WEEKLY DIGEST JULY 20, 2022

 Stories from Dangamvura: When Safirio  Zimbabwe to host India, Bangladesh before
was King. . .Page 22 first tour to Australia in 18 years. . . Page 24

US$1 Wednesday July 20-26, 2022

.Batoka takeoff

failure leaves Zim,
Zambia facing
uncertain power
future

.Zim food crisis:

Replacing maize with
sorghum and millet

FACTCHECKING MTHULI’S
CLAIMS ON DOLLARISATION

AFRICA IN BRIEF July 20 to 26 2022 Weekly Digest 2

Ghana declares first outbreak of
highly infectious Marburg virus

SA’s Ramaphosa to face subpoena 4 Health authorities in nausea and vomiting, before dying
over Phala Phala farm scandal Ghana have official- in hospital, the WHO said.
ly confirmed two cas-
1 South Africa’s corrup- Monday, after it denied a request farmhouse, where it is alleged $4m es of the Marburg virus, “[Ghanaian] health authorities
tion watchdog has said for an extension. “We intend to in cash was stolen. a highly infectious disease similar have responded swiftly, getting a
it will invoke subpoe- subpoena the information we re- to Ebola, after two people who lat- head start preparing for a possi-
na powers to get an- quire from the president,” watch- The case, which has piled pres- er died tested positive for the virus ble outbreak. This is good because
swers from President Cyril dog spokesman Oupa Segalwe sure on the president amid height- earlier this month. without immediate and decisive
Ramaphosa over the alleged con- told AFP via text message. ened tensions within the governing Tests conducted in Ghana came action, Marburg can easily get out
cealment of a theft at his luxury African National Congress (ANC) back positive on July 10, but the re- of hand,” said Matshidiso Moeti,
farmhouse. In June, the watchdog opened party, stems from a police report sults had to be verified by a labo- WHO regional director for Africa.
On Tuesday, the Public Protec- a probe over potential breaches filed by former national spy boss ratory in Senegal for the cases to
tor’s Office said a deadline for of the executive ethics code after Arthur Fraser last month. In June, be considered confirmed, accord- This is only the second outbreak
Ramaphosa to answer questions Ramaphosa was accused of brib- he was heckled in parliament by ing to the World Health Organiza- of Marburg in West Africa. The first
related to the break-in expired on ing burglars to keep quiet about opposition legislators. tion (WHO). “Further testing at the case of the virus in the region was
a February 2020 heist at his game Institute Pasteur in Dakar, Senegal detected last year in Guinea, with
— Aljazeera has corroborated the results,” Gha- no further cases identified.
na Health Service (GHS) said in a
statement on Sunday. There have been a dozen ma-
GHS is working to reduce any jor Marburg outbreaks since 1967,
risk of the virus spreading, includ- mostly in Southern and Eastern Af-
ing the isolation of all identified rica.
contacts, none of whom has devel-
oped any symptoms so far, it said. Fatality rates have varied from
The first case was a 26-year-old 24 percent to 88 percent in past
male who checked into a hospital outbreaks depending on the virus
on June 26 and died on June 27. strain and case management, ac-
The second was a 51-year-old male cording to the WHO. Marburg is
who went to the hospital on June transmitted to people from fruit
28 and died the same day, the bats and spreads among humans
WHO said, adding that both men through direct contact with the
sought treatment at the same hos- bodily fluids of infected people,
pital. surfaces and materials, the WHO
The two patients in southern says.
Ghana’s Ashanti region had symp-
toms including diarrhoea, fever, No treatment yet exists for Mar-
burg, but doctors say drinking water
and treating some of the symptoms
improve survival rates.

— Aljahzeera

Buhari announces shake-up in Nigeria's oil industry

Nigeria's state-run oil corpo- The government hopes the of trying, a new law was passed
conversion of the state-owned to allow the privatisation of the
2 ration has formally oil company to a commercial company and an overhaul of
become a commercial one will attract more foreign in- the oil sector.
company. vestment to the oil sector.
The new entity, the Nigeria is one of Africa's lead-
Nigerian National Pe- President Buhari said the new ing oil producers.
troleum Corporation Limited, company would deliver value to
was unveiled by President Mu- more than 200 million Nigeri- But its citizens say they
hammadu Buhari on Tuesday in ans. have benefitted little from the
the capital Abuja. wealth.
Last year, after two decades
— BBC

