NewsHawks 5 August 2022

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WHAT’S INSIDE Friday 5 August 2022 ANEkWeyScoded SDPoOuRbTle
wedding like centurions hand
ZNeEsWa S no other rejuvenated Zim
switches fabulous win
off top Story on Page 8
officials Story on Page 54

Story on Page 4

Cash-rich
Zim govt
suppliers
fuelling
currency
volatility

ALSO INSIDE Mnangagwa’s US$500m Cyber City investor exposed

Page 2 News NewsHawks

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

BERNARD MPOFU

GOVERNMENT procurement and service pro-

Cash-rich govt suppliersviders — who include public works contractors
and suppliers of goods and services — are desta- fuel currency volatility
bilising the foreign exchange market by offload-
ing part of their staggering monthly payments
of about ZW$50 billion into the parallel market,
fuelling spiralling inflation, various official and
market sources say.
Public procurement is central to government
service delivery. It involves large sums of money.
The sources say the government’s monthly
operating budget is between ZW$95 billion and
ZW$100 billion. It is split almost equally between
civil servants’ wage bill on one hand and recurrent
as well as capital expenditures on the other.
The operating budget covers the day-to-day
expenses required to deliver services to residents.
These costs return year after year and include
items like civil servants’ wages, office supplies and
utilities. Sources say the government spends about
ZW$50 billion a month (about US$110 million
at the official exchange rate) on suppliers. This
money mostly finds its way into the parallel mar-
ket, fuelling exchange rate volatility and inflation.
The official exchange rate was
US$1:ZW$458.40 yesterday. The parallel market
rate US$1:ZW$710. However, the rate is coming
down due to a cocktail of tight monetary policy
measures and crackdown on the market.
Most of the government’s procurement of
goods, works and services is financed short-term
from public funds. These services include buying
motor vehicles, information communication tech-
nology systems and computers, fuel, furniture,
food, travel, cleaning services, utilities, construc-
tion of roads and dams, alteration, demolition,
installations, or repair work done under contract
and paid mostly in full through taxpayers’ funds.
Sometimes these are financed by loans, donor
funds and grants, but due to Zimbabwe’s inter-
national isolation and lack of external funding
because of failure to repay debts and arrears, as
well as financial restrictions (targeted sanctions),
foreign funding is limited. Development partners
are still helping with an average of close to US$1
billion annually, but not with budget finance.
Zimbabwe has 476 public and publicly-guar-
anteed (PPG) loans, as well as over 500 debt se-
curities which are active and currently running.
Total PPG external debt, including Reserve Bank
of Zimbabwe (RBZ) external guaranteed debt, are
US$10.5 billion, 71.2% of gross domestic prod-
uct. Excluding the RBZ external debt of US$2.1
billion, total external public debt is US$8.4 bil-
lion, an increase of 4.1% from the total public ex-
ternal debt stock of US$8.094 billion.
Due to failure to repay arrears, the country can-
not borrow externally. As a result, it finances its
capital expenditure projects through short-term
outlays, thus creating liquidity, fuelling money
supply and inflation.
Government suppliers are wreaking havoc on
the foreign exchange market, sources indicate.
After procurement, and providing goods and
services, the suppliers are paid in local Zimba-
bwean dollar currency, which they often rush to
offload on the parallel market to buy hard curren-
cy — United States dollars — as a store of value
and a more preferred medium of exchange in the
market, they say.
The flooding of local currency on the parallel
market puts pressure on the exchange rate and
accelerates the depreciation of the Zimdollar rela- Finance minister Mthuli Ncube

tive to the US dollar. With the supply side of local
currency booming, the rate shifts fast due to the in the world. more money into the economy, inflation generally various works under the Emergency Road Reha-
scarcity of forex. The demand for forex increases Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe rises. bilitation Programme in urban centres and up-
with increased money supply. (RBZ) recently launched gold coins in a bid to Why increased money supply fuels inflation: grading of the Harare-Beitbridge highway. There
Milton Friedman famously said “inflation is al- curb soaring inflation amid a slump in the coun- l Money supply is the amount of money in cir- are also dam construction projects, including
ways and everywhere a monetary phenomenon in try’s currency. It says the coins are also a store of culation. Gwayi-Shangani Dam works.
the sense that it is and can be produced only by a value, but speculators see it as an arbitrage oppor- This includes notes and coins, and bank deposits; When undertaking public works, Treasury pro-
more rapid increase in the quantity of money than tunity. In June, the RBZ raised interest rates to a l If the government prints or injects more money, vides funding in cash (Zimdollar/RTGS transfers),
in output”. new record as the government officially re-intro- then cash in the economy increases. Households instead of long-term financing models such as pri-
Zimbabwe is currently witnessing this phe- duced the US dollar as legal tender to rein in surg- would have more money, so their demand for vate-public partnerships or build-operate-transfer.
nomenon bordering on hyperinflation for the ing inflation and stabilise the tumbling exchange goods and services would rise. With more cash, “Suppliers are paid in bulk and that takes half of
third time in just over a decade, market watchers rate. The monetary policy committee more than they will buy more goods; government’s monthly budget, which is between
and analysts opine. doubled the interest rate to 200% from 80%, l However, if production of goods for sale re- ZW$95 billion and ZW$100 billion. Because
As public procurement suppliers drove the ex- a cumulative increase this year to 14 000 basis mains the same, demand rises against limited sup- of the current inflationary environment, govern-
change rate, inflation climbed to 256.9% in July, points. ply — higher demand pushes up prices; ment suppliers do forward pricing or forward
from 191.6% in the prior month. It reached its The central bank has continuously been in- l Therefore, increasing the money supply faster rate benchmarking the exchange rate,” a Treasury
highest point since February of 2021. The coun- troducing tighter monetary measures to contain than growth in real output causes inflation. The source said.
try has been experiencing strong inflationary pres- money supply, and stabilise the exchange rate and reason is there is more money chasing the same “As they mop the forex market, they put pres-
sures over the past seven months due to exchange inflation. number of goods; and sure on the official exchange rate as well as the par-
rate volatility and external factors, including the Economists say there is a strong link between l In the case of Zimbabwe, money supply and allel market rate.”
Russian-Ukraine war. money supply and inflation. If the money supply liquidity are funnelled into the parallel market, As the economy implodes, fiscal and monetary
American professor of applied economics Steve rises faster than real output, then prices usually driving the exchange rate and inflation. authorities have been engaged in a series of meet-
Hanke says inflation is actually 595%, the highest rise. This means if a central bank prints or injects Major construction projects currently include ings of late, in a frantic effort to halt the crash of

NewsHawks News Page 3

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

the local currency and contain inflation. Official — Picture: Aaron Ufumeli
meetings over the state of the economy have often When undertaking public works such as roads rehabilitation and construction, Treasury provides the funding through cash (Zimdollar/RTGS transfers), instead of
resulted in hard-hitting statements as fiscal and long-term financing models such as private-public partnerships or build-operate-transfer. Suppliers are paid for in bulk, taking half of the monthly budget. Because
monetary authorities read the riot act to contrac- of the inflationary environment, all the government suppliers do forward pricing following the exchange rate.
tors and suppliers — the black market kingpins.
Flooding of local currency on black market puts pressure on the exchange rate and accelerates depreciation of the Zimdollar versus the US dollar.
Finance minister Mthuli Ncube recently issued
a chilling warning to the government suppliers:

“The Financial Intelligence Unit will follow up
and scrutinise all payments made to government
suppliers, to establish how the funds have been
utilised.

“Where it is determined that funds were
channelled to the illegal foreign exchange mar-
ket — the bank accounts involved will be frozen
indefinitely pending criminal investigations and
prosecution of the companies concerned and
their directors and officers.

“Proceeds from the illegal transactions will be
forfeited to the state in terms of the Money Laun-
dering and Proceeds of Crime Act.

“The suppliers concerned, their directors and
related companies will be blacklisted with the
Procurement and Regulatory Authority of Zim-
babwe and will be banned from participating in
any government tenders.”

In addition, government is setting up a process
to scrutinise all awarded tenders to ensure it is get-
ting full and fair value, Ncube added.

Ncube’s statements are a tacit admission that
government suppliers are one of the biggest driv-
ers of exchange rate collapse and inflation.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been
blaming the invisible hand for attempting to de-
stabilise the economy ahead of the 2023 general
elections, in which he faces a mountain to climb.

Gift Mugano, an adjunct professor of econom-
ics at Durban University of Technology, South
Africa, says in the absence of political will to ad-
dress the problem holistically, it would be futile
for Treasury to threaten contractors.

“From a distribution perspective, you will see
that 34.5% of the budget is allocated towards
capital projects, while 12% is going towards ag-
ricultural sector. Ironically, the players or service
providers who are participating in road and dam
construction are also the same players we see
heavily involved in the agricultural programmes
which are funded by government. What it means
is that a few individuals will be stashed with huge
RTGS balances which they offload into the black
market — this has been the phenomenon since
2018. This explains why the exchange rate is run-
ning away,” Mugano said.

“From a procurement perspective, government
departments purchase various requirements from
middlemen who later on go and procure the very
same commodities from manufacturers and add
excessive mark-ups plus massive forward exchange
rates which are currently excess of ZW$1 800 per
US dollar at a time when the parallel market rate
is around 850. The very same suppliers are given
pre-payments which enable them to offload their
abnormal profits on the black market.

“In order to address this anomaly, the minister
of Finance and Economic Development issued a
statement which compels government service pro-
viders to use formal rates and avoid going to the
black market. In addition, in his mid-term budget
review, he announced that government will set up
a Value for Money Unit. Both of these measures
will not be effective, as far as I am concerned.

“My humble view on its lack of effectiveness is
hinged on the fact that it is targeting criminals in-
volved in black market activities who are aided by
the very same government in the first instance.”

Mugano said for any rational economic agent,
it does not make sense for Treasury in the first
instance to pass payment of a requisition which
factored in a forward exchange rate, of say
ZW$2 000 instead of the official ZW$458.

“So, if it is granted that Treasury releases pay-
ment in advance for commodities being priced by
the supplier at a ridiculous rate, on their watch,
how can we expect the very same office to push
for effective implementation of the very same in-
strument compelling suppliers from going to the
black market?” Mugano asked.

“It is important to note that the proposal to
establish a Value for Money Unit is a very import-
ant and right step. This unit will, inter alia, stamp
out the use of middlemen who are not necessary,
elimination of forward pricing exchange rates and
double pricing which characterise construction
work.

However, its effectiveness will depend on po-
litical will, especially in view of the prevalence of
concentration of few suppliers (who have political
muscle).”

Page 4 News NewsHawks

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

MOSES MATENGA Zesa switches off top officials

TOP government officials, critical security es- . . . power utility raises millions in blitz
tablishments, including police stations and
ministry departments, were left in the dark last Zesa executive chairperson Sydney Gata
week after the country’s power utility, Zesa,
switched them off in an attempt to recover
US$62 million owed by exporting companies
and ZW$17 billion by ordinary consumers.

The NewsHawks, after reporting on the blitz
last week, established that several farms, some
owned by government and politically connect-
ed individuals who were notorious for not pay-
ing for electricity were switched off. All along,
they were being shielded from load-shedding,
but the blitz exposed how the bigwigs have not
been paying for services rendered by parastatals.

Zesa executive chairperson Sydney Gata con-
firmed the blitz in a speech at the handover of
vehicles in Harare, but would not disclose those
who were left in the dark. However, sources
confirmed that government officials, councils,
institutions and some police stations were af-
fected.

“In as much as we try to capacitate the busi-
ness, break even and deliver excellent qual-
ity service, we are owed US$62 million and
ZW$17 billion by customers,” Gata said.

“We have since embarked on an aggressive
debt collection blitz to recover what is owed to
us. Just this past weekend, we disconnected var-
ious defaulters.”

This comes amid reports that local authori-
ties are also planning a similar blitz, with prom-
inent names of companies and individuals also
featuring prominently.

It emerged that of late, the power utility’s
load shedding was not affecting powerful peo-
ple, including politicians whose businesses con-
sume a lot of electricity, while it affected low-
er-end power users.

“The challenge is that we are now in serious
competition with other countries that rely on
the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) for
power. With

Mozambique and Zambia generating much
of the power, they now need payments up-
front,” a local engineer told The NewsHawks
this week.

Zimbabwe needs over US$17 million a
month for electricity, now coming mainly from
Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) and
Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (Zes-
co).

No official comment could be immediately
obtained from Zesa, but it emerged several po-
lice stations in Harare experienced blackouts.

“Some of the police stations and camps
where staff stay were switched off over what we
were told was non-payment of electricity bills,”
a police insider said.

Local authorities, including Chinhoyi, Ma-
rondera and Kadoma, were also targeted and
are said to have since made payment plans.

Observers have condemned government
officials, institutions, parastatals and political-
ly connected individuals for not paying their
dues. The culture of getting electricity for free
hampers Zesa from operating as a business,
which worsens the power crisis.

Last week, Gata issued a strongly worded
statement warning mining companies of im-
pending doom if they continue failing to pay
for power.

Gata said Zesa will no longer charge mining
houses tariffs below cost of production, as the
company is struggling to service a “ballooning
power import debt”.

“Zesa will no longer be able to continue
supplying electricity to exporting customers at
USc9.86 as it is unsustainable,” Gata said in
justifying the move that led to the blitz which
saw several firms switched off.

The southern African country generates an
average 1 200-1 300 megawatts of its own
electricity and relies on imports from Zambia,
South Africa and Mozambique to cover short-
falls.

Last week, Zambia’s Energy minister Peter
Kapala said his government had entered into a
deal with Zesa that will run for five years and
will see Zimbabwe making pre-payments for
the 100 megawatts which will come from Kaf-
ue Gorge Lower.

The Zambian minister said Zimbabwe is cur-
rently facing a critical shortage of power which
has been worsened by depressed generation at
Hwange and Harare thermal power stations.

NewsHawks News Page 5

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

BRENNA MATENDERE Mnangagwa’s US$500m Cyber
City murky investor exposed
MULK International, the United Arab Emir-
ates-based company roped in by President Em- The UAE-based company Mulk International secretly bought Nigeria’s National Theatre for US$40 million in 2014 in a corrupt deal (below).
merson Mnangagwa to build a US$500 mil-
lion Zim Cyber City in Harare, secretly bought by Mulk International, another Nigerian media the historical monument it was created to be babwe’s honorary consul to Belarus Alexander
Nigeria’s National Theatre for US$40 million outlet, The Ellites, produced a damning story with employees and management working in Zingman, was to benefit from a US$62 million
in 2014 in a corrupt deal, raising anger in the titled: concert to achieve the aim of promoting cultur- murky deal to supply local authorities country-
West African country, checks by The News- al unity and enhancing artistic values.” wide with fire engines.
Hawks have revealed. “EXPOSED: The Cauldron of Corruption and
Intrigues Inside National Theatre.” “But, with hard documentary evidence and Zingman had also creamed off Zimbabwe of
The corrupt deal in Nigeria casts doubt over allegations of gross financial misappropriations, millions in gold mining, as well as supplying
the real intentions and transparency of the The story, written by the publication’s As- the National Theatre looks like an excellent the country with buses and agricultural equip-
Shaji UI Mulk-led conglomerate in its current sistant Editor Seun Akioye, said documents script for one of the plays which are frequently ment.
Harare project where President Mnangagwa of- obtained showed “systemic corruption and in- on display at the theatre to insiders.”
ficiated during the ground breaking this week. trigues at the heart of the National Theatre.” Another controversial figure close to Mnan-
The entry of Mulk Holdings into Zimba- gagwa, Dellish Nguwaya, is entangled in the
Mulk Holdings and its joint venture part- Part of the story reads: “Looking from afar, bwe, a company which Mnangagwa himself contentious Pomona waste-to-energy deal that
ners own and manage a group of 20 companies one sees a picture of a masterpiece and a cul- brought into the country, comes barely amonth will see Harare paying more than US$300 mil-
with a sector focus on construction and fit-out tural landmark called the National Theatre. To after it emerged that another of his ally, Zim- lion for its own garbage for the next 30 years.
manufacturing, as well as diversified business outsiders, the magnificent structure remains
interests in trading, commodities, real estate
and energy, spread across 48 countries.

According to Mnangagwa, the Zim Cyber
City to be built by Mulk International will be
a state-of-the-art mixed-use hi-tech park in Mt
Hampden, an area on the outskirts of Harare
touted as Zimbabwe’s new capital.

Mnangagwa said the Zim Cyber City is a
landmark project, offering a world-class high-
end lifestyle Zimbabweans.

Mulk’s company has already been given an
exclusive licence to establish a blockchain and
digital assets special economic zone.

The UAE company promised to build town-
houses, villas, hi-tech offices, duty-free mall
and 15-storey commercial tower.

The company was also given unfettered in-
centives like a five-year tax exemption, freehold
resale of the real estate and permission to em-
ploy foreign staff.

As reported by Nigeria’s prestigious media
house, PM News, in 2014, the then minister
of Culture and Tourism, Edem Duke, secretly
jetted off to the UAE, where he traded off the
nation’s cultural pride to Mulk Holdings.

The media outlet reported that the secret
deal was successfully shielded from the Nigeri-
an media, signed and sealed in December 2014
between a delegation led by Duke, the general
manager of the National

Theatre, Kabiru Yar’Adua and representa-
tives of Mulk Holdings to the tune of US$40
million (about N7.5 billion at that time).

PM News learnt of the deal through a re-
port by the GulfAfrica Review, which in its 10
December 2014 issue said Mulk Holdings, a
diversified UAE-based business conglomerate,
had “announced its entry into the retail sector
in West Africa through a US$40m joint ven-
ture to develop Nigeria’s National Arts Theatre
in Lagos into a duty-free shopping centre in
partnership with the Suzanne Group.”

Gulf Africa Review is a business news plat-
form covering trade and investment ties be-
tween the Gulf Cooperation Council and
Sub-Saharan Africa.

“Barely one year after Nigerians stopped him
from turning the National Theatre into a ho-
tel, the minister of Culture and Tourism, Edem
Duke, secretly jetted off the country to the
United Arab Emirates, UAE, where he traded
off the nation’s cultural pride to Mulk Hold-
ings, a diversified UAE-based conglomerate
with interests in retail sector and other busi-
nesses,” reads the report by PM News.

Although the deal was marred by allega-
tions of corruption, Mulk Holdings pledged to
turn the interior of the National Theatre into
a modern duty-free and retail shopping mall.
The project was designed to convert approxi-
mately 30 000m2 of the existing space in two
15 000m2 phases.

At that time, Nigeria’s ambassador to the
UAE, Bashir Yuguda, was later quoted as say-
ing: “The National Theatre has been the hub
of cultural activities in Nigeria since its estab-
lishment in 1976, and this development will
complement and kick-start a master re-devel-
opment programme designed for this area.”

More media outlets reported the secret sale
of the theatre to Mulk Holdings and express-
ly revealed that the majority of Nigerians were
against the deal.

The National Arts Theatre was originally
built for the Festival of Arts and Culture in
1977 in Nigeria and so it was considred a key
facility by citizens.

A year after the theatre had been taken over

Page 6 News NewsHawks

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

Musengezi queries Mnangagwa lawsuit delay

RUVIMBO MUCHENJE Zanu PF youth league member Sybeth Musengezi

ZANU PF youth league member Sybeth
Musengezi has expressed displeasure over the
High Court’s delay in hearing a case in which
he is challenging the legitimacy of Emmerson
Mnangagwa as the ruling party’s leader fol-
lowing the ouster of long-time ruler Robert
Mugabe.

Musengezi is questioning Mnangagwa’s as-
cendancy following the November 2017 coup
which toppled Mugabe after 37 years in pow-
er.

Musengezi filed the application in Novem-
ber 2021 and, to date, a trial date is yet to be
set down.

In a letter to his lawyers Ncube Attorneys
dated 3 August 2022, Musengezi say the court
must set the matter down without further de-
lay.

“I am deeply disappointed with the progress
of HC5687/21 and starting to doubt the in-
tegrity of the Harare High Court to deal with
this matter. After our meeting last week I had
to personally inquire with the High Court
why the matter is taking too long to be heard
and was referred to the High Court Kiosk,”
he said.

Musengezi noted missing documents that
were supposed to be filed by Federation of
Non- Governmental Organisations (Fongo)
director Goodson Nguni, who challenged the
application.

“I noticed that: In HC4129/22, TK Hove
who are representing Goodson Nguni and
Fongo may have misled the court in their no-
tice of opposition by claiming that they filed
and served Mbidzo Muchadehama and Ma-
koni with a Notice of Set Down, Heads of Ar-
gument and a consolidated index on 10 May
2022 because:
l The documents have not been found at
Mbizo, Muchadehama and Makoni; and
l The documents have also not been found
at the High.

Court Kiosk. There are no soft copies of the
said documents in the HC4129/22 folder at
the High Court,” he said.

“Upon noticing the anomalies, I checked
with the Civil Registry for the hard copies
but was referred to the Registrar’s office after
a lady named Diza had called the Registry Su-
pervisor Makwata who informed her that the
file was of a “security nature” and they cannot
handle it.

The Registrar’s office referred me back to
the Civil Registry to see one Tigere who said
even if I am the applicant in the matter, I can-
not access the file but need to be represented
because of the sensitivity of the matter. How-
ever, I went back to the High Court today
with your correspondence lawyers’ representa-
tive but also failed to locate or trace the files,”
Musengezi wrote.

“We proceeded to TK Hove offices in Hill-
side so we could get copies of the Notice of
Set Down, Heads of Arguments and the Con-
solidated Index that they claimed to have
filed. A lawyer named Kudzi said he cannot
give us the copies as he needs to be cleared by
his bosses first because the matter is a sensi-
tive one. However, Kudzi and their messenger,
one Msaigwa both indicated that “they have
also made numerous follow ups with the High
Court and finally found the files last week but
were asked by the High Court staff to bring in
new copies into the files because there were a
lot of missing documents in those files at the
High Court,” he added.

Musengezi, who says he has been a ruling
party member in good standing for over 20
years, has sued Zanu PF for appointing Mnan-
gagwa interim leader through a central com-
mittee meeting held on 19 November 2017 at
its headquarters in Harare, later ratified by an
extraordinary congress on 15 December 2017.

He says the way the meeting was hastily
convened, constituted and conducted was un-
constitutional and unlawful, hence resultantly
Mnangagwa is an illegal leader of Zanu PF.
Besides Zanu PF and Mnangagwa, there are
four other respondents in the matter.

NewsHawks News Page 7

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

Dead army boss leaves trail of blood, tears

MOSES MATENGA l Gun-totting Mabenge was feared in Kwekwe
l He murdered, assaulted citizens, records show
KWEKWE residents have described the late re-
tired Brigadier-General Benjamin Mabenge, who The late retired Brigadier-General Benjamin Mabenge
was this week accorded national hero status, as
a man who left a trail of destruction, blood and on the assault case, but was surprised that she told my charge was threatening Mabenge. I could to Mbizo residents who trespassed into his farm.”
tears with impunity in their locality. ended up being the one being accosted by the not help but laugh at that charge. Me, threatening After meeting Mabenge, the journalist said the
police. a highly decorated ‘Russian-trained’ soldier who
Mabenge was buried at the National Heroes’ was well-known for meting out ‘instant justice’ former army boss said: “You want to write about
Acre on Wednesday. “When I got there (at the police station), I was me assaulting someone, yet in fact I have killed?”

He allegedly harassed, intimidated, assaulted Mbizo MP Settlement Chikwinya
and in some cases fired shots at those who tres-
passed into his farm located near Mbizo town-
ship.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa described
him as a forthright man who was eloquent and
would also discreetly record private conversations
involving political actors.

The late army officer died last week after a long
illness amid revelations that he could not afford
proper medical facilities in Kwekwe. He died at a
health facility in Harare.

A former Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corpora-
tion board member, Mabenge was infamously
known in Kwekwe for threatening to shoot tres-
passers on his farm.

Those who spoke to The NewsHawks this week
described the now deceased Mabenge as a ruthless
military man who had blood on his hands.

Even journalists in Kwekwe also had a story
to tell about Mabenge, saying he would threaten
them to stop them from writing about his she-
nanigans.

Those found loitering on his farm, fishing or
fetching firewood recounted his brutality. He also
targeted opposition supporters as he was an active
Zanu PF member in the Midlands city.

Mabenge took over Woodlands Farm, previ-
ously known KwaFiro, a cattle ranch boasting
fertile arable land. He dismally failed to co-exist
with residents.

Records show that in 2007 Mabenge was brief-
ly arrested after allegedly fatally shooting an op-
position MDC-T activist, while critically injuring
another one in the process.

The MDC-T accused the much-feared
Mabenge of fatally shooting Clement Takaendesa
and seriously wounding Taurai Chigede.

Mbizo Member of Parliament Settlement
Chikwinya this week confirmed Mabenge’s atroc-
ities, adding that although they have respect for
the dead, his acts of cruelty will not be forgotten.

Kwekwe is a politically volatile city, with main-
ly Zanu PF-linked perpetrators being left scot-
free despite the overwhelming evidence against
them.

Mabenge was arrested but never faced trial.
Chikwinya this week narrated how ruthless
Mabenge was and how he led a reign of terror in
the gold-rich city.
“The late Mabenge leaves behind footprints of
violence and terror within the Kwekwe commu-
nity,” Chikwinya said.
“Quick to come to our minds is the murder
and disabling injury of brothers Takaendesa and
Tapera Chigede, who were shot while fishing in
Mbembeswani River that flows across his farm.”
A woman was also shot and injured while
fetching firewood on his farm. Various residents
of Mbizo were assaulted after being caught fetch-
ing firewood on his farm.
Mabenge is also accused of hounding opposi-
tion supporters out of their workplaces, saying no
one should employ those “selling out the coun-
try”.
“While we are quick to forgive the dead, we are
not that quick to forget. The acts of impunity of
these Zanu PF chefs is prevalent in Kwekwe and
they get away with murder.
“Police are so fearful to arrest or even open cas-
es for prosecution.”
Chikwinya claimed the late former army boss
stood up to Mnangagwa at some point, even chal-
lenging him to a fistfight over some “differences”.
“The only thing we are grateful for with regards
to Mabenge is that he stood up against Mnangag-
wa to the extent of openly challenging him even
to a fistfight at some point.”
A female journalist also took to social media to
narrate her ordeal at the hands of Mabenge who
threatened her for investigating a case in which he
had allegedly assaulted a person.
She said she called Mabenge seeking “clarity”

Page 8 News NewsHawks

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

BRENNA MATENDERE Zanu PF faces ‘bhora musango’
in Gokwe by-election, 2023 polls
ZANU PF faces protest votes in the forthcom-
ing Gokwe-Kabuyuni parliamentary by-elec- Local government minister July Moyo.
tions slated for later this month and in the 2023
polls following a cocktail of political develop- and Local government minister July Moyo. “At some of his campaign meetings we actual- er-General Godwin Matanga through its law-
ments which have exposed fissures within the Moyo, who did not pick up calls when con- ly saw provincial members making addresses and yers, Bherebende Law Chambers, accusing four
constitutency. encouraging people to vote for him. Tshuma was senior police officers of abusing their powers by
tacted for comment, lost in Redcliff constituen- also allowed to splash money to supporters and trying to evict the company from a gold claim
Information at hand shows that the party cy in the 2018 elections. He hails from the Mid- dish out gifts like plastic plates, which is tanta- at Queensdale Farm in Kadoma at the behest of
sidelined some members of the Tonga commu- lands and is one of the Zanu PF bigwigs from mount to vote-buying,” said a Zanu PF support- Tshuma who allegedly wanted to take over op-
nity from voting after their names were report- the province, also home to President Emmerson er in the district. erations.
edly missing from the voters’ roll for the primary Mnangagwa.
elections. The by-election will take place on 27 The NewsHawks traced Tshuma’s footprints in Tshuma insisted he won fairly and stressed
August. On the day of the primary elections, amid the gold sector. that the posh vehicle he pitched up in was just
poverty in Gokwe, Tshuma pitched up in a con- one of several he used in the constituency. He
The disenfranchisement of the Tonga-speak- voy of sleek vehicles. He was in a 2022 armoured In May last year, a gold firm, DS Mining said he traded in gold transparently.
ing voters dampened the prospects of one of the Toyota Land Cruiser 300 series off-roader. Syndicate, wrote a letter to Police Commission-
candidates, Manager Munkuli, who at the end
of the day polled 3 661 votes behind the eventu- Gokwe-North district coordinating committee chairperson Justice Mayor Wadyajena
al winner and gold baron, Spencer Tshuma, who
garnered 4 336 votes.

A lecturer in the Midlands State University
Faculty of Social Sciences, Lyton Ncube, who
participated in the primary elections, got 220
votes, while another contender, Tapera Nyoni,
polled 363.

A total of 106 votes were spoilt in the elections
held in 16 districts of Gokwe-Kabuyuni constit-
uency which fell vacant after the death Leonard
Chikomba who died mysteriously in a car crash
in May, 20 kilometres from his Chitekete home.

Chikomba (67) was travelling alone on the
fateful day from a Zanu PF Midlands provincial
coordinating committee meeting held in Gwe-
ru, in which he had fiercely clashed with the
Gokwe-North district coordinating committee
chairperson Justice Mayor Wadyajena over the
imposition of district candidates for the women’s
league conference that was slated for Harare the
following month.

Soon after Tshuma was announced the win-
ner, Zanu PF WhatsApp social media groups
were awash with posts of disgruntlement, espe-
cially in districts like Vumba, Mareka, Manyuli
and Madhamu, which are predominantly Tonga
speaking.

In those areas, at some polling stations, vot-
ing was not conducted as registers were said to
be missing while in some areas people just could
not find their names.

In an intercepted message from a Zanu PF
WhatsApp group named Gokwe North Hardlin-
ers, one supporter posted:

“We have been working hard for the party but
if our cells registers go missing on election day,
how do we continue to work?”

A Zanu PF cell register is a book with names
of 50 people who form that lower structure of its
supporters in villages. A cell is the party’s small-
est constituent part.

However, Simbarashe Tumburayi, the Zanu
PF Midlands provincial spokesperson, down-
played the irregularities.

“The primary elections went on well. There
were no incidences of unfair play and the popu-
lar candidate won,” he said.

Tshuma said to the contrary, he is the one
who fell victim to rigging despite the fact that
he won.

“The allegations against me are false. Cell reg-
isters went missing in all the districts, including
in my stronghold areas, and I remember at a
certain polling station where I commanded huge
support, five of them (registers) could not be
found, meaning I lost 250 votes.”

“I personally got a call from one of my agents
to say there were multiple voting [incidents] at
a particular polling station where my rivals had
bussed people, so the rigging was against me. I
have put all that behind me. I won because I had
built some small dams for people for free using
my earthmoving machines,” he said.

However, a top party official in Gokwe North
district told The NewsHawks that there is out-
right anger among supporters in the constituen-
cy and the spectre of a protest vote in the August
by-election and in the crunch 2023 general elec-
tions cannot be ruled out.

“Many voters were turned away. There are
complaints that registers were pulled out in well-
known Tonga areas. On the other hand, in Ka-
ranga-speaking areas like Chireya and Madzivaz-
vido where Tshuma had immense support,
voters voted willy nilly, with some having second
bites after the use of registers was suspended un-
der unclear circumstances,” said the source.

