NewsHawks 17 September 2021-min

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WHAT’S INSIDE Friday 17 September 2021 ZNiEmWbSabwe HSPoOwRLToga
to deploy was ‘sacked’
MNEnWanSgagwa instructors to by a King’s
blocks Mozambique ‘errand boy’
prosecution
of Chadzamira Story on Page 4 Story on Page 62

Story on Page 3

CIO boss
entangled in
BAT bribery
scandal

Page 2 News NewsHawks

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NewsHawks News Page 3

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

MORRIS BISHI Mnangagwa blocks prosecution
of Chadzamira over corruption
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa is
blocking attempts to bring to book the min- Minister of State for Masvingo Ezra Chadzamira
ister of State for Masvingo, Ezra Chadzami-
ra, who was arrested by investigators from
the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commis-
sion (Zacc) on allegations of corruptly al-
locating land to his proxies in the province,
but the anti-corruption body has not given
up on the case, The NewsHawks has learnt.

Chadzamira was briefly arrested by Zacc
investigators last Monday but prosecutors
at Masvingo magistrates’ court declined to
arraign him and advised the anti-corruption
watchdog that the case will proceed by way
of summons.

This was after Chadzamira sought Mnan-
gagwa’s help after Zacc swooped in on him
following investigations.

Officials in Masvingo say Mnangagwa’s
intervention proves that his anti-corruption
fight is not sincere.

Mnangagwa’s stance is in sharp contrast
to Zambian President Hakainde Hichile-
ma’s “zero tolerance” to corruption, where
he publicly declared that he will never in-
terfere with the operations of the Anti-Cor-
ruption Commission of Zambia in its du-
ties. Hichilema made the announcement
as he opened the first session of the 13th
national assembly.

Zambia’s anti-corruption body on
Wednesday welcomed Hichilema’s state-
ment. The body also revealed that 87 cor-
ruption cases had been reported since
Zambia’s election last month, 55 of which
related to politically exposed persons.

Chadzamira is Mnangagwa’s political ally
but has been facing pressure from a faction
aligned to Vice-President Constantino Chi-
wenga which wants him arrested for corrup-
tion.

There is also a push for him to be sus-
pended from the party on corruption alle-
gations.

In January 2020 Chadzamira as the chair-
person of the provincial lands committee
instructed Chiredzi district lands commit-
tee through a phone call to stop convening
meetings.

Despite the ban, several people continued
to receive land with the approval of the pro-
vincial leadership in the Lowveld district, a
move which angered locals and war veter-
ans.

A high-powered delegation of war veter-
ans from Chiredzi visited Chiwenga’s office
to lodge the complaint against Chadzamira,
a move which resulted in the former mil-
itary commander ordering the minister of
state to reverse the allocations. Beneficiaries
were allocated plots under a project devel-
oped by Tongaat Hullet for government in
Hippo Valley. Chiwenga cited corruption
and segregation of the Chiredzi people in
the project as reasons for the reversal.

A senior Zanu PF official in Masvingo
told The NewsHawks that were it was not
for Mnangwaga, Chadzamira could have
been locked up.

He said Chadzamira was one of Mnan-
gagwa’s strongest allies in the province from
the time Mugabe was toppled through a
coup in November 2017. 

“These fights against Chadzamira in
the province are not yet over. The faction
aligned to Chiwenga is still pushing for his
arrest and they are pushing for his arrest and
suspension from government. The team is
not resting on its quest to have this man ar-
rested. This faction is now gaining ground
in Masvingo, a province which is always
used by Zanu PF leaders as a battleground
to declare their interests” said the official.

A senior government official in Masvingo
told The NewsHawks that the case against
Chadzamira is more political than criminal
since what he is accused of is similar to what
other government officials are doing.

Page 4 News NewsHawks

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

Zim to deploy instructors to Moza

A CONTINGENT of Zimbabwean military the port city of Mocímboa da Praia, which had Defence minister Muchinguri-Kashiri withdrawal.
instructors earmarked for deployment to train been a major stronghold of the insurgency for “This is certainly not the time for compla-
Mozambican soldiers in the conflict-ridden more than two years. The town is near the site escalated.
northern parts of the country is currently on of natural gas projects worth US$60 billion, The Centre for Democracy and Develop- cency or premature victory celebrations, as the
standby in Nyanga, while awaiting the finalisa- which had to be to stopped after the conflict violent extremist organisation in Cabo Delgado
tion of an agreement for the mission, The New- ment (CDD) in its latest research note warned is far from defeated,” Adriano Nuvunga of the
sHawks has established. of more insurgency if the violent extremists re- CDD said in the research note.
group while Mozambique’s allies plan a troop
Last month, Defence minister Oppah “While it is possible to suppress violent ex-
Muchinguri-Kashiri told a press briefing that tremism in the short-term, resolution is unre-
Zimbabwe would deploy 304 non-combatant alistic through military means alone, as there is
soldiers to Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado prov- a need to address underlying drivers. This can
ince. only be achieved through dialogue, negotia-
tions and compromise, otherwise there will be a
The conflict, which broke out nearly five resurgence of violent extremism, possibly with
years ago, has resulted in the death of hundreds greater intensity and external support. While
of civilians, while hundreds of thousands have the scale and context of the situation in Afghan-
been displaced. istan is vastly different, it demonstrates that 20
years of multinational military operations, in
Sources familiar with the developments told the absence of timely negotiations, has only re-
The NewsHawks that as Zimbabwe also prepares sulted in further empowering the Taliban.”
for the deployment of a reaction contingent
amid fears that the conflict may further esca- Sadc, the research note says, needs more fi-
late, the instructors, drawn mainly from the nancial support for its military operations in
special forces, are currently on standby at a mil- Mozambique’s conflict-ridden province.
itary camp in Nyanga.
“Any further funding, however, should be
Delays in finalising the Status of Force predicated on defining success for the Sadc
Agreement for the trainers, sources added, was deployment to prevent self-perpetuating in-
retarding the deployment. tervention in Mozambique. This is important
to prevent the interests of troop-contributing
“300 soldiers who are currently on standby countries going beyond stabilisation of Cabo
are undergoing the training of trainers course Delgado and expanding to financial gain and
in Nyanga. The SFA for training is the sticking projection of influence,” the CDD said.
point. However, while they await the finalisa-
tion of the agreement, the country and other “However, without wholesale transformation
Southern African Development Community of the FADM (Mozambique Defence Forces) to
countries are also preparing to deploy as the dramatically improve their capabilities (which
standy force despite indications that that vio- is likely to take years) Mozambican forces can-
lent extremists have been subdued. Militarily not, on their own, provide the security and pro-
they could be taking a tactical withdrawal with tection required in Cabo Delgado. Therefore,
an intention to regroup and attack,” a source dialogue and negotiations — at the earliest op-
said. portunity — must be the priority.”

Nyanga is home to the Alls Arms Battle While Sadc has now deployed a military con-
School. tingent on the ground, it has been Rwanda that
has stolen the show with a performance that has
Defence minister Muchinguri-Kashiri could not only helped to push back the militants, but
not be reached for comment. also exposed the lethargy and ineptitude of re-
gional leaders and their security system. — STAFF
Last month, she said the government had
approved the deployment of a training team WRITER
of 303 instructors to train one infantry battal-
ion-sized unit at a time. Zimbabwean military instructors earmarked for deployment to train Mozambican soldiers is currently on standby in Nyanga.

She said the government had also approved
the deployment of a specialist officer to the
co-ordination mechanism of the Sadc standby
force headquarters in Maputo.

“Taking cognisance that there are two ma-
jor elements to the deployment, namely com-
bat and training, the status of force agreement
(SFA) signed on July 8, 2021 is confined to
combat activities only,” Muchinguri-Kashiri
said.

“The SFA pertaining to training is yet to be
signed. It must, therefore, be noted that the
countries that are currently deploying are doing
so on the strength of the SFA signed on July 8,
2021.”

She said the soldiers would be deployed after
the signing of the SFA.

Sadc should immediately push for dialogue,
instead of becoming complacent after Rwandan
soldiers repelled violent extremists in Mozam-
bique’s resource-rich northern Cabo Delgado
province, a Maputo-based think-tank has said.

Last month, Rwandan and Mozambican se-
curity forces fighting insurgents took control of

SOLDIERS deployed at the residence of the Soldiers in trouble as AK-47 rifles vanish
late Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander
Vitalis Zvinavashe have landed themselves in Barracks) were deployed. at the Pomona Army Barracks in Harare. The at the Inkomo Parachute Regiment; Spencer
hot soup after three AK-47 assault rifles and “The soldiers were deployed to provide se- deputy commander of Pomona barracks, Ma- Chigondo (29), a corporal in the Commando
several rounds of ammunition were stolen at jor Maxwell Samudzi, “committed suicide” regiment; Ruka Matemai Bitone, a colour ser-
the national hero’s home, as cases of armed curity services at the house of the General’s while being held in solitary confinement. geant (39); James Bhebhe alias Mitewell Moyo
robbery involving military personnel increase, widow when the guns went missing. Investiga- (29), a corporal; Trust Hapanyengwi (31), also
The NewsHawks has established. tions on where and why the rifles were stolen A total of 120 serving soldiers were detained a corporal; Mighty Nyoni (34), another cor-
are ongoing. in connection with the theft and allegedly tor- poral and Chadmore Chakaingesu (42), who
As Zimbabwe makes frantic efforts to recov- tured. is a colour sergeant, were locked up in connec-
er from two years of economic decline, reports “Heads will definitely roll,” a source famil- tion with a spate of robberies in Mashonaland
of soldiers involved in robberies have been iar with the developments said. A member of the Movement for Democrat- West province.
on an increase, posing a security threat to the ic Change (MDC), Pascal Gwezere, was also
country. In 2009, a senior army officer committed arrested, allegedly tortured, and charged in Efforts to get a comment from Zimbabwe
suicide in the wake of a break-in at a military connection with the theft. Defence Forces spokesperson Colonel Teddy
Impeccable sources told The NewsHawks armoury in Harare amid growing fears that the Ndlovu last night were fruitless, as he was not
that the assault rifles and bullets were stolen missing guns would be used to fuel instability. Last year, 10 serving soldiers were arrested answering phone calls. — STAFF WRITER
on Wednesday where soldiers from Harare for armed robbery in Chinhoyi.
district, which is stationed at Josiah Magama In late 2009, 20 AK-47 rifles and a num-
Tongogara Barracks (formerly King George VI ber of shotguns were stolen from the armoury Ishmael Neboet Zibula aged (29), a corporal

NewsHawks News Page 5

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

LIZWE SEBATHA Public Accounts Committee demands
corruption probe into Agric ministry
THE Public Accounts Parliamentary Commit-
tee has recommended a Zimbabwe Anti-Cor- A report reveals that machinery totalling several millions bought in 2017 and 2018 have either not been delivered to date despite being paid for, or are missing.
ruption Commission (Zacc) investigation
within 90 days into the disposal of inputs and Grant Agreement was not availed for audit ment (US$853 750) from the officials within of US$18 250 042 during the financial year
assets in the ministry of Lands, Agriculture and inspection. 90 days.” under review. This was caused by improper ac-
Water, after its probe revealed that equipment counting treatment of capital transfers to In-
and machinery worth several millions of Unit- “The Auditor-General observed that the “The Auditor-General was unable to verify frastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe
ed States dollars could not be accounted for. ministry distributed farm equipment recovered the ministry’s budget provision for the year (IDBZ).”
from Farmers World without attaching mon- 2017 as the ministry was allocated US$292
A report containing findings of the probe etary values to the equipment. Furthermore, 696 000, according to the Appropriation Act The findings of the Public Accounts Com-
by the committee raises a red flag in the op- equipment valued at $853 750 acquired from but US$294 567 000 was disclosed in the mittee were presented in Parliament last week.
erations of the Agriculture ministry, such as William Bain was not recorded in the Minis- Appropriation Account leaving a variance of
failure to keep records of assets acquired and try’s Master Asset Register,” the report adds, US$1 871 000,” the report shows. Section 299 of the Constitution confers the
disposed, failure to follow standard operating with the committee recommending that the Public Accounts Committee with unlimited
procedures, questionable transactions without ministry must “recover the value of the equip- “Expenditure in respect of the acquisition of oversight powers over all state revenues and
supporting documents, leakages, misappropri- fixed capital assets was overstated by an amount expenditure.
ation and theft costing the country several mil-
lions of dollars. A report claims the Department of Irrigation bought 10 motor vehicles from Solutions Motors amounting to US$518 850 on December 19, 2017, but only received six (6) motor vehicles.

The committee said it launched a “major in-
quiry” when it noted a “huge amount of an
Unallocated Reserve amounting to US$1 559
713 867” in the Agriculture ministry. The in-
vestigation covered the years ended December
2017 and 2018.

The committee commenced its investiga-
tions in May 2019, but only completed re-
ceiving oral evidence in March 2020, meeting
several challenges, including the refusal by
witnesses and companies to testify, the report
reads.

“Second was the bank’s (RBZ) refusal to
provide the Committee with information, par-
ticularly correspondence between the Reserve
Bank Governor, Dr (John) Mangundya and
the Minister of Finance and Economic Devel-
opment, Hon (Patrick) Chinamasa relating to
Treasury Bills,” the report reads.

“Third was the bank’s delay and refusal to
answer material questions arising out of dis-
crepancies in respect of Treasury Bills. As the
Committee’s report on Command Agriculture
will show, those discrepancies were never prop-
erly addressed up to the present moment in
time.”

The report reveals that vehicles, plant and
machinery totalling several millions bought in
2017 and 2018 have either not been delivered
to date despite being paid for, or are missing
or not accountable for in the registry of assets.

“The Department of Irrigation bought ten
(10) motor vehicles from Solutions Motors
amounting to US$518 850 on December 19,
2017. The department only received six (6)
motor vehicles out of the ten (10) motor vehi-
cles paid for in advance without seeking redress
from the supplier for the remaining four (4)
motor vehicles worth US$207 540,” the report
reads.

“Furthermore, in terms of the technical
specifications of the contract, Solutions Mo-
tors was supposed to have delivered the motor
vehicles with canopies and bull bars and all the
six (6) motor vehicles delivered had no such
accessories.”

The remaining vehicles have not been deliv-
ered to date.

The Department of Irrigation also entered
into a procurement contract with Solutions
Motors to buy two excavators (SANY SY365C),
one Motorised Compactor, one Water Bowser
and two Tipper trucks at a cost of $958 665 for
irrigation rehabilitation on December 5, 2017.

“However, two (2) Excavators (SANY SY
365C) and one (1) Water Bowser valued at
$515 650 were not delivered and the depart-
ment did not seek redress from the supplier.
The Auditor-General was unable to verify the
ownership of two (2) Tipper trucks and one
(1) Motorised Compactor, since she was not
provided with the registration books,” the re-
port shows.

The ministry has neither taken stock of its
motor vehicles nor updated the asset register
in contravention of Treasury Circular Number
8 of 2018 since the merging of the ministry
of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and
Rural Resettlement, Mechanisation and Irriga-
tion Development with the former ministry of
Lands and Rural Resettlement and Water and
Climate.

The ministry did not provide a hand-over/
take-over certificate for audit inspection.

“The ministry received 36 tractors, 30 motor
vehicles and 200 motor bikes through a grant
from the Republic of China. The assets were
not recorded in the Ministry’s Master Asset
Register and the

Page 6 News NewsHawks

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

Govt’s fake mega-deals raised false hopes

DUMISANI NYONI

IN the run-up to the 30 July 2018 elections, Pres- Several deals were signed in various sectors including mining, only to disappear from the radar after the pomp and ceremony.
ident Emmerson Mnangagwa repeatedly claimed
that Zimbabwe had attracted investment com- Moyo, who served as minister of State Enter- the Covid pandemic is history, but little has been seen small and humongous machinery being ac-
mitments amounting to over US$16 billion since prises and Parastatals during the Government of achieved by the major hotel groups elsewhere in quired and deployed, not to mention ambulanc-
he took over power from his late mentor Robert National Unity, said much of the celebrated in- the country.” es, vehicles and computers for government de-
Mugabe. vestments from Beijing were largely phantom in- partments supporting the mining sector. Human
vestments. “If a new power station is built, if investment capital development and innovation drive also
Some of the so-called mega deals that Mnan- in the railways starts to yield improvements to deserve mentioning.”
gagwa signed were in mining, energy, agriculture “Instead of investing in Zimbabwe, the funds efficiency and if the national road network and
and tourism. For instance, in May 2018, the gov- simply exchange hands between the Chinese border post improvements can be completed, Consequently, Mkaratigwa said Mnangagwa
ernment signed a US$5.2 billion deal with South Exim Bank, Chinese Development Bank and the Zimbabwe can expect to become a more attractive has re-focused the economy through National
African firm Nkosikhona Holdings for the pro- Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank on the oth- proposition for investors, but they are still likely to Development Strategy One. To that end, an in-
duction of over eight million litres of liquid fuel er hand and the Chinese suppliers, engineers, and remain reluctant unless government greatly reduc- tegrated mining and industrial development and
per day from coal in Hwange. A groundbreaking constructors on the other, without landing on the es the licensing and permit requirements,” he said. deployment approach investment will see the
ceremony for the plant was scheduled for 1 June shores of Zimbabwe,” he said. fruition of a single multifaceted project worth
2018 while mining operations were expected to “Zimbabwe is considered to be a central- over US$10 billion spanning over four provinc-
start in September of the same year, but none of In addition, Moyo said the investment has ly-planned economy, following the political phi- es for an iron and steel plant in Mvuma feeding
that happened. been associated with tax incentives, tax holidays, losophy of North Korea. This is extremely unat- of chrome fields within the vicinity, with rail and
and tax breaks for periods up to five years. Where tractive to investors, who have the whole world road transport linkages.
The deal was even granted national project those investors are paying taxes, they are favoured to choose from when selecting an investment
status by Mnangagwa himself. The project raised because their taxes are very low, particularly in the destination.” He said stainless steel production as well as con-
eyebrows, with analysts saying the South Afri- mining sector, he said. struction of a smart city are envisaged to ultimate-
can company’s credentials were suspect. Again in Presenting his keynote speech at the 2018 ly complement the performance of the Mnangag-
2018, the government signed an agricultural deal “By doing so, the country is deprived of the pre-budget seminar held in Bulawayo, Speaker of wa administration.
with the Financial and Commodities Ecosystem much-needed mining revenue that could be used the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda urged the
(FinComEco) worth US$1.5 billion, which was in the development of the country. All social ac- government to fight inertia, whereby deals worth “On the other hand, the President’s magnan-
touted to create 630 000 jobs. countability institutions, including parliament, billions of dollars are signed every time, but not imous and compassionate approach is fostering
media, civil society and academics should scale up implemented on time, if at all. the much-needed political unity which creates an
Another major deal that was signed amounts to their scrutiny of the mega investments, especial- enabling environment assuring positive develop-
US$4.2 billion with a Cypriot investor to develop ly from China. Zimbabwe is being subjected to Mudenda said the signed deals should not be ment on the political stage which will surely create
a platinum mine and refinery in Zimbabwe, an neo-imperialism by Beijing,” he said. allowed to go for more than six months without that enabling environment to support our nation-
investment Mnangagwa said showed the country being implemented. If it stays longer, it simply al economic endeavours for sustainable national
was open for business. But very few or none of the Renowned independent economic analyst John means there was no commitment to invest, he socio-economic growth,” he said.
deals had been implemented, almost three years Robertson said Zimbabwe’s investment authority said.
after some of them were announced. has been approached by many potential investors, “Like I always mention, investment is differ-
but not all of them lodge actual applications for However, the chairperson of the Portfolio ent from many national development sectors, it
Former Parliamentary Portfolio Committee business licences and not all the approvals that are Committee on Mines and Mining Development, is sensitive and voluntary and you cannot force
on Mines and Mining Development chairperson granted are implemented. Edmond Mkaratigwa, said the Mnangagwa ad- it, hence it is always a process of negotiation and
Temba Mliswa, an independent legislator, said ministration’s performance in implementing a these successes reflect huge strides.”
there was a need for Parliament to make a fol- “Some of the investors are discouraged by the number of projects has been fair.
low-up on those mega deals. number of licences and permits they have to apply “Of late, the government has further adopted
for and pay for. When they discover that many of “Objectively, assessing what President Mnan- the plan to look within and not always externally,
“My question actually to the Speaker this week them have to be renewed and paid for again in a gagwa and government had set to do and where in searching for solutions to the national develop-
was going to be what has become of those deals year or so and they realise that all these will add to we are today under the prevailing socio-economic ment challenge. In fact, national development is
because we can only be successful if foreign direct production costs that could make their goods or environment, I appreciate the milestones achieved every citizen’s business,” he said.
investments are implemented and executed. Then services uncompetitive, they might then decide to and it would be amiss for me to say nothing has
you have money coming through,” Mliswa said. take their investment plans to another country,” been done thus far,” he said. Asked about progress on the deals, Informa-
he said. tion, Publicity and Broadcasting Services deputy
“We seem not to have enjoyed any money from “Honestly, a lot is going on and the foundation minister Kindness Paradza referred questions to
our own resources whatsoever. We are always In some cases, Robertson said the authorities has been well laid and the country is leaping for- Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba
talking about us doing well but from the resources have demanded technical details that would force ward. I will hasten to speak about the successes in who, instead, blamed corporates for their failure
we have, what has come out of it, yet our domestic the disclosure of patented methods or highly con- the mining industry which I am well versed in.” to implement them.
and external debt is still bad,” he said. fidential design features that would put at risk the
potential investor’s competitive advantage. Mkaratigwa said he has so far witnessed the “You want me to be a spokesperson of a corpo-
Mliswa also bemoaned policy inconsistency, opening of new mines, several gold mines, expan- rate organisation? The government was not going
saying it was eroding investor confidence. “In such cases, the investment proposal is usu- sion or upgrading of existing mines (for example to be the implementer, was it? Phone those com-
ally withdrawn. In certain investment projects, Unki Mine and Blanket Mine) and the re-open- panies and ask them how far you have gone about
“There is no due diligence on the investors. the investor needs assurances that large volumes ing of closed and disused mines or those under the agreement which they signed with the Zimba-
These are briefcase businesspeople. Where is the of purified water will always be available, or that prolonged care and maintenance (for example, bwean government,” Charamba said.
RBZ in due diligence of people coming to invest? no power cuts will cause damage to equipment or Shamva Gold Mine, Falcon Mine) and some of
The real conglomerates are not coming to Zim- lengthy down-time, while production flows are the new mines are at developmental stages al- “I don’t speak (for the corporates), I speak for
babwe, it’s the dealers, the shoddy corrupt people restored, but when these assurances cannot be giv- though their commissioning has been delayed by the President. The President is not the shareholder
who are investing and we don’t need that.” en, the proposal is cancelled,” he said. the Covid-19 pandemic. of those companies, is he? Government enables,
corporates execute. An agreement involving a
“We need conglomerates. We need An- “Other investors depend on efficient rail trans- “We have also witnessed quasi-governmental state and a corporate body does not turn the state
glo-American coming here. There is so much on port services and they withdraw their applications organisations posting profits and paying divi- into an actor but it turns the state into a facilitator.
paper; there is nothing on the ground,” he said. when they see the state of our railways.” dends, for example MMCZ (Minerals Marketing Delivery or lack of it, it’s a matter for the corpo-
Corporation of Zimbabwe), ZCDC (Zimbabwe rate body. You can’t get me to explain the failures
In a recent statement, the Southern and East- “New power stations are to be built, but the Consolidated Diamond Company) and Kuvim- of a corporate body. How is that my business?”
ern African Trade Information and Negotiations handicaps holding up the commencement of con- ba. We have also been favoured with oil and gas he said.
Institute (Seatini) raised a red flag over deals the struction have been in place for many years. The exploration and Muzarabani is a case in point.
government has signed as of 2017, saying they Lusulu Power Station was approved for construc- The diamond sector has seen giants like Alrosa en- Critics say Mnangagwa seems to have taken
were characterised by opacity and lack of public tion in 2012, but work has yet to start. The Seng- tering the Zimbabwean space and Murowa Mine a leaf from his mentor Mugabe by signing in-
accountability. wa Power Station has been approved, cancelled, focusing on an expansion drive.” vestment deals worth billions of dollars — some
approved again and cancelled again. Rumours opaque or dubious — that never see the light of
“There are, however, discomforts emanating suggest that it might now go ahead, but no confir- All this and more is a clear demonstration and day.
from the opaqueness of the processes leading to mation can be found,” he said. validation of successes championed by Mnangag-
these major investment deals, as they are signed in wa through the “Zimbabwe is open for business” During Mugabe’s era, countless deals were
boardrooms, with the public lacking key details to Robertson said some tourism projects have mantra and ease of doing business anchored on signed, especially with China, raising hopes of
such deals,” Seatini said. gone ahead in Victoria Falls and “it is likely that the Vision 2030 agenda, he said. a swift economic turnaround, only to disappear
they will add usefully to bed-nights there when from the radar after the pomp and ceremony.
“There is no full disclosure of details and infor- “Tooling and re-tooling is ongoing and have
mation on these deals, including full disclosure of
the investors. Currently, there are limited forums
for collective interrogation of these investment
deals that are inclusive of communities and civil
society,” it said.

Policy analyst Gorden Moyo said the Mnan-
gagwa presidency “is unfortunately infamous for
over-promising and under-performing. In the last
five years, we have witnessed premature celebra-
tions on the part of the government.”

“Zimbabweans were promised houses, jobs,
improved incomes, infrastructural revolution,
civil liberties, and improved social protection pro-
grammes and many more. And yet today, Zim-
babweans are worse off than they were a decade
ago,” he said.

“This kind of investment is no investment at
all. The irony is that Zimbabwe’s sovereign debt
stock has in the process increased as a result of the
so-called investment from Beijing.”

NewsHawks News Page 7

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

Proposed bank mergers illegal — Biti

BRIDGET MANANAVIRE

FORMER Finance minister Tendai Biti, who ing to a government advisory, involve a merger owned by the government. Former Finance minister Tendai Biti
is also a former chairperson of the National of FBC Holdings Limited, in which the Na- The proposal also includes plans to merger
Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee, said tional Social Security Authority (Nssa) is the building societies and one savings bank.
the proposed mergers of financial institutions single largest shareholder and National Build- the Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinance Bank In addition, there were 178 credit-only mi-
involving government entities do not pass the ing Society (NBS), in which Nssa is the only and the Empowerment Bank, also owned by
due diligence test. shareholder. the government. crofinance institutions, eight deposit-taking
microfinance institutions and two develop-
The chief merger is a CBZ Holdings, ZB The other merger involves Agricultural Fi- According to the mid-term monetary policy ment financial institutions under the purview
Financial Holdings, First Mutual Holdings nance Company (AFC) — formerly Agribank by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John of the central bank. The banking sector had to-
Limited (FMHL) and First Mutual Properties — and the People’s Own Savings Bank, both Mangudya, as at 30 June 2021, the banking tal assets of ZW$486.4 billion, total loans and
(FMP), in which the government, in collabo- sector comprised 13 commercial banks, five advances of ZW$142.79 billion and a net cap-
ration with local and international bankers, is ital base of ZW$72.90 billion as of June 2021.
working on an ambitious project to create the
biggest financial services company in the coun-
try, with an asset base of over US$2.5 billion.

The authorities are also considering consol-
idating six financial institutions controlled by
government into three big ones. The consoli-
dation process will create five major divisions
consisting banking, insurance, investment,
property and agriculture.

Biti said the mergers, particularly the one
involving CBZ, ZB and FMHL and FMP, was
“pure theft of public assets, as it has no basis in
economics and business”.

“The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe as the reg-
ulator was supposed to do due diligence. The
deals are supposed to go through a fitness test,”
he said.

“Because public assets are involved, the deals
were supposed to come to parliament. These
deals involve National Social Security Author-
ity (Nssa) shares which are being transferred
to one person. The Competition Act is against
monopoly.”

The Competition Act is there to promote
and maintain competition in the economy
of Zimbabwe; to establish a Competition
and Tariff Commission and to provide for its
functions; to provide for the prevention and
control of restrictive practices, the regulation
of mergers, the prevention and control of mo-
nopoly situations and the prohibition of unfair
trade practices; and to provide for matters con-
nected with or incidental to the foregoing.

According to section 28 of the Competition
Act: “(1) Subject to this Act, the Commission
may make such investigation as it considers
necessary — (a) into any restrictive practice
which the Commission has reason to believe
exists or may come into existence; (b) in or-
der to ascertain — (i) whether any merger has
been, is being or is proposed to be made; (ii)
the nature and extent of any controlling in-
terest that is held or may be acquired in any
merger or proposed merger”.

The new mergers being considered, accord-

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Page 8 News NewsHawks

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

Chiefs up in arms with
Zimplats over shares

BRIDGET MANANAVIRE ing sector shall comply with the 51% ownership Zimplats chief executive officer Alex Mhembere honour its commitment and yet chiefs in South
mandate does not deny our communities their Africa Royal Bafokeng Nation have seen their
CHIEFS in Mhondoro-Ngezi, Chegutu and right to participate and to receive the ‘commu- the communities get their community shares communities empowered directly by their 13%
Zvimba are up in arms over platinum miner nity shares’ Zimplats committed to allot to us. takes away the reason for the Trust to exist. ownership in Implats. Implats owns Zimplats.
Zimplats’ failure to allot the 10% community Zimplats has also accepted to have an appointee Are the chiefs in Zimbabwe less deserving
shares agreed to in 2011. “To deny our beneficiary communities the of the ZMNCZ Trust sit on its board to repre-
community shares means taking away the very sent the 10% community shares. to have their communities also participate di-
The chiefs are also disgruntled that the com- intention of the Deed of trust. Failure to ensure rectly in the wealth that Zimplats is extracting
pany is pursuing its own corporate social in- “What is most saddening for us as chiefs is from our local communities?”
vestment programme without involving them, that Zimplats has for so long been failing to
including a cattle project launched by President Chief Ngezi said they had observed that Zim-
Emmerson Mnangagwa last month, in which plats had gone ahead to pursue its own corpo-
the communities are supposed to participate. rate social responsibility programmes without
any direct participation and decision making by
In a letter dated 9 September to Zimplats the chiefs and the local communities.
chief executive officer Alex Mhembere, the
chairperson of the Zimplats Mhodoro-Ngezi, “Recently we celebrated a wonderful cattle
Chegutu, Zvimba Community Share Owner- project Zimplats launched in the presence of
ship Trust, Chief Ngezi, the traditional leaders President ED Mnangagwa, and yet we are not
said they are not happy with being sidelined aware of and were never consulted on how our
while Implats, which owns Zimplats, was hon- communities might benefit. Was the purpose of
ouring its obligations in South Africa. forming a trust not to ensure direct participa-
tion and decision making by our communities?”
Community ownership trusts were estab-
lished in accordance with General Notice 114 “We are worried that Zimplats has now ex-
of 2011 of the Indigenisation and Economic pressed interest to buy shares in Sable Park Es-
Empowerment tates, a company that the community invested
in and bought 33% share. Zimplats wants to
Act in Zimbabwe, with the intention of com- now buy shares in a company that the commu-
pelling foreign mining businesses to cede 10% nity has helped to grow and yet does not want
shareholding to a community share ownership to give the same community its shares as long
trust within their area of operation. committed to,” he said.

“Following government’s indigenisation pol- Zimplats head of corporate affairs Busi Chin-
icy, we were pleased by the anticipation of be- dove told The NewsHawks to send the questions
coming a direct shareholder in Zimplats after via email, but had not responded by publishing
Zimplats, with the government of Zimbabwe, time.
founded the ZMNCZ Trust in December 2011.
In the deed of trust Zimplats committed that The chiefs said it seemed the actions of Zim-
it ‘shall allot to the Trust ordinary shares in the plats were pointing to a reluctance by the min-
share capital of Zimplats constituting 10% of ing company to share wealth with local com-
the issued share capital of Zimplats (The com- munities.
munity shares)’,” the letter signed by chief
Ngezi read. “There is clause in the deed of trust signed
by you and the government of Zimbabwe that
He said the board of trustees agreed on 7 says, ‘the trustees recognise that the Trust shall
September that despite the changes made to the upon the issue of the community shares to the
Indigenisation Act, they believed the compa- Trust, become a significant shareholder in Zim-
ny was still bound by the commitment to allot plats. The trustees agree and understand that the
10% shareholding to the community. success of the trust in achieving its objectives is
dependent amongst other things on Zimplats’
“As chairperson I am of the firm belief, which success and prosperity’.” We have always wanted
belief I share with the chiefs and other trustees, Zimplats success and believing that such success
that some amendments of the indigenisation will now be shared directly with our commu-
legislation affecting how companies in the min- nities.”

NewsHawks News Page 9

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

NYASHA CHINGONO Illicit drug taskforce noble,
but crisis demands action
AS the Zimbabwean government sets up an had set up an inter-ministerial taskforce to curb
inter-ministerial taskforce to fight an endemic Unemployment and unrelenting economic problems have forced manyZimbabweans youths into drug abuse as a coping mechanism. drug abuse. While cabinet on Tuesday boasted
drug problem, there is another crisis brewing of arresting 200 drug peddlers, hundreds more
in schools, with scholars now part of the drug now affected,” Madamombe said. has ravaged lives. Disguised in freezit packaging, are still roaming the streets, terrorising fami-
racket, The NewsHawks can report. It is worrying that the government’s medi- parents fear the dangerous homemade whiskey lies of drug users and flooding the market with
will be sold in schools. dangerous narcotics. It is, however, a welcome
A local non-governmental organisation, um-term strategy towards drugs does not involve move that government has finally heard the cry
which has been at the forefront of the drugs raising awareness in schools, where the new drug Investigations by The NewsHawks show that of mothers suffering the effects of drug abuse by
fight, confirmed the rampant drug abuse in racket is taking root. some corrupt police officers have been working setting up the taskforce.
schools, with scholars, mainly boys, skipping in cahoots with drug peddlers, providing them
class to get a fix. “Establishment of family support structures protection during raids. Most of those arrested Also welcome are the government’s moves to
and facilities to address the negative impacts of are often released without facing justice. This has push for the review of the national National Pol-
Drugs like crystal meth, commonly known as substance and drug addiction on the immediate precipitated the problem. icy on Drug and Substance abuse and amend-
mutoriro in street lingo, cannabis cakes and oth- and extended family, for example, family clubs, ment of the Dangerous Drugs Act, which is up
er dangerous substances, have found their way churches and faith-based organisations. President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s govern- to date with the current illicit substances being
into schools, sparking another crisis. ment has finally come to the party in the fight abused in the country to stiffen the penalties.
The national drug net has become sophisticat- against the drug abuse scourge, setting up an in-
Zimbabwe re-opened schools a fortnight ago ed, as druglords look to penetrate new markets ter-ministerial taskforce to deal with substance Listing and criminalising dangerous drugs
after nearly six months fighting a deadly third like schools. abuse. like crystal meth would act as a deterrent to both
wave of Covid-19. users and peddlers.
In the Mashonaland Central capital, Bindura, The government this week announced that it
Parents had pinned their hopes on the and Guruve, a dangerous beer called Tumbwa Although the government’s latest move fails
re-opening of schools to deal with redundancy, to address the root causes of drug abuse in the
which had led many scholars into drugs. But country, it is a step in the direction.
parents have another crisis on their hands as the
drugs are now being peddled in schools. “Government has written a blueprint; we are
yet to see if this will be implemented. Sometimes
Disguised as muffins, “ganja cakes” are also blueprints gather dust, and nothing is done. So,
being sold in schools by other school children, we need all hospitals that must take mental pa-
working with drug syndicates which have ter- tients to have capacity. Government must build
rorised townships, setting up bases flooding the rehabilitation facilities as a matter of urgency,”
market with dangerous narcotics. Madamombe said.

Mutoriro has also become popular in schools However, the elephant in the room is unre-
since they re-opened, according to Mubati- lenting economic hardship. The new taskforce is
rapamwe, a local NGO working with commu- bound to fail if economic fundamentals are not
nities around Harare. dealt with. With no prospects of employment
due to unrelenting economic problems, youths
In Warren Park, parents have reported cases of in the townships have turned to drug abuse as a
drug abuse among their children who are now in coping mechanism.
the habit of skipping class to sniff the dangerous
substances. Zimbabwe has nearly 90% formal unemploy-
ment and youths constitute the bulk of the job-
Mubatirapamwe co-founder Savannah Mada- less. Years of bad governance, successive droughts
mombe told The NewsHawks that drug peddlers and, more recently, the outbreak of Covid-19
had found new avenues to push their contra- have worsened the economic situation, resulting
band and schools have become easy targets. in massive job cuts. Drug abuse has been blamed
largely on idleness and lack of economic oppor-
“It is still business as usual, but we are now tunities for youths in urban areas.
seeing substances being pushed in schools. They
use their pen barrels to sniff these substances,” While Mnangagwa’s move is commendable,
Madamombe said. the government needs to revive an economy de-
stroyed by corruption and bad governance.
“Parents are saying children are bunking les-
sons to do drugs. These drugs are also being sold
in schools and we have a real problem on our
hands,” she added.

Madamombe, who has been involved in re-
habilitating youths hooked on dangerous drugs
like mutoriro, said the government needs to step
up enforcement and cover all areas, to stop the
peddling of illicit drugs.

