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Published by ambizwo, 2022-04-06 13:24:32

Weekly Digest April 6, 2022

Weekly Digest April 6, 2022

 Russia-Ukraine War: Lessons for Africa  2022 Grammys: What Fela Kuti has to do with
. . . Page 19 West Africa’s growing pop fame . . . Page 22

US$1 Wednesday March April 6-12, 2022

. Climate change

financing is a tall order for
Zim, but the country needs
it urgently

. US$300m in stray

payments and missing
cars: Inside the Auditor-
General’s latest report

LITHIUM: CHINESE LEAD
SCRAMBLE FOR ZIM ASSETS

AFRICA IN BRIEF April 6-12 2022 Weekly Digest 2

Somali intelligence says Al-Shabab Second train derailment
plans to target president, PM in two weeks kills seven

1 Al-Shabab, an al-Qae- 4 At least seven people The toll could rise because a
da-linked armed group, died when a goods train large number of clandestine pas-
plans to target Somali derailed in the south- sengers were trapped under the
President Mohamed Ab- east Democratic Repub- upturned wagons, he said. A res-
dullahi Mohamed and Prime lic of the Congo, the second acci- cue team had been dispatched to
Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble, dent in the area in a fortnight, a lo- the scene.
the country’s intelligence agency cal o cial has said.
warned on Tuesday. The accident occurred in the vil- A local o cial from the nation-
Violence by the group, which lage of Buyofwe, Lualaba province al railway company SNCC said the
aims to topple the UN-backed Saturday. In mid-March, a train eight-wagon train was travelling
central government and impose its came o the tracks in the same vil- from Tenke, in Lualaba, to Kanan-
own hardline version of Islamic law, lage, killing at least 75 people and ga, in the neighbouring province of
has been an impediment to par- injuring 125, according to the o - Kasai-Central.
liamentary elections taking place cial toll. “Seven people died and 14
since November. “We informed the were seriously injured” in the latest It left the rails in Buyofwe,
key government o cials of a plot accident, Lualaba Interior Minister around 200km (125 miles) from
in which al-Shabab ma a wants Deoda Kapenda told AFP Monday. Kolwezi, the provincial capital of
to target the president and prime Lualaba.
minister,” the National Intelligence
and Security Agency said on Twit- — Aljazeera
ter. “Mohamed Mahir, senior al
Shabaab member, is conducting President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, left, and Prime Minister Mo-
the plot.” hamed Hussein Roble have been made aware of the armed group's plot,
The agency gave no further de- the spy agency said
tails. “We informed the key govern-
ment o cials of a plot in which al- vilians and government o cials Late last month, al-Shabab killed
Shabab ma a wants to target the and installations. In February, it at- 48 people in Beledweyne, about
president and prime minister,” the tacked election delegates in the 300km (185 miles) north of Moga-
National Intelligence and Security capital, Mogadishu. The delegates dishu, including traders, clerics, o -
Agency said on Twitter. “Mohamed were unharmed but six bystanders cials and civilians.
Mahir, senior al Shabaab member, were killed.
is conducting the plot.” — Aljazeera
The agency gave no further de-
tails.
Spokespeople at the o ces of
President Mohamed and Prime
Minister Roble were not immedi-
ately available to comment.
Al-Shabab’s spokespeople were
not immediately available to com-
ment.
The group frequently attacks ci-

Nigeria atheist Mubarak Bala jailed for blaspheming Islam

2 A Nigerian atheist asked for leniency. states in northern Nigeria where Ghanaian lawmakers are heavily divided over the proposed levy
has been sentenced He has been in detention Islamic law is practised along-
to 24 years in pris- side secular laws. Mali: HRW condemns ‘deliberate
on by a high court in since 2020. slaughter’ of 300 men by military
the northern state of A group of Muslims had filed Bala could have faced the
Kano after being convicted of death penalty if he was tried in 5 International watch- groups since 2012.
blaspheming Islam. a petition to the authorities ac- an Islamic court. dog Human Rights HRW concluded that Malian sol-
Mubarak Bala, the 37-year- cusing Bala of posting uncom-
old president of the Humanist plimentary messages about Is- UN human rights experts and diers and foreign ghters, which
Association of Nigeria, plead- lam on social media. international rights groups had several sources identi ed as white
ed guilty to all 18 charges and condemned his detention and non-French speaking soldiers, ex-
Kano has a majority Muslim called for his release. ecuted several hundred people in
population. the city in small groups, over the
— Aljazeera course of several days.
It is one of around a dozen
“Over the four days, the sol-
Zambia’s President Hichilema goes Watch (HRW) has con- diers ordered the detained men
demned the summary in groups of four, six, or up to 10,
execution of an estimated to stand up and walk for between
300 civilians, including suspected several dozen and several hundred
eight months without salary members of armed groups during meters,” the HRW report cited a
a military operation conducted by witness as saying.
Malian forces and foreign ghters.
The alleged massacre, described “There, the Malian and foreign
Zambia woke up on Monday to a in a Tuesday statement by HRW soldiers summarily executed them,”
as “the worst single atrocity re- the witness said, adding that some
3 social media frenzy over the ported in Mali’s decade-long con- victims were shot in the head, while
knowledge of its presi- ict”, happened in the central Mali- other groups of men were sprayed
dent having gone the an town of Moura during a military by gun re.
entire eight months since operation that started on March 27.
his election without pay. “Abuses by armed Islamist groups “The sound of gun re rang out in
The ministry responsible for is no justi cation at all for the mil- our village from Monday to Thurs-
paying presidential wages and al- itary’s deliberate slaughter of peo- day,” one resident reportedly said.
lowances had claimed that Hakain- ple in custody,” said Corinne Dufka,
de Hichilema has forgone wages “in HRW’s Sahel director. Residents also told HRW that
his interest to serve the public”. In re- “The Malian government is re- since January many armed for-
sponse, Hichilema, who was elect- sponsible for this atrocity, the eigners, believed to be Russians,
ed president last August, said a sala- worst in Mali in a decade, wheth- were taking part in military opera-
ry was not his motivation for seeking er carried about by Malian forces tions in and around the central Ma-
public o ce. or associated foreign soldiers,” she lian towns of Sofara, Ségou, Mop-
“The issue of the salary is a non-is- added. ti, Diabaly, and Belidanédji among
sue because money was not our mo- Mass killing is a breach of inter- others.
tivation for seeking public o ce and national law that prohibits abuses
not that the government was not against captured combatants and The vast majority of those killed
willing to pay,” he told reporters on detained civilians, according to Ar- by the Malian military and allied
arriving in the country’s southern city ticle 3 of the Geneva Convention. forces, read the report, were men
of Livingstone, where he is due to re- On Friday, Mali’s defence minis- from the pastoralist Peuhl, or Fu-
ceive Rwandan President Paul Kag- try issued a statement saying that lani, an ethnic group from which
ame on a state visit. “It is just that I 203 “terrorists” were killed during armed groups have heavily recruit-
have not paid attention to that [presi- an air-land military operation from ed in the past.
dential salary]”, he added. “My inten- Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema March 23 to April 3.
tion and motivation is to see how we The rights group gathered the “The Malian government should
can better the lives of the people.” His election followed campaign tiny during the elections as political account of 27 people, including urgently and impartially investigate
Hichilema, 59, an economist and promises to heal an ailing economy opponents claimed that he made community leaders, diplomats, se- these mass killings, including the
businessman with local and interna- by rooting out corruption and cre- his fortune from association with the curity analysts and witnesses from role of foreign soldiers,” Dufka said.
tional links, became president after ating jobs for the masses, especially controversial privatisation of state as- Moura – a town of about 10,000
a 15-year haul in the opposition, de- youths. sets in the 1990s. residents that has been the epi- — Aljazeera
feating then-incumbent Edgar Lun- centre of violence waged by armed
gu by more than a million votes. But his wealth came up for scru- — Aljazeera

THE DIGEST VIEW April 6-12 2022 Weekly Digest 3

Zec should Binga to Rwanda: ED’s dilemma
come
THIS was a hectic week for President 2000, come rain, come drought.
clean on Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangag- The fact that this moved so fast
voters roll wa. He had to process the mean-
ing of the March 26 by-elections re- from a rally issue to a Cabinet issue
analysts such as Team Pachedu un- sults, govern the country and im- points exactly to Mnangagwa’s in-
covered disturbing discrepancies. prove the investment climate. This tention - get Binga as a crown jew-
It is also against the Sadc princi- was a tall order and Mnangagwa el in the opposition camp. Winning
ples on governing elections that call seems to go for populism dashed Binga would make the opposition
on member States to ensure equal with autocracy. appear like urban-centred political
opportunities and a level playing party which is disconnected from
field for all contesting parties. When the by-elections results the majority rural voters.
The latest revelations that only started coming in, Binga was high
Zanu PF was given a voters roll with on his priority list. Mnangagwa had Mnangagwa has 15 months to
images of voters and other biome- held a presidential star rally in the convince people of Binga. He also
tric information further feeds into remote shing constituency. At the has the same time span to worm
claims by critics that the electoral rally where thousands had been his way into urban constituencies.
body should be disbanded as it is bussed, Mnangagwa outdid him- This is not a small thing. It needs Paidamoyo Muzulu
acting like an extension of the rul- self. He spoke in Ndebele and some money and it seems Mnangagwa is
ing Zanu PF party. well-rehearsed Nambia to great ap- ready to break the bank and make The announcement was, howev-
Before the by-elections, CCC lead- plause. Zimbabwe swim in debt to retain er, not accompanied by where the
er Nelson Chamisa opined that Zec power. Mnangagwa wants a sprin- money to fund this programme
should be disbanded and replaced He even apologised on behalf of kle of urban constituencies so that would come from.
with an independent electoral body. government and Zanu PF for fail- Zanu PF would dump the tag of be-
We quote: “Zec should pass the ing to develop Binga in the last 42 ing a rural party. This week, Zimba- The reality is this is more of an
transparency test, it should pass the years. To appease the community, bwe had an investment negotia- election gimmick. This has been on
Alfonce Mbizwo accountability test, it should pass he donated shing boats, bicycles tion with Rwanda. In 2017, soon af- the table for a long time and has
the constitutionality test and pro- and laptops to a secondary school. ter the coup that brought Mnan- not been implemented. It ies in
Editor fessionalism test as well. Those tests He also pledged that development gagwa to power I wrote an article the face of the recent International
are critical because they make peo- in the form of roads, schools, elec- titled: Is ED the new Kagame? In Monetary Fund (IMF) recommen-
T HE Zimbabwe Electoral Com- ple gain confidence and trust in the tricity, health centres and employ- the article, I argued that Mnangag- dation to cut back on social spend-
mission (Zec) is in the spot- electoral process. ment opportunities was on the way. wa could change Zimbabwe if he ing.
light again albeit for the wrong adopted Kagame's development
“The toolbox is very full. Who Despite all this, voters in Binga policies but refrain from authoritari- It, therefore, begs the question:
reasons. would play a match where the ref- re-elected opposition MP Prince anism. Five years down the line, it is is Mnangagwa ready to go against
A voters roll with col- eree is biased…we cannot Dubeko Sibanda of the Citizens Co- coming clear that he is Kagame in the IMF yet all his campaign had
our pictures of voters e abandon the match be- alition for Change. his autocracy but far below in imi- been based on re-engagement
was allegedly giv- cause of the referee, tating the Rwanda leader’s devel- and thawing relations with multi-
en to some rul- otherwise, we will Mnangagwa was stung by the re- opment policies. Could the recent lateral nancial institutions.
ing Zanu PF latest revela- ask the referee sult. Binga made it to the Cabinet meeting have been on exchanging
candidates in to leave the agenda on Tuesday and the Infor- notes on development and quest More importantly, these huge
Matabele- tions that only Zanu stadium and mation minister Monica Mutsvan- to retain power? aRwanda was said ongoing infrastructure projects
land North be replaced gwa read a long list of immediate to be looking at investment oppor- and the promise to provide free
province PF was given a voters roll with a government projects targeted at tunities in a South to South co-op- education have a strong bearing
while proper the constituency. eration. We are told Rwanda wants on Zimbabwe’s sovereign debt.
deny- with images of voters and referee.” to invest in the technology sector Zimbabwe’s debt is currently hov-
ing the To "The nation is advised that fol- and more importantly, it immedi- ering above 70% of the national
same other biometric information build lowing the President's visit and ral- ately needs the services of Zimba- Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This
to the trust, ly at Siyabuwa in Binga there arose bwean teachers to improve its ed- is unsustainable according to Sadc
oppo- further feeds into claims by the vot- the need to implement a variety of ucational sector. Media reports say which says member states should
sition, ers roll development initiatives for the Bin- Rwanda needs 477 teachers as early not have debts above 60% of their
accord- critics that the electoral body must be ga district. as September this year and logisti- GDP. Mnangagwa’s actions are like
ing to subject- cal preparations are at an advanced that of a Spanish matador waving
claims should be disbanded as it is ed to an "These urgent development ini- stage. the red ag at an enraged bull. It is
by the independ- tiatives include the following: con- highly risk and most likely would re-
Citizens acting like an extension ent au- struction of a vocational train- Zimbabwe has, at the moment, sult in him being gored. But a man
Coalition dit. Not only ing centre; and an industrial train- failed to tame in ation, receive di- sensing power slipping his ngers
for Change of the ruling Zanu PF will this build ing centre refurbishment and set- rect foreign investment and deal could do anything to save his ba-
(CCC). trust, but it will ting up of a nursing school at Binga with endemic corruption in the con.
This raises se- party. also help in fight- Hospital; and the refurbishment public sector. This has weighed
rious questions ing the emerging and operationalisation of the mor- down its economic recovery and The man is ready to close down
about the impartiality scourge of voter apa- tuary at Binga Hospital," the cabinet with it, chances of Mnangagwa on democratic spaces like Kagame.
of Zec and its capability to thy, particularly among the statement read. to retain his position in next year's
deliver free and credible elections youth. general elections. In the nal analysis, Mnangag-
ahead of next year’s general elec- Perhaps it is high time the youth- The statement further said the wa has too choices - go ahead
tions. ful opposition leader and other like- government was ready to improve It is interesting that the slipping and play the populist game and
And worse, coming at a time when minded opposition leaders and radio frequency reception in the of power would make Mnangag- damned be the debt question or
there are questions on the credibil- progressive Zimbabwean citizens area as well as support communi- wa more autocratic and strive hard play politics of brinksmanship and
ity of the voters roll that was used opened the toolbox and bring out ty radio initiatives in the district. It is to be a benevolent dictator. Earlier overtly be the dictator. Both op-
in the by-elections and will form a the right tools to ensure Zec is re- interesting that Zanu PF has awak- this week, Mnangagwa announced tions are high risk and could boo-
critical part of the roll to be used in formed. ened to the underdevelopment in populist position of free primary merang in his face.
the region. However, Binga stands school education at public schools.
out as the only constituency in the Paidamoyo Muzulu is a journalist
polls expected next year after data rural communities that has consist- based in Zimbabwe. He writes in
ently voted the opposition since his personal capacity.