Other Zanu PF officials revealed that Tshu-
ma, who has gold mines in Kadoma and Chegu-
tu, was positioned by the provincial leadership

NewsHawks News Page 9

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

Mutami rape case: More details emerge

BRENNA MATENDERE for 6pm-8pm was cancelled and replaced with Susan Mutami ports by The NewsHawks that she was a good
an entertainment slot of disco, which we called Suzzana Mwana Mutema was played. She liked athlete during her school days.
A FORMER boyfriend of Susan Mutami and gig. A school club called Stafford owned a PA the song, especially lyrics in it which said Suz-
her school friends at Loreto High School in [public address] system that they secured with zana was a beautiful lady dark in complexion, The teacher, a swimming coach by profes-
Silobela, Midlands, have validated findings by assistance from Brother Mangove.” which resembled her. She would dance a lot sion, was at the time part of the sports techni-
The NewsHawks that a man believed to be Pres- each time the song was played,” said the friend. cal department at Loreto with a special role in
ident Emmerson Mnangagwa she now accuses “It was at these entertainment gigs that Su- practical exercises (PE).
of rape visited her at odd hours at the learning san would dance mostly when a song called A teacher at Loreto High School in 2003
institution on the pretext he was her sekuru when Susan was in Form Three validated re- He is now a lecturer at one of the colleges
(uncle). in Gweru and during this publication’s visit to
the Midlands capital, the news crew caught up
The NewsHawks this week tracked down her with him.
ex-boyfriend in Gweru where he is visiting af-
ter six years of working in South Africa. “I cannot comment on her academic perfor-
mance, but in sport she was excellent. She was
In a no-holds-barred interview this week, into sprinting. I know her because I was into
he said Mutami's high school boyfriend said sport at the school. In terms of her behaviour
he knew the “sekuru” who would visit her on in Form Three, I can’t know because when I
Sundays in between study hours when all the left she was in Form Two,” he said.
other students were in class in 2004.
During a Twitter Spaces tell-all session when
He said the “sekuru” would send a man don- she revealed the sexual abuse scandal, Muta-
ning a suit to go and fetch her from Class 3C mi said she met now President Mnangagwa at
while parked behind the boys’ dormitories, on Wimpy in Kwekwe where he gave her $200
a secluded space near a path that leads to Lore- million (Zimbabwe dollars).
to mission’s pig sty.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe at the
They would sit in the car with dark tinted time had issued the bearer cheques and agro
windows for hours. cheques.

On Sundays, students at Loreto have a 9am- On 15 September 2003, the RBZ and
11am study period then another session from Standard Chartered had issued special bear-
2pm to 4pm. In the evening, the students go er cheques with denominations ranging from
back to study between 6pm-8pm. $5 000 to $20 000.

“He would come during the morning study The value of $2 million which Susan was
period just after morning church mass or in given by Mnangagwa at that time on the paral-
the afternoon between 2pm-4pm study period. lel market rate was close to US$400.
He (Mnangagwa) would send a guy to go talk
to the teacher on study period supervision who It is a sum of money that no nephew can
would allow her to go see him. They would give to a niece after meeting accidentally with
sit in his car for a very long period. I came to her if he has no further motives.
know about it because Susan would pass by my
class from hers which was just just behind our The NewsHawks visited the place which was
block, saying I am now going to see my seku- formerly Wimpey and found out that it is
ru,” said the ex-boyfriend. now being run by food outlet Steers. There is
a Zuva Petroleum fuel service station which is
“I once followed to see the kind of car of just outside the food outlet formerly Wimpy,
her sekuru and I realised that it looked like the which is located at the corner of ED Mnangag-
make of a Prado we see these days, but I can’t wa Street, formerly Robert Mugabe Way, and
be sure if it was indeed a Prado. When the un- Mbizo Road.
cle came, Susan became very liquid because he
would be pampered with huge sums of money When it was still Wimpy, Mnangagwa’s ally
and groceries,” added the boyfriend. Themba Msekiwa operated the food business
there.
He also revealed that at the time, he and
many other school pupils believed the man in Mnangagwa would frequent the place to see
the tinted vehicle was indeed her uncle. him and it explains why he met Susan Mutami
at that fast food outlet.
The ex-boyfriend also revealed that Susan
would tell him that her mother was a staunch Mnangagwa has previously been fingered
Zanu PF supporter. as having interests in Zuva Petroleum Services
and therefore the location of the Kwekwe pet-
“I cannot remember the position the mother rol station outside his ally’s former business
was said to be holding in Zanu PF and Susan premises is of interest.
painted a picture of her being a vibrant mem-
ber of the party. By the time I met Susan, her In 2020 there was an outcry after an an-
father had already died, but I am not sure at nouncement by Zuva Petroleum company that
which point he had passed on exactly,” he said. eight of their service stations had been granted
DFI (direct fuel import) status, allowing them
In 2004, Zimbabwe’s ministers used Toyo- to receipt and sell fuel in foreign currency,
ta Prados as their off-road vehicles bought for when trade was restricted to the local currency.
them by the government in addition to sleek
Mercedes-Benz sedans. Trading in foreign currency at the time had
been outlawed for the rest of the business com-
Other wealthy government officials also munity, but Zuva Petroleum enjoyed an ex-
owned Nissan Hardbody off-road cars that at emption not available to other players in the
the time were popularly known as “Machem- industry.
bere”.
Besides Wimpy, when Mnangagwa was Jus-
The NewsHawks also tracked down some tice minister, he also frequented Crashers Inn
of Susan’s friends that were identified by her bar along Gokwe-Kwekwe Highway, where he
ex-boyfriend. They spoke on condition of an- had a towering chair reserved for him.
onymity.
Investigations revealed that he brought with
One of them revealed that while in Form him some ladies each time he went there for a
Four, Susan confided in her that she thought drink and it is highly likely he could have also
she was pregnant. at one time taken Susan there.

“Susan during that time spent days not go- Mnangagwa also frequented Rippaz restau-
ing to school as she was very ill. At the school rant in Kwekwe for coffee during the time he
dispensary she was taking some medicine and was minister even though he now prefers to
telling colleagues that it was malaria, but she hang around at Precabe bar inside his Sher-
confided in me that she thought she was preg- wood Farm in Kwekwe. In her explosive rev-
nant because she had slept with a man during elations of her alleged rape, Mutami levelled
holidays,” said Susan’s childhood friend. further allegations of sexual abuse by the Pres-
ident’s trusted political ally Owen “Mudha”
Another of her friends said she made sure Ncube, accusing him of preying on her each
all her classmates knew that her sekuru was a time the President had finished with her.
minister.
The revelations of rape, sleaze and sordid
“She bragged about being visited by the sexual exploitation of a poor and vulnera-
sekuru, saying he was a minister. At that time ble minor by powerful Zanu PF leaders have
we did not know which minister it was, but shocked the nation, shining the spotlight on
after her recent revelations it makes sense to Mnangagwa’s sense of morality.
conclude it was Mnangagwa,” said the friend.
Rape is a serious crime. Mnangagwa’s deaf-
Another friend said Susan was a “dance ening silence in the face of the startling accu-
queen” on happy days. sations is astounding. In any part of the world,
a head of state and government would have
“On some of the Fridays, the study period responded to the allegations.

Page 10 News NewsHawks

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

Gold coins for the deep-pocketed

BERNARD MPOFU The RBZ says the central bank’s agents sold a total of 1 500 gold coins during the first week of their release into the market.

THE efficacy of the recently introduced gold around US$1 720 per ounce in June 2022. somehow sustained at that level, which is con- duction, is under sanctions and, as such, cannot
coins as an asset class capable of preserving val- Market watchers are of the view that the sidered high enough because of Russia's invasion sell its gold which kind of starved the gold mar-
ue of the domestic currency while slowing down of Ukraine. Russia, with 10% of world gold pro- ket.
rising inflation continues to generate interest, current price of US$1 720 per ounce has been
with critics both at home and abroad saying the
policy measure is a novel experiment creating
arbitrage opportunities for the deep-pocketed
elite.

Zimbabwe’s year-on-year inflation rose to
256.9% in July from 191.7% in the prior month
as the local currency continues to lose value
against the United States dollar. The Zimdollar
was this week trading at US$1: ZW$458 com-
pared to US$1: ZW$900 on the parallel market.
This means that it is cheaper to buy the coins
using the official rate before disposing them at a
later stage for a profit.

According to the Reserve Bank, a total of
1 500 gold coins were sold by the central bank’s
agents during the first week of their release into
the market, with 85% having been bought in lo-
cal currency and the balance of 15% in foreign
currency, raising suspicions that some wealthy
individuals and businesses disposed of excess
Zimbabwe dollar balances for arbitrage oppor-
tunities.

An additional 2 000 gold coins will, according
to RBZ governor John Mangudya, be released
into the market this week. The one-ounce,
22-carat gold coins bear an image of the Victoria
Falls, the country’s world-famous natural won-
der.

Experts say while gold has traditionally been
the ideal hedge against inflation and general eco-
nomic uncertainty, no country has previously
tried to tackle a weakening currency by selling
gold coins.

“In that sense, it is unusual,” said Carlos Ca-
ceres, the International Monetary Fund’s repre-
sentative to Zimbabwe, was quoted in the Wash-
ington Post recently.

Still, Caceres said, the IMF prefers tried-and-
tested tools as it advises member countries on
best economic policies. When confronting both
inflation and a weakening currency, such tools
include raising or cutting interest rates to control
inflation and tweaking the amount of money
that banks must set aside as reserves.

When contacted by The NewsHawks, the IMF
local office declined to comment on the impact
of the gold coins, saying: “We regret to advise
that we are unable to provide responses owing to
prior commitment.”

Gift Mugano, an adjunct professor of eco-
nomics at Durban University of Technology
said evidence shows that the major drivers of
the parallel market are companies contracted by
the government to build infrastructure and the
Command Agriculture programme.

“Conventional wisdom tells us that gold coins
are an investment asset which economic agents
with surpluses can consider as part of their strat-
egies to diversify their portfolios,” Mugano said.

“In Zimbabwe, ZimStat shows that 49%
of the population (7.9 million people) is in
extreme poverty, that is, they live on less than
US$1.90 per day. This population is struggling
to put food on the table and, as such, they can’t
aside any meaningful savings to buy gold coins,”
Mugano said.

“In view of the foregoing observation, the
generality of the population will not be part of
the gold coins market. It therefore means that
they will continue to throng the black market
for the US dollar since it is a trusted currency
which addresses matters such as convenience,
divisibility and trust issues, which gold coins
cannot address. In this regard, gold coins can’t
reduce the value preservation pressure from the
general public.”

Mugano added that from a return on invest-
ment point of view, at the moment, gold coins
are not an attractive investment vehicle as in-
vestors are looking for the US dollar-related in-
vestments which are powered by an increase in
interest rates as the US is hiking rates to contain
inflationary pressures.

This has resulted in a sudden fall of the gold
price per ounce from US$2 039 in 2021 to

NewsHawks News Page 11

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

NYASHA CHINGONO Zim set to mortgage platinum
royalties to pay white farmers
ZIMBABWE will mortgage platinum mining
royalties to pay US$3.5 billion in compensation Government made a commitment to re-pay ex-commercial farmers for improvements undertaken on the land
to white farmers whose land was expropriated by
the government, moving a step closer to resolving ernment made a commitment to re-pay ex-com- bled funding options that include bonds issued abe, who was ousted in a coup in 2017 and died
Robert Mugabe’s divisive land policy. mercial farmers for improvements undertaken domestically (both listed and unlisted), bonds last year, accused the West of imposing sanctions
on the land — irrigation, buildings and dams — issued into international markets (both listed and on his government as punishment.
This comes after the government said it will and not the land itself. unlisted); and listed and unlisted equity and qua-
double the royalty rate it charges mining compa- si type instruments. About 4 000 white farmers were evicted from
nies on the platinum group metals (PGMs) they Last year, Treasury announced the appoint- farms during the land redistribution programme
produce to 5% from January 2023 in a bid to ment of United Kingdom-based Newstate Part- Although President Emmerson Mnangagwa in the early 2000s, widely vilified by internation-
increase government revenues. ners as financial adviser to the agreement with vowed to maintain Mugabe’s land seizures, his al observers.
effect from April 2021. government believes compensating farmers for
“We will honour our promise of paying you revenues lost will help with re-engagement efforts Since the fast-track land redistribution pro-
[farmers] US$3.5 billion but under the circum- The financial adviser had already commenced with the West. gramme was implemented, Zimbabwe has
stances and in a more realistic way we will pay work, with the Joint Resource Mobilisation struggled to be self-sufficient while successive
US$35 million in six months starting January Committee supporting its capital-raising efforts. The land seizures were one of Mugabe’s signa- droughts continue to undermine the country’s
2023 and another US$35 million in July 2023 ture policies that soured ties with the West. Mug- food security.
to make it US$70million through platinum Ncube then said Newstate Partners had ta-
royalties,” Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube told
a commercial farmers' meeting last week where
he was questioned on the government’s plans to
settle the debt.

Zimbabwe is saddled with a nearly US$15 bil-
lion foreign debt which has affected the country’s
ability to borrow from multilateral funders.

“With that arrangement we can guarantee you
that we will pay the farmers without difficulties,”
Ncube pleaded with farmers present at the meet-
ing.

Zimbabwe tabled a US$3.5 billion offer to the
farmers two years ago, with US$1.75 billion due
for payment in July this year while the balance
would be paid in instalments of US$437.5 mil-
lion per year for the next four years.

Ncube admitted that the government had
missed the July deadline and would begin pay-
ments during the first half of 2023.

The former commercial farmers were given
four months to consider the government propos-
al.

Commercial Farmers' Union president Andy
Pascoe: "We did have a meeting last Friday of
our farmers with the minister of Finance and the
international financial advisors. New negotiable
proposals regarding payments were presented to
us. We are now in negotiations with government
in order to see if we are able to agree on some-
thing which is acceptable to our farmers."

The government once again failed to meet its
July deadline to pay the remaining half of the
US$3.5 billion in compensation to white farmers
whose land was seized and redistributed to indig-
enous Zimbabweans under the fast-track land
reform programme.

A CFU executive present at the meeting,
Charles Tuff, said: “Let us give the government a
chance, four months is not a long time.”

During the meeting, the government also of-
fered a 20-year bond that would have seen the
authorities paying US$70m per year as compen-
sation for land lost.

The white farmers, most of whom are now
over 70 years of age, complained that the com-
pensation will come when they have died. They
pleaded with the government for a better plan.

Under the compensation agreement, the gov-

MPs grill govt over US$10bn expenditure

MARY MUNDEYA saying the Auditor-General told MPs she was yet “Chairman, let me apologise for that, I had a Finance ministry permanent secretary George
to receive them. brief with my team and that’s when the 13th of Guvamatanga
PARLIAMENT last week grilled ministry of July date came about. I wasn’t aware that there
Finance officials for failing to furnish the Audi- Kambuzuma MP Willias Madzimure said:“Is was subsequent information request, my under-
tor-General’s office and the Parliamentary Public the ministry saying we are going to continue standing was that they were reviewing what we
Accounts Committee (PAC) with adequate in- spending money without condonation? And is it submitted with the view that it’s adequate,” he
formation justifying unauthorised expenditure of also the reason why the ministry didn’t ask for said.
over US$9.6 billion incurred from 2015-2018. the 2015-2018 Condonation Bill to be reinstat-
ed because there was no effort at all by the min- MPs accused the ministry officials of disre-
Ministry of Finance and Economic Develop- istry to have it reinstated even up-to today, but specting Parliament and the people of Zimbabwe
ment permanent secretary George Guvamatan- the ministry is now going on to again bring in and gave them a seven-day ultimatum to submit
ga was summoned to explain the unauthorised another bill to Parliament for condonation.” unauthorished expenditure information to the
expenditure by the PAC, but sent the Treasury’s AG’s office for validation purposes and bring
acting accountant-general Edwin Zvandasara Kuwadzana MP Chalton Hwende accused the copies to Parliament.
who was taken to task by members of Parliament ministry of Finance delegation of lying under
who demanded answers. oath. Despite the non-submission of government’s
unauthorised expenditure documents for the pe-
PAC acting chairperson Edwin Mushoriwa “Now we have two conflicting statements. riod between 2015 and 2018, Finance minister
accused the government of carelessly overspend- The Auditor-General is saying they can’t proceed Mthuli Ncube recently appealed to Parliament
ing and ignoring the constitution that gives Par- because they are waiting for documents from you again for condonation for unauthorised expen-
liament the mandate to decide how much mon- and you are coming here after you had been re- diture amounting to ZW$100.7 billion in 2020
ey the authorities can spend. minded by the chairman that you are under oath and ZW$6.8 billion for 2019.
now saying you stand ready to submit any addi-
Although Zvandasara claimed that Treasury tional information,” Hwende said. For some time, Treasury has continued to
had submitted the required documents to the spend outside the National Budget without leg-
Auditor-General on 13 July, Murehwa South The ministry of Finance official struggled to islative approval and the over-expenditure had
legislator Nyasha Masoka disputed his claims, answer the raised questions and apologised for tend to grow with its passing year.
coming to the meeting ill-prepared.

Page 12 News NewsHawks

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

MOSES MATENGA Mayor, councillors fume over
US$20 monthly allowance
HARARE councillors are seething with anger,
describing Local Government minister July Harare mayor
Moyo as inconsiderate and heartless in failing Jacob Mafume
to review the paltry monthly allowances given
to city fathers despite rising inflation.

Councillors receive ZW$16 000 in allow-
ances, while the mayor of Zimbabwe’s capital
gets ZW$22 000, amounts which are less than
US$30 per month. Moyo’s ministry gazettes
allowances for the country’s local authorities.

The allowances have exposed the councillors
to corruption as they are supposed to superin-
tend over a budget amounting to over a mil-
lion United States dollars while also expected
to guard against a lot of opaque deals.

However, the councillors said what they
were getting from government was an insult
and possibly meant to frustrate opposition
councillors, mainly in urban areas.

In United States dollar value, councillors are
getting US$22.50, enough only for 13 litres of
fuel.

Discussing a recent circular from the Local
Government ministry during a full council
meeting this week, councillors said central gov-
ernment was insincere and heartless in award-
ing such a paltry allowance.

Others felt the Local Government min-
ister was punishing them for trying to block
deals, including the US$400 million Pomona
waste-to-energy project that the Zanu PF po-
litburo member has been personally pushing
for.

Moyo and councillors now have a frosty re-
lationship over the deal and engaged in a nasty
war of words amid accusations and counter ac-
cusations of corruption.

Councillors accuse him of angling to per-
sonally benefit from the corrupt deal that will
see Harare paying millions of dollars a month
for 30 years.

“Of all the ministers, this one has been un-
kind, cruel and heartless,” Harare mayor Jacob
Mafume told councillors during the meeting.

He said the government was also blocking
the purchase of a mayoral vehicle as per con-
ditions of work, a move he said was meant to
frustrate him from discharging his duties.

“They are opposing the purchase of my car.
They rule with utmost cruelty, but we will con-
tinue working to serve the residents,” he said.

“What is surprising is that they have the en-
ergy and zeal to pay Geogenix BV.”

Councillor Ian Makone described the gov-
ernment’s action over councillors’ allowances
as irritating.

“lt is irritating and this has to be minuted for
records’ sake. It is an insult for him to say that.”

Councillors are also fuming over the failure
by the Urban Councillors Association of Zim-
babwe (Ucaz) to hold an indaba and map a way
forward in the wake of challenges faced by the
city fathers.

Harare has threatened to walk out of Ucaz
in protest, accusing the organisation of being
captured.

Moyo is not the first minister to fight coun-
cillors, with former ministers Ignatius Chom-
bo and Savior Kasukuwere having locked horns
with the opposition city fathers over several is-
sues.

DUMISANI NYONI Zimra forfeits corrupt employees’ assets

THE Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) US$1 billion in the last 10 years through trade Chimanda said the implementation of the ZW$491.49 billion during the first half of the
says several measures put in place to fight corrup- under-invoicing, which is just one form of tax Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act year.
tion within its system have begun bearing fruit, fraud among many. has resulted in suspected tainted properties being
after two houses, shares and a Porsche belonging frozen or served with restraining orders. The cumulative net revenue collections were
to a former employee were forfeited to the state Zimra head of corporate communications up from an initial target of ZW$359.16 bil-
in June this year. Francis Chimanda revealed in an interview that “The #I’mForZero campaigns rolled out to lion for the first half and rose about 84% from
the measures have yielded positive results. Manicaland, Matabeleland South, Masvingo ZW$195.17 billion at the end of the compara-
Several employees at the country’s tax collec- and Harare so far have enhanced positive collab- tive 2021 period.
tor have been accused of corruption, prompting “Illicit financial flows have been identified oration and cooperation between Zimra and its
the authorities to come up with a cocktail of and revenue recovered from cases reported using stakeholders,” the Zimra spokesperson said. In April this year, the Zimbabwe Anti-Cor-
measures to combat the scourge. the hotline and whistleblower facilities. Lifestyle ruption Commission (Zacc) said it was going
audits have resulted in ill-gotten wealth (prop- He said CDAT, which Zimra developed, has after officials at Zimra, who it accused of fuelling
The measures include the anti-corruption erties) being forfeited and confiscated under the seen the authority focus on performance effort corruption at the country’s borders.
hotline that can be used to anonymously report Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act,” areas and this, coupled with the criminal prose-
corruption, the #I’mForZero campaign, the he said. cution of those involved from within and outside The anti-graft body said the country’s borders
implementation of the Money Laundering and the organisation, has resulted in a declining in- had become enablers of high-level criminal ac-
Proceeds of Crime Act, lifestyle audits, the Cor- “Two houses, shares and Porsche vehicle were ternal corruption index. tivity, including drug trafficking, livestock theft,
ruption Diagnostic Assessment Tool (CDAT), forfeited to the state in June 2022 as a result of money laundering, and smuggling of minerals,
among others. Zimra loses millions of dollars intensive parallel financial investigations carried Taxes are a major source of government which it says is costing the country about US$1.8
in taxes through corruption every year and, ac- out on a former Zimra employee.” revenue, with Zimbabwe collecting a total of billion per annum in illicit financial flows.
cording to US-based Global Financial Integrity
2021 report, the southern African nation has lost

NewsHawks News Page 13

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

A key coded wedding like no other

ZIMBABWE’S ambassador to Tanzania Anselem to power through the coup, only to be removed af- er of the force deployed on 1 August 2018 to deal August 1 Killings.
Nhamo Sanyatwe will on Sunday formally wed his ter. Chiwenga and his lieutenants are fuming over with demonstrations following the controversial In a statement the office of the spokesperson of
wife Chido, MP for Nyanga North, in a union that Mnangagwa's move to seek re-election next year July general elections. Seven people were killed. On
will come under a cloud of the bitter aftermath of in violation of an understanding that Chiwenga 18 February 2019, Sanyatwe, a Lieutenant General the US Secretary of State wrote that it had placed
the 2017 coup in which he was a critical player. would be the next leader from 2023. (rtd), was appointed to be Zimbabwe’s Ambassa- Sanyatwe on sanctions “due to his involvement in
dor to Tanzania. gross violation of human rights”.
Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga is expect- As former commander of the Presidential
ed to attend the wedding at Regina Coeli Mission Guard, Sanyatwe, a close Chiwenga ally who was In July 2019, Sanyatwe and his wife Chido Chiwenga and Sanyatwe as well as their Zanu
in Nyanga, Manicaland. Sanyatwe played a crucial his best man and middleman during his marriage Sanyatwe were placed on a sanctions list by the PF faction are pushing to oust Mnangagwa at con-
role in bringing President Emmerson Mnangagwa to Marry Mubaiwa, was also the tactical command- United States for his alleged involvement in the gress in October and stop his 2023 re-election bid.

— STAFF WRITER

Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga’s wife Miniyothabo Baloyi Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga

Zimbabwean ambassador to Tanzania, retired Major-General Anselem Sanyatwe Nyanga North MP Chido Sanyatwe

Page 14 News NewsHawks

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

Broke govt rules out US dollar salaries

NYASHA CHINGONO

GOVERNMENT has cast doubt over the possi- Civil servants are demanding US dollar salries.
bility of paying civil servants in US dollars as in-
flation continues to ravage salaries, amid grow- As inflation continues to soar to stratospher- of Covid-19 allowances of US$75 and US$30 education and uniformed sectors and most re-
ing tensions and fears of unrest, The NewsHawks ic levels, the budget provision now needs to be monthly to civil servants and government pen- cently effected a 100% salary increment effective
can report. supplemented, considering reviews in employ- sioners, respectively, in hard currency effective 1 on 1 July 2022.
ment costs implemented over the period January January 2022.
A meeting held on Monday between the min- 2022 to July 2022. Before this week’s salary talks, negotiations
istry of Labour, ministry of Finance and civil Treasury also introduced a flat cushioning al- under the National Joint Negotiating Coun-
servants failed to find a solution to the salary To stop potentially explosive public service lowance of US$100 and US$50 to civil servants cil (NJCNC) and the Health Service Bipartite
crisis, with the government keeping its workers strikes, the government has since the start of the and government pensioners, respectively, pay- Negotiating Forum broke down after the au-
guessing on its next move. year announced measures such as a 20% sala- able in hard currency effective 1 March 2022, thorities reportedly took too long to implement
ry increase effective 1 January 2022, payment reviewed sector-specific allowances in health, agreed conditions of service.
Civil servants are demanding salaries of
pre-October 2018, equivalent to US$540 for To stop potentially explosive public service strikes, government has been announcing measures such as a 20% salary increase effective 1 January 2022.
nurses, teachers, and other workers.

The government says it cannot afford the
hefty wage bill.

This comes after civil servants failed to en-
gage in a two-day national strike, with members
choosing to report for duty, amid reports of in-
timidation and infiltration of the unions.

On Monday, the Finance ministry told union
leaders the government had no capacity to pay
civil servants in US dollars.

This followed a candid presentation of the
workers’ demands that included, a justifiable de-
mand for a US dollar salary with a value equiv-
alent to pre-October 2018 levels, implementa-
tion of agreed non-salary benefits, inclusion of
workers in the governance of the Government
Employees Mutual Savings Fund and pension
fund and the need for a universal medical allow-
ance to all civil servants.

“The ministry of Finance in response stressed
that the government treats the welfare of civil
servants as a priority, but was unequivocal that
government does not yet have the capacity to
pay the entire salary bill in US dollars,” the Zim-
babwe Confederation of Public Sector Trade
Unions (ZPCSTU) said.

The government once again managed to drib-
ble past its workers, saying it will “review the
situation in September to see if there is scope to
increase the US dollar and as well the Zimdollar
components premised on revenue inflows”.

The Finance ministry was wary not to com-
mit itself to paying salaries in US dollars, saying
this can only depend on revenue inflows.

Also present was Labour minister Paul Mavi-
ma who was told to find ways to find a plan to
safeguard the value of wages.

Mavima also concurred with the workers on
the importance of inclusivity and promised to
look into the concerns raised in the workers’ pre-
sentation.

“The workers were able to demonstrate the
desperate situation regards their survival and, as
way forward, the honourable minister of Labour
asked that we wait for September to see how far
government will go towards meeting our expec-
tations in terms of the cost of living and the fu-
ture of our work,” ZPCSTU said.

Last week, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube
was compelled by pressure from a restive pub-
lic service, a weakening domestic currency and
rising inflation to announce a ZW$929 billion
supplementary budget ahead of the watershed
2023 general elections.

Zimbabwe is battling rising year-on-year in-
flation which galloped from 191% in June to
256% in July.

Desperate to pacify the public service as the
economy continues to wobble, the country’s
Treasury chief committed 53% of the addition-
al budgetary financing to public sector wages
at a time hospitals and schools remain un-
der-stocked.

But civil servants continue to demand better
pay in US dollars.

According to Ncube, the 2022 National Bud-
get had set aside ZW$340 billion for the com-
pensation of public servants, of which outlays
for the period to June 2022 stood at ZW$193.8
billion, against a target of ZW$160.2 billion,
giving a negative variance of ZW$33.6 billion.

“The bulk of the supplementary budget
(53%) is going towards employment costs to
cushion public servants against increasing cost
of living. The balance of the additional resources
are going towards meeting government consum-
ables (18%), capital projects (19%) and social
benefits (7%),” Ncube said.

NewsHawks News Page 15

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

Zim’s food insecurity likely to worsen

MOSES MATENGA Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is cited as another factor that has worsened the Zimbabwean crisis.

ZIMBABWE’S complex socio-political crisis is “High international prices and the continued incentive is not motivating. started accepting maize with moisture content
likely to persist into 2023, with more human- depreciation of the local currency are contrib- “The government responded to low levels of above the traditional 12.5%. In addition, it has
itarian aid needed to avert a severe food chal- uting to below-average household purchasing acquired dryers for its central depots to dry such
lenge worsened by economic implosion, a new power, thereby increasing the proportion of deliveries to the GMB by increasing the incen- grain to acceptable levels,” the report reads.
report indicates. households experiencing challenges in meeting tive for early deliveries through the end of July
their basic food and non-food needs.” from 30% of overall payments in US dollars to In early June, the Grain Millers’ Association
The Famine Early Warning Systems Network a flat rate of US$90 per metric tonne on top of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) reportedly secured 400
(Fewsne), a leading provider of early warn- The report also says the government has not of the ZW$75 000 per metric tonne produc- 000 metric tonnes of maize from Malawi and
ing and analysis on food security, says as 2023 done enough to push farmers to deliver maize to er price. In another scheme to encourage ear- Zambia, expected to arrive in Zimbabwe in the
nears, the outlook remains gloomy. the Grain Marketing Board (GMB), saying the ly maize deliveries, the GMB has reportedly next few months.

“Volatile macro-economic conditions are ex-
pected to prevail throughout the outlook period
with continued inflationary pressures, depreci-
ation of the local currency, and increases in the
cost of living,” the report reads.

The report painted a gloomy economic pic-
ture beyond 2023, saying the interbank rate,
now the sole legal foreign currency exchange
rate, will likely continue increasing during the
outlook period and parallel market exchange
rates will likely stay well above interbank rates.

“Sellers demanding payments in US dollars
will likely continue and increase in the formal
and informal sectors. Shortages of Zimbabwe
dollar cash will likely continue, resulting in pre-
mium charges on non-cash Zimdollar payments
using mobile money/electronic transfers.”

“Shortages of locally produced essential
goods, such as cooking oil and maize-meal, are
expected to continue. Some basic commodi-
ties will likely emerge on the black market but
will be limited by cheaper imports,” the report
shows.

“From November through January, labour
opportunities and rates will likely be near-nor-
mal, given the forecasts for a favourable 2022/23
rainfall and agricultural season.”

The report also says poor harvests and price
volatility are likely to result in an early lean sea-
son and widespread crisis, with humanitarian
food needs set to continue to increase steadily
through January 2023.

Geo-political tensions which have disrupted
food supply chains will also negatively impact
developing countries like Zimbabwe, experts
say.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began
on 24 February, was cited as another factor that
has worsened the Zimbabwean crisis, together
with the macro-economic instability, marked
by spiking parallel market foreign currency ex-
change rates.

“Zimbabwe’s macro-economic situation has
remained highly volatile, exacerbated by the
war in Ukraine and its negative impacts on the
availability and prices of key commodities such
as fuel, wheat, cooking oil, and fertilizer.”

A report says government has not done enough to push farmers to deliver maize to the GMB.

Page 16 News NewsHawks

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

MORRIS BISHI Woes mount for Chilonga villagers

TRADITIONAL leaders and Uni Oil prospecting for minerals along the banks of the Runde River in Chilonga.
villagers in Chilonga, south of
Chiredzi town, are up in arms
with a local mining firm they ac-
cuse of deploying excavators to
extract minerals along the Runde
River without consulting them, a
move that puts their continued
stay in the targeted area in doubt.

The villagers said the new min-
ing venture confirms their long-
held suspicion that senior gov-
ernment officials were targeting
vast minerals, including diamond
and gold in the area, while hiding
behind the lucerne project that is
being fought in court.

The government is push-
ing for the lucerne project
by Kwekwe-based milk pro-
cessor Dendairy, a move
which could leave more than
10 000 families homeless.

Chief Chilonga, born John
Ben, said he was not informed of
the new project as per tradition
and the development came to
him as a shock.

“I was not notified even by
the council that such a thing will
happen. I was only told by my
subjects that there are excavators
taking samples along the river,”
he said.

