NewsHawks 21 January 2022

Price

US$1

WHAT’S INSIDE Friday 21 January 2022 PBrUoSpIeNrEtySSsector SZPimORbaTbwe
fortunes depend crumble as
ZNaEnWuSPF on Zim’s economic Sri Lanka
supporters trajectory seal series
invade Mugabe’s
Highfield farm Story on Page 25 Story on Page 52

Story on Page 7

Tongaat:
Rudland’s
US$267m
sugar deal
not sweet

ALSO INSIDE High Court judge Chinamora under scrutiny

Page 2 News NewsHawks

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

OWEN GAGARE Tongaat: Rudland’s US$267
million sugar deal not sweet
THREE days after Tongaat Hulett Limited,
South Africa’s regional sugar-producing giant cedures; was a contradiction as it investigated rectors of the 1st (Zimbabwe Sugar Sales) and Jiti Law Chambers partner Webster Jiti
with operations in Zimbabwe, secured approval issues authorised by key shareholders; relied on 2nd (Hippo Valley) respondents,” he says. capacity as a director, I am mercilessly con-
for a US$267 million (R4 billion) rights issue, speculation, conjecture, innuendos and selec- demned by the audit report.”
the company is mired in a messy court battle tive evidence; did not include main players in “They do not allege nor demonstrate that I
over a controversial forensic audit on its Zim- the group; lacked context and was vindictively violated the Articles of Association of the 1st Chibwe says as a result of its wrong commis-
babwean subsidiaries by reputable financial ad- targeted at his person. (Zimbabwe Sugar Sales) and 2nd (Hippo Val- sioning, unprocedural issues, illegalities, fatal
visory firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC). ley) respondents. I am perplexed that in the flaws and a glaring lack of substance, the audit
Chibwe charges that the PwC audit was absence of any wrongdoing in my respective must be dismissed as invalid — a nullity — and
The massive rights offer, well above the com- done by incompetent people who clearly lacked set aside.
pany’s market capitalisation which is less than the requisite knowledge, skills, professionalism,
US$66 million (R1 billion), was underwritten integrity and objectivity.
to the tune of US$133 million (R2 billion) by
Mauritian-registered entity Magister Invest- Besides, he says the audit does not establish
ments Ltd controlled by Zimbabwean tycoon and quantify any money stolen or prejudice
Hamish Rudland. against the company by him.

The Rudlands, Hamish together with his In the first place, Chibwe says, when finan-
brother Simon, run a business empire strad- cials of the companies in the group were con-
dling transport and logistics, financial services, solidated starting 2011, Tongaat introduced a
agriculture and tobacco sectors, among other controversial payment, which he implies was
things. corrupt and fraudulent, of 2% of gross sugar
sales as “technical fees” paid by Hippo Valley to
Their latest controversial acquisition has it when no such services were actually rendered
ramifications which reverberate across the re- — which was institutionalised theft.
gion.
He says Tongaat also allowed illegal bor-
Tongaat Hulett, founded in 1892 and whose rowings between Hippo Valley and Triangle at
name is derived from the town of Tongaat on above bank rates “in contravention of the law”.
the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal in South
Africa, just north of Durban, and its founder “In its substance, the forensic report is gross-
Liege Hulett, is a leading agribusiness conglom- ly inaccurate and can easily pass off as a hatchet
erate in sugar, ethanol, animal feeds and cattle. job meant to soil my name, career and reputa-
tion,” Chibwe says.
It has a significant asset base and footprint in
southern Africa, including operations in South “The whole forensic audit process was un-
Africa, Mozambique, Botswana and Zimba- lawful and nothing can depend on it. For the
bwe. benefit of the parties, its invalidity must be pro-
nounced and set aside. Further, the substance
While the Rudland business dynasty might of the audit report is clearly questionable, un-
be celebrating their corporate boardroom coup satisfactory and, most importantly, unlawful.
which has sent shockwaves across the region, The auditors could not provide the necessary
an explosive court case filed in Harare yesterday link alleged between myself and the alleged
threatens to open a Pandora’s Box on the in- malpractices. The whole audit does not partic-
ternal dealings of the company, already reeling ularly point out my involvement and my role
from a devastating US$800 million accounting within the two respective boards in the alleged
sugar-coating fraud scandal. malpractices. There cannot be a forensic inves-
tigation which convicts me in a ‘crowd’.”
In a court application filed at the High Court
of Zimbabwe in Harare by Jiti Law Chambers, Chibwe laments that he is viciously con-
run by top Harare lawyer Webster Jiti, former demned and vilified without justification.
Hippo Valley Estates Limited financial director
and Zimbabwe Sugar Sales (Pvt) Ltd non-exec- “Crucially, in their report, the auditors
utive director — who was also the board’s audit do not allege nor demonstrate that I violated
committee’s chair — John Edward Chibwe — any law in Zimbabwe. They do not allege that
says that Tongaat authorised an illegal, fraudu- I failed to discharge any of the mandates be-
lent and sham audit by PwC to witch-hunt him stowed upon me by the respective boards of di-
and others, while covering its tracks on illegali-
ties it had committed.

The first respondent in the case is Zimbabwe
Sugar Sales; second Hippo Valley, third Ton-
gaat, fourth PwC Advisory Services (Pty) Ltd
and fifth PwC South Africa.

Hippo Valley holds 50% in Zimbabwe Sug-
ar Sales and, in turn, Tongaat controls 50.32%
in Hippo Valley through its 100%-owned sub-
sidiary, Triangle Sugar Corporation Ltd. This
means Tongaat holds sway over Zimbabwe
Sugar Sales and Hippo Valley. Leave to bring
peregrine South African companies — Tongaat,
PwC Advisory Services and PwC South Africa
— to court in Zimbabwe was sought and grant-
ed before the application was filed.

This follows the PwC audit in which Chibwe
was accused of aiding and abetting a bulk sugar
sales deal in which prices were fraudulently in-
flated for corrupt ends.

“There is no doubt the conclusion (of the au-
dit) casts me in bad light. All sorts of impropri-
ations are ascribed against me. My expectation
to participate in a proper audit process is taken
away,” Chibwe says.

“My good name and standing in society is
shredded. The fact that the audit is done at the
instance of the 3rd respondent (Tongaat), itself
a major character on the board of directors, the
alleged transactions having been found to be
correct by the auditors and accepted by share-
holders of 2nd respondent — Hippo Valley
— (3rd respondent — Tongaat — included),
leaves me with a messy standing which must be
cleared. The unlawfulness of such a sham pro-
cess and outcome must be pronounced by this
court. Nothing can depend on a nullity.”

Chibwe says the PwC audit is a “charade”
and “medusa scheme” — a plot to destroy —
against him which ruthlessly condemns him for
implied corruption and fraud without getting
him formally involved in the process, inter-
views or given the right of reply.

He also says the audit is fatally flawed given
the way it was illegally commissioned by Ton-
gaat; it did not follow established auditing pro-

NewsHawks News Page 3

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

Tongaat Hulett is a leading agribusiness.

JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA Tongaat rights offer approval
shifts the spotlight to Rudland
AFTER regional sugar giant Tongaat Hulett Ltd
secured approval for a R4 billion rand (US$267 “We have agreed that they (Magister) get a Tongaat chief executive Gavin Hudson The company was saved from the brink of
million) rights issue to help keep the South Af- board seat for every 20% of shares that they own, Magister is expected to add value (to Tongaat) collapse last year after a fraudulent accounting
rican company afloat amid resistance from small with a maximum cap of 60%,” Hudson said. “ through its logistics, agricultural management scandal involving R12 billion (US$800 million).
investors, the spotlight is now on Zimbabwean and commercial experience.”
transport and tobacco tycoon Hamish Rudland. We assume that they would be a large share- The Rudlands — Hamish and his brother Si-
holder by the end of the rights offer. But that It added: “The introduction of Magister is mon — already run Unifreight Africa Limited,
Rudland controls little-known Mauritian-reg- will be determined in January or February next expected to add impetus to THL’s turnaround a transport and logistics company listed on the
istered entity Magister Investments Ltd under- year. Magister has vast experience in sectors strategy and provide the management team with Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, offering courier ser-
writing half the deal — R2 billion (US$133 which complement THL’s strategic focus areas. the financial and operational flexibility to redi- vices and abnormal loads.
million) — in the midst of controversy over rect its focus towards growth initiatives.”
the transaction whose ramifications reverberate Following the acquisition of Unifreight’s busi-
across the region. nesses by Pioneer Corporation Africa, initially
Pioneer Transport, Unifreight Africa Limited
Tongaat, a leading agribusiness in sugar, eth- emerged, with Swift transport — including its
anol, animal feeds and cattle, has a significant entities Bulwark and Clan — as the mainstay.
asset base and footprint in southern Africa,
including operations in South Africa, Mozam- The Rudlands also have significant interests in
bique, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Zimre Holdings, a group of companies in gener-
al insurance, life and pensions, and agro-indus-
Following a heated extraordinary general tries, and CFI, a leading agro-based industrial
meeting on Tuesday to vote on the deal, Tongaat holding company.
announced the proposed massive recapitalisa-
tion plan through a rights offer backed by major They also have an interest in multinational
shareholders at a special general meeting. Gold Leaf Tobacco Corporation which deals in
tobacco processing, cigarette manufacturing and
Tongaat chief executive Gavin Hudson said: marketing and distribution.
“We are very happy with today’s outcome and
appreciate the robust shareholder engagement This week’s rights offer deal only proceeded
process and their firm support. This is a key after all lender and regulatory approvals were
step in securing the future of Tongaat and pro- obtained and other conditions precedent were
vides us with the mandate to further engage fulfilled, although it is still work in progress.
with shareholders to raise fresh capital to reduce
our unsustainable debt levels. We look forward The 132-year-old company secured the re-
to this contributing to a market capitalisation quired support for the discounted fundraising
consistent with the company’s value as a leading after a stormy two-hour meeting on Tuesday as
regional agriculture business, helping to protect minority shareholders representing 20% of the
the jobs of our 29 000 employees across Sadc, equity stake resisted and voted against the deal.
and ensuring that Tongaat can continue to be
a major socio-economic contributor to the re- Outspoken investor David Woollam de-
gion.” manded Tongaat’s board and management pro-
duce more information on Magister and its in-
The deal was characterised by controversy and vestments that justify it being brought in as a
uncertanity. strategic shareholder.

It caused anxiety among shareholders and “I find it extraordinary that a company which
workers across the region, including in Zimba- is about to take control of Tongaat, we know
bwe, where Tongaat has interests in Zimbabwe nothing about, or no one is prepared to talk
Sugar Sales (Pvt) Ltd, Hippo Valley Estates Lim- about,” Woollam said.
ited and Triangle Sugar Corporation Ltd.
The Rudlands say Magister is an investment
Magister, which recently engineered the con- company that has interests in both publicly
solidation of Zimplow and Unifreight subsidiar- listed and private companies, although it is not
ies in Zimbabwe, is likely to emerge from the part of his family corporate dynasty, and has no
deal with up to 60% of Tongaat, which will be a interests in controversial gold and tobacco deals
major corporate boardroom coup in the region. as widely feared in some circles that allege illicit
proceeds from there could be part of the trans-
Despite its financial problems, Tongaat is action.
huge: it produces 43% of South Africa’s sugar
requirements and accounts for over half of Zim-
babwe’s sugar sales. If minorities follow up their
rights, Magister could secure around 50% of the
company.

Page 4 News NewsHawks

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

Zim’s tobacco barons capture sugar giant

A worker walks past stacks of sugar at a Tongaat Hulett factory in Triangle, more than 400km south of Harare, Zimbabwe. — Picture: EPA-EFE/Aaron Ufumeli

THIS story by South African investigative A shockingly prejudicial deal are.”
journalism unit amaBhungane — previous- Apart from the reputational fears, the deal is
ly M&G Centre for Investigative Journalism LEAVING aside any qualms about the Rud- the Casa Trust, a trust operating for the benefit
— was done before Tuesday’s shareholder ap- lands’ alleged unsavoury businesses, the Tongaat of Hamish Rudland, his wife, and their children”. also highly prejudicial for existing investors.
proval of the controversial R4 billion (US$267 deal has been lambasted as shockingly prejudicial “If it was Warren Buffett proposing it, I would
million) deal by Zimbabwean tycoon Hamish to existing shareholders in the sugar group. The remarkable feature of the Tongaat rights
Rudland to takeover South African sugar pro- offer is the extreme level of dilution and the high still oppose it on the investment merits,” one ac-
ducer Tongaat Hulett, amid dire straits fol- Rudland acknowledges this in his response to cost of following your rights. tivist shareholder told amaBhungane.
lowing an accounting scandal at the company. us, downplaying the separate concerns about the
Tongaat Hulett, the debt-ridden and embat- source of Magister’s cash: “Most of the concern Depending on the price at which the shares But it is not Warren Buffett proposing it.
tled JSE-listed sugar producer and property rather has been around the size of the rights offer, get issued, it could cost an existing shareholder The Rudlands
owner, on Tuesday secured enough sharehold- control and the potential dilutive effect on exist- with shares worth R10 anything between R40
er support against a backdrop of fierce protests ing shareholders who may not wish or are unable and R80 just to maintain their shareholding at The Rudlands are one of Zimbabwe’s major
by minorities for a multi-billion-rand capital to follow their rights. This is understandable, but the previous level. business dynasties with known investments re-
raise or rights offer, which will involve Zim- perhaps unavoidable given Tongaat’s financial sit- lating to transport, agriculture and financial ser-
babwe’s rich Rudland family. The contentious uation.” The most likely outcome is that most small vices.
deal occurred despite calls by some sharehold- shareholders will have their holdings diluted into
er activists, led by David Woollam and Chris The deal involves a rights issue, a mechanism insignificance. The family, in particular Hamish’s brother
Logan, to get the vote postponed, saying oth- for companies to raise money from existing Simon, is, however, best known in South Afri-
er critical shareholders did not have sufficient shareholders by giving them an opportunity to Magister has underwritten the rights issue with ca for their tobacco business Gold Leaf Tobacco
information on the offer. They also said they buy new shares in addition to the ones they al- R2 billion (US$129m), half of the maximum R4 Corporation, which (alongside a number of oth-
did know much or anything about Mauri- ready own. The shareholders who do not exercise billion (US$258m) Tongaat would raise if all ex- er manufacturers) has been accused of flooding
tian-based Magister Investments Limited, their rights will see their percentage shareholding isting shareholders followed their rights to main- the South African market with cigarettes that
which is a privately-held group controlled by fall when other shareholders who do follow their tain their exact shareholding. are priced in a way that suggests they somehow
the Rudlands that is taking over the company. rights buy new shares. avoid paying the steep excise “sin” tax normally
Magister (alongside Braemar) will, however, imposed by the South African Revenue Service.
Minority shareholders and activists in Tongaat The Rudlands will participate through Ma- very likely control between 50% and 60% of
Hulett are mounting a fightback against a pro- gister, which is “controlled by Mauritian Inter- Tongaat after the rights issue. Gold Leaf and the Rudlands have consistently
posed R2 billion (US$129 million) sale of new national Trust Company Limited as Trustee of denied any wrongdoing, but in the mid-2000s,
shares by major sugar group Tongaat Hulett to This is why activist shareholders are calling it a Simon was arrested in South Africa for cigarette
the Zimbabwean Rudland family, accused of de facto takeover masquerading as a rights offer. smuggling — although the case went nowhere
building their fortune on ties to Zimbabwe’s rul- — Daily Maverick. — and in 2019 he survived a hit on his life in
ing Zanu PF and questionable cigarette sales. Johannesburg as he was arriving for a meeting of
The swing votes, however, belong to only two funding itself to maintain its shareholding, which the Free Trade Independent Tobacco Association,
Hamish Rudland, the face of the deal, sup- major asset managers. They are the state-owned would be a very expensive exercise considering which represents the smaller manufacturers.
plied a lengthy response to questions specifically Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which the extent to which Tongaat plans to dilute its
asserting that “there is absolutely no substance” to owns nearly 14% of Tongaat on behalf of the existing shares by issuing new ones. At the PIC, The market share of these “cheapie” cigarettes
this link to the family’s cigarette business. Government Employee Pension Fund (GEPF) things are not as clear-cut. In response to ques- rocketed during Covid, with Gold Leaf being the
and smaller public sector entities and the Stel- tions, it said: biggest beneficiary, according to a University of
The deal takes the form of a rights issue that, if lenbosch-based PSG Asset Management, which Cape Town study.
successful, will hand control of Tongaat to a Rud- controls 15%. Both the PIC and PSG have given “It would be imprudent for the PIC to express
land entity in Mauritius called Magister Invest- Tongaat “non-binding letters of support”. any view publicly on a transaction which is still According to the study, Gold Leaf sold 30% of
ments — at a steep discount to the current share inconclusive. The PIC will act responsibly and all cigarettes during the initial lockdown in 2020,
price. The proposed deal is being put to a vote PSG’s support is seemingly a done deal. The lawfully in its investment decisions in this re- during which cigarette sales were technically ille-
today, Tuesday, 18 January, in an extraordinary company told amaBhungane: “After detailed gard.” gal, up from 12% pre-Covid — and maintained
general meeting amid concern about the Rud- assessment, we agree with the THL [Tongaat much of this market gain after the ban was lifted.
lands’ probity and the alleged prejudice towards Hulett Limited] board’s recommendation, and AmaBhungane understands from a source
existing minority shareholders. On face value, ex- this informed our decision to extend a letter of close to the GEPF, on whose behalf the PIC is Hamish Rudland told amaBhungane: “Magis-
isting shareholders could face a massive dilution support to the board. While we will vote in fa- acting, that the PIC is under pressure to reconsid- ter has no involvement or interest in Gold Leaf
of their equity. vour of the resolutions necessary to progress the er its support. An alternative underwriting agree- Tobacco Corporation, nor does Gold Leaf To-
capital raise, we have given no undertaking to ment with the PIC putting up the money instead bacco Corporation have anything to do with the
AmaBhungane has established that a signif- participate in the rights issue.” of Magister might even be on the cards. transaction between Magister and Tongaat.”
icant alliance of minority shareholders has co-
alesced in an attempt to vote down today’s deal. This means that PSG supports the investment The source, who cannot be named as they are But concerned minority shareholder activists
by Magister but is not committed to providing not authorised to speak to the media, said: “The have questioned the source of the R2-billion the
GEPF is concerned. They know who these guys Rudlands have committed to underwrite the
share issue. There seems to be a disjuncture be-
tween the little-known Magister and the R2-bil-
lion it has committed to this deal.

One well-known activist, Dave Woollam, has

NewsHawks News Page 5

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

challenged the deal in a letter to shareholders, arms. Standard Bank, which has provided the R2 bil- Businessman Hamish Rudland
mostly based on its allegedly extremely prejudi- Meanwhile, the Rudlands and associates have lion (US$129m) guarantee, told amaBhungane it ing checks seriously, but added, “Any decision
cial effect on the minor shareholders. “does not discuss the business of our clients with to proceed with the rights offer and any related
“I’m not making any allegations, but I still want been buying up Tongaat shares in the background third parties”. transactions will be the sole and independent re-
to know where they got the money,” he told am- long before the Magister deal — something the sponsibility of the Tongaat Hulett board and its
aBhungane. Tongaat bosses failed to mention when selling the The bank said it took its anti-money launder- shareholders.” — Daily Maverick.
deal in these secret meetings.
Hamish Rudland told amaBhungane, “Magis-
ter’s funding arrangements are proprietary and The Project Knight presentation only reflects
confidential; suffice to state that Magister has that Magister already owned an immaterial
provided Tongaat with a bank guarantee issued 0.15% of Tongaat before the deal.
by The Standard Bank of South Africa to support
its underwriting commitments and, as such, this However, between March and April last year,
has gone through and passed all banking regu- Braemar, a United Arab Emirates entity con-
latory processes such as Know Your Client and trolled by Simon and Hamish’s mother, Adrienne,
Anti Money Laundering requirements. bought 9.981% of the company from Nedbank.

Whilst it may be salacious to allege that the Another associate of the Rudlands has also
transaction is funded by proceeds of illegal cig- been quietly buying up shares.
arette sales, there is absolutely no substance to
this.” Ebrahim Adamjee, Simon Rudland’s partner
in Gold Leaf, made a small investment in Tongaat
Further questions about how insulated Magis- the same month Braemar bought its first shares.
ter is from the wider Rudland empire are raised He then steadily increased his shareholding to
by the terms of the proposed transaction, which 1.5% in November last year, the last month we
make provision for Magister to potentially act have data for. Yet another seeming associate, a
together with a much wider “Magister Group”, company called Betelgeux Investments, recently
which is widely defined as any company or per- bought 2% of Tongaat. Betelgeux shares the ad-
son with links to Magister. dress of a host of Adamjee companies.

Both Tongaat and Hamish Rudland empha- Hunky-dory
sised that the company had entered into a trans- Tongaat has fended off criticism of its planned
action “with Magister, not the Magister Group”. entanglement with the Rudlands with an ostensi-
bly thorough due diligence exercise by audit firm
Rudland said, “Magister’s underwriting obli- PwC.
gations have nothing to do with any other entity.” “As part of Tongaat’s assessment and due dili-
gence process on Magister, PwC, at Tongaat’s re-
But the deal takes place in the context of a quest, conducted an independent specified scope
number of parties seemingly related to Rudland compliance due diligence exercise,” the company
increasing their influence at Tongaat, long before told us in response to questions.
the current deal was thrust on shareholders. It is not clear how much of a deep dive this due
diligence was. PwC itself told us that it “conduct-
The deal ed a specified scope, integrity due diligence based
In November last year, large shareholders in on information available in the public domain
Tongaat were separately summoned to confiden- for Tongaat Hulett Ltd”.
tial presentations by the company’s executives. Tongaat continued: “The sub-committee and
They were made to sign non-disclosure agree- the Board considered PwC’s findings and being
ments and then given a presentation about “Proj- satisfied therewith, agreed to pursue the rights
ect Knight”, probably an allusion to the “white offer with the underwriting support from Magis-
knight” the Rudlands would supposedly be for ter. Magister and Hamish Rudland have exten-
Tongaat, which has struggled in the wake of crip- sive and relevant expertise and experience and
pling debt and alleged accounting fraud under its are invested in several publicly listed businesses
previous management. and Tongaat believes that Magister is a suitable
These meetings were repeated several times to investor."
try to get irrevocable support for the rights issue. Both PwC and Tongaat declined to provide
As late as last week the Tongaat executives were any details of the results of the due diligence.
allegedly trying to twist recalcitrant shareholders’

Tongaat Hulett to
pursue Deloitte after
US$800m scandal

SOUTH African sugar-producing giant Ton- including the cigarette group Gold Leaf Tobacco Last year, Deloitte paid back R150 million of Tongaat chair Louis von Zeuner
gaat Hulett, now owned by the Rudland family Corporation. its consulting fee to Eskom after an “irregular 2017.
from Zimbabwe, confirmed on Tuesday that it procurement process”. Deloitte did consulting
has asked a legal team to pursue recourse from The family already owns around 10% of Ton- work for Eskom from April 2016 to September Eskom launched legal action against Deloitte
auditing firm Deloitte. gaat, according to an amaBhungane report. The Consulting, accusing the firm of securing two
rights issue will most likely give it control of the tenders and other work “improperly”. — Fin24.
Deloitte, which has been the company’s au- company.
ditor for decades, signed off on irregularities in
its financial statements from 2011 to 2018. The Tongaat’s share price fell 3.5% to 529c.
mis-statements inflated Tongaat’s financial posi- Tongaat spokesperson Virginia Horsley told
tion by almost R12 billion (US$800 million). Fin24 that a legal team has been assembled to
engage with Deloitte on this matter.
Trading in the company’s shares was suspend- Horsley said the timelines of the legal team's
ed in 2018 after news of the irregularities sent its work will be determined by the legal process and
shares into free fall. Tongaat was not able to provide specific time-
lines at this point.
Last week, Tongaat confirmed that it is filing a “It is, however, worth noting that recent ex-
R450 million civil claim against some of its for- amples of similar litigation matters in the SA
mer executives — including former CEO Peter context suggests that it can be a slow process,
Staude and former CFO Murray Munro — for often dragging on for a number of years,” Hors-
the inflating of profits. ley said.
She said Tongaat could only proceed in en-
At a general meeting on Tuesday, Tongaat gaging with Deloitte over its role in the historic
chair Louis von Zeuner said that the company mismanagement of the company, after Deloitte
was also planning action against Deloitte. completed its audit for the group's 2021 finan-
cial year, in order to preserve the independence
At the general meeting, a majority of share- of the audit.
holders approved a massive rights issue. “This work was only completed late in 2021,
after which engagements commenced. Engage-
The rights issue will see the company issue ments with Deloitte continue and we will release
new shares worth up to R4 billion. a statement regarding the process as soon as we
are in a position to do so,” she said.
The company’s total market capitalisation is After Deloitte audited Tongaat for 82 years,
currently only R703 million. EY was appointed as its new auditor.

Some R2 billion of the rights issue is under-
written by a Mauritius-based firm called Magis-
ter Investments.

The group is controlled by the Rudland fami-
ly, who owns a range of Zimbabwean businesses,

Page 6 News NewsHawks

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

NYASHA CHINGONO Tough questions for Mnangagwa,
Chamisa ahead of 2023 elections
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s desper-
ate quest to stop Nelson Chamisa from contest- break with the toxic past and moving forward President Emmerson Mnangagwa Chamisa will lose his remaining MPs to the
ing elections under the MDC-Alliance banner to occupy centre political ground — whether lose its MPs in Parliament who were elected same rivals — Zanu PF and MDC-T — that
betrays the Zanu PF strongman’s lack of con- ideologically or perceptually. under the MDC-Alliance brand since it cannot are forcing him to change his party’s name.
fidence in his ability to win another mandate have MPs elected under two different names at
in 2023. This might work for 2023, but then the the same time. Ultimately, changing its name The last and third option is even more com-
by-elections bring in new complexities. If the means surrendering the name and identity to plicated: Boycotting the by-elections. The idea
Memories of a disputed 2018 election in party changes its name and rebrands, it will the MDC-T and, by extension, to Zanu PF. of boycotting the by-elections might be an easy
which the youthful politician garnered more way out of the mess as the party will then get
than two million votes are still fresh. MDC-Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa time to change its name and rebrand and carries
no executional risks, but it implies surrendering
Mnangagwa has gone for broke in a bid to its hard-won political ground secured at huge
throw spanners in the works for Chamisa who political cost since 2000. If the MDC-Alliance
has since 2018 remained a fierce competitor af- boycotts and the MDC-T contests the by-elec-
ter the presidential dispute was controversially tions as MDC-Alliance, this means recalls will
solved by the Constitutional Court. be intensified after that and all Chamisa MPs
risk being removed.
The 79-year-old Zanu PF leader, who took
over government in a military putsch that oust- It is apparent Mnangagwa is pushing for a
ed longtime leader Robert Mugabe in 2017, has by-election boycott, which will boost Zanu PF
been battling to maintain his popularity with numbers in Parliament, thereby restoring the
the masses, while his “New Dispensation” fa- two thirds majority, enough to change the con-
cade has been exposed in dramatic fashion since stitution at will.
his regime reacted to protests with brute force in
the full glare of international media. Observers say pushing Chamisa out would be
convenient for Mnangagwa as he may negotiate
Seeing his popularity waning on the interna- for the postponement of elections.
tional front, where Zimbabwe continues to be
vilified for gross human rights violations and Although it is a difficult task, it will give
autocratic rule, Mnangagwa has turned to in- Zanu PF enough time to put its house in order.
ternal politics to ensure he maintains a grip on
power. Mnangagwa is currently presiding over a di-
vided party, reeling from massive divisions and
Employing both hegemonic and hard pow- infighting.
er tactics to keep the main opposition at bay,
Mnangagwa has also used the legislature to his The 79-year-old has on several occasions con-
advantage, mutilating the constitution. This has demned intra-party violence but it is apparent
been done to maintain a tight grip on govern- the centre is not holding as infighting has con-
ment. tinued.

In mutilating the constitution, Mnangagwa Mnangagwa’s ability to unify the party has
has found a willing pawn in MDC-T leader come under scrutiny after violence among his
Douglas Mwonzora, who has been working loyalists broke out in his political citadel, the
overtime to punish his nemesis Chamisa. Midlands.

Mwonzora is believed to be part of a grand Last week, he moved to fire State Security
scheme to frustrate Chamisa and scores of minister Owen “Mudha” Ncube for fanning vi-
MDC-Alliance supporters by pushing for the olence in the party’s provincial polls.
banning of any party from using the acronym
MDC. This has put Mnangagwa’s pedigree in the
spotlight, with observers saying he could lose
Last week, Mwonzora sent shockwaves the 2023 presidential polls if the party enters
through the Zimbabwean political landscape into the election in this state.
when he announced that he would contest the
26 March by-elections under the MDC-Alli- His popularity in Zanu PF has also waned
ance banner. over the years, with many party cadres disgrun-
tled.
The unexpected announcement has stoked
debate on the need for Chamisa to rebrand Revelations that the party elders were look-
ahead of the by-elections and the 2023 general ing to derail his coup project by reversing his
elections. appointment as party president, while another
case by Sybeth Musengezi has also brought into
Chamisa faces three difficult options: To con- sharp focus how Mnangagwa ascended into
test as MDC-Alliance and clash in the process power.
with the MDC-T which has announced it will
field candidates under the same name amid Observers say the move to frustrate Chamisa
their continued cutthroat wrangling; change is part of an elaborate plot involving Zanu PF,
name and rebrand or boycott the elections. the judiciary, police, intelligence and the army.

All these options have grave political costs The tacit collusion between MDC-T and the
and potentially devastating consequences, but state has also played out in Parliament when
the first one carries the day. several MDC-T senators voted in favour of
Constitutional Amendment No.1 and No. 2
If the MDC-Alliance participates under this which mutilates the 2013 constitution, largely
name, it will clash with the MDC-T, widely considered a progressive charter.
seen as a Zanu PF appendage that enjoys state
institutional support, including that of the Since losing the MDC-Alliance’s secre-
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec), Parlia- tary-general’s post in 2019 at the party congress,
ment and the judiciary, as well as the executive. Mwonzora has been accused of being vindictive
against Chamisa.
The MDC-T has already said it will partici-
pate in the by-elections as MDC-Alliance. The Whatever steps Chamisa will take before
logic of the party and its leader Douglas Mwon- 2023, it will have a bearing on his legacy and
zora is that they “own” the MDC-Alliance by the party going forward.
virtue of the 31 March 2020 Supreme Court
judgment which found that Chamisa was not To change or not to change? The name re-
the legitimate MDC-T leader. mains the question.

Mwonzora says this means he is now the Political analyst Stephen Chan said Mwonzo-
leader of the MDC-T and the MDC-Alliance ra had taken advantage of Chamisa’s failure to
as an electoral pact because after the extraordi- ensure flexibility in leading the MDC-Alliance.
nary congress in
He said Chamisa should rebrand the party
December 2020 following the court decision to escape the current machinations against his
he defeated acting MDC-T leader Thokozani political career and the existence of the MDC.
Khupe to assume the party leadership and that
of the election coalition. “The onslaught may well be inspired by ZPF,
but this sort of speculation totally underesti-
The second option for Chamisa, which se- mates the ruthlessness of Mwonzora. Chami-
nior party officials say they are actively consid- sa has been caught flat-footed by Mwonzora’s
ering and might well eventually prevail in the ruthless manoeuvring. Mwonzora has taken
2023 general elections, is name changing and advantage of Chamisa’s stubborn lack of flexi-
rebranding. bility,” Chan said.

The process entails internal and external “Chamisa should have rebranded his party
changes. Internally, it means changing struc- some time ago, and he should be decisive even
tures and the way of working within the party. at this late stage and do so. Insofar as Chamisa’s
After the internal processes, there are external best chances in 2023 involve doing well in the
aspects — getting a new name, logo and profile. Presidential elections, he should tie the rebrand-
ed party to his advantage in name recognition.”
By rebranding — from ideological and policy
repositioning, fixing structures and workflows
to changing the name logo and profile — the
MDC-Alliance would be seeking to signal a

NewsHawks News Page 7

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

Zanu PF supporters invade
Mugabe’s farm Highfield

Former president Robert Mugabe NYASHA CHINGONO said. sad,” the family member said.
“The late former president bought that Mugabe, the chief architect of the land re-
PART of former president Robert Mugabe’s
Highfield Farm in Norton has been invaded farm before the land reform programme. form programme, was often accused of using
by suspected Zanu PF supporters as the on- There is a part extended after the land reform brute force to hound out white farmers.
slaught against the former first family by his programme. This is the part which was invad-
successor, President Emmerson Mnangagwa ed,” a family member told The NewsHawks. The bloody land reform programme
continues, The NewsHawks can report. brought Zimbabwe’s property rights and civil
“They are targeting the Mugabe family and liberties into sharp focus, drawing interna-
Family sources confirmed the invasion, I do not know if it is now government poli- tional criticism.
saying the invaders were already farming on a cy to go after the former president’s family’s
piece of land which Mugabe acquired after the assets.” Zimbabwe would eventually be placed on
land reform programme. sanctions which are still haunting the coun-
“Mugabe went through a lot during the try years after his remains were interred in a
The main Highfield Farm near Darwendale land reform programme and if anything the courtyard at his rural Zvimba home.
Dam was purchased by the former first family former first family suffered. They are still on
before the 2000 land reform, a family member the EU sanctions and now find themselves The regime led by his long-time mentee did
losing land from Mnangagwa which is very not take long to go after his property, includ-
ing vast tracts of land which the nonagenarian
CALL/WHATSAPP +263 773 428 200 leader had amassed for himself during his 37-
8 SHEPPERTON RD year iron-fisted stay in power.
GRANITESIDE HARARE
WWW.MEGABREEZE.CO.ZW “I do not know what kind of country is this
[email protected] where the former president’s family is haunted
by the state.

“There are many farms that are not occu-
pied, but they go for Mugabe’s land. You won-
der if there is a policy to target Mugabe,” the
family member told The NewsHawks.

“It might excite them, but it has far-reach-
ing consequences because investors see,” the
family member added.

“The problem is that if you are a foreign in-
vestor, you look at a lot of things — the rule
of law, the sanctity of contracts and how the
courts can be used to enforce such. But if the
properties of the former president are not safe,
would you come and invest?”

Mnangagwa’s regime has used land grabs to
punish the family of the late former president
Mugabe.

Gold panners, with the acquiescence of the
authorities, have invaded the Mugabe family’s
sprawling farmland in Mazowe and installed a
gold milling plant.