US says it killed two al-Shabab
fighters in Somalia air raid

3 The United States A man in a car carries the Nigerian national flag adorned with writing 'Say
military has said No To Oppression' during a protest to commemorate one anniversary of
it killed two fight- EndSars, a protest movement against police brutality at the Lekki tollgate
ers from the al-Shabab armed in Lagos, on October 20, 2021
group during an air raid in a re-
mote part of southern Somalia Nigerian unions to protest 5-month
over the weekend. strike in public universities
The strike took place on Sun-
day near Libikus, in the Low- 5 The Nigeria Labour lasted nine months.
er Juba region, US Africa Com- Congress (NLC) will em- Pay and teaching facilities have
mand (AFRICOM) said in a state- bark on a two-day pro-
ment late on Monday. The com- test on July 26 to dem- led to previous strikes against the
mand said the raid was carried onstrate against an eight-month government which provides the
out in response to an attack on shutdown of public universities bulk of funding for public schools.
“partner forces” in the region. across the country due to pay dis-
It provided no further details agreements between the govern- Workers in the oil and gas in-
about the reported attack. ment and teachers, the body has dustry have threatened to join the
“The command’s initial as- The US has routinely carried out air raids in Somalia to try to defeat al-Shabab, said. striking teachers, a situation that
sessment is that two al al- an al-Qaeda-affiliated group which has been fighting for years to topple the The NLC, the country’s main um- could worsen fuel shortages in the
Shabab terrorists were killed in country's Western-backed government brella union, represents millions of country. Nigeria faces mounting in-
action,” AFRICOM said. “No civil- workers across most sectors of Af- security following a wave of kidnap-
ians were injured or killed given “These efforts contrast with the in- rica’s biggest economy, including pings, high unemployment, inflation
the remote nature of where this But rights activists and critics have discriminate attacks that al-Shabab parts of the oil industry. It said in and low growth which could trigger
engagement occurred.” accused Washington of shrouding regularly conducts against the civilian a statement on Friday that it will unrest. Meanwhile, the government is
The US has routinely carried its Somalia operations in secrecy, population,” AFRICOM said. “Violent mobilise workers for the protest. experiencing low revenues and large
out air raids in Somalia to try to potentially undermining accounta- extremist organisations like al-Shabab Strikes by Nigerian public universi- deficits, despite high oil prices, lead-
defeat al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda bility for incidents involving civilian present long-term threats to Somali, ty teachers are common. The cur- ing to a hike in the prices of everyday
affiliate which has been fighting deaths. In its statement, AFRICOM regional and US interests.” rent strike by the Academic Staff items. The country will hold general
for years to topple the country’s said its forces and Somalia’s govern- Union of Universities started on elections early next year to choose a
Western-backed government ment “take great measures to pre- — Aljazeera February 14. A previous one in 2020 new president, state governors and
and establish its own rule based vent civilian casualties”. lawmakers.
on its strict interpretation of Is-
lamic law. — Aljazeera

THE DIGEST VIEW July 20 to 26 2022 Weekly Digest 3

What exactly
is Zanu PF
afraid of?