“I am also not sure if this latest
development is linked to the grass
project which is being resisted by
most of our people,” he said.

Livison Chikutu, one of the
community leaders resisting the
lucerne project, told The News-
Hawks that villagers were worried
that government officials were
targeting their area for minerals
while hiding behind the dairy
project, accusing the regime of
being worse than the colonial era.

“We saw excavators working
along the river last Friday and
they spent almost three days tak-
ing samples for minerals. This
is all what we used to say, these
people are targeting our land for
mining.”

“They are talking of grass pro-
duction, but their main aim is
minerals. Our leaders are now
performing worse than what
[Rhodesian prime minister Ian]
Smith used to do in terms of hu-
man rights violations,” he said.

“They are not worried about
our reaction, maybe because we
are a minority tribe.”

According to an aeromagnetic
survey carried out by a South Af-
rican-based company three years
ago, Chilonga and other parts
of Chiredzi South expanding to
Mwenezi district have large de-
posits of various minerals includ-
ing diamonds, gold and coal.

Chiredzi Rural District Coun-
cil chief executive officer Ailess
Baloyi told The NewsHawks that
his council gave permission to
Uni Oil to prospect for all miner-
als along the banks of the Runde
River in Chilonga. He said the
company, based in Masvingo, will
be allowed to undertake mining
activities if the samples turn out
positive.

“Yes, we know the company.
They have done all preliminaries
with us.The company is called
Uni Oil from Masvingo and it
is prospecting for any minerals
in the area. Yes. They are on the
river bed, not on the grasslands.
They are basically extracting sand
to test for minerals and, if they
are satisfied with the samples,
they will undertake mining activ-
ities,” Baloyi said.

NewsHawks News Page 17

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

Mugabe shelved divisive bill after protests

MOSES MATENGA l Experts say Zanu PF push exposes desperation

THE late former president Robert Mugabe was Roman Catholic priest Fidelis Mukonori
forced to shelve the “unconstitutional” Private
Voluntary Organisations (PVOs) Bill after pro- the impact will be massive. Veritas programmes manager Lizwe Jamela development agencies despite the regime being
tests by civil society organisations and the objec- “We have war veterans’ associations which said the Bill’s legality will be tested by challeng- in desperate need of resources.
tion of his Roman Catholic priest Fidelis Mu- ing it in the Constitutional Court.
konori, The NewsHawks has learnt. are formed for the welfare of war veterans. Now The country is faced with multiple challeng-
those associations have been known in the past “The Bill is unconstitutional, it violates sec- es including the failing economy, drought and a
Mugabe was ousted via a military coup in No- to engage in political activities — in fact I don’t tion 34 of the constitution. If the Bill passes in failing health delivery system that have left mil-
vember 2017, with Zanu PF and the military think they have engaged in anything else in the its current form, as Veritas we will do public in- lions of citizens vulnerable.
top brass accusing him of being captured by a past — they will be banned under this Bill. So, terest litigation, and we will take it to the Con-
youthful group of party leaders under the G40 war veterans who engage in political activities stitutional court,” Jamela said. Donors have in the past managed to step in
banner and led by his wife Grace. will be liable to severe penalties which are laid and assist the vulnerable but, with their exis-
down in the Act.” If the Bill is passed, Zimbabwe will be in dan- tence now threatened, the future looks bleak for
After Mugabe’s exit from the political scene ger of losing out on over US$800 million from poverty-stricken Zimbabweans.
and his death in 2019, President Emmerson
Mnangagwa and Zanu PF have upped the call
for the PVOs Amendment Bill. Observers say
the law was meant to silence government critics
ahead of the crucial 2023 harmonised elections.

Val Ingham-Thorpe, the director of Veritas
Zimbabwe, an organisation which provides in-
formation on Acts of Parliament and the con-
stitution, this week said the push for the PVOs
Amendment Bill began during Mugabe’s days.

After several interventions and meetings with
experts and a critical role played by the former
Zanu PF strongman’s Roman Catholic mentor,
the senior Jesuit priest Mukonori, it was shelved,
only to be revived.

She said Mukonori played a huge role in con-
vincing Mugabe to drop the Bill that will lead
to Zimbabwe being viewed as a more repressive
country.

Civil society organisations (CSOs) have also
threatened to take legal action if the Bill is to
pass while opposition members of Parliament
have already raised red flags over Zanu PF's “il-
legal” tactics meant to push the Bill.

Several PVOs this week issued a statement
featuring the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human
Rights (ZLHR), Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP),
Veritas and Amnesty International Zimbabwe,
saying the Bill was unjust and not called for.

Brian Crozier, a lawyer and human rights de-
fender, said the only motivation for the PVOs
Amendment Bill was to silence critics and warn
those criticising the ruling party that “they will
be hammered”.

“It is just a message to say that if you criticise
Zanu PF we will hammer you. It is all political,”
he said.

He said several organisations, including those
representing war veterans and those involved in
humanitarian work, will be greatly affected and

MARY MUNDEYA PVOs Bill: CCC MPs caught napping

THE absenteeism of opposition Citizens’ Co- mentary session in which the PVOs Bill was set MP Dangamvura
alition for Change (CCC) legislators in Par- to be read for the second time, CCC chief whip Chikanga Prosper
liament has come under the spotlight after Prosper Mutseyami said: “We were not aware Mutseyami
the Private Voluntary Organisations (PVOs) that the Bill was going to be read for the second
Amendment Bill passed the second reading time on Tuesday, hence most of our members
without any objections. attended Honourable Job Sikhala’s bail hear-
ing.’’
The development comes at a time when the
country is at risk of losing millions of dollars in In relation to the order paper, Mutseyami
donor funding at a time nearly half of the pop- said: “Our party’s legislators did not receive
ulation is in need of humanitarian assistance. the regular email that we usually receive with
the order paper. Maybe it was due to network
It has emerged that when the PVOs Amend- glitches at Parliament.”
ment Bill second reading began in the Nation-
al Assembly, only Prosper Mutseyami, MP for “Apart from that, the meetings in which
Dangamvura Chikanga and Judith Tobaiwa, chief whips sit down and determine Parlia-
legislator for Kwekwe Central, were physically ment’s business haven’t been done ever since
present in the house from the CCC party. I came back to Parliament and was appointed
as CCC’s chief whip, so we were caught off-
The remaining 17 legislators who are said to guard.”
have attended a bail hearing in solidarity with
incarcerated Zengeza West MP Job Sikhala on Clerk of Parliament Kennedy Chokuda dis-
the day in question supposedly joined the pro- missed Mutseyami’s claim, insisting that the
ceedings via Parliament’s relatively unreliable order paper for the day in question was sent
virtual platform. to legislators and also uploaded to Parliament’s
website on time.
Later that evening, there was a public out-
cry on Twitter over how CCC legislators had “The order paper is sent to honourable mem-
been ambushed by Zanu PF MPs whom they bers’ inboxes and is on the Parliament of Zim-
accused of fast-tracking the second reading of babwe’s website a night before any session, so
the Bill in the National Assembly. if there is a member of Parliament who is say-
ing they are not receiving it, I don’t know what
However, to the surprise of the public, the their problem is. They know the proper chan-
second reading of the PVOs Bill was placed nel if they have any difficulties,” Chokuda said.
fifth on Parliament’s order paper which all law-
makers have access to.

When asked why opposition members from
his party failed to physically attend the parlia-

Page 18 News NewsHawks

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

Harare Quarry operates without
environmental impact assessment

NATHAN GUMA blasting to minimise noise and vibrations, Arcadia residents suburb are complaining their houses are being destroyed by the roock blasting.
methods which have proven inadequate.
HARARE Quarry (Pvt) Ltd is operating
without an environmental impact assessment Environmental lawyer Darlington Chidar-
(EIA) to guide its operations, sparking out- ara says companies registered before the Ema
rage from residents of Arcadia suburb, who Act should also have environmental impact as-
are complaining that their houses are being sessments as these will reduce conflicts pitting
destroyed by the roock blasting. residents and urban miners.

An EIA weighs the potential environmen- “An environmental impact assessment
tal, social and health effects of a proposed de- (EIA) is better placed to curb environmental
velopment, informing developers on the con- degradation because it has the people's per-
sequences of their a activities. spective enabling them to make some consul-
tations in regard to their concerns rather than
As previously reported by The NewsHawks, an EMP,” Chidarara said.
houses in Arcadia, located barely four kilome-
tres out of Harare’s central business district, are He said an EIA also provides for account-
developing cracks, with residents saying dust ability as it takes into account the impacts of
from the quarry is affecting them while houses the project on the environment and society,
are developing cracks. and how the mine or project will tackle them.

“Since we started living here, we have been “You would find that it (EMP) is used in in-
developing strange allergies and colds. So I do stances where companies are about to be given
not know if it is from the dust or the weath- a licence. For example, under the Electricity
er,” says Bianca Boer, a resident whose house Act, companies are given a licence, then they
is located approximately 500 metres from the will carry out an EIA later. Prioritising the EIA
quarry. will give a full picture on the environmental
impact of a project before it is carried out.
The Environmental Management Agency
(Ema) says the quarry and several other proj- “There are a lot of gaps should a project
ects across the country established before en- start without an EIA, which are inconsistent
actment of the Ema Act of 2002 have been with the national constitution that provides
operating without EIAs. environmental rights. Failure to give people
the right to consult is an environmental viola-
“The project (Harare Quarry) was imple- tion on its own,” he said.
mented before enactment of the Environmen-
tal Management Act (Chapter 20:27),” says Engineer Taona Mtungwazi, a communi-
Amkela Sidange, Ema publicity manager. ty leader in Arcadia, said they have not been
consulted to input their views with regards the
“But, on its enactment, the law provided quarry’s environmental management plan.
that such projects produce an environmental
management plan (EMP) to ensure that the “That is a very old quarry,” Engineer
project is not done in a way that would harm Mtungwazi said.
the environment.
“Nothing has been said. I am not sure
“The project in question has an EMP, and about the past, but no recent consultation has
made a commitment to put dust suppressant been done.”
measures, and also prevent fly-rock for the
safety of the public. The agency also advised He said there have not been any plans for
the project to get necessary guidance on vibra- compensation since Harare Quarry became a
tions and distance to/or proximity to house- private company.
holds from the relevant ministry,” Sidange
said. “There was an attempt (for compensation)
when there was the old management. They
Despite the company’s EMP obligations, would give one or two hampers to the families.
Arcadia residents living close to the project
have been reeling under the quarry’s effects, “The new one is a bit arrogant. They want
with houses cracking from tremors that are to see the end of our struggle with them I
caused by the occasional ore blasts. think, but obviously the residents will win,
there is a whole concensus coming together so
In 2021, the company pledged to use water we deal with it decisively. We can’t live in fear
to suppress dust, and to use auto-stemming in our own houses because of people who are
not being pragmatic and forward thinking,”
Engineer Mtungwazi said.

NewsHawks News Page 19

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

Mnangagwa ignores Motlanthe advice

MOSES MATENGA

SOLDIERS who shot and killed innocent civil- to the events of 1 August 2018 is critical for na- President Emmerson Mnangagwa
ians on 1 August 2018 have not been prosecuted, tional healing and reconciliation.
four years on, with growing calls for justice falling The government has not apologised 1 August shootings 2018.
on deaf ears. “We implore President Emmerson Mnangagwa ensure the implementation of the recommenda-
to own up to his pledge of a new dispensation and tions.”
Despite appointing former South African pres-
ident Kgalema Motlanthe to chair a commission
of inquiry and make recommendations after the
shootings which claimed six lives and left dozens
others injured, President Emmerson Mnangagwa
has ignored the voice of reason, including calls for
justice by the victims and their families.

This, observers said, was indicative of impuni-
ty where state security can kill innocent civilians
without repercussion.

It is reminiscent of the 1980s Gukurahun-
di genocide in Matabeleland and the Midlands
where the 5th Brigade brutally killed civilians.
Nearly 40 years after 20 000 civilians were killed,
there is still no justice.

The government has neither apologised for
Gukurahundi nor atoned for the 1 August shoot-
ings.

So far, only one victim, with the assistance of
the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, sued
Defence minister Oppah Muchinguri and her
Home Affairs counterpart Kazembe Kazembe and
won his case. He is set to receive ZW$3 million in
compensation.

Zakeo Mutimutema suffered injuries when sol-
diers shot him during the post-election protest in
the capital.

He is among dozens shot on 1 August 2018
when protesters stormed the streets to demand the
release of the presidential vote.

Six civilians were shot dead in central Harare
when soldiers opened fire indiscriminately. Ac-
cording to autopsy reports, victims were shot in
the back while fleeing the marauding soldiers.

Despite spending taxpayers’ money on institut-
ing the commission of inquiry, the government
has conveniently chosen to ignore the recommen-
dations, which include the compensation of vic-
tims and bringing to book the murderous soldiers.

Four years on, families are still seeking justice
while the victims live with the haunting memories
of the shootings.

Loveday Munesi, a victim, still has a bullet
lodged in one of his buttocks, after failing to se-
cure funding for surgery in India.

Political analyst Rashweat Mukundu said
Mnangagwa’s failure to bring to book the culprits,
most of them still serving members of the military,
is an indication that more atrocities against civil-
ians could be committed in future and justice will
never be served.

“The Motlanthe commission of inquiry into
the shootings report has recommendations that
have been thrown into the dustbin by Mnangag-
wa,” Mukundu said.

“The issue is forgotten and there seems to be no
intention to address this matter,” he added.

He said those implicated, including senior mil-
itary officers who dispatched soldiers onto the
streets to shoot unarmed civilians, were still in the
army while some have been deployed to key gov-
ernment institutions.

One of them, the then commander of the Pres-
idential Guard, Anselem Sanyatwe, who also tes-
tified before the Motlanthe commission, is now
Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Tanzania.

“The message is the same: abuses can be repeat-
ed. There is no justice for the victims and it was
a way of silencing critics by way of pretending to
act, but the true character of government is com-
ing out on the matter,” Mukundu.

Added Mukundu: “It is not a surprise because
the current government is hugely militarised and
will not turn against themselves because they are
in government and are the ones who are in power.”

Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition director Blessing
Vava said there was growing concern over the gov-
ernment's reluctance to act on the recommenda-
tions.

“The Coalition has held a series of interviews
with relatives of the victims of the August 1,
2018 shootings and concern is high over non-im-
plementation of the recommendations of the
Motlanthe commission of inquiry,” Vava said.

Vava said ensuring justice and bringing closure

Page 20 News NewsHawks

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

NYASHA CHINGONO Four years later, no justice for
victims of August 1 massacre
AUGUST 1 is a painful reminder for Allison
Charles. The Motlanthe Commission suggested that government pays out families of the August 1 2018 shooting victims (top picture).

Her brother Gavin Charles was shot in cold On 26 August 2018, Mnangagwa referred 11:07] had not fully been complied with. “The Motlanthe Commission suggested that
blood by marauding soldiers on this fateful day to the shootings as “regrettable and most un- The Motlanthe commission made several they pay out families, but nothing has been
four years ago. acceptable”. done. We should at least know who shot my
recommendations that include compensation brother,” Allison said.
Gavin was shot in the back and killed by fe- The commission found that the deployment for losses and damages caused, including sup-
rocious soldiers who were armed to the teeth, of the military was lawful, but that the oper- port and school fees for the children of the de- While the government remains mum on
spraying bullets with reckless abandon. ational framework in terms of section 37 (2) ceased: electoral reforms as well as accountabil- compensation, the families continue holding
of the Public Order and Security Act [Chapter ity in respect of the alleged perpetrators. out hope that, one day, justice will be served.
The 42-year-old was murdered at close
range, with bullets ripping through his upper
torso, leaving him gasping for breath. He had
no chance.

He was shot twice from behind and doctors
said there was evidence he was shot at close
range, judging from the firepower exhibited in
the gunshot wounds.

Killed in cold blood in broad daylight in the
heart of Harare, Gavin’s name is etched in a
dark period in Zimbabwe after the 2017 mili-
tary coup that toppled long-time ruler Robert
Mugabe.

Security forces opened fire on civilians on
protesters in the aftermath of the 31 July gener-
al elections in which incumbent President Em-
merson Mnangagwa had a wafer-thin win over
his rival Nelson Chamisa. The shooting result-
ed in Mnangagwa, who had promised to break
with the past, losing international goodwill.

Gavin, an unemployed father of a 13-year-
old girl then, lived in Norton and had visited
his sister for a few days.

On the fateful day, his family waited in vain
for his return in the evening. They had pre-
pared his favourite dish, grilled hake, which he
never got to enjoy.

His family only got to know about his death
through social media images of him lying in a
pool of blood. Allison will never forget cring-
ing at the sight.

“We heard it off the internet and saw his pic-
tures on the social media. He was lying dead
on the street. I am the one who was first to
recognise him off my wife’s phone. We tried to
get to town to check on him, but we couldn’t
get through because the army had blocked off
everywhere,” a relative said at that time.

They believe Gavin was among bystanders
who watched protesters in central Harare. But
fate was unkind to him and five others who
died a brutal death.

“He never fought with anyone; he never hurt
anyone, and he was a humble man. I think he
was an observer and not taking part in the
demonstrations because he was not that kind
of person to cause harm on anyone,” a relative
said.

Four years after Gavin’s brutal death, his re-
mains lie in an unmarked grave, his sister told
The NewsHawks.

“There has been no justice to date. It is now
four years, and my brother is lying in an un-
marked grave with no tombstone,” Allison said.

“We cannot even afford a tombstone.”
Dozens of families of victims of the 1 Au-
gust shootings feel angry and aggrieved, four
years after the army opened fire on unarmed
civilians.
Gavin’s family is yet to receive compensation
for his killing, and the same applies to dozens
of families still seeking recourse.
Four years on, they impatiently wait for the
elusive reparations for their brother’s murder.
They demand to know: Who shot Gavin?
The answer may never come.
“We want to know at least if the person who
shot him has accounted,” Allison said.
Gavin’s daughter, now in Form Two, is doing
well in school, according to Allison, but she is
bitter that the state has not offered help for her
upkeep.
“Her mother is taking care of her. She is now
in Form Two and doing very well in school.
Nobody has contacted me to help or even talk
about compensation,” she lamented.
Those killed on the day were Silvia Mapho-
sa (53), Ishmael Kumire (41), Gavin Dean
Charles (45), Jealous Chikandira (21), Brian
Zhuwao (26) and Challenge Tauro (20).
Of the six victims, four were shot in the back
and two in the front.
The 1 August 2018 shootings, widely con-
demned by the international community, have
haunted the Mnangagwa administration.
Despite setting up the Motlanthe Commis-
sion of Inquiry into the shootings, little has
been done to implement the recommendations.

NewsHawks News Page 21

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

Scandals rock Biotechnology Authority

LIZWE SEBATHA

A STATE-OWNED research institute run by the Reports claim the National Biotechnology Authority of Zimbabwe is implicated in underhand dealings which have left the parastatal bleeding.
Higher and Tertiary Education ministry continues
to be dogged by reports of graft, maladministra- docket was sent to National Prosecution Authori- ignorance about the case when contacted for com- the employees through the workers’ committee
tion and corporate mis-governance amid claims ty hence they could not assist,” reads a complaint ment. approached the management after they failed to
that officials from the country’s anti-corruption lodged with Zacc a fortnight ago. pay the USD Covid allowances,” the report adds.
unit paid a blind eye to the case after being bribed. “I am not aware of the case, nor am I aware
“Meanwhile, the reported cases have stretched that Zacc officials have received bribes to throw “It is apparent that the aforementioned Zacc in-
In 2021, senior management at the National for more than two years without being concluded away the matter. Zacc would be pleased to receive vestigators have fallen short of the good tenets of
Biotechnology Authority of Zimbabwe (NBA) with reasonable suspicion of connivance by the evidence on the allegations in order to institute in- being public officers in order to tame the scourge
was reported to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Zacc investigators and the accused persons. vestigations,” Makamure said. of corruption which has adversely affected most
Commission (Zacc), the National Prosecuting government entities.
Authority and the parent ministry over reports of “Frustration on follow-ups of the case to ascer- However, it emerged that the NBA is on the
underhand dealings which have left the parastatal tain the progress stage was the most disturbing brink of collapse with senior management alleged- “They are becoming the conduits of corrupt
bleeding. aspect on the part of Zacc investigators. The inves- ly boasting that they will never be arrested. tendencies. Had it been that the case was finalised
tigators were evasive and gave endless excuses . . .” there was no further commission of the offences
The NBA is an autonomous research and de- “The organisation is cash strapped and is strug- and tampering with the court evidence . . .”
velopment institution mandated with developing Zacc spokesperson John Makamure professed gling to remunerate its employees. On July 7, 2022
Zimbabwe through the application of both con-
ventional and cutting-edge bio-technologies.

It was established through the National Bio-
technology Authority of Zimbabwe (NBA) Act of
2006.

NBA’s major role is to transform the country
from a raw material-based economy into a knowl-
edge-based economy through the judicious appli-
cation of biotechnology in agriculture, medicine,
energy and the environment.

Some of the graft allegations against the NBA
management include the abuse of a vehicle loan
scheme and other funds earmarked for various
projects. Between 2019 and 2020, about $3.5
million received from the parent ministry and
earmarked for the establishment of a plant to
manufacture marula wine spirit from indigenous
marula fruit trees in Mwenezi Masvingo and oth-
er farming activities in Marondera were reportedly
squandered by management, according to com-
plaints filed with Zacc.

“The management disposed of three passenger
motor vehicles to them on the pretext that they
were no longer serviceable. Their service condition
in the contract of employment did not provide
for that hence it was contrary to the provisions of
Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets
Act,” read part of the allegations against the man-
agement contained in a letter dated 17 February
2021 addressed to the permanent secretary in the
ministry, Fanuel Tagwira.

“The management uses pool cars and operation-
al fuel to report for work whilst receiving monthly
fuel coupons as transport allowance. The fuel reg-
ister had some requests not signed against and not
up to date hence subject to manipulation.”

But there has been no movement on the inves-
tigations amid claims that some Zacc investigators
were bribed.

“The corruption cases till to date have not been
taken to court . . . the corrupt investigators took
pleasure in shifting goal posts alleging that the

There is a future.

ZIMBABWE
CHILDREN’S CANCER RELIEF

STAY EARLY
ALERT! DETECTION

IISS TTHHEE BBEESSTT PPRROOTTEECCTTIIOONN!!

IF YOU SUSPECT EYE CANCER
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Page 22 International Investigative Stories NewsHawks

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

InInvteesrtniagtaiotinvaelStories

Dead body in Paraguay is
likely Serbian drug smuggler

ON April 19, 2015, Paraguayan South America 13 years ago. had fallen out of favor with Šarić, name was “Yellow” due to his cent. Anything above 75 percent
police received an anonymous Boško Nedić was on the run in who suspected him of cooperat- pale coloring. This could be is considered a strong match, ac-
tip: There was a dead body in a ing with police. explained by the fact that hair cording to Ugail.
car in an upscale part of Asun- 2009, wanted in both Italy and transplants were popular among
ción, Paraguay’s capital. Serbia for allegedly running the “Šarić, but also others, came to the Serbian gang, but it was hard “Based on the results, with a
Italian cocaine smuggling opera- the conclusion that Nedić Boško to tell for sure. similarity index of above 75%,
When they arrived at the site tion for the accused drug kingpin works for the police, because on it is my professional conclusion
in the Recoleta neighborhood, Darko Šarić. several occasions he got away So reporters sent photographs that there is strong possibility
they found an armored Mer- while all others were arrested,” of Nedić and Antonio Weber to that the identity of the images …
cedes-Benz parked near a cross- Nedić was last heard from in the witness said. the Center for Visual Computing analyzed are the same individu-
roads with a dead man inside. He October that year in Argenti- at the University of Bradford in al,” Ugail wrote in an email.
had a bullet wound and a gun lay na. He had traveled there on a Šarić himself surrendered to the U.K. There, Professor Hassan
inside the car. An ID card said forged Croatian passport as part Serbian authorities in 2014 and Ugail led the development of a If the analysis is correct,
he was a 34-year-old Paraguayan of a team tasked with smuggling is now on trial for smuggling facial recognition algorithm that Ugail’s algorithm has solved the
named Antonio Gerardo Weber more than 2 tons of cocaine onto close to 6 tons of cocaine, and can compare faces with a very mystery of what happened to one
Mendes. a yacht off the coast. laundering his drug money. He is high degree of accuracy. of Šarić’s key lieutenants.
also under investigation for orga-
The situation was somewhat From there, it sailed to Uru- nizing a hit from prison on a for- The algorithm was trained and Throughout the 2000s, Šarić’s
unusual, but nothing suggested guay, where it was supposed to mer associate in South America. tested using millions of photo- cartel smuggled massive quan-
foul play. “Alleged suicide,” po- meet a larger ship that would graphs of faces, giving it the abil- tities of cocaine from South
lice wrote in their official report move it to Western Europe. But Reporters set out to determine ity to detect similarities “beyond America to Europe. Some of
on the incident. the operation was foiled by a if the dead man in Paraguay really the capability of the human visu- their biggest buyers were Italian
joint investigation between U.S., was Boško Nedić. They obtained al system,” Ugail said. mafia families, who bought it for
Seven years later, reporters Serbian, Argentinian, and Uru- 11 photographs of the Serbian around 35,000 euros a kilogram.
from KRIK and OCCRP got a guayan authorities. The drugs smuggler from Italian police who The analysis showed that
tip of their own. A source called were seized, but Nedić managed surveilled him in late 2008. Nedić was very likely to be the As the head of the cartel’s Ital-
to say that the dead man in Para- to escape. man found dead in Paraguay. ian operations, that made Nedić
guay was, in fact, a Serbian drug The two certainly looked very All of the pairs of photographs an important figure. He reported
smuggler who had vanished after Almost nothing has been heard similar. However, the dead man matched at 81 percent or above, directly to the second-in-com-
a botched cocaine operation in of him since, although a witness had slightly thicker and darker with one pair as high as 85.7 per- mand of the Šarić gang, Goran
told a Serbian court that Nedić hair than Nedić, whose nick- Soković, and was the only person

NewsHawks International Investigative Stories Page 23

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

who had permission to enter the in late 2020. They say he com- was marred by procedural irreg- classified his death as a suicide. Boško Nedić’s last known movements.
group’s storage site in a house municated with gang members ularities, and there was no evi- Katančević said that Šarić had
near Pisa, on Italy’s Ligurian on the outside using Sky ECC, dence Saric had actually sent the not been questioned over any Serbian judges said the sen-
coast. an encrypted messaging app fa- messages. murder other than that of Milo- tence was imposed due to the
vored by Balkan organized crime. vac. “amount of criminal activity”
This house was raided by Ital- “It all boils down to unprov- Nedić committed on several
ian police in 2009, but Nedić After being shot several times able assumptions,” he said. Police in Asunción could not continents, and because of the
managed to escape arrest and by hitmen, Milovac survived and be reached for comment. important role he played in the
fled the country. That’s when he was hospitalized, but later died The source who told reporters gang.
made his way to Argentina, and from his wounds. that Nedić was the dead man in Nedić himself was tried in ab-
was tasked with organizing the Paraguay suggested that he had sentia in Serbia for smuggling It appears that Nedić may not
cocaine shipment out of Uru- Sarić’s lawyer, Dalibor Ka- also been murdered. There is no cocaine for Šarić’s gang. In 2020, have lived to hear the verdict.
guay. tančević, said the investigation proof for that claim, and Para- he was sentenced to 12-and-a-
into the alleged hit on Milovac guayan police have provisionally half years in prison. — Organised Crime and
The seizure of this cocaine was Corruption Reporting Project.
also a turning point for Šarić,
who was catapulted from rela-
tive obscurity to international
wanted lists. He went into hid-
ing following the seizure, while
Serbian prosecutors filed eight
separate indictments, accusing
him of smuggling nearly 6 tons
of cocaine across the world and
laundering 22 million euros.

He finally surrendered to Ser-
bian authorities in 2014 and was
sentenced to 20 years in pris-
on the following year, but that
verdict was later overruled and
a retrial ordered. He was then
sentenced yet again to 15 years
in prison in 2018 and the deci-
sion was confirmed on appeal,
but Serbia’s Supreme Court ulti-
mately overturned that ruling for
procedural reasons.

In the meantime, Šarić is in
detention again — after being
arrested in April for plotting
the murder of a former associate
from behind bars.

Serbian prosecutors suspect he
ordered a hit on his former asso-
ciate Milan Milovac in Ecuador

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Page 24 Editorial & Opinion NewsHawks

CARTOON Issue 92, 5 August 2022

Reaping fruits of
failed leadership

LEADERSHIP failure has reduced Zimbabweans to a laughing stock, Heroes died for an empty shell
with citizens now routinely becoming cannon fodder for crude jokes
and racist jibes. Hawk Eye

In a discussion on United States channel Fox News, host Jesse Wat- Dumisani
ters says the US wants the “best and brightest” immigrants, not “some Muleya
guy’s uncle from Zimbabwe”.

The video clip, although four years old, has found currency in the
never-ending debate on the catastrophic decline of a country that once
held so much promise at Independence in 1980 even the great Bob
Marley composed a hit song in celebration.

Watters and his co-hosts were discussing the then president Donald
Trump’s tweeted demand that the US Congress throw support behind
a Bill to fund tougher immigration policies. Greg Gutfeld, another pan-
ellist, argued that Trump should use a border wall with Mexico as an
idea to spark a broader conversation about security. The other panellist,
Juan Williams, said Trump wanted to cut legal and illegal immigration.
“He wants merit-based,” Watters chimed in. “That would cut legal im-
migration by bringing in the best and brightest. So we don’t bring in
some guy’s uncle from Zimbabwe.” After Williams sarcastically replied
“Oh, Zimbabwe, thank you,” Watters quickly added: “Or Thailand.”
The damage had been done. Zimbabweans had been reduced to the
butt of unsavoury jokes.

Catastrophic leadership has made Zimbabweans more vulnerable to
racism and other forms of discrimination. There is a correlation be-
tween Zimbabwe’s democratic deficit and the ruinous economic de-
cline. It is not by accident that the country has become the biggest
producer of economic refugees in southern Africa.

As the latest Africa Democracy Index shows, the country is ranked
the worst “authoritarian regime" in southern Africa. Even Eswatini,
ruled by a medieval monarch, fares better in the democracy stakes. But
something interesting is happening in the region. It will be remembered
that a few years ago Botswana was the only country in this neighbour-
hood which openly spoke out against the excesses of Robert Mugabe’s
oppressive government.

This has changed. These days, African diplomats will tell you that
the Zanu PF government is badly letting the region down by failing to
manage what used to be the second most industrialised economy in this
part of the world.

The destruction of Zimbabwe by a corrupt and brutal elite shows
why the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) was such an unmit-
igated failure. According to the African Union, APRM was supposed
to be a voluntary arrangement among African states to systematical-
ly assess and review governance at head of state peer level in order to
promote political stability, accelerated sub-regional and continental
economic integration, economic growth and sustainable development.

The APRM, a specialised agency of the AU, was initiated in 2002
and established in 2003, but it was soon mired in acrimony and dys-
functional politicking. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has been try-
ing to revive the peer review instrument in recent times. He will soon be
out of power and so, considering that Africans have not witnessed any
real appetite for the operationalisation of the mechanism, nobody really
sees his efforts bearing fruit.

In southern Africa, the regional power, South Africa, has been round-
ly criticised for its unhelpful “quiet diplomacy” stance over the decades,
with critics saying this posture has helped harden Zanu PF’s impunity.
The recent policy conference of the governing African National Con-
gress (ANC) was fascinating in many respects, not least because the
thorny issue of immigrants came up for scrutiny.

In a discussion document distributed to delegates at the policy con-
ference, the ANC said spousal and relatives’ visas should be done away
with because the system is being “abused by foreign nationals” to settle
in that country.

