NewsHawks 3 December 2021

WHAT’S INSIDE Friday 3 December 2021 UBUS$SI4N00ES0S00 Price
compensatory
NMEnWanSgagwa’s dividend for US$1
‘bully’ lawyers Zim pensioners
reported to the ZSPifOa,RSTRC
Law Society Story on Page 25 talk tough
as row
Story on Page 8 deepens

Story on Page 44

Douglas
Munatsi:
Murder
most foul

ALSO INSIDE Treasury suspends the whistleblower monetary rewards

Page 2 News NewsHawks

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

Munatsi was killed: Friends

OWEN GAGARE l Relatives cry murder most foul

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NewsHawks News Page 3

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

BRIDGET MANANAVIRE Late former banker Douglas Munatsi (left) and the bedroom of his penthouse before it was burnt.

THE late business executive Doug Munatsi’s Munatsi burial order issued as his
burial order was issued yesterday while further family awaits postmortem results
examinations to ascertain the cause of his death
continue. It is, however, not clear when the toxicolo-
gy examination results will be out as the turn-
Munatsi died early on Monday morning in around time and the capacity of the new equip-
a “suspicious” fire that broke out in his sev- ment donated to the police has not yet been
en-bedroom luxurious apartment at North- established.
fields in the Avenues area of Harare.
Last month, Home Affairs minister Kazem-
The government announced that he will be be Kazembe revealed that the courts have been
granted a state-assisted funeral. failing to finalise several criminal cases due to
lack of forensic evidence.
Pathologists yesterday handed over samples
needed for a toxicology examination to the However, the Zimbabwe Republic Police
police after preliminary postmortem examina- (ZRP) Forensic Science laboratory last month
tions on the body did not give conclusive an- got DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) equipment
swers as to the cause of death. which is used in investigating murder and oth-
er violent crimes.
Postmortem results are an important piece
in the puzzle to establish what exactly killed Kazembe said: “The use of forensics to solve
him. the malady of crime in societies has become
commonplace. The world over, the use of
Investigations are still underway as the police DNA analysis to solve crimes such as murder
also need to establish the cause of fire through and rape, among others, is one area that has
reports from the Fire Brigade and forensics. registered immense success. Regrettably, the
ZRP had been seriously lagging behind in this
After the fire broke out in the penthouse regard”.
that overlooks Harare Sports Club which hosts
international cricket, and the Zimbabwe State “DNA analysis was being sub-contracted to
House, the Criminal Investigations Depart- private institutions, whose charges were pro-
ment (CID) Homicide section, CID Studios, hibitive. The timeous analysis of samples will,
CID Scenes of Crime, CID Forensics and ZRP indeed, ensure that justice is delivered without
Harare Central attended to the scene. delay.”

The remains of the deceased were found in a Inside Munatsi’s penthouse.
sitting position just beside the bath tub in the
main bedroom with some burns on the hands
and legs, he was putting on a red T-shirt and a
black pair of shorts which were not burnt.

Police sources say there were also some
burns on the abdomen, which could have been
caused by heat as his clothes were intact.

“According to what has been received, there
is no specific cause of death given at this time.
It is not common, but it happens. Samples were
collected for a toxicology examination to asses
whether there were no drugs, alcohol or poison
involved,” the source told The NewsHawks.

The samples collected are eye fluid, stom-
ach contents, urine and blood, as well as small
pieces of other organs of the body. They were
given to the police.

“The police are now expected to take the
samples for a toxicology examination. The tests
used to be done by the National Microbiology
Reference Laboratory, which the police has not
been using and where some results from as far
as 15 years ago have not yet been received. The
state also used to send samples to South Africa
where results would take between two weeks to
a month to be received,” the source said.

“The pathologist also didn’t give an indica-
tion on the issue of smoke inhalation, but it
has not been ruled out.”

According to the postmortem examination
done yesterday, no other sign of trauma was
found on the body except for those related to
heat.

While there had been reports of nails miss-
ing from his fingers, further assessment of Mu-
natsi’s body established that there was a nail
which had appeared to have been damaged
some time before the incident.

Page 4 News NewsHawks

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

Access to Northfields flats restricted
APARTMENTS at the luxurious Northfields
flats in the Avenues area of Harare, where Zim- Northfields flats, situated at the corner
babwe Investment Development Agency CEO of Josiah Tongogara Street and Fifth
Douglas Munatsi owned an upmarket pent- Avenue in Harare, are not ordinarily
house, are not accessible to outsiders, unless a accessible to outsiders.
resident or someone inside authorises entry.

The imposing block, which overlooks Harare
Sports Club and from where one can see sections
of State House from the balcony, is situated at
the corner of Josiah Tongogara Street and Fifth
Avenue.

There are entrances to the flat, one along Fifth
Street, another along Josiah Tongogara Avenue
and the other along Simon Muzenda Street (for-
merly known as Fourth Street).

Residents and visitors are, however, only al-
lowed to use the Fifth Street entrance, which
is controlled by security personnel around the
clock.

“When you get there, there is a security gate
and visitors are not allowed in unless the own-
er of the apartment allows them in,” a resident
revealed.

“When you get there, there is an intercom.
The security guard punches in the code so that
they can confirm with the owners if they can
allow you in. If there is no response, you can
actually phone and speak to the people you are
visiting and only then are you allowed in.

“If there is no response, you are not allowed
in.”

Once allowed in, the guards do not escort vis-
itors unless specifically asked by the hosts.

Munetsi lived in penthouse number C9,
which is the first flat one sees upon entry via the
Fifth Street gate. The apartment is on the right, a
few metres from the gate.

Upon entering, one is asked to identify them-
selves and enter their details into a visitors’ book.

“Normally people use lifts when going to the
upper floors, but on this occasion residents and
visitors were taking the stairs because of a power
outage which occurred on Saturday. From the
lift, one can access all the floors,” a resident said.

A security guard who was on duty when Mu-
natsi died in an inferno, Shupai Zifunge (47),
told the police that he saw Munatsi on Sunday
at 6.20pm.

Munatsi informed him he was expecting a
guest at his flat later that evening and asked the
guard to escort her to his penthouse.

The guest, who was recorded in the security
check point book as Coleta NFPK, arrived at
about 7.05pm and left at 9.18pm on foot.

Police are keen to interview her as they believe
she could provide vital leads that may help solve
Munatsi’s mysterious death. — STAFF WRITER.

NewsHawks News Page 5

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

Mystery deaths deepen in Zim
From Mujuru, Kuwaza to Munatsi ...
JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA/ ENOCK MUCHINJO
to escape. atrocities of the early 1980s, where at least 30 The removal of fingernails could imply that
DEATH is never easy and, whenever it strikes, For a man of Mujuru’s easy-going and care- 000 civilians in Matabeleland provinces and the the affable 51-year-old might have been tortured
the grief it causes is traumatic for family and free nature, one would imagine that his type of Midlands were killed. severely before the apartment was set alight.
friends who would have lost a loved one. lifestyle perhaps posed the greatest danger to his
safety, not an inferno that grew long after he had Shiri’s death in August 2020, close sources Police say they are investigating the circum-
This encounter with mortality always leaves a chance to escape. said, could have stemmed from food poisoning, stances and causes of death, including a hunt
the surviving family in a sombre state and asking Often, when an international cricket team although the official cause of death was pro- for a woman only identified as Colleta, who is
in vain — but why? toured to play Zimbabwe, Mujuru was seen nounced as Covid-19. believed to have been the last person to see Mu-
parking his rugged all-terrain vehicle in the Ha- natsi alive after she visited him at his apartment
It does not matter who you are — ordinary rare Sports Club parking lot. The suspicions were fuelled further when and left some four hours before the fire.
folk or the rich and famous — your passing will Alone and warmly greeting back strangers, he Mnangagwa visited the family brandishing post
be the cause of great personal anguish for those would stride across to the VIP enclosure of the mortem results which confirmed he had died of It could be too early to make firm conclu-
closest to you. stadium, a jacket-and-tie section where import- Covid-19. Government officials told The News- sions, suffice it to say that the Munatsi tragedy
ant guests watch the game from. Hawks that the post mortem was unprocedurally — like others before — has deep suspicion of
Worse, if the death is mysterious and raises The smartly-clad guests of the late Zimbabwe done, as it was not taken to Parirenyatwa where foul play written all over it.
suspicion of foul play. Cricket (ZC) chairperson Peter Chingoka — a pathologists were waiting for it after receiving all
close friend of Mujuru — would be treated to the paperwork. For now, Munatsi’s shock death is similar in
For famous people, such demises dominate the opulence of expensive whiskey and wine for some ways to that of another top bureaucrat,
discussions in the public domain and make for hours during the match. The body, which was at a military facility, nev- Charles Kuwaza.
sensational newspaper headlines. Only that the ex-commander would be er came, but all the same the post mortem was
dressed in his casualwear, chuckling heartily into performed at the facility. In the case of Munatsi, the question right now
This is precisely why Michael Jackson’s death his drink, as other guests stole gazes of amaze- is: did he die of an accidental fire, or met his fate
necessitated an inquest, and so did the deaths of ment. Early this week, Zimbabwe woke up to the through first-degree murder?
Prince and Marvin Gaye. Mujuru’s death in the fire was certain- news of the death of top banker Douglas Mu-
ly the biggest mystery of its kind and natsi in a mysterious blaze at his home after great Four years ago, the country was left with
And in Zimbabwe, there have been quite a few perhaps Zimbabwe’s first experience similar questions over Kuwaza: did the former
high-profile people whose deaths are shrouded in with a high-profile death of ex- balls of fire ravaged his luxurious 9th chairperson of the influential State Procurement
mystery to this day. tremely suspicious nature. floor penthouse in the Avenues Board (SPB) jump to his death from the 9th
A decade on, the mystery of area of Harare during the floor of a building in apparent suicide, or was he
Years later, in each of these mysterious cases, Mujuru’s death has only deepened. early hours of Monday. pushed in a premeditated killing?
no one knows exactly what really happened as No arrests, no justice. The suave business ex-
the state has failed to probe or provide satisfacto- Mujuru is not the only ex-service ecutive, who at the time His family members insist it was murder most
ry answers for the unsolved deaths. chief to have died without ques- of his death was CEO foul. After all, his family members insist until to-
tion marks being raised. Shiri, of the Zimbabwe day that he was afraid of heights.
The death of retired General Solomon Mu- the long-serving Air Force com- Investment and De-
juru, Charles Kuwaza, retired Air-Marshall Per- mander, died suddenly in Harare velopment Agency “Suppose he had thoughts of killing himself,
rance Shiri, and, more recently, banker Douglas last year, initially reportedly due to (Zida) — appoint- jumping from the 9th floor would have been the
Munatsi, still linger in the mind. Covid-19, which had claimed the ed to the position very last option,” a relative said this week.
life of his driver a few days before his by President Em-
You could also add the case of Edward Chi- own passing. merson Mnangag- Kuwaza, who had also previously served as a
komba, a freelance cameraman who was found Shiri, who was 65 and now Zimba- wa — was found deputy chairperson of the Reserve Bank of Zim-
dead in 2007 two days after his abduction near bwe’s minister of Agriculture in the post- without some fin- babwe (RBZ), was known for his deep infectious
his home in Harare. coup administration that toppled the late gernails with his laughter, as well as being an accomplished chess
former President Robert Mugabe, lifeless body in a player, respected for his great work in the ad-
Then there is the mysterious disappearance of was one of the top figures impli- sitting position vancement of his beloved sport in his position of
journalist-cum-activist Itai Dzamara, who has cated in the Gukurahun- di inside his comfy Zimbabwe Chess Federation (ZCF) president.
not been found six years after his abduction at pad.
a barbershop in Harare’s high-density suburb of Outside the jovial, genial and pleasant person-
Glen View. The late former banker ality that endeared him to people across genera-
Douglas Munatsi tions in sporting and social circles, things were
Onlookers watched helplessly, in broad day- not quite the same in the government depart-
light, as Dzamara was bundled into an unmarked ments and businesses that Kuwaza spent most of
truck and taken away — crying out for help — his productive time in.
to meet an unknown fate.
When he plunged to his death from his Club
While Dzamara is still under the missing cat- Chambers offices in Harare in April 2017
egory, the most prominent figure in the country mid-morning on a public holiday,
to have died in these questionable circumstanc- the 63-year-old Kuwaza was
es is Mujuru, a decorated veteran of the armed said to be collecting docu-
liberation struggle who in post-Independence ments to support his court
Zimbabwe was widely believed to wield massive case in one of five counts of
influence as a kingmaker. corruption he was facing.
He actually left his car
Mujuru died in April 2011 in a house fire that engine running, as he had
raged out of control for hours into the wee hours. no intention of staying
long in the office. But
The frighteningly huge flames razed down someone was waiting in
Mujuru’s farmhouse in Beatrice, 54 kilometres the shadows to check-
south-west of Harare, and gutted the 66-year-old mate the chess guru.
former military commander. As expected, family
and friends said they
Husband of the then Vice-President Joice feared foul play might
Mujuru, the late ex-soldier — according to rela- have been involved
tives, friends and political allies — was murdered in Kuwaza’s great
by rivals at the height of Zanu PF’s intra-elite leap and subsequent
political tensions. death.
Four years on,
General Mujuru, who liked operating in the nobody has been
shadows as a kingmaker, was the power behind held accountable for
what was known as the Mujuru faction which at Kuwaza’s death and
the time of his death was in the ascendancy in the enduring trauma
Zanu PF’s succession race. At the time, the fac- suffered by his adoring
tion was battling the Mnangagwa faction, which relatives and compan-
eventually triumphed. ions.
With the Kuwaza case
Vice-President Joice Mujuru could only watch seemingly disappearing
as her faction was run out of town, leading to into irrelevance as the
her expulsion from Zanu PF alongside her stal- years go by, we now have
warts like Rugare Gumbo, Didymus Mutasa and this Munatsi puzzle in
Webster Shamu, at the behest of the Mnangagwa front us.
faction, which had found a useful ally in former Only time will tell — so
First Lady Grace Mugabe. the old adage goes.
But most people in this coun-
Many believed if Mujuru was alive, nothing of try will not be holding their breath,
the sort would have happened. because from experience in Zimba-
bwe, time has not solved countless oth-
Threadbare police claims, and other similar er mysterious deaths.
accounts, say Mujuru died in a fire accident,
possibly caused by a candle or an electrical fault.

According to relatives and friends, these
claims simply do not hold water, based on sever-
al contrasting versions of witnesses, who include
farm workers.

For example, Mujuru’s bedroom, in which his
remains were found, had several escape routes so
it was questioned how a said military genius like
him — who was still of sound mind and body
even at the ripe age of 66 — could be trapped in
the building without using his military instincts

Page 6 News NewsHawks

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

Gone too soon: Tribute to Munatsi

BEKI MOYO Douglas Munatsi (below) was BancABC’s first CEO in 2000.

DOUGLAS Munatsi was a first-generation en- clearly a man of many firsts. I am aware that he ilies and friends. I will never forget our quar- What a journey!
trepreneur. Alongside renowned businessman tried his best to professionalise this business and terly Mauritius board meetings, where Doug, I know how much his mother meant to him
Oliver Chidawu — at the tender age of 33 — he had a lot of hope for our country that he deeply Francis and I would work hard and then party and what he meant to Gogo and the whole Mu-
co-founded Heritage Investment Bank in 1995 cared for and loved. We are all the poorer without even harder after our meetings. Doug was truly natsi family at large. No words can comfort her,
and was appointed its managing director. Doug. an outstanding human being. I remember when we just must trust in God, as difficult as this may
Doug stepped down from the SLG board (one of be right now. Auntie Bindzile, Musa, Bongi and
He quickly realised that to compete in a mar- With Doug it was not all work and no play. our investee companies), Shakes said we needed Junior, we share your pain. Doug was not just a
ket with over 30 financial institutions, one need- We enjoyed ourselves like there was no tomor- to have an open invitation for Doug as the meet- partner, he was more than that to us, a friend, a
ed scale. Through his contacts with Anglo Amer- row. We were part of a wine-buying syndicate ings and our trips to Durban would never be the brother, an uncle to our children and, above all
ican executives, including Kalaa Mpinga, among that includes, Mthi (my elder brother), Shakes, same without him. an incredible human being.
others, in 1997 he facilitated the merger of Her- Danisa and Taps. Of all the members of the wine We must celebrate a life well lived; I am certain
itage Investment Bank with the largest and most syndicate, only Taps and Danisa support the Red How can I forget our traversing the length and this is what Doug would want us to do. I do not
successful merchant bank then, First Merchant Devils and the rest of us were absolutely fanatical breadth of the United States on a fund-raising know how we will operate without him, but we
Bank of Zimbabwe. He was appointed MD of about Liverpool and used to watch at least two mission from Los Angeles to Washington DC will certainly endeavour to make sure that this
the merged entity. live games a year at Anfield. and dancing to Drake’s tune, We started from the legacy lives.
bottom now we’re here.
Not one to be easily satisfied, as Zimbabwe We have travelled the world with our fam-
was imploding, Doug decided that the next
growth phase of the business was to go regional.

He engineered one of the largest financial ser-
vices deals ever undertaken in Zimbabwe. This
deal saw the merger of Bard Discount House,
First Merchant Bank, UDC and ULC Compa-
nies that were operating in Botswana, Mozam-
bique, Malawi (LFC), Tanzania and Zambia, cul-
minating in the creation of a regional bank aptly
named African Banking Corporation, now trad-
ing as BancABC. Naturally, he was tasked with
leading this new Bank as its first CEO in 2000.

I was then general manager (finance) of one of
the predecessor institutions, UDC (The Money
People). I officially met Doug and Francis Dzan-
ya in 2000. Boy, little did I know it was only the
beginning of a lifelong partnership that has en-
dured to this day. Both Francis and I held several
positions in the bank, but were appointed group
chief operating officer and group chief financial
officer respectively in 2005, with Doug continu-
ing as group CEO. At the time, the bank had just
gone through some murky waters and was one of
the few survivors of the 2003 banking crisis in
Zimbabwe.

Under Doug’s guidance, we embarked on
a massive turnaround strategy. As I recall it, at
its worst, the bank had a market cap of just un-
der US$4 million; what was worse was that you
couldn’t find buyers at that price but, brick by
brick, we rebuilt the institution.

In 2014, just before we left the bank, its assets
had grown to some US$2 billion, we were able
to sell it at an effective valuation of just under
US$240 million to Atlas Mara, a vehicle that was
created and run by former Barclays Bank group
CEO Bob Diamond. Within a short time, it be-
came clear that there was a new sheriff in town. I
remember Doug in very low spirits, saying may-
be it was time to leave.

I could not believe that he could give up on
his baby just like that. For my part, I had long
figured out that the ship had sailed off, although
I just was not sure Doug was ready for our next
adventure. But clearly, I was wrong.

Officially, ATMA took over on or about 31
August 2014 and by 31 December 2014 we were
out of the bank. We dragged Francis with us, lit-
erally kicking and screaming!! We had decided it
was time to leave and set up the next project.

In January 2015, DBF Capital Partners was
born. DBF is an Investment Holding company
owned by Doug, Francis and I. We figured if we
could start a business with nothing, then surely,
we could start a successful entity now that we had
a bit of cash. The three of us contributed up to
US$32 million by way of debt and equity.

At the time of Doug’s passing, our balance
sheet had just gone over US$144 million, and
we are in the process of closing two transac-
tions which, if successful, would take us to over
US$200 million. It is testament to Doug’s vision
and entrepreneurship. We are determined to
keep pushing as this is what Doug would have
wanted. Doug was a serial entrepreneur, he had
other thriving investments outside DBF, includ-
ing one of the largest farming operations in Zim-
babwe and Jacob Bethel Corporation, a company
that specialises in heavy mining equipment, just
to mention but two.

In April 2020, Doug decided to take a three-
year sabbatical from the firm as he wanted to
serve his country. He joined a state-owned enti-
ty, the Zimbabwe Investment and Development
Agency (Zida), as its inaugural CEO. He was

NewsHawks News Page 7

Issue 59, 3 December 2021 BANK OF ZI

RESERVE MBABWE

Foreign Exchange Auction Results 30 November 2021

Number of Bids Received SMEFX68/2021 MAIN FX74/2021
: 923 604

Number of Bids Disqualified : 311 236

Total Number of Bids Accepted : 612 368

Total Number of Bids Allotted : 612 368

Total Value of Bids Accepted : USD6,466,518.27 USD32,681,877.66

Amount Allotted : USD6,466,518.27 USD32,681.877.66

Highest Rate Received : 125.0000 120.0000

Lowest Bid Rate Received : 100.0000 100.0000

Lowest Bid Rate Allotted : 100.0000 100.0000

Weighted Average Rate : 105.6896

PURPOSE AMOUNT AMOUNT
ALLOTTED ALLOTTED
Raw Materials SME AUCTION MAIN AUCTION

2,027,946.14 12,886,823.83

Machinery and Equipment 2,134,470.16 9,563,903.99
Consumables (Incl. Spares, Tyres, Electricals, etc) 813,235.15 3,098,825.50

Services (Loans, Education, Dividends, 549,730.63 1,972,011.01
Disinvestments, etc)
Retail and Distribution (Incl. Food, Beverages, etc) 467,852.29 2,506,916.23
- 160,008.59
Fuel, Electricity and Gas
344,411.39 1,830,950.66
Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals

Paper and Packaging 128,872.51 662,437.85
6,466,518.27 32,681,877.66
TOTAL

GRAND TOTAL AWARDED 39,148,395.93

Notes
1. Bids with overdue CD1s, outstanding Bills of Entry (BOEs), insufficient ZWL, and

those with sufficient FCA balances were also disqualified.
2. Some Bids were allotted on a pro-rata basis.

RESERVE BANK OF ZIMBABWE
30 November 2021

Page 8 News NewsHawks

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA Mnangagwa’s ‘bully’ lawyers
reported to the Law Society
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s lawyer
Edwin Manikai has been formally reported to the Lawyer Edwin Manikai
Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) for “unethical”
and “unprofessional” conduct by Zanu PF mem- ly believes that the letter was designed to bully In a dramatic escalation of tensions over Mnan- formally complained to the LSZ on 25 November
ber Sybeth Musengezi who has taken the ruling him. Having reasonably concluded that the let- gagwa’s legitimacy battle, Ncube Attorneys wrote 2021.
party and five senior officials to court in a legal ter in issue constitutes unethical bullying, our Mr in a letter dated 18 November 2021 acknowledg-
battle over the unlawful installation of the Presi- Sithole hereby makes a formal complaint against ing receipt of Manikai’s earlier correspondence of Msengezi’s court case poses a clear and present
dent as new leader. the named legal practitioners, Messrs Dube Man- 11 November 2021, while simultaneously com- danger to Mnangagwa’s position as Zanu PF lead-
ikai and Hwacha, of Harare.” plaining about DMH’s conduct over which they er and ultimately has far-reaching consequences
Musengezi, who says he has been a ruling party for him as state President.
member in good standing for over 20 years, has
sued Zanu PF for appointing Mnangagwa inter- Zanu PF member Sybeth Musengezi
im leader through a Central Committee meeting
held on 19 November 2017 at its headquarters in
Harare, later ratified by an extraordinary congress
on 15 December 2017.

He says the way the meeting was hastily con-
vened, constituted and conducted was unconsti-
tutional and unlawful, hence resultantly Mnan-
gagwa is an illegal leader of Zanu PF.

Besides Zanu PF and Mnangagwa, there are
four other respondents in the matter.

In a letter dated 25 November 2021, Musen-
gezi’s lawyers, Ncube Attorneys, say Manikai’s be-
haviour was not just unethical and unprofession-
al, but also tantamount to “bullying”.

“We represent Sybeth Musengezi in a matter
where our client is suing the Zimbabwe African
National Union Patriotic Front (Zanu PF) and
five others, filed in Harare High Court under cov-
er of case number HC 5687/21,” the letter says.

“It is common cause that, as lawyers and as a
professional class, we live by our own high code of
ethics and by our high moral standards. As legal
practitioners, we owe a duty to our colleagues to
uphold the high standards of the profession.

“As we alluded to above, we represent Sybeth
Musengezi (our client) in a matter where he has
taken Zimbabwe African National Union Patri-
otic Front (Zanu PF) and five others within the
party structure of Zanu PF to the Presidency and
First Secretary position.

“Ours filed an application for a declaratory
order in High Court Harare under cover of case
to court, challenging the ascendency to power of
Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa number HC
5687/21 — the matter is still pending.

“As expected in all litigation, some respondents
in this instance Zanu PF, E.D Mnangagwa, Obert
Mpofu and Patrick Chinamasa filed their notice
of oppositions through Dube, Manikai and Hwa-
cha Commercial Law Chambers. I must categori-
cally state that the respondents, in their opposing
affidavits prayed that the matter be dismissed and
that the costs be paid at an attorney and client
scale and not de bonis proporiis.