“We need a serious operation because it is
business as usual in townships and children are

. . . as Zim becomes peddlers transit zone

NYASHA CHINGONO sion of US$15 000 worth of crystal meth. detectives. She was found with 5kgs of cocaine Sold from backyard drug dens known as “mab-
The youthful accomplices were involved in a worth US$430 000, loaded in cabins of white hesi” (bases) in township lingo, crystal meth has
ZIMBABWE has become a major transit coun- sewing thread. flooded the market, fetching up to US$12 per
try and destination for dangerous drugs, with the dramatic police chase before they were eventually gramme.
authorities routinely seizing multi-million-dollar arrested. In a joint operation by South African police
contraband at ports of entry as endemic substance and Zimbabwean authorities in March this year, Known scientifically as methamphetamine,
abuse persists. Kudakwashe Charles Mapara (25), Gertrude 1 400 drug traffickers, smugglers and other crim- crystal meth is a highly addictive stimulant and
Glenara (21) and Natasha Gamuchirai Chari (23) inal syndicates were arrested. Zimbabwean drug users love the drug for its powerful euphoric
Over the past year, the courts have been inun- were charged with dealing in dangerous drugs as traffickers were working with their South African qualities. Addictive on first smoke, the drug has
dated with drug trafficking cases involving cocaine defined in section 156(1)(c) of the Criminal Law counterparts to ensure the smooth movement of become a crippling vice for the country’s youths,
and crystal meth, known as mutoriro in street lin- (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23 as contraband. who take the illegal substance to escape from daily
go. Under the cover of the Covid-19 lockdown, read with section 14(2) of the Dangerous Drug troubles. Also known as “dombo”, “buwe”, “guka
drug traffickers took advantage of the porous bor- Act Chapter 15:02. While the border was closed for normal trav- makafela” in street lingo, the infamous drug has
ders to smuggle in dangerous narcotics. el, haulage trucks enroute to Malawi and Zambia destroyed lives.
The authorities have also nabbed drug syndi- were moving large quantities of contraband, ac-
While several unlucky ones got caught, many cates at ports of entry, including a 32-year-old cording to the police. While Zimbabwe, like many other countries
are roaming the streets, selling dangerous sub- man from Chitungwiza, at Beitbridge Border the world over, is concentrating on fighting the
stances to the detriment of township youths who Post. Philip Nyahoza was found in possession The operation, codenamed “Thatha Konke”, Covid-19 pandemic, an equally deadly but silent
are already caught up in a vicious cycle of poverty. of cocaine worth US$54 255 early this month. was aimed at intercepting haulage trucks carrying epidemic has been on the prowl, causing untold
He was remanded in custody to 17 September. dangerous substances and smuggled goods. suffering to families as it threatens entire commu-
The drug-thirsty market has also made traf- Thanks to police who got a tip off, Nyahoza was nities. The abuse of crystal meth and other deadly
ficking easier and more sophisticated as druglo- nabbed before he met his contact in Beitbridge Such incidents have shown that Zimbabwe, substances has become rampant among youths
rds devise ways of conniving with port officials in before the authorities recovered the contraband. by virtue of its centrality in the north-south trade across the country’s townships, driving mental ill-
bringing in the contraband. This week, 50-year- and transportation corridor, has become a danger- ness, violence and premature death, among other
old South African national Sheilla Khumalo was Zimbabwe has become an easy transit point for ous route for narcotics among other substances. problems.
sentenced to 12 years in prison by a Harare magis- dangerous substances, with truck drivers also in-
trate for attempting to smuggle cocaine into Zim- volved in the racket. The drivers hide contraband Beitbridge also has over 200 illegal crossing According to the latest Zimbabwe National
babwe from Brazil. in appliances like television sets and refrigerators points along the Limpopo River, which makes the Drug Master Plan, the government has adopted
to avoid detection. smuggling of illegal contraband easier, as the au- both an integrated and comprehensive approach
Four months after she was arrested at Robert thorities cannot monitor the entire river. that will address a range of drug-related issues.
Mugabe International Airport, Khumalo will Weak border controls have made drug traffick-
spend an effective 10 years behind bars after the ing easy, with customs officials accused of work- According to Interpol, drug syndicates use These include illicit and licit drugs. However,
magistrate set aside two years on condition of ing in cahoots with drug syndicates. Zimbabwe as a transit country to smuggle cocaine critics doubt that most targets will be achieved.
good behaviour. Khumalo was nabbed after im- and cannabis to the rest of the world, while it is a
migration officials stopped her as she tried to exit Inland ports of entry have become an easier destination country for illicit substances like crys- “Currently, approximately 60% of patients ad-
through the green route. They found just under route for drug traffickers than airports as border tal meth and codeine. The local drug market has mitted in mental health institutions suffer due to
a kilogramme of cocaine hidden in her luggage. controls there tend to be tighter. also been growing over the past two years, creating drug-related problems,” the report reads in part.
local demand for dangerous substances.
Last month, two Harare women and a man In 2018, a South African, Thandeka Jack (34), Even those who want to break off the crippling
appeared in court after they were found in posses- was sentenced to 10 years in prison for smuggling Popular drugs like crystal meth have brought vice have found it difficult to find help, as Zimba-
drugs from Brazil. She was arrested after alert huge profits to druglords, some of whom are be- bwe has no public rehabilitation centres.
Zimbabwe Revenue Authority officials prompted lieved to be politically connected.

Page 10 News NewsHawks

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

AFTER the government formed an inter-minis- Govt unveils a multi-sectoral
terial committee to address the substance abuse approach to fight drug abuse
menace among the youth, cabinet has come up
with a multi-sectoral approach aimed at address- ing taken to deal with the scourge of substance
ing the drug pandemic in Zimbabwe. abuse, among others: identifying and upgrading
existing mental health institutions that can ad-
This comes after there has been a rise in the mit affected children, youths and adults includ-
number of youths abusing drugs such as crystal ing a dedicated child psychiatric hospital in each
meth, marijuana and illicit brews that are ex- province until they have recovered.
tremely toxic.
“The Operation Clean up Harare Ghetto will
A report presented by Public Service, Labour continue and be codenamed Operation Clean
and Social Welfare minister Paul Mavima, who Up Zimbabwe and extended to every part of the
also doubles as the chairperson of the inter-min- country with a focus to frustrating the activities
isterial committee, says a multi-sectoral ap- of the criminal groups and neutralise drug and
proach which will include roping in the services substance abuse.
of the police and justice system will be used in
the fight against drugs. “Identifying and improving communi-
ty-based activities including establishment of
“Regarding the response to the menace, a parent support groups and patient support
multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral approach groups,” he said.
has been adopted in order to arrest the situation.
This includes intensification of prevention, harm Mavima also said in the medium term there
reduction, treatment, rehabilitation, reduction will be a review of the National Policy on Drug
of demand and elimination of supply and avail- and Substance Abuse and amendments to the
ability of illicit and over the counter substances Dangerous Drugs Act whilst a national call cen-
and drugs on the market,” Mavima said. tre for drug and substance abuse will be estab-
lished to provide online psychosocial support
“The capacities, efficiency and activities of the and related information.
police, justice and customs department will be
complemented and strengthened. He said youth centres will be set up to in-
crease empowerment opportunities for the
“Cabinet noted with satisfaction the swift youth and strengthening their vocational train-
response by the country’s security forces which ing programmes. — STAFF WRITER.
has resulted in the arrest of over 200 culprits in-
volved in the trade of illicit substances and dru-
glords. These will face the full wrath of the law.”

He also highlighted that short-term measures
taken to deal with drug abuse would include re-
furbishing mental health institutions and engag-
ing in community-based educational schemes.

“Cabinet wishes to advise the public that in
the short term the following measures are be-

. . . tackling root causes critical to stem scourge

NYASHA CHINGONO/ CHIPA GONDITII Some studies have shown there has been an increase in substance abuse in economies with high unemployment rates. seen in mental health services across all 10 prov-
inces. Common substances abused in Zimbabwe
WHILE it is commendable that government has opportunities for the youth, if they will take their have found that tighter budgets during economic are illicit alcohol brews, cannabis, cough syrups
set up a taskforce to deal with growing drug abuse minds of dangerous narcotics. crises impacted drinking behaviours, including and crystal meth which is locally known as mu-
destroying young lives in townships, there is need less alcohol consumption, with people switching toriro. The Covid-19 era has also been a major
for a wholistic approach to stemming the prob- Cabinet resolved that government would be to cheaper products and drinking at home rather driver of substance abuse.
lem. opening Youth Centres and increasing empower- than drinking at bars. However, prior studies have
ment opportunities for the youth and strengthen- documented that economic downturn, along with Due to the prolonged lockdown experienced in
Several studies show that drug abuse is an en- ing their vocational training programmes. their related stresses such as job loss, are associated Zimbabwe, especially during the beginning of the
demic social ill, that stems from several issues with increased problematic drinking. There is also pandemic last year, a lot of youths were caught up
such as unemployment, peer pressure, stress, Without concrete steps to realising these goals, evidence that unemployment is strongly associat- in dangerous vices like mutoriro and other nar-
breakdown of the family support system, limited the drug problem will continue unabated. ed with problematic substances use, including the cotics.
knowledge about the effects of drug abuse and re- use of alcohol, marijuana, and illicit drugs,” an ar-
cently the Covid-19 pandemic. With most Zimbabweans living from hand to ticle entitled Unemployment rate, opioids misuse Out of redundancy and boredom, youths as
mouth, prospects for a better tomorrow dim daily and other substance abuse: quasi-experimental ev- young as 12 have been experimenting with drugs.
Without dealing with social problems driv- as the economic teeters on the brink of collapse. idence from treatment admissions data published
ing youths into drugs, government’s latest move by Sunday Azagba and other on 10 January 2021. Reports gathered by The NewsHawks show that
would be futile. According to a study by World Health Organ- crystal meth is prevalent in even distant places
isation (WHO), that high levels of poverty wors- Youths in Zimbabwe use drugs as a form of es- such as Gwanda, Mhangura and farming areas.
While the measures announced by government ened by economic pressures, creates additional capism from the reality of having to wake up every
are part of a cocktail of actions that can eventual- stress factors that make a person more likely to day with no prospects of employment. Sixty-six percent of young people between the
ly stem out drug abuse, addressing the symptoms engage in risky behaviour age of 10- 24 who participated a study titled Drug
and not the root causes of the endemic problem According to the latest Zimbabwe Drug Na- and Alcohol Abuse Among Young People in Zim-
would be vain. Closely linked to economic problems is unem- tional Mater Plan, rising unemployment and babwe by Vakai Matutu and Daniel Masusa re-
ployment, which, according to unofficial figures, reduced opportunities are likely to dispropor- ported to have used an illicit drug and substance
The NewsHawks has published a series of in- is 90%. With most youths under the age of 30 tionately affect the poorest, making them more in the last three months.
vestigations into drug abuse, mainly crystal meth having never held a pay slip or gained formal em- vulnerable to drug use and also to drug trafficking
which is popular in the townships, and it is appar- ployment, research has shown that redundancy is and cultivation in order to earn a living. One of the major drivers of substance abuse is
ent that substance abuse is driven by other social a major driver of substance abuse. a broken family unit. Children who come from
factors. Studies into drivers of substance abuse The World Health Organization (WHO) esti- broken homes, are likely to succumb to peer pres-
show that sub-Saharan Africa will experience an While the relationship between unemployment mates that 3% of the adult population (450 000 sure and end using drugs. Youths who do not
increase in substance use. and drug use remains ambiguous, since there is people) in the country have either a drug or alco- have a strong family unity usually find themselves
less to spend, other studies have shown that there hol use disorder, while alcohol and substance use hooked to the wrong crowd.
According to research by ENACT programme has been an increase substance abuse in tighter related problems are one of the top three problems
at the Institute for Security Studies, in partnership economic situations. According to Getway Foundation research on
with Frederick S Pardee Centre for International Peer Pressure and Addiction, it is difficult to re-
Futures, the number of drug users in sub-Saha- “The relationship between economic conditions frain from substance abuse when friends are in-
ran Africa is expected to increase nearly 150% and substance abuse is ambiguous. Several studies dulging.
by 2050. Only 5% of that population are experi-
menting with drugs right now, the research pub- “Peer pressure often plays a role in substance
lished in September 2019 says. use and addiction. When everyone else is doing
something, it can be difficult for us to refrain from
Such a grim reading into the future of drug joining in. We often surround ourselves with peers
abuse in Africa is a wake-up call for governments who share interests and hobbies. As such, if you
who usually ignore push factors. are a big drinker or a drug user, you likely have
friends who drink or using drugs as well,” reads
The research points out several push factors for part of the research published on 4 November
drug use in sub-Saharan Africa. 2020.

With a predominantly youthful population, Present parenting is crucial to deal with peer
Africa including Zimbabwe will always be sus- pressure as children are susceptible to undue in-
ceptible to drug and substance abuse, the research fluence. It is apparent that drug and substance
notes. abuse is a complex enemy which requires a multi-
pronged approach to tackle the problem.
“There are many forces driving this surge in
drug prevalence. Africa is persistently young, in- Government should work with families, com-
creasingly affluent, and rapidly urbanising – all munities and non-governmental organisations to
factors that elevate the probability that a person successfully deal with this problem.
will decide to use illicit substances,” reads part of
the research. According to UNODC (2020) World Drug
Report, global drug use is rising and around 269
Unrelenting economic problems that stretch million people used drugs worldwide in 2018,
over decades have continued to haunt Zimbabwe. which is 30 percent more than in 2009, while over
35 million people suffer from drug use disorders.
Government needs to fix the economy, provide

NewsHawks News Page 11

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

Mubatirapamwe embarks on aggressive
training to thwart Zim’s drug pandemic

CHIPA GONDITII Ha-
rare
MUBATIRAPAMWE Trust, a locally based char- youth volun-
ity organisation focusing on rehabilitating youths teers being trained
from crystal meth and other drugs, has taken to at The NewsHawks
training both youths and parents alike, as a mea- Conference Room recently
sure of dealing with the drug pandemic in Zim- on how to tackle drug abuse
babwe. mostly among their peers.

According to the latest Zimbabwe Drug Master
Plan, approximately 60% of patients admitted in
mental health institutions suffer due to drug relat-
ed problems.

In an interview with The NewsHawks, Mubati-
rapamwe Trust co-founder Savannah Mada-
mombe, said the institution was training college
students in dealing with drug-related issues on a
community-based level.

“In order to address the drug pandemic in
Zimbabwe, we needed volunteers who were into
social work and psychology. These are people who
go into the community for our community pro-
grammes and these are the people who talk to the
community members, especially the social work-
ers that deal with the parents,” Madamombe said.

“But because we lack funding, there was an
opportunity that presented itself. We realised that
there were hundreds of college students studying
psychology and social work, whom we were not
finding ideal placements for their attachments.

“So, we created a programme whereby we could
accommodate them and we have been absorbing
them (the students). We have almost 50 of these
students who have registered with us. They are
from University of Zimbabwe, Africa University,
Midlands State University and Women’s Univer-
sity.”

She also said the students will be working under
the tutelage of other volunteer psychologists who
will be supervising them, while also helping them
in fulfilling their tertiary mandates.

Madamombe highlighted that Mubatirapam-
we was also training parents on how to deal with
community members who use drugs and noted
that there were cases of serious hallucinations in-
duced by drug-related psychosis.

“The other group we are training is a commu-
nity itself. We have parents who need to be trained
on issues concerning drugs, so that they under-
stand addiction and mental health issues and these
are things which parents will be taught to under-
stand,” Madamombe said.

“Most parents were thinking that their children
had been bewitched. There was a lot of commo-
tion within many families over hallucinations, as
their children, who will be taking drugs, would
start manifesting due to hallucinations. Some-
times the children will become paranoid and
start accusing family members of witchcraft, but
there will be just hallucinations and that is what
we teach the parents, so that they understand that
they are just hallucinations.

“This is why we have to teach the community
about drug abuse and this has been working very
well,” she said.

Page 12 News NewsHawks

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

Sex workers turn to Gweru military bar

STEPHEN CHADENGA

IT is Friday evening, Samantha (not real name)
is dressed in tight blue jeans, high-heeled shoes
and a light-blue top. Due to Covid-19 regulations
that prohibit bars and nightclubs from opening to
the public, the 23-year-old sex worker has found
a new haven to play her trade.

The bar is a military joint popularly known in
Gweru as “KuSix Maint”, located in the central
business district opposite the Old TM commuter
rank.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns that
began in March last year, ladies of the night in
the Midlands capital had been plying their trade
at various night spots dotted around the city. But
due to the closure of the bars and nightclubs to
prevent the spread of the coronavirus, life has be-
come difficult for women who sell sex to make
ends meet.

“But with the ease with which we are accom-
modated at the army bar, our trade has become
easier, as we find many potential clients here,” Sa-
mantha told The NewsHawks.

“There is no any other joint like this one where
one can freely carry out their trade without fear
of police raids.”

A snap survey by this publication showed that
during weekends, Six Maint operates until the
wee hours of the morning, making it one of the
most prominent bars in the city offering night en-
tertainment. Such flexibility has made it popular
among sex traders.

But observations by this publication point to a
lack of adherence to Covid-19 regulations, with
no proper wearing of face masks and failure to
maintain social distancing, among other basic
rules.

“Am not sure of how bars operated by the mili-
tary are licensed, but surely for us this has become
a relief as we look for money to survive,” another
sex worker who only identified herself as Nancy
said.

“During these lockdown periods, it’s difficult
to operate from the streets as you would be arrest-
ed so at least here we have somewhere to look for
clients without hindrance,” Nancy said.

Asked if they were not afraid of Covid-19 due
to the overcrowding in the bar, the sex workers
said life during Covid-19 “was a dog-eat-dog sit-
uation”.

Contacted for comment on whether law en-
forcement agents were descending on errant bars
in the city that flouted Covid-19 regulations,
Midlands provincial police spokesperson Inspec-
tor Emmanuel Mahoko urged members of the
public to notify police stations in their areas.

“There is need to inform the stations (police)
concerned,” he said.

However, he would not comment on the oper-
ations of the army bar.

NewsHawks News Page 13

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

MORRIS BISHI Unexplained death of babies at
Masvingo hospital causes stir
THERE is a high number of stillborn babies
at Masvingo General Hospital, as expecting The situation is dire at Masvingo Provincial Hospital due to the shortage of medical sundries.
mothers are failing to get urgent treatment ow-
ing to a shortage of essential maternity equip-
ment.

Health officials in the province say the
avoidable deaths expose the rot in the coun-
try’s health sector at a time when multi-mil-
lion-dollar contracts are being awarded to buy
supplies at inflated prices to people linked to
government officials, depriving the health sec-
tor of life-saving services.

Although Masvingo provincial medical di-
rector Dr Amadeus Shamhu told The New-
sHawks that he was not aware of the issue,
referring questions to the hospital's public
relations officer, other officials confirmed the
rising cases.

Masvingo Provincial Hospital public rela-
tions officer Mercy Ruth Zulu told The New-
sHawks that her office is investigating com-
plaints raised by various people over the way
their babies died during delivery. She said al-
though the hospital faces shortages, health of-
ficials always do their best to save lives.

“I am not sure of the cases which you are
talking about since l was away from work for
some days. I can confirm that my office re-
ceived some complaints related to what you
are talking about and we are currently investi-
gating health officials who were handling those
patients. At times we face shortages of critical
equipment, but we always strive to make sure
that patients who need urgent attention are at-
tended to,” Zulu said.

A Masvingo-based woman who lost her
child during delivery at the hospital last week
said she is traumatised and depressed.

She said she was also in danger after nurses
told her that they cannot perform an operation
on her since the hospital had run out of surgi-
cal blades. The operation was later performed
after the hospital borrowed some blades from
Morgenster Hospital.

“I am still traumatised by what happened to
me last week. l lost a child after an operation
was done hours after the expected time. The
hospital was out of surgical blades, which they
later borrowed from another hospital. They
failed to tell my husband who should have vis-
ited a pharmacy to buy the blades. We later
saw more than six corpses of babies who died
on delivery in the mortuary during the time we
were collecting ours,” the woman said.

A senior nurse at the hospital told The New-
sHawks that the situation is bad due to the
shortage of medical sundries, which the gov-
ernment should not be failing to procure since
they are cheap. He said the situation is more
serious for patients who are being referred
from other health centres.

Expecting mothers are failing to get urgent treatment owing to a
shortage of essential maternity equipment.

Page 14 News NewsHawks

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

Harare’s ramshackle trains old, but cheaper

CHIPA GONDITII/ NYARADZO MUSHANYUKI right beside Lytton Road. From town to Mufakose, I pay between US$1 commuters complained about the time it takes
Minutes into the journey, after they have set- and US$1.50 per trip using private cars. I cannot for the train to travel from one place to another,
WHAT catches one’s attention upon arriving at use the Zupco buses at Copacabana (central bus especially those travelling to relatively distant des-
Harare’s main train station along Kenneth Kaun- tled in their seats for the trip, some of the passen- terminus) because the queues there are very long,” tinations such as Ruwa.
da Street are the large Zupco stickers plastered on gers begin examining the cabin, remarking that Ndemera said.
the sides of the old carriages. the train looks very old. The seats, though intact, “I have no choice except to come here at the
have seen better days. The windows remain open “Now with an alternative like this, it means I National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) looking
To long-suffering commuters who struggle to throughout the journey; owing to disrepair, the can save a lot of money in transport costs and this for a train to go home. As you can see, these trains
find affordable transport daily, the newly intro- window mechanism is no longer working. is money which can be channelled towards other are dirty, rusty and they are slow. We are going
duced train service is a bargain. Surprisingly, there important things such as rent and groceries. An to leave the railway station at 5.30pm and then
were no queues for the Zupco trains despite the And even a look at the yellow locomotives added advantage I have seen today is that we do we will arrive at 6.30pm. It takes a lot of time
unusually attractive ZW$40 fare for long routes which pull the carriages shows that they have not have to worry about the serious traffic con- to reach our destiny,” Tinashe Maburuse, a Ruwa
such as Town-Mufakose. To the average commut- probably been around since the time Zimbabwe gestion which occurs during peak hour,” he said. resident, said.
er, affordability does not get better than this. was officially called Rhodesia.
The timetable at Harare Train Station says the “As a vendor l can’t manage the fare which is
The process of securing a seat aboard the “peo- Clive Ndemera, a commuter, said despite the train departs the central business district (CBD) charged by private transport, that’s the other factor
ple’s train” entails buying a ticket from the con- trains being old, the saving that comes with pay- for Mufakose at 5.15am and arrives at 6.10am, which pushes me to come here. At the 4th Street
ductors who are stationed outside the carriages. ing just ZW$40 for a trip, which usually costs be- before departing again for the CBD after collect- (Simon Muzenda Street) bus terminus where we
tween ZW$120 and ZW$180 by road, plus the ing passengers. are supposed to find buses, people are overcrowd-
Once aboard, it becomes clear that the passen- added advantage of avoiding traffic congestion, ing, waiting for the buses to ferry them.”
gers are a mix of the young and the old. mean the train is a far better mode of transport. In the evening, the train leaves for Mufakose
at 5.30pm, arriving at 6.10pm. On each trip, the Another commuter, Miriam Chigebeza, said
As the 5.30pm departure time of the “This is my first time on a train and to be hon- train makes stops at Lochinvar, Rugare and Kam- the train was not convenient for someone who
Town-Mufakose route approaches, the seats with- est it is quite obvious that these trains are very old buzuma on its way to Mufakose. Despite being catches two lifts to work.
in the ancient carriages are mainly filled by both and are probably the same trains which were used the cheapest mode of transport available, some
the younger generation who have never been on by our grandfathers, but they are very affordable. “I woke up early at 4am so that l will have time
a train before and old timers who still remember to go to the railway station. At 6.45am the train
the efficiency of the “old” National Railways of will depart for town, it has a timetable to adhere
Zimbabwe (NRZ). to.

“I remember back in the 1980s I used to travel “The challenge that we have with these trains
regularly from Gweru to Harare by train. In those is that it takes an hour to reach town, whereas
days the train was a very reliable mode of transport I’m supposed to be at work at 8am. I work out-
as it was used by a lot of people. The trains back side the city centre, so I’m supposed to look for
then used to follow a very strict time schedule, for further transport to my workplace. These trains
example if the departure time was 5.30pm, then are also old. The same trains they inherited from
the train would leave at exactly that time. (Rhodesian prime minister) Ian Smith years back
ago, today they are re-naming them Zupco buses.
“This is my first time aboard a train after many Instead of moving forward as a country, we are
years and I am hoping that I see the same profes- going backwards,” she lamented.
sionalism by NRZ that we used to see way back.
This (Zupco train) initiative is very good as it will The newly introduced Zupco trains are cur-
help people travel to their various homes on an rently plying the following routes: CBD-Mufa-
affordable fare, but as you saw out there the trains kose; CBD-Dzivaresekwa; CBD-Tynwald and
are not plying many routes and this is something CBD-Ruwa.
that the government has to rectify,” said Godrey
Karonga, a Mufakose resident. The newly
introduced train
A public address system announces that the service is a bargain
train is due to depart in 10 minutes. This attracts to long suffering
some excited chatter from the young generation,
which has not experienced this before. commuters.

As the train conductors enter the carriage for
a last ticket check, everybody glares at them. For
many, the novelty of a train ride is interesting. the
younger passengers are particularly fascinated,
frequently asking the conductors for more infor-
mation about the train. Some older passengers
are curious to hear from the conductors whether
the NRZ’s train service standards of old will be
matched by this new “people’s train”.

At exactly 5.30pm, the train finally snakes its
way out of the station, sparking cheers from the
youths aboard, who excitedly wave at everyone as
the train passes through the outskirts of Mbare

NewsHawks News Page 15

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

ZIMBABWE Congress of Trade Unions ZCTU president reflects on five
(ZCTU) president Peter Mutasa’s five-year years at the helm of labour body
term at the helm of the labour movement
is coming to an end next month. The New- ZCTU president
sHawks (NH) caught up with the outgoing Peter Mutasa
Mutasa, who reflected on his term. He also
spoke about issues affecting workers, his sus- and courageously deal with this monster. Mor- those charges against me is simple. They must political decisions.
pected poisoning and state-sponsored brutal- gan Tsvangirai (late former ZCTU leader, who show us those policies we challenged, but At times that is viewed as opposition to the
ity. Below are excerpts of the interview: subsequently became MDC president) and his then ended up benefiting workers or citizens.
team clearly understood this, hence the route We challenged introduction of bond notes government. The government has impoverished
NH: How is the going in the labour move- they took. and some even in unions lambasted us. Now many sectors of the society through its policies.
ment? where are we? It was a heist and we knew it. As a result, all are demanding justice and eq-
We may have different views about whether We challenged corruption at Nssa (National uity from it and that doesn’t make those citi-
PM: Like many Zimbabweans, we are fight- it succeeded, but there cannot be debate about Social Security Authority) and, look, pension- zens opposition politicians. We are just citizens
ing for survival. The environment is terrible for whether trade unions must seriously seek to ad- ers are wallowing in poverty. We challenged the demanding our rights to fair wages, education,
the labour movement. dress the political question. That makes civic Covid-19 response, especially the distribution housing and other socio-economic constitu-
and political education an important objective of social transfers, look what happened, the tional rights.
NH: I understand that your five-year term for trade unions. I also learnt that while we at- money didn’t reach the poor but ended up with
of office as leader of the ZCTU is ending in a tained Independence, we still have structural politicians. We challenged the Finance minister NH: Would you share with us your best and
month’s time. When is the next congress and social and economic challenges that will prevent Mthuli Ncube’s austerity measures and, now, worst moments at ZCTU president?
what is the theme? the majority of working class families from at- half the population is in extreme poverty. We
taining social justice. Workers in Zimbabwe are were arrested for challenging increased taxes PM: I had a good time, learning a lot from
PM: Yes, my torturous journey is, indeed, still in bondage and we need the ideological clar- and basic goods price increases, now the major- comrades. Most of my moments within ZCTU
coming to an end. We are holding our congress ity and courage of the late trade union fighters ity can’t even buy bread. We made noise against leadership were interesting. I would, however,
from 26 to 27 October this year. The general like Benjamin Burombo, Joshua Nkomo (late state capture, especially the Zupco monopoly. single out the Hwange demonstrations that
council is yet to agree on the theme. As usual, former vice-president), Tsvangirai and others. Besides benefiting politically exposed persons, lasted over three months. It was organically or-
it will be a theme that expresses the struggles Our struggle must be understood as a struggle citizens are suffering now. ganised by Hwange women and we only came
of workers and must inspire us to fight back for total freedom, not some wage increases here in to support and amplify their voices. It was
against all forms of repression and exploitation. and there; that is not enough. So those who think we were wrong must wonderful to learn from organic intellectuals,
show us how those policies assisted the poor cit- activists without organisations or budgets fight-
NH: Does the ZCTU constitution allow for The other lesson I drew from my experience izens and workers. We warned against neo-colo- ing for their rights. I would at time feel my tears
a second term and, if so, will you be running for is that, with collective effort, workers can easi- nialism by China and many said we are agents flowing down my eyes hearing the stories of the
re-election? ly shake off the repressive and exploitative sys- of the West. Now even traditional leaders are community leaders and why they had to fight
tems of the state and capital. My experiences in complaining about the pillaging of our natural for their husbands’ salaries. The worst moments
PM: Yes, the ZCTU constitution allows for Hwange, with the demonstrating women and resources for a song. have been times we had to bury our comrades.
a second term. I have been thinking about this different ZCTU demonstrations, showed me We lost trade union veterans and promising
for some time. It is not a decision I can make on that workers still have the power. We just have NH: Some of your critics believe that you young cadres.
my own. Firstly, I am considering my health, af- to find ways of organising ourselves and collec- were more of opposition political activists than
ter poisoning that almost took my life last year, tively push for freedom. I also learnt the beau- labour leaders. What is your take? NH: What do you think about the state you
which l believe was state-engineered. I will rely ty of diversity and that if used correctly it can are leaving the labour fraternity in?
on medical advice on whether I should carry on. change this world. The trade union movement PM: Together with other comrades, we were
Secondly I am also consulting my family. Every- has different people with different views and arrested for demanding better salaries, reduction PM: Am both happy and anxious about the
one in my family suffered the pains of staying skills that can be harnessed for collective good. in taxes, reduction in cost of living and fighting state l am leaving the trade union in. I am hap-
with someone wrongfully regarded as an enemy against corruption. Are these opposition issues? py that despite the push by the state to capture
of the state. Remember my nephew was ab- NH: During your tenure as president, there If so, then I am guilty as charged. or coopt the ZCTU, we defended its indepen-
ducted and seriously tortured in 2019. My son, were allegations that you heavily criticised the dence without fearing the risk to our lives and
whom they wanted, managed to run away and government even in times when good policies We have always been raising our voices on those of our families. Some of us were enticed
hid. My house was broken into and everyone for citizens were implemented. What is your behalf of workers and defending workers’ rights. and promised riches if we compromised the in-
had to stay away from home for some time. take on this? Unfortunately, our problems as workers are dependence of the federation, but we rejected
created by politicians, the government. In ad- such offers.
They threatened my family with bullets and PT: My humble challenge to those who lay dressing our problems we have to address those
were always tracking our movements. They So I’m happy we are giving another genera-
threatened to rape our daughters. In short, the tion of leaders an uncompromised federation.
state agents did many bad things to my fam-
ily. I would therefore need the family consent
to continue, although they have always under-
stood the costs and burden of standing up for
workers in Zimbabwe. Then for trade unionists
with ideological grounding, no one put himself
up for election. We don’t believe in canvassing
for positions, the workers and fellow comrades
should nominate you for a position. A number
of comrades and unions have approached me
and put forward their desire to nominate me
for re-election. I have provisionally accepted the
offer subject to personal and family consider-
ations.

NH: How do you see your chances of re-elec-
tion?

PM: As a trade union leader in a very polar-
ised political environment like Zimbabwe, you
can never please all. The majority of workers
and comrades think I eloquently and forcefully
put forward their issues, both locally and on the
international stage. They would like me to con-
tinue the fight against both state repression and
exploitation by capital.

However, some may not be happy, for po-
litical reasons. They regarded me as standing
against the government and may not want me to
continue. The state itself has been churning out
a lot of propaganda against me and the ZCTU
secretary-general, using state and other media.
We have been labelled terrorists, enemies of the
state and regime change agents. Sadly, some
comrades may have been swayed by such vile
propaganda. However, without state interfer-
ence and manipulation of our processes, I think
I stand a good chance to win a second term. The
majority of workers understand their struggle.

NH: What lessons have you drawn from the
last five years as ZCTU president?

PM: Leading ZCTU has been a great honour
and I have learnt a lot for the past five years.
I learnt that the biggest impediment to devel-
opment, equality, equity, justice and peace in
this country is politics. No matter how workers
and trade unions may try to utilise collective
bargaining and other labour market tools to im-
prove conditions of workers, without addressing
the political question all comes to naught.

This is a big lesson that I learnt through en-
gaging full-time in the labour market. Workers
and trade unions must quickly understand this

Page 16 News NewsHawks

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

Peter Mutasa condemns state brutality against workers and says ZCTU represents citizens demanding their rights to fair wages and other socio-economic constitutional rights (picture below).

I’m also happy we have developed a good num- ‘90s, the government has not learnt anything. It NH: Your last word to government, business their short-term benefit. I warn businesses that
ber of young leaders who can defend the move- is not about pleasing the IMF and World Bank. and working class? this current situation where majority workers
ment. Our economy must serve the citizens. We have and citizens are deep in poverty earning pathetic
half of the population in extreme poverty, sal- PM: My last word to the government is that salaries is not sustainable. In the long run every-
I am anxious, though, because the state is aries and pensions have been severely eroded. they are failing workers and our beautiful na- one is going to suffer serious losses as we wit-
unrelenting in its quest to capture the unions. Pensions and wages are not sufficient to buy a tion. Many of the people in the government nessed in 2008. It is a zero sum game and we all
I put my trust in the ability of trade unionists monthly basket of food only. We are facing job and ruling party fought for the liberation of this have a responsibility to ensure that we push for a
to continue defending our movement that was losses due to depressed domestic aggregate de- country. I want them to introspect and revisit new direction. It is appalling that big corporates,
built and defended by the blood and sweat of mand. We are only saved by diaspora remittanc- the values and ethos of the struggle. Was it not some owned by very respected rich persons, are
our forebears. I am also anxious because, today, es for now. We have opened up our whole coun- about labour justice and egalitarianism (gutsaru- treating workers with disdain.
the labour movement is weak financially and in try for plunder, as we are celebrating few gains zhinji)? Why are working conditions resembling
terms of numbers. We no longer have the ZCTU from an extractive madness. We are an economy colonial conditions? Was is not about land to For the workers of Zimbabwe, thank you for
of the 1990s. We face many job losses, casualisa- that has no mortgages or hire purchases because the people? Why are citizens being displaced bestowing such an honour upon me. Leading the
tion of labour and the trade union membership of the volatility of the currency. from their ancestral lands in an independent labour movement has been a great honour and
has dwindled. My hope is that we will get labour Zimbabwe? Everyone who supported those in responsibility. We tried our best under a difficult
leaders who will fight and come up with innova- We have become a model of what UNDP government during the struggle is complaining, environment. If I come back, we will do much
tives measures to address these problems. (United Nations Development Programme) labour, peasants, war veterans and students. This more to liberate ourselves from the bondage we
conceptualised as a nation that can have eco- shows that there is something that has gone ter- are thrust in by those in political power and in
NH: Your assumption of office coincided with nomic growth with negative outcomes. We have ribly wrong and soon people will once again seek business. If l don’t, let’s continue, for the march
the last kicks of former president Robert Mug- jobless growth, without any meaningful decent to liberate themselves. The ruling elites must is not ended. I promise to continue pushing for
abe’s administration and the coming on board jobs being created. It is ruthless growth with stop taking people for granted and quickly grant labour justice even in other capacities in support
of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s “second deepening inequalities. The majority is failing people freedom, justice, equality and prosperity. of the movement.
republic” administration. How do you compare to afford food, while a few connected are build-
the two in light of labour rights? ing mansions. We are also witnessing futureless For business, I had good working relationships Workers of Zimbabwe, we need to be very
growth based on plunder of our natural resourc- with many business representatives. I, however, clear about our problems. We cannot afford the
PM: Those in government and their sym- es without commensurate export income and witnessed that, they at times praise bad policies fallacy that we must be indifferent to politics.
pathisers who accuse us of supporting the op- disregarding environmental and financial needs and urge policymakers to continue with these Political decisions are what has impoverished
position do not state that we also supported the of the future generations. We need a new tra- policies. As long as they benefit, even at the ex- and put us in misery. We therefore need to stand
ouster of former late president Robert Mugabe. jectory, a new economy that is inclusive, serves pense of the entire nation, some businesspeople up and speak up against such political decisions
We were hoping for better, but now it has turned all and based on an agreed social contract. This don’t mind. In secret, some point out the bad. and players. The struggle is real, we must contin-
out we were wrong. “Zimbabwe is open for business” and “Austerity My word is that we all must speak up against ue fighting back against repression and neo-lib-
for prosperity” economic direction has been bad bad policies and practices in our country with- eralism. Register to vote and ensure all around
Mugabe was bad to workers, but the current for workers and citizens. We need a new social out fear or favor for us to save our nation. Again, you are registered. It is an important civic duty.
administration has made it clear for all to see contract. most businesses are enjoying exploiting workers Vote wisely, holding the ballot but thinking
that it is worse. We have seen more draconian and supporting bad labour laws and policies for about your pathetic salaries. Aluta continua!
actions against workers. The nurses and doctors’
strikes showed us that the current administra-
tion is worse. The teachers’ incapacitation also
shows how the current administration looks
down upon workers and is not concerned about
the deplorable situation of workers. Most work-
ers are wallowing in poverty and compared with
the last days of Mugabe, every worker sees that
the current administration is worse.

Each time we tried to strike, workers were
beaten and arrested. We also witnessed what we
used to see during the Mugabe era sparingly is
now being done with more zeal and frequency.
Many trade union cadres and civil society activ-
ists have been abducted and tortured during this
administration. My nephew suffered that fate
simply because I am a trade unionist. It is diffi-
cult to make a different judgement. We are fight-
ing against a system and the removal of Mugabe
has not assisted us, the situation is worse now.

NH: A raft of economic policies, some of
which have been commended by the World
Bank and the International Monetary Fund,
have been implemented by the government to
save the economy. Do you think these policies
are serving the interests of workers?

PM: lt appears that since the Esap (Economic
Structural Adjustment Programme) era in the

NewsHawks News Page 17

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

Special Covid-19
PANDEMIC coverage

A TOTAL of 5 366 Zimbabwean health workers Pandemic takes toll on health
have so far been infected with Covid-19, cabinet professionals, 5 400 infected
announced this week.
Lack of protective clothing exposes health workers to Covid-19 infection.
Dozens of health workers have succumbed to
the disease. church,” the cabinet briefing read. “Pursuant to the previous announcement that ple in need of hospitalisation for Covid-19. The
“Cabinet would like to appreciate the open all civil servants should be vaccinated, Cabinet bed occupancy rate was 6.9% during the review
“Cabinet commiserates with the families and further resolved that no unvaccinated civil ser- week, compared to the 10% recorded during the
friends of the health workers who passed on communication that exists between government vants will be allowed to come to work.” previous week.
during the three waves of Covid-19. Government and all stakeholders across the socio-economic
would like to express its gratitude to the health stratum of Zimbabwe, and would like to assure Cabinet also noted a 35% decrease in the While cabinet previously approved the re-
workers who worked resolutely and steadfastly in the nation that any member or group of per- number of infections with 719 cases having been sumption of low-risk sporting activities, it has
saving lives during the waves of Covid-19. His sons may make representations to the cabinet recorded during the week under review, com- further resolved that all sport codes can resume.
Excellency the President has led the nation in inter-ministerial taskforce on Covid-19 on any pared to the 1 113 reported the previous week. Their operating hours have been adjusted to be-
observing a minute of silence in respect to the related matters, but may not be members of the tween 6am and 8pm in order to accommodate
departed health workers,” Tuesday’s cabinet brief- same.” “Cabinet further wishes to inform the nation the working population. — STAFF WRITER.
ing read. that there was a decrease in the number of peo-

Health professionals have in the past been
complaining about the lack of protective cloth-
ing, exposing them to infection.

Meanwhile, 132 cases of Covid-19 have been
recorded in schools, a week after the opening for
the rest of the classes. All active cases are isolat-
ed and managed by the ministry of Health and
Child Care, according to cabinet.

While the government is targeting to get 60%
of the population vaccinated by December, it is
concerned by the shunning of the vaccines in
Mashonaland Central and Chitungwiza.

“Cabinet is concerned about the low uptake
of the vaccine in Mashonaland Central and
Chitungwiza Town and every effort is being
made to encourage citizens to be vaccinated as
this is for the good of us all,” the briefing read.

Zimbabwe has so far taken delivery of
11 860 000 vaccines and four million syringes.
A total of 2 873 893 people had received their
first dose of the vaccine as at 14 September 2021,
while 1 926 247 people received their second
doses.