The ANC is merely tinkering with the symptoms, of course. Leaders
of Africa’s oldest liberation movement know for a fact that the elephants
in the room are failed leadership, corruption and bad governance in
Harare. Today, the leaders of 1.3 billion Africans are begging war-rav-
aged Ukraine to feed this continent.

Africa is 30 million square kilometres big, compared to Ukraine’s
600 000 square kilometres. How on earth did we end up with this ri-
diculous situation in which a nation of 40 million people is responsible
for feeding a continent of 1.3 billion? It is the same question everyone
on the planet is asking: Why is Zimbabwe, a country vastly endowed
with valuable natural and human resources, failing to give its people a
dignified life?

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

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NewsHawks New Perspectives Page 25

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

ON 7 May, President Emmer- Gvt steering the economy metric to measure and in prac-
son Mnangagwa decreed that towards 'narrow banking' tice often the most discussed.
Zimbabwe’s banks should cease And many would fear that a
lending indefinitely. The direc- purchase gold coins, the more number of large corporates have be lending out funds, and there- direct pass through to central
tive was later reversed and in- banks place their deposits with applied for banking licences pri- fore has no liquidity gap and no bank funds would offer unexcit-
terest rates were raised to 200% the central bank. That is narrow marily to gain access to central risk of a run on funds (because ing yields.
while the Mosi-Oa-Tunya gold banking. bank deposits. But this is an corporate deposits are, in turn,
coin was introduced. expensive and complex meth- deposited with its central bank), Indeed, narrow bank deposits
But is it good or bad for cor- od that is only available to very narrow bank deposits represent preclude playing the yield curve
A closer look at the policies porates? Focus is being given large corporates, and the and arbitraging credit risk.
shows that the authorities are here to corporates as they are the cost, complexity and risk Econometrics
driving the economy towards major holders of deposits sitting of banking licences only HawksView And they effectively preclude
“narrow banking”. The term with banks. keeps growing. outsourcing those things to
narrow banking can cover a va- Tinashe Kaduwo lending banks, which is the cur-
riety of bank structures, ranging From both deposit and cash From this perspec- rent reality. On the other hand,
from Glass-Steagall era “banks” management perspectives, a tive, a narrow bank of- the most liquid investment the capital costs and organisa-
which did run loan books but narrow bank offers considerable fers near-direct access to product imaginable within the tional complexity that arise from
were excluded from investment benefits for corporates. central bank funds, and constraints of fiat currency.  lending and fractional reserve
banking activities to banks therefore the most secure banking impose huge costs on
which place all their deposits, Start with deposits. Treasurers store of value possible within On yield, treasurers fully un- lending banks, and those costs
in turn, with their central bank. usually think about investments the constraints of fiat currency. derstand that SLY is in order of are passed on and marked up to
The latter — more narrow defi- in terms of the acronym SLY importance, and they know that corporates and other customers.
nition — means not participat- (security, liquidity, yield): As for liquidity, there is no losing cash or not having cash
ing in fractional reserve banking better liquid investment than available are unacceptable out- While a narrow bank is pre-
aka printing money. • Security (do not lose cash). central bank funds. The scale comes. But yield is the easiest cluded from tenor and cred-
• Liquidity (keep cash avail- and ubiquity of fiat curren- it risk arbitrage, it has a great
Of course, the more narrow able). cy mean that they have higher opportunity for cost arbitrage.
definition is close to what might • Yield (earn interest on cash). availability and lower costs. Thus a narrow bank can com-
be achieved with Central Bank Security, what we have experi- pete effectively with lending
Digital Currencies (CBDCs), enced from history amidst Zim- Since a narrow bank will not bank demand deposit offerings.
depending in how it is imple- babwe's rolling banking crises, a
mented. CBDCs are much dis- Many of the benefits of nar-
cussed but remain in pilot mode row banking as a store of value
in a few jurisdictions. Respon- in terms of security, liquidity
sible central bankers state that and yield apply to cash man-
implementing CBDC should agement as well. To the extent
be a political decision, not a that balance management (cash
central bank decision, and there pooling in its various forms) re-
are many objections to CBDCs sult in credit balances, the ben-
— not least that most of the so- efits are the same. This is so as a
cietal benefits can be achieved narrow bank will not be able to
through other less disruptive offer overdraft on balance man-
means. agement products because it is
precluded from lending. The
For the purposes of this arti- policies in place are indirectly
cle, “narrow bank” will refer to precluding banks from lending.
the more narrow bank described
above that is a bank that places From a payments perspective,
all its customer deposits with its the benefits of security and li-
central bank, and does not en- quidity are obvious. The lower
gage in lending, securities, de- regulatory and organisational
rivatives. overheads of narrow banking,
together with the absence of
Such a bank can serve cor- legacy technology stacks, would
porates with deposit (store of enable it to be fully cost com-
value) and cash management petitive.
services (exchange of value) ser-
vices, but not lending, trading, However, the in-
issuance, hedging, etc. This is crease in gold coins
exactly what is happening now purchases by individ-
from the cocktail of measures uals and corporates
being implemented by the gov- implies mopping up
ernment. of liquidity in the
market. This results
First, who borrows or lends at in limited funds for
above 200% interest rate? That banks for on-lend-
is indeed a potential non-per- ing. Is there an economy that
forming loan. survives without borrowers and
lenders? ….to be continued.
Then, the Mosi-Oa-Tunya
gold coi, by purchasing this gold *About the writer: Ti-
coin, an individual or corporate nashe Kaduwo is a research-
has just placed their depos- er and economist. Contact:
its with the central bank. The kaduwot@gmail. WhatsApp
more corporates and individuals +263773376128

Companies & Markets NewsHawks

Issue 76, 15 April 2022
BusinessPage26
MATTERSNewsHawks

MARKETS CURRENCIES LAST CHANGE %CHANGE COMMODITIES LAST CHANGE %CHANGE
USD/JPY
GBP/USD 109.29 +0.38 +0.35 *OIL 63.47 -1.54 -2.37
USD/CAD
USD/CHF 1.38 -0.014 -0.997 *GOLD 1,769.5 +1.2 +0.068
AUD/USD
1.229 +0.001 +0.07 *SILVER 25.94 -0.145 -0.56

0.913 +0.005 +0.53 *PLATINUM 1,201.6 +4 +0.33

0.771 -0.006 -0.76 *COPPER 4.458 -0.029 -0.65

BERNARD MPOFU Turnall’s majority shareholders
planning to buy out minorities
TURNALL HOLDINGS’ new majority share-
holders are planning to buy out minority share- ZimBrands and Mega Market (Pvt) Limited Market is a fast-moving consumer goods distri- shareholding in Turnall, bought a 10% stake
holders after acquiring the control block of the have a common shareholder owning 49% of bution company based in Mutare. of Turnall in November 2020 at a price of
entity amid plans to inject fresh capital into the ZimBrands and 100% of Mega Market. Mega ZW$0.57 per share.
business to improve operational efficiencies. Mega Market which currently has 17.04%

Turnall’s business fortunes took a turn when
Shabanie-Mashaba Mines collapsed during the
aughts. The mine was critical for its chrysotile
fibre throughput used in manufacturing build-
ing materials. Since then, Turnall has been
largely relying on imports from Brazil and Rus-
sia.

In June this year, ZimBrands concluded the
purchase of 32.55% of Turnall and later on in
July, a further 10% at ZW$4.57 per share was
acquired, bringing the total shareholding to
42.55%.

Under Zimbabwe Stock Exchange listing re-
quirements, a single shareholder with at least
35% shareholding must make a mandatory of-
fer to minorities. If the offer is accepted and
the public ends up having less than 30% of the
listed company, the entity will have to delist.

The NewsHawks understands that the of-
fer will however likely to have few takers after
ZimBrands offered minorities ZW$4.57 per
share, the same amount it bought the stocks a
few months back. Given Zimbabwe’s inflation-
ary environment, investors may not budge.

Official figures show that Zimbabwe’s year-
on-year inflation for July rose to 256.9% from
191.7% in June as the economy continues to
face headwinds.

ZimBrands’ primary business is the importa-
tion of critical raw materials for supply to local
processors.

“ZimBrands decision to acquire a control
block in Turnall was driven by the need to op-
erationally diversify its operations and unlock
the potential in Turnall as an established brand
in Zimbabwe’s construction and building ma-
terials industry,” reads a notice to shareholders.

“ZimBrands intends to recapitalise the busi-
ness in order to take advantage of the growing
number of infrastructural projects in Zim-
babwe and the region as well as upgrading its
operations to global standards. This includes
reconfiguring its operations to meet the grow-
ing demand for new products such as lighter
roofing material.”

BERNARD MPOFU Chiyangwa’s Zeco ventures into real estate

ZECO Holdings, the perennially under-per- of products required in the construction in- business,” the company said in its circular to idential piece of land measuring 3,6395
forming Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE)-list- dustry such as door and window frames, roller shareholder. square metres with all the developments
ed manufacturing concern, is seeking share- shutter doors and fittings. thereon, situate in the district of Salisbury,
holder approval to change its business model “In order to maintain the sustainable growth called Quinninton Township for the price of
to property and real estate after disposing of its At the time Zeco Holdings Limited was and profitability of the businesses going for- US$2 150 000.
rolling stock for US$4.5 million as the mori- listed on the ZSE in 2008, demand for roll- ward, the Board has changed the Company’s
bund state of the country’s rail infrastructure ing stock products in Zimbabwe was primarily strategic focus from a Rolling Stock compa- The company plans to convene a virtual ex-
threatens the company’s viability. driven by the National Railways of Zimbabwe ny to a Residential and Commercial Property traordinary general meeting on 17 August to
(NRZ) and the mining sector. Investment and Development Company. The ratify the sale of rolling stock for residential
The firm, which is linked to businessman new strategic focus will enable the company stands.
Phillip Chiyangwa, was incorporated in Zim- “The uncertainties surrounding the railway to participate in the growth prospects of the
babwe by the registrar of companies in terms of transportation industry over the years, and the Property Development sector which appears to “The Company plans to finance the new
the Companies Act on 19 November 2007 in closure of many mines, and the informalisa- have better prospects than the Rolling Stock business using a combination of internal
order to consolidate the ownership of Delward tion of the mining sector have put paid to the industry.” funds, bank borrowings as well as working
and Crittall-Hope. Company’s prospects as a Rolling Stock Com- with joint venture partners who will be able to
pany. As a result, the company’s shareholders To achieve the new strategic focus, the provide funding for projects. As and when nec-
Delward is the core business of Zeco Hold- have gone for years without enjoying any cap- company, according to the circular, suc- essary and deemed appropriate, the Company
ings Limited and was involved in the manu- ital appreciation or earning a dividend from cessfully disposed of its rolling stock assets will raise capital from shareholders by way of a
facture and rehabilitation of rolling stock as its their continued investment in the rolling stock for US$4.5 million and purchased a res- rights offer,” the circular reads.
core business.

Crittall-Hope is involved in the fabrication

Property
NewsHawks

Issue 92, 5 August 2022 PROPERTY INTERIORS ARCHITECTURE GARDENING Page 27

The home of prime property: [email protected]

Chinamano cnr shopping mall almost complete

Construction work is almost done at the newly built Chinamano corner shopping mall.The mall is expected to be officially opened on 12 August 2022. — Pictures: Aaron Ufumeli

Page 28 Companies & Markets NewsHawks

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

PUBLIC relations (PR) is a field How artificial intelligence is
that has seen drastic changes in the changing public relations face
past decade.
place nor displace face-to-face com- algorithms, whole industries are says that you cannot start a PR cam- data are already making an indeli-
The social media revolution, munications with journalists and being turned on their heads – such paign without a person. "Personali- ble mark on the profession. They
technological changes and the influencers. Instead, AI bots will as advertising, financial services and ty" is still a vital part of any brand's will usher in significant changes to
growing complexity of digital com- assist and enhance public relations now public relations. story. It used to be that PR profes- the ways in which public relations
munications have transformed the services by, for instance, allowing PR practitioners will realise that sionals had immense creativity, but firms, agencies, and the ways that
PR industry. Even with its long companies to better manage their AI can help with planning long- not as much control over how the they communicate with their cli-
history of success, PR is an industry presence online. This enables them term strategies, though it still strug- message was delivered. They craft- ents, audiences and the public.
that continues to adapt, evolve and to quickly and more effectively re- gles with short-term execution. And ed powerful stories and narratives,
grow. spond to journalists who write neg- as time goes by, What is becoming increasingly
ative stories about them. Helping the AI is getting apparent is that artificial intelligence
It is becoming an increasingly them find new ways in which they smarter and Corporate (AI) is no longer considered Science
sophisticated field, relying on the can generate positive coverage. learning new Communications Fiction. We relate this phenomenon
use of data analytics, databases, ways in which to the advances in natural language
technology and creativity in equal As artificial intelligence evolves, it can be used processing, bots and robotics.
measure. The industry has moved to meet these new challenges, it is to help compa-
rapidly from being one-way, that likely that bots will play an increas- nies and figures The movement of AI into the
is, driven by Press releases sent out ingly larger role in the public rela- in areas such as Lenox Lizwi Mhlanga world of business-to-business com-
to journalists and editors, to a plat- tions world. munications is inevitable; in fact, it
form that has given rise to far more mainstream me- is happening now.
two-way communications with the The importance of artificial in- dia. Practitioners will have access to then handed them off to advertising
public. Some of the biggest chang- telligence (AI) is growing all the a significant increase in available op- agencies with their big budgets, fan- *About the writer: Lenox Mh-
es are happening right now, as the time. This can be seen in the rapid tions for generating leads, resources, cy computers and brilliant creatives. langa is a specialist communi-
field gradually adopts artificial in- transformation of data processing and opportunities. That is all changing. cation consultant and can be
telligence into its plans and imple- over the last decade. Aided by high- Creative conventional wisdom Artificial intelligence and big reached at: lenoxmhlanga@gmail.
mentations. speed computing and complex com and +263772 400 656.

What is artificial intelligence?
Artificial intelligence (AI), also
known as machine learning, is an
area of computer science that stud-
ies the design of systems able to
perform tasks that seem intelligent
when performed by humans. With
AI, computers do not need to be ex-
plicitly programmed.
Chris Galloway and Lukasz Swi-
atek in their 2018 paper in the Pub-
lic Relations Review, say that AI’s
broader technological, economic
and societal implications for PR
warrant greater critical attention.
This does not imply that practi-
tioners need become expert tech-
nologists; rather, they should devel-
op a sufficient understanding of AI’s
present and potential uses to be able
to offer informed counsel.
Artificial intelligence is mak-
ing things more efficient in PR,
through increased automation,
and by giving better experience to
clients. While Gartner Inc, a tech-
nological research and consulting
firm, has predicted that AI will have
a tiny impact on the PR industry by
2022, this prediction has been seen
to be overly conservative. There are
at least two fundamental changes
underway that we can already see
impacting public relations: big data,
and, of course, AI, also known as
machine learning.
Big Data is not just changing
how we invest in the stock market
and how companies buy advertising
space. It is going to change the face
of PR as well. The key to effective
and innovative public relations, a
profession that relies on fact-based
prediction, will be an effective da-
ta-driven approach.
Machine learning is an ongoing
process of improving a computer
program based on data input, in
contrast to the traditional software
development cycle that creates a
program, tests it to see whether or
not it matches goals and specifi-
cations, and then moves on to the
next project.
It is the premise of this article that
artificial intelligence will neither re-

NewsHawks Stock Taking Page 29

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Pricelist

`

29 July, 2022

Market Cap ($mn) 2,125,079.34 -0.16% Top 5 Gainers 9.09% Top 5 Losers -9.48% Value Leaders ($) 239,988,200 Top 5 Gainers YTD 500.00%
All Share Index 16,594.91 -0.11% Nampak 2.88% Masimba -7.06% Turnall 124,865,600 Zeco 300.76%
Top 10 Index 10,265.73 0.76% FML 2.37% DZLH -4.29% Delta 99,438,470 CFI 204.82%
Value Traded ($) -71.18% OK Zimbabw e 1.23% FCB -2.77% Econet 14,381,460 FCB 185.60%
Interbank rate (USD/ZWL) 497,612,852.00 1.09% FBC 1.22% Turnall -2.35% Simbisa NMB 175.00%
443.8823 Axia GB Holdings CBZ 4,441,500 RioZim
Market Cap (US$mn) -0.16%
YTD Movement (%) 4,787.4838 -60.74%

Bloomberg Opening LTP Closing Price Previous Volume traded Value traded Shares In Market Cap Market Cap Price Change Price Change

Ticker (RTGSc) (RTGSc) (RTGSc) Change (%) Price (RTGSc) (shares) (RTGS$) Issue (mn's) (RTGS$ mn's) (US$ mn's) RTGS YTD (%) US$ YTD (%)
33,295.00 - 33,295.00 - 33,295.00 - - 119.49 39,785.70 89.63 166.36% -34.79%
Afdis AFDIS: ZH 1,441.82 1,420.00 1,441.82 20,213.94 45.54 121.09% -45.87%
1,420.00 -1.51% 217.73 1,200.00 17,040.00 1,423.52 3,580.27 8.07 -40.89% -85.53%
African Sun ASUN: ZH 217.73 220.00 220.00 1.04% 1,700.00 95,000.00 209,000.00 1,627.40 7,428.62 16.74 62.68% -60.17%
1,700.00 - 1,700.00 7,897.30 44,135.36 99.43 166.00% -34.88%
Ariston ARISTON: ZH 7,897.30 7,993.36 - 1,900.00 - - 436.98 57,755.53 130.11 -45.71% -86.71%
1,900.00 7,995.00 1,900.00 1.22% 2,600.00 11,600.00 927,230.00 552.15 34.42 0.08 14.71% -71.92%
Art ARTD: ZH 2,600.00 - 2,600.00 242,857.14 3,039.76 50,109.97 112.89 -24.13% -81.43%
242,857.14 - 242,857.14 - - - - 0.00 0.00 - -
Axia AXIA: ZH SUSPENDED - - 22,100.00 - - 1.32 1,930.46 4.35 30.00% -68.17%
22,100.00 - - - 13,500.00 - - 20.63 70,559.30 158.96 79.60% -56.03%
Bridgerfort MMDZ: ZH 13,500.00 - 22,100.00 - 37,500.00 - - 42.94 39,765.33 89.59 300.76% -1.89%
37,500.00 13,500.00 - 26,529.77 - - 8.74 345,306.84 777.92 62.90% -60.12%
Bridgerfort Class B 26,529.77 13,500.00 37,500.00 - 3,265.00 32,900.00 4,441,500.00 522.66 10,863.32 24.47 -13.30% -78.78%
3,265.00 - 26,477.02 - 4,994.93 - - 106.04 129,528.86 291.81 22.99% -69.89%
BAT BAT: ZH 4,994.93 3,034.44 -0.20% 15,787.09 471,600.00 124,865,600.00 1304.18 407,470.82 917.97 85.05% -54.70%
15,787.09 26,000.00 5,000.00 -7.06% 624.72 900.00 27,310.00 358.00 3,782.59 8.52 43.91% -64.77%
Border BRDR: ZH 3,005.00 15,728.96 0.10% 6,500.00 11,700.00 585,000.00 2590.58 44,214.31 99.61 94.37% -52.42%
624.72 5,000.00 -0.37% 2,200.00 632,200.00 99,438,470.00 2590.58 2,396.31 5.40 39.37% -65.88%
Cafca CAFCA: ZH 6,500.00 15,690.00 626.00 0.20% 1,100.00 2,200.00 13,772.00 604.25 22,739.83 51.23 204.82% -25.38%
2,200.00 6,580.00 1.23% 1,691.36 1,000.00 65,800.00 671.95 12,008.49 27.05 -13.00% -78.70%
CBZ CBZ: ZH 1,100.00 626.00 2,200.00 - 1,019.78 4,200.00 92,400.00 108.92 12,626.48 28.45 30.74% -67.99%
1,691.36 6,580.00 1,052.86 -4.29% 156.80 700.00 7,370.00 2159.81 821.57 1.85 -33.29% -83.67%
CFI CFI: ZH 1,019.78 2,200.00 1,740.00 2.88% 1,500.00 500.00 8,700.00 690.14 17,446.78 39.30 150.00% -38.80%
1,100.00 1,019.78 - 24,704.82 - - 1,238.16 47,685.38 107.43 -11.77% -78.40%
Delta DLTA: ZH 156.80 1,700.00 -2.35% 29,906.33 900.00 1,378.00 536.59 170,941.45 385.11 84.71% -54.78%
1,500.00 153.11 - 12,030.00 - - 1,163.12 9,624.00 21.68 50.38% -63.19%
Dairibord DZL: ZH 24,704.82 - 1,500.00 - 500.31 - - 193.02 9,295.37 20.94 54.10% -62.28%
29,906.33 150.00 24,704.82 0.30% 4,800.00 10,200.00 3,059,615.00 569.88 10,499.85 23.65 -21.00% -80.66%
Ecocash EHZL:ZH 12,030.00 29,996.23 - 10,700.00 - - 80.00 27,033.13 60.90 -14.47% -79.06%
- 12,030.00 -0.06% 1,100.00 56,500.00 282,500.00 1,859.07 9,067.78 20.43 7.56% -73.67%
Econet*** ECO: ZH 500.31 - -9.48% 175,000.00 500.00 21,725.00 241.65 119,700.19 269.67 27.31% -68.83%
4,800.00 29,995.00 500.00 - 2,300.00 30,400.00 3,252,800.00 252.65 9,295.95 20.94 185.60% -30.08%
Edgars EDGR: ZH 10,700.00 - 4,345.00 9.09% 1,025.00 14,500.00 174,000.00 755.65 2,602.19 5.86 62.70% -60.17%
1,100.00 500.00 10,700.00 - 2,925.77 - - 68.40 38,513.91 86.77 9.13% -73.28%
FBC FBC: ZH 175,000.00 4,345.00 1,200.00 - 8,199.06 400.00 9,200.00 404.17 5,425.19 12.22 0.00% -75.52%
2,300.00 10,700.00 175,000.00 - 795.00 - - 253.87 294.84 0.66 0.00% -75.52%
Fidelity Life FIDL: ZH 1,025.00 1,200.00 2,300.00 2.37% 2,413.27 108,900.00 3,261,700.00 1,285.88 6,050.06 13.63 -17.19% -79.73%
2,925.77 - 1,025.00 - 940.00 - - 66.17 23,457.66 52.85 20.51% -70.50%
FCB FCB: ZH 8,199.06 2,300.00 2,995.13 - 9,005.00 - - 37.09 22,261.76 50.15 -14.69% -79.12%
- 8,199.06 -0.49% 21,950.92 10,500.00 252,150.00 251.94 123,059.95 277.24 143.22% -40.46%
First Mutual FMLH: ZH 795.00 3,000.00 - 163.38 - - 2,495.50 7,563.47 17.04 38.45% -66.11%
2,413.27 SUSP 795.00 0.01% 15,187.50 18,000.00 1,620,985.00 247.20 39,681.82 89.40 126.83% -53.49%
First Mutual Properties FMP: ZH SUSP 2,401.43 -0.28% 220.00 65,700.00 14,381,460.00 562.18 844.95 1.90 10.00% -73.07%
940.00 2,400.00 -1.82% 10,000.00 101,600.00 162,975.00 4,715.08 35,710.24 80.45 42.51% -65.11%
GB Holdings GBH: ZH 9,005.00 - 940.00 0.08% 470.00 2,300.00 349,600.00 261.06 2,253.19 5.08 11.43% -72.72%
21,950.92 9,005.00 9,005.47 - 4,350.00 - - 384.07 4,631.63 10.43 45.16% -64.46%
GetBucks GBFS: ZH 21,800.00 21,889.59 - 252.36 - - 357.10 4,489.45 10.11 -18.41% -80.03%
163.38 165.00 -2.77% 12,400.00 52,513,800.00 239,988,200.00 493.04 21,373.26 48.15 58.44% -61.21%
Hippo HIPO: ZH 15,187.50 15,200.00 160.41 - 2.88 - - 106.47 13.34 0.03 500.00% 46.88%
- 15,200.00 0.06% 362.00 4,400.00 11,110.00 1,778.00 6,581.95 14.83 -3.74% -76.44%
Innscor INN: ZH 220.00 - -1.61% 459.18 100.00 12,200.00 175.19 2,644.88 5.96 57.79% -61.37%
10,000.00 457.00 220.00 - 1,907.43 - - 463.34 6,547.03 14.75 -19.49% -80.29%
Lafarge LACZ: ZH - 10,000.00 - 100.00 362.00 1,818.22 7.14 0.02 - -
470.00 252.50 - 11,005.00 - - 576.00 13,423.24 30.24 175.00% -32.68%
Mash MASH: ZH 4,350.00 12,200.00 457.00 -0.39% 300.00 5,700.00 344.58
- 4,350.00 - - - 167.89
Masimba MSHL: ZH 252.36 362.00 -0.05% 600.00 66,000.00 122.03
12,400.00 - 252.50
Meikles MEIK: ZH 1,900.00 12,200.00
2.88 -
Nampak NPKZ: ZH 362.00 11,000.00 2.88
459.18 362.00
Natfoods NTFD: ZH 1,907.43 459.18
SUSPENDED 1,900.00
NMB NMB: ZH 11,005.00
4.25
NTS NTS: ZH 11,000.00

OK Zimbabwe OKZ: ZH

Old Mutual OMU: ZH

PPC PPC: ZH

Proplastics PROL: ZH

RTG RTG: ZH

Seedco SEED: ZH

Simbisa SIM: ZH

Star Africa SACL: ZH

Tanganda TANG:ZH

Truworths TRUW: ZH

TSL TSL: ZH

Turnall TURN: ZH

Unifreight UNIF: ZH

Willdale WILD: ZH

ZBFH ZBFH: ZH

Zeco ZECO: ZH

ZHL ZHL: ZH

Zimpapers ZIMP: ZH

Zimplow Holdings ZIMPLOW: ZH

Hw ange HCCL: ZH

RioZim RIOZ: ZH

Econet shares in issue include Class A Shares

Exchange Traded Funds Opening LTP Closing Price Change Previous Price Volume traded Value traded Market Cap Market Cap Price Change Price Change
(RTGSc) (RTGSc) (RTGSc) (%) (RTGSc) (RTGS$) (RTGS$ mn's) (US$ mn's) RTGS YTD (%) US$ YTD (%)
Cass Saddle Agriculture ETF 150.00 150.00 155.75 150.00 48,434.00 39.26%
Datvest Modified Consumer Staples ETF 160.03 160.00 161.39 3.83% 160.03 21,490.00 75,434.00 - - 55.75% -53.65%
Morgan&Co Made in Zimbabwe 0.85% 9,745.00 34,682.60 109.79 0.25 61.39%
Morgan&Co Multi Sector 124.74 125.00 124.97 124.74 24.97%
OM ZSETop-10 ETF 2,756.37 - 2,756.37 0.18% 2,756.37 - 12,176.00 3,076.76 6.93 24.97% -32.52%
0.00% 218,843.00 - 3,471.04 7.82 175.64%
849.62 723.00 763.44 849.62 -57.89%
-10.14% 1,670,739.00 610.75 1.38 71.99%

* The complete list of ZSE Indices can be obtained from the ZSE website: www.zse.co.zw