“As we were still considering the matter viz a
viz the notice of opposition, we were shocked to
receive a stinging letter from respondent’s law-
yers. We attach the letter complained of for ease
of reference. In the letter, the respondents were
threatening our (legal practitioner) Mr Sithole
with costs de bonis proporis.

“It is this letter that we want to bring to your
attention as it exhibits very disturbing issues.

1. It would be an understatement to downplay
the importance of this matter in the country’s
body politic.

2. The respondents’ lawyers have decided to
threaten the practitioner handling the Musengezi
matter. We say so, simply because when they filed
their notice of oppositions, they knew clearly that
the matter had merit.”

Ncube Attorneys, whose correspondent law
firm in Harare is Mbidzo, Muchadehama and
Makoni, continued in their letter to LSZ: “The
respondents’ lawyer, who had filed their opposing
papers, decided to litigate by correspondence, a
strategy which is undesirable, and by its very na-
ture unethical, especially when such correspon-
dence has a tendency to threaten other members
of the profession. The language used in that letter
(dated 11 November 2021) is shocking.

“Had it been that there was substance in the
letter and cited cases therein were conclusive, one
would be tempted to take heed of the so-called
‘clarion call’ for our client to withdraw its case.
The cited matters are distinguishable, not conclu-
sive of the issues raised by our client.

“It is our considered view that the conduct of
respondents’ lawyers falls far short of the expected
standard of upholding public confidence in the
administration of justice, and safe-guarding the
collective interest of the legal profession, in up-
holding the standards of the legal profession.

“The letter has demonstrated unprofessional
and unethical conduct and our Mr Sithole strong-

NewsHawks News Page 9

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

OWEN GAGARE Stop interfering with Doves
wrangle, Court tells Kereke
CONVICT Munyaradzi Kereke has been
barred from interfering with the ongoing own- Limited and any company or entity within the Convict Munyaradzi Kereke
ership wrangle at Doves Holdings Limited af- Doves group of companies.”
ter he tried to stop court proceedings by writ-
ing letters directly to the Judge President. Justice Muchawa also took a swipe at Matsi-
ka for trying to fraudulently elbow his partner
High Court judge Justice Emilia Muchawa out of the business.
on Wednesday ruled that the matter should
only be argued in court and not through other “Matsika has fraudulently consented to
means. She blasted Kereke for his actions. the order against its interests without getting
requisite authority from the second applicant
In her judgement, Justice Muchawa also (Busangabanye) as co-director. It was clear that
ruled in favour of Phibeon Busangabanye, there could not be a meeting of directors and
(commonly known as Zimuto), who is locked expect him to vote against his own interests,”
in an ownership wrangle with prominent busi- the judge said.
nessman Farai Matsika. The judge slapped the
latter with costs for trying to mislead the court. She also prohibited Matsika, through his
other companies, from dealing in shares in
Justice Muchawa upheld the application Doves.
for recision of a judgement which had settled
ownership shares between the two. She accused Matsika and Kereke of conniv-
ing to attempt to fool the court by purporting
Matsika and Busangabanye bought Doves that the sale agreement for the company had
from Kereke in 2012 through their jointly been cancelled when it, in fact, was subsisting.
owned investment vehicle, Transfrontier In-
vestments (Transfrontier), which they formed “The letter of cancellation was not a valid
in 2008. cancellation ex nunc as required at law. The
letter simply signals an intention to cancel
The erstwhile business partners have 50-50 the agreements and the court order therefore
shareholding in Transfrontier, which acquired confirms a cancellation which was never made
100% shareholding in Doves. leading to a error at law.

However, late last year, Matsika tried to el- “The order tampers with rights and interests
bow out his partner, claiming he was the sole in property which were effectively res litigiosa
owner of the company, prompting Busangab- leading to an abuse of court processes. The po-
anye to seek legal recourse which resulted in sitions taken by both Matsika and Dr Kereke
the court ruling that they held equal shares. are inconsistent and can only point to a con-
nivance between them,” Justice Muchawa said
Recently, Kereke told Justice Tawanda Chi- in her ruling.
tapi that Busangabanye took advantage that he
was in jail to try and dupe him. She added: “The cancellation could not
have been valid on the grounds of failure to
The former lawmaker accuses Busangab- pay the full purchase price (for Doves) given
anye of giving him a house which belonged to that on the record of fourth respondent’s no-
Doves in order to settle money owed to him. tice of opposition, there is a confirmation by
Dr Munyaradzi Kereke that the purchase price
That case however failed to proceed after was paid in full.”
Chitapi ruled that the matter be returned to
the registry. Kereke was convicted of rape in She said Busangabanye had in his applica-
2014 and was freed recently. tion shown a prima facie right in Doves which
cannot be denied. Busangangabanye was rep-
Following his freedom, he then wrote letters resented by advocates Ray Goba and Thabani
which have since been expunged from the re- Mpofu.
cord, complaining that he had missed out.

The former adviser to the central bank gov-
ernor also claimed that he was duped into sell-
ing the company. Court ruled that his conduct
was improper and barred him from interfering
with proceedings at Doves.

“That letter was roundly condemned by all
counsel, including his own, as improper and I
struck it off,” Justice Muchawa said.

“It was clearly meant to stop the court from
proceeding in this case as he claimed to have
disposed of all Doves Group equity. Except in
a minor digression, which did not sway any
reasoning, the letter was not taken into ac-
count as he had intended.

“Undeterred, Dr Kereke penned another let-
ter on the 25th of November 2021, this time
marked to the attention of the Judge Pres-
ident’s office. He did this well knowing that
judgement had been reserved in this matter.
He is pleading for pre-emptive protection of
his rights under the constitution of Zimbabwe
in this case before me. The letter appears to be
further evidence to be considered by this court.

“As someone represented by legal practi-
tioners who briefed an advocate to argue this
matter, Dr Kereke’s behaviour is despicable.
He must know that matters are placed before
the court in pleadings and not in direct corre-
spondence after pleadings are closed. The rules
of the court do not allow for this to ensure par-
ties have an opportunity to respond to what
has been placed before the court and the court
can get on with writing its judgement without
interruption.

“Dr Kereke is not a stranger to this court,
and he should know that his behaviour is un-
acceptable. One is left wondering what it is he
seeks to achieve by the incessant letter writing.
For the record, this letter was also expunged
from the record as it was extremely improp-
erly before the court,” reads the judgement,”
she said.

Muchawa then ruled: "Pending final deter-
mination of this matter and the application
for rescission of the order in HC4584/21 filed
under HC 5198/21, the applicants are granted
the following relief: The execution, operation
and effect of the High Court Order granted
under HC4584/21 be and is hereby stayed.
The respondents are hereby prohibited from
dealing in the shares of Doves Holdings (Pri-
vate) Limited, Doves Life Assurance (Private)

Page 10 News NewsHawks

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

HUMAN rights defenders and activists say the Activists discuss the perilous
Southern African region is in a perilous state state of regional human rights
of democracy and freedom, as people battle
to stop authoritarian repression and rampant state, capture state institutions and ensure elec- Amnesty International director for East and Southern Africa Deprose Muchena.
abuses by post-colonial governments that iron- tions are predetermined, while using the coer-
ically fought for liberty during liberation strug- cive apparatus to suppress democratic forces
gles. and defend illegitimate electoral gains achieved
through intimidation, violence, vote-buying
This emerged during a vibrant two-day con- and theft. Malunga also threw the spotlight on
ference of civil society movements in the region powers supporting authoritarian regimes, from
in Maputo, Mozambique. China, Russia to the United States for geopo-
litical reasons and to protect their interests.
The summit was organised by the Southern
Africa Human Rights Defenders Network in Lewanika said it was hard to defend democ-
partnership with Mozambique Human Rights racy in a region where there is Eswatini with an
Defenders Network, Advancing Human Rights absolute monarch and Zimbabwe where there
in Southern Africa, United Nations Office of has been a coup in 2017.
High Commissioner for Human Rights Re-
gional Office for Southern Africa and Amnesty “Authoritarianism is multidimensional, so it
International. needs a multifaceted approach in the struggle
for democratisation,” he said.
Its theme was Defending Rights and Protect-
ing Democracies In the Face of Rising Inequality Sishuwa said it was important for human
and Authoritarianism, while reflecting on the rights to network and collaborate with vari-
ominous reality and unprecedented risks of re- ous stakeholders, while using multiple strat-
pression and persecution of defenders and ac- egies, including the courts, to fight repressive
tivists by governments and private actors, who regimes. He said human rights activists must
often work together in violating rights with be organised and be mobilised, courageous,
impunity. resilient, resist cooption, remain neutral and
keep hope alive all the time even during times
Some of the key speakers involved includ- of darkness in the struggle.
ed Southern African Human Rights Defenders
Network director Washington Katema and its “The defence of democracy is a nation-
chairperson Arnold Tsunga, Amnesty Inter- al duty, not just the responsibility of human
national director for East and southern Africa rights defenders and activists; it needs everyone
Deprose Muchena, Open Society of Southern to join hands,” he said.
Africa director Siphosami Malunga, regional
representative for southern Africa at the Office Kagoro provoked debate when he raised is-
of the High Commissioner for Human Rights sues around leadership of civil society move-
Abigail Noko, Accountability Lab Zimbabwe ments, donor funding models, elitist ap-
chief of party (director) McDonald Lewani- proaches and marginalisation of the grassroots,
ka, Advancing Rights in Southern Africa Pro- decolinisation, structural issues and rethinking
gramme, Freedom House, chief of party (direc- strategies around going forward.
tor) Tiseke Kasambala, Sishuwa Sishuwa from
the University of Cape Town and former Mo- Phele said: “There is need for shared link-
zambican, Accountability International pro- ages, responsibilities and roles played by both
gramme manager Keikantse Phele, Professor civil society organisations and governments to
Adriano Nuvunga of the Centre for Democ- promote human rights and democracy.”
racy and Development & Steering Committee
of the Mozambique Human Rights Defenders Machel said civil groups must graduate from
Network and former South African First Lady just talking and engage in action.
Graca Machel, among others.
“Action, not rhetoric, is needed. Action,” she
The speakers painted a grim picture of the said. — STAFF WRITER
human rights situation in the region, wide-
spread inequalities, rising social unrest and Delegates at the regional human rights summit in Maputo, Mozambique.
protests due to leadership, governance and
policy failures, digital repression, and despot-
ic regimes’ use of Covid-related restrictions
to crack down on human rights defenders as
some of the issues characterising authoritarian
consolidation and democratic backsliding in
the region. There were constant references to
countries such as Eswatini, South Africa, Zam-
bia, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. But
Zimbabwe and Eswatini were key references for
countries reeling from democratic deficits and
human rights crisis.

The beacons of hope were Zambia, Malawi
and the Seychelles. South Africa remained a
positive reference of many issues. However, the
overall trajectory was gravely concerning.

Kasambala said human rights abuses were
rife across the region, mentioning Eswatini and
Zimbabwe.

She paid tribute to women human rights
defenders, especially in Zambia and her home
country Malawi.

Gift Trapence, a Malawian human rights de-
fender and deputy chairperson of the Human
Rights Defenders Coalition, said people in his
country were initially afraid of police, but hu-
man rights activists mobilised them and ended
up being able to bring a million protesters to
the streets.

Muchena said: “When engaged in the strug-
gle for human rights, resilience is critical. What
do we mean by resilience in this context? Resil-
ience is the capacity to get back to shape after
a bent or attack.”

He spoke about how the Donald Trump
presidency undermined progress on struggles
for human rights, as it put America first but
attacked everything that he did not want, while
discentivising working with others, fueled au-
thoritarianism resurgence, amid an oversupply
of retrogressive and repressive legislation and
smear campaigns against activists.

Malunga said human rights activists cannot
defend democracy in the absence of a demo-
cratic dispensation in the first place.

He spoke about how competitive authoritar-
ian regimes conflate the ruling party and the

NewsHawks News Page 11

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA Drax execs smiling all the way
to the bank, US$2,9m richer
AFTER the High Court this week ruled that the
controversial US$20 million Drax Consult SAGL Business dealer Delish Nguwaya (right) with former Health minister Obadiah Moyo
deal on medical supplies and sundries that cost
former Health minister Obadiah Moyo his job tion system chain for suspected money launder- above board. It then went to Erste Group Bank AG before land-
was valid, Drax executives are smiling all the way ing. Then Interpol moved in. The agreement followed an expression of inter- ing into Drax’s MagNet Bank account, where it
to the bank. was frozen.
In its contract with Natpharm, Drax gave No. est by Drax to the government through Natpha-
They stand to collect a cool US$2.9 million. 6900, Lugano, Switzerland, as its address, while rm, which is a state-owned enterprise, in 2019. Documents show Nguwaya and his business
A lawyer involved in the deal said the ruling Natpharm put its 14 Lobengula Road, Souther- partners have been piling pressure on the govern-
means Drax, whose contested deal was buffeted by ton, Harare — headquarters — as its location. Through the loan facility, Drax supplied goods ment and police to complete the transaction, so
corruption allegations, now has to get its money. in advance and was paid later at agreed prices and they get the money. After the contract between
“The judgment effectively means that the con- The deal, which sailed through the Health min- margins. Natpharm and Drax was signed on 11 December
tract between National Pharmaceutical Company istry, Treasury and the Procurement Regulatory 2019, the latter quickly moved to bring in sup-
of Zimbabwe (NatPharm) and Drax Consult Sagl Authority of Zimbabwe with ease due to political Documents obtained by The NewsHawks show plies. In the first two months of last year, Drax had
is valid and complied with the procurement laws pressure despite lingering questions and suspi- new details of the money trail. delivered goods worth US$2 733 480.
of Zimbabwe,” the lawyer said. cions, was structured as a loan facility.
“What this entails is that the contract is stand- The funds were paid by the Finance ministry This is contained in a letter dated 10 April
ing and has the force of law. The purported cancel- Suspicions were raised due to Nguwaya’s close located at the New Government Complex (now 2020, written by Dedja to Natpharm.
lation of the contract by NatPharm is effectively of association with the Mnangagwa family and his officially known as Mgandane Dlodlo Building)
no force and effect. numerous public appearances with the President, on Central Avenue or Samora Machel Avenue The letter says Drax had prepared goods worth
“The purchase price for all the delivered med- his wife Auxillia and their twin sons, Collins and and 4th Street (now Simon Muzenda) in Harare US$4 million which were ready for delivery and
icines and medical sundries is due and payable Sean. Nguwaya is particularly close to Sean, a cap- through the RBZ, into BancANC. more payment.
and ought to be paid. Drax Consult SAGL has to tain in the Zimbabwe National National Army at-
deliver the remainder of the medicines and medi- tached to the Presidential Guard, and works with The transaction was initiated in Harare on Ever since the US$2 million was paid, investi-
cal sundries and NatPharm ensures that it pays in him. 2 March 2020 at 16:43pm. The money would gations had been ongoing. However, progress has
terms of the contract.” go through German bank Deutsche Bank Trust been stalled by the authorities until the latest High
The total amount due is US$2 943 000. Nguwaya and his partners say the deal was Company Americas’ New York subsidiary, a lead- Court judgment.
The Finance ministry and police have been stall- ing provider of financial services in the Americas.
ing the unblocking of the red-flagged and frozen
US$2 million paid for medical supplies by Drax
Consult SAGL, associated with President Emmer-
son Mnangagwa’s controversial family friend and
local business dealer Delish Nguwaya.
A stash of previously unpublished documents
with fresh details obtained recently by The News-
Hawks shows Nguwaya and his associates at Drax,
also sometimes known as Drax International
following its later Dubai registration, including
its founder Ilir Dedja, have been frantically de-
manding that Treasury and police answer ques-
tions posed by the International Criminal Police
Organisation (Interpol), which is investigating the
issue, to unblock the transaction.
The Finance ministry and police have kept
Drax at bay over the issue.
Drax, through its lawyers, Samukange Hungwe
Attorneys, had since early last year been writing
a flurry of letters to police, Interpol Zimbabwe,
Treasury, ministry of Health, Natpharm and the
Office of the President and Cabinet demanding
the US$2 million — but to no avail.
The NewsHawks followed the money trail in a
new investigation of the widely covered saga.
Current information indicates the funds —
specifically stated in the transaction record as pay-
ment for “medicines and medical supplies”, In-
voice No. 26 — are still frozen at Drax’s MagNet
Bank account in Budapest, Hungry.
The financial trail further shows the money
went from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ),
government’s banker, to local commercial bank
BancABC, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Amer-
icas in New York, United States, and Erste Group
Bank AG in Vienna, Austria, before landing into
Drax’s Hungary account.
But the funds will not be released until the In-
terpol investigation is finalised.
The money was paid by Zimbabwe’s Finance
ministry on 2 March 2020 and it got into Drax’s
new account three days later — on 5 March. Drax
had an office in Budapest before it hastily retreated
amid a subsequent Interpol investigation.
Drax, which also had offices in Switzerland,
opened the Hungary account to receive the mon-
ey to avoid scrutiny, particularly the spectre of
United States targeted sanctions on Zimbabwe.
Dedja is the only shareholder in the Swiss-reg-
istered Drax and another company called 3-DD
Swiss Trading. He registered Drax in the Ital-
ian-speaking town of Lugano in March 2017, but
the company has done little trading in Switzer-
land.
Documents show Dedja opened two bank ac-
counts for Drax with MagNet Bank in Budapest
on 6 December 2019. He registered the Drax
Hungary branch on 20 February 2020.
This was five days after Drax had signed a deal
with Natpharm — Contract No. International
NAT DP 19/2019 and 20/2019 — for the supply
of medicines and medical sundries worth US$20
million.
Drax later signed a US$40 million deal with
Natpharm, bringing the total to US$60 million.
Within 10 days of registering its Hungary
branch, Drax was paid US$2 million by the gov-
ernment. However, the funds were red-flagged by
banks involved in the relevant financial integra-

Page 12 News NewsHawks

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

LIZWE SEBATHA Botswana investors launch
battle to reclaim gold mine
FOUR Botswana nationals have appealed to
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe In April, the Botswana directors filed an urgent chamber application for an interdict with the High Court at Masvingo to stop explortion at Golden Hill Mine in
Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc), the For- Mashava.
eign Affairs ministry and other state organs in
a bid to claim part of a gold mine in Masvingo “We fear that due to this lack of accountabili- information on its performance, we can only key agencies such as the ministry of Mines, Zida
that was seized from them by their local part- ty, probity, proper corporate governance and re- imagine what the full extent of the prejudice and police urgently intervene to protect the in-
ners. porting, the business will start to run into major they may suffer is. vestors and to secure their investment.”
losses and the Botswana directors will not realise
The Botswana nationals, Sarfaraz Ahmed a return on their investment. “The conduct of Mr Ragin Kassim and Mrs In an interview from his Botswana base, one
Khan, Abdur Razzak Khan, Akbar Ali Khan Chipo Machona Kassim is fraudulent to the ex- of the shareholders, Sarfaraz, appealed to au-
and Muneer Ahmed Khan, are the majority “However, since they have been frozen out of tent that it warrants a criminal investigation by thorities to “assist the investors who would have
shareholders of Bradfix Incorporated (Pvt) Ltd, the operations of the business and starved of any the ZRP and the Zacc. It is our prayer that the been attracted successfully into the country”.
a mining vehicle, with a 60% stake in Golden
Hill Mine in Mashava, Masvingo.

Their Zimbabwean partners, Ragin Kassim
and his wife Chipo Machona Kassim, hold a
40% stake in the mine. The Botswana nationals
entered into a joint venture with the Kassims on
12 November 2013.

Kassim owned and controlled five gold
claims, registration numbers 8469, 8470, 8471,
8472 and 8473. Documents at hand show that
no mining operations were taking place at the
mine and there was a risk of forfeiture due to
non-renewal of inspection.

Under the joint venture agreement, the Bo-
tswana directors were to provide seed capital and
equipment required to commence mining oper-
ations. Kassim would, in turn, transfer rights in
the mine, including gold claims 8469, 8470,
8471, 8472 and 8473, to Bradfix Incorporated
(Pvt) Ltd as the vehicle through which the proj-
ect would be implemented.

The Botswana directors have invested a total
of approximately US$795 000 into the project
since 2013.

“The Botswana directors raised funds for in-
vestment into the project through loans accessed
from banks in Botswana and sold some of their
properties to finance the project, with the expec-
tation that the loans would be repaid from the
returns generated by the project. The loans are
yet to be repaid and have continued to accrue
interest,” a letter of complaint by the Botswana
nationals’ legal firm Matutu and Mureri Legal
Practitioners addressed to the Office of the Pres-
ident and Cabinet dated 23 November reads.

The letter is copied to the Botswana embas-
sy, Zacc, Zimbabwe Republic Police, Home Af-
fairs and Foreign Affairs ministries, Zimbabwe
Investment and Development Agency (Zida),
Mines ministry, provincial mining director and
Masvingo Provincial Affairs minister Ezra Chad-
zamira.

Zida is responsible for the licensing of inves-
tors and was established in February 2020.

Trouble for the Botswana nationals began af-
ter their partners refused to transfer one of the
gold claims, block number 8470, to Bradfix In-
corporated (Pvt) Ltd as per the agreement.

On 14 March 2021, the Botswana sharehold-
ers were “violently denied” access to the mine.

“On 14 March 2021, the Botswana directors
visited the mine site, they were threatened and
violently ejected by the new security personnel
led by Mr Anderson Tauyanago, the head of se-
curity,” the letter reads in part.

“A malicious report was lodged with the
Mashava Police, to the effect that the Botswana
directors in the company of Takunda Hungwe
trespassed the mining site and let alone stole ore
in the presence of hostile security on 14 March
2021 when they visited the site.

“The Botswana directors have been denied
access to management reports and the state of
financial performance in the company from
March 2020 to April 2021. However, being in
the essential services industries, the mine was
operational during all the lockdown periods.”

In April, the Botswana directors filed an ur-
gent chamber application for an interdict with
the High Court at Masvingo, to suspend the
mining operations following the fallout. How-
ever, the matter was dismissed as not urgent and
removed from the roll.

The application has since been restored and
filed as an ordinary application for interdict and
it awaits set down.

“Kassim has neglected to meet statutory obli-
gations because of the dodgy manner in which
the mine was being run. To date, Bradfix Incor-
porated (Pvt) Ltd does not have a valid tax clear-
ance because the company has not submitted
returns with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority
(Zimra). The only logical conclusion is that the
money was converted to personal use,” the letter
adds.

NewsHawks News Page 13

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

Treasury suspends
the whistleblower
monetary rewards

BRIDGET MANANAVIRE opaqueness around how the whistleblower facility Finance minister Mthuli Ncube
operates. A large number of conflicted transac-
FINANCE minister Mthuli Ncube has suspend- tions has over the years aided underhanded deal- agencies. Where necessary and feasible, govern- “As part of implementing the National An-
ed the whistleblower monetary reward facility, ings. The plunder has continued unabated with ment is decentralising these institutions across the ti-Corruption Strategy, government will expedite
amid scandals and corruption that have cost the millions of taxpayer dollars being stolen through country to enable them to effectively undertake the development of legislation to protect whis-
Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) millions of the racket. their mandate,” he said. tleblowers.”
United States dollars.
The NewsHawks has previously spoken to in-
The NewsHawks this year ran a series of stories siders and other sources on how the Zimra whis-
around the facility, which enabled whistleblowers tleblowers facility is fraught with irregularities as
to get 10% of the money recovered from tax evad- well as how whistleblowers like Kujinga could
ers. have managed to cash in millions of dollars from
the facility.
The move by Ncube, however, is seen as a retro-
gressive step in the fight against corruption as the The network operates like this: senior Zimra
facility had been set up to minimise revenue loss officials get information from whistleblowers and
to the fiscus through tax evasion and avoidance. then help them to consolidate and process their
cases expeditiously using inside information for a
Under the facility, an informer was entitled to a huge cut. Under the whistleblower facility, Zimra
monetary reward for the provision of information is supposed to reward legitimate informants on
that results in the detection of non-compliance to cases relating to tax evasion under section 34B
tax statutes, but in recent months Zimra had been of the Revenue Authority Act (Chapter 23:11) as
neglecting paying informants, while the facility read with Statutory Instrument 150 of 2020. Stat-
was prone to abuse. utory Instrument 150, gazetted on 26 June 2020,
regulates the payment of rewards to informants
In his 2022 National Budget statement pre- upon whistleblowing and recovery of revenue.
sented in Parliament last week, Ncube said the
whistleblower facility would now operate on the The reward is 10% of the amount recovered on
“goodwill of virtuous citizens”. the basis of information supplied. Corrupt Zimra
officials always manipulate that.
“Upon recovery of tax revenue, the informant is
entitled to a monetary reward equivalent to 10% Zimra also undertakes to protect the identity
of recovered revenue. Whereas the facility has re- of the informants at all times as provided for in
sulted in some recoveries of revenue, its effective- the secrecy provisions of the Revenue Authority
ness has, however, been undermined by unethical Act, but it has failed to do so and is endangering
informants who have made whistleblowing a pro- whistleblowers.
fession,” he said.
In the budget statement, Ncube said govern-
“These informants use any means necessary to ment would expedite the development of legisla-
claim the monetary reward in pursuit of self-en- tion to protect whistleblowers.
richment. Due to the rampant abuse of the Whis-
tle Blower Facility, coupled with the administrative “The fight against corruption is being enhanced
burden and pressure placed on Zimra for payment through capacitation of respective institutions
of the monetary reward, I propose withdrawal of such as Zacc and the relevant law enforcement
the 10% monetary reward with effect from 1 Jan-
uary 2022.” Zimra has recently been neglecting paying informants.