Despite a High Court ruling nullifying the re-
quirement that churches should only hold in-per-
son services for vaccinated congregants, cabinet
maintained its position that only vaccinated con-
gregants will be allowed to attend church.

“Cabinet discussed the request by churches for
a review of the number of congregants allowed
in church services to at least a third, taking into
account the size of the church. Whilst all other
gatherings shall not exceed 100 persons, with re-
gards to churches, cabinet has resolved that only
vaccinated congregants can attend and should
be limited to 50% of the holding capacity of the

. . . Dentists not spared Covid-19 impact
THE Zimbabwe Dental Association (Zida) says fections and sadly fatalities. Thankfully, with vac-
dentists, who form part of the country’s frontline Dentists’ work procedures put them at serious risk of contracting coronavirus. cinations, few cases have gotten complicated. To
workers in fighting the Covid-19 scourge, are at date, two dentists have succumbed to Covid and
high risk of contracting Covid-19 and should re- stringent patient screening. Testing all patients erating procedures but over time most practice the number infected is not known exactly due to
main vigilant at work. prior to treatment has not been a practical strat- has gone back to near-normal with precautions,” confidentiality issues,” he said.
egy due to costs and wide utilisation of dental he said.
Zida president Advance Chingwena said the services. The Zimbabwe Dental Association has In addition, Covid-19 has taken a mental toll
nature of a dentist’s work puts them at very seri- provided guidance to members from time to Meanwhile, Chingwena said so far no sector on dentists.
ous risk of contracting Covid-19. time on ways to optimise their safety, including epidemic has been detected that could be at-
at some stage limiting work to non-aerosol-gen- tributed to dental care in most parts of the world. “On support, the association has noted the
“Dentists are some of the professionals at high- mental health toll of Covid-19. The main inter-
est risk to Covid-19, as we work at the vortex of “As with other professions, there have been in- vention has been issuance of practice guidelines
the condition, the mouth. The dentist’s work sit- that members have followed. We have also en-
uation requires the patient to take off their mask gaged some speakers on topics such as mental
in the operatory and open their mouth. No dis- health, grief management and approaches to
tancing is possible with the patient as the dentist stress management. The association also has a
works on the patient,” he said. committe focussed on confidential member sup-
port,” he said.
Chingwena said dentists’ procedures put the
practitioners at serious risk. “The second big risk Covid-19 has had a negative impact on den-
is that most dental procedures are aerosol gen- tists’ income.
erating. The primary means for transmission of
SARS-CoV virus are aerosols,” he said. “Covid has had many impacts on the dental
sector, including declining incomes and some-
Dentists face peculiar challenges. times closure of practice due to excessive risk in
“Dental practice from onset of the pandemic periods of mass community transmission. PPE
required assumption that patients are Covid-pos- costs have added to costs of doing business.
itive, hence requirement for expensive personal Furthermore, national access to continuing oral
protective equipment including gowns, N95 health has definitely been disrupted,” he said. —
masks and surgical gowns on all patients and
STAFF WRITER.

Page 18 News NewsHawks

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

Covid tears apart mines social fabric

THE Covid-19 pandemic, which has ravaged There has been an increase in domestic violence cases, gender-based violence, among other ills, in mining compounds.
economies across the globe, has not only de-
stroyed the means of production, but has also bert Maziriri said at an outreach programme in sector, have been affected. small-scale mining (ASM) sector.
eaten into the country’s social fabric and the Zhombe last week. “However, Covid-19 affected workers big “Covid-19 has greatly impacted on the ASM
problem is worse in mining communities.
Meanwhile, on the production front, Chinhe- time, especially those who were employed by sector. We have had challenges such as cash short-
Zimbabwe Diamond Allied and Minerals ma said Covid-19 has greatly affected the chrome the Chinese in the chrome-mining sector. They ages. The cash shortages are emanating from the
Workers’ Union (ZDAMWU) general secretary mining sector. closed their plants, anticipating to resume pro- fact that the commercial flights that have been
Justice Chinhema said many mining companies duction, but up to now they have failed to open. coming into the country and the international
forced workers to stay at their mining sites with- “The Covid-19 pandemic had not affected Around 2 000 workers who were working for flights were being restricted. Therefore, this im-
out visiting their families — in a bid to curb the the mining industry in broad. Production has these chrome-washing plants along the Great pacted on Fidelity Printers having cash. There
spread of Covid-19 — but the move compro- been going on well without any problems at all Dyke lost their jobs and some have not been paid were acute shortages at Fidelity Printers and Re-
mised the social fabric. in some mines. The employers continued with their terminal benefits,” Chinhema said. finers because of the pandemic,” he said.
production since government had declared it
“The effects of Covid-19 in the mining sector an essential service. Production even went high The sentiments were echoed by Zimbabwe Consequently, the situation led to a significant
must not only be looked at from the side of pro- because workers were at work, as they were not Miners Federation (ZMF) CEO Wellington drop in production.
duction, but also from the social perspective. As a allowed to leave mining sites,” he said. Takavarasha in an interview.
union we have discovered that Covid-19 has had “Production during Covid-19 dropped dras-
on effect on the family value system,” he said. However, he said workers in the employ of Chi- Takavarasha argued that the Covid-19 pan- tically. Statistics indicate that we went from 22
nese companies, especially in the chrome-mining demic has adversely affected the artisanal and tonnes to 9.8 tonnes,” he said. — STAFF WRITER.
In mining compounds, there has been an in-
crease in domestic violence cases, gender-based
violence and a spike in cases of corruption and in
extreme cases the break-up of families.

“Some mines didn’t allow their employees to
leave mining sites to visit their families, arguing
that this was aimed at reducing Covid-19 spread.
Furthermore, most mines restricted workers
from leaving their compounds or bringing in
people from outside: This means husbands and
wives would not meet as they used to,” Chinhe-
ma said.

“Most mine workers’ marriages were affect-
ed. The situation has led to a rise of immorality
within the mining compounds. Prostitution in
mining districts has really spiked.”

Covid-19 has also affected young people, espe-
cially the girl child.

In one of the country’s major mining areas,
Kwekwe, many school girls, especially in low-in-
come communities, either eloped or fell preg-
nant during the Covid-19-induced lockdowns.

“Most of our female learners have been af-
fected by these lockdowns. Some eloped, some
fell pregnant during the Covid-19-induced lock-
downs. And the major reason for such activities
can be attributed to poverty. Most of the learners
eloped or fell pregnant for artisanal miners in
the hope of securing a better future. However, as
government we are urging every learner to come
back to school despite that they may be preg-
nant,” Kwekwe district schools inspector Her-

DUMISANI NYONI Arts and crafts sector rakes in US$4m

ZIMBABWE’S arts and crafts sector proved to be ZimTrade says improved performance in arts and craft comes against the backdrop of trade promotional activities it carried out.
a “hidden gem” during the Covid-19 pandemic,
raking in US$4 million through exports in the Export destinations for these products include The products offered by Zimbabwe include bas- The country launched in 2020 and 2019 re-
first five months of this year, up 72% on compa- South Africa, Europe and America. ket weaving, wood carvings, metal sculpting, mu- spectively the Cultural and Creative Industries
rable period. sic and performing arts. Strategy (2020 to 2030) and National Arts, Cul-
ZimTrade said improved performance comes ture and Heritage Policy.
This is despite the sector being categorised as a against the backdrop of trade promotional activi- Exports destinations for these products include
non-essential service. ties it carried out. These included an engagement South Africa, Europe and America. “Given that the national strategy is in place
meeting held between ZimTrade and sculptors in combined with ZimTrade efforts, undoubtedly
In its analysis of the Zimbabwe National Statis- February 2020, an inward buyer mission hosted Various efforts and initiatives have been done result in synergistic benefits accruing to the coun-
tics Agency’s data for the period between January from 13-20 March 2020, among other activities. at national level to ensure that arts and crafts con- try,” the report said.
and May this year, ZimTrade said the arts and tribute to the economy.
crafts sector is a hidden gem which needs support
from all the stakeholders.

In the period under review, the arts and crafts
sector exports earnings amounted to US$3.74
million, with a comparable period last year of
US$2.17 million.

“Thus, the arts and crafts sector represents an
untapped opportunity with potential to contrib-
ute more to export growth,” ZimTrade said in its
analysis.

“Despite the arts and crafts sector being cate-
gorised as non-essential service providers under
the Covid-19 restrictions, performance has been
exceptional, with a 72% increase over the period
January to May 2020 to 2021,” it said.

The sector’s performance reached a peak of
US$1 million in February 2021 and thereafter
cumulative marginal declines over the period to
US$0.7 million in May 2021.

When compared with the same period
in 2020, exports reached a peak of US$0.7
million in February before declining to
US$56 000 in May.

“Evidently, the performance over the two pe-
riods was mainly driven by collection and collec-
tor’s pieces. The products offered by Zimbabwe
include, among others, basket weaving, wood
carvings, metal sculpting, music and performing
arts,” it said.

NewsHawks News Page 19

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

Covid nightmare haunts Masvingo schools

MORRIS BISHI Gutu High School is among the hardly hit schools.

MASVINGO province is witnessing a surge in Planning a Meeting or
new Covid-19 cases in schools, a development Training Session?
which is worrying the authorities who are urging
school administrators to ensure that preventive Ÿ Choose The NewsHawks Executive Conference Room
measures are adhered to in order to curb the
spread of the coronavirus. WORKSHOPS I PRODUCT LAUNCHES I MEDIA/FINANCIAL BRIEFINGS I EVENTS

This week saw over 50 pupils in the province
contracting the virus, raising fears that some of
the schools, mostly boarding institutions, might
be closed.

Masvingo provincial Covid-19 taskforce
spokesperson Rodgers Irimayi told The New-
sHawks that the province is still at risk as it is
still recording more cases as compared to other
provinces.

He said most cases are now being recorded
in boarding schools and urged the authorities at
learning institutions to make sure that pupils ad-
here to set down protective measures.

“We are worried about the new surge of
Covid-19 cases in our province, especially in
schools. The figures are changing daily but as of
Wednesday we had recorded 52 new cases and
of that number 36 cases were from Gutu district
and let me tell you that most of the cases were
recorded at Gutu High School and Alheit Mis-
sion. We have many other cases being recorded
in other schools. I am urging school authorities
to adhere to Covid-19 preventive measures so
that pupils are protected. The province is still a
red zone, people should not relax,” Irimayi said.

Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zim-
babwe (Artuz) president Obert Masaraure told
The NewsHawks that teacher unions warned the
government before the opening of schools. He
said the government should provide schools with
funding so that learning institutions can be able
to meet all requirements to prevent the spread of
the coronavirus. He added that all schools in the
country are potential Covid-19 super spreaders.

“We warned government before schools
opened, but they remained defiant and pushed
on with reckless schools opening. Government
promised to avail RTG$500m which is equiva-
lent to RTG$50 per leaner looking at our schools
population, which is inadequate. We are aware
that we received US$453 million from Unesco
for our education sector so that they cope with
Covid-19 so we urge our government to unveil
those resources so that our schools can be able
to provide enough protective clothing to pu-
pils. Our classrooms are overcrowded and every
school is a possible super spreader of the virus,"
said Masaraure.

Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe
president Takavafira Zhou told The NewsHawks
that over 30 schools in the country are affected
by the coronavirus after the government rushed
to open schools. He said teachers were forced
to go back to work before they were tested and
school children are overcrowded in classrooms.

The NewsHawks For Bookings please contact
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president Takavafira Zhou

Page 20 Editorial & Opinion NewsHawks

CARTOON Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

Electricity shortfall
needs decisive action

MANY people may take it for granted, but there is no denying the Drug abuse reflection of crisis
fact that access to electricity is one of the defining characteristics of rooted in governance failures
modern civilisation.
GOVERNMENT’s recent reaction to the Following the setting up of an in- l Intensifying Operation Clean Ghetto
Satellite pictures of North Korea taken at night are very reveal- endemic drug abuse menace scaling pan- ter-ministerial committee on addressing which will now be codenamed Operation
ing. The secretive “Hermit Kingdom” looks like a vast expanse of demic proportions mainly among youths the issue, cabinet on Tuesday considered Clean Up Zimbabwe and extended to ev-
darkness, sandwiched by a well-lit South Korea to the right and an — following sustained media coverage of and approved a report presented by minis- ery part of the country with a focus to frus-
equally well-lit China to the left. North Korea has been ruined by the problem, especially by The NewsHawks ter of Public Service Paul Mavima. trating the activities of the criminal groups
decades of unworkable ideas, incompetent leadership and dysfunc- — is creditable, but not enough. and neutralise drug and substance abuse.
tional institutions. Rings a bell? The report said a multi-disciplinary and
It is good the authorities have woken up multi-sectoral approach has been adopted Government said it would also identify
In much of Africa, there is glaring evidence of the consequences to the harsh reality of this growing societal to arrest the situation. and improve community-based activities,
of unenlightened policies — the pun is unavoidable — as shown by scourge and are now seriously tackling it, including establishment of parent support
the fact that only one in five Africans has access to electricity supply. yet grappling with symptoms of the prob- This includes intensification of preven- groups and patient support groups.
lem while ignoring the root causes is not tion, harm reduction, treatment, rehabili-
The World Bank says Africa is the only continent that has not and can’t be the solution. tation, reduction of demand and elimina- In the medium term, the following strat-
made progress in the provision of electricity. tion of supply and availability of illicit and egies will be implemented:
It is common cause that the number of over the counter substances and drugs on l Review of the national policy on drug
“During the last decade, a greater share of the global population youths engaging in drug abuse in Zimba- the market. and substance abuse and amendment to
gained access to electricity than ever before, but the number of peo- bwe, particularly in high-density suburbs, the Dangerous Drugs Act which is up to
ple without electricity in sub-Saharan Africa actually increased.” is increasing yearly. This is clearly con- The capacities, efficiencies and activities date with the current illicit drug being
nected to economic and social problems of the police, justice and customs depart- abused in the country to increase penalties
Provision of energy solutions is Sustainable Development Goal engulfing the nation, which are linked to ment will also be enhanced and strength- on drug and substance abuse sentencing;
number seven, but the sad reality is that the target of universal access governance failures in the Zimbabwean ened to combat drug abuse, it said. l Establish a national call centre for drug
to energy is unlikely to be met by 2030. Zimbabwe is one of the context. and substance abuse which will provide
affected countries. Cabinet said it noted with “satisfaction” online psychosocial support and related
As media we don’t just report the prob- the swift response by security forces which information;
This week, Energy minister Zhemu Soda told the National As- lem, but also investigate its causes and l Opening of youth centres and increasing
sembly that the country is in negotiations for the purchase of an analyse responses, and efforts made by Hawk Eye empowerment opportunities for the youth
additional 180 megawatts (MW) from Mozambique and 100MW the officials, stakeholders, civil society and and strengthening their vocational training
from Zambia. A power shortfall worsened by diminished electric- communities to address the issue. Dumisani programmes;
ity-generating capacity has forced the country into 12-hour black- Muleya l Establishment of family support struc-
outs. The minister’s revelation has highlighted the magnitude of the There are strategies for drug abuse reha- tures and facilities to address the negative
power shortfall. bilitation, and prevention in Zimbabwe; has resulted in the arrest of over 200 cul- impacts of substance and drug addiction
however, the problem is recurring and ex- prits involved in the trade in illicit sub- on the immediate and extended family, for
“We are in discussions with Mozambique for the recently com- acerbating among the youth population. stances and druglords. example, family clubs, churches and faith-
missioned power plants to give us an additional 180 megawatts,” he based organisations. All local authorities to
told legislators on Wednesday this week To effectively combat the problem, “These will face the full wrath of the revive and expand the provision of youth
there is need for a study to understand the law,” it said. clubs and other positive recreational facil-
“We are also at final stage of discussion with Zambia to get an width and depth of the crisis, to widen ities, and
additional 100 megawatts.” training and intervention programmes. A Ministers said, in the short term, the l Training workshops for supervisors and
multi-faceted approach which holistically following measures are being taken to other relevant personnel to prevent and
It is the height of grotesque irony that Zimbabwe is buying elec- addresses the causes, impact and conse- deal with the scourge of substance abuse, deal with substance abuse in the workplace.
tricity generated at Cahora Bassa, a lake located in the same Zambezi quences is critical. among others:
River basin our own Lake Kariba sits on. l Operationalisation of the Zimbabwe na- Cabinet rightly said the media can play
Some of the causes of drug abuse include tional drug master plan and treatment and a critical role in increasing outreach and
Hydropower remains the lowest-cost source of electricity. Zimba- socio-economic factors such as economic rehabilitation guidelines of alcohol and awareness raising through theatre, arts,
bwe and Zambia share the world’s biggest man-made lake, Kariba. malaise, unemployment, media influence, substance use disorder of Zimbabwe; edutainment, music and other multimedia
escapism and peer pressure. l Identifying and upgrading existing men- platforms.
But the Kariba South hydropower plant has been undergoing re- tal health institutions that can admit affect-
vamping for years. The dam wall has required major rehabilitation. Possession of illegal drugs ultimately ed children, youths and adults including a These measures are significant, but they
land youths in trouble and thus create fur- dedicated child psychiatric hospital in each need to go deeper and be sustained, not
The next cheapest source of power in the energy matrix would or- ther problems. province until they have recovered; and only activated for electioneering purposes
dinarily be coal-powered thermal power stations, although the global and other opportunistic agendas. Society
climate crisis reminds us that this option is unsustainable. The larg- Besides dealing with the root causes, can’t just watch as drugs destroy a whole
est thermal plant, Hwange, is undergoing expansion but the ancient there is need for a coordinated response generation of youths — the current and
equipment has not helped matters. and plan of action, proper rehabilitation future leaders.
models for youth drug abusers to support
The last figures from Zesa Holdings show that the country was them in their recovery and quitting jour-
generating 1 276MW on Thursday this week. When demand, at neys. It is also important to ensure there is
1 700MW, is taken into account, the shortfall is clearly amplified. no relapse in the process.

Owing to corruption, poor planning and the lack of strategic fore-
sight, Zimbabwe has not comprehensively addressed its energy crisis.

You do not have to be a professor of strategic management to see
that the volatile mix of ageing equipment, poorly maintained power
stations, bad governance and lack of significant investment in the
energy sector will create problems for the country.

For decades, the authorities have paid lip service to the impor-
tance of developing alternative energy sources. The blueprints have
been impressive and the country has even hosted the World Solar
Summit. The all-too-familiar malady has cropped up: lack of imple-
mentation.

When national solar project tenders are awarded to criminals,
what else can citizens expect?

Independent power producers are ready to commit huge sums of
money, but the government must first untie the Gordian knot of
an unpredictable regulatory and policy environment that does not
make business sense.

If we are not careful, our neighbours in southern Africa will solve
their energy shortfall, while we wallow in blackouts like the North
Korea of this region.

Reaffirming the fundamental impor- The NewsHawks is published on different EDITORIAL STAFF: Marketing Officer: Voluntary Media
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NewsHawks Perspectives & Reviews Page 21

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

Positive response on PSMAS chronic medicines program

OWN CORRESPONDENT national cause through availing of access to through the Premier Lifestyle program seeks
affordable chronic medicines to its members, to continue promoting health lifestyles and
PSMAS members with chronic conditions thereby reducing morbidity and mortality health living through wellness initiatives al-
are positively responding to the call to reg- related to NCDs. In addition the Society, ready in place.
ister following the successful launch of the
Chronic Medicines Programme on 1 Sep- •
tember 2021. •
The programme is an initiative aimed at im- •
proving access to medications and health •
outcomes for PSMAS members with chron- •
ic medical conditions •

PSMAS is dedicated to managing chronic
medicine use in a manner that is beneficial
to the health of members, and to ensuring
quality care through holistic member care.

The program is designed to benefit both
members and beneficiaries alike.

PSMAS members are being encouraged
to register on the chronic medicine facility,
once registered, they are assured of regular
monthly supply of registered medication
and these will be ordered and reserved for
each eligible member.

The medicines will be available from the
nearest registered PSMI pharmacy or reg-
istered collection point. This initiative also
comes with extra convenience as members
have an option of getting medicines deliv-
ered at their door-step at no cost, provided
it is within a 20km radius.

Home deliveries are scheduled to start as
soon as possible.

Members with chronic conditions have
expressed great enthusiasm towards the pro-
gramme with members calling in and coming
in person for registrations while the online
registration process is still being configured.

PSMAS has put in place a dedicated team
to assist with the registrations and the expec-
tation is to register over 25,000 members in
the initial phase.

Members simply confirm their current
treatment regimen/prescription during the
registration to ease the process.

The following documents are required on
registration: - PSMAS membership card,
National ID, and current prescription from
a doctor.

Chronic conditions covered include, but
are not limited to, the following: Asthma,
Heart Disease, Chronic Renal, Diabetes
Mellitus, Epilepsy, Hypertension, Parkin-
son’s disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Schizo-
phrenia, and HIV & AIDs.

With a membership of over 950,000 The
Society feels obligated to contribute to the

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

ALEX MHANDU Foreign currency accounts
vulnerable to bank failure
NEARLY US$2 billion is exposed to potential
banking sector risks as the Deposit Protection The country’s banking sector has suffered confidence issues with local depositors.
Corporation (DPC) is yet to extend cover to for-
eign currency account (FCA) deposits. The adequacy of the DPC Fund however tions on the watch list. and investment risk due to economic volatility.
remains of paramount importance in enhanc- The DPC gets its funding from quarterly pre- “Premiums collected by the Corporation are
As at 31 December 2020, gross FCA depos- ing the corporation’s operational readiness to
its were US$1.6 billion or ZW$130.9 billion at pay depositors in the event of bank failure. At mium levies collected from member institutions mainly invested on the money market in local
the official interbank rate of ZW$81.79/US$1 ZW$134.9 million as of 31 December 2020, the and with effect from 1 January 2021, the Corpo- currency instruments. Depreciation of the Zim-
and accounted for 55.1% of the combined gross DPC Fund was inadequate to cover an exposure ration reviewed upwards the premium rate from babwean dollar against the United States Dollar
ZW$ and converted FCA deposits of ZW$237.7 of ZW$166.9 million to the eight contributory 0.2% to 0.3% per annum, as one of the strategies and the high inflation environment have the po-
billion in the banking sector. institutions, including mostly financial institu- to close the funding gap. tential of diminishing the value of the Deposit
Protection Fund,” RBZ said.
According to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe However, the fund is also exposed to funding
(RBZ), the DPC is still in the process of negoti-
ating with stakeholders for the protection of FCA
accounts, a situation that could deter some po-
tential depositors from channelling their foreign
currency savings into the formal banking system
due to low confidence.

The country’s banking sector has suffered con-
fidence issues with local depositors following a
myriad of events, key among them the banking
sector crisis of 2004 that saw several local banks
placed under curatorship. Additionally, during
the hyperinflationary period of 2008-2009, de-
positors could not access their funds from banks
while savings and pension values were lost as the
economy adopted a multi-currency system.

Deposit protection is a scheme established
by the government to protect depositors against
the loss of their money placed with banks in the
event of bank failure.

“The DPC is liaising with stakeholders for
protection of FCA deposits which have remained
uncovered by the Deposit Protection Scheme
(DPS) since January 2019.

“Extension of deposit protection to FCA De-
posits, which is under consideration is expected
to help to boost depositor confidence and pro-
mote overall financial stability,” the RBZ in the
Financial Stability Report 2020 released last week
said.

According to the central bank, effective depos-
it protection is an important facet of any financial
system safety net, promoting public confidence
in the sector, as well as stability of the financial
systems.

As at 31 December 2020, 95.5% of the bank-
ing sector’s depositor accounts were fully covered
at the level of ZW$10 000 per depositor per
bank. This, the RBZ said, is in line with the pub-
lic policy objectives of ensuring that at least 90%
of the depositors are fully covered.

Downward spiral for annual inflation expected

RONALD MUCHENJE August was 21.50% while the annual inflation premiums appearing to be the main drivers of one-year period,” the CZI noted.
rate declined from 56.37% in July 2021 to the inflationary trends. The auction rate only increased by 7%
ANNUAL inflation is expected to continue on 50.2% in August 2021.
a downward trend throughout the year, but the “The parallel market falls into the price de- between August 2020 and August 2021 to
management of month-on-month inflation be- In its August 2021 inflation and currency termination equation of firms because their ZW$86 per U$S1, while the parallel market
tween now and year-end will be a key determi- developments update published last week, the cost of production are pegged to the parallel increased by more than 53% over the same pe-
nant of the overall inflation rate for December CZI said managing shocks, such as the parallel market. Products whose services are indexed to riod.
2021, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Indus- market exchange rate movement as well as in- foreign currency generally correspond to those
tries (CZI) says. crease in money supply due to financing of the that triggered a rise in the month-on-month The CZI stressed that the sluggish movement
forthcoming agricultural season, was critical in inflation for August 2021. Thus, although the of the auction rate is mainly due to the fact that
The month-on-month inflation rate for Au- taming inflation. Single-digit inflation, the CZI month-on-month inflation was only at 4.2%, the official platform is no longer respecting
gust 2021 stood at 4.18%, gaining 1.62 per- said, is now certainly going to be attained in the prices of items that generally move in tandem the principles of a true Dutch auction market,
centage points on the July 2021 rate of 2.56%, post-2021 period, as inflation is likely to close with the parallel market had month-on-month where the highest bidder wins while the lowest
while the blended month-on-month inflation the year at more than 30%. inflation of more than double the national av- bidder has a high chance of losing, hence creat-
rate for August was 1.32% up 0.65% from the erage. The widening of the parallel market pre- ing a moral hazard among businesses.
July rate of 0.67%. While the year-on-year inflation is still de- mium is generally a result of the rigidity of the
celerating, the CZI said the month-on-month auction rate, which has barely moved over a “However, exporters do not have the incen-
The blended year-on-year inflation rate for inflation was a concern, with the exchange rate tives to continue exporting due to currency dis-
tortions,” the CZI said.

NewsHawks Companies & Markets Page 23

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

Uptick in agric boosts FBC performance

RONALD MUCHENJE

INCREASED liquidity in the economy from FBC’s interest income is expected to maintain an upward trend in the short term.
the bumper harvest achieved from the 2020/21
farming season is seen driving FBC Holdings’ In the first half of the year, the group regis- Resultantly, cost-to-income ratio increased es.
performance in the second half of the year, tered a 115.48% increase in operating expenses from 31.63% in HY20 (half-year 2020) to This resulted in the group realising a 21.8%
with net interest income increasing 185.5% to on the back of inflation-driven salaries and al- 45.4% in the period under review with the com-
ZW$3.3 billion. lowances adjustments which resulted in admin- bined effect of reduced net trading and dealing reduction in profit after tax (PAT) from ZW$1.9
istrative expenses going up 95% year-on-year. income and significantly high operating expens- billion to ZW$1.49 billion in the period under
This extra liquidity, coupled with the relaxed review.
Covid-19 restrictions, is also expected to result
in improved economic activity in the second
half of the banking industry’s fiscal year.

Local equities research firm IH Securities said
on account of this background, transaction vol-
umes are set to increase, with the group seen tak-
ing advantage of prevailing economic stability
to, among other outcomes, grow its loan book.

“We therefore forecast interest income to
maintain an upward trend at least in the short
term. We believe there is increased liquidity in
the economy from the bumper harvest achieved
from the 2020/21 farming season. We expect
this extra liquidity, coupled with the relaxed
Covid-19 restrictions will result in improved
economic activity in the second half of the
banking industry’s fiscal year. We also expect
the group will take advantage of the prevailing
economic stability and continue to grow its loan
book,” IH said.

IH forecasts that FBC’s interest income will
maintain an upward trend in the short term.

However, digital banking fees are expected to
continue rising as the banking industry moves
from the brick-and-mortar business model.

“We therefore forecast FBC FY21 net interest
income to increase by 185.5% to

ZW$3.3 billion from ZW$1.16 billion in
FY20 (full-year 2020) underpinned by an in-
crease in lending. Net fees and commissions
income is expected to continue growing on the
back of the ongoing digitisation initiative and
increased transaction volumes. We estimate this
revenue stream to close the year at ZW$2.5 bil-
lion from ZW$838.7 million. Revaluations in
foreign currency are expected to continue mod-
erating on account of stabilising inflation pre-
senting a downside risk to earnings relative to
the high base set in FY20,” IH noted.

DUMISANI NYONI Tobacco sector regulator should lobby for
enhanced competition: Tariff Commission
THE Competition and Tariff Commission
(CTC) says the tobacco industry regulator The CTC accuses merchants of manipulating prices at the tobacco auction floors. auction marketing model, crucial in ensuring
should lobby for regulations compelling all mer- that farmers are not exploited by merchants.
chants to purchase a certain percentage of their were higher on the auction unlike under con- whether the auction will rebound in the 2021
tobacco requirements from auction floors to en- tract, but with higher producer prices above the season, but the likelihood of that happening still “While the exercise of market power might be
hance competition, The NewsHawks can report. contract, shows that there was more competition remains very low. beneficial to merchants, it exposes them to great
under the auction marketing model.” risk of side marketing by farmers as they seek
In its latest report, the CTC accused mer- It said these developments in the tobacco sec- better prices and selling terms. In light of the im-
chants of manipulating the golden leaf ’s pricing However, the CTC said it remains to be seen tor call for intervention in order to revive the portance of the sector as one of the major foreign
at the auction floors, thereby fleecing desperate currency earners, there is need for intervention
farmers of millions of dollars. to ensure sustainability and that competition is
increased amongst merchants,” it said.
As such, it called for the Tobacco Industry
and Marketing Board (TIMB) to counter check Meanwhile, the CTC said TIMB must dis-
mechanisms on the contract systems. card the price matrix currently being used to de-
termine minimum contract prices and introduce
“To promote use of the auction system, TIMB a new model that ensures farmers get fair value
must promulgate regulations compelling all mer- from contractors.
chants to purchase a certain percentage of their
requirements from auction floors. This will en- “Worth reflecting on is the need to review
hance competition, leading to increased prices use of the price matrix by TIMB in determining
at the floors as well offering a counter checking the minimum contract price. This is due to the
mechanism on the contract systems,” the report recent data which shows that 95% of tobacco
reads in part. produced was marketed under contract and only
5% under auction,” it said.
The CTC said decentralisation of tobac-
co marketing in 2020, reinforced by travel re- “It does not make economic sense for the price
strictions, entailed that contracting merchants of 95% of tobacco produced in the country to be
received some of the independently produced dependent on the price of 5% of the produce. In
tobacco, which ideally should be sold via the reality, it should be the other way round. Fur-
auction. thermore, the indication that merchants discard-
ed its use in 2020 shows their growing market
This provided the environment for contrac- power in the sector.”
tors to exercise their market power as farmers
could not sell at the auction. Tobacco is one of the major foreign curren-
cy earners in Zimbabwe, contributing about
“It follows from above that it might have been US$763 million to the country’s exports in
a deliberate long-term strategy by tobacco mer- 2020, according to TIMB. The sector also plays
chants to eliminate the auction-marketing mod- a crucial role as a source of employment to the
el, where competition is relatively intense as mer- country’s citizens.
chants compete based on market forces,” it said.

“This was through enticing farmers to switch
to contract farming by offering high contract
price. The year 2020 then created the environ-
ment for merchants to render the auction in-
effective. Given that 2020 concentration ratios

Page 24 Companies & Markets NewsHawks

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

A DISPUTE over the need to shorten the sal- Banking sector workers petition
ary-negotiation period from the current 12 minister over salary negotiations
months has prompted banking sector workers
to petition Labour minister Paul Mavima, urg- Ministry of Finance and Economic Develop- Labour minister Paul Mavima missed the workers’ application, saying it is both
ing him to issue a directive in their favour. ment, Central Statistical Office and IMF” and (3) (n) of the Labour Act and section 65 (1) of procedurally flawed and substantively without
the substitution of these terms by “a broad set the Constitution. merit, hence it should be dismissed by the min-
The Banking Employers’ Association of Zim- of factors of collective bargaining” that provide ister.
babwe has been cited as the first respondent in at the least for the factors specified in section 74 However, in mitigation, the Banking Em-
the matter. ployers' Association of Zimbabwe (BEAZ), in “The applicant and BEAZ have an existing
a response submitted to Mavima’s office, dis- parent, Collective Bargaining Agreement name-
In papers submitted to the minister by the ly SI 273 of 2000 which regulates the working
Zimbabwe Banks and Allied Workers’ Union relationship between employers and the em-
(Zibawu) through their legal representatives Ma- ployees within the banking industry including
tika, Gwisai and Partners, the employees con- the dispute resolution procedure,” the bankers’
tend that the current legally stipulated period group said.
under which salary negotiations can be entered
into without finality, being full 12 months, is It was argued that SI 273 of 2000 did not
too long when compared to the dynamic nature have a benchmark upon which the employees’
of the economic environment. salaries could be based, hence salary adjustments
were negotiated, as circumstances demanded
“We therefore request the Labour Minister to and were conducted frequently.
issue a Directive in terms of section 81 (1) of
the Labour Act [Chapter 28:01] in terms of the BEAZ said the result was that, almost invari-
draft directive specified hereunder, which will ably, all salary negotiations ended up in arbitra-
shorten the negotiations period to a reasonable tion and, in most cases, the various decisions of
timeframe,” the papers read. the arbitrators were based on their subjective
views of what constituted reasonable salary in-
The employees maintain that the current crements.
negotiation period is unfair in view of the con-
stantly changing national macro-economic “Cognisant of the above challenges, the par-
environment and high inflation which require ties herein decided to put in place a framework
much shorter negotiation cycles than the speci- that would cure the perennial problems of hav-
fied annual negotiation timeframe. ing disputes every year with almost all collective
bargaining negotiations ending in deadlocks
“Section 5 of Statutory Instrument 150 of and being concluded through arbitration.
2013 which compels an annual negotiation cy-
cle has become inconsistent with the objectives “Accordingly in 2013 the parties amended
of the Labour Act [s 2A(1)] of social justice and SI 273 of 2000 by the introduction of scien-
the employees’ constitutionally enshrined rights tific and ascertainable guidelines on collective
to fair labour standards and practices including bargaining negotiations for salary reviews in the
fair and reasonable remuneration [s 65 (1) be- banking sector,” BEAZ argued.
cause such cycle has resulted in remuneration
for the employees which is not fair, reasonable The grouping of banking sector employers
or decent taking into account the principles of said all allowances were combined to come up
social justice and fair labour standards,” Zibawu with a basic salary, leaving no room for separate
said in the papers. negotiations going forward, while the negotia-
tion cycle was agreed to be January to December
The applicants are praying for the Labour of each year. The association also said that salary
minister to issue a directive ordering the parties reviews were agreed to be set on year-on-year in-
to the National Employment Council for the flation figures while the issue to do with actuals
Banking Industry to negotiate on amendment was to be dealt with by individual institutions.
of relevant sections, which will result in the re-
peal of the words, “the negotiation cycle shall BEAZ added that, all things being equal, the
be January to December” and the adoption of Labour minister does not have any jurisdiction
a more appropriate collective bargaining cycle to give a determination on the matter.
which takes into account the prevailing mac-
ro-economic environment. — STAFF WRITER.

Zibawu has also requested Mavima to issue a
directive for the repeal of the words “on year-to-
year inflation figures prevailing at the relevant
time and the sources of the inflation shall be the

Dandemutande Wi-Fi cheaper than mobile data

JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA

THE new Express Wi-Fi by Dandemutande net connectivity a number one priority, hence book’s connectivity initiative to bring more peo- Dandemutande chief executive Never Ncube
Investments, a leading information communi- the need for Express Wi-Fi across the country,” ple online globally. ria, helping millions of people connect to fast,
cation technology solutions provider, allows for Ncube said. affordable, and reliable Wi-Fi every month.
communities to access the internet at cheaper It seeks to help internet service providers and
rates than mobile data. The Wi-Fi hotspot service, running under the mobile network operators provide Wi-Fi to Dandemutande has begun deploying Wi-Fi
brand “Express Wi-Fi by Facebook”, will enable those who are under-connected. This is a plat- hotspots across Zimbabwe. The Express Wi-
This could have an impact on internet pene- Dandemutande to deliver internet connectivity form that helps service providers build, operate, Fi portal is user-friendly and initially provides
tration, currently around 68% according to the over Facebook’s feature-rich Wi-Fi management grow, and monetise internet access over Wi-Fi complimentary access to Wi-Fi. Thereafter, a
latest Postal and Telecommunications Regula- platform that includes online voucher purchas- in a sustainable and scalable way. user can purchase vouchers. Express Wi-Fi gives
tory Authority of Zimbabwe report. es, reseller management, network optimisation people access to fast, affordable, and reliable in-
and management, among other features. Express Wi-Fi currently operates in more ternet so they can make connections that mat-
Operating within a radius of 100 meters, the than 30 countries, including Brazil, India, In- ter, download their favourite apps and stream
Express Wi-Fi is the result of a partnership be- Express Wi-Fi is a key component of Face- donesia, Nepal, Ghana, South Africa and Nige- various entertainment channels.
tween Dandemutande with Facebook Connec-
tivity.

This innovative public Wi-Fi deployment
initiative is an avenue to keep cities connect-
ed, allow for seamless communication channels
and entertainment.

Digital transformation is not a future trend
but a present reality. The world has become a
digital workplace and playground, and this is
made possible by fast and reliable connectivity.

This makes Facebook Connectivity’s Express
Wi-Fi platform the ideal public Wi-Fi model,
as it enables people to connect to Wi-Fi on their
phones, computers and other smart devices.

Dandemutande chief executive Never Ncu-
be said the initiative ties in with the company’s
mandate to be the most admired ICT solutions
partner.

“We are proud to have partnered with an
innovative company such as Facebook on an
initiative that further enhances our vision as an
organisation to be a leading ICT solutions part-
ner locally and in the region. The enhanced use
of digital platforms worldwide has made inter-

NewsHawks Companies & Markets Page 25

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

Cautious banks sit on US$2bn, fear losses

BERNARD MPOFU

GROWING mistrust over the country’s offi- Most banks in Zimbabwe continue to take a conservative approach in lending.
cial inflation figures and the need to minimise
exchange rate losses has held back Zimbabwe’s cause we have what we call negative real interest where the ruling exchange rate is a vote by banks, institutions to enhance their financial interme-
financial institutions from lending nearly US$2 rate, where interest rates are below inflation rate. where they don’t believe that the exchange rate is diation role,” Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe gover-
billion, a business leader has said. So that alone is deterring banks from lending,” at 1:85.” nor John Mangudya said in his Monetary Policy
Mugaga said. Statement.
The relaxation of exchange controls following Official figures show that lending in Zimba-
the outbreak of Covid-19 last year has seen local “Secondly, people underestimate the role of bwe dollars nearly doubled as of August this year. “The performance of loan portfolios of bank-
banks reporting steady growth in United States managed exchange rate. The market perception ing institutions was satisfactory, as reflected by
dollars. But a set of financial results published by that the auction rate is no longer reflective of Total banking sector loans and advances in- the average non-performing loans (NPLs) to total
the banks over the past few weeks shows that de- market-wide exchange rate is a reality. So this is creased by 73.27% from ZW$82.41 billion as at loans ratio, which remained low at 0.55% as at 30
spite this growth, most banks continue to take a even reflected by banks. Banks will be sitting and 31 December 2020 to ZW$142.79 billion as at June 2021, against the international benchmark
conservative approach in lending. saying if I lend this at 1:85, am I not going to 30 June 2021. During the period under review, of 5%, reflecting sound credit risk management
take a burn? They are afraid of exchange losses. So financial intermediation remained stable as re- systems and internal controls. In the outlook pe-
Chris Mugaga, Zimbabwe National Chamber when they lend, they would also want a cushion flected by a loan-to-deposit ratio of 45.84%. This riod, credit risk is expected to remain low.”
of Commerce chief executive, told The New- position reflects that there is scope for banking
sHawks that the growing disparity between the
country’s official rate and the parallel market rate
had resulted in US$1.7 billion sitting idle.