Page 30 Critical Thinking NewsHawks

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

THERE have been many positive — Mazarire tears Miles-Tendi’s
feel-good — reviews of United King- Mujuru biography into pieces
dom-based University of Oxford Professor Pakistan in 1982. Tungamirayi is also
Blessing Miles-Tendi’s book about the late The late former Zimbabwean army commander retired General Solomon Mujuru. charged with hatching the intrigues
former Zimbabwean army commander to lobby for Nhongo’s retirement. But
retired General Solomon Mujuru (alias rican National Union (Zanu) party, the loyalty to his superiors. The argument end, such academic posturing leaves more on him below.
Rex Nhongo), The Army and Politics Nhari and Hamadziripi Rebellions of of the book rests on these qualifica- the author as a willing participant in
in Zimbabwe: Mujuru, the Libera- 1974 and 1978, respectively. tions during the war but these are then the Zanu power politics, if not himself Third is Constantine Chiwenga,
tion Fighter and Kingmaker, by dif- stretched to fit Nhongo’s career after a victim. whose dispute with Nhongo allegedly
ferent academics since its release in 2020. The second thread holds that Nhon- Zimbabwe’s independence. started off following a case of the latter
go was a deus ex machina who always There are indeed hazards of telling snatching the former’s wife. Tendi lines
However, the biography has also been appeared at the right moment with the Here Tendi is less successful. the story of Solomon Mujuru in such a up Chiwenga, the cuckold, for humili-
put to a severe pressure test by some schol- right solutions in the story of Zanu. The book produces no new evidence saintly way. For one, it means the other ation each time his name features in the
ars, including professors David Moore of Tendi endows him with the transfor- for all this except what is already in the people involved in these struggles must book, presenting him as unfit as an of-
the University of Johannesburg, South mative attributes of ‘cautious pragma- public domain for the war period. The come across as either passive victims or ficer for plagiarising a promotions test,
Africa, and Gerald Chikozho Mazarire, tism, non-partisanship and modera- author resorts to search and destroy villains. and a coward for attempting suicide.
University of Eswatini. tion’ (74). tactics to target fellow scholars who
differ with his interpretations of the The first such figure is Tongogara, For Tendi, Chiwenga was not a pro-
Writing in The Journal of African He is a cautious ‘political dou- same evidence, although his own con- whose ruthlessness is based on the ac- fessional but a ‘political’ commander of
History, Cambridge University Press, ble-dealer’, who plays ‘king-maker’ clusions, in many instances, appear to count of nameless Zimbabwe African the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. There
Mazarire, a Zimbabwean, delivers a by assuring the ascendancy of Robert be pure conjecture, personal opinions, National Liberation Army (Zanla) is no interview of Chiwenga him-
devastating and ruthless review of the Mugabe to the leadership of Zanu and or simply educated guesswork. cadres who compare him unfavour- self and all this is based on interviews
book that has thrown new light onto the the return of Josiah Tongogara to that He has no interview with Nhon- ably to Nhongo (141–2). Tongogara’s with unnamed persons. Chiwenga, of
work about an illustrious African liber- of the army. Proving the utility of bi- go himself and relies on what Tendi tribalism — read barbarism — is used course, played kingmaker, after Nhon-
ation fighter in the 1970s and, until his ography for advancing academic po- vaguely describes as ‘Solomon Mujuru to justify a Mugabe-Nhongo alliance, go’s demise, to Nhongo’s nemesis Em-
suspicious death in 2011, an important litical science is Tendi’s great triumph: Private Material’ frequently without otherwise Tongogara tolerated Nhongo merson Mnangagwa, the fourth villain
figure in the late former president Robert demonstrating that political life is ul- any indication of its nature or hint that ‘because he was a fighter’! of the book.
Mugabe's ruling Zanu PF party. timately also personal life, and requir- questions of reliability and bias have
ing necessarily subjective attention to been addressed. Tongogara’s aggression and vola- Mnangagwa was yet another busi-
This first full-length biography of individuals and not just analysis of so- The greater part of the book is based tile temper is attributed to his taking ness rival of Nhongo, who is also de-
Mujuru is widely welcome as it throws cio-political structures. on interviews that are nearly all ano- marijuana and alcohol, yet Nhongo’s picted as Mugabe’s lapdog and runner.
much-needed light onto the opaque elite nymized alphabetically in what appears drunkenness and distribution of mar- Tendi deploys a series of anonymous
politics of the 1970s liberation struggle, But in triumphant biography there to be a consistent effort to bar readers ijuana to combatants during battle is references and quotations to reveal
post-independence army and Zanu PF is always vulnerability. The over-dili- from establishing the veracity of their an exemplary case of the ‘synergistic damaging information about Mnan-
internal dynamics, but in this review it gent biographer can identify so closely accounts rather than protecting the relationship between drinking and gagwa’s war credentials and his appetite
is subjected to a litmus test of validity and with the intentions and pretensions of identity of the informants. combat’! for power.
credibility – with its sources run through his subject that he lapses into make-be- This does not apply to British and
a CRAAP test: currency, relevance, au- lieve stories. Mozambican military officers, or senior Tongogara panders to the ‘white Lastly, Tendi characterises Mugabe
thority, accuracy and purpose. Zanu PF officials or security personnel, gaze’ by performing behaviours and as an ungrateful beneficiary of Nhon-
Tendi tells us that Nhongo made despite the latter’s standing and/or vari- sensibilities acceptable to whites while go’s benevolence, whose indifferent, if
While acknowledging its importance, Mugabe king due to Nhongo’s re- able security in Zimbabwean politics, Nhongo was ‘difficult’ with them. Ten- not jovial attitude to the news of Muju-
especially demonstrating that political life spect for party hierarchy, and because who are all positively identified. This di uses Edgar Puryear’s classification of ru’s death — Mugabe dismissed Muju-
is also ultimately personal, and requires Mugabe, who was his distant relative, inconsistency is deliberate, perhaps to generals to show Nhongo as a better ru’s immolation as an accident of a
necessarily subjective attention to individ- was all that Nhongo was not: namely show off the author’s proximity to the general than Tongogara without using
uals, and not just analysis of the socio-po- highly educated, eloquent, and urbane. who is who in Zimbabwe’s military and evidence from the war. The Journal of African History 3
litical conditions, Mazarire says the book Nhongo, it is argued, supported party political elite, as well as his privileged drunkard before the official inquiry
borders on fiction, hagiography and relies supremacy over the gun. access to their corridor gossip. In the The second is Josiah Tungamirayi, into his death, and delivered what Ten-
too much on anonymous sources protected Mujuru’s contemporary and competi- di considers an unbefitting eulogy — is
not their security, but rather to prevent He is also portrayed as immune to tor who Tendi judges ‘responsible’ for further testament to this ingratitude.
readers from verifying the authenticity of other evils pervading Zanu, such as starting the Gukurahundi campaign in There is overkill of the ‘everyone
their claims. tribalism, while remaining bound by Matabeleland when Rex was on leave in else but Nhongo’ narrative in the book
which deteriorates to apologia. This
Gerald Chikozho Mazarire limitation is particularly striking when
This is a biography of one of Zim- Tendi considers Nhongo’s tenure as
babwe’s most celebrated heroes of the the head of the Zimbabwean National
liberation struggle that also offers a Army (ZNA).
serious engagement with the historiog- Nhongo was a ‘high-functioning
raphy of that war. It will be one of the alcoholic’ who met his targets, even if
most influential books to be published this meant coming to work and giving
on this subject in years. orders in an inebriated state (170–1).
It is riveting and has a throbbing Tendi blames corruption in the ZNA
pace presented with a style accessible under Nhongo on Mugabe’s model of
even to the non-specialist reader. It has patronage, not on Nhongo himself.
had an instant impact, especially in Tendi blames Nhongo’s philander-
Zimbabwe, where it set ablaze nearly all ing variously on Zimbabwean soci-
social media platforms and confirmed ety’s patriarchal norms, his irresistible
Tendi as a leading public intellectual. charm, his search for a son, his ‘dis-
The book continues to fly off the placed’ life, and lack of a mother figure
shelves of many bookstores like a work in childhood.
of fiction. In many ways it reads like Because of his Zimbabwean Peo-
one, not least because it naturally ends ple’s Revolutionary Army (Zipra)
with the puzzle of the mysterious death roots, Tendi argues that Nhongo was
of this general, but also because it runs a hero who rescued Shona members
several threads through the text that of Zipra who had been side-lined from
unfold like a plot in a murder novel. promotion or inclusion in the ZNA
The first such thread is superstition. by the Zimbabwe African Political
Solomon Mujuru is introduced as an Union (Zapu) leadership of Ndebele
ill-fated young man stalked by the extraction.
threat of fire from birth to death, but Yet even where Nhongo was directly
he is also an underdog, an illiterate who involved in the decision to purge Zipra
fights his way to recognition and hero- elements from the army, Tendi absolves
ism to spite those who dared to under- him, suggesting instead that the fault
mine him, be they fellow herd boys in should be passed on to complicit Zip-
his Chikomba birthplace or other com- ra agents in the echelons of power like
mon soldiers in the battlefield. Jevan Maseko.
Readers are primed to anticipate his The same is true of the so-called
fate as the story of his life is unpacked ‘ZANLAfication’ of the ZNA. Tendi
as if it were all premeditated. The first attributes this process to Josiah Tun-
and last chapters of the book are duly gamirayi, arguing that Nhongo was
christened ‘Fireborn I’ and ‘Fireborn not involved because he was not as ‘fa-
II’ to qualify this point. Yet Rex Nhon- natical’ as Tungamirayi who was Zanu’s
go, the guerrilla leader that Solomon ‘Political Commissar’ during the war
becomes, is also endowed with the in- and had ‘idiosyncrasies’ that Zanu PF
imitable powers of intuition and pre- approved.
monition, foretelling possible dangers To next page.
and counterrevolutionary intrigues in
the struggle and thus being instrumen-
tal, nearly all the time, in thwarting or
pre-empting them.
He foresaw two of the most signifi-
cant rebellions in the Zimbabwean Af-

NewsHawks Critical Thinking Page 31

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

What Zim entrepreneurs need to succeed

DIDI ONWU kets face the challenges of low pro- Among young entrepreneurs this is s. youth’s success? If we do not, we are
ductivity and growth traps because even more true. Young entrepreneurs more. And better. “Trying” is no failing them. And that should be a
OPERATING within a hostile and of the threats they face from climate are 10 times more likely to create longer an option; definitive action hard pill to swallow.
volatile economy, young Zimbabwe- change, pests, economic turmoil, etc.  employment opportunities for their is needed in order for “the future
an entrepreneurs are determined to peers. Although entrepreneurial ac- is young” to be believable. Among Entrepreneurship is like rugby, not
forge their own pathways to success, Tafadzwa’s solutions-oriented tivity has increased in many devel- what is needed are implementing tennis. The quiet that moves a tennis
but to what end? innovations have the potential to oping countries, many struggle to policies that allow young people to match forward is the direct opposite
put the Zimbabwean economy on withstand the challenges and risks of easily start a business and register of what a rugby match needs to be
This article is not aimed at paint- a growth trajectory. But they might operating in environments unsuit- it; a  banking system that favours entertaining and successful. En-
ing a picture of a dire situation but not achieve success if the system is able for supporting entrepreneurship entrepreneurship and investors who trepreneurship is a difficult career
on reflecting the realities of what it not improved. at a career level. “think younger” when it comes to choice. We cannot sugar-coat it and
takes to be young, hopeful and stub- their money.  we should not. Whether operating
born in a country with its fair share Entrepreneurship is known for What do I mean by that? Gov- in an environment that has systems
of troubles. its catalytic role in fostering eco- ernments, quite frankly, need to do If the future is young, then in place for young people to succeed
nomic development the world over. shouldn’t we start investing in the or in an economy that has more red
In April, I travelled to the capital tape, entrepreneurship is not for the
Harare with the Anzisha Prize film faint-hearted. 
crew to meet the entrepreneurs in
our 2022 fellowship programme: Nyongoro started The Housing
Tafadzwa Chikwereti, Munyaradzi Hub as a solution to improving the
Makosa and Marvellous Nyongoro. housing system for young people
entering universities in Harare. It
During my 10-day visit, these enables students to book and make
three young men showed me that payments for off-campus accommo-
stubbornness is not a choice but a dation online. The company employs
necessary trait to succeed as a young students as agents, allowing them to
entrepreneur in Zimbabwe. At just earn commission. However, operat-
23, 22 and 25 years old, respectively, ing the company has not been with-
they demonstrated why their age was out its challenges. When Covid-19
their greatest asset and weapon. hit, The Housing Hub had to close
for a while. However, Nyongoro
Entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe persevered and was able to continue
is highly informal, according to a other entrepreneurial projects.
study conducted by the Zimbabwean
scholar Simon Bere titled The Metae- “There is really nothing else I’d
conomics of Economic Performance like to do. Running a business is
and Results – Zimbabwe’s Economic difficult but the idea of having a 9
Recovery: The Entrepreneurship Fac- to 5 is unappealing to me,” he says.
tor. It attributes this phenomenon to “It is no secret that the Zimbabwean
system collapse, the currency crisis economy is in a tough state and we
and corruption making it difficult need more government interventions
for businesses to operate effectively. for people like me to thrive in such a
I witnessed this first-hand during my chaotic environment.”
visit.
Behind the buildings and busy
Even when young entrepreneurs intersections in Harare, I began to
offer great services and products, understand that another story pro-
without sufficient resources and pels Zimbabwe to a better future –
support, it becomes tough to scale, young minds at work, willing to go
let alone operate. Take 22-year-old the extra mile for their communities.
Chikwereti. At the age of 19, he But they cannot and should not do
started a small company called Musi- it alone. They cannot. They need to
ka which linked farmers to buyers live, rest and enjoy their youth to the
through WhatsApp. Through this fullest. So, again and in closing, gov-
startup, he learnt that farmers had ernments need to play their part.
deep-rooted problems related to
their financial stability and their in- — Mail & Guardian.
surance, so he pivoted to his current
startup, eAgro. *About the writer: Didi Onwu
is the communications and stake-
eAgro fosters the resilience and holder relations associate for The
profitability of smallholder farmers Anzisha Prize, Africa's leading
by using data analytics and machine award for young entrepreneurs.
learning. Farmers in emerging mar-

From previous page. Mazarire tears Miles-Tendi’s probable, as Nhongo turned against
It was Tungamirayi who deployed Mujuru biography into pieces Makoni’s Mavambo/ Kusile/Dawn
the Fifth Brigade — the military project and betrayed him at the last
unit that committed mass atrocities one moment he is an astute general, es throughout the history of Zanu The limits of Nhongo’s own agen- minute, sensing a Mugabe backlash.
in Matabeleland and the Midlands working behind the scenes, involved PF: Zipa cadres; Zanu veterans in cy in the face of Mugabe’s political
provinces, with Lionel Dyck in in everything, and in the next, he is Mpima Prison; Zambia; Zanu in- shrewdness are apparent in how So, if Nhongo was indeed a king-
charge — not Nhongo, who Tendi a lame duck. tellectuals in the diaspora, some of well Mugabe held Nhongo at bay maker, he only achieved it once, and
insists never acted less than ratio- whom started the pro- Mugabe pro- throughout his post-independence mainly because it was the king’s plan
nally. Even when he returned from Ultimately, the main argument paganda well before Mugabe was life, indeed right up until his death. that he should do so.
leave Nhongo ‘knew what 5 brigade of the book must be submitted to a released by Machel; the Zimbabwe
was doing but was not in charge pressure test. Was Nhongo a king- People’s Movement running a Zanu Could Nhongo propel his wife In the entire narrative Tendi fails
of it’ (200). It reported directly to maker? If so, which kings did he underground initiative in Rhodesia; Joice Mujuru to be Zimbabwe’s to call out Nhongo for who he really
Mnangagwa. make? Mugabe perhaps? Tendi lays the leaders of Frontline States them- vice-president and consequently was: a betrayer who was eventually
To his credit, Tendi identifies and out a series of interviews that suggest selves. The list is endless. make her the next president outside betrayed, while basking under the
interviews some Fifth Brigade com- Nhongo’s manoeuvres were critical Mugabe’s scheme of succession poli- illusion of being a ‘king-maker’.
manders, yet he ultimately disregards to making Mozambique’s President Moreover, the more one looks at tics? This was highly unlikely.
their accounts in favour of ghost in- Samora Machel reverse his marginal- it, Mugabe’s success is most plausible Maybe, if Nhongo had seen
formants and British officers. isation of Mugabe and agree instead because of his own agency. Central He was instead used by Mugabe things differently, he could have
Tendi’s whole point is to give to bring down the commanders who to Mugabe’s political genius was his to fend off Mnangagwa and, when seen his enemies plot his ‘fireborn’
Nhongo responsibility for the ‘min- were in Mugabe’s way in the crucial capacity to get everyone around him that was achieved (and following his end. As the final chapter in the book
imal violence’ of the ZNA in Ma- 1975–6 period. However, Mugabe’s trying to find ways to please or ap- own death) his wife was discarded so ably demonstrates, his death may
tabeleland as overall commander of rise could equally be attributable pease him and to bring each other like an expended cartridge. Could have been no accident.
the army, but not that of the Fifth to many other people and forc- down. Nhongo make a king out Simba
Brigade. Makoni to oust Mugabe? Again, im- Indeed, this turns out to be
This sounds like an absurdity. It the best and most convincing evi-
is hard to reconcile a consistent im- dence-based chapter of the book. It
age of Nhongo in this narrative: at is devoid of all the mythology and
baggage and can serve as the founda-
tion of a more critical life history of
Solomon Mujuru.

— Cambridge University Press.

Page 32 Critical Thinking NewsHawks

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

DR WILLIAM JETHRO MPOFU Nkomo: A philosopher of Later the same day Joseph Msika,
liberation in word, in deed a Nkomo loyalist, snatched a suspi-
IN this article I reflect on Zimba- cious document from Washington
bwe’s liberation struggle luminary The late former President Jushua Nkomo. Malianga, brother to Morton. The
Joshua Nkomo as a philosopher of document turned out to be a tribal
liberation with all the exalted and This is not a romanticisation of ther Zimbabwe’. Whether I deserve This characterisation of the 1980 political manifesto which stated in
great qualities of such political lead- Nkomo, but an attempt to bring that title is not for me to say. But by general elections explains how the no uncertain terms that leadership
ers despite his flaws and soft under- to life what he stood for and rep- a dozen years in prison and half as campaigns and voting patterns un- of the party should be taken from
belly as an idealist nationalist giant resented. While power corrupts, many in exile, I believe I have earned folded. That was repeated in the “Zimundevere” and given to “ma-
in the rough and tumble of Zimba- Nkomo, judging by his ideas and the right to speak for freedom while it 1985 elections, and with different jority tribes”.
bwean politics. dreams that he repeatedly articu- is still endangered.”  nuances in future polls.
lated in public, would have been The template of Zanu’s forma-
But for immediate purposes, I more amenable to engagement, When Nkomo wrote this, his Politicisation and weaponisation tion, which was already in motion,
dwell mainly on the limitations of persuasion and restraint to accept freedom and that of Zimbabwe was of ethnicity against his leadership had been crafted.
the philosophers of liberation and alternative paradigms and develop- now endangered not by native co- hit Nkomo in the face in a much
not their strengths that are common ment models than his rigid frenemy lonialists, he says, but his “former more humiliating manner one day Nkomo later came to know that
cause to be written home about. Robert Mugabe. colleagues in the liberation struggle". at an Organisation of African Unity Leopold Takawira and Mugabe led
(OAU) conference. the tribal mobilisation against him
If Nkomo was indeed Father With the pragmatic ideas and I have noted it before that the that ended with the split of the par-
Zimbabwe, or nationalist icon, vision that he had, Nkomo would title of Father Zimbabwe is the In May 1963, the OAU offered ty in the same year. So, the title of
what is happening in the nation have put Zimbabwe on a better na- product of cruel political mockery Zapu a platform to make a Press Father Zimbabwe is a political jack-
now is a sacrifice of every ideal he tion-building process and economic on Nkomo by his political enemies. statement before international jour- et that Nkomo was given to wear
stood for and a crucifixion of him- growth trajectory. While Nkomo held onto the cere- nalists so that their message could for symbolic reasons, while his ene-
self, betrayal of his dreams by a cor- monial title, his “former colleagues” reach the world. As publicity sec- mies got into business reducing and
rupt regime of native colonialists Although he was at the helm of got busy politically mobilising on retary, Mugabe was responsible for isolating him to a regional leader,
that has turned Zimbabwe’s dream Zapu for decades, with some say- ethnic grounds and ensured he be- drafting the statement that Nkomo and they succeeded.
of liberation into a nightmare. ing he was effectively president for came Father Matabeleland, not a was to read before the conference
life, Nkomo and his party were not national leader. and hard copies were circulated to Nkomo was busy building an
Whatever utopia was there that rooted in a one-party state political diplomats and some African heads imaginary inclusive utopian na-
was envisioned by Nkomo, and model and violent authoritarian- It is documented Mugabe in of state. tion, while his enemies were busy
others, has now turned into dys- ism. They did not have a state to 1980 said that “Nkomo should building a party, an ethnic nation
topia. Nkomo’s philosophy of lib- run, but their approach and meth- campaign in his own country (Ma- When the Press event started and ethnocracy in their own image.
eration can be crystalised, assessed ods were not entrenched in brutal tabeleland) because he was “not “neither Mugabe nor the copies of That way elections in Zimbabwe
and evaluated from his words first, despotism. wanted” in “my country”, Mash- the statement were available”, and were to be reduced to an ethnic
deeds and then his experiences, and onaland; meaning Mugabe would there was Nkomo alone and hu- census, and Nkomo had no chance.
how he reacted to historical and Nkomo worried about how he also do the same – campaign in his miliated. He had to improvise an
political events and developments was seen by Zimbabweans and how own country (Mashonaland) and impromptu statement. That was at Nkomo’s enemies had become
around him. his role was appreciated. He asks leave Matabeleland alone – where the height of the breakaway Zanu native colonialists. While setter co-
the question: “I have been called ‘Fa- he was not wanted. formation plot. lonialists used racism to discrimi-
I turn to Nkomo’s words that I nate, Zanu PF used tribalism, and
have selected from his book: The still does. The evidence to this is
Story of My Life (1984) and a few public knowledge. It is there for all
other significant texts. Like all oth- to see.
er philosophers, Nkomo was wordy
in speech and in text. He poured his What came to light before Nko-
heart and mind out and his passion mo and dawned on him in Addis
for liberation oozed from his com- Ababa was ethnonationalism and a
munication. political grand plan that has divid-
ed Zimbabwe almost beyond repair.
Nkomo spoke as if he was per-
forming an incantation and his One gets shocked when President
words, like those of the prophets, Emmerson Mnangagwa frequently
were frozen into aphorisms and rides on a political and moral high
quotable quotes. There are so many horse to accuse and threaten people
political wise words that we circu- he says want to divide the country
late today that are part of the fur- – centrifugal forces in Matabele-
niture of Nkomo’s mind. The sort land – when his party has already
of vision and democratic values divided the country before it was
Zimbabweans wax lyrically about even born.
are the sort of things Nkomo spoke
frequently about in the 1980s.  Zanu PF has divided Zimbabwe
on political and ethnic grounds
In the narrative of the story of his more than any other individuals or
life Nkomo tells us that: "From my groups combined. This is not hard
earliest youth I thirsted for freedom. to see primarily because the reality
When I became a man, I understood and evidence to that are to be found
that I could not be free, while my in lived experiences and political
country and its people were subject to praxis.
a government in which they had no
say.” The Gukurahundi genocide was
merely the explosive, dangerous
This statement is the baptismal and bloody manifestation of Zanu
standpoint of a philosopher of lib- PF’s ethnic nationalism. While
eration who hungered for the free- Nkomo had many weaknesses, it is
dom of others first and his own a fair assessment to say that he be-
next. Nobody, I observe, can deny came a victim of Zimbabwe’s iden-
the sacrifices that Nkomo made for tity politics and Mugabe’s Machia-
the liberation of Zimbabwe. Not vellianism.
even those he was sworn enemies
with. It is a tragedy that the ethnona-
tionalism that Zanu PF generated,
Or can anyone deny that if Nko- deployed and used to divide the
mo prevailed to lead Zimbabwe country is almost always blamed on
after Independence we would not victims, not perpetrators.
have suffered the damaging eth-
nocentrism and ethnicisation of That is why counter-hegemony
politics and the state, as well as narratives like these are crucial.
the industrial-scale corruption and
looting as we witness today. Even after the Zapu split of 1963
and his realisation that there was
While as writers we are not for- ethnic mobilisation that extend-
tune-tellers as Julius Malema re- ed beyond political parties to the
cently reminded BBC HARDtalk country, Nkomo continued to trust
presenter Stephen Suckur, under his “colleagues,” and to entertain
Nkomo, and the values he repre- the dream of being Father Zimba-
sented, Zimbabwe would not have bwe. 
been a paradise, but it would not
have been the hell that it now is ei- What Nkomo tells us himself is:
ther. “In all my dealings with people I have
acted trustingly and have found out
too late when I have been betrayed.
My comfort has been to trust in and

NewsHawks Critical Thinking Page 33

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

to be trusted by the masses.” Nkomo tried to remain above from the Smith regime.” shayanyika demanded implemen- was done, it is said, by the military
Indeed, Nkomo trusted more the fray, but he was entangled in That Zanu PF had become a par- tation of the “pasi” philosophy in police and/or the CIO. Later, ordi-
the mess. its most radical form and manifes- nary former Zipra men, irrespective
than he should have, especially asitic native colonialist party is an- tation, baying for Chamisa and his of rank were also taken for investiga-
looking at the political sorcerers Later splits, including the one other lesson that Nkomo, because children’s blood at a Zanu PF’s rally tion. Information has it that during
that surrounded him. Trusting in that resulted in the formation of the of his trust in the goodness and sin- in Mberengwa North. these investigations there was a lot of
the masses and being trusted by Front for the Liberation of Zimba- cerity of others, learnt too late and beatings and torture of all types, that
them is not enough if the leader bwe (Frolizi) and others, also indi- to a tragic end. While CCC senior leader Job a number of these young people were
does not protect the people from cated how ethnicity was wreaking Sikhala and over a dozen colleagues killed, and others maimed. These ac-
power-hungry opportunists and havoc within nationalist politics. That Zanu PF was planning an asre languishing in jail for aggres- tions were followed by desertions and
dictators they later become. ethnocentric one-party state as a sively protesting the murder of their defections from the National Army
The late Professor Masipula post-colonial model and a bloody party activist Moreblessing Ali, Ma- not only by former Zipra combatants,
Because he was idealistic to a Sithole explains this, using internal campaign of coercion after Inde- shayanyika is walking in the streets. but also by former Zanla.”
point of naivety, Nkomo imagined dynamics in Zanu during the lib- pendence was clear throughout the Even legal tigress Beatrice Mtetwa’s
that those around him were princi- eration struggle as reference point, liberation struggle. Mugabe resisted intervention to hold Mashayanyika Most Zimbabweans also do not
pled and loyal, including those who very well in his book Struggles With- all sorts of cooperation processes, to account through the law on be- know that most Zipra cadres that
were ethnocentric in broad daylight in a Struggle. even under pressure from Zanla half of Chamisa is likely to be frus- eventually became dissidents de-
as he saw at the 1963 OAU meeting commander Josiah Magama Ton- trated. serted from army barracks of the
in Addis Ababa. Evidence of destructive ethnicity gogara who together with Dabeng- Zimbabwe National Army fleeing
within, between and among parties wa had a patriotic front vision for Mashayanyika spoke like an av- torture, abductions and killings
One of the most quoted politi- in Zimbabwe during the struggle independence. erage Zanu PF leader of the 1970s from which Nkomo could not pro-
cal and philosophical aphorisms of and even now is overwhelming. and 1980s – a Mugabelite. What tect them.
Nkomo is that: “The hardest lesson Nkomo ignored all the signs, Mashayanyika did in his dramatic,
of my life came to me late. It is that The slaughter of unarmed Zipra which his young lieutenants, in- chilling and bloodthirsty perfor- In reality they were not dissi-
a nation can win freedom without its cadres in Morogoro and Mgagao, cluding the likes of Churchill mance was standard behaviour of dents, but army deserters. A dissi-
people becoming free.” Tanzania, was another tragedy Mpiyesizwe Guduza, author of the Zanu PF leaders during Gukura- dent is someone who opposes of-
which should have awakened Nko- Trials and Tribulations of a Zipra hundi. ficial policy, especially that of an
This says a lot about him than mo to the lesson that he was only Soldier, saw and always complained authoritarian state, but those were
about those opportunists whose going to learn too late when a geno- about. A perusal of warlike remarks by Zipra cadres who left not because
pursuit was largely power and re- cide of his supporters broke out.  Enos Nkala, Nathan Shamuyarira, they were opposed to Mugabe’s
placing settler colonialists. Nko- Clearer too was that for Zanu Sydney Sekeramayi, Frederick Sha- rule, but to save their lives.
mo made this aphorism in 1984, In the middle of all these expe- PF, Nkomo and Zapu had become va, Mark Dube, Emmerson Mnan-
but as early as 1963 he had already riences and lessons, the idealism in more the enemy than the Rhodesian gagwa and Mugabe, among others, So it is inappropriate to call them
witnessed that his colleagues were Nkomo trumped realism, costing regime. The Gukurahundi genocide still makes nerve-wracking reading. dissidents, yet that it what Mug-
ethnonationalists. He however pre- him his dream for power to rule killed 10 times more people inside abe’s regime chose to describe them
tended that was not an issue. the country, and build it the way he Zimbabwe than the liberation war Nkomo had to deal with that as in order to consolidate and rein-
had envisaged. itself, showing the intensity of rival- madness throughout his political force the narrative of a coup plot
The 1963 split in Zapu that gave ry and hate Mugabe had for Nko- career, but only learnt the per- and revolt against his government,
birth to Zanu in those circumstanc- Nkomo saw all the signs of mo, his party and supporters. nicious ramifications and conse- allegations dismissed in the courts
es remains one critical juncture that genocide coming from a distance, quences of that when it was already in the Dabengwa et al treason trials.
indicated how ethnicity and tribal- including during the first Gukura- That Nkomo meant well for too late for him and his allies to do
ism were deeply embedded within hundi killings as the campaign was Zimbabwe and that his leadership anything meaningful. Had he been Politically, Nkomo did not get
nationalism and Zimbabwean pol- called in Tanzanian military camps philosophy was a radical alterna- a realist, he would have interpreted the power to give life and force to
itics. in the 1970s, decades earlier than tive to what Zimbabweans have and dealt with the situation differ- his leadership and liberation phi-
the post-independence massacres, witnessed cannot be doubted. At ently. losophy.
Numerous events within both but remained an idealist, a denial- the same funeral event of Masuku,
Zapu and Zanu also undeniably ist even, blinded by his utopianism, Nkomo briefly ventilated his ideal- If Nkomo’s philosophy had pre- Writing from exile, Nkomo had
and clearly showed that. which many now think was mis- ism and profound leadership vision vailed, there would not be so many been reduced to a pathetic victim
guided. for Zimbabwe negating Zanu PF’s mass graves, missing persons and and moral preacher who cautioned
However hard those who were political culture of violence and wounded people in Zimbabwe. The Mugabe that “you do not teach young
involved in this split deny the mo- He remained guided more by ide- murder: “pasi” philosophy has become a people to be contemptuous of human
tivation of tribalism as a factor als of an inclusive, united, diverse pervasive political culture that even life and expect them to respect yours.”
behind the split, the subsequent and democratic Zimbabwe than by “No country can live by slogans, the opposition reproduces and re-
events spoke loudly about the role practical considerations of what was pasi (down with) this pasi that. When hearses in their own activities and Nkomo also warned that once it
of ethnicity in spoiling the birth of obtaining on the ground. Him and you are ruling you should never say fights. starts, political violence becomes a
a nation. Of course, we cannot for- his ilk were idealists and visionaries pasi to anyone.” vicious cycle. In that way Nkomo
get the role of the Rhodesians in the in love with the work they had un- Nkomo lacked the political portended the 2017 coup in which
split, as Ken Flower later revealed. dertaken and were doing. As I write, Zimbabwe has become gravitas and influence to entrench Mugabe was hounded dethroned at
a shell of a country partly because of his leadership philosophy into the gunpoint by the young turks that
The subsequent Zanu PF eth- The reality that his colleagues the hegemonic “pasi” political phi- Zimbabwean political culture be- he had taught to disrespect human
nocracy, which has its own internal in Zanu PF were not nation-build- losophy and practice. Many Zim- cause he lost politically. He did not life. That culture of killings and as-
dynamics as shown by the Mugabe ers, but native colonialists in black babweans do not know that “pasi” even have the political power to sassinations was even used by Zanu
and now the Mnangagwa reigns, skins really took time to sink into actually means, not just down with protect former Zipra cadres from PF during the Covid-19 era to
did not only prove that, but sealed Nkomo over many years. a political rival, but most terrifying killings by Zanu security agents af- eliminate rivals.
the fate of a young nation which that the opponent should be killed ter the war.  The letter that Nkomo
had so much promise, yet ending At the graveside of Zipra com- and buried six feet under. wrote to Mugabe from exile in the This all runs against the ideals
up as an empty shell and a travesty mander Lookout Masuku in 1986, United Kingdom is a letter written and vision of the nation and soci-
of what could have been. Nkomo asked a terse question and Only recently in June, a Zanu PF in blood and tears: ety that Nkomo wanted to build in
made a telling observation: “Why member Abton ‘Bhito’ Mashayan- Zimbabwe – an inclusive, demo-
The subsequent post-split should men like Lookout and Dumiso yika, who recently called for the “Meanwhile, former Zipra Com- cratic, prosperous, diverse and mul-
Zapu-Zanu factional fights in Ha- (Dabengwa), after being found inno- killing of Citizens' Coalition for manders were summoned by the Army ticultural state – not this Mugabe
rare, Gweru, Bulawayo, for in- cent of any wrongdoing by the highest Change (CCC) leader Nelson Cha- Command, at your instruction, for dystopia which Mnangagwa helped
stance, and other sites of political court in this land remain detained? misa, explained very well what the questioning and investigation. This to build, and now presides over.
contestation took clear tribal and When we ask, we get the same answer infamous “pasi” slogan means. Ma-
ethnic dimensions. from the minister as we used to get

Page 34 Critical Thinking NewsHawks

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

MATTHEW MARE The church doctrines and dients for an African man than
human rights implications for it to be regarded as a scaf-
CHURCES globally are disinte- fold region. Nyirongo (1997:1)
grating forming splinter groups, the Roman Catholic Church, lia was created to deal with the Africans felt the sense of unbe- whose views were also shared by
but in African Independent if not well-articulated, will be Roman Catholic Church’s in- longing hence the formation of Mbiti argued that, Africans are
Churches (AICs) the splits do felt globally since the church volvement in conflicts. the AICs. notoriously religious and were
not seem to affect their theolo- has over a billion congregants inherently so even before the
gies. Theirs are more of power worldwide. In Africa, the Roman Cath- The colonial governments coming in of the Western reli-
struggles and succession battles olic Church allegedly played a tried in vain to suppress the rise gion.
resulting in the birth and mush- The section of the Roman key role in aiding the coloni- of AICs. The colonial govern-
rooming of AICs in almost ev- Catholic Church that is push- sation of Africa. In his book, ment’s intervention in suppress- Nyirongo like Mbiti argues
ery community and village. ing for the charismatic doctrine A History of Christian Mis- ing AICs was meant to ensure that Africans are religious in all
uses the term “Super Roma”. sions in Zimbabwe, 1890-1939, that Africans do not have an spheres of life and a failure in any
Differences however are evi- Of note is that “Super Roma” Zvobgo argues that the Roman alternative pattern of worship. one sphere requires a religious
denced in some of these group- preaches about healing, deliver- Catholic Church influenced the This was further worsened by solution. The AICs emerged to
ings in terms of practices, teach- ance, manifestation of the Holy colonisers to adopt a conquest their theologies which taught reclaim the African value sys-
ings, rituals and hierarchical Spirit, speaking in tongues and approach. against whites and their religion. tem before it was affected and
structures. In this diversity, there is some form of radicali- Of note, is the issue of equality diluted by the Western religion.
AICs, unlike mainline churches, sation or zealotism in this reli- The conquest approach re- though not gender equality and AICs therefore came to fill the
maintain their key theological gious outfit. sulted in the Anglo-Ndebele a simple dress-code of garments. gap which was left by Western
and doctrinal pillars. However, war, which saw lots of women The church taught against fancy religions who regarded every as-
within the Western-founded Islam faced similar problems and children being killed and dressing which they felt made pect of African value system as
churches their splits usually re- of failure to resolve doctri- orphaned, with some dying of other congregants to feel less an act of idolatry, as pagan and
sult in wars and violence where nal differences resulting in the starvation. human and uncomfortable. primitive.
women and children are the emergence of the Shiite and the They also chose open spaces and
most affected. Sunnis. The other one is radi- The emergency of African mountains for their worship. Black theology has its roots
cal and tend to be linked with Initiated Churches (AICs) to in the AICs whose leaders were
When the Anglican Church terrorism. It may be important challenge western sponsored According to Mushayavan- known as Apostles for Africa to
did split in Zimbabwe, a lot of to remember that the Roman churches was a result of racial hu & Duncan (2014), Western the African race. The titles like
violence was witnessed with fac- Catholic Church is not new to segregation, lack of charismat- founded churches lacked on Mutumwa Mwazha weAfrica
tions stoning each other, police radical/militant or terror-like ic elements and colonial traits spirituality as the churches were were coined in order to emphat-
teargassing the congregants and modes of operation. by such churches like the Ro- too formal and rigid. Bediako ically demonstrate that AICs
women arrested because they man Catholic Church (Bediako, (1999:225) went further and has Africans who has African
could not outpace men in run- The Crusaders, investiture 1999:225). argued that Western founded values at heart.
ning from the law and order po- disputes and the iconoclastic churches failed to acknowledge
lice details. controversy are classical exam- The early missionaries helped the African traditional value According to Daneel
ples of some violent episodes in colonial agents dupe King Lo- systems as its fulcrum of faith (1987:17), the quest for belong-
Violence is a human rights vi- history that the Roman Catho- bengula and Zimbabwe became and worship. ing and rejection of the impo-
olation, hence this study dwells lic Church cannot successfully a colony. The church-built sition of Western religion also
on the implications of schisms erase from their history. churches, schools and medical He proceeded to contend that contributed to the formation
to the human rights component. centres on racial grounds and African religion had key ingre- of AICs. There are two key el-
The 1648 treaty of Westpha- ements that contributed to the
The violation of human rights popularity of AICs, namely:
theologically does not only ema- contextualisation of the gospel;
nate from theological practices, and the ability to respond to the
rituals, beliefs and teachings of needs of its people, for example,
the church, but also from wars casting demons, praying for the
resulting from irreconcilable sick, prophesy and fortune tell-
church doctrines. ing.