“The Whistle Blower Facility will, however,
continue to operate depending on the goodwill of
virtuous citizens.”

Although some of the squabbles between whis-
tle-blowers and the tax collector have been re-
ported to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Com-
mission, the commission’s spokesperson told The
NewsHawks that he was not aware of the facility
and could not comment on its suspension.

“I cannot help you on that,” Zacc spokesperson
John Makamure said.

One of the whistleblowing scandals involves
the country’s leading whistleblower, Evans Kujin-
ga, who has reported to Zimra over 300 compa-
nies as shown by latest records, for tax evasion and
raked in millions of dollars in the process. Kujinga
has previously reported the tax collector to Zacc
for corruption.

Kujinga reported Zimra to Zacc over a num-
ber of cases due to unpaid commissions and an
attempt by the tax collector’s top officials to rob
him and other whistleblowers of their dues.

Tax cases over which Kujinga reported Zimra
to Zacc following disputes pertaining to non-pay-
ment include MetBank, BancABC Second Nom-
inees, Fuels Africa, Traverse, NetOne, Jinan,
Zimbabwe Sugar Sales, Second Nominees, Solid
Ground, African Centuries, CABS and Delatfin
(Pvt) Ltd, among many others.

According to insider information, massive
corruption — which has dragged on for years —
has been rocking the multi-million-dollar whis-
tle-blower fund, which the tax collector’s senior
officials are looting in cahoots with a corrupt net-
work of informants.

In April, The NewsHawks reported Zimra was
caught in a corruption storm in which its senior
officers were accused of conniving with tax evaders
in exchange for payment and partaking in atten-
dant financial rewards.

There are concerns pertaining to the culture of

Page 14 News NewsHawks

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

MARY MUNDEYA MPs decry Treasury’s delayed
release of budget allocations
LEGISLATORS have bemoaned the erratic
release of budgetary funds by Treasury to line Finance minister Mthuli Ncube presented budget for the year 2022 last week.
ministries and government departments, saying
this has compromised the credibility of the na- released and yet we are talking of the need to ministry of Defence and War Veterans, as well kai Chivore said public confidence had plunged
tional budget. increase production in agriculture, which is the as the ministry of Finance and Economic Devel- due to failure to deliver on budgetary promises.
backbone of our economy. We cannot talk of opment got 114% and 123% of their allocations
This comes after Finance minister Mthuli funds not being used when funds have never respectively. “Repeated deviation from the promised road-
Ncube presented a ZW$927 billion budget for been made available,” Shamhu said. map diminishes public confidence in the stew-
the year 2022 at a time some ministries and gov- He questioned how ministries with surplus- ardship of resources,” Chivore said.
ernment departments are yet to receive budget Economist Gift Mugano expressed concern es would account for the extra funds and how
funds allotted to them in the 2021 budget. that other ministries and departments such as those with deficits would have performed by 31 Legislators threatened to derail the passing of
the Public Service Commission got 104% of December. the budget and to use their oversight role pow-
To date, Parliament has received only 33% of their 2021 national budget allocation, while the ers to ensure that Treasury sticks to its national
its budgetary allocation; the ministry of Indus- Director of Parliament’s budget office Pepu- budget promises.
try and Commerce 32%; Foreign Affairs 31%;
Environment 38%; Youth 40%; Housing 17%;
devolution 32%; audit 30% and ICT 28% of
the amount allocated to them in the 2021 Na-
tional Budget.

Speaking during a post-budget seminar held
on Monday, the leader of the opposition in
the National Assembly, Thokozani Khupe, ex-
pressed frustration at the manner in which Trea-
sury was releasing the national budget funds,
dismissing reports that ministries and depart-
ments were failing to fully utilise funds.

“We want to come back to the issue where
Parliament, ministries included, were allocated
resources and they could not utilise everything.
For instance, it is said that Parliament only
utilised 33% of the budget, yet they received
100%; it’s not true. The truth of the matter is
that monies are not allocated on time to minis-
tries, including Parliament, there is a situation
where MPs could not be accommodated because
the monies could not be paid, there is a situa-
tion when allowances could not be paid, there is
a situation where programmes were cancelled,”
Khupe said.

Chegutu East legislator Webster Shamhu
echoed Khupe’s sentiments, saying some agri-
cultural projects had failed to see the light of day
due to failure by Treasury to disburse funds on
time.

“Honourable chairman, I want to endorse the
presentation made by Honourable Khupe with
regards to the release of funds; we have many
examples and I’ll give just two. We have an irri-
gation scheme called Riversday and another one
called the Abangu; these have not seen the light
of day for more than 4/5 years with no funds

TEACHERS unions have decried the decline in Unions blast government as 30 000
numbers of learners who registered for examina- students fail to register with Zimsec
tions with the Zimbabwe School Examinations
Council (Zimsec), a development which has been “While we appreciate the efforts being made children out of schools. “This unfortunately has resulted in a dete-
attributed to surging poverty, amid calls for the by the government under the Basic Education “It is the poverty that has affected both par- riorating education sector and the inevitable
government to take responsibility and curb the Assistance Module (Beam), we urge the govern- collapse of education in Zimbabwe. In equal
damage which is likely to have long-term impli- ment to do much more in assisting struggling ents and even teachers which is the leading cause measure, the government has been insincere in
cations for the country’s future. learners to register for exams,” Gwezhira added. for the drop in enrollment at all education lev- its conduct, resulting in a grossly underfunded
els. Generally, current wages nationwide are not education sector which is directly linked to the
Speaking to The NewsHawks, Progressive Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zim- commensurate with the cost of living and this decline in enrollment, especially Ordinary Level,”
Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) secretary babwe (Artuz) secretary-general Robson Chere is pushing even professionals like teachers into he said. — STAFF WRITER
for research Josiphat Gwezhira decried the regis- also concurred that rising poverty has pushed vending.
tration decline. He said the findings show that,
cumulatively since 2019, around 30 000 students
nationwide have failed to register for the Ordi-
nary Level examinations alone.

“Such figures are appallingly low and may have
dire consequences for the country’s outcomes go-
ing forward. The number of students who have
failed to sit for examinations is actually equivalent
to the size of 30 big schools. Most parents cannot
raise money to pay exam fees for their children.

“While the number of subjects to be sat for
stands at 10, most parents can’t even raise enough
money for their children to write five subjects and
in some cases you would find out that parents are
pleading with schools to make arrangements for
children to write two subjects per sitting,” he said.

Gwezhira attributed the situation to the
Covid-19 pandemic’s negative impact on in-
comes, among other crippling economic chal-
lenges.

“Due to exchange rate disparities, wages have
also gone down significantly, to the extent that
even workers on full-time jobs like teachers can-
not make ends meet anymore. The hardships
have been further worsened by the fact that there
continues to exist a huge mismatch between sal-
aries and incomes being earned by civil servants,”
he said.

The research officer called on the government
to urgently inject abundant resources such as
those declared through Finance minister Mthuli
Ncube’s budget surpluses towards funding poor
students who lack the money for registration.

NewsHawks News Page 15

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

White City Stadium explosion inside job

BRIDGET MANANAVIRE

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa was The 2018 explosion at White City Stadium in Bulawayo injured over 40 people.
given a file of the investigations into the June
2018 White City Stadium deadly explosion af- There was allegedly another suspect, accord- since. team investigating the explosion which the
ter it became apparent that it was an inside job. ing to witnesses, who was apprehended by the In July, four Russian specialists jetted into government said was aimed at assassinating
army at the venue and has not been seen ever President Mnangagwa.
While police say the probe is still underway, Zimbabwe to assist the multi-agency security
security sources say the case had been conclud-
ed, although a suspect, who is believed to be
outside the country, has not been arrested.

The investigations were characterised by
lack of cohesion and trust among the different
units of the multi-agency investigative team
appointed to probe the case.

The police and military clashed over how
the investigation should be conducted, result-
ing in the two security agencies competing and
sabotaging each other.

National police spokesperson assistant com-
missioner Paul Nyathi said investigations can
only be completed once a suspect has been tak-
en to court.

“The reward offer is still standing and any-
one with information is free to engage the po-
lice. Investigations in any case reported to the
police will conclude once a suspect is taken to
court for consideration. This is the official po-
sition with all cases handled by the Zimbabwe
Republic Police,” Nyathi said.

The bombing incident occurred on 23 June
2018 during the run-up to general elections
at a campaign rally at White City Stadium in
Bulawayo. An explosive device was detonated
near the VIP area soon after Mnangagwa left
the stage following his address at the stadium.

The blast claimed the lives of Colour Ser-
geant Stanley Mugunzva of the Presidential
Guard unit in Dzivaresekwa, Harare, who was
assigned to Vice-President Constantino Chi-
wenga and Nelson Dube, a security aide to
former Vice-President Kembo Mohadi.

The explosion also injured over 40 people,
including Mohadi and Zanu PF chairperson
and Defence minister Oppah Muchingu-
ri-Kashiri.

Two suspects, John Zulu and Douglas
Musekiwa, were arrested then released with-
out charge. In addition, the Zimbabwe Na-
tional Army (ZNA) arrested and jailed Tendai
Savanhu for boasting about the explosion on
WhatsApp.

MORRIS BISHI Zanu PF Women’s League protests,
demands Chadzamira to be fired
ZANU PF Women’s League members in Masv- Zaka, our structures are in order,” Mavenyengwa
ingo on Thursday staged a demonstration at the said. Minister of State for Masvingo Province Ezra Chadzamira
party’s provincial offices urging President Em-
merson Mnangagwa to fire minister of State for Efforts to get a comment from Chadzamira
Masvingo Province Ezra Chadzamira, accusing were fruitless as he was not answering calls to his
him of corruption, violating the Zanu PF con- mobile phone.
stitution and manipulating the party structures.
Women’s League provincial chairperson Alig-
The women, believed to be aligned to a fac- inia Samson told The NewsHawks that she was
tion led by Vice-President Constantino Chiwen- not aware of what happened in Masvingo since
ga, were carrying placards with various messages she was travelling from Dubai.
denouncing Chadzamira. They proceeded with
their demonstration unmolested by the police. She said she could only comment upon arrival
back home.
The protest came a few weeks after Chadzami-
ra left a party meeting at Caravan Park in a huff A woman from Chivi who attended the pro-
after being informed that the women were about test told The NewsHawks that their grievanc-
to embarrass him. es were not personal but good for the party as
Chadzamira is abusing his post and his actions
The strongest Mnangagwa allay in the prov- could affect the party’s support base as the coun-
ince, who is also the party’s provincial chairper- try moves towards the 2023 elections, she said.
son, Chadzamira is facing stiff competition from She added that the party’s provincial chairperson
Rabson Mavenyengwa, a former police intelli- is disrespecting liberation war veterans, as well as
gence head in Masvingo, who is also vying for engaging in questionable activities.
the provincial post in the coming party elections.
“They view us as advancing our interests but
Zanu PF Masvingo provincial spokesperson this is a move which came after serious deliber-
Ophias Murambiwa confirmed the demonstra- ations as a party. What the chairman is doing is
tion although he said he did not have details as working against the ethos of the party and if the
he was in Harare attending Parliament. President ignores our grievances the party will be
history in 2023. We call upon the President to
“I can confirm that there was a demonstration remove him and give us a person who is able to
at our offices in Masvingo. I am not around but work with the people,” the woman said.
l heard that the protest was against party provin-
cial chairman whom they are accusing of manip-
ulating party structures. There are other issues
which l need to confirm first before l comment.
There are districts which are complaining about
the manipulation, but in our district, which is

Page 16 News NewsHawks

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

NHAU MANGIRAZI Relentless exploitation riles
tobacco employees in Zim
UNDERSTATED payslips or non-fulfilled bank
transfers have become the sad face of dissatisfac- Darlington Sanyanga on crutches.
tion among exploited contract tobacco workers in
a lucrative industry that generates over US$500 ing severe injuries, my contract was terminated The company lost out: GTC boss bacco through side marketing,” he said, claiming
million in foreign currency earnings a year for through a phone call. GTC managing director Jameson Musarara the company “lost over US$1.6 million this year
Zimbabwe. denied Sanyanga’s allegations over non-payment and US$800 000 last year due to the criminals
“The reason I was told is that I had failed to re- of medical bills. who connived to get money from us using dubi-
Mashonaland West province’s Karoi town, sit- cover outstanding tobacco from contracted farm- Instead, Musarara said, his company had “lost ous labour laws”.
uated about 200 kilometres north-west of Harare, ers, yet I was bedridden.” out financially” due to incompetence and crimi-
has become a veritable breeding ground for the nality by some workers including Sanyanga. “We have proof against them in a court of law
exploitation of tobacco workers. Sanyanga claims that GTC never remitted any- “For the record, our company acted legally,” due to gross incompetence and stealing,” he said.
thing to the National Social Security Authority Musarara said in a telephone interview.
Some never received a single cent after two (Nssa) for him. “Sanyanga was fired due to gross incompe- Pressed to avail the proof of payment, Musar-
months of strenuous contract work. tence,” he said. ara referred The NewsHawks to GTC human re-
“I am aggrieved that the company did not pay “We paid US$2 500 for his medical expens- sources manager Innocent Kavhu, who failed to
When some of the workers tried to speak out for my medical bills, yet I was under their em- es, including all the dues to relevant authorities provide the evidence.
against their exploitation, they were instantly fired ployment,” Sanyanga, who now walks with the such as Nssa, among others. Everything is above
without receiving any gratuity, an investigation aid of crutches, said. board,” Musarara said. Sanyanga said he paid for his medical bills.
funded through a Voluntary Media Council of “In fact, some of the workers are criminals who ‘‘GTC only paid RTGS$10 580 (less than
Zimbabwe (VMCZ) investigative grant has re- Nothing was submitted to the National Em- connived with contracted farmers to sell our to- US$100 by the interbank rate) at Chinhoyi Pro-
vealed. ployment Council either, he added. vincial Hospital and another RTGS$11 600 at
Parirenyatwa. I got US$60 in cash and it is not
Miserly gratuity “It is devastating to be abused when I can no much than what they claim they gave me. I have
Some of the exploited tobacco workers got a longer walk on my own. This is a permanent in-
mere US$3 termination fee when contracts were jury,” he lamented.
terminated in July.
Tobacco companies countrywide are accused
of underpaying workers.
Seasonal tobacco contract workers are usually
hired on short-term contracts at a stipulated rate
per hour or per day.
The National Employment Council (NEC)
says the tobacco industry employs over 11 500
workers at the peak of the selling season.
“80% of the employees are on seasonal con-
tracts of employment,” NEC national chairperson
Tichaona Zimhondi said in a written response to
questions. Some 20% are on contracts of employ-
ment without limitation of time, said Zimhondi.
A month-long investigation exposed how sea-
sonal contract workers suffer in silence while be-
ing underpaid in the industry that generates mil-
lions of United States dollars.
The fate of the exploited workers is self-evident
as tobacco buyers flood Karoi town in Hurungwe
district.
More than 15 tobacco companies are registered
in Hurungwe, the bulk of them operating as sur-
rogates that act as third parties between farmers
and merchants.
For nearly three weeks, the Tobacco Industry
and Marketing Board (TIMB) did not release
details of registered tobacco companies operating
at depots in Hurungwe, Guruve in Mashonaland
Central, Marondera (Mashonaland East), and
Rusape in Manicaland for our official verification.
“Sadly, the information you requested could
not be given to me; hence failure to send to you,”
Chelesani Moyo, TIMB publication relations of-
ficer, wrote.
Tobacco companies operating in Hurungwe
and other parts of the country include Boka To-
bacco Company, Agritrade, Chevron, Ethical
Tobacco Company, Mbaluk, Greenleaf, Sub Sa-
hara, Grandicore Tobacco, Mashonaland Tobac-
co Company, Boost Africa, and Voedsel Tobacco
Company.
Affected workers
One of the worst affected workers is Darling-
ton Sanyanga (46) of Makwiliba Farm near Ban-
ket town, 100 kilometres northwest of Harare.
Sanyanga was involved in a serious accident
on his motorbike while travelling from the farm
to Banket, about 10 kilometres away, on 3 July,
while on official duty.
“I was summoned by our provincial manager,
Gilbert Nyamhondoro, to deliver some docu-
ments to Banket early in the morning when the
accident occurred,” he said.
Sanyanga was working on a fixed-term contract
as a field coordinator with Grandincore Tobacco
Company (GTC), operating in the Zvimba area,
covering Banket, Mutorashanga and Trelawney.
He had 150 farmers under his supervision.
Part of the contract reads that the field coordi-
nator’s duties include the supervision of sub-co-
ordinators, chairpersons and farmers, to represent
the company among the farmers, to serve GTC as
a sole company, to ensure safety and utilisation of
company property that includes bailing boxes and
bicycles, to monitor the progress in the field at all
stages and report to the growers’ department and
protect the image of the company, among others.
Hell literally broke loose for Sanyanga follow-
ing the accident.
“I was fired while I was still on the hospital
bed,” he said, writhing in pain.
“After spending two months in hospital nurs-

NewsHawks News Page 17

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

receipts to prove it,” he added. sonal contract from May to July. He left in July Evidence of a GRC payslip revealing how coordinators are underpaid.
GTC Marondera-based coordinator Godfrey without being paid a cent. A dejected Sanyanga.

Chikawa denied Musarara’s allegations of poor “Asking for a contract that they availed you is The injured leg that has become a permanent condition for Sanyanga.
performance on his part but instead accused him part of their scandalous scheme to exploit contract
of “exploitation and underpaying” workers. workers,” Batanai alleged.

The payslip of one GTC coordinator for May “They make you start work without a contract
in our possession reflects payment of only US$40 while promising that it will come at month-end.
with a further US$10 for airtime, with no deduc- That way, you are hooked and continue reporting
tions for Nssa or Pay As You Earn (PAYE). for work without valid documents. This is their
modus operandi as they are taking advantage of
We are in the red: Musarara the desperation of unemployment in the country.”
Musarara revealed on a social media group chat
that his company was performing badly financial- Investigations revealed that a total of nine
ly and was in the red. workers at Leanrise had never been paid.
“Unfortunately, we reap what we sow and we
need to pull together out of this debt,” Musarara “Leanrise Tobacco is owned by Rhonewell
said. “The banks are not on our side,” he added. Danga, a former military intelligence officer using
For Karoi-based accountant Gift Batanai, hired his political power and muscle in order not to pay
on a monthly salary of US$100 by Sahara Leaf workers,” Tanjani said.
Tobacco, the situation was even worse.
He worked for free for two-and-a-half months “None of the nine workers were ever paid and
as the company never paid him and four other I’m part of the evidence of the exploitation that we
workers at the depot. suffered at Danga’s hands,” Tanjani said.
Norman Tenjani for Leanrise Tobacco Com-
pany is based at the Harare Agricultural Show- But Danga denied the allegations.
grounds. Sahara Leaf Tobacco and Leanrise To- “The company does not owe any worker any-
bacco Company operate under one company with thing,” Danga said. “We paid all workers, unless
payments of employees and farmers handled by they were hired by regional managers and were
Leanrise. Documents shown as part of the investi- paid on commission,” Danga said.
gations revealed that the tobacco delivered by Sa- Solution to exploitation
hara Leaf Company from Karoi and Bindura was Zimhondi advised all allegedly abused work-
paid for by Leanrise, the sister company. ers to seek legal recourse. “For those who are ag-
Sahara operated under Boka Auction Floors in grieved over non-assistance with Nssa, the author-
Karoi. Batanai said he committed the “crime” of ity is properly equipped to deal with defaulting
demanding his right to be paid. employers,” he said.
He suggested that the company had an ambi- “On salary and wage conflicts, NEC Tobacco
tious project for more bales to be delivered, yet it does not set the wage rates for co-coordinators but
had failed to pay its workers. issued an instruction to all employers in the in-
‘‘Why can’t the company channel the resources dustry. If any of them have a grievance, they are
towards payments of salaries to the staff members always free to approach the NEC for redress,” he
facilitating all this? As workers, we have gone for added.
almost two months without salaries and yet we Zimhondi said the Labour Act recognises that a
are expected to perform but the company is dis- contract of employment can be verbal.
bursing funds to purchase tobacco whilst we are “The absence of a written contract of employ-
going home hungry, footing to work daily. I have ment does not take away the employees’ rights as
said this openly on this group after exhausting all enshrined in the constitution of Zimbabwe’s and
the official channels of communication. We have Labour Act, and the industry’s collective bargain-
families to feed,” Batanai wrote on social media ing agreement. The NEC provincial structures
group that The NewsHawks gleaned as part of in- are ready to help to conduct hearings or receive
vestigations. submissions, by issuing out determinations. Such
He was dismissed from the company without determinations are binding on both the employ-
being paid a cent. But Mutekesa denied allega- er and the employee unless set aside by a court,’’
tions that the company owed its workers. Zimhondi said.
‘‘If there is anyone who claims that we did not He, however, pointed out that the NEC is not
pay them, he must produce a contract form as this created to stand for the rights of employees alone,
is valid proof that he worked for us,’’ he said over but to ensure that the rights of both employees
the phone. and employers are safeguarded.
Part of evidence “The NEC is doing the best that it can in terms
But Batanai argued that he was part of the of its mandate, which is collective bargaining, in-
evidence against Sahara Leaf Company over spectorate services and dispute resolution as guid-
non-payment of his salary pegged at US$100 per ed by the Labour Act and the constitution of Zim-
month plus a performance-based bonus on a sea- babwe,’’ Zimhondi said.
Without a crackdown on the operations of to-
bacco companies, the sad reality of exploitation
faced by thousands of tobacco contract workers
across the country will continue unabated.

Page 18 News NewsHawks

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

Street kids who beg for money from motorists are among targets of sexual abuse by older women. — Picture: Aaron Ufumeli

NYARADZO MUSHANYUKI Poverty-stricken boys fall
prey to perverted women
HE is only (16) years old, yet Tendai Chamu-
norwa (not his real name) has already mastered “Sometimes women verbally provoke us ther to eat. boys report sexual abuse while there is also little
the art of stone craft, though not by choice. by simply saying that we are not man enough ‘‘I have no choice rather than to beg in the support for abused boys.
because we cannot do anything to them. It is
As an orphan, Chamunorwa, who looks af- difficult to refuse when that older woman ap- streets for us to get food. I face a lot of challenges ‘‘The ministry of Health, ministry of Wom-
ter his two young siblings, spends his entire day proaches you since that is the same person who whilst am looking for help from people. Instead en’s Affairs, police, courts all confirmed that
hammering stones for sale to make ends meet is helping you. Sometimes I spend some months of helping me, some people insult me in front of they are receiving fewer cases of sexual violence
in Chitungwiza, 25 kilometres south of Harare. without getting customers, so I end up being people. Also, some older women approach me concerning boys compared to girls and they
abused by an older woman,” Chamunorwa says. for sex so that I get help. At my age, I can’t do were concerned that this could be a reflection of
The high unemployment rate in the country such things as l am still young. That’s the main under-reporting of cases of sexual abuse against
and poverty force some boys to venture into Chamunorwa is not alone in this predica- challenge I'm facing.” boys. In Bindura, for example, the courts han-
income-generating activities which sometimes ment. dle an average of 10 cases per year against more
leave them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. A report titled Study On Sexual Violence Af- than 100 cases of sexual abuse against girls. In
At a tender age, Tadiwa Mugwagwa (15) is fecting Boys In Zimbabwe by Farm Orphan Sup- Mutare, the courts handle on average four cases
‘‘I stay with my two young brothers, one is now a breadwinner for the family including his port Trust Zimbabwe dated 18 November 2021 per year of sexual abuse against boys while those
seven and the other one is 10. Our parents died diabetic grandmother. reveals that masculinity, social norms, and pov- against girls are over a hundred. These findings
due to Covid-19 last year, so l am the one who erty lead to the sexual abuse of young boys. are consistent with literature which showed that
is taking care of my siblings. As a big brother, I ‘‘I come into town daily to wash cars in the very few boys who are victims of sexual violence
have to work hard to feed my siblings and also to streets so that I get money to buy food for my ‘‘Masculinities and social norms prevalent report their assaults because they think that they
pay rentals,” he says. grandmother as I am the breadwinner. My in the three targeted communities have led to will experience negative treatment’’.
grandmother is old and can’t work for herself. non-reporting of sexual abuses, as abused boys
“This job is very tough for me to get enough When things get so tough for me and then fear being feminised and ostracised. Poverty According to the Farm Orphan Support Trust
money to pay rent and buy food, but I have no someone comes with money, I quickly accept identified by key informants, caregivers, com- of Zimbabwe report, sexual abuse of boys ap-
option except to work hard for my siblings. it through being sexually abused. I know if I munity members, and the boys themselves as pears to negatively impact boys at a personal lev-
agree to be abused I’m better off than before. one of the key factors making boys vulnerable to el and the survivor’s families.
Due to my situation, some big mamas (old- It’s not my choice, but my situation forces me,’’ sexual violence,” the report reads.
er women) take advantage of my situation and Mugwawa told The NewsHawks. The situation is compounded by few service
force me to have sex with them in return for “Children in difficult circumstances are often providers that cater to the needs of sexually
money or food. At first, l was not comfortable Mugwagwa is being abused by the older lured into sexual relationships with both older abused boys.
sleeping with them, but l end up engaging in sex women who pick him up in the streets and take men and women for money, clothes, food and
with them out of desperation.” him to lodges where they have sex with him. shelter. Poverty has also led some families to live ‘‘Interventions and policy responses to sexu-
in crowded accommodation spaces where chil- al violence against boys need to be based on an
Among those who seek sexual gratification in “My first day when I was abused, I met this dren and adults sleep in the same room. These understanding of the problem, its causes, and
return for assistance are single mothers and mar- other woman in town at 7pm and she picked living arrangements make children, both girls the circumstances in which it occurs. Sexual
ried women, including those with husbands in me. On this day I had spent the whole day beg- and boys, vulnerable to sexual abuse.’’ abuse against boys is frequently not treated as an
the diaspora. ging, but no one helped me. She asked me to equal offence to that against girls. In Zimbabwe,
thoroughly bath before sleeping with me. I used Due to fear of society’s reaction, most victims there are few counsellors on hand who are expe-
He reveals that they create a relationship with to refuse such offers whenever they asked me to of sexual abuse choose to remain silent after the rienced in discussing problems with boys who
him gradually through giving small tasks such go with them, but my situation forces me to do assault. are victims of abuse. There is much to be done
as car washing and gardening. Once they cre- these things,” Mugwagwa said. before the issue of sexual abuse against boys can
ate a relationship, the perpetrators make sexual Service providers confirmed that they are be properly acknowledged and discussed, free of
advances. Young Bothwell Muzondo (12) spends much receiving few cases of sexual abuse concerning denial or shame,’’ the report reads.
of his time begging people in the streets, which boys compared to girls.
“With the life that l am living now if a woman is the only way for him and his blind grandfa-
offers me money, l can’t refuse. At first, a single The report says this is partly because fewer
mother from my neighborhood established a
good relationship by calling me son, she present-
ed herself to the community as a good-hearted
woman who is helping me unconditionally, but
she helps me in exchange for sexual favours,” he
said.