Aerial pictures of the estate show massive
destruction and unregulated mining on the
farm, situated in the heart of Mazowe, with
sources saying powerful Zanu PF officials
oversee the disruptive activities.

Gold mining activities have gone on for
months, while attempts to evict the panners
from the estate are proving futile.

“You have a former president who was the
frontrunner of the land reform programme,
he dies and the next thing you go after his
farms. Any serious investor would look at
what is happening.”

Some of Mugabe’s closest relatives have also
been hounded off their farms, with Walter
Chidhakwa’s wife also losing her farm to Zanu
PF officials.

Chidhakwa’s wife lost 250 hectares and
is left with 181 hectares of less fertile land.
The late Robert Zhuwawo, Mugabe’s nephew,
two years ago lost his farm to Sports minister
Kirsty Coventry. Coventry snatched Zhuwao’s
Cockington Farm in Zvimba.

Grace’s sister Shuvai Gumbochuma also
lost her Kachere Farm in Concession to a top
Zanu PF official in 2018.

Former Higher and Technology minister,
Jonathan Moyo’s farm was grabbed during the
late Lands minister Perrance Shiri’s tenure. He
is still locked in a legal battle with the state,
following the withdrawal of an offer letter for
his farm.

He argues the move was politically motivat-
ed.

Two years ago, a group of war veterans also
invaded exiled former cabinet minister Sav-
iour Kasukuwere’s farm. Kasukuwere has been
fighting in the courts to stop the land seizure.

“Anyone who was supportive of Mugabe is
losing their farms, even his sister Sabina who
died a long time ago, lost her farm too,” the
family member said.

“I do not think I would support anyone
who would go after Mnangagwa’s properties
after he dies. It is never logical. For me it is a
banana republic.”

Page 8 News NewsHawks

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

NYASHA CHINGONO Persecution the price we pay
for freedom — Haruzivishe
WHEN political activist Makomborero Ha-
ruzivishe stepped into Chikurubi Maximum Political activist Makomborero Haruzivishe.
Security Prison more than 10 months ago, he — Picture: Aaron Ufumeli
knew his bid for freedom would be an arduous
journey. Zimbabwe. Of course, it was emotional for me “Denying her from coming was a violation of “I also took the opportunity to assist others
but the emotions quickly turned into energy, my rights. I however understood that I was sur- by being a “bush lawyer”, helping others do bail
Convicted in April last year, Haruzivishe was energy to be able to endure, be like a comrade viving beyond enemy lines so I did not expect applications, appeals. It is something that occu-
jailed for an effective 14 months on a case of and if it meant serving that sentence safely and it to be easy.” pied my time and it positively impacted other
inciting public violence and resisting arrest. come back stronger mentally, let it be so. And prisoners. It was an honour to use my knowl-
I am glad I came back stronger. All I know is To keep himself occupied during the day, edge to help someone get their freedom. There
In July last year, he secured bail pending ap- that it was the beginning or the continuation Haruzivishe spent his time reading books and are many wrongly accused who are in prison.
peal in that matter, but the earlier bail revoca- of a bigger fight that was started long back in a exercising. Due to a justice system in shambles, they are
tion in the Impala Car Rental case in which he people’s revolution initiated years ago,” Haruz- still locked up.
is accused of locking in the firm’s employees de- ivishe said. “I read a lot of books and also did exercises
manding that the company release information to make sure that I am fit. Inside, there are not Haruzivishe, who also aspires for political
on Tawanda Muchehiwa’s abductors — which is As the Covid-19 pandemic raged, Haruz- only risks of contracting Covid-19, but other office in the future, started his activism at Go-
still pending — kept him in jail. ivishe found himself with no visitors. diseases.” komere High School, where he held his first
demonstration against the rising cost of educa-
Securing his freedom, Justice Cathrine Mza- He also accused prison officers of working in Along with other prisoners, Haruzivishe tion.
wazi of the Harare High Court quashed a deci- cahoots with the state to deny him visitors even founded a football club which went on to win
sion by a magistrate to revoke Haruzivishe’s bail after the lockdown rules were relaxed. a tournament. “I did my first demonstration in 2008 at Go-
in March last year after Haruzivishe skipped a komere High school. It was in the middle of an
court appearance in a matter involving Impala “There was a point when visitors were com- “When I was convicted, along with other economic crisis, a deep political crisis. We also
Car Rental. pletely shut out due to the Covid-19 pandemic prisoners, we formed a football club which won felt the impact down there in Masvingo and felt
but there was a period where my visitors were a cup in the just-ended season. It is called Ha- the need to rise up and demand better.”
Recounting his days inside Zimbabwe’s drea- being barred and included some of the critical rare Stars.”
ry high-walled maximum prison, which houses visitors like my co-accused, Joana Mamombe. After enduring more than nine months in
the most dangerous criminals, Haruzivishe re- She was being barred for no reason because she Haruzivishe believes there are many prisoners prison, two weeks ago Haruzivishe, the student
called the short days and long nights of what was the one taking care of my business outside. currently serving sentences needing legal repre- leader-turned-political activist, walked out of
seemed to be an unending nightmare. She was also coordinating my legal strategy,” he sentation and advice. the Chikurubi Prison to a hero’s welcome and
said. wild cheers.
With raw sewer flowing daily inside the over- Using his knowledge of the law, the young
crowded prison cells, Haruzivishe is grateful to activist provided legal advice to fellow prisoners
come out healthy. who eventually got discharged.

“The situation as it is now in prison is over-
crowded. In the D Class section where I was,
we were supposed to be 300 maximum, but we
were now 750 as of the day I came out. Imag-
ine the strain on sleeping, the ablution facili-
ties. The ablution facilities are too outdated. We
were in a permanent state of sewer. The sewage
smell was the default smell inside cells,” Haruz-
ivishe told The NewsHawks.

Haruzivishe also recounted how water had
become a scarce commodity inside prison, de-
scribing washing hands as a “luxury”.

“Water was a hassle, washing hands became a
luxury during the last days of my stay.”

With over 700 prisoners crammed in the
cells, Haruzivishe explains how securing a seat
in the toilet was a “hassle”.

“It is a hassle. You will be hassling for the ba-
sic things in life like water, food and space to
sleep. You will be hassling for a sit at the toilet,”
he chuckled.

While in prison, a legal battle was bruising
outside, with his lawyers working frantically to
secure his freedom.

A #FreeMako campaign went on for months
online, as his compatriots sought to pile pressure
on President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s regime to
release him. His case was also mentioned in the
British House of Lords, as the peers maintained
that Zimbabwe’s “new dispensation” had con-
tinued to clamp down on political freedoms.

“I knew I had committed no crime. I knew
I was innocent and I knew I had been convict-
ed because of what I stand for. What had been
convicted was not me but my ideals of a better

Following the acceleration of erosion by the current rains, some boys have created work for themselves Residents of Makokoba surburb in Bulawayo have resigned to fate and are now getting on with life amid
by filling up the potholes, a situation which has posed danger to them. Lives have been lost through such burst sewer pipes. The unsanitary situation has been worsened by the rains.
activities.

NewsHawks News Page 9

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

Mavhima’s mammoth
task in uniting Zanu
PF Midlands factions

STEPHEN CHADENGA 2023 and one united Zanu PF party led by our Incoming Midlands chairperson Larry Mavhima
current presidium, who have all clearly stated
THE Zanu PF Midlands provincial elections their support for Cde Dr ED Mnangagwa as the
have come and gone, with the new executive sole candidate for the 2023 general elections.
in place, but incoming Midlands chairperson
Larry Mavhima faces a herculean task in unit- “Let us now put our personal differences
ing the divided factions in President Emmerson aside and rally to win the by-lections and the
Mnangagwa’s backyard. 2023 general elections. I, as your chairman,
am willing and fully commit to work with the
Mnangagwa imposed Mavhima after warring current provincial executive committee, which
factions pitting fired State Security minister is a blended group of opposing forces and foes,
Owen Ncube, Local Government minister July but people with one common objective — that
Moyo and minister of State in the President’s of winning for Cde ED Mnangagwa and Zanu
Office, Joram Gumbo were fighting for the con- PF.”
trol of the province.
Mavhima expressed worry over negative
The factional battles escalated in early Janu- comments from individuals and groups “which
ary when Ncube gate-crushed a provincial co- are extremely upsetting and not unifying at all
ordinating committee meeting in the Midlands in various media platforms”.
capital accompanied by machete-wielding gangs
in an attempt to impose his allies on the provin- As the new chairperson, he promised to be
cial structures. “fair and work together” with all ruling party
members in ensuring the province succeeds in
But last week, Mnangagwa, incensed by the garnering votes for Mnangagwa in the 2023
antics of his long-time confidant, had no op- presidential race.
tion, but to show Ncube the exit door, firing
him from his ministerial post. But a party insider said uniting the province
was going to be a “nightmare” for Mavhima,
In what observers have said is pacification as antagonists would not “simply budge” from
for Ncube after his dramatic fallout, the former their entrenched positions, despite his call for
State Security minister managed to be includ- unity.
ed in the provincial executive, albeit with a less
influential post of secretary for production and “Indeed, the new chairman is right in admit-
labour. ting that there are opposing forces in the pro-
vincial executive and it is not going to be easy
It is, however, Mavhima’s herculean task to for him to bring these people together,” the in-
rein in his long-time foe (Ncube) who has been sider said.
clashing with other ruling party stalwarts in the
province as Zanu PF Midlands tries to consol- “At face value the party comrades may appear
idate its support base ahead of the 26 March to agree in meetings, but nocturnal meetings of
by-elections and next year’s harmonised elec- rival groups will continue as before. That is the
tions. DNA of Zanu PF. You are always with your al-
lies plotting and counterplotting.”
This week, Mavhima admitted that he faced a
tough task in uniting the province and appealed In the new provincial executive, Mavhima is
to party members to bury their differences. deputised by Chiherenge Chakanyuka, whom
Ncube’s team initially campaigned for to be the
“My plea to you comrades as your chairman provincial boss before the Mnangagwa’s inte-
is that we unite or at least attempt to unite,” vention to impose Mavhima.
Mavhima said in his statement as the new pro-
vincial boss. The secretary for administration is Edmund
Mukaratigwa, while Chirumanzu legislator and
“In retrospect our differences are very mi- deputy Environment minister Barbara Rwodzi
nor as we all claim to be 100% behind HE ED clinched the finance portfolio. Pearson Mbale-
Mnangagwa our current and future President in kwa is the new secretary for security.

LIZWE SEBATHA Police probes abducted MDC-Alliance activist

A 29-YEAR-OLD Masvingo MDC Alliance MDC MDC Alliance deputy spokesperson Gift Os- latest turn of events.
youth activist is under police investigation on Alliance deputy tallos Siziba said the party was disturbed by the “This is yet another case where the regime
charges of faking his own abduction barely a
week ago, but the opposition party has rub- spokesperson abducts citizens then prefers criminal charges
bished the claims as ludicrous Gift Ostallos against them yet perpetrators walk free,” Siziba
said.
John Mupanduki of Bikita West was alleged- Siziba
ly abducted by unknown assailants around 3am part his warned and cautioned statement dated In 2020, police pressed a cocktail of criminal
from his home at Nyika Growth Point on 7 Jan- 19 January. charges including faking abduction and disap-
uary. pearance against activists Joana Mamombe, Ce-
cilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova.
According to the opposition party, Mupan-
duki’s abductors were driving an unmarked car. The MDC activists had alleged that state
He was dumped in Mashava the following day agents abducted them from the police, beat
“badly tortured and disoriented”, the opposition and sexually assaulted them and forced them to
party claimed. Mupanduki reportedly made an drink each other’s urine.
official report to the Bikita Police Station Law
and Order section. The enforced disappearance of government
critics has been an established pattern since In-
However, the MDC Alliance activist now fac- dependence.
es charges of faking his own abduction, with the
police accusing him of making false statements According to the United Nations, in 2019
prejudicial to the State. alone, 49 cases of abduction and torture were
reported in Zimbabwe.
“I John Mupanduki . . . having been informed
by Detective Sergeant Shumba of CID Law and Victims of forced disappearances Patrick
Order Masvingo that inquiries are being made Nabanyama and Itai Dzamara have never been
in connection with a case of Contravening sec- seen again following their abduction in 2000
tion 31(b)(10 of the Criminal Law (Codifica- and 2015 respectively.
tion and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23 “Publishing
or communicating false statements prejudicial Human rights activists International have
to the State”. . . in which it is alleged that on repeatedly called on the government to ratify
7th day of January 2022 at around 0320hours the Convention for the Protection of All Per-
to 8th day of jury 2022 at around 2200hours sons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED)
I was kidnaped by unknown five male adults to prevent abductions defined in international
make this statement of my free will,” reads in law as a crime against humanity. It was signed
in 2007.

Page 10 News NewsHawks

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

High Court judge Chinamora under scrutiny

OWEN GAGARE in my Chambers at the High Court until recently state whether it is his contention that he does not High Court judge Justice Webster Chinamora
when I took them to my study at home. That’s know about these developments. I have spoken to lot of evidence. The first bail application was dis-
TOP lawyer Advocate Thabani Mpofu is piling where they are in a locked cabinet,” Chinamora the member who advised the Honourable Judge missed by Judge Pisirayi Kwenda in July 2021. He
pressure on embattled Zimbabwean High Court said. about the documents. You might want to hear wrote a judgment, saying that the evidence is a lot
judge Justice Webster Chinamora, who is facing from him.” and the accused had failed to show that it is in the
a series of accusations ranging from conflict of He further requested information on the in- interests of justice for them to be granted bail,”
interest, judicial misconduct, bribery to different structions on the brief and accompanying docu- He expressed concern that the judge maintains the letter says.
forms of corruption. ments furnished to Nyamakura, since he had his he was always in possession of the documents,
personal documents. when in fact he was not. The other complaint against Chinamora in-
Mpofu is pinning Chinamora in a case where volves a Harare company, Sweatland Enterprises
another lawyer Advocate Taona Nyamakura “I am astonished how documents in my pos- “As it turns out however, in the haste of retriev- (Pvt) Ltd trading as Genius Locksmith, which
lodged a complaint against Chinamora for alleged session would be with Adv Nyamakura. I desire ing the documents, some critical documents were levelled a corruption allegation against him.
conflict of interest in a legal dispute between Zim- this information from the advocate,” he said. left. I have now placed them in the custody of my
babwe’s Delta Beverages (Pvt) Ltd, Schweppes lawyers. The documents are as follows: In a letter dated 3 November titled “Complaint
Zimbabwe Ltd and Blakey Plastics (Pty) Ltd, a He also requested the JSC to seek a statement Against High Court Judge Justice Chinamora”,
South African company. from Blakey’s attorneys in Zimbabwe and South Addendum to Agreement of Sale entered into the company says it was exposing the judge’s in-
Africa regarding their possession of the docu- between the honourable judge and Arosume terference in a case which did not concern him.
Mpofu reported Chinamora to the Judicial ments. Property Development (Private) Limited (copy)
Service Commission over the case. in April 2020. The addendum records monthly “We write to show our displeasure in Honour-
“To the extent that Adv Nyamakura was instalments of USD$10 000.00 that are said to be able Justice Chinamora’s conduct in interfering
The corporate dispute was heard by Chinamo- briefed by Blakey (Pty) Ltd’s attorneys, I also ask payable to honourable judge; Letterhead for Ma- with one of the cases entertained by the High
ra who ruled in favour of Blakely. Mpofu repre- the JSC to request these lawyers to provide a copy kore and Company; Certificate of incorporation Court Harare recently,” the letter says.
sented Delta Beverages. of the brief containing their instructions and doc- for Heritage Autocars (Private) Limited; Form
uments they passed on to Adv Nyamakura. If they No C.R.5 for Heritage Autocars (Private) Limit- “In a matter between plaintiff Elisha Gabara
Delta appealed Chinamora’s decision, which sent my documents (which is vehemently denied) ed (presented for filing by Tanyaradzwa Gymney Vs Saphire Investments (Pvt) Ltd case No. HC
came at a time when a parallel arbitration process they should state their reasons for sending the Chinamora); Form No C.R.6 for Heritage Au- 5593/21 and Sheriff reference SWH 217/21, the
was ongoing in South Africa. document and whether they are referred to in the tocars (Private) Limited (presented for filing by
brief/instructions,” he said. Tanyaradzwa Gymney Chinamora.” Sheriff of the High Court Zimbabwe was en-
When Nyamakura, Blakely’s lawyer, was work- gaged to enforce a court order and writ of eject-
ing on legal advice — writing an opinion for Chinamora also said his judgement in Delta Mpofu suggested that the JSC also hear from ment and execution against the defendant’s prop-
Blakely — he was given two large cases contain- Beverages (Pvt) Ltd is on appeal. Nyamakura and the Law Society. erty in Marlborough, Harare.
ing box files and documents that relate to the dis-
pute in the Blakely matter. “As I earlier said, that provides the Supreme Chiamora has other complaints against him. “On Friday 29 October 2021, in pursuit of
Court with an opportunity to determine whether In one case he is accused of releasing armed writ of execution, the assistant sheriff Mr Tapfu-
However, as Nyamakura was going through any conclusions and decision were arrived at for robbers. ma in the company of our staff, the locksmith Mr
the documents, he came across numerous person- reasons other than those evident from the judg- In a letter dated 13 November, a group of con- J Maonjeka, visited the defendant’s residence for
al papers belonging to Chinamora. ment,” he said. cerned citizens wrote to Chief Justice Luke Mala- purposes of enforcing of writ of ejection.
ba raising the issue of Chinamora releasing armed
The papers, that included a file containing the Writing to the JSC on 21 December, Mpofu robbers in suspicious circumstances. “Whilst in execution of their duties, one of the
judge’s conditions of service, his original divorce insisted that Advocate Nyamukura had the doc- “We are employees of the JSC and concerned defendant’s relatives present on execution request-
order and file, original vehicle licence for a Land uments at one time although they were later re- citizens, and will not disclose our names for fear of ed Mr Tapfuma, the assistant to the Sheriff, to
Rover Discovery, lease agreement, company doc- turned. being victimised by the Honourable Chinamora attend to a mobile call from the relative’s mobile
uments, and building plans for a residential dwell- who is running a parallel bail court at the High phone.
ing being constructed in Carrick Creagh, among “In his response, the Honourable Judge indi- Court of Zimbabwe in Harare. The information
others. cates that he has his original documents. Indeed, which we are giving you can be checked in the “It so happens the person over the phone iden-
he has some of them. Those documents were re- files,” the letter says. tified himself as Justice Chinamora of the High
Nyamukura raised alarm and reported the trieved from Advocate Nyamakura. I attach Nya- “Justice Chinamora is working with Brenda Court of which Mr Tapfuma insisted he cannot
matter to his seniors, including Mpofu, who, in makura’s letter to the law Society of Zimbabwe, in who gives him files to grant bail in chambers. He entertain him over the phone as he is aware any
turn, reported the matter to the JSC. which he writes, ‘Blakely recalled the documents is also reinstating appeals deemed abandoned by imposter may impersonate him and interfere with
including the documents belonging to the hon- the registrar.” the normal course of justice. Mr Tapfuma had to
Mpofu is the chairperson of the Advocates ourable judge. I confirm that I had taken photo- The letter says Chinamora granted bail to Nor- refer him to Mrs Siwardi at the Sheriff’s office.
Chambers hence the matter was reported to him. graphs of some of the documents and that I have man Karenga — case B640/21 — and Robert
Nyamakura also reported the issue to the Law So- them with me’,” Mpofu wrote. Mhandu — B659/21 — who were facing many “A few minutes later our Mr J Maonjeka re-
ciety of Zimbabwe. The matter is currently under charges of armed robbery. ceived a call from the same judge, Justice Chin-
investigation. “The photographs were shared with me at the “The cases were joined in the bail court. The amora, using cell number 0719885831. It was
relevant time. I attach them to this letter. accused were charged with many counts of rob- exactly 1920 hours. The judge ordered him to
In his initial letter to the JSC dated 14 October bery committed with dangerous weapons and at offload the attached goods, unlock the secured
2021, Mpofu said the matter had caused him a lot “The chambers discussion that related to my odd hours. The victims were harassed. There is a doors and leave the keys with occupants available
of concern as an officer of the court and head of first letter, led to a member of our set approaching there. Our
the chambers, hence the need for an investigation. the judge and the advising him that Nyamakura
had the judge's personal documents in his posses- Mr Maonjeka refused to accept the order and
“It is obvious to me that the court and arbi- sion that same night, the documents were recalled referred the Honourable judge to call Mrs Siwardi
tration papers that were transmitted to Advocate from Nyamakura. The Honourable Judge has to the head of Sheriff services. Execution was then
Nyamakura had been with or had at some stage suspended with the reasons beyond our control.”
found their way to Honourable Justice Chinamo-
ra or in the very least to someone close to him and
who has an interest in the matter, explaining why
they had ended up being mixed with his personal
and intimate documents,” Mpofu argued.

“Honourable Justice Chinamora is the one
who handled the matter between Blakey Invest-
ments and Delta Limited. The arbitration docu-
ments were not produced and do not form part
of any court record in Zimbabwe. It is highly in-
conceivable that this mix up could have happened
without the judge having personal contact with
Blakey Investments.

“There is most assuredly a relationship between
justice Chinamora and Blakey Investments that
need to be investigated and explained. It is wor-
risome that, not just one, but numerous personal
documents of the judge would be in the posses-
sion of Blakey Investments or that Blakey's doc-
uments would be in the possession of the judge.

“Blakey Investments coincidentally appeared
before Justice Chinamora in respect of the very
subject matter of the documents that found their
way to Advocate Nyamukura.”

In his response to Judge President Zimba Dube
dated 27 October, Chinamora denied wrongdo-
ing, emphasising that he has no personal relation-
ship with Blakey.

Chinamora also said the personal documents
in question were and have always been in his pos-
session.

“I have in my position originals of documents
itemised in paragraph 3 of the complaint. Hence,
my surprise that those documents would have
been in the possession of Blakey’s lawyers in Zim-
babwe or South Africa. For avoidance of doubt,
I repeat that I have the said documents in my
possession, which documents I can provide to the
JSC if required. Previously, I kept the documents

NewsHawks News Page 11

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

Tender scandal: Zacc scared of Mangwiro

OWEN GAGARE have prompted him to declare his interest,” a 2020, instructing the company to “make direct wiro until the early hours of the following day.
stinging internal Zacc memo leaked to online procurements of supplies from Young Health The deputy minister threatened the team with
THE Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission media said after a review of tender NAT TCB Care.” dismissal for failing to award Young Health Care
(Zacc) is politically hamstrung to arrest depu- FWWK 04/2020 for the supply of laborato- the contracts,” the report said.
ty Health minister John Mangwiro (pictured) ry equipment, reagents and consumables for Zacc said this was in violation of Praz Circular
after he allegedly coerced state-owned medical Covid-19 to NatPharm. 1 of 2020 which decrees that “only Praz-listed Zacc also found that Young Health Care had
supplies entity NatPharm to award an inflated suppliers are sources of Covid-19 supplies.” also been given a purchase order by NatPharm
US$5.6 million Covid-19 tender to a Chinese Sources told The NewHawks in November for nucleic acid, purification machines, transport
company in which he had a personal interest in 2020 that Zacc was at the time pressuring the “Initial quotation by Young Health Care for media and reagents.
2020, because of the influence of Vice-President Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimba- supply of commodities under direct procure-
Constantino Chiwenga. bwe (Praz) officials to say that Mangwiro was ment, where prices quoted by Young Health After delivering on two of the four purifica-
acting under instruction from Chiwenga while Care Limited were exorbitant amounted to tion machines and about 6% of the other two
The NewsHawks, in partnership with Trans- he was in China over the corrupt deal. US$5.6 million, which was coincidentally the orders, the company reportedly requested an ad-
parency International Zimbabwe, is following same amount that was in the ministry coffers, vance “contrary to the terms and conditions of
up on the use of Covid-19 funds in the interest “What is happening here is this: Zacc and suggesting that the company had inside infor- the contract signed with NatPharm, which stip-
of transparency and accountability. Mangwiro is Sacu think that Chiwenga is the one behind mation,” the Zacc report said. ulates that payment should be made seven days
Chiwenga’s political ally and his personal doctor. Mangwiro in the deal. Their story is that when after delivery”.
Chiwenga was in China he brokered the deal and Zacc said after NatPharm insisted on a com-
He was on Chiwenga’s side as he battled a then assigned Mangwiro to execute,” a source petitive bidding process, Mangwiro — a medical The equipment received by NatPharm was
life-threatening illness in China, before making told The NewsHawks. doctor appointed to deputy minister in Sep- worth US$124 630.40.
a stunning recovery following life-saving surgery tember 2018 — demanded that the tender be
at a top military hospital in Beijing in 2019. “They say Chiwenga wanted to bring the sup- delayed to allow Young Health Care to register Mangwiro “insisted on pre-payment and
plies through Mangwiro from China where he with Praz. tasked the technical team from NatPharm pro-
Chiwenga and his allies however believe had gone for medical review, but since it was curement to visit Young Health Care Limited in
Mangwiro is being targeted as part of a ploy to go urgent they decided to send a plane to deliver “When NatPharm insisted on competitive their country office and verify available stock in
after the vice-president’s allies while also roping instead of waiting for him to bring the materials, bidding, Young Health Care Limited subse- order to compel the NatPharm acting MD to
in the vice-president in the corruption scandal. which they initially thought of. quently submitted a bid price of US$3.6 million make a prepayment to Young Health Care Lim-
for the same items. This saw a reduction of 36 ited”, the report said.
“Despite Zacc investigators doing investiga- “For that to happen, Mangwiro had to pre- percent in the price,” the report said.
tions and producing a report which implicates vail over NatPharm to give Young Health Care The verification team found that items
Mangwiro and suggests he acted to serve his per- a supply contract. That’s where the Praz people Zacc said when the emergency 48-hour tender amounting to US$127 643.20 were in stock in-
sonal interest at the expense of national interests come into the equation over adjudication. In a was finally floated on 5 August and closed on 7 stead of the US$922 000 requested for pre-pay-
by forcing NatPharm to award Young Health bid to get his way, Mangwiro became desperate August, 22 bidders including Young Health Care ment.
Care Limited the tender, nothing has happened and even called them during awkward times like Limited made bids.
because of the political implications. Chiwenga around 10pm to secure the tender. They say this In the end, Zacc said Mangwiro’s alleged ac-
has flexed his muscle and Zacc has been forced to was because he was under pressure from his own Young Health Care, according to the Zacc tions “violated the evaluation process since the
retreat,” an official close to the case said. boss, Chiwenga. Now Zacc wants Praz officials probe, missed out on the tender. Zacc, citing the technical team did not have the mandate to carry
to say that Chiwenga was involved; that he is then acting NatPharm managing director Zeal- out the verification of supplies”.
“The merits or demerits of the case do not the principal in the deal and Mangwiro is just ous Nyabadza, said this angered
matter at this point. Politics is now at play. Zacc a runner.” Nyabadza wrote to the Health ministry per-
had recommended that Mangwiro be further in- Mangwiro who summoned the company’s manent secretary Jasper Chimedza on 26 August
vestigated, before being arrested and prosecuted According to Zacc’s investigation findings top managers late at night “to explain why the 2020 “informing him of the pre-payment issue
over the matter. There has, however, not been over the tender, carried out between August 31 tender was not awarded to Young Health Care and seeking guidance on how to proceed”, but
any movement since 2020.” and September 4 2020, one of the Health minis- Limited.” received no reply “prompting him to decline
try’s directors, Dr Gibson Mhlanga, then acting taking Mangwiro’s instruction to pre-pay Young
Specifically, Zacc recommended that Mang- Health secretary, wrote to NatPharm on 15 July “The deputy minister also demanded that a Health Care”.
wiro be charged for criminal abuse of office. purchase order be issued that same night. The
adjudication team was picked from their homes “Given the extent to which the deputy min-
Asked for an update on the Mangwiro case, around 10pm and were interrogated by Mang- ister was involved in the said tender process,
Zacc chairperson Loice Matanda Moyo declined indications are that he was acting in his own
to comment, saying she was on leave. capacity and not on behalf of the ministry . . .
The conduct of the deputy minister during this
Zacc spokesperson John Makamure was nei- tender process warrants further investigations for
ther answering phone calls nor responding to criminal abuse of office for possible violation of
text messages. He read his WhatsApp message, Section 174 of the Criminal Law Codification
but did not respond to The NewsHawks. Act [Chapter9:23],” the report said.

Mangwiro intervened after NatPharm had “Apart from this provision, further investiga-
blocked the company in which he had an un- tions should be conducted to ascertain possible
declared interest from getting a tender to supply violation of Section 14 of the Public Finance
vital Covid-19 materials. Management Act [Chapter22:19] by the depu-
ty minister through giving ministerial directives
This even after Young Health Care had re- having financial implications when he demand-
duced its inflated quote by a staggering US$2.6 ed prepayment of undelivered goods to Young
million. Health Care. There is need for further investi-
gations into the possible violation of the Public
After an investigation, Zacc recommended Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act
that Mangwiro, Chiwenga’s deputy and his per- [Chapter 22:23] as the conduct of the Deputy
sonal physician, be investigated and prosecuted Minister might have compromised the indepen-
for criminal abuse of office. dence of NatPharm as a procurement entity.”

“The actions of the deputy minister signal a
personal interest in the tender, and this should

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s gov- Land govt’s new weapon against opponents
ernment is intensifying use of land as an in-
strument to pursue partisan political agendas, In his letter of withdrawal, Masuka, however, been focused on the fight against Covid-19 and ample being the Global Compensation Agree-
further tainting a process that many among the admitted that Chombo’s farm was highly pro- capacitating hospitals. ment for dispossessed white farmers.
friendly dispossessed considered a glorious rev- ductive. The minister also accepted that there
olution despite its unstructured approach and is a tripartite agreement entered into with in- Yet Masuka is creating new demands for Policy inconsistencies in the Chombo case are
chaotic implementation. vestors PHI, Chombo and the ministry. It was compensation when the government is still exacerbated by the fact that Masuka has contra-
further agreed by the ministry that it would not struggling to compensate dispossessed white dicted himself in that on 11 January at Virgina
A number of those considered enemies of the cancel the lease for 18 years. commercial farmers to the tune of US$3.5 bil- East Block in Mazowe, Mashonaland Central
government have had their farms seized or cur- lion. province, Masuka encouraged joint ventures.
rently face threats of dispossession. Despite all this, the government still grabbed
the farm, with Masuka going against his own “Why the Agriculture minister now wants to He told farmers that “joint ventures are the
Among those affected are Mnangagwa’s po- ministry’s approved joint venture deal. waste funds on compensation instead of devel- future of agriculture”.
litical opponents previously known as the G40 opment and production raised questions even
at the height of the late former president Robert Instead, Masuka advised Chombo that any with ministry officials who have decided to re- Despite that, he has however cancelled a joint
Mugabe’s succession battles. production and developments may just simply main anonymous,” the lawyer said. venture Chombo entered into with the consent
be compensated by the state. of the ministry.
These include former ministers Jonathan It is also unclear whether Masuka has author-
Moyo, Saviour Kasukuwere, Patrick Zhuwao, A lawyer following the case said the response ity to decide to unilaterally oay compensation The Sunday Mail of 16 January quoted Ma-
Ignatius Chombo, as well as vocal human rights given by Masuka equates to ordinary taxpayers for farm improvements worth millions of Unit- suka as saying “government’s thrust was on pro-
lawyer Siphosami Malunga whose farms are tar- and low-income-earning Zimbabweans foot- ed States dollars at the cost of taxpayers and ur- duction and productivity”, yet in these cases of
geted for seizure. ing the cost of all production and development ban dwellers without cabinet approval. land grabs he is disregarding productivity.
made on Chombo's farm in compensation — a
The Chombo saga is currently playing out in waste of public funds. “Decisions to burden taxpayers with com- The lawyer said the policy inconsistencies
the courts and the public domain amid com- pensation costs has made the New Dispensation have raised alarm among other productive farm-
plaints of abuse of office and power, and the This policy contradiction flies in the face more unpopular with the already disgruntled ers who are now hesistant to invest in agricul-
government’s pursuit of vindictive agendas by of government efforts through Finance minis- urban voters. Any further compensation agree- ture as the government is now using land as a
those affected. ter Mthuli Ncube who has been trying to save ments will only make things worse.” weapon to settle political and personal scores as
scarce funds through austerity measures. shown in the Moyo, Kasukuwere, Zhuwao and
Agriculture minister Anxious Masuka on 10 Compensations is ordinarily done through Malunga cases, among many others.
Januray last year withdrew a 99-year lease issued Government funds and efforts have of late the ministry of Finance and goverment. One ex-
to Chombo, former finance minister and Zanu — STAFF WRITER
PF secretary for administration.

Page 12 News NewsHawks

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

Govt not giving up on Chilonga evictions

MORRIS BISHI

VILLAGERS in the Chilonga area of Chiredzi The High Court dismissed an application by Chilonga villagers seeking to challenge government’s plans to evict them from their ancestral land.
have vowed to resist with everything at their
disposal the government’s attempts to relocate Contacted for comment, Minister Moyo said requesting us to call mertings with people but, Shangaan people. He said the ruling does not re-
them to pave way for a cattle-feeding grass proj- he was in a meeting. He later ignored calls to his truly speaking, we will resist any move meant spect the constitution of Zimbabwe which seeks
ect which will see over 12 000 families ejected mobile phone after the end of the meeting he to displace our people. Currently there is anger, to preserve the dignity of people since the villag-
from their ancestral homes. was attending. there is mounting resistance within the people. ers in Chilonga are now uncertain of their future
The youths are angry and determined to fight while priority is being given to foreign investors.
The development comes after Local Gov- A traditional leader from Makhosiya, an area with anything at their disposal. This is being
ernment minister July Moyo allegedly secretly which will also be affected by the grass project, forced on us, we were not consulted and it seems “The High Court ruling is a death penalty im-
deployed a team into the area earlier this week, told The NewsHawks that there is anger and re- these government officials are the ones who are posed on Chilonga people when it comes to their
with the aim of meeting selected traditional sistance in the area after a team visited the area going to benefit. I can tell you that we will not be dignity and preservation of their cultural values
leaders in a bid to pacify them through dialogue. talking to selected traditional leaders early this moved by these heartless people easily. as well as farming activities. The ruling failed to
week. He said the youths in the area are angry respect the constitution of the land because gov-
The team’s visit came two weeks after the High and determined to fight with anything at their Masvingo Centre for Research, Advocacy ernment cannot give priority to foreign investors
Court dismissed an application by the villagers disposal in their resistance against the pending and Community Development (Macrad) pro- against the local people. When we look back, it
which sought to challenge the government’s relocations. grams manager Ephraim Mthombeni told The is known that the issues of land caused uprisings
plans to evict them from their ancestral land. NewsHawks that Justice Mafusire’s ruling is tan- in this country and parts of Africa against several
“We were approached by people who said they tamount to a death penalty on the indigenous governments,” Mthombeni said.
Three villagers, namely Livison Chikutu, were from the ministry of Local Government
Phineas Chitsange and Albert Dumela, through
their lawyer Tendai Biti, approached the High
Court last year challenging two sections of the
Communal Land Act, which they argued were
unconstitutional. However, High Court judge
Justice Joseph Mafusire earlier this month ruled
that the case cannot be adjudicated by the
courts, a ruling which gives the government the
greenlight to proceed with the project.