Religious irreconcilable doc- AICs therefore tended to be
trines have often caused serious pragmatic in their appeal to
wars globally. The history of war the African people as opposed
is that it negatively affects the to idealistic Western founded
vulnerable; mostly women and churches. Turaki (1997:17) ar-
children. gued that Western religion did
not bring anything new to Af-
The Vatican Church must rica because Africans had their
relook into its position on the own ‘Mwari’ (God) before the
conflicting theological doctrine coming of the Western religion.
of charismatics which is a reli-
gious timebomb. In the unfore- AICs went further to infuse
seeable future, the Roman Cath- the African value systems into
olic Church is likely to split their patterns of worship.
giving birth to super “Roma,”
the one that follows the char- According to Desmond Tutu
ismatic doctrine and the “dog- (1978:366), before the advent
matic Catholic Church” that is of Western religion, Africans
against charismatic doctrine. had their own rich African cul-
ture and religion. Furthermore,
The charismatic doctrine res- AICs brought a new dimension
onates with the modern trends of healing and prophesy which
of gospel of Pentecostalism and resonated with the African val-
the prosperity gospel. Zimba- ue systems, where tradition-
bwe is one such country where al healers and spirit mediums
almost all churches are under- were healers and fortune tellers
going doctrinal and succession among other roles.
schisms. Mainline churches like
the Anglican and Methodists This brings back the ideas
have since witnessed such vio- of Daneel that AICs created a
lent schism and splits. sense of belonging because they
brought back the lost values
Such has been witnessed even that were destroyed by Western
in “traditional” Pentecostal religion (ibid, 1987:17).
Churches such as the AFM; and
as well pressures are simmering AICs, therefore, became more
in Zimbabwe Assemblies of God and more appealing to the locals
in Africa (Zaoga) led by Ezekiel and more locals began to defect
Guti, with cracks already visible from Eurocentric Western spon-
enough. The problems within sored churches. With the threat

NewsHawks Critical Thinking Page 35

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

posed by AICs the Roman The other ricocheting as- Some of the AICs in Zimba- ern-founded churches and AICs are active in attending to
Catholic church was forced to sumption which later backfired bwe do not even use the Bible, Christianity in general by ar- human needs in all their aspects
announce the Vatican 11 resolu- on them was to label African an example of such being Jo- guing that after a careful study and they are not controlled or
tion which amongst others per- traditional value systems as de- hanne Masowe Chishanu sect. of the ATR he founded out influenced by modernity and
mitted the church to have black monic and that Africans need- that ATR and christianity had a globalisation.
nuns, priests and catechists as ed to be redeemed and cleansed However, they claim to rely on number of shared values.
well as sing and conduct mass from their own culture. Thus, continuous revelation through According to Cole et al
in local languages as opposed to the power and influence of Afri- the “Holy Spirit” whom they ar- Setiloane (1976:10) conclud- (1990:76), the AICs act and
the traditional Latin. can culture was underestimated. gue speak to them directly. This ed the argument by stating that function like New Age Move-
To add on, the arbitrary arrest dovetails with ATR where Afri- Western missionaries should ments who are against moderni-
This saw the Church shift- and prosecution of the founders cans heavily rely on continuous realise this reality and go back ty and globalisation but instead
ing and adopting the theology of AICs by colonial regimes at revelation through its mediums to the drawing board, for West- resort to their tradition. In this
of indigenisation, adaptation the instigation of Western reli- and traditionalists. ern expressions of the Christian regard, as long as the concept of
and inculturation, which entails gion created religious polarity faith are not valid for Africa. human rights has Western or-
the adoption of African value and AICs to date do not want to Africans did not have a writ- igins, it is more difficult for it
systems like the use of drums co-exist with any Western-spon- ten text to guide their religious In addition, the various stud- to be accepted by AICs unless
as musical instruments during sored religion. functionaries. As such, at the ies which were carried out about a scientific study is done to try
worship services and many oth- core of ATR is the principle of ATR have made missionaries to and identify ATR related rights.
er traditional instruments. According to Magava oral tradition and continuous realize that, Africans have very
(1986:5-12), Africans and AICs revelation. strong beliefs which must be The Roman Catholic Church
While this is a positive devel- view Western religion as the key taken into account seriously. therefore must be clear on its
opment that can be noted from player in the processes and forc- To date, Pentecostal churches position regarding the char-
the Roman Catholic Church, es which tore apart their society and New Charismatic Move- A scholar of strategic intel- ismatic doctrine before the
Pentecostals and new Charis- and religion. ments blend the bible and the ligence foresight, Kent would problem becomes a global se-
matic movements seem to con- doctrine of pneumatology argue to say that, alternative curity issue. The Roman Cath-
sider drums as outdated and un- Giddens (1989:561) says Afri- which are akin to the doctrine future case scenarios is one of olic Church given its over one
christian. These are so western can Traditional Religion (ATR) of continuous revelation one the key components of strate- billion congregants and that it
in their approach. was more of a unifier religion would find in ATR as well as in gic intelligence which help to has a state recognition, its dis-
than Western-founded church- AICs. identify future threats and tides. turbances even in one state may
As such, it can be argued that es. This point was further but- The Roman Catholic Church have a global impact.
they are furthering the subju- tressed by Pauw (1964:212-13) The influence of Western like any other Western founded
gation of the traditional value who argues that African social founded churches is continuous- churches lacked strategic fore- The fact that the proponents
systems as they have adopted fabric was destroyed by the Ro- ly dwindling in Africa and the sight and to date these church- of charismatic doctrine are defy-
guitars and even invite secular man Catholic Church’s dom- possibility of Western-founded es are yet to find solutions to ing the papal infallibility which
musicians into the church. The inant and discovery doctrines churches becoming monuments their predicaments. Almost all is one of the key pillars of the
secularisation of the gospel has which shaped the Europeans’ is high as is the case with the the Western founded churches Roman Catholic Church should
seen prosperity preachers be- hegemonic character. Roman Catholic Church in In- in African are in a schismatic trigger states to monitor this
coming more and more appeal- dia. state, for example in the Angli- outfit to ensure that there are no
ing than the traditional church- Redcliff-Brown (1962:154) can church there is now a break elements of radicalization.
es. throws his weight on this when The ill-treatment of Indians away splinter group going by
he says AICs established social in America where over 60% of the name Anglican Zimbabwe. In Zimbabwe almost all the
According to Bourdillon continuity in spite of the Euro- the Indians were killed in Unit- churches are experiencing vi-
(1973:11), Western churches pean culture’s influence. Thus, ed States at the instigation of Daneel (1987:245-273) pos- olent splits and in a country
have always been making wrong AICs established an African the Roman Catholic doctrine of tulates that AICs are no longer with over 85% Christians such
assumptions about Africa, espe- Christianity that made Africans dominant and discovery seem to subjects of the mission, instead events pose a very serious secu-
cially that Africa was a dark con- feel the sense of belonging. be an explanation to this. they are subjects of African rity threat.
tinent which required religion Christianity. Coser (1977:136-
and civilisation for it to move This dovetails with Banana’s According to Sales (1971:67- 138) argues that, religion is one *About the writer: Dr Mat-
along with the rest of the world. assertion that theology or the 77), AICs are no longer a pro- of the forces that created with- thew Mare is a Zimbabwean
Western religions also failed to gospel must be relevant to testing movement in Africa, but in individuals a sense of moral academic who holds two bach-
foresee Africans ditching their the needs of its people. It this have started to establish them- obligation to adhere to society’s elor’s degrees, five master’s qual-
foreign religion forming their through this theological phi- selves theologically as a genuine demands. ifications and a PhD. He is also
own “Africanised” Churches, losophy where he argues for a expression of the Christian faith doing another PhD and has 12
now known under the umbrel- “rewriting” of the bible, citing from an African perspective. Thus, religion is the cement executive certificates in different
la African Initiated Churches some hermeneutical challenges of the society. Plummer et al fields. Professionally, he is a civil
(AICs), that is, churches formed where the bible was remaining The formation of alternative (2008:610-612), view religion servant and also board member
by Africans for Africans to wor- irrelevant to the African man forms of worship was due to a as dealing with ideas that tran- at the National Aids Council of
ship in an African environment. and woman. change of attitude by the mis- scends everyday experience. Zimbabwe.
sionaries in the 20th century. Ritzer (2000:10-11) asserts that

However, Parrinder (1969:7-
13) tried to defend West-

Page 36 Critical Thinking NewsHawks

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

Dissecting the mid-term fiscal review

PROFESSOR GIFT MUGANO

Introduction management system through orderly • Value for Money on government The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is Finance minister Mthuli Ncube.
THE mid-term fiscal review was pre- unification of the auction system and procurement system, the minister rec- introducing gold coins with a view to lems associated with convertibility and
sented on 28 July 2022 by the Finance the interbank market rate in order to ognised structural weakenesses in the providing an alternative vehicle which convenience. For example, in times of
and Economic Development minister facilitate market price discovery; government procurement system and, can be used to preserve value instead emergencies where one may need to
Professor Mthuli Ncube against the according to him: of the US dollar. Conventional wis- buy medical drugs, the individual will
following background: • Allowing retail/wholesale pricing dom tells us that gold coins are an in- only be able to do so after 180 days (six
to use the interbank foreign exchange “distortions in the domestic market vestment asset which economic agents months) since the vested period is 180
• Runaway inflation which shot rate with a maximum allowable vari- and weaknesses in the current public with surpluses can consider as part of days.
up to 257% (annual inflation) in July ance of 10%. procurement processes are compro- their strategies to diversify their port-
2022 (up from 192% in June). mising optimal use of public resources, folios. In view of the foregoing observa-
• Foreign currency tax obligations to giving rise to ‘tenderpreneurship’ and tion, the generality of the population
• Runaway exchange rates, with be settled at interbank exchange rate; corruption.” The Zimbabwe National Statistical will not be part of the gold coins mar-
parallel market rate hovering around Agency shows that 49% of the coun- ket. It therefore means that they will
ZW$850 against US$1 while the offi- • Review of capital markets regula- To address this challenge, the Fi- try’s population (7.9 million people) is continue to throng the parallel market
cial exchange rate is around ZW$400 tions to curb speculative tendencies, as nance and Economic Development in extreme poverty, that is, they live on for the US dollar since it is a trusted
against US$1. Ironically, when the well as foster market discipline; minister indicated that the govern- less than US$1.90 per day. This pop- currency which addresses matters such
2022 budget was presented in Novem- ment is setting up a Value for Money ulation is struggling to put food on as convenience, divisibility and trust
ber 2021 the official exchange rate was • Entrenching the multi-curren- Unit to scale up interventions towards the table and, as such, they cannot put issues, which gold
ZW$85 against US$1. cy system and inter-bank market ex- greater due diligence before awarding aside any meaningful savings to buy
change rate through legislation for the contracts to ensure fair pricing and gold coins. coins cannot address. In this regard,
• Worsening poverty levels with the National Development Strategy 1 pe- payment for goods and services. The gold coins cannot reduce the value
population, with 7.9 million people riod; operations of the unit will be such that In addition, the working class is preservation pressure from the general
living in extreme poverty, that is, 49% it does not result in additional delays to getting salaries which are far below the public.
of the population. • Minimise the impact of interna- the current procurement process. consumer basket of ZW$140 000. In
tional fuel and grain price increases on Review of the stabilisation measures essence, both the working class and the From the look of things, since the
• In the same vein, the consumer the domestic economy; Here, key policy measures such as in- population in extreme poverty have no gold coins are also classified as pre-
basket for a family of five has shot up terest hikes, gold coins and legislating financial muscle to buy the gold coin scribed asset status, it follows that in-
to ZW$140 000 for the month of July • Review of the remuneration frame- the use of the US dollar are reviewed. which will cost around US$1 800 per surance companies and pensions funds
2022 at a time when the lowest-paid work for civil servants to cushion them Implications of gold coins on the ounce when all the associated trans- will be compelled to buy gold coins
civil servants are earning ZW$35 000 against the increasing cost of living in a economy action costs are taken into account. in line with statutory requirements of
with an additional US$175. sustainable manner; For starters, the Finance minister right- Ironically, with their limited income, around 20% since their compliance
fully outlined the major drivers of ex- the very same population have capacity level is around 3%.
On a positive note, the following • Upwards review of the policy rate change instability and the current in- to buy the US dollar of any amount or
were noted: to discourage speculative borrowing; flation dynamics. However, the current denomination. In their millions they Assuming that the insurance sector
measures are not sufficient to address have critical mass to push the parallel and pension funds buy gold coins, will
• The current account surplus is • Introduction of a limit on the both the exchange rate and inflation market rate up notwithstanding the this rein in the parallel market rate?
envisaged to close the year 2022 at number of days for holding foreign dynamics. fact that they have limited income as
US$366.3 million, which favourably currency by exporters to enhance cir- Why gold coins will fail individuals. Evidence shows that the major
compares to US$348.2 million that culation in the economy; drivers of the parallel market rate are
the country registered in 2021, largely In extreme cases, in cases where an service providers to the current con-
driven by secondary income. • Introduction of gold coins as an ordinary individual has excess cash and struction work and the Command
alternative store of value; make an investment into gold coins, Agriculture programme. These are
• Merchandise exports increased by this individual is likely to face prob- the major culprits who are driving the
33% to US$3 516.5 million in the first • Started work on the formalisation parallel market rate. Simply put, using
half of 2022, from US$2 649.7 million of forward market of foreign currency. the revised budget, the government is
in 2021, spurred by increases in agri- anticipated to spend ZW$1.22 trillion
culture, mineral and manufactured ex- • The recent hike in the bank policy
ports. rate from 80% to 200% is meant to
Government stabilisation measures curtail speculative demand for credit in
In his presentation, the Finance min- the economy, which has been the main
ister underscored that downside risks driver of broad money expansion.
to inflation and exchange rate stability
going forward include:

• Continued geo-political tensions
that are driving the surge in interna-
tional food and oil prices (imported
inflation);

• Growth in broad money driven
by excessive liquidity held by banks
despite reserve money being targeted
at 0%;

• Adverse inflation expectations;
• Speculative tendencies; and
• Continued arbitrage in the econ-
omy.
As part of measures aimed at stabi-
lising the economy, he reaffirmed mea-
sures announced by the government
in May and June 2022 which were
meant to instil confidence, strengthen
demand for local currency and foster
market discipline as follows:
• Re-affirmation on the restoration
of lost value by compensating depos-
itors who were affected by currency
reforms implemented in 2019;
• Commitment to clear the foreign
auction backlog and ensure that all
new foreign currency allotments are
settled within two weeks and that the
auction system only allots foreign cur-
rency available;
• Continuation of partial dollari-
sation (multi-currency system), while
working towards managed de-dollari-
sation process, informed by economic
fundamentals;
• Improvement in the exchange rate

NewsHawks Critical Thinking Page 37

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

on service providers. It is quite clear process. ing/exchange rate exchange rates and budget review was the supplementary fuel.
that these service providers will contin- From a distribution perspective, you double pricing which have character- budget amounting to ZW$929 billion
ue to throng the parallel market. ised the construction sector. However, which pushed the new budget (revised Possible remedies
will see that 34.5% of the budget is al- its effectiveness will depend on politi- budget) to ZW$1.9 trillion. In addressing the economic crisis, the
From a return on investment point located towards capital projects while cal will, especially in view of the preva- government is strongly advised to con-
of view, at the moment, gold coins are 12% is going towards the agricultural lence of a concentration of few suppli- In terms of budget performance, by sider the following:
not an attractive investment vehicle as sector. Ironically, the players or ser- ers (who have political muscle). mid-year, the Finance ministry should
investors are looking for US dollar-re- vice providers who are participating in Interest rate hikes have distributed 50% of budget votes • Expedite the establishment of the
lated investments which are powered road and dam construction are also the The use of the interest rate as an effec- across all ministries, departments and Value for Money Unit. The Value for
by the increase in interest rates as the same players we see heavily involved tive instrument aimed at slowing down agencies (MDAs). However, as shown Money Unit can be a game changer in
US is hiking rates to contain infla- in the agricultural programmes which speculative behaviour is highly ques- in table 4.1, government departments eradicating rampant abuse of govern-
tionary pressures. This has resulted are funded by the government. What tionable at two levels: and line ministries highlighted in yel- ment funds which is key in stabilising
in a sudden fall in the gold price per it means is that a few individuals will low (see table 4.1) have been starved of the economy but if and only if, the
ounce from US$2 039 in 2021 to be stashed with huge RTGS balances First, the current statistics from the resources as they utilised below 50%. government, through the Office of the
around US$1 720 per ounce in June which they will offload into the black Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe show that, Of great concern are the ministries of President and Cabinet, demonstrates
2022. Market watchers are of the view market. This has been the phenom- as at 31 March 2022, 77.7% of total Health and the political will in ensuring that the
that the current price of US$1 720 per enon since 2018. It explains why the bank loans were earmarked for the pro- unit carries its mandate as expected.
ounce has been somehow sustained at exchange rate is running away. ductive sector as follows: agriculture Foreign Affairs which respectively
that level, which is considered high (25.61%), manufacturing (11.6%), are failing to deliver basic health and • There is a need for the govern-
enough because of the Russia-Ukraine From a procurement perspective, distribution (11.46%), commercial meet foreign obligations (including ment to remove distortions in the
crisis. Russia, with 10% of world gold government departments purchase (7%), mining (6.27%), mortgage staff salaries at our missions abroad). foreign exchange and gold markets by
production, is under sanctions and, as various requirements from middlemen (5.06%), communication (4.77%), liberalising the exchange rates. For the
such, cannot sell its gold, which kind who later go and procure the very same financial (3.76%), transport (1.61%) Ironically, in a manner that reinforc- avoidance of doubt, as long as there are
of starved the gold market. If there is commodities from manufacturers and and construction (0.60%). In line with es my argument on the drought of po- distortions, it is clear that any policy
a resolution to the Russia-Ukraine cri- add excessive mark-up plus massive this evidence, which has been consis- litical will on government procurement prescribed around the same market
sis, which is likely in the near future, forward exchange rates which are cur- tent in the last four years, it is clear that system, the following departments and will fail.
the price of gold will take a nose dive. rently in excess of ZW$1 800 per US the 200% interest rate is killing both ministries exceeded their 50% budget
This renders the gold coins a very risky dollars at a time when the parallel mar- business and the consumers. In view threshold as follows: Office of the Pres- • The government must place em-
investment which may reduce the ap- ket rate is around 850. The very same of this, in my humble view that, even ident and Cabinet (111%), ministry of phasis on the commodity exchange as
petite of cash-rich economic agents to suppliers are given pre-payments, en- though the Finance minister seemed Finance and Economic Development an effective vehicle for the financing
think twice before investing in gold abling them to offload their abnormal to “suggest” the need for further inter- (75%), ministry of Lands, Agriculture, and marketing of agricultural com-
coins. However, the usual economic profits on the parallel market. est rate hikes, it looks like a disastrous Water, Fisheries, Climate and Rural modities as opposed to the current
agents which can utilise the existing path to take, considering how this is Development (80%) and Defence and arrangement where the financing and
arbitrage opportunities will still make In order to address this anomaly, the weighing down on the sustainability War Veterans (75%) (see rows marked marketing of agricultural commodities
profits on gold coins on the back of the Finance minister issued a statement of businesses and also aiding in ramp- in red in the table above). In addition, is largely in the hands of government.
exchange rate disparities as adequately which compels government service ing up inflation since interest rate are the same departments and ministries
explained by Prof Arthur Mutambara. providers to use formal rates and avoid a cost push factor. Now since inflation were awarded massive supplementary • Going forward, with respect to in-
going to the parallel market. In addi- is 257%, is the RBZ prepared to raise budgets. frastructure financing, the government
To make matters worse, in Zimba- tion, in his mid-term budget review, interest rate to, say, 260%? Impossible! must consider innovative funding
bwe, with companies coming out of the minister announced that the gov- With this new ZW$1.22 trillion models for long-term infrastructure
the Covid-19 crisis which has resulted ernment will set up a Value for Money Secondly, the major source of mon- budget, which will be distributed to (roads, dams, etc) such as public -pri-
in compression of cashflows, the num- Unit. ey supply is coming from Treasury. For government service providers, one can vate partnerships, diaspora bonds and
ber of companies which can invest into example, the current national budget only expect the exchange rate to run use of pension funds. This will reduce
gold coins and hold their cash for six Both of these measures will not be shows that 36% of the budget is ear- away until the Zimdollar goes into ex- the burden on the government whilst
months are quite limited. effective, as far as I am concerned. My marked for civil servants' salaries and tinction. at the same time reducing the ongoing
humble view on its lack of effectiveness the remainder, that is, 64% is split abuse of government funds which is
Overall, the gold coins are a scheme is hinged on the fact that it is targeting between capital and the recurrent ex- Again, of interest to the working fuelling the parallel market rate.
for the elite and cronies of the regime criminals involved in parallel market penditure (which excludes salaries). So, class is that the Finance minister dou-
which, like the forex auction system, activities who are aided by the very if we consider the current of ZW$1.9 bled the tax-free threshold, that is, • In dealing with Russia-Ukraine
will make them richer and richer while same government in the first instance. trillion, it means that ZW$1.216 tril- from ZW$25 000 to ZW$50 000. crisis, robust policy measures which,
the generality of the population lan- For example, for any rational econom- lion (that is, 64% of the total budget) This adjustment is too low – one inter alia, include the following:
guishes in poverty: ic agent, does it make sense for Trea- will be disbursed to government service would have expected that honourable
sury, in the first instance, to pass pay- providers who are insulated from in- minister of Finance to raise the tax-free o Ramping up local fertiliser pro-
• There also challenges of divisibil- ment of a requisition which factored in terest rates even if the RBZ decides to threshold to around ZW$150 000 so duction (using Special Drawing Rights
ity when one miraculously buys gold a forward exchange rate of say 2 000 raise interest rates to 10 million percent as to move in line with the consumer funds) is urgent and critical since the
coins — if you buy gold coins, say at instead of 400? as this money will be dished to them basket for a family of five which has price of fertilisers have shot up by
US$1 800, but urgently need U$5 to at no cost through tenderpreneurship. just hit ZW$140 000 for the month 100% as a result of Russia's invasion
buy medicine, it will be difficult to Yet, ironically, men and women This precisely explains why in Zim- of July 2022. of Ukraine,
meet this urgent need yet the US dollar in the street can easily deduct the ex- babwe interest rates are ineffective in The economic outlook
notes can do justice change rate used on any of the com- addressing macro-economic instability. The economic outlook remains gloomy o Further reduction of duty on fuel
modities in the shop; that is why Rather, the more they raise the inter- and dire. The following are headwinds: from 30% to, say, 20% will be key in
• So, the gold coins scheme is largely households, for example, will conclude est rates, the higher the likelihood of stabilising inflation;
for the corporates with excess cash and that certain commodities are cheaper killing the goose which lays the all-im- • Runaway exchange rate and infla-
rich individuals. to buy in US dollars or in Zimdollars. portant egg whilst at the same time im- tion spiral – aided by the budget (that o Liberalisation of agricultural mar-
So, if it is granted that Treasury releases poverishing the general public. is, the ZW$1.22 trillion, in particular); kets with a view to opening up the
• The big elephant in the room is ex- payment in advance for commodities Entrenching the multi-currency sys- space of value chain actors. In this
change rate disparity – the gold coins being priced by the supplier at a ridic- tem and inter-bank market exchange • The proposal by the ministry of regard, the government must disband
will open the can of worms of a casino ulous rate, on their watch, how can we rate Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries, Command Agriculture and reinforce
economy again just like the forex auc- expect the very same office to push for Previously, the government promul- Climate and Rural Development to the role of the commodity exchange.
tion system. effective implementation of the very gated Statutory Instrument (SI) 127 increase the number of households
same instrument compelling suppliers which compelled economic agents to on government agricultural support • As the country is facing the water-
• The risk ahead is the possibility of from going to the black market? use formal exchange rates dictated by schemes from 1.8 million to 3.5 mil- shed 2023 elections, in order to reduce
massive exchange spiral when the vest- the auction system. This instrument lion. This will result in massive ex- the toxic political environment and
ed time of six months expires and the In addition, I think for the benefit carried punitive measures to offenders change rate spikes as service providers negative perceptions which are hin-
gold coins are liquidated. of the readers it is also important to ask which included jail term and fines. SI will have an enlarged envelope to use dering national cohesion and interna-
the question: How do you expect the 127 failed dismally because of excessive on the parallel market; tional engagement, the following are
In view of the effectiveness of the very same Treasury to place emphasis exchange rate disparities. Now, because urgent:
value for money and cleaning up of on this recent instrument when they government directed economic agents • The gold coin scheme remains
the procurement system, whilst this is don't buy directly from manufac- to use the interbank market rate as the a risk factor, especially at the time of o Cessation of arbitrary arrests of
a very good strategy which will help to turers? For example, why is Treasury official exchange rate, Treasury issued maturity — the possibility of renewed members of the opposition parties;
rein in the current abuses, the big ele- buying supplies such as dairy products SI 118A of 2022 whose main aim is to paramarket activities are expected.
phant in the room is centred around from, say, Mugano (Private) Limited enforce the use of official exchange rate. Likewise, there are possibilities that the o Cessation of incarceration of
the concentration of a few service pro- who will later on go to Dairibord to Like SI 127, it also carries penalties. gold coins could be abused during the members of the opposition parties;
viders who have political muscle and buy the very same products? Is it not Because exchange rate disparities still vested period, for example, as collateral
drought of political will. logical that the government must buy exist, in equal magnitude, SI 118A, as to access the Zimdollars, defeating the o Fair and equal access to the polit-
Why the National Budget is main directly from Dairibord as in this case? already witnessed, has failed to enforce purpose of mopping up money; ical space for all political parties. The
driver of instability the use of the official exchange rate current state of affairs where opposi-
For starters, the budget per se has no In these two examples, it is quite Review of the mid-term budget • Toxic political environment re- tion parties are regularly denied the
fundamental problem with our eco- clear the Finance ministry is largely re- The major highlight of the mid-term mains a serious threat on the economic right to carry out their political activ-
nomic situation. This is particularly so sponsible for the exchange rate spikes outlook; ities is against the spirit of a free and
because the budget deficit, as reported and the inflation spiral. democratic Zimbabwe; and
by the Finance minister, is less than 5% • Russia's invasion of Ukraine,
of gross domestic product. It is important to note that the pro- whose shocks has been transmitted o Respect the rule of law and abide
posal to establish a Value for Money through increases in fuel prices, agri- by constitutionalism.
This is within the stipulated range. Unit is a very important and right step. cultural inputs especially fertilisers and
However, the real problem from the food, remains a real challenge for the *About the writer: Professor Gift
budget is on how the funds are dis- This unit will, inter alia, stamp out country. So far, the government’s re- Mugano is an adjunct professor of
tributed as well as the procurement use of middlemen where they are not sponse to the Russia-Ukraine crisis has economics at Durban University of
necessary, elimination of forward pric- been through the removal of levies on Technology in South Africa and ex-
ecutive director of Africa Economic
Development Strategies. He a global
authority on international trade and
finance.

Page 38 CRreiftriacmaliTnhgiInsksuinegs NewsHawks

Reframing big Issue 92, 5 August 2022
question in
Mnangagwa’s
Zim: Crisis?
What Crisis?