“Banks have moved from a cavalier approach
to a conservative approach when it comes to ad-
vances. An average of US$1.7 billion is lying idle
in the banking vaults. The appetite to lend is at its
lowest. Indeed, the non-interest income or non
-funded income has been dominating the bottom
line for most banking institutions in Zimbabwe
for not less than a decade now, which is confirma-
tion that banks are making much of their money
outside advances, which come or reflect through
interest income,” Mugaga said.

The local currency has over the past few weeks
lost value on the parallel market as the Reserve
Bank continues to manage the auction system.
Officially, the Zimbabwe dollar is trading at 1:85
against the greenback while the parallel market
rate is around 1:150. The central bank also fore-
casts that Zimbabwe will by year-end have sin-
gle-digit inflation but independent economists
doubt this.

“They are not lending firstly because of the in-
terest rate policy of the country. Banks are of the
view that the real inflation figure in Zimbabwe is
above the official figure, which therefore means
that they would not accept any tampering or any
intervention by the central bank in the setting
of interest rates like you see an accommodation
rate with a ceiling of 40% annualised. So banks
believe the real inflation is higher than what is
reported. When they are to lend, they will have
a challenge in terms of interest rate charges be-

Page 26 Companies & Markets NewsHawks

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala (third from right) with guests at the trade fair event.

Zim business execs attend Intra-African Trade Fair

ZIMBABWEAN business executives based in Afreximbank president Benedict Oramah (left), with Nyanza chief executive Donovan Chimhandamba in Durban last night.
South Africa were in Durban last night for the
signing of an Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) which is affecting all sectors worldwide and forc- this will allow us to have a successful event. We is to carefully balance the protection of lives
hosting agreement between the African Ex- ing governments, corporates and individuals to will continue working with the Government against promoting and sustaining livelihoods.
port-Import (Afreximbank), KwaZulu-Natal take unprecedented measures to ensure public of South Africa to ensure that all the Covid-19
provincial government, the African Union (AU) safety and keep economies running,” Obasanjo measures are complied with during the trade fair “Based on plans announced by our President
and the African Continental Free Trade Area said. as the safety of both residents and visitors is par- Cyril Ramaphosa on rolling out the Covid-19
(AfCFTA) to pave way for the second IATF amount. vaccination programme in South Africa, we will
event in the coastal city in November. “Relocating IATF2021 to Durban saves us be ready in November to host our brothers and
time on the calendar and will enable African “We congratulate the government of the sisters in Durban for this Intra-African Trade
Among those who attended last night’s func- countries and corporates, as part of their recov- Republic of South Africa and KwaZulu-Natal Fair (IATF2021).
tion were Nyanza Light Metals chief executive ery strategy, to take full advantage of the trade provincial government and thank them for the
Donovan Chimhandamba, who is also Diaspora fair, which is also an important component of swift efforts that are being made to ensure that “We look forward to welcoming the delegates
Infrastructure Group chairman, Afreximbank the implementation of the African Continen- IATF2021 safely accommodates the growing to the trade fair. This gathering is one of the most
president Benedict Oramah, KwaZulu-Natal tal Free Trade Agreement under which trading number of participating governments, exhibi- significant strategic interventions to remind us
premier Sihle Zikalala and former Nigerian pres- commenced this year. tors, buyers, conference delegates, and visitors of our interconnectedness, and of the urgent
ident Olusegun Obasanjo. that have confirmed their participation in the need to promote intra-Africa trade to reignite
“Having undertaken a comprehensive as- event.” economic opportunities and create much-need-
Nyanza, a chemical manufacturing company sessment of the measures that are being taken ed jobs for all our people. In this regard we ap-
established in 2011 by Zimbabweans business- by the AU and Afreximbank under the African Welcoming the conference, Zikalala said: “As plaud the IATF2021 Advisory Council under
people and the South African government, is Vaccine Acquisition Task Team, as well as other KwaZulu-Natal, we are honoured to host this the leadership of former President of the Federal
in the process of building an 80 000 tons per initiatives to procure vaccines for the continent, important gathering of the world as we imple- Republic of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo
annum titanium dioxide pigment manufactur- we believe that a significant number of people ment our own Economic Reconstruction, Re- for this bold decision, as we soldier forward to a
ing plant in the Richards Bay Industrial Devel- would have been vaccinated by November and covery and Transformation Plan. Our approach better Africa for all.” — STAFF WRITER.
opment Zone, 170 kilometres north of Durban.
Titanium dioxide pigment, a US$20 bn a year
market, is a fine white powder used to provide
whiteness and opacity in the manufacturing of
products such as paints, industrial coatings, plas-
tics, papers, inks, foods, medicines (that is pills
and tablets) as well as most toothpastes.

The R4.5 billion project is being funded by
Afreximbank and South Africa’s Trade and In-
dustry ministry. Afreximbank initially put US$2
million into the undertaking. Chimhandamba
said the Nyanza project is a good example on
intra-Africa trade investment and cooperation.

The second (IATF2021) has been rescheduled
to take place in Durban from 15 November to
21 November. The trade fair was previously set
for Kigali, Rwanda, from 8 December to 14 De-
cember.

The decision to move the trade fair to Durban
was made by the Advisory Council of IATF2021
at its 10th meeting held virtually on 25 May.
This decision was arrived at after formal consul-
tations with Rwanda who indicated that logisti-
cal constraints related to the Covid-19 pandemic
had adversely affected the progress of construc-
tion of a new facility to host the event.

Commenting on the decision, Obasanjo,
IATF2021 Advisory Council chairman, com-
mended Rwanda, Afreximbank, the AU, the Af-
CFTA secretariat and all IATF stakeholders for
showing great resilience in adapting to the un-
certain environment arising from the Covid-19
pandemic situation.

“We have once again been able to shoulder
the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic,

NewsHawks Stock Taking Page 27

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

Price Sheet A MEMBER OF FINSEC & THE ZIMBABWE STOCK EXCHANGE

Thursday, 16 September 2021

Company Sector Bloomberg Previous Last VWAP Total Total Price Price YTD Market
Ticker Price Traded (cents) Traded
AFDIS Consumer Goods (cents) Volume Traded Change Change (%) Cap
African Sun Consumer Services AFDIS: ZH Price 7470.00
ART ASUN: ZH 7470.00 800.00 - Value ($) (cents) (%) ($m)
Ariston Industrials ARTD: ZH 800.00 - 768.57 1,000
Axia Consumer Services ARISTON: ZH 780.00 800.00 310.00 - - - 211.25 8,762.76
BNC AXIA: ZH 310.17 700.00 2207.58 700 8,000.00 - - 370.59 6,894.17
BAT Consumer Goods BIND: ZH 2250.00 310.00 451.38 54,100 5,380.00 -11.43 -1.47 61.02 3,358.48
CAFCA Basic Materials 465.18 2250.00 109400.00 24,400 167,710.00 -0.17 -0.05 131.34 5,044.93
Cassava BAT: ZH 91200.00 450.00 17000.00 780,600 538,650.00 -42.42 -1.89 141.00 12,028.98
CBZ Consumer Goods CAFCA: ZH 17000.00 109400.00 2301.02 3,523,480.00 -13.80 -2.97 18.78 5,641.60
Dairibord Industrials 2298.28 8500.00 100 109,400.00 18200.00 19.96 98.91 22,573.07
Delta CSZL: ZH 8500.00 - 3541.38 - - - 89.10 1,484.97
Econet Technology CBZ: ZH 3900.00 2300.00 8958.16 - 2.74 0.12 254.00 59,609.70
Edgars Banking DZL: ZH 8746.02 3505.70 190,100 4,374,240.00 - - -0.54 58,414.69
FBC 3578.46 - 383.18 - -358.62 -9.20 170.33 12,678.17
Fidelity Consumer Goods DLTA: ZH 385.00 3500.00 2918.52 - 212.14 2.43 293.75 115,064.09
First Capital Consumer Goods ECO: ZH 2900.00 9000.00 800.00 2,900 102,700.00 -72.76 -2.03 270.97 90,817.85
FML Telecommunications EDGR: ZH 800.00 3600.00 300.21 36,200 3,242,855.00 -1.82 -0.47 219.32 1,252.96
FMP Consumer Services FBC: ZH 300.00 385.00 2200.00 15,800 553,900.00 18.52 0.64 94.39 19,610.99
GBH FIDL: ZH 2700.00 2900.00 1495.00 - - 319.51
Getbucks Banking FCA: ZH 1495.00 185.00 1,100 4,215.00 0.21 0.07 172.92 871.39
Hippo Financial Services FMHL: ZH 185.00 - 811.11 80,900 2,361,085.00 -500.00 -18.52 109.52 6,474.69
Innscor FMP: ZH 811.11 300.00 18612.03 - - 361.42 15,183.15
Lafarge Banking GBH: ZH 18612.03 2200.00 10600.70 - - - - 670.83 18,510.45
Mash Financial Services GBFS: ZH 10501.07 9404.11 104,000 312,220.00 - - 6388.88
Masimba HIPO: ZH 9414.29 - 296.41 - - 106.80 992.69
Medtech Real Estate INN: ZH 298.00 185.00 4001.98 1,000 22,000.00 99.63 0.95 186.28 9,434.17
Meikles Industrials LACZ: ZH 3895.33 22.83 - - -10.18 -0.11 879.59 35,925.05
Nampak MASH: ZH 23.67 - 9490.10 -1.59 -0.53 218.72 59,870.26
NatFoods Financial Services MSHL: ZH 9300.00 - 1300.00 6,300 11,655.00 106.65 2.74 257.32 7,523.29
NTS Consumer Goods MMDZ: ZH 1300.00 10600.00 52400.00 - - -0.84 -3.55 188.99 5,510.48
NMBZ MEIK: ZH 52400.00 9400.00 800.00 - - 190.10 2.04 331.28 9,670.93
OK Zim Industrials NPKZ: ZH 800.00 280.00 1400.00 - - 469.55
Proplastics Industrials NTFD: ZH 1500.00 4200.00 1555.74 13,600 1,441,695.00 - - 771.88 693.98
RTG Real Estate NTS: ZH 1600.01 21.00 2700.00 7,300 686,500.00 - - 2814.39 23,976.37
RioZim Industrials NMB: ZH 2700.00 9500.00 511.09 4,400 13,042.00 -100.00 -6.67 249.96
SeedCo Healthcare OKZ: ZH 512.14 1300.00 3300.00 404,200.00 -44.27 -2.77 72.86 9,823.43
Simbisa Industrials PROL: ZH 3300.00 - 7000.00 10,100 102,921.00 - - 213.60 35,841.66
Star Africa Industrials RTG: ZH 7001.38 - 4401.43 450,900 958,500.00 -1.05 -0.21 166.54
Truworths Consumer Goods RIOZ: ZH 4400.00 1400.00 163.65 7,800.00 - - 120.71 2,030.98
TSL Industrials SEED: ZH 178.65 1550.00 187.06 10,100 - -1.38 -0.02 204.35 5,658.40
Turnall SIM: ZH 190.00 2700.00 4700.00 600 - 1.43 0.03 266.24 19,397.17
Unifreight Banking SACL: ZH 4700.00 510.00 400.00 - 1,400.00 -15.00 -8.40 506.11 6,802.26
Willdale Consumer Services TRUW: ZH 395.00 - 3000.00 - -2.94 -1.55 534.10 12,754.23
ZB TSL: ZH 3000.00 7000.00 322.24 100 2,146,920.00 - - 172.46 4,026.97
Zeco Industrials TURN: ZH 330.00 4400.00 8000.00 18,900.00 5.00 1.27 330.11 3,005.97
Zimpapers Consumer Services UNIF: ZH 8000.00 159.00 138,000 23,510.00 - - 16029.03 24,744.17
Zimplow WILD: ZH 185.00 0.12 700 - -7.76 -2.35 907.00 7,716.24
ZHL Basic Materials ZBFH: ZH 0.12 - 284.29 28,000.00 - - 233.33
TOTAL Consumer Goods ZECO: ZH 290.00 400.00 1550.00 4,600 - - 500.00 718.44
Consumer Goods ZIMP: ZH 1553.87 - 376.68 - 924,300.00 -5.71 -1.97 190.09 16,783.81
Consumer Goods ZIMPLOW: ZH 351.46 320.00 238,443.00 -3.87 -0.25 210.00
Consumer Services ZHL: ZH - 400 25.22 7.18 20.16 1,972.16
Consumer Goods - 21,000 3,180.00 3,194.23
290.00 145,700 - 5,729.43
Industrials 1550.00 14,015.25
Industrials 390.00 1,700 21,200.00
Industrials - - 0.56
1,637.51
Banking 5,300 34,480.00 3,694.90
Industrials - - 6,850.51
Consumer Services - 804,272.58
Industrials 10,700
Financial Services - 3,980.00
- 1,550.00
89,650.00
1,400 22,487,661.00
100

23,800
2,149,700

ETFs OMTT.zw 230.00 230.00 230.00 37,265 85,709.50 - - 129.50 184.00

Old Mutual ZSE Top 10 ETF

FINSEC Financial Services OMZIL 7000.00 7000.00 -- - 164.15 5,810.82

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VFEX (US cents) Consumer Goods PHL:VX 25.00 25.00 25.00 - -- - -30.56 US$m
Consumer Goods SCIL:VX 26.00 - 26.00 43.80
Padenga - -- - 44.44 62.69
SeedCo International

Index Close Change (%) Open YTD % Top 5 Risers Price Change % YTD %
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Top 15 4,320.76 +0.46 4,301.07 +121.80 Masimba 376.68c +25.22c +2.74 +257.32
Small Cap -0.34 222,563.67 +1767.62 Delta 4001.98c +106.65c +2.43 +293.75
Medium Cap 221,801.19 -0.51 17,247.44 +208.39 Meikles 8958.16c +212.14c +2.04 +331.28
17,159.71 9490.10c +190.10c

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FML
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Page 28 News Analysis NewsHawks

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

NYASHA CHINGONO Mnangagwa’s embellished life
story betrays legitimacy crisis
GLARING inconsistencies in Pres-
ident Emmerson Mnangagwa’s life President Emmerson Mnangagwa holding his controversial life story book.
story, recorded in several pieces of
literature — which he sponsored — was the Chief Justice. ism. However, whether the young far too much sense to accept anything subsequent release to Zambia (very
betray a desperate attempt to prop up With Harry Davies, the trio sat in Mnangagwa was on death row or like that. And to be fair to Mnangag- strange because he would be the only
his image which has been under scru- not, there was certainly judicial con- wa, the efforts to ‘polish’ his history purported freedom fighter to be sent
tiny since he took power in a military the Appellate Division, as research by sideration of whether he should be. are nowhere near the rewriting of back to what had become a rear base
coup, analysts have said.  lawyer Tererai Mafukidze published Whether he was a member of the history that was attempted by Don- for the guerrilla movements of Zim-
by The NewsHawks recently shows. Crocodile Gang or not is subject to ald Trump. But Zanu-PF has always babwe), his years in Zambia from
Mnangagwa’s biography penned There were 11 white male judges in different accounts. The key question been a party in which internal party 1972, when he was released, to 1977
by his newfound ally Eddie Cross 1980. is whether the Crocodile Gang made politics take precedence over national when he arrives in Mozambique to
has major distortions which border any significant contribution to armed policies of well-being,” Chan added.  join Zanu as Mugabe’s personal assis-
on lies on what happened after the The death sentence myth has trig- rebellion and liberation. Or was it a tant,” Mandaza said. 
former vice-president had been fired gered new controversy and raised side show? Certainly, Chan said that at the heart of the
by his predecessor, the late president a spectre of doubt over Mnangag- “half-truths” is Mnangagwa’s legiti- “Therefore, it is not surprising that
Robert Mugabe. wa’s legacy, now marred with “half- Mnangagwa had to, and did, join macy problem.  the spirited ploy to prop up his image
truths”.  the freedom struggle. As with Mug- and legacy has been as much a flop as
Like Mugabe, Mnangagwa’s legacy abe himself, the rest is myth. Those “Mnangagwa’s concerns with legit- has been the claim of a ‘Second Re-
remains conflicted and is mired in To embellish his life story, Mnan- who might say something closely fac- imacy are not to do with the nation public’ – because there is no republic
controversy fuelled by major distor- gagwa has often repeated the same tual – Chitepo, Tongogara, Mujuru — there are collective shruggings of as such under a coup and the absence
tions unravelled by The NewsHawks lies in public, with analysts arguing – all actual leading fighters, are all shoulders there — but within the of constitutionalism (an accountable
through analysing his books.  this is aimed at propping up his im- curiously dead,” Chan said.  inner councils of Zanu PF. Jonathan executive, a vibrant legislature and a
age which has come under scrutiny Moyo knows how to touch Mnan- fiercely independent judiciary), the
Mnangagwa, who turned 79 this after the coup.  He said Mnangagwa’s efforts to gagwa’s nerves on this front; thus, his rule of law and the return of the mili-
week has a conflicted history, which polish his history could be under- taunts about reviving the G40,” he tary to the barracks,” added Mandaza. 
has been the subject of controversy, Political analyst Stephen Chan said stood in the context of internal party said. 
with his biographies, described as ha- it is unfortunate that Mnangagwa’s politics which often take precedence Instead of shedding light into
giographies, revealing glaring incon- account of his life relies on his own over national interests.  Political analyst Ibbo Mandaza said Mnangagwa’s history as head of state,
sistencies.  prejudices since his peers during the the confusion surrounding Mnan- the biography has become the subject
liberation struggle have died. “Every leader seeks an ‘official’ ac- gagwa’s legacy has been amplified by of controversy. 
A book titled In the Jaws of The count of his or her background. The glaring inconsistencies in the biogra-
Crocodile by journalist Ray Ndlovu, He said the authenticity of Mnan- worst of such efforts surround the phy and other pieces of literature.  The dodgy biography also high-
based on various accounts with mem- gagwa’s story was subject to preju- leadership in North Korea, as the lights the need for Zimbabweans to
bers of Mnangagwa’s family, differs dices, adding that his life remained a Kim family members from grandfa- “I am not sure one can speak of carefully scrutinise historical facts
from the narrative in the latest book.  myth without similar accounts from ther to father to son have been made his legacy when all appears shroud- published on behalf of political fig-
his peers.  into demi-gods. Zimbabweans have ed in controversy — his birthday, his ures.
It is apparent that Mnangagwa did upbringing, his imprisonment and
not proofread the biography, as some “All histories, including those in
costly historical blunders were pub- biographies, are subject to revision-
lished which obviously go against his
longstanding public statements. 

Cross’ biography claims that
Mnangagwa went to China where he
met the then military commander,
General Constantino Chiwenga, yet
he spent two weeks in South Africa
before returning to seize power. 

This is among several “half-truths”
written in the biography where the
President claims to have been part of
the Crocodile Gang during the liber-
ation struggle.

Another lie that has been constant-
ly repeated by Mnangagwa himself is
that he was sentenced to death.

The purported death sentence was
commuted to 10 years in jail. After
serving seven years, Mnangagwa was
released from Khami Prison, near
Bulawayo, in 1972 and deported to
Mumbwa, outside Lusaka, where his
parents lived after they had also been
apparently deported by the Rhode-
sian authorities.

As reported by The NewsHawks,
some critical minds have questioned
the authenticity of Mnangagwa’s sto-
ry, especially in view of the brazen
falsehood that he was a member of
the Crocodile Gang, a group of early
Zanu militants.

A war veteran, writing under the
non de guerre Jonathan Chando, re-
cently challenged the myths, includ-
ing the death sentence and Crocodile
Gang narrative. After 56 years of
uncertainty, it has now emerged —
ironically through his own biography
by Cross, A Life Of Sacrifice — that
Mnangagwa was never sentenced to
death.

The court record of January 1965
contained in the book, which has
many shades of grey magnified by
distortions and omissions, makes it
clear the judge did not sentence him
to death.

“I do not therefore propose to
sentence you to death,” Justice John
Lewis said.

Lewis was to later become Judge
President in 1980. Hector Mcdonald

NewsHawks The Big Debate Page 29

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

PEDZISAYI RUHANYA The military factor: Zanu PF’s
centre of 2023 electoral gravity
A CENTRE of gravity is defined as
a “hub of all power and movement The late former Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander General Vitalis Zvinavashe (left), his successor and now Vice-President retired General Constantino Chiwenga
upon which everything depends”.  (middle) and the late Air Marshal Perrance Shiri (right).

It is that characteristic, capability or babwe-Rhodesia, Lord Christopher Zimbabwe. vhoterapapi (2008) are still fresh in the We wish to make it very clear to
location from which Zanu PF derives Soames, had initially expressed fears The retired security sector and war minds of violated communities.  all Zimbabwean citizens that the se-
freedom of action, physical strength, that elections might not be conducted curity organisations will only stand
or willpower to fight elections.  in some Zanu PF strongholds due to veterans element has been a cardinal The clampdown on vendors that in support of those political leaders
violence perpetrated by Zanla forces agent used to enhance capture of the coincides with voter registration in that will pursue Zimbabwean values,
This sphere is the centre of its elec- during campaigns, only to change this electoral process and ensure conti- Harare in 2017 was another example; traditions and beliefs for which thou-
toral advantage; it might not be con- decision a few days towards elections.  nuity of the securocratic state. They it must be understood as more of a sands of lives were lost, in pursuit of
stant throughout an election cycle, have helped to pursue and enhance political strategy of sabotaging oppo- Zimbabwe’s hard-won independence,
thus requires continuous review.  Zpra forces were not immune from military capture of the electoral pro- sition strongholds than clearing the sovereignty, territorial integrity and
doubling as campaign commissars for cess in the following ways: (i) use of streets.  national interests. To this end, let it be
This paper argues that the security Zapu and its leader Joshua Nkomo. violence, threats and forcing a sellout known that the highest office in the
sector, mainly the military, has cap- This has created a culture of letting the tag on opposition members and sup- These “military operations” have land is a straitjacket whose occupant
tured both Zanu PF’s internal and na- securocrats influence politics and elec- porters in their door-to-door Zanu been a clear long-term strategy of is expected to observe the objectives of
tional electoral processes and institu- tion results.  PF campaigns; (ii) they are scattered rigging the electoral environment in the liberation struggle. We will, there-
tions to become the centre of electoral across the country’s communities to that: (i) they have all been strategically fore, not accept, let alone support or
gravity of the ruling party. The security sector that installed indoctrinate, monitor and spy on cit- timed—implemented towards con- salute, anyone with a different agenda
Mugabe after capturing Zanu went on izens at household levels; (iii) they are tested presidential elections; (ii) they that threatens the very existence of our
Whereas broadly Zanu PF was cap- to force PF Zapu into the 1987 Unity used to make grassroots to perceive were targeted at areas where Zanu PF sovereignty, our country and our peo-
turing national electoral processes, Accord after it had been satisfied that them as Zanu PF creators, kingmak- would have performed dismally in the ple.
that naturally assisted the military.  the Central Intelligence Organisation, ers and fathers of the army; (iv) their previous election and, (iii) violence has
5 Brigade and other militia had exe- capture and use of public resources been used without mercy and judicia- The statement by Zvinavashe
Capturing this political arena has cuted their assigned campaign strategy (schools, government aid and proj- ry remedies.  demonstrates the conflation between
given the system the necessary surety of across Zapu strongholds.  ects, local government infrastructure) the party and the state and the party
continuity despite opposition electoral to further Zanu PF political interests; Electorates and presidential candi- and the military. It set the stage for the
pressure. The strategy of capturing the The killings scaled 20 000 and (v) they preside over Zanu PF capture dates have been continuously remind- military’s overt interventions in the
electoral process has been executed above following Zanu PF’s militarised of government food handouts and ed and assured — always towards country’s political life. 
through: (i) use of the security sector campaign in Matabeleland and Mid- using them in “food-for-a-vote” cam- presidential elections — of a repeat of
as a key part of campaign teams; (ii) lands regions before the 1985 election, paigns in hunger-stricken villages and; similar operations and/or worse if in Retired Lieutenant-Generals Doug-
deployment of retired securocrats and and were carried out in a style later (vi) they undermine and frog-march any event Zanu PF loses a presidential las Nyikayaramba (late), Martin Che-
war veterans to instil an environment used in the 2008 presidential election traditional leaders at kraal head level election.  dondo and Zimbabwe Prison Service
of fear, sabotage and foreseeable Zanu run-off.  to vote for Zanu PF. Under such cir- commissioner-general, retired Ma-
PF dominance; (iii) pre-election mil- cumstances, election results are already The 2008 run-off elections provide jor-General Paradzai Zimondi (also
itary terror campaigns or operations This legacy will always remain in predictable before elections take place. the clearest example of using the gun late), among others in many instanc-
meant to tweak voting patterns and the minds and hearts of Zimbabweans The electoral process is thus captured. to “protect” the vote. But prior to the es towards the June 2008 presidential
choices; (iv) issuing of televised press as they approach elections and it has 2008 elections it would be critical to election run-off, sent similar threats to
statements by army generals during been often invoked to instil fear and Reminiscences of pre-election Zanu look at the most notable assurance the electorate and Mugabe’s rivals. 
the run-up to elections with the inten- influence choices of the electorate. PF military exercises such as: Oper- that came in the run-up to the 2002
tion of reminding the electorate that ation Gukurahundi (1982-7), land presidential elections when the then Mugabe also issued a solidari-
voting Zanu PF is better than assured That is what the late political sci- reform (2000), Operation Muram- Zimbabwe Defence Forces com- ty statement clearly toeing the line
punitive consequences of voting the entist Masipula Sithole described as batsvina (2004) and Operation Maka- mander, General Vitalis Zvinavashe, drawn by the securocrats in one of
opposition and; (v) populating state “the margin of terror” – instead of the released a Press statement in the state his addresses in the same period when
institutions responsible for adminis- margin of error – which must be fac- media, saying:
tering elections with securocrats and tored in opinion polls on elections in
their loyalists capable of sacrificing
professionalism for loyalty to Zanu PF.

Firstly, the military has directly and
indirectly taken charge of the election
processes and made it hard that any-
one not aligned to it would win elec-
tions. This has been part of Zanu PF
philosophy. 

Meredith (2007) observes that the
late former president Robert Mugabe,
making this concession in one of his
speeches said, “our votes must go to-
gether with our guns. After all, any
vote we shall have, shall have been the
product of the gun. The gun which
produces the vote should remain its
security officer – its guarantor. The
people’s votes and the people’s guns
are always inseparable twins.” 

It is this very system that Mugabe
constructed that engineered his even-
tual downfall.

Literature on electoral processes in
Zimbabwe shows that after the securi-
ty sector successfully installed Mugabe
in the leadership of Zanu PF in the af-
termath of the Mgagao Declaration by
Zanla forces in 1975, all elections that
followed have been militarised. 

Mugabe left Rhodesia for Mozam-
bique to seek seizure of the party lead-
ership and intensification of the armed
struggle in 1975 after his release from
prison with other nationalists the year
before and the subsequent death of
Zanu chairman Herbert Chitepo in
1975.

The Mgagao Declaration laid the
foundation of two important his-
torical events: It was the precursor
to the removal of then Zanu leader
Ndabaningi Sithole and basis for the
elevation of Mugabe as the leader of
Zanu at a special congress in Chimoio
two years later in 1977.

In 1980, the governor of Zim-

Page 30 The Big Debate NewsHawks

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

he said: The war veterans came to me chieftainship for me? That is unheard so the same applies to our case with the country for the love of sugar. We of being an indicator of the people’s
and said, “President, we can never ac- of. What will happen to the chief’s President Mugabe. That is what we are here to strengthen the relationship democratic choice, but rather an ex-
cept that our country which we won aides? We need to remind each other. should remind each other when we between chiefs, the President and the pression of the people’s choice of life
through the barrel of the gun can be No chief was voted for. No son has meet. Whites want divide-and-rule, army. over death. 
taken merely by an “X” made by a ever ordered his father to step down and they saw that Mugabe is the nerve
ballpoint pen. Zvino ballpoint pen from his role as leader of the family, centre of the country. Let us not sell Militarising the electoral environ- No matter how independent the
icharwisana ne AK? (Will the pen fight ment renders results of polls devoid Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
the AK-47 rifle?) Is there going to be a (Zec) might try to be, if the context
struggle between the two? Do not ar- of the electoral process is not liberat-
gue with a gun. ed from military capture, elections
will remain neither free nor fair. Elec-
Nyikayaramba then emerged like a tion-based transition that is contrary
spokesperson of the Zanu PF military to military interests is left impossible. 
electioneering team. During the Gov-
ernment of National Unity era, he was Zec is among the most politicised
chosen to represent military presence bodies in Zimbabwe with its adminis-
in the constitution-making committee tration infiltrated by uniformed agents
and he advocated for a constitutional of the security sector and its political
clause that will ensure that Mugabe is compradors. In 2002, an ex-colonel
“president for life” and told the nation in the army, Sobusa Gula-Ndebele,
that: was appointed to chair the Elector-
al Supervisory Commission, while
I am in Zanu PF and Zanu PF is in Nyikayaramba, a serving army com-
me and you can’t change that… Truly mander, was chief executive officer.
speaking, I am Zanu PF and Zanu PF This military-led team presided over
is in me and you can’t change that … the running of first contested presi-
I am sure everyone, including yourself, dential election post-Unity Accord.
has now woken up to realise that he Gula-Ndebele was later promoted to
(the late founding main opposition Attorney-General in 2008 — a move
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai) is seen as a direct reward for the 2002
not the right candidate …  The bot- flawed election services. 
tom line is that I will not surrender; I
will not salute someone like that per- This systematic and blatant militari-
sonally... What he (Tsvangirai) is say- sation of politics – the electoral process
ing is nonsense. We are dealing with a – has not only subverted elections and
national security threat… the people’s will for the past 41 years,
but also ultimately democracy itself. 
When the country was bracing for
the watershed 2018 elections, Nyika- Without comprehensive reforms
yaramba, then still serving, in Sep- and de-militarisation of the electoral
tember 2017 in a Zanu PF military process, Zimbabwe faces yet another
politicking crusade, commandeered stolen and disputed election in 2023.
chiefs assembled at the 4 Brigade in The military will remain the decisive
Masvingo to ensure that Mugabe wins factor in the next elections unless there
the 2018 elections.  are reforms, or a tsunami of youth vot-
ers — like in Zambia — and an over-
He unequivocally stated that: whelming wave of discontent against
Did anyone ever say to a tradition- the status quo that can overcome rig-
al chief that you are old, leave the ging in all its manifestations. 

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NewsHawks The Big Debate Page 31

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

WILLIAM JETHRO MPOFU A collage of photos of the Guinea coup.

FOR their spectacular nature, coups Africa: A complex trajectory
always appear like new phenomena and legacy of military coups
when actually they are an old military
and political issue that dates back to the country, while the populace suf- Doumbouya’s response to Tshiseke- by the sound of Doumbouya who force to close all the avenues of politi-
the genesis of humanity.  focates under poverty and starvation.     di was telling: “Mr President, I have writes as if he is confident that armies cal contestation and democratic com-
Guinea is the world’s biggest pro- followed your message asking us to in different countries of Africa will petition. 
It is like that in the affairs of na- ducer of high-grade bauxite and has release Alpha Condé, but we will not commit themselves to toppling lead-
tions that if power cannot be nego- huge iron ore reserves, but it has been let this happen. Where were you when ers that violate constitutions and im- The democratic intentions of
tiated, navigated or shared amicably, largely unable to benefit from its min- Alpha Condé made the population miserate the people.   Doumbouya are yet to be seen as he
it is grabbed by brute force. The only eral resources due to sustained insta- suffer, and violated the constitution continues consultations with politi-
surprising thing in Africa is that we bility, political risks and poor gover- that required him to serve two terms?”   In a way, Doumbouya’s response to cians, religious leaders and business
continue to be surprised when anoth- nance. Doumbouya asked Tshisekedi to Tshisekedi is a strong message to the people towards a promised transition-
er coup is sprung up by the soldiery in Guineans have experienced mil- check how happy the people of Guin- AU and African leaders that the sol- al government of national unity. Scep-
one country. itary rule before, and they know the ea were about the toppling of Condé diery in Africa will increasingly enter tics amongst some journalists, scholars
consequences can be dangerous.  before making moralistic political politics if political leaders continue and diplomats have already raised the
As of our habit, eyebrows were When president Sekou Toure died suggestions. He made the point that to violate constitutions, loot public troubling observation that the colonel
rightfully raised when news broke that in office in 1984, a group of army of- African leaders habitually look aside coffers and persecute the populations. engineered the coup after he picked
on the morning of 5 September 2021 ficers led by Colonel Lansana Conté when leaders of other countries clob- The trouble with coups everywhere news that he was about to be retired.
one Colonel Mamady Doumbouya staged a coup. Conté declared himself ber and immiserate their people only is that they promote other coups. As So it might have been the personal
in Guinea Conakry had command- president and remained in office un- to spring up with some constitution- images of the gigantic Doumbouya, fear of joblessness than democratic
ed some special forces to shoot their til he died in 2008. Soon after Conté al and ethical arguments when the a true African marine, circulate some service to the people of Guinea that
way into the palace of President Al- died, the military again seized power tyrants are overcome by the soldiers soldiers in different African countries drove the soldier into coup action.  Or
pha Condé, laid a siege and held him led by Captain Moussa “Dadis” Ca- with the support of the citizenry.  entertain mesmerising fantasies of it is otherwise the misery of the peo-
hostage before announcing the disso- mara. He was removed from power, The relations of African leaders, themselves in power one day soon.  ple of Guinea and his personal misery
lution of the constitution and that of paving way for a democratic transi- true to Julius Nyerere’s observation that jolted him and his forces to ac-
government.  tion in 2010 that brought in Condé. sometime ago, are still the relations Coups are contagious. tion? Looming redundance might just
In 2019, Condé commandeered of “clubs of tyrants” that are united in Tyrannies continue to envelope the have forced the soldier to identify his
In short, a military coup had taken constitutional changes that allowed protecting each other from the demo- continent of Africa and dictators are pain with that of the many poor and
place and soldiers led by Doumbouya him to rule the country for a third cratic will of their people. becoming more emboldened, with unemployed people of Guinea.  In
had seized state power. More alarming term, a move that unsettled the po- Doumbouya ended his message the AU and its subsidiary organisa- that way, the coup impulse may be as
were pictures of a subdued Condé, the litical opposition, civil society and with a terse and chilling warning to tions failing to grow enough teeth to personal as it is collective. 
Lion of Conakry, sitting on a couch the general populace. The man, his Tshisekedi and other African leaders: protect Africans from acts of state ter-
behind some dangerous-looking family and friends were determined to “Likewise for you Mr President, you rorism by some African governments Another question to ask and trou-
members of the crack special forces reduce the polity and economy of the are a good man with a good heart, but and their leaders.  bling matter to ponder is if the Af-
armed with automatic rifles and bran- country to private property. know that the suffering of the people The way Yoweri Museveni clob- rican continent will continue to in-
dishing grenades on their waists.  Democratic Republic of Congo has no friends and respect the consti- bered Ugandans in the January 2021 creasingly produce poor countries,
President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi, tution and spare the risk of ending elections and the manner in which failed states, tin-pot despots, and ter-
Few things look as compromised the current African Union chairper- up as Alpha Condé and the President Emmerson Mnangagwa trampled on rorist states. 
and pathetic as a strongman - a dicta- son, quickly wrote to the coup-mak- of Mali (Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, the will of Zimbabweans in the 2018
tor; that has been toppled, shattering ers in Guinea demanding that they forced out through a coup in 2020). elections indicates a return to tyranni- That coups continue to happen in
their myth of invincibility and delu- release Condé and allow return to the A soldier changes all the time. I want cal leadership in post-colonial Africa Africa is a reflection of democratic
sions of grandeur. The once mighty constitutional order.  this message to be shared all over the that looks like true native colonisation failure; closure of democratic spaces
ruler of Guinea looked scared, shabby Ecowas, regional power Nigeria, world to attention to other African of the populations of civilians that be- for the people, weak institutions and
and hungry even – right in his palace. the United States and United Nations presidents.”   come hapless victims.  impoverishment of the nations.
also demanded the same. My attention could not be escaped It is thus moot to ask, therefore, if
As a matter of routine, African military coups in Africa may be the It is no exaggeration that one of the
multilateral organisations condemned way out where despotic leaders use greatest inventions of modern politics
the coup and demanded calm and a has been the practice of democratic
return to the constitutional order in elections where in the negotiation of
Guinea. Enchanted by sudden and
radical political change, scores of the
people of Guinea poured into the
streets to loot some shops and cele-
brate the fall of Condé who is accused
of personalising power, enriching
himself and his family as well as his
cronies with the natural resources of