Tiyani Chilonga, a member of Chilonga
chieftainship clan, told The NewsHawks that
people in his area are determined to fight, at all
cost, the government’s plan to relocate them.
He said they are not worried about the recent-
ly resuscitated Chilonga chieftainship and the
government is free to take away the throne if it
pushes ahead with the idea of establishing a grass
project in Chilonga.

“Government is yet to engage us over the con-
troversial project after the outcome of the High
Court case, but as the Shangaan community, we
are prepared to resist this move at whatever cost.
They recently upgraded our throne from head-
man to chief, but, as you are aware, tradition-
al leaders started resistance during the colonial
rule. The Rhodesians dethroned many chiefs due
to their resistance and that is what we are going
to do. We are not worried about the chieftain-
ship, we are more worried about the peace and
safety of our heritage as the Shangaan people.
We will resist this move,” Chilonga said.

A member of the committee representing the
Chilonga community on the issue told The New-
sHawks on condition of anonymity that they are
not prepared to move even an inch and currently
their lawyers are preparing papers so that they
can approach the Supreme Court to challenge
the High Court ruling. He said development is
not foisted on communities and is not about re-
settling people but about transforming the lives
of people.

“The way forward is to prepare for an ap-
peal to higher courts and to explore other legal
routes. No one is willing to be moved, not even
an inch. We have been resettled many times in
the past as the Shangaan people. Now it’s time
to develop our ancestral land and create more
wealth while settled on one place. No to resettle-
ment; development is about improving people’s
lives, not resettlement. That is our position as a
community,” said the committee member.

Only 4 disabled voters registered with Zec last year

MARY MUNDEYA A total of 3 431 people registered. becomes difficult for someone to go and register supposed to be doing everything by themselves
Organisations representing people with dis- to vote where they know they are going to have without any help, should have at least Braille
ONLY four persons with disabilities (PWDs) abilities attributed the low turnout to lack of more problems,” Vambe said. material at those voter registration centres.”
registered to vote in next year’s general elections information in different formats such as sign
in the whole of 2021, recently published Zim- language and Braille, inaccessibility of voter reg- “When you look at people that are conduct- In addition, the Disability Reform Coalition,
babwe Electoral Commission (Zec) statistics istration venues and inadequate transport. ing voter registration, there is no sign language an organisation that promotes the participation
have revealed. In an interview with The NewsHawks, Isn interpreter among the officials themselves, so it of persons with disabilities in electoral process-
Vambe, the founder and director of Mkun- becomes difficult for people with hearing im- es, in a tweet, attributed the low PWDs voter
The development comes at a time the com- di Foundation, an organisation that advocates pairments to come and register to vote when registration turnout to inadequate transport and
mission is under pressure to intensify its voter the rights of persons with disabilities, said the there is no one to communicate with them inaccessibility of registration points. The coali-
registration process. Last year, Zec scheduled a PWDs were being disadvantaged. using their own language. That means if they tion called for the door-to-door registration of
voter registration exercise before postponing a “The institutions in which voter registration are to do so, they have to bring their own inter- PWDs.
voter registration blitz early this year. is conducted are not user friendly to accommo- preter, which will cost them a fortune, whereas
date people with disabilities. If one is going to they are already a group that is suffering from “Inadequate transport systems and inacces-
According to Zec’s gender disaggregated dis- register at a primary school which does not have poverty. sibility of registration points remain a barri-
ability voter population statistics published on 8 ramps and which cannot accommodate a wheel- er to voter registration and voting for people
January, only four persons with disability, con- chair to freely manoeuvre in the institution, it “There is no Braille material at Zec. All the with disabilities. Door-to-door registration for
sisting of two males and two females, registered papers are papers that any other person can use. PWDs will ensure that no-one is left behind,’’
to vote between January and December 2021. For those who are visually impaired and are the coalition said.

NewsHawks News Page 13

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

Outrage as another Chinese mining
project imperils Hwange villagers

The community in Hwange district’s Change and Nekabandama wards is resisting a Chinese company’s coal-mining project.

THOMAS DUBE tending to start mining activities at Diki village lication, Councillor Kwidini decried the lack of “The mine will target the unsettled areas,
before proceeding to Dinde village, it is mind inclusivity in the consultation process during thus we are projecting not to affect anyone so
A STORM is brewing between villagers in boggling why Mutagech Investment has an the EIA. it is not true that villagers are going to be dis-
Hwange district’s Change and Nekabandama insatiable appetite to extract coal near Kalope placed. In the event of affecting an individual,
wards and a Chinese company over a coal-min- Dam,which is the source of water for Diki irri- “I write to you in response to a meeting held we shall compensate fully as guided by the law.
ing project which is reportedly going to dis- gation, and also why Mutagech is blind to the with the Proponents of the proposed mine, The area for open pit will be in the unsettled
place over 300 households. fact that the Dinde villagers are resisting Beifer EMA representatives and Diki village tradi- area on Nechenge in ward 20. Extensive con-
Investment mining activities. We are working tional leadership held on 17 August 2021 in sultations were done with positive attitude as
Mutagech Logistics, which was issued a closely with Dinde and Diki villagers and we Diki village. From the above meeting, there are feedback from the generic community. About
special mining grant (Lukosi concession spe- have lined up a number of activities, such as very strong indications that my prayers made 300 locals are going to be employed by the
cial grant-SG6001) covering 19 970 hectares petitioning the ministry of Mines and Mining to your team for an all-inclusive and exhaus- project and already people have even submit-
in 2019, has moved on site to begin the ini- Development, petitioning Parliament, and liti- tive consultation was not heeded. There is ted their names to be considered for employ-
tial mining process after being issued with an gation,” Chima said. lack of transparency and accountability in the ment including phone numbers and ID num-
Environmental and Social Impact Assessment consultation process' and this may prejudice bers. The councillor was also consulted several
(ESIA) certificate. However, the development He said the threats of the mining project on the community of their rights as enshrined times.”
has drawn the ire of villagers as the company the dam would harm food-insecure communi- in our constitution. The spirit of stakeholder
began drilling near Kalope Dam, an essential ties which are already vulnerable to the climate consultation as envisioned in the Ema Act is Turning to the activities taking place near
water body supporting livelihoods in the Diki crisis. also defeated under the guise of adherence to Kalope Dam, Nkosana said, “We want to get a
community and beyond. Covid-19 restrictions,” the letter read in part. physical sample of the product which is in the
“The Kalope irrigation is one of the biggest proposed area which the concession covers. So
Kalope Dam, located in St Mary’s Diki vil- in Matabeleland North, supporting over 70 He said the failure to come up with alterna- these are exploration activities.”
lage, provides water for livestock and an irri- households and obviously food security and tive ways to afford all concerned communities
gation scheme which supports over 72 house- income of villagers will be affected as the dam an opportunity to contribute towards the pro- The proposed Nechenge Coal Mine proj-
holds. will be polluted by mining activities. This area cess was seen as deliberately designed to preju- ect is going to cover Kashika, Luseche, Diki,
doesn’t do well in terms of agriculture, large- dice the villagers. Bhangale and Dinde areas which are in the
The Chinese project, which is going to cover ly as a result of the amount of rains and type three wards.
the three wards, including Dinde, is envisaged of soils, hence villagers rely on the irrigation “The community consultation was only lim-
to lead to displacement, pollution, loss of live- scheme to support their families. The impacts ited to the Headman and a section of the village Another Chinese company, Beifer Invest-
lihoods, destruction of fields and grazing lands, are also likely to seriously affect livestock and heads with the understanding that the message ments, is expected to also commence mining
according to Greater Whange Residents Trust aquatic life.” would be cascaded. However, I believe none of operations in Dinde after completing its explo-
(GWRT). those consulted were adequately equipped to ration works.
Change ward councillor Ishmael Bakani articulate the social and environmental impacts
Villagers accuse the company of not consult- Kwidini said he had written to the company of a venture of that magnitude to their subjects. The community there is also resisting the
ing them over the project and have vowed to expressing his concerns, especially the consul- No measures were put in place to ensure the company’s coal-mining project, a situation
resist the development. They are now mulling tation process. He accused the company of act- input of the village heads and Ward Assem- which saw a protracted stand-off spanning over
petitioning the ministry of Mines and Mining ing in bad faith, which explains the mounting bly is captured as stipulated in the Traditional a year. Villagers accused Beifer Investments of
Development and taking legal action to block resistance from the affected communities. Leaders Act 29:17. Thus the Leadership can- failing to consult them, also citing Covid-19
the project which they argue will plunge the not make decisions without properly consult- regulations for limiting extensive consultations
communities into immense suffering. “The people are apprehensive as they have ing these organs. The Ward Councillor as the as required by law, something that the latter
no idea on the development. They were not WADCO chair was not involved by the section dismissed as an excuse.
The development comes as mining compa- consulted and have not been briefed on the of the Traditional leadership despite the clear
nies issued with special mining grants have been project. The proponent has not been acting provisions of the Traditional Leaders Act 29:17 The drama eventually saw the district de-
accused of taking advantage of the Covid-19 in good faith. Due to the risks associated with as read with the Rural District Councils Act velopment coordinator, Simon Muleya and
pandemic by riding on government regulations the such an activity, I'm yet to come across any 29:13 and the Communal Land Act 20:14.” the minister of State for Provincial Affairs and
to sidestep the carrying out of extensive con- member of the community who is in support Devolution, Richard Moyo, attempting to
sultations as required by the Environmental of the project.” Meanwhile, Mutagech Logistics project break the impasse, but all in vain. A petition
Management Act. manager Donald Nkosana refuted claims that by villagers prompted the Parliamentary Port-
In one of the letters dated 21 August 2021 to the project would lead to displacements, ar- folio Committee on Mining to visiting Dinde
GWRT coordinator Fidelis Chima told the consultant, OPUC Vision Enterprise, Mu- guing that the mining activities were going to to hear their grievances. However, Beifer re-
The NewsHawks that the company’s move was tagech and the Environmental Management take place in unpopulated areas. sumed its exploration works after being given
ill-conceived and warranted intervention. Authority (Ema) in the possession of this pub- the greenlight by the authorities.

“Mutagech is on the site and they are in-

Page 14 News NewsHawks

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

NHAU MANGIRAZI Karoi farmer evicted, 15ha tobacco
crop abandoned, livestock stranded
A KAROI-BASED farmer, Tawanda Mufudze,
was last week evicted from Avalon Farm, forcing Tawanda Mufudze was forced out by a messenger of court after losing his case with costs.
him to abandon 15 hectares of tobacco, maize
field and livestock, The NewsHawks can report. the Lands ministry officer and at one time we production. his plot.
questioned why it was being done suspiciously,’’ ‘‘The eviction was ill-timed as there is a thriv- ‘‘When the Lands officers were challenged
The farm was allocated to Clever Njovana, a Zunzanyika said.
former Agribank manager, in 2006. ing crop at the farm that he has been forced to to provide reasons for this, they lied that the
He cited another case of former Agribank abandon. There is no worse sabotage than that farm had been found to be unproductive. It
Mufudze was employed as a caretaker and manager Godfrey Shave, who was then trans- and government must come to the rescue of the must be noted that the three beneficiaries went
farm manager by Njovana, who was later trans- ferred from Karoi to Gokwe. affected farmer to bring sanity at the farm,” Zu- on to occupy the plots that they had been al-
ferred to Mt Darwin, leaving him in occupancy nzanyika said. located without them having offer letters to do
of the land. ‘‘Shave lost his plot at Kurarama Farm to a so. By that time, Njovana’s offer letter was still
senior police officer who was part of the district Njovana was issued with an offer letter for subsisting. The Lands officers only caused the
The farm was, however, allocated to three Lands committee. He has never recovered the subdivision 2 of lot 2 of Avalon Farm in 2006 withdrawal of Njovana’s offer letter sometime
other persons in 2016, paving way for Mu- farm besides all the documentation in his fa- and he took effective occupation. in 2013 and the withdrawal was never commu-
fudze’s eventual eviction. vour. It was abuse of office at highest level and it nicated to him. Since then, it has been subject
has been the order of the day,” he said. The plot never stopped operations with “mas- to legal fights in the courts of law,” Zunzanyika
In an interview, Mufudze said he was forced sive” production of tobacco and maize. said.
out by a messenger of court after losing his case Zunzanyika added that the eviction is tan-
with costs. The High Court ruled that Mufudze tamount to economic “sabotage” as it disrupts However, in 2009 the Lands officers in Karoi
was illegally occupying the land. initiated the process of dispossessing Njovana of

Delivering judgement on 18 June, Justice
Neville Wamambo said: “It is ordered that the
first respondent (Njovana) and any other person
claiming occupation through him be and here-
by ordered to vacate the Subdivision 2 of Lot 1
of Avalon farm.”

“The time has come to remind citizens of the
country that these courts are there to disperse
justice in a country which prides itself with its
strict adherence to the rule of law. To side-step
the due process of law in favour of something
extralegal in the process brings the administra-
tion of justice to disrepute.”

Mufudze was, however, left distraught.
“I had my farming equipment, including
three tractors and two water bowers, attached
by the messenger of court until I pay US$3 070.
Furthermore, I have been barred from attend-
ing to my tobacco that is due to be harvested
in February. The loss is unbearable because the
crop is under a commercial farming contract,’’
the dejected Mufudze said.
When this publication visited the abandoned
farm, at least 15 goats and over 300 chicken
were roaming around after the livestock pens
were destroyed. “I am greatly disappointed and
this a sad day for me as the potential production
has been affected,’’ he added.
Mufudze has 20 hectares of maize, three hect-
ares of groundnuts and one hectare of beans on
the farm. He was employing 20 workers.
Mufudze’s lawyer Patson Dzvetero confirmed
the eviction, describing it as unlawful.
‘‘We are challenging the eviction done
through the High Court and we hope our case
will be heard soon. It is unfortunate that our cli-
ent has been forced out of the farm while he has
crops that he must be attending to. The eviction
order is ill-timed as it will affect national pro-
duction and is uncalled for,’’ he said.
One of the beneficiaries of the farm is Materi-
als Mapara. Her son Obert said Mufudze acted
in bad faith.
‘‘It may appear that it’s not good for some-
one to be evicted whilst ‘their’ plant is still in
the field. We are in a democratic society that
respects people’s rights and not limited to land
alone. It has to be known that Mufudze went on
to plant, fully aware that he was not the right-
ful owner of the plot for years. He was never a
beneficiary of the plots, but Njovana, who is no
longer there,’’ Mapara said in a written response.
‘‘Think about the loss suffered by the bene-
ficiaries by not having access to the land they
were clearly at law allocated. Some took loans
for farming equipment, building materials,
seed, pesticides, fertilizer and herbicides with
the hope of paying back using proceeds from
the same land. This was denied them by Mu-
fudze through Njovana. I believe it is tanta-
mount to emotional blackmail to start thinking
of Mufudze having a loss having planted illegal-
ly on that plot.”
However, Hurungwe War Veterans’ Associa-
tion secretary Tony Zunzanyika, who was part
of the Lands committee representing former
liberation fighters, bemoaned the double allo-
cation at the farm.
‘‘We are deeply hurt over suspected dubi-
ous allocation of mostly bank managers at the
same farm, raising suspicion of abuse of office
by Lands officials. We understand Njovana was
allocated the farm in 2006 and later it was giv-
en to another bank manager after he was trans-
ferred to Mount Darwin. The irony of the case
is that two bank managers were allocated the
same farm and Njovana’s offer letter was nev-
er withdrawn officially. Another bank manager,
Masawi, was also allocated the same farm by

NewsHawks News Page 15

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

Climate change smoking tobacco crop

BUSANI BAFANA More than three million Zimbabweans depend on tobacco production for their livelihood.

THE climate crisis is smoking out commercial promote,” he said. value chain have worsened the situation for tobacco value chain it is big corporates in the
tobacco farming in Zimbabwe, threatening the “When irrigated, it does compete for water tobacco farmers under rain-fed production industrialised countries that benefit from the
livelihoods of smallholder farmers and risking system, researchers found. value of agriculture produce.”
nearly US$1 billion in export earnings. resources with other food and nutrition secu-
rity crops since the country’s water resources Most of Zimbabwe’s flue-cured tobacco is With limited productive assets to improve
While tobacco is neither an edible nor nu- are limited. However, on a commercial point exported raw, mainly to South Africa and Chi- climate change resilience, farmers can barely
tritious crop, its production keeps thousands of view, growing tobacco may be of greater val- na, with minimal processing. In 2020, Zim- adapt and are prone to climate change risks,
of Zimbabweans employed and fed. Tobacco ue.” babwe exported over 200 million kilogrammes the researchers found. They recommended
is the second major foreign currency earner for of tobacco leaf valued at more than US$780 investment in agricultural infrastructure and
the country after gold. Up in smoke million. assistance for farmers to switch, in some cas-
Rain-fed tobacco has become an increas- es, from tobacco to better adapted and com-
Zimbabwe, which has been growing tobacco ingly risky crop to grow from both a climate Despite tobacco’s rich pickings, smallholder mercial crops. Researchers also see a need for
for more than 100 years, is Africa’s top produc- and a commercial perspective, a 2021 study farmers engaged in contract farming have not existing agriculture extension services to pro-
er and sixth in the world. by Agricultural Policy Research Africa (Apra) enjoyed its fortune. In the past six years, the vide stronger support to smallholder tobacco
found. Tobacco farming could be extinguished highest price of tobacco on the auction floors farmers.
A good rainy season in 2020 boosted crop if farmers do not quickly adapt to the changing reached US$4.99/kg, according to figures
yields, but Zimbabwe’s smallholder tobacco climate, warned study authors Andrew Newsh- from the Tobacco Industry Marketing Board Quenching thirsty tobacco
farmers remain in a fix. am, Toendepi Shonhe and Tsitsidzashe Bvute. (TIMB). Yet some farmers have realised as lit- The Global Climate Risk Index, which
Shorter and more erratic rainfall episodes tle as 80 cents/kg after commissions were paid tracks climate change impacts, lists Zimba-
Increasingly unfavourable weather has made and increased dry spells observed in the last 40 to middle men and contractors. bwe as one of the countries most affected by
rain-fed tobacco production a gamble that years are pushing smallholder tobacco farmers extreme weather events in 2019, including
many are wary to risk. Farmers are abandoning out of business. Tobacco, a major crop grown in Zimbabwe droughts, floods and high temperatures.
the lucrative leaf, pressured by high produc- The study documented the impact of cli- by many smallholder farmers and some bene- “Irrigation is the way to go as farmers are
tion costs, limited government investment in mate change on farmers growing tobacco as a ficiaries of the land resettlement programme, able to mitigate in the event of hot spells,” ad-
infrastructure, poor prices paid at the auction cash crop in the Mazowe district of Mashona- is under threat as a result of climate change, vised Benjamin Kwenda, an agriculture meteo-
and now extreme weather. land Central province, 40 kilometers north of explained political economist Toendepi Shon- rologist, noting that a switch to food crops af-
the capital city, Harare. he. He co-authored the study, which sought to fects farmers’ cash flows, thereby also reducing
Though climate change is impacting com- The climate crisis is brewing on the back of understand if the benefits of growing tobacco the production output of cash crops.
mercial production of tobacco, farmers are chronic economic instability, recurring infla- were accruing to smallholder farmers or big “Real farming is irrigation,” farmer Isidore
also contributing to environmental damage tion and a reduction in agriculture extension corporations. Guvamombe, who had aimed to use it since he
through uncontrolled tree cutting for firewood support for farmers in Zimbabwe. first began growing the crop 20 years ago, said.
used in tobacco curing. An estimated 20% of Furthermore, linking input subsidies to po- “The focus should be on how to help small- Switching to irrigation was slow, but sys-
the country’s annual forest loss is attributed to litical support and the low placement of Zim- holder farmers in their resilience to climate tematic and Guvamombe started by irrigating
wood used in curing tobacco. babwe farmers on the international tobacco change beyond being able to adapt,” Shonhe a hectare of his crop, drawing water from a riv-
said.
There’s also the issue of tobacco competing
with food crops. Water scarcity is an issue in “Efforts should be made to mobilize re-
Zimbabwe, caused to some extent by unfavor- sources for farmers because if you look at the
able and fluctuating natural conditions and by
sub-optimal development and use of available
resources, said Martin Moyo, scientist and
country representative for the Internation-
al Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid
Tropics (Icrisat).

“Due to high mortality rates of smoking, to-
bacco may be deemed as a health hazard and it
is not everyone’s choice of a high value crop to
promote,” he said.

“When irrigated, it does compete for water
resources with other food and nutrition secu-
rity crops since the country’s water resources
are limited. However, on a commercial point
of view, growing tobacco may be of greater val-
ue.”

The climate crisis is smoking out commer-
cial tobacco farming in Zimbabwe, threaten-
ing the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and
risking nearly US$1 billion in export earnings.

While tobacco is neither an edible nor nu-
tritious crop, its production keeps thousands
of

Zimbabweans employed and fed. Tobacco is
the second major foreign currency earner for
the country after gold.

Zimbabwe, which has been growing tobacco
for more than 100 years, is Africa’s top produc-
er and sixth in the world.

A good rainy season in 2020 boosted crop
yields, but Zimbabwe’s smallholder tobacco
farmers remain in a fix. Increasingly unfavor-
able weather has made rain-fed tobacco pro-
duction a gamble that many are wary to risk.
Farmers are abandoning the lucrative leaf,
pressured by high production costs, limited
government investment in infrastructure, poor
prices paid at the auction and now extreme
weather.

Though climate change is impacting com-
mercial production of tobacco, farmers are
also contributing to environmental damage
through uncontrolled tree cutting for firewood
used in tobacco curing. An estimated 20 per-
cent of the country’s annual forest loss is at-
tributed to wood used in curing tobacco.

There’s also the issue of tobacco competing
with food crops. Water scarcity is an issue in
Zimbabwe, caused to some extent by unfavor-
able and fluctuating natural conditions and by
sub-optimal development and use of available
resources, Martin Moyo, scientist and coun-
try representative for the International Crop
Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
(Icrisat), said.

“Due to high mortality rates of smoking, to-
bacco may be deemed as a health hazard and it
is not everyone’s choice of a high value crop to

Page 16 News NewsHawks

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

Irrigation offers hope that farmers can remain in tobacco production.

er running on his farm. Though he has been North province, a drought-prone region, grew co produced. Ward Energy Programme specifically for tobac-
irrigating half of his 17 hectares of land since tobacco in 2014 for two seasons. But she was During the poor rains of the 2019-20 sea- co farmers to plant their own trees and save in-
2020, he is still discouraged by the crop’s fu- forced to abandon the crop in the third year digenous forests, said.
ture. owing to high costs of production, low prices son, many farmers in Mazowe district found
and heavy rains which damaged her crop. themselves dependent on food aid. Sustainable curing
“I started switching to growing banana and Tobacco production can reduce its envi-
mango, but the frost took me back. I am now “Due to the high input costs in tobacco farm- Zimbabwe is rolling out a National Accel- ronmental footprint through the use of wood
going for goats, rabbits and road runner chick- ing it became a financial challenge to continue erated Irrigation Rehabilitation and Develop- harvested from sustainable forests. This is the
ens, but I am definitely leaving tobacco next as a self-funded farmer,” Gumede recalled. ment Programme to exploit irrigation potential belief behind an afforestation initiative by the
year,” Guvamombe said. in every district as part of the drought-proofing Sustainable Afforestation Association (SSA), a
Tobacco contractors were not keen to sign strategy. The target is to increase the area under tobacco industry initiative in Zimbabwe.
Tobacco production has been a seen as route her up because of the long distance between her irrigation to 350 000 hectares by 2025. To that end, the Association has embarked
of poverty for many people and a “success sto- farm and the auction floor in Harare, 400km on the program to establish eucalyptus tree
ry” of the controversial fast-track land reform away. The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture plantations in major tobacco growing areas of
programme which Zimbabwe embarked on in Organisation (FAO) notes that Zimbabwe has Zimbabwe.
2000. There are more than 140 000 smallhold- “I remember first season I sold 120 bales an estimated irrigation potential of 365 624 Since 2014, the Association has planted
er tobacco growers in the country and more with an average weight of 130 kgs per bale,” she hectares, which takes into account only the 20 000 hectares of eucalyptus trees in collabo-
than three million people depend on tobacco said. “My best grade tobacco fetched US$5/kg available internal renewable water resources ration with 350 commercial tobacco farmers,
production for their livelihood. — at that time that was a very good price.” and not water from the Zambezi and Limpopo said Lloyd Mubaiwa, business relations manag-
border rivers. er at SSA. The wood will be ready for harvest
Farmers try other crops But it has been different for Moses Simoko, in two years.
Farmer Ellen Chipungu has shifted from another smallholder farmer in Mvurwi area, in Burning forests to cure tobacco The reforestation model involves partnering
tobacco to growing maize and soya beans. She the Mazowe district. He grows tobacco under Statistics from the Zimbabwe’s Forestry with commercial tobacco farmers in establish-
benefited from the government-sponsored con- irrigation. Commission show that the Zimbabwe is losing ing wood lots on their farms, he explained. The
servation agriculture programme, Pfumvudza/ 262 000 hectares of forests per annum, with an Association manages the trees to maturity and
Intwasa, where she received seeds, fertilizer and “It has not been easy,” Simoko admitted, estimated 20% of the loss attributed to tobac- harvests them at 100 cubic metres per hectare.
pesticides. lamenting the high cost of fuel for the water co curing. After harvesting, tobacco leaves are “The target is to stop the 20% rate of de-
In the 2020-21 season, she harvested eight pump to irrigate his crop. dried under hot air in a barn, a process that also forestation attributed to tobacco curing from
tonnes of maize from four hectares, a yield she gives the leaves a golden color and flavor that increasing,” Mubaiwa, whose organisation has
describes as poor because of limited inputs, ow- Simoko uses a basic sprinkler system that defines the quality of the tobacco for smoking. also rolled out an afforestation model for small-
ing to high costs and low rainfall distribution allows him to irrigate only up to a hectare of Many farmers use coal and firewood for cur- holder tobacco farmers, emphasised.
in her area. tobacco. In the 2020-21 season he planted two ing tobacco. Mubaiwa, who is optimistic that the pro-
“While I am not satisfied with my harvest, I hectares of tobacco; one hectare under irriga- Farmers are generally not including energy motion of energy efficient barns can help in
cannot do tobacco unless I get a field with irri- tion and the other dryland (rain-fed). for tobacco curing in their input list as fire- reducing wood demand for curing, estimated
gation to rent,” Chipungu said, adding that she wood is regarded as a free resource. They can it takes between eight and 10kg of wood cure
was getting more income from growing other “I got 1800 kg under irrigation compared to go into the forest and cut trees, noted Violet a kilogramme of tobacco. About 25 000 hect-
crops compared to tobacco. 1000 kgs under dry land. The average price for Makoto, spokesperson for the Forest Commis- ares of wood are required every year for tobacco
The last time she planted tobacco four years my crop under irrigation was US$3.2/kg com- sion, a body mandated to conserve Zimbabwe’s curing.
ago, she realised US$500 profit after deducting pared to US$1.5/kg on dry land,” Simoko said. forest which cover about 45% of the country. “Tobacco can be produced in a sustainable
the production costs, but said she earned dou- “Firewood is the cheapest energy resource manner and that is the future we want for this
ble that amount by growing maize, soya bean Irrigation offers hope that farmers can re- there is for many smallholder tobacco farmers country,” he said. — Alliance For Science.
and sweet potato. main in tobacco production, but researchers who have limited access to alternative sources
Shandu Gumede, a farmer in Matabeleland say more incentives are needed to bolster na- of energy and this is a huge challenge,” Mako-
tional tobacco production. to, whose organisation has launched a Tobacco

According to researchers, farmers without
access to irrigation and inputs are abandoning
tobacco production. These are farmers who are
often tied into contract farming arrangements,
which pay far below the market rate for tobac-

NewsHawks News Page 17

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

Flooding terrorises
Budiriro residents,
wetlands fight back

AYESHA CHIDEMBO while bemoaning loss of property and liveli- — Pictures: Aaron Ufumeli
hoods.
JABULANI Kurehwatira (9) gazes into the sky as city, environmentalists say as they have a vital and mitigate flooding by absorbing excess water.
rain gently falls on his young face in Budiriro, a She accused the government of turning a role to play in climate change and adaptation in At law, anyone intending to build on a wet-
suburb about 15km west of central Harare. blind eye to their plight, saying ropes had to be a country which is currently experiencing one of
deployed to rescue some families from flooded its worst droughts. land must apply for a permit from the state-run
He dashes to remove laundry drying on the houses. Environmental Management Agency, but un-
washing line as he calls his siblings, who are play- Wetlands help ease the impacts of a changing scrupulous land barons and cooperatives have
ing at a distance, to come into the house. “I have lived in these cooperative stands for climate by helping maintain ground water levels been parcelling out stands on wetlands.
close to eight years and have not seen any im-
On Tuesday last week, the nine-year-old woke provements, but rather more residents who find
up to a frightening sight. His house was almost themselves in a bind and developers selling them
flooded after a heavy downpour. land on wetlands. I moved into my house with
my husband in 2015 after we had bought a
Panicking, Jabulani called his father who re- 300-square-metre plot. Since that time, the gov-
moved part of the family’s property from the ernment has always turned a blind eye to us, but
door entrance. would rather send representatives here and there
after disasters like these happen. Imagine water
“When I woke up that night, I noticed that it flowing from the Marimba Stream, not just wa-
was flooded outside, and I feared that our house ter but sewage flowing into our houses, affecting
was going to flood. So, I called my father, and food and furniture while some people were pulled
he woke up the rest of the family,” Jabulani said. from their houses using ropes,” Freddy said.

His family is lucky to still have its furniture Despite earlier promises to relocate residents
intact after days of heavy downpours, causing the by the Civil Protection Unit to Dzivaresekwa Ex-
nearby Marimba Stream to flood, leaving some tension suburb, the beleaguered residents are still
families counting their losses. reeling from perennial flooding.

A drive around the Budiriro Cabs area shows “Last year in January, CPU director Nathan
desperation as families try frantically to divert Nkomo said we were going to be relocated to
large puddles of water from their homes. Another flats in Dzavaresekwa Extension, which he said
hazard is also brewing in the area after a crocodile were going to be done in November 2021, but to
emerged from the nearby stream. my surprise November came and went just like
the fake promises they always make and we are
“It is scary, especially for us children. It may tired of complaining. They don’t help every time,
affect my schooling when we finally open,” the all they say is ‘we have seen the problem, we are
Grade Five pupil said. going to sit down and talk’. I wonder if they can’t
sit down and talk because they haven’t done any-
Jabulani’s sister, Nicole (19), said the area is thing tangible so far and it’s painful,” she said.
not fit for human habitation. She said families
pay council bills, but never receive water or any Pracious Makwiyana (40), a resident, is always
services from the local authority. nervous during the rainy season.