This article was published last year crisis) in the United Kingdom. For instance, on 4 September political discourse, in defend- President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
and it examines growing scholarly Four months later, the Con- 2020 at a meeting of the Mnan- ing the national sovereignty of
interest in identifying the character gagwa-instigated and Zanu PF-led the Zimbabwean nation against Zimbabwe or elsewhere. Certain-
of President Emmerson Mnangag- servative Party under Margaret Political Actors Dialogue (Polad) the enemy within and outside, ly, though, the Covid-19 pandem-
wa’s post-coup regime in compari- Thatcher swept to electoral victo- comprising a range of small op- is not dissimilar to that of Mug- ic (as a health crisis) has entered
son to that of the late former leader ry. Forty years on, the ruling party position parties but not Chamisa’s abe’s strident Pan-Africanist and smoothly into the ruling party’s
Robert Mugabe. in Zimbabwe (Zanu PF), though MDC, Mnangagwa asserted: “I anti-imperialist rhetoric, particu- well-established discursive reper-
far from suffering an electoral de- wish to unequivocally state that larly subsequent to the formation toire of denouncing the main op-
The official framing of the na- feat in the foreseeable future, now there is no [political or economic] of the MDC in 1999 and his con- position.
tional story about contemporary raises the same questions, and of- crisis in Zimbabwe”. stant labelling of it as an agent of
Zimbabwe involves an outright de- ten explicitly. regime change funded by hostile The pandemic forms an unsub-
nial that there is a crisis (of gover- Days later, at the 113th ses- foreign powers. tle but convenient basis for dis-
nance and mismanagement in par- In this context, the ruling party sion of Zanu PF’s Central Com- tinguishing between a supposedly
ticular) and points to the presence and state president of Zimbabwe mittee in mid-September 2020, Of course, scholarly critics of real crisis (a health crisis, not of
of false or artificial crisis generated (Emmerson Mnangagwa) began Mnangagwa talked glowingly Zanu PF have pointed out, quite the government’s making) and
and propounded by the myth-mak- his “address to the nation” on Au- about Zanu PF as the “unwaver- rightfully and over an extended fraudulent and conspiratorial cri-
ing of unpatriotic elements. gust 4, 2020 with the words “[t] ing revolutionary party” which (in period of time, the marked ex- ses propagated by “dark forces.”
he world is in crisis.” The crisis the words of his August address) istence of a multi-faceted (and
However, scholarly critics of the spoken about by Mnangagwa, af- was resolved in its ongoing fight shifting) systemic crisis which From a critical perspective, and
official perspective have pointed out, fecting Zimbabwe and the rest of against “[t]he dark forces, both constitutes the very fabric of Zim- thus in line with the prevailing
quite rightfully and over an extend- the world, is the health crisis cen- inside and outside the country” babwean society. There are signif- crisis literature, it has become
ed period of time, that there is a tering on the Covid-19 pandemic. intent on manufacturing crises. icant debates about the causes, abundantly clear that crises in
multi-faceted (and shifting) system- character, and consequences of Zimbabwe now extend beyond
ic crisis gnawing at the very fabric As a universal crisis emerging Any public-health crisis, let what has become known as the the Mugabe “era” and sit firmly
of Zimbabwean society. as a “natural disaster” and “im- alone political or economic cri- “Zimbabwean crisis” in the “crisis entrenched within the “era” of
ported” into the country, the ses, if they existed at all, had been literature” (Chiumbu and Muse- Mnangagwa, despite any attempts
KIRK HELLIKER, Zimbabwean government (like all “imported” into Zimbabwe by mwa, 2012). to wish them away as “fake news”
governments) claims no responsi- neo-colonial forces (for example, under the so-called “new dispen-
GERALD CHIKOZHO MAZARIRE bility for this crisis appearing on through uncalled-for sanctions) As well, given the almost nev- sation.”
the world stage. with whom the internal opposi- er-ending use of “crisis” as a de-
(FIVE) years after the November tion readily collaborates. scriptive and analytical category, Without denying the pro-
2017 coup in Zimbabwe and the The Zimbabwean government there is some dispute within the nounced continuities across the
installation of Emmerson Mnan- admits to the presence of a health This framing of the national scholarly literature more broadly two “eras,” notably in the form of
gagwa as ruling party and state crisis in Zimbabwe, insofar as this story about contemporary Zim- about whether the notion has now semi-authoritarian and predato-
president, there is growing schol- refers merely to the existence of babwe involves an outright denial outlived its days of theoretical ry-accumulation tendencies, it is
arly interest in identifying the the Covid-19 virus within the ter- of crises (of governance and mis- significance (Shank, 2008); and, quite likely that emerging scholar-
character of the post-coup regime, ritorial borders of the country. management in particular) and further, about whether speaking ly attempts at comparative analy-
particularly in comparison to the points to the presence of false or of a condition of perpetual and ses of the Mugabe and Mnangag-
37-year reign of Robert Mugabe’s However, it refuses to recognise artificial crises generated and pro- endemic crisis — or “chronicity” wa “eras” may lean increasingly
Zanu PF. and accept, certainly not in any pounded by the myth-making of (Vigh, 2008) — has any explan- towards a less unfavourable anal-
significant manner, the reality of unpatriotic elements. atory value at all, in the case of ysis of the Mugabe era. In large
So far, there are continuities a public health crisis — as this part, this is because of a key trend
and changes, with increasing con- would raise searching and disturb- In this sense, Mnangagwa’s arising directly out of the Novem-
cerns about a qualitative shift in ing questions about entrenched ber 2017 military coup, namely, a
the militarisation of Zimbabwean state incapacities around the pro-
state and society under Mnangag- vision of public services, notably
wa and the further closing down health care.
of civil society space.
Beyond the health crisis, no
Perhaps more so than during other crises exist in Zimbabwe
the first two years of post-coup from the perspective of Zanu PF,
Zimbabwe, this has become abun- only challenges.
dantly clear during the Covid-19
pandemic lockdown. Hence, on repeated occasions,
Mnangagwa and Zanu PF leaders
“Crisis? What Crisis?”. Appear- have insisted that any other form
ing in bold print as a headline on of crisis, and specifically political
the front page of the  Sun  news- and economic crises, appear only
paper in the context of the win- in the fantasising minds of the
ter of discontent in 1978–1979, main political opposition (Nelson
these simple questions referred to Chamisa’s MDC (now Citizens'
(the Labour Party Prime Minis- Coalition for Change) and its civ-
ter) James Callaghan’s denial that il society allies), and thus solely as
there was “mounting chaos” (or a a discursive construction riddled
with blatant falsifications.

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 39

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

qualitative shift in the form and in the “new” Zimbabwe, the coun- language used to mobilize against Chamisa’s MDC at an institution- granted Zanu PF breathing space
extent of militarisation of Zim- try remains closed for business the unseen enemy. Because all al level (thoroughly undercutting and time to formulate and refine
babwean politics and society (see in practice, with massive foreign Zimbabwean citizens potentially its presence in parliament, senate, further measures which may close
Maringira, this volume). debt hanging over its head. carry the virus, citizens who (or and urban councils). At the same down political and civil space on
groups which) violate the state’s time, it seeks to position Thokoza- a more permanent basis. Because
This deepening militarisation, Finally, Mnangagwa has staked lockdown measures are labeled as ni Khupe’s MDC as the main “op- of this, civil society and commu-
what Sachikonye (2011) labels as his political reputation on a vig- collaborating with the enemy, as position” party. nity organizations need to start
a “muscular politics,” has mascu- orous fight against endemic and “dark forces.” Hence, “[t]he pub- formulating strategies for change
linised and patriarchal dimensions systemic corruption. lic are . . . the problem: they so- Nevertheless, Chamisa has relevant to the “new” post-Covid
and is bound to have negative re- cialise; . . . they put others . . . at contributed in no small way to Zimbabwe.
percussions for the position of For now, though, the impartial- risk. Thus governments . . . have the challenges currently facing
women in politics. ity of the Zimbabwe Anti-Cor- been forced to seize the levers of Zimbabwe’s main political-party In the context, it is hoped that
ruption Commission is subject to power in order to lead the ‘war’” opposition (see Mwonzora and the six articles in this special edi-
After the coup, and before the serious questions because of the (Chandler, 2020). Hodzi, this volume). With its pro- tion go some way in identifying
Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, weaponizing of anti-corruption nounced hold historically on rural the specificities and complexities
the Mnangagwa government be- efforts (in relation to intra-Zanu Individual citizens trying to areas (both communal areas and, of Zimbabwe’s Mnangagwa, and
gan showing its inherent logic of PF factional battles), while Mnan- make a living, and democra- more recently, fast-track areas), the challenges faced in seeking to
rule, despite distancing itself from gagwa operates an unconstitution- cy-seeking (and Chamisa-linked Mnangagwa’s Zanu PF is trying pursue a democratic dispensation
the “failures” and “mistakes” of al, rogue Anti-Corruption Unit in MDC) activists, have borne the to do what Mugabe’s Zanu PF was in the years ahead.
the Mugabe “era” by declaring the his office. In examining judicial brunt of repressive measures un- unable to undertake successfully,
formation of the Second Repub- appointments, Verheul (this vol- der the Zimbabwean lockdown, namely, to undermine the urban *About the writers: Professor
lic. ume) notes a discernible (though including by means of unwarrant- areas as the bastion of political op- Kirk Helliker is a research aca-
not complete) shift away from ed beatings, politically motivated position. demic and director of the Unit of
In taking a page from Mug- defending national sovereignty to detentions and arrests, dispropor- Zimbabwean Studies at Rhodes
abe’s script, Mnangagwa’s use of fighting corruption under Mnan- tionate force, torture, and abduc- Undoubtedly, in and through University, South Africa; and Pro-
the state’s repressive apparatuses gagwa, and primarily as a basis for tions. As well, the ruling party is the pandemic, the Zimbabwean fessor Gerald Chikozho Mazarire
against civilians protesting at the shoring up state legitimacy. deploying state institutions (in- state under Mnangagwa is prepar- is professor of history at the Uni-
time of the July 2018 elections, cluding the judiciary) to undercut ing thoughtfully for a post-Covid versity of Eswatini.
and then again in early 2019, There is great significance in world. Indeed, the pandemic has
demonstrates Zanu PF’s bound- the events prior to the rise of the
less efforts to remain in power at Covid-19 pandemic in capturing
all costs. At the same time, Mnan- analytically the enduring crises
gagwa is showing signs of break- and emerging character and im-
ing with the past by bringing to peratives of the Mnangagwa gov-
the fore certain initiatives, though ernment. However, it appears that
the intentions behind these initia- the only real crisis in Zimbabwe
tives, and their strength and seri- (from Zanu PF’s perspective),
ousness, are in serious doubt. namely, the health crisis during
the Covid-19 moment, has high-
For example, there are indica- lighted most vividly the disposi-
tions of a wrestling with the past, tions ingrained in the Mnangagwa
by way of acts of reconciliation government.
pertaining to the  Gukurahun-
di atrocities from the early 1980s Thus, key developments around
and the dispossession of white health and politics during the
commercial farmers under fast- time of the pandemic provide a
track land reform from the year crucial lens for honing in on the
2000. enduring social, political, and
economic crises in Zimbabwe and
Yet the so-called reconciliation the increasingly militarised “solu-
around  Gukurahundi  is deeply tion” to them.
controversial, leading to a split
within the Matabeleland Collec- These include the following:
tive and falling far short of any disruptions and strikes by health-
meaningful truth-telling and jus- care professionals over wages
tice-seeking initiative. and working conditions; mas-
sive shortfalls in state capacities
The compensation package for around health (and the corrup-
the dispossessed white farmers is tion contributing to this, such as
likewise a source of tension, while the Drax scandal); the unconstitu-
the tens of thousands of farm la- tional appointment of coup leader
borers (either displaced in situ or and Vice- President Constantino
elsewhere in the country) seem Chiwenga as Minister of Health;
largely forgotten, despite their the Minister’s attempts at milita-
precarious existence 20 years on. rising the health profession and
health professionals; and the Min-
Further, while Polad may come ister’s unconstitutional overreach
across as a genuine attempt to in preventing by-elections from
overcome the combative par- going ahead in December 2020
ty-politics of the present, it incor- (to the disadvantage of Chamisa’s
porates — in the main — pliant, MDC).
minor opposition parties.
Perhaps most troubling, as wit-
As well, there are signs of a new nessed under the pandemic, is the
(perhaps neo-liberal) econom- closing down of political and civil
ic path, including with regard to space by the Zimbabwean state.
foreign policy and investment, As a general tendency, the Mnan-
alongside an array of monetary gagwa government has used the
and currency policies, as part of lockdown measures as a pretext
the overall “open for business” for contracting civil space (and
mantra. violating human rights) on an un-
necessary and illegitimate basis.
Both Melber and Southall (this
volume) and Nyamunda (this vol- For Zanu PF (and indeed for
ume) pose significant questions other ruling parties), Covid-19 is
about any (post-Mugabe) changes portrayed as an existential threat
in this regard. Though Mnangag- and invisible enemy, with war-like
wa has spoken glowingly about
promises of large-scale investment

Page 40 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

Women entrepreneurs in Africa face
more climate risks than male peers

KATE GANNON

THE world’s  climate is changing.
All of us will ultimately be affected
by climatic shifts – but some will be
hit harder than others.

On the African continent, for in-
stance, small businesses are on the
front lines of climate change. Over
50%  of the African labour force
works in agriculture, which is both
very exposed to and dependent on
climatic variability and change. But
even businesses in urban centres
are increasingly dealing with  cli-
mate-induced challenges. These
include unstable water and power
supplies, extreme heat and flood-
ing. These hazards interrupt pro-
cessing and manufacturing activi-
ties.

They also limit transportation of
goods and make it harder to pro-
vide services to customers. And
they increase the risk of unsafe
working conditions.

This is true for any business
owner, regardless of gender. But our
research, published in WIRES Cli-
mate Change, suggests that women
entrepreneurs in Africa are more
vulnerable to climate change than
their male counterparts. There are
at least three key reasons for this.

First, women entrepreneurs are
often more exposed to climate risk
because of the sectors, activities and
types of businesses that they tend to
be concentrated in. Second, wom-
en’s businesses also face addition-
al barriers to adapting to climate
change in the business environ-
ment. And, third, women are also
often on the front line of managing
climate risk at household levels.

As a result, climate shocks, when
they occur, are likely to dispropor-
tionately erode women entrepre-
neurs’ ability to cope with climate
change in the future.

Increased vulnerability We found that women entre- Senegal, described the challenge of ing gender inequalities in entrepre- Image credit: [email protected].
Cultural norms and gendered dis- preneurs often face discrimination accessing finance: neurship and beyond? For starters,
crimination in entrepreneurship across all of these aspects of the action is needed to address gender There is also increasing emphasis
influence the sectors and businesses business environment. These bar- "It is very difficult for a woman inequalities across the business en- on mobilising the private sector in
women tend to work in. These vary riers to adaptation reinforce each to take out large loans, which of- vironment. adaptation action. This means that
by region and across rural and ur- other and compound women’s ten require guarantees that we don’t companies, too, need support to
ban settings. But women’s business- vulnerability to climate change. have. I don’t have a house or land Women have been poorly repre- develop equitable business linkages
es are often particularly dependent For example, despite being the of my own." sented in adaptation and business and partnerships with a wider range
on natural resources and concen- primary cultivators, women own decision making forums to date. of other businesses, including those
trated in agriculture, livestock, fish- just 13% of agricultural land glob- Finally, women entrepreneurs do Women’s specific and diverse needs that don’t have the formal land en-
ing, trading and processing. These ally and in some African countries, not only have to deal with climate have often been overlooked in the titlements that larger companies of-
are sensitive to climate. such as Nigeria, the proportion of risks in business. Women in Africa design of policies, programmes, ten require.
land owned by women can be even are often the producers and procur- products and services. That must
There is also  some evidence  to lower. ers of food, water and other natural change. Most of all, if adaptation action
suggest that women and their busi- resources for their families. They is to level the playing field for wom-
ness activities are more likely to be This compromises women entre- are generally traditionally responsi- Business finance opportunities en and their businesses, women will
confined to more marginal and de- preneurs’ access to finance, markets ble for food security and household especially need to include women’s need to be at the heart of the design
graded agricultural land. This land and technologies that support busi- management. Therefore they tend businesses. For example, financ- of adaptation and entrepreneurship
is less resilient to climate shock. So ness development and adaptation to be on the frontline of managing ing should be made accessible to planning.
climate shocks are likely to be more in multi-dimensional ways. climate risk at household levels too. informal enterprises, individual
severe for women entrepreneurs Possible solutions producers, women’s collectives and — The Conversation.
than for their male peers. One of the women we spoke to How can we avoid climate change producer cooperatives, as well as
during our research, a business- entrenching and increasing exist- those with more restricted access to *About the writer: Kate Gan-
Another issue is that businesses woman in the Kaolack region of formal land ownership. non is a research fellow at the
need to have the incentives, resourc- London School of Economics and
es, knowledge and skills to adapt to Political Science in Britain.
climate change. Their adaptability
is highly influenced by factors in
the business environment: access to
finance, markets, technologies, in-
formation and policies.

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 41

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

Zambia can meet growing food demand:
How to fix what is standing in its way

ANTONY CHAPOTO/
NTOMBIFUTHI TSHABALALA/
SIMON ROBERTS

AFRICAN countries face great chal-
lenges in adapting to climate change
to meet growing demand for food.
The current drought in East Africa is
the latest manifestation of changing
weather patterns.

But countries such as Zambia,
where there is  good land and water,
have major opportunities to meet
food demand by growing agriculture
exports and processing their produce.
Zambian farmers can earn substantial
returns from increased production.
Their production can also alleviate
the pressures in countries such as
Kenya.

To realise these opportunities,
Zambian products have to reach ex-
port markets at good prices. For this,
Zambia needs competitive cross-bor-
der markets and efficient transport
and logistics services. However, re-
gional grain and oilseeds trade is not
working for producers in Zambia or
for buyers in East Africa, with huge
variances in agricultural commodity
prices in Kenya and in Zambia.

Our reality check on the workings
of cross-border markets points to re-
gional integration being the key to
unlocking massive potential for Zam-
bia to anchor sustainable agricultural
growth in Africa. But effective re-
gional integration remains a dream,
undermining Zambia’s potential.

Are markets working for Zambia? Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema.
Zambian agriculture  has been a
growth story with expanding net grain should cost around US$150/ who have operations across the region a big push in production, enabling forcement by the  Competition and
exports in important products such Mt to be transported from Lusaka have an advantage over smaller busi- Zambian farmers to invest in im- Consumer Protection Commission
as  soybeans. However, this perfor- to Kampala and Nairobi. Of course, nesses and farmers because they have proved agricultural systems. This is of Zambia  together with the  Come-
mance is very short of where it should quoted transport rates may be much private information. even more essential as next year is sa Competition Commission is a key
be. Zambia should be the grain bas- higher, but this reflects the many likely to be another  La Niña  weath- part of fair and competitive markets
ket for the whole region. Malawi has problems in cross-border transport Second, the market players re- er pattern which sees good rains in which work for all.
shown what is possible in  soybeans. which need to be addressed. quire clear trade policy signals to Zambia and poor rains in parts of
It almost doubled production in take advantage of export opportu- East Africa and the Horn of Africa. Investment is required in criti-
2019/2020, to 421,000 tonnes, more The situation is even more extreme nities. Any hesitation or mixed sig- cal infrastructure such as storage for
than Zambia in that year. in soybeans, which are a much higher nals tend to undermine the ability The ongoing effects of climate smaller market participants to use on
value commodity. Zambia’s bumper to make deals with confidence. It is change mean more investment is re- fair terms. Finance can be mobilised,
A major issue is how cross-border soybean harvest in 2022 was being therefore important for Zambia’s new quired to make agriculture resilient. such as that being made available by
markets are working, or not work- sold at prices around US$550/Mt in government not to impose ad hoc This involves investments in water the African Development Bank.
ing.  Zambian suppliers report  hav- June, with prices even being quot- trade restrictions, for example, as the management, irrigation, storage facil-
ing substantial volumes of soybeans ed as low as US$439/Mt at the end previous government did in August ities, advice and information systems. It is essential to support region-
which can meet the huge regional of the month. Prices in East Africa 2021 to restrict maize exports. Such al research networks, such as those
demand. were well over US$1,000/Mt, some restrictions, imposed and lifted from The vulnerability of the whole of led by the  Indaba Agricultural Poli-
US$500-700/Mt above those in month to month, mean deals cannot Southern and East Africa as a climate cy Institute  and the  African Market
Market prices for maize in Nai- Zambia. This is three to four times be made with the confidence that “hotspot” means urgent and coordi- Observatory of the Centre for Com-
robi climbed to over US$500/Mt in the transport costs. they can be fulfilled. nated regional action is required. petition, Regulation and Economic
June 2022, reaching similar levels in Development and partners.
Kampala, Uganda. In early July, pric- In other words, producers in Third, the market opportunities But Zambia doesn’t have to wait
es were reported to have climbed well Zambia should be getting more for in East Africa require urgent region- for this action. — The Conversation.
above US$750/Mt in Kenya. Mean- their crops and buyers in East Africa al co-operation to improve transport
while prices in  Zambia  were around should be paying less, alleviating the corridors on the ground rather than It can lead in championing sus- *About the writers: Antony
US$220/Mt or 3 700 kwacha/Mt. food price spikes there. in rhetoric. tainable agricultural growth in the Chapoto is research director at Ind-
What is to be done? knowledge that this is essential for aba Agricultural Policy Research
Though lower than Kenya’s, Zam- A combination of factors is under- Malawian soybean suppliers have resilient food supplies across the re- Institute (IAPRI) in Zambia.
bian maize prices are still substantial- mining the growth of Zambia. shown the value. Small suppliers have gion. This requires good policies with
ly higher than last year’s. This is in already been using the  African Mar- a longer-term vision. The country Ntombifuthi Tshabalala is an
line with  global trends. With higher First, reliable market information ket Observatory data on East African needs, without any reservations, to economist at the Centre for Com-
input costs, farmers need higher out- is required to link buyers and suppli- prices in 2022 to negotiate better fully back regional integration and petition, Regulation and Economic
put prices to incentivise production. ers, and to enable markets to work. In prices for their exports. This increased competitive regional markets. Exces- Development, University of Johan-
the absence of information, it’s risky realised prices by around  US$200/ sive margins cannot be captured by nesburg, South Africa. Simon Rob-
The gap between prices in Zambia to export. This lack of information Mt more than they would otherwise connected so-called “middlemen”. erts is professor of economics and
and those in Nairobi and Kampala is affects small and medium sized farm- have accepted. lead researcher at the Centre for
close to US$300/Mt. This is double ers and businesses. Large-scale traders Greater certainty for businesses Competition, Regulation and Eco-
what would be explained by the effi- Zambian farmers could reap sim- needs to be accompanied by en- nomic Development, University of
cient cost of transporting maize from ilar benefits too. This would support forcement of clear rules for compa- Johannesburg.
Zambia to these countries. Efficient ny power. Regional competition en-
transport costs take account of rea-
sonable trucking, logistics and border
costs.

Even with the higher fuel costs,

Page 42 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

Burundi at 60 is the poorest country on
the planet: A look at what went wrong

CLAUDIO GASTROW/GILSON LÁZARO Angolan former President José Eduardo dos Santos. many understood the country’s con-
tinued reliance on oil during the civil
THERE is unlikely to be consensus of  disbursing patronage and favours, intelligence services, and the internet surrection against Portuguese colonial war period (1975-2002), Dos Santos’
on what José Eduardo dos Santos, An- tying the elite to the president’s being monitored. rule began, Dos Santos’s style of rule inability to encourage significant di-
gola’s former long-time president who whims. The fear of losing access to was detrimental to the growth of a versification of the economy during
died earlier this month in Barcelona, financial support in a country where This fear created a relationship to vibrant democracy. Criticism was the decade long post-conflict oil
Spain, will represent in the memory to be poor meant having almost noth- the presidency in which it was under- treated as a threat. Security forces boom was perhaps one of his greatest
of Angolans. ing acted as the ultimate threat for the stood as socially remote from ordinary were readily used to harass critics and failures.
elites. Angolans; but seemingly omnipresent opposition.
While he has been credited for due to the belief in the office’s capacity Oil dependence, corruption and in- If poverty was already extreme for
steering his country through a decades By the end of the country’s civil to collect information about the most equality many Angolans, the failed promises
long civil war, his rule was marred by war  in 2002, decisively won by the banal of everyday actions and state- Dos Santos’s economic legacy, more of the oil boom only made the period
authoritarianism, high levels of cor- MPLA led by Dos Santos, the pres- ments. than his political one, attracted the that followed worse. With the crash of
ruption, and the securitisation of the idency had almost rendered other most attention abroad. During his fi- oil in 2015,  the country has experi-
state. decision-making structures irrelevant. These beliefs often seemed to be nal years and his retirement in 2017, enced austerity, rising unemployment
The new  2010 constitution  further realised in the late days of Dos San- the accumulation of wealth by his and worsening social conditions. This
Critics were not tolerated and in- embedded presidential powers. These tos’s rule when activist circles were in- family, especially his eldest child, Isa- situation could have been alleviated if
equality marred attempts at post-con- had been informally accumulated filtrated. This led to arrests and show bel dos Santos, generated significant more focus had been placed on build-
flict reconstruction. The failure to during the 1980s and strengthened in trials  of those questioning state poli- criticism from Angolans and foreign- ing alternatives to the oil industry.
significantly diversify the country’s the 1990s. This included the elimina- cies and the political system. ers.
economy beyond its heavy reliance on tion of the position of prime minister Legacy unclear
oil has continued to haunt his succes- as head of the government. One of the long-term legacies of his His children’s actions were viewed Dos Santos died five years after leav-
sor, João Lourenço. rule is a paranoid and authoritarian by many as symbolic of the broader ing office in self-imposed exile, aban-
Dos Santos inspired loyalty and political system. It does little to serve scourge of corruption that had come doned by his previous political allies,
Dos Santos was not a man known fear. A number of factors made this the needs of the majority and centres to characterise Angola’s political econ- especially those belonging to his own
for his speeches or for intense pub- possible. These included his long stay too much power in the presidency. omy. This, under the pretence of generation of the anti-colonial strug-
lic engagement. The most common in power  (1979 to 2017)  as well as building a “national bourgeoisie”. gle.
way that he was encountered was the creation of a parallel security state Attempts at opening up the polit-
through his face being on the coun- answerable almost exclusively to him. ical space and producing an engaged At the heart of Dos Santos’s power His body is now  in litigation in a
try’s banknotes, an ironic reminder People were wary of phones being civil society  were dampened if not and Angola’s wealth stood oil. While Spanish court and is the subject of a
of the wealth he seemed to personally tapped, of acquaintances working for openly crushed. Despite leading the close dispute between different wings
control. country into its most-prolonged peri- of his family and the Angolan state.
od of peace since 1961, when the in- President João Lourenço decreed sev-
Outside election cycles, Dos Santos en days of national mourning and in-
was a withdrawn president. He stayed sists on holding a state funeral. Dos
in his presidential homes, trusting Santos’s children have accepted to
only a small group of advisers and bury him in Angola, but only after the
preferring to give verbal instructions 2022 election as they seek to leverage
rather than written ones. Angolans the political significance that his body
generally only saw him in the media symbolises.
and occasionally at official events if
they were allowed to be present. The dispute is evidence of the pow-
er Dos Santos’s wielded in life and
His silence allowed people to proj- now in death. On the eve of the An-
ect their beliefs onto him, rather than gola’s August 24 elections, his funeral
ever be sure of an insight into his own would be a means for Lourenço to
thoughts. It was precisely this dis- gain electoral advantage and redeem
tanced silence, therefore, which pro- himself in the face of public criticism
duced his aura of power and the cult for the attacks carried out against Dos
of personality that surrounded him. Santos and his children.
Absent but omnipresent
Dos Santos came to power in Septem- For Lourenço and the hard-core
ber 1979 at the age of 37. He quickly of the MPLA, Dos Santos’ body is a
came to inhabit his presidential posi- political asset with the potential to
tion, side-lining many of the original appease internal divisions, negotiate
prominent leaders of the governing with his children, and calm popular
People’s Movement for the Liberation dissatisfaction   with Lourenço’s and
of Angola (MPLA), while installing the party’s performance since 2017.
his own people in positions of power.
Amid the political dispute over the
His understanding of the workings body and general elections, Dos San-
of state institutions, presidential pow- tos’s political legacy will continue to
er and financial flows became appar- divide Angolans immensely for a long
ent as the MPLA found itself increas- time.
ingly unable to counteract its own
president, causing frictions between — The Conversation.
party and leader.
*About the writers: Claudia Gas-
Oil funds were used to ensure the trow is senior lecturer in adnthro-
viability of the MPLA’s war effort pology at the University of Johannes-
against the rebel movement Unita burg in South Africa. Gilson Lázaro
through the purchase of weapons is research associate at the Catholic
and food. They also became a means University of Angola.

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 43

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

CHRIS JONES SA trapped again: what kind of
leaders can set the country free
FORMER South African presi-
dent Thabo Mbeki recently painted a South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
gloomy picture of the country and its
prospects. fore, economic growth is essential  to a democratic South Africa. He en- cians  force people to revolt. This in Transformational leaders are dedi-
grow the “cake” to be redistributed. To visioned the country as a “rainbow turn creates opportunities for criminal cated to long-term development – built
He said the governing African Na- that end, the economy must be freed nation” and rallied almost the entire elements. This kind of leadership sucks on good background analysis – while
tional Congress (ANC), led by  Presi- from state control so that entrepre- nation — black and white — behind humanity out of people. It incites emo- also trying to solve the immediate
dent Cyril Ramaphosa, did not have a neurs and businesses are motivated to the realisation of his vision. But it fad- tion and hatred that leads to upheav- problems of a country and its people.
national plan to address the country’s make good money, invest more and ed over the years. als that have no respect for anything
many socio-economic problems. These thereby create jobs to make the coun- and anyone, as seen in the Gauteng For such leaders, continuous self-ex-
include high and growing unemploy- try prosperous. The futurist  Philip Spies, however, and KwaZulu-Natal provinces  in July amination, sharp observation, service
ment, inequality, poverty and crime. describes the new South Africa as a ship 2021. to people, and dialogue are crucial in
Of course, both these views have that started sailing in 1994 with very putting a country on the trajectory of
The official national unemploy- merit, but there are also blind spots good hope and direction, but froze in a But transformational, moral leader- a knowledge economy and sustainable
ment rate is 34.5%. The country is also that can severely damage development. pack of ice 28 years later, bringing the ship is future-oriented. It changes atti- development.
the  most unequal in the world, and We no longer live in the industrial age country’s development to a standstill. tudes in people and motivates them to
about 55.5% (30.3 million people) of of the 20th century when the struggle This is the product of, among other do exceptional things. Conclusion
the population live in poverty. between capital and labour reached its things, class, race and ethnic polari- If we measure the extent to which
peak as a zero-sum game. sation and alienation of communities Renewal — how to break the ice’s the country has skilled, capable and
Mbeki served two terms as ANC and greed, elitist governance and cor- grip on the ship — carries dangers for dedicated people who are building a
president,  from 1997 to 2007, and Although there is still a battle be- ruption by privileged and  favoured the transformational leader. There will vibrant, sustainable society, President
national president,  from 1999 to tween capital and labour, in today’s public servants and politicians. always be losers in a renewal process Ramaphosa and the ANC sadly do not
2008. South Africa enjoyed  an aver- economy, knowledge, skill develop- who can easily become disruptors, as provide transformational leadership.
age gross domestic product growth ment and pioneering innovation are Sadly, the current political leaders seen in the transition to democracy in
rate of 4.2%  during his tenure, mak- the primary drivers of a country’s pros- — and this applies to most political the early 1990s with certain right-wing The country needs more than trans-
ing him and finance minister  Trevor perity. parties — are not very good “icebreak- political parties. formational leaders. It needs change
Manuel the most successful economic ers”. Too many politicians are self-serv- management, a whole new design,
combination in South Africa’s young This requires that all South Africans ing and interested in self-enrichment. James Brian Quinn, the Ameri- which has the potential to lead to the
democracy. Yet the country’s socio-eco- join hands and participate. And this They are often far removed — literally can academic and author, points out purest expression of democracy for
nomic problems, inherited from apart- construction work must be undertak- and metaphorically — from the citi- that transformational leaders must pay South Africa, with its vast differences
heid, persisted during his tenure. en with great patience, adaptability, zens. even more attention to the interests of in wealth, and diverse communities
respect, humility and a lot of hope and those who may lose during a renewal with their diverse interests. Yet, with-
Mbeki expressed concern about courage. For this to happen, the coun- The large group of poor people in process than to the programmes of out transformational leadership, this is
ANC politicians who did not serve the try needs transformational leadership. the country feel betrayed by democra- change themselves. not possible.
people of South Africa, but who were Transformational leadership cy. Political liberation did not produce
rather focused on self-enrichment. He Transformational leadership is a pro- economic liberation. Many so-called professional poli- — The Conversation.
also lamented the absence of a  social cess in which leaders and followers help ticians are short-term oriented. This
compact — the collaboration between each other to constantly advance to a While politicians defend their posi- easily makes them “enemies” of lon- *About the writer: Chris Jones is
government, civil society organisations, higher level of morale and motivation. tions and privileges, the poor want to ger-term development, therefore of the chief researcher in the Department of
communities, business and labour. survive. These are two contrasting mo- future of a country. That’s because they Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology
And he pointed out the dire straits of The best form of transformational tives by people who experience reality need to survive politically. But lead- and head of the Unit for Moral Lead-
local governments, especially those led leadership was displayed by  Nelson completely differently. ers who are only long-term oriented ership at Stellenbosch University,
by the ANC. Mandela, the late first president of can easily lose sight of the immediate South Africa.
The incompetence and  corrup- needs. So, citizens stop following them.
Mbeki lamented the  high crime tion  of so many officials and politi-
rate. He said South Africa was not well
governed by the ANC, which has been
in power since 1994. He warned that
the country was ripe for its own Arab
Spring  — the uprisings that brought
down the Tunisian government in
2011 and spread across the Arab world.