Page 32 The Big Debate NewsHawks

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

political power and navigating po- Guinea Conakry coup leader Lt.Col Mamady Doumbouya. isation of violence through a mili-
litical competition we count ballots, tary parade in Lisbon, accompanied
pieces of paper, and not dead bodies alarm at Nkrumah’s communist poli- against unarmed civilians.  throned the Estado Novo regime in by some pelting with flowers, was
in the battlefield.  cies and agendas that he intended to When ruling cliques, their families Portugal endures in history as an ex- enough to compel the tyrant and his
spread into a political culture in his ample of a good coup, or what is called regime to retreat and allow winds of
Democratic elections have taken envisaged United States of Africa.  Af- and friends plunder public resources, a “guardian coup.” Some have called positive change to reign. 
the world out of a “state of nature” in rican coups are almost always domes- monopolise economies, and conspic- it a “benevolent coup”. A guardian or
politics where it would be a “war of all tic, regional and global phenomena. uously consume what belongs to the benevolent coup is an armed and un- A military parade in Lisbon led to
against all” in the struggle for political Most of the coups are manufactured public they invite coup-thinking and constitutional, or extra-constitutional the decolonisation of a vast swathe of
power. It the proverbial Hobbesian in the West and or in the East, and subsequently coup-action from ambi- military takeover of state power for the African continent. The pacifist
“state of nature” where life is nasty, then performed in the African conti- tious soldiers, supported by aggrieved purposes of paving way from a tyran- and romantic gesture of a humble
brutish and short for everyone. That nent as seemingly domestic political populations and angry political activ- nical regime to a democratic dispen- waitress had soldiers turn their ma-
soldiers are increasingly becoming problems when they are global politi- ists.  sation.  chine guns into handles for roses, and
political in Africa may be understand- cal machinations that are only playing still achieved radical political change. 
able, but not a good sign. It is a neg- out in unfortunate Africa. It is a lesson The failure by African multi-later- In that kind of coup, soldiers play
ative sign that we might slowly, but to be learnt that African should culti- al institutions and organisations such a facilitatory and guardian role where The 26 March 1991 military coup
surely be returning to some state of vate good governance in their coun- the AU, Southern African Develop- they seek and find power only not in Mali has also gone down the pages
nature of a kind.  tries in order to insulate themselves ment Community, East African Com- to keep it, but help hand it over to a of history as a good coup. President
from toxic external political designs munity and the Economic Commu- democratic and civilian government. Moussa Traore had for two decades
It is a tragedy that some Africans and infiltrations. nity of West Africa to protect Africans We can observe here that a good coup reduced the country to his family’s
in certain countries, because of their from tyrannical governments that can only come from good soldiers. It personal property.
authoritarian leaders, now look up to Is there a good coup? plunder economies and deploy state really matters who the coup-maker is. 
soldiers and the next coup for positive In this short article, I seek to pon- terrorism leave the people vulnerable Political opponents were killed or
political change. That some African der the possibility and also the myth to messianic securocrats that seize The 25 April Revolution in Lisbon jailed for long terms without trial.
populations do not only welcome of what can be called a good coup power as saviours, only to mutate into was such a coup. It democratised Por- The president and his cronies owned
coups, but also find them enchanting in the African historical and polit- predators.   tugal by taking power from a despotic the economy and the polity of the
and delighting is not a positive state of ical context. African populations and corrupt regime and handing it country. The people of Mali became
historical and political affairs.  frequently get caught up between a It is due to the brutal and horrif- over to a democratic and liberatory lodgers in the private property of the
The coup curse in Africa rock and a hard place when venal ty- ic state of affairs in Africa that we establishment. After being democra- president that was Mali. 
Perhaps it is a truism on its own that rants are overthrown by soldiers that even ponder the possibility of a good tised thus, Portugal took an anti-co-
African post-colonial countries were go on to institute their own tyranny coup. If things political were normal lonial turn that saw the withdrawal During the coup, the conspirators
born and nurtured with a proneness and sentence their countries to deeper and good we would be spending time of Portuguese colonial regimes from jailed Moussa and eventually sen-
to coups. Kwame Nkrumah, the first misery.  and efforts evaluating the prospects of Guinea, Cape Verde, Mozambique, tenced him to death for grand cor-
black president of a post-colonial Military coups almost always get democratic political cultures, free and Sao Tome and Principe, and Angola ruption and crimes against humanity
African country, Ghana, was over- popularly celebrated in the streets of fair contestations in politics, and not in 1975.  Portugal, as part of its inter- in 1992. He had made himself richer
thrown in a military coup on 24 Feb- Africa yet before the tears of joy at armed seizures of power. nal and external democratisation and than the country. Mali was peaceably
ruary 1966.  the fall of the dictator are dry they are Once upon a coup in Lisbon liberation, also withdrew its colonial ushered into a multi-party democrat-
quickly turned into tears of sorrow An increasing number of scholars and administration in East Timor, South- ic system that is fragile and imperfect
Soon after the coup, Colonel Em- as the soldiers that initially promised journalists are persuaded that there is East Asia.  but real. 
manuel Kotoka told the people of reform and democratisation turn what can be understood and embraced
Ghana that “the myth surrounding against the people, kill some and im- as a good coup.  This is an interesting The Portuguese coup was not only Another good coup happened in
Nkrumah has been broken” be- prison others, while keeping the entire development because a coup is gener- good, but it was also powerful and Niger on 18 February 2010.  Presi-
cause he had modelled his leadership population really afraid.  ally considered a tragic failure of poli- beautiful. A waitress in a downtown dent Mamadou Tandja dissolved the
around some outlandish myths and We must ponder the possibility or tics and democracy where violence re- restaurant in Lisbon, Celeste Caeiro, constitution and forced a law that
fictions of himself as some political the myth of a good coup in Africa be- places dialogue and electioneering as became a colourful heroine of the sought to extend his presidential term
messiah of Africa.  cause, as things stand, coups look like modern means of negotiating power revolution. As armoured tanks rolled beyond the mandatory two terms.
they are back as a means of regime and changing political regimes.  down the streets in battle formations, Some brave soldiers marched in and
As soon as African leaders settle change in Africa where incumbent she threw flowers at the soldiers who arrested Tandja who was chairing a
into power and enjoy the trappings of regimes systematically steal elections, The term “good coup” is therefore in turn inserted the carnations into meeting at the time. 
office – including the proceeds of cor- amend constitutions to seek the cov- a paradoxical statement. But good the muzzles of the machine guns as a
ruption – they suffer from delusions eted third terms for sitting presidents coups have been seen before and as sign of loving and peaceful reluctance Multi-party democratic elections
of grandeur and vainly fashion them- and the prime ministers, loot national such almost all soldiers that seize pow- or refusal to shoot anyone.  were overseen by the military a few
selves as demigods.  resources, and deploy state terrorism er announce theirs to be another good months later. Once again in Niger
coup or not a coup at all.  The transition from tyranny to as it was in Portugal and Mali, sol-
Earlier on in 1964, Nkrumah had liberation was concluded without a diers had risen to defend the ordinary
engineered constitutional amend- The 25 April 1974 coup that de- single shot fired.  The mere symbol- people and secured their democratic
ments that enforced a one-party state rights. It might be a little positive sign
in the country with him as life presi- Doumbouya knows of and speaks of
dent of his party and the nation. He the good coup of Mali. 
landed a heavy hand on the political
opposition and civil society groups US scholars Joseph Wright, Barba-
that questioned his leadership and ra Geddes, Erica Frantz and  George
policies.  Derpanopoulos did an empirical
study, Are Coups Good for Democ-
At the time of his ouster, Nkru- racy, which tackles the question of
mah had more political prisoners than “good coups”.
apartheid South Africa on the one
hand and on the other hand he was “Good coups — or those  against
busy organising for the United States dictatorships that lead to democrati-
of Africa of which he hoped to be the sation — appear to have dramatically
president. Some African historians increased in number since the end of
have actually observed how the idea the Cold War, at least partially be-
of the United States of Africa was re- cause of the incentives created by in-
sisted by some African leaders, leading ternational pressures for democratisa-
to its failure.   tion. Examples include coups in Mali
in 1991, Guinea Bissau in 2003, and
Such influential African leaders as Niger in 1999 and 2010,” they wrote.
Nyerere and Kenneth Kaunda feared
that Nkrumah wanted to be the life “This trend has generated argu-
president of the continent of Africa. ments that coups — traditionally seen
Yes, there was a time many African as a sign of democratic breakdown
countries feared being colonised by — may actually be a tool to usher in
Ghana through the programme of the democracy. By creating a shock to the
United States of Africa as the new ci- political system, the argument goes,
vilising mission.  coups can generate opportunities
for political liberalisation  that would
When individual leaders monopo- otherwise be absent. As Paul Collier
lise power and close all avenues of po- wrote in 2009 for the New Human-
litical contestation and competition, ist, “coups and the threat of coups can
the political landscape in a country be a significant weapon in fostering
becomes fertile for unconstitutional democracy”.           
regime change, sometimes at gun-
point.  Collier wrote In Praise of the Coup:
Military Takeovers a Good Thing for
There was orgasmic excitement in African Democracy, making a case for
the streets of Ghana when Nkrumah good coups.
fell from political grace to the prover-
bial grass. The conspirators among the However, the American researchers
soldiery, police and intelligence that debunked the myth of good coups.
engineered the overthrow of Nkru-
mah were later exposed to have been ‘Good coups’ may grab our at-
sponsored by the Central Intelligence tention, but the data indicate that
Agency of the United States.  they are not the norm. For example,
though Nigerien (as in Niger not Ni-
Prime Minister Harold Wilson of gerian) coups in 1999 and 2010 im-
Britain and President Lyndon John- posed democracy, coups in 1974 and
son of the US had publicly expressed 1996 led to the establishment of new
dictatorships.

“The bad news does not end there.
Using  annual data on repression, we

NewsHawks The Big Debate Page 33

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

find that coups that launch new dic-
tatorships lead to higher levels of re-
pression in the year that follows than
existed in the year leading to the coup.
Moreover, in daily event data for the
49 coup attempts that have occurred
since 1989, we find that there is only
one case of a coup followed by a drop
in state-caused civilian deaths during
the subsequent 12 months.

“Though democracies are occasion-
ally established in the wake of coups,
our research indicates that more often
coups initiate new dictatorships and
more human rights violations.”

Restore a bloody legacy Zimbabweans jubilantly mobbing the coup troops in the streets of Harare in November 2017.
Some coups in Africa and elsewhere
have been seen to attempt to invent ing land, mines, the fuel sector, manu- specific form of native colonialism an one. It is bad coups that help us to So far the coup-makers in Zim-
some avenues to certain liberated and facturing industry and even the infor- where the ruling elites swim in ob- effectively imagine what a good coup babwe have lived up to their reputa-
democratic futures. These are coups mal public transport industry that has scene prosperity and opulence, while could have been. tion and intention – keeping political
that attempt to cure their unconstitu- been the source of livelihood for many the majority drown in the sewage of power by any means necessary to se-
tionality and violence, or the threat of Zimbabwean families. The president poverty and misery.  Mnangagwa ex- A good coup comes from a good cure the economic privileges, looting
it, with some democratic returns for of Zimbabwe, his family, friends and ercises power with the arrogance and place and from good people. Geno- and establishing cartels for self-ag-
the populations.   fronts are taking business away even impunity of a true native colonialist cidaires and corrupt leaders cannot grandisement. 
from kombi owners and omalayitsha, leader. He has publicly boasted of his conduct a good coup. 
Some have simply restored bloody informal cross-border transporters, in party control of the army, the police, Evidently, the Zimbabwe coup was
and genocidal legacies that go back what is clearly dumbfounding greed. intelligence and the economy. The Scholars have observed that, among a bad one, just like the majority of
to settler colonialism and its modes man who came to power chanting that other issues, the Zimbabwean coup them anyway.
of power and politics. The Zimba- Spectacular Mobutuism has the “voice of the people is the voice was spearheaded by powerful soldiers How to coup-proof Africa 
bwean coup of the 14/15 November emerged in Zimbabwe where the of God” has after the recnt Zambian and their political allies who wanted The AU and its subsidiary regional or-
2017 that dethroned Robert Mugabe President, his family, friends and elections that have seen an opposition to keep state power in order to avoid ganisations should grow legal and po-
was such a bad and regressive coup. fronts are now richer a few years after leader prevail told Zimbabweans that the possibility of being prosecuted for litical teeth to protect African popula-
So regressive and bad that most Zim- the coup and can now be seen making power will not change hands the way crimes against humanity and corrup- tions from rogue and despotic African
babweans wish Mugabe was still alive lavish donations to hospitals, popular it did north of the Zambezi. Zim- tion, including looting of blood dia- leaders exemplified by Condé, Mu-
and in power. Without a sense of iro- football teams and other needy enti- babweans scarcely understood that monds in and out of the country. So seveni, Teodoro Nguema, Paul Biya,
ny, the soldiers named the coup Oper- ties in a political move to “wash” or when Mnangagwa said the “voice of it was a coup of guilt and fear.  Dennis Sassou Nguesso, and Mnan-
ation Restore Legacy, a name that un- “launder” their “dirty money”.  the people is the voice of God” he im- gagwa. And, of course, King Mswati.
intendedly speaks of the restoration of plied the discredited doctrine of the Chiwenga in particular needed African armies should not capitalise
genocidal and colonial politics in the Mobutu Sese Seko’s looting of the divine right to rule or God’s manda- not only power but also job security on the tyranny and corruption of any
country.  resources of Congo-Zaire was that tion – a pretext for political legitimacy as Mugabe did not look set to renew leader to seize power in the name of
legendary. He became richer than the and life presidency. his contract. A coup became a serious the people as Doumbouya has done. 
This coup was celebrated in every country and frequently publicly lent What makes a bad coup? personal issue. The coup was also a
street of Zimbabwe.  money to the country, or donated it, In a world that embraces and cele- factional violent move of the defeat- Similarly, African governments
in what he expected to be celebrated brates democratic ideals, every coup ed. Beaten by the Generation 40 fac- should not seek to build counter-
Zimbabweans so wanted Mugabe as big-hearted generosity by a kind should be a bad coup. But where there tion in intellectual political combat, weights to coups, as that usually
gone that they forgot to look carefully leader.  are still tyrannical regimes, a good Mnangagwa and some elite soldiers heightens the risk of more military
at who was pushing Mugabe out and coup where the soldiery seize power ran to the armoury.   takeovers.
for what reason. Yet who was taking Mnangagwa, his family, friends not to keep it but hand it over to en-
power should really have mattered and fronts are scaling Mobutuism able a democratic dispensation can be The coup-makers became a bunch Instead, African governments,
to Zimbabweans. But Zimbabweans where they are able to privatise public imagined, and even wished for.   of ideological and intellectual losers populations and civil societies should
were too desperate for change after institutions, buy out opposition poli- not known for any ideas, let alone work to build strong and independent
Mugabe’s long years of genocidal rule.   ticians and parties, the courts and the A bad coup, from the African expe- good ones, except for violence and state institutions, address democratic
public media. And now the biggest rience, is that coup when the soldiery killings. It is in that way that the bad deficits and hold free and fair elec-
“Go go go Our General!” is one of football clubs. seek, find and keep power for their Zimbabwean coup was also a coup tions and manage better leadership
the chants by the multitudes in the own purposes. of ignorance that is combined with succession, as well as tackle the root
streets in celebration of retired Gen- This happens as the majority of self-interest and self-preservation.  causes to prevent coups. 
eral Constantine Chiwenga who led Zimbabweans, including doctors From Colonel Muammar Gadd-
the coup. People climbed on army and nurses, teachers, the police and afi’s toppling of King Idris in Libya, The political relationship between This means addressing socio-eco-
tanks in the streets of Harare, hugged, soldiers, the intelligence, are literally 1969, through General Idi Amin’s Mugabe and the soldiers and poli- nomic issues, implying reforms, af-
kissed and took pictures with armed starving. This happens as taxi drivers dethronement of Milton Obote in ticians that toppled him had always fecting the majority, dealing with
soldiers.  and touts have been thrown out of Uganda, 1971, right up to Doum- been made out of an unwritten polit- leadership, policy and governance
their humble employment so that the bouya’s putsch against Condé recently ical pact that they kept him in power failures, tackling corruption, and
With Mugabe gone, the people of monopoly of public transport goes to in Guinea, coups are double-edged by any means necessary and unnec- avoiding abuse of power, repression
Zimbabwe, political opposition and fronts that are linked to the President, swords that can go either way, bad or essary, through rigging elections and and brutality against the population.
civil society were quickly reminded his family and friends.  good.   clobbering the population, and he al-
that the coup had been a Zanu PF af- lowed them to loot what they wanted *About the writer: Dr William
fair and had nothing to do with their That conspicuous consumption A reading of history shows that the way they wanted it.  Jethro Mpofu is a researcher at the
democratic aspirations.  of resources stolen from the public good coups are rare and far in be- University of the Witwatersrand in
that is composed of starving peas- tween. So rare that to understand The prospect of losing the power Johannesburg, South Africa. He is
What was supposed to be the elec- ants and civil servants constitutes good coups we have not only to look and the privilege of looting loomed a senior research associate of Good
tions that would usher in democracy extreme provocation and a trigger for at such coups as the Portuguese, Mali- large, as Mugabe seemed set to go Governance Africa and has been a
in the post-Mugabe era became a cha- coup-thinking and coup-action in a an and Nigerien ones narrated above, with the G40 faction. The coup had consulting researcher with the In-
rade as the loser Emmerson Mnangag- continent whose post-coloniality is but bad coups such as the Zimbabwe- nothing to do with the interests of the stitute for Security Studies on gen-
wa used the army and the Zimbabwe punctuated by proneness to coups.  ordinary people of Zimbabwe, but der-based violence and femicide.
Electoral Commission to keep power economic and political interests of a
even as he scored a paltry 33% com- Mnangagwa, his family, friends and coalition of power-hungry politicians
pared to the popular opposition can- fronts have subjected Zimbabwe to a and military commanders. 
didate Nelson Chamisa who scored a
staggering 66% of the vote, according
to some insiders. 

Protesting and unarmed civilians
were gunned down by soldiers and
many were maimed, while some were
traumatised. The 2018 elections in
Zimbabwe and the violence around
them reminded Zimbabweans that
the struggle against settler colonialism
might have been over, but the strug-
gle against native colonialism is yet to
begin. 

Reports of independent research
institutes on state capture and cartels
document how the names of the Pres-
ident, his family, friends and fronts
are connected to the capture of state
organisations, the smuggling of min-
erals, illegal trade in foreign currency,
black marketeering, money launder-
ing and other forms of fraud and coz-
enage. 

The President, his family, friends
and fronts are accused of monopolis-

Page 34 Critical Thinking NewsHawks

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

Solving Zim’s tricky political equation

MDC Alliance deputy chairperson MDC Alliance deputy chairperson Job Sikhala. others speak on our behalf and add
Job Sikhala has challenged all oppo- their own colour without us speaking
sition forces to close ranks and solve there does not seem to be anything the engage serious external constituencies assessment that while Chilu- directly and on our own behalf.
a tricky political “equation”: Why the opposition can do to address the issue that need to be leveraged. Those who ba and his party successfully
MDC Alliance has found it difficult to of constituency delimitation before could be effective allies often cringe translated popularity to pow- I have been known to be accessible
translate its massive political popular- the 2023 election (that opportunity at what local supporters cheer. While er, his legacy is one of a failed and reachable, and sometimes too ac-
ity to control of state power. Sikhala was lost once the GNU ended); it is that may be the result of potential democratic transition. cessible and reachable for the comfort
laments that although the MDC’s critical for this stubborn fact and oth- partners failing to understand the local • We Africans do not do our- of some of my team members. So any
founding president Morgan Tsvan- ers to inform any strategies, messaging context, it is also too often the result selves any favours with this story my name is associated with is
girai was phenomenally popular and and choice of leaders going forward. of self-referencing politics that does idiotic thinking which goes: very easy to verify. As a former journal-
his successor Nelson Chamisa won not understand the global context in “Let’s get power first and we ist, I am familiar with the technique
more than two million votes in the We must ponder the following: which we live. will deal with everything else of writing about something that is
2018 general election, state power still 1. Because of the electoral lay of the later”. Where has that ever “about” to happen to prod it to hap-
eludes the opposition. In the follow- land, and again… not just to fulfill The excitement Zimbabweans feel worked? pen so the writer can have a story.
ing write-up, opposition Build Zim- any individual’s or organisation’s po- about what is going on to our im- Change will come to Zimbabwe,
babwe Alliance leader Noah Manyika litical destiny, but for the sake of the mediate north is completely under- but it better not be just a change of As I have intimated in previous
responds to Sikhala’s exhortation. cause and the destiny of the young standable. I lost my friendship with government or ruling class or ruling writings, there are real reasons some
Part One: Unpacking the equation people themselves, young Zimbabwe- a Zambian friend 37 years ago when individuals. It must be the change that of us do not, cannot, will not run to
JOB Sikhala is calling for the kind of ans must register to vote in unprece- Frederick Chiluba was a fiery trade enables every Zimbabwean, every gen- something simply because the most
critical discussion the cause for change dented numbers. union leader challenging the United eration, every tribe, every race, every popular/vocal opinions in the pro-de-
in Zimbabwe desperately deserves. 2. The strategies, messaging and National Independence Party (UNI- class, the educated and uneducated, mocracy movement demand it, or
quality of those put forward for office P)’s one-party state and Kenneth civilians and military, rural and urban even because others may be running
I would add that there are many must enable the opposition to retain Kaunda’s rule. My crime was suggest- dwellers to fulfill their destiny. to it. That would not be leadership or
people who have sought to “unpack those who voted for it before by prov- ing that every Zambian needed to own Part Two: Convictions are not al- good citizenship, but prostitution that
the equation”, as Sikhala puts it, but ing that they have learned the lessons that struggle, and that the purpose of ways ego would not be different from people
the stubborn facts they share are of- of the past and are keenly aware that the cause should never be reduced to This short write-up will most likely be jumping from the pro-democracy ship
ten viewed as inconvenient, and incumbents will not concede power fulfilling Chiluba’s political destiny. I my last direct response to Sikhala’s re- to join Zanu PF.
those who share them as “killjoys and simply because we are right, young, or love Zimbabwe too much not to com- freshing and great challenge to the op-
grinches” by some who tend to reduce we demand it, or are “more popular” mit the same “crime” and will gladly position to “unpack the equation” and If insisting that this discussion
the purpose of the cause to fulfilling than they are. lose anyone that I have called a friend figure out how to translate popularity should be treated with the seriousness
the political destinies of individuals 3. The opposition’s messaging and by adding this dimension to the con- to power. Sikhala’s call comes at a time it deserves and that all critical issues
and organisations. We must have the leadership must attract those who have versation Sikhala is urging us to have: when the drumbeat for “convergence” should be engaged before convergence
courage and decency to call that ten- never voted for it before who are put is loudest, so allow me to say a few is being ego-driven, then some of us
dency what it is: a dangerous distor- off by how the cause is represented. • It has taken Zambians 30 years things about that. will gladly plead “guilty as charged,”
tion, even betrayal of the cause which That would require a willingness to since Chiluba took office in Before I do, let me just say this is and ask not to even be mentioned as
is supposed to be about the people. change both the substance and style of 1991 to get to the Hichilema not a Press release from a media team, potential participants.
our politics, our leadership, our mes- era. We must think not only but I write these things myself so ev-
History has taught us repeatedly saging for the sake of the cause. about how to translate popu- eryone can know directly from me If all this is about raising money,
that, in Africa, popularity alone can- 4. Bringing the struggle to that crit- larity to power, but what hap- exactly where I stand. It is critical at about cobbling together a leadership
not win elections against incumbents ical tipping point that brings change pens when that popularity is this point in the life of our nation for group to try to sell a broken brand,
whose strategic intelligence opposition requires the kind of messaging that translated to power. Zanu PF leaders not to be spoken for, but to then some of us must also be counted
movements tragically underestimate, convinces everybody that change is in translated popularity to power speak clearly, without equivocation, out because we believe that as critical
and who are as resourced and as deter- their best interests. in 1980, and this is where we and without guile. That is what I hear as financial resources are to winning
mined to retain power as they are old, Everybody includes every gener- are. from Sikhala’s challenge, that the time elections, the problem the pro-democ-
corrupt and incompetent. ation, every class, educated and un- for hiding behind our fingers is over, racy movement in Zimbabwe is facing
educated, civilians and military, rural • The idea that generals and and it is time to be serious for the sake is bigger than lack of money. In fact,
In 2012, I hosted the late Morgan and urban dwellers, including those police officers etc, were still of the cause. I also believe the strategic it is because of some of the problems
Tsvangirai and his team in the US for a who have supported the ruling party behaving like Zambia was a value of some of these critical conver- many have pointed out that it fails to
day. One question I respectfully asked before. one-party state during this sations can only diminish the more attract the resources needed to do the
him was: 5. The leadership style, language, last election is an indictment they are public conversations where job. Besides, if it is just about money,
messaging that impresses the local of Zambia’s leadership in the then any contesting party in Zimba-
“What is the basis for 110 rural gallery does not necessarily impress or post-Kaunda era, and gives bwe’s plebiscites would need to out-
constituencies and only 60 urban? Has credence to authors Mwangi raise Zanu PF which uses the public
a sound census been conducted which Kimenyi and Nelipher Moyo’s purse as its election war-chest, and I
justifies this kind of delimitation?” do not know that anyone has the ca-
pacity to do that.
I knew from information gathered
while advising the Organ for National Some of us are old enough to un-
Healing at that time that Zanu PF was derstand the cost of political euphoria.
very happy with this delimitation be- We have since 1980 experienced the
cause it had done the math: It under- devastating cost of it daily. It is because
stood that even if the opposition won we cannot un-know what we know
all the 60 urban seats, the 110 rural and un-see what we see that we are
constituencies would be in Zanu PF’s not as excitable as some would want us
bag with the help of over 270 chiefs, to be when dealing with these serious
thousands of village heads and rural matters.
government structures controlled by
partisan district and provincial work- I share the deep convictions of those
ers. My suggestion to Tsvangirai, who who are against the personalisation of
I had (and still have) the utmost re- politics in Africa and in our country. I
spect and admiration for, was that this do not believe in “pasi naNhingi,” or
needed to be urgently addressed before “hezvoko bgwa” politics, or in politi-
the end of the Government of Nation- cal parties that bear the initials of their
al Unity (GNU) to avoid giving Zanu leaders in their names, or are nothing
PF an electoral advantage that would more than the personal brands of their
be impossible for any opposition leader. If this discussion at this partic-
movement to overcome in the near ular time in
term, no matter how much “popular”
support it had. Zimbabwe is a serious one about
coming up with a completely new
Those who have followed elections platform that everybody can buy into
in other places know that winning the and that can deliver real change to our
popular vote only translates to an elec- country, (and I understand from Tend-
toral victory, depending on how con- ai Biti’s tweet that he believes it is, and
stituencies are delimited. It is extreme- I have no reason to doubt him) then
ly naive to think that gerrymandering that is a different story, and each of us
in Zimbabwe only affects parliamenta- will play the roles our consciences, not
ry election results since we do not use others, will dictate, including being
the electoral college system for presi- supporters, advisers, participants etc.
dential elections. The fact is that ru-
ral constituencies make it possible for Is there not a cause?
Zanu PF to manipulate the presiden- *About the writer: Dr Noah Man-
tial vote in ways that are almost im- yika is the convener of the Build
possible to prove in any court of law, Zimbabwe Alliance, a political
let alone those run by partisan judges, party driven by accountable leader-
making the challenging of electoral ship.  He is a Fulbright Scholar and
outcomes seem like sour grapes. While graduate of the School of Foreign
Service at Georgetown University in
Washington DC.

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 35

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

Tackling biodiversity loss to achieve green,
resilient, and inclusive development
and private financing options to in- rely on global action across and with-
MARI ELKA PANGESTU vest in nature, to support countries in sectors.
whose finances are squeezed as they
THE world today faces multi- tackle compounding crises.  It is our collective responsibility –
ple crises of immense proportions: from private companies, to the finan-
Covid-19, climate change, and biodi- We cannot act on biodiversity cial sector, to government policymak-
versity loss are foremost among them. without also considering the threats ers, to civil society – to commit to
As we focus on recovery efforts, the to nature and people’s livelihoods decisive action to reverse nature loss
interconnections between people, the from climate change, as nature loss through conservation, sustainable
planet, and the economy cannot be and climate change are two sides to use, and equitable sharing of the ben-
ignored. the same coin. Under our new five- efits of biodiversity. We need nature
year Climate Change Action Plan, to develop.
The loss of biodiversity and ecosys- announced in June, the World Bank
tem services is a development issue, Group will align all our financing *About the writer: Mari Elka
often impacting the poorest countries with the goals of the Paris Agreement, Pangestu is the World Bank’s man-
the most. Nature does not need us, and we are backing that up with more aging director of development policy
but we need nature, yet these ser- financing. Over the next five years, and partnerships. She represented
vices are often undervalued and un- 35% of all our financing, on aver- the World Bank at the Internation-
accounted for in development plan- age, will go towards climate action, al Union for Conservation of Na-
ning. including support to nature-based ture world congress in September
solutions terrestrial, coastal, and ma- 2021.
Consider what is at stake: more rine areas. That means more financ-
than half of global GDP is gener- ing for countries to cut emissions by ADVERT
ated in industries that are highly or decarbonising their energy and trans- SPACE
moderately dependent on ecosystem port systems; to restore and protect
services, such as pollination, water fil- their forests and other landscapes; to To place your booking contact
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• Over three billion people de- impacts; and to find new, greener jobs Land line- (0242) 721 144/5
pend on marine and coastal and livelihoods for people.
biodiversity for their protein The NewsHawks @NewsHawksLive www.newshawks.com [email protected]
intake and livelihoods – but In responding to the nature crisis,
90% of global marine fish which is a systemic threat, a whole
stocks are now fully exploited of economy approach is needed to
or overfished.   transform economic activity, policies,
and investment decisions that drive
• More than 75% of food crops nature loss.  Any economic losses due
rely on animal pollination – to policy changes that prevent nature
but over 40% of known insect loss can be almost entirely offset by
species have declined in past economic gains from improved pro-
decades. vision of ecosystem services, accord-
ing to World Bank analysis.
In fact, 14 out of 18 categories of
ecosystem services assessed by the In- A recent World Bank Group ap-
tergovernmental Science-Policy Plat- proach paper  on biodiversity and
form on Biodiversity and Ecosystem ecosystem services outlines six global
Services have declined since 1970. response areas that can set economies
on more sustainable pathways. We
The risks associated with the glob- urge you to consider them during the
al decline of nature have the poten- important discussions at this year’s
tial to negatively impact economies, IUCN World Conservation Congress
especially in low- and lower mid- in Marseille.
dle-income countries. Recent  World
Bank research  estimates that even a These include:
partial collapse of ecosystem services • Engaging economic and fi-
would cost 2.3% of global GDP in
2030, while  Sub-Saharan Africa and nancial decision makers in ef-
South Asia could lose 9.7% and 6.5% forts to protect nature;
of their real GDP respectively, if key • Integrating nature and na-
ecosystem services collapse.    The ture-based solutions into in-
Dasgupta Review  shows that the vestments in all sectors, espe-
stock of natural capital has declined cially those that put the most
by 40% per capita over the period pressure on nature;
from 1992 to 2014. • Enhancing and equitably
sharing the benefits of con-
Inaction is no longer an option. serving nature with local com-
As countries look toward econom- munities;
ic recovery from the pandemic, it is • Mobilizing finance for nature
necessary to put human and plane- from public and private sourc-
tary health on the same course. The es;
recovery must be nature-smart, to set • Developing metrics and deci-
countries on a path for green, resil- sion support tools to inform
ient and inclusive development. The planning, policy, and financial
value of nature should be accounted decisions;
for in all development decisions, in • Leveraging partnerships to
all sectors. foster consensus and sustain-
ably manage public goods.
The World Bank Group is active- Nature-smart policies are a win-
ly supporting countries’ transition to win. Investing in nature can con-
a greener, more resilient, economy tribute to recovery efforts by creating
through investments in conservation, jobs, targeting the poorest commu-
financial innovation, and through nities, and building long-term re-
support for the integration of na- silience. Healthy ecosystems sup-
ture-smart practices in sectors such as port climate change mitigation and
transport, agriculture, forestry, fish- increase the resilience of the most
eries, and coastal zone management. vulnerable communities around the
From slope stabilization around roads world. Our estimates suggest that
in India to terraces and increased veg- ambitious targets, such as protecting
etation to prevent erosion, reduce 30% of land and oceans by 2030 (the
runoff, and improve land productivi- “30x30” goal), are within reach, but
ty in Burundi, our nature-based solu-
tions portfolio included 70 projects
in 46 countries last year. We are also
exploring ways of expanding public

Page 36 RTehfreaBmiginDg eIbssautes NewsHawks

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

Albert Rwanda in Mozambique, ies on which the Mozambican army
Rudatsimburwa it’s a question of values had placed its hope of defeating the
Islamist extremists.
THERE has been fevered speculation Rwandan soldiers in Mozambique.
about the reasons behind Rwanda’s During the last four years amid a
military presence in Mozambique ments beyond the country’s borders. Yet from being the underdogs, the To this value add the liberation deepening crisis, Mozambique had
and the prospects of ending an insur- When the RPA started its libera- RPF, under the command of then ideas of Pan-Africanism. These are lost a vast swathe of economically im-
gency that has raged on for the past General Paul Kagame – now the the foundational values that continue portant territory, in northern Cabo
four years. tion war against the genocidal gov- country’s President, turned the tables to define the Rwandan military today. Delgado province, due to the insur-
ernment of Juvenal Habyarimana in on the enemy, even when confronted It is from these values that one must gency and widespread violence.
And as the excitement of the first 1990, there were only a few thousand with the added grave responsibility to start to understand the source of the
few days and weeks settles down, ill-equipped volunteer “combatants”, stop a genocide. principles by which the RDF, and the The French petroleum giant, Total,
there will almost certainly be more lacking everything, even uniforms. Rwanda National Police (RNP) hold had given up on the US$20 billion
suppositions, masquerading as analy- In four years, the RPA command, themselves. gas project, the largest on the African
ses. Little, if any of it, will even make The army that included not only with Kagame at the helm, had turned continent, which would have been a
the attempt to consider broadening Habyarimana’s forces, the then a group of young volunteers into a It is also within that premise that huge blow to the economy.
their thinking to considering the in- Rwandan army, but also their allies highly disciplined and efficient army, anyone wishing to understand Rwan-
tervention from a Rwandan perspec- from Zaire, now Democratic which fought – unpaid – in defence da’s military deployments, whether in The death toll among ordinary
tive. of a cause they were ready to die for. the Central African Republic, Sudan, people was incalculable. Thousands
Republic of Congo, and troops Haiti and, now, bilaterally, Mozam- were murdered and many beheaded
That there will be complex negoti- from the French special forces.  Above and beyond a steely mil- bique, should look. in the macabre perversion of Islam.
ated arrangements, to which the me- itary discipline, the young fighters
dia will not be privy, is inevitable in And unlike the RPA forces, these had been taught the cardinal value of The Rwandan forces are a com- An estimated 800 000 people were
any conflict resolution. The existence combatants had an unlimited supply their forefathers: always to serve the pletely different species from the internally displaced and thrown into
of these agreements will no doubt of equipment not only from France, Rwandan nation. Russian and South African mercenar- limbo, as they waited for a return of
fuel further speculation. but also from Belgium, the former stability and security that seemed far
colonial master. from guaranteed.
But whatever these arrangements
are, they will all rest on the founda- Recent reports show that the in-
tional values of Rwanda’s military, the surgents have been driven out of their
Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), and stronghold and run out of town into
Rwanda’s governing party, the Rwan- the forests surrounding their former
da Patriotic Front (RPF). headquarters in Mocimboa da Praia
by a joint offensive of the Rwandan
Steeped in Rwandan culture and and Mozambican armies.
history, these values have been thrown
into sharper focus by Rwanda’s recent Most independent observers, in-
history. cluding the African Development
Bank, believe that business will soon
The twentieth century was cata- return to normal in the aftermath of
strophic for Rwanda.  the successful operations. The con-
flict had not only fueled violence and
Few countries have greater cause to killings, but also disrupted the econ-
lament the ravages of colonialism. omy, especially in the gas-rich Cabo
Delgado region where the militants
A society riven asunder, intermit- held sway for about four years.
tent genocidal massacres, scattering
Rwandans to every corner of the Rwanda has in essence accom-
world as they sought refuge, culmi- plished its mission, although the war
nating in the 1994 genocide against is far from over.
the Tutsi.
It has matched its adherence to
The RPF is originally a movement Pan-Africanism with action. There
formed to transform Rwanda, work- will no doubt be further agreements,
ing inclusively with Rwandans in a perhaps entailing a training mission
peaceful manner, but, if need be, by for their Mozambican counterparts.
force of arms. But for now, it is mission accom-
plished – it has stopped the insur-
That is what it did, but it was not gents dead in their tracks, at least
easy. It found itself having to stop a thus far.
genocide, in which more than a mil-
lion men, women and children were For Mozambique, the priority will
left to their fate by a world that led be to facilitate and guarantee the safe
the killers to believe they could mur- return of thousands of people driven
der at will, with complete impunity. out of their homes by the conflict.
The country will then need to reflect
It is from these historic experiences and look deeper into the internal is-
that the RPF’s armed wing, the RPA, sues, the root causes of the insurgency
became the cornerstone of the cur- and then address them at that level to
rent Rwandan military.  ensure a lasting solution to the prob-
lem.
Understanding the RPA’s military
experience and achievements would Professional as Rwanda’s forces
shed more light in analysing the cur- may be, Mozambique will have to ask
rent military missions and deploy- itself why it took the RDF barely a
month to see off an insurgency that
had held the country hostage amid
violence, killings and destruction for
the better part of the last four years.