Weekly Digest is published daily by Alpha Media Holdings EDITOR Tel: 883184-8/887057/58/69/70/71 Tel. 883184/5/6/7/8,887069/70/1,887058/885280/1/2. AMH subscribes to truthful,
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ANALYSIS April 6-12 2022 Weekly Digest 4

Climate change financing is a tall order
for Zim, but the country needs it urgently

IMELODY CHIKONO only emits 7% of the Green House Gases. unconditional access to Climate Finance and not loans). The United Nations Frame-
ncreasing agricultural production has over the Does mitigation make sense?” he said. from Bilateral and multilateral financial work Convention on Climate Change (UN-
years has been Zimbabwe’s direct course to institutions (preference should be grants FCCC) should promote debt swaps for
food security as most households rely on sub- “Developing countries should push for
sistence agriculture for livelihood.
The revolution of agriculture involves around
developing a robust sector that has mainstreamed
mechanisms of reducing vulnerability and increas-
ing the resilience of farmers and farming systems
to negative climate change impacts.

Zimbabwe has been making strides in increas-
ing food production though various programmes
like command agriculture and climate proof farm-
ing method, Pfumvudza which have assisted farm-
ers with inputs for farming.

The Pfumvudza programme is based on Conser-
vation Agriculture (CA) principles and it helps to cli-
mate-proof production to a certain extent.

While these are commendable efforts, the pro-
duce has, however, also been victim to climate
change effects which has ravaged the globe.

Smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe are increas-
ingly exposed to system climate change risks such
as droughts, dry spells, delayed seasons, floods,
hailstorms, pests, diseases and many more, raising
the need for climate change financing.

Zimbabwe’s National Climate Change Policy
seeks to create a pathway towards a climate re-
silient and low carbon development economy in
which the people have enough adaptive capacity
and continue to develop in harmony with the en-
vironment.

This is buttressed by the National Climate
Change Response Strategy, National Adaptation
Plan, the Low Carbon Development Strategy, Na-
tional Environmental Policy and Strategic Docu-
ment plus other SD policies including the Ramsar
Convention.

The country’s National Development Strate-
gy (NDS1) has prioritised climate action with spe-
cific strategies through mainstreaming of climate
change and related financing in all national pro-
grammes including strengthening early warning
systems, promoting climate smart innovations and
technology transfer.

It also seeks to strengthen capacity building and
awareness on climate change adaptation and mit-
igation and upgrading meteorological radar seis-
mology and weather station network among oth-
er measures.

Zimbabwe is vulnerable to climate change due
to its geographical location in the tropics to an
extent that if the agriculture sector sneezes, the
economy catches a cold because of the strong ver-
tical and backward linkages.

As a developing country, Zimbabwe therefore
suffers from the effects of climate change induced
by the industrialization. Government spending in
mitigation is low, and as is the case with many least
developed countries, is lopsided towards debt ser-
vicing, downplaying climate financing.

A study by the journal Cogent Social Sciences on
understanding climate smart agriculture and the
resilience of smallholder farmers in Umguza dis-
trict, showed that climate smart agriculture (CSA)
practices were beset by challenges pointing to the
fact that government lacks a clear and coordinated
policy and financing for CSA.

Deliberations at the recent Zimbabwe debt inda-
ba exposed the gap that existed in climate financ-
ing and agricultural efforts with experts calling for
climate change financing as pivotal in fighting and
mitigating climate change effects.

However, for developing countries like Zimba-
bwe it has been a mammoth task.

While there were many options available for cli-
mate change financing, challenges like debt fi-
nancing has been a blocking factor, making access
difficult for Zimbabwe.

Climate Change and Energy Governance lead
Byron Zamasiya this week said developing coun-
tries were spending five times more on debt ser-
vicing than on climate action and this was expect-
ed to rise to seven times, creating more loans, in-
terests and exacerbate the debt burden for devel-
oping countries.

Zamasiya was presenting on climate justice and
debt sustainability: leveraging debt sustainabil-
ity to strengthen Zimbabwe’s climate change re-
sponse at the just ended Zimbabwe Debt Indaba
in the capital.

“Developed countries are pushing for more
funds for mitigation while developing countries are
pushing for more funds for adaptation But African

l TO PAGE 5

ANALYSIS April 6-12 2022 Weekly Digest 5
developing countries especially when they
meet commitments in the Nationally De-
termined Contributions (NDCs). Developing
countries endowed with transition minerals
(such as lithium, copper, nickel and cobalt)
should promote local value addition.”

Developed countries had a target of rais-
ing US$100 billion for Climate Finance in
2016-2020 period and priority was on mit-
igation at a time financiers preferred loans
and not grants.

They were then supposed to write pro-
posals and access this money for adaptation
and mitigation.

For Zimbabwe, these projects are outlined
in Nationally Determined Contributions, Na-
tional Development Strategy 1 and Low
Emissions Development Strategy.

Generally, Zamasiya said there was an in-
crease in loans from bilateral and multilater-
al financiers but since the money is accessed
as loans, it was difficult for developing coun-
tries like Zimbabwe to access it due to the
poor macroeconomic environment and high
debt risk given that Paris Club members also
influence access to such finances.

However, there is a consensus that despite
these challenges, developing countries need
to access climate finance for climate action.

Also speaking on Leveraging Debt Sustain-
ability to Strengthen Zimbabwe’s Climate
Change Response, UNDP senior economist,
Ojijo Odhlambo said Zimbabwe should also
consider Green Climate Sustainability bonds
which were conventional bonds raised in the
domestic or international capital markets,
the proceeds of which are used for projects
that generate environmental benefits.

These, he said, were increasingly becom-
ing an important source of green finance
due growing demand as investors gradual-
ly commit to make responsible investments.

“There are also catastrophe bonds. These
refer to high-yield debt instrument designed
to raise money for companies in the insur-
ance industry in the event of a natural disas-
ter. That is, the issuer receives funding from
the bond only if specific conditions, such as
an earthquake or tornado, occur,” Odhlam-
bo said.

“On the other hand, climate risk insur-
ance is designed to help protect individu-
als, small businesses or entire countries from
permanent damage caused by the impact
of extreme weather events. Such a scheme
strengthens financial resilience in the short-
term due quick disbursement of payments
in case of emergency, and in the long-term
can contribute to disaster risk reduction.”

Zimbabwe is responsible for 0.07% of
global GHG emissions and as an agro-based
economy, it relies on climate sensitive servic-
es for food income and economic growth.

But securing financing to help mitigate
the effects of climate change will thelp the
southern African nation counteract the ad-
verse effects and ensure food sustainability
in the long term.

COVER April 6-12 2022 Weekly Digest 6

Chinese
firms

scramble
for lithium

mines

CMELODY CHIKONO same time negotiate an equitable path to future in control of its own destiny and a ords an op- than 50% of the o -take rights to production
HINESE rms have invested over development,” he said. portunity to develop downstream bene ciation from a future mine," he added.
US$570 million into Zimbabwe’s of spodumene through the retention of not less
lithium mines since the last quar- “The subscription also allows Premier to be In December, Zhejiang Huayou swooped into
ter of 2021, as the rush for Zimba-
bwe’s resource escalates. It is not 2022 Volume II
only the Chinese who have stampeded for Zim-
babwe’s lithium, but in a rush reminiscent to the “Rising like a phoenix: emerging from a pandemic”
last 1890s when western power combed through
African jungles for the continent’s gold, the Chi- The Zimbabwe Independent in partnership with Institute Corporate Directors
nese are only the latest addition to the tussle to Zimbabwe (ICDZ) invites its members to consider contributing articles as well as
grab Zimbabwe’s most lucrative lithium elds.
taking up advertising space in the BoardRoom Magazine 2022
The rst most serious expressions of interests
came from the Australians, when Prospect Re- To advertise or contribute an article Contact: Talent on: 0779 107 791 / Email: [email protected]
sources announced signi cant discoveries at Ar-
cadia, about 60 kilometres east of Harare. Back in INDEZIPMEBANBWDEENT
2018, when Prospect moved to scale up mine de-
velopment, it was unthinkable that lithium de-
mand would rise to the levels that it is today.

After demand for the mineral increased in the
past decade in response to a rise in electric ve-
hicle (EV) production, deliveries are likely to re-
main robust over the coming years with strong
order backlogs. The EV are powered by batteries,
which require lithium as an input to production.

“Some Chinese EV makers expect 2Q22 vehi-
cle-battery prices to be around 30% higher than
in 2021, as the prices of certain materials have
risen on stronger-than-expected global EV de-
mand, automakers’ strategic shift to the cheap-
er lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries, and
global commodity price surges,” says Fitch Solu-
tion.

“Fitch believes the prospects for China’s EV
market are bright, given still-strong demand.
We expect wholesale deliveries of EVs to rise by
over 50% and their market share to exceed 20%
in 2022. The latest price increases, however, are
likely to a ect low-end EVs more than high-end
ones, as potential buyers for cheaper EVs tend to
be more price sensitive,” it said on Monday.

This is what has been driving investors into
lithium mines, both in Zimbabwe and across the
world, and countries like Zimbabwe are expect-
ed to bene t from the boom, and investors in-
tensify their push to control the lithium value
chain.

Chinese companies have making serious in-
roads into Zimbabwe’s mining sector, to feed
into their expanding industry, as indicated by
Fitch.

The Chinese strategy was boosted in January,
when Shenzhen Stock Exchange-listed Suzhou
TA&A Ultra Clean Technology bought shares
worth about US$15,7 million from Premier Afri-
can Minerals, a Zimbabwe-focused miner that is
developing the Zulu resource near Bulawayo.

It is one of the biggest Chinese rms, with a
market capitalisation of about US$6,7 billion. It
has a 75% holding in lithium hydroxide produc-
er Yibin Tianyi Lithium Industry Co, Ltd, togeth-
er with China's largest EV battery manufacturer
Contemporary Amperex Technology.

Premier chief executive, George Roach said
the subscription would fully fund the comple-
tion of de nitive feasibility study (DFS) at the
Zulu Lithium and Tantalum project.

"I am delighted to accept this subscription
from Suzhou TA&A, and particularly that this
makes available to Premier a wealth of expertise
in this industry whilst aligning future o take and
mine development with Yibin Tianyi Lithium In-
dustry Co., Ltd, a major producer of Lithium Hy-
droxides, nancier and take-o partner for the
Manono Lithium and Tin project and who have
completed long term spodumene o -take agree-
ments with Pilbara Minerals Limited,” he said.

“I look forward to welcoming a new board
member who will be nominated by Suzhou TA&A
and active involvement from Suzhou TA&A in our
DFS, particularly in the area of test work and ow
sheet development,” he said.

Roach said developments within the lithium
industry have been at such a rapid pace, that it
is often di cult to ascertain and agree on value.