South Africa is indeed threatened
by all these issues — especially by un-
employment, inequality, poverty and
a lack of cohesion. The  Tunisian  rev-
olution was caused by high unem-
ployment, inequality, food inflation,
corruption, a lack of political freedoms
and poor living conditions.

In my view, the country needs trans-
formational leaders — who can inspire
positive change in individuals and
social systems — to fix its problems.
Such leaders must be concerned about
the country’s problems and be involved
in helping to fix them. They must help
every member of society succeed. Only
transformational leadership can help
bring about South Africa’s renewal.
The quest for renewal
Every South African who cares about
the future of the country and its people
will agree with Mbeki that, to avert di-
saster, something must be done urgent-
ly about the socio-economic problems
he outlined.

However, people — including
economists, political commentators,
politicians, business people and policy-
makers — differ on what the objectives
and methods of such a renewal effort
should be. For example, some believe
that the country’s wealth is based on
natural resources, capital, prestigious
jobs and job creation. To them, redis-
tribution of wealth, affirmative action,
job creation and higher wages are the
answer to the country’s ills.

Others argue that South Africa is a
poor country. So, wealth redistribution
will at best make everyone poor. There-

Page 44 Africa News NewsHawks

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

‘It’s an illusion of choice’: Why young
Kenyans are boycotting the election

A GROWING number of 18- to A street seller in Nairobi roasts corn on the cob next to a billboard showing presidential candidate William Ruto and his running mate Rigathi Gachagua.
35-year-olds say they are not plan- Photograph: Simon Maina/AFP/Getty Images
ning to vote in Kenya’s presidential
elections next week. ments those who are not voting are an illusion of choice,” she said. “We haviour,” said Bonface Witaba, 39, that while there might be some shift
trying to make is that civic participa- have one of the most expensive elec- a writer and researcher, who doesn’t in the city, it does not extend to more
About 40% of the 22 million peo- tion needs to go beyond that.” tions in the world and what exactly support either of the two presidential rural areas and is unlikely to have an
ple registered to vote in Tuesday’s do Kenyans get out of it?” frontrunners. effect on voting patterns. “The fact
elections are aged 18 to 35. Un- Irene Asuwa, 26, a social scientist, is, Kenyan politics are still very eth-
der-35s make up 75% of the coun- agrees. Voter engagement this cam- Last year, legislators turned down Witaba said that candidates’ eth- nic-based,” said the analyst Mark Bi-
try’s population. paign season had been low and pas- a move by the electoral body to cap nicity allowed them to hold on to chachi, adding that this was evident
sive, she said. “The messaging around presidential campaign spending at power: “This culture of sycophancy in the contenders’ choice of running
Civil society groups said they faced the elections is like, ‘go and vote and 4.4bn shillings (£30m) and other – of defending ‘our tribal kingpins’ mates. Both leading presidential con-
particular resistance to registering go home – and vote peacefully!’” She political seats, including governor, even if they are implicated in corrup- tenders have selected their deputies
during engagement campaigns from does not intend to vote. senate and parliamentary positions, tion – will remain our biggest undo- from the Mount Kenya region – an
newly eligible voters aged between at between 21m and 123m shillings. ing.” influential voter bloc.
18 and 25. “Many young people are “People are saying that the youth Many politicians go into an election
saying that they won’t be voting, that are apathetic and disengaged – but expecting to reap financial or social But Mose believes there has been But Bichachi believes the youth
elections have not proved an effec- many of the young people I know rewards, according to a report on a shift since the 2007 post-election vote could make a difference. “If the
tive way to cause change,” said Loise are really into politics and have just election costs. violence, which led to the deaths of 18-to-25 age group were to vote, they
Mwakamba, from the parliamentary chosen to reimagine how politics can more than 1,000 Kenyans. “We have could definitely swing an election.”
watchdog Mzalendo Trust. work in this country,” said Maureen “The ruling class have their own a large constituency of young people
Kasuku, 30, a community organiser. interests,” said Kasuku. “They are not that are refusing to be dragged into In the few days before the polls
Like many previous elections, next going to manufacture consent from ethnic politics that used to define open, civil society groups are con-
week’s polling is set to be a close race. Kasuku and others opting out are us.” Kenya,” she said. “There’s an under- tinuing to encourage young people
Two of the presidential contenders, exploring other ways to stay polit- standing that ethnic identity can be to cast their vote. “Power doesn’t only
the longtime opposition leader Raila ically involved, such as building la- Others who won’t be voting have used politically in very violent and sit at the presidency,” said Mwakam-
Odinga and deputy president Wil- bour movements for better working been put off by scandals, from alle- negative ways, so a number of people ba. “Other elective roles like mem-
liam Ruto, have served high up in conditions. She believes that Kenya’s gations of fake degrees to corruption, are going back to their ethnic iden- bers of parliament and county assem-
government: Odinga as prime min- notoriously expensive election cam- that have implicated presidential and tity as a cultural identity, but not a blies play an essential role on behalf
ister between 2008 and 2013, and paigns keep many good candidates gubernatorial candidates. political one.” of citizens.”
Ruto in the outgoing government. from running for office, limiting
voter choices to a privileged few. “It’s “We can’t keep electing crooks and However, political analysts say — The Guardian.
Their long political careers have corrupt leaders and expect saintly be-
solidified their influence across
the country, but have also worked
against them among voters who are
critical of their record and see them
as likely to maintain the status quo.

Public trust in Kenya’s electoral in-
stitution stands at just 26%, accord-
ing to a report by the National Co-
hesion and Integration Commission.
The last elections in 2017 were nul-
lified by the Kenyan courts. Uhuru
Kenyatta went on to win the re-run,
which Odinga declined to participate
in and called on his followers to boy-
cott.

Ruzuna Akoth, 33, who studies
social justice and governance, points
to this boycott to explain the youth
opt-out. “When Raila did it, it was
understood that staying away from
the polls was a tactic towards getting
issues addressed,” she said.

But those who have spoken pub-
licly about their decision to pass on
the polls have faced public backlash.
“The response has been a bit vitri-
olic,” said Mumbi Kanyogo, 26, a
communications consultant. “There’s
a refusal to contend with why people
are not voting, and a condescending
idea that if you’re not voting, it’s be-
cause you’re uninformed, don’t care
about politics or are removed from
the situation.”

She said the goal was not to side-
line or substitute the government
role in public services, but to build
stronger and more politically aware
communities that can push for
change. “The solution lies in mass
political power.”

Commentators note the en-
trenched beliefs around voting. “We
live in a country where civic par-
ticipation is reduced to voting. The
exercise of voting is currently very
extractive, where politicians only en-
gage the population when they want
[them] to vote,” said Caroline Mose,
a cultural theorist. “One of the state-

NewsHawks Africa News Page 45

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

How used clothes became part of Africa’s
creative economy – and fashion sense
tailor, the seamstress, and the up-
KAREN TRANBERG HANSEN create and pursue them, such Covid-19 pandemic significant- Secondhand clothes. and-coming designer are serving
clothing projects have transfor- ly reduced or closed production the different needs of their fash-
IN recent years the global sec- mative potentials that are far of clothing and apparel almost tailers in the US and Europe sold ion-conscious customers.
ond-hand apparel market for from trivial. everywhere. Problems at many deadstock (unsold inventory) to
clothing and shoes has grown ex- Changes in the global clothing points of the global commodity upcyclers to use in their design At the same time they all are
ponentially. In 2002 used cloth- landscape circuits and their upstream and rather than ending as waste in contributing to that overall well-
ing exports were  worth  US$1.4 The first big change has been the downstream supply chains came landfills. dressed presentation and stylistic
billion. Despite a slowdown digital age which brought inter- into glaring view along with Survival strategies innovation for which many Afri-
during the Covid-19 pandemic net access and new inspirations widespread retail closures and Today in Zambia as elsewhere can countries are so well known.
exports were close to US$4 bil- from transnational images, prod- the piling up of excess inventory. in Africa, small-scale tailors and Their work entails an ongoing
lion in 2020. ucts and styles. It has also facil- fashion entrepreneurs operate economic and creative struggle
itated internet commerce and At  one end, in South and in a segmented clothing market to make a living and profession-
Some of this growth has been innovations in both new and sec- Southeast Asia, poorly remuner- that is far less competitive than it alise the fashion scene. Most op-
driven by well-known brands ondhand markets. ated garment workers were not is interactive as they diversify and erate within their country’s huge
and high street retailers develop- paid. At  another, in France and shift their activities to get by. The informal economy, lacking sub-
ing in-house clothing resale and Secondly, fast fashion has af- elsewhere, some luxury brands secondhand clothing seller, the stantive state support or endur-
establishing partnerships with fected clothing markets every- incinerated unsold goods to pre- retailer of "Chinese clothing", ing sponsorships.
digital secondhand platforms to where. vent devaluing the brand name the upscale boutique operator in
find new uses for preloved fash- on resale markets. And brand re- the shopping mall along with the The fashion potential from
ions, especially luxury fashions. Thirdly, the expiration in 2005 the creative clothing economy in
of the World Trade Organisa- African countries has not been
In the West, secondhand tion’s Multi-Fibre Arrangement tapped. At the same time, sec-
clothing has acquired a new ca- enabled tariff-free entry for ondhand clothing has not fallen
chet for its sustainability and its clothing and textiles manufac- away from popular dress prac-
role in circular economies. A cir- tured in China into previously tice. Quite the contrary. Used
cular economy links production restricted markets on an unprec- clothes are being repurposed but
and consumption to minimise edented scale. Concerns about with fresh fashionable spins. This
waste through reusing, repairing, the growing import from China sometimes involves turning recy-
refurbishing, recycling as well soon eclipsed the public criticism cled garments into upcycled out-
as sharing and leasing. This has of imported secondhand cloth- fits. Open-air tailors and seam-
driven a trend that by far sur- ing, which continued to fill its stresses working from markets
passes the growth of the overall own popular market niche. and homes as well as aspiring de-
apparel market. signers in fashion studies in Af-
And fourthly, new actors en- rica and beyond are busy sourc-
In addition to reuse and upcy- tered the global export of sec- ing readily available secondhand
cling in the West, substantial vol- ondhand clothing. Among these clothes for alteration and creative
umes of used clothing donated to were India and China. redesign into new garments and
charitable organisations continue accessories.
to be exported to countries in the For a while, the global
global South, among them in Af- There is also a practical and
rica. economic aspect involved in
this reuse of secondhand cloth-
But the West’s over-consump- ing. Consumers in many African
tion of clothing and the export markets consider imported gar-
it gives rise to is not without ments from China to be of inferi-
problems. Firstly, secondhand or quality to the clothes they find
clothing imports in Africa gen- in secondhand markets.
erate millions of tonnes of textile
waste. Secondly, the popularity Attracting customers from
of the secondhand clothing trade diverse economic and ethnic
has prompted arguments about backgrounds has developed as
its  adverse effects on domestic an accepted part of the overall
textile and clothing industries. clothing market. Select second-
hand clothing enters a special
Time and again, controversies niche as vintage clothing while
arise over whether to  ban im- damaged garments are shredded
ports. But smuggled imports of and creatively repurposed. They
used clothing flow readily across are recycled into knotted and
Africa’s porous boundaries, mak- crocheted toys and woven into
ing bans largely ineffective. baskets, for example, and objects
for interior decoration such as ta-
I wrote about the internation- ble runners and pillowcases.
al secondhand clothing trade in
a book published in 2000. My And pop-up shops with cre-
research was focused largely on atively styled used clothing out-
Zambia. In the book I examined fits appear during special events,
the interplay between environ- attracting fashion conscious cus-
mentalism, charity, recycling tomers.
and thrift. I also explored how
secondhand clothes were about In addition, everyday fashions
more than imitating Western are changing as young people
styles. And traced how items challenge constraining gender
were altered into garments that and religious dress norms, for
fitted into local cultural norms of example by wearing tight and
etiquette. short clothing in public, playing
out their desire to dress as they
Over the last two decades sev- like. Adapting imported used
eral processes with global scope clothes to their cultural sensibili-
have changed the landscape in ties about bodies and dress, they
unimaginable ways. This is true localise them in the process.
in Africa too. Despite these
changes, I still think that, rather — The Conversation.
than representing fashion dump- *About the writer: Karen
ing, current clothing practices Tranberg Hansen is professor
demonstrate some of the cultur- emeritus at Northwestern Uni-
al and socioeconomic benefits of versity in the United States.
the used clothing trade. Holding
significant value for those who

Page 46 World News NewsHawks

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

China halts US cooperation on range
of issues after Pelosi’s Taiwan visit
RELATIONS between the world’s
two largest economies have plum- China says Nancy Pelosi ‘shot herself in foot’ with Taiwan visit.
meted into further uncertainty as
China halted ties with the US on a Beijing-based Centre for China and wan and in some places overlap with Taiwan,” she said. ment said at least five missiles had
range of critical issues – from talks Globalisation thinktank and a Chi- Taiwan’s territorial waters, which On Friday, Taiwan’s defence min- landed within its exclusive econom-
on the climate crisis to dialogue be- nese government adviser, said Chi- extend 12 miles from its coastline. ic zone.
tween their militaries – following na saw Pelosi’s visit as evidence that Non-PLA air and sea craft have istry announced that multiple Chi-
the visit to Taiwan earlier this week Washington had already broken the been warned to stay out of the areas, na’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Wang said Beijing’s ultimate goal
by the US House speaker, Nancy “guardrails”. He said Beijing regard- some of which are near key shipping ships and planes had crossed the was not to break down the US-Chi-
Pelosi. ed the issue of Taiwan as the “ulti- ports and flight paths. median line during the morning. na relations entirely. “Let’s see
mate red line” for the bilateral rela- The ministry said it had dispatched whether the leaders of China and
The declaration of the series of tions, and her visit would galvanise Korean Air and Singapore Air- aircraft and ships and deployed the US would meet later this year
“countermeasures” came as Beijing other politicians to visit Taiwan in lines said they had cancelled flights land-based missile systems to moni- at the G20 and APEC meetings,”
for a second day staged massive mil- the future. to and from Taipei on Friday be- tor the situation. he said. “What we are seeing is like
itary drills surrounding the island of cause of the exercises, with the Ko- the US-China trade war: there were
Taiwan and also announced sanc- “Unlike Newt Gingrich’s visit to rean carrier also cancelling its Sat- Hundreds of PLA air force and tariffs and counter-tariffs. There
tions against Pelosi and her direct Taiwan in 1997, Pelosi is from Joe urday flights and delaying Sunday navy craft are involved in the exer- may still be possibilities for the two
family members for what it called Biden’s party; therefore Beijing sees flights. cises across six zones surrounding countries to have a high-level dia-
her “vicious and provocative ac- this visit as a clear attempt to tear Taiwan. At least 11 Dongfeng bal- logue.” Todd Hall, who directs the
tions”. down the ‘guardrails’ in the first Earlier, the US condemned Chi- listic missiles were fired near or over University of Oxford China Centre,
place,” Wang told the Guardian. na’s launch of ballistic missiles Taiwan on Thursday, while dozens said even if this episode subsided, it
Taiwan’s defence ministry said around Taiwan during live-fire exer- of warplanes and ships have made did appear to be further accelerat-
it had scrambled jets to warn away The military drills this week have cises as an “overreaction”, as multi- crossings over the median line, an ing the negative trend in US-China
49 Chinese aircraft in its air de- forced a number of vessels to reroute ple Chinese ships and planes again unofficial border in the Taiwan relations.
fence zone on Friday and a total of their journeys, causing disruptions crossed the median line. strait, which is one of the world’s
68 Chinese military aircraft and 13 to the regional and global econo- busiest transport routes. “An interesting question is what
navy ships had conducted missions. mies. On average, 240 commercial During her time in Japan – the the new status quo will be –will this
The foreign ministry in Taipei also ships have passed through the mar- last leg of her tour of Asia – Pelosi The scale and intensity of China’s result in an erosion of the median
reported it had detected “massive” itime zones each day over the past explained why she went to Taiwan reactions to Pelosi’s visit this week line as point of demarcation? Will
number of cyberattacks attempts week, according to Lloyd’s List In- and said Beijing probably viewed have, nevertheless, triggered outrage Washington and Beijing formulate a
against its website throughout telligence data. her trip as an opportunity to con- in the US and prompted concerns new agreement to disagree like the
Thursday and on Friday morning. duct military exercises. She also in Asia. Several countries have urged 2014 statement between Beijing and
The exercises are scheduled to vowed to continue to engage with restraint. On Friday, Japan’s prime Tokyo in order to move forward?”
With tensions running high in continue through the weekend. The Taiwan despite Beijing’s objections. minister called for an immediate
the Taiwan strait, China on Friday six identified zones surround Tai- halt to the exercises after his govern- — The Guardian.
said it was cancelling some efforts “We will not allow them to isolate
to keep communication channels
open between Chinese and US mil-
itary commanders. Those included
attempts to coordinate air and sea
operations to prevent unintentional
flare-ups, for example, by warships
operating close to each other at sea.

Bilateral talks and collaborations
on issues including the climate
emergency, repatriation of illegal
immigrants, counternarcotics and
legal assistance in criminal matters
were suspended.

The White House said it had
summoned China’s ambassador to
Washington to condemn the “irre-
sponsible” behaviour of Beijing over
Taiwan. A Chinese embassy official
in Washington said the only way out
of the crisis was for the US to “rec-
tify its mistakes and eliminate the
grave impact of Pelosi’s visit.”

Analysts say the halting of some
of the bilateral activities – especially
those related to military – threatens
to break what the White House calls
“guardrails” between the two coun-
tries, which could prevent the situ-
ation from spiralling out of control.

“These measures are going to de-
crease chances for the US and China
to find a much needed modus viven-
di,” said Zeno Leoni, a defence ex-
pert at King’s College London. “The
two most powerful states are now
unable to talk to one another – in a
productive manner.”

The US secretary of state, Antony
Blinken, told an Asean meeting of
top diplomats on Friday that Chi-
na’s reaction was “flagrantly provoc-
ative”. “The fact is, the speaker’s
visit was peaceful. There is no jus-
tification for this extreme, dispro-
portionate and escalatory military
response,” Blinken said.

Huiyao Wang, the founder of the

Porsche just got angrier Being a Fashion Model

&Life Style

STYLE TRAVEL BOOKS ARTS MOTORING

Page 47 Issue 92, 5 August 2022

Zim dancehall
fans pays tribute
to Soul Jah Love

JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA who played in the liberation war London, where Soul Jah Love fans great artistry.
only, but those who actively ad- gathered in their numbers dancing But as one switches to Yeke Yeke,
ON 6 August 2022, the Zim vocated for the emancipation and and singing to his songs.
dancehall fraternity will gather at liberation of people in post-inde- in which he explicitly sings about
the Glamis Arena for what has been pendence Zimbabwe are now be- Videos of the scenes went viral sex, to Pamamonya Ipapo and Naka
dubbed the Soul Jah Love Com- ing accorded the same honour,” he on social media showing how much Dhula Dhaka, in which he glorifies
memoration Gala. said. Soul Jah Love’s music had impacted drugs, you begin to wonder what
people's lives beyond Zimbabwe’s sort of impact he made on his fans,
The gala, coming just before While thousands of fans attend- borders. the majority of whom are ghetto
the Heroes Holidays, sets the tone ed the burial at Warren Hills pro- youths.
for celebration as fellow musicians vincial heroes' acre in Harare, there While many agree that Soul Jah
and fans converge to celebrate their were also gatherings as far afield as Love was immensely talented, there According to Partson Chimbod-
hero in music — Soul Jah Love — are those who feel he lacked disci- za of Chipaz Promotions who are
whose real name was Soul Muza- putting the gala together, Soul Jah
vazi Musaka. Partson Chimbodza. Love was the people’s hero.
pline and did not come across as a
Soul Jah Love was accorded lib- role model. “He was everyone’s hero and we
eration hero status by Zanu PF, thank government for making him
joining the ranks of popular mu- Lyrical genius, yes! And talent a provincial hero,” he said, add-
sicians like Simon Chimbetu and can get you to the door but charac- ing that, “Every artiste is relevant
Cde Chinx Chingaira. ter sustains you, yet this is where he to their fans, but what differs is
fell far too short. the magnitude depending on how
Soul Jah Love, who was diabet- much fans accept you artistically.”
ic, died on 16 February 2021 at If you listen to his words of wis-
Mbuya Dorcas Hospital in Harare dom in songs like Kana Ndafa, Chimbodza said the response
after a short illness.  Ndichafa Rinhi?, Mwari Ndovaten- towards the gala has been massive
da on Bodyslam riddim, to Ndini and the organisers are thinking of
He was buried at the provin- Uya Uya you really appreciate his making it an annual event.
cial Heroes' Acre at Warren Hills
just next to the grave of his father, “There has been support from
Ephraim Ticharwa Musaka. every corner not only in Zim
dancehall but across all genres.
Obert Mpofu, the Zanu PF sec- It would be best to have the gala
retary for administration, said at every year, not hosted by Chipaz,
the time that the conferment of since Sauro worked with so many
liberation hero status had changed promoters. We would want to give
over the years in form and context. others a chance to organise the gala
in liaison with the family,” he said.
“It is no longer limited to those

Page 48 Life & Style NewsHawks

THE Issue 92, 5 August 2022

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NewsHawks Life & Style Page 49

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

NoViolet Bulawayo’s new novel
is an instant Zimbabwean classic

TINASHE MUSHAKAVANHU Author NoViolet Bulawayo. Photo: Supplied/Penguin comparison to its inspiration,
the UK author George Orwell’s
IN Zimbabwean author  NoVi- 40-year rule. At first there is ex- al, underpinned in historically deploying irony and comedy. Her 1945 classic  Animal Farm. His
olet Bulawayo’s new novel  Glo- citement about the change that deep-seated ethnic “for or against” use of humour in the novel is a book reflects events leading up to
ry  –  longlisted  for the Booker will come. But Tuvius Delight binaries. By refusing to limit her form of political resistance that the Russian Revolution of 1917
Prize 2022 – animals take on hu- Shasha (a former vice-president) language, Bulawayo shows the splinters the make-believe world and provides a strong critique
man characteristics. leads the country into despair. shallowness and historical igno- of an out-of-touch political class. against Stalinism.
Destiny Lozikeyi Khumalo, a rance behind political power in Massacres
Through this she explores what goat who returns to Jidada after her utopian African country. Glory is an unforgettable book Glory has a lively rhetorical idi-
happens when an authoritarian a decade away, becomes a chroni- that goes beyond the obvious om; it is full of colour and vigour.
regime implodes, using characters cler of her nation’s history and an Bulawayo also knows how to As one reviewer wrote: “Bulawayo
who are horses, pigs, dogs, cows, advocate for its future. use language to good effect by is really out-Orwelling Orwell.”
cats, chickens, crocodiles, birds Humour as resistance Both authors reference the disar-
and butterflies. In an interview in the immediate ray and traumatic conditions of
aftermath of the Zimbabwe coup the world in a distinct and pow-
Bulawayo’s celebrated first nov- d’etat  in 2017, Bulawayo talked erful way.
el,  We Need New Names, was a about attempting to write about
coming-of-age story about the the fall of  Mugabe  in nonfiction Bulawayo’s novel is also an epic
escapades of a Zimbabwean girl but  abandoning that effort. She that narrates the misdeeds and vi-
named Darling who ends up liv- found the novel to be a better olent adventures of the past his-
ing in America. Its hallmarks are form for political satire. tory of Jidada, such as the time
accentuated in this new work: the of “Gukurahundi” when the rul-
troubled real world of class strug- Bulawayo’s writing is distinc- ers tortured, raped and executed
gles, psychological dualities, co- tive. There is a lyricism to her the animals. The Gukurahundi
lonial and postcolonial histories, prose, a poetics of language that was a  genocide  that took place
war and the dog-eat-dog politics mesmerises and surprises. This in Zimbabwe between 1983 and
of contemporary Africa. gives her fiction an applied, in- 1987 when more than 20,000
tense focus. people were massacred in Mate-
Glory is set in a kingdom called beleland.
Jidada, which could be  Rob- Translating a present-day polit-
ert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe,  Idi ical and cultural milieu is tricky. A global story
Amin’s Uganda,  Hastings Ban- The political language of contem- The challenge for Bulawayo, or
da’s Malawi,  Mobutu Sese Seko’s porary Zimbabwe is opposition- any writer for that matter, was
Zaire,  Emmerson Mnangagwa’s how to write about a coup still
Zimbabwe or any other authori- in progress that was described
tarian regime in Africa, for there as a-coup-not-a-coup. How could
are many. The tropes Bulawayo one write about the events that
makes fun of are so recognisable started when Mugabe was over-
and familiar. thrown with the promise of new
Zimbabwe that is yet to come?
Perhaps as memorable as the
names in her first novel (Bastard, The end of his reign was a fes-
Godknows) are those of these an- tival of dancing and singing for
imal characters (Comrade Nev- a generation that knew nothing
ermiss Nzinga, General Judas else but his brutality. Young peo-
Goodness Reza). There is also a ple posed for Instagram photos
Father of the Nation, Sisters of with friendly-looking gun-wield-
the Disappeared and Defenders ing soldiers. They welcomed back
of the Revolution, Seat of Pow- a disgraced former vice-president
er and the Chosen. And there’s who — like Tuvius Delight Sha-
the Soldiers of Christ Prophetic sha — became the new “Rul-
Church of Churches. er of the Nation and Veteran of
the Liberation War, the Greatest
In fact, there is something al- Leader of Jidada, Enemy of Cor-
most playful about this book. ruption, Opener for Business, the
When politics becomes a farce, it Inventor of the Scarf of the Na-
only requires a virtuoso like Bula- tion, the Survivor of All Assassi-
wayo to marshal the faux pas into nation Attempts…”
a memorable fictional narrative.
It’s a particular challenge to
The novel fictionalises the real write about regimes that enforce
politics of Zimbabwe, from the everything with violence. And yet
removal of Mugabe to the rise to Bulawayo’s vibrant satire succeeds
power of his former vice-presi- in telling a political parable that
dent, Mnangagwa, in 2017 and also reflects the times.
the years since, during which
Zimbabwe’s economy has suffered Glory is a tour de force. It is
and the political promises of the not a story about endings but
“second republic” have gone un- about unravellings. It is not a
fulfilled. book about the past, but a book
about the present and the future.
But in order to transcend the
particular, the novel is allegoric, — The Conversation.
capturing the essence of the mat-
ter as told by a bold, vivid chorus *About the writer: Tinashe
of animal voices that helps us see Mushakavanhu is a junior re-
our human world more clearly. search fellow at the University of
Oxford in Britain.
In Jidada, the tyrannical Old
Horse is ousted in a coup after a

Page 50 Poetry Corner NewsHawks

Issue 92, 5 August 2022

Title: Plagued By An Energy Pandemic Title: New Para Of adage and metaphor.
Poet: Ndaba Sibanda Poet: Hebert Chiweshe It succumbs,
To the path of pretence.
Lord, have mercy on us, there is a lousy My work was daft. Wherein it seeks to walk,
,drowsy load of load shedding crisis that has My work was inept. With the literary anointed.
snowballed into a daily disruptive, piteous My work riled. Who assemble and disassemble,
plague. Our prayer seeks to push out an energy My work stank. Knots and knurls of the faculty of man.
pandemic that preys on the powerless peoples The least grade I got, Who untie the warps and kinks,
of Zimbabwe and South Africa, it reigns su- Was in literature. Of the crevices of
preme by virtue of an acute lack of pragmatism I was shocked. The prehensile, unfathomable brain.
and vision. I was numbed. And lay it bare
It is like the mad mutations of the Covid-19 pan- I was chastised. In honest simplicity.
demic, an energy pandemic that plunges san- I searched myself. I read Sheridan,
ity into insanity, happiness into helplessness, I asked myself. His book, The Rivals
productivity into paralysis, homesickness into Had I really understood, I read Shakespeare,
haziness, brightness into bleakness. What I read? His book Twelfth Night
Had comprehension sunk? Now, not a line do I recall.
***************************************************** Had I got to the heart of the subject? From the fervent play, verses.
Title: Sterile Had I fathomed it well? I recall Feste The Geste
Poet: Samuel Chuma The subject of economics, I recall Mrs Malaprop
Comes to mind. I faintly remember Sheridan's work as
You shall find her Broad it is. possibly a play of repute.
Seated on these black shores Vast it is. My web of memories fails me.
Where congealed menstrual flows Unending it is. I remember reading about Mariners and
Harden into eerie shapes Definitive and concrete goal posts, the albatross.
That gleam with lifeless lustre It has not. From which book they came,
Under the gaze of a bloodied noonday moon Man can stretch it. I recollect not.
She will be staring; At the horizon Its flexibility is astounding. Great Expectations I read.
Waiting for the ship; Whose captain is despair So many interpretations it begets. My mind ails.
And whose mate is; Pain in prime Aberrations, too, visit. It cannot regurgitate the tale in Expecta-
Who sail the briny waters But it is a plausible and sinuous subject. tions.
Whose source are the tears It allows man great scope of thought. The flimsy terrain
That escape the soul; Via vacuous eyes Thought not always backed by credible ballast. Of scattered threads of recollection,
Grown too tired to even blink I liken it to poetry. Can only throwback so little.
When accusatory fingers; Point and at her stab Which has no bounds. So little as to be insignificant.
As she carves lifeless effigies No reins. No emasculation. I read literature long back.
Of the children she never No muzzlement. I read to fool the examiner.
Shall nurse and treasure No asphyxiation I read not to comprehend.
From the caked menstrual excreta It is a free agent. I read to confound.
It is a rare legend. I read to hoodwink,
.***************************************************** It is a lavish project. The zealous prescriber of the Cambridge
Title: Death Claimed All! Today, When I read poetry, exam.
Poet: Obey Chiyangwa I see glut of verbose outage. As I read today,
I see words stringed together. I read to comprehend.
A violent wind suddenly struck at midnight. I see lines choreographed. But mostly I fail to comprehend.
A fiery earth shaking sound seized all of nature. I see phrases painstakingly aligned. Because I never comprehended,
Owls hooted eerily in the shivering trees. I see sentences clinging together. From the beginning.
Jackals yelped in the bare stripped grasslands I see stupendous syntax. I don't know what I enjoy
The entire valley was a vast arena of confused My palate opens up. It savours rhyme. In the meat of a poem.
cries. It tastes cloying sweetness. Shall I say words bewitch me?
Frolicking witches could be heard cackling at It kicks lips of exposition. Words potent but vacuous to me?
the crack of thunder. It sucks nectar of craft, Words which are the poet's select poi-
There was no moon to rescue earth from the Dexterity. My mind gaps. soned arrows?
darkness, Nor stars to silence the madness of At the onslaught of terms. Words which are darts
the dancing elements. Comprehend them, Of expression, release and emancipation?
Death's confident stride pummelled a huge It does not. Words which pine for cognisance?
blow in the ensuing shambles. Though ambitious it has always been. Words which spur introspection?
Carting away a chunk along the pathway to Deciphering is a precarious task. Words which pummel the soul,
eternity. For it lacks the requisite depth, With salient vigour?
What do you do when all the cemeteries are To unravel the intricacies Words which plummet from the poet's
engaged in a nationwide renegade? Of the human mind. crucible?
It falls short of perspicacity. Words which are the hammer.
.***************************************************** It lacks innate grasp Words which are the anvil.