- The New Times in Rwanda

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The NewsHawks TheNewsHawksLive www.thenewshawks.com [email protected]

NewsHawks The Big Debate Page 37

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

GABRIEL GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ Why Allende had to die

IT was towards the end of 1969 that Forty years have passed since the Chilean president Salvador Allende died in La Moneda Palace in Santiago, attempting to defend
three generals from the Pentagon dined himself with an AK-47 he had been given by Fidel Castro. Here, in a piece from the New Statesman published in March 1974, the
with five Chilean military officers in a Nobel Prize-winning novelist Gabriel García Márquez explores Allende’s record in Chile, his rivals’ dealings with the United States
house in the suburbs of Washington. and the rise of his successor — the army general Augusto Pinochet.
The host was Lieutenant Colonel Ge-
rardo López Angulo, assistant air at- The last known photograph of Allende alive, La Moneda Palace, 1 April 1973. Photograph: Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images
taché of the Chilean Military Mission
to the United States, and the Chilean I know anything about, the southern once every two days and a devastating cale for a fantastic social and political Brazil.
guests were his colleagues from the oth- portion of the world from the Pyrenees earthquake every presidential term. The espionage operation: Project Camelot. On 4 September 1970, as had been
er branches of service. The dinner was in on down.” By that time, the contin- least apocalyptic of geologists think of This was to have been a secret investi-
honour of the new director of the Chil- gency plan had been completed to its Chile not as a country of the mainland gation that would have precise ques- foreseen, the socialist and Freemason
ean Air Force Academy, General Carlos smallest details and it is impossible to but as a cornice of the Andes in a misty tionnaires put to people of all social physician Allende was elected president
Toro Mazote, who had arrived the day suppose that Kissinger or President sea and believe that the whole of its na- levels, all professions and trades, even of the republic. The contingency plan
before on a study mission. The eight Nixon himself was not aware of it. tional territory is condemned to disap- in the furthest reaches of a number of was not put into effect, however. The
officers dined on fruit salad, roast veal pear in some future cataclysm. Latin American nations, in order to most widespread explanation is also
and peas and drank the warm-heart- Chile is a narrow country, some establish in a scientific way the degree the most ludicrous: someone made a
ed wines of their distant homeland to 2,660 miles long and an average of 119 Chileans are very much like their of political development and the social mistake in the Pentagon and requested
the south, where birds glittered on the wide, and with ten million exuberant country in a certain way. They are the tendencies of various social groups. The 200 visas for a purported navy chorus,
beaches while Washington wallowed in inhabitants, almost three million of most pleasant people on the continent, questionnaire destined for the military which, in reality, was to be made up of
snow, and they talked mostly in English whom live in the metropolitan area they like being alive and they know contained the same question that the specialists in government overthrow;
about the only thing that seemed to of Santiago, the capital. The country’s how to live in the best way possible and Chilean officers would hear again at the however, there were several admirals
interest Chileans in those days: the ap- greatness is derived not from the num- even a little more; but they have a dan- dinner in Washington: what will their among them who couldn’t sing a single
proaching presidential elections of the ber of virtues it possesses but, rather, gerous tendency toward scepticism and position be if communism comes to note. That gaffe, it is to be supposed,
following September. Over dessert, one from its many singularities. The only intellectual speculation. A Chilean once power? It was a wild query. determined the postponement of the
of the Pentagon generals asked what the thing it produces with any absolute se- told me on a Monday, “No Chilean adventure. The truth is that the proj-
Chilean army would do if the candidate riousness is copper ore but that ore is believes tomorrow is Tuesday,” and he Chile had long been a favoured area ect had been evaluated in depth: oth-
of the left, someone like Salvador Allen- the best in the world and its volume of didn’t believe it, either. Still, even with for research by North American social er American agencies, particularly the
de, were elected. General Toro Mazote production is surpassed only by that that deep-seated incredulity – or thanks scientists. The age and strength of its CIA, and the American ambassador
replied: “We’ll take Moneda Palace in of the United States and the Soviet to it, perhaps – the Chileans have at- popular movement, the tenacity and to Chile felt that the contingency plan
half an hour, even if we have to burn Union. It also produces wine as good tained a degree of natural civilisation, intelligence of its leaders and the eco- was too strictly a military operation and
it down.” as the European varieties but not much a political maturity and a level of cul- nomic and social conditions themselves did not take current political and social
of it is exported. Its per capita income ture, that sets them apart from the rest afforded a glimpse of the country’s des- conditions in Chile into account.
One of the guests was General Ernes- of $650 ranks among the highest in of the region. Of the three Nobel Prizes tiny. One didn’t require the findings of
to Baeza, now director of national secu- Latin America but, traditionally, almost in Literature that Latin America has a Project Camelot to venture the be- Indeed, the Popular Unity victo-
rity in Chile, the one who led the attack half the gross national prod­ uct has been won, two have gone to Chileans, one of lief that Chile was a prime candidate ry did not bring on the social panic
on the presidential palace during the accounted for by fewer than 300,000 whom, Pablo Neruda, was the greatest to be the second socialist republic in US intelligence had expected. On the
coup last September and gave the order people. poet of this century. Latin America after Cuba. The aim of contrary, the new government’s inde-
to burn it. Two of his subordinates in the United States, therefore, was not pendence in international affairs and
those earlier days were to become fa- In 1932, Chile became the first so- Kissinger may have known this simply to prevent the government of its decisiveness in economic matters
mous in the same operation: General cialist republic in the Americas and, when he said that he knew nothing Allende from coming to power in or- immediately created an atmosphere of
Augusto Pinochet, president of the mil- with the enthusiastic support of the about the southern part of the world. In der to protect American investments. social celebration.
itary junta, and General Javier Palacios. workers, the government attempted any case, US intelligence agencies knew The larger aim was to repeat the most
Also at the table was Air Force Briga- the nationalisation of copper and coal. a great deal more. In 1965, without fruitful operation that imperialism has During the first year, 47 industri-
dier-General Sergio Figueroa Gutiérrez, The experiment lasted only for 13 days. Chile’s permission, the nation became ever helped bring off in Latin America: al firms were nationalised, along with
now minister of public works and the Chile has an earth tremor on average the staging centre and a recruiting lo- most of the banking system. Agrarian
intimate friend of another member of reform saw the expropriation and in-
the military junta, Air Force General
Gustavo Leigh, who ordered the rocket
bombing of the presidential palace. The
last guest was Admiral Arturo Tronco-
so, now naval governor of Valparaíso,
who carried out the bloody purge of
progressive naval officers and was one
of those who launched the military up-
rising of September 11.

That dinner proved to be a histor-
ic meeting between the Pentagon and
high-ranking officers of the Chilean
military services. On other successive
meetings, in Washington and Santiago,
a contingency plan was agreed upon,
according to which those Chilean mili-
tary men who were bound most closely,
heart and soul, to US interests would
seize power in the event of Allende’s
Popular Unity coalition victory in the
elections.

The plan was conceived cold-blood-
edly, as a simple military operation,
and was not a consequence of pressure
brought to bear by International Tele-
phone and Telegraph. It was spawned
by much deeper reasons of world poli-
tics. On the North American side, the
organisation set in motion was the De-
fence Intelligence Agency of the Pen-
tagon but the one in actual charge was
the naval intelligence agency, under the
higher political direction of the CIA,
and the National Security Council. It
was quite the normal thing to put the
navy and not the army in charge of
the project, for the Chilean coup was
to coincide with Operation Unitas,
which was the name given to the joint
manoeuvres of American and Chilean
naval units in the Pacific. Those ma-
noeuvres were held at the end of each
September, the same month as the elec-
tions, and the appearance on land and
in the skies of Chile of all manner of
war equipment and men well trained
in the arts and sciences of death was
natural.

During that period, Henry Kissinger
had said in private to a group of Chil-
eans: “I am not interested in, nor do

Page 38 The Big Debate NewsHawks

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

corporation into communal property pretext of protesting rationing, gallop- the opposition centred on the hope of class make-up of the higher cadres in just begun.
of six million acres of land former- ing inflation and the demands made changing the balance of power in the its favour. But Allende felt more secure In that final battle, with the country
ly held by the large landowners. The by the poor, took to the streets, beating armed forces in favour of one or the among the Carabineros, an armed force
inflationary process was slowed, full their empty pots and pans. It wasn’t by other. The final move was hallucina- that was popular and peasant in its ori- at the mercy of uncontrolled and un-
employment was attained and wages chance, quite the contrary; it was very tory in its perfection: 48 hours before gins and that was under the direct com- foreseen forces of subversion, Allende
received a cash rise of 30 per cent. significant that that street spectacle of the coup, the opposition managed mand of the president of the republic. was still bound by legality. The most
All copper nationalised silver foxes and flowered hats took place to disqualify all high-ranking officers Indeed, the junta had to go six places dramatic contradiction of his life was
The previous government, headed by on the same afternoon that Fidel Cas- supporting Allende and to promote in down the seniority list of the force be- being at the same time the congenital
the Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei, tro was ending a 30-day visit that had their places, one by one, in a series of fore it found a senior officer who would foe of violence and a passionate revo-
had begun steps towards nationalising brought an earthquake of social mobili- inconceivable gambits, all of the officers support the coup. The younger officers lutionary. He believed that he had re-
copper, though he called it “Chileanisa- sation of government supporters. who had been present at the dinner in dug themselves in at the junior officers’ solved the contradiction with the hy-
tion”. All the plan did was to buy up 51 Seed of destruction Washington. school in Santiago and held out for four pothesis that conditions in Chile would
per cent of US-held mining properties President Allende understood then — days until they were wiped out. permit a peaceful evolution toward so-
and for the mine of El Teniente alone it and he said so — that the people held At that moment, however, the po- cialism under bourgeois legality. Expe-
paid a sum greater than the total book the government but they did not hold litical chess game had got out of the That was the best-known battle of rience taught him too late that a system
value of that facility. the power. The phrase was more bitter control of its players. Dragged along the secret war that broke out inside cannot be changed by a government
than it seemed and also more alarming, by an irreversible dialectic, they them- military posts on the eve of the coup. without power.
Popular Unity, with a single legal for inside himself Allende carried a le- selves ended up as pawns in a much Officers who refused to support the
act supported in Congress by all of the galist germ that held the seed of his own larger game of chess, one much more coup and those who failed to carry out That belated disillusionment must
nation’s popular parties, recovered for destruction: a man who fought to the complex and politically more import- the orders for repression were murdered have been the force that impelled him
the nation all copper deposits worked death in defence of legality, he would ant than any mere scheme hatched in without pity by the instigators. Entire to resist to the death, defending the
by the subsidiaries of the American have been capable of walking out of La conjunction by imperialism and the regiments mutinied, both in Santiago flaming ruins of a house that was not
companies Anaconda and Kennecott. Moneda Palace with his head held high reaction against the government of the and in the provinces, and they were his own, a sombre mansion that an Ital-
Without indemnification: the govern- if the Congress had removed him from people. It was a terrifying class con- suppressed without mercy, with their ian architect had built to be a mint and
ment having calculated that the two office within the bounds of the consti- frontation that was slipping out of the leaders massacred as a lesson for the that ended up as a refuge for presidents
companies had made a profit in excess tution. hands of the very people who had pro- troops. without power. He resisted for six hours
of $800m over 15 years. voked it, a cruel and fierce scramble by with a sub-machine gun that Castro
The Italian journalist and politician counterpoised interests, and the final The commandant of the armoured had given him and was the first weapon
The petite bourgeoisie and the mid- Ross­ana Rossanda, who visited Allende outcome had to be a social cataclysm units in Viña del Mar, Colonel Can- that Allende had ever fired.
dle class, the two great social forces that during that period, found him aged, without precedent in the history of the tuarias, was machine-gunned by his
might have supported a military coup tense and full of gloomy premonitions Americas. subordinates. A long time will pass Around four o’clock in the after-
at that moment, were beginning to en- as he talked to her from the yellow before the number of victims of that noon, Major General Javier Palacios
joy unforeseen advantages and not at cretonne couch where, seven months A military coup under those condi- internal butchery will ever be known, managed to reach the second floor with
the expense of the proletariat, as had later, his riddled body was to lie, the tions would not be bloodless. for the bodies were removed from mili- his adjutant, Captain Gallardo, and a
always been the case, but, rather, at the face crushed in by a rifle butt. Then, tary posts in garbage trucks and buried group of officers. There, in the midst
expense of the financial oligarchy and on the eve of the March 1973 elections, Allende knew it. The Chilean armed secretly. All in all, only some 50 senior of the fake Louis XV chairs, the Chi-
foreign capital. The armed forces, as a in which his destiny was at stake, he forces, contrary to what we have been officers could be trusted to head troops nese dragon vases and the Rugendas
social group, have the same origins and would have been content with 36 per led to believe, have intervened in poli- that had been purged beforehand. paintings in the red parlour, Allende
ambitions as the middle class, so they cent of the vote for Popular Unity. And tics every time that their class interests Foreign agents’ role was waiting for them. He was in shirt-
had no motive, not even an alibi, to yet, in spite of runaway inflation, stern have seemed threatened and they have The story of the intrigue has to be past- sleeves, wearing a miner’s helmet and
back the tiny group of coup-minded rationing and the pot-and-pan concert done so with an inordinately repressive ed together from many sources, some no tie, his clothing stained with blood.
officers. Aware of that reality, the Chris- of the merry wives of the upper-class ferocity. The two constitutions that the reliable, some not. Any number of for- He was holding the sub-machine gun
tian Democrats not only did not sup- districts, he received 44 per cent. It was country has had in the past 100 years eign agents seem to have taken part in but he had run low on ammunition.
port the barracks plot at that time but such a spectacular and decisive victory were imposed by force of arms and the the coup. Clandestine sources in Chile
resolutely opposed it, for they knew it that when Allende was alone in his of- recent military coup has been the sixth tell us that the bombing of La Mone- Allende knew General Palacios well.
was unpopular among their own rank fice with his friend and confidant, the uprising in a period of 50 years. da Palace – the technical precision of A few days before, he had told Augusto
and file. journalist Augusto Olivares, he closed which startled the experts – was actu- Olivares that this was a dangerous man
the door and danced a cueca all by The bloodlust of the Chilean army is ally carried out by a team of American with close connections to the American
Their objective was something else himself. part of its birthright, coming from that aerial acrobats who had entered the embassy. As soon as he saw him appear
again: to use any means possible to im- terrible school of hand-to-hand combat country under the screen of Operation on the stairs, Allende shouted at him:
pair the good health of the government For the Christian Democrats, it was against the Araucanian Indians, a strug- Unitas to perform in a flying circus on “Traitor!” and shot him in the hand.
so as to win two-thirds of the seats in proof that the process of social justice gle that lasted 300 years. One of its the coming 18 September, Chile’s na- Fought to the end
Congress in the March 1973 elections. set in motion by the Popular Unity forerunners boasted in 1620 of having tional independence day. There is also According to the story of a witness who
With such a majority, they could vote coalition could not be turned back by killed more than 2,000 people with his evidence that numerous members of asked me not to give his name, the pres-
for the constitutional removal of the legal means but they lacked the vision own hands in a single action. Joaquín secret police forces from neighbouring ident died in an exchange of shots with
president of the republic. to measure the consequences of the Edwards Bello relates in his chronicles countries were infiltrated across the Bo- that gang. Then all the other officers, in
actions they then undertook. For the that during an epidemic of exanthe- livian border and remained in hiding a caste-bound ritual, fired on the body.
The Christian Democrats make up United States, the election was a much matic typhus the army dragged sick until the day of the coup, when they Finally, a non-commissioned officer
a huge organisation cutting across class more serious warning and went beyond people out of their houses and killed unleashed their bloody persecution of smashed in his face with the butt of his
lines, with an authentic popular base the simple interests of expropriated them in a poison bath in order to put political refugees from other countries rifle.
among the mod-­ern industrial prole- firms. It was an inadmissible precedent an end to the plague. of Latin America.
tariat, the small and middle-sized rural for peaceful progress and social change A photograph exists: Juan Enrique
landowners and the petite bourgeoisie for the peoples of the world, particu- During a seven-month civil war in Brazil, the homeland of the head go- Lira, a photographer for the newspa-
and middle class of the cities. Popular larly those in France and Italy, where 1891, 10,000 died in a series of gory rillas, had taken charge of those services. perEl Mercuriotook it. He was the only
Unity, while also inter-class in its make- present conditions make an attempt at encounters. The Peruvians assert that Two years earlier, she had brought off one allowed to photograph the body.
up, was the expression of workers of the an experiment along the lines of Chile during the occupation of Lima in the the reactionary coup in Bolivia, which It was so disfigured that when they
less-favoured proletariat – the agricul- possible. All forces of internal and ex- war of the Pacific, Chilean soldiers meant the loss of substantial support showed the body in its coffin to Señora
tural proletariat – and the lower middle ternal reaction came together to form a sacked the library of Don Ricardo Pal- for Chile and facilitated the infiltration Hortensia Allende, his wife, they would
class of the cities. compact bloc. ma, taking the books not for reading of all manner and means of subversion. not let her uncover the face.
but for wiping their backsides. Part of the loans made to Brazil by the
The Christian Democrats, allied CIA financed final blow History of brutality United States was secretly transferred to He would have been 64 years old
with the extreme right-wing National The truck owners’ strike was the final Popular movements have been sup- Bolivia to finance subversion in Chile. next July. His greatest virtue was follow-
Party, controlled the Congress and the blow. Because of the wild geography of pressed with the same brutality. After ing through but fate could grant him
courts; Popular Unity controlled the the country, the Chilean economy is at the Valparaíso earthquake of 1906, In 1972, a US military advisory only that rare and tragic greatness of
executive. The polarisation of these two the mercy of its transport. To paralyse naval forces wiped out the longshore- group made a trip to La Paz, the aim dying in armed defence of an anachro-
parties was to be, in effect, the polar- trucking is to paralyse the country. It men’s organisation of 8,000 workers. of which has not been revealed. Perhaps nistic booby of bourgeois law, defend-
isation of the country. Curiously, the was easy for the opposition to co-ordi- In Iquique, at the beginning of the it was only coincidental, however, that ing a Supreme Court of Justice that had
Catholic Frei, who doesn’t believe in nate the strike, for the truckers’ guild century, demonstrating strikers tried to a short time after that visit, movements repudiated him but would legitimise
Marxism, was the one who took the was one of the groups most affected by take refuge from the troops and were of troops and equipment took place on his murderers, defending a miserable
best advantage of the class struggle, the the scarcity of replacement parts and, machine-gunned: within ten minutes, the frontier with Chile, giving the Chil- Congress that had declared him illegit-
one who stimulated it and brought it in addition, it found itself threatened there were 2,000 dead. On 2 April ean military yet another opportunity imate but which was to bend compla-
to a head, with an aim to unhinge the by the government’s small pilot pro- 1957, the army broke up a civil distur- to bolster their internal position and cently before the will of the usurpers,
government and plunge the country gramme for providing adequate state bance in the commercial area of San- carry out transfer of personnel and pro- defending the freedom of opposition
into the abyss of demoralisation and trucking services in the extreme south tiago and the number of victims was motions in the chain of command that parties that had sold their souls to fas-
economic disaster. of the nation. The stoppage lasted until never established because the govern- were favourable to the imminent coup. cism, defending the whole moth-eaten
the very end without a single moment ment sneaked the bodies away. During paraphernalia of a shitty system that he
The economic blockade by the Unit- of relief because it was financed with a strike at the El Salvador mine during Finally, on September 11, while Op- had proposed abolishing but without a
ed States, because of expropriation cash from outside. “The CIA flooded the government of Eduardo Frei, a mil- eration Unitas was going forward, the shot being fired.
without indemnification, did the rest. the country with dollars to support the itary patrol opened fire on a demonstra- original plan drawn up at the dinner in
All kinds of goods are manufactured in strike by the bosses and . . . foreign cap- tion to break it up and killed six people, Washington was carried out, three years The drama took place in Chile, to
Chile, from automobiles to toothpaste, ital found its way down into the forma- among them some children and a preg- behind schedule but precisely as it had the greater woe of the Chileans, but it
but this industrial base has a false iden- tion of a black market,” Pablo Neruda nant woman. been conceived: not as a conventional will pass into history as something that
tity: in the 160 most important firms, wrote to a friend in Europe. One week barracks coup but as a devastating op- has happened to us all, children of this
60 per cent of the capital was foreign before the coup, oil, milk and bread The post commander was an obscure eration of war. age, and it will remain in our lives for
and 80 per cent of the basic materials had run out. 52-year-old general, the father of five ever.
came from abroad. In addition, the During the last days of Popular Uni- children, a geography teacher and the It had to be that way, for it was not
country needed $300m a year in order ty, with the economy unhinged and the author of several books on military sub- simply a matter of overthrowing a re- —New Statesman.
to import consumer goods and another country on the verge of civil war, the jects: Augusto Pinochet. gime but one of implanting the Hell- *About the writer: Gabriel García
$450m to pay the interest on its foreign manoeuvring of the government and dark seeds brought from Brazil, until Márquez worked as a journalist in
debt. The myth of the legalism and the in Chile there would be no trace of Colombia before his debut novella,
gentleness of that brutal army was in- the political and social structure that “Leaf Storm”, was published in 1955.
But Chile’s urgent needs were ex- vented by the Chilean bourgeoisie in had made Popular Unity possible. The He was awarded the Nobel Prize in
traordinary and went much deeper. The their own interest. Popular Unity kept harshest phase, unfortunately, had only Literature in 1982. He died aged 87
jolly ladies of the bourgeoisie, under the it alive with the hope of changing the in 2014.

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 39

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

HANNAH J DAWSON/LIZ FOUKSMAN/ Work as we knew it has changed.
WILLIAM MONTEITH Time to think beyond the wage

WHEN people hear of “work”, it is Unemployed men seek casual jobs from passers-by on a road in Cape Town, South Africa.
usually waged or salaried employment.
versal basic income. his time. come, but continue to see wage work vital activities as equally valuable to
Governments and commentators The appeal of being your own boss Self-employment was precarious as a more legitimate source of money, wage work.
rarely speak of the work of  hustling, The South African government con- as well as the basis for social, psycho-
child-rearing or subsistence farming. tinues to promote wage employment but offered him what formal employ- logical and physical well-being. Conclusion
Instead, work is generally referred to in in its economic and education policies ment could not. This was the ability to The standard employment of the mid-
the narrowly economic and legal sense based on the assumption that infor- weave together diverse forms of work- For instance, an elderly woman 20th century is unlikely to return.
as non-domestic, legally codified, paid mal self-employment is the last resort ing and socialising. The social embed- who cared for ten children and grand- In any case, this model of work was
employment. of the unemployed. Yet many young dedness of informal entrepreneurship children insisted that the best thing only available to a select population of
people are willing to take on the risks – which provides alternative forms of the government could do would be able-bodied white men in Europe and
Yet this model of work is the global of informal entrepreneurship over a identity and association – makes it to build a factory next to the village. North America. It is time to imagine
exception. low-paying or dead-end job in the for- preferable to the alienation of many A factory job would give her a way to new futures of work from the perspec-
mal economy. low-end jobs. “get out and be active”, since there was tive of the global majority for whom
Wage employment was invented by Dreaming about wage work “nothing to do” in the village. wage employment has never been the
European states in the 18th and 19th Hannah Dawson’s  research  with Informal entrepreneurship might yield norm. These futures include more re-
centuries to generate an industrial young men in Zandspruit, an infor- rewards for some. Yet the ideal of wage These findings suggest that even the distributive economies which provide
workforce. It later provided social pro- mal settlement north of Johannes- work still casts a long shadow, and very people who are failed by the cur- people with the  time and security  to
tections such as sick pay, holidays and burg, highlights the appeal of “being shapes what people demand and ex- rent system of wage labour find it hard create alternative forms of identity,
pensions to groups of predominant- your own boss” on the urban margins. pect even in places where it has long to imagine other forms of activity, in- meaning and community outside
ly able-bodied white male workers Her chapter in  Beyond the Wage  ar- been scarce. cluding care work, as equally worth- wage work.
through what became known as the gues that what many informal entre- while. Equally difficult is imagining
“standard employment relationship”. preneurs value most about working Liz Fouksman’s chapter shows that ways of collectively “doing something” —The Conversation.
But this relationship was  only ever for themselves is the ability to fashion in rural Namibia, where stable formal that are not linked to paid work.
available to a minority of people out- a life and a livelihood on their own employment is very rare, that’s what *About the writers: Hannah J.
side Western Europe and North Amer- terms. For instance, Hloni, who re- people still wanted more than direct This longing for the intangible ben- Dawson is a senior researcher at the
ica. pairs cars from his yard, did not start cash transfers or social grants. Such efits of a “proper” job reflects a deep Southern Centre for Inequality Stud-
his informal mechanic business be- “good” jobs would be the best way to attachment to a 20th century vision ies, University of the Witwatersrand,
Recent developments in the organ- cause of economic necessity. He did so spend time, chase away boredom and of full, stable and well-paid employ- South Africa. Liz Fouksman is a lec-
isation of production have led to the to escape a job where he felt degraded earn money. ment — though for many this vision turer (assistant professor) at King’s
decline of wage employment across and exploited. What he valued most never reflected reality, and factory jobs College in London, UK. William
much of the world. Historical forms about working for himself was his Even at Otjivero, the village which are often poorly paid,  dangerous  and Monteith is a senior lecturer in hu-
of precarious work, such as farming sense of autonomy and control over was the site of the 2008-9  basic in- precarious. man geography at Queen Mary, Uni-
and market trading, have been ac- come pilot in Namibia, the long-term versity of London, UK.
companied by more recent waves of unemployed strongly support basic in- It is time not only to create new
casualisation. This has left a growing ways of ensuring livelihood, but to
proportion of the workforce insecure, also  recognise care  and other socially
poor and without social protection.

At the same time, digital technol-
ogies have facilitated the emergence
of new forms of precarious (self)
employment in the burgeoning  “gig
economy”.

Today, the International Labour
Organisation estimates that less than a
third of the global working-age popu-
lation are “wage and salaried workers”.
Yet, many of the concepts that govern-
ments and researchers use to describe
work – “informal”, “domestic” or “un-
paid” – continue to assume that wage
employment is the norm.

Consequently, the ways in which
people think about “work” are increas-
ingly out of step with the everyday
realities of work for most people in
the world.The dominance of waged
or salaried work in social policies
and political visions of the future has
damaging consequences. For exam-
ple, it produces  social policies which
exclude unwaged workers, and edu-
cation programmes  which prioritise
skills for jobs that do not exist. At the
same time, it slows the development
of more inclusive redistributive pro-
grammes, such as unconditional cash
transfers, which better respond to the
reality of wageless life.

Work beyond the wage
In a new edited volume,  Beyond the
Wage: Ordinary Work in Diverse
Economies, we take up the urgent
challenge of understanding “work”
from the perspective of the global ma-
jority for whom wage employment has
never been the norm.

How do people make a living in
wage-scarce economies? What de-
mands do they make? And what forms
of organisation and intervention are
required to ensure their diverse needs
are met?

Beyond the Wage  uses case stud-
ies from around the world to answer
these questions. Two of these are from
South Africa and Namibia, countries
with high inequality and endemic un-
employment, but also experimenting
with extensive  social grants  and  uni-

Page 40 Africa News NewsHawks

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

Zambia’s “calculator boy” president
set to disappoint many of his voters

TENDAI MARIMA

CASTING the dice for the sixth
time, Hakainde Hichilema — fond-
ly referred to as HH — was recently
sworn in as  Zambia’s seventh Presi-
dent. A few days into the role, he is
already making sweeping reforms in
leadership with a new team of eco-
nomic advisers    reviewing Zambia’s
tax regime, a newly-appointed cab-
inet and changing the top military
and police officials.

For Zambians though, what they
are keenly watching for is to see if the
man who ran under the slogan, “Bal-
ly (rich father) will fix it” can indeed
fix  Zambia. During his years of try-
ing for the presidency he was derid-
ed as “calculator boy,” because he’s a
trained accountant whose campaigns
have always been strong on the econ-
omy.

Hichilema has promised he can
bring the country out of its US$12.8
billion  debt mess  and bring growth
of 10% per annum to the southern
African nation within five years. The
road ahead requires him to focus on
some priority areas and will call for
austerity measures that will affect the
struggling population.

Getting Zambia out of its economic Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema.
and debt crises
The youth who were a major compo- uring the civil service wage bill.” the people have been saying we need Hichilema has promised to “facil- panies  challenged  the late President
nent of his landslide victory against “The administration will need to to tax the mines more so Hichilema’s itate local ownership”, implying that Levy Mwanawasa over changing tax-
the incumbent Edgar Lungu were likely to do that because he has to put artisanal miners will have to be li- es.
driven by unemployment, political find a way to ring-fence social spend- Zambia’s interests first. However, he’ll censed and formalized, but according
disenchantment, and economic hard- ing, which declined year-on-year un- do it with much more stability and to Grieve Chelwa, a Zambian econ- Earlier this year, the government
ship. Dealing with larger economic der the previous administration, and consistency than what we’ve seen in omist with the New School of New stirred controversy when it an-
issues will require austerity measures mitigate the negative consequences his predecessor,” says Chelwa. York, this will not be an easy process. nounced a full takeover of operations
that will further squeeze a struggling for the country’s poorest,” she says. Facilitating local ownership in the at Mopani Copper Mines. While de-
population. Reconfiguring Zambia’s relation- mining sector  “These are people who feel they tails of the US$1.5 billion purchase
ship with mining companies Across the Copperbelt, the political have indigenous rights to the land of the copper and cobalt exporting
The key challenge that they will As the continent’s second largest pro- and economic heartland of the coun- and these are people who’ve found a mine were sketchy, it seemed to allow
face is that the restructuring required ducer of copper, Zambia could be in a try, hundreds of artisanal miners, source of livelihood at a time when Zambia more control over its resourc-
by the IMF will likely be unpopular, fortuitous position as the world shifts locally known as “jerabos”,  have oc- there’s huge youth unemployment es, but it sank the country deeper into
including rolling back subsidies in to electric cars to reduce global carbon cupied at least two open mine pits at in the country. Formalizing them is debt. Murkiness around the deal cut
electricity, petrol prices and reconfig- emissions. Electric vehicles use much Luanshya Copper Mines since June a challenge because they must mine with the majority Swiss and Canadi-
uring the civil service wage bill. more copper than fuel consuming claiming they were granted access according to regulations and not oc- an shareholders caused unease over
cars which use combustion engines by a government official as part of cupy [the mines.]” the country’s burgeoning debt.
Zambia’s economic challenges are and this is expected to increase de- a youth empowerment programme. Balancing free markets with Zam-
massive. Last year, Zambia became mand and production of the metal. Jerabos’ occupation of various open bian resource nationalism Chelwa says,  “HH has been criti-
the first African country to default on While investment may increase with mines has in the past disrupted var- Historically, resource nationalism has cised in the past for having a free mar-
repayments to lenders. Growth  con- the rising global demand for copper, ious government deals with mining been the modus operandi of govern- ket approach that favors private busi-
tracted by 4.9%  and inflation rose relations with mining investors from companies. ments in an effort to ensure greater ness and capitalist needs over public
to 17.4% in 2020 partly due to the China, India, and the West may need control and benefit from foreign interest, but over the years there’s
Covid-19 pandemic and the in- to be reconfigured in Zambia’s favour. Under the previous administration, mineral exploitation. In pursuit of been a big change in HH. His cam-
creasingly unsustainable national the government’s relationships with socialist ideals and populism, Zam- paign was focused on putting Zambi-
debt. But with international confi- The extractives industry accounts the jerabos were oftentimes mutual- bia’s founding president Kenneth ans first so we can expect to see more
dence in Hichilema’s presidency and for more than  75% of the country’s ly beneficial. Gangs of jerabos, who Kaunda  nationalised the mines in of that in his presidency.”
the strengthening of the local Kwacha export earnings and 10% of its gross are known to use violence to stake the late 1960s and ‘70s by acquiring
since his election, securing a debt re- domestic product, according to the their claims, were part of the patron- equity holding in a number of for- There is cautious optimism for the
structuring plan with the IMF  may Zambia Extractive Industries Trans- age network designed to strengthen eign-owned firms, but a global slump new regime even though it is clear
be on the horizon. This however will parency Initiative (EITI). However, the PF’s grip on power in the east, in oil prices created a ripple effect in that some of the tough decisions
not be a silver bullet for the challeng- after decades of haphazard changes, as occasionally, the small-scale min- the copper market and prices took a that must be made will leave his vot-
es plaguing Zambians. industry experts urge stability in the ers  were granted access and licenses nosedive and remained low for de- ers disappointed. Only time will tell
country’s mining tax regime in order to disused mines, which analysts say, cades. For years, Zambia battled deep whether Bally—one of the country’s
Despite the promise of a new to gain investor confidence. Since helped the Patriotic Front sustain po- economic recession, but with copper wealthiest millionaires—can ensure
dawn, fixing the southern African 2001, mining taxes have  changed at litical support in a key voter region. prices rebounding and power chang- “no Zambian should go to bed hun-
nation’s greater economy may see Hi- least once every 18 months  accord- But with Lungu out of power, the ing hands in 1991 and 2002, the gry” as he vowed to a roaring stadium
chilema and the United Party for Na- ing to Zambia Chamber of Mines relationship of convenience presents country embarked on a privatization audience in his inaugural speech.
tional Development (UPND) make (ZCM.) a challenge for Hichilema who wants program which saw multinational
some unpopular decisions, accord- to boost investor confidence and em- companies buying up stakes, but it —Quartz Africa.
ing to Nicole Beardsworth, a politics “Hichilema’s likely to offer more power the people. was not without controversy as com-
lecturer at the University of Witwa- policy stability because he comes from *About the writer: Marima is a
tersrand, South Africa. a background of fiscal discipline, but freelance journalist and academic
researcher covering sub-Saharan
“The key challenge that they will Africa.
face is that the restructuring required
by the IMF will likely be unpopular,
including rolling back subsidies in
electricity, petrol prices and reconfig-

NewsHawks Africa News Page 41

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021 How election observers facilitated
Zambia’s smooth change of power
ROBERT MACDONALD
ently cordial  meeting  between Lun-
ZAMBIAN voters went to the polls gu and Hichilema, pictures of which
on 12 August to vote in presidential, were released to the public.
parliamentary and local government
elections. From left: Commonwealth observer mission lead Jakaya Kikwete; former Zambian president Rupiah Banda; former Zambian Persistent questions about observer
president Edgar Lungu; Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema; AU observer mission lead Ernest Bai Koroma. missions
By the time the final results were When elections are won by the oppo-
announced in the early hours of 16 lowing some discussion, the electoral munity and other observation groups who had been primarily responsible sition, there tends to be less criticism
August, it was already clear that op- commission corrected its figures. as early as 13 August. This helped for attempting to manipulate the and scrutiny of observer missions as
position leader Hakainde Hichilema inform behind-the-scenes diplomacy election. Along with CCMG  statis- the result is assumed to be credible.
and his United Party for National The most prominent domestic aimed at ensuring that Lungu accept- tics that showed PF agents had been This has been the case in Zambia so
Development (UPND) had won group, the Christian Churches Mon- ed the election outcome. present in almost all polling stations, far. However, some of the persistent
convincingly. itoring Group (CCMG), prepared this served to undermine Lungu’s problems with election observation
a parallel vote tabulation (PVT) with As results began to flow, it was ev- claims and to assuage voters. were still evident.
Ahead of the election, there had technical assistance from the US- ident there had been a huge swing
been much speculation, that regard- based National Democratic Institute towards the UPND and that it would These statements also likely added International groups spent little
less of the outcome, the incumbent (NDI). By law, they were unable go on to win a majority. Whether to the diplomatic pressure on Lun- time in the country before the elec-
would attempt to cling to power to make their findings public until Lungu would concede was another gu to concede.  These negotiations tion and, overall, were still dispropor-
through  authoritarian means. In the all the official results had been con- matter. Indeed, on 14 August, the involved former Zambian president tionately concentrated in urban areas,
end, however, Edgar Lungu conceded firmed. Nonetheless, the CCMG incumbent  alleged  that the election Rupiah Banda as well as former particularly Lusaka. The  AU,  Com-
quickly and congratulated his suc- was prepared to make its tabulation had not been “free and fair”, claim- Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete monwealth, and some smaller re-
cessor openly. At a time when there public sooner if early ECZ announce- ing his party’s agents had been chased and former Sierra Leonean president gional observation groups all released
are  mounting questions  about the ments were not consistent with their away from polling stations in UPND Ernest Bai Koroma, from the Com- statements that were mild or vague
future of election monitoring, how numbers or if the commission did strongholds.  Unfortunately for Lun- monwealth and African Union ob- in their criticisms of the significant
much are observer missions to thank not meet its self-imposed deadline of gu, at around the same time he was server missions respectively. problems in the pre-election and
for this smooth transition of power? announcing results within 72 hours making this argument, international campaign periods. These missions, as
The role of observers in Zambia’s of the polls closing. In the end, the observer groups were issuing their They persuaded Lungu to step well as the EU’s, released their prelim-
transition PVT, which proved to be highly accu- own preliminary statements. The Eu- down without opening a court case, inary statements before the election
Credit for the election victory primar- rate, was not required to contest the ropean Union’s mission was the most which would have prolonged the pe- results were announced despite this
ily belongs to the UPND, who ran a official results. However, it was shared critical of the ruling party, making it riod of uncertainty and could have having created problems for them on
well-organised campaign, and the with members of the diplomatic com- clear that it was PF, not the UPND, led to violence. The three former other previous missions.
voters who turned out in huge num- presidents then facilitated an appar-
bers and queued for as much as 12 And there were questions about
hours to cast their ballots. Nonethe- the partiality of local observers, with
less, observers also played a key role some domestic monitoring groups
in events that unfolded around elec- being accused of siding with Hichi-
tion day. A limited number of inter- lema.
national “observers”, who were  per-
mitted  only to gather information Observers played a critical role in
but not intervene, were present in Zambia’s successful election, but these
a small fraction of polling stations. ongoing shortcomings mean ques-
Meanwhile, thousands of domestic tions about the future of election ob-
“monitors”, who were empowered to servation will not go away soon – es-
raise concerns to polling station staff, pecially with the court annulments of
covered much more of the country. elections in Malawi and Kenya still
relatively fresh in the memory.
The UPND also deployed a large,
internally-vetted and well-trained —African Arguments.
network of party agents to polling *About the writer: Dr Robert
stations. The  decision  of the Elec- Macdonald is a research fellow at
toral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) the Centre of African Studies, Uni-
to announce local results at polling versity of Edinburgh, Scotland. He
stations as well as constituency tab- is currently working on the ES-
ulation centres – a measure lobbied RC-funded  “Local Perceptions and
for by observer groups and others – Media Representations of Election
helped ensure these agents could pro- Observation in Africa” project.
vide the party with accurate results
to compare to those announced at
the central collation centre in Lusa-
ka. This allowed the UPND’s chair-
man for elections, Gary Nkombo, to
dramatically challenge the first result
the ECZ tried to declare, pointing to
a discrepancy that favoured PF. Fol-

THE military junta that managed a Post-coup Guinea faces ‘a very capital outflows.
bloodless coup just over a week ago in long path back to democracy’ Addressing poverty and structural
Guinea has started its four-day consul-
tation with civil society members, dip- at US$140 billion, and has one of the excesses of abuse and power, they have African Union (AU) as well as the in- inequalities, including ones that touch
lomats, politicians and religious and largest bauxite deposits in the world, never really been able to deal with that ternational community as a whole will on ethnic and gender are key, says Ka-
business leaders. the source of aluminium.   transformation of power in making it ask as guarantors for democracy. goro, citing the Open Government
more democratic, in making econo- Partnership as a framework for guiding
Under the leadership of  Lieu- “For the average Guinean, hav- mies more democratic,” he says. Both Ecowas and the AU have sus- Guinea into a more democratic future.
tenant-Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, ing diamonds, gold, uranium, and of pended Guinea’s membership, calling
a former French legionnaire who course oil, hasn’t translated into a qual- “They’re not trained and wired that for a swift democratic transition. “The release of political prisoners is
was  trained by the US armed forces, ity of life that they can compare to the way.” a positive development but needs to be
the junta called the conference in order rest of their West African neighbours,” “Guineans are the primary actors, accompanied by other steps to protect
to get input from Guineans themselves says Kagoro. The coup situation in Guinea is but Guinea’s too important to be left human rights, including credible elec-
in the transition back to civilian rule. Military coup, not necessarily demo- unique, because while Mali and earli- to Guineans alone, because of the huge tions.”
cratic transition er, Burkina Faso, have to deal with an corporate interest in Guinea, which is
Creating this bridge back to democ- The talks taking place are set to give ongoing security situation, Guinea has much more powerful than the coun- Condé has been accused of  sti-
racy is better than nothing, but the a timetable of elections and perhaps its wealth of economic resources that try,” Kagoro says. fling the opposition, as well as human
number of challenges that confront reforms as Guinea returns to constitu- makes aiding the West African country rights and access to justice  —  im-
Guinea today is colossal, according to tional order. more palatable. Corporate interest “can almost out- portant pillars that must be restored
Brian Kagoro, a Johannesburg-based do what civil society is able to do in if Guinea is to return to good gover-
lawyer and independent governance Condé was accused of not only “Don’t forget that the Guinean army two-hour blocks, or even if you gave nance.
expert. quashing dissent and violating human are heavily interested and invested in them two-month blocks,” he adds, re-
rights, but of changing presidential the economy — if not through bribes, ferring to the time given by the junta to “The unrest generated by the recent
“Comprehensive state reforms take term limits through a constitutional through all sorts of benefits from some various groups during the conference overthrow of the government should
years,” Kagoro tells RFI, noting that referendum last year. If the precedent of the natural resource extractions,” this week. not create a void in the protection of
while deposed president Alpha Condé in Mali after two military coups d’état says Kagoro. Good governance checklist fundamental rights and freedoms,”
is accused of repression, corruption are anything to go by, says Kagoro, ci- As with a number of other countries says Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Africa re-
and human rights abuses, there were vilian rule could remain elusive. He maintains that in order for Guin- rich in natural resources, those in searcher at Human Rights Watch.
a number of issues that pre-dated his ea to emerge from this coup in better charge will need to fight corruption by
presidency 11 years ago. “While militaries have dealt with form will depend on how the regional reversing the resource curse and illicit “The new authorities should ensure
groups, the Economic Community of that the human rights of all Guineans
“This is a state that became highly West African States (Ecowas) and the are  respected, including their right to
criminalised and very corrupt and in- vote freely in elections,” she added.
competent, presiding over a very poor
people in a country that’s rich in ex- She hailed the junta’s release of 79
tractive resources,” he says. political prisoners earlier this month,
but called on them release the more
Guinea is the site of the Simandou than 200 political prisoners who re-
Mountains, iron ore deposits estimated main detained.