Some of the women, he revealed, demand
unprotected sex, despite the risk of contracting
HIV.

NewsHawks News Page 19

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

Page 20 News NewsHawks

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

Special Covid-19
PANDEMIC coverage

Omicron travel bans dampen prospects

STEPHEN CHADENGA Western nations banned flights to southern African countries over the new Omicron Covid-19 variant.

FORMER Common Market for Eastern and criticised the travel bans on southern African hoods.” about 2.9 million people, health experts say the
Southern Africa (Comesa) business councilsec- countries, saying there was a need to “follow This week, the government also said it was shortage of resources has made it difficult for
retary-general and past Zimbabwe National science and international health regulations” in the country to reach its target of inoculating at
Chamber of Commerce president Trust Chiko- a bid to avoid travel restrictions and that the prepared to handle the new variant and called least 10 million people, about 60% of the pop-
hora says the flight bans by Western nations on bans have a “heavy burden on lives and liveli- on people not to panic. ulation, by year end.
southern African countries over the new Omi-
cron Covid-19 variant will negatively impact Although the government has vaccinated
Zimbabwe’s economic revival efforts.

The effects will be more pronounced in tour-
ism and foreign direct investment.

Chikohora said the travel restrictions were
selective and “unnecessarily” burdening the
country, which has not even recorded a single
case of the new variant.

“The travel bans by the Western countries will
affect the economy because people’s movements
drive tourism, drive potential investmentand
trade,” Chikohora told The NewsHawks.

“Even development assistance, people com-
ing on aid work; people coming to scout for
business opportunities and a lot of other eco-
nomic activities get affected. The mood for
business is dampened and it affects even trade
deals that may be consummated between the
country and other international business suit-
ors.

“The travel bans are detrimental to the econ-
omy and have been selective, given that even
other countries in the Western world have re-
corded cases of the new variant. Zimbabwe has
not even recorded a single case of the variant
and the criteria for coming up with these travel
bans leaves a lot to be desired. There may be
some political or even racial connotations used
in these travel restrictions.”

The business expert’s sentiments come after
the World Health Organsiation regional direc-
tor for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, this week also

Surge in Covid cases worries Masvingo authorities

MORRIS BISHI Masvingo Teachers’ College recently recorded nearly 200 covid-19 cases. is now gone. It is also important for people to un-
derstand that the virus mutations might lead to
AUTHORITIES in Masvingo are worried about “There has been a sudden rise of Covid-19 sions and are being managed at the affected in- new variants which might be difficult to control.
the recent surge in new Covid-19, cases which positive cases within institutions in Masvingo stitutions. The fact that this virus is among us is Details of the variant of the positive cases that
they fear might lead to new variants that are dif- province. These cases are from local transmis- very true and people should not relax thinking it we are now recording will only be known after
ficult to control. health experts have concluded their findings,”
Irimayi said.
The province recorded 255 new cases most-
ly from learning institutions from Saturday last Irimayi encouraged people to adhere to set
week to Wednesday this week with Masvingo standards by the World Health Organisation
Teachers’ College recording nearly 200 cases. meant to control the spread and impact of the
coronavirus.
Other affected institutions are Mutero High
School in Gutu as well as Eddrovel, a private A senior health official in Masvingo told The
school in Masvingo district. NewsHawks that the geographical positioning of
the province puts it at high risk of Omicron since
The latest spike came at a time when the world it is a gateway to South Africa, adding that the
is in panic after the discovery of a new variant newly detected variant in South Africa might be
Omicron believed to be deadlier than previously the cause of the latest wave of infections. He add-
discovered variants. The government has since ed that health officials were caught unprepared,
tightened lockdown measures after witnessing forcing the authorities to transfer medical profes-
an increase in new cases, with 712 cases recorded sionals to affected areas from their stations.
countrywide on Wednesday alone.
“We are handling this latest development with
Masvingo provincial Covid-19 taskforce caution, as you know our province is near South
spokesperson Rodgers Irimayi told The New- Africa where a new variant was detected. We are
sHawks that the sudden increase in new cases worried about the rate of new infections and we
shows that the virus is still around and people will only know after the completion of ongoing
should not relax. investigations. Health officials were moved from
their stations to the affected areas. As l speak,
He said it is also important for people to un- testing of more people is ongoing although we
derstand that the virus mutations might lead to are facing resource challenges,” the health official
new variants which might be difficult to control said.
and added that health officials are investigating
the variant of the latest cases.

NewsHawks News Page 21

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

Zim Covid-19 vaccination in pictures

1

2 1. A nurse talks to clients before they got their Covid -19 tests at Harare Hospital on
Wednesday; 2. A couple walks past a billboard on Covid-19 vaccination in Harare this
week; 3. A man flinches as he undergo Covid -19 testing at Harare Hospital on Wednesday;
4. A woman shows her vaccination card soon after receiving the Sinopharm jab at Pariren-
yatwa Group of Hospitals on Monday; 5. A man receives the Sinopharm jab at Parirenyat-
wa Group of Hospitals this week. — Picture:s Aaron Ufumeli

3

4
5

Page 22 Editorial & Opinion NewsHawks

CARTOON Issue 59, 3 December 2021

Knee-jerk reaction to
Covid-19 unhelpful

THE Zimbabwean government’s “monkey see, monkey Liberators turned ruthless
do” approach to tackling the Covid-19 Omicron variant and insensitive oppressors
threat is very unsettling.
FORMER Mozambican and South Afri- vancing Human Rights in Southern Africa, Sishuwa from the University of Cape Town
This rapidly evolving risk cannot be contained through can First Lady Graca Machel — who was United Nations Office of High Commis- and former Mozambican, Accountability
knee-jerk actions that are not grounded in science. married to two illustrious African liberation sioner for Human Rights regional office for International programme manager Keikan-
struggle giants, Samora Machel and Nelson southern Africa and Amnesty International. tse Phele, Professor Adriano Nuvunga, Di-
Government brewed a shocker by introducing senseless Mandela — raised one of the most trou- rector of the Centre for Democracy and
testing and quarantine measures this week. Even by its own bling questions, ironies and betrayals of our Its theme was Defending Rights and Pro- Development & Steering Committee of
standards of dramatic incompetence, this was a breathtak- times as she urged people to rise and fight tecting Democracies In the Face of Rising In- the Mozambique Human Rights Defenders
ing miscalculation. authoritarian regimes oppressing them in equality and Authoritarianism. Network and South Machel, among others.
the region, most of which are products of
We must give credit where credit is due. There are certain former liberation movements. It reflected on the ominous reality facing The speakers painted a grim picture
aspects of the government’s Covid-19 response strategy that people in the region and unprecedented of the human rights situation in the re-
have been commendable thus far. The knee-jerk Omicron Machel, whose country, family and hus- gion, widespread inequalities, rising so-
response is not one of them. band looked after Zimbabwean liberation Hawk Eye cial unrest and protests due to leadership,
struggle movement Zanu PF and its leaders governance and policy failures, digital
According to the new measures, returning residents and at huge political, economic and person- Dumisani repression, and despotic regimes’ use of
foreign travellers are required to undergo a PCR test upon al sacrifice, said some liberators have now Muleya Covid-related restrictions to crack down
arrival and will be subjected to 10-day quarantine at their abandoned people in poverty in pursuit of on human rights defenders as some of the
own expense. personal aggrandisement and wealth. risks of repression and persecution of de- issues characterising authoritarian consol-
fenders and activists by governments and idation and democratic backsliding in the
There is no scientific logic in these sweeping measures. She said this was an ironic betrayal as private actors, who often work together in region.
When powerful Western governments rushed to impose a most governments in the region come from violating rights with impunity.
travel ban on southern African countries, level-headed peo- the tradition of anti-colonial and liberation There were constant references to coun-
ple across the world condemned the blatant fear-monger- struggles in which their leaders were pre- Some of the key speakers involved in- tries such as Eswatini, South Africa, Zam-
ing, discrimination and borderline racism. pared to die, although they are now terror- cluded Southern African Human Rights bia, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
ising their own people. Defenders Network director Washington But Zimbabwe and Eswatini were key
Nobody in the Western world has provided evidence that Katema and its chairperson Arnold Tsunga, references for countries reeling from demo-
the Omicron variant originated in South Africa and Bo- People, she added, must stop this. But Amnesty International director for East and cratic deficits and human rights crisis.
tswana. In fact, there is a glut of information showing that then for this to happen though, people southern Africa Deprose Muchena, Open The beacons of hope were Zambia, Ma-
the variant had been detected in the Netherlands, Hong must first stop talking and come together Society of Southern Africa director Sipho- lawi and the Seychelles. South Africa re-
Kong and other places before the excellent scientists in to decisively act for change. sami Malunga, regional representative for mained a positive reference on many issues
South Africa and Botswana definitively deployed their ca- southern Africa at the Office of the High though.
pabilities in service of humanity. This came as human rights defenders at Commissioner for Human Rights Abigail However, the overall trajectory was
a summit in Maputo, Mozambique, which Noko, Accountability Lab Zimbabwe chief gravely concerning even though it has in-
Arbitrary actions — while providing the Western gov- she addressed, said the southern African re- of party (director) Dr McDonald Lewani- tegrated the human security approach into
ernments with what appears to be a convenient cop out gion is in a perilous state of democracy and ka, Advancing Rights in Southern Africa its constructions of, and policy frameworks
— will actually prove counterproductive in the long run. freedom, as people battle to stop authori- Programme, Freedom House, chief of party for, peace and security.
tarian repression and rampant abuses by (director) Tiseke Kasambala, Dr Sishuwa Southern Africa, a region defined by its
As experience has shown in the past two years, a global post-colonial governments that ironically anti-colonial and civil wars, is undoubtedly
health emergency requires international co-operation, not fought for liberty during liberation strug- enjoying relative peace and stability, despite
unhelpful stonewalling. gles. continued political tensions in Eswatini,
Democratic Republic of Congo and Zim-
The unfortunate consequence of arbitrary travel bans is The summit was organised by the South- babwe.
that some countries will now begin questioning the wis- ern Africa Human Rights Defenders Net-
dom of transparently reporting the detection of these new work in partnership with Mozambique
variants. Human Rights Defenders Network, Ad-

When transparency is punished, there is no incentive for
openness.

Since early 2020, one of the main lessons the global com-
munity has learnt is that science must lead. The problem, as
people in many countries would readily testify, is that the
average political leader lacks rational thought and panders
to grandstanding, populism and hollow sound bites.

Omicron has been categorised as a “variant of concern”
by the World Health Organisation. What the community
of nations needs to do is to scientifically study it to see if it
is more contagious or causes more severe illness than oth-
er variants. Fear-mongering will only make this important
task a whole lot harder.

In any event, the variant has since been detected in doz-
ens of countries, including the United States, Canada, Brit-
ain, Austria, Portugal and Spain. Is the world going to ban
travel from all these nations?

There is neither rhyme nor reason.
We must take into account other considerations. Dias-
pora remittances have become the biggest source of forex
inflows for Zimbabwe and deserve respect.
This comes on the back of a Covid-19 pandemic that has
prevented foreign-based citizens from visiting this country
since March 2020.
Many in the diaspora would have seen December 2021
as an opportunity to travel home and spend time with loved
ones. It is no longer possible.
The government could have found better ways of han-
dling the Omicron threat.

Reaffirming the fundamental impor- The NewsHawks is published on different EDITORIAL STAFF: Marketing Officer: Voluntary Media
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Website: www.vmcz.co.zw, Facebook: vmcz Zimbabwe

NewsHawks New Perspectives Page 23

Issue 59, 3 December 2021 Is it possible to change
Zim's economic inertia?
SIR Isaac Newton’s law of motion
holds that an object will contin- Finance and Economic Development minister Mthuli Ncube.
ue moving in the same direction,
and with the same velocity, unless needs. These two handicaps feed so much uncertainty. If policy is Vision 2030 economic blueprint for October 2021 was 21.1%; in
it is affected by an external force. off each other, fuelling sovereign transient and reversible, it los- cannot be achieved without a Botswana annual inflation rate
Unfortunately, this is clearly true risk, inflation, dollarisation and es its guiding effect, which is its strong external force. for October 2021 was 8.8%; in
of Zimbabwe’s economy as we financial crises and, more repeat- main impact. “Wait and see” is The economic growth rates South Africa annual inflation
enter 2022. edly, the flight of companies and the natural reaction to the tem- have been erratic, and the worst rate for October 2021 was 5%;
high-skilled jobs. porary policy game. Indeed, this part is that even at the peak, in Malawi the annual inflation
Zimbabwe’s inertia on its pres- policy temporariness can work in Zimbabwe has never matched rate for October 2021 was 9%;
ent path is strong. Its recent In addition, due to rapid perverse ways, inverting its in- economic growth with job cre- in Namibia the annual inflation
economic cycles have become so change from a socialist econo- tended impact. ation. For the upper middle-in- rate for October 2021 was 3.6%;
tightly spaced that a sustained my (Mugabe-era) to the current What is clear for Zimbabwe come status to be achieved, and in Mozambique the annual
rebound before the next relapse more capitalist, Zimbabwe has is that know- inflation rate for October 2021
occurs is almost uncertain. It is swiftly moved towards a path of ing what to do was 6.24%. Comparing those
clear that the country faces a cer- “inclusive poverty”: The propor- is not enough. figures to Zimbabwe makes the
tain crisis after each and every tion of people living in abject It is a mistake Econometrics economy an unattractive invest-
five years. The latest sequence poverty has increased even in ur- to think that ment destination. 
could be described as a currency ban areas. Inequality gaps have Zimbabwe’s eco- HawksView
crisis that started when the gov- widened with the rich becoming nomic problems However, the pieces for an
ernment first introduced the lo- richer while the middle class has are economic in understanding are on the ta-
cal currency and pegged it at par totally disappeared. Government nature. Interna- ble. If an agreement for politi-
to the US dollar. The local unit policies, including Treasury bud- tional financial Tinashe Kaduwo cal reforms is not reached, even
has been on a clear downward gets, have focused more on pro- institutions and reformists will find it hard to
trajectory ever since and the au- tecting businesses whilst neglect- multilateral treaties may help Zimbabwe needs to sustainably implement credible reforms.
thorities are fully aware. ing the welfare of the masses. By sustain a long-term commitment, record growth at more than 10% Without these reforms, in 10
the end of 2020, independent es- but none of these pending assign- per annum. Current growth and years' time Zimbabwe will be in
A conservative prognosis timates suggests that only 15% of ments seems viable if they are not projected rates are way too low to worse shape than at the end of
would suggest that, unless we see the working-age population was processed politically. meet the 2030 targets. Further- 2019, as in 2019 it was in worse
disruptive policies to change this employed in the private sector, a Zimbabwe's tribal polarisation more, current investment levels shape than in the previous 10
inertia, then for the foreseeable ratio that will further deteriorate has a paralysing effect when com- as a percentage of Gross Domes- years. Without disruptions, there
future the country will continue given the uninspiring economic bined with the policy temporari- tic Product stand at between 7% is no basis for the country’s in-
to exhibit lagging exports, min- growth projections, the Covid-19 ness mentioned above. To undo to 9%,  which has been the trend ertia to change. That is the stark
imal investment, defensive ad pandemic and continued seclu- the trap, a country needs, at least, for the last five years. To achieve reality.
hoc interventions, high year-on- sion from the global community.  a commitment to immunise core the 2030 targets, Zimbabwe
year inflation currently at about policies from the political cycle. needs to ramp up this figure to *About the writer: Tinashe
58% and climbing, persistent A third ingredient is more re- Political polarisation makes this 25%. Kaduwo is a researcher and
exchange rate pressure, slightly cent and, possibly, more critical: minimal arrangement even less Inflation is also making the economist. He writes in his
negative per capita growth, fol- Policy temporariness. Notably, plausible and convincing. country less competitive. In personal capacity. Contact
lowing a modest rebound from it is not economic, but political. In summary, the government's Zambia, the annual inflation rate [email protected] whatsapp
the pandemic, new or higher tax- Several statutory instruments +263773376128
es to make up for a diminishing have been announced, creating
tax base, and a renewed flight of
capital and people. 

In the 2022 budget, the Fi-
nance minister projects econom-
ic growth of 7.8% and 5.5% in
2021 and 2022, respectively. Al-
though the growth is modest, it is
rather too low to inspire change
in real per capita incomes as the
country is coming from a consec-
utive two-year economic reces-
sion. Given the very low base the
economy is coming from, dou-
ble-digit growth would have been
more ideal. Inflation is expected
to average 32% next year, which
is still very high. 

In sum, more of the same is
expected in the short to medium
term. The challenge then is to
consider Newton’s second law:

Are there external forces big
enough to substantially alter the
inertia, and begin a new (better)
course? Zimbabwe is an over-di-
agnosed and under-executed
country. There is actually consid-
erable consensus right now about
what is needed to put the econo-
my back on a sustainable growth
path. But it would be misleading
to place too much emphasis on
technicalities. Since the begin-
ning, Zimbabwe’s crisis has been
political. The way out, if it exists,
must be political as well.

Apart from toxic politics, Zim-
babwe is grappling with two ma-
jor macro-economic handicaps:
insufficient exports and a feeble
currency, which it looks likely to
abandon. Let us just add that,
with no Zimbabwean dollar sav-
ings, the government funds its
chronic fiscal imbalances with a
mix of inflation and financial re-
pression (exchange rate controls
and negative real rates), punish-
ing the very Zimdollar holders
and investors that it so badly

Page 24 New Perspectives NewsHawks

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

Business

MATTERSNewsHawks

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

*PLATINUM 975.5 +4.3

*COPPER 4.087 +0.046

BERNARD MPOFU US$400 000 compensatory
dividend for Zim pensioners
TREASURY has undertaken to pay a
US$400 000 dividend in compensation to Two years ago, the Zimbabwe government removed the 1:1 parity which had been ushered in following the introduction of bond notes in 2016.
pensioners who lost value after the government
embarked on currency reforms which came af- one-third lumpsums for pensioners who retired tirees of church-related hospitals and mission tions, Nssa’s time limits for claiming pension
ter the local currency plunged. just before dollarisation, delayed processing of schools, who were not covered by th overnment benefits, the failure to access a Nssa pension by
lumpsum pension benefits, delays in payment as grant-aided workers. government workers on early retirement, such
Two years ago, the government removed the of monthly pension payouts, surviving spous- as former members of the police and army, lack
1:1 parity which had been ushered in following es and dependants failing to access benefits, Complaints relating to the National Social of insurance cover for students on industrial at-
the introduction of bond notes, a fiat currency as well as the failure to access pensions by re- Security Authority (Nssa) centred on the prob- tachment and poor record keeping.
introduced in 2016. lem of uniform and arbitrary benefit calcula-

Finance minister Mthuli Ncube told law-
makers that plans were underway to pay com-
pensation in the coming year.

Players in the insurance and pensions sector
are now in the process of equitably distributing
revaluation gains on assets attributable to cur-
rency reforms undertaken in 2019 in line with
the Guideline on Adjusting Insurance and

Pension Values provided by Ipec (Insur-
ance and Pensions Commission),” Ncube said
during the presentation of the 2022 National
Budget.

“In addition, pursuant to an allocation of
US$75 million investment asset by government
to Ipec, as part of compensation measures for
lost value by pensioners, a dividend of US$400
000 was declared and is being disbursed to tar-
geted beneficiaries. Subsequent disbursements
will be made in 2022 and beyond, leveraging
on this investment.”

The finance minister further proposed to
compensate policyholders who lost value after
Zimbabwe experienced an unprecedented eco-
nomic meltdown in 2008. The country ditched
its local unit for the United States dollar in
2009 after inflation officially reached 231 mil-
lion percent, wiping out savings and pensions.

After the introduction of the greenback, the
government in 2017 commissioned a special
inquiry to investigate the impact of the cur-
rency reform on both policyholders and the
economy.

The inquiry was led by retired High Court
judge Justice George Smith.

“Government, in consultation with industry
representatives, has been working on bringing
closure to the pre-2009 compensation,” Ncube
said.

“To this end, government is finalising the
2009 compensation framework that will pro-
vide guiding principles on the criteria for as-
sessing and quantifying prejudice in relation to
the insurance and pensions contracts, as high-
lighted in the Smith Commission of Inquiry on
Conversion of Insurance and Pensions Values
from Zimbabwe dollar to US dollar Report.

“It is envisaged that the compensation mo-
dalities will be concluded before the end of
2021, with pensioners starting to get payments
in 2022.”

During the inquiry, the commission received
many complaints from individual members of
the public, as well as from insurance and pen-
sion representative organisations. The main
concerns related to the loss of value arising from
pension contribution arrears, value lost during
hyper-inflation, inter-generational transfer of
benefits, value lost through conversions on
dollarisation, forced commutations of the full
pension, loss arising from de-mutualisation of
Old Mutual and First Mutual and conversion
of pension schemes from defined benefit funds
to defined contribution funds.

The inquiry revealed complaints against the
Government Pension Scheme included the ab-
sence of a funded pension scheme, outstanding

Page 26 Companies & Markets NewsHawks

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

Zimchem loses US$300k revenue to power cuts

TOP chemical manufacturer Zimchem says ut has capital to fund our raw materials procurement and tonnes of pitch which we must supply to South Af- Zimchem is battling to secure raw materials.
lost at least US$300 000 in the past two months also to retool our plant. We have been roped in rica. This past week we have delivered to South Af- “Currently, we are running the refinery plant
owing to power supply challenges at its refinery on the government’s 100-day project cycles un- rica 120 tonnes. And we are left with 360 tonnes. which is 50% of our total capacity. However, the
plant. der the National Development Strategy 1. We are We have a number of challenges which emanated plant is currently at 25% capacity utilisation. On
supposed to produce road tar for the Emergency from us being located in Ziscosteel works,” Shoko the whole the capacity utilisation of the Zimchem
Zimchem, which is located within Ziscosteel, Road Rehabilitation Programme. We have been said, before indicating that one of the problems is refinery plant is 10% to 15%.
has been adversely affected by the Zimbabwe earmarked for funding from government to pro- the issue of electricity. “The supply orders from the ministry of Trans-
Electricity Supply Holdings’ recent disconnection cure raw materials locally from our counterparts port for the supply of creosote materials should
of Ziscosteel over a ZW$40 million debt. in Hwange,” he said. Zimchem has two strategic plants, namely the boost our capacity utilisation close to 50% for the
tar plant and the benzol plant. whole plant and close to 60% to 70% for the tar
The switching off of Ziscosteel has affected Zimchem is expected to supply a regional cus- refinery itself. In terms of revenue, we have been
Zimchem’s operations which has also been blacked tomer in South Africa. However, the benzol refining plant has not realising around $500 000 per month from both
out as it uses the same power line as Ziscosteel. been operating since the demise of Ziscosteel’s the local and export markets,” he said. — STAFF
“We have also secured a number of supply con- coke oven battery, which was the sole supplier of
In an interview, acting general manager Tendai tractors from South Africa. So far we have 480 benzol in the country. WRITER.
Shoko said the power disconnection has affected
not only operations but has also made it expensive
to run the plant as Zimchem is now relying on
diesel generators to power the plant, an arrange-
ment which is not sustainable. “Power cuts have
severely affected us,” Shoko said.