State and it has the absolute right The return of Green Bombers
to continue ruling this land un-
Alfonce Mbizwo til eternity. The party is now pre- THE Green Bombers or the Unfortunately, the programme Paidamoyo Muzulu
pared to shred into a trillion piec- fearsome and infamous National was hurriedly implemented. The
Editor es the Zimbabwean Constitution Youth Service graduates are curricula ended up looking like as a wing of Zanu PF. In other
to prove it. coming back. They will start a Zanu PF propaganda treatise. words, there is nothing national
THAT Zanu PF has ruled training next year, but their modus The programme became a party about it except that it recruits
this land called Zimba- And to demonstrate this, Zanu operandi has not been changed programme more than it was from right across the country.
bwe for the past 42 years PF has been supporting the physi- and looks likely they will still be a national. The youths were trained By prioritising employment of
would make one believe cal annihilation of opposition lead- militia for the ruling party Zanu PF. military drills and in the process NYS graduates in civil service,
that by now the govern- ers and a complete blockade of all becoming a militia for the ruling defence forces, health service
ing party would have matured to opposition activities in the country. The news was received with party. and tertiary education, Zanu
the level of being tolerant to those scepticism by citizens, particularly PF is giving itself an advantage
opposed to its views. Last week, one of its own called political and civil society activists Trained youths became the of creating a hegemony for
for the death of opposition Citi- who were at the wrong end vanguard of the party. They generations to come. It should
That Zanu PF forms a govern- zens Coalition for Change (CCC) of the trained militia that was unleashed political violence never be remembered that most NYS
ment that accedes to constitu- leader Nelson Chamisa and his notorious for executing extra- seen in the country. After the 2005 graduates are made to toe the
tionalism, the sanctity of rule of family; and over the weekend the judicial punishment for those who elections, some were absorbed party line than the national line.
law and respect for global human party’s deputy secretary for youth opposed the Zanu PF regime. into the civil service. They were To put this into context,
rights values would make one be- affairs John Paradza said CCC prioritised in the allocation of these so-called national youths
lieve that the party is as progres- should been blocked from holding The programme was initiated in scarce vacancies at tertiary have never spoken out against
sive and eager to belong to an in- meetings anywhere in this country the 2000s after the formation of institutions. corruption, deteriorating
ternational community that re- ahead of the 2023 plebiscite. the opposition MDC that gave a economic environment or the
spects other human beings. scare to Zanu PF by winning 57 of In 2008, they became handy many shortcomings of Zanu PF
This is very, very unfortunate and the 120 contested parliamentary and spearheaded the violent administration. All we hear is
That Zanu PF acceded through simply serves to oppose the par- seats barely six months after presidential runoff election. about them complaining about
the country’s Constitution to be- ty’s unpopularity with the elec- its formal launch. Zanu PF was After the inclusive government, regime change. It has to be
long to a country which believes torate, because if it was liked by on the ropes, the economy was the programme was suspended pointed that the term regime
in multi-party democracy would the voters there would be no rea- deteriorating after the brief ostensibly for review. Many has its roots in French. It simply
make one believe that the party son for the party to be so afraid of dalliance with the International trained youths were absorbed into means an administration.
was sincere in its oath to uphold competition. Monetary Fund’s economic the Public Service Commission as Yes, administrations should be
the tenets of the Constitution. structural adjustment programme. a thank you gesture despite that changed constitutionally if they
Zanu PF’s apparent rabid oppo- many of them did not even have fail to deliver or lose the plot. It
But lo and behold, the ruling sition to political competition is so It remains important that the the mandatory five Ordinary Level is not criminal to seek regime
Zanu PF party is turning out to be amazing that one is left pondering opposition then was made up of passes to join government service. change. Unfortunately, wily Zanu
an alien party from some obscure what exactly is this party afraid of mainly disgruntled youths who PF appropriated the word just
galaxy where fellow country folks if it has been such a darling of the had no economic opportunities, Cabinet this week said the like it had appropriated national
are treated as sub-human and not masses since 1980? retrenched workers and wealthy programme would resume next spirits like Nehanda and Sekuru
entitled to life as long as they do farmers and industrialists who had year and participants would enjoy Kaguvi or the liberation struggle.
not subscribe to the ruling party’s We would have thought that their land expropriated without the same preferential treatment
doctrines. given some really positive devel- compensation. they enjoyed in the first project.
opments made by the Second Re-
This is a party that is turning out public in terms of infrastructure The then President Robert It said: “The recruitment will
to be so bigoted to those opposed growth, the party would be con- Mugabe noticed the youth’s ensure equitable distribution of
to its way of thinking that it is pre- fident enough to appeal to the interest in opposition politics. This opportunities; equitable regional
pared to fan hatred among fel- electorate to give this so-called was a threat to his hegemony since representation; and equitable
low citizens simply because it be- new dispensation another five- Zimbabwe, like all developing gender representation. There
lieves it is the best thing that has year shot in power. countries, had a burgeoning will be two training intakes per
ever happened to this country and population — big enough to year, with the duration of each
mankind. We would have thought that be- tilt any national election if they training session being six months.
ing led by a very listening Presi- participated to their capacity. The graduates of National Youth
This party has now convinced it- dent Emmerson Mnangagwa, who programme will receive first
self that Zimbabwe is a one-party is as soft as wool, the party would It goes without saying that the priority into higher institutions of
be tolerant to opposing views and 2000 parliamentary elections were learning including polytechnics,
let the opposition make fools of bloody. War veterans spearheaded teaching, nursing, the army and
themselves by failing to sell their a reign of terror never seen in the employment in the civil service.”
manifesto to the electorate be- country. Many youths in rural areas
cause the ruling party was remain- were displaced, maimed or killed. Cabinet added that the
ing true to its promises of not leav- A lot more were psychologically programme would train 100 000
ing no one and no place behind as affected that they decided politics youths over the next five years. This
the country aims to attain upper was not only a dirty game but also is a phenomenal 20 000 annually.
middle income status by 2030. deadly. The numbers could fill more
than half the tertiary education
We are afraid today that the tra- Mugabe thought the youths vacancies available, especially
jectory that Zanu PF, as a ruling had repudiated the nationalist those that need the minimum five
party birthed by the people, will ethos and had to redirected to Ordinary Level passes like joining
only serve to alienate it from the the true values of the liberation the security services or nursing.
very people it wants to serve. His- struggle. He thought this could
tory has taught mankind that co- be done through getting the It should be noted that
ercing the electorate is the worst youths in National Youth Service, National Youth Service per se is
thing any political party could do where they were taught about the not bad. However, the way it is
to win votes. liberation struggle and national implemented here is problematic.
values. It is about a partisan history, used
There should be a national
discussion about the NYS
programme, its recruitment
and curricula. Moreover,
the recruitment of staff for
the programme should be
transparent and show diversity
and not be a feeding trough for
Zanu PF ideologies.