“This subscription that results in Suzhou TA&A
holding an important stake in Premier, a ords
our shareholders, including Suzhou TA&A, with
the opportunity to accelerate the DFS and at the

COVER April 6-12 2022 Weekly Digest 7

 FROM PAGE 6 jor car makers were turning to electric vehicles, Minerals for US$180 million. um battery materials, took over the Arcadia min-
Arcadia lithium mine, paying US$378 million to which require lithium. Chinese miner, Sinomine Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Company Ltd, a Chi- ing project for US$378 million last December.
Prospect Resources. Zimbabwe will pocket only Resource Group Co. Ltd (SRGCL) is in the process
US$30 million in taxes. of acquiring Zimbabwean lithium miner, Bikita nese rm mainly engaged in the research, devel- “There is no natural interest in the manner
opment and manufacturing of new energy lithi- in which the government is entering into deals
In January this year, Sinomine Resource Group with so-called investors. When you look at Arca-
Co Ltd announced, through its Hong Kong list- dia Mine, when Prospect Resources sold to that
ed unit, that it would be buying 100% sharehold- Chinese company, the President (Emmerson
ing in African Metals Management Services and Mnangagwa) actually presided over that more
Southern African Metals and Minerals, the rms than US$400 million transaction,” Centre for Nat-
that control 74% shareholding in Bikita Minerals. ural Resource Governance (CNRG) director Farai
Maguwu, said.
The deal is worth US$180 million. Bikita Miner-
als is situated in Bikita Hills, near Masvingo. The “Yet, that never went to the Treasury. It is one
private company that made US$400 million out
rm has been operating for around 100 years. of a national asset without the government get-
However, there has been concern over a mas- ting a penny…it was the most foolish transac-
sive push by Chinese investors into the coun- tion and unheard of. The lithium belongs to the
try’s multibillion dollar lithium mines, with the Zimbabwean people but it was acquired by a
Zimbabwe Coalition for Debt and Development private company that sold it to another private
(Zimcodd) raising red ags, saying the govern- company with the President presiding over the
ment was parcelling out strategic assets to for- takeover,” he said.
eign rms without giving legislators room to as-
sess such transactions. “Our leadership has no time to concern them-
In addition there has been concerns that Zim- selves with those matters. All they want is to
babwe’s lithium mines are being sold for a song fund the 2023 election and put something in
by foreign investors to Chinese multination- their pockets. These lithium deposits, they don't
als who have recently swooped on domestic care about them,” Maguwu said.
assets.
They said with international lithium prices On the argument that the Zimbabwe gov-
rocketing and the mineral being declared one ernment has no say over deals involving pri-
of the most strategic commodities, Zimbabwe’s vate rms in mining, Maguwu said: “That doesn’t
parliament must take a lead in making sure fu- make sense. First of all, the minerals are vested
ture generations will not be prejudiced. with the President who shall hold them in trust
According to Trading Economics, lithium car- on behalf of the Zimbabwe citizens. We have got
bonate prices in China extended their rally to a parliament which has been rendered redun-
US$78 180 per tonne in the third week of March. dant and useless, yet, it must play an oversight.
This marked a gain of over 75% so far in 2022. The fact that the government is not allowing par-
Lithium is used to make batteries for electric car liament to play its oversight role clearly indicates
vehicles. But analysts said the assets were worth stinking corruption because they know the deals
more than this. are so terrible, they are very bad, which is why
“We have raised this issue, yes. To us the gov- they do not even publish the contract”.
ernment has not yet put in place a proper policy
framework on mineral resource governance that Zhou said a policy framework must be put in
allows maximising on bene ts from our miner- place and that the Mines and Minerals Bill must
als,” Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Develop- be passed to address some of the issues being
ment (ZIMCODD) Janet Zhou told the Weekly Di- raised over lithium mines.
gest on Friday.
“This includes the strategic minerals like lith- “It (the Bill) has all the provisions to protect,
ium which are the future. China is investing big bene t, and control our strategic minerals,” she
time in this strategic,” she said, noting that ma- said.

According to Platts Analytics, global plug-
in light-duty electric vehicle sales are expected
to rise to 6,5 million units in 2022 and 10,5 mil-
lion units in 2025, up from an estimated 6 million
units in 2021 and 3,1 million units in 2020.

Our People. Our Strength. Our Pride.

The Partnership and staff of Deloitte would like to congratulate and applaud our Class of 2022 for their outstanding results in
the Initial Test of Competence (ITC) examinations, with special mention to those who placed in the national top 10:

Takunda Muringani Nomsa Nyandoro Tafadzwa Magagada

Bonani Donald Honest Nyasha Tonderai
Tshuma Ngazimbi Mambizo Mhlanga Dzwimbu

Brian Eleanor Marilyn Senzeni
Nyariri Mafavuke Ncube Thete

May the success that has come your way lead you to even bigger achievements!

Congratulations! Makorokoto! Amhlophe!

© 2022. Deloitte & Touche. All rights reserved.

FEATURE April 6-12 2022 Weekly Digest 8

US$300m in
stray payments

and missing
cars: Inside
the Auditor-
General’s latest

report

A uditor-General Mildred Chiri has ta-
bled her 2020 report to Parliament,
and it again lays bare the mismanage-
ment of tax dollars by Government.
Payments were made with no paper
trail, goods – from cars to teachers’ blankets and
cutlery – were paid for but never received, and
government officials aren’t listening to what the
A-G is recommending on how to fix the repeated
accounting problems.

When a government department makes a pay-
ment, it must book it properly and keep records.
But, says Chiri, those handling public money
aren’t doing this enough. This, she warns, is in-
creasing the risk for fraud.

Below, we detail some key findings from Chi-
ri’s latest report.

Government likes to spend, without doing the
paperwork

In 2020, Treasury recorded foreign direct pay-
ments worth US$300 599 941 behalf of 16 Minis-
tries, but there was no reconciliation with the de-
partments.

“However, I noted that a number of Ministries
were not aware of these payments and did not
acknowledge these transactions. As at Novem-
ber 15, 2021, five line Ministries disputed Treas-
ury disbursements from Direct Payments totaling
US$183 638 970,” the report says.

Chiri breaks down some of the direct payments
made without the necessary paperwork.

Payments worth US$20.7 million were made
to suppliers on behalf of the Ministry of Finance
in 2020, but not uploaded in the Public Finan-
cial Management System. This means that while
there are records of the payments, they were not
accounted for in the Ministry’s Appropriation Ac-
count for the year 2020 as is required.

Treasury also made payments of US$18.2 mil-
lion on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture. The
payments were for “policy and administration”
as well as “agricultural engineering and farm in-
frastructure advisory development”. Another
BWP8.3 million was paid to Botswana for “animal
production, health, extension and services”.

But the Ministry of Agriculture itself did not re-
cord these payments.

Said the A-G: “Due to non-availability of the re-
quested information regarding the above-men-
tioned transactions, I was unable to vouch and
authenticate the amounts.”

Because these payments were not uploaded to
the respective Ministries’ votes in the Public Fi-
nancial Management System (PFMS), it means
that Government’s total expenditure was high-
er than stated by Treasury for the 2020 national
budget. Government spent more than it declared
to taxpayers.

Government has been paying for goods, but
not receiving them

In 2020, three Ministries paid for cars worth
Z$117 042 902. By September 2021, the cars had
not been delivered.

The Ministry of Information paid for seven cars
from Solution Motors and 17 from Motor City. The
Ministry told auditors that “delivery of motor ve-
hicles was delayed due to some technical chal-
lenges faced by the suppliers”.

The Ministries of Housing and Justice bought
three cars apiece, all six were not delivered. The
Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation had
also not received two cars they paid for in 2017,
a matter already raised in the 2019 audit report,
but ignored.

The Tourism Ministry paid for 13 laptops, 13
Samsung Galaxy tablets and 50 school desks in
2020. None of these were delivered.

At the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education,
government ordered 260 blankets and kitchen utensils
for teachers’ hostels. It also ordered tables and chairs.
The blankets never came, and the furniture delivered

l TO PAGE 11

FEATURE April 6-12 2022 Weekly Digest 9

US$300m in The Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ) invites prospective bidders to participate in the following tenders:
stray payments
ITT #1
and missing
cars: Inside Project Name Provision of Site Establishment Facilities for Lupane Students Accommodation Complex Project in Lupane, Matebeleland
the Auditor- North Province
General’s latest Description of Services
(i) Supply, Delivery and Installation of Prefabricated Chromadeck cladding structure 85m2 (floor area), four roomed Site
report Accommodation offices self-contained with Air conditioning and Sanitary facilities.

was not the type paid for. (ii) Supply, Delivery and Installation of Prefabricated Chromadeck cladding structure, two-roomed Site offices self-contained
The Ministry told the auditors that one of the suppli- with Air conditioning and Sanitary facilities.
ers, Michmart Investments, said it delivered the wrong
furniture because “he indicated that prices had gone (iii) Supply, Delivery and Installation of Prefabricated Timber Log Cabin Guard House or Prefabricated structure with an
Type of Competition built ablution facility.
National Competitive Bidding
up and (supplier) had the intention to request for price Tender Number IDBZ 4(c) of 2022
variation, which they did not do.”
Governance issues the biggest problem in A-G report Issuance Date 01 April 2022
Date and Time of Compulsory Site Meeting 08 April 2022, 11:00 hours Central African Time
Venue of Compulsory Site Meeting Project Site at Stand Number 622 Lupane Township. Bidders shall meet at Lupane Local Board Offices before the site
Dead-end road projects tour.
Government has made roadworks one of the center-
pieces of its infrastructure programme, but it is failing to Closing Deadline for Requests for Clarification 14 April 2022
Closing Deadline for Submission of Proposals 04 May 2022 at 10:00 hours CAT
fund them properly. The government is taking on many Bid Security Signed Bid Securing Declaration
Registration with PRAZ for 2022 A must requirement
projects, but not completing them, the A-G found. Payment of Administration fees payable by bidders Not required
In 2020, Ministry of Transport planned for 37 road de- for bids subject to review in terms of section 54 of
velopment projects. This included repair of roads dam-
PPDPA Act
aged by Cyclone Submission email address [email protected]
Out of the 161
audit findings that Idai and other ITT #2
were raised in the roadworks.
Project Name Supply, Delivery and Installation of a 10Kva Solar Power Generating System and a Carport at Samukele Lodge,
But 15 of those Bulawayo.
projects were not Description of Services Supply, Delivery and Installation of a 10Kva Solar Power Generating System and a Carport at IDBZ Bulawayo
put on the budg- Samukele Lodge in Hillside, Bulawayo.
et properly, re-
previous year, 44 sulting in Z$9.7 Type of Competition National Competitive Bidding
Tender Number IDBZ 08 of 2022
Issuance Date 01 April 2022
(28%) were fully billion from the Date and Time of Compulsory Site Meeting 08 April 2022, 11:00 hours Central African Time
addressed, 28 unallocated re- Venue of Compulsory Site Meeting Samukele Lodge, 26 Essex Road, Hillside, Bulawayo
serve from an ini- Closing Deadline for Requests for Clarification 19 April 2022
(17%) were partly tial budget of Z$2 Closing Deadline for Submission of Proposals 05 May 2022 at 10:00 hours CAT
addressed and 89 billion. There were Bid Security Signed Bid Securing Declaration
(55%) were not 13 other unbudg- Registration with PRAZ for 2022 A must requirement
eted for road pro- Payment of Administration fees payable by bidders Not required
jects, which cost for bids subject to review in terms of section 54 of
Z$185 million. PPDPA Act
Submission email address [email protected]

addressed. According to Bidding Documents will be available electronically free of charge upon a written request to [email protected]. Bidders must specify the Tender Number for the Tender of
the A-G, these ir- interest when requesting Bidding Documents.
regular payments Bids shall be valid for a bid period of 60 working days.
“may result in hav- Acting Head – Procurement Management Unit
ing a number of projects partly done if the few resources IDBZ House,
are spread on too many projects at one go”. 99 Gamal Abdel Nasser Road,
Out of money, the Ministry of Transport asked for more Harare, Zimbabwe
funding from Treasury to complete 15 suspended pro- Tel: +263-24-2750171/8
jects. Treasury approved another Z$936 million for these E-mail: [email protected]
15 projects in September 2020, but only five of them were Bids must be submitted by email to the email addresses indicated above for each ITT before or by the closing deadline stipulated above. Bids will be opened in an online meeting
completed by the end of the year. immediately after the closing deadline for submission.
“The reasons sighted for the delay in the completion of Late bids shall be rejected without further consideration.
the projects included late release of cash by Treasury, bu- Bids submitted to a wrong email address shall be rejected.
reaucracy in the procurement process, and inefficiencies Award of contract will be made to the bidder offering the lowest priced responsive quotation.
by some contractors,” the audit finds.
Audits are being ignored
Most government departments are ignoring the Audi-
tor-General’s recommendations.
Out of the 161 audit findings that were raised in the
previous year, 44 (28%) were fully addressed, 28 (17%)
were partly addressed and 89 (55%) were not addressed. DPC

Like other sectors, Chiri says the A-G’s office is suffering
from a skills shortage. She said: “I lost qualified and expe-
rienced staff due to uncompetitive conditions of service.”
— newZWire

ECONOMY April 6-12 2022 Weekly Digest 10

Poultry ers, mostly small-scale, that joined the in- most two months in advance for their alloca- feed and chicks which were sometimes out
farming dustry. The influx placed a greater demand tion of chicks, and sometimes feed was una- of stock. The input shortages coupled with an
through the on the already challenged input provision vailable. Disruptions in input supply made increased demand on inputs, may have ulti-
eyes of a sector. This not only led to disruptions in in- planning difficult for the small-scale farmers, mately led to an increase in input prices.
small-scale put supply- with farmers having to book al- especially since they relied on ready-made
producer in Increases in input prices
Zim in the
COVID-19 era

PTALENT N NDLOVU
oultry production and its entire value chain
constitute a significant part of the Zimba-
bwean agricultural industry and the econo-
my at large. In recent years, the demand for
poultry products, primarily chicken and its
products appear to have driven growth in the poultry
industry, increasing not just the quantities produced
but also the number of producers.

Importance of the poultry industry – with the
smallholder at the centre

The increased demand for poultry could be at-
tributed to a number of factors, including poul-
try meat being a healthier, more affordable, and
more accessible household option compared
to its substitutes of beef, pork, goat, or mutton
while the demand for poultry products such as
eggs could be explained by its multiple uses in
households and the food industry, for meals, in
cooking, and in baking and confectionaries.

The poultry production sector has numerous
backward and forward interlinkages with other
industries, so that growth in the poultry produc-
tion sector has spurred growth in its supporting
industries, leading to growth in the entire val-
ue chain. The increase in poultry production has
increased the demand for inputs such as feed,
chicks, medicines, and equipment. Also, it has
placed greater demand on the many supporting
industries involved in the marketing, storage and
transport of input and output products. At the
centre of all this growth lies the farmer, who is in-
volved in the primary production of poultry and
its products.

As is characteristic of Zimbabwe’s farming sec-
tor, the poultry industry is dual in nature, con-
sisting of both large- and small-scale farmers.
Small scale producers, who constitute a signifi-
cant proportion of up to 75% of poultry farmers,
are key to the success of this industry. This arti-
cle will discuss the status of the country’s small-
scale poultry farmer in this Covid19 era, high-
lighting the trends, challenges, and opportuni-
ties in the poultry industry through the lens of a
small-scale farmer.

Impacts of Covid19 on the small-scale poultry
farmer

While the industry seemed to be on an upward
trajectory in recent years, the onset of the Cov-
id19 pandemic and its strict lockdown restric-
tions in 2020 brought unprecedented chang-
es to the industry which negatively affected the
small-scale farmer.