Zimchem is also battling to secure raw mate-
rials.

“How we have been operating is that our cus-
tomers have been supplying us with raw materials
for their orders. They give us the raw materials to
supply for them. Following the power cuts, we
have been failing to meet our orders.

“In terms of loss of value we have an ex-
port order of 300 tonnes of pitch to South
Africa which was supposed to be delivered in
October, 300 tonnes in November and 300
tonnes in December. The pitch is around 50
cents per kilogramme. So we have lost about
US$150 000 in October and in November,” he
said.

As an alternative for powering the plant, Zim-
chem has been using generators.

“However, it must be noted that five days of
using a generator is equivalent to 15 days of using
power. Our Zesa bill for three corporates, Redcliff
municipality, Ziscosteel and Zimchem, per month
is ZW$3.6 million and by using the generator for
five days we will be using at least ZW$1 million,”
he said.

Zimchem has been roped in by the government
to produce tar for the Emergency Road Rehabili-
tation Programme. However, the company is bat-
tling against challenges.

“We had severe challenges in terms of working

LEADING financial services provider First Capi- First Capital Bank lays off 235 workers
tal Bank (FCB) has reportedly laid off about 235
workers since taking over the institution from how the workers’ union stood by them when the economic environment and performance of staff representative bodies.
Barclays Plc, amid a deterioration in labour stan- jostling erupted for the take over of the financial the bank. “First Capital Bank Zimbabwe can confirm
dards, the Zimbabwe Banks and Allied Workers’ institution. “Secondly you made a commitment
Union (Zibawu) has reported. before the employees at Holiday Inn Harare and He said the bank must commence genuine receipt of a letter sent by the Zimbabwe Banks
on several other occasions that you would pre- negotiations with the workers’ committee which and Allied Workers Union, Zibawu, on the 30th
Speaking to The NewsHawks this week, Zibawu serve employment and treat workers with dignity. must result in the payment of US dollar salaries of November, 2021. The bank carried out a re-
secretary-general Peter Mutasa said all is not well However, we have watched with absolute shock since the institution is generating adequate for- structuring exercise which was necessitated by the
at one of the country’s biggest banks. and disbelief when you engaged in two brutal eign currency amid calls to urgently stop the wan- changing operating environment and a new busi-
retrenchments where employees were let go with ton and irresponsible retrenchments which take ness model as we endeavour to align with local
“Since taking over the bank, FCB has, to date, literally nothing,” Zibawu said. employees to their early graves. and global banking trends,” McSharry said.
retrenched almost 235 for the two retrenchments
so far. Salaries remain very low, ranging between The union issued a chilling warning to the “While we do not seek to cause industrial dis- “We remain committed to fostering a culture
ZW$32 000 to ZW$40 000 gross. Many workers board, directing it to take immediate measures to harmony in your bank, please note that we are of open dialogue through numerous engagement
are therefore taking home as little as ZW$15 000, improve working conditions in Zimbabwe or risk prepared to lodge perpetual campaigns against initiatives with internal staff representative bod-
which is insufficient for a monthly food basket veering into an inevitable collision course with the First Capital Bank until it begins to respect its em- ies, where collective efforts and output continue
only,” he said. employees, which may damage the bank’s brand. ployees and their rights at the workplace,” Mutasa to be realised steadily. The bank remains com-
added in the letter. mitted to promoting employee welfare, creating a
In comparison, he said, some banks have con- The Zibawu secretary-general demanded that safe, inclusive and supportive workplace for all its
stantly increased their workers’ salaries and oth- FCB Zimbabwe take immediate steps to start In a statement, FCB managing director Ci- employees and effectively serving our customers.”
er benefits to over ZW$60 000, on top of oth- paying decent living wages which are aligned to aran McSharry confirmed the engagement with — STAFF WRITER.
er US dollar allowances, as well as groceries and Zibawu, but said the bank was engaging internal
fuel allowances. “Most banks have already paid
groceries allowances of between ZW$50 000 to
ZW$115 000 and across the industry. FCB is
only offering ZW$11 000 as a once-off grocery
payment. This has been regarded by workers as
demeaning and an insult, considering what other
banks are paying,” Mutasa said.

Documents seen by The NewsHawks showed
that the union is already embroiled in a feud with
the bank’s shareholders over the matter.

In a letter dated 30 November 2021 addressed
to shareholders under the care of one Mr Hitesh,
Mutasa expressed “utmost disappointment” in the
manner in which the new bank owners are treat-
ing workers.

“As the representative of the majority share-
holder, you ought to be ashamed of the loss of
goodwill that the business you acquired from Bar-
clays Bank of Zimbabwe PLC has incurred to date
as far as treatment of employees is concerned,” the
letter said in part.

The union reminded the new shareholders

NewsHawks Companies & Markets Page 27

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

Page 28 Companies & Markets NewsHawks

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

Seed Co relishes improved seed demand

ALEX MHANDU

SEED CO International Limited expects to lever- Demand for staples such as maize has remained high across southern Africa.
age on its multi-geography footprint to mitigate
drought headwinds in southern Africa through nue by more than 50%. southern Africa although political instability in in Zimbabwe.
increased research into new hybrid varieties, espe- Zambia was the cashcow with turnover jump- Ethiopia, Sudan and some Francophone West While the Covid-19 pandemic poses uncer-
cially maize, a senior official has said. African regions hindered business development.
ing by 121% to US$15.5 million, mainly due to tainties with threats of a fourth wave emerging,
This comes as demand for staples such as maize price adjustments and early season start. Meanwhile, Matorofa highlighted the group management at Seed Co International remain
has remained high across the region and making was also banking on improved production effi- upbeat for the remainder of the year and going
a significant contribution to both sales volumes Sales in Malawi more than doubled, buoyed by ciencies across the region. forward. Seed demand reaches its highest during
and turnover for the group. early demand driven by the government’s inputs the second half, which also falls within the plant-
support programme while Tanzania experienced a “Seed processing plants are generally working ing season across the region while the first half is
Currently, the Zambian market, which has 78% jump in revenue to US$4.1 million, driven well group wide with a new plant recently com- mostly a cost accumulation period.
made significant contribution to total turnover by early demand. missioned in Nigeria. We are also working on
— at 43.5% — is providing lucrative opportuni- own farm storage (4 000 Square metres) and dry- Already, year-to-date revenue is ahead of the
ties for the group with the stability brought in by However, Kenyan sales went down by 17% er (14 bays), construction is nearing completion corresponding period last year.
the newly elected government. due to drought in parts of that country, which in Zambia and this is expected to enhance early
impacted demand. Nigeria turnover fell 42% due seed harvesting and grading capacity,” he said, Despite lockdowns, Seed Co International is
Group finance director John Matorofa told an- to stock unavailability following production chal- adding that the introduction of cob harvesting classified an essential service provider and there-
alysts that during the half year to 30 September lenges due to heavy rains last season. and seed drying technology across the group was fore allowed to operate.
2021, the group has released five new maize hy- on the radar following pilot plant commissioning
brid varieties in Zambia and these are expected to Generally, the environment was characterised “Food has to be produced with or without
be introduced to other regional markets. by normal to above-normal rainfall forecast for lockdown,” Matorofa said.

The group also launched a new variety, SC733,
in Zambia to complement and gradually replace
SC701 as a green mealie variety.

This is in addition to rice hybrid trials that are
continuing in southern, East and West Africa
and have already been commenced on pilot com-
mercial sales in Malawi, Tanzania, Nigeria and
Zambia. Other new initiatives include potato and
cowpea hybrid registration trials that are ongoing
together with plans to introduce canola jazz after
pilot production in Zimbabwe.

During the half-year period, revenue came in
27% ahead of tge corresponding period last year
to US$35.6 million, driven by better season pre-
paredness and early sales activity in Malawi, Tan-
zania and Zambia, which experienced currency
appreciation during the period.

Maize seed dominated both revenue and vol-
ume contribution, driven by strong demand in
Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia. Maize accounted
for US$30 million of the group’s total turnover
and 14,6 metric tonnes out of the total 18,1 met-
ric tonnes achieved during the period.

Profit for the period however fell 40 percent to
US$1.5 million despite growth in revenue due to
fall in other income because of non-recurring dis-
posals and an increase in operating costs owing to
early selling season preparedness this year among
other factors.

In terms of performance by strategic business
units, the Southern African Customs Union re-
gion (SACU) no longer includes South Africa,
eSwatini and Lesotho, resulting in a fall in reve-

DUMISANI NYONI Uptick in platinum output expected

ZIMBABWE’S platinum production is estimated 354 000 oz in the first nine months of 2021 from significant outflows from exchange traded funds duction.
at 467 000 ounces (oz) this year, up 4% compared 333 000 oz in the comparative period. (ETFs) and stocks held by exchanges exceed the WPIC said the dominant trends that influ-
to the corresponding period last year, data from collective year-on-year growth in automotive, jew-
the World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) Globally, total platinum supply is forecast to ellery and industrial demand. enced platinum supply and demand in 2021 are
shows. rise 19% year-on-year to 8 114 000 oz this year, expected to continue into 2022, resulting in a
still below the 2019 level despite the inclusion Consequently, WPIC said its forecast surplus projected surplus of 637 000 oz, although “this
In 2020, output stood at 448 000 oz. of the 380 000 oz contribution from the Anglo for 2021 has increased from 190 000 oz to 769 is very dependent upon the pace of the recovery
The country holds the world’s third-largest American Platinum converter plant (ACP) inven- 000 oz. Notably, 14% growth in platinum auto- in automotive production, as well as changes in
confirmed platinum reserves after South Africa tory unwind. motive demand is anticipated despite the global global ETF (exchange-traded funds) and exchange
and Russia, and what it produces has an influence semi-conductor shortage limiting automotive pro- stock holdings.”
on international output and pricing tendencies. Demand is expected to fall 5% year-on-year, as
There are three platinum-producing mines, name-
ly Zimplats, Mimosa and Unki.
In accordance with the government’s target
of attaining a US$12 billion mining industry by
2023, platinum is predicted to contribute US$3
billion per year.
“Zimbabwe continued its long-term undisrupt-
ed production performance in the quarter (third
quarter) with output of 111 000 oz, a modest 4
000 oz year-on-year decline. Scheduled mainte-
nance at several concentrators was in part offset
by improved smelter output following a furnace
reline,” WPIC's latest quarterly global production
report reads in part.
“Underlying Zimbabwean mined output is ex-
pected to grow next year due to processing debot-
tlenecking and mine development.”
“However, the normalisation of semi-finished
material through South African smelters and re-
fineries is expected to result in Zimbabwean re-
fined output remaining essentially unchanged at
465 000 oz,” it said.
Platinum production in the country rose 6% to

NewsHawks Stock Taking Page 29

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

Price Sheet A MEMBER OF FINSEC & THE ZIMBABWE STOCK EXCHANGE

Thursday, 02 December 2021

Company Sector Bloomberg Previous Last VWAP (cents) Total Total Price Price YTD Market
Ticker Price Traded Traded Traded Change Change (%) Cap
AFDIS Consumer Goods (cents) Volume Value ($) (cents) ($m)
African Sun Consumer Services AFDIS: ZH Price (%)
ART ASUN: ZH 11000.00 -
Ariston Industrials ARTD: ZH 672.00 - 11000.00 5,300 - - - 358.33 13,144.40
Axia Consumer Services ARISTON: ZH 1100.00 600.00 667.25 2,000 35,364 -4.75 -0.71 292.50 9,501.18
BNC AXIA: ZH 391.09 1100.00 1100.00 39,900 22,000 130.46 4,806.75
BAT Consumer Goods BIND: ZH 3000.45 390.00 390.03 132,300 155,620 - - 191.07 6,347.33
CAFCA Basic Materials 554.92 3010.00 3088.11 17,800 4,085,565 -1.06 -0.27 237.13 17,051.01
Cassava BAT: ZH 270000.00 600.00 586.21 1,700 104,346 87.66 2.92 54.27 7,460.89
CBZ Consumer Goods CAFCA: ZH 17000.00 216000.00 266823.53 4,536,000 31.29 5.64 385.13 55,055.08
CFI Industrials 4040.42 17000.00 - -3176.47 -1.18 89.10 1,484.97
Dairibord CSZL: ZH 8600.00 - 4000.13 365,700 - 515.40 103,626.46
Delta Technology CBZ: ZH 7210.00 4100.00 8595.09 55,600 14,628,470 - - 0.57 44,923.22
Econet Banking 4800.00 8595.00 7210.00 4,778,870 -40.29 -1.00 10090.81 7,645.55
Edgars CFI:ZH 15701.15 4800.00 - -4.91 -0.06 266.41 17,184.04
FBC Industrials DZL: ZH 7137.65 - 15585.48 - - 585.05 203,262.03
Fidelity Consumer Goods DLTA: ZH 525.00 - 7788.80 133,600 - - - 724.21 201,774.85
First Capital Consumer Goods ECO: ZH 3350.00 15700.00 523.00 514,000 20,822,200 - - 335.83 3,160.22
FML Telecommunications EDGR: ZH 960.00 7925.00 3325.03 1,300 40,034,440 -115.67 -0.74 121.47 22,342.54
FMP Consumer Services FBC: ZH 357.00 523.00 960.00 1,528,600 6,799 651.15 9.12 403.41 1,045.66
GBH FIDL: ZH 2100.00 3325.00 357.00 - 50,826,400 -2.00 -0.38 224.55 7,710.54
Getbucks Banking FCA: ZH 781.00 - 2100.00 51,800 - -24.97 -0.75 100.00 14,493.00
Hippo Financial Services FMHL: ZH 197.88 357.00 780.25 - 184,926 - - 140.82 9,660.72
Innscor FMP: ZH 900.00 - 198.50 8,400 - - - 727.08 1,065.13
Lafarge Banking GBH: ZH 32000.00 781.00 900.00 30,600 65,541 - - 7100.00 10,468.07
Mash Financial Services GBFS: ZH 15404.53 198.00 32000.00 200 60,741 -0.75 -0.10 255.56 61,766.58
Masimba HIPO: ZH 9200.00 900.00 15415.91 - 1,800 0.62 0.31 316.32 87,851.64
Medtech Real Estate INN: ZH 430.00 - 9200.00 22,500 - - - 858.33 7,360.00
Medtech Class B Industrials LACZ: ZH 5700.00 15480.00 452.50 3,500 3,468,580 - - 386.56 8,412.31
Meikles MASH: ZH 5900.00 9200.00 5000.00 800 322,000 11.38 0.07 346.43 12,082.69
Nampak Financial Services MSHL: ZH 1800.00 430.00 5900.00 90,900 3,620 - - 74583.54
NatFoods Consumer Goods MMDZ: ZH 15826.80 5000.00 1800.00 - 4,545,000 22.50 5.23 17999900.00 708.00
NTS MMDZB:ZH 1056.67 - 16061.92 - - -700.00 -12.28 629.93 24.16
NMBZ Industrials MEIK: ZH 169879.01 - 1052.50 13,000 - - - 361.12 40,579.81
OK Zim Industrials NPKZ: ZH 780.00 16100.00 169879.01 400 2,088,050 - - 2726.61 7,953.20
Proplastics Real Estate NTFD: ZH 1060.00 1055.00 624.00 - 4,210 235.12 1.49 2173.22 116,197.43
RTG Industrials NTS: ZH 2358.52 - 1059.72 800 - -4.17 -0.39 164.90 1,584.16
RioZim Financial Services NMB: ZH 2950.00 624.00 2406.14 5,300 4,992 - - 167.35 4,283.09
SeedCo Financial Services OKZ: ZH 500.00 1000.00 2950.00 273,500 56,165 -156.00 -20.00 242.63 30,940.18
Simbisa Industrials PROL: ZH 3700.00 2400.00 500.00 - 6,580,785 -0.28 -0.03 160.76 7,432.10
Star Africa Industrials RTG: ZH 11500.00 - 3700.00 500 - 47.62 2.02 147.46 12,477.48
Truworths Consumer Goods RIOZ: ZH 8057.75 500.00 10944.44 - 2,500 - - 375.85 4,515.09
TSL Industrials SEED: ZH 117.41 - 8075.88 900 - - - 571.99 27,054.95
Turnall SIM: ZH 235.00 10500.00 121.95 29,000 98,500 - - 351.67 45,401.37
Unifreight Banking SACL: ZH 6500.00 8050.00 235.00 355,600 2,342,005 -555.56 -4.83 696.61 5,750.05
Willdale Consumer Services TRUW: ZH 540.90 122.00 6500.00 - 433,639 18.13 0.23 276.81 902.56
ZB TSL: ZH 3000.00 - 540.90 100 - 4.54 3.87 481.61 23,211.66
Zeco Industrials TURN: ZH 287.54 6500.00 3437.26 - 6,500 - - 18379.89 2,666.86
Zimpapers Consumer Services UNIF: ZH 7700.00 - 286.00 10,200 - - - 793.75 3,659.80
Zimplow WILD: ZH 0.24 3500.00 7700.00 5,200 350,600 - - 220.83 5,085.08
ZHL Basic Materials ZBFH: ZH 300.00 286.00 0.24 - 14,872 437.25 14.58 1100.00 13,489.68
TOTAL Consumer Goods ZECO: ZH 2366.67 - 300.00 - - -1.54 -0.54 206.12 1.11
Consumer Goods ZIMP: ZH 383.42 - 2327.22 - - - - 365.44 1,728.00
Consumer Goods ZIMPLOW: ZH - 383.42 3,600 - - - 22.31 8,019.15
Consumer Services ZHL: ZH 2300.00 - 83,780 - - 6,971.41
Consumer Goods - 3,704,600 - -39.45 -1.67 1,311,323.20
160,754,880 - -
Industrials
Industrials
Industrials

Banking
Industrials
Consumer Services
Industrials
Financial Services

ETFs OMTT.zw 500.00 500.00 501.17 24,626 123,418 1.17 0.23 400.07 400.94
Old Mutual ZSE Top 10 ETF
8,301.17
FINSEC Financial Services OMZIL 10000.00 - 10000.00 -- - 277.36
Old Mutual Zimbabwe US$m
108.32
VFEX (US cents) Consumer Goods PHL:VX 19.50 20.00 20.00 10,200 2,040.00 0.50 2.56 -44.44 107.00
Padenga Consumer Goods SCIL:VX 28.05 - 28.05 -
SeedCo International -- - 55.83 YTD %
+18379.89
Index Close Change (%) Open YTD % Top 5 Risers Price Change %
ZSE All Share 10,814.15 +0.53 10,757.21 +311.28 Unifreight 3437.26c +437.25c +14.58 +724.21
Top 10 6,825.89 +0.91 +312.57 Econet 7788.80c +651.15c +9.12 +54.27
Top 15 7,519.97 +0.71 6,764.63 +286.02 BNC +31.29c +5.64 +386.56
Small Cap -0.51 7,466.77 +3186.83 Mash 586.21c +22.50c +5.23 +351.67
Medium Cap 390,349.14 -0.40 392,334.78 +265.25 Star Africa 452.50c +4.54c +3.87
20,323.90 20,405.50 121.95c YTD %
+2173.22
Top 5 Fallers Price Change % +346.43
NTS 624.00c -156.00c -20.00 +375.85
Masimba -700.00c -12.28 +365.44
SeedCo 5000.00c -555.56c -4.83 +385.13
Zimplow 10944.44c -39.45c -1.67
BAT 2327.22c -1.18
266823.53c -3176.47c

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

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Page 30 News Analysis NewsHawks

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

House of Lords reprimand leaves
Mnangagwa propaganda in tatters

NYASHA CHINGONO

LAST week’s heated British House “Zimbabwean Press promoted the messages when she met President Zimbabwe. Within Zimbabwe, we President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
of Lords debate on Zimbabwe in fact that President Mnangagwa met Mnangagwa on 1 November. Our must see rights restored, constitu- Mnangagwa’s failure to act on badly
which parliamentarians and a gov- our Prime Minister and the Secre- embassy is also in touch with Mr tions respected and human rights — needed political and economic re-
ernment minister said the southern tary-General of the Commonwealth Haruzivishe’s lawyers as we await the which includes the rights of other forms. 
African country should not be re- in Glasgow at COP 26. As the outcome of his appeal.” political parties to participate fully
admitted into the Commonwealth minister is also the minister for the in the democratic process — guar- Former president Robert Mug-
until it implements political reforms Commonwealth, can he say whether The British lords also called upon anteed. Those will form part of our abe withdrew Zimbabwe from the
is a slap in the face of President Em- we are making clear that, while we neighbouring countries Zambia and current and future discussions with Commonwealth in 2003 after the
merson Mnangagwa, who two weeks want the Commonwealth to be in- South Africa to rachet up political key partners,” Lord Ahmad said.  bloc condemned human rights abus-
ago boasted of normalisation of re- clusive and open to Zimbabwe be- pressure on Zimbabwe to ensure po- es and the chaotic land reform pro-
lations.  ing a member, the conditions of a litical reforms. Analysts say the UK debates show gramme.
free and fair political system and the that Mnangagwa’s re-engagement
The Zimbabwean situation was restoration of the 2013 constitution “My lords, I pay tribute to the no- drive has fallen off the rails.  Since then, Britain has slapped
once again on the House of Lords and the rule of law are essential cri- ble lord’s role on the APPG (Ll-Par- Zimbabwe with sanctions, with the
agenda, with issues of human rights teria for membership and re-joining ty Parliamentary Group). He is of They say the debate was a direct latest being in February this year.
abuses, lack of political reforms the Commonwealth?” he said.  course right that it is important that response to Mnangagwa’s claims that
and general mismanagement of the regional governments have a role to he had embarked on a successful Following the House of Lords
country under the spotlight.  In response, the minister of State, play. In this regard, we have engaged re-engagement journey to Glasgow. debate, Mnangagwa came out guns
Foreign, Commonwealth and Devel- directly at the highest level with the blazing denouncing the UK for
This comes nearly three weeks opment Office, Tariq Mahmood Ah- South African government and we Political analyst Ibbo Mandaza meddling in Zimbabwe's internal
after Mnangagwa travelled to Scot- mad, said the British government continue to engage with other re- said: “This is partly to respond to affairs, as his previous promises to
land, returning under pomp and was making that clear to the Mnan- gional partners, as well as regional Mnangagwa’s claims that he had a cultivate cordial relations with Brit-
fanfare, with claims that the Unit- gagwa administration. associations, including the African good meeting with Johnson in the ain unravelled.  It is now gloves off
ed Kingdom had received him with Union, on this priority, " Lord Ah- UK. It also highlights that re-en- between the erstwhile partners.
open arms.  “My lords, I totally agree with the mad added.  gagement has failed and it contra-
noble lord; those points are being dicts what Mnangagwa had said.” “Only last week, our country
Government communications made. On the COP engagement, it The ghost of 1 August 2018 and Zimbabwe became a subject of un-
teams had already made a propagan- was the minister for Africa, my hon- January 2019 which saw security “It is egg on their face,” Mandaza merited focus and debate in the
da feast of Mnangagwa’s invite to ourable friend Vicky Ford, who met forces kill dozens of civilians when added.  British House of Lords,” Mnangag-
Glasgow, the first time a Zimbabwe- with the President of Zimbabwe,” he they opened fire in Harare contin- wa said in a televised address on
an leader had stepped on UK soil.  said. ues to hang over Mnangagwa as the The UK had remained Zimba- Tuesday.
international community, including bwe’s major cheerleader until Janu-
State propaganda reduced the “My lords, the UK remains con- the British, demand political re- ary 2019 when Mnangagwa’s regime “In the ensuing debate by that
United Nations event to an oppor- cerned about the political situation forms and an end to human rights went on a rampage, killing 17 citi- foreign legislative body with no ju-
tunity for cheap optics and grand- in Zimbabwe. We regularly urge the abuses.  zens, bruitalising dozens while many risdiction over our country, a junior
standing on the issue of re-engage- Zimbabwean government to live up were displaced during unrest over minister of Her Majesty’s govern-
ment with the West. to their own constitution by ensur- “My lords, I agree with the noble rising fuel prices. ment in charge of Foreign, Com-
ing that the opposition, civil society baroness: she is quite right to say monwealth and Development Of-
While neighbouring South Africa and journalists are allowed to op- that. Sadc and other organisations The then Africa minister, Har- fice, one Mister Tariq Mahmood,
scored big, getting billions of dollars erate without harassment, and that — including, more broadly, the AU riet Baldwin, declared that the UK revealed that her Majesty’s govern-
in funding for climate change mit- due legal process is respected. The — have a key role to play and must would no longer support Zimba- ment has been meeting in Harare
igation,  Mnangagwa was relishing minister for Africa reinforced these lead on these discussions, as people bwe’s bid to rejoin the Common- with various (trade) unions, includ-
photo opportunities with British want to see an inclusive, progressive wealth and the country’s attempt to ing teaching unions, most recently
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and woo back foreign investors. in September 2021, on salaries and
United States President Joe Biden. the impact of Covid-19.”
She expressed dissatisfaction with
When he arrived back home,
Mnangagwa told scores of his sup-
porters that the UK trip was a major
boost for Zimbabwe’s international
re-engagement drive as the country
sought to mend relations with the
rest of the world.