—rfi.

Page 42 World News NewsHawks
CHINA has told the US, the UK and
Australia to abandon their “cold war” Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021
mentality or risk harming their own
interests after the three countries un- China warns US-UK-Australia
veiled a new defence cooperation pact. pact could ‘hurt own interests’

The trilateral security partnership, US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announce Aukus and nuclear-powered submarine deal.
named Aukus, was  announced on
Thursday by the three nations’ lead- more aggressive in the region, includ- the US and the UK have stabbed her ous”, but the prime minister, Jacinda to those who thought the US was pull-
ers via video link, and will include an ing near-daily incursions into Taiwan’s in the back in Australia. C’est la vie.” Ardern, said it “in no way changes” ex- ing back and the propaganda claiming
18-month plan to provide Australia air defence zone. There are growing isting intelligence arrangements with Washington wasn’t a reliable ally.”
with nuclear-powered submarines. fears that confrontation in the South Araud also appeared to question the three nations or the fifth member
China Sea or the Taiwan Strait could why Australia did not seek nuclear of the Five Eyes collective, Canada. The former Australia prime minis-
It drew strong political reaction escalate into conflict. submarines from France. ter Paul Keating was excoriating of the
domestically in Australia and the Amid the rise in tensions, China arrangement, saying it tied Australia
UK, and from France, whose existing On Thursday Australia’s prime “A nuc powered submarine would has become increasingly isolated on to any US engagement against Chi-
US$90 billion submarine contract minister, Scott Morrison, extended have been much easier to France to the world stage. Biden and Xi  spoke na. “This arrangement would witness
with Australia has now come to an an “open invitation” for talks with the offer since all its submarines are nuc on the phone last week  for the first a further dramatic loss of Australian
abrupt end. Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, saying he powered,” he tweeted. “The difficulty time since a post-inauguration call, sovereignty, as materiel dependency
was ready to discuss issues. Communi- was precisely to convert nuc powered and recent meetings with foreign of- on the US would rob Australia of any
While none of the three western cations between the two governments into conventional powered ships.” ficials have ended in an impasse or in freedom or choice in any engagement
leaders involved mentioned China, the have essentially frozen, amid worsen- anger. it may deem appropriate,” he said.
arrangement is widely understood  to ing bilateral and trade relations. Morrison defended the now defunct
be in response to Beijing’s expansion- French deal, saying the US$2.4bn The International Campaign to The government of Japan, which is
ism and aggression in the South China France’s foreign minister criticised spent by Australia was not a waste of Abolish Nuclear Weapons (Ican), the aiming to bolster its defence capabili-
Sea and towards Taiwan. The US pres- the deal, which heralds  the end of a money. winner of the 2017 Nobel peace prize, ties against a potential invasion of its
ident, Joe Biden, spoke of the need to US$90bn deal  that Australia made said on Thursday Aukus was  a move southern islands by an increasingly as-
maintain a “free and open Indo-Pacif- with the French company Naval “All of that investment, I believe, in “the wrong direction at the wrong sertive China, has yet to comment on
ic” and to address the region’s “current Group in 2016 to replace its ageing has further built our capability and time”. the new alliance.
strategic environment”. Collins class submarine fleet. France that is consistent with the decision
accused Australia of “going against the that was taken back in 2016 for all the While Australia said the submarines The Asahi Shimbun newspaper
A Chinese foreign ministry spokes- letter and the spirit” of the deal. right reasons to protect Australia’s na- would never be nuclear-armed, Ican said the US, UK and Australia were
person, Zhao Lijian, said the US and tional security interests and has served said a military nuclear reactor built in “clearly coming together with opposi-
UK’s decision to export highly sen- “The American choice to push that purpose,” he said. Adelaide was a “foot in the door” to- tion to China in mind”, adding that
sitive nuclear-powered submarine aside a European ally and partner like wards weapons development. the Biden administration had already
technology to Australia was a case of France from a structural partnership The fleet will be built in Adelaide strengthened cooperation with allies
“extremely irresponsible” double stan- with Australia at a time we are fac- and will make Australia just the sev- Tom Tugendhat, the chair of the in the Indo-Pacific through the Quad
dards. ing unprecedented challenges in the enth nation in the world to have sub- UK Commons foreign affairs com- pact involving Australian, Japan, India
Indo-Pacific region … shows a lack marines powered by nuclear reactors. mittee, said the Aukus arrangement and the US.
“The international community, in- of coherence that France can only Morrison noted they would not carry was clearly in response to China. “Af-
cluding neighbouring countries, have acknowledge and regret,” said the for- nuclear weapons. Australia is a signa- ter years of bullying and trade hostili- The left-leaning Asahi also pointed
risen to question [Australia’s] commit- eign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, and tory to non-proliferation treaties. ty, and watching regional neighbours to the recent mission of the Queen
ment to nuclear non-proliferation,” the defence minister, Florence Parly, in like the Philippines see encroachment Elizabeth aircraft carrier to the region,
Zhao said, according to a translation a joint statement. New Zealand, which has prohib- into their waters, Australia didn’t have where it held its first joint drill with
aired by ABC News. “China will ited nuclear-powered vessels from its a choice, and nor did the US or UK,” the Japanese Self-Defence Forces last
closely monitor the situation.” On Twitter, France’s former ambas- sovereign waters for more than three he said in a series of tweets. month, as evidence that the UK is
sador to the US Gérard Araud went decades, confirmed there would be no “strengthening its involvement in the
Zhao said the three countries further, saying: “France has just been exception for Australia and the sub- “Tonight, Beijing will have realised Indo-Pacific region”.
“should abandon the obsolete cold war reminded this bitter truth by the way marines would be banned from entry. the pressure on Australia has triggered
zero sum mentality and narrow-mind- Analysts noted that  New Zealand’s a response. This is a powerful answer —The Guardian.
ed geopolitical concepts and respect absence from the deal was “conspicu-
regional people’s aspiration and do
more that is conducive to regional
peace and stability and development –
otherwise they will only end up hurt-
ing their own interests”.

Earlier, when asked for his response
to the Aukus announcement, the
Chinese embassy spokesperson, Liu
Pengyu, said countries “should not
build exclusionary blocs targeting or
harming the interests of third parties.
In particular, they should shake off
their cold war mentality and ideologi-
cal prejudice.”

A bellicose English-language edito-
rial in the hawkish Global Times said
Australia had now “turned itself into
an adversary of China”.

The state-backed publication,
which often goes further than official
pronouncements, warned that Aus-
tralia could be targeted as a warning
to others if it acted “with bravado” in
allegiance to the US, or by being “mil-
itarily assertive”.

“Thus, Australian troops are also
most likely to be the first batch of
western soldiers to waste their lives in
the South China Sea,” it said.

Shi Yinhong, a professor of interna-
tional relations at Renmin University
of China, said it was “undoubtedly”
about countering China, amid the
“lowest levels of dialogue” between
Beijing and the three nations. Shi said
the US, the UK and Australia had
been active in addressing what they
saw as China’s expansion of strategic
activities, “so this is real strategic co-
operation between like-minded coun-
tries”.

Shi said the mutual support be-
tween the US and allies for military
buildup would definitely prompt Bei-
jing to respond with “an uncompro-
mising attitude and countermeasures”,
particularly if the future Australian
submarines entered the South China
Sea for joint military exercises.

He said: “China will definitely
counter it, but the question is what
kind of counter it would be.”

China has been accelerating its mil-
itary development and has become far

Porsche just got angrier Being a Fashion Model

&Life Style

STYLE TRAVEL BOOKS ARTS MOTORING

Page 43 Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

More to Enzo
Ishall early exit
than meets the eye

JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA However, Enzo would not be drawn into revealing his plans
for the future. 
VIEWED through the rose-tinted lenses of ordinary folk,
showbiz personalities and other celebrities lead glamorous and “I still do not know what I am getting into and I can never
superb lives, the equivalent of heaven on earth.  say whether or not I am going to be successful,” he said.

Of course, this is far removed from reality. Life, for many Since he emerged, three years ago, like a bullet train out of a
human beings, is never always rosy.  tunnel, Enzo  announced his arrival with his child-like voice in
his debut, Kanjiva, which reached anthemic levels nationwide.
Sometimes things go up, and the next day things go down,
almost like a seesaw. He had been signed to ChillSport Records under the watch-
ful eye of DJ Fantan, who spotted him in Sunningdale, where
While most of these public figures choose to suffer in si- he lived at the time.
lence, a few open up for the world to see.
Enzo won several music awards within a short time, and
Such was the case when musician Enzo Ishall, an instant disrupted the industry with some provocative lyrics on songs
hit after emerging on the scene with the hugely popular track such as 50 Magate, Bhiza Rinoda Mutasvi and Handirare
Kanjiva, recently dropped a bombshell, announcing he was Kuden Kwenyu.
hanging up the mic. 
But while he seemed unstoppable, churning out hit after
What, quitting? hit to the great satisfaction of multitudes of music lovers, the
Most of his fans asked what could have gone wrong with same fans were not aware of the underlying unfortunate cir-
Enzo Ishall, a young artiste with such a promising career ahead cumstances in the star’s life, which have now influenced an
of him. unforeseen decision. 
Not only are his fans yet to accept the reality, but the Magate
hitmaker also admitted in an interview with Star FM’s KVG, Chiefly, Enzo appeared to be besieged by issues relating to
that he was also failing to come to terms with his decision. the business side of his career, and love life.
The teary-eyed Enzo, real name Kudzanai Stephen Mam-
here, was at pains to explain his decision. In December 2018, he was attacked by his wife for allegedly
“This is the first time I’m opening up about my decision,” parading “hookers” on his WhatsApp status. 
he told the leading radio personality. 
“I have my own struggles, and I have responsibilities as well The young ladies in question had performed the “50 Magate
as my dark side. I haven’t been able to look after people, and Challenge” as promotional material for the video of the track.
also prove a thing or two to them.” 
One could be persuaded to see sense in Enzo’s argument.  He was left bruised and battered from the domestic vio-
But not all, and for good reason too.  lence incident, his first time to make headlines for the wrong
Most people are yet to fully understand Enzo’s abrupt de- reasons.
cision. 
Maybe one day, sooner than later, he can announce a come- According to DJ Fantan, Enzo had always had problems
back!  But there is something peculiar about gifted people, with his wife after hogging the limelight.
especially artistes. 
Despite the runaway popularity he has commanded in the In Janurary 2020, Enzo probably made the biggest mistake
early days of his music career, it appears it has not quite sunk of his entire career after he left Passion Java Records to join
in for Enzo that he in fact had become a hero of sorts to a the newly emerged Teemak Stable in a deal which shocked the
growing fan base.  industry.
“It is only now that I am realising that I had made such a
huge impact on fans,” he claimed.  The sign-on fee was believed to be in the region of US$30
“One fan called me and asked what I had done to her child 000, but the deal collapsed before the ink had dried on the
after she read that I had quit music. I was touched. And even contract after it emerged that the owner, Taona Chipunga,
now when you played that voice note I sent to you on the pass- who was based in Malaysia, was a scammer. 
ing on of Soul Jah Love, you really put me in a corner. 
“I think I delivered my best and it was my long-held wish to That did not go down well with Passion Java who tried to
make people happy. And also happy that I lived to see Sauro sue both Enzo Ishall and Teemak for breach of contract.
(Soul Jah Love) who feared God. I will try as much as I can to
at least release music because I feel I owe fans. Truth is, I have However, Enzo defended himself, saying the deal with Pas-
disappointed a lot of people.” sion Java was verbal.

Then in January this year, Enzo and rapper Holy Ten devel-
oped “beef ” when the two dropped diss tracks.

In Ko Makuitasei, off the album Risky Life, Holy Ten took
Enzo Ishall to the cleaners, claiming that he lost his flame,
Hilary Makaya, to an unnamed celebrity preacher.

But Enzo clapped back with his hit, Takuita So, in which
he claims sonsgstress Tamy Moyo turned down Holy Ten’s ad-
vances. However, the beef turned out to be marketing gim-
mick on the part of the musicians for their projects.

Page 44 Life & Style NewsHawks

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

Mugabe, My Dad and Me review – a
personal lesson on empire and identity

CATHERINE LOVE as a child. It is an ambitious piece, Tonderai Munyevu reflects on the men who have loomed large in his life in a our ignorance and complicity. The
tackling colonialism, neo-colonial- thought-provoking show show aims in part to educate, but
“WHERE are you from?” It is a ism and different understandings of without attempting to be a straight-
question that writer and actor Ton- land, ownership and belonging. forward history lesson. Munyevu
derai Munyevu gets a lot. In the refuses to resolve the complexity of
opening moments of Mugabe, My Munyevu’s storytelling jumps Zimbabwe’s past, leaving spectators
Dad and Me, he recalls it being rapidly between personal and po- to piece together the jagged frag-
asked by a white man he was serv- litical, then and now. Memory, ments of history that he offers us.
ing in a bar, who went on to offer Munyevu suggests, is something
strong, ill-informed opinions about that afflicts the diaspora. In John The lack of resolution or reas-
Munyevu’s native  Zimbabwe. This R Wilkinson’s production, that af- surance forces an audience to take
show is Munyevu’s response. fliction surrounds him – be it the Munyevu’s questions out of the the-
ghostly chorus of costumes hanging atre.
As the title suggests, it revolves over his head or the music of the
around two men who have loomed mbira summoning his ancestors. Occasionally, though, the show
large in Munyevu’s life, each shaped gets tangled up in its own intro-
by Zimbabwe’s violent colonial Playing this traditional Zimba- spection. Some sections meander or
history: controversial former pres- bwean instrument, musician Millie repeat themselves a little too insis-
ident  Robert Mugabe, and Mun- Chapanda becomes both an ob- tently. But there’s no question that
yevu’s heavy-drinking, often absent server and a presence from the past, more stories like this – sharing expe-
father. He traces the outlines of standing in for various figures in riences of migration and reckoning
their lives both before and after Munyevu’s story. with the legacies of empire – need
to be told.
Zimbabwe’s independence in Munyevu is a naturally warm per-
1980, interspersed with his own former, unafraid to use his charm to —The Guardian.
experience as a member of the di- deliver a sting. He’s sharply aware • At York Theatre Royal until
aspora, having moved to the UK throughout of the mostly white
gaze of the audience, confronting 18 September; 2022 tour to
be announced.

NewsHawks Life & Style Page 45

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

How Zimbabwean artist Chiurai
has reinvented the idea of a library

TINASHE MUSHAKAVANHU continued relevance. Kudzanai Chiurai. extensive collection of vinyl records a guest librarian, and has travelled
The library reflects Chiurai’s ar- Things We Forgot to Remember was associated with liberation move- from its first iteration in Harare, to
ZIMBABWE-BORN artist  Kudza- of no fixed abode, usually incorporat- ments in southern Africa from the Cape Town, Kalmar, Södertälje and
nai Chiurai  is a phenomenon. He tistic repertoire, which deploys the ed into the artist’s own exhibitions. 1970s-’80s, notably Zimbabwe- Johannesburg. Previous librarians
is one of the most challenging and use of mixed media to address social, But the concept of a mobile library an  Chimurenga  and South African have been the political writing plat-
inventive  figures  in contemporary political and cultural issues. It calls was altered by the COVID-19 pan- anti-apartheid  struggle music. There form  Chimurenga  in Harare, writer
African art. From large-scale photos to mind his groundbreaking 2011 demic, which restricted movement are also recordings of speeches by and DJ El Corazone in Cape Town,
of fictional African dictators to exper- exhibition State of the Nation which and live events. The library is about historical political figures such as Ian and film director and deejay  Sifiso
imental films and protest posters, rich explored conflict by constructing an gathering, not just materials, but Smith,  Kwame Nkrumah,  Mobu- Khanyile in Johannesburg.
oil paintings and minimal sculptures, African utopia that enabled him to people. It is supposed to be a meeting tu Sese Seko,  Dr Martin Luther
his work is housed in the world’s top merge forms and mediums, juxtapose place. King  and even a dramatic re-enact- What Chiurai is doing is to incu-
galleries and collections. political ideas, evoke historical figures ment of the trial of  Black Panther bate a new model for artistic creation
– like a speech by slain Congolese Now, Chiurai also invites others Party co-founder Bobby Seale. and knowledge production that in-
Chiurai, though, frequently shrugs independence leader Patrice Lumum- to curate this archive, to re-arrange it terferes with the circulation, display
off gallery spaces to show in ware- ba delivered by artist Zaki Ibrahim – for regular public viewing in a rented The collection has continued to and preservation of cultural objects.
houses, on the street or in urban loca- alongside a performance by contem- space. He considers the library to be: grow. In 2018 it obtained digital re- Who has a right to assign value? Who
tions. His latest project, The Library porary musician Thandiswa Mazwai. cordings from the US-based educa- decides what is history? What kinds
of Things We Forgot to Remember, Itself a form of liberated zone. It tional project,  Freedom Archives  – of materials should be collected? How
is  housed  in a boutique shopping In his work Chiurai imagines new functions independently – I find a radio interviews with political figures can access be expanded to new pub-
complex, 44 Stanley, in Johannes- ways to activate, share, present and different librarian every time … and and women involved in the liberation lics?
burg. It is built around his collecting reinvent the archives, as he does with different people see the process of movements in Zimbabwe, South
practice focused on preserving ar- his latest project, the library. cataloguing differently. Some look Africa, Namibia, Guinea- Bissau, as Visitors also have a responsibility.
chives and memorialising social and The library at it visually, and some aurally – and well as the US civil rights movement. They are not just passive observers,
cultural history from southern Afri- Initially, in 2017,  The Library of so different librarians bring different Other materials are donated by indi- but collaborators, interpreters, and
ca. He has turned his own personal things to my attention. viduals and institutions. readers. The library becomes a place
library and archive into a public art of provocation that allows multiple
project. The library includes the artist’s Accordingly, Chiurai treats these registers of value, because value is
traces of struggle with great care. negotiated. It’s also about the rein-
It is an idea informed by Chiurai’s Some of these historical documents vention of the library as a space for
obsessive interest in history and accu- and posters are now framed and hung multiple forms of contemplation. It is
mulation of artefacts such as books, on the white walls. Once, these mate- still a destination for artists, scholars,
pamphlets, zines, newspapers, vinyl rials chronicled life in Black Africa or curators, and collectors to research
records, political  posters, audio re- Black America as it happened. Now, and engage with southern African
cordings and other ephemera – mate- they are artefacts of frozen moments history.
rials that explore the relationship be- in history. His library is conceived as
tween cultural production and social a place of contemplation and reflec- Remembering is a virtue that Chi-
movements. tion. There is a big green couch and urai extols. In Black communities it is
listening stations. often an expensive luxury, a privilege.
The work takes a pointedly non- The art of remembering But through this new space arranged
traditional approach to  archivism. The Library of Things We Forgot to in the form of a hybrid gallery, com-
The selection and acquisition is deter- Remember is part of an effort to ex- munity center, library and archive,
mined by interaction. It is managed pand ideas  of what a library can be remembering is translated into a col-
as a kind of commons where people and its decolonisation. It is an exten- lective process of reimagining and of
can share and benefit from the artist’s sion of new ways people are using the sharing heritage. It is also testament
collection and what is donated by ‘library’ as a place of inquiry and con- of the generosity behind Chiurai’s art
others. versation with the past. practice, of care and community.

Whereas most archives and librar- Perhaps, what is fascinating is *About the writer: Tinashe
ies stress the preservation of materi- that Chiurai’s library is not stat- Mushakavanhu is a post-doctoral
als, Chiurai’s library promotes access, ic, but re-arranges in the hands of fellow at the University of the Wit-
physical engagement, and active use watersrand, South Africa.
of the materials to maintain their

Page 46 State of the Culture NewsHawks

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

New music sensation living his dream

Addy
Kudita

WHAT is the chance that a
40-something old guy from
Gwamba deep in rural Nkayi
who by his own admission was
a dullard at school struggling
with mathematics (that is most
people anyway) and finding so-
lace in his guitar-playing talent
would blow up in the manner
that he has?  A few weeks ago,
what has grown, albeit organi-
cally, to become a pop culture
phenomenon was unleashed
upon an unsuspecting Bula-
wayo audience in the form of
one Malume Skhosana weN-
kayi. At the time of going to
print, he had garnered 62 947
views for a video to the song
Ntethe which premiered on 18
August 2021.  The numbers do
not show signs of abating just
yet and especially as the con-
troversy over the song’s release
at first snowballed and now
rises and ebbs. 3 900 likes and
41 “dislikes”, down the line on
YouTube, the verdict is in: Sik-
hosana Buhlungu is a bonafide
cultural force right now, at least
in this part of the country. In
the wake of his success, he is on
his way to fulfilling his dreams,
including the construction of
a house. Soon he will catch on
and catch up with either the
rest of the country and even
the region. Why not?

The spark to a flame Amakhosi Cultural Centre in Bulawayo.
After the videos of his “speech-
es” and music had done several four years regaled them with Awards.  the Internet was not such a big person who spread it to anoth- trepreneur with over 110 000
thousands of millions of laps on his musical tales, gathering The tipping point deal back then in terms of the er and so on. followers on Twitter, for exam-
cyberspace, Zenzele Ndebele of fans and community along the But Skhosana’s emergence as current digital migration that The maven and the connecter ple. In this piece, Ndebele is
the Centre for Innovation and way. Indeed, his community an internet sensation on social most people living in the urban To the extent that there is al- in my opinion what Gladwell
Technology (Cite) last year in has over time gathered around media tipped the scale upon the areas of the world and some ways a connector, that is a per- refers to as a connector and
May interviewed the artiste him as he plays his music and release of the video of the song parts of the rural landscape are son whose social life is such maven, which is Yiddish for
born Cleopas Sikhosana some tipped him as is the portion of a Ntethe off his latest album. doing. Gladwell wrote back that they meet and mingle with someone who is knowledge-
49 years ago in Nkayi. The in- musician who tugs at the heart- Videos of his performances, then about the “surfeit of infor- people from different walks of able. The connector has what
terview, as it turns out, added strings of his or her audience. widely shared amongst people mation” caused by millions of life, that is the extent to which Gladwell calls social glue and
“wood” to the fire of growing For now, Skhosana Buhlun- within Matabeleland and of websites and media outlets and the virus spreads with the re- the maven is someone who
public interest in the artiste gu has dominated social me- course the diaspora, caught on the distraction which they pro- sultant domino effect till there acquires knowledge about a
whose music is a sort of chron- dia, entertainment-wise, in like wildfire on platforms such vide to people in terms of at- is a critical mass of “infected” field. In the case of Ndebele, it
icle of rural life this southern the region and the country is as WhatsApp and like all “good tention causing “clutter” which persons enough to warrant the would be the digital space and
side. Talent is not enough in catching on. Were it not for epidemics” as per the seminal he argued makes messages hard description of an epidemic. how it operates. He is, after
the world of entertainment. the language barrier, the whole work of Malcolm Gladwell, in to stick. He refers to the con- Through it all, human agency all, the director of Cite, which
It is a business which requires nation would have been long his bestselling book The Tip- cept of stickiness as necessary is necessary for that spread and is a multi-media organisation
midwives. For example, Justin engulfed. But that is all on you ping Point, there are a couple for a movement or trend to beyond that reckoning is the which offers a number of ser-
Bieber needed Scooter Brown if you cannot understand isiN- of factors which have led to the reach epidemic proportions. social behaviour or connected- vices including an online news
to facilitate his musical after debele because you are missing runaway success or “virality” of But there are two other notions ness of the human agent with platform that mainly focuses
he had trended on YouTube. out on Skhosana’s artistry. No, Skhosana amongst folk in the or laws which he propounds, others using word of mouth on Matabeleland. It is a trusted
The rest, as they say, is history he is not the usual musician region.  namely the law of the few (con- or eWOM (electronic word platform because of the quality
with millions of records sold who you will see in borrowed Gladwell’s thesis nectors, mavens and salesmen), of mouth) as it is known in of its journalism. Some of the
and lots more. Our own Skho- “threads” and “fronting” in a The central idea of Gladwell is and the power of context. online communications. Thus journos are colleagues of mine
sana is, in his own small way, rented car or house for glossy about that dramatic moment Gladwell’s book borrows its it was that Ndebele tweeted a whose commitment to getting
a beneficiary of the power of effect in a musical video. The in an epidemic when every- premise from science insofar as few weeks ago on his Twitter the story is total. So in other
new media. His dreams and artiste is elementary but in an thing changes all at once, lead- he utilises the manner in which handle: words, when Cite showcases
hopes of earning a living off his organic way. He is unabashed- ing to what he describes as its epidemics take grip and spread something, rest assured that it
music, building a home for his ly rural and his handlers were tipping point. He postulates as is the current case. We are in The new single #NTETHE will reach many people of the
family are being realised after wise enough to deliver him as on the rules of epidemics and the age of the Covid-19 glob- by @SkhosanaNkayi will be region and beyond. And before
members of the public came such to the public and he is at the concept of contagion in the al pandemic. The disease has dropping this week. Please tweeting about Skhosana’s new
through and donated four head present the king, hogging the spread of ideas and trends. I caused much destruction in support uSkhox. Music will release a few weeks back, Cite
of cattle, materials and money.  limelight from all and sundry thought about this thesis in his human and economic terms. be available in all online music had featured him on its plat-
entertainer notwithstanding. book from the year 2000 and But we cannot forget that it all stores. form in a show called Breakfast
Skhosana is a folk musician Last year, he was Best New- began in a province in China Club which Ndebele  anchors
with his feet firmly entrenched comer at the Bulawayo Arts and most certainly with one Who is Zenzele Ndebele ? himself. There was a moment
in the life of his community in Well, he is a journalist and en-
Nkayi who has over the past

NewsHawks State of the Culture Page 47

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

around May when Skhosana MS: As I said above, there is world untainted by the bright ing local talent. Well, that was record him. But do not forget cording of which was facilitat-
caught most people’s attention no deal at all, ours is to see that city lights. He comes across the usual refrain up till Skho- that, according to Skhosana, ed by his manager Skhobokho-
with his quirky storytelling. he realises his dream and also as that uncle brimming with sana’s arrival and the video of he first dreamt about meeting bo.The album earned him the
But Ndebele refused to talk show that when God touches humour and a bagful of witti- the song just unleashed what with Madlela who now acts as Outstanding Newcomer across
much about his role, preferring something even the despised cisms to keep audiences trans- has become the runaway hit his manager. Skhosana believes all genres award at the Bula-
to just jokingly quip: “My idea are elevated to greater heights fixed. In the video, he dances of the song. As viral as it has that what he dreams of is com- wayo Arts Awards (BAAs) last
is to uplift them and speak only despite what humans say. as the kids egg him on. Dlala become, it has also divided ing to pass. His stage name is year. Ntethe is for all intents
on my issues of Gukurahundi.” AK: Your own music career ntethe! They also join him in opinion amongst followers of Sikhosana Buhlungu and four and purposes, his watershed
Someone else did the leg work has also been peppered with the dance and the joy of these the local arts scene. There are years after starting his serious moment. Remember Patati
of bringing Skhosana into the comedy. What in your view is kids is palpable. Now who is those who appear unimpressed journey in music in which he Patata? Most likely it is just a
studio and ushering him into the role of fun and comedy in that miserable person whose by Skhosana’s musical and co- has played for rural audiences, vague memory in this age of
the world of his dreams as is the music? heart will not melt at the sight medic antics. Sikhosana has been catapulted short attention spans. But what
current case. Mothusi Bashi- MS: We are given different of kids embracing the message into an internet sensation. But if I told you that Skhosana is
mane Ndlovu, also known as roles as entertainers, ours is of their malume (uncle) with Prominent amongst these consider the following com- not going anywhere anytime
the comedic musician Madlela to de-stress the nation ngoba beaming faces?  Yep, that is are the likes of Ezra “Tshisa” ments by some of his musical soon? Folk music has its place
Skhobokhobo, played a critical singaba hlekisi besizwe (we Skhosana and his song Ntethe Sibanda and Nkanyiso Ma- colleagues (names withheld): in society. Those who support
role in helping bring Skhosa- bring laughter to the people). is a fun song and dance shtick thonsi, a senior manager at Sikhosana will tell you that he
na to the fore. Skhobokhobo There are those who are called which readily grabs the atten- SkyzMetro FM who expressed “But then to have it as the is refreshingly devoid of ego, he
(MS) answers Addy Kudita to do music for sad moments, tion of children and the young the view that Skhosana is not biggest song from Bulawayo is original and sincere. Music is
(AK)’s burning questions: some to talk to the soul; ours at heart. Basically he is encour- the best representative for the sends a wrong message to the in a sense a true democracy. If
AK: How did he come to is of storytelling and making aging the young to be like that city’s music scene. He basically world of music.” the masses vote for you, you
work with Skhosana and people feel comedy is good clever grasshopper that is quick decried the fact locals were rav- will “eat”. It is the people who
what made him decide to for health because laughing is to learn and humble enough to ing about the Ntethe hitmaker “Exactly what I wanted to decide, right? Ntethe is here
work with him? good for health. be corrected. over many younger musicians say!” and will be around longer than
MS: Sometime last year, I saw AK: Regarding the public’s who in his view deserve bet- Patati Patata. There is no talk
one of his videos trending and I donations of late, what is The video, by the way, was ter support from members of “Personally this whole thing of rigging with the YouTube
was somehow drawn into him. your take on whether it is shot by Rasquesity Keaitse, one the public. Others believe the shows that people from our views and it does appear organ-
I felt a strong urge to do some- an ideal way to support local of the country’s most produc- production of the song does region can band together, sup- ic. As for the comment section,
thing for him hence I went artistes or you would rather tive videographers. I spoke to not measure up. The fact of the port something and make it the support for Skhosana is
looking for him and, as they have corporates using him as him about the noise around matter is that Skhosana does shine if they want to.” unusually positive. The nay-
say, the rest is history. My role a brand ambassador with him the Ntethe song and video. not come in a glossy package sayers believe that Skhosana is
has always been to help Skho- offering them his services? Here is what he had to say: My and Gucci suit. “Make music that appeals milking public sympathy and
sana realise his dream, nothing MS: We are born different and role was merely in the visuals Skhosana and the sickiness to people of that region, and that those who criticise him are
more and nothing less. I always our help will automatically be production and I took up the factor you’re done!” being “blackmailed” or “guilt
see the direction of everything different. Some will work with project cause I believed that Thus it was that I found myself tripped” into supporting the
on the creative side, on the first corporates, some with NGOs, song will make our children referring to Gladwell’s book “This song is comical and artiste. They are adamant that
project, Somiso, we let him be. but for Skhosana it has be- happy and forget about the in a bid to try to grasp why it Bulawayo accepted it, means Ntethe is rubbish and that is
We did not add much because come a people’s project. People Covid-19 situation we are in. was that Ntethe has become Bulawayo loves jokes…” does not “represent” the best
we were also trying to see and in general have been touched My daughter loved the song as the phenomenon it has with of Bulawayo talent. One sens-
understand his test. But on the by Skhosana and they feel the soon as she heard it, which is all its controversy. Why the “I suppose. But it’s also split. es their shame at Skhosana.
Ntethe one, hayi simtshukile need to go beyond buying his the reason why I even featured controversy? Cleopas Skhosa- Different sections of the same But Skhosana knows who he is
umdala kakhulu (We guided music online to helping him her on the visuals. We all knew na is almost 50 years of age, city have extremely different an artiste and is not trying to
the old man). When he start- build a better home for him- that not everyone will love it he is to some a Jonny Come views.” come across as a Cassper Ny-
ed, most took him as a joke be- self. Moved by Skhosana’s sto- because if it’s not Harare or Lately who should remain in ovest or Mzoe 7. Nothing is
cause of the interview uSkhosa- ry, music followers have mo- South African-certified sound the rurals and leave the stage “Personally I liked how they contrived about him. The ge-
na did earlier, but God can use bilised resources to construct a or concept, people will have to brighter young things. But pushed the marketing and they nius is in the simplicity of his
anything to blow-up someone. house for him in his rural base negative views. to hear him talk is to listen are riding on the controversy. presentation. His music carries
That was his way of blowing up in Gwamba village and have to a man who is part mystic, They are pushing the brand to a simple down home message
and another thing Skhocy grew donated materials and pledged That’s what kills our local part comedian and storyteller. the relevant target market.” but what do we critics of cul-
up in rural areas and had never support for the project. Bulawayo industry because we In my view, what makes him ture know? Ultimately, the
stayed in towns so he had no The brand want to sound like our neigh- a compelling character is that Skhosana sticks in the mind comment section on his You-
exposure of such things. But Skhosana is a simple man. He bours or the north (Harare). I heady mix of a man who can because he is a grown man Tube is revealing:
now some are starting to see is rural, a type of griot if you grew up listening to Ndolwane regale you with funny wise- singing about “life that is not
that he is actually a serious like, or more closely a kind of and Mokis so Skhosana to me cracks and the belief in the mainstream”. He is an under- “This video has made me
artiste who is yet to surprise jester. He is essentially a sto- represents the people of the power of his dreams and the dog and the public is rooting smile, it’s full of such joy and it
many. Sisazo mtshuka umdala ryteller with a knack for the south and those who don’t ap- world of omens and signs. For for him. The young and rest- made me happy to see children
ama gatekeeper aze athi siyavu- funny. He makes people laugh preciate the sound they should example, in an interview with less can only salivate at what being this happy...”
ma (we will guide him till the and, in my view, is good at continue listening to SA or Ha- Ndebele he recounts how he they consider to be the “stolen”
gatekeepers accept the reality). taking the audience back to a rare-certified music. If given a first had a dream about meeting opportunity to shine.  Mean- “I love the authenticity...”
AK: What is the deal between chance, I will do it again. well-known musician Madlela while, the audiences are clearly Parting shot
you and Skhosana regarding The buzz Skhobokhobo who has been willing Sikhosana to succeed. It is a time of Covid-19 and
his music career? Upon a day of its release, the instrumental in having him But he is, in my view, actual- Zimbabwe has experienced a
video had generated over 10 record his music. Madlela went ly very interesting as an artiste. lot of trauma. Laughter is rare
000 views, which is quite re- out of his way fetch him from He is a musician, storyteller, to find as disease stalks and
markable for a city which is his Nkayi base so that he could comedian and dancer some- takes the lives of people. Skho-
not really famed for support- what. All round he is an enter- sana is a tonic for the times.
tainer and that counts.
The power of context
Sikhosana broke into the pop-
ular imagination courtesy of
his debut album, Kumnandi,
released in June 2020, the re-

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Page 48 People & Places NewsHawks

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

Matetsi magic sheer indulgence

FROM stunning landscapes, incredi- the wilderness with passion and a Hotel in Africa in this year’s edition It was even more fulfilling because property employs 176 individuals.
ble wildlife, the mighty Zambezi Riv- drive for excellence, and so created of the Travel + Leisure World’s Best the award came at a time Matetsi had With its unique location and high-
er, of course the spectacular Victoria exceptional guest experiences. Awards. just celebrated five years of existence. 
Falls and, most importantly, warm ly skilled team, Matetsi offers excep-
authentic Zimbabwean hospitality, It is now home to pristine wilder- Travel Leisure Magazine is one of Matetsi Victoria Falls officially tional experiences in a remarkable
Matetsi Victoria Falls is everything ness.  Currently, it protects 55 000 the most reputable travel and tour- opened doors at the end of 2016. destination - truly the ideal combina-
exceptional about the beautiful Zim- hectares of land that is dedicated to ism publications, with a wide global Situated on the 55 000-hectare Ma- tion of exclusive safari, tranquil river,
babwe. wildlife conservation as well as 15 ki- readership of over 35 million people. tetsi Private Game Reserve, a pristine the Falls, luxury accommodation and
lometres of Zambezi river frontage.  Being nominated as the best hotel in wildlife conservation area with 15 relaxation all wrapped up in incredi-
Over the past five years, Matetsi Africa by this publication is no small km of Zambezi riverfront, the fam- ble Zimbabwean hospitality.
Victoria Falls has breathed life into In July this year, Matetsi Victo- achievement.  ily-owned and independently run
ria Falls was named the best Resort —STAFF WRITER.