The input supply side
Firstly, the global lockdown disrupted imports
of the most valuable component of poultry pro-
duction, that is, poultry breeding stock, difficult,
resulting in the shortage of good quality chicks
on the market. Farmers, who purchase their
chicks locally, were then forced to rely on the
poor-quality chicks available. The poor-quality
chicks were cited as having high mortality rates
and slower growth rates than previous breeds.
This was a major setback to farmers, and meant
that even before commencing production, the
odds were against them. This was even more
devastating for small-scale farmers who can only
afford to produce low bird volumes.
Secondly, in response to the closure of other lines of
business while agriculture remained an essential ser-
vice, there was a large influx of new poultry produc-

ECONOMY April 6-12 2022 Weekly Digest 11

The curse of the smallholder poultry farmers is lies firstly in the prices The solution to small-scale farmer challenges in the poultry in-
inability to generate their own inputs such as feed and chicks in- Apart from being forced to bear increased production costs, dustry lies primarily in their ability to organize themselves collec-
puts, forcing them to rely on ready made products, and secondly tively for some of their functions and in vertical integration.
being small, they have no power to negotiate or influence market being a price taker also forces the farmer to accept whatever out-
prices, forcing them to take whatever input prices prevail. Over put price for finished products prevails on the market. Small-scale The ancient words of wisdom that, there is power in numbers,
the past few years, the prices of feed and chicks have been in- farmers compete with large scale farmers who have large live- could solve some of their challenges. If small-scale farmers organ-
creasing significantly. Small-scale farmers are left with no option stock numbers, an influence on both input production costs and ize themselves collectively to purchase inputs and to sell produce
but to absorb input price increases, leaving them even more vul- output prices, and can afford lower output prices. With no influ- in groups, their negotiating power in the market would increase,
nerable, less productive, and less profitable. By increasing pro- ence on the market price and facing increased competition from hence giving them a chance to influence both input and produce
duction costs and reducing profits, input price increases threat- large-scale producers, small-scale poultry producers are trapped prices. Farmers could use also use collective action to organize
en the long-term sustainability of small-scale poultry production. in a cycle of low profitability and sustainability as they cannot marketing and transport activities, reducing production costs.
Although the factors driving the input price increases seem raise the output prices in line with their production costs. With-
to be improving, the input price increases still seem to be pre- out any changes, the unfavorable market conditions may lead to Another concept that could revolutionize small-scale poultry
vailing. It has been cited that the improved harvests of soya and small-scale farmers abandoning the poultry industry in favour of farming is using collective action to vertically integrate additional
maize in 2021 would bring relief to poultry producers through other more profitable enterprises. functions such as feed manufacture. By manufacturing their own
reduced costs of feed. However, there appears to be no change feed, farmers escape dependency on readymade feed, and its as-
in the small-scale farmers ordeal as prices of feed have contin- Impact on markets and marketing sociated prices that they have no power to control. Such an ini-
ued to rise. Thirdly, during the strict lockdown periods, many of the small tiative can reduce production costs by large margins and make
This suggests that the benefits of increased grain supply may businesses such as restaurants and food outlets who often pur- these farmers more competitive on the market.
only be immediately felt by poultry producers that make their chased poultry products from small farmers were closed, shrink-
own feed – large scale producers, and may not have trickled ing the market. In addition, closure of businesses also reduced Small-scale farmers could also use the power of col-
down to the small-scale farmer who do not make their own feed. incomes for many household consumers, which reduced market lection action to create large, organized produce mar-
It is likely that it will take more than one good cropping season demand. Small-scale farmers, already faced with high production kets. By creating organized markets, small-scale farmers
to stimulate a decrease in feed prices or possibly, to stabilize pric- costs, were then left with severely reduced incomes and profits would become more visible, accessible, and able to pro-
es for the small-scale farmer that is at the end of the feed val- since demand was also low. Although the lockdown has eased, vide large quantities, and a constant supply of produce.
ue chain. In terms of chick prices, price increases also seem to most consumers have yet to recover fully in financial terms, Large markets would certainly attract more buyers and
be prevailing even though the supply of chicks has now hence, it may take a while for demand to recover and surpass pre- increase small-scale farmers’ influence on produce prices.
improved. It is yet to be seen when the improved chick Covid19 era levels. This puts a strain on the long-term viability of
supply will reduce or at the least stabilize chick poultry small-scale farmers. Using the suggested collective action and vertical inte-
prices in the long-term. gration initiatives will certainly require large amounts of
Unfavorable Fourthly, the lockdown, especially the strict lock- training, support, and administration in order for them to
output downs made both the input and output markets be- work. It would therefore be advisable that farmer groups
come relatively difficult to access at one’s conven- also include or hire the required personnel to make the in-
ience. Conse- quently, the transaction costs of itiatives successful.

doing business increased for Not all hope is lost
the small-scale farmer who Small-scale poultry farmers have been hard-hit by nu-
now bore higher search costs merous challenges driven by poultry industry’s negative
as they faced many difficul- response to the Covid19 pandemic. The challenges, which
ties to attain inputs, servic- include high input costs of feed and chicks, and shrunk-
es and to reach their mar- en markets, have lowered the profitability for the small-
ket. However, overtime, scale producers, threatening producers’ economic viabil-
as the lockdowns have ity in the long term.
become less stringent, However, not all hope is lost as there are multiple ini-
it has become easi- tiatives that these farmers can take to regain their posi-
er and less costly to tion on the market and increase profits. These initiatives
do business and the include the use of collection action to organize markets,
transaction costs of vertically integrate into feed production, and to purchase
doing business for the inputs, consequently increasing negotiating power and
small-scale poultry farm- reducing individual farmer costs. With the right techni-
er has gone down. cal and administrative support, the suggested initiatives
What can be done to im- have the power to positively transform small-scale poul-
prove the small-scale farm- try farming, improving their viability and making them
ers situation? more sustainable.

— African Thinker

ECONOMY April 6-12 2022 Weekly Digest 12

Zimbabwe’s cliffhanger by-
elections leave 2023 no clearer

TPAIDAMOYO MUZULU sa South in Manicaland. It won the During the by-election cam- The narrow loss in Binga means move the possibility of a disputed
HE much-awaited Zimbabwe, seats by thin margins but it marked paigns, Zanu PF went all for broke Zanu PF would go all out to try a poll.
March 26, by-elections came a resurgence of the ruling party in and used its incumbency to dis- second bite at the cherry in the
and went, leaving the coun- opposition strongholds, albeit in tribute largesse to the electorate in general elections just as it will do Zanu PF, on the other hand,
try in no state to know who a by-election that was marred by exchange for votes. in urban areas that were won thinly through its national spokesman
will likely win the 2023 gen- voter apathy. by the opposition. This would cre- Christopher Mutsvangwa said the
eral elections. However, the ruling par- This was exhibited in Binga, a re- ate an all but nothing mentality in elections were held in a peaceful
ty Zanu PF has the added advantage of The electorate, particularly in ur- mote constituency in Matabele- the forthcoming general election. manner and Zec had executed its
abusing state resources and twisting ban areas has voted for the oppo- land North province. President Em- mandate in a professional manner.
the arms of independent electoral bod- sition since 2000 relegating Zanu merson Mnangagwa in support- The high-stakes election needs
ies to its favour. PF to a ruling rural party. The same ing his party’s candidate donat- better management for them to be Among the reforms that Zimba-
trend continued in these by-elec- ed computers to a school, bicycles credible to both participants and bwe needs is for the police to act in
Opposition Citizens Coalition tions, but the small gains won by and fishing boats to members of observers. However, this is a moun- a no-partisan manner. In the just-
for Change (CCC) led by Nelson Zanu PF means the 2023 general the community just a week before tain to climb if no electoral reforms ended by-elections, the Zimbabwe
Chamisa posted some impressive elections will be heavily contested the election. are done between now and the Republic Police banned five rallies
results by winning 22 of the 28 Na- as parties seek dominance. dissolution of parliament next year of the opposition in Harare, Maron-
tional Assembly seats and near- The president further apologised in May. dera, Binga, and Gokwe. The po-
ly 80 of the 106 council seats that However, what remains stark to the community for his party’s lice, ironically, did not ban even a
were up for grabs. is the fact that Zimbabwe needs failure to develop the area in the Opposition leaders Chamisa and single rally by ruling Zanu PF.
extensive electoral reforms and past 42 years after independence. Douglas Mwonzora in the post-by-
Zanu PF, however, won two seats strengthening of independent However, the donations and apol- election results announcements on Among the reasons that it gave for
that were controlled by the opposi- bodies that run elections if the ogy did not sway the voters’ minds Monday while welcoming results banning opposition rallies was a lack of
tion – Epworth in Harare and Muta- 2023 elections result is not to be as they went on to re-elect an op- said the country should immedi- manpower or that the State president
disputed. position MP. ately start electoral reforms to re- was also holding a rally in the proxim-
ity of the venue the opposition would

ECONOMY April 6-12 2022 Weekly Digest 13

have booked.
The second area that needs reforms is the

public media. Zimpapers the public media
house controlled by the state behaves as if it
is an extension of the ruling party. It rarely cov-
ers opposition campaigns and in the few ex-
ceptions, it does the articles or stories are rid-
dled with opinions by the papers or radio sta-
tions.

The public media seems not fazed despite
that in 2019 the High Court censured it after
it ruled the group was biased against the op-
position and its actions were inconsistent with
the roles of the public broadcaster or public
print media.

The other reform that is needed is the
strengthening of the independent Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission. It needs to be able to
remove any doubts among the electorate and
political parties that it is partial to the ruling
Zanu PF by acting transparently.

It needs to compile and publish the voters’
roll and polling station at least two weeks be-
fore elections.

Political parties and other civic organisa-
tions should have access to a readable and au-
ditable voter roll ahead of the election. This
would remove doubts about ghost voters,
who ironically are attributed to the high voter
turnout in Zanu PF’s strongholds.

The last but important thing about the 2023
general election is the delimitation exercise.
The electoral boundaries will be redrawn and
some provinces will lose or gain the number
of National Assembly seats allocated to them.
This exercise should be done transparently
without allowing the ruling party, Zanu PF, to
gerrymander constituencies.

Gerrymandering has been done in the past
where some urban constituencies were joined
to rural communities in an effort to dilute the
urban vote.

After all, is said and done, there is a need for
SADC (the regional bloc) to come early and as-
sist in the reforms as Zanu PF and president
Mnangagwa are not in a hurry to do electoral
reforms that may hasten their exit from power.
The 2023 general elections will be a cliff-hang-
er from the perspective one looks at them.

— African Thinker

POLITICS April 6-12 2022 Weekly Digest 14

Dealing in Numbers – a call for data-based election strategy

EALEX MAGAISA Logical Fallacy flawed. If you accept the outcome of flawed by- traditional strongholds of the opposition, an oppo-
lections are a numbers First, however, I must address elections, how can you argue against flawed gen- sition victory was generally a foreseeable outcome.
game, it is often said. a certain logical fallacy that has eral elections in 2023, so the argument goes? They were more likely to win than lose those by-
It may be a cliché, but arisen in the wake of the recent elections even with the risk of rigging, vote-buying,
it captures the essence by-elections. Some people have This argument is a good example of a logical fal- and electoral malpractices.
of electoral contesta- argued that the CCC was wrong lacy. On the face of it, the argument appears to
tion. At the end of the day, the to celebrate the outcome of the make sense. If the by-elections are flawed, you are The fact that the CCC won does not, therefore,
difference between success and recent by-elections because boxing yourself into accepting flawed elections in mean that the elections were free and fair or that
failure is represented in the fig- such celebration represents an the future. However, the flaw in the logic is that the the elections referee is beyond reproach. Rather, it
ures. In normal situations where acceptance of flawed elections. only possible and therefore acceptable outcome won despite the unfairness and a litany of repres-
election data is reliable, it is pos- According to this logic, accept- of a flawed election is a defeat for the opposition sive measures and electoral malpractices. But there
sible to read the general story of ing the outcome of a flawed party. Therefore, if the opposition wins, so the log- is no cause of action when you have won, unless
an election from the figures and election undermines the CCC’s ic goes, it must mean that the elections were free of course candidates who lost choose to challenge
to inform strategy. While the reli- complaints regarding the Zim- and fair. It does not consider the fact that an oppo- the outcome in their constituencies citing those ir-
ability of election data in Zimba- babwe Electoral Commission’s sition party can win a flawed election. And that the regularities. Therefore, the argument that the by-
bwe is questionable due to the failings, and other irregularities opposition is entitled to take that victory when it elections were a form of entrapment that deprive
controversies surrounding elec- and electoral malpractices. comes without undermining its concerns. the CCC of grounds to question unfair electoral
toral processes, it is not a bad Purveyors of this logic go into conditions is without foundation. It’s not a zero-
starting point for an analysis of a conspiracy-theory territory, While an opposition party operating in an envi- sum game where taking victory means one forfeits
voting trends and patterns. One and say the by-elections were a ronment that is neither free nor fair is more like- their right to challenge the unfairness of the pro-
can consider the weaknesses of trap for the CCC in that the party ly to lose and cry foul, it is also not impossible for cess in future elections.
the data but still draw some use- was enticed into accepting a fa- it to succeed albeit on rare occasions. The suc-
ful lessons from it. vourable outcome so that should cess of opposition parties in the Gambia in 2016 Why Voter Turnout Matters
things go wrong in 2023, and Zambia last year present two recent exam- Now I address the key issue of why higher vot-
The purpose of this BSR is to they cannot com- ples where the opposition parties succeeded de- er turnout can make a difference. The by-elections
begin this exercise of analyzing plain that the spite the odds. The electoral environments were were characterized by a disappointingly low voter
and interrogating election data elections manifestly unfair and favoured the incumbent, turnout. Only 35% of the eligible voters turned up
to understand voting patterns were on polling day which means an overwhelming ma-
and the strengths and weak- but they still prevailed. Their success did not jority stayed away. One explanation is that by-elec-
nesses of both the ruling party make their concerns over the electoral pro- tions traditionally draw fewer voters to the polls
and the opposition. While elec- cesses redundant. It simply meant that than general elections. This trend is not confined
tions in unfair environments are they were able to counter systems to Zimbabwe. People tend to pay more attention
notoriously problematic, the that were designed to to general elections which include the important
opposition can win if par- thwart them. presidential vote than they do to by-elections.
ties establish effective strat- Likewise, although While the low voter turnout affected most con-
egies that enable them to the CCC won the re- stituencies, the trend was that it was more pro-
focus on their key strengths cent by-elections, its nounced in urban areas than their rural counter-
and seek to maximize their acceptance of the parts. No constituency illustrates this better than
advantages. For example, outcome does not in Mutasa South, a peri-urban constituency that has
while it is difficult to get the any way sanitize the both urban, peri-urban, and rural wards. An analy-
state broadcaster to comply weaknesses of the sis that was done by elections watchdog ERC Africa
with the law, parties have electoral process. The shows that the average voter turnout in the urban
their means to encourage success can be attrib- wards was just 28.03% while in rural wards it was
and promote a higher voter uted to several factors, 48,63%. In peri-urban areas, it was 39.3%.
turnout which enhances the none of which mean This gets interesting when one considers the
chances of success. A higher that the electoral pro- performance of candidates in these respective
voter turnout and enhanced cess was conducted in zones. The CCC candidate won all the urban wards
vigilance on polling day are two a free and fair manner. plus one peri-urban ward, but this is where voter
important ways to maximize a Given the location of the turnout was the lowest. By contrast, the ZANU PF
party’s advantages. by-elections, where the ma- won all the rural wards plus 2 peri-urban wards,
jority were in urban areas that are where the voter turnout was the higheTsOt. PCAlGeEar1ly5,