But last week the mask fell off in
dramatic fashion, when British MPs
took turns to bash Mnangagwa’s
government. 

Zimbabwe has — since Mnan-
gagwa’s ascendancy to power in
2017 — made no secret of its desire
for readmission back into the Com-
monwealth, but last week the UK
parliamentarians made it clear they
did not support readmission. 

Lack of political reforms was cit-
ed as the major reason Zimbabwe
should not be part of a group of
mostly former British colonies. 

Getting back to the Common-
wealth will be beneficial for a gov-
ernment which has been struggling
to access debt financing from multi-
lateral funders. 

The continued detention of po-
litical activist Makomborero Haruz-
ivishe was also discussed during the
session. 

Lord Purvis of Tweed said despite
the Zimbabwe media promoting the
meeting that took place between
Mnangagwa and  the British Africa
minister, pre-conditions for re-join-
ing the Commonwealth should be
made clear. 

NewsHawks The Big Debate Page 31

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

Why Moza has failed to find
lasting peace, true democracy

LUCA BBUSSOTTI population from economic and social sation and exclusion of large sections
development. of Mozambican society, resulting in
MOZAMBIQUE gained indepen- Conflict in Mozambique Renamo returning to war.
dence from Portugal in 1975 follow- In 2013, the tensions between Fre-
ing a bloody liberation war that last- limo and Renamo reached a critical In other words, the 1992 peace
ed about 11 years. But independence level and war broke out again in the agreement stopped the war, but it
did not mean the end of conflict. The centre of the country. Hundreds of also contributed to creating a climate
dominant liberation movement, Lib- lives were lost and both sides com- of “negative peace” in Mozambique.
eration Front of Mozambique (Freli- mitted human rights abuses.
mo), got embroiled in civil conflicts This atmosphere unfolded in two
with the smaller Mozambican Na- Mozambique was  effectively di- ways: Frelimo continued to manage
tional Resistance (Renamo) immedi- vided  into two: as the war was con- the country following non-transpar-
ately after the political independence centrated in Sofala, the centre of the ent elections. Renamo was implicitly
of the state. country, it was impossible to go from allowed to maintain its army, which
the south to the north of the coun- has been used - especially from 2013
This is not unique to Mozambique. try by land. The  economic impact onward - as a weapon of political
Independence wars in Africa were was dire. Since then, various dec- blackmail. This is against the peace
in many instances followed by civil larations of cessation of hostilities, agreement, in terms of which Rena-
conflict. This was the case in  Ango- and two new peace agreements have mo could keep only a small number
la, South Sudan, the Democratic Re- been signed  in 2014  and  2019, but of bodyguards to protect its leader,
public of Congo  and  Zimbabwe. In the war continues. Alfonso Dhlakama.
others, the  quality of the peace  im-
plemented has been low. I used a qualitative approach for Some examples illustrate this
Mozambique is not an exception, my  study, based on a historical and problem: In 1999, in the second gen-
but presents some interesting pecu- political analysis of Mozambican eral Mozambican elections, Frelimo
liarities. Its process of pacification public life, starting from 1992. I faced the real risk of losing power.
– after 16 years of civil war between complemented my data with infor- “Administrative” measures  were im-
the governing Frelimo and the Rena- mation from privileged witnesses plemented to avoid this. Votes in
mo rebel movement – has long been from political parties and civil society some Renamo strongholds, such as
considered a good example of how to organisations. Zambezia, were not counted. In the
mediate in African conflicts. But, as end, Joaquim Alberto Chissano, the
the facts show, this is not the case. I explored whether the climate Frelimo candidate,  won 52% of the
Following international media- of negative peace originated by the valid votes.
tion, the Frelimo government and General Peace Agreement in 1992
Renamo signed the  Mozambican had a bearing on the new conflicts in Renamo did not accept the results.
General Peace Agreement in 1992 in Mozambique, starting with the first But its attempt to get justice failed.
Rome, hosted by the Italian govern- conflicts which erupted in 2013. The National Electoral Committee
ment  and other international medi- ignored its appeal. Thus, protests, es-
ators. This conflict, like the first just after pecially in the north of the country,
Once the peace deal was signed, independence in 1975, have different were organised by local leaders of this
it was left to the two warring parties features and origins, but a common party.
to bring about peace. In practice, element: exclusion.
the peace agreement was not able to In 2014 a similar situation oc-
bring about a climate for “positive I concluded that the electoral curred: not only Renamo did not rec-
peace”. The term, first used by Johan processes in Mozambique were not ognise the results, but it claimed the
Galtung, a Norwegian sociologist, transparent nor fair. The control right to manage the six provinces in
emphasises that peace is a multidi- which Frelimo exerts on all the insti- which it had won. Nevertheless, the
mensional concept and practice, in tutions, including the National Elec- new president, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi,
addition to a simple absence of war. toral Committee  and the judiciary, named only provincial governors be-
Social equity, sustainable develop- together with the complacent silence longing to Frelimo. It opened a new
ment and trust among the people are of the international community, have crisis which  culminated with a new
all fundamental aspects which define allowed the flawed electoral process- war.
a climate of positive peace. In Mo- es to go on for too long. The lack of
zambique, the General Peace Agree- transparency in electoral processes is A last finding of my research con-
ment did not establish the conditions a decisive factor in the failure of Mo- cerns the role of the international,
for avoiding new conflicts and wars. zambique’s democracy. Renamo has especially western, community: it
My research aimed to analyse these no option but to armed conflict. aimed to establish a “steady” country.
dynamics in Mozambique, whereby Stability was identified with the gov-
Frelimo and Renamo continued to Besides the conflict with Renamo, ernment of Frelimo, not with the ma-
regard each other as enemies, in a another insurgency has been rag- turity of Mozambican institutions.
climate of mutual distrust, even after ing in the Cabo Delgado Province
the peace deal. since 2017. The Islamist insurgency Conclusions
My conclusion was that the Gen- was not part of this study. But,  re- This research established a close re-
eral Peace Agreement failed to bring search  shows that it, too, has its in lation between absence of peace,
peace to Mozambique. Instead, it economic, social and ethnic exclu- flawed electoral processes and mis-
created a climate of negative peace in sion. trust between the two main political
which the conditions that gave rise Mozambique’s negative peace actors, Frelimo and Renamo. This has
to old conflicts continued to fester. My study shows that the Mozam- resulted in a negative peace which has
That is because international media- bique peace process has never been excluded many parts of Mozambican
tors were simply interested in getting the success international actors have society from public life and economic
the warring parties to quickly agree to claimed. Its democracy remains weak benefits.
end hostilities, instead of supporting and based on an ambiguity: Freli-
deep peace-building processes that mo has to find a way to manage the My research has also shown that
take longer but  lead to a climate of country, regardless of what the elec- this negative peace did not permit
positive peace. tions results said. the building of a strong civil society.
The result was a mere formal ad-
hesion to democracy by Frelimo that Thus, elections simply became a Peace processes in Mozambique
the international community hailed mechanism to confirm the hegemo- have failed to create conditions
as an example of how to resolve ny of Frelimo as an incumbent par- that prevent the resumption of war.
conflicts in Africa. They ignored the ty. It cannot lose power in favour of Hence the country remains in a state
problem of ethnic divisions which ex- Renamo, which international donors of war – in the centre of the country
cluded a great part of Mozambican’s consider  unreliable, given its history because of military activity by Ren-
of being used by South Africa’s apart- amo, and in the North, by  radical
heid regime to destabilise Mozam- Islamist insurgents, starting in 2017.
bique. Such a situation contributed
to fostering a climate of marginali- *About the writer: Luca Bussot-
ti is associate professor at Univer-
sidade Federal de Pernambuco in
Brazil.

Page 32 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

Omicron is the new Covid kid on the block:
Five steps to avoid, ten to take immediately
neutralising and cell mediated im-
SHABIR A. MADHI Scenes at South Africa’s OR Tambo International airport after the first flight bans were announced. Phill Magakoe / AFP via Getty Images mune responses than two doses of the
non-replicating vector vaccines.
PEOPLE in southern Africa re- unless you are an island nation that uals. The government should be tar- What to do
acted  with outrage  to  travel bans, shuts off the rest of the world. geting adults older than 65 with an Firstly, ensure health care facilities are Thirdly, implement vaccine pass-
first  triggered by the United King- additional dose of the Pfizer vaccine prepared, not only on paper – but ports for entry into any indoor space
dom, imposed on it in the wake of The absence of reporting of the after they have had two shots. The actually resourced with staff, person- where others gather, including plac-
the  news  that its genomics surveil- variants from countries that have same thing goes for other risk groups al protective equipment and oxygen, es of worship and public transport.
lance team had detected a new variant limited sequencing capacity does not such as people with kidney trans- etc. Vaccination might be a choice cur-
of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. infer absence of the variant. Further- plants, or people with cancer and on rently, however, choices come with
more, unless travel bans are imposed chemotherapy, people with any other There are 2000 interns and com- consequences. Even if vaccines only
The  Network for Genomics Sur- on all other nations that still allow sort of underlying immuno-suppres- munity service doctors in South Af- reduce transmission modestly, over
veillance in South Africa  has been travel with the “red-listed” countries, sive condition. South Africa should rica waiting for their 2022 placement and above the infections they pre-
monitoring changes in SARS-CoV-2 the variant will directly or indirectly not be ignoring tge World Health confirmation. We cannot once again vent, a breakthrough case in a vac-
since the pandemic first broke out. still end up in countries imposing Organisation’s guidance which rec- be found wanting with under-pre- cinated individual poses less risk of
selective travel bans, albeit perhaps ommends booster doses of high risk pared health facilities. transmission to others than infection
The new variant – identified as delaying it slightly. groups. It should de-prioritise, for the in an unvaccinated and previously
B.1.1.529 – has been declared a vari- time being, vaccinating young chil- Provide booster doses of J&J or uninfected individual.
ant of concern by the World Health In addition, by the time the ban dren with a single dose. Pfizer to all adults who received a sin-
Organisation and assigned the name has been imposed, the variant will gle dose J&J. It’s needed to increase Fourth, continue efforts at reach-
Omicron. likely have already been spread. This Fifth, stop selling the herd immu- protection against severe COVID. ing out to the unvaccinated and un-
is already evident from cases of Omi- nity concept. It is not going to mate- A single dose of the J&J vaccine  re- der-immunized. This should include
The mutations identified in Omi- cron being reported from Belgium in rialise and paradoxically undermines duced hospitalisation  due to Delta the use of pop up facilities where peo-
cron provide theoretical concerns a person with no links to contact vaccine confidence. The first gener- variant in South Africa by 62% in ple are likely to gather and other tar-
that the variant could be slightly with someone from Southern Afri- ation vaccines are highly effective in South African healthcare workers, geted community outreach programs.
more transmissible than the Delta ca, as well as cases in Israel, UK and protecting against severe Covid-19, whereas two doses of AZ and mRNA
variant and have reduced sensitivity Germany. All travel bans accomplish but less predictable in protecting vaccines in general had greater than Fifth, immediately boost high risk
to antibody activity induced by past in countries with selective red-list- against infection and mild Covid-19 80%-90% protection against severe groups older than 65 and others who
infection or vaccines compared to ed countries is delay the inevitable. due to waning of antibody and ongo- disease from the Delta variant. have immunosuppressive conditions.
how well the antibody neutralises an- More could possibly be accomplished ing mutations of the virus. Vaccina- The primary goal of vaccination
cestry virus. by rigorous exit and entry screening tion still reduces transmission mod- Studies confirm a two dose sched- therefore needs to be on reducing se-
programmes to identify potential cas- estly, which remains of great value, ule of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine vere disease and death. This requires
As vaccines differ in the magnitude es and mandating vaccination. but is unlikely to lead to “herd-im- is superior in protecting against hos- targeted strategies on who to priori-
of neutralising antibody induced, the munity” in our lifetimes. Instead we pitalisation than a single dose. And tise.
extent to which vaccines are compro- Third, do not announce regula- should be talking about how to adapt if you want durability of protection,
mised in preventing infections due to tions that are not implementable or and learn to live with the virus. you need to boost, which can be Sixth, encourage responsible be-
Omicron will likely differ, as was the enforceable in the local context. And done with another dose of Johnson & haviour to avoid re-imposing alcohol
case for the Beta variant. don’t pretend that people adhere to There is also a list of things that Johnson or a dose of mRNA vaccine. and other restrictions to punish all
them. This includes banning alcohol should be considered in the wake of due to irresponsibility on part of a
However, as vaccines also induce sales, whilst being unable to effective- the Omicron variant, irrespective of The  evidence is clear  that the minority.
a T-cell response against a diverse ly police the black market. whether it displaces the Delta variant type of immune responses from a
set of epitopes, which appears to be (which remains unknown). heterologous approach of AZ or JJ Seventh, monitor bed availability
important for prevention of severe Fourth, do not delay and create followed by a mRNA vaccines such at regional level to help decide on re-
Covid-19, it is likely that they would hurdles to boosting high risk individ- as Pfizer/Biontech induces superior gional action to avoid overwhelming
still provide comparable protection of facilities. Higher levels of restric-
against severe Covid-19 due to Omi- tions need to be tailored for when
cron compared with other variants. we expect overwhelming of health
facilities. As hospitalisation usually
The same was observed for the lag behind community infection rates
AstraZeneca vaccine. Despite not by 2-3 weeks, keeping an eye on case
protecting against the mild-moder- rates and hospitalisation rates could
ate Beta Covid-19 in South Africa, predict which facilities in which re-
it still  showed high levels of protec- gions may come under threat.
tion (80% effective) against hospital-
isation due to the Beta and Gamma This would allow for a more fo-
variants in Canada. cused approach to imposing restric-
tions to relieve anticipated pressure
In view of the new variant, there on health facilities two to three weeks
are a few steps that governments before expected. This will not change
shouldn’t be taking. And some they the total number of hospitalisations.
should be taking. But it will spread it out over a lon-
What not to do ger period of time and make it more
Firstly, do not indiscriminately im- manageable.
pose further restrictions, except on
indoor gatherings. It was unsuccess- Eighth, learn to live with the virus,
ful in reducing infections over the and take a holistic view on the direct
past three waves in South Africa, con- and indirect effects of the pandemic
sidering 60%-80%  people were in- on livelihoods. The detrimental indi-
fected by the virus based on sero-sur- rect economic, societal, educational,
veys and modelling data. At best, the mental health and other health ef-
economically damaging restrictions fects of a sledge-hammer approach to
only spread out the period of time dealing with the ongoing pandemic
over which the infections took place threatens to outstrip the direct effect
by about two to three weeks. of Covid-19 in South Africa.

This is unsurprising in the South Ninth, follow the science and do
African context, where ability to ad- not distort it for political expediency.
here to the high levels of restrictions
are impractical for the majority of the Tenth, learn from mistakes of the
population and adherence is generally past, and be bold in the next steps.
poor.
—The Conversation.
Secondly, do not have domestic (or
international) travel bans. The virus *About the writer: Shabir A.
will disseminate irrespective of this – Madhi is dean of the faculty of
as has been the case in the past. It’s health sciences and professor of
naive to believe that imposing travel vaccinology at the University of the
bans on a handful of countries will Witwatersrand in South Africa;
stop the import of a variant. This and director of the SAMRC Vaccines
virus will disperse across the globe and Infectious Diseases Analytics
Research Unit at the university

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 33

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

New Covid variant no surprise when
rich countries are hoarding vaccines
500 million unused vaccines are avail-
GORDON BROWN A woman receives a Covid jab in Katlehong, South Africa. Photograph: Themba Hadebe/AP able across the G7. By December, the
figure will rise to 600 million, and by
WESTERN countries are destroying duced Johnson & Johnson one-shot has given just 18% of what it offered tribution. The stranglehold exercised February, it will be 850 million vac-
surplus doses of vaccine while the vaccines and sending them out of Af- and Switzerland just 12%. by the G20 richest countries is such cines, which can be sent to the coun-
poorest nations go without. This must rica into Europe. that they have monopolised 89% of tries in greatest need. At the last count,
change. The result is that even now only vaccines, and even now, 71% of future the US has 162 million vaccine doses
In June, Boris Johnson promised 3% of people in low-income countries deliveries are scheduled for them. As a it could immediately deliver to the
Despite the repeated warnings of he and the G7 countries would use are fully vaccinated, while the figure result, the global vaccine distribution rest of the world, a figure that grows
health leaders, our failure to put vac- their surplus vaccines to immunise the exceeds 60% in both high-income agency, Covax, has been able to secure to 250 million next month; Europe
cines into the arms of people in the de- whole world. In September, at a sum- countries and upper-middle-income only two-thirds of the two billion vac- currently has even more: 250 million,
veloping world is now coming back to mit chaired by President Biden, a De- countries. Every day, for every vaccine cines promised to poorer countries. which by February could exceed 350
haunt us. We were forewarned – and cember target of 40% vaccination was delivered as first vaccines in the poor- million. The UK has 33 million vac-
yet here we are. set for the 92 poorest countries. Two est countries, six times as many doses The good news is that our medical cines – expected to rise to 46 million
and a half months on, there is little are being administered as third and genius has ensured that the new Omi- over the next three months.
In the absence of mass vaccination, chance of this target being met in at booster vaccines in the richest parts cron variant has been identified quick-
Covid-19 is not only spreading un- least 82 of them. By Thursday the US, of the world. This vaccine inequality ly; is being sequenced at speed; and, The alternative is too awful to con-
inhibited among unprotected people which to its credit has been responsi- is the main reason why the WHO is if it proves not only more transmissi- template; vaccines are being destroyed
but is mutating, with new variants ble for half the vaccines donated, had predicting 200 million more cases on ble but immune to current vaccines, while lives are being lost through
emerging out of the poorest countries still delivered only 25% of the vaccines top of the 260 million so far. And after a new vaccine could potentially soon lack of them. According to the data
and now threatening to unleash them- that it promised. 5 million deaths to Covid, another 5 emerge. But given the contrast be- research agency Covax, around 100
selves on even fully vaccinated people million are thought to be possible in tween the success of our scientists and million of Western countries’ vaccines
in the richest countries of the world. The arithmetic of failure in the rest the next year and more. the failure of our global leaders, only a will pass their use-by dates in Decem-
of the world is even more embarrass- herculean effort starting this week can ber and could easily go to waste. Of
On Thursday, the United King- ing. According to Airfinity, the Euro- What is most galling is that this pol- allay fears that new mutations among course, there will be issues of absorp-
dom’s department of health, which has pean Union has delivered only 19%, icy failure is not because we are short of unvaccinated people in the least-pro- tion in Africa, but the bigger problem
placed a travel ban on southern Africa, the UK just 11% and Canada just 5%. vaccines or manufacturing contracts to tected places will take Covid-19 into a is that too many of the vaccines gifted
warned that the B.1.1.529 “Omicron” secure them. The problem is not now third year – with even fifth, sixth and to the poorest countries are within 12
variant was the  most “complex” and China and New Zealand have deliv- in production (two billion doses of seventh waves. weeks of their “use-by-dates”. 
“worrying”  seen so far. And yet with ered over half of what was promised, vaccine are being manufactured every
9.1 billion vaccines already manufac- but their pledges amounted to just month), but in the unfairness of dis- We can act quickly. As of today, These short lead times between
tured and 12 billion expected by the 100m and 1.6m respectively. Australia donation and expiry show why a
year’s end – enough to vaccinate the strengthened G20 and a month-to-
whole world – this was the “arms race” month delivery timetable is now ur-
that we could have won. No country gent; and why the expeditious trans-
should be facing yet another winter ferring of delivery dates, from rich
with the uncertainty of a new wave of to poor countries –  as has happened
Covid hanging over us. with Switzerland’s recent transfer to
Covax  – is the best way of speeding
On Monday, the World Health As- up the transfer of unused vaccines to
sembly, the decision-making body of where they are needed most.
the World Health Organisation, will
meet in a special session. They will hear Nothing so dramatically illustrates
that vaccination rates in the six coun- the urgent need for what might be
tries now subject to UK travel bans are called a pandemic non-proliferation
still dangerously below the  40% tar- treaty . A new and binding inter-
get that was set for December. In Zim- national agreement that the World
babwe, only 25% have had a first vac- Health Assembly will consider next
cine and just 19% of the population week must improve our surveillance
are fully vaccinated. In Lesotho and and early warning systems, ensure
Eswatini, which have had the Johnson the early transfer of medical supplies
and Johnson single-shot vaccines, just to countries in need, and finally agree
27% and 22% respectively have been sufficient funding of a worldwide ef-
vaccinated. In Namibia the figure is fort to deliver what is clearly the most
even lower: 14% vaccinated with only important global public good of all:
12% fully vaccinated. cross-border control of infectious
disease. Only when we reject vaccine
While South Africa has achieved nationalism and medical protection-
27% vaccination rates, its rural areas ism will we stop outbreaks becoming
are often in single figures, and the pandemics. —The Guardian.
whole of the continent is justifiably
angry because their own efforts to vac- *About the writer: Gordon Brown
cinate have been impeded for months is the World Health Organisation
by the neo-colonialism of the Euro- ambassador for global health financ-
pean Union. Even as the gap between ing, and was United Kingdom prime
the vaccines haves of Europe and the minister from 2007 to 2010.
vaccine have-nots of Africa mush-
roomed, the EU insisted on comman-
deering millions of South African-pro-

Page 34 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

The warning signs are there for genocide in
Ethiopia – the world must act to prevent it

HELEN CLARKE/ MICHAEL LAPSLEY/ The country has been scarred by violence on all sides, but there
DAVID ALTON may be much worse to come as Tigrayan civilians are targeted.

GENOCIDE happens when warn- ‘Five warning signs for mass, ethnically targeted violence are flashing red.’ Supporters of Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed at a rally in Addis Ababa this month. Pic: AP
ing signs are not heeded. The world
looks away, refusing to believe that begun large-scale  detention of toned down its condemnations, enjoinders to greater political will, Today in Ethiopia, these warn-
mass ethnic killing is possible. We Tigrayan civilians  in areas it con- perhaps for fear of being diplomati- and calls for “never again”. ings could not be more clear. The
hope that the worst will be avoided. trols. One year ago it interned at cally isolated. It also has conflicting time to act is now – to call out what
But to prevent genocide, we must least 15 000 ethnic Tigrayan mem- priorities, including trying to facil- Crucial reports were written in is happening and for the UN secu-
sound the alarm before we arrive at bers of the armed forces, whom, we itate humanitarian assistance and the decades after Rwanda and the rity council to use every measure at
certainty. understand, it continues to keep in initiate negotiations for a ceasefire wars of Yugoslavia’s dissolution that its disposal to give meaning to the
detention camps. It has interned and political settlement – an agen- shaped the debate and policy over cry of “never again” and prevent ca-
Rarely before has the danger of Tigrayan civilians in western Tigray. da that can preclude calling out one the use of coercive measures in pur- tastrophe.
genocide been so clearly signalled In recent weeks it has interned more party to the conflict for atrocity suit of peace, humanitarian action
in advance than in Ethiopia. than 30 000 ethnic Tigrayan civil- crimes or genocide. and the prevention of atrocities. *About the writers: Helen Clark
ians in Addis Ababa and unknown At the United Nations, the African is a former head of the UN Devel-
No  side to this conflict  is angel- numbers elsewhere. In the 1990s, after mass atrocities Union, international expert com- opment Programme and former
ic.  All sides  in Ethiopia’s conflict in former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, missions, and under the leadership prime minister of New Zealand.
have committed violations. But Fifth, the international commu- there was renewed interest in the of powerful countries – reams of pa- Fr Michael Lapsley is president of
only one side has committed vio- nity is divided, confused and inde- obligation to prevent genocide per were dedicated to analysing the Healing of Memories Global Net-
lations on a scale and nature that cisive. The government has protec- enshrined in the 1948 genocide past and pledging to heed warning work and founder of the Institute
could credibly qualify as genocide – tors at the UN security council. The convention. There have now been signs and prevent genocide. for Healing of Memories. David
and that, we regret to say, is the coa- African Union listened deferential- more than two decades of policy Alton is an independent cross-
lition of the Ethiopian government, ly to the government’s denials and and institutional reforms on atroci- Those reports all stressed that bench British life peer and cam-
under the prime minister, Abiy obfuscations. The main European ties prevention and response. There genocide is preventable – if the po- paigner on genocide.
Ahmed; the Amhara regional gov- powers have dithered. The US has has been a litany of mea culpas, of litical will is there to act on warn-
ernment; and the state of Eritrea. ings.

Twice in the past year, the world
has stood by while this coalition has
perpetrated international crimes
against civilians of Tigrayan identi-
ty – including murder, rape, torture
and starvation.

We may now be facing a third
atrocity, even larger and bloodier
than what has gone before: a possi-
ble mass killing of interned civilians
in Addis Ababa and elsewhere.

Five warning signs for mass, eth-
nically targeted violence are flash-
ing red.

First, figures in the Ethiopian
government and their allies have
promoted hate speech against
Tigrayan people as an ethnic group.
They have stoked violence in lan-
guage that identifies all Tigrayans as
enemies. This hate speech is escalat-
ing – Tigrayans have been referred
to as “cancer”, “weeds”, “rats” and
“terrorists”.

Second, the government has mo-
bilised the instruments for mass
atrocity, in the form of militias
and vigilante groups, organised on
an ethnic basis and with an eth-
nic agenda. It has armed them and
granted them impunity.

Third, the government is elimi-
nating any middle ground. It has si-
lenced  independent and critical
voices. It has prevented media access
to Tigray, closed down or censored
independent national journalists,
and intimidated foreign reporters
and their local counterparts. Indi-
viduals who try to protect Tigrayans
are also attacked. People who try
to remain out of politics are con-
demned as “fence-sitters”.

Fourth, the government has

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NewsHawks Africa News Page 35

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

Plans for SAA and Kenya Airways to form a
pan-African airline group may be pie in the sky
How much of what African politicians promise or commit to is ever
KAIZER NYATSUMBA accomplished? Not much, it would seem, if experience is our guide.

IN October 1998, African transport who has now been in the job for more respective national airlines to deepen limping SAA whose future is uncertain, line and 49% of Guinea Airlines, and in
ministers signed the Yamoussoukro than a decade.  their collaboration is further testament commit to such ambitious projects as central Africa it owns the same percent-
Declaration, an important agreement to the growing ties between our coun- the formation of a pan-African airline age (49%) in Chad Airlines. According
to promote deregulation of Africa’s air- Given this background, it was very tries.” group?  to Ethiopian Airlines deputy chair Dr
space. Two years later, that agreement surprising to learn that, during Kenyan Arkebe Oqubay, Ethiopian Airlines was
– then known as the Yamoussoukro De- President Uhuru Kenyatta’s state visit to In principle, this mutual cooperation Could this strategic route be one one of the suitors of SAA, but backed off
cision – was adopted by heads of state South Africa last week, SAA and Ken- between SAA and Kenya Airways makes which has been seriously considered by when it realised, following a preliminary
during a meeting of the Organisation ya Airways signed a “Strategic Partner- sense. However, a few questions imme- the boards of the two airlines, or is it yet due diligence, that “it is far too late” giv-
of African Unity. It was meant to take ship Framework Agreement” to form a diately come to mind. Which SAA has another product of political dreams by en the extent of SAA’s challenges. 
effect on 12 August 2002.  pan-African airline group by 2023.  entered into this agreement – is it the the two governments?
SAA currently fully owned by the state? When asked to manage SAA, Ethio-
Although ratified by many countries, The airlines announced that they Or is it the to-be-privatised SAA which The fact remains that Ethiopian Air- pian Airlines again declined for at least
the Yamoussoukro Decision was main- would work together to increase passen- will have Takatso as the majority share- lines, which is by far the most success- three reasons: “Rampant government
ly observed in breach. In January 2018, ger traffic, cargo opportunities and gen- holder? If so, does the agreement have ful African airline, has long offered to interference, the unions’ radicalism and
the African Union established the Single eral trade in the two countries and the the support of Takatso? partner with SAA and to assist Kenya the airline’s corporate governance fail-
African Air Transport Market (SAATM) rest of the continent. Media reports said Airways wherever possible. Both SAA ures.” 
to create an open-skies dispensation they “expected that the partnership will More importantly, however, how and Kenya Airways pilots have been
similar to that which exists in the Euro- improve the financial viability of the two can two airlines which have struggled trained at the Ethiopian Aviation Acad- It seems reasonable to conclude,
pean Union. The aim was to implement airlines, while at the same time offering so badly over almost a decade be in a emy, which is owned by the Ethiopian then, that not much will come of the
provisions of the 18-year-old Yamous- competitive prices for both the passen- position to form a pan-African airline Aviation Group which houses Ethiopian SAA-Kenya Airways agreement to form
soukro Decision. As of 2019, a total of ger and cargo segments”. group? Shouldn’t their immediate focus Airlines. In October last year, Ethiopian a pan-African airline group, among oth-
23 countries had signed the SAATM be survival, before they begin to dream Airlines entered into a short operation- er things.
agreement. Coming after the signing of a mem- big?  al joint venture with SAA, which saw it
orandum of cooperation between the offering operational assistance (which —Business Maverick.
In the interim, major regional air- two airlines in September 2021, the After all, SAA has survived on gov- involved “pilots, maintenance and air- *About the writer: Educated in the
lines like SAA here at home and Kenya agreement was said to be consistent with ernment bailouts since 2013, while craft”) to the South African national US, the UK and South Africa, Kaizer
Airways in east Africa recorded massive the African Continental Free Trade Area the heavily indebted Kenya Airways carrier. holds a Master of Business Administra-
losses. SAA has been bleeding financial- (another African agreement which so can hardly service its debts and is only tion degree from the University of Hull
ly since 2012, while Kenya Airways has far appears to be stillborn), according to managing to pay off the interest. Kenya The truth is that Ethiopian Airlines is (UK), a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in
been racking up losses since 2013. SAA’s the chairpersons of SAA and Kenya Air- Airways has been battling with the im- already that “pan-African airline group” English from Georgetown University
last profit was US$49.4 million in the ways, John Lamola and Michael Joseph, plementation of its turnaround strategy, envisaged by SAA and Kenya Airways. in Washington DC, a Post-Graduate
2010/11 financial year, while Kenya respectively. “Operation Pride”, which was adopted The Ethiopian carrier has a presence Certificate in Economics from the Uni-
Airways’ was US$69.5 million in 2013, in 2015, and has now engaged the ser- throughout the continent, where it has versity of the Witwatersrand in and an
after more than a decade of profitability This agreement enjoys the support vices of London-based Steer Group to equity in different airlines and offers op- Advanced Management Programme
following its privatisation and listing on and blessings of Kenyatta and President review it. erational and management services.  Diploma from the Gordon Institute of
the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).  Ramaphosa, who announced a series of Business Science, both in South Africa.
other important agreements to increase How, then, can Kenya Airways – a Closer to home, it already owns Mo- He also holds a Leadership Develop-
This followed the implementation trade and ease travel between the two heavily indebted, privately owned air- zambique’s LAM (99%) and has signif- ment Programme Diploma from Har-
of an ambitious growth strategy called countries. Speaking at a press conference line in which the Kenyan government is icant equity in Zambia Airways (45%) vard University's Business School.
Project Mawingu (Project Clouds). In with his Kenyan counterpart, Rama- now the largest shareholder, and which and Malawi Airlines (49%). In west
2016, the airline lost US$232.6 million phosa remarked: “The decision of our is on the verge of nationalisation – and a Africa, it owns 40% of AfricanSky Air-
which was then considered the worst
corporate loss in East Africa. However,
even worse was yet to come: in 2020, it
lost US$321.4 million.

Although the Kenyan Parliament
voted to nationalise Kenya Airways in
June 2019, undertaking that the process
would be completed within six months,
it was not until June 2020 that the Na-
tional Aviation Management Bill was ta-
bled. While the hope was that it would
have been finalised by October that year,
more than a year later it remains unfinal-
ised, and trade in Kenya Airways’ shares
on the Nairobi Stock Exchange has been
suspended since April 2021. 

In June, Kenya Airways could not
pay salaries on time, but did so a month
later – after it had already cut employees’
salaries by between 5% and 30% in Jan-
uary for six to 12 months.

Meanwhile, SAA was placed in busi-
ness rescue in December 2019 and only
emerged from it in April this year, but
commenced operations in September,
following news that it would be priva-
tised. However, due diligence by the
approved suitor, the Takatso consortium
– which is expected to own 51% of the
carrier and invest about US$189.7 mil-
lion – continues, apparently indefinitely.
Among the issues which remain to be
sorted out is legislation that limits pos-
sible ownership of SAA by foreigners to
20% and South Africans to 49%.

However, even as Kenya Airways and
SAA were struggling, Ethiopian Airlines
was going from strength to strength.
Not only has Ethiopian Airlines been
consistently profitable since it was estab-
lished in 1946, but it has since bought
or partnered with other airlines across
the continent and now benchmarks it-
self against international competitors
like Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines. 

It was one of only three airlines in the
world to make a profit in the year end-
ing June 2021, thanks to “agility, quick
decision-making and resilience”, accord-
ing to CEO Tewolde GebreMariam,

Page 36 World News NewsHawks

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

PRESIDENT Joe Biden will con- How disinformation violence.
vene the inaugural Summit for corrodes democracy The idea behind the alliance
Democracy in early December.
A supporter of Donald Trump in Indianapolis. Pic: Chris Bergin / Reuters would be to find agreement on
His administration intends the important issues and principles,
gathering to signal the end of the media–enabled disinformation to cism. The invitees include many guest list, the Biden administra- such as data privacy, shared cyber-
era of democratic backsliding and target the most susceptible voters. traditional democratic allies and tion insisted that an “inclusive, security standards, and platform
creeping authoritarianism ush- Ultimately, as the journalist Peter countries actively combating dis- big tent approach” will help “gal- interoperability (which, among
ered in by its predecessor and to Pomerantsev observed in Nothing information, such as France. The vanize democratic renewal world- other positives, would allow users
insist to the world that the United Is True and Everything Is Possible, French government created a ro- wide.” to move their data easily between
States — with its steadfast mor- disinformation seeks to make the bust strategy to counter election social media platforms should
al convictions and values and its truth unknowable and undermine interference in the wake of  Rus- But the summit will do little they choose to leave one).
exemplary status as a “city upon public trust in the possibility of sian interference in the U.S. elec- to achieve that goal if it does not
a hill” after which other countries an established set of facts. tion in 2016. address the systematic use of lies But without a more serious dis-
can model themselves — is back. to influence elections, trick voters cussion about the ills of disinfor-
With nothing certain, voters During France’s 2017 presi- into compliance with disinforma- mation — which the document
The summit was one of Biden’s cannot have confidence in elec- dential election, when the Krem- tion campaigns, or indeed pro- refers to under the bland rubric of
earliest and most concrete foreign tions, the functioning of govern- lin unsuccessfully targeted the voke them into a dangerous rage. “information integrity,” belying
policy proposals. ment, or the importance of their campaign of Emmanuel Macron, what a polarising issue and bell-
role in the democratic process. who would go on to win the pres- Recent reporting suggests that wether for antidemocratic behav-
He spoke about it when cam- Democracy flounders without idency, it deployed new measures, the administration may be consid- ior disinformation has become —
paigning for the presidency. It peaceful, rules-based participa- including assigning independent, ering introducing an initiative at none of these principles are worth
represents an opportunity to build tion in elections. apolitical bodies to oversee elec- the summit dubbed the “Alliance much.
and reinvigorate critical coalitions tion campaigning and monitor for the Future of the Internet”
and alliances that the Trump ad- The United States woke up to the integrity of the voting process. that would offer an alternative Disinformation must be rec-
ministration allowed to deteri- this reality when a mob stormed to the “vision of the Internet as ognized not as a niche issue but
orate. The meeting need not be the US Capitol on 6 January, but Yet France will attend the sum- a tool of State control promoted as the urgent problem that it is,
purely symbolic; it can lead to co- the country has yet to address the mit alongside several countries, by authoritarian powers such as one that fuels violent extremism,
operation around fighting the cor- use of disinformation with suffi- such as the Democratic Republic China and Russia,” according to public health crises, discrimina-
rupting influence of foreign flows cient urgency within its borders of the Congo and India, that the a document obtained by Politico. tion, and democratic backsliding.
of money and to the creation of or elsewhere. The summit is a nongovernmental organization Platform interoperability, better
economic groups meant to coun- chance to change that failing. Freedom House has labeled “part- This would represent a break cybersecurity, and increased data
terbalance authoritarian adversar- ly free” or even “not free.” Many from the optimistic, techno-uto- privacy protections will get dem-
ies, such as China and Russia. The United States has yet to of these governments have active- pian vision of the online world ocratic activists only so far when
address the use of disinformation ly used domestic disinformation that prevailed in the 1990s and their own governments are draw-
To be successful, the summit with sufficient urgency. campaigns against their own peo- the first decade of this century ing from the authoritarian play-
should generate meaningful com- ple. Addressing the inclusion of and that failed to predict the ways book to use online surveillance,
mitments from those in atten- The little that is publicly known such countries on the summit’s the Internet could be used to di- microtargeting, and false messag-
dance. But the most urgent issue about the summit’s agenda and vide and dupe people and incite ing against their own citizens.
on the agenda — the one needing guest list has inspired skepti-
the most dedicated international This has been the case in Bra-
action — should be the foreign zil, Georgia, the Philippines, and
and domestic use of disinforma- Poland, where the ruling parties
tion, or false or misleading infor- — and in some cases, government
mation spread with malign intent. entities themselves — have used
fake accounts to give the false im-
Since the 2016 US presidential pression that they enjoy substan-
election, after Russia used a hack- tial grassroots online support (a
and-leak operation paired with practice known as “astroturfing”),
an online influence campaign to spread false or misleading stories
try to swing the vote for Donald disguised as news, and intimidate
Trump, the phenomenon of dis- journalists, opposition activists,
information has grown only wid- members of marginalized com-
er, encompassing not just foreign munities, and political figures by
online influence campaigns but stoking online mobs against them.
those trafficked and amplified by
elected US officials. Some of these techniques
are also common in the United
Disinformation is not just a States; during the 2020 election,
partisan issue; it strikes at the opponents of then vice-presi-
connective tissue of democracy dential candidate Kamala Harris
and should headline a summit spread unsubstantiated sexualized
meant to bolster democracies in disinformation about her, includ-
perilous times. ing that she “slept her way to the
Making truth unknowable top” and that she was secretly a
For years, authoritarian regimes, man, among other grotesque alle-
such as those in  China  and Rus- gations. A study I led at the Wil-
sia, have used disinformation to son Center found over 262,000
strengthen their sway at home by, instances of gendered or sexual-
for example, releasing false stories ized falsehoods and abuse against
through state-run media outlets Harris in the two months preced-
and employing armies of online ing the presidential election. To
social media users and bots to give maintain the credibility of the
their policies the appearance of United States and of the summit
grassroots support. — and to attempt to address the
increased use of disinformation
These malign actors have grad- around the world — the president
ually started to use these tactics must confront the issue honestly
abroad, attempting to sway elec- and head-on.
toral contests and conflicts in A bulwark against disinforma-
Estonia, Georgia, Hong Kong, tion
Taiwan, and beyond. In its abili- The summit can mark a good first
ty to manipulate and distort the step in wider efforts against disin-
narratives around elections, dis- formation. Democracies should
information poses a tremendous form a bloc united against the use
threat to twenty-first-century of disinformation by foreign pow-
democracies. More worryingly, ers. Such a bloc could be mold-
politicians in both nascent and es- ed in the image of the solidarity
tablished democracies, including achieved in the wake of the Krem-
Hungary, Poland, and the Unit-
ed States, are using online, social

NewsHawks World News Page 37

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

lin’s poisoning of the former Rus- of doctored media that imper- Canada, Georgia, and Germany. United States President Joe Biden. accused of political bias, and vot-
sian military officer Sergei Skripal sonate other candidates, includ- The Biden administration should ers to confidently evaluate candi-
in the United Kingdom in 2018; ing deep-fake videos;” practice consider adding a clause to the not gain broad purchase, the Ger- dates.
for this explicit and gross viola- good cyber-hygiene (ensuring agreement that would ask signato- man example shows that politi-
tion of British sovereignty, British that candidates, campaigns, and ries to commit to not willfully un- cians in established Western de- Such a standard—which plain-
allies around the world coordi- data about supporters are all safe dermining trust in the democratic mocracies are not below spreading ly names and describes disinfor-
nated the expulsion of hundreds from hacking operations); not use process for political gain. disinformation for political gain. mation as the democratic ill that
of Russian diplomats from their astroturfing to attack opponents; it is—is necessary to proactively
countries. and maintain transparency in After all, politically motivated The Biden administration protect democracy against future
campaign funding. disinformation about electoral should treat as a matter of urgen- harmful technological innova-
These countries also worked fraud in the 2020 U.S. presiden- cy the need to get attendees at tions.
together to respond to the cor- Democracies should form a tial election eventually inspired the democracy summit to make a
responding disinformation cam- bloc united against the use of dis- similar claims in the 2021 Ger- pledge to eliminate the scourge of Technological advances often
paign the Kremlin launched to information by foreign powers. man parliamentary elections; the domestic disinformation. leave public policy behind; devel-
deny that it had poisoned Skripal far-right party Alternative for oping a common understanding
with a military-grade nerve agent; Biden is the only American pol- Germany claimed that widespread This understanding would help of what constitutes disinforma-
the United Kingdom distributed itician to have signed the pledge— mail-in voting would lead to set in place a standard that would tion, no matter the platform on
fact sheets to allies and foreign over 350 others signed in 2019, fraud, a refrain that U.S. allow international election ob- which it appears, is paramount
policy and media influencers to including politicians participat- servers to assess the use of domes- if democracies are to meet to-
use in their communications. ing in elections for the Europe- Republicans had popularized tic disinformation in elections at morrow’s challenges. In a world
an Parliament and in contests in earlier. Although the claims did all levels, social media companies heading toward ever-greater tech-
This was the first such cam- to make decisions regarding con- nological and digital leaps, auto-
paign to respond to foreign inter- tent moderation without being cratic governments with nomi-
ference in a synchronised multi- nally democratic institutions and
lateral fashion. If Biden laid the processes, such as those in Brazil
foundation for a new counterint- and the Philippines, cannot be al-
erference coalition at the summit, lowed to benefit from the comfort
the next time countries such as of a “big democratic tent” while
China, Iran, or Russia attempted employing the same tactics pio-
to influence an election or po- neered by China and Russia on
litical event through spreading their own people.
disinformation, the international
democratic community could re- Disinformation ultimately
spond in harmony with diplomat- erodes the faith of citizens in gov-
ic pressure, economic sanctions, ernment and encourages them to
and other actions, increasing the doubt the possibility of truth in
cost to malign actors who seek to public life. Democracy will suffer
disrupt democracy. Governments hugely when citizens no longer
in such places as Taiwan and trust or even want to participate
Ukraine, which have long been in the democratic process.
bullied by prolific producers of
disinformation, would welcome Biden seems to understand
such a pledge. this fateful prospect. During his
inaugural address, delivered just
Addressing foreign disinforma- weeks after the deadly  6 January
tion could also set in motion ef- insurrection  at the US Capitol,
forts to tackle the altogether more he told the nation: “There is truth
complex and entrenched prob- and there are lies — lies told for
lem of domestic disinformation, power and for profit. And each of
which often bumps up against the us has a duty and a responsibili-
need to protect free expression, ty, as citizens, as Americans, and
providing authoritarian govern- especially as leaders, leaders who
ments cover to curb inconvenient have pledged to honor our Con-
speech in their own countries. stitution and protect our nation,
to defend the truth and defeat the
Here, Biden could encourage lies.”
the wider international adoption
of the Pledge for Election Integ- As Biden himself acknowledges,
rity spearheaded by the pro-de- the summit is a critical chance not
mocracy non-profit Alliance of only to make up for five years of
Democracies in 2019. Signatories U.S. inaction in tackling disinfor-
promise to “not fabricate, use or mation but to aspire toward a firm
spread falsified, fabricated, doxed, new tone for politics in the digital
or stolen data or materials for dis- age, reaffirming that a commit-
information or propaganda pur- ment to truth must form the bed-
poses; avoid the dissemination rock of democracies.

—Foreign Affairs.

Porsche just got angrier Being a Fashion Model

&Life Style

STYLE TRAVEL BOOKS ARTS MOTORING

Page 38 Issue 59, 3 December 2021

Mbeu scales the ladder with Manera

JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA Yes, Tuku was a three-in-one The group consists of Mbeu Mbeu said. Beats on Temera, a song featuring
legend and there are not many ar- on acoustic guitar and lead vo- Manera is his fourth studio al- Jah Prayzah and another one by
THE legendary Oliver "Tuku" tistes who are blessed with all these cals; Ron Mhundwa affectionate- Cmplex titled Pfumo Richauya.
Mtukudzi was three giants in one: three attributes. Mbeu, whose real ly known as "El Basso" on bass; bum after his 2018 debut, Hatiz-
he was a great performer, an amaz- name is Ashton Nyahora (29), is Tawanda "T-One" Ndoro on lead vimirire, and Hatikendenge in the The title track is about hope
ing creative and an entertainer par following in the footsteps of the guitar; Carlton Ndapasowa aka same year, The Mhodzi Diaries 1 and a better tomorrow. Although
excellence — all rolled into one.  granddad of Zimbabwean music. "Smosh" on keyboard and last but in 2019, and in 2020, like every he laments the setbacks caused by
not least Nigel Matope aka "Tip artiste, Mbeu went on a hiatus Covid-19 which saw some people
Such feats in the music industry Mbeu does not hide the fact Tom" on drums. due to the Covid-19 lockdowns. lose business, he says God will
are extraordinary. It is a pity Sam that he was inspired by the great show the way and bring "mane-
Mtukudzi, who was Tuku’s nat- Tuku. Mbeu has just released his lat- The Afro-fusion album has ra", or ladders, to those who have
ural successor, died in 2015, ex- est album simply titled Manera, plenty to love and enjoy, consid- faith. The other songs are Ndab-
actly four years before his father’s Mbeu, which means "seed", which translates to "ladder", a ering that Mbeu displays his vocal vuma, which is about humility
death. is one artiste whose humility on mixed bag of motivational songs range encompassing reggae, tradi- and also gives hope for a brighter
and off stage will take him far coming against the backdrop of tional, jazz and R&B. day, while Bira is a party and joy-
There have been gaps with- and wide, as long as he does not the Covid-19 pandemic which ful song.
in the Zimbabwean music scene change. upended the world and the way “We are happy with the recep-
with fans asking: Who is the next business is conducted. tion of the album and even our Drinks on Me featuring Glen
Tuku? Many of his followers would at- bookings have gone up. Even un- Washington is also a happy song
test to the fact that Mbeu’s sound “Manera is a motivational al- der Covid-19 we have been hit- for those who want to reminisce
As the search continues among is solid and his live performances bum, coming as it does during ting the ground running as we about the good old days.
the new crop of musicians, it is have elevated him to levels very the Covid-19 pandemic in which had corporate gigs throughout the
amazing how a few have dared to few, if any, have reached before. the world went into lockdown. country,” he told The NewsHawks. The six-track album concludes
fill the void with authentic sound.  We lost so many lives to the pan- with I Don’t Know, which is
Backed by his four-member demic and what is needed now is The latest album was mostly again a happy song.  According to
Some are flip-flopping, mixing band, The Mhodzi Tribe, he has to motivate people to pick them- produced by G-Fingers, a child- Mbeu, he will be dropping some
pop, traditional and what have been performing sold out concerts selves up and hope for the best,” hood friend he says knows his visuals to the body of work in a
you, but it appears one youngster in and outside Harare almost ev- sound and quality. few weeks' time.
is poised for superstardom. ery week.
Other producers are Rodney

NewsHawks State of the culture Page 39

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

Artivism must serve wider humanity

Addy
Kudita

ARTIVISM is an amalgam of two
words: Art and Activism. It is basically
the utilisation of art (of any discipline)
to raise awareness on topical issues.

Some of the most famous names in
artivism are the likes of Sir Bob Geldof
(the Band Aid initiative), Sting (with
rainforest preservation), John Legend
(and in my view one of the biggest
ones is Bob Marley. His body of work
speaks for him so much that it is banal
to mention his ubiquitous corpus of
struggle songs.

The 4th National Citizens Conven-
tion convened by the Citizens Mani-
festo, a coalition of civil society organ-
isations in the country kicked off this
week on Wednesday under the title
Let Art Speak. The Wednesday pro-
gramme had Zanu PF legislator For-
tune Chasi, who is a musician as well
as a lawyer, Daniel Molokela of MDC
Alliance, musician Noble Stylez and
Briggs Bomba the convener. Thursday
was themed Inspiration in Unusual
Times Ignite Talks and featured Maa-
iane Knuth on the topic Reimagining
Society Through Art and Vusa Mkhaya
speaking on art as activism.  Sam Farai
Munro aka Comrade Fatso of Mag-
amba Network hosted Twitter Spaces
under the topic “The role of artists in
the struggle for a new Zimbabwe”, on
Thursday.

In an interview with The News-
Hawks, Munro explained the idea .
“This year we decided we decided to let
artists run with it instead of the usual
civic voices. It’s really an arts-driven
programme.”

The final day, Friday, was shut down
with the Let Art Speak concert featur-
ing top urban music talents Asaph,
Enzo Ishall, Chengeto, Hope Masike,
Dhadza D, Shabach The Band, Nata-
sha Muz, to name a few.

The right to speak “Some of them refused to be part of Is silence golden? Thomas Mapfumo is another stal- Sam Farai Munro.
Vusa Mkhaya is a musician; producer this project. They were saying 'I wish I But are artists dangerous? Yes, they can wart of artivism and has not shied away I could respond to my situation -- either
and content creator based in Austria could be part of this project, but I don’t be dangerous to power because they from speaking or rather singing truth to react with bitterness or seek to trans-
and is one of the more vocal artists. His want my family to get into trouble' can reach the emotions in a way no to power. From, the 1970s through to form the suffering into a creative force.
rendition of Demloot decrying the bra- which I understand. So as long as we politician can ever do. It thus serves the the '80s and '90s, he has sung against I decided to follow the latter course.”—
zen corruption in the country torched a artists are afraid to speak up there is a interests of those obsessed with power corruption and other excesses of pow- Martin Luther King Jr.
storm of criticism from regime-leaning problem…artists are the mouth piece to buy the compliance or silence of es- er in both pre and post-independence
folk.  of society.” pecially influential artists. Zimbabwe. Some say it has cost him “Dripping water hollows out stone,
personally, but Mapfumo refuses to sit not through force but through per-
“It is very important for me as a Mkhaya maintains that he is just In Zimbabwe, Jah Prayzah has in by. Mapfumo left the country during sistence.”— Ovid.
songwriter and content creator to touch speaking on issues affecting society. the past been one such artist that pol- the era of the late dictator Robert Mug-
on topics that affect our people every But therein lies the problem with some iticians appeared to use to further a abe under a cloud. There was talk of “You may never know what results
day,” says Mkhaya in his presentation folks. They believe an artist should not particular agenda. He has to his cred- looming arrest. The iconic singer does come of your actions, but if you do
for Ignite Talks. Mkhaya is also an ex- meddle in politics and just entertain it realised the folly of being a political have his critics but remains unflappable nothing, there will be no results.”— Ma-
ecutive producer of a 10-track album people. I translate this to mean that mannequin. Still, it was as much his when it comes to his views about the hatma Gandhi.
Artists for Social Change highlighting some people believe artists should stay right to support whoever he chose to ruling party.
issues such as teenage pregnancy, elec- in the narrow lane of merely making support as much as it was the right of Parting shot “To sin by silence, when they should
tricity, water and jobs “Yes, we can do people forget their troubles through Zimbabweans to question the choice The following are a number of quotes protest, makes cowards of men.”— Ella
skits, and do songs about love and our either song and dance. But that is hard- and even shun him. from various notaries living and dead on Wheeler Wilcox.
beautiful women and handsome men ly what Pablo Picasso, speaking of his activism.
but the real elephant in the room is now world-famous anti-war painting, That is democracy. But who loves “Where there is power, there is resis-
what affects our people every day when Guernica, had in mind: “Painting is democracy? Who fears its thriving but “Propaganda tells you exactly what to tance.”— Michel Foucault, The History
they wake up every morning counting not made to decorate apartments. It's those who are mediocre and corrupt?  think, feel, and do, whereas good artiv- of Sexuality, Volume 1: An Introduction.
those few cents…It is important to talk an offensive and defensive weapon ism should inspire critical thinking and
about those issues in our music, in our against the enemy.” Or Marley when The deployment of creative expres- empathy." — Dannie Snyder. “A patriot must always be ready to
theatre, in our plays, in our books. So I he sang ‘Get up, stand up, and stand sion to engender awareness and social defend his country against his govern-
came up with an idea called Artists for up for your rights’.  change straddling several disciplines “As my sufferings mounted, I soon re- ment.”— Edward Abbey.
Social Change…Not everyone is brave ranging from music, visual art, film, alised that there were two ways in which
enough to speak up.” poetry, rap and theatre forms the bed- “It is not always the same thing to be
rock of artivism. a good man and a good citizen.”— Aris-
Mkhaya says the journey to recruit totle, Selected Writings From The Nico-
artists for the project was enlightening. machean Ethics And Politics.

“If I were to remain silent, I'd be
guilty of complicity.”— Albert Einstein.

Page 40 Life & Style NewsHawks

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

Title: The great house of stone Title: AFTER THE RAIN Title: He loved nothing
Poet: Kelvin K Nyakubaya Poet: Aleck Kaposa Poet: Aries Rage

The river sings, the sun dances on her surface After the rain It's the treble in his voice
Envy the drowned soul that dies in her rays After the rain that gave him away,
trying to kiss the moon The earth lets off some steam, after his eyes wandered
"Song bird it's high noon, won't you sing and The noisy rivulets rush to the big river yonder and stared lovingly
steer the still waters," the grand awakening The frogs croak happily in the valley into nothingness.
River god cleansing, soul searching cooling Whilst crickets chirp He didn't share his dreams
burning hearts In the township streets nor did he have nightmares,
Meandering mind, wonderers in the rapids the We play in the puddles his smiles where lifeless
waterfall approaches With kites and paper ships casting shadows that hid the sun.
Spirit mediums at the thundering place, clay Some play with toy cars It's the phlegm in his throat
pots in hand sprinkle ashes into the wind Others play pada that didn't make my heart dance
To appease the deceased, who when they After the rain when he spoke.
lived no one believed The boom, boom of thunder is gone As if something held him back
Demented hands sound the drum and the Gone too is all the fear or he was holding back something,
ground is diseased The sky is clear and each time his eyes strayed away
Crazed witcher leaps off her lip as a living The sun is out fondling emptiness.
sacrifice, All is calm He didn't share his dreams,
Yearning for a glorified death certain of a di- We are happy again he stole mine one by one
vine rebirth Before the rain kept them in a jar,
Undying, forever flowing open channels closed Before the rain said it was for safe-keeping.
circuits The wind blows madly I believed him;
A storm is brewing the raising current feels like Shaking the trees But his eyes gave him away,
home, a memory of a lifelong gone The angry clouds hide the drifting off into a darkness
Life after death only exists to those who have Shining sun he caressed so intimately.
been buried alive, Thunder roars It's his eyes that gave him away,
Who alone in their frantic panic try to claw Like lions in the forest creating a world only he existed.
their way out before they rot to bone Giving us fear
Eyes wide open and yet seized by a dream Lightning strikes ***********************************************
that will not desist... As if to leave us blind Title: Sour grapes
In a barren land stalked by hyenas, the mock- We smell the smell of rain Poet: Homunculus
ing laugh only persists And rush into the house
Cave paintings etched in blood, a stone can- Because soon raindrops will Excited and gleefully ripe
vas foretold of this pestilence Fall from the sky A bachelor back on the map
The great house of stone reduced to rubble by A beauty across the table in lacy black
the problem elephant *********************************************** Exposing her lustful rack,
Her dress teased just below the hips
*********************************************** Title: Jikinya Beat She bit her lip and blew shisha smoke to
Title: a poem away Poet: Sydney Nyagato me in whisps,
Poet: Tanaka Chidora I felt her kiss, tonight was gonna be bliss.
Spins the turntable... "How much do you make in a month?"
her face appears with jagged edges on the Bard's music touches the deep-seated chords; I felt the beer go down the wrong pipe,
phone’s screen, Croons and sets fans in a frenzy, My glottis couldn't help gasp
and her voice sounds as if a thousand waters Keeps Jikinya beat trendy... At her questions full of scornful gripe
are muffling it. Ballad rolls like butter; And my face turned red as I struggled to
heartaches are products of man-made fri- Heart skips in advance; grasp
volities, like electricity’s nostalgias holding a Beat sets audience in trance... The proper words to answer such a for-
whole country at ransom, Croons to the wee hours; ward wench
like tap water receding to the source of mem- Tears apart the velvet night; My face swollen as if bitten by a wasp
ories. Till the crack of dawn, Painful were her questions so I answered
the phone’s speaker crackles, When day breaks with awesome aurora, with my voice tasteless and rasp, "I guess
and her voice becomes a million smithereens Reminiscent of Van Gogh's art; you can pay your own bill then"
of emotion lost in translation. The envy of Caribbean artists... Then I gladly walked away from that
there were days when sanity used to be only a wench's clasps.
poem away,
but there are things that even poetry cowers
from.

NewsHawks People & Places Page 41

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network director Washington Katema.
SOME of the photos taken from the Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network which, in partnership with Mozambique
Human Rights Defenders Network, Advancing Human Rights in Southern Africa, United Nations Office of High Commissioner
for Human Rights Regional Office for Southern Africa, and Amnesty International, host the 2021 Southern Africa Human Rights
Defenders Summit from 2-4 December 2021 in Maputo, Mozambique.

The theme for this year’s summit – Defending Rights and Protecting Democracies in the face of Rising Inequality and Author-
itarianism – reflects the ominous reality and unprecedented risks of attacks, repression and persecution of activists by govern-
ments and private actors, who often work together in violating the people's rights and freedoms, as well as those of defenders with
impunity. Photos: Dumisani Muleya.

Property
NewsHawks

Issue 59, 3 December 2021 PROPERTY INTERIORS ARCHITECTURE GARDENING Page 42

The home of prime property: [email protected]

Property developers exploit
opportunities in tourism

ALEX MHANDU

AS most economic sectors struggle with the ef- there is a huge market for that. Right now most the peri-urban agro-residential plots as we are be- the improvement in agriculture and mining sec-
fects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the tourism and facilities are already fully booked for the festive ginning to witness a new breed of agro-entrepre- tors. There is reasonable demand here in terms of
hospitality industry is providing one of the most season,” a tour operator who could not be named neurs,” he said. warehousing and manufacturing space.”
lucrative investment options for property devel- said.
opment in Zimbabwe, an expert has said. “People want to do farming and take it as a However, the central business district (CBD)
Matengambiri also indicated demand for in- business so we have got the demand for peri-ur- segment has remained depressed of late due to
There are also good opportunities in the res- dustrial properties in the country was encourag- ban plots. They need infrastructure developed companies downsizing operations or shutting
idential housing market on the back of strong ing while the rise in young entrepreneurs in the there, especially if you have a prime piece of land down while others have moved to office parks or
demand for housing, especially in urban centres, agricultural sector presented good investment op- that you intend to do horticulture on. suburban offices.
with a cumulative estimate of two million hous- portunities for the real estate sector.
ing units needed, while Harare alone has a back- “Then we also have a reasonable demand for This has led to a rise in voids in the CBD office
log of over half a million units. “And now we also have an exciting segment, industrial warehousing, I think this is driven by space, although demand for retail is encouraging.

Rawson Properties Zimbabwe managing direc-
tor Richard Matengambiri told a recent capital
markets awards ceremony that huge opportuni-
ties for property development were available in
the tourism and hospitality sectors, where de-
mand for accommodation is expected to firm as
the country positions itself for the eventual recov-
ery of the global tourism market.

“Despite the effects of Covid-19, I think the
real estate still offers great investment opportuni-
ties,” he said.

“In terms of hotel and tourism, I am sure we all
agree that before the Covid-19 pandemic, it was
one of the best-performing sectors and still believe
the same sector will rebound one day. So there are
vast opportunities there.”

Matengambiri cited areas like Victoria Falls and
Kariba as magnets for tourists, where demand for
accommodation usually spikes, especially during
the festive season.

Fast-emerging tourism resorts such as in
Kanyemba and Tokwe Mukosi are also presenting
good investment opportunities for new property
developments, Matengambiri added.

A recent visit to Victoria Falls also showed a
hive of activity in the resort city's low-density res-
idential area, with several property developments
being implemented.

“Most of these developments you see here are
lodges and hotels. Those with houses in this area
are also refurbishing them into lodges because

NewsHawks Sport Page 43

Issue 59, 3 December 2021

How Africa Cup of Nations will hit EPL

“I LOVE the fact that we have so Clockwise from top left: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang; Mohamed Salah and Naby Keïta; Wilfred Ndidi; Saïd Benrahma; Wilfried Zaha. Composite: Getty, Shutterstock
many African players … until the
Africa Cup of Nations starts. Then players must be released by their cause you would lose him for four ans — more than any other nation also likely to be without Cheikhou
it’s: ‘Oh my God!’” clubs on 27 December – 13 days weeks in the middle of the season,” — who could be called up from En- Kouyaté, Jeffrey Schlupp and Jor-
before the tournament’s first match. he said in June 2019 in an interview glish clubs by the long-serving Ger- dan Ayew, and his Arsenal counter-
Jürgen Klopp is not the only Pre- That means Salah, Mané and Keïta for my book Made in Africa: the man manager Gernot Rohr, who is part Mikel Arteta will not be able
mier League manager who will have could play in Liverpool’s Premier history of African players in the Pre- seeking to build on third place last to call on Aubameyang, Thomas
Afcon on his mind over the coming League game against Leeds on Box- mier League. “That was something time. Watford have three Super Ea- Partey, Mohamed Elneny or Nicolas
weeks. With the delayed 33rd edi- ing Day but would not be available we had in our minds always.” gles in Peter Etebo, William Troost- Pépé.
tion of the continental showpiece for the trip to Leicester two days Ekong and Emmanuel Dennis, and
due to begin in Cameroon on 9 later. However, there is a possibility The return to a mid-season com- are also facing the prospect of losing Riyad Mahrez’s departure to play
January, planning for the absence of that some could be given dispensa- petition could be reflected in the Senegal’s Ismaïla Sarr and Adam for Algeria may not be keenly felt by
up to 40 players from Pierre-Emer- tion to join up with their national fact that the number of African Masina of Morocco for a crucial Manchester City given he has start-
ick Aubameyang to Wilfried Zaha squads at a later date depending on players in the Premier League (46) period that includes league fixtures ed only twice in the Premier League.
during one of the most intense peri- what can be agreed with their clubs. this season has fallen since the peak against fellow strugglers Norwich Mahrez led Algeria to victory at the
ods of the domestic season will pres- of 59 in 2007-08. The vast major- and Newcastle. last tournament in Egypt and was
ent a major headache for several. Discussions are believed to be ity are expected to be in Camer- a key component of the City team
ongoing, with Chelsea wanting oon. Brighton and Leicester may Crystal Palace supporters’ hopes that won the title last season. In this
Much to the annoyance of Klopp Édouard Mendy and Hakim Ziyech be grateful for Zambia’s failure to that Zaha’s request not to be se- campaign he has been a regular in
and European club managers, the to face Liverpool at Stamford Bridge qualify, leaving the summer sign- lected for Ivory Coast’s World Cup the Champions League.
tournament was switched back to on 2 January before joining up with ings Enock Mwepu and Patson qualifiers this month could mean
its usual mid-season slot after the Senegal and Morocco respectively. Daka at their disposal — although he is available to Patrick Vieira With that tournament’s knock-
2019 Cup of Nations in Egypt was Klopp will hope he can persuade the those clubs will be planning for the in January were dashed when the out stages due to begin on 15 Feb-
held for the first time during the Egyptian FA to allow Salah to arrive absence of the key midfielders in 29-year-old clarified his intentions ruary, nine days after the Afcon fi-
European summer, because June as late as possible. Yves Bissouma and Wilfred Ndidi to take part in Afcon, although his nal, at least he and West Ham’s Saïd
and July are part of the rainy season respectively. country’s defeat by Cameroon in his Benrahma will definitely be back to
in Cameroon. After a year’s delay “In the past because the Afcon absence means the Elephants will what could by then be a very differ-
owing to the pandemic, it will kick was in the winter it was really a rea- Ndidi and his clubmate Kelechi not be in Qatar next year. Vieira is ent-looking Premier League table.
off with the hosts taking on Burkina son not to sign an African player be- Iheanacho are among seven Nigeri-
Faso in Yaoundé. – The Guardian.

Leeds, Norwich, Newcastle and
Tottenham are the only Premier
League clubs who will not be affect-
ed, with the rest potentially without
key players for up to six Premier
League matches and two in the
FA Cup. With Liverpool in line to
be missing Mohamed Salah, Sadio
Mané and Naby Keïta for a run of
fixtures that includes trips to Chel-
sea and Arsenal, no wonder Klopp
was so opposed to the switch.

He will remember what happened
the last time the Cup of Nations
was held mid-season. Liverpool
were second to the eventual cham-
pions Chelsea at the turn of the year
in 2016-17 but they failed to win
either of their Premier League fix-
tures, lost in the semi-final of the
League Cup to Southampton and
were knocked out of the FA Cup by
the Championship leaders Wolves.
Mané missed only two Premier
League matches after being flown
back on a private jet just in time to
face Chelsea hours after missing the
penalty that had eliminated Senegal
in a quarter-final shootout against
Cameroon.

Fifa regulations stipulate that

EUROPE. Second fiddle Africa clamours Can Africa successfully go against
That one word evokes the roman- to be heard in world football the best two footballing continents
ticisms of football players and fans gland’s Premier League title — will on the roundtable of world football, soon, and can that voice be respected on the planet and enforce the two-
around the globe.  be deprived of three of their key with considerably less clout in deci- when other continents still hold sway year World Cup in place of the pres-
players in Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and sion-making, despite the numbers over us on many fronts? ent four years? What would be the
Europe, of course, is where the Naby Keita. The trio will be on in- that this continent possesses in terms Already, there has been discord significance, or cost, of such African
big money is, and the glamour that ternational duty at the Nations Cup of Fifa member- between victory?
comes wrapped in the package of for their respective African national ship. the Con-
professional football. teams. To correct this federation Whether one supports a biennial
lopsided state of HawkZone of African World Cup or not, you would imag-
Because of this, the continent of Representing your country in a big affairs, African Football ine that an African-backed major
Europe has long dominated the af- tournament is a childhood dream of football needs vi- (Caf ) and reform, if successful, could mark a
fairs of world football, on the field many footballers. But for many Af- sionary leadership, the govern- turning point in this continent’s in-
and in the boardroom. rican stars playing in Europe, going after decades of Issa Enock ing body of fluence on world football.
to a tournament in the middle of the Hayatou’s dictator- European
A lot of big decisions, and regula- season, when the stakes are soaring, ship and the brief Muchinjo football, A World Cup very two years was
tions, are centred around Europe. can be bittersweet. era that was Ahmad Uefa, the not the only proposed reform that
Ahmad's. premier was embraced by the African football
For instance, the game’s biggest It may well certainly be the case You get the en- continental bosses in Cairo last week. 
event, the World Cup, is held when for somebody like Zimbabwe’s Mar- couraging feeling that Patrice Mo- bloc in the sport. 
European domestic competitions velous Nakamba, who is refreshingly tsepe is that kind of leader we have While Uefa has shot down the And again, Europe has rallied
are on the off-season break. Same as hitting the right momentum lately been yearning for, and the South Af- idea of a World Cup every two against such – a Super League of the
the continent’s major competition, for Aston Villa under new manager rican has not wasted time in trying years, backed by South American continent’s best clubs.
the European Championship. No Steven Gerrard. A few weeks away to give Africa a voice in shaping the body CONMEBOL, Caf last week
club-versus-country clashes, no un- at the Afcon finals could derail that affairs of world football. emerged in full support of a bienni- While Europe’s proposed Super
necessary tug-of-wars. momentum.  But can Africans be heard anytime al World Cup at a meeting in Egypt. League of the continent’s biggest
clubs was abandoned after wide-
In contrast, the flagship tourna- It is quite unfortunate. All these spread protests against it, Caf reckons
ment on our continent, the Africa examples tend to leave Africa weaker an African version is long overdue
Cup of Nations, will be kicking off and will boost coffers of the clubs.
in Cameroon in January, as always at
the beginning of the calendar year, at I deduce two things from this sce-
a time the best leagues of Europe will nario: either African football leaders
be nearing the business end of the really believe they can pull this off,
season. or they are just trying to shake ev-
erybody a little bit by making their
It means a club like Liverpool — presence felt. 
who are in strong contention for En-

Sports A crippling
poverty of
leadership
at Zifa

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

Friday 3 December 2021 @NewsHawksLive TheNewsHawks www.thenewshawks.com

FlowerCULTURE

Community
Zifa, SRC talk toughNEWS WHAT’S INSIDE leavesradio IPL
$60 Covid
tariff for regulations
visitors &
tourists

as row dCeehpaemnsisatearm ePBKaS cStoryonPage 3
under review

Story on Page 8

TREVOR Bayliss and Andy Flower,
the coaches of Sunrisers Hyderabad
and Punjab Kings respectively, have
left their positions. Cricbuzz can con-
firm that both the former England
coaches are now linked to the new
Lucknow franchise.
Khupe"It is correct, Andy has left Punjab
out to Kings. He wanted to explore other
opportunities and we respect that,"
Punjab Kings co-owner Ness Wadia
told Cricbuzz on 30 November. Wa-
dia, however, said the Zimbabwean
will continue to be the head coach
of their Caribbean Premier League
Unofficial president calls for emergeteam, St Lucia Zouks. Flower was the
assistant coach under Anil Kumble.
Wadia also confirmed that the former
India skipper will continue to be the
head of Punjab Kings' coaching staff.
The Sunrishers Hyderabad man-
agement has also confirmed that they
are looking for a new coach as Bay-
liss has decided moved on. Bayliss,
one of the most successful coaches,
having guided England to the Ashes
and World Cup victories, was tipped
to become the national coach of Aus-
tralia.
It is learnt that he is still in Cricket
Australia's radar but the 58-year-old
is believed to be in talks with a few
other IPL teams. He had previously
led Kolkata Knight Riders to two IPL
titles — in 2012 and 2014 — before
accepting an offer from England and
Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
"He has moved on and we'll an-
nounce the new coach soon," an
SRH official said. Bayliss took over
the Hyderabad team immediately
after the 2019 World Cup. But he
had moderate success with the Surn-
Zifa president Felton Kamambo. risers - having finished third once (in

ENOCK MUCHINJO The SRC, in reaction to the sus- & Gumiro. “Section 32 of the Act doesn’t give 2020). In 2021, the team finished at
pended officials’ appeal before the “The procedural irregularity is so Zifa the power to appeal,” he said. the bottom.
THERE is no end in sight to the un- Administrative Court, is adamant gross that it amounts to a serious “They only have a right of review. Bayliss could not be contacted and
certainty in Zimbabwean football as that Zifa has no “power to appeal” miscarriage of justice rendering the Those are two different concepts at
the country’s suspended federation under statutes guiding the country’s decision of the Respondent a legal law. Ask any lawyer they will explain Flower refused to comment, but it
bosses have gone all out to fight the umbrella sports body. nullity. It is tantamount to a ground it without me coming across as bi- has been learnt that both are in talks
ban, filing an appeal that has since of appeal as opposed to review.”  ased. The appeal is dead in the water. with the Lucknow franchise. Sources
been dismissed as “dead in the wa- All seven suspended Zifa board It’s a nullify at law. They are better have indicated that apart from Gary
ter” by the Sports and Recreation members are cited in the appeal, with Zifa’s lawyers detailed more ar- Kirsten, a former India coach, the
Commission (SRC), which wielded the association’s president Felton Ka- Lucknow team has also got in touch
mambo as the first appellant. ALsgaSunmOcteinoINtns,SiIniDncEloupdpionsgFininguantnphrceoeceSMdRuCirna’slistywtiwoitnhipdforearswreionvugietiwt$.aT3nhd.2afti’BlsiniwlglhioaynnZaipdfpaelwipciaol-lsitowZreistahlfauDndnandskiesilpVpeerttowrZhi,oitmhhea'dsfolaralmstoeebrsrtNielefalwynd
c

the axe a fortnight ago.  “The decision of the Respondent suspension and violation of the law need to get a High Court order to coached an IPL side — Royal Chal-
In the appeal launched this week, (SRC) is so outrageous in its defi- according to section 32 of the SRC suspend the SRC’s decision pending lengers Bangalore. One of the four is
ance of logic more particularly in Act.  the outcome of the administration likely to take over the new team.
the axed Zifa board members have that it was reached at without ac- court.
thrown down the gauntlet and pro- cording the other party and oppor- A high-ranking official within the With KL Rahul also tipped to head
nounced their suspension by the tunity to be heard,” reads part of the SRC however said Zifa has legally no “They used the same section for to the Lucknow franchise, there could
SRC as “outrageous in its defiance appeal by law firm Moyo, Chikono grounds to appeal but can apply for (suspended Zifa CEO Joseph) Mam- be a reunion of the Rahul-Flower
of logic.” a “review” of the suspension.  utse. And he remains suspended.” duo.

– Cricbuzz. 

ALSO INSIDE Andy Flower leaves IPL team PBKS