“We started staying here in 2017 and every “Whenever it rains, the water levels reach the
year flooding happens. Last year we received a window level. There are almost 200 families in
tank for safe water from Oxfam after they real- this settlement and every family is having its own
ised that water in our wells was dirty and unsafe problems depending on how close the house is to
to drink. Even though my parents pay bills for the stream,” Makwiyana said.
water from the council, there’s no day we have
seen water running from the taps and used it, The acting spokesperson of Harare City Coun-
not to mention that they have already paid for cil, Innocent Ruwende, said the affected residents
these stands we stay in. I always find myself wor- are illegal settlers.
ried when I hear the rains coming, even when
it rains in town because when it rains in town “Cabs settlers settled in the area without fol-
water starts coming from underground because lowing the necessary procedures, they did not
of the force it would have rained with in town,” have a certificate of occupation which is issued by
Nicole said. council upon the completion of servicing stands.
Council requires that before people settle in an
“Whenever my mother is not around, I get area the area should have roads, drainage facilities
worried. My siblings depend on me. For these and other amenities to minimise such disasters.
past two weeks, I have been forced to stay at They might have made payments to council, but
home because a crocodile was seen close to the the land was not ready for occupation.
stream,’’ she added.
“Council is engaging government with a view
Jabulani’s family built near wetlands in Budi- to coming up with a lasting solution and as this
riro’s Cabs section, an area prone to flooding. is an engagement we cannot give a timeframe,”
Ruwende added.
Although the government threatened to evict
families who built houses on the wetlands, no ac- Wetlands, which include bogs and swamps,
tion has been taken. are ecologically essential to the well-being of the

Onelia Freddy (38), who has lived in the area
for eight years, says the flooding is perennial,

Page 18 News NewsHawks

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

NYASHA CHINGONO Violating wetlands ruins
Harare’s delicate ecology
BRIGHT Mayengahama (38) sits outside his
home as he gazes into the cloudy sky which is Monaville sits on one of Harare’s biggest wetlands, a special ecology protected by the Ramsar Convention, while houses built on wetlands develop cracks and
threatening a heavy downpour in Monaville, a collapse over time (below).
northern suburb in Harare.
around the wetland. Taking advantage of land- their tracks through a thin veil of being a cooper- been made available, rendering the structures il-
Mayengahama is one of thousands of city resi- thirsty residents, the area is already oversub- ative. Cooperatives are Trojan horses of political legal.
dents who have dared to build on wetlands. scribed with lush structures. power, patronage and primitive accumulation,”
Mafume said. “Permits continue to be issued to allow for
His one-roomed house is already showing But the effects of building on wetlands are be- development on wetlands, including on Ramsar
signs of cracking due to the moisture rising from ing felt as cracks on the houses have begun to He said while the council had been fighting to
beneath the ground. A huge crack has formed on form. protect wetlands, the government had, through Sites. The Ramsar Convention, though bind-
the front part of the house, a worrisome situation the Lands ministry, worked against the council ing on the state, is yet to be domesticated into
for the father of two. A drive around the area shows patched du- policy.
rawalls and paint peeling off, due to moisture. Zimbabwean law. The state has not made use
He settled in Monaville, one of Harare’s most “A number of wetlands have been occupied. of the legislation to acquire or gazette wetlands,
contentious suburbs that sits on vast swathes of Residents say rainy seasons are a nightmare. There is a dual responsibility from council and to establish nature reserves and prohibit develop-
wetland. Specialised reinforced foundations are re- from government to see which areas should be ment on them, which would do away with the
quired before the structure is built, but due to protected. This dual jurisdiction creates a loop- issuance of permits such as EIA certificates and
The onset of the rainy season causes Mayenga- a lack of resources most residents build on ordi- hole where sometimes developers get environ- wetlands utilisation certificates, which are legiti-
hama sleepless nights as he fears waking up one nary foundations. mental certificates from Ema (Environmental mising the loss of the wetlands,” the report reads.
day in a pool of water. “I moved here three years ago. Everything is Management Agency) and, once they get the cer-
fine until it starts raining. We find ourselves in a tificates, as a council we cannot stop them from “The authorities are called upon to apply the
He moved to Monaville from Budiriro, west pool of water and cannot complain because we developing. So what is required is to harmonise legislation more rigorously to restrict, suspend
of Harare, in search of a better life as a house brought ourselves here,” Gladys Muradzikwa, and put everything under council in line with and revoke the issuance of permits, and the Hon-
owner. who built her sprawling seven-bedroom house devolution,” Mafume said. ourable Minister (of Local Government) is called
near a stream, said. upon to amend the legislation to provide greater
Buying the stands was no mean task as he had Real estate tycoon Chiyangwa has been mired “Our policy is to protect wetlands. When peo- protection for wetlands,” Harare Wetlands Trust
to part with US$2 000 for 200 square metres of in several land rows in Harare. ple are building, there is a lot of political power Programmes mananger Selestino Chari said.
land where he built a one-roomed house. Apart from individual property developers, behind them. Council is prevented from demol-
housing cooperatives aligned to Zanu PF have ishing structures because they are protected.” Zimbabwe is a state party to international
The bogus land developer however disap- been parcelling out stands on wetlands. conventions such as the Convention on Biolog-
peared without regularising his stay in the area. Unsuspecting and desperate land seekers have Investigations show that Harare has dozens of ical Diversity and, most importantly, the 1971
lost thousands to cooperatives which thrive on wetland housing developments, involving politi- Convention on Wetlands of International Im-
“I settled here five years ago. I feel I am now a patronage. cally connected individuals. portance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat (the
house owner, but I have not been given anything Harare mayor Jacob Mafume confirmed Ramsar Convention) in terms of which the state
to show that I own this place. I hear the council council’s endless battles with housing coopera- In Eastlea suburb, several housing develop- has designated seven wetlands as wetlands of in-
is destroying structures built on wetlands, maybe tives in Harare. He said the menace of sprouting ments have been sprouting in the wetland along ternational importance. The Ramsar Convention
this will be my fate also,” he said as he made a unregulated housing structures is a result of po- Robert Mugabe Road over the last 10 years. Ema requires the establishment of nature reserves on
cursory gaze into the sky where large dark clouds litical patronage. has also confirmed that there is no environmen- wetlands, “wise use” of wetlands and conserva-
were forming. “The cooperatives do not come from the tal impact assessment (EIA) in place with the tion of Ramsar Sites.
council. They are named under Sally Mugabe, Harare Wetlands Trust already taking legal action
“The cracks you see are due to the water which Herbert Chitepo and that shows their parentage. against political figure Jane Mutasa. Wetlands are natural water reservoirs. They are
is beneath the surface,” he said. We do not deal with cooperatives. They have be- used to recharge the water table, filter and purify
come a looting vehicle where land barons cover According to a report by the Harare Wetlands water and prevent soil erosion.
“Whenever it rains, the houses on our prop- Trust, about 17 wetland housing developments l This article was published as part of the We
erty are covered in water for days before the are ongoing in Harare without following the Investigate Project by the Centre For Innova-
rains subside. It is painful living in such a place, rules. The report also shows that EIAs have not tion and Technology.
but what can we do? I have nowhere to go,” he
lamented.

A few paces from his house, Nyaradzo Musi-
mani (30) is drying her children’s clothes.

She settled in Monaville five years ago with
her husband and the couple does not have docu-
ments to their “property”.

They are living precariously, fearing the day
the council will demolish their houses.

“I feel like we were duped, I do not have pa-
pers to show that this is my home. I do not know
how long I am going to stay here,” she said.

Monaville sits on one of Harare’s biggest wet-
lands, a special ecology protected by the Ramsar
Convention. The Ramsar Convention came into
effect in 2013.

Zimbabwe currently has seven sites designated
as Wetlands of International Importance (Ram-
sar Sites), with a surface area of 453,828 hectares.

Property developer Sharadkumah Patel has
been dragged before the courts by Cosmo Trust,
the Environmental Management Agency and
others for parcelling out land in the area.

The court battle, which dates to 2019, was this
week revisited when the Supreme Court upheld
a decision to nullify an environmental impact as-
sessment and development permit that had been
obtained by a Harare developer.

The Indian developer had obtained the prop-
erty development permission unprocedurally, ac-
cording to lawyers.

“Today’s important judgment is perhaps the
most far-reaching judgment by our courts on
procedural issues relating to environmental law.
Privileged to have successfully argued a case with
the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights. Cli-
mate change and environmental degradation are
humanity’s big challenge,” lawyers Tendai Biti
Law said after the judgement in December.

Construction on wetlands has been subject to
growing disputes between the city council and
land developers, most of whom are connected to
Zanu PF.

The legal victory brought rare joy to environ-
mental activists clamouring for the conservation
of wetlands.

With wetlands in Harare disappearing and
housing structures sprouting up in unregulated
areas, investigations show tacit collusion between
politicians and land developers.

Zanu PF legislator Philip Chiyangwa’s Pinna-
cle Holdings has also been parcelling out land in
Monaville’s wetlands. His company Pinnacle has
been subject to legal battles, some of which are
still before the courts.

Observers believe Chiyangwa uses his political
muscle to parcel out stands.

Sprawling housing structures are sprouting

NewsHawks News Page 19

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

KUMBIRAI MACHINGURA Harare’s tragic demise: From
Sunshine City to Stink City
IT is 8am at Copacabana bus terminus in central
Harare and hundreds of commuters are standing Piles of rubbish and dirty streets have become common sights in Harare.
helplessly in the rain while others clutch umbrel-
las, scampering from a heavy downpour. “The stench in the air is unbearable, especially cles and they are overwhelmed,’’ he said. enough refuse trucks to service the city efficiently
during the rainy season. It is so disheartening that Shumba said council had failed to run the ame- using its current model,” Ruwende said.
As the heavens empty themselves on hapless nobody is willing to do anything about it, I’m
commuters, others seek shelter in nearby shops. worried at how people now normalise seeing gar- nities department effectively. He said waste generation is being worsened by
bage everywhere; you cannot walk freely without “Residents have made several efforts to conduct the change in settlement patterns in the residen-
The air is filled with a foul odour as the rains getting to see a heap of trash.’’ tial areas over the years, with a housing unit now
continue to pound on a nearby pile of rubbish. clean-ups, with some burning their uncollected accommodating more families, meaning more
A representative of the Epworth Association trash although it is also causing air pollution. waste is generated.
Public toilets around the area, which have gone of Residents Development Association Peter Most residents have lost hope in their garbage ever
for days without a wash, also fill the air with an Nyabitwa said council has failed to collect garbage being collected,’’ Shumba said. Ruwende said council is putting in place mea-
offending smell. On the pile of rubbish accumu- in their residential area. sures to ensure efficient garbage collection.
lating at Copacabana are mango seeds, leftover “When council trucks move in the communi-
food, vegetables, maize-meal, and other rotten “There are no refuse trucks which collect gar- ties, they do not cover all the streets and roads in “The City through its Department of Works
foodstuffs. The suffocating foul smell is hard to bage in Epworth. We are surprised that the coun- residential areas, and garbage heaps are evident in Amenities Division has made a holistic analysis of
ignore, but some passers-by just go about their cil wants to hike our fee, but they have not been the Avenues and the city centre. At Mbare Musi- the current model and is making a transition such
business without a care in the world. collecting garbage in all six wards. People are now ka, the situation is most depressing. The council is as changing from linear to the efficient integrat-
polluting everywhere and we fear there may be a not responsive,’’ he added. ed solid waste management model, procurement
Piles of rubbish, dirty streets and foul-smelling cholera outbreak in this rainy season.” of waste management fleet compatible with the
alleys have become common sights in Harare. Innocent Ruwende, the City of Harare’s act- integrated solid waste management system and
Harare Residents’ Association Trust director ing spokesperson, said council is currently facing setting up of waste transfer stations at an average
Once known as the Sunshine City, the sun Precious Shumba said the City of Harare charges challenges and drawbacks with its current waste central 5km radius in suburbs, for example Glen
seems to have set on Harare’s ability to keep the ratepayers for once-a-week refuse collection every management methodology based on the linear View and Budiriro can share,” Ruwende said.
streets clean. month but had failed to provide the service to model.
ratepayers. He urged all progressive companies to adopt
Just after Independence, Harare boasted of its This, coupled with the culture of people who sustainable practices and all recycling companies
clean streets, inspiring musicians to sing of the “In the communities, at street corners, shop- throw rubbish anywhere, had seen garbage dumps to come forward and partner council to manage
city’s well-kept streets. ping centres and open spaces, there are illegal accumulating around the city. recyclables, including bio-degradable waste, and
dumpsites, and the central business district is now encourage separation at source.
With thousands flocking into the city centre an eyesore. We have tried to engage the council “Residents believe that there are others who
daily, the city fathers have found it difficult to and their excuses are repetitive: they have no fuel, will clean up after them and, consequently, the “The City is also currently engaged in discus-
keep pace with littering and dirt left by street ven- they do not have adequate refuse collection vehi- responsibility of picking up litter falls on coun- sions with a foreign company to come up with a
dors and the public. The onset of the rains has cil which does not have enough resources to deal waste-to-energy project,” he added.
worsened the dirt in Harare as rubbish is swept with the litter problem. The city does not have
into an already poor drainage system.

“City council has not been collecting garbage
for quite some time now, people end up throwing
litter and looting garbage. We’re not happy with
the view. We also want a cleaner city, since we are
selling here, we also encourage our customers to
be responsible citizens,” Tafadzwa Tafa, a father of
two, said.

The city, once considered one of the smartest
in the country, second only to Bulawayo, has be-
come a pale shadow of its former self with con-
gested streets and littered pavements.

The ever-increasing crisis of illegal landfills has
reached crisis level, precipitated by council’s errat-
ic garbage collection.

Sibongile Pedzisai, a resident of Kambuzuma
suburb, criticised council for failing to collect gar-
bage consistently.

“Council has not been collecting garbage for
weeks now and we no longer rely upon garbage
collection trucks, I am disappointed by the way
the city council has been operating, we cannot
pile up garbage at our homes, we will have to
look for other alternative means like discarding
our trash at a nearby dumping area although the
council has prohibited us.”

Kambuzuma is not the only suburb with a
garbage problem, other areas like Glen Norah,
Budiriro, Highfield and even Epworth endure
uncollected rubbish for months.

Tadiwa Chita, a resident of Highfield, said:

A police officer (right) plays a game of snooker during working hours in Msasa industrial area on Tuesday. — Picture: Wtason Ofumeli

Page 20 News NewsHawks

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

New Crisis Coalition
chair Mutasa commits
to fight for citizens

THE NewsHawks correspondent caught up organisations and consortiums that have been Incoming Crisis Coalition chairperson Peter Mutasa
with veteran trade unionist Peter Mutasa, who given various tasks around this work. We will also
was recently elected chairperson of the Crisis seek to understand the role that we have been as- thoritarian consolidation of the administration of NH: What is your word to development part-
In Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC), Peter Mutasa signed by the broader movement. Then we will President Emmerson Mnangagwa; ners supporting local NGOs?
(PM). He shared his plans for the new role, collectively push back against this bill. Hopefully
reflected on his ouster at the last Zimbabwe the citizens will win and government will change l In light of the continued shrinking of the PM: Firstly, I thank all the development part-
Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) elective this process and start a more consultative process. democratic space in Zimbabwe, the coalition re- ners that have stood with us for a long time.
conference and buttressed calls for citizens to solved to mobilise at grassroots level as well as to The Zimbabwean crisis has been gone on for
unite and take control of their destiny: NH: What challenges do you think are con- enhance African regional engagements as part of a long time. We have managed to sail through
fronting the country’s civil society organisations efforts to resolve the Zimbabwean crisis; because of global solidarity. Some people would
NH: How are you? Congratulations on your sector today? have faced starvation, dropped out of school and
new appointment. l The coalition noted with concern the am- failed to get medical care and other services had
PM: In my view, the main problem engulfing putation of the constitution before its full imple- it not been for this global solidarity assistance.
PM: Thank you comrade. I am blessed. I the whole country is dictatorship. This is affect- mentation and resolved to mobilise the generality The oppressed and exploited masses would not
thank God for granting my colleagues and I the ing all sectors, including the civic society organ- of Zimbabweans in defence of constitutionalism; have effectively raised voices and demanded ac-
opportunity to lead in this difficult struggle for isations, in a big way. Citizen participation is and countability had we not received some of the
the democratisation of Zimbabwe. never effective in a dictatorships; in fact, it is dan- material and technical assistance. Our struggle
gerous and risky. We are witnessing the shrinking l The coalition resolved to continue putting for freedom, democracy, social and economic
NH: So what are your immediate plans in of democratic space in a form and manner never ordinary people’s interests at the centre of its pol- justice, equity and equality is legitimate and still
your new role? witnessed before. Every dissenting voice is seen icy advocacy. unfinished.
as an enemy of the state. This has put civil soci-
PM: We are looking forward to our inaugural ety organisations and personnel at great danger. NH: We understand you also relinquished Like in the struggle for Independence, where
board meeting. This will follow after the board There is also capture of state institutions, render- your position as the Zimbabwe Congress of we got assistance from across the globe, Zimba-
induction session. It is in this board meeting ing usual tools of civic participation ineffective. Trade Unions leader. How would you describe bweans require assistance. We kindly ask for con-
that we will evaluate the annual general meeting Everything is overly politicised and institutions the conditions which led to your ouster? tinued solidarity in various forms.
resolutions and proposed annual programmes. I of the state no longer function independently.
think we will also take time to meet all the im- There are a lot of political gatekeepers that must PM: We had our constitutional conference NH: What is your message to the people of
portant stakeholders, both internal and external, be negotiated with, even on purely developmen- and, whether I had issues or not, it is now wa- Zimbabwe?
as soon as possible. We are going to be guided by tal programmes, which must be implemented in ter under the bridge. These are the pains of de-
the AGM resolutions that are quite elaborate and a non-partisan way. Some areas are no-go areas mocracy and every democrat has to go through PM: I make a plea to citizens of Zimbabwe to
challenging. for particular activities. This impedes the work such pains. I know the regime and its propaganda unite and collectively fight for our freedom. The
of civil society organisations. The criminal justice mouthpieces were very happy and actively sought ruling elites and their cronies will never say they
NH: You have risen at a time when relations system as a whole, including the judiciary is com- my departure from ZCTU. This only shows that have had enough. They are going to continue to
between the civil society organisations and the promised and arm-twisted into partisan consider- together with others we were doing a good job of accumulate wealth while we wallow in poverty
government are deteriorating. How do you in- ation of issues. This leaves the citizens and their defending workers against a repressive and brutal until we stop them.
tend to transform the landscape for the better? organisations with nowhere to get refuge. state.
The Zimbabwean problem is the dictatorship.
PM: It is a pity that the government regards In addition, rules are changed haphazardly and I was going to be extremely worried had the re- Its effects spare no one except those benefiting
every sector that raises grievances as enemies. without notice. The Harare metropolitan prov- gime been happy with me and sought me to stay from the dictatorship patronage. We are no lon-
Civil society organisations are not enemies of the ince secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolu- at the helm of ZCTU. It would have indicated ger wanted and are being deported from many
state, but must be seen as collaborators in gover- tion, Mr (Tafadzwa)Muguti’s unlawful orders are that I had sold out the workers’ struggle. I reject- countries. We need to unite and seek democrati-
nance. We must be allowed to influence state pol- a case in point. This makes programming uncer- ed all the patronage enticements because I could sation of our country and to rescue our economy
icies and how power is exercised by the state on tain and subjected to political interference. Then not sell out workers. I got in danger and my fam- and state from capture by a few.
behalf of the various societal groups that we rep- I also think the other problem is the economic ily was brutalised, including my nephew who
resent. Mutual relations between societal groups and social implosion. The level of poverty and was abducted and left for dead. They poisoned Our economy has to start working for the ma-
and the state have led to progressive development vulnerability is now extremely high. The state is me and I almost died had God not favoured and jority, not a few powerful ruling elites. It may be
in other countries through policy co-creation and failing and that is heaping all the burden on civil saved me. So I have no regrets and will contin- a tough call, but our history teaches us that it is
transparency. Lack of it and animosity between society organisations who can no longer cover the ue with the struggle until Zimbabweans are free possible for a united people to win against a bru-
Zimbabwean government and civil society has huge gap in most of the cases. There is need for a from this tyranny. tal dictatorship. We are our own liberators.
propelled us into state failure. quick resolution of the Zimbabwean crisis.
Mutasa claims the judiciary is compromised and arm-twisted into partisan consideration of issues.
We will do all we can to build trust and mutu- NH: Going back to the AGM which elected
al cooperation with state actors. However, we will you, there were reports of rigging. What is your
also use the constitutional rights to express our- take on that?
selves where the state negates social dialogue. At
the end of the day policy formulation is a political PM: The AGM, like every elective process, has
process and citizens ought to exercise their agency its own fair share of political narratives. I believe
to influence and shape policies. This entails utilis- the elections were carried out within agreed pa-
ing the civic and political rights guaranteed in the rameters in a democratic, fair and open manner.
constitution and international treaties. As to the All candidates and their agents were always con-
specific strategies, these will be collectively agreed sulted and agreed on all the processes. There is
and deployed according to the collective wisdom. one comrade who is raising issues that lack co-
gency and without proof. The majority of our
NH: President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s ad- members have accepted the process and we are
ministration intends to amend the Private Vol- moving on towards the hard-hat-area work that
untary Organisations Bill. What’s your take on we face.
this?
These issues must not cloud the important
PM: This is one of the most draconian policy resolutions of the meeting, which include the
drives of the current establishment. The objective following:
is political and not hidden from many citizens. It
is to weaken civil society organisations through l The coalition approved the process to de-
undue interference in their administration, exces- volve and decentralise the institution, as a way of
sive regulation and threats of deregistration. The enhancing its capacity to identify and respond to
Bill also seeks to criminalise a number of acts of issues affecting members and citizens in their lo-
commission and omission. calities. This is also in line with the national call
for devolution;
Knowing our governance environment, this
will be abused and used to persecute perceived l The coalition approved the realignment of
enemies of the state. At the end of the day the the structure and scope of its thematic commit-
government is simply seeking to silence any dis- tees to suit the contemporary operational envi-
senting voices and consolidate its one-party state ronment and the devolution agenda;
agenda. This is bad for all citizens and in my view
this Bill must be resisted by all sectors and we l The coalition resolved to carry out a needs
agree on a progressive amendment Bill through assessment and capacity development initiative
proper consultations. for its membership;

NH: So how do you intend to work with civil l The coalition resolved to vigorously push
society organisations around the amendment ex- for equal gender representation in all its struc-
ercise? tures and processes;

PM: I believe in collective decision-making l The coalition affirmed a broad-based na-
and efforts. I also know a lot of work has been tional programme in line with the 2021 strategic
already put into this aspect. So we will seek to planning process to respond to the current na-
understand what has been addressed so far by the tional question, epitomised in the increasing au-

NewsHawks News Page 21

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

Special Covid-19

PANDEMIC coverage

Covid-19 booster shot uptake subdued

MARY MUNDEYA and we are working flat out to make sure that the Dr Agnes
actual implementation is proper and straight,” she Mahomva
THE Covid-19 booster shot uptake in Zimba- said.
bwe has remained relatively low, with only 28 730
people having received their third dose as of 17 Mahomva expressed satisfaction with Zimba-
January. bwe’s Covid-19 vaccination programme which
she said had overally done well regardless of hav-
The programme, introduced in December ing missed the 60% herd immunity target which
2021 after the country confirmed its first case of she said had been an ambitious metric.
the Omicron variant, is aimed at providing an
added layer of protection to vulnerable groups “The vaccination programme in general when
such as frontline workers, people with chronic we started the numbers were slow, they picked
diseases and the elderly. up very nicely when we introduced the 16 to
17-year-old age group to be vaccinated and we
Speaking to The NewsHawks, national are very confident that our numbers will become
Covid-19 coordinator Dr Agnes Mahomva (pic- even more as we wait for schools to re-open,” she
tured right) said she was however pleased with the said.
uptake. “Everything is going very nicely based on
the period that we are looking at and we continue “We did start off with an ambitious target of
encouraging our citizens to continue going out to 60% and over. We worked hard. We knew that it
get vaccinated,” she said. was an ambitious target, even the targets that were
set by the World Health Organisation (WHO),
Mahomva said the ministry of Health was not they knew that they were ambitious targets hence
expecting the introduction of the third dose vac- you can see that a very few countries actually met
cination programme to register huge numbers in the WHO targets. The whole idea was really to
its infancy. push ourselves, work as hard as we can and, as a
country, we did just that. By the end of the year,
“When you start a vaccination programme, or we had reached 33% of that and we continue to
any programme for that matter, you don’t expect push hard for those high targets we set for our-
things to suddenly shoot up overnight. The policy selves,” Mahomva said.
direction was given sometime in December 2021

Page 22 Editorial & Opinion NewsHawks

CARTOON Issue 64, 21 January 2022

Political silly
season unfolds
THE political silly season is upon us, which explains why the
country suddenly finds itself mired in a festival of absurdities. Land used as political weapon

It can only get worse. The 26 March by-elections are not WHEN the late former president Robert popularity, alternative narratives never took the country.
the finish line; if anything, they are just another obstacle in a Mugabe’s brutal regime seized land on a root. That problem still exists up to this day
frenetic steeplechase that is promising all manner of political massive scale beginning 2000, it was rath-
drama. er difficult to set a narrative and hold it ac- The powerful historical and revolutionary and maybe remain with Zimbabwe for de-
countable, as there was a genuine historical posture and symbolism of Mugabe’s project cades to come.
Electioneering, horse-trading and chicanery are escalating grievance and injustice that needed to be was difficult to dilute and defeat.
at breakneck speed. addressed. It is easy to destroy a country and econo-
Yet it is true that there were underlying my, but far more difficult to build or rebuild
Within Zanu PF — which still laughably fancies itself as a Even Mugabe’s fierce rivals and acerbic political issues that needed unpacking. it.
glorious party of liberation, even after vandalising Zimbabwe critics would agree that land reform was
back to the Stone Age — all is not well. necessary, although they disagreed with the Zimbabwe’s recent history, from 2000- The question remains why Mugabe tar-
method and the motivation. 2008, when government seized commer- geted his own agricultural industry and
The ruling party’s recent provincial elections were charac- cial farms using illegal and violent methods economy using such violent methods, while
terised by chaotic ructions, another stark reminder that the The majority of Zimbabweans generally against a largely unarmed population of risking such dire consequences.
centralised system of control which has held fast in the past is agreed with the principle, hence supported farmers and farm workers, cannot be told
no longer effective. the idea, but did not want to embrace the without the story of land reform. Looking at major actors that aided and
violence and chaos that were needless in abetted the campaign, and their motiva-
So serious were the internal squabbles that President Em- some cases. Mugabe’s regime began the seizures on tions, it becomes even more clearer the sei-
merson Mnangagwa lost patience and dramatically fired his a small, targeted scale in a bid to suppress zure of the most valuable farms was largely
State Security minister Owen “Mudha” Ncube. Ncube’s sack- While people appreciated that a change political opposition groups, but soon esca- carried out by politically influential individ-
ing cannot be downplayed; when a head of state boots out a in property relations, especially on land, is lated the campaign into a frenzy targeting all uals for financial and political gain, in some
minister in charge of state intelligence, the ramifications are always accompanied by intense debate and farms in the country. cases, prestige, rather than to address histor-
not to be sneezed at. contestations — sometimes such struggles ical injustices.
become violent and bloody — Zimbabwe The state claimed that the confiscations
Ncube has been Mnangagwa’s brutal enforcer in the Mid- had an opportunity to have a well-planned occurred in response to a public cry for land In fact, the scale on which the farm in-
lands for a long time. It is for this reason that he did not toss and structured programme. redistribution and also to rectify colonial-era vasions were carried out, the logistics and
his henchman to the scrapyard. Appointed to the post of injustices, and were part of a structured land the violent methods used were evidently not
provincial secretary for production, Ncube has been severely Although white commercial farmers were reallocation programme. part of a planned government land policy.
weakened, but the lifeline will ensure he remains within the contesting and even actively opposing land
power structures. For his own survival, he must now demon- reform, dialogue and political pressure with- However, in practice, land reform became Mugabe initially opposed the land sei-
strate unerring loyalty to Mnangagwa. Those who cross the out bloodshed would have achieved a better a Zanu PF political programme to secure zures knowing they would wreck the econo-
strongman’s path may soon discover that Ncube was not only result. my, only to later support them to appease
fired but also redeployed. Hawk Eye his supporters and retain political power
Government would have obtained land against a rising opposition.
In the greater scheme of things, the Mnangagwa-Chiwenga to resettle the landless black majority, while Dumisani
chasm has never been wider. All the ingredients of a political white farmers would have retained measur- Muleya When former liberation movements be-
thriller are in place: mutual suspicion, plots, sub-plots and able tracts land to continue farming. gin to lose power, they adopt radical con-
counter-plots votes against a nascent opposition MDC. cepts to retain political support.
A win-win formula was possible, even Mugabe always had a political pro-
Zanu PF is not the only party at war with itself. MDC-T, though many doubt a compromise was fea- There is a joke among the public that
described by some political analysts as a Zanu PF surrogate, is sible. gramme at any given time to retain, consol- some politicians and well-connected polit-
experiencing spectacular implosion. idate and sustain power. ical actors got the farms for weekend braa-
The Mugabe approach — the scorched ing and drinking instead of serious farm-
Douglas Mwonzora is desperate to finish off Thokozani earth policy typical of his leadership and The grabbed farms were often distributed ing. Some of these so-called farmers don’t
Khupe, but she will not go down without a fight. rule — collapsed commercial agriculture ad hoc to party supporters first and foremost, even want to spend a day in the fields or get
and left the economy in ruins. including those with little or no farming ex- dirty in worksuits.
Khupe has called a Press conference, which will be held in perience, sometimes those without even an
Bulawayo’s Mzilikazi suburb. The choice of venue is telling — The consequences and ramifications of interest in farming. Yet there are people who got land and are
she is concerned about her security and is not taking chances that project are still being felt across the utilising it productively, especially among
this time around, after repeatedly being subjected to violent economy up to this day. Inevitably, commercial agriculture col- small-scale farmers.
attacks by male chauvinists. lapsed and all downstream industries ceased
From being a potentially glorious rev- to exist. The economy hit rock bottom. But the use of land as a political weapon,
But Mwonzora has launched a pre-emptive strike by sus- olution, land reform quickly degenerated which Mugabe did effectively for political
pending Khupe before she spills the beans. into a racist enterprise, as the late Zanu PF Those companies that remained extant survival and as currently shown by ongoing
maverick Eddison Zvobgo later put it in a went bankrupt and were reduced to shells. dispossessions of former Zanu PF officials
We live in interesting times. If Khupe goes ahead to re- damning indictment of the programme and like Jonathan Moyo, Saviour Kasukuwere,
veal the dirty secrets pertaining to how Zanu PF has captured corruption. As a result, the economy went into a Patrick Zhuwao and human rights activists
the MDC-T and how public funds have been squandered tailspin, de-industrialisation accelerated, like lawyer Siphosami Malunga for partisan
for scandalous partisan ends, she could politically decapitate The historical land reform imperative and production plunged, while inflation and reasons, remains a bane of an otherwise no-
Mwonzora before Nelson Chamisa does the honours on 26 the self-righteousness on the part of Mug- unemployment rose dramatically in what ble yet badly done programme.
March. Fasten your seatbelt. abe prevented profound analysis and deal- became a social and economic disaster for
ing with some of the nuances of the issue, Mnangagwa must not allow the ongoing
Thokozani especially internally. land seizures from peasants and from polit-
Khupe ically targeted people to continue, as that
Even though the argument by Mug- further damages land reform and people
abe was losing credibility amid his waning against his government.

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

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

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

NewsHawks New Perspectives Page 23

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

Tough global economic recovery:
Vaccine not providing the solution
THE severe vaccine inequali-
ty and the return of Covid-19 in emerging market and devel- internalise this balanced policy ing public debt levels, lost fiscal proved only marginally in 2021
in waves in ever so greater po- oping economies (EMDEs) – approach, along with greater revenue, and rising inflation in to 4.6% of GDP from 5.2% of
tency, like in the shape of its particularly in small states and and quicker debt relief provided some countries. Several Sub- GDP in 2020, with government
Delta and, more recently, Omi- fragile and conflict -afflicted to developing countries.  Saharan African economies debt rising in nearly 60% of all
cron mutations, on the back of countries – they will remain A recent article published by tightened policy in 2021 over countries last year.
vaccine apartheid has seen the markedly below, owing to low- the Guardian read: Developing concerns about rising energy
world going through a deep er vaccination rates, tighter fis- countries at risk from global and food prices (Angola, Mo- Improvement in growth pros-
divide between the vaccinated cal and monetary policies, and economic threats, says World zambique, Ethiopia, South Af- pects will also depend on how
rich countries enjoying higher more persistent scarring from Bank’ high- well the fast unfolding climate
growth recovery, while the less the pandemic. …EMDE growth lighted with change crisis is tackled, where
vaccinated global south strug- is projected to slow from 6.3% regard to the Econometrics adequate climate financing is
gles for growth and macro-eco- in 2021 to 4.6% in 2022… In GEP report, made available to developing
nomic stability. 2023, EMDE growth is forecast and comments HawksView countries by rich, advanced
to edge further down to 4.4% – made by World countries. Global warming
At the dawn of the first notably below the 5.1% average Bank president could threaten the existence of
Covid-19 vaccine, around a of the past decade… Despite David Malpass rain-fed agricultural systems
year ago, it was being envisaged the continued recovery, the as follows: ‘‘At Tinashe Kaduwo upon which large populations
that the worst of the pandemic pandemic is expected to scar a time when in Sub-Saharan Africa depend.
was over, and that in addition EMDE output for a prolonged governments in Countries such as Zimbabwe,
to safeguarding life as the first period, in part through its ad- many developing economies rica, Zambia, Zimbabwe). In remain susceptible to new
priority, the world would see verse effects on human and lack the policy space to sup- some countries, inflation has health crises caused by com-
a V-shaped economic recovery, physical capital " port activity if needed, new remained in double digits (Ni- municable diseases given con-
then at most a short U-shaped Covid-19 outbreaks, persistent geria, Ethiopia, Angola, Zimba- tinuing encroachment on wild
recovery, given the natural It is, therefore, important, supply-chain bottlenecks and bwe), partly as a result of large ecosystems, climate change,
length of time it would take to that the world– both developed inflationary pressures, and ele- currency depreciations. Con- and ever-greater connectivity.
carry out a global vaccination and developing countries – fol- vated financial vulnerabilities in straints on financing, particu- Indeed the pandemic has shown
drive, and some sort of supply low a balanced macroeconomic large swathes of the world could larly in low-income countries, that many countries are ill-pre-
delays to match demand as it policy, in a way that a balance increase the risk of a hard land- has also limited fiscal support. pared to tackle the large human
picks up. is practiced with regard to prac- ing,” the report said. …“Deep In some countries, expenditure and economic costs of such cri-
ticing aggregate demand and debt relief is needed,” Malpass on pandemic-relief programmes ses.
Even the developed coun- supply-side policies. There is said. “If we wait too long it will was offset by declining spend-
tries are facing a growth pros- also a need for greater finan- be too late and it won’t be suc- ing on infrastructure and devel- *About the writer: Tinashe
pects damper due to resurgent cial support from multilateral cessful.”’  opment projects. According to Kaduwo is a researcher and
Covid-19 waves, and rising in- institutions, with more under- Policy space has also nar- the World Bank, average gener- economist. He writes in his
flation that is forcing countries standing shown for instance in rowed further owing to increas- al government fiscal deficits im- personal capacity. Contact
to adopt tighter monetary pol- IMF programmes of the need to [email protected] whatsapp
icy. +263773376128

Instead, the world is gener-
ally seeing a downward revi-
sion in growth prospects for
2022 and the coming year. The
recently released Global Eco-
nomic Prospects report by the
World Bank highlighted in this
regard that "After rebounding
to an estimated 5.5% in 2021,
global growth is expected to
decelerate markedly to 4.1%
in 2022, reflecting continued
Covid-19 flare-ups, diminished
fiscal support, and lingering
supply bottlenecks. The near-
term outlook for global growth
is somewhat weaker, and global
inflation will be notably high-
er than previously envisioned,
owing to pandemic resurgence,
higher food and energy prices,
and more pernicious supply dis-
ruptions. Global growth is pro-
jected to soften further to 3.2%
in 2023, as pent-up demand
wanes and supportive mac-
ro-economic policies continue
to be unwound."

Moreover, the situation in
less-developed countries with
regard to recovery prospects is
a lot weaker than in developed
countries, which in general
could not inject any significant
amount of stimulus spending
and development expenditures,
along with having low vaccina-
tion rates overall, in particular
Africa. The World Bank Report
indicated in this regard as fol-
lows: "Although output and
investment in advanced econo-
mies are projected to return to
pre-pandemic trends next year,

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 Equities to continue ruling
the roost in 2022: Brokers
THE equities market will this year continue
to be the most preferred investment option for In 2020, foreign investors accounted for 340.09% in 2021, outperforming both the tal of 2.3 million shares worth US$593 812.40
investors in Zimbabwe as the economy faces 22.8% of total trades and were net sellers of ZSE All-Share Index and the ZSE Top Ten changing hands.
inflationary pressures, a local brokerage firm ZW$5.42 billion worth of shares. Index.
has said. The improvement in trades, according to
The maiden exchange-traded fund, the Old Trading on the Victoria Falls Stock Ex- market players, is largely due to the listings of
Official statistics show that 2021 was anoth- Mutual ZSE Top Ten Exchange-Traded Fund change (VFEX) in the year under review im- three counters during the year, namely Paden-
er spectacular year for local equities after the (OMTT), had an impressive year, gaining proved significantly relative to 2020 with a to- ga, Caledonia ZDRs and Bindura.
market significantly outperformed inflation in
2021. Property remains a good medium- to long-term hedge against inflation.

The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange’s (ZSE)
main All-Share Index (ALSI) rose by 310.51%
for the year compared to annual inflation of
60.7% in 2021. This growth follows an im-
pressive 1 045.84% recorded in 2020.

Experts say this performance was driven by
inflation-hedging activities, increased partici-
pation of retail investors following the intro-
duction of digital trading platforms and the
strong financial performance of underlying
counters.

Old Mutual Securities, in a research note
titled Portfolio Manager’s Digest Q4 2021, said
activity on the equities market will remain
strong in 2022 after projecting year-on-year
inflation to close around 40%.

“Money market investments are likely to be
constrained by current inflationary concerns.

Liquidity and valuation challenges are ex-
pected to limit investments into property,”
Old Mutual Securities projected.

“Based on this assumption, our view is that
the equity sector remains attractive in the
short to intermediate term from liquidity and
value preservation perspectives.

“We believe that Investors should focus
on counters in sectors earmarked for higher
growth in the 2022 proposed budget such as
the tourism, mining, and the manufacturing
sectors.”

However, the authorities forecast that an-
nual inflation, which decelerated significantly
from 348.6% in 2020 to 60.7% in 2021, is
projected to close 2022 between 15-20%.

“The market is likely to remain under pres-
sure from Covid-19 restrictions and low rental
yields. However, the adoption of Zimbabwe
dollar-based valuation is expected to support
capital price appreciation,” the research note
reads.

“Property sector players who can adapt and
provide properties that can service the special-
ised needs of growing sectors of the economy
such as agriculture, warehousing, and logistics,
as well as sections of the retail and informal sec-
tor are expected to improve on their earnings
yields. Increased dollarisation of the market is
expected to depress trades. Overall, property
remains a good medium- to long-term hedge
against inflation.”

“Despite tight fiscal and monetary policies,
inflationary pressures continue to suppress
the performance and attractiveness of inter-
est-bearing investments.

“Going forward we do not believe that
the cost of capital for on-lending will change
significantly, therefore limiting the returns
that can be passed onto investors. We expect
money market investment returns to remain
sub-inflationary.”

Official figures also show that the total value
of shares traded on the ZSE in 2021 was ZW$
65.27 billion, a 276.85% upswing from 2020.
Foreign investors were net sellers of ZW$9.73
billion worth of equities on the ZSE and ac-
counted for 11.7% of total trades.

NewsHawks Companies & Markets Page 25

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

Meikles expects to complete planned redevelopments of its properties once occupied by its retail segment, such as Greatermans Stores (below).

ALEX MHANDU Prop sector fortunes depend
on Zim’s economic trajectory
PROSPECTS of the property market this year
are expected to depend on the recovery of the to suit demand. repurposed their properties in line with these financial year following closure of its depart-
economy, with sales skewed towards the residen- Today, low-rise strategically located buildings changes. mental stores in the country such as Barbours.
tial segment, experts have said. The group also operated Greatermans Stores,
are targeted for retail leasing, which is experienc- For Meikles, the diversified hospitality group which also closed. In Harare’s CBD, the space
Treasury and the International Monetary ing high demand. expects to complete planned redevelopments once occupied by Barbours is now occupied by
Fund (IMF) have both given positive econom- of its properties once occupied by its retail seg- SME retailers.
ic growth projections for Zimbabwe in 2021, Big corporates like Old Mutual, Meikles ment across the country by end of this current
mainly driven by agriculture and mining. Limited and many other property owners have

Economic growth for 2021 is estimated to be
at 7.8 %, slightly above the 2021 National Bud-
get growth target of 7.4%.

For this year, the economy is projected to
grow by 5.5%, which will shape business in the
real estate sector.

The latest IMF World Economic Outlook re-
port for October 2021 projects the global econ-
omy to grow by 5.9 % in 2021 and slow down
to 4.9%.

According to Rawson Properties Neighbour-
hoods Report for the 2021 fourth quarter, the
positive economic growth projections are antic-
ipated to contribute towards improved demand
in the real estate occupier market, although more
activity is expected in the residential segment.

“Within the short to medium term, the out-
look much relies on the recovery of the econo-
my. Within the short to medium term, the out-
look much relies on the recovery of the economy
as the property market tends to track the overall
economy quite closely.

“If the recovery trajectory continues, we ex-
pect the property growth to continue as well.

“Property sales activity is expected to be
highly concentrated in the residential space.
Commercial sales expected to steadily increase
for strategically located properties for redevelop-
ment purposes,” part of the report reads.

The retail segment is expected to remain re-
silient this year and going forward, driven by
growth in the retail sector, especially by small to
medium enterprises (SMEs).

“Improvements in occupancies for the retail
sector are expected to continue, especially for
modernised and refurbished properties in good
location,” the Neighbourhoods Report said.

The report acknowledges the major changes
the retail sector has gone through, especially in
Harare’s central business district (CBD) in the
past few years.

The sector is dominated by SMEs and in-
formal businesses, with large retail outlets still
maintaining a presence within the sector.

In past years, property owners have been re-
purposing, refurbishing and remodelling space

Page 26 Companies & Markets NewsHawks

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

DUMISANI NYONI African free trade area can
spur Zim’s diversification
THE African Continental Free Trade Area
(AfCTFA), an ambitious trade pact to form the Zimbabwe has great potential exports in agriculture. “This will provide information on appreciation
world’s largest free trade area by connecting al- of consumer preferences on the fish type and price
most 1.3 billion people across 55 African coun- Wood in the rough, treated with paint, creo- said. trends for the different fish products in the Afri-
tries, can assist Zimbabwe in pivoting away from sote or other preservatives, has an export potential Oranges, fresh or dried, are another horticul- can region.”
extractive exports. valued at US$4.2 million, while actual exports are
US$5.2 million and untapped potential remain- tural product with untapped export potential of Manufacturing
For decades, Zimbabwe’s exports have been ing in individual countries is US$1.3 million. US$1.1 million. Markets with greatest potential Manufacturing is a strategic sector driving eco-
dominated by primary commodities such as nick- for Zimbabwe’s exports of oranges are South Af- nomic transformation through increasing levels
el ore and concentrate, nickel matte, gold, tobac- The country’s National Development Strategy rica and Kenya. of productivity, competitiveness and innovation.
co, ferro-chromium, platinum and diamond. 1 has strategies to increase forest production and Freezers of the chest type have an export potential
processing, including managing woodlots, tree “There is therefore a need to improve oranges of US$1.7 million, actual exporters of US$1.6
One of the challenges of relying on primary planting and increasing area under forest. production which is one of the outcomes of the million and untapped potential of US$498.000,
product exports is that the country might run agriculture sector in Zimbabwe. Value addition of according to CTC.
out of its finite primary products, for example To enhance export of wood products, CTC oranges also has great potential as brands such as Strategies to increase such exports, according
precious metals could become scarce. Without di- said Zimbabwe can also focus on exports of fibre- Mazoe Orange Crush are of high quality and can to CTC, include manufacturing hybrid freezers
versification, this would leave the economy with boards with many benefits and used in residential further penetrate the African region,” CTC said. which use both solar and grid power, thereby re-
a void. and commercial construction for low-slope roof- ducing appliance grid-tied electricity usage in the
ing and soundproofing. Furthermore, to enhance Zimbabwe can also export macadamia nuts, presence of load shedding and rising electricity
According to the Competition and Tariff earnings Zimbabwe can also focus on wood fur- whose global demand is growing in major global tariffs.
Commission (CTC), the country should focus niture manufacturing for bedrooms and kitchens. markets. For instance, nuts which consist of mac- Other household articles of iron have an ex-
on non-extractive exports in order to benefit from adamia nuts have less export potential of US$4 port potential of US$1.3 million, actual exports
the trade pact with a combined gross domestic Nations conducting rural electrification proj- million into Africa, actual exports of US$5.1 mil- of US$3 million and untapped potential of
product (GDP) of more than US$3.4 trillion. ects have a need for treated poles used for trans- lion and untapped potential remaining valued at US$360.800.
mission lines.
It said Africa’s industrial exports are forecast to US$42.700, according to CTC. Mining and quarrying
benefit most, given that the AfCFTA provides an The other advantage of wood products is that “Zimbabwe has been exporting more nuts in Data from ITC show that ferrochromium of
opportunity for African nations to diversify trade small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in the coun- shell compared to shelled nuts which results in carbon has export potential of US$11.2 million,
from extractive commodities, for example miner- try can participate significantly in furniture man- less earnings from macadamia nuts,” it said. actual exports of US$9.4 million and untapped
als, which traditionally account for over 75% of ufacturing which can further help them in in- potential of US$2.4 million.
Africa’s exports outside the continent, to non-ex- creasing revenue generation as they will not only Fish exports On the other hand, unworked industrial dia-
tractive exports. focus on their Zimbabwean clients but also on the Fish, whole or frozen, have export potential of monds have an export potential of US$1.2 mil-
export markets. US$3.8 million, actual exports of US$3.5 million lion, actual exports of US$4.600 and untapped
“The AfCFTA can assist Zimbabwe in pivot- and the remaining untapped potential is valued at potential of US$1.2 million.
ing away from extractive exports,” CTC said in Horticulture sector products US$636.800.
a newsletter. Black tea is a traditional export for Zimbabwe Zimbabwe has options for export diversifica- Conclusion
with untapped potential valued at US$2.1 mil- tion of frozen fish filets into other African coun- The CTC said trade opportunities for Zimba-
Figures from the International Trade Centre lion for packings greater than 3kgs, according to tries. bwean products will be largely for non-extractive
(ITC), show that Zimbabwe has great potential ITC. The CTC said markets with great potential “There is scope to exploit fishing opportunities industries. This, therefore, calls for value addition
exports in agriculture, forestry and fishing; horti- for this local export of black tea are South Africa in other dams such as Tugwi-Mukosi to increase and beneficiation of agricultural products so as to
culture; and manufacturing, compared to mining and Eswatini. national fisheries production and reduce over ex- increase export earnings.
and quarrying. Notwithstanding the export potential of this ploitation of Lake Kariba. Strategies that can be The sugar and the cotton to clothing value
product, exports are not easy as there is stiff com- pursued to increase fish trade include investing chains have great potential though they have dis-
These products include raw cane sugar, fish, petition from East African nations such Kenya, in cold chains and providing current market in- tinguished characteristics of protected markets as
black tea, oilcake of cotton seeds, peas, oranges, highlighting the need for robust marketing strat- telligence on regional markets to SME and large there is heavy government intervention in these
freezers of chest type, men’s ensembles, men’s egies for Zimbabwe’s black tea, the commission operators,” CTC said. markets, including production subsidies and im-
trousers and shorts, ferrochromium and un- port barriers.
worked industrial diamonds. The commission said investment in value addi-
tion will transform Zimbabwe’s economic struc-
“Zimbabwe can export these products as in- ture from one highly dependent on the export
tra-African trade increases largely due to the re- of agricultural raw materials and minerals, to an
moval of tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade,” economy trading high-value processed goods.
CTC said. In relation to the market for Zimbabwean
products, CTC said its natural markets are those
“Low-hanging fruits are in the agriculture and countries in the Southern African Development
agro-processing sector . . . Production of agricul- Community (Sadc) region followed by those
tural goods is labour intensive and can also aid in the Common Market for Southern Africa
more employment creation opportunities espe- (Comesa).
cially for women and youth followed by the man- “This speaks to the need to address the coun-
ufacturing sector.” try’s infrastructure as a landlocked country, and
transport logistics to northern, western and east-
The advantage of trading manufactured prod- ern Africa for the country’s exports,” CTC said.
ucts is that they can be less dependent on fluctu- “With the liberalisation of markets, there is a
ations of commodity prices such as those experi- huge possibility that trading under the Sadc and
enced for minerals, CTC said. Comesa blocs is likely to continue and expansion
into other regions such north and west Africa may
Wood products value chain not be instantaneous.”
Wood is used for structural purposes in build-
ing and construction, transmission lines in the
form of treated poles and furniture manufactur-
ing. Coniferous wood is used for making furni-
ture and Zimbabwean wood has a reputation for
good quality, thus of great export potential in the
African region.
According to the ITC, coniferous wood sawn
or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, has ac-
tual export potential of US$2.3 million, actual
exports are US$5.4 million and untapped poten-
tial remaining in individual countries is US$1.2
million.
Markets with greatest potential for these prod-
ucts are South Africa and closest export links are
with Zambia, CTC says.

Industry confident of improved economic performance

BERNARD MPOFU for throughput. expected to be mild in 2022, the pandemic is Commenting on the impact of the ongoing
“As you may be aware, our projection for 2021 anticipated to continue clouding the business power cuts triggered by lower power generation
ZIMBABWE’S manufacturing sector is cau- outlook as the risk of new variants and waves capacity at the country’s hydro-powered power
tiously optimistic that the sector reached 61% was 61%. Because of the headwinds in the last remains high in the absence of herd immunity. station, Matsheza said: “The current power out-
capacity during the last quarter after the econo- quarter of 2021, at this stage we don’t know if ages as we engage with the utility are expected to
my suffered rising inflation and foreign exchange the outcome will be 61%. For quarter 1 of 2022, The Finance minister Mthuli Ncube is pro- be resolved by end of January based on comple-
volatilities. our projection will be around the 2021 closing jecting the economy to register strong growth of tion of maintenance works at Kariba, the unlock-
figure,” Matsheza said. 5.5% in 2022 buoyed by improved performance ing of power imports with settlement of arrears
The Confederation of Zimbabwe (CZI) is in the tourism, mining, agriculture, and con- to Eskom, HCB and EDM and other initiatives
this February expected to release key statistics on Zimbabwe’s annual inflation decelerated sig- struction sectors. The mining sector is expected to unlock imports from other regional utilities.
the country’s manufacturing sector at a time the nificantly from 348.6% in 2020 to 60.7% in to grow by 8% in 2022 on the back of increased
economy has been wobbling. 2021. Government sees inflation closing 2022 output and new investments, particularly for “At this stage, therefore, it would be prema-
between 15-20%, while market watchers con- gold and diamonds. ture to revise any projections. The focus will be
Kurai Matsheza, CZI president, told The tend that the figure will be hovering around to address the headwinds facing us. We are excit-
NewsHawks the industrial lobby group is hope- 40%. Authorities indicated that they will con- The country’s domestic currency also lost val- ed that the rains seem widespread and good agri-
ful improved agricultural output on account of tinue with tight fiscal and monetary policies to ue against the United States dollar last year as cultural output will reduce import demand and
good rainfall would spur growth in the manufac- tame inflation. experts questioned the efficacy of the current of- release some forex for industry and commerce.”
turing sector, which mainly relies on agriculture ficial foreign exchange system.
Analysts say while the impact of Covid-19 is

NewsHawks Stock Taking Page 27

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

Price Sheet A MEMBER OF FINSEC & THE ZIMBABWE STOCK EXCHANGE

Friday, 21 January 2022

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) 12500.00 Volume Value ($) (cents) ($m)
African Sun Consumer Services AFDIS: ZH Price 700.00 (%)
ART ASUN: ZH 12500.00 1030.00 -
Ariston Industrials ARTD: ZH 691.00 - 324.53 2,400 - - - - 14,936.82
Axia Consumer Services ARISTON: ZH 1024.51 700.00 4116.55 16,800 9.00 1.30 8.99 9,967.52
BAT AXIA: ZH 345.24 1030.00 100 5.49 0.54 -1.44 4,500.87
CAFCA Consumer Goods 4100.00 325.00 309000.00 8,500 1,030 -20.71 -6.00 -12.81 5,281.39
Cassava Consumer Goods BAT: ZH 4500.00 17000.00 68,600 27,585 16.55 0.40 36.99
CBZ CAFCA: ZH 309000.00 5042.16 2,823,950 -3.47 22,729.54
CFI Industrials 17000.00 - 6704.16 - - - 63,757.57
Dairibord Technology CSZL: ZH 5104.00 - 10200.00 - - - - -
Delta CBZ: ZH 6685.82 5000.00 3755.36 100,700 - -61.84 -1.21 24.03 1,484.97
Econet Banking CFI:ZH 10200.00 6695.00 16617.26 182,700 5,077,455 18.34 0.27 -10.81 130,621.05
Edgars Industrials DZL: ZH 3755.36 10200.00 8200.10 800 12,248,510 - - 9.01
FBC Consumer Goods DLTA: ZH 17826.84 - - 81,600 - - 7.30 35,040.06
Fidelity Consumer Goods ECO: ZH 8208.07 16450.00 495.13 136,600 - -1209.58 -6.79 2.24 10,816.17
First Capital Telecommunications 9000.00 3100.00 946,700 22,699,180 -7.97 -0.10 -3.53 13,444.22
FML Consumer Services EDGR: ZH 500.00 495.00 1405.88 7,900 77,630,340 -4.87 -0.97 13.82 216,718.25
FMP FBC: ZH 3100.00 - 350.03 - 39,115 - - -8.43 212,429.89
GBH Banking FIDL: ZH 1405.88 - 1744.44 - - - - -10.94
Getbucks Financial Services FCA: ZH 349.76 350.00 740.00 184,200 - 0.27 0.08 1.34 2,991.81
Hippo 1744.44 - 160.41 - 644,759 - - -12.78 20,830.45
Innscor Banking FMHL: ZH 745.00 740.00 605.56 100 - -5.00 -0.67 -5.13
Lafarge Financial Services FMP: ZH 167.75 160.00 26000.00 28,800 740 -7.34 -4.38 -30.10 1,531.33
Mash GBH: ZH 605.56 - 18521.30 - 46,198 - - 0.93 7,560.00
Masimba Real Estate 26000.00 - 8202.32 - - - - -7.14 12,039.13
Medtech Industrials GBFS: ZH 18502.78 18525.00 260.00 52,700 - 18.52 0.10 14.05 9,162.36
Medtech Class B HIPO: ZH 8200.00 8205.00 5205.00 11,000 9,760,725 2.32 0.03 2.53
Meikles Financial Services 251.83 260.00 2500.00 3,600 902,255 8.17 3.24 -19.87 860.74
Nampak Consumer Goods INN: ZH 5205.00 - 3200.00 - 9,360 - - -5.36 7,043.38
NatFoods LACZ: ZH 2500.00 - 12500.00 - - - - -28.57 50,185.35
NTS Industrials MASH: ZH 3000.00 3200.00 1299.25 200 - 200.00 6.67 28.00 105,548.53
NMBZ Industrials MSHL: ZH 12195.00 12500.00 138600.00 2,000 6,400 305.00 2.50 -0.08 6,561.86
OK Zim Real Estate MMDZ: ZH 1299.25 - 510.00 - 250,000 - - 16.45 4,833.59
Proplastics Industrials MMDZB: ZH 138600.00 138600.00 1266.81 2,500 - - - 0.83 12,578.08
RTG Financial Services MEIK: ZH 504.00 510.00 2546.65 3,500 3,465,000 6.00 1.19 -19.05
RioZim Financial Services NPKZ: ZH 1261.77 1400.00 2750.00 44,800 17,850 5.04 0.40 57.31 300.00
SeedCo Industrials NTFD: ZH 2499.64 2580.00 750.00 119,400 567,530 47.01 1.88 -7.21 42.94
Simbisa Industrials 2900.00 2750.00 4500.00 100 3,040,695 -150.00 -5.17 -5.17
Star Africa Consumer Goods NTS: ZH 750.00 750.00 11300.00 200 2,750 - - -3.85 31,580.76
Truworths Industrials NMB: ZH 4500.00 - 12501.13 - 1,500 - - 12.50 9,817.76
TSL OKZ: ZH 11500.00 11300.00 160.35 23,500 - -200.00 -1.74 7.04
Turnall Banking PROL: ZH 12112.69 12500.00 213.25 119,300 2,655,500 388.44 3.21 38.90 94,802.55
Unifreight Consumer Services RTG: ZH 165.50 160.00 8000.00 94,600 14,913,850 -5.15 -3.11 38.40 1,294.75
Willdale RIOZ: ZH 213.25 - 425.00 - 151,688 - - 6.63 5,120.09
ZB Industrials SEED: ZH 7210.00 8000.00 2800.00 100 - 790.00 10.96 14.01
Zeco Consumer Services SIM: ZH 405.00 425.00 340.00 10,300 8,000 20.00 4.94 3.63 32,746.97
Zimpapers SACL: ZH 2800.00 - 7937.50 - 43,775 - - -6.56 6,928.23
Zimplow Basic Materials TRUW: ZH 342.69 340.00 2,200 - -2.69 -0.78 9.87
ZHL Consumer Goods TSL: ZH 7937.50 - 2.00 - 7,480 - - 3.08 18,716.22
TOTAL Consumer Goods TURN: ZH - 290.59 - - - - 316.67 5,491.33
Consumer Goods UNIF: ZH 2.00 290.25 2217.65 15,100 - 0.34 0.12 -0.14
Consumer Services WILD: ZH 290.25 2200.00 350.04 3,400 43,880 -82.35 -3.58 -6.03 27,933.90
Consumer Goods ZBFH: ZH 2300.00 350.00 1,144,700 75,400 -17.14 -4.67 -6.92 70,279.45
ZECO: ZH 367.18 3,321,300 4,006,920
Industrials ZIMP: ZH 161,267,819 7,560.64
Industrials ZIMPLOW: ZH 819.02
Industrials ZHL: ZH
28,568.20
Banking 2,095.42
Industrials 2,981.28
Consumer Services 6,045.20
Industrials
Financial Services 13,905.76
9.27

1,673.80
7,641.59
6,364.49
1,366,174.53

ETFs MCMS.zw 1320.57 1320.00 1320.00 28,817 380,384 -0.57 -0.04 32.00 1,662.25
Morgan&Co Multi-Sector ETF OMTT.zw 680.11 698.00 691.92 53,945 373,258 11.81 1.74 57.22 553.54
Old Mutual ZSE Top 10 ETF
9,546.35
FINSEC Financial Services OMZIL 11500.00 12000.00 11500.00 75 8,625 - - 15.00
Old Mutual Zimbabwe US$m
76.36
VFEX (US cents) Mining BIND:VX 6.00 - 6.00 - - - - 9.09 8.06
BNC Mining CMCL:VX 1300.00 - 1300.00 - - - --
Caledonia Consumer Goods 21.00 45,944 9,648.24 - -- 113.73
Padenga Consumer Goods PHL:VX 21.00 - 21.00 - - - - 1.32 108.41
SeedCo International SCIL:VX 28.42 28.42
YTD %
Index Close Change (%) Open YTD % Top 5 Risers Price Change % +14.01
ZSE All Share 11,324.01 -0.97 11,435.14 +4.64 TSL 8000.00c +790.00c +10.96 +28.00
Top 10 7,184.86 -1.52 +5.48 Medtech Class B 3200.00c +200.00c +6.67 +3.63
Top 15 7,943.10 -1.05 7,295.77 +5.49 Turnall +20.00c +4.94 -19.87
Small Cap +0.79 8,027.79 -7.70 Mash 425.00c +8.17c +3.24 +38.90
Medium Cap 371,740.14 +0.48 368,837.01 +2.97 Simbisa 260.00c +388.44c +3.21
21,013.11 20,911.90 12501.13c YTD %
+2.24
Top 5 Fallers Price Change % -12.81
Delta 16617.26c -1209.58c -6.79 -5.17
Ariston -20.71c -6.00 -6.92
Proplastics 324.53c -150.00c -5.17 -30.10
ZHL 2750.00c -17.14c -4.67
GBH -7.34c -4.38
350.04c
160.41c

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

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

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

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

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

Page 28 Companies & Markets NewsHawks

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

PACIFIC Cigarette Company (PCC) recently Tobacco value-addition critical to
relaunched its Pegasus and Branson brands. economic development: Watinaye
The NewsHawks (NH) spoke to the firm’s gen-
eral manager Itai Gift Watinaye (IW) on this PCC general manager Itai Gift Watinaye
and other issues:
matic conditions in terms of altitude and tem- We don’t profess to have all the answers, but any cigarettes or charged with such an offence.
NH: First things first, Mr Watinaye, kind- perature for growing tobacco, and it has experi- we are in favour of entering into export part- These are merely smear tactics.
ly give us your professional background until enced farmers who have been growing this crop nerships so that Zimbabwe can export more fin-
you became Pacific Cigarette Company general over generations. Zimbabwe also has numerous ished product. It is also vital that the country It has always been constantly alleged, but
manager. green leaf threshing plants which add value to and the region and the continent increase its what is most interesting is that in every sto-
the raw leaf. manufacturing capacity. ry that has been written, there has never been
IW: I have a legal background and prior to anywhere in any article where the claims went
taking on the role as general manager, I held NH: The government has approved a US$5 It saddens me; however, that a key initiative beyond allegation. So, the allegations have been
various leadership roles in the banking industry billion Tobacco Value Chain Transformation to have Africa accorded a cigarette quota has not made for the past 17 years and in the 17 years,
before heading the legal and governance depart- Plan to promote value-addition in the sector. been pursued. As the leader of tobacco in Africa, our company has never been charged anywhere
ment at PCC. What do you think should be done to ensure Zimbabwe needs to lead this initiative as Africa, with any such offence.
value addition? despite its huge raw tobacco exports to China,
NH: You recently relaunched the Pegasus remains the only continent without a cigarette Cigarette smuggling is a global phenomenon
and Branson brands that come in toasted and IW: This is an incredibly welcome develop- quota into China. This issue was also high- which has been in existence since the advent of
menthol variants to expand and consolidate ment which we think will benefit the country lighted in our previous input to government on the industry and long before Pacific Cigarette
your market position. Why precisely did you re- as well as the region. We were approached by low-hanging transformation opportunities to- Company came into being. Smuggling hurts
launch the Pegasus and Branson brands? government in 2017 to provide our input into wards the US$5 billion ambition. Pacific Cigarette Company just as much as its
the tobacco industry value chain transforma- competitors, if not more, as counterfeits distort
IW: One of the driving philosophies of busi- tion plan. The process was being spearheaded by NH: While Zimbabwe is Africa's leading to- our markets, revenue, and do not contribute to
ness is if you stand still, you die. In line with the Honourable Vice-President (Constantino) bacco producer, its economic environment has the fiscus of any economy.
the passion and ethos that built Pacific Cigarette Chiwenga and driven by the late Honourable been harsh for decades now as the economy is
Company into the success that it is today, we are Minister (Perrance) Shiri. We are happy to see in bad shape and struggling. What are the op- We believe that proper enforcement and co-
always innovating and not content to stand still. that under the leadership of the agriculture sec- portunities and challenges of operating in Zim- operation are some of the ways to stop or reduce
tor by tobacco industry expert Honourable Dr babwe? smuggling.
We are in the business of bringing pleasure (Anxious) Masuka (the country) is now seeing
to our customers. To do that, we have to listen through this transformation. Beneficiation is IW: One of the challenges of operating in Pacific Cigarettes continues to work closely
to our customers. After engaging with custom- important in all of Africa’s value chains as the Zimbabwe is that the disposable incomes are with authorities to stamp out smuggling and
ers, we heeded their call and that is why we re- profit lies not in the raw materials, but in devel- low. However, there are numerous opportunities bootlegging.
launched Pegasus and Branson as an expansion oping finished products. some of which are the ease of doing business and
to our price segment, so as to provide a more that we have a good human capital base which is No wholesale solution has been found for
affordable offering to some of our consumers. Value-addition starts from the bottom of the well equipped in terms of skills and education. this problem across the world, but cooperation
pyramid, with the small to medium farmer who between companies and relevant authorities
Pegasus and Branson come in different vari- has the technical know-how of growing tobacco, NH: There is a lot of smuggling involved in in terms of information gathering and action
ants/flavours to suit all smoking tastes in Zim- but lacks the financial capacity and would re- the industry, especially between Zimbabwe and based on certified information (basically the
babwe from toasted to menthol. quire loans to kickstart this. South Africa. Your company has sometimes enforcement of the intellectual property of the
been named in smuggling reports, although you trademark owner), can help curb smuggling and
NH: Your flagship range will now be available Entrepreneurship is undoubtedly one of the have always denied it. How are you going to counterfeiting.
in other variants. The other variant is Hong Ma, pillars of value addition; government needs to handle and deal with the problem of smuggling,
which specifically targets the Chinese market. invest in the younger generation and equip them including bootlegging? It’s not something that can be dealt with over-
What informs this market segmentation? to be business owners of tomorrow by imparting night, but through joint co-operation between
skills and giving them opportunities to trade in IW: We have long been accused of participat- manufacturers and the relevant authorities
IW: As indicated, we are in the business of the global cigarette market. ing in the illicit cigarette trade, but at no stage across the region, measures can be put in place
bringing pleasure to our customers. To do so, we have we ever been found guilty of smuggling to address this issue that affects the industry as
spend a lot of time on customer research, listen- a whole.
ing to them so we understand what they want
and give them what they want and need.

There are currently an estimated 10 000 Chi-
nese nationals in Zimbabwe. PCC realised that
this was a niche market that needed to be satis-
fied too, hence we created a blend to suit their
tastes. It’s a Pegasus cigarette with Chinese fla-
vours. In Chinese, Pegasus is Hong Ma. That is
the origin of the name Pegasus Hong Ma.

NH: What is your current full range of brands
so far? For the avoidance of doubt, what is your
flagship brand?

IW: We are licensed manufacturers of Pacif-
ic which comes in Pacific Storm, Breeze, Mist,
Blue and Gold. We also have Branson, which
is available in Flame (toasted) and Mint (men-
thol); Pegasus, which comes in Toasted and
Hong Ma; Kyro in Dark and light; Bastille and
Seville’s. We also manufacture the Acacia brand
family, which comes in Fantasy and Honour.

NH: Pacific Cigarette Company is a leading
cigarette-manufacturing company which started
operating in 2002 as a Savanna Tobacco thresh-
ing company. Why did you change the name
and what is your market share now?

IW: As our popularity grew, it became appar-
ent that while we were called “Savanna Tobacco
Company”, our consumers simply referred to us
as “Pacific!”, obviously after our iconic flagship
brand. So, we decided to simplify things and
change the company’s name to Pacific.

Pacific Cigarette Company is the clear market
leader, in terms of consumer choice, in Zimba-
bwe.

NH: What are your main competitors in the
local and regional markets?

IW: In the Zimbabwe cigarette market, we
only know of Pacific Cigarette and the rest. We
leave it to the market to determine who the rest
are. Regionally, our main competitors are mul-
tinationals like BAT, Phillip Morris and Gold
Leaf Tobacco.

NH: We often hear stories that Zimbabwe’s
tobacco is competitive regionally and interna-
tionally. What is unique about Zimbabwean
tobacco, if at all it is?

IW: Zimbabwe is globally renowned for its
Virginia flue-cured tobacco. This tobacco is
sought-after regionally and internationally, as
it is considered to have low potassium levels,
which is generally preferred when blending cig-
arettes.

NH: Zimbabwe is Africa's biggest tobacco
producer. What are its competitive advantages
in that field?

IW: Zimbabwe is considered to have ideal cli-

NewsHawks News Analysis Page 29
parties to gauge whether they
Issue 64, 21 January 2022 By-elections help parties gained or lost their popularity.
gauge popular support Parties will be interested in try-
LIZWE SEBATHA ing to discover if they have all
are mostly party loyalists.  And tary majority after winning 160 and Technology (Nust) lecturer improved or if the balance has
IN a few weeks, Zimbabwe with a two-thirds majority, it is seats against 60 for the opposi- and political analyst Methuseli shifted,” Moyo said.
heads to the polls to fill vacant a given that there is no incentive tion in the disputed 2018 elec- Moyo said the by-elections were
local government and parlia- for opposition sympathisers to tions. Zanu-PF swept most rural necessary for parties to gauge “Zanu PF will be interested
mentary seats that fell vacant vote for the simple reason that constituencies while the opposi- their structural and organisa- to check if they are doing well
through deaths and after the re- the polls do not change the sta- tion won in urban centres. tional capacity ahead of the in urban areas whereas MDC
call of MDC-Alliance legislators tus quo,” analyst Mlungisi Moyo 2023 elections. will be checking their improve-
and councillors. argued. The ruling party now targets ment in rural areas commonly
urban centres. “By-elections will however perceived to be Zanu PF strong-
There are over 100 vacant Zanu PF holds a parliamen- still be useful to the political holds.”
seats which comprise 28 parlia- National University of Science
mentary and 117 council seats On Monday, the United
emanating from the recalls, States embassy in Harare said
deaths or dismissal.  President it will keenly follow the polls to
Emmerson Mnangagwa set 26 check Harare’s commitment to
January as the date on which the implementation of electoral
nomination courts will sit. reforms in line with 2018 elec-
tion observer mission recom-
Zanu PF has said it will use mendations.
the elections to gauge its sup-
port base, with party nation- European Union observers
al secretary for finance Patrick said the 2018 elections had sev-
Chinamasa on Tuesday saying eral problems, including media
the polls provide a perfect op- bias, voter intimidation and mis-
portunity to "politically bury trust in the electoral commission
the opposition". and questioned delays in releas-
ing the presidential results.
“Messrs (Nelson) Chamisa
and (Tendai) Biti remain ad- The vote assessment by the
amant since the formation of EU, which was observing the
their British-founded, sponsored results for the first time since
and funded party that sanctions 2002, is critical in determining
should not only remain but be whether Zimbabwe can shed its
intensified. For this treachery, pariah status and return to the
the mass revolutionary Zanu community of nations.
PF will execute its revolutionary
mandate and politically bury the Analyst Effie Ncube argued
MDC-Alliance and its allies in that political parties may hide
the forthcoming by-elections on their structural deficiencies by
March 26,” he wrote on microb- channeling resources to the few
logging site Twitter. constituencies, "something they
would not be able to do in a gen-
The by-elections come at a eral election".
time Chamisa and MDC-T
leader Douglas Mwonzora are at “There are many variables that
loggerheads over the MDC-Al- will go on to decide who wins.
liance name and symbols after This includes the state of the op-
Mwonzora claimed both in a position or ruling party, levels of
recent letter to the Zimbabwe voter interest, levels of voter reg-
Electoral Commission (Zec). istration and voter turnout, and
whether or not the election will
On 14 January, a shadowy be free and fair,” Ncube said.
MDC Zimbabwe led by Thu-
lani Ndebele wrote to Zec stat- “In a free and fair election,
ing that it will participate in the every party has a chance to win.
by-elections. Ndebele said the But in Zimbabwe a lot is stacked
party "has never been subject against the opposition and in
to any Alliance agreement nor favour of Zanu PF. The chal-
court challenge or judgements." lenge for the opposition remains
the  divisions which, if not ad-
But Chamisa and allies have dressed, might discourage voters
said they will not give up the from even going to the polling
fight for the MDC-Alliance station, a situation that may give
name and symbols. Zanu PF some advantages.”

Analysts said the by-elections, Analyst Kudakwashe Munemo
which have little effect in parlia- weighed in, saying the by-elec-
mentary representation, were a tions cannot be used as a “test at
litmus test of Zanu PF and op- national level given that the 28
position parties’ structural base vacant seats in parliament and
ahead of the 2023 elections. 105 council seats constitute less
than 15% and 6% respectively
“History has shown that of the total seats.”
by-elections are a test between
a party’s structural basis because
those who vote in by-elections

DESIGN PRINT BRANDING

Specializes in Printing Flyers, Stickers, Business cards
T-shirts, Caps, Banners, Calendars, PVC, Vinyl,

Lightboxes, In & Outdoor Signs, Vehicle Branding

No. 9 ARRES HOUSE, CORNER G. SILUNDIKA & INEZ TERRACE, HARARE
+263 777 729 130 | +263 778 270 328 | +263 773 017 158
[email protected]

Page 30 Critical Thinking NewsHawks

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

Taona T. Significance of by-elections
Denhere for all the three protagonists

THE long overdue and the much-de- MDC-Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa. MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora.
layed by-elections for the vacant Na-
tional Assembly and local authority two-year power vacuum has led to the stations, five-kilometre tarmac roads, ring factions, or the vanquished and moralising and demobilising the rank
positions are scheduled for 26 March political pendulum swinging in Zanu vegetable markets, mortuaries, bus sta- bitter faction will  resort to the tried and file support base of the MDC-Al-
2022. PF direction and  favour. That is, as- tions and low-level rural bridges have and tested tactical sabotage strategy of  liance who felt betrayed by the lack
certaining whether there has been a managed to get the political and elec- "bhora musango". Ultimately, the re- of a demonstrable political fightback
These by-elections are being sand- significant gain in voters shifting from toral buy-ins from prospective voters. sults of the by-elections might have  a from the party in demanding the res-
wiched between the controversial, in- the MDC-Alliance to Zanu PF, in consequential effect on how the Zanu toration of its elected officials.
conclusive and the legitimacy-deficit comparison to the 2018 parliamenta- Additionally, the by-elections will PF internal contestations and contra-
July 2018  harmonised elections and ry results. Notwithstanding, Zanu PF also show whether Mnangagwa and dictions will play out in its Decem- Therefore, these by-elections pro-
the 2023 general elections. They will may not win the parliamentary seats in Zanu PF's Leninist dictum of “the ber 2022 elective congress. Accord- vide a glorious opportunity for the
come roughly between 16 months these MDC-Alliance strongholds. best way to control the opposition is ingly, a poor and mediocre  electoral MDC-Alliance to regain the lost trust
to 18 months after the 26 March to lead it ourselves” has worked effec- performance by Zanu PF will have a and confidence of their rank and file
2022 by-elections. Accordingly, these Moreover, the by-elections will be a tively or not. That is, whether their far-reaching consequences on the pop- socio-political support base. Indeed, it
by-elections have been categorised and window of opportunity for Zanu PF trojan horse, the MDC-T, will win the ularity and electability of Mnangagwa  is an opportunity for the MDC-Alli-
classified as a mini-general election. to gauge the effectiveness or lack there- vacant constituencies in predominant- both within and  outside the  Zanu PF ance to reconnect with its supporters
That is, they act as the dress rehearsal  of of Twabammania. That is to see ly opposition strongholds. party. and show them that they are prepared
for the 2023 general elections. Thus, whether Passion Java's Zanu PF-spon- The MDC-Alliance's contradistinc- to risk everything to restore their elect-
they provide a window of opportunity  sored extravagant road campaign-stops Needless to say that the ghost of tions ed officials. Accordingly, these by-elec-
and yardstick to gauge how the three and forays in the urban areas have had factionalism continues to rear its ugly Over the last two years the MDC-Al- tions are a significant bridge-building
main protagonists might perform in a positive effect on Zanu PF's electoral head within the Zanu PF body poli- liance supporters, sympathisers and exercise between the MDC-Alliance
2023. It will provide an eye opening chances.  The socialite and self-styled tic. This has been brought into sharp neutral observers have watched in leadership and its support base. It is a
opportunity on  who will have the "prophet" Java has an incestous and focus by the recently held divisive disbelief and angst as the party’s  par- window of opportunity whereby the
momentum or the likely front runner clientelistic relationship with Zanu PF. and controversial Zanu PF provincial liamentarians and councillors were leadership goes back to its support
moving into the 2023 general elec- He has been drafted by Zanu PF in a elections which were characterised by viciously and callously recalled from base and reassures them that, despite
tions. desperate attempt to attract the depro- fratricidal mudslinging, accusations Parliament and from the local author- the setbacks of the recalls, the leader-
letarianised and downtroddenised and counter-accusations of electoral ities by the MDC-T in cahoots with ship and the shepherds will not aban-
Therefore, this opinion piece at- ghetto youths who are demographi- malpractices and cheating between the the Speaker of Parliament and the don the democratic struggle and sur-
tempts to provide a political  progno- cally the majoritarian and who nat- two warring factions. One faction is judiciary. However, conspicuous by render to Zanu PF autocracy.
sis and a critical analysis on the three urally gravitate towards the youthful allied to Constantino Chiwenga and its absence was a cohesive and sound
main protagonists in the forthcoming and energetic zeal of Nelson Chamisa. another to Mnangagwa. This dog-eat- counter-political and democratic resis- Furthermore, these by-elections
by-elections, namely Zanu PF, the Accordingly, the by-elections provides dog factionalism has so far  claimed its tance plan of action from the leader- are a significant platform for the
MDC-Alliance and the MDC-T. Ac- an electoral and political laboratory for two latest victims. The first is Owen ship of the MDC-Alliance, outside the MDC-Alliance to recharge and re-en-
cordingly, I will be objectively look- the Zanu PF to test the effectiveness "Mudha" Ncube, the former min- captured and compromised judiciary ergise its political machinery in order
ing into the political dynamics, the of Java's anti-Chamisa  gospel of twa- ister of  State Security, who was also battlefield in order to stop and put an to build a sound springboard that
challenges and the consequential re- bamism and mbingaism. the dreaded and fearsome godfather end to these wanton and blatant day- will propel it into the 2023 gener-
percussions that are confronting each of machete gangsterism in the Mid- light robberies by the MDC-T. Con- al elections on a rather  robust and
protagonist and the inevitable pitfalls Crucially, the by-election also serves lands province. The  second victim sequently, the lack of a political action strong political and electoral trajecto-
that might befall them  between now as a barometer for  President Mnan- of factionalism is the former Zanu plan to reclaim and stop the parlia- ry. Cricially, the by-elections give the
and 26 March 2022 and,  likely to gagwa to measure whether his public PF director for administration, Dick- mentary and local council recalls has MDC-Alliance an early opportunity
spill over to the 2023 general elections.  relations stunts, including his signature son Dzora.Therefore, these by-elec- the unintended consequences of de- to test their electoral strategies against
Therefore, I will be further examining ribbon-cutting aka official opening  of  tions provide a litmus test to evaluate two formidable opponents, namely
and analysing, firstly Zanu PF then piecemeal and sometimes low-profile whether there will be a peacocracy and Zanu PF and the MDC-T. This will
followed by the MDC-Alliance and and mediocre projects such as fuel modus vivendi between these two war- provide invaluable learning experi-
then lastly the MDC-T. I convenient-
ly left out the independent candidates
and other briefcase/desktop fringe po-
litical parties, because realistically none
of them have the political capital and
political gravitas to emulate a Marga-
ret Dongo-style 1996 parliamentary
victory nor a Jonathon Moyo`s 2005-
type parliamentary electoral victory.
The Zanu PF contradistinctions
The March 2022 by-elections are
the second major elections in the
post -Robert Mugabe Zanu PF. Thus,
these are the  second competitive elec-
tions in which President Emmerson
Mnangagwa will be spearheading and
presiding over as both the President of
Zimbabwe and Zanu PF. Therefore,
these by-elections, despite the fact that
most of them are being held in pre-
dominantly opposition (MDC-Alli-
ance) strongholds, with a few in Zanu
PF rural heartlands, they still have
fundamental importance to both the
exogenous and endogenous contradic-
tions and contestations within Mnan-
gagwa's Zanu PF presidency.

Accordingly, in the opposition
strongholds, Zanu PF will be measur-
ing to see if its strategy of emasculat-
ing and destabilising the opposition
over the last two years has worked.
Through controversially aiding and
abetting the discriminant recall of
MDC-Alliance MPs and councillors
by the MDC-T has negatively im-
pacted on the MDC-Alliance social
and political base. That is whether the

NewsHawks Critical Thinking Page 31

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

ences for the MDC-Alliance that they ingly, the Mwonzora-led MDC-T fac- and frowned upon and considered an This has been demonstrated by the Zanu PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa.
will need to putvto practical effect in es a herculean task as it aims to test its anathema by the court of public opin- conspicuous absence of Khupe and
2023 This will entail figuring out how borrowed and dubious political capital ion. her other lieutenants from MDC-T formance might have a profound
best they can circumnavigate a 2023 in the unforgiving and brutal electoral high-level meetings and Press confer- effect on the internal power contesta-
electoral landscape under autocracy. ecosystem of Zimbabwe.  Accordingly, the 26 March by-elec- ences. This might explain why a con- tions and factional realignments at its
Moreover, the 26 March by-elections tions will likely show that the honey- siderable number of MDC-T by-elec- December 2022 elective congress.
could be a very important electoral Mwonzora and the MDC-T were moon period is over for the MDC-T. tion candidates in Bulawayo and
mechanism for the MDC-Alliance to awarded parliamentary and local au- Thus, for the past two years the Matabeland provinces withdrew their In terms of the MDC-Alliance,
conduct a trial run and put into prac- thority freebies by the Zanu PF-cap- MDC-T has been babysat and molly- candidatures. these by-elections provide a good step-
tice their “defend the vote and protect tured  Parliament and the courts on coddled by the Zanu PF government ping stone to relaunch and rehabilitate
the vote” anti-rigging electoral  man- the basis that they will assist in de- and lavished with favourable media This inevitably places a huge elec- their political vehicle which has been
ual and blueprint in order for them stroying and neutralising the MDC-A. coverage by state media which has toral obstacle on how Mwonzora will bastardised and cannibalised through
to assess the efficacy or lack thereof been historically hostile to the oppo- navigate the winner-takes-all by-elec- Zanu PF and MDC-T-sanctioned vin-
of this counter-vote rigging strategy. Therefore, this election will be pay- sition. Therefore, the MDC-T has its tions while leading a faction-ridden dictive recalls. It is an opportunity for
This provides an invaluable learning back time for the MDC-T for all the work cut out and faces a formidable party. Consequently, he will be at- the MDC-Alliance to re-energise its
experience that will be of great use in largesse they were provided by the challenge to gain traction in the court tempting to wage two battles at once. long-suffering support base and reas-
the 2023 general elections. The notion Zanu PF government. That is, the of public opinion. On one hand he will be attempting to sure their members that although they
of an election boycott is politically Zanu PF government is going to ex- fight factional battles within his own are down, they are not out, and are still
bankrupt because it robs and deprives pect the MDC-T to prove that it has As a result, Mwonzora faces a se- camp and on the other he is attempt- fighting for the democratic cause.
the MDC-Alliance of this important managed to displace the MDC-Al- rious litmus test to prove to his han- ing to destabilise and neutralise Cha-
learning and testing experience. liance through winning some of the dlers, the Zanu PF government that misa and the MDC-Alliance. However, for the MDC-T, the
by-election seats. he will not tragically fail to deliver op- Conclusion by-elections are a moment of truth
Additionally, the by-elections can be position votes and seats to the regime, The forthcoming by-elections present and a reality check. Their highly ques-
used by the MDC-Alliance to shatter However, this is going to be a tall or- in manner similar to how Thokozani watershed moments for Zanu PF, the tionable opposition credentials will be
the illusion that  has been perpetrated der for the MDC-T, because through Khupe dismally flopped in the 2018 MDC-Alliance and the MDC-T.  All put to the stern test. 
and reinforced by state media and a its scorched earth policies of parlia- harmonised elections. these three respective political parties
plethora of Zanu PF social media  pro- mentary recalls and cosying up to the are partaking in this contest confront- Furthermore, the moment also pro-
pagandists known as "varakashi" that Zanu PF government the MDC-T has Nonetheless, the political and ed with various internal and external vides an opportunity for citizens to see
the judicially-modified MDC-T  has failed to win the hearts and minds of electoral temperature in the opposi- contradictions, challenges and permu- how Mwonzora will walk a  political
displaced the MDC-Alliance as the the opposition constituency. tion strongholds clearly points to the tations which will have far-reaching tightrope as he desperately attempts to
main opposition. Thus, the MDC-Al- likelihood of electoral defeat for the consequences on their political for- steady his faction-ridden political for-
liance must work hard and deliver a re- This has been brought into sharp MDC-T. tunes and trajectory. mation while he tries to neutralise and
ality check electoral knockout punch focus by a considerable number of obstruct the MDC-Alliance.
on the MDC-T, thereby exposing candidates who dramatically withdraw Suffice to say that Mwonzora and For Zanu PF, the by-election per-
them as mere regime charlatans who from representing the MDC-T in the his political outfit the MDC-T are *About the writer: Taona T. Den-
have been living on borrowed robes by-elections. As such, both Mwonzora also plagued by their  fair share of in- here is a human rights and interna-
of the MDC-Alliance's 2018 electoral and the MDC-T are highly detested tra-party squabbles and factionalism. tional development lawyer based in
victories and political capital. This will the United Kingdom.
also send a clear message to the Zanu
PF government that their strategy of
divide-and-fool or divide-and-rule of
propping up the MDC-T with the
aim of destabilising and neutralising
the MDC-Alliance is a lost cause.
The MDC-T's contradistinctions
The 26 March 2022 by-election will
be the first national electoral contest
Douglas Mwonzora will be participat-
ing in as leader of a political party. It
is common knowledge and an open
secret that the MDC-T has never been
in favour of  presenting itself before
the electorate. Consequently, since it
instigated the parliamentary and  lo-
cal council recalls, the MDC-T has
always been playing hide and seek and
is very much averse to present itself to
an electoral contest.

Accordingly, once Mwonzora con-
troversially assumed the leadership of
the MDC-T, he has been propagat-
ing the politics of appeasement and
accommodation with the Zanu PF
government through his lukewarm
anti-democratic milk-toast doctrine of
rational disputation.

Furthermore, through various
public proclamations senior MDC-T
officials have shown their willingness
to subvert electoral constitutional
democracy by preferring to have dia-
logue that will birth a self-serving elit-
ist patronage entity, disguised as a gov-
ernment of national unity, rather than
advocate for the electoral contests for
the outstanding by-elections. Accord-

ADVERT SPACE

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

Page 32 Critical Thinking NewsHawks

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

FOR much of the past year, there have Bring Patrice Lumumba home
been plans for the sacred human re-
mains of the Democratic Republic of CONGO - CIRCA 1960: The Prime Minister of Congo Kinshasa Patrice Lumumba in Congo in 1960. (Photo by Dominique BERRETTY/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
the Congo’s first post-independence
prime minister, Patrice Émery Lu- Black activists organised a  wake  for ing public attention. The case of the to be completed like items checked off Meanwhile, the younger Tshiseke-
mumba, to finally be returned to his Lumumba at Lewis Michaux’s Harlem Morton Collection at the University of a to-do list. Rather, the return must di’s international standing has been
children in Belgium, and then repatri- bookstore. When Pauline died in Kin- of Pennsylvania led activist Abdul-Aliy be part of a wider and ongoing pro- consolidated through his position as
ated to the Congo. shasa in 2014, she was still waiting to Muhammad  to uncover the ongoing cess: “I told Belgium, that if we want head of the African Union, where his
bury her husband. She, and her icon- desecration of the remains of Tree a reconciliation we need reconciliation responsibilities include negotiating for
Originally scheduled for a ceremo- ic demonstration, are memorialised and Delisha Africa, who were killed of memories because we can not make the provision of Covid-19 vaccines for
ny on 30 June 2021, the 61st anni- in Brenda Marie Osbey’s poem  “On when the city of Philadelphia bombed a reconciliation when our memories member states. He recently met with
versary of the country’s independence Contemplating the Breasts of Pauline their family’s home on 13 May 1985, [are] so different and so contradicto- President Biden  and made  an official
passed with Lumumba’s remains still Lumumba,”  which is part of a long leading to the discovery that the city ry.” Juliana’s words carry a particular visit to Israel, the latter of particular
in the custody of Belgian authorities. line of African American efforts to held additional remains of the victims weight at a time when the Special Par- concern given  its historical involve-
The ceremony with Belgian King uplift the Lumumba family. The im- of its violence against the MOVE or- liamentary Commission on Belgian ment in mercenary efforts against
Philippe, current Prime Minister Alex- mediacy of Pauline’s demands remains ganisation. Colonial History has received a sharp- pro-Lumumba rebels and its ongoing
ander de Croo of Belgium, and Congo after six years. ly critical historical report that may or role in the plunder of the Congo’s re-
President Felix Tshisekedi, was then Since 2005, in South Africa, the may not lead to meaningful action of sources (to say nothing of Tshisekedi’s
planned for 17 January 2022, the an- While Lumumba’s body was dis- Truth and Reconciliation Commis- the sort that the family has demanded. support for Israel’s occupation of Je-
niversary of the assassination. solved in sulphuric acid, Soete,  like sion (TRC) created the Missing Per- rusalem  and its status as an observer
the US lynchers of Sam Hose and so sons Task Team to identify the remains Lumumba’s son  Guy-Patrice Lu- at the African Union). Such actions
Last week, Tshisekedi  announced many others, kept trophies of his vic- of the Black victims of the country’s mumba  opposes Tshisekedi’s efforts highlight the extraordinary distance
another delay — this time until June tims as he traveled from the Congo to apartheid era. Drawing on the exper- to exploit the repatriation for politi- between Lumumba’s legacy and Tsh-
2022. The official reason for the delay Belgium, often displaying them for tise of researchers with experience in cal gain. Tshisekedi himself is familiar isekedi’s leadership.
was  the rising number of Covid-19 friends and journalists. After Soete similar initiatives in Argentina and with some of the political challenges
cases in the Congo, but the pandemic died, his daughter Godelieve contin- elsewhere, this government project has of memorialization after the remains For decades, the Lumumba fam-
crisis is deeply entangled with a series ued her father’s tradition, culminating been deliberate in its efforts to include of his own father, longtime popular ily has made a series of unanswered
of other political maneuvers and oth- in  a bizarre 2016 interview, during the families of the missing at all stag- opposition leader Etienne Tshisekdi, demands through formal inquiries
er  crises  that are undoubtedly factors which a reporter found the remains es, while seeing their work as integral spent more than two years in Europe and legal appeals. A group of scholars
in the decision. in her possession.  (In her efforts to to the larger mission of the TRC, and before their return in 2019 after Felix’s and activists have also asserted the re-
defend her father, Godelieve further further representative of a larger model election. Felix is quickly losing what- turn of Lumumba’s remains must not
At the centre of this story, Lumum- revealed that his brutality was visited of repatriation of human remains and ever claim he had on his own father’s be an occasion for Belgium to congrat-
ba’s family continues to be victimised. upon his children.) The Belgian police possessions. As different as these cases mantle (see Bob Elvis’s song “Lettre à ulate itself, but rather an opportunity
As  Nadeen Shaker recently reported, intervened and, for the past five years, of violence may be, government sanc- Ya Tshitshi” for a recent indictment of for a full accounting of the colonial vi-
his children were forced to escape to Lumumba’s remains have been held by tion — at multiple levels and taking the president’s abandonment of his fa- olence that led to the assassination and
Cairo during their father’s house ar- the Belgian government responsible different forms — remains constant. ther’s mantle). He may find value in its subsequent cover-up.
rest, never to see him again. The dis- for his death. In September 2020, a an association with a revered nation-
turbing fact that the remains of Lu- court finally ruled they should be re- In  an October 2021 pro- alist icon amid political protests from Hopefully soon, Lumumba’s fami-
mumba spent another Independence turned to the family. gramme hosted by Friends of the Con- opponents concerned about his over- ly can mourn on their own terms and
Day in Belgium may provide oppor- go, Juliana Lumumba explained that reaching efforts to control the coun- have all of their demands for justice
tunities for metaphor and analogy, These most recent delays are occur- for her, as the daughter of a martyr, re- try’s powerful electoral commission as met immediately and without equiv-
but, amid the widespread complicity ring at a time when the ongoing mis- patriation and memorialisation of her the 2023 election cycle approaches. ocation.
in this ongoing desecration, the most treatment of human remains is receiv- father’s remains were not finite events
important outcome must be to respect — Mail&Guardian.
the ethical and legal claims of his chil-
dren, which daughter Juliana Lumum-
ba described in an  open letter to the
Belgian king last year.

The story of the execution and its
aftermath is well told by Ludo de
Witte in The Assassination of Patrice
Lumumba. On 17 January 1961, Lu-
mumba was killed along with com-
rades Maurice Mpolo and Joseph
Okito by Belgian authorities, with
the support of neocolonial Kantangan
separatists and the US. Two days lat-
er, Gerard Soete, Belgian police com-
missioner of Katanga, and his broth-
er exhumed the body to chemically
eradicate all physical evidence of their
crime in order to prevent the kind of
mobilisation which its identification
would inspire. Though the execution
was kept secret for nearly a month, its
announcement inspired exactly what
his executioners feared, as African peo-
ple throughout the world engaged in
protest and other revolutionary acts
of remembrance — from  the well-
known demonstration at the United
Nations, and other cities throughout
the world to a legacy in a visual, musi-
cal, and literary culture that continues
to this day.

In February 1961, while the Cul-
tural Association of Women of African
Heritage organised a major protest
at UN headquarters in New York,
Lumumba’s widow Pauline Opango
Lumumba led a march of family and
supporters to the UN offices of Raje-
shawar Dayal in Kinshasa. There, she
requested that the UN help her receive
the remains of her husband for a prop-
er burial. After Ralph Bunche offered
“apologies” for the New York protest,
Lorraine Hansberry  “hasten[ed] pub-
licly to apologise to Mme. Pauline
Lumumba and the Congolese peo-
ple for our Dr. Bunche.” Meanwhile,
James M. Lawson of the United Afri-
can Nationalist Movement and other

NewsHawks Critical Thinking Page 33

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

MOHAMED ADOW 2022 is Africa’s year to lead
the world on climate change
NOWHERE experiences the
bitter injustice of  climate be the start of the financial flows since COP19 in 2013 but have will need to get ready. We need dirty, polluting energy to the
change like Africa. Despite con- that must begin moving from dragged their feet and still hav- to see a pan-African movement clean, green, renewables of the
tributing almost none of the the Global North to the Global en’t moved to create it. that unites our continent, aligns future. We have the wind and
greenhouse gasses that drive the South to deal with the climate our priorities, and pools our solar resources to be a trailblazer
climate crisis, we suffer its most emergency. The chance to deliver it was diplomatic and political resourc- for decarbonisation around the
brutal consequences — from the missed again at COP26, but the es. There is far more that unites globe.  We now need to see Afri-
drought gripping the East to Some climate change impacts, good news is the loss and dam- Africans than divides us, and can leaders uniting to make cli-
the shrinking Lake Chad in the however, cannot be adapted to. age was a huge topic throughout nothing unites like a common mate funding and loss and dam-
West, from the floods that have You cannot adapt to your island the Glasgow summit and can enemy. Climate change is that age a red line for Africa at CO27
devastated South Sudan to the home being submerged forever no longer be brushed under the common enemy and we need to and ensure this African COP
Mozambican communities still under rising sea levels, or your carpet. It is now one of the big- work hard, and together, to de- delivers for all those around the
not recovered from Cyclone Idai farmland turned into desert by gest issues on the global climate feat it. world on the front line of the
two years on. rising temperatures. This suf- stage and will rightly dominate climate crisis.
fering needs to be addressed discussions in Sharm El-Sheikh When Africa speaks as one,
The recent international cli- through what is called “loss and at COP27. it speaks with power. Millions — African Arguments.
mate summit, COP26, made damage”, something for which of Africans need their politi-
some progress. But those of us the developing world has been This upcoming African sum- cal leaders to become climate *About the writer: Mohamed
from Africa came away feeling calling for special financing. In mit is a huge opportunity to leaders in 2022. In parts of the Adow is the director of the en-
it had been a conference led by fact, rich countries have agreed prioritise the needs of climate continent, we’re already showing ergy and climate think-tank
the Global North and whose to the principle of such a fund vulnerable countries, but to the the way with the transition from Power Shift Africa.
outcomes reflected the interests ensure it is taken the continent
of the UK hosts. For all the cel-
ebratory rhetoric, rich coun-
tries failed to deliver on their
12-year-old promise to deliver
$100 billion of climate finance
to poor nations by 2020. There
was little progress on creating
a fund to deal with permanent
losses and damages caused by
climate change.

However, COP26 did lay the
ground for 2022 to be the year
that Africa changes this course.
COP27 will be held on African
soil and provides the opportu-
nity for the continent to ensure
that the needs of the climate vul-
nerable — rather than the inter-
ests of rich, polluting nations —
are met. Egypt will welcome
representatives from around the
world at the end of 2022 and, as
host, they have a crucial role in
shaping the outcome and creat-
ing space for the correct prior-
ities.

This can finally be time that
rich nations cough up the lifesav-
ing cash that is essential to help
vulnerable communities adapt
to a changing climate. From
building the right infrastruc-
ture, to creating early warning
systems for extreme weather, to
providing people with drought
resistance crops, the adaptation
needs of countries in Africa and
elsewhere in the Global South
are vast and only growing the
longer we delay. $100 billion a
year of climate finance needs to

Page 34 Critical Thinking NewsHawks

IN 1992, a group of pioneering pol- Issue 64, 21 January 2022
icymakers and technologists gath-
ered at an international conference Privacy is power: How tech
to chart the course of a distributed policy can bolster democracy
computing network.
Masked protesters at a rally calling for the right to remain anonymous on the Internet, Berlin, September 2011 Masked protesters at a rally calling for the right to remain
The arrival of digital platforms anonymous on the Internet, Berlin, September 2011
that would enable the near-instan-
taneous sharing of information by the question — thus protecting trains algorithms on individual de- data protected by a differential pri- more data processed, the greater the
millions of people and institutions sensitive information used in the vices instead of centralised databas- vacy-based system is a bit like view- accuracy.
globally was just around the corner. process. Their emergence in recent es, which means that user data is ing a pointillist painting: as long
The technology seemed poised to years has upended the conventional not stored or readily accessible in a as you are standing back, you can The challenge, however, is two-
change the world, these visionar- wisdom that the goals of data anal- central location. Another approach see the bigger picture that the dots fold: most people rightly value the
ies understood, yet the direction of ysis and privacy are at odds with is called “differential privacy.” The combine to depict, but if you try to privacy of their medical information,
change was far from certain. With each other, because now data own- idea there is to use randomness to peer too closely, the technologies au- and most medical data is collected
an eye on the future, they decided to ers have to decide only whether to obscure personal information in tomatically blur the individual dots. by a variety of hospitals, clinics, and
give history a push. They asked criti- allow someone to answer a specific large data sets. By adding noise to doctors that don’t share their files
cal questions about the technology’s question, as opposed to deciding the data, researchers can give plau- Another PET tool is secure multi- with one another. Owing to priva-
maturity and forged partnerships whether to reveal their data. sible deniability to any particular party computation, a cryptographic cy protections and fragmented data
with governments, industry sectors, individual in the data set and pre- protocol that enables researchers to storage, the best machine-learning
and academia to steer the develop- Consider the researcher trying to vent the reverse engineering of re- crunch data without sharing inputs classifiers have, until now, trained
ment of the Internet in ways that figure out whether Americans are search results to identify individual containing private information with on only a tiny fraction of relevant
enshrined democratic values. losing jobs to robots. Economists data. Companies and governments one another. Data analysis tech- medical records. PETs make it pos-
have long struggled to determine are piloting applications of both niques that combine this form of sible to train image classifiers using
If this anecdote sounds too good whether automation is a major driv- techniques. Federated learning al- computation with federated learn- real medical records, without dis-
to be true, that is because it is. In er of unemployment, in part be- lows Apple to use insights gleaned ing and differential privacy could closing any private data. Academ-
reality, few of the policymakers who cause of a bureaucratic partition: the from the experiences of millions of enable multiple data owners to do ic researchers are already piloting
were present at the creation of the US Bureau of Labour Statistics col- iPhone owners to improve its voice encrypted training and prediction, applications of this type.   Many of
Internet predicted that the hyper- lects information on which compa- recognition and predictive-typing leading to insights that could pre- the most exciting uses of PETs are
text transfer protocol used to load nies are buying robots, and the US capabilities, without collecting or cipitate breakthroughs in health, ed- still in the early stages of their de-
webpages would prove dominant, Census Bureau collects information storing any of the owners’ private ucation, trade, and other data-driv- velopment, so careful investment
and even fewer considered what it on which people are losing jobs, data in its central servers. In oth- en fields. Promising applications and policymaking today could have
might take to govern the Internet at but these data sets are so sensitive er words, your iPhone knows that include helping trade agencies re- revolutionary implications for glob-
scale. Present-day Web users are liv- that the two agencies will not share when you type “look at what bisen cover diverted goods or empowering al health and well-being tomorrow.
ing with the consequences of their them with each other, let alone with said,” you usually mean “look at banks to safely share sensitive ledger
inaction: weaponised social media, private researchers. PETs, however, what Biden said,” because millions data to prevent money laundering. Authoritarianism online
cyber-intrusions that prey on the allow an analyst to leverage data of other users have made that cor- Alas, not everyone is interested in
vulnerabilities of Internet architec- from both agencies, without requir- rection, not because your personal PETs could even help develop safeguarding privacy in the quest to
ture, the buying and selling of in- ing those agencies to send a copy of messages are being collected and technologies that improve the early exploit big data. Not only are Chi-
formed predictions about individual their data to anyone. That is to say, examined. detection of cancer and other rare na and other repressive countries
Internet users’ future behavior, and these agencies can collectively em- diseases by spotting small chang- disregarding privacy and individual
information monopolies that threat- power an economist to answer an In 2016, after researchers at the es on medical imagery that even rights and freedoms in their own
en democratic discourse online. important question without com- US Census Bureau learned that an experienced professional might processes, but they may also seek to
promising privacy because the data commercially available data could miss. Training a computer to scan undermine PETs developed by the
History is rarely forgiving, but as remains undisclosed. be combined with census outputs images for the minute changes that United States and its allies. China’s
we adopt the next phase of digital to identify respondents, the bureau suggest cancer requires showing it promulgation of 5G standards, re-
tools, policymakers can avoid the How does the technology work? used differential privacy to protect a vast number of images — some cent proposals for a new Internet
errors of the past. Privacy-enhanc- One approach is called “federated some of the 2020 census data it re- with cancer, some without — so protocol that will give authorities
ing technologies, or PETs, are a learning.” leased. Examining published census that the machine learns which fea-
collection of technologies with ap- tures are significant. In general, the
plications ranging from improved This machine-learning technique
medical diagnostics to secure voting
systems and messaging platforms.
PETs allow researchers to harness
big data to solve problems affect-
ing billions of people while also
protecting privacy. As their use be-
comes widespread, a new paradigm
will emerge, in which private data is
more readily available for research
and problem solving and public
data on private citizens is better pro-
tected. Much like the Internet itself,
PETs have become a dividing line
between democratic and authori-
tarian governments with implica-
tions for privacy and accountability.
With foresight, however, the United
States and its allies can realise the
benefits of PETs while preventing
the most dangerous outcomes. In-
deed, the announcement at U.S.
President Joe Biden’s recent Summit
for Democracy of a joint effort by
the United Kingdom and the Unit-
ed States to create a grand challenge
aimed at fostering innovation in
PETs signals the importance some
advanced democracies are attaching
to this effort.

Protecting online privacy
PETs are a class of techniques,
methods, and mathematical ap-
proaches that allow one person to
answer a question using data owned
by another individual (or organi-
sation), without the asker learning
anything more than the answer to

NewsHawks Critical Thinking Page 35

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

more tools to control access to the market share has far more power be the trendsetters on PETs; instead, cause all the hospitals are running jurisdictions but some sort of pro-
Internet, and new facial recognition than one with 40%, network effects policymakers for these governments their proprietary software. And you cess that is time-efficient and cred-
standards in the International Tele- could make monopolistic control should focus on nurturing the eco- have to become a customer to join ibly upholds common standards.
communication Union are trou- of access to data an even more sig- systems these technologies need to the network. Just as the Internet prompted the
bling cases in point. nificant public policy challenge. flourish. The role for policymakers creation of the Internet Corporation
Companies, governments, or other is not to decide the fate of specific Third, democratic policymakers for Assigned Names and Numbers,
Authoritarianism is not the only actors could seek to place networks protocols or techniques but rather must write legislation that facilitates democracies will need to create new
threat to realizing PETs’ humanitar- of data needed to solve public prob- to foster a conducive environment the responsible adoption of these intergovernmental bodies above na-
ian potential; another is greed. The lems into private walled gardens to for researchers to experiment widely technologies and encourages the tional agencies to govern PETs.
value and efficiency of digital net- which access is limited for profit and innovate responsibly.   development of appropriate safe-
works increase exponentially with or power. To the extent that hard- guards. Two areas ripe for immediate Finally, democracies must have
size. Private corporations could lock ware products go alongside any ap- Democracies should identify focus are data consortia agreements frank and open conversations with
in exclusive access to critical data plications of PETs, they will create shared priorities and promote basic and safe harbor laws. PETs require their citizens about the appropri-
sets, using data monopolies to ex- even higher barriers to entry. And research to mature the technological new approaches to data sharing that ate uses of PETs and the stakes for
tract economic rents and political because centralised control of PETs foundations of PETs. The under- may involve adjusting existing data their democratic development. Pol-
power. In fact, the risks of monop- can either reinforce or detract from lying technologies require greater protection laws and considering icymakers should challenge the pre-
olies on data may be greater with commitments to individual rights investment in algorithmic devel- new forms of oversight. To promote sumption that there is an irreducible
PETs than they are with traditional and privacy, market share has politi- opment and hardware to optimize innovation, legislatures may need to tradeoff between data analysis and
data infrastructure. Traditional in- cal consequences, too. the chips and mitigate the costs of create regulatory sandboxes, areas privacy — the notion that although
frastructure involves making copies network overhead. To support the where technologists experimenting more data may improve the accura-
of data and spreading them around Developing global standards computational requirements for with applications are temporari- cy of models for the public good,
a marketplace of buyers and sell- PETs are ripe for coordination PETs, for example, the National ly exempt from regulation. With the cost to privacy is too high. In
ers. Since every time a party sells among democratic allies and part- Science Foundation could create an the right regulatory frameworks, fact, the status quo is too costly to
or shares data it sends a copy to a ners, offering a way for them to interface through CloudBank and adequate liability protections, and ignore. Data anonymization tech-
second party, it thereby creates an- jointly develop standards and prac- provide cloud compute credits to meaningful incentives, researchers niques offer the simulacrum of pri-
other competitor and works against tical applications that benefit the researchers without access to these will develop ever better practical ap- vacy, even though enterprising bad
monopolization. However, if data public good. At an AI summit last resources. The United States could plications. actors can easily recombine data
can be used without being copied, July, U.S. Secretary of State Antony also help incubate an international records, de-anonymise them, and
the risk of domain-specific data net- Blinken noted the United States’ in- network of research universities col- To test open protocols and sell the product as market intelli-
work monopolization and rent seek- terest in “increasing access to shared laborating on these technologies. demonstrate data security, dem- gence to profit-hungry businesses.
ing is greater. public data sets for AI training and ocratic governments could work Although there is no substitute for
testing, while still preserving priva- Second, science-funding agencies together under the auspices of the federal data protection laws, PETs
To understand how a monopolist cy,” and National Security Adviser in democracies should host com- UN, the G-7, or the Global Part- are an important arrow in the quiv-
could use PETs to sell access to data Jake Sullivan pointed to PETs as a petitions to incentivise new PETs nership on Artificial Intelligence er for advocates of both privacy and
while retaining exclusive control, promising area “to overcome data protocols and standards — the (an initiative hosted by the Organ- technological innovation whose fo-
consider cancer detection again. An privacy challenges while still deliv- collaboration between the United isation for Economic Cooperation cus is the public good.
enterprising company could devel- ering the value of big data.” Giv- States and the United Kingdom and Development). Researchers in
op a federated network for sharing en China’s advantages in scale, the announced in early December is a democracies should also create digi- n the years since the Internet first
cancer data and, subsequently, can- United States and like-minded part- good example. The goal should be tal environments to test the analytic took off, the techno-triumphalism
cer-based artificial intelligence (AI) ners should foster emerging tech- to create free, open-source protocols utility of PETs. of the 1990s gave way to the sober
research, products, and services. If nologies that play to their strengths and avoid the fragmentation of the realization in the 2010s that author-
this company owned a network with in medical research and discovery, market and the proliferation of pro- By comparing realistic analytic itarian governments can easily use
access to the first five percent of the energy innovation, trade facilita- prietary standards. tasks using this new approach with digital technologies for repressive
world’s data on a particular disease, tion, and reform around money tasks using traditional data ap- ends.
the next-largest data set would al- laundering. Driving innovation The National Institute of Stan- proaches, researchers could prove
ready be at a significant disadvan- and collaboration within and across dards and Technology and other the value of PETs and overcome the Democracies today have the op-
tage when it comes to research and democracies is important not only similar bodies should develop stan- bureaucratic hurdles that new tech- portunity to chart a different course
development. When another party because it will help ensure those dards and measurement tools for nologies often face. with emerging technologies, unbur-
wanted to market an additional 10 societies’ success but also because PETs; governments and companies dened by false hopes that they are
000 cancer images to researchers, there will be a first-mover advantage should form public-private partner- Fourth, democracies will need to inherently liberalising or the false
it would naturally go to the big- in the adoption of PETs for govern- ships to fund open-source protocols develop new processes for review- choice that data privacy and data
gest network. While PETs remain ing the world’s private data–sharing over the long term. Open-source ing the ethics of data sharing. If 40 analysis are implacable foes.
nascent, one question looms large: networks. protocols are especially important universities across 25 countries are
Who will own and operate these Accelerating the development of in the early days of PET develop- collaborating to analyse data about The operating system of the digi-
networks, those who champion the PETs for the public good will re- ment, because closed-source PET educational interventions for six- tal economy needs an upgrade. The
public good or those who seek pri- quire an international approach. implementations by profit-seeking year-olds with autism in 300 ju- question is whether democracies
vate gain? Democratic governments will not actors can be leveraged to build data risdictions, there must be a way to will install the base software for dig-
monopolies. ensure that the collaboration can be ital societies or whether they will
Just as rideshare companies have expeditiously carried out while pro- cede that task to others less interest-
an incentive to fight pitched bat- For example, imagine a scenario tecting privacy. ed in trust, openness, integrity, and
tles because a company with 60% where all US cancer data could be privacy.
controlled by a single company be- That means not separate ethics
reviews by 40 universities and 300 —Foreign Affairs.

TAKE WHY YOU SHOULD
RESPONSIBILITY STAY 3 FEET AWAY

PREVENT FROM PEOPLE
THE SPREAD
OF COVID-19

Ÿ You can’t immediately identify who has the
virus..

Ÿ To reduce the spread of the virus if you are
already infected.

Ÿ To avoid droplets from an infected person
when they sneeze or cough.

Page 36 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

ERIC TCHOUAMOU NJOYA Airline tie-up for Kenya, South
AFRICA has  357 airlines, the top Africa: possible rewards and risks
10 of which carried more than 60%
of traffic. This reflects the fact that South African Airlines and Kenya Airways have drawn up plans to set up a joint pan-African airline in 2023. Michele Spatari / AFP via Getty Images
many airlines on the continent are
very small: some have as few as two increased efficiency. But they do In my view, the cooperation deal In the case of Africa, the two – and then to get on with it. This
aircraft. Between them the airlines not necessarily lead to a reduction would also improve the financial vi- airlines have to contend with the could be difficult given that the
carried 95 million passengers in in competition in the market. ability of the two national airlines. fact that there isn’t a single African state owns  substantial stakes  in
2019, according to  Routes, an on- They could pool maintenance ser- air transport market. Most of the South African Airways; same case
line source of information on route Apart from these benefits, an al- vices and reduce costs by pooling continent’s 54 countries have their with Kenya Airways where the Ken-
announcements. liance between South African Air- purchases, sales and financial trans- own national arrangements or have yan government’s  share holding  is
ways and Kenya Airways would be actions. It would boost customer under-performing state-owned air- 48.9%.
Airlines operating on the conti- good for a number of reasons spe- volumes if cost savings were passed lines, resulting in protectionist pol-
nent face particular challenges. cific to Africa. on to customers by means of lower icies. Other factors include trust, trans-
fares. parency and communication about
Firstly, the industry has to con- Firstly, it would help them over- There is hope that this will what both airlines do together and
tend with huge  disparities  in eco- come some of the existing market Introducing services in the South change. The  Single African Air what they don’t do together.
nomic and air transport devel- challenges, such as market access African market would be a great ad- Transport Market, which by No-
opment. There is also an uneven restrictions, increased competitions dition for Kenya Airways and vice vember last year had been signed by Establishing trust and ensuring
distribution of international air from major non-African airlines versa. With their  hub-based mod- 35 countries, envisages a share avia- that both airlines understand each
passenger traffic across regions and such as Turkish Airlines, Emirates el, (a hub is a central airport that tion space. This would enable eligi- other’s goals and objectives and that
within countries. The traffic is pre- and Europeans carriers. flights are routed through), coop- ble airlines from one African state to they are the same is key.
dominantly centered in a few hubs eration will help to boost the route fly into another using only a prior
in North, East and South Africa; Secondly, the alliance could take networks of both airlines across Af- notification procedure. Recipe for success
and in the large and medium-size advantage of a return to pre-Covid rica. A strategic alliance is similar to a
cities. travel levels. The International Air Why alliances fail But there is a great deal of work marriage. In most cases there is
Transport Association  anticipates  a Many alliances don’t achieve the that still needs to be done for this to no perfect match. To be successful
Other challenges include high full return to 2019 air traffic levels desired outcome. Examples in- become a reality. partnerships must be nurtured and
costs of operation, market protec- in late 2023. clude  KLM-Alitalia, and the  Eu- well managed. Mapping out all the
tionism as well as safety and secu- ropean Quality Alliance  which A number of other factors could stakeholders that are relevant to the
rity concerns. And it’s estimated that air trans- brought together Air France, SAS stymie the proposed alliance. story and are going to help the part-
port will grow on average by 3.2% and Swissair. ners achieve the key performance
There are very few profitable over the next decades in Africa and A big one is the governance struc- indicators set out in the alliance is
African airlines. In 2020, only the by 4.8% if African states implement Alliances fail for various rea- ture, which is the oversight required paramount.
Ethiopian Airlines made a profit in the Single African Air Transport sons.  Studies  show that ineffective to make and implement decisions
the continent. And with financial Market. governance, insufficient quality essential to the success of an alli- In my opinion, setting clear per-
woes compounded by Covid-19, it of alliance members and internal ance. formance measures is important, as
is likely many more airlines will go Thirdly, it would enable them to competition in the alliances are the they will set the partners on a path
under. create and encourage a market ser- most common reasons. Elements of governance include that is measurable.
vices specialisation among airline legal form, communication struc-
Two of the continent’s biggest operators. Airlines may specialise Other  studies  show that more tures, cultural differences, trust and *About the writer: Eric Tchoua-
carriers – South African Airways on feeder services and fly desti- than 50% of strategic alliance fail commitment. mou Njoya is a senior lecturer in
and Kenya Airways – are under nations with smaller demand and due cultural differences, mistrust or air transport at the Department of
financial stress. Both have made catchment areas. An example of poor operational integration. Yet another factor will be the ex- Logistics, Marketing, Hospitality
significant losses over the past few this type of specialisation include tent to which the two governments and Analytics, University of Hud-
years and lost market share and des- the  interlining agreement  between allow efficient decision making to dersfield, Britain.
tinations to competition. South Af- Ethiopian and Airlink. happen. Airline managers should
rican Airways came  close  to being be left to select a course of action
wound up, but for its part Kenyan
Airways reported losses of US$333
million for the 2020 financial year.

In November, the two national
airlines signed a  Strategic Partner-
ship Framework, formalising their
plan to set up a pan-African airline
in 2023.

In my view the partnership will
only succeed if certain conditions
are met. The two most important
ones are that, firstly, there must be
strong national and political agree-
ment and will. But, secondly that
the tie-up must be driven by the
private sector.

My recent  research  on Air Af-
rique’s failure found that the airline
was doomed by conflicting national
objectives and some of the 11 par-
ticipating countries were unhappy
with what they called a subordinate
role.
The case for a partnership
A range of  academic studies  show
that alliances affect the produc-
tion costs of participating airlines
through economies of scale (by
means of joint operations of air and
ground services), increased traffic
density (through network expan-
sion and additional traffic feed) and
scope (through increased reach and
efficient connections).

Joint ventures, have been, and
will continue to be, the key in the
future development of airline busi-
ness. Air France and KLM are good
examples why airlines are better off
working together. Both have  expe-
rienced significant growth since get-
ting together in 2004.

Some of alliance arrangements
may lead to a reduction in costs and

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 37

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

African countries are stuck on the free
movement of people. How to break logjam

ALAN HIRSCH

MOST African countries signed Comoros, Madagascar and Somalia For  example, many countries in implementation process. Some key free trade process.
onto the Free Movement of Persons offer visa on arrival policies for all Africa have inadequate systems of stakeholders believe that the proto- In addition, the initiative needs a
protocol in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Africans. civil registration. Many also have col is not sufficiently understood
in January 2018. inadequate identity documenta- and that publicising and champi- proactive process to enable poorer
Richer and larger African coun- tion systems. This makes it difficult oning it will lead to more ratifica- countries on the continent to pro-
Its  rationale  was set out clearly: tries are the laggards in opening for home countries of migrants to tions. gressively meet the preconditions
the free movement of people — as their borders. vouch for their citizens to the satis- for higher levels of integration at
well as capital goods and services faction of host countries. My view, however, is that the appropriate standards. This would
— would promote integration and Some regional economic com- implementation process set out entail the establishment of techni-
herald in a host of other benefits. munities, such as the East African When it comes to data on crim- in the implementation roadmap cal committees of senior officials of
These included improving science, Community and Economic Com- inal and security issues, it’s import- which accompanied the protocol the member states and experts from
technology, education, research munity of West African States ant that information is well-man- isn’t clear. Clarification and prac- the region at both the regional and
and fostering tourism. (Ecowas), have strong multilateral aged and shared with partner tical commitment to address some continental levels to address issues
border opening agreements. But countries when necessary. There of the underlying concerns is more holding the free movement project
In addition, it would facilitate these are unevenly implemented. should also be agreement on repa- likely to take the process forward. back.
inter-African trade and investment, triation processes.
increase remittances within the In other regions, notably the In addition, free movement It would also require setting out
continent, promote the mobility of Southern African Development All these concerns are opportuni- across the continent could be a process to support poorer coun-
labour, create employment and im- Community (Sadc), there’s been a ties for cooperation. Systems can be promoted by encouraging region- tries in achieving agreed precondi-
prove the standards of living. heavier reliance on bilateral agree- developed in collaboration between al groupings — and even ad hoc tions for integration.
ments within multilateral frame- countries, and officials trained in groupings — to move forward,
Research supports  the develop- works. poorer countries. This should ide- even if they are moving ahead of There are already several initia-
mental premises of the protocol. ally be as part of regional or conti- other countries. tives around foundational prereq-
The reluctance of many African nental processes. uisites — such as civil registration
The protocol was the codification countries, especially the larger, When groups of countries agree and identity documents — that
of the commitment to free move- richer countries, derives from sev- At present it seems easier to to move forward together with- could be harnessed. An example is
ment made by African countries in eral concerns. move forward on a regional basis in the framework of the protocol, the World Bank’s ‘Identification for
declaring the  establishment of the than at a continental level. Smaller they should be expected to mutu- Development’.
African Economic Community  in The first is that they are sensitive groupings seem to be able to move ally open their borders when the
Abuja in 1991. Free movement is to citizens who fear that foreign- forward more easily. Where there is preconditions are met. Another is the EU’s work on
also one of the key goals for Africa’s ers might take their economic op- regional leadership and consistent migration management in Africa.
Agenda 2063. portunities. This issue is especially internal or external support, prog- Reasonable preconditions could This could be extended beyond its
present in highly unequal countries ress can be made even in fragile be specified in a revised roadmap or preoccupation with emigration to
And yet, four years after its rati- where populist politicians can stir states. implementation guide. Europe.
fication, only a handful of relatively up emotions.
small African states have fully rati- What needs to be done Slow progress in the adoption Another strategy for driving the But to be a part of a credible
fied the Free Persons protocol. Over In my view, the threat of xenopho- of the continental free movement process forward, as suggested  re- continental strategy, the initiatives
30 countries signed the protocol in bic mobilisation can be reduced if protocol may be due to misunder- cently  , is that the free movement should be led and owned by Afri-
January 2018. But only Rwanda, legitimate concerns are addressed. standings or concerns about the process could be more explicitly can countries and regional organi-
Niger, São Tomé and Principe, and and organisationally linked to the sations. — The Conversation.
Mali have fully ratified it.

In 2018  I noted, that driving
the protocol forward would not
be straightforward. Unfortunately,
progress has been slower than most
observers expected at the time. It
has become a real concern for Afri-
can policymakers.

After  recent research, including
fieldwork in Africa and Europe on
the slow progress of the protocol, I
identified some revealing patterns
in policymaking and implementa-
tion. After reflection it is possible
to make some suggestions about
how to move the process forward.
Slow progress
It is striking that there have been
significant advances towards free
movement by many African coun-
tries on a unilateral basis. This has
been as a result of a range of in-
novative visa-openness and travel
document solutions being adopted.
But most of the countries at the
vanguard of this movement are rel-
atively poor, or small island states.

For example, Benin and Sey-
chelles offer visa-free access to all
African visitors with appropriate
travel documents. The two are
listed as the most liberal African
countries according to the  2019
Visa Openness Index of the African
Development Bank.

Senegal and Rwanda have a com-
bination of visa-free access and visa
on arrival policies for all Africans.

Page 38 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

The ultimate end of decolonisation

WENDELL HASSAN MARSH

DURING the 2018 Miriam work that is current, forward-look- international foundations, African first hijra, or exodus, to Abyssinia a continuation, an evolution of
Makeba keynote address to the ing, engaged with global issues and governments, and a global network through to the very rapid spread these two separate projects, or does
General Assembly of the Council directed to a general audience. The of university-based researchers. to Fustat, or what is now Cairo, their convergence make a qualita-
for the Development of Social Sci- bibliography is broad and the glos- and then with the history of the tive leap that makes it distinct and
ence Research in Africa (Codesria), sary of terms are of benefit to the We might ask, however, how mostly peaceful and gradual spread uniquely promising? There might
the largest and oldest pan-African non-specialist. Given that the indi- does this interest in Islamic schol- of Islam in West Africa. And yet, also be a generative encounter
body of African scholars, Professor vidual essays in this volume reflect arship sit in relation to African the idea of Islam’s coloniality, if we between Timbuktu Studies with
Ousmane Kane told his peers that many distinct research agendas, studies more broadly? The objec- can stretch the term so thin, per- Critical Muslim Studies such as
they needed to  take religion seri- sites, and objects of inquiry, I will tions that followed Kane’s keynote sists. Much like the ideas about pri- that coming out of South Africa,
ously. not attempt to summarise their in 2018 highlight some common mordial African orality, they form emanating as it does from post-
contents. resistance to this work. The re- discursive structures that seem Rhodes debates on decoloniality.
This entreaty expressed a basic sponses from the floor, as I recall impervious to empirical invalida-
idea and an urgent project. The Instead, I focus on the broad- them, were somewhat predictable. tion. It is indeed an old idea that Decolonisation has become a
idea was that social science, hav- er issue of the decolonization of Some asserted that Islam was not West African Muslim scholars have big tent, a broad term enveloping
ing been elaborated through the knowledge flagged for the reader’s modern. Others found that the been refuting since at least the 17th many meanings, a concept that ap-
secular-modern separation of the attention in both Kane’s introduc- neglect of African traditional reli- century Timbuktu scholar Ahmed proaches protean status. Much like
spheres of life, has relegated “reli- tion and the conclusion by the for- gions by Kane was an inexcusable Baba, and echoed in the 20th “religion” and “modernity” it bears
gion” to the domain of the margin- mer executive secretary of Codes- lapse. For them, if social science is century by Senegalese polymath different significations that corre-
alised specialist. ria, Ebrima Sall. to take religion seriously in Africa, Shaykh Musa Kamara. Perhaps, spond to conflicting epistemologi-
it should be truly African religions that is a good thing for the future cal, disciplinary, and political com-
In contrast to the political, the Sall situates the volume, along upon which they must focus their of the field. mitments — each one ultimately
economic, and the socio-cultural, with the broader proliferation of seriousness. Islam and Christianity, seeking different objectives. For a
religion has become a matter of in- academic works on the topic, with- they argued were either copies of All of this being said, one won- radical, anti-historical but utopian
dividual belief and practice within in Codesria’s now decades-long originally African ideas or antago- ders beyond the scope of  Islamic decolonial project, Islamic Scholar-
the regime of expertise that gov- project to bridge knowledge di- nistic to what was authentically Af- Scholarship in Africa,  how might ship in Africa might not satisfy the
erns life globally. vides within Africa. These divi- rican. “African” for them, it seems, Timbuktu Studies deal with some performance of rupture. However,
sions are defined by differences meant autochthony. It meant of the thornier issues that have this volume is vital if one is willing
This regime has sometimes in research language, intellectual differences from other geo-racial emerged in the long history of de- to agree with Sall and Kane, as I
been called coloniality. Kane, training, and presumed racial iden- types and their specific religiosities veloping an epistemological alter- do, that African epistemic self-af-
who teaches at Harvard Divinity tity. In particular, Kane’s research that are ultimately products of col- native. Specifically, I am thinking firmation is the ultimate end of
School, proposed, however, that agenda to recognize the intellectual onisation. These objections were here of the field’s relation to the decolonisation.
all social science needs to consider contributions of Muslim African predictable because they form op- older project of the Africanisation
religion if it is to truly understand scholars actualized many of the posing positions, based as much on of knowledge, which sought to *About the writer: Wendell
contemporary Africa and its prob- Pan-African principles of the or- epistemic commitments as points consider Africa in indigenously Af- Marsh is an assistant professor
lems, implying that in Africa, reli- ganization. His Non-Europhone In- of view that frame the problem of rican terms and the Islamisation of of African American and Afri-
gion is no private matter.  tellectuals, published as a Codesria religion in Africa. Kane and others knowledge/Islamic social sciences, can studies at Rutgers Universi-
working paper in 2003, set forth have responded to such ideas ex- which sought to establish modern ty-Newark, US. He is a post-dis-
“Religious developments in Af- the terms for a new field that would haustively. social scientific method on Islam- ciplinary scholar of Islam in
rica deserve serious attention from eventually come to be known as ic foundations. Is the study of Is- Africa, textuality, and the theory
African intellectuals, and especially Timbuktu Studies. This field has For example, Islam, from its or- lamic scholarship in Africa simply and practice of African studies.
pan-Africanists,” he said. The de- solicited interest and support from igins, has been African, from the
velopments to which Kane referred
might be summarized as the emer-
gent publicity of religion, the de-
centralisation (and/or erosion) of
authority, and the integration into
global networks throughout the
African continent.

This emergence has proven
modernisation and development
theory to be patently false; religion
has not eventually disappeared or
become irrelevant for public life.
In short, African theory needs to
catch up to Africans in their decol-
onisation of the mind and spirit.

The publication of Islamic Schol-
arship in Africa: New Directions
and Global Contexts, edited by
Kane, adds to a growing wave of
academic work on the histories,
cultures, and meanings of Islamic
thought in Africa. It features es-
tablished and emerging voices of
the field that takes on the project
of overturning many long-held fic-
tions about Africa in the modern
imagination. African historicity
and mobility, dynamics of orality
and literacy, evolving Islamic ed-
ucation, and popular vernacular
poetic expression are themes that
frame a diverse set of contributions
that offer a fair representation of
the major issues of the field.

Alongside recent monographs,
edited volumes, and translations Is-
lamic scholarship in Africa explores
a robust and active field. It is a

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 39

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

Africans and African-Americans would honour
Martin Luther King by rekindling their bonds
JULIUS A AMIN

DURING an official visit to Wash- Bernice A. King, daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr, at a recent press conference preview the King Holiday observance in Atlanta, Georgia.
ington DC in 1962, Cameroon’s
founding President Ahmadou Ahidjo Ghanaian flag. He spoke endlessly one of America’s major Cold War Poet and civil rights activist Maya which showed blacks as capable, de-
informed President John F. Kennedy about the endurance, determination, problems was the continuous an- Angelou was transformed by the Afri- termined, and  possessed civilisation.
of his displeasure over anti-black rac- and courage of the African people. ti-black racism in the country. can experience. She wrote: Following the murder of  George
ism in the United States. The anti-colonial struggle in Ghana Floyd  in Minneapolis, Minnesota,
mirrored what was taking place all After Nigeria, King increasingly For it is Africa that struts around in the African Union publicly con-
Ahidjo met and praised the leader- over Africa. spoke of a sense of urgency. In his our rounded calves, wiggles around in demned America for its continuous
ship of the  National Association for article, “The Time for Freedom has our protruding butts, and crackles in racism against blacks.
the Advancement of Colored People Later, King  noted  that Ghana’s Come”, he praised the independence our wide and frank laugh.
(NAACP), the oldest African-Amer- independence will have worldwide movement in Africa while blasting The spokesperson Ebba Kalon-
ican civil rights organisation, for its implication and repercussions — not the slow pace of change in the US. He The 1960s and 1970s were decades do  issued  a strong condemnation of
willingness to unite with Africa “in only for Asia and Africa, but also for referred to the independence move- of remarkable collaboration and co- the continuing discriminatory prac-
a world-wide movement to fight America. ment in Africa as the"greatest single operation between Africans and Afri- tices against Black citizens of the
against the evils of racial discrimina- international influence on American can-Americans. United States of America. Kalondo
tion, injustice, racial prejudices, and This gave African Americans new Negro students". demanded a full investigation of the
hatred”. insights about the anti-colonial strug- American political leaders took killing.
gle. African nationalists such as Nnam- note of the collaboration between Af-
He later wrote that: "Each time a di Azikiwe, Tom Mboya, Hastings ricans and African-Americans. Presi- This new position may rekindle
black man [and woman] is humiliat- Increasingly, King saw parallels Banda were “popular heroes on most dent John F. Kennedy, the first Amer- the spirit of cooperation and collab-
ed anywhere in the world, all Negroes between the anti-colonial movement Negro college campuses”, King stat- ican president to treat Africa with oration which characterised the King
the world over are hurt." in Africa and the civil rights struggle ed. respect, created a more informed US era. A major part of ending anti-black
in the US. In his sermon, "The Birth foreign policy towards African na- racism in the US is to learn about the
President Ahidjo called for a unit- of a new nation", he stated that the He  urged  African governments to tions – in part to woo the support of role Africa played in shaping the idea
ed front between Africans and Afri- Ghana example reinforced his belief do more to support the civil rights African-Americans in elections. of the west and Africa’s contributions
can-Americans to confront anti-black that "an oppressor never voluntarily struggle of “their brothers [and sis- to global civilisations.
racism. gives freedom to the oppressed". ters] in the US”. Kennedy’s policy was later aban-
doned by his successors – some of That knowledge will implode
He was not the first postcolonial He added that nonviolence was In addition, newspapers in several whom reverted to referring to Afri- centuries-old myths of Africa’s back-
African leader to make such a request. an effective tactic against oppression. African nations used the treatment cans as “cannibals” and “genetically wardness and incapability. It is up to
Ghana’s founding President Kwame European colonialism of Africa and of African Americans to question the inferior”. African Americans to champion that
Nkrumah’s  Pan-Africanism  was a segregation in America were both role of America as the  leader of the conversation in university classrooms
message about black upliftment and "systems of evil”, he wrote, and sum- “free world”. Those new policies coincided with and many other public spaces.
unity, and his close ally, Sekou Touré moned all to work to defeat them. Ebb and flow a deep level of ignorance about Af-
of Guinea,  advocated similar objec- African nationalism meets US civil King and his contemporaries took ricans by African-Americans and Finally, what King said about Af-
tives. rights movement seriously the partnership with Africa. vice-versa. And little effort was made rica as full of “rich opportunities”,
While racial segregation remained African American leaders, activists, by each side to bridge the gap. African inviting African Americans to “lend
Those calls for a crusade against entrenched in America, the tide of in- and scholars alike turned to Africa Americans increasingly saw Africans their technical assistance” to a rising
anti-black racism were deeply rooted dependence was changing quickly in for inspiration. For example,  WEB through a stereotypical lens invented continent remains as true today as it
in the best of African nationalism. Africa. In 1960, 17 African  nations Du Bois, whose credentials includ- by the western society to justify colo- was when he said it nearly 60 years
gained independence. They took ed being co-founder of the National nialism and slavery. ago.
On the other side of the Atlantic, their anti-racism message to the Unit- Association for the Advancement
calls for collaboration to end racism ed Nations, where they chastised the of Colored People and the Pan-Af- In turn, Africans accepted uncrit- The failure to do so has increasingly
were also taking place. A leading pro- US for its failure to stop anti-black rican movement, relocated to Gha- ically America’s  mainstream society’s ceded the ground to other actors who
ponent of that message was the Rev. racism. na.  Stokely Carmichael  (Kwame labels of African Americans. The type continue to exploit the continent.
Martin Luther King Jr. He and many Ture), who introduced the Black of relations and advocacy forged by
in his generation rejected the negative African representatives in the US Power concept in the civil rights King’s generation had evaporated. —The Conversation.
proscriptions of Africa, and called for were often victims of American rac- movement settled in Guinea. Many Looking ahead
Africans and African Americans to ism. Given the Cold War, US Secre- others immigrated to Africa. But the tide may be changing. There *About the writer: Julius A. Amin
join forces in the anti-racism crusade. tary of State Dean Rusk stated that was renewed interest following the is a professor in the Department of
release of the movie Black Panther History at the University of Dayton
They  spoke fondly  of their roots in the US.
in Africa: We are descendants of the
Africans…“our heritage is Africa. We
should never seek to break the ties,
nor should the Africans.

Africans and African-Americans
must rekindle the spirit of collabora-
tion and cooperation which existed
among black nationalists over half a
century ago to counter the rising tide
of anti-black racism in the US. It was
a relationship which came with mu-
tual political, economic, and cultural
benefits.

I am a scholar of modern African
history with particular emphasis on
Africa-US relations and have  pub-
lished extensively in the field. My lat-
est publication, on Cameroon-US
relations, among other things, ad-
dresses the importance of the collab-
oration between Africans and African
Americans to uplift Black people.
King’s eye-opening visit to Ghana
King’s knowledge of Africa evolved
slowly, and was initially peppered
with the usual beliefs of African back-
wardness. But a trip to Ghana was
transformative. In 1957, President
Kwame Nkrumah invited him to his
country’s independence ceremony.

King honoured the invitation.
During the ceremony King ”started
weeping… crying for joy“ when the
British flag was replaced with the

Page 40 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta and South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa react as they address members of the media during a state visit, at the government's Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa, November 23, 2021.
REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

NIC CHEESEMAN Africa in 2022: Danger "Cyril Ramaphosa is unlikely to
become more pro-active about solving
THE end of December is often a time political crises in eSwatini and Zim-
for reflection – in 2021 as much as any babwe while he has his own to defuse
year. back home."
After reading the sad news of Arch- of hegemonic instability Such projections are not always ac-

bishop Desmond Tutu’s passing, a curate, of course.  They may prove to
South African friend sent me a letter be too conservative if careful political
that looked back on a tumultuous year. stewardship goes hand-in-hand with
She felt that it was not just “The good harvests and rising tourism, but
Arch” that the country had lost in I edited an essay about the conflict in are able to shape the fortunes of other bwe, and in the process insulated Rob- they may also understate the potential
2021, but its sense of unity and pur- Ethiopia, which also depicted a coun- countries. ert Mugabe from Western pressure for for another difficult year. As professor
pose. After the unrest that followed the try at the crossroads. It argued that The expansion of a region’s biggest political reform. Karuti Kanyinga has argued, in elec-
arrest of ex-President Jacob Zuma in recent developments, including the economy creates more opportunities Nigeria plays a similar role in tion years in Kenya spending goes up
July, and the failure of the African Na- advances by Ethiopian government for trade and hence for economic West Africa, with a GDP more than as politicians lavish money on voters,
tional Congress to win a majority of the forces, had opened up the opportunity growth and job creation – even in a six times larger than the next biggest but investment and growth stagnate
vote for the first time since the end of for peace talks. context in which economies are not economy. As a driving force within the due to concerns about the risk of po-
apartheid in the November municipal But a decisive move towards a ne- heavily integrated. A politically stable Economic Community of West Afri- litical instability. This effect was less
elections, the future appeared worry- gotiated settlement has yet to mate- country whose government is keen to can States (Ecowas), Nigeria has also pronounced in recent elections, but
ingly uncertain. rialise,  despite a recent conversation promote democracy and the rule of been influential in promoting demo- could return if the expected contest
The next 12 months would play a between United States President Joe law can also foster a better governed cratic norms abroad — even as it has between Raila Odinga and William
pivotal role, she felt, in deciding wheth- Biden and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister neighbourhood. infringed on them at home — such as Ruto is close and conflictual.
er “what didn’t kill South Africa will Abiy Ahmed — and if the warring Conversely, civil conflict in a hege- when Ecowas troops played a central Nigerian growth will also be under-
make her stronger” — or would lead to parties seek to enforce an outright mon generates negative externalities role in forcing Gambian dictator Ya- mined if banditry continues to drive
a further process of institutional decay. military victory, conflict will continue such as outflows of refugees and the hya Jammeh from power in 2016. population displacement and the dis-
A few days later, a Kenyan friend well into 2022. disruption of trading networks and East Africa does not have a hege- ruption of economic activity. Mean-
It is not just Kenya, South Africa regional travel routes, which can be mon in the same way  — there is no while, South Africa may struggle to hit
wrote in response to the deaths of for-
mer attorney general Charles Njonjo and Ethiopia that are living in “inter- especially problematic for landlocked one country that exerts such an out- 2.2% if Covid-19 continues to under-
and conservationist and one-time head esting times”. At a meeting I attended states. sized influence on the others — but mine international travel – especially
of the Kenya Wildlife Service, Richard in mid-December, a similar concern "As a driving force within the Eco- for different reasons Kenya and Ethi- if further bouts of civil unrest disrupt
Leakey. Neither Leakey nor Njonjo was was raised about the prospects for sta- nomic Community of West African opia exert a considerable pull over economic activity.
revered in the way Tutu was, but their bility and order in Nigeria. Rising in- States (Ecowas), Nigeria has also been political and economic affairs. These In addition to hampering regional
loss in quick succession still led him to security has leant increasing credence influential in promoting democratic are the two largest economies in the trade, another year of hegemonic in-
feel that it was the “end of an (already to the argument that the country is a norms abroad — even as it has in- region, and while Kenya is an import- stability would undermine the incli-
bygone) era”. failed state, with the government un- fringed on them at home…" ant access point for both goods and nation and ability of powerful govern-
Viewing the early years of the Ken- able to protect its citizens in the most The major worry for Africa as is that people, Ethiopia borders more Eastern ments to play a constructive regional
yan one-party state through some- basic ways. all of its hegemons face challenging African countries (six) than any other role. 
what rose-tinted glasses, he bemoaned Against this backdrop, controversy times. South Africa is the dominant state. Cyril Ramaphosa is unlikely to be-
the extent of corruption and ethnic pol- around elections scheduled for Feb- economic player in southern Africa, If these countries struggle in 2022, come more pro-active  about solving
iticking on display among the political ruary 2023 could have far-reaching with a gross domestic product (GDP) it will be that much harder for their political crises in eSwatini and Zim-
class – and feared that given recent eco- implications not just for voter turnout more than five times the next largest neighbours to thrive. babwe while he has his own to defuse
nomic difficulties the upcoming gen- but for the legitimacy of the political economy in the Southern African De- back home. Similarly, Nigerian efforts
eral election could harden both ethnic system more broadly. velopment Community. South Afri- The prospects for 2022 to combat terrorist activity in West Af-
This raises an important question: can companies such as Shoprite and The International Monetary Fund rica will be compromised if the secu-
and class divides.
These conversations got me thinking does it matter for other African coun- Mr Price have networks – most prom- (IMF) projects that Kenyan econom- rity forces cannot get domestic crimi-
about the  trajectory of Africa’s more tries if Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, South inently through a series of identikit ic growth will expand to 6% in 2022. nality under control.
influential countries, and the impact it Africa are all experiencing difficulties? malls – across Malawi, Zambia and Elsewhere, however, the forecast is It is therefore in the interests of
will have on the rest of the continent. beyond. more troubling: South African growth many African states that these “hege-
Will the most powerful states pull Why do hegemons matter? Especially in smaller countries such is expected to fall from 5% in 2021 to mons” have a good year.
those around them down into deeper All countries are impacted by what as eSwatini and Lesotho, South Africa 2.2% in 2022, and Nigeria is project- —The Africa Report.
difficulties? Or lead a much needed happens to other states in their re- also exerts considerable political in- ed to flatline at 2.7%. The situation in
economic and democratic revival? gion, especially those with which they fluence. Should he wish to, President Ethiopia is unclear, as having previous- *About the writer: Nic Cheeseman
share a border. This is particularly true Cyril Ramaphosa can encourage or ly been bullish about the prospects for is professor of democracy at the Uni-
Powerhouses in peril? of regional hegemons that, through block democratic change – as demon- recovery, the IMF declined to release a versity of Birmingham in Britain
Around the time I was having these dis- their greater economic power, mili- strated by the way that Thabo Mbeki forecast in October – a measure usual- and author of "How to Rig an Elec-
cussions about Kenya and South Africa, tary might, and/or political influence pursued “quiet diplomacy” in Zimba- ly reserved for “failed states”. tion". 