POLITICS April 6-12 2022 Weekly Digest 15

 FROM PAGE 14 ban wards. In Ward 12 where the ing party. uencies while Chamisa took the tial race ahead of Mnangag-
the ZANU PF candidate benefit- CCC candidate won 65% of the Strategizing for elections: It’s remaining 9. Of the 9 constitu- wa who had 9436 votes. It ap-
ed from the higher voter turnout vote, the ZANU PF candidate had encies that Chamisa won, 5 were pears that the people who voted
in his strongest rural zones while 32,1%. By contrast, in Ward 25 all in the numbers urban and 4 were rural. Of the 13 for the MDC Alliance candidate
the CCC candidate suffered where the ZANU PF candidate As I indicated, I’m currently constituencies that Mnangag- and most of those who voted for
from the low voter turnout in his had 85% of the vote, the CCC wa won, 12 were rural while only Mliswa chose Chamisa for the
stringer urban zones. candidate only got 9.6%. doing a study of election results 1 was urban. Therefore, Chamisa presidency. However, if you add
and voting patterns across the won most of the urban constit- Mliswa’s votes, and the MDC Al-
Voter turnout is even more sig- Now, it is true that Mutare country. My interest is to identi- uencies while Mnangagwa dom- liance candidate’s votes the total
nificant where the margin of vic- South is only one of 28 constitu- fy voting trends in the different inated the rural constituencies. is 24437. That is 4243 votes more
tory/defeat is small. In this case, encies that were contested in the provinces and to investigate fac- This is consistent with the na- than Chamisa’s total votes. This
the ZANU PF candidate won by recent by-elections, and it is also tors that account for those voting tional trend where the opposition means there is a chunk of voters
just 549 votes. Yet consider the true that there are multiple var- patterns. I do so with the qual- tends to win in urban areas while who did not vote for the ZANU
fact that there are more regis- iables beyond the factor of vot- ification that voting figures are ZANU PF does well in rural areas. PF parliamentary candidate,
tered voters in the urban wards er turnout. But given its hybrid mired in controversy. Neverthe- Interestingly, at the parliamenta- Chris Mutsvangwa but opted for
(18715) than there are in the ru- character as a peri-urban con- less, they are the data set that ry level, ZANU PF won 17 constit- Mnangagwa for the presiden-
ral wards (14472). If voter turn- stituency, it provides interest- we have and their weaknesses uencies (4 more than Mnangag- cy. Indeed, Mutsvangwa’s 4255
out in the urban wards where the ing insights into the electoral dy- notwithstanding, they provide a wa won) while the MDC Alliance votes were 5181 votes fewer than
CCC candidate performed more namics and how parties should useful starting point for analysis. got 4 constituencies (5 less than Mnangagwa’s votes in the pres-
strongly had just been slight- strategize. Chamisa won) with the remainder idential race. Looking at these
ly higher, this might have made Mashonaland West going to an independent, Temba numbers, Norton is a safe seat
a difference. The following com- A fact that opposition parties I’m starting with Mashonaland Mliswa. This could mean several for Chamisa, but there is room
parison illustrates the point: must learn to adapt around is West province based on the 2018 things one of which is that there to maximize its potential. Those
that there will always be irregu- election results. I look at how are voters who preferred Chami- voters who abandoned Mutsvan-
Take Ward 12, an urban ward larities in elections held in an au- the presidential candidates per- sa for the presidency but did not gwa but voted for Mnangagwa
that has 7861 registered vot- thoritarian environment. Vote- formed but for a broader view fancy his party or its parliamen- should be the target.
ers. Only 2144 voters turned up buying and abuse of the assisted of voting behaviour, I also com- tary candidates. Another is that
on polling day representing just voting facility are serious handi- pare this to the performance of there are people who preferred Differences in the margin of
27.27% voter turnout. An over- caps that will not go away over- parliamentary candidates. It will ZANU PF or its parliamenta- victory
whelming majority (65%) of these night, especially when dealing be clear that while there are sim- ry candidates ahead of its pres-
voters voted for the CCC candi- with an elections referee that ilar trends, there are also points idential candidate, Mnangagwa. A major feature of the presi-
date. The ZANU PF candidate got is willing to turn a blind eye to of divergence which present use- A good starting point would be dential race is the big difference
32.1% of the vote. Perhaps a high- the ruling party’s shenanigans. ful teaching moments. In 2018, to identify constituencies where in the margin of victory for the
er voter turnout could have yield- In short, there are things that the presidential election was ef- Mnangagwa performed weaker respective candidates and this
ed more voters for the candidate the opposition cannot control, fectively a two-horse race be- than his candidates. also demonstrates the rural/ur-
and made a difference. but there are also certain things tween Emmerson Mnangagwa ban divide. Where Chamisa won,
that are within its control. One of and Nelson Chamisa. The other A closer look at Norton constit- the margin of victory was rela-
Now compare with Ward 25, a them is voter turnout. 20 odd candidates made no sig- uency tively smaller than where Mnan-
rural ward that has just 1622 reg- nificant impact at all to warrant gagwa was declared the winner.
istered voters. 846 turned up to If people are registered to vote, serious consideration.There are Norton constituency which has
vote to represent 52,16% voter they are eligible to vote, and their 22 constituencies in Mashonal- both rural and urban wards is an  Alex T Magaisa is a prominent
turnout. At 85%, ZANU PF took vote can affect the outcome of and West. With a mixture of ur- interesting case. Mliswa, whose Zimbabwean lawyer and consti-
an overwhelming majority of the an election. The problem is that ban and rural constituencies, one political totem is ZANU PF de- tutional expert currently teach-
voters that turned up. The CCC too few people are turning up of the three Mashonaland prov- spite his status as an independ- ing law at the University of Kent
candidate got just 9.6% of the to vote and as we have already inces presents a representative ent, polled 16857 votes beat- Law School in England. He once
vote. The difference in the mar- seen in the hybrid constituency picture of the trends between ing the MDC Alliance candidate served as advisor of the then
gins of victory/defeat also varies of Mutasa South, it impacts the rural and urban voting patterns who had 7850 votes and ZANU Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Mor-
according to the location of the opposition more as too few peo- that are a conspicuous feature of PF candidate Chris Mutsvan- gan Tsvangirai from 2012-2013.
ward. Where the ZANU PF candi- ple in opposition strongholds are Zimbabwean elections. gwa who took 4255 votes. You He writes here in his personal ca-
date won in rural wards, the mar- turning up to vote compared to Differences in the presidential may recall that Chamisa had pacity.
gin of victory was significantly their rural counterparts which and parliamentary races 20194 votes in the presiden-
bigger compared to where the traditionally tilt towards the rul- Mnangagwa won in 13 constit-
CCC candidate won in the ur-

INTERVIEW April 6-12 2022 Weekly Digest 16

Maphosa: Why I
went into farming
TN:Your family is looking up to you?
Y oung farmer and entrepreneur Terrence Maphosa has spoken of how he left city life TM: The family is looking up to me, and you are there and you are an activist. Not to say it is bad, but
to venture into farming in rural areas after failing to get a job despite having a uni- for my family now...
versity degree. TN: It does not put food on the table?
Maphosa (TM), the founder and chief executive officer of KwaTerry Chickens told TM: Probably for other families it is, but for my family it was not.
Alpha Media Holdings chairman Trevor Ncube (TN) on the platform In Conversation TN: Okay.
with Trevor that after graduating with a political science degree from the University of Zimba- TM: So, it was me facing the reality and saying okay.
bwe he realised that he was holding a qualification that was not suitable for the local job mar- Now I had a small corner in the rural areas that I could utilise with something, so I decided to try out
ket. the road runner project, then I went full force into it.
TN: Would it be fair for me to say going into farming was because you could not find anything
He spoke about the need for career guidance for school children, especially in rural areas. else to do? There are no jobs in the country for political science graduates like yourself? Then you
Below are excerpts from the interview. find yourself with this option? Is that what happened or am I wrong?
TM:That is what happened. However, I was working mind you, but what I was getting...
TN:Terence Maphosa, welcome to In ConversationWithTrevor. TN:Where were you working sorry?
TM: My brother thank you so much. I am so excited to be here. TM: Of course, I cannot disclose the company, but it was in line with furniture. That time my salary
TN:You know, you have driven what, 180km to join us, so we do not take this for granted at all. could not pay for my rentals, and I think we would go 4-5 months without getting a salary.
We are grateful that you were able to make it. So, my brother was working in South Africa, so he would send groceries to my mum, and my mum
Terry, you are 30 years old and you are a political science graduate. would take that grocery and send in some to town.
I was saying to myself, how do you come from political science and then into farming? For me it did not make sense at all.
Talk to me Terry about why you decided after one and half years after graduating that you TN: Wow.
would go into chicken farming, and farming generally? TM: So yes, I was working, but I could not even buy myself new shoes at that time.
TM: So basically, it is me getting out of the comfort zone because when you are at college you TN: And you would go for months without getting a salary?
are stuck deeply into the comfort of the numbers, but when you graduate you are now going into TM: I would go for moths without getting a salary.
the reality. For me it did not make sense to keep hearing the people saying Terry lives in town, but when you
My background is I come from the rural areas. I was born, raised and learnt in the rural areas. come for Christmas what are you holding for the family?
The only time that I started staying in town was when I went to the University of Zimbabwe (UZ). You have nothing.
So, it was me facing the reality. TN:Then you decide that you are going to go into farming?
Now you have graduated, I wanted to be an Talk to me about what goes through your mind as you walk towards that decision?
activist. What factors you have to consider? You have got the piece of land, where did the piece of land
I wanted to hold political office. come from?Talk to us about that?
So, after college I tried to be in politics, I did. TM: It is not easy for a rural boy, growing up with ambitions, with visions, picturing your life staying
I was once arrested in Gweru, I tried to do a in a good suburb in town.
demonstration, a solo demonstration in Gweru. And for you to now take a step back and say I am going to start again at the roots.
I was arrested.That was in 2016. To be honest it is not easy, but that was the reality for me because I have a small corner, it is just close
That was for me a wake-up call. to two acres.
I was arrested, I was in police cells for about That is where my mum stays, that is where I was staying, that is where I am staying right now.
48 hours. The only feasible project that I could go for was the chickens. I could not go for market gardening
At that time 2016, I was working at a furniture shop. as I do not have water.
I remembered back home, I have a mother who is disabled, and other siblings and those people I could not go for goats as I did not have enough capital to start the goats. The capital investment
are looking up to you as a graduate who is supposed to look after the family. would just be way too big for me.
TN:You are the firstborn? So the only thing that was feasible for me was to go for the road runner chickens, but it was just me
TM: I am the third born, but I am the one at home. and the drive without the knowledge because it was a complete new ground.
So people are looking at you as the one who is supposed to look after the family, and you are there Yes I grew up in the rural areas. You are keeping your few chickens at home, but now this was a pro-
and you are not earning enough to even pay your rentals. ject.
In the midst of that comfort zone I had to say to myself, okay what is the plan? TN: Circumstances have forced you to look at the road runner as a business...
What is the sustainable plan for myself and for the family and for my image? TM: True.
I was coming from the village, and from that village I was the only graduate, so people will be say- TN:To look at farming as a business? Circumstances have forced you to do that?
ing I went to university and what is there now? TM: Circumstances opened my eyes, not that they forced me.
So for myself, it was me swallowing my pride and saying okay let me start this, if it works it works, TN: Wow.
If it fails then that is it. TM: This is because there is something interesting. When I was growing up I wanted to be a musi-
TN: So tell me Terry. You say you tried a one-man protest? What was the reason for that pro- cian, hahahaha.
test? TN:Why you laughing?Why you laughingTerry?
TM:That was the (Robert) Mugabe era, he was president then. TM: I actually laugh at my songs when I listen to them because I actually have a couple of recorded
TN:What had happened?What caused you to want to protest? tracks. So I wanted to be an artist.
TM:This energy from political science, from college, that was just the drive. I used to go to gigs sometime when I was in college.
Those were the days ofTajamuka. SoTajamuka was mainly focusing on Harare. My mum said this route was not good, you know you cannot be an artist as it was against Church
So at that time in Gweru there was no one doing it. principles. I am Adventist, so this and that, I would only be going to perform if God opens it up for me
It was just me waking up on a Saturday and I said to myself today I want to try this. Whatever the is what she said.
outcome... I believe my mum was probably praying against the idea! I remember another time I was writing the
TN: Was there anything specific that you were upset with? Do you remember or was it just the songs for the UZ.
entire Mugabe thing? I wrote some songs for them, the 2016 graduation I am the one who wrote the songs.
Was it something specific that ticked you off? TN: Wow.
TM: I wanted a job. TM: There was a graduation for the professors I remember, they gave me a theme and I did a song
TN: Aha. for them again.
TM: But the reality is with political science in our country you are not marketable that much. TN: Did they pay you for those?
It was just me with my frustrations. TM:Yah they did, they paid me good money.
So I came from Mkoba, I was staying in Mkoba 14 at that time, on my way to town that is when I TN: Okay.
started. TM: I wanted to be a celebrity, an artist.
I had my placards, I was shouting, I had my phone taking a video and then that was it. My mum reminded me last year as I was coming home on a daily basis to see the project, she said
TN:You got arrested? did I not pray for this?
TM: I got arrested.Then I was thrown in the cells. You wanted to be well known but now you are known with something else, not the music route?
TN:You were not beaten or anything of that sort? So in as much as I can say circumstances forced me, I believed and still believe probably that was my
TM: No. I was actually surprised.They did not even put me in cuffs. call, because the way things opened up for me, sometimes I feel like it was a mystery.
TN: So, you say the political science degree in Zimbabwe is not marketable? .
Yet there is a lot of people that go into that degree?
TM: There is a gap that needs to be filled. Career guidance is lacking, especially for us coming from  “In Conversation With Trevor” is a weekly show broadcast on YouTube.com//In-
the rural areas. ConversationWithTrevor. Please get your free YouTube subscription to this channel.
Yeah, you are just told to go and grab any degree and then what? The conversations are sponsored by Nyaradzo Group.
Political science to be honest, yes, it is a good degree, I am not discouraging those who are doing
it, but what are you going to do with political science in Zimbabwe?
TN: You went into political science, was it out of choice or it was the one degree you were of-
fered?The only opportunity that you were offered?
TM: I actually applied for political science.
TN:You did?Why did you want to do political science?
TM: I wanted to do Law, but I had 12 points (A-Levels), so UZ wanted 15 points at that time.
So I wanted to do Law but because my points did not meet the requirements I then applied for
political science.
I wanted political science by the time I went to college, I really wanted political science.
TN: Why?
TM: After seeing that I could not do law, now I felt like okay I can go the political route.
TN:Yeah.
TM: That was me. The whole family was and is even up to know looking at me as the person, you
are the man.
TN:You are the third born?Where are the other two?
TM: My brother is there.We have four sisters and two of us boys.
My sister is married, but at that time things were not okay for her, and my brother as well, at that
time he was out of the country.

CLIMATE CHANGE April 6-12 2021 Weekly Digest 17

Poor climate adaptation creates mental health and nutrition challenges

ALEARNMORE NYONI3-year-research commis-
sioned by the Wellcome
Trust in 2019 on the impacts
of climate change adapta-
tion strategies in Zimbabwe
found that poor climate change adap-
tation strategies lead to psychosocial
health challenges and poor nutrition
outcomes.
Dr Admire Nyamwanza led team of 10
researchers from Zimbabwe, South Af-
rica, United Kingdom and the United
States of America embarked on a study
to evaluate the climate change adap-
tation strategies undertaken by rural
communities of Zimbabwe in the Mbire
district in Mashonaland central prov-
ince.
Results indicate that poor adaption
to climate change presents psychoso-
cial challenges to people in Mbire.
The research found that 32% of peo-
ple that resorted to planting drought-
tolerant crops due to climate change,
reported that it made them feel nerv-
ous or anxious.
On nutritional health outcomes, the
study shows that only 21.8 percent of
the households had acceptable food
consumption, while the majority lacked
nutritional diets.
Poor food consumption patterns are a
reflection of the adverse impact of cli-
mate change on the food security sta-
tus of the surveyed households.
The 10 researchers that conducted
the study are based at the Maronde-
ra University of Agricultural Sciences,
Human Sciences Research Council and
University of the Free State, Manches-
ter University and Washington State
University.
A full project report is expected to be
made public by the end of September
this year.
This is the first research of this na-
ture in the country. Most studies have
been focussing on climate change it-
self, while this research analysed the
impacts and outcomes of climate re-
sponse strategies employed by rural
communities. 0 8APRIL
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strategies that are nutrition sensitive.
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COLUMN April 6-12 2021 Weekly Digest 18

Scott Sakupwanya: President Alarm and
Mnangagwa messed up despondency

STAWANDA MAJONI vironmental damage — has not been able to do after by-
ome of the things that happen at anything about this carnage. elections
State House these days! Hmm, you results
really wonder… The EMA guys seem to be too scared to at
People jump straight out of bed least ne Better Brands. People out there in THE nation is reacting with shock and em- lot of investments and factories are being
and rush for a photo shoot with Penhalonga whisper that Scott is untoucha- barrassment, after the release of results for opened up,” Mutsvangwa said.
the president in boxer shorts and petticoats. ble. They say he is too close to the Mnangagwa last weekend’s by-elections, most pointless For the majority of the country’s work-
More photo shoots with crooks who come to family. You can forgive them for such a spec- election in a long history of useless polls in force, which is unemployed and living on
announce fake donations. Even more photo ulation. Despite Scott being a regular visitor to the coun- selling rat
shoots with all manner of gutter characters. At State House, he hangs around with the Mnan- poison
this rate, roaches will be climbing up your trou- gagwa kids a lot. It’s not like these are casual try. Tidbits and fake
sers just for going through Borrowdale Road, meetings at the local pub, no. The aphrodisi-
past State House. acs on the
The police in Penhalonga are, literally, sick most streets of
There seems to be no vetting taking place and tired of Scott and Better Brands, which we shame- the coun-
at all. There is neither decorum nor nesse. hear had its activities stopped in December last ful result try, it is a
State House is no longer heavy, as they say in year and then replaced with what looks like a came out surprise to
Mbare, Mufakose, Mabvuku and other ghet- face-veiling proxy, Duatlet Investments. They of Bin- hear that
toes. Some say it’s now cheaper than a Blair haven’t been able to act against Scott for all his ga North, Twitter: @MuckrakerZim factories
toilet — complete with the stink — but I don’t alleged misdemeanour in Penhalonga. where
know much about that. those un-
There was fury and thunder at Redwing last grate- are open-
There is this young dude called Pedzisayi year. Militias sourced from as far as Kwekwe de- ful voters decided to vote for a Western ing all over the place.
Sakupwanya. They call him Scott. Last week on scended on the mine, beating up people and stooge, even after their tummies were lled This must be the rst economy in the
Tuesday, he was at State House. He now knows doing all sorts of mischief. You know those mili- to the brim by the generosity of the coun- world where factories open and jobs are
the way to the presidential joint even with his tias now. They don’t hesitate to spill blood. They try’s owner. lost.
eyes closed. President Emmerson Mnangag- were chasing away all perceived rivals of Better Descending on the area ahead of the ‘Pro-active Scott’
wa gifted him with an award—the Best Gold Brands. Nobody is accusing Scott of anything election, President Emmerson Mnangag- Muckraker joins the entire nation in con-
Buyer of the Year for 2021—in the presence of here. What you don’t understand is why these wa brought dozens of bicycles, rewarded gratulating one Scott Sakupwanya, who
his one and only VP, Constantino Chiwenga, machete-brandishing goons were ghting chiefs with shing boats, and even sent in has had a very good week.
and the Mines minister, Winston Chitando. from Scott’s corner and defending what Better the local minions to patch up some roads. First, he won a race to be councillor in a
Brands insisted was its. Who hired the murder- After being abandoned for so long, all this ward in the Mabvuku-Tafara constituency.
That made the occasion a pretty big occa- ous“mercenaries”? attention confused the voters. This, after doling out free food — including
sion. As you know by now, Scott is a gold deal- “People here had been seeing a lot of a truckload of fast food — and sending in
er. Strangely, you always nd it di cult to think Even if it wasn’t Scott who was sponsoring graders xing roads, food being distributed trucks to collect garbage in the area.
of him as a proper miner. “Dealer” is a more the militias, fact is that people ended up believ- almost twice a week. They were surprised,” Soon after he had been announced the
suitable word, considering its connotations ing that he was the sponsor. That’s in the court said the winning candidate, Prince Sibanda. winner, there was more good news. Phil-
and what the young guy has been doing all of public opinion, and public opinion is su- One, obviously, must always be suspi- ip Chiyangwa, the country’s most trusted
along, but more about this in a little. preme. That’s why organisations like the Centre cious when that long-estranged, distant businessman, announced that Sakupwan-
for Natural Resource Governance and the Cen- aunt with a reputation for nocturnal activ- ya was now the president of the A rmative
Ordinarily, you would say Scott’s sun is ris- tre for Research and Development are fum- ities suddenly starts being nice and o er- Action Group, a patriotic out t that pulls to-
ing quite fast. Ordinarily, that would make him ing that Scott got an award. Ultimately, that ing you food. gether some of the country’s most revered
a role model. Back in the dry days, he was a complaint is aimed at the president. For he entrepreneurs.
mere gardener, digging up the worms and endorsed someone widely considered a war- Useless ‘inroads’
clipping the roses at some plush place. monger and slayer of the environment. Meanwhile, over at Zanu PF headquar- Many are wondering why the man is so
ters, there were massive celebrations after successful, obviously envious of the man
But now, Scott is a multi-millionaire. Last But Scott’s sins go beyond the above. His the party lost most of the by-elections. after he took sel es lying on piles of cash
year, his company, Better Brands Jewellery company was using cyanide and mercury to The party was celebrating because it and aunting gold bars. On his website,
(BBJ), sold a whopping 7.8 tonnes of gold to purify the gold. You know this now; the govern- has made “inroads” into opposition territo- the man describes himself as “a pro-active
Fidelity Printers. That was a humongous — ment banned the use of mercury in gold pro- ry, according to Chris Mutsvangwa, the re- businessman, entrepreneur, who takes cog-
if not mysterious — increase from the 800kg duction and so on. Better Brands has been us- gional champion of useless words. nisance of the community requirements”.
the previous year. The BBJ model is that the ing mercury and probably continues to do so. He warned those CCC candidates that These “community requirements” in-
company buys from small-scale artisanal min- That means Better Brands has been doing and won in the election to immediately get to clude grabbing over a hundred gold min-
ers. “Small-scale” also includes the illegal ma- probably continues to do criminal work in the work, lest they be voted out in 2023. ing claims from locals in Penhalonga. These
korokoza, of course. gold sector. “We hope they get down to serious busi- are just the sort of attributes that make him
ness as winners because there is serious a great Zanu PF leader and a sure t for the
Just recently, Scott was elevated to the pres- Add to that the fact that Better Brands ille- work to be done,” roared Mutsvangwa. AAG.
idency of the A rmative Action Group. That gally acquired the 132 gold claims at Redwing We cannot wait for Mutsvangwa to give Strategist Mwonzora
small, elitist club of eaters that the ruling Zanu and was mining illegally too, considering that this same advice to his own boss. We all re- Spare a thought for the country’s clever-
PF would want us to believe is an empower- the company had no licence for surface min- member when he allegedly won the 2018 est political strategist, Douglas Mwonzora.
ment group when we all know it isn’t. Last year, ing. People know too well by now that proce- election and promised us millions of jobs, For some reason, voters ignored the
he was appointed the Gold Buyers’ Associa- dure wasn’t followed when Cecil Madondo, millions of houses, billions of investment man’s brilliance and chose other parties. His
tion of Zimbabwe president, and he is already the Redwing Mining Company judicial manag- and tough wars on corruption. candidates’ votes came out in short single
the head of this shady grouping called Upfu- er then, gave Better Brands the claims in De- Years later, the only time he “gets down numbers, as if they were rural phone num-
mi Kuvadiki. cember 2020. Madondo had, two months ear- to serious business” is when he and his bers from the old PTC in the 1980s.
lier, given the same claims to Probadek Invest- family and cronies sit down to eat on the Said Mwonzora: “We got our strate-
That must mean that Scott is a hard work- ments. And, by the way, Madondo was arrested nation’s behalf. gy wrong and somebody was saying how
er. Hard workers can easily win your admira- and taken to court for this. His case is still pend- come you get your strategies wrong. Here
tion. But then, it’s not every hard worker that ing, at the last check. ‘New Deception’
is a good worker. You know too well about Lu- Still at the building shaped like a beer is my answer: ‘Lionel Messi misses a pen-
cifer, right? That chap doesn’t mind the super Curiously, Scott wasn’t arrested alongside container, an apt shape given its inebriat- alty, doesn’t he? Diego Maradona misses a
heat of hell. He works in it every day, every hour, Madondo. That gives credence to the specu- ed output, the revolutionary party is cele- penalty, doesn’t he?’
every minute. He is always busy receiving, doc- lation that he is receiving protection from high brating a remarkable achievement: pleas- “We are not politically dead, we are po-
umenting, cursing and roasting all the poor o ces. And when President Mnangagwa, ing white people. litically alive, we are down, yes, but not out,
chaps that would have been condemned by against all odds, endorses Scott’s shady gold According to Mutsvangwa, the “returning and we will rise like a Phoenix,” he said, lik-
St Peters at the Pearl Gates. And nobody likes dealings, you have every right to suspect that number of white former nationals” is testa- ening himself to a mythical bird that nev-
Lucifer. the protector is the president. ment of the New Deception’s success. The er existed.
number of ribbons cut is also a re ection Messi will be surprised to learn that his
Again just recently, Scott won ward 21 in Ma- So, it seems Scott and his company or com- of how successful the country is now, under talents are similar to that of Mwonzora.
bvuku during the by-elections. He grew up in panies are criminals. If you reward a criminal Mnangagwa. Should he hear of this, no doubt Messi’s
that hood so it must be a sweet experience to with an award or at least endorse an award ob- “The number of ribbons President Mnan- form, already facing dismal this season, will
become a councillor in his home area. tained through criminal means, you are guilty gagwa is and has been cutting show that a get even worse from now on.
of the same. That means President Mnangag-
But, as his sun is rising, something noble wa is guilty of the same. Your common law will
must be sinking. You can’t belabour the argu- tell you that at a basic level. In other words, the
ment. While it is everyone’s wish to see young president erred when he presided over the
Zimbabweans growing and making it in life, award ceremony.
President Mnangagwa erred by accepting to
o ciate at last Tuesday’s award giving cer- But the damage stretches beyond the imag-
emony at State House. How is that? You see, es of State House and President Mnangagwa.
Scott doesn’t deserve an award. The whole absurdity that accompanies these
decisions get to haunt the national economy
Let’s go east to start with. Scott isn’t the best and the people of Zimbabwe. Simply because
reference where gold mining is concerned. Talk the highest o ce on the land lacks tact and
to the people in Penhalonga if you don’t be- wisdom.
lieve this accusation. His other company, Better
Brands Mining Company, has left a trail of de- Because of people like Scott, Zimbabwean
struction at Redwing. At the last tally, local civ- gold keeps being regarded dirty where it mat-
il society and community members say, Better ters in international circles. The London Bullion
Brands had dug up in the region of 5 000 pits Market Association (LBMA) is a case in mind.
in search of gold at Redwing. And all those pits Zimbabwe was banned from trading gold on
remain like sores on poor Lazarus’s body. the LBMA way back in 2008. For the reason,
then, that gold production had plummeted to
The company is not worrying a single thing around three tonnes a year, way below the min-
about lling up the pits that have been dug imum 10 tonnes that LBMA required.
up in a mining area that is reserved for under-
ground rather than surface mining. And you Now, the LBMA is a strategic international
know just as well that damaging and then fail- marketing platform and the Zimbabwean au-
ing to reclaim damaged land is a crime. It’s a thorities know this. That is why, over the years,
pity that the Environmental Management Au- the government has attempted to get back
thority (EMA) — which has visited the area on into the association rather having to sell its gold
countless occasions and condemned the en- only through the Rand Re nery in South Africa.

AFRICA April 6-12 2022 Weekly Digest 19

Russia-Ukraine War: Lessons for Africa

9BY AWUOR ALAI Hard truths: Might over right new world order following the 9/11 tragedy.
0 days; that is how long it took as the world de- If ever there has been any doubt about what major pow- American power has its limits and limitations and with the
bated on whether there would be a war or not. ers like Russia are willing to do in their quest for unilateralism
With so many contradicting views from critics and then that should be cleared by now. The Russia-Ukraine war eruption of new wars in failing states like Somalia and Su-
political analysts, it was hard to tell whether Putin clearly shows how for Russia, diplomacy has become noth- dan failing to whet the American appetite enough to coax
was seriously about to launch a full-on o ensive ing but an inconvenient drawback standing in the way of its much needed military interventions, new players like Rus-
or if it was simply a reminder to the rest of the world that the agenda. Russia had fashioned itself as an impartial, antico- sia are nding it easy to strategically expand their reach into
bear would not be subdued. lonial intermediary on the continent using alternative multi- new regions in Africa.
lateral vehicles such as BRICS.
On the one hand, there were experts who watched the Brics is a convergence of the emerging powers of Brazil, Gold and diamond in CAR, Bauxite in Guinea and many
Crimea and Russian borders intently, noticing the heavy Russia, India, China and South Africa. The voices of dissent other mineral extraction projects in Africa, Russia has been
concentration of Russian troops; a sure sign of a looming from these member states did nothing to deter Russia from steadily exerting its presence in the continent, displacing
invasion. Then there was the second camp that based their invading Ukraine and neither did protests from the AU chair western in uence slowly but surely.
‘perhaps not’ theory on the lack of Macky Sall and other members states (permanent and non-
warmongering on Russian news out- With a strong foothold established in the eastern Medi-
lets as has been the case before such permanent) of the Security Council. terranean, naval port access in the Red Sea and presenting
an event. From Russia’s vi- itself as the next best alternative to democracy, Russia has
found a solid theatre in Africa; fertile ground for its geostra-
Well, all this was put to rest (or un- olent descent upon tegic pursuits.
rest) in Donbas on the 24th of Feb- Ukraine however, it is clear that Russia has
ruary. Russian missiles hit and their yet to shed o its colonial style of rule, especially over coun- The means employed by this shrouded ally should also
military convoys crossed the borders tries like Ukraine which are its former republics. be a cause for worry for African democra-
into Ukraine. It wasn’t just coercive cies; election interference, ‘secu-
diplomacy at play after all. Sud- Africa must not be beguiled into regarding Russia as the rity’ and arms for natural resource
denly the amorality of Putin was congenial intermediary it has fashioned itself to be; when deals, mercenaries, extra-legal
in question. Was his real agenda a push comes to shove the interests of Russia will come rst and often opaque contracts – all
complete and utter reconstruction and will inform any foreign policy not just in Ukraine but also blaring alarms warning of a bleak
of the Russian empire? Who was on the African continent. outcome if African dependency on
next on his list? Estonia? The war Moscow’s military assets continues
was here – is still here. Africa and the rest of the world must nd a way to shake to grow.
o the triumphalist hubris that saw George Bush establish a The Wagner group and its per-
As Stinger anti-aircraft mis- vasive presence in Africa have been
siles and SU-57 ghter jets with one of the reasons why the African
bombs render the skies above Union has been unable to act and
Ukraine laying cities to rubble, speak in one accord regarding the
there is a lot of signi cant in- Russian-Ukrainian war.
sight for the rest of the world Apart from countries like Ghana, Ga-
to gain from the power play on bon and Kenya, most countries have
display. chosen a ‘sitting on the fence’ posi-
tion with Touadera supporting Russia’s
The unfortunate invasion of interventions in Luhansk and Donetsk
Ukraine by Russia has entered and his counterpart from Sudan Daga-
its 36th day and it is impera- lo visiting Moscow with a delegation in
tive to look at this war in the a move to strengthen ties.
various dimensions it pre- The animal farm syndrome: African
sents. The take-home for Af- wars get di erent treatment
rica from this war is domiciled The double standards that the Russo-
in security, diplomacy as well as strategic Ukrainian war has exposed on the part of
competition. global powers have been astounding. For
the onlookers from the African continent,
At a glance, oil exporters from Africa are at a vantage po- it is apparent that some wars are more im-
sition given the sanctions that have been imposed on Rus- portant than others.
sia by European countries and the US. However, as the pric- It is commendable that global powers
es continue on an upward trajectory, some countries in Af-
rica run the risk of entering a bottleneck situation, especial- have come out guns blazing to defend the sovereignty of
ly those whose industries are heavily reliant on oil exports. Ukraine and help put a stop to the massacre that the inva-
sion is meeting out on Ukrainians.
As one of Russia and Ukraine’s biggest buyers, Africa may
also nd itself staring food insecurity square in the face. The The sanctions by the west and the UN are as timely as
two warring countries together provide 25% of the world’s they are necessary. However, the limp-wristed and largely
grain supply. spiritless treatment that wars in Africa receive leaves one to
wonder whether some wars are more crucial than others.

— Africablogging

AFRICA April 6-12 2021 Weekly Digest 20

Ukraine war: and he is just one semester away from becoming a sImage source, Fehintola Moses in Nigeria would mean going back-
What next for quali ed doctor. Damilola wards academically.

the African This is still likely to happen as he is lucky to be "It might be hard with this internet, Marcel Chidera, from Nigeria's Enu-
students able to rely on online classes, which despite the on- but I only have one semester left and gu state, is continuing his education
who fled? going con ict some Ukrainian universities are o er- I can't a ord to start at a new univer- in Poland, having turned down a re-
ing using the digital infrastructure developed dur- sity," he said struggling to be heard as patriation ight organised by his gov-
D esmond Chinaza Muokwudo, a ing pandemic lockdowns. the WhatsApp line kept breaking up. ernment.
30-year-old Nigerian student who has
recently ed Ukraine, spent 11 years sav- In Nigeria's Kaduna state, Firdausi Mohammed He also felt that nishing his degree — BBC
ing up for an education in Europe. Usman has also begun online classes. The 22-year-
Once a pipeline welder from Anam- old medical student is in her fth year at the Nation-
bra state, he dreamt of studying international rela- al Medical University in Kharkiv, an eastern Ukrain-
tions - but he struggled with unemployment amid ian city that has faced nightly shelling.
a recession in 2016. It was only after his parents de-
cided to sell their small plot of land that he man- She said that the professors were holding on-
aged to raise enough funds to pursue his dream. line practical seminars and some appeared on the
screen.
He nally enrolled last year at university, and had
only spent three months in Ukraine when Russia Her teachers are being understandably tight-
launched its full-scale invasion. lipped about their exact location for safety reasons.
Some have ed the country, but others are still in
"My parents have nothing left, they can't support Ukraine and leaving basement bomb shelters to
me," he explained over the phone from his tempo- host classes upstairs.
rary accommodation in Berlin, Germany, sounding
defeated. "They don't want us to all drop out or transfer
somewhere else - otherwise the university might be
"My government just tells me to come back forced to close down forever. We don't have access
home, but there's nothing waiting for me in Nige- to our transcripts [academic records], so this is the
ria." best option for now."

Mr Muokwudo is one of the estimated 16,000 Af- 'I don't want to go backwards'
rican students who were living in Ukraine and are Mr Damilola, who was president of the Nigerian
now scrambling to continue their studies. Students Union in Sumy, also stressed the impor-
tance of online classes for medical students in their
Many had a traumatic time eeing, amid reports nal year like him.
of racial abuse at the border. Fehintola Moses Damilola with fellow student-

Media caption,
Nigerian student who ed Ukraine: 'They are only
helping Ukrainians.'
Hundreds have returned home on repatriation
ights, though exact numbers are unclear, but
thousands like Mr Muokwudo are likely to still be
in Europe.
"I have sacri ced too much to get here. I have to
stay in Europe, and I have to get an education," Mr
Muokwudo said.
Universities across the world have extended a
helping hand to students eeing Ukraine, in the
form of guaranteed places, discounted tuition fees
and relaxed visa requirements.
African o cials have also increased diplomatic
e orts to get assurances for their students, with for-
eign ministers meeting with their European coun-
terparts to broker deals.
Up to 250 university places are being o ered in
Hungary to stranded medical students, according
to Ghanaian o cials - and Ghana's government re-
portedly has a deal with Grenada for 200 to be en-
rolled at the St George's University of Medicine.
Semmelweis University in Hungary, which is al-
lowing medical students to continue their stud-
ies for free until the war is over, says it has received
more than 2,000 applications in just a few weeks,
mainly from Africans.
However, many students say that these o ers are
granted on a case-by-case basis and wrapped up
in red tape. They largely depend on what degree
students are undertaking, how many years they
have already completed and how much they can
still a ord to pay.
Mr Muokwudo complained that some universi-
ties would not take non-Ukrainians.
"'We only take Ukrainian citizens', that's what I've
been told," he said, referring to a policy at Tallinn
University in Estonia.
The university con rmed that only Ukrainians
could apply outside the usual admission process
but said that international students were still wel-
come to apply the regular way.
Online seminars
The war has left many of these students with dif-
cult choices - and left some with the prospect of
not qualifying.
Nigeria has welcomed back more than 1,000
people, mainly students, from Ukraine, according
to a government tally.
Among them was 22-year-old medical student
Fehintola Moses Damilola, who was trapped in the
besieged city of Sumy for weeks.
"I'm just happy to be safe and with my parents,"
he said, speaking to the BBC from his home in Oyo
state.
The building of the Faculty of Economics of the V
N Karazin Kharkiv National University, destroyed by
a Russian missile in Kharkiv, Ukraine on March 24,
2022Image source, Getty Images
It is his rst visit home in more than ve years -

ENTERTAINMENT April 6-12 2022 Weekly Digest 21

PaGHETTO:
Real Life Stories
superbly
bottled in
cartoon characters
W
hen I first got a chance
to watch South Park, my
perspective on cartoons
changed forever. It was
such a mind-numbing ex-
perience, having a chance to hear crude
language from cartoon characters. If you
were to ask me then if we were ever go-
ing to get anything like that in Zimbabwe,
I would have said, “no!”. Time would have
proved me wrong though as the PaGHET-
TO series has managed to bring that exact
element but just laced with a storyline that
hits closer to home.
The Zimbabwe animation scene has
been growing in strides and bounds, even
the music scene could not ignore the im-
mense talent out there on the market. Art-
ists like Soul Jah Love, Enzo Ishall, and
Platinum Prince have blazing hit songs
that are accompanied by animation vid-
eos..
Paghetto is an animated online sitcom
with a social commentary twist exploring
a myriad of youth and societal issues. Pa-
Ghetto was created by the self taught ani-
mator and multi-talented Ivan Bakke who
is the director, producer, writer, video edi-
tor, designer, voicer for Mike and other ad-
ditional characters.
Ivan Bakke
The Animation
The animation is top tier 2D production
that emphasises detail as much as Cre-
ative Mind Studios does is not only rare
but is a marvel, especially in the Zimba-
bwean context. The character and anima-
tion sync so well it is hard not to pay at-
tention to it. Lip syncing even in real re-
al-life videos is hard now to imagine with
2D cartoon characters, nearly impossi-
ble right, well not for Ivan Bakke and his
team. For instance, Chaser is a character-
istics book worm, and his glasses and the
book he always carries around match up
well with the character. On the animation
side of things, I must admit that the series
is near perfect. There is only so much you
can do with 2D animation and the creators
of PaGHETTO have done everything. If you
doubt my assessment, check out the “Rea-
son Ndewangu” episode which has mirror
reflections and a litany of characters.
Character Development
It is not easy to keep a series going for
3 years, especially an adult cartoon series.
The plot of the story is quite intriguing and
everyone that has had a chance to interact
with the Ghetto you will easily relate with
every character. The main gist of the story
is based on 4 characters that are Reason,
Chaser, Mike, and Jabu.
The 4 friends are from the ghetto and
the show follows them around as they
navigate their way through the hood and
the problems that come with being in the
hood. The character development for each
character is quite phenomenal and all you
can do is appreciate what was put in.
Chaser is the brains of the group and
the characteristics spectacles and book he
carries around easily bring that to the fore.
Jabu on the other hand is a girls “chicks”
magnet. Mike is a cannabis addict and
practically the crowd favorite on the group
thanks to his sleek language and deliv-
ery. For me, the most iconic, “Mike” mo-
ment must be the “Ukaona muroyi muden
mako, unomubhaudha here?” question.
That had me rolling in tears.
PaGhetto
The central character, the paradox of the
series is Reason. “Reason”, the character is
a bully and has been repeating his grade
4 times, 4 times, 4 times. The character in-
tegration is amazing and each character
seamlessly fits into the story.
The character development of the series
is amazing and I can’t stop marveling at
how great it is. The development allows for
longevity.
PaGHETTO is One of the most outstand-
ing creative projects to come out of Zim-
babwe.
— earGROUND

ARTS April 6-12 2022 Weekly Digest 22

2022 Grammys: what Fela Kuti has to do
with West Africa’s growing pop fame

T here are a record number of Afri- ther, Benson Idonije, the revered broadcast- beat. She is more indebted to US R&B and trophy girlfriends and other trappings of ce-
can nominees for the 2022 Gram- er and jazz a cionado, was Fela’s manager soul music. Her deep, sultry voice is com- lebrity hip-hop culture while also attempt-
my Awards and they are almost in the 1960s. Fela himself had been a broad- bined with a style and vibe leaning towards ing to burnish his mystique as a serious art-
all from West Africa – Angelique caster until he decid- the Afrocentric Afro- ist. He was di cult to nd when the youth-
Kidjo (Benin), Rocky Duwani (Gha- ed to cast his lot full beat look. But there ful #EndSARS protesters in Nigeria recent-
na), Femi Kuti, Made Kuti, Wizkid, Burna Boy time in the music in- Fela had never t- are many more artists ly needed local celebrity voices to aid their
and Tems (Nigeria). dustry. There is a raun- in the wings, angling cause.
chy video of Burna’s ted the Grammy for the future Afrobe-
Most of these artists are also proponents mother, Bose, danc- ats spotlight – among Wizkid has no lofty pretensions. His main
of Afrobeat(Femi and Made Kuti, following ing on stage beneath mould due to his them Rema, Buju, concerns, also evident in his most recent al-
the musical and political form de ned by a bare-chested Fela, Joeboy, Omah Lay, bum, Made In Lagos, are beautiful girls, mat-
Fela Kuti) or new breed Afrobeats (Wizkid, part of Fela’s sprawl- uncommercially Fireboy DML, Olaki- ters of the heart, club dance oor domina-
Burna Boy and Tems). Kidjo, too, has admit- ing entourage. ra, Ckay, Jaywillz and tion and A-list celebrity status.
ted to being in uenced by Fela. Burna has sampled lengthy composi- Asake.
numerous Fela songs Celebrity culture Massive crossover
As with Afrobeat, Afrobeats is music – such as Soke and tions, controversial Here is where Afro- Afrobeats is no longer con ned to Nige-
characterised by harmonic and melod- nature and outrightYe – and he is open beat di ers from Afro- ria, Ghana or West Africa alone. Artists from
ic grooves, call and response choruses and beats. Fela shunned southern Africa, Rwanda, the UK and Europe
intricately layered syncopation (disrupted about his indebted- crass materialism have all been bitten by the bug.
rhythms). But Afrobeats is more commer- ness to the maestro. rebelliousness. But The global acceptance of Afrobeats can
cial, radio-friendly and often politically vac- Burna’s sociopolitical and he had an almost be perceived at several levels. First of all,
uous – easily digestible by mass audiences. vision, cadences and Robin Hood mentali- there are superstar Beyoncé’s collabora-
musical ow are lifted none doubted his ty in the dispensation tions with Wizkid, Burna, Tiwa Savage and
There have been extensive conversations straight from Fela. of personal wealth. He Yemi Alade on her Black Is King album. Jus-
on the di erences and similarities of Afro- Wizkid, on the oth- musical genius. avoided the consum- tin Bieber was quite happy to hop on the re-
beat and Afrobeats. But within this selec- er hand, is slightly erist exing of today’s mix of Wizkid’s global hit, Essence. There are
tion of Grammy nominees what is imme- more circumspect in pop stars. also Burna’s collaborations with Sam Smith,
diately obvious are the lines where the two his sampling of Fela tunes. But arguably his Burna Boy samples Fela Kuti on Ye. Stormzy, Pop Smoke and Jorja Smith to think
genres come together. biggest hit, Joro, approaching 200 million Burna Boy has nally come into his own about. Or Fireboy DML’s chart-storming col-
views on YouTube, is derived from the “Joro as a mature artist. His politically conscious, laboration, Peru, with Ed Sheeran.
Get your news from people who know jara joro” refrain in Fela’s famous incendiary Grammy-winning last album, Twice as Tall, Indeed these massive crossovers are tell-
what they’re talking about. song, Zombie. Wizkid also collaborated with rails against colonialism, global oppres- ing an unambiguous story: Afrobeats has
Femi earlier in his career as if he were seeking sion and racism. But Burna’s lifestyle and acquired global legitimacy because it brings
It is interesting to observe the dissemina- an authentic Afrobeat imprimatur. personal values are saying something else. a unique swag and avour to an otherwise
tion of Fela’s legacy in the form of the var- Tems, the youngest of the lot, is probably He is enthralled with large and amboyant jaded music scene. It’s a swag that has roots
ied work of his numerous musical children the least directly in uenced by Fela’s Afro- chains and necklaces, Lamborghinis and all the way back to Fela Kuti.
many of whom pay direct homage to him
by copious sampling and outright imitation. — The Conversation

The Kuti dynasty
Fela’s dominance of the music scene
spanned the 1970s and 1980s. After he was
incarcerated by the Nigerian military au-
thorities in 1984, his son Femi steadily be-
gan to come into his own musically. Femi
is still decidedly more old school Afrobe-
at than new school Afrobeats. He served
a long musical tutelage under Fela, and
struggled to carve his own artistic niche but
would always be seen primarily as an Afro-
beat musician.
Femi, visually and politically speaking, is
a much more safer bet than his father. He
has avoided needless controversy and part-
nered with a wide variety of globally ac-
complished US musicians such as pianist
Randy Weston, rapper Mos Def and singer
Macy Gray amongst other noted collabora-
tions. Femi has received six Grammy nom-
inations.
Fela had never tted the Grammy mould
due to his uncommercially lengthy compo-
sitions, controversial nature and outright re-
belliousness. But none doubted his musical
genius. In many ways, he is irrevocably fas-
tened to the classical Afrobeat template in
terms of lyrical acuity, political awareness,
aesthetic de nition and spiritual curiosity.
Made Kuti expresses his freedom.
Initially, Femi may have been tempted
to adopt the title of Afrobeat heir appar-
ent and might have short-changed himself
in the process. But it is never a wise propo-
sition to try and imitate Fela. Instead what
is possible and also judicious is to attempt
to assimilate parts of his vast legacy rath-
er than the whole of it. And this is precisely
what the current Afrobeats stars are doing.
Made, Femi’s son and Fela’s grandson,
is more removed from his domineering
grandfather’s in uence and so he is able to
explore his vast musical heritage at his own
pace and with much less external pressure.
Yet still Made is closely linked to his father,
and music and not controversial politics, is
what essentially motivates him. Up for his
rst Grammy, he is more mellow and likea-
ble than his ery grandfather.
If Femi and Made represent the old guard
of Afrobeat and a ever-growing legacy in
Nigerian music then Wizkid, Burna Boy and
Tems are the poster children of the now and
the future.
The new school
Burna Boy’s connections to the Kuti dy-
nasty also run deep. His maternal grandfa-

SPORT April 6-12 2022 Weekly Digest 23

Mike
Dean:
Referee on
22 years
at the top
before
retirement

T hink of a Premier League referee and
for many the rst thought will be of one
man.
For the past 22 years Mike Dean has
been one of the most recognised o -
cials in the game - for good and bad reasons.

He has been at the centre of many controversial
decisions over the years, but is also renowned for
his amusing facial expressions and amboyant be-
haviour on the pitch.

After more than two decades as a top- ight ref-
eree, Dean will hang up his whistle at the end of
the season.

The 53-year-old spoke to Football Focus about
starting out, his favourite games, players he was
"in awe" of and the manager he found toughest to
deal with. Working at a chicken factory

Dean took his rst steps towards becoming a
professional referee in the 1980s, shortly after leav-
ing school.

"I started in 1985 when I nished school and put
on loads of weight and didn't have a job for six
months," he told the BBC's Mark Chapman.

"I thought about what I could do to keep t. I like
football. I was a goalkeeper, not the most mobile of
people. I was 18 or 19 stone when I left school.

"I sorted myself out tness-wise and did a bit of
refereeing, went from there to the local leagues
and was then lucky enough to get to the Football
League in 1995."

In those early years, refereeing was not a full-
time job and Dean combined his passion with
working at a chicken factory.

"I was up at half four and in work for 5am," Dean
said.

"I nished my shift at 2pm and then I'd get in
the car, maybe drive to Carlisle to referee, then
get home for 3am and then be back up at 5am for
work.

"It was tough but I wouldn't change it. I've just
loved football from forever." Being 'scared' of big
decisions

Dean progressed from refereeing in the Football
League to becoming a Premier League o cial in
2000.

Known these days for his con dence, Dean ad-
mits he was "in awe" of some players during his
early years.

"You had massive, big-personality players, the
[Roy] Keanes, people like that, [Patrick] Vieira - they
were all around then," he said.

"For me to come from the Football League to the
Premier League and referee those players... it was
just a massive step.

"I was a bit nervous and a bit scared of making
a decision."

Who was the most intimidating manager?
Those nerves appear to have gone and Dean has
rarely appeared afraid to make some of the big de-
cisions, no matter whom they upset.
Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Fer-
guson was famed for his hairdryer treatment of
players and would also not shy away from giving
his thoughts on a referee's performance.
Dean had plenty of run-ins with the Scot, but is
adamant he was rarely as angry behind the scenes
with o cials.
"He used to get a lot of stick saying he'd come in
and bang the door down," Dean said.
"He would come in now and then to express his
views if something had gone really badly, but he
wasn't as bad as people made him out to be."
Instead it was a long-time rival of Ferguson on
the touchline whom Dean found the most intimi-
dating person to deal with.
"It has to be Arsene [Wenger] when he was at Ar-
senal," said Dean. "I always found it tough, not ref-
ereeing Arsenal in general but refereeing Arsenal
when he was the manager.

— BBC

April 6-12 2022 Weekly Digest 24

Zim athletes show promise at
Troutbeck Africa Triathlon Cup

ZBY MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE class last year unfortunately encountered South Africans made a clean sweep of not have much time to train especial-
imbabwe junior triathletes technical fault with the bike but recovered medals in the junior men class as Shaun ly with the demands of the academics at
showed promise despite win- to finish fourth in the race. Wolfaardt won the competition while school. I think for my lack of preparation I
ning just one medal from a total The other Zimbabwean in compatriots Christian Hattingh and Fran- did the best I could but next year I am sure
of seven athletes across the junior women com- cois De Villiers were second and third re- that I will be well for the event next year.
three different cate- petition Inkosino- spectively.
gories at the Bonaqua Africa musa Mthethwa She was also full of praise with regards
Triathlon Cup which was held was last athlete However, Mawere was pleased with her to her young brother’s performance.
at the Troutbeck Resort over home clock- own performance under the circumstanc-
the weekend. ing just over two es despite being tipped for a medal be- “I do a lot of my training with my broth-
hours in the race. fore the competition. er so it’s so nice to see him do so well and
Brooklyn Tippett won the Mawere’s broth- it also pushes me to be better because
country’s only media after she er Matipa was the “I am happy with how I did overall. I he inspires me more than anyone else so
finished third in the junior elite best placed Zimba- had a bit of a technical issue with the bike it was great to see him do that well,” she
women category behind South bwean in the junior and I actually did end up catching up and said.
Africans Kadence Ribbink and Mia men category after beating two other people so I was quite
Van Der Veen who took first and second he finished fourth happy with my finish,” she told reporters Zimbabwe had only one represent-
place respectively. in the race in his de- after the race on Saturday. ative in the elite women class, veteran
but appearance at that Greer Wynn finishing fifth in a six mem-
Top female junior athlete Makanaka level. Mawere also felt that she was not quite ber start list where Slovak Ivana Kuriack-
Mawere who won bronze in the same prepared for the competition considering ova scooped gold while South Africans
that she had to balance with school work. Shanae Williams and Hannah Newman
trailed her.
“I was not very prepared because I did


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