical manoeuvres by big pow-
stinct, whenever he is politically cornered, is to resort to tions, but entrenched structural racism That went viral, and D’Agata, a veteran ers. Wars in most resource-rich countries
violence. in society. The scenes of blatant discrimi- war correspondent, had to apologise, say- are started or fuelled from outside. Or out-
nation shocked the “civilised” world; not ing he had “used a poor choice of words” siders profit from them.
The slaughter of unarmed civilians by soldiers on 1 Au- the one some Western media outlets usu- which he regretted. Perhaps, but that
gust 2018 was a stark reminder of Mnangagwa’s well-doc- ally talk about, but the one that embrac- seemed to be subliminal racism. Global media, in fact all media, has an
umented track record. es humanity regardless of colour, creed or obligation, not just to do the basics; that is
religion. That’s what being civilised should ITV News correspondent Lucy Watson report factually, impartially and truthfully,
The brazen killings, in the full glare of international mean at least. filed from a train station in Kyiv that the but also watch out for pigeonholing news
election observers and media cameras, was the defining “unthinkable” had happened to the people and lacing stories with prejudice and ste-
moment which convinced the global community that For one can’t be a racist or a tribalist, and of Ukraine. “This is not a developing third- reotypes, some racist or tribal.
Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF are incapable of reform. still claim to be civilised while harbouring world nation,” she said.
primitive instincts. People should be busy focusing on un-
He has largely ignored the recommendations of the “This is Europe.” derstanding the root cause of the Ukraine
Motlanthe Commission of Inquiry. Not a single murderer Just when people thought the barring war, its historical and geopolitical dynam-
has been brought to justice for the 2018 atrocities, despite of black students from using buses and ics and impact; addressing its resultant hu-
the availability of video evidence and plenty of witnesses. trains to run away from Russian shelling manitarian crisis and finding lasting solu-
and bombing was bad enough, then came tions to it.
Fast track to 2022. Here we are, on the verge of violent the problem of prejudiced reportage and
elections.

Last year’s assassination attempts on opposition lead-
er Nelson Chamisa were a harbinger of the huge storm
ahead.

The murder of Mboneni Ncube by Zanu PF thugs at
last week’s opposition Citizens’ Coalition for Change rally
in Kwekwe is tragic.

The day before that cold-blooded killing, we saw the
police illegally blockading the CCC from holding a rally
in Gokwe.

Mnangagwa and his government are now playing a very
dangerous game. When they use authoritarian tactics to
prevent the opposition from convening election rallies,
they are sowing the seeds of extremism and radicalism.

Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, who behaves as
though he owns the title deeds to the republic, must be
told in no uncertain terms that his genocidal utterances
are unacceptable.

The systematic persecution of citizens on political
grounds is a crime against humanity. In that connection,
the Southern African Development Community and the
African Union must take action now before it is too late.

These continental bodies are quick to denounce the
racist treatment of Africans in Ukraine — and they are
indeed correct to call out the blatant discrimination —
but they must not conveniently turn a blind eye when the
Zimbabwean authorities persecute citizens.

If the opposition has been banned, Mnangagwa and
Chiwenga must come out in the open and just say so.

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, Nyasha Chingono, Enoch Muchinjo, Moses Matenga,
est. Doug Coltart Jonathan Mbiriyamveka Telephone: 024-2778096 or 024-2778006,
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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

ZIMBABWE’S plan to develop one of the Impala stalls US$4bn platinum
world’s biggest platinum mines stalled after project over shadowy Kuvimba
Impala Platinum Holdings Limited asked for
greater transparency on the ownership of a Kuvimba has said that Tagwirei has noth- Businessman Kuda Tagwirei
state-run company before considering a joint ing to do with the company but it has not
venture. explained how it came to control the assets,
which include gold and nickel operations.
Impala, the third-largest producer of plati-
num group metals, was approached by Great Impala has a listing in the US and assets
Dyke Investments Ltd which owns the Dar- in Canada, meaning that it will need to com-
wendale project, said two people familiar with ply with any instructions regarding Tagwirei
the talks who asked not to be identified be- issued by the US Treasury. Tagwirei has also
cause they are not public. It wants more in- been sanctioned by the UK.
formation about the government’s Kuvimba
Mining House Ltd, which is 35% owned by Bloomberg in May reported on a trove of
private shareholders the state has yet to iden- emails, documents and WhatsApp messages
tify. that delineated the links between Tagwirei and
Sotic and the Financial Times and The Sentry
Kuvimba and Russian tycoon Vitaliy followed with reports giving details of the rela-
Machitskiy’s Vi Holding each own 50% of tionship. The documents and communication
Great Dyke. seen by Bloomberg showed his participation in
company decision-making and demonstrated
While Zimbabwe’s government says it con- that he at least partially controlled Sotic.
trols Kuvimba, its assets are the same as those
that were owned until at least late 2020 by So- An agreement with Impala would have made
tic International Ltd, a company linked to Ku- it easier for financiers led by Cairo-based Afri-
dakwashe Tagwirei, an adviser to Zimbabwean can Export-Import Bank to raise the funding
President Emmerson Mnangagwa. for the project, the people said. Afreximbank’s
head of southern Africa, Humphrey Nwugo,
Tagwirei was sanctioned in 2020 by the declined to comment, citing client confiden-
United States Treasury, which alleged that he tiality.
bribed government officials and used political
influence to win lucrative state deals. Tagwirei Impala owned the land upon which the
has not commented on the sanctions. Darwendale project is based until 2006, when
it ceded a substantial portion of its mining
The opacity of Kuvimba’s ownership has ef- concessions in the country after pressure to do
fectively halted development of the Darwen- so from the government of former President
dale mine, 65 kilometres (40 miles) east of Robert Mugabe.
Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, leaving the project
that is central to Zimbabwe’s economic recov- Zimbabwe has the world’s third-biggest re-
ery stagnant. A project by Eurasian Resources serves of platinum group metals. — BLOOMBERG.
Group on land taken from Anglo American
Platinum Ltd has also stalled, as have Tharisa (BY FELIX NJINI AND GODFREY MARAWANYIKA
Plc’s plans for a new platinum mine.
Zimbabwe has the world’s third-biggest reserves of platinum group metals.
The talks between Great Dyke and Impa-
la unravelled after the Johannesburg-based
mining company said its internal processes
required that it conduct due diligence on the
project and its ownership, the people said. Im-
pala had contemplated taking a stake, as well
as processing its output, the sources said.

Zimbabwe’s ministry of Mines referred que-
ries to the ministry of Finance, which did not
respond to questions. Tagwirei did not answer
calls to his mobile or immediately respond to
text messages. Impala declined to comment.

Alex Ivanov, the chief executive officer of
Great Dyke, did not respond to a request for
comment. Igor Higer, Great Dyke’s vice-chair-
person, confirmed the receipt of questions and
said he would respond. He has yet to do so.

Simba Chinyemba, Kuvimba’s CEO, said by
email that the mine plan is being remodelled
and an open pit rather than underground mine
may be developed.

While open-pit mining is cheaper, one of
the people said ultimately an underground
mine would need to be dug to fully exploit the
ore body and a partner would be needed to
process the ore.

Chinyemba said the start of construction
would depend on the study and declined to
comment on the talks with Impala or the iden-
tity of Kuvimba’s shareholders.

Great Dyke needs a partner to help fund the
mine, which could ultimately cost US$2 bil-
lion and potentially produce 860 000 ounces
of platinum group metals annually, and pro-
cess its ore. It has been battling to raise $650
million to get the project underway with ini-
tial production originally scheduled for next
year, the people said.

NewsHawks Companies & Markets Page 33

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

THE high inflation rate remains a major threat to High inflation a constant
the banking sector’s profitability, with its viability threat to banking sector
seen heavily dependent on the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe’s ability control what has proven to be mained adequately capitalised. gate core capital from ZW$53.18 billion as of 31 December 2021, mainly as a result of the signifi-
the elephant in the room. The sector recorded a 19.20% increase in aggre- December 2020 to ZW$100.83 billion as of 31 cant growth in retained earnings. — STAFF WRITER.

The RBZ adopted a tight monetary contrac-
tion policy in 2021, which resulted in the annual
inflation rate dropping from 349% in December
2020 to 60.74% in December 2021 and 60.71%
in January 2022.

Research firm IH Securities, in its recent 2022
equity strategy, however believes this will be an ar-
duous task for the central bank, considering the
country is also importing inflation from global
price upticks taking place.

Over the past few years, Zimbabwean bank-
ing sector performance has been characterised by
sub-inflation interest rates, very low loan-to-de-
posit ratios (LDR), and negative real return on
assets (ROA) ratios.

IH said the poor performance in LDR is due
to the short-term structure of most deposits and
the sub-inflation interest rates which discourage
lending.

In October 2021, the central bank also revised
overnight lending rates from 40% to 60%.

“Under these new operating conditions, we
expect an increase in long-term deposits as we
anticipate an uptick in savings. We also forecast
aggregate deposits to continue on an upward
trajectory as the local currency depreciates and
higher conversion factor is used to translate US
dollar-denominated deposits to RTGS. As of De-
cember 2021 foreign currency deposits stood at
circa US$1.7 billion. We expect aggregate loans to
inch up on the back of the anticipated increase of
long-term deposits and the potential for banks to
make profits in real terms,” IH said.

IH forecasts an increase in loans, especially to-
wards agriculture and mining, as the country em-
barks on expanding production loan-to-deposit
ratios is seen registering an uptick in 2022 on the
back of the monetary policy impact on banking.

“We, however, expect non-performing loans to
total loans ratio to slightly increase in 2022 but
still remain lower than the generally accepted in-
ternational threshold of 5%. We believe the nega-
tive effects of Covid-19 on loan performance will
persist in 2022. Non-funded income is expected
to keep on surging owing to an increase in digi-
tisation which was accelerated by the Covid-19
pandemic,” IH said.

Nevertheless, profitability for the industry as
measured by return on equity and return on assets
(ROA) is expected to moderate as costs continue
to dollarise.

This is the expected to drive up electricity and
fuel costs thus putting margins under pressure.

Zimbabwe’s banking sector has, however, re-

MINING sector export earnings are this year Mining expects upswing in earnings
expected to rise to US$5.5 billion from US$5.2
billion recorded in the prior year buoyed by firm Mineral output growth for 2022 is expecte to planning to ramp up production by an average country’s major mining companies painted a
commodity prices and ramped up production, surpass the government target of 8%, the Cham- of 5% for platinum group metals to as high as gloomy picture of the operating and investment
the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe says in its ber added. 32% for the diamond sector, largely incentivised climate for the sector in the coming year despite
2022 Economic Outlook. by the favourable commodity prices. projecting a bullish economic outturn. — STAFF
Findings of the State of Mining Industry Re-
The capital-intensive sector is the largest for- port show that mining industry executives are Last year, 70% of top executives running the WRITER.
eign exchange earner, accounting for more than
60% of export receipts driven by gold and plat-
inum.

The Chamber of Mines said anticipated re-
covery in mineral output and favourable com-
modity prices will spur mineral export earnings
after the sector emerged from Covid-induced
contraction.

The sector, according to the report, generated
a record US$5.2 billion in export earnings (83%
of aggregate exports), compared to US$3.2 bil-
lion in 2020, largely benefitting from firm com-
modity prices. Between 2020 and 2021, many
commodity prices rose sharply reaching all-time
high levels.

Notwithstanding the buoyant outlook and
inherent potential of the mining industry, key
risks to the outlook include: inadequate foreign
exchange allocations (to fund operational re-
quirements and expansion projects; loss of value
on the surrender portion of export proceeds due
to exchange rate disparities; capital shortages;
erratic and inadequate power supply; high-cost
structure and infrastructure bottlenecks, the
Chamber said.

“Improving the operating environment
through adequate supportive measures will un-
lock the full potential of the mining sector and
ensure the country benefits from the current
commodity price boom.”

Page 34 Companies & Markets NewsHawks

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

DUMISANI NYONI Zim’s trade deficit widens
by 24% to US$1.5 billion
ZIMBABWE’S trade deficit widened by 24%
to US$1.54 billion last year despite the author- The country’s exports were dominated by primary commodities.
ities projecting that the current account would
remain positive in the face of vulnerabilities in product exports is that the country might run with a void. centrates and nickel mattes were exported in
the global economy. out of its finite primary products, for example In its commentary for the December 2021 semi-processed form, while nickel ores (includ-
precious metals could become scarce. Without ing platinum group metals) are exported in raw
Latest data from the Zimbabwe National diversification, this would leave the economy trade data, ZimStat noted that major minerals form.
Statistics Agency (ZimStat) show that in 2021, produced in the country such as nickel con-
the country exported goods and services worth
US$6.03 billion against imports of US$7.57
billion, giving a trade deficit of US$1.54 bil-
lion.

During the corresponding period in 2020,
exports stood at US$4.39 billion with imports
at US$5.64 billion, resulting in the country ex-
periencing a negative trade balance of US$1.25
billion.

The widening trade deficit, according to
analysts, is mainly attributed to the economic
instability experienced in Zimbabwe, as well as
the volatility of the South African rand to the
US dollar.

The authorities had projected that the cur-
rent account would remain positive despite
vulnerabilities in the global economy, driven
by continued recovery of exports and imports,
coupled with an increase in remittances and an
efficient foreign exchange market auction sys-
tem which prioritises allocating foreign curren-
cy to industry raw materials, rather than con-
sumptive goods.

It was also projected that the growth in ex-
ports would be driven mainly by increased pro-
duction and productivity riding on a stable do-
mestic macro-economic environment.

Imports were said to grow in line with the
re-opening of the economy and attendant
growth prospects.

The bulk of the country’s imports in the pe-
riod under review remained heavily skewed to-
wards consumptive products, which comprise
fuel, wheat, medicines and vehicles.

For instance, fuel gobbled up US$492.23
million (excluding US$465.70 million free
funds used to import fuel), crude soyabean oil
(US$222.53 million), electricity (US$148.53
million), maize (US$111.97 million), vaccine
for humans (US$202.86 million) and rice at
US$118.06 million.

Zimbabwe’s exports were dominated by pri-
mary commodities, with nickel ores and con-
centrates accounting for US$1.03 billion, nick-
el mattes (US$1.25 billion), gold (US$1.61
billion), tobacco (US$756.28m), ferro-chro-
mium (US$295.82 million), unwrought plat-
inum (US$204.89 million) and diamonds at
US$165.69 million.

One of the challenges of relying on primary

Listed companies fail environmental compliance

BERNARD MPOFU need for some companies to reconstitute their will start making more disclosures.” panies will disclose more so that we attract more
boards to ensure that issues of ESGs are taken se- Gerald Dzangare, the Securities and Exchange capital,” Dzangare said.
ONLY about 20 out of 56 active companies on riously,” Ndamba said.
the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) are com- Commission of Zimbabwe acting chief executive, According to the statutory instrument, listed
plying with a law compelling listed firms to make “Out of the 20 those that are genuinely mak- said the country’s capital markets regulator will companies should provide a balanced and objec-
environmental, social and governance (ESG) dis- ing disclosures could be four or five. Companies ensure that companies comply with the law by tive view of their performance by including both
closures, a local sustainability reporting watchdog should not report for the sake of reporting but year-end. positive and negative impacts on environment
has said. they should also demonstrate how their policies and society, how it relates to its stakeholders and
are impacting the environment. There is also “Climate change is an aspect of sustainability. contribute to sustainable development.
Amid growing concerns on carbon emissions need to stimulate investors to have an interest on For us to attract investors, listed companies need
and global warming, most companies in devel- ESG-related issues. The more they ask such issues to comply with sustainable reporting standards “The ZSE encourages the adoption of interna-
oped countries and advanced economies in Africa at annual general meetings, the more companies because those are what investors are looking for. tionally accepted reporting frameworks, such as
are now reporting more on how their operations Our hope as the regulator is that the listed com- the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) Sustain-
are co-existing with the environment. ability Reporting Guidelines or Standards, in dis-
closing the company’s sustainability performance.
Rodney Ndamba Institute of Sustainability The GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines
Africa (Insaf) told The NewsHawks that only 18 or Standards are globally applicable and set out
companies listed on the ZSE are making full dis- general principles and indicators that listed com-
closures on ESGs as uptake remains low. In Afri- panies can use to measure and report their eco-
ca, South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya are leading, nomic, environment and social performance,” the
Ndamba said. Currently, 56 out of the 63 listed statutory instrument reads.
firms are active, while the remainder are suspend-
ed. “The company shall provide sustainability in-
formation either in an annual report showing a
Statutory Instrument 134 of 2019 compels holistic presentation combining or integrating
listed companies to disclose their sustainability financial and non-financial disclosures (environ-
policy, including mitigation of risks, sustainability mental and social issues) reflective of the com-
performance data and other material information pany’s corporate practices; a standalone sustain-
which deepen stakeholders’ understanding of ability report giving a comprehensive disclosure
corporate performance. Companies were given a of environmental and social issues and the report
grace period of three years to comply with the law. should be referenced in any reporting of annual
financial statements by providing a summary of
“The ZSE, a member of the UN Sustainable sustainability information linked to the stand-
Stock Exchanges initiative, is obliged to comply alone report.”
with sustainable reporting guidelines. There is

NewsHawks Stock Taking Page 35

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

Price Sheet A MEMBER OF FINSEC & THE ZIMBABWE STOCK EXCHANGE

Friday, 04 March 2022

Company Sector Bloomberg Previous Last VWAP (cents) Total Total Price Price YTD Market
Ticker Price Traded Traded Change Change (%) Cap
AFDIS Consumer Goods (cents) Traded Volume Value ($) (cents) ($m)
African Sun Consumer Services AFDIS: ZH (%)
ART ASUN: ZH 22000.00 Price 500
Ariston Industrials ARTD: ZH 900.00 3,200
Axia Consumer Services ARISTON: ZH 1300.00 22000.00 22000.00 110,000 - - 76.00 26,288.79
BAT AXIA: ZH 340.59 900.00 900.00 - 28,800 - - 40.13 12,815.38
CAFCA Consumer Goods 5809.92 - 1300.00 2,100 - - - 24.40
CBZ Consumer Goods BAT: ZH 340.00 340.15 228,900 7,143 -0.44 -0.13 -8.61 5,680.71
CFI CAFCA: ZH 284606.14 5800.00 5805.29 -4.63 -0.08 93.19 5,535.59
Dairibord Industrials 17000.00 - - 13,288,300 - - -11.09 32,053.93
Delta Banking CBZ: ZH 9000.00 - 284606.14 - - - - 58,724.26
Ecocash CFI:ZH 12240.00 9000.00 17000.00 23,000 - -1.76 -0.02 - 1,484.97
Econet Industrials 3455.14 - 8998.24 - - - 19.71 47,030.33
Edgars Consumer Goods DZL: ZH 23075.47 12240.00 42,900 2,069,595 33.79 0.98 30.81 12,979.40
FBC Consumer Goods DLTA: ZH 7190.39 433,200 - -49.02 -0.21 -0.32 12,490.40
Fidelity EHZL: ZH 13879.37 3500.00 3488.93 6,000 -84.89 -1.18 41.67 300,305.35
First Capital Technology ECO: ZH 534,300 1,496,750 -41.41 -0.30 74.78 184,073.47
FML Telecommunications EDGR: ZH 537.79 23000.00 23026.45 100 99,750,580 0.21 0.04 62.80 358,482.99
FMP Consumer Services FBC: ZH 3100.00 200 200.00 6.45 23.68 3,250.85
GBH FIDL: ZH 1070.00 7100.00 7105.50 - 426,330 - - -2.52 22,174.35
Getbucks Banking FCA: ZH 389.20 15,200 73,936,200 4.22 1.08 -32.22 1,165.48
Hippo Financial Services FMHL: ZH 2000.00 13865.00 13837.96 1,200 -83.33 -4.17 13.90 8,497.14
Innscor FMP: ZH 700.00 1,300 538 -50.77 -7.25 -4.17 13,227.76
Lafarge Banking GBH: ZH 174.00 538.00 538.00 10,400 6,600 -3.48 -2.00 -16.77 8,038.49
Mash Financial Services GBFS: ZH 500.00 200 - - -25.70
Masimba HIPO: ZH 33900.00 3300.00 3300.00 21,900 - - - -16.67 914.99
Medtech Real Estate 27980.78 182,500 59,800 14.06 0.05 21.07 5,815.59
Medtech Class B Industrials INN: ZH 9600.00 - 1070.00 100 23,000 1920.00 20.00 72.39 65,433.97
Meikles LACZ: ZH 318.46 1,300 -38.46 -12.08 44.00 159,536.00
Nampak Financial Services MASH: ZH 5279.79 395.00 393.42 300 8,440 -279.79 -5.30 -13.71 9,216.00
NatFoods Consumer Goods MSHL: ZH 2000.00 1900.00 1916.67 - 17,734 - - -9.09 5,205.41
NTS MMDZ: ZH 3200.00 640.00 649.23 - - - -42.86 12,082.69
NMBZ Industrials MMDZB: ZH 13896.47 175.00 170.52 2,400 1,000 3.53 0.03 28.00
OK Zim Industrials MEIK: ZH 1338.00 500.00 500.00 - 7,424,100 - - 11.11 240.00
Proplastics Real Estate NPKZ: ZH 179900.00 33900.00 33900.00 9,400 51,090,590 -96.81 -0.05 19.93 42.94
RTG Industrials NTFD: ZH 840.00 28000.00 27994.84 - - - 30.81
RioZim Financial Services 1202.58 11520.00 11520.00 14,700 11,520 5.58 0.46 33.33 35,117.81
SeedCo Financial Services NTS: ZH 3040.35 280.00 280.00 200,700 3,640 -69.99 -2.30 50.02 10,110.57
Simbisa Industrials NMB: ZH 2700.00 5000.00 5000.00 500 300.00 11.11 8.22 122,985.58
Star Africa Industrials OKZ: ZH 609.44 2000.00 900 15,000 -9.44 -1.55 3.45
Tanganda Consumer Goods PROL: ZH 5197.01 - 3200.00 - - - - -23.08 2,132.53
Truworths Industrials RTG: ZH 19470.00 - 13900.00 82,900 - 30.11 0.15 29.93 4,883.04
TSL RIOZ: ZH 18708.37 13900.00 1338.00 174,500 -219.96 -1.18 84.72 38,195.39
Turnall Banking SEED: ZH 151.43 - 179803.19 902,700 333,600 -1.42 -0.94 105.43 7,558.07
Unifreight Consumer Services SIM: ZH 7482.39 179900.00 840.00 47,200 - 139.77 1.87 29.48 14,972.97
Willdale SACL: ZH 199.25 - 1208.16 - - - 13.66 6,341.88
ZB Industrials TANG: ZH 9500.00 1200.00 2970.36 68,500 16,901,500 1696.79 17.86 -0.37 48,204.79
Zeco Consumer Services TRUW: ZH 500.00 2895.00 3000.00 200 - - - 59.56 103,939.03
Zimpapers TSL: ZH 3000.00 3000.00 200 - - 21.92 7,073.10
Zimplow Basic Materials TURN: ZH 300.00 12,200 177,600 - - 0.11 19,898.76
ZHL Consumer Goods UNIF: ZH 6082.50 600.00 600.00 400 5,961,520 442.50 7.27 -3.06
TOTAL Consumer Goods WILD: ZH - - - -15.26 765.25
Consumer Goods ZBFH: ZH 2.00 - 5197.01 1,300 15,000 1.67 0.56 316.67 39,984.01
Consumer Goods ZECO: ZH 298.33 400 5,400 12.96 0.63 3.09
Consumer Services ZIMP: ZH 2062.04 19500.00 19500.11 4,400 - 4.57 1.20 -12.08 2,465.20
Consumer Goods ZIMPLOW: ZH 381.79 3,032,300 2.73 3,194.23
ZHL: ZH 18490.00 18488.41 16,165,590 5,334.00
Industrials 32,262,270 11,431.19
Industrials 150.00 150.01
Industrials 1,354,168 9.27
7600.00 7622.16 3,597,660 1,728.00
Banking 7,150.05
Industrials - 199.25 - 7,024.87
Consumer Services 11400.00 11196.79 7,669,800 1,873,286.81
Industrials
Financial Services 500.00 500.00 1,000
3000.00 3000.00 6,000
300.00 300.00 36,600
6525.00 6525.00 26,100

- 2.00 -
300.00 300.00 3,900
2075.00 2075.00 8,300
390.00 386.36 17,000
334,318,668

ETFs MCMS.zw 1393.35 1420.00 1420.39 3,244 46,078 27.04 1.94 42.04 1,788.67
Morgan&Co Multi-Sector ETF OMTT.zw 851.99 900.00 714.13 820,177 5,857,135 -137.86 -16.18 62.27 571.30
Old Mutual ZSE Top 10 ETF
12,451.76
FINSEC Financial Services OMZIL 15000.00 15000.00 15000.00 - -- - 50.00
Old Mutual Zimbabwe US$m
57.27
VFEX (US cents) Mining BIND:VX 4.50 - 4.50 - - - - -18.18 8.06
BNC Mining CMCL:VX 1300.00 - 1300.00 - - - --
Caledonia Consumer Goods 21.00 15,060 3,162.60 - -- 113.73
Padenga Consumer Goods PHL:VX 21.00 - 21.00 - - - - -0.18 106.81
SeedCo International SCIL:VX 28.00 28.00
YTD %
Index Close Change (%) Open YTD % Top 5 Risers Price Change % +44.00
ZSE All Share 15,087.00 -0.11 15,103.04 +39.41 Lafarge 11520.00c +1920.00c +20.00 +59.56
Top 10 10,070.95 -0.13 10,083.71 +47.85 TSL 11196.79c +1696.79c +17.86 +3.45
Top 15 11,043.32 -0.12 11,056.05 +46.67 Proplastics +11.11 -15.26
Small Cap +0.10 402,371.14 +0.00 ZB 3000.00c +300.00c +7.27 -2.52
Medium Cap 402,764.46 +0.05 24,327.02 +19.27 FBC 6525.00c +442.50c +6.45
24,339.78 3300.00c +200.00c YTD %
-13.71
Top 5 Fallers Price Change % -16.77
Mash 280.00c -38.46c -12.08 -9.09
FMP 649.23c -50.77c -7.25 -4.17
Masimba -5.30 +8.22
FML 5000.00c -279.79c -4.17
OK Zim 1916.67c -83.33c -2.30
2970.36c -69.99c

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Property
NewsHawks

Issue 70, 4 March 2022 PROPERTY INTERIORS ARCHITECTURE GARDENING Page 36

The home of prime property: [email protected]

Zanu PF
goes back
to school

The Chinese oversee construction of the Herbert Chitepo School of Ideology at the
intersection of Samora Machel Avenue and Simon Muzenda road in Harare.

NewsHawks News Analysis Page 37

Issue 70, 4 March 2022 Murder of CCC supporter an
aminous sign ahead of 2023
NYASHA CHINGONO saying down with triple C,
problem in the bud.  had been deployed to inflict The late Mboneni Ncube. let me assure you that there
THE current spate of political- Worryingly, there are many harm indiscriminately and is nothing that it can achieve,
ly motivated violence, which mercilessly. where they were anticipating you see how we crush lice with
led to the death of an opposi- incidents in which the police the arrival of CCC leader Nel- a stone,” Chiwenga said.
tion member last Sunday, is a are also accused of meting out The admission that Zanu PF son Chamisa. 
dress rehearsal to what could violence on the opposition.  is the mastermind of violence “You put it on a flat stone
happen in 2023 if the author- shows that the leopard has not It is apparent that this is a and then flatten it to the extent
ities do not crack down on Since the formation of CCC changed its spots.  carefully crafted ploy to deal that even flies will not make a
the instigators, analysts have last month, President Emmer- harshly with the opposition.  meal out of it.”
warned.  son Mnangagwa’s regime has Kudos to the police for mov-
been in panic mode, employ- ing in swiftly to arrest the sus- While Mnangagwa claimed Chiwenga also likened his
Politically motivated vio- ing repressive tactics to clamp pects, although one suspect re- that the country had entered party to the biblical Goliath
lence has once again reared its down on the opposition.  mains at large.  a new phase in 2017, which who was known for his hercu-
ugly head in the run up to the included political tolerance lean stature. The irony was lost
26 March by-elections.  The machete-wielding assail- This should send a strong under his “New Dispensation” on him that the gigantic Goli-
ants showed no mercy, stab- signal to would-be perpetrators mantra, there is little to show a ath was in the end destroyed by
Zimbabwe has a history of bing defenseless opposition of violence. change of behaviour. a tiny David.
bloody elections, with 2008 be- members in the back. They
ing a dark period when dozens employed tactics similar to It also has the potential to Mnangagwa was the brutal Zanu PF’s rhetoric of a “New
were killed, while thousands those used by the local Kwe- somewhat restore confidence in enforcer of Mugabe’s regime, Dispensation” continues to
were maimed and displaced at kwe-based Al-Shabaab terrir the uniformed forces ahead of having been involved in major ring hollow in the face of in-
the height of violence. gang which uses machetes, cat- a watershed election in 2023.  plebiscites since 1980.  creased violence on political
apults and home-made knives.  opponents. 
A repeat of that sad chapter But it is unfortunate that the The “New Dispensation”
would not just be a disgrace A leaked police memo uniformed forces are also used façade has come off in dramat- Political scientist professor
to a country which pledged showed that the majority were to inflict violence on citizens.  ic fashion with recent utteranc- Eldred Masunungure said Zim-
to protect human rights -- es- Zanu PF card-carrying mem- es by his deputy Constantino babwe is headed for a violent
pecially the right to associate bers, which could mean they Last week, police fired tear- Chiwenga, exposing deep-seat- 2023 election if the authorities
with any political outfit -- but gas on thousands of villag- ed violence in Zanu PF.  do not clamp down on the cur-
also a slap in the face to men ers gathered at Gokwe centre rent pockets of violence.
and women who fought the “I have heard others here
liberation struggle.  “History teaches us those
Zimbabwean elections are in-
One can also not discount herent with violence. It will
the gory 1980s Gukurahundi be naïve to think that this is a
genocide in which an estimat- flash of political temperatures
ed 20 000 civilians died in Ma- and not violence as we get to
tabeleland and the Midlands 2023 elections,” Masunungure
at the hands of the brutal 5th said.
Brigade. 
“I expect this cycle to con-
Although Zimbabwe turns tinue. The degree will depend
42 this year, political actors, on the involvement of major
especially the ruling Zanu PF, political stakeholders like Zec
have often displayed immatu- (Zimbabwe Electoral Commis-
rity when dealing with their sion), the National Peace and
opponents.  Reconciliation Commission
and the political parties them-
Political violence has been selves.”
used to cow the opposition and
maintain the status quo for Mnangagwa weighed in, say-
the ruling elites who have held ing: “It is undemocratic to be
Zimbabwe to ransom since violent against democracy."
1980. 
Masunungure said the vi-
In his 37 years in power, the olence is likely to continue if
late former leader Robert Mug- the major political gladiators
abe was a master at unleashing continue to get away with im-
the repressive state apparatus punity. 
on citizens. 
However, he discounted the
Apart from the armed forc- fact that the country could de-
es, Zanu PF has also harboured generate to the 2008 levels.
militia that are often unleashed
whenever a political opponent Masunungure added that
seems to be gaining ground.  violence is an ever-present
danger in the country, hence
Violence in Kwekwe which the need for political actors to
led to the murder of Mbone- speak against the practice. 
ni Ncube (35), a Citizens'
Coalition for Change (CCC) Political analyst Ibbo Man-
supporter was killed while 22 daza weighed in, saying: "It’s
others were hospitalised af- already near that (2008). It
ter sustaining life-threatening looks like we are going that
injuriess was a reminder that way. I doubt we will get to
Zimbabwe still has an electoral 2023 without major incidents
violence problem.  unless the powers that be crack
down on the violence.”
A group of Zanu PF-linked
militia descended on unsus- “The police should make it
pecting opposition activists clear that violence will not be
with deadly weapons, includ- tolerated.”
ing machetes and other spears. 

Ncube was killed in broad
daylight and his family was
robbed of a loved one. A life
lost is one too many and some-
thing must be done to nip this

Page 38 Critical Thinking NewsHawks

Alex T. Issue 70, 4 March 2022
Magaisa
Why 'political story' matters
THIS article makes the case for the im- in electoral competition
portance of the political story in the life take Zec’s legalistic approach, several
of a political party. legal grounds require Zec to account
to the citizens, contrary to the message
The political story is aspirational. It from its chairperson. In any event, Zec
represents the set of values, beliefs, and has a moral duty to account to the citi-
policies of a political party. It is part of zens. Zec is one of the most important
the myth-making exercise that forms political referees in the country because
the pith of every organisation that seeks it controls the process of choosing the
to harness the support of citizens.  leadership at local and national levels. It
owes citizens a duty of care in the exer-
Since the existing political order is cise of its functions. It is morally obliged
based on a set of carefully constructed to be fair and impartial in its conduct. 
political stories, the challenge of the
opposition is to weave a better alterna- Unfortunately, the institutional atti-
tive; a political story that appeals to the tude of Zec is one of ultra-defensiveness.
imagination of not only the traditional It treats questions from citizens with
supporters but the hotly contested un- suspicion and hostility. Its responses be-
decided voter. But before we discuss the tray a partisan attitude, behaving as if it
key role of the political story, I will start is at war with citizens. Instead of being
with an examination of an important hostile, Zec should be more receptive to
concept that seems to be eluding our criticism. It is counter-productive to be
electoral referee. dismissive of social media when it has an
Zec and accountability established presence in the same space.
The chairperson of the Zimbabwe Elec- It is there because it recognises the value
toral Commission (Zec), Justice Priscilla of communicating with and therefore
Chigumba, recently told a meeting that accounting to the people. If anything,
her organisation is only accountable to it should be enhancing and amplifying
Parliament. The statement was made in its social media presence, making use of
the context of dismissing social media spaces to disseminate information and
where citizens have individually and educate voters. It cannot be on social
collectively expressed critical comments media and at the same time try to dis-
regarding Zec’s performance over the miss social media citizens. 
voters’ roll.
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba. Why every political party needs a
“As we are in election mode, you will good story
be reading all about voters' roll fraud of these forms of accountability might How Zec accounts to its principal, accountability. Nowadays, profession- There has been some discussion in re-
from nameless, faceless individuals on work better at instilling confidence in the people is a secondary question. Le- al football has introduced measures to cent days concerning issues about ide-
social media. They continue to send the electorate than rigid legalistic ap- gally, like all other independent com- assist referees, acknowledging that they ology. Sometimes matters are needlessly
questions and we know our mandate proaches. As I have already stated, effec- missions, Zec is required to submit an are not infallible. The VAR is a tool complicated by excessive focus on form
and how to account to stakeholders … tive communication is an easy way by annual report of its operations and activ- that helps referees to be more effective over substance. It should not be in dis-
Zec will account through Parliament which Zec can account to the citizens.   ities to Parliament.[1] It is also required and accountable. Hence referees have pute to any serious political player that
according to the legislative framework, to submit a report to Parliament on the at times changed their initial decisions every political party needs a persuasive
not social media,” the Zec chairperson The notion of accountability simply conduct of every election and every after a VAR check. The elections referee story to tell the electorate. Every politi-
is quoted as having said.  means that one is answerable to anoth- referendum. Additionally, parliament occupies a similar role. It must give rea- cal party is trying to sell a dream to the
er for their conduct. It is especially im- may, through its relevant committee, sons for its decisions. This instills con- political community. That dream can be
The people she rudely refers to as portant where one is exercising power summon the Zec to account for its ac- fidence in the referee. Where errors are called by any name, but its purpose is
“nameless” and “faceless” individuals on behalf of another person. A person tivities. Parliament has this role because identified and highlighted by interested to win believers. All things being equal,
are Zimbabwean citizens. One group, who has power must account for how Zimbabwe is a representative democra- parties, it must investigate and correct those whose political story gains the
Pachedu has been conducting a foren- they are exercising it. The existence of cy where parliamentarians stand for the them. Therefore, when citizens high- most significant number of believers has
sic-style survey of the voters’ roll which accountability acts as an incentive to people. Therefore, politically, when Zec light problems with the voters’ roll, Zec a greater chance of winning the election.
has uncovered some concerning anom- prevent the abuse of power. It is even is accounting to parliament, it is effec- should not be arrogant and dismissive.
alies. The irony is that although Justice more important where one person has tively accounting to the people through As historian Yuval Noah Harari ex-
Chigumba was being dismissive, she given authority to another to exercise its representatives. This essential point In any event, even if we take the le- plains in Sapiens – A Brief History of
was in fact responding to social media. power. The person who has given power is missed by the Zec chairperson who galistic approach, the requirement for Humankind, one of our unique gifts
Her organization has twice issued press is the principal and the person exercis- wants to draw a non-existent distinction Zec to exercise fair administrative con- as humans is our ability to imagine.
statements in response to issues raised ing the power is the agent. This is an between parliament and the people. duct also has firm constitutional foun- Through this ability to imagine, we can
by Pachedu. Even if the responses have asymmetrical relationship where the dations. Section 68 of the constitution create things that do not otherwise exist.
been petulant, they are efforts towards agent has more information than the But as already stated, legal account- provides that “every person has a right Things ranging from religions, money,
accounting to citizens, the very thing principal. It is therefore important that ability is only one form of accountabili- to administrative conduct that is lawful, companies, nation-states, law, or even
she is saying Zec does not do. the agent must be fully accountable to ty that is expected from Zec. prompt, efficient, reasonable, propor- human rights would not exist as they
the principal.  tionate, impartial and both substantive- do without human imagination. These
In any event, her dismissive approach The position of Zec might be lik- ly and procedurally fair”. Furthermore, products of imagination are called
is inconsistent with Zec’s presence on Our constitution recognizes this im- ened to that of a football referee. The any person whose right, freedom, inter- imagined realities and are different from
Twitter. The Twitter handle communi- balance and imports principles of equity referee is expected to account to the est, or legitimate expectation has been objective realities such as mountains or
cates information from Zec to citizens so that the agent is treated as a fiducia- appointing authority. At a World Cup adversely affected by administrative gravity.
on social media. Communication is ry who owes duties of good faith and tournament, the referee is appointed conduct is entitled to be given prompt
a form of accountability. When Zec loyalty to the principal. This reasoning by Fifa and therefore complies with reasons in writing explaining the deci- The difference between imagined re-
communicates through the handle, it informs one of the foundational princi- the rules and procedures of Fifa and sion.  alities and objective realities is that ob-
is involved in a process of accounting ples of our constitution and shapes the formally accounts to it. However, the jective realities are independent of peo-
to citizens. Communication informs relationship between public bodies such network of actors to whom the referee Zec is a public body that is required ple’s beliefs. You do not have to believe
recipients of information that enables as Zec and citizens. Section 3 of the is accountable is wider than Fifa. He is to fulfill this right. Any person who is ag- in Mount Kilimanjaro for it to exist. But
them to make use of it. But they are not constitution states that one of the prin- accountable to the teams and players grieved by Zec can approach the courts things like religion, money, or a political
just passive recipients of the informa- ciples of good governance which binds whose match he is refereeing. He is also to seek judicial review of its conduct. party and its political story are heavily
tion. They are active participants who state institutions is “respect for the peo- accountable to the fans who have an ac- That way, Zec can be held accountable. dependent on people’s belief in them.
question and probe the accuracy of the ple of Zimbabwe, from whom the au- tive interest in the match. Furthermore, But a responsible administrative author- We lost the Zimbabwe Dollar in 2009
information. In doing so, they are ask- thority to govern is derived”. As a state he is accountable to his peers whose ity would take pre-emptive action to because we had ceased to believe in it.
ing Zec to account for its information. institution, Zec’s relationship with the professional standards and reputation avoid being sued for breaching citizens’ Political parties have ceased to exist be-
It is therefore a two-way process that citizens is built upon this principle that he must uphold. rights. When citizens engage Zec on so- cause people stopped believing in them.
benefits both the giver and recipient of it derives its authority from the people. cial media, asking it to explain, they are The MDC under Douglas Mwonzora is
the information.   In other words, the people are the prin- It is accountability that requires the merely using modern social space to de- literally collapsing because a significant
cipals and Zec is their agent. Therefore, referee to communicate with the players mand accountability from Zec and that number of people have ceased to believe
The fact that Justice Chigumba de- Zec has a constitutional duty to account and officials whose match he is officiat- is perfectly legitimate.     in it. But even if we stop believing in the
nies Zec’s wider accountability obliga- for its principals. ing. Communicating a decision and the Victoria Falls, it will not cease to exist
tions betrays institutional ignorance reasons for it is part of exercising that As I have demonstrated, even if we because of our lack of belief. It is an ob-
of the notion of accountability. As an jective reality. 
institution, Zec’s understanding of the
principle of accountability is limited by The key thing is that those who seek
legalism. Zec sees accountability only political power are selling dreams. They
in the legal sense. But the concept of must construct persuasive stories that
accountability is more inclusive. Legal appeal to the imagination and draw in
accountability is only one form of ac- believers.
countability. There are political, moral,
professional, and other forms of ac- Politics is a game of imagination
countability, all of which matter.Some and imagined realities and politicians

NewsHawks Critical Thinking Page 39

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

are weavers of those imagined realities. an imagined reality (the story) depends ers of those stories. It is “necessary to stories have been based on certain tradi- body else to believe in the story. Much
The ones that are better at weaving the on whether people believe in it. The convince many strangers to cooperate tional ideas. For example, a party whose of history revolves around this ques-
best stories triumph. We have before us most successful stories are the ones that with one another. And this will happen story is based on the idea of capitalism tion: how does one convince millions
a vivid example that illustrates the im- attract more people to believe in them. only if these strangers believe in some would sell a story that prioritizes free of people to believe particular stories
portance of storytelling and the magic That’s why some religions, currencies, or shared myths. It follows that in order to markets, private ownership, low taxes, about gods, or nations, or limited liabil-
of imagination in politics. The same nation-states are more successful than change an existing imagined order, we small government, pro-business poli- ity companies? Yet when it succeeds, it
people who are now members of the others. But while this belief is organic must first believe in an alternative imag- cies, and restriction of union rights. gives [people] immense power, because
Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC) and unforced, in some cases imagined ined order,” advises Harari. This last it enables millions of strangers to coop-
were just a month ago members of the realities rely on force. Therefore, some line is very important for our purpos- By contrast, a party whose story is erate and work towards common goals”.
MDC-Alliance. They did not have to religious orders have used egregious es: to successfully challenge an existing based on the idea of socialism would be
do anything except change their minds. force and violence against others. Some imagined order, you must have a better stronger on collective ownership, state This is precisely what a political party
Just by a switch of imagination, they nation-states have also used military alternative.  intervention, nationalisation, big gov- needs. It needs to tell an effective story
stopped believing in the MDC-Alliance might to coerce others into acceptance. ernment, higher taxes for the wealthy, and convince millions of strangers to
and started believing in the CCC.  Some political parties have relied on vi- If we apply this to the Zimbabwean stronger workers’ rights. Nowadays, believe in that story. If successful, the
olence to force people into supporting context, the prevailing imagined order there are many more ideas beyond the party will have immense power because
Harari reminds us that while people them.  was created by Zanu PF. It has relied traditional binary of capitalism and it will have drawn millions of people
might initially be dismissive of the idea on a combination of devout believers socialism. But it is essential for a party into its ranks. You must craft a story that
of myths (stories), many might be sur- But as Harari puts it, the best force of and coercion to sustain this story. The to have a persuasive story and to tell it appeals to the imagination of the voter.
prised that a significant proportion of an imagined reality is its “true believers”.   greatest challenge to Zanu PF’s imag- with confidence. When people say what It does not matter by what fancy name
our lives is affected by them. They facili- ined order has come from the original is your story, this is what they are ask- that story is called, but every political
tate the building of large-scale networks Since they depend on beliefs, imag- MDC. The MDC’s imagined order was ing for. Across the Limpopo, you might party must have a solid and persuasive
of cooperation between people. Think ined realities are vulnerable. They need based on the idea of change. That story agree or disagree with it, but the EFF story.  
of how a nation-state brings together more protection. As Harari says, there was popular and drew many believers. has a political story that defines it and
diverse communities under a shared is a need for “continuous and strenuous But this story became tired. The MDC its conduct of politics.  The CCC has a great opportunity to
sovereign identity, or how the listed efforts” to safeguard imagined orders also collapsed under the pressure of craft a solid and persuasive story. Cur-
company mobilises thousands of people from destruction. Violence and coer- Zanu PF’s coercion. Now the CCC has All this helps us to understand that rent believers might say they are already
who don’t know each other and who cion are possible methods of protecting emerged and one of its most important while it is not hard to form a political persuaded. But a wise fisherman knows
might even dislike each other to invest an imagined order. This explains why tasks is to construct an alternative sto- party because as we have seen it is a the difference between fish in his pond
in a successful business. There is noth- authoritarian regimes use repression. ry that is significantly more persuasive creation of the imagination, creating a and fish that are still in the river. His en-
ing to back fiat currency such as the US But violence is unsustainable. As we than Zanu PF’s and the old MDC’s sto- persuasive story that draws people and ergies are better spent at the river. That
dollar except people’s belief that it has have seen imagined realities need “true ries. There is a need for a new persuasive guides the party is a different task alto- is why a wise politician needs to weave
value. People in a diverse range of coun- believers” that promote them. “A single political story.   gether. Zimbabwe has scores of political a persuasive story. Call it by whatever
tries who have never met and may never priest often does the work of a hun- parties but most of them are one-man name, story, ideology, fiction, myth –
meet in their lifetime will cooperate and dred soldiers – far more cheaply and The political story is a collection of bands. They have not grown beyond the cat must catch the mice.
work with each other just because they effectively,” writes Harari. Authoritarian ideas, policies, visions, and aspirations their founders because they have not
are Catholic. Likewise, very different regimes also survive because they have of a party. It is a story of how a party been able to craft and sell good stories. *About the writer: Dr Alex Magaisa
people will congregate under a political “true believers” who believe in them.  seeks to organise society and manage is a law lecturer at Kent University in
party. and allocate scarce resources. Each par- As I conclude, let me quote from Ha- Britain and former adviser to the late
What this implies is that those who ty aims to tell a story that is better than rari. “The key is in being able to tell ef- Zimbabwean prime minister Morgan
What is evident is that the success of are challenging an authoritarian regime its rival’s. Throughout history, parties’ fective stories, which is not simple. The Tsvangirai.
must have better stories and true believ- biggest challenge is in convincing every-

Tackling inequality will break gridlock
on what to do about climate change

MURRAY LEIBBRANDT/ development paths from 1850 to tators, such as  Nicholas Stern, ex- framework to use (see below). looming risks.
ANDA DAVID 2020 have considerably shrunk the chief economist of the World Bank Each of these dimensions needs Some options
remaining emission-budget which and of the European Bank for Re- When thinking around the role of
THERE have been a lot of discus- would allow us to stay under 1.5° or construction and Development and to be considered together. In this inequality reduction in the fight
sions on the urgency of climate even under 2° from now until 2050 lead author of the  Stern Review on framework there is an insistence on against climate change, a couple of
change. But it is universally accepted (see below). What the graph also tells the Economics of Climate Change, the need to consider economic and channels stand out. The most ob-
that the steps that have been agreed us is a story of inequality: inequality have seen this moment as an oppor- social policies jointly and in an inte- vious one is the enormous gap in
to stop global warming are too little of CO2 emissions and inequality of tunity to put more sustainable social grated way. emissions between the poorest and
too late. development. With the onset of the and economic processes in place too the richest. Oxfam estimated that
Covid pandemic in 2020, this situa- by linking these social and econom- Moreover, the required policy 20 of the richest billionaires emit,
Why is this? tion has only worsened  as it is esti- ic changes to more climate friendly combinations differ for those who on average, as much as 8,000 times
We argue that inequality is part mated that it between 119 and 124 production and consumption pat- fall in the bottom, middle and top more carbon than the billion poorest
of the answer as to why there is little million people have been pushed terns. For a short period, it seemed income classes of a society. Therefore people.
action. into extreme poverty. that many agreed. But now that the extent and nature of current in-
On the one hand, inequality po- recovery strategies are being imple- equalities are central to evaluating But the distorting impact of in-
larises societies and makes them less So, in assessing our current state, mented, it is being seen as impera- and planning growth policies that equalities on climate change goes
prone to act. On the other hand, the World Inequality Report con- tive to restart growth as it was before, benefit everyone. beyond inequalities of emissions.
inequality results in elites capturing curs with the  Oxfam Davos  report, despite the fact that it is commonly Inequality polarises societies and
the power of action and being less titled this year “Inequality kills”, as acknowledged that it was an unsus- These policies need to be based on makes them less inclined to act for
inclined to give up their privileges. they both show a significant increase tainable growth path. a detailed understanding of the way the common good.
The reduction of inequality is cru- of inequality in the aftermath of the inequalities empower – or constrain
cial not only from an ethical point of pandemic. This disjuncture between where – possibilities. This is particularly problematic
view, but also because it will allow us inequality, Covid and the climate for effecting socially optimal change
to tackle climate change. Oxfam’s report shows staggering emergency took us and the seeming South Africa serves as a good ex- as inequality results into elites cap-
However, if we want to reduce in- facts on how, because of Covid-19, amnesia of this business as usual ap- ample. Its very high inequality sees turing the power of action and being
equalities, we need to recognise that the wealth of the 10 richest men has proach is perplexing. the bottom half of population shar- less prone to give up their privileges,
a different kind of growth is needed. doubled, while the incomes of 99% ing only  8.5% of the total income which are often linked to the cur-
And that it has to be intertwined of humanity are worse off. A recent Of course it is imperative that (while the richest 10% concentrate rent non-inclusive and unsustainable
with the actions to curb climate Organisation of Economic Co-oper- economies get going again. But, sin- 52% of total income). The main structures of production and con-
change and adapt to its impacts. ation and Development  survey  also gle-minded attention to restarting reason for this lies in the fact that sumption.
The challenge is that what we shows that people are increasingly growth once more rests on the view the bottom-income group, which
know about such sustainable devel- concerned with this rise in income that this growth will trickle down to represents almost half of the coun- Reducing inequalities allows us
opment is framed within the con- disparities. And we know that pov- include all in society and will lower try’s population, is largely delinked to shift from the gridlock of only
texts of high-income countries. But erty would decrease even more if in- inequality. But we know that this is from the labour market. This is due talking to the established elite. In
how does this translate in African equality was lower. not true. to the intersection of different types turn, this will facilitate climate ac-
countries? A different approach of inequalities, ranging from spatial, tion and open up the possibility of
Inequality and climate are inter- It is the extractivist type of growth If existing growth processes do not racial to wealth and assets. doing things differently.
twined that led to this situation of increased trickle down and exclude potential-
We are growing increasingly aware inequality both between and within ly productive sections of the pop- Growth has to focus on enhancing —The Conversation.
that the patterns of growth and de- countries, and also led to unsustain- ulation from participating in the the productivity of this bottom-in- *About the writers: Murray
velopment in the world are not sus- ability from the climate perspective. economy, then a starting point for come group. For this to happen so- Leibbrandt is NRF chair in poverty
tainable, either from the climate, or Going back to old ways is a bad thinking about what it might mean cial and infrastructure spending are and inequality research and direc-
the social perspective (and this was idea to build back differently should be a key investments. Inclusive growth tor of the Southern Africa Labour
true even before the Covid-19 pan- Voices have started to rise on how detailed interrogation in each coun- cannot happen without them. and Development Research Unit
demic). the fallout from the Covid pandemic try context of the multidimensional at the University of Cape Town in
The recent data from the  World could be a window of opportunity inequalities that restrict inclusion. Investing in people is not only South Africa.
Inequality Report  show the histor- to rebuild differently, to redefine sol- Economists  Dani Rodrik and Ste- crucial for socioeconomic sustain- Anda David is a senior research-
ical CO2 emissions linked to the idarity, social values and prosperity. fanie Stantcheva  provide a useful ability, but also for climate sustain- er at Agence Française de Dévelop-
ability. The  “Yellow vests” move- pement in France.
A number of influential commen- ment  in France was only a glimpse
into why the ecological transition
needs to be backed by social policies,
but there is growing awareness of the

Page 40 Critical Thinking NewsHawks

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

Will there be nuclear war because
of Russia's invasion of Ukraine?

Arthur G.O. in 1990. It was OK for a racist mislead non-nuclear powers like Libya, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. well. It is all just self-serving postur-
Mutambara apartheid South Africa to have nu- Ukraine to be in confrontation with When a nuclear power attacks ing meant for the gullible.
clear weapons and not OK for the nuclear powers such as Russia.
NO. The Americans will never at- free self-governing African people a non-nuclear power, no nuclear Do not be misled by the current
tack the Russians. And vice versa. of South Africa to have nuclear de- Nuclear powers can attack power will militarily intervene. troop build-up in Europe by Nato
The British will never attack the terrence. non-nuclear powers at any time (nuclear) countries.
Russians and vice versa. (without any serious consequenc- They will talk about imposing
What nuclear powers do is to es), such as the invasion of Iraq, ineffectual sanctions that, in some These armies are there to defend
No nuclear power will attack a cases, hurt their own economies as Nato territories, not Ukraine. Also,
nuclear power. they are trying to fool the world
that they are seriously concerned
None of the countries involved and are doing something about the
in a nuclear war will survive such invasion of Ukraine.
a conflict.
The Nato antics will convince
All the nuclear powers know this, only children and the naive.
and they are not stupid.
No. There will be no nuclear war
It is called mutually assured de- because of the invasion of Ukraine.
struction (MAD). So, all nuclear
powers are safe from attack. It is That is why the United States was
called nuclear deterrence. so categorical from the beginning:
"If Russia invades Ukraine, we will
It is a special privilege that nucle- not intervene militarily."
ar powers enjoy. They do not want
it spread to too many countries, No nuclear power is prepared to
hence the doctrine of non-prolifer- invoke MAD because of Ukraine.
ation of nuclear weapons. Putin knows this. That is why he
just invaded that country to protect
Once a country has acquired his interests.
nuclear weapons, they become im-
mune to military attacks; that is Putin is just following the exam-
why there are feverish efforts to stop ple of his fellow nuclear powers in
such countries as Iran and North Nato who invaded Iraq, Libya and
Korea from attain nuclear weapon Afghanistan with impunity.
capacity.
On a lighter note, if there is to
Of course, South Africa was un- be a nuclear war, the protagonists
wise to listen to Western advice to would have to kill off all the Afri-
dismantle its nascent nuclear weap- cans first.
on capacity at the dawn of freedom
Why would they nuke each other
to death and leave the Africans to
inherit and enjoy the world!

*About the writer: Professor Ar-
thur Guseni Oliver Mutambara
is an intellectual and Zimbabwe’s
former deputy prime minister.

There is a future.

ZIMBABWE
CHILDREN’S CANCER RELIEF

EARLY
DETECTION

IS THE BEST PROTECTION!

STAY IF YOU SUSPECT EYE CANCER
ALERT! VISIT YOUR CLINIC TODAY

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 41

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

LESLY GOH/
BUHLE GOSLAR

THE last decade has seen an ac- Private sector must do its part
celeration in the digitisation of on data governance in Africa
many aspects of our lives including
financial services, commerce, edu- also being within reach. The ac- their data is being used is essential. (AI) is a movement that ensure da- improved and sustainable future for
cation, and healthcare. countability-based approach to- While funding for such education ta-intensive  AI systems are ethical the continent if there is a cohesive
wards data protection requires or- is usually borne  by government, and fair. plan of action for infrastructure,
Data gathering and exchange ganisations to tailor policies that multilaterals, and foundations governance, and regulation. Afri-
have accelerated alongside this consider the business needs and for digital public good, we are see- • Break data silos and empow- ca needs a growth-oriented gover-
swift uptake of digital engagement, the risk environment. This type of ing the private sector stepping up ering consumer with choices:  It nance approach; such an approach
and data has become the new es- engagement across public, private, to join force. is important that the interests of will nurture business innovation
sential commodity — with Africa and even social sectors not only consumers are protected. More- and ensure that benefits are distrib-
as the next frontier. However, this can lead to better data protections • Build safeguards against dig- over, value must be shared fairly uted fairly, while also maximising
rapid change brings along ques- for customers but also the develop- ital harms: Data can improve the between businesses and consum- protections and minimizing harms
tions of data governance and pri- ment of standardised frameworks lives of the poor; however, it can ers, which necessitates proactively for customers.
vacy, especially as the implemen- and approaches to increase the effi- addressing issues such as data silos
tation of the African Continental ciency of doing business. also open back doors that can or complex consent artefacts that The private sector should not
Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) moves harm individuals, businesses, and unfairly disadvantage consumers wait for regulators to protect con-
forward. As the tech sector waits • Invest in consumer educa- societies. To address this tension or competitors. Big Tech (Apple, sumer data in Africa. It needs to
for regulators to catch up, individ- tion: As individuals, we make de- between the helpful and harm- Facebook, Google, Microsoft and start now.
ual companies can do more to pro- cisions on our data based on trade- ful potential of data, the World Twitter) formed the  Data Trans-
tect consumers on their own. offs: Bank’s  World Development Report fer Project  for an “open-source, — Africa Foresight.
2021: Data for Better Lives  calls service-to-service data portabil-
Observing the commoditisation How much privacy do I give for a new social contract that en- ity platform such that consum- *About the writers: Lesly Goh
of data as well as its attendant op- up in return for a service that is ables the use and reuse of data to ers could easily move their data is a senior technology adviser at
portunities and challenges in Af- valuable to me? However, this data create economic and social value, between online service providers the World Bank. Buhle Goslar
rica, it is hard to ignore that the could be used for other purposes, ensures equitable access to that val- whenever they want.” is chief executive officer for Afri-
analogy of data as the “new oil” is often without the consent of con- ue, and fosters trust that data will ca region and Pakistan at Jumo
a powerful and prescient one. The sumers. Therefore, consumer edu- not be misused in harmful ways. The potent mix of digital tech- World, a financial services plat-
commercialisation of this resource cation on the different ways that Responsible artificial intelligence nology and data can only offer an form for energing markets.
can unlock considerable value for
the continent in sectors critical for
the development of thriving and
connected economies. However,
commercialisation must be ap-
proached responsibly, as we have
seen in the case of oil: If the ex-
ploitation of a resource is not well
planned, unintended consequenc-
es — typically burdening the most
vulnerable in our societies — arise.

Technology businesses should
not wait to be the recipients of pol-
icy. As subject matter experts in the
complex value networks and core
infrastructure (for example, cloud
computing) that underpin their
business model, they need to act
quickly.

For robust data protection on
the continent, policymakers and
the private sector must work to-
gether to create and implement
feasible regulations and best prac-
tices. Given the private sector’s
experience navigating the relevant
technical issues in this complex
space, tech companies’ role in
data governance should be two-
fold: 1) inform proposed policies
and 2) create and implement their
own high standards. Such actions
should include:

• Establish a self-regulating
organisation (SRO) to improve
data policy relevance and en-
forcement:  Bottom-up innova-
tions from startups and civil soci-
ety networks are building tools and
forging a collective voice to address
data inequality, constructing a new
social contract between the tech
industry and citizens. In Southeast
Asia, for example, the  Indonesia
FinTech Association  serves as an
SRO that works in close collabo-
ration with the Financial Authori-
ty to define and enforce good data
governance practices.

• Implement proportional
risk and accountability frame-
works:  The onus is on organisa-
tions to enforce  data protection
frameworks  to build trust with
all stakeholders. Importantly, re-
quirements must be robust while

Page 42 CReriftriacmaliTnhgiInsksuinegs NewsHawks

JEANINE MABUNDA LIOKO Issue 70, 4 March 2022

AS leaders agreed late last year at the Addressing Africa’s dual challenges:
United Nations Climate Change Con- Climate change and electricity access
ference (Cop26) in Glasgow, if the
world fails to come together to mit- the overall region, we must find a way also invest in natural gas infrastructure. gas is an unnecessary luxury to Africans sential to the energy transition, return
igate the impending impacts of cli- to solve both if our continent is to re- As long as we do it with an eye of only who still do not have access to reliable to homes without electricity.
mate change, Africa will grapple with alise a peaceful and prosperous future. doing this for a period, then I think this electricity.
drought, rising sea levels, potential con- is a justified investment.” We need to leverage our control
flicts over water access, and increasingly To narrow the energy access gap as Finally, African nations must capital- over such markets to elevate working
frequent severe weather events, among quickly as possible, Africa must employ The EU and US, who control sig- ise on the green economic revolution. conditions, move beyond raw materi-
other possible natural disasters. a variety of power sources already uti- nificant voting stakes in the largest in- The global transition to renewable en- al exports toward manufacturing and
lized by the US, EU and China while ternational financial institutions (IFIs), ergy will mean exponentially scaling up processing capacity, and capture greater
The global response to climate simultaneously phasing out coal. Such then  led a pledge by 20 countries to the production of batteries, electric ve- portions of green energy supply chains.
change must incorporate the historic a shift requires mobilizing development stop financing gas projects abroad. hicles, and other renewable energy sys- We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes
emissions context. As has been widely financing to support natural gas, hy- Without support from IFIs, African tems, which depend on Africa’s natural of past economic revolutions.
noted, China, Europe, and the United dro, and geothermal projects, as well as nations will be unable to build and resources. For example, the Democratic
States bear the most responsibility for wind and solar energy. maintain the infrastructure required to Republic of the Congo accounts for 70 — Africa Foresight.
greenhouse gas emissions. utilise our natural gas. percent of the world’s cobalt, the min-
Importantly, the double standard eral vital to battery production. *About the writer: Jeanine Mabun-
Prioritising the transition to renew- for those nations in the Global North This sharp contrast in words and da Lioko is a Congolese lawyer and
ables and imposing higher emission re- with universal energy access was on full actions sends the message that natural With the demand for cobalt ex- politician who in 2019 became the
duction requirements on the European display at COP 26. For example, EU gas is considered a bridge to renewables pected to at least double by 2030, it first woman elected to lead the Dem-
Union, United States and China will climate chief Frans Timmermans said, in the Global North — where access is unfathomable that the miners, who ocratic Republic of Congo's National
ease the burden on those nations that “[The European Union] will have to to electricity is secure — while natural provide the world with the material es- Assembly.
still need a variety of power generation
methods to increase energy access.

Not only does Africa bear the least
responsibility for greenhouse gas emis-
sions, but the forests of the Congo Ba-
sin (second only to the Amazon) are vi-
tal to absorbing the CO2 emitted from
other continents.

Keeping the lungs of the world in-
tact must be more valuable than cutting
them down. Maintaining these natural
resources is essential to combatting
global climate change and requires ex-
ternal support to properly value and
incentivise their preservation.

Another big challenge is the lack of
access to electricity. Today nearly 600
million of the 1.2 billion Africans lack
access to electric power. In sub-Saharan
Africa, 12 million new people enter the
workforce every year. Our prosperity
and peace are incumbent on powering
our economic development and creat-
ing enough gainful employment op-
portunities for our growing population.

That is not something that can be
done in the dark. Without achieving
universal access to electricity, we will be
vulnerable to underdevelopment, high
unemployment, a migration crisis, and
instability. Given the close interplay of
these challenges as well as their threat to

ROSS HARVEY Russia’s aggression in Ukraine to stand up against Putin’s violent,
destructive for African nations unprovoked violation of Ukraine’s
RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin sovereign and human rights. And
is fast escalating the kind of brink- der opens African countries up to has openly threatened the nuclear op- national payments system, will hurt we stand in solidarity with Ukranian
manship which history teaches us will the kind of Cold War chess that we tion is brinkmanship on a new level. the West but may also drive increased and Russian citizens who are bravely
lead to another world war if it is not thought we’d seen the end of in 1989. Russian aggression as Putin will in- fighting back and standing up against
skilfully contained.   At Good Governance Africa, our vi- It is downright ludicrous for a creasingly sense he has nothing to their own government respectively. 
sion is to see a well-governed set of permanent member of the UNSC to lose.
Good Governance Africa con- African nations that are not subject threaten nuclear warfare.  It puts the — Good Governance Africa.
demns Russian aggression and the in- to being pawns in the game of great West in an extremely difficult posi- Moreover, models which treat Pu- *About the writer: Dr Ross Har-
vasion of the Ukraine in the strongest powers’ national interests. Putin al- tion, however, as European countries tin as a rational, self-interested actor vey is a natural resource economist
possible terms. The repercussions of ready appears to have exploited the are heavily dependent on Russian gas, may well be inapplicable if Putin’s and policy analyst, and he has been
this behaviour are truly global, and vacuum in Mali of French troop and US companies such as Exxon are recent 5000-word essay is anything dealing with governance issues in
the negative impact on African coun- withdrawal, and the hunger for nat- deeply invested in Russian oil com- to go by. Nationalists with imperial various forms across this sector since
tries cannot be overstated.   ural resource acquisition has exposed panies. ambitions and USSR-nostalgia are 2007. He has a PhD in economics
African countries to value-destructive difficult to reason with.   from the University of Cape Town,
In the first instance, the oil price deal-making. The resource curse liter- Any sanctions against Russia, es- and his thesis research focused on
is hovering around the US$100/bar- ature is clear that unless institutional pecially including the most recent Finally, Good Governance Africa the political economy of oil and
rel mark, something not seen since quality is strong at the time resource which exclude it from the Swift inter- calls on all citizens across the globe institutional development in Ango-
2014. While in the short run this is wealth is discovered, elites will benefit la and Nigeria. While completing
good news on the surface for oil-ex- at the expense of most citizens. The his PhD, Ross worked as a senior
porting African countries, it is eco- task of building strong institutions is researcher on extractive industries
nomically destructive in the medium made near impossible in the context and wildlife governance at the
to long term. African oil exporters do of severe global instability.   South African Institute of Interna-
not refine enough of their oil domes- tional Affairs (SAIIA), and in May
tically to avoid fuel imports. Oil rents Third, from a peace and security 2019 became an independent con-
may temporarily provide a buffer to perspective, Putin’s aggression has servation consultant. Ross’s task at
fund fuel subsidies, but this crowds undermined the very fabric of a post- Good Governance Africa (GGA) is
out the incentive to add value locally. Cold War order that Russia has been to establish a non-renewable natu-
Most African countries are net fuel integral to maintaining. Its actions ral resources project (Extractive In-
importers. When the oil price esca- make a mockery of the UN Security dustries) to ensure that the industry
lates on the back of global insecurity Council (UNSC) of which it is a per- becomes genuinely sustainable and
created by Russia, import-driven in- manent member. The fact that Putin contributes to Africa achieving the
flation skyrockets, driving up trans- Sustainable Development Goals
port and food prices. This eliminates (SDGs). Ross was appointed Direc-
expenditure potential on other items, tor of Research and Programmes at
rapidly reducing economic activity GGA in May 2020.
and wealth.  

Second, an unstable global or-

NewsHawks CRreitfircaaml TinhginIkssinuges Page 43

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

Africa needs smarter investment
in digital infrastructure: Strategies
for enticing the private sector

TARA NATHAN A woman checks maize crop on a small scale farm in Chinhamora, about 50 km north of Harare. Alexander Joe/AFP via. Getty discussions with suppliers to avoid
Images any appearance of impropriety.
WEAK infrastructure is widely ac- Moreover, qualifying processes
cepted as a fundamental limitation investing billions to continually data platforms that collect sensi- AgTechs, healthcare providers, are often market-by-market with
to growth in Africa. innovate, to prevent fraud, and to tive data, like religion, use bene- and the like to deliver services to a market potential of only a few
prevent bad actors from accessing ficiaries’ data without informed rural communities. However, we thousand beneficiaries. This state
Governments in the region personal data. consent, and  may not meet best- struggle to find entities with large of affairs precludes most large-
struggle to meet the basic needs of in-class security standards. Yet, agent networks to service and pro- scale actors from responding, as
residents, including access to food, However, four fundamental private sector companies already vide cash management capabilities the opportunities are not com-
education, health, and livelihoods, challenges to private sector en- have secure, interoperable digital at the last mile. Agent networks mercially viable, and local actors
much less invest in critical, reus- gagement in fragile contexts per- infrastructures with data privacy are critical for enabling rural com- often lack the capacity to respond
able infrastructure that could pro- sist: by design that can be rapidly de- merce, and they provide high-val- to complex RFPs that are not writ-
vide long-term solutions to social ployed in fragile, offline contexts. ue jobs.  What if donors and ten in the local language.  What
problems. • There is too much reliance The UN could benefit from lever- NGOs redirected funds towards if private sector experts worked
on sub-standard, expensive prod- aging the innovation of the private building a last-mile capability that in concert with governments and
Philanthropy alone will not ucts:  Too often multilateral insti- sector, which has the potential to both local and global businesses development actors to develop a
lead to the sustainable infrastruc- tutions, governments, and donors be quicker, less expensive, more could leverage? best-in-class solution architecture
ture and employment needed to spend billions on technologies, scalable, and more secure than that private sector actors were paid
secure long-term health and fi- including internally-developed solutions developed in the public • Sustainable commercial mod- to execute at an overall lower cost?
nancial security for individuals systems, which do not meet the sector alone. What if private sector els are lacking: Today, requests for
and economic prosperity for all highest standards of data privacy capabilities were leveraged as they proposals (RFPs) are the primary The regulatory landscape for
African nations. Yet, the develop- and security, putting the personal existed, and funding redirected to commercial tool for governments, digital transactions in emerging
ment community tends to focus data of millions of users at risk. incentivise and de-risk private sec- NGOs, and U.N. agencies to con- markets is nascent, murky, and
on funding shortfalls, calling for These are typically well-mean- tor innovation for the gaps? tract with the private sector. Yet complex: Operating in these envi-
increased official development ing yet misguided efforts to pro- the RFP is a blunt and poorly fash- ronments is unattractive to private
assistance (ODA), increased gov- mote local innovation, or occur • There are too few entities at the ioned tool in digital areas where sector companies that need to nav-
ernment spending despite Africa’s because public sector institutions last-mile servicing rural communi- agencies do not know what they igate limited yet rapidly evolving
rising budget deficit problem, and believe they are saving money by ties: Companies such as mine have need, and multilateral institutions policies on data security and priva-
calling for the private sector to developing in-house. For example, built data secure ways for banks, often preclude necessary upfront cy, Know-Your-Customer (KYC)
“collaborate,” “partner,” and “step UN agencies have internally built laws, and more. What’s more,
up” — often euphemisms for do- many governments are enacting
nations. Instead, we should fo- on-soil regulations in ill-con-
cus on the operational, legal, and ceived attempts at data security,
commercial barriers to deploying even though replicating systems
sustainable infrastructure, and in small markets adds significant
how we can invest more wisely cost to an already low/no prof-
to overcome those challenges. We it economic model. Still worse,
need sustainable commercial mod- many supranational humanitarian
els that enable service delivery and and development actors actively
provide employment at scale. collect and store sensitive data on
laptops and other manners vul-
By design, private sector solu- nerable to attack. What if govern-
tions must be commercially sus- ments partnered with the private
tainable in order to deliver at sector to develop regulations that
scale and long-term. We would created an enabling environment
be better served as a global com- for innovation and deployment,
munity to entice, encourage, and while ensuring individual protec-
de-risk private sector engagement tions? (For a discussion on the fu-
in the infrastructure challenge by ture of data privacy in Africa, see
channeling existing ODA, private the  viewpoint by Lesly Goh and
philanthropy, and government Buhle Goslar.)
resources towards creating an en-
abling environment for the private Helping communities across
sector to innovate, deliver, and Africa access the critical services
employ. they need would benefit the entire
world. So much more can be done
One such example, where I have with existing aid flows to build
experience, is digital infrastruc- sustainable infrastructure and cre-
ture. Digital infrastructure is not ate employment — if private in-
only a means to deliver aid and vestment is incentivized. We need
other critical services, but also to create an efficient and effective
enables commerce and, thus, the model to deploy the private sec-
means for economic growth. Dig- tor resources we have now — and
ital inclusion, particularly in the in the digital age that must begin
wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the construction of a more
has proven critical for filling gaps effective digital infrastructure that
in physical infrastructure that can leverage the capabilities of pri-
leave the most rural and marginal- vate industry.
ised communities behind.
— Bookings Institution.
Developing and managing se- *About the writer: Tara Na-
cure digital solutions requires ex- than is executive vice-president
tensive knowledge across issues for the humanitarian and devel-
like data privacy and security, in- opment sector at Mastercard.
teroperability standards, franchise
management, biometric tokeni-
sation, device security, and more.
This knowledge resides with the
private sector companies that are

Page 44 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

VOLODYMYR Zelensky was seen Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky: 
by many as a comic actor who stum- From comedian to wartime hero
bled into the presidency. During the Media duel with Vladimir Putin
Russian war on Ukraine, however, saying,  "We need an anti-war coali- alone. The most powerful forces from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. It is part of the paradoxical story of
the 44-year-old has matured into a re- tion.  We are defending our country all over the world are looking on." this war that, while in military terms
spected statesman. Servant of the People to President Ukraine is hopelessly outgunned
Ronald Reagan died 18 years ago, yet by the attacking Russians, when it
An actor, a political satirist, under- many in the US still revere him: To comes to rhetoric Zelensky defeats Pu-
estimated even by his supporters, de- them, he is practically a saint. Zelen- tin hands down.
cides to switch careers and stand for sky appears to be building a similar
the highest office in the country. It's status for himself in Ukraine. But it Following the Russian president's
almost inconceivable. And yet, this is not entirely clear what will happen confused, hour-long speech in which
man has something many politicians to him in the coming days and weeks. he recognised the separatist regions
lack — something that enables him to Reports are circulating that Russia in- of eastern Ukraine as independent re-
rise above himself and shine, especially tends to kill him. Zelensky himself has publics, Ukraine's  Zelensky reassured
in times of crisis: He is an outstanding speculated that one of the aims of the his compatriots: "Don't panic! We
communicator.  Russian attack is to overthrow him, are strong and ready for anything. We
and said the enemy has declared him will defeat everyone, because we are
Many of Zelensky's sentences will their number one target. Ukraine!", and in doing so forestalled
be remembered for years to come, mass panic.
and will eventually find their way into Just a few years ago, Zelensky was
the history books. On 12 June 1987, an actor and entertainer, who sati- When the Russian president speaks
at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, rised corruption and mismanagement of baseless claims of "genocide" in east-
the former Hollywood actor Ronald in Ukraine by playing the Ukrainian ern Ukraine, and rants about "denazi-
Reagan, who had by then been US president in the popular television se- fication" as a pretext for war, it must
president  for seven years, declaimed ries "Servant of the People."  seem like pure mockery, especially for
the words that are repeatedly quoted Zelensky. The Ukrainian head of state
whenever people refer to the period Elected in 2019, he has quickly — who grew up in a Russian-speaking
that ended the Cold War: "Mr. Gor- developed into a serious statesman family —  is Jewish. His grandfather,
bachev, open this gate…  Tear down who seems effortlessly able to strike who was in the Red Army, lost three of
this wall." the right tone in a crisis. Perhaps it his brothers in the Holocaust.
is precisely because, before becoming
Nearly 45 years later, a man with president, he was a comedic actor, pre- Zelensky's approval ratings 
a similar entertainment background senter, and outstanding rhetorical tal- Zelensky has probably never been as
speaks to his countrymen in video ent, which enabled him to use words popular in Ukraine as he is right now.
messages as the national leader, ad- to achieve the greatest possible impact. Yet before the war with Russia, many
dressing them as "Free people! Free of his countrymen were anything but
country!" Zelensky as a communicator satisfied with their head of state. He
Now that Russia has invaded, the sit- was unable to keep the overambitious
Zelensky says things like: "We uation in Ukraine seems increasingly promise he made when he took office
Ukrainians are a peaceful nation. But perilous, and each of Zelenskyy's ap- three years ago: that he would end the
if we remain silent today, we will be peals has been more urgent and impas- conflict in eastern Ukraine.
gone tomorrow!" He is fiercely critical sioned than the last.
of the lack of support from abroad, The progress envisaged in the
Observers regard the speech he Minsk agreements — which aimed to
made just after the Russian invasion resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine
began as the best of his life. Emotion- — failed to materialise; instead, the
al, fearless, and resolute, he told the accords  gradually disintegrated alto-
Russian troops: "If you attack, you will gether.
see our faces, not our backs!"
And then there was the scandal of
The Ukrainian president has also the  Pandora Papers, and the involve-
perfectly mastered the art of commu- ment, of all people, of the supposed
nicating via Twitter. Every few hours Mr. Clean who was fighting the oli-
he tweets pithy statements to the garchs.
world. At midday on Friday, for exam-
ple, he thanked Sweden in Ukrainian The investigative reports, con-
and English for its military, technical, ducted by an international network
and humanitarian assistance, conclud- of journalists, revealed, among other
ing that they were "building an an- things, that Zelensky had ties to  off-
ti-Putin coalition together." shore companies.  According to the
report, Zelenskyy's long-time business
partner — who later became a top
presidential aide —  invested part of
the income in London high-end real
estate, while the president's wife Olena
is said to be a beneficiary of one of the
offshore companies.

Cold War looms again
Incidentally, by the late 1970s Ronald
Reagan was seen as yesterday's man.
He had twice failed to win selection
as the Republican presidential candi-
date, losing to Richard Nixon in 1968
and Gerald Ford in 1976. But then,
in 1979, the Soviet Union invaded
Afghanistan, the Cold War flared up
again, and a year later Reagan won the
US election against incumbent Jimmy
Carter.

More than four decades later, after
Russia's attack on Ukraine, the world
is facing a new version of the Cold
War. And Volodymyr Zelensky's role
in it is yet to be determined.

— Deutsche Welle (DW), Germa-
ny’s international broadcaster.

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 45

Issue 70, 4 March 2022 Priorities for advancing women’s
equal participation in leadership
CHIEDO NWANKWOR
Arguments for women’s equal leadership participation in politics have highlighted its intrinsic value and instrumental justifications. tutes an important variable in the
WOMEN’S equal participation in tension between positive changes in
government is central to democracy demands on their time as gender institutions through constitutional leadership. Training should focus women’s leadership participation and
and achieving sustainable develop- roles increase their responsibility of amendments, legal reforms, and tar- on key actors — gatekeepers and persistent sexist attitudes. Gender
ment and egalitarian societies. care in the home, thus creating vast geted affirmative action programs, influencers, leadership models and norms and behaviors have shaped
resource and time deficits that ben- including but not limited to legis- networks, and understanding strate- women’s experience in running for
While the struggle to redress the efit men and curtail opportunities of lated sex quotas, reservations, and gic influence and effective forms of and holding political offices. For
marginalisation of women in lead- entry and electoral victory for wom- party mandates when combined with social action for change. those women who are elected, norms
ership positions show a measure of en. adequate safeguards. Political parties also shape their leadership experi-
success, this progress has been slow must be key targets for transforma- Third, interventions towards pro- ence, including how they are per-
and uneven since 1995. Gender dis- Women’s equal participation is tion as they are central to women’s moting social mobilisation and col- ceived and treated by the public and
parity persists in access to political also impeded by conscious and un- political access and competitiveness. lective action contributes to changes by fellow political actors. Inequalities
leadership across local governments, conscious biases, discriminatory Their provision, or not, of a fair play- in the nature of the state and expands emanating from social discrimina-
national parliaments, and executive attitudes and norms, and mobility ing ground directly impacts women’s space for women’s inclusion. While tion are reflected in informal rules,
institutions of power — despite and limitations due to threats of (polit- access to appointed and elected posi- these changes can be progressive, which require more deep-seated
in violation of an array of global, re- ical) violence that continue to pose tions in government. they could also advance a conserva- structural reconfiguration. Interven-
gional, and national laws that invest obstacles to meaningful leadership tive agenda like religious and ethnic- tions that aim to correct these norms
women with rights to equal political participation of women within state Second, capacity-building inter- ity-based civil society mobilisations. can become catalysts for change. In
participation and representation as institutions. ventions for women political leaders Policy entrepreneurs and implement- the long term, exposure to female
citizens. Women also face significant within established women parlia- ers should be vigilant, therefore, in leadership can also alter social norms.
disparities within political parties, Records of previous and ongoing mentary caucuses provide women ensuring that, when mobilised, these While norms and social attitudes
who serve as the gatekeepers to wom- interventions provide evidence of leaders with skills and knowledge for coalitions and movements are not hi- change in modest increments over
en’s political access and competitive- numerous effective strategies for ad- effectiveness and success. Meaning- jacked and used to promote myriad long periods, interventions target-
ness. For example, in Africa,  24% vancing women’s political participa- ful (substantive) representation from agendas that mask closet anti-gender ing traditional and regressive gender
of national parliamentarians  and tion across the region. Thus, I suggest women leaders, or the perception propositions, including traditional norms have been known to promote
21% of local government leaders are four key policy areas decisionmakers thereof, reinforces role-modeling ef- notions of women’s subjecthood that conducive and gender-inclusive soci-
women. The continent also ranks far might prioritize for promoting gen- fects and meets voters’ demand for limits their opportunities for politi- eties.
below the global average of 20% for der equality in political leadership, performance accountability, which cal leadership.
women ministers in national cabinet particularly this year. increases public’s positive attitude The relationship between political
positions. and support for women’s political Finally, promoting a conducive change and social change is com-
The starting point must be the and gender-inclusive society consti- plex. Political change is nothing if
Arguments for women’s equal transformation of formal, political there is no social change in the way
leadership participation in politics men perceive women, and political
have highlighted its intrinsic val- change might be inaccessible with-
ue and instrumental justifications. out social change. As such, ensuring
Its fundamental goal — articulated social change can guarantee political
within claims of democratic jus- change, including equal women’s po-
tice, equity and human rights — is litical representation across formal
expressed in the multiple interna- bodies of the state.
tional agreements, regional frame-
works, and national laws driven by As we contemplate the new year,
women’s movements and feminists’ we do not start from nothing; we
mobilisations. The instrumental ra- have lessons on which to build. In
tionale centers on arguments of the fact, the Covid-19 pandemic high-
policy-responsiveness of political lighted two simultaneous and con-
representatives towards those they trasting patterns in its impact on
represent. Specifically, it supports gender equality in general and spe-
the expectations that women’s pres- cifically, women’s political leader-
ence in political leadership will lead ship. On the one hand, it spotlighted
to inclusive decisions that reflect the the fragility of progress on gender
needs and interests of a broader pop- equality, evidenced in the stunning
ulation, including women and girls. reversal of gains made over decades
In effect, women’s political leader- in just two years. On the other hand,
ship results in optimal governance it highlighted that inclusive politics
outcomes for most of society. provides a template for effective gov-
ernance while women’s equal politi-
While there is no shortage of in- cal participation offers pathways for
telligent, ambitious, and capable policy change by establishing stron-
African women potential leaders, ger social nets and systems for more
multiple obstacles hinder women’s resilient societies. The future is equal.
leadership aspirations and candida-
cy. These barriers are determined by — Africa Foresight.
contextual factors that combine for- *About the writer: Chiedo
mal and informal rules, institutions Nwankwor is director of SAIS
and other structural elements in Women Lead in the Paul H. Nitze
unique ways to limit women’s access School of Advanced International
to power as they shape opportunities Studies at Johns Hopkins Universi-
and incentives for actors and actions. ty in the United States.

Although unwritten, informal
rules string together expectations
from culture, religion, and social
structures to exert powerful con-
straints on women’s political agency
alongside formal institutions. These
structural and cultural barriers, in-
cluding those of tradition, impose
significant limitations on women’s
access to resources, and place high

Page 46 Africa News NewsHawks

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

Abolish Zimbabwe exemption Permit 
grace period, South African truckers say

AS part of its latest demands re- Nyathi said the call to abolish Defending the decision, Mot- • The Zimbabwean special tions of an employer engaging
garding the employment of for- the Zimbabwe permits is being soaledi has said the non-renew- permits grace period must be foreign workers.
eigners in South Africa, the All made to Labour Minister Thulas al of the permits is beneficial abolished;
Truck Drivers Forum (ATDF) Nxesi and Home Affairs Minis- to holders in the sense that the The cancellation of the Zimba-
wants the Zimbabwe Exemption ter Aaron Motsoaledi. current permit regime does not • No foreigner must be al- bwe Exemption Permit remains
Permit grace period, which ex- grant applicants a chance to ap- lowed registration at the Na- a thorny issue in South Afri-
pires on 31 December 2022, to “This is not a matter for the ply for other permits. tional Bargaining Council for ca as anti-foreigner sentiments
be abolished.  bargaining council but one that the Road Freight and Logistics grow. Other organisations, such
needs the urgent attention of The ATDF has taken a hard Industry; as the  controversial Operation
Groups of truck drivers [ministers] Nxesi and Motsoale- line against hiring foreigners in Dudula  and Put South Africa
marched through the streets of di,” said Nyathi. the trucking industry, and its • No work permits should be First, are also calling for foreign
Pietermaritzburg and Johannes- call is directed to both illegal issued for non-skilled jobs; nationals to leave the country
burg on Monday to hand over In November 2021, Cabinet and legal foreigners. before the grace period ends.
a memorandum of demands to decided not to renew the Zim- • A 15% salary increase;
the offices of the National Bar- babwean Exemption Permits. The forum said it has always • The DriveCam (inside cam- The Department of Employ-
gaining Council for the Road About 182,000 Zimbabweans based its call on the argument era) must be removed; ment and Labour did not re-
Freight and Logistics Industry. hold the permit and were given that truck driving is not a scarce • No forced vaccinations; and spond to a request for comment
12 months to apply to migrate skill. • No company should operate on the ATDFs demand.
The ATDF said its demand to other permit regimes suitable in the republic without being
for the grace period to be abol- to their individual circumstanc- Section 19 (4) of the Immi- a member of the National Bar- The department’s Sabelo Mali
ished was in line with its stance es. gration Act states that, subject gaining Council for the Road did not respond after seeing the
on foreign truck drivers. The to any prescribed requirements, Freight and Logistics Industry. message.
ATDF has been protesting with The decision to cancel the a critical skills work visa may be The ATDF’s call for the Zim-
road shutdowns and highway permit sparked outrage among issued to an individual possess- babwe Exemption Permit grace The demand to abolish the
blockades, calling for foreign holders and rights groups who ing such skills or qualifications period to be abolished coincided 12-month grace period was a
truck drivers to be barred from unsuccessfully took the gov- determined to be critical for with the release of the draft Na- collective decision, according
the road freight industry, argu- ernment to court on the mat- South Africa. tional Labour Migration Policy.  to Nyathi. “I am only the secre-
ing that truck driving must be ter. Some rights groups argued Nxesi said the amendments to tary-general.
reserved for South Africans be- that it would not be possible The list of the ATDF’s de- the Employment Services Act of
cause it’s not a scarce skill. for many current holders of the mands include: 2024 aim to limit the number We consult with the collective
permit to successfully apply for of foreigners who may be em- on every decision that we take
ATDF general secretary Sifiso other permits. • Truck driving in the freight ployed, and codifies the obliga- and abolishing the grace period
industry must be reserved for is no different.” 
South Africans only;
— Daily Maverick.

NewsHawks World News Page 47

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

ELENA LIBER Standing with Ukrainian refugees
must mean standing with all others
IN the early hours of 24 February, the der, an American historian who works
Russian Federation began its assault A Ukraine solidarity protest in Trafalgar Square, London, on 26 February. Credit: Michael Boyle. primarily on the history of totalitar-
on Ukraine. ianism and war in Eastern Europe,
across EU borders are all things that been left isolated and alone on the bor- Russia’s violence, the Italian govern- once wrote that for Ukrainians, “war
Since then, the world has been many Europeans are saying they could der with Belarus, living with barely any ment is blocking  lifesaving missions is something which happens here”.
watching as missiles rain down on never imagine happening in their life- provisions and allowed to freeze when on the sea where thousands of refu- This is also the case for many coun-
Ukrainian cities, Russian troops ad- time. But they already have been hap- winter arrived. Poland did not open its gees and migrants have lost their lives tries outside Europe, several of which
vance towards major cities such as pening in their lifetime. borders to help these families, to help attempting dangerous crossings in have experienced Western military
Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Mariupol, civilians these people who had fled war and op- search of safety. operations in the name of democracy,
shelter in metro stations and bunkers, For many years, refugees have been pression. In fact, the EU and UK sent freedom and regime change. These are
and huge lines of traffic stretch to- coming to Europe seeking safety and aid to help  secure the border  rather In recent days, social media has countries that Europe, by and large,
wards Ukraine’s western borders. security. Refugees from across Asia than welcoming suffering people with been flooded with content from peo- has closed its doors to.
and Africa. Why have borders not warmth and open arms. The Hungar- ple in the West discussing “their first
Ukraine, the largest country in Eu- been opened or visas waived for them? ian government, which is now open- war”. But this is not the first war in The latest development in the UK is
rope, has Western and southern bor- What is becoming explicitly clear is ing borders to Ukrainians, created il- any of our lifetimes. The violent crises that Home Secretary Priti Patel has an-
ders with Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, something many of us have known for legal camps made with fences topped in Yemen, Afghanistan and Ethiopia nounced she will not be waiving visas
Romania, and Moldova. With the a long time: it’s different when the fac- with razor wire and denied refugees are ongoing, to name a few. In the days for Ukrainians fleeing the violence as
exception of Moldova, these are all es of refugees are white. food.  The same is happening in the since Russia invaded Ukraine, Ameri- they may pose “a security threat”. We
European Union member states. Their Mediterranean.  While condemning ca has bombed Somalia with the aim should be outraged but not surprised.
response to the Russian invasion and Since the summer of 2021, Syrian, of targeting al-Shabaab. Timothy Sny-
mass movement of displaced Ukrai- Afghan and Kurdish refugees have This is the argument made time and
nians westwards has been to prepare time again to refuse access to refugees
accommodation, hospitals, and trans- and migrants from Asia and Africa.
portation. It has been to waive visa
restrictions and transport fees to allow The images from Ukraine are dif-
for families to be reunited. Germany is ficult to watch. As a member of the
allowing Ukrainians to travel by train Ukrainian diaspora whose family
from Poland free of charge. Hungary, arrived in the UK as refugees from a
Romania, and Poland have expressed previous war, the invasion is close and
their strong ties of brotherhood and painful. In the face of this turmoil, I
solidarity with their neighbour. It has cannot express my appreciation at
been a demonstration of what is possi- the outpourings of solidarity I have
ble when humanitarian efforts are pri- seen and my relief that the journeys
oritised over militarised borders  – at of my loved ones who choose to flee
least for some.  may be slightly eased by neighbouring
countries who recognise their plight
20% of international students in and their humanity.  The opening of
Ukraine are from African nations, European borders to refugees is a vi-
with 4 000 from Nigeria alone. They tal part of the response to Russia’s
are also living under the threat of aggression in Ukraine. But this open-
bombs from Russian helicopters, shar- ing cannot and must not be reserved
ing bunkers with other Ukrainians, for white Europeans alone. The plight
and seeking safety from the invasion. of African students on the Ukrainian
border highlights the unequal and vio-
Yet reports from the Polish border lent nature of border and visa regimes.
show that African students seeking to It is the responsibility of governments
cross to safety are being turned away, across Europe to open their borders
pushed to the back of the queue, and to all seeking safety and freedom from
are being told that Ukrainians must be oppression and conflict, and we must
allowed in first. This is not confined campaign for that until they do.
to the Polish border. The BBC has re-
ported that when attempting to board — African Arguments.
a train in Lviv, a Nigerian student was
told that the trains were for Ukraini- *About the writer: Elena Liber is
ans only. an anthropologist who works on sto-
rytelling, memory and revolution in
The war in Ukraine is shocking, and Ukraine. She also conducts work on
many people in the West are expressing protest movements and TikTok.
their disbelief at the outbreak of war
in Europe. Yet for Ukrainians, the war
began eight years ago in 2014 and has
been ongoing ever since. The recent
invasion, the dropping of bombs on
Ukrainian cities, and the movement
of hundreds of thousands of people

Porsche just got angrier Being a Fashion Model

&Life Style

STYLE TRAVEL BOOKS ARTS MOTORING

Page 48 Issue 70, 4 March 2022

JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA It was tough but we pulled with each edition as they try new
through: Nama organisers concepts, taking Zimbabwean events
JACARANDA Culture and Media to greater heights.
Corporation, an events management "However, even with all those specific figure on the budget that groups. These include Molly Dz-
company tasked with organising the challenges, with the little that we did might bring our Nama vision to life. angare, Xcul Boi, Kadjah, Ma9, “We try by all means to keep im-
National Arts Merit Awards (Nama) manage to get from our sponsors we This is because we have different ideas Mokoomba, Enzo Ishall, Breezman, proving it and bringing up unique
by the National Arts Council of would still push to give Zimbabwe and concepts for each edition and all Tanto Wavvie, Crooger, Jnr Brown, concepts with every edition. Of
Zimbabwe, has bemoaned the lack word-class award ceremonies.  those require different things. But as Awa Khiwe, Mimmie, Janet Man- course, it being an awards event there
of sponsorship as a major handicap a dreamer a US$200k budget for next yowa, Zimpraise, Unveiled, Minister are certain things we cannot change
to the successful hosting of the 20th “Then looking at the Covid-19 Nama would produce a spectacle that Mike Mahendere, Mbeu, Mambo or run away from but we strive to
edition. pandemic in 2021, as much as it had will make the whole continent envi- Dhuterere, Nyasha David, Nutty O, make every edition bigger and better
a toll on the whole world, it greatly ous,” he said. Kae Chaps, Kikky BadAss, the Band, than the previous,” he said.
The prestigious awards encompass affected us to the extent that we could the Acrobats, the drummers, the
all art disciplines and were estab- not host the 20th edition last year, It took over eight months of prepa- dancers, the emcees for the red carpet Jacaranda has so far run three edi-
lished through an Act of Parliament but we did not allow that challenge ration for the event and 95 perform- and the main show. And the produc- tions, with the first being the 19th
in 1985. to completely shut us down, thus we ing artistes who went through re- tion of the Namas gave the creatives edition of Nama held in 2020. 
adapted to the new normal and held hearsals. to stage more collaborations as op-
Held under the theme:  “Zimba- the virtual edition of the Nama leg- posed to solo performances. In 2021, Covid-19 took a toll and
bwe and Beyond #AmaLevels”, this ends.” “I must say it came out pretty well, they held a virtual edition which was
year Jacaranda was also a major spon- it was a good production. There were “We decided to include different Nama Legends, which honoured 40
sor of the event as it filled the gap that He said there were further limita- quite a few mistakes that my team artistes from different genres to make legends of the arts industry, the 2021
had been left by sponsors.  tions: “Looking at the economic con- noted and we hope to rectify at the the night eventful. The concept of do- edition did not necessary count as an
straints in our country and the effects next Nama.  ing medleys was one major concept edition of the NAMAs as it was a vir-
“Let me start by saying thank you of the Covid-19 pandemic, we did we used that made the production tual one. 
for the support. It was a hard road, face a lot of limitations. Some spon- “It is quite daunting being at the stand out. we thought as this event
but we pulled through. It took a lot sors had to cut their budgets as they epicentre of it all and knowing ex- is for the artistes, why not include as “So this year’s edition was the 20th
of planning and organising, running were also affected by  the pandemic. actly how things were supposed to many artistes as we could from mu- edition. Basically we have been run-
around looking for sponsorship and This was to our disadvantage as we come out, those little mistakes be- sicians, dancers, bands, speakers, ac- ning the Nama for three years now;
the sorts.  We started preparing for also now had to tone down some of came big pain points. But overall, I robats, designers and others to come the 19th edition in 2020, Nama Leg-
this year’s edition in July last year,” the concepts we had planned for this feel we pulled off quite a good event,” up with something solid and unfor- ends edition in 2021 and the 20th
Napoleon Nyanhi, the executive di- year’s edition.” he said. gettable? It took a lot of planning and edition this year,” he said.
rector and producer of the Namas, coordinating, but it was all worth it,”
said. According to Nyanhi, a budget of Highlights at this year’s edition in- Nyanhi explained. While JCMC offers event manage-
up to US$200 000 could guarantee a cluded the invite-only red carpet and ment skills, artist management, re-
“I would say our biggest challenge world-class ceremony in Zimbabwe. also the performances on the night. He hopes that Nama will improve cording studio and other facilities rel-
was sponsorship. Looking at the eco- evant and suitable to make the event
nomic challenges in our country, it is “It is almost impossible to put a In total, there were about 95 organized and extraordinary, all ad-
rather difficult to get enough spon- artistes, including the bands and judication processes are done by the
sorship to meet with the dreams and National Arts Council of Zimbabwe. 
vision we have for where and how we
wanted our event to be.  As a parting shot, Nyanhi says
preparations for the 21st edition are
already in motion, so watch out!

NewsHawks Life & Style Page 49

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

Page 50 Poetry Corner NewsHawks

Issue 70, 4 March 2022

Poet: Sithembinkosi Ncube Poet: Aries Rage Poet: Curt Masango
Poem: The African Dream Poem: The Rabbit Hole Poem: Imposter

The African dream is a river It is_ Incongruent be the word
Like the Nile it cuts across deserts Soul consuming fire, Blindfolded by darkness
Through rises and lows cold like a glacier lake Confusion simmering
In search of the sea gnawing at your feeble self. Averse ahead behind
Ever trickling waters to eternity Nauseating slime_ gooey and icky In bold capital printed
It has no choice smells like a hagfish waiting IMPOSTER, IMPOSTER
But to fight on the traps of regret to bore into your dying flesh Who cherish life
The African dream is a beating drum poked by your demons, Who dishonour life
Thundering in the country side mocking and taunting your thoughts. Who earns in strife
Alongside the crowing cocks It is_ Who miff with a fife
Spreading the will of a people A never-ending bullying session, Who bleeds the knife
It is a promise of a destination not so far wedges to your tush, IMPOSTER, IMPOSTER
An observation against chains of bondage and barf in your food. Fanaticism for terrorism
The African dream is a breeze Schizophrenic moments. Evangelism for exorcism
Pushing Africa ashore Alzheimer’s_ you wish you had. The blood in the exocarp
Ruffling and soothing Total blackout_ is just a dream The gene that became the epicarp
It is both a struggle and a dance that never comes; The DNA of epical farce on the wall
Like a dog that has just got the scent Constant replays of nightmares IMPOSTER, IMPOSTER
It is both a sound and its echoes and repeated rides on the terror train. Trail guns, statutory bans
Rocking deep into the intricacies Closing your eyes is a free ticket to the boogie ill police, statuette policies
Blossom my people man’s concert. Hunched honcho on macho
Children of the hunters, herders and fishermen It is_ So be the poet and his poem
Blossom my people An obsessive lover’s grip IMPOSTER, IMPOSTER
Mothers of the human race, math and science holding you tight so you
Blossom my people don’t slip away. Light at the end of the tunnel? Poet: Homunculus
Our destination is no longer abroad but here. it’s just a spark of your fairytales Poem: Carry Me
going up in flames; Let’s face it!
Poet: Sydney Nyagato it feeds on your tortured soul Carry me my burdens,
Title: The Green-bereted Bandit just like vultures I’ve carried you enough times
feed on a wounded prey. Piggyback to and fro,
I’ve paid the dues for my crimes
Hell broke loose one gloomy day. Poet: Andy Kahari Bulls eye on my forehead,
It was a fateful fall in the 80s, Poets: Modern Gadgets I’ve failed to grow with the times
When the afro bandit descended, So carry me my burdens,
Green-bereted and all; Modern day gadgets all part of a budget. I’ll wither just fine.
Taking chances in an Afro Windsor castle, Ceremoniously revered by all
Rebuking the sleeping sentries, In worship of the widget. Title: Blue collar
Heckling some imaginary knights, Demanding devoted submission to all Poet: Homunculus
Marking gory puckers with indelible, violet ink, Willing to endlessly fidget.
Using some unique franking machine, Hypnotizing restless wrists blindly draining the Empty drawers
To make some 8th-day - creation of flame pocket. Full of silver spoons
tattoos. The pocket and love they restlessly strangle I count my days
The green-bereted bandit of Afro Windsor, Bringing chaos at midnight; Watching cows jump over the moon
The envy of every nobleman in the Royal En- With an undesirable love triangle. “Soon, “ they say twill be better...
glish family; Applauding a threesome; I still clean the jizz off the carpet
The prowess of which every Jivaro warrior Forbidden in this bed. Of some young boastful tycoon...
of Latin America might choke in the witching Where finger and mind perversion is all but Damn can’t you see?
slime, very bad. Subjecting finger perverts to cyber My path is riddled with cryptic runes
Not far from Gandavaroyi and the treacherous cults. Where they finger pokes buttons How can I sing when I don’t know your
thickets of Mwenezi.. And never nipple buttons. tune?
The green-bereted bandit who pulls up every All to dally and climax Instinct says to run away
stop, In cyber frenzy ecstasy. But society sees a toony loon
Wielding those blunt weapons, To let off drained pockets and strained rela- Weaving my future on its loom
Ready to decapitate every living soul deserv- tionships! How can I escape my dusky doom?
ing death in cold blood..