Property
NewsHawks

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021 PROPERTY INTERIORS ARCHITECTURE GARDENING Page 49

The home of prime property: [email protected]

Madokero Estate warehouses take shape

New
ware-
houses being
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site in Madokero Estate
and managed by Platinum Group.
— Pictures: Aaron Ufumeli

Page 50 NewsHawks

Issue 48, 17 Sept 2021

NO BIDDER JAN -AUG 2021 JUN-DEC 2020 TOTAL SHARE (%) NO BIDDER JAN -AUG 2021 JUN-DEC 2020 TOTAL SHARE (%)
1,868,168 4,413,411 0.3% 1,467,466 2,069,451 0.1%
75 PROBOTTLERS 2,545,243 1,537,376 4,397,761 0.3% 221 YZ HOLDINGS P/L 601,985 697,059 2,063,596 0.1%
1,902,462 4,380,311 0.3% 480,000 2,053,380 0.1%
76 AGRICON EQUIPMENT (PVT) LTD 2,860,385 2,460,983 4,309,492 0.2% 222 BULK COMMODITIES (PVT) LTD 1,366,538 - 2,053,020 0.1%
2,097,047 4,224,166 0.2% 648,261 2,047,240 0.1%
BANK OF ZI 77 VIVO ENERGY FORMERLY ENGEN PETROLEUM 2,477,849 2,590,816 4,207,677 0.2% 223 SUNNY YI FENG TILES ZIMBABWE (PVT) LTD 1,573,380 805,015 2,046,348 0.1%
500,000 4,200,000 0.2% 150,000 2,040,884 0.1%
78 PROTON BAKERS (PVT) LTD 1,848,509 2,158,370 4,183,555 0.2% 224 CHINYA INVESTMENTS 2,053,020 864,204 2,024,727 0.1%
1,942,400 4,159,187 0.2% 952,653 2,023,541 0.1%
RESERVE MBABWE 79 INNSCOR DISTRIBUTION P/L 2,127,119 1,464,577 4,143,847 0.2% 225 ADLEBON INVESTMENTS 1,398,979 - 2,013,971 0.1%
1,423,787 4,069,778 0.2% 816,602 2,005,415 0.1%
80 FASTJET ZIMBABWE (PVT) LTD 1,616,861 1,367,813 4,026,907 0.2% 226 ZIMBABWE NEWSPAPERS 1980 LTD 1,241,333 147,552 1,976,010 0.1%
1,566,033 3,830,678 0.2% 620,175 1,971,074 0.1%
81 AGRIBANK 3,700,000 1,370,000 3,817,870 0.2% 227 BETAR CHEMICALS 1,890,884 689,940 1,969,035 0.1%
1,099,806 3,788,262 0.2% 1,854,569 1,962,869 0.1%
82 ARENEL (PRIVATE) LIMITED 2,025,185 1,009,266 3,716,583 0.2% 228 BITUMEN WORLD 1,160,523 - 1,960,199 0.1%
2,030,153 3,659,596 0.2% 86,379 1,951,141 0.1%
83 FEEDMIX (PVT) LTD 2,216,788 2,150,115 3,658,268 0.2% 229 INNSCOR AFRICA LIMITED T/A COLCOM FOODS 1,070,888 1,321,360 1,947,749 0.1%
2,067,423 3,652,840 0.2% 1,289,843 1,946,078 0.1%
84 DRIPTECH IRRIGATION 2,679,270 2,408,161 3,640,184 0.2% 230 UPLAND GAS INTERNATIONAL 2,013,971 1,554,644 1,942,544 0.1%
1,284,177 3,605,854 0.2% 1,181,084 1,918,230 0.1%
85 CURECHEM OVERSEAS P/L 2,645,991 - 3,593,323 0.2% 231 YATAKALA TRADING 1,188,814
272,416 3,590,997 0.2% 1,901,935 1,901,935 0.1%
86 PAROAN VISTA (PVT) LTD 2,659,094 2,444,125 3,573,729 0.2% 232 Star Africa Corpora�on 1,828,458 1,900,000 1,900,000 0.1%
542,600 3,554,863 0.2% 1,898,573 0.1%
PRESS STATEMENT 87 COLOURMAXIMAL INVESTMENTS PVT LTD 2,264,645 1,332,466 3,522,721 0.2% 233 ONE STOP SOLAR 1,350,899 816,009 1,896,153 0.1%
1,438,297 3,522,355 0.2% 126,929 1,893,175 0.1%
FOREIGN EXCHANGE ALLOTMENTS UNDER THE FOREIGN EXCHANGE AUCTION 88 TRAYLISH INVESTMENTS 2,447,870 755,709 3,496,883 0.2% 234 Capital Agriculture (Pvt) Ltd 1,279,095 523,175 1,892,611 0.1%
SYSTEM FOR THE PERIOD JUNE 2020 TO AUGUST 2021 AND FOREIGN 1,886,661 3,496,696 0.2% 474,850 1,890,702 0.1%
89 ACCESS BRANDS PVT LTD 2,688,456 1,755,692 3,495,070 0.2% 235 VITAL LOGISTICS 108,300 1,889,819 0.1%
EXCHANGE PAYMENTS FOR THE PERIOD JANUARY 2021 TO AUGUST 2021 1,595,095 3,480,891 0.2% - 1,874,584 0.1%
90 MAFURO FARMING 2,707,317 1,719,702 3,436,758 0.2% 236 Eurostar Electric Co Pvt Ltd 1,960,199 67,001 1,873,200 0.1%
In line with the Bank’s commitment to regularly keep the public informed of developments 724,251 3,418,139 0.2% 718,213 1,865,387 0.1%
in the foreign exchange market, the Bank hereby publishes the following: 91 TYREZIM PVT LTD 1,629,443 1,543,700 3,387,199 0.2% 237 PRODISTRIBUTION PVT LTD 1,864,762 250,000 1,860,010 0.1%
1,869,385 3,383,005 0.2% 374,334 1,847,855 0.1%
1. A list of the 1728 beneficiaries of US$ 1 733 751 014 allotted under the Main Foreign 92 POWERSPEED ELECTRICAL 1,508,152 3,000,000 3,380,000 0.2% 238 MAYOR LOGISTICS 626,389 494,901 1,835,448 0.1%
Exchange Auction; 844,470 3,314,940 0.2% 970,805 1,835,118 0.1%
93 OILMARK (PVT) LTD 1,585,417 1,913,898 3,299,973 0.2% 239 CREDFIN (PRIVATE) LIMITED 656,235 828,807 1,832,600 0.1%
2. A list of the 3588 beneficiaries of US$ 233 825 680 allotted under the SMEs Foreign 1,024,236 3,299,590 0.2% 465,000 1,801,612 0.1%
Exchange Auction; and 94 INTREPID TRADING CLOSE CORPORATION 1,232,024 1,416,854 3,264,868 0.2% 240 EDNAT MINING SOLUTIONS PVT LTD 387,900 855,850 1,800,000 0.1%
429,391 3,250,540 0.2% 536,346 1,790,637 0.1%
3. A Schedule showing the total foreign exchange payments by source for the period 95 AE ELECTRICAL 2,321,677 1,067,029 3,248,567 0.2% 241 ORIGEN CORPORATION (PVT) LTD 737,146 1,800,000 1,775,718 0.1%
January 2021 to August 2021 amounting to US$4 044 283 003 broken down as follows:- 2,080,317 3,228,089 0.2% 1,773,113 0.1%
foreign currency accounts (US$2 457 510 102), interbank market (US$246 449 194) and 96 GRAIN MARKETING BOARD 3,593,323 1,747,338 3,220,192 0.2% 242 NETONE CELLULAR - - 1,769,408 0.1%
the Foreign Exchange Auction System (US$1 340 323 707). 100,800 3,215,091 0.2% 655,908 1,761,581 0.1%
97 PROPLASTICS LIMITED 3,318,581 750,000 3,178,546 0.2% 243 NATIONAL AIDS COUNCIL - 309,189 1,749,251 0.1%
The auction system has so far covered and benefited almost every facet of the economy, 2,074,073 3,173,583 0.2% 501,185 1,740,929 0.1%
from, inter alia, individuals’ needs for educational fees, SMEs’ requirements for capital and 98 FERTS SEED & GRAIN (PVT) LTD 1,129,604 713,776 1,135,581 1,740,752 0.1%
raw materials and primary producers’ capital requirements. The auction has had a bigger 950,832 3,162,099 0.2% 173,800 1,731,499 0.1%
footprint in the economy as more than 4000 entities have accessed foreign currency through 99 NEW AVAKASH INTERNATIONAL 3,012,263 689,935 3,159,312 0.2% 244 ECOCASH (PVT) LIMITED 1,082,564 237,499 1,728,129 0.1%
allotment of US$1.7 billion at the Main Auction and US$233.8 million at the SMEs Auction. 1,513,704 3,146,850 0.2% 777,565 1,691,888 0.1%
The bulk of the allotted funds (60%) has gone towards payment for raw materials (US$794.7 100 COMOX TRADING PVT LTD 2,190,255 1,149,181 3,146,238 0.2% 245 WARDSTORE ENTEPRISES (PVT) LTD 1,769,224 935,800
million) and machinery and equipment (US$382.5 million) with the remaining 40% going 1,750,000 655,722 1,691,508 0.1%
towards payment for consumables, pharmaceuticals and other critical needs of the economy 101 NOVAFEED (PVT) LTD 2,084,058 300,830 3,143,565 0.2% 246 Sino Truk Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd 1,370,000 552,440 1,690,860 0.1%
as reflected in the tables below. 903,821 3,111,517 0.2% 1,690,000 0.1%
102 OPTIMUM AGRO (PRIVATE) LIMITED 2,741,174 1,014,419 3,080,160 0.2% 247 CAUDLISS INVESTMENTS T/A NUTRIE FOODS 1,417,761 878,086 1,680,500 0.1%
1,038,831 3,079,855 0.2% 1,244,894 1,678,434 0.1%
103 GERIBRAN SERVICES T/A TRANSERV 1,610,035 1,187,808 3,073,942 0.2% 248 BLACKBOX OILS AND LUBRICANTS (PVT) LTD 1,890,702 1,678,351 0.1%
404,980 3,064,152 0.2% - 1,661,893 0.1%
104 AROPAK BOARD AND TIMBER 1,739,378 2,066,913 3,052,098 0.2% 249 UMBINGTON TRADING 1,822,818 686,000 1,660,155 0.1%
3,023,882 0.2% 1,246,906 1,654,017 0.1%
105 GRAINCO (PVT) LTD 1,885,796 2,170,057 3,013,516 0.2% 250 ABBIAMO TRADING (PRIVATE) LIMITED 1,156,371 1,528,351 1,651,513 0.1%
394,245 863,420 1,637,469 0.1%
106 ZIMBABWE ONLINE PVT LTD 1,717,055 658,762 251 SEPTEMBER ONE P/L 1,623,200 412,250 1,625,411 0.1%
103,000 1,621,702 0.1%
107 TINEO ENTERPRISES 2,693,888 252 PLANAS STATIONERY 1,491,053 - 1,621,432 0.1%
1,388,633 575,000 1,619,959 0.1%
108 AFGRI ZIMBABWE 1,843,499 - 253 TECHSOL SYSTEMS 1,365,109 1,619,956 0.1%
- 1,608,029 0.1%
109 FLIK NIK ENTERPRISES 1,513,620 935,115 254 BULLION COMMODITIES INTERNATIONAL 877,050 321,661 1,601,952 0.1%
1,400,000
110 VIGILANT RESOURCES (PVT) LTD 380,000 1,309,246 255 GLIDWELL TRADING TA BHOLA HARDWARE 1,006,640 -
821,580
111 BROWN ENGINEERING P/L 2,470,469 667,382 256 OMNIA FERTILIZER ZIMBABWE (PVT) LTD 1,370,118
806,306 -
112 G NORTH AND SONS T/A MAXIPREST MANUFACTURING 1,386,075 1,618,000 257 ZORWAY INTERNATIONAL 976,750 500,843
1,005,053 1,207,807
113 PROCUREMART TRADING (PVT) LTD 2,275,354 992,452 258 CHEESE GALORE P/L 1,265,266 559,177
396,104
114 LEMONSEED INVESTMENTS P/L 1,848,014 888,621 259 Harava Solar Park (Pvt) Ltd - 720,000
961,380 644,600
115 Bell Petroleum 2,821,150 778,242 260 VICTORIA FOODS (PVT) LTD 1,790,637 801,800
908,411 400,000
116 IRVINES ZIMBABWE 2,181,537 976,013 261 POLYOAK PACKAGING ZIMBABWE (PVT) LTD 1,119,810 409,813
831,803 654,800
117 DISTRIBUTED POWER AFRICA PVT LTD 1,147,771 1,689,203 262 ASTRA PAINTS 1,463,925 665,193
51,935 1,022,162
118 EXCLUSIVE BRANDS 1,472,854 2,144,448 263 MEDIRITE HEALTHCARE P/L 1,268,223 822,402

119 HASTT ZIMBABWE PVT LTD 3,114,291 350,000 264 FE TATMIF T/A Greens Supermarket 626,000 -
1,000,776 1,187,017
120 PARAMOUNT EXPORTS (PVT) LTD 2,428,546 265 EFT CORPORATION ZIMBABWE (PVT) LTD 1,575,451
886,014 -
John P Mangudya 121 TETTOLA INVESTMENTS 1,099,510 964,622 266 PHARMANOVA P/L 1,503,430 736,415
Governor 206,543
10 September 2021 122 SUNRAY CORPORATION 2,448,323 113,129 267 HIGH PERFOMANCE LUBES 963,186 107,537
1,467,336 874,056
123 AMTEC MOTORS (PRIVATE) LIMITED 2,208,480 1,639,505 268 ROCKDRILL TRADING 795,699 195,000
1,202,438 876,979
124 PROFEEDS PVT LTD 2,456,914 269 Penanel Trading (Pvt) Ltd 1,072,407
965,000 -
125 CONSOLIDATED FARMING INVESTMENTS 1,632,534 1,548,271 270 ZLG (PVT) LTD 1,139,448 283,777
1,299,010 92,292
FOREIGN EXCHANGE AUCTION SYSTEM ALLOTMENTS BY PURPOSE FOR THE PERIOD JUNE 2020 TO AUGUST 2021 126 BRAND AGRO P/L 1,994,384 271 EKEZAL ENTERPRISES PVT LTD T/A GOLDEN FOODS 813,422 1,042,291
- 1,513,122
127 VIFOT INVESTMENTS (PVT) LTD 1,361,517 1,619,950 272 POLARIS HORTICULTURE (PVT) LTD 445,966
-
Purpose Main Auc�on SME Auc�on Total Share (%) 128 Kingfav Incorporated 2,779,330 200,000 273 REDAN BULK (PVT) LTD 1,690,000 100,000
738,504,101 56,229,653 794,733,754 40% 590,844
Raw Materials 327,283,661 55,170,212 382,453,873 19% 129 SAIWIT HOLDINGS (PVT) LTD 2,176,034 1,610,495 274 RSC Farming (Pvt) Ltd 994,500 -
Machinery and Equipment 141,096,491 51,825,341 192,921,832 10% 677,088 599,000
148,224,982 22,047,026 170,272,007 9% 130 CROCO MOTORS (PRIVATE) LIMITED 2,059,523 1,350,000 275 ECONET WIRELESS PVT LTD 431,528 1,265,000
Consumables (Incl. Spares, Tyres, Electricals) 122,020,965 18,529,824 140,550,789 7% 259,900
Retail and Distribu�on (Incl. Food, Beverages, etc) 114,989,612 13,585,703 128,575,314 7% 131 ANOTHER RIVER INVESTMENTS 2,025,322 59,850 276 AFRIFOR PVT LTD 150,000 -
Services (Loans, Dividends and Disinvestments) 105,928,483 8,439,904 114,368,387 6% 96,640
Pharmaceu�cals and Chemicals 35,702,720 7,998,018 43,700,738 2% 132 TOYOTA ZIMBABWE 1,864,290 963,853 277 FMCG DISTRIBUTION (PVT) LTD 798,473 381,536
Fuel, Electricity and Gas 233,825,680 1,967,576,694 100% 949,057 840,157
Paper and Packaging 1,733,751,014 133 KEVKUL INVESTMENTS PVT LTD 2,618,902 910,838 278 HANAWA SUPER FOODS 1,247,905
685,257 -
Total 134 FOSSIL MINES PL 946,603 725,060 279 MAGCHEM (PVT) LTD 1,654,017 1,248,814
1,599,424
Post and Telecomunica�on 667,164 280 RETVIC TRADING PVT LTD 1,076,513 -
135 Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe 532,010 722,913
834,773 674,981 3,004,830 0.2% 281 BETA LOGISTICS PVT LTD 1,637,469 822,548
516,650 2,991,557 0.2% 392,252
136 BUFFALO STEEL 2,597,312 1,720,000 2,991,458 0.2% 282 WATERWRIGHT IRRIGATION (PRIVATE) LIMITED 1,303,750 1,005,000
300,000 2,974,740 0.2%
137 EAGLE ITALIAN TEXTILE PVT LTD 2,332,696 889,554 2,968,017 0.2% 283 HILLCHEST INVESTMENTS 1,621,702 -
848,685 2,941,665 0.2% 670,818
138 KERSHELMAR DAIRIES (PVT) LTD 2,871,740 2,937,191 0.2% 284 MOREYEAR INVESTMENTS COMPANY (PVT) LTD 799,852 925,637
- 2,918,390 0.2%
139 Frolgate Technology (Pvt) Ltd 1,579,384 545,141 2,913,016 0.2% 285 COMPROP (PVT) LIMITED 1,619,959 -
165,000 2,897,898 0.2% 185,000
140 PETROTRADE 2,941,665 650,794 2,888,011 0.2% 286 CROSS COUNTRY CONTAINERS 1,119,113 350,000
747,500 2,879,563 0.2% 344,004
FOREIGN PAYMENTS FOR THE PERIOD JANUARY 2021 TO AUGUST 2021 BY SOURCE OF FUNDING (US$) 141 CHILMUND INVESTMENTS (PVT) LTD 2,002,076 251,746 2,877,698 0.2% 287 BARMORE INVESTMENTS 400,222 1,386,393
561,886 2,862,187 0.2%
142 GRATON INVESTMENTS 1,518,390 351,030 2,861,948 0.2% 288 STM HOLDINGS (PVT) LTD 1,042,775 -
771,622 2,856,591 0.2% 536,328
Month Foreign Currency Interbank Market Foreign Currency Total 143 MASIMBA HOLDINGS LIMITED 1,603,770 240,540 2,841,018 0.2% EUROPE AFRICA SEED INITIATIVE 170,250
Accounts Payments Auc�on allotments 90,000 2,839,306 0.2% 289 (PVT) LTD T/A EASI SEEDS 653,602
Jan-21 24,276,155 423,340,985 144 AYAN TRADING 2,230,516 2,838,928 0.2% 880,412 786,457 1,600,412 0.1%
Feb-21 299,464,822 37,049,364 99,600,008 642,289,241 - 2,822,184 0.2% 290 BROYLAY INVESTMENTS 950,000 1,594,600 0.1%
Mar-21 460,747,662 52,958,997 144,492,215 594,862,496 145 FOSSIL AGRO P/L 2,081,705 1,281,000 2,818,740 0.2% - 1,592,445 0.1%
Apr-21 363,027,046 29,558,900 178,876,453 398,586,981 2,777,689 0.2% 711,688 1,587,072 0.1%
May-21 240,971,617 29,713,430 128,056,464 482,624,533 146 AXIS SOLUTIONS 1,261,563 928,503 2,763,366 0.2% 291 FACADE TRADING PVT LTD 790,645 894,048 1,586,150 0.1%
Jun-21 293,211,962 27,953,907 159,699,141 574,423,217 723,156 2,745,273 0.2% 396,007 1,580,500 0.1%
Jul-21 339,465,315 25,027,355 207,003,995 500,187,033 147 PISTA INVESTMENTS 1,872,644 775,335 292 Wellod Traders 1,187,072 1,578,124 0.1%
Aug-21 289,438,918 19,911,086 185,720,760 427,968,516 1,100,293 - 1,575,018 0.1%
Total 171,182,759 236,874,671 4,044,283,003 148 THE COPIER PARTS COMPANY 1,869,735 1,137,805 293 A.LUCKY BRAND (PRIVATE) LIMITED 1,176,337 933,926 1,570,357 0.1%
Propor�on 2,457,510,102 246,449,194 1,340,323,707 718,732 1,569,739 0.1%
6% 100% 149 ENERGY PARK P/L 2,465,845 294 FEGMA Investments (Pvt) Ltd 925,700 - 1,567,378 0.1%
61% 33% 863,983 1,350,000 1,560,000 0.1%
150 POWERFUL GRAND INDUSTRIES 1,967,971 1,069,145 295 CAPLAW ENTERPRISES 912,932 1,558,982 0.1%
250,000 1,556,281 0.1%
151 TRADE KINGS ZIMBABWE 1,879,638 388,792 296 STC MINE CYNIDE CHEMICALS PVT LTD 552,856 895,000 1,550,190 0.1%
458,420 297,166 1,541,574 0.1%
152 AGRO SHAPE PVT LTD 2,061,065 1,358,496 297 X-SEA IMPORTS (PVT) LTD T/A TECH AFRICA 747,955 305,000 1,537,992 0.1%
798,500 1,533,815 0.1%
153 MUTARE MART & EXCHANGE (PVT) LTD 1,930,517 298 JANI S FABRIC CENTRE T/A ANWAR AND RASHID P/L 1,569,739 - 1,533,193 0.1%
- - 1,529,743 0.1%
154 KENSYS INVESTMENTS 1,846,171 400,000 299 SCANLINK PRIVATE LIMITED 380,361 - 1,527,629 0.1%
194,400 150,959 1,524,724 0.1%
155 CAIRNS FOODS 1,986,937 300 FIRESPEAK INVESTMENTS PVT LTD 1,560,000 200,000 1,513,122 0.1%
1,330,872 1,508,249 0.1%
FOREIGN EXCHANGE AUCTION SYSTEM ALLOTMENTS BY ENTITY FROM THE MAIN AUCTION FOR THE PERIOD JUNE 156 POMONA HARDWARE 1,088,486 301 NATIONAL BLOOD SERVICES ZIMBABWE 822,567 515,152 1,505,000 0.1%
2020 TO AUGUST 2021 (USD) 290,103 1,488,422 0.1%
157 AIR ZIMBABWE PVT LTD 2,711,431 302 MAKA FARM P/L 1,349,738 - 1,478,104 0.1%
590,408 1,478,000 0.1%
158 HAMPTONS INCORPORATED 600,826 303 MOMENTUM SP REID 1,442,653 457,214 1,477,299 0.1%
304 A I DAVIS & COMPANY (PVT) LTD 667,517 408,641 1,473,064 0.1%
NO BIDDER JAN -AUG 2021 JUN-DEC 2020 TOTAL SHARE (%) DATA CONTROL SYSTEMS (1996) PVT LTD 611,589 1,462,141 0.1%
1 BLUE RIBBON FOODS LTD 14,701,638 10,498,404 25,200,042 1.5% 159 T/A LIQUID TELECOM 2,394,558 2,744,558 0.2% 305 Veterinary Distributors 1,342,992 693,915 1,460,858 0.1%
2 VARUN BEVERAGES (ZIMBABWE) (PVT) LTD 15,004,258 8,233,042 23,237,300 1.3% 2,733,863 0.2% 306 CENTRE PIVOT IRRIGATION (PVT) LTD 656,836 1,457,935 0.1%
3 UNITED REFINERIES LTD 13,920,043 6,874,844 20,794,886 1.2% 160 MAMBO INCORPORATED (PVT) LTD 1,733,087 - 1,448,814 0.1%
4 CANGROW TRADING 11,313,285 8,690,105 20,003,390 1.2% 1,086,449 1,443,376 0.1%
5 SURFACE WILMAR PVT LTD 9,607,727 7,646,492 17,254,219 1.0% APPLIED ENERGY SOLUTIONS (PVT) LTD 1,846,736 2,732,751 0.2% 307 ALMAREX INVESTMENTS T/A TENGA4WENA 1,533,193 1,432,994 0.1%
6 WILLOWTON GROUP ZIMBABWE 11,986,081 5,210,883 17,196,964 1.0% 161 T/A GAS MASTERS 2,724,622 0.2% 308 MILLPAL P/L T/A KEMICO AGENCY 1,245,966 200,000 1,431,001 0.1%
7 OLIVINE INDUSTRIES 10,241,308 5,935,069 16,176,376 0.9% - 1,430,990 0.1%
8 DAIRIBORD ZIMBABWE P/L 10,627,521 4,832,119 15,459,640 0.9% 162 CZIM CORRUGATED BOX SOLUTION (PVT) LTD 1,760,000 309 SPEEDLINE MARKETING (PVT) LTD 1,435,337 1,430,000 0.1%
9 PURE OIL INDUSTRIES (PVT) LTD 8,430,948 6,848,464 15,279,412 0.9% 852,794 1,426,224 0.1%
10 ZFC LIMITED 8,938,454 4,186,899 13,125,353 0.8% SCB MAURITIUS - IMARA AFRICA 2,572,215 2,685,344 0.2% 310 INAMO AGRI PVT LTD 482,433 - 1,423,149 0.1%
11 ZIMBABWEAN BRANDS 6,594,342 5,381,089 11,975,431 0.7% 163 SERIES LIMITED - ZIMBABWE 2,666,443 0.2% 311 DC COETZEE & SON P/L - 1,420,653 0.1%
12 Windmill (Pvt) Ltd 6,515,123 5,389,954 11,905,077 0.7% 2,664,184 0.2% 1,403,586 0.1%
13 DENDAIRY LIMITED 7,198,729 4,560,585 11,759,314 0.7% 164 Primtrim (Pvt) Ltd 1,199,107 2,656,642 0.2% 312 ZESA HOLDINGS PVT LTD 1,508,249 1,403,500 0.1%
14 SABLE CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES 7,849,364 3,651,978 11,501,342 0.7% 2,652,908 0.2% 1,402,130 0.1%
15 NATIONAL FOODS 3,707,334 7,497,000 11,204,334 0.6% 165 DAVIPEL TRADING (PVT) LTD 1,024,679 2,642,569 0.2% 313 LANEWIZ TRADING AND PROJECTS P/L 1,405,000 1,390,186 0.1%
16 TELONE (PRIVATE) LIMITED 7,193,056 3,965,149 11,158,205 0.6% 2,601,536 0.2% 314 MANSEY TRADING 1,488,422 1,386,393 0.1%
17 NATPAK PRIVATE LIMITED 5,604,860 4,566,081 10,170,941 0.6% 166 INDUSTRIAL CHEMICAL IMPORTERS (PVT) LTD 1,454,204 2,600,946 0.2% 1,382,960 0.1%
18 HUNYANI PAPER & PACKAGING (1997) (PVT) LTD 5,229,555 4,652,932 9,882,487 0.6% 2,599,950 0.1% 1,378,541 0.1%
19 TREGER PRODUCTS 7,821,206 1,314,181 9,135,387 0.5% 167 HALSTED BROTHERS (PVT) LTD 1,687,908 2,590,000 0.1% 315 KENAC COMPUTER SYSTEMS 879,104 1,375,882 0.1%
20 PRODAIRY (PVT) LTD 5,671,756 3,442,445 9,114,201 0.5% 2,585,720 0.1% 316 GRANT WELLINGTON THULISA T/A GWT POWER 213,000 1,374,210 0.1%
21 SCHWEPPES ZIMBABWE LIMITED 8,295,010 736,297 9,031,307 0.5% 168 VAITIVE TRADING (PVT) LTD 1,094,298 2,557,296 0.1% 1,372,957 0.1%
22 BARZEM ENTERPRISES (PVT) LTD 6,273,941 2,124,114 8,398,055 0.5% 2,549,808 0.1% 1,370,800 0.1%
23 ZUVA PETROLEUM (PVT) LTD 4,514,043 3,514,345 8,028,388 0.5% 169 ETG INPUTS ZIMBABWE P/L 1,302,526 2,548,499 0.1% 317 SAXIN ENTERPRISES PVT LTD 1,477,299 1,367,003 0.1%
24 CAPRI APPLIANCES 5,587,273 2,173,409 7,760,682 0.4% 2,534,566 0.1% 1,366,048 0.1%
25 JP MORGAN 4,827,512 2,863,016 7,690,528 0.4% 170 BLANKET MINE (1983) P/L 2,600,946 2,519,166 0.1% 318 PRIMEGREEN (PVT) LTD 1,376,424 1,363,728 0.1%
26 Reinforced Steel Contractors (Pvt) Ltd 5,484,624 2,166,542 7,651,166 0.4% 319 TEVASON INVESTMENTS P/L T/A FRESHPRO 1,080,605 1,363,651 0.1%
27 MEGAPAK ZIMBABWE PVT LTD 5,460,545 1,906,111 7,366,656 0.4% 171 GRIPTON INVESTMENTS (PVT) LTD 980,000 1,357,545 0.1%
28 BLACKBOX INVESTMENTS (PVT) LTD 4,220,690 2,916,054 7,136,744 0.4% 1,350,502 0.1%
29 AGRI VALUE CHAIN ZIMBABWE (PVT) LTD 3,590,363 3,540,983 7,131,347 0.4% 172 INSTANT TAR ZIMBABWE (PRIVATE) LIMITED 2,390,000 320 REYDELLET INVESTMENTS T/A HUKURU CHICKS 620,701 1,350,000 0.1%
30 MASHWEDE DIESEL SERVICES 3,471,532 3,644,828 7,116,360 0.4% 1,345,530 0.1%
31 Farmec (Pvt) Ltd 4,538,666 2,574,280 7,112,946 0.4% 173 DIVYA ENTERPRISES 1,994,876 321 STORM ENERGY ZIMBABWE PVT LTD 1,457,935 1,345,000 0.1%
32 ALL COMMODITY EXPORTS PL 5,537,191 1,555,601 7,092,792 0.4% 1,343,240 0.1%
33 UNILEVER ZIMBABWE PVT LTD 5,375,694 1,577,596 6,953,290 0.4% 174 BLOOMSHELTER INVESTMENTS 946,802 322 CLOREX ENERGY PVT LTD 200,000 1,340,184 0.1%
34 PROBRANDS (PVT) LTD 4,970,448 1,903,984 6,874,432 0.4% 323 LETRISE TRADING 1,443,376 1,339,554 0.1%
35 THE ZIMBABWE BATA SHOE COMPANY (PVT) LTD 4,294,584 2,424,895 6,719,479 0.4% 175 RELIANCE MANUFACTURING (PVT) LTD 1,872,721 324 AFRITRACTORS P/L 1,339,551 0.1%
36 BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON 4,249,401 2,346,589 6,595,991 0.4% 710,082 1,339,179 0.1%
37 BOC ZIMBABWE (PVT) LTD T/A BOC GASES 4,000,559 2,488,982 6,489,541 0.4% 176 SANDVIK MINING AND CONSTRUCTION (PVT) LTD 1,198,499 1,332,377 0.1%
38 VALLEY SEEDS ZIMBABWE PVT LTD 2,122,740 4,300,000 6,422,740 0.4% 1,330,928 0.1%
39 RAWFERT OFFSHORE SAL 3,460,718 2,869,028 6,329,746 0.4% 177 ALLIANCE MEDIA 2,274,667 325 MING CHANG SINO AFRICA MINING INVESTMENTS P 608,453 1,330,872 0.1%
40 ESSAR TUBES AND TOWERS 3,510,314 2,805,000 6,315,314 0.4% 1,330,698 0.1%
41 CRASTER INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD 3,412,183 2,690,000 6,102,183 0.4% 178 HWANGE COAL GASIFICATION COMPANY 2,459,316 326 BRANDS AFRICA 1,038,738 1,330,522 0.1%
42 STATE STREET BANK 3,340,870 2,687,940 6,028,809 0.3% 327 PERFORMPLUS PVT LTD 425,000 1,324,124 0.1%
43 CAFCA LTD 4,616,305 1,360,698 5,977,003 0.3% MONTERO TRADING INTERNATIONAL 1,554,067 2,517,920 0.1% 328 AYESTOCK INVESTMENTS PVT LTD 1,321,112 0.1%
LOTUS STATIONERY MANUFACTURERS 179 (PRIVATE) LIMITED 2,516,572 0.1% 1,426,224 1,319,926 0.1%
44 T/A RANK ZIMBABWE 3,455,607 2,461,152 2,512,076 0.1% 1,317,816 0.1%
45 MEGA MARKET MILLING (PVT) LTD 3,350,075 2,529,520 180 WESTBILL TRADING T/A STEEL WAREHOUSE 1,567,515 2,510,257 0.1% 329 William Bain and Company Holdings 752,332 1,311,589 0.1%
46 CP CHEMICALS 3,441,159 2,342,308 2,508,781 0.1% 1,308,628 0.1%
47 PAZA BUSTER CAR SALES 4,592,053 1,154,981 181 BULLS POWER FUELS 1,601,238 2,482,153 0.1% 330 FORTHPORT ENTERPRISES 495,016
48 Intrachem (Pvt) Ltd 4,604,423 2,460,333 0.1% 331 RESTNANCE (PVT) LTD 1,403,586 1,308,580 0.1%
49 PHARMACEUTICAL AND CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTORS 3,626,496 975,737 182 PIONEEER HI-BRED (ZIMABABWE) PRIVATE LIMITED 1,825,000 2,455,870 0.1% 332 HITESH NATWARIAL ANADKAT 1,218,500 1,305,529 0.1%
50 MEGA MARKET (PVT) LTD 2,461,917 1,888,103 2,409,973 0.1% 1,305,283 0.1%
59 PREMIER AUTO SERVICES P/L 2,953,389 3,037,503 183 XGMA ZIMBABWE 1,783,721 2,409,450 0.1% 1,304,489 0.1%
60 CITI BANK 4,147,441 1,980,217 2,397,507 0.1% 1,303,053 0.1%
61 CABS 2,616,742 184 CONTINENTAL MILLERS PVT LTD 882,729 2,393,951 0.1% 333 SINO ZIMBABWE CEMENT COMPANY 1,052,130 1,302,945 0.1%
62 PARROGATE ZIMBABWE (PVT) LTD 3,291,753 776,173 2,393,643 0.1%
63 FARAMATSI MOTORS (PVT) LTD 4,250,329 2,286,132 185 INTABA TRADING (PVT) LTD 1,793,169 2,353,415 0.1% 334 DISTRIBUTION GROUP AFRICA 1,046,182
64 DULY HOLDINGS PVT LTD 3,045,511 1,563,977 2,345,393 0.1% 335 INNSCOR AFRICA LIMITED T/A BREAD COMPANY -
65 BREASTPLATE SERVICES P/L T/A NEMCHEM 2,621,465 186 SELONA AFRICA (PVT) LTD 1,923,859 2,336,335 0.1% 336 GLADMIL INVESTMENTS
66 SATEWAVE TECHNOLOGIES 4,220,488 550,000 2,328,380 0.1% 1,382,960
67 ISOQUANT INVESTMENTS P/L 3,270,297 1,737,436 187 CLASSECON ROOFING AFRICA (PVT) LTD 1,734,992 2,314,448 0.1%
68 SONDELANI RANCHING P/L 3,081,755 2,156,978 2,310,408 0.1%
69 RARDON INVESTMENTS (PVT) LTD 2,564,164 188 C AND T MINING COMPANY PVT LTD 1,892,800 2,306,534 0.1% 337 REACHOUT TRANSPORT (PVT) LTD 842,213
70 CHINA NANCHANG ENGINEERING (PVT) LTD 2,329,613 552,500 2,298,697 0.1%
71 Discount Steel Zimbabwe 3,115,364 1,494,274 189 CHINA INTERNATIONAL WATER AND ELECTRIC 677,507 2,291,194 0.1% 338 SPARKLE BEVERAGES PVT LTD 1,205,633
72 RESTAPEDIC MANUFACTURING (PVT) LTD 2,754,533 1,678,437 2,278,233 0.1% 339 FIDELITY PRINTERS AND REFINERIES 720,609
73 BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO ZIMBABWE 2,882,786 2,183,723 190 J MANN & COMPANY (PVT) LTD 2,093,951 2,275,352 0.1% 340 TOJA VENTURES (PVT) LTD 586,500
74 IETC ZIMBABWE PVT LTD 2,724,676 2,399,280 2,261,972 0.1%
1,487,000 191 LEGEND LOUNGE PRIVATE LIMITED 1,504,089 2,260,000 0.1% 341 HANG UP (PVT) LTD T/A HOMESTYLE CANDLES 1,370,800
1,844,162 2,259,400 0.1%
1,622,198 192 SLUCKRIDGE INVESTMENTS 1,504,730 2,254,407 0.1% 342 GIANT WRAP (PVT) LTD 655,315
1,770,000 2,236,897 0.1% 343 EQUIP SOLUTIONS PVT LTD 472,000
193 African Banking Corpora�on 2,345,393 2,227,835 0.1% 344 DYNAMASTER PVT LTD 967,721
2,194,303 0.1%
194 MUNELLA ENTERPRISES (PVT) LTD 1,791,194 2,193,630 0.1%
2,192,298 0.1%
195 ALPHA PACKAGING (PVT) LTD 2,163,380 345 AFRICA ARISE INITIATIVE 1,363,651
346 ZIMBABWE SCHOOL EXAMINATION COUNCIL 423,619
196 Astra Chemicals 1,663,654 347 LAUETTA INVESTMENTS PL
1,350,502
197 ZHONG JIAN INVESTMENTS 1,562,908

198 UNICARE (1989) PVT LTD 2,054,788 348 INVEST SOLAR PVT LTD -

199 Tuff Industrials (Pvt) Ltd 1,736,811 349 Doves Financial Services (Pvt) Ltd 1,095,530
350 GEORGIA PETROLEUM 450,000
5,916,759 0.3% 200 NATIONAL PROPSHAFT CENTER (PVT) LTD 1,940,164 351 ZIMBABWE MOTOR DISTRIBUTORS (PVT) LTD
5,879,596 0.3% 1,046,074
5,783,467 0.3% 201 Highfield Petroleum (Pvt) Ltd 1,506,612
5,747,034 0.3%
5,580,160 0.3% 202 CASSETTE TECHNOLOGIES PRIVATE LIMITED 2,034,812 352 COALZIM MARKETING P/L 1,035,184
5,514,599 0.3%
5,499,420 0.3% 203 ACOL CHEMICALS HOLDINGS (PVT) LTD 2,171,972 353 NAVEBERRY PVT LTD 1,339,554
4,933,606 0.3% 354 NATAFLEX PRODUCE PBC 1,339,551
4,923,613 0.3% 204 PAULOS CONSTRUCTION 2,260,000 355 LAFARGE CEMENT ZIMBABWE LTD 1,339,179
4,902,874 0.3%
4,855,730 0.3% 205 OMNI AFRICA 978,400
4,800,329 0.3%
4,782,946 0.3% 206 VELVETEA ENTERPRISES (PVT) LTD 1,325,904 356 REFRESHING SANITARY PADS P/L 1,181,418
4,778,443 0.3%
4,772,988 0.3% 207 FIRST PACK MARKETING (PRIVATE) LIMITED 1,513,741 357 MAKA RESOURCES PVT LTD 1,130,928
4,764,570 0.3% 358 DELTA BEVERAGES (PRIVATE) LIMITED -
4,760,192 0.3% 208 EAGLE AGENCIES (PVT) LTD 1,452,500 359 PAPERMART INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD
4,747,887 0.3% 815,546
4,728,893 0.3% 209 PARAGON PRINTING AND PACKAGING (PVT) LTD 1,094,010
4,602,364 0.3%
4,598,695 0.3% 210 MULLER BROTHERS 1,055,826 360 PEPPERTREE TRADING (PVT) LTD 1,040,420
4,504,985 0.3%
4,494,676 0.3% 211 BRAFORD INVESTMENTS 1,473,567 361 J R GODDARD CONTRACTING (PRIVATE) LIMITED 1,324,124
362 CHEMICAL PROCUREMENT SERVICES AFRICA (PVT) L 730,703
PHOSPHOGEN INVESTMENTS PVT LTD 1,322,214 2,186,197 0.1% 363 RICHAW SOLAR TECH (PVT) LTD 862,712
212 T/A NUTRIMASTER 2,182,136 0.1%
2,176,872 0.1%
213 CLOVER LEAF MOTORS P/L 1,112,991 2,159,324 0.1% 364 TANAKA ENERGY 909,175
2,129,396 0.1%
214 CITY GLASS & PAINT SUPPLIERS 1,788,080 2,108,400 0.1% 365 QUALITY GAS (PVT) LTD 700,000
2,099,203 0.1% 366 PEPARY INVESTMENTS P/L 614,713
215 Steelmate Investments 1,700,904 2,089,408 0.1%
2,071,049 0.1%
216 W CRANE CONTRACTORS (PVT) LTD 770,900 367 POCK ISLAMP PRIVATE LIMITED TA ZIMBABWE FREIG 1,308,580

217 PULSE MEDICAL CARE 1,309,900 368 AC DC DYNAMICS (PVT) LTD 219,080

218 NATIONAL FOODS PROPERTIES (PVT) LTD 2,099,203 369 SHAPE IT ADHESIVES 1,105,283

219 CUT RAG PROCESSORS PVT LTD 1,689,408 370 HYPERY BRANDS PVT LTD 1,304,489

220 STRAUSS ZIMBABWE 1,876,649 371 SANLAM AFRICAN FRONTIER MARKETS FUND 450,260

372 SBSA RCN HUB 1,302,945