NewsHawks Africa News Page 41

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

By 2050, a quarter of the world’s people
will be African – this will shape our future

AFRICA'S unprecedented population rapidly declining birthrates remain with added significance in the age of decades, demographic futurology is nations of most western citizens. This
growth will impact geopolitics, global the exception rather than the rule in the climate crisis. fraught with pitfalls, although not lamentable state of affairs cannot —
trade, migration and almost every as- most of Africa. Globally, the number nearly as hazardous as medium- and will not — endure.
pect of life. It’s time for a reimagining of births are at their highest level ever Elon Musk’s population implosion long-term economic or weather fore-
of the continent. — 140 million a year — and are un- narrative is not original. It echoes that casting. Sheer weight of numbers must
likely to fall by much in the course of of Dr HB McKlveen, warning of the bring about a reimagining of African
In 2022, the world’s population will the next two to three decades. “depopulation of civilised nations” in The omission of African demogra- countries and their populations. This
pass 8 billion. It has increased by a the Journal of the American Medical phy from Musk’s pronouncement is alone will impact geopolitics, global
third in just two decades. By 2050, That is some bow wave underpin- Association in 1895; and that of many symptomatic of colossal shortcomings trade, technological development, the
there will be about 9.5 billion of us ning future population growth, for western economists in the 1930s, John in the understanding of Africa and its future of the world’s dominant reli-
on the planet, according to respect- good or ill (or both). With continuing Maynard Keynes among them. More constituent countries in the west. Af- gions, patterns of migration — almost
ed demographers. This makes recent high fertility in east, west and central than 50 years after the publication rican delegations are bit-part players at every aspect of life.
comments by Elon Musk baffling. Ac- Africa, the continent will contribute of Paul Ehrlich’s bestselling The Pop- global gatherings like Cop26, despite
cording to him, “the low birthrate and 1.3 billion of the 2 billion increase in ulation Bomb, explosion narratives the ramifications of the climate crisis More widespread familiarity with
the rapidly declining birthrate” is “one the global population between 2019 also burst forth at regular intervals. for the continent (and its potential for the continent’s diverse demograph-
of the biggest risks to civilisation”. and 2050. By then, the populations of To date, human adaptability and re- countering deleterious effects). ic characteristics and trajectories is
east and west Africa will each exceed silience have overcome demographic a good entry point to this reimag-
Fertility rates in Europe, North that of Europe. crises (such as the Black Death in the Western governments have been ining. Oh, and it might also help to
America and east Asia are generally 14th century), and periodic alarmism. slow to cooperate with African be ever-cognisant of the fact that the
below 2.1 births per woman, the level Thereafter, Africa’s varied demog- This is not intended to sound compla- counterparts in the battle to contain landmasses of China, the US, Europe,
at which populations remain stable at raphy will be one of the principal cent or Panglossian, merely to caution Covid-19, and have done woefully India and Japan can all fit inside this
constant mortality rates. The trajec- determinants of whether the global that alarmist narratives are invariably little by way of assistance. Africa re- continent that will loom ever-larger
tory in some countries is particularly population will peak in the second touted for ideological or some other mains fundamentally marginalised, in the lives of its neighbours and the
arresting. The birthrate in Italy is the half of the 21st century or continue specific reasons. Beyond two or three including in stereotypical depictions world.
lowest it has ever been in the country’s growing, a vexed and contested issue in most western media and the imagi-
history. South Korea’s fertility rate has — Guardian.
been stuck below one birth per wom-
an for decades despite an estimated
US$120 billion being spent on initia-
tives aimed at raising it. Japan started
the century with 128 million citizens
but is on course to have only 106
million by 2050. China’s population
will peak at 1.45 billion in 2030, but
if it proves unable to raise its fertility
rate, the world’s most populous coun-
try could end the century with fewer
than 600 million inhabitants. This is
the “big risk” alluded to by Musk. The
trouble is, his statement seems to im-
ply that “civilisation” does not include
Africa.

The populations of more than half
of Africa’s 54 nations will double – or
more – by 2050, the product of sus-
tained high fertility and improving
mortality rates. The continent will
then be home to at least 25% of the
world’s population, compared with
less than 10% in 1950. Expansion on
this scale is unprecedented: whereas
the population of Asia will have mul-
tiplied by a factor of four in this time-
frame, Africa’s will have risen tenfold.
“Chronic youthfulness”, as demogra-
pher Richard Cincotta has termed it,
is the result: 40% of all Africans are
children under the age of 14 and in
most African countries the median
age is below 20.

African mothers will have
about  450 million children in the
2020s. This is projected to rise to
more than 550 million in the 2040s,
about 40% of all children born world-
wide in that decade. Overall, low or

SOUTH African Tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu clashes with stantiated, hurtful comments” about
Lindiwe Sisulu has hit back at Presi- Ramaphosa over judiciary the judiciary.
dent Cyril Ramaphosa's media team,
claiming they misrepresented her ticular and solitary line he found an the Office of the Presidency and the ident had raised issue with and was “Minister Sisulu conceded that her
meeting with the head of state. “offensive expression”. president. However, she wanted to to share with her,” read the statement words were inappropriate. Minister
place on record that she was troubled issued by Sisulu’s spokesperson, Steve Sisulu retracts this statement and af-
In a statement issued on Friday “We had a mature and sensible “that the president's media team was Motale. Sisulu’s response came on the firms her support for the judiciary,”
morning, Sisulu said she respected meeting and thus concluded on good deliberately mischievous”. back of a strained tit-for-tat war of the Presidency said on Thursday. But
the Office of the Presidency and the terms. In fact, yesterday (Thursday) words between Ramaphosa and Sisu- Sisulu’s quick response to the released
president but was “troubled” by the the President called me and read the “… at no point in the conversa- lu on Thursday evening. statement branded Ramaphosa a liar.
media team’s “deliberately mischie- specific sentence as redesigned that tion was (the minister) firstly admon- She categorically disowned the state-
vous” actions. he had found offensive. We ended ished or secondly expressed regrets The Presidency issued a statement ment in its entirety “as a misrepresen-
our discussion on an amicable base,” resulting in agreeing to withdraw or that Ramaphosa had “specifically tation of the said meeting I had with
Sisulu confirmed that she met Sisulu said. apologise for her article, but agreed admonished the minister” about her the president”.
Ramaphosa on Wednesday, at his re- to reconsider the particular line relat- attack on the judiciary and suggested
quest, and he “expressed discomfort She said that as was an accepted ing to the judiciary which the pres- that Sisulu had retracted her “unsub- Then, later on Thursday evening,
with a particular aspect” of her opin- and lifelong practice, she respected Minister in the Presidency Mondli
ion piece published two weeks ago. Gungubele issued a second statement,
saying that the Presidency stood by its
She said the president took issue statement, and it had nothing further
with her expression relating to the ju- to add.
diciary and he proposed that a third
person or intermediary assist the par- —IOL

Page 42 World News NewsHawks

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

US secretary of State Antony Blinken Ukraine tension: Urgent US-Russia
and Russian Foreign minister Sergei talks in Geneva as invasion fears grow
Lavrov are to hold talks in Geneva,
Switzerland, amid mounting fears US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shook hands as talks proceeded at a hotel tary assistance.
that Russia could be about to invade in Geneva. And yet US officials describe the
Ukraine.
the loss of loved ones." loss of life. produce a breakthrough to defuse the talks as a good opportunity, to share
On Thursday, Blinken warned Speaking alongside Blinken, Ger- In  a speech on Friday in Sydney, stand-off. concerns and find common ground.
Moscow of grave consequences if any The Russians have agreed to come,
of its forces crossed the border. many's new Foreign minister An- she urged Western powers to "step The Americans want to talk about having previously suggested diploma-
nalena Baerbock pledged immediate up" and warned that autocratic na- avoiding war in Ukraine. The Rus- cy was at a dead end.
Russia has 100 000 troops at the action against any Russian invasion tions were being "emboldened in a sians want to talk about their de-
border, but denies planning to in- and did not rule out imposing mea- way we haven't seen since the cold mands for Nato to step back and al- Antony Blinken and Sergei Lavrov
vade. sures that "could have economic con- war". low Moscow to establish a new sphere both seem to agree they have much to
sequences for ourselves". of influence across Eastern Europe. discuss. And talking - for now - is not
President Vladimir Putin has is- Earlier this week, Britain an- being accompanied by any fighting.
sued demands to the West, including The UK's Foreign secretary Liz nounced it was supplying Ukraine And all the while, the build-up of
that Ukraine be stopped from joining Truss has also called on Putin to with extra troops for training and de- Russian troops and equipment con- Biden is also facing increasing calls
Nato. "desist and step back from Ukraine fensive weapons. tinues, Ukrainian forces are holding from across the US political spectrum
before he makes a massive strategic their own exercises and some western to take pre-emptive action against
He also wants the Western defen- mistake" that would lead to terrible The stakes for these talks are huge powers are providing them with mili- Russia.
sive alliance to abandon military ac- but there is little expectation they will
tivity in eastern Europe, but has re- On Wednesday, the senior Re-
ceived no reassurances. publican senator Lindsey Graham
called for "sanctions against Putin
The summit between the top US now," while the Democratic sena-
and Russian diplomats follows moves tor Richard Blumenthal has urged
by Blinken to shore up support administration officials to begin "a
among US allies for sanctions against massive airlift of … lethal weapons"
Putin's regime. to Ukrainian forces.

Following discussions in Berlin On Thursday the US also warned
with British, French and German of- that Russian intelligence officers have
ficials on Thursday, Blinken said that been recruiting current and former
allowing a Russian incursion into Ukrainian government officials to
Ukraine would "drag us all back to a step in as a provisional government
much more dangerous and unstable and cooperate with an occupying
time, when this continent, and this Russian force in the event of an in-
city, were divided in two... with the vasion.
threat of all-out war hanging over ev-
eryone's heads". The US Treasury Department im-
posed sanctions on two current
State Department officials have Ukrainian  members of parliament
said that Blinken will seek to offer and two former government officials
Lavrov a "diplomatic off-ramp" to accused of being part of the plot.
ease tensions.
"Russia has directed its intelligence
His comments came after US Pres- services to recruit current and former
ident Joe Biden on Wednesday pre- Ukrainian government officials to
dicted that Russia "will move in" on prepare to take over the government
Ukraine and warned of a "disaster for of Ukraine and to control Ukraine's
Russia". critical infrastructure with an occu-
pying Russian force," a Treasury De-
But he also appeared to suggest partment spokesperson said.
that a "minor incursion" could attract
a weaker response from the US and —BBC.
its allies.

The message provoked a rebuke
from Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelensky, who tweeted: "There are no
minor incursions. Just as there are no
minor casualties and little grief from

There is a future.

ZIMBABWE
CHILDREN’S CANCER RELIEF

STAY EARLY
ALERT! DETECTION

IISS TTHHEE BBEESSTT PPRROOTTEECCTTIIOONN!!

IF YOU SUSPECT EYE CANCER
VISIT YOUR CLINIC TODAY

NewsHawks Page 43

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

Porsche just got angrier Being a Fashion Model

&Life Style

STYLE TRAVEL BOOKS ARTS MOTORING

Page 44 Issue 64, 21 January 2022

ZBC TV bureaucracy inspires producer
to launch own talk show online

JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA did an episode and I was wearing a of the late hustler Genius "Ginimbi" ing television is so much easier than be perfect for the role.
white vest, you know those white vests Kandungure, controversial DJ Towers doing a 25-minute TV programme “This is because a podcast is real-
HIGH quality production, original, that Americans wear.  and self-made millionaire Fally Ipupa which has so much work involved in
vibrant and imaginative entertain- Jnr. terms of going out to get footage or- ly about people talking so the show
ment! “So we actually did an episode and ganising sound, lights and so forth.  wouldn’t fly by myself. I had to get
then we delivered it to the station and Socialite Olinda Chapel-Nkomo someone to co-host and so far it’s go-
This is perhaps what the new online they went through the video tape and becomes the first female guest to be “This format of doing TV is easier ing on well,” he said.
talk show, The Denny J Show, is all gave a review. featured on the show this weekend. because you just have a set and then
about. you have cameras and even if u make Asked what the future holds for the
“Just because I was wearing that vest “An episode can go for an hour or mistakes it is okay. You can actually re- show, Denny J said they were looking
Launched to ZBC TV viewing au- we had to retake and reshoot the scene. so, but with Olinda it was quite over- cord mistakes and so on and use them at becoming one of the biggest pod-
diences in 2003 before the streaming That bureaucracy associated with pro- whelming so much that we have had later. So it’s a much easier way of doing casts out of Zimbabwe.
platforms like YouTube were intro- ductions and delays isn’t there when to do a part two,” he said. a talk show than the format we used to
duced, The Denny J Show is back on you’re on YouTube because you’re in- do when we did the original show for “We would like to create content
Boyz DzeTonaz YouTube Channel. dependent and creative,” said Denny J. According to Denny J, the show ZBC TV”. representative of a progressive and
was founded out of his love for being burgeoning Zimbabwe. People should
The launch was a culmination of That said, the ambience on the in front of the cameras. Besides the television channel, they expect more. We want to try and bring
ZBC TV’s bureaucratic bungling and show is quite relaxed as guests are al- also have a clothing label called Boyz big names on the show so that it be-
at times rigid rules although oddly lowed to drink their favourite beverag- “Well I have always had love for DzeTonaz for casual wear. comes the biggest podcast in Zimba-
enough, they lack content.   es from expensive champagne to whis- television but what made us come back bwe.
key or cider. this time around is because I missed He and co-host Rungano Matem-
“Doing it (the show) online gives television and doing what we're doing. achani bring out the spark with inter- “I just want people to know that we
us a lot of freedom to be creative. One Named after one of the producers esting questions to their guests. are going to be having several guests
of the biggest challenges that we faced and host Denford Jiro, the show has “Of course, with YouTube it’s easi- and lots of exciting content. A lot of
when we were doing the Denny J so far streamed five episodes featur- er than when we launched in 2003 to “Rungano has been a friend of ours people are phoning us from overseas
Show for ZBC TV back then was that ing interviews with some of Harare’s start a show, it’s really out of the love for the longest time and I identified and lots of people are enjoying watch-
there was a lot of bureaucracy.  sought-after socialites including the for TV,” he said. her talent and charisma. She’s an inter- ing the show. I think we are bringing
likes of DJ Rimo, who was a close ally esting person so I thought she would something different,” he said.
“I remember there was a time we “Nowadays there are so many pod-
casts worldwide and the format of do-

NewsHawks State of the culture Page 45

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

THE nation's culture capital, as Asaph's record deal will open
Bulawayo is known as in local the door for other artistes
arts and culture circles, in some attend gigs by South African art- I would not be sweeping in de- very important for the fledgling Sibanda, a radio DJ and head of
ways lived up to its billing with a ists and yet fail to equally storm scribing local audiences. I mean, music industry in the country. operations with the Zimbabwe
number of entertainment events the gigs organised by local artists. when for instance the Bulawayo The signing is the fruition of Hip-Hop Awards. He is amongst
featuring local and international Even the local music promoters Arts Awards began five years ago, many local hip-hop dreams over an earlier generation of hip-hop
artists taking turns to titillate au- insist that staging shows with lo- there were naysayers. Some of us time. heads vicariously living their
diences.  cals does not make business sense were strident supporters. dreams through the new genera-
for them. But this is the prover- The likes of Tehn Diamond, tion to which Asaph belongs. 
Take, for instance, the con- bial chicken and egg scenario. We have been vindicated since Junior Brown and Simba Tagz Parting shot
troversial Bulawayo Arts Festi- What goes first, a promoter in- as the awards have grown in pop- would give anything to be in Karma is locating Bulawayo art-
val funded by Nhimbe Trust, vesting in the artistic property ular and corporate support. So the space Asaph is in right now ists who have done so much with
Intwasa Arts Festival, Bulawayo or a promoter waiting to merely my take is that audiences here are where he will likely have access to so little and it is only a matter of
Arts Awards and the Zimbabwe pounce on what is already popu- hardy but, once they have em- the likes of South Africa’s Nasty time before a critical mass of art-
Hip Hop Awards (11th edition). lar? It is easy to pontificate on the braced you, you are set.  C and AKA. ists from this cultural hub truly
These major events helped to ce- subject of support for local artists explode on the world stage.
ment the fame of the city as a cul- but it is a layered discussion with The biggest winner The meaning of the Def Jam
tural hub. various strands.  Born Tafadzwa Tarukwana, and signing For now, we have to be content
Rare hit trading as Asaph, one of Zim- “Like the signing of Peter Ndl- with Asaph breaking through and
The year was speckled with Take, for example, the case of babwe’s foremost hip-hop tal- ovu saw the discovery of plenty representing the entire nation in
events by private promoters at Sikhosana who had a runaway ents was perhaps other talented the music realm. I can also men-
places such as UMguza Dam, hit with Ntethe mid-year. He 2021’s biggest Africans back tion here what I heard on the
BAC Leisure Centre, Queens split public opinion over what winner beyond in the day, the 8pm news bulletin the other day.
Sports Club, Hartsfeld. The most was considered the quality of his the awards: sign- People's Rap-
recent gigs were the ones by Big music. Quite a few sneered at his ing with US glob- Addy per has done it Apparently, Zimdancehall mu-
Zulu from South Africa held at rise but, in the end, Sikhosana al hip-hop label Kudita for hip-hop, a sicians have an opportunity un-
Hartsfield and reportedly gar- now has a music career, cows and Def Jam. signing by Def der DJ Fantan and associates at
nered a considerable audience. a home under construction! All The deal means Jam Africa can Chillspot to record their music
What was intriguing for me was from the attention his music gen- that the artiste easily be a fan- for export to Jamaica.
the cover charge upwards of a erated for him. is poised to record and have his tasy for most.
stupendous US$100 per person music distributed and therefore #HipHopCapital Salutes But they will have to chant
for the VIP ticket. Of course he had angels in the exported to a global audience. Asaph today and always for his in English. That’s a no brainer.
form of musician Madlela Sik- He has a real chance to launch hard work and perseverance. This Dancehall as rendered by Zim-
Well, South African artists, hobokhobo and journalist Zen- into an international market. He is a great time to be alive for any babwean artistes is not a unique
even the Johnny Come lately zele Ndebele utilising their plat- has beaten the likes of Winky D dreamer across genres and disci- genre separate from dancehall the
with even just one hit song can forms and influence to push him. and Jah Prayzah to the punch plines. Jamaican export.
make a killing in Bulawayo. So it So this case sort of helped chip from an export point of view. A loud message for every-
was with Big Zulu I can imagine.  away at the notion that Bulawayo Of course Winky D has had one: HOLD ON TO YOUR The fact that it is rendered in
Strange or not so strange? folk do not wish to support their his moments of international rec- DREAMS. Congratulations the vernacular does not in itself
My head is still ringing over the own artists. ognition and is no push over, but Asaph to you and yours!” ob- change the music’s Jamaican
strange phenomenon. I submit the Asaph deal is symbolically served Bhekithemba "Thorne" DNA. It is indeed time local ar-
that it is strange because local tistes stopped hiding behind the
artistes tend to struggle to gather Zimbo tag and compete globally!
the crowds.
It used to be that the mantra was
that there is no money in Bula-
wayo. But the facts suggest oth-
erwise.

What is it that makes local
fawn and fall over themselves to

Page 46 Obituary NewsHawks

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

RANGA MBERI Zexie Manatsa: From two stolen
guitars, to an enduring legacy
The music journey of Zexie Manatsa,
the Zimbabwean icon who has died their music, releasing a string of pro- The new couple celebrated their fans gather for Highlanders, CAPS The late Zexie Manatsa.
of cancer at age 78, starts with two test hits targeting the Smith regime, wedding in the most Zexie way pos- and Dynamos matches. “Handina kuzvinzwisia zveumwe
gifted brothers – and two stolen gui- using metaphors. sible; in front of thousands of fans at wangu,” Zexie said in one interview.
tars. Rufaro Stadium, where people paid “Ibhola seliphelile, iHighlander Manatsa’s journey did not take
Among the most militant of these a dollar – a princely sum then – to iwinile. Siyababonga abafana, sifisa Biggie’s tragic path. He thrived. He
It is the 1960s, and brothers Zexie struggle songs was Nyoka Yendara. enter. bayephambili,” he sings for Bosso. went on to serve as a ZAOGA pastor,
and Stanley Manatsa have been play- The song’s relentless high tempo was raising his sons: Green, Tendai, Free-
ing music around the mine and farm pure defiance on a rhythm and bass. Zexie remained a force throughout In the early 1990s, things changed dom, Aaron, Takunda and Shingirai.
routes in Mhangura. Zexie has been The sharp lyrics were barely veiled. the 1980s. for Zexie, and not in a good way. He Green, Freedom and Tendai are mu-
shifting between a makeshift guitar suffered a series of calamities. He had sicians.
and a pennywhistle that he had rus- “Vachairova musoro nyoka yenda- His song Tea Hobvu was deliv- escaped death in a car crash in 1987, In 2006, the Green Arrows got a
tled up from a friend in Bulawayo. ra, nyoka inoera. Tendai vakomana ered in the garments of a Maposto- which left him emotionally scarred, modern era revival when Analog Afri-
vanoridza hosho muzimba ramambo. ri church patriarch demanding his and also without all his instruments. ca published “4-Track Recording Ses-
Together with their friend Jealous Baba vanyadzisei! Baba Vanyadizei! bread and strong tea. It went down In June 1990, his brother Stanley, the sion”, an anthology of some of their
Siyagwaja, they play at the “tea par- Vanoda kugara nyika vega…” well with his fans. Not so much with lead guitar genius who had been Zex- best, early material.
ties” that are all the rage in those days. members of the church, who issued ie’s stage partner from day one, died. On August 12 last year, Zexie an-
It must have been obvious, even to their version of the fatwa on him. Four years later, Sabastian, another of nounced that he had been diagnosed
They do the local beerhall circuit the Smith regime, that “vakomana va- the Manatsa brothers who was part of with multiple myeloma, a type of
too, but soon get tired of being paid noridza hosho” was not exactly about But that wasn’t the only song the the band, also died. cancer. He died in hospital on Thurs-
slave wages – or not being paid at all. boys playing the hosho instrument. Mapostori would hate. day.
They should have known, too, what Zexie enrolled at the ZAOGA Zexie Manatsa’s journey started
Hotel owners at the time own he meant when he sang, in another He also sang: “Vachaita musangano AMFCC Bible school. in the farms of Mhangura, in the tea
the instruments, giving them power protest song, of “madzangaridzimu mapostori ekwa Marange, pamusana parties and in local beerhalls. It was
over bands. At Mujakachi Beerhall atishaisa rufaro”. pekuda kuziva akatipenda nependi “I was with my wife, coming from propelled to a new level to the tune of
in Chinhoyi, the boys play for three nhema, yaive mugaba rehurombo….” a beerhall, when we heard people two justifiably appropriated guitars.
months. No pay. In 1979, Zexie married his first singing,” he said in a magazine inter- It was forged in the music factory that
love, Stella Katehwe. When the Rev- The year 1987 brought a new in- view in 1995. Curious, and drunk, was Bulawayo’s Jairos Jiri. It is, now,
But one day, the boys get fed up. erend at Mbare Methodist said to novation. Tsuro Soccer Star, a six- they ventured near the “crusade”. sealed forever in a rich discography,
Zexie comes up with a plan. Zexie at his wedding: “Well done, track album, carried anthems in hon- Soon, they were at the altar, taking a one of the most enduring legacies of
Zexie, wawana chivaraidze chako”, our of the four biggest football clubs new turn. Zimbabwean music.
“I said to Stan, ‘how can we stay it inspired him to immediately write in the country then; Highlanders, —newZWire.
here without pay?’ He (Mujakachi) one of his famous tunes as a dedica- CAPS United, Dynamos and Zimba- Among his fellow students in Bi-
had bought us two electric guitars, tion to his bride. The album, Chi- bwe Saints. ble school was another talented sing-
a bass and a lead. We had a brother varaidze, came out months later. er; Biggie Tembo. Biggie was to later
staying in Bulawayo. I said we must Saints are gone, but, to this day, commit suicide.
leave this place and take these gui- Zexie’s songs still play at stadiums as
tars,” he said in an interview in 2006.

And so the boys do just that. They
make a run for it, two guitars in hand.

The Manatsas soon find themselves
in Harare, where they perform as the
Mambo Jazz Band. But they do not
stay long. They want a new challenge,
and soon catch the midnight train to
a buzzing Bulawayo.

There, they find themselves play-
ing at Jairos Jiri’s home of the dis-
abled. They join up with the great
Fanyana Dube, forming the Sunrise
Kwela Band, a band that was to spin
off a lot of talent through the years.

They began touring, playing si-
manjemanje music, the South African
sound that was huge throughout the
region then. It had been made popu-
lar by acts like the Mahotella Queens
and Izintombi Zesimanjemanje.

Legendary South African producer
West Nkosi spots them, likes what he
sees, and signs them up to his label.

In October 1974, they recorded
one of Zimbabwe’s most enduring
hits. Chipo Chiroorwa — inspired
by the wedding of his cousin Chipo
— was a massive success. The band
was on its way to stardom. It was the
first Zimbabwean record to go gold.
The song is jazz, kwela and lots more,
all in one track. That guitar riff is to
die for. Stanley, they say, used the old
waah-waah pedal to get that ‘man-
gled’ sound out of his guitar.

They also experiment with rock
and funk, which was huge in the
country then. In 1975, they recorded
Towering Inferno, a rock tune that
would not be out of place at a Wood-
stock festival of the time. On the flip-
side was the funk instrumental, No
Delay.

By some accounts, the Green Ar-
rows were the first band to record an
LP in February 1975 when Chipo
Chiroorwa was released as an abum
by Gallo. The song Musango Mune-
hangaiwa stayed on the charts for
four months.

Musango Munehangaiwa — literal-
ly translated to ‘there are doves in the
forest’ — is a tribute to the freedom
fighters. It is a theme that the Green
Arrows were to run with in a lot of

NewsHawks Life & Style Page 47

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

Page 48 Life & Style NewsHawks

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

Title: The footsteps that never arrived Poet: Stephen Mupoto Title: Boomerang love
Poet: Tafadzwa Chiwanza Poem: The Love Letter Poet: Aries Rage

thirty years now, Dear Electorate, It boomeranged,
the future's boots echo in the corridor. It is that time again, seven seconds in Heaven
the echo grows feeble and soft- When I have to assert my love again, and I came crashing
like a tale whispered centuries ago It has been five years, into the abyss.
of footsteps that never arrived. Since our last intimacy, Heart fluttered
the past receeds behind us I am sorry to say, butterflies danced,
waving its frail hands at our dusty ankles, All our children were stillborn. smiles graced my face with
ghostly dusk looms in the west, Year after year, each passing moment
casting its ragged net Our desire to have our progeny, but it boomeranged;
Into the deep dark waters of the east, Was abortive. went back to the heartless
dawn, gone somewhere I know our fallout, human,
between time's parted lips Was temporary, who hid his fangs behind his tight
that chewed the sun and spat Day. I have returned to you, lipped mouth,
thirty years now, With this promise, and let his eyes wander in the
we stand at the wrong end of the corridor I promise to fulfil, void spaces between us.
cowered behind this fast shut door, That I will deliver babies, Dizzy spells grace me with their
hearing the footsteps of the future ebb away And protect them from still births. presence,
I will ensure that I repair the broken chandelier, as I'm tossed and toyed with
*********************************************** And illuminate your world. back and forth like a yo-yo;
Title: a dog finds itself on a train I have a vision for this Affair, yet blinded I dare not see
Author: Tanaka Chidora You have suffered enough my love, that all this time;
And I apologise for my wrong doing. all he had to give was boomerang love.
people have faraway looks, I repent from all my vices.
like the sun Give me another chance, ***********************************************
contemplating the journey And I will bring laughter to your stoep, Title: A Black Thing Floating In The Pot
to the west, I will deliver cans of milk and honey. Poet: Elias M. Muonde
like father scrutinising I am sorry about yesterday,
the horizon for a cloud When I gagged the watchdog, Mother would be gently paddling around
the size of a human being’s hand. It was because of rumour mongering, the starchy water in the big sadza pot with
no one sees the dog; To protect you, the big cooking stick in the big round hut
they all look beyond it, I have a new set of law, Now and again, she sprinkles mealie meal
as if the well-packaged That will protect you against your adversaries. about the pot
schedules of the day Allow me at the juncture, Mother cautious and thorough as always
need no mishaps. To buy you sweet scented roses, Mother focused and meticulous under our
As fresh as rain, hungry watch from the edges of the fire-
*********************************************** And refreshing as the cool waters, place
Title: Forever Young Of Mississippi river. Then suddenly she spots the thing
Poet: Sithembinkosi Ncube I will deliver nuggets of gold, Black and tiny
To your very domain, Bobbing around in the mess of porridge...
I am almost fifty now but still feel smaller I will make you feel whole again, With a stroke of a deft hand
than my 1980 And wash away your shame. Mother tackles the thing with the tip of her
elementary school classmates Kiss my fist, cooking stick
I still feel the weight And you will not feel any dent, It lands in the heart of the fire;
of Mandla's punch on my jaws Because I will protect you, And Mother carries on
out in the pastures; and deep in the darkness, Against exorbitant rent. We don't know what it is
wobbling universe and dizziness... Mother doesn't want to know what it is.
Only our cart's wheels have become smaller
and the steps to our kitchen door are no lon-
ger scary
Even the steep slopes of Nyova hills
where our goats strayed
are no longer as precipitous
I have learnt of levers and spanners
but still doubt their trade
Mandla's grip was an eternal clasp on my
throat.

NewsHawks People & Places Page 49

Issue 64, 21 January 2022

Zimbabweans waiting to cross boarder into SA

DESPITE a fierce crackdown launched by South African Home Affairs minister Aaron Mot-
soaledi and his immigration unit to block Zimbabweans from entering the country without
proper documentation or the required papers, local travellers are still pushing to enter the
neighbouring state with or without travel documents.
This week, Zimbabweans continued to travel to South Africa legally and illegally through Beit-
bridge Border Post.

The NewsHawks saw Zimbabweans pushing to enter South Africa through various legal and
illegal entry points.

Some travelled legally through the border, while others got in through illegal crossing points
using boats across the crocodile-infested Limpopo River with soldiers on both sides sometimes
collaborating with the immigrants.

Zimbabweans are still streaming into South Africa due to protracted economic problems at
home which have persisted for decades.

It is generally estimated that there are at least three million Zimbabwean in South Africa,
although this figure has never been scientifically authenticated or verified.

South Africans are increasingly getting agitated with immigrants, particularly Zimbabweans.
This has led to explosive flashes of xenophobic clashes and violence against foreigners in
South Africa, with some reports indicating a resurgence of intimidation and brutality this week.

— STAFF WRITER.

Property
NewsHawks

Issue 64, 21 January 2022 PROPERTY INTERIORS ARCHITECTURE GARDENING Page 50

The home of prime property: [email protected]

Bulawayo City Council

Byo Council reverses
sale of housing stands
to FBC, CBZ Bank

DUMISANI NYONI team felt it was not worthwhile to implement the
council resolution of 7th April 2021 as the banks
THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has re- had offered prices below the price that council
scinded its resolution to sell 1 123 residential expected,” the report reads in part.
stands in Luveve North and Mahatshula to FBC
Building Society and CBZ Bank after the two fi- The negotiating committee, therefore, rec-
nancial institutions failed to match its offer, the ommended to the management committee that
latest council minutes show. council review and rescind its decision that re-
solved to sell residential stands to the financial in-
BCC acting director of town planning report- stitutions since the banks had indicated that they
ed on 9 December 2021 that council had re- were not in a position to match the council offer.
solved to sell 453 high-density residential stands
in Luveve North and 670 medium-density stands The committee also said the said stands should
in Mahatshula East at US$5 per square metre to be disposed using alternative mechanisms which
FBC Building Society and CBZ Bank, respec- “would make it possible to achieve the council’s
tively. objective to raise funds for stalled residential
stands or stalled project.”
The management committee tasked council's
negotiating team to engage the banks to negoti- The matter was then discussed by the man-
ate with them on purchasing the stands at US$5 agement committee on 3 December 2021 which
per square metre. Subsequent meetings were held resolved to adopt the recommendations of the
with the banks, which saw CBZ offering to pur- negotiating committee.
chase the stands at US$3.70 and FBC Bank on
the other hand offered to purchase the stands at Thereafter, it was resolved to recommend that
US$3.50 per square metre. council review and rescind its decision to sell 453
residential stands in Luveve North to FBC Bank
Both offers were below the US$5 per square and 670 residential stands in Mahatshula to CBZ
metre that council wanted. Bank at a price of US$5 per square metre since
the banks had indicated that they were not in a
“In view of the negotiation outcomes, the position to match the council offer.