Paidamoyo Muzulu is a journalist
based in Zimbabwe. He writes in
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.
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ANALYSIS July 20 to 26 2022 Weekly Digest 4

Batoka takeoff failure leaves Zim,
Zambia facing uncertain power future

TBY MTHANDAZO NYONI we would want him to focus on making “There are other sites along the Zambezi to be made.”
HE revelations by the Zambezi that Batoka Gorge a reality and also oth- River that we can work with neighbouring To mitigate power outages, Zimbabwe’s
River Authority (ZRA) that a con- er developments along the Zambezi River. countries. So that is an effort that needs
sortium which clinched a deal local industries have been relying on gen-
to implement the 2400-mega-
watt (MW) Batoka Gorge Hydro-
Electric Scheme (BGHES) was struggling
to mobilise funding for the project is bad
news to the local industry.

The local industry, whose operations
have been severely affected by power
cuts, has been pushing the government to
prioritise the completion of Batoka Gorge
power station to meet higher electrici-
ty demand projected as the economy re-
bounds.

But in its 2021 annual report released
last week, ZRA said the Consortium of
Power Construction Corporation of Chi-
na Limited and General Electric had indi-
cated that banks have steered clear of the
massive asset to avoid plugging into risks.

ZRA, a special agency controlled by both
Harare and Lusaka to manage the Zambe-
zi River, said the consortium had request-
ed credit enhancement support from the
two countries.

“The developer (the Consortium of Pow-
er Construction Corporation of China Lim-
ited and General Electric) completed all
pre-development activities which includ-
ed additional geo-technical studies, aeri-
al surveys on and around the project site,
compilation and submission of feasibility
studies and proposal,” ZRA said.

“In the proposal, the developer request-
ed credit enhancement support having
faced challenges in mobilising funds from
potential financiers due to the sovereign
defaults of the contracting states.

“In addition, the developer sought tax
incentives from the contracting states;
100% power off take by (power) utilities
(Zesa in Zimbabwe and Zesco in Zambia)
and a project investment cost of US$4,9
billion resulting in tariffs of 8,4181USc (US
cents) per kWh (kilowatt hour) and 8,0862
USc per kWh in Zambia and Zimbabwe,
respectively,” ZRA noted.

It said engagements were continuing
with Harare and Lusaka “to ensure the
success of execution of this project”.

In March, Zesa Holdings executive chair-
person Sydney Gata said several missteps
had held back the project, which marked
its first 50 years since it was mooted in
1972.

Batoka returned to Zimbabwe and Zam-
bia priority lists in 2014, after previously
being affected by political instability and
funding problems. Regarded as one of the
finest power sector brains, Gata told the
International Renewable Energy Confer-
ence that the latest problem was lack of a
bankable feasibility study.

“A risk profile shows the structure of
your project and the risk that it is carry-
ing,” Gata told delegates at the confer-
ence.

“Now, a typical IPP (independent pow-
er project) goes through these phases. If
you miss them you get nowhere. Unfor-
tunately, between Zimbabwe and Zam-
bia we missed a fundamental step and for
many years now we are rotating around
that challenge.

“A new start came when there was new
collaboration. Batoka has unfortunately
proceeded without a full feasibility study.
It was never put under review of a com-
plete risk matrix,” he added.

Generally, accessing funding for big
projects becomes problematic without
feasibility studies.

In a presentation made to an oversub-
scribed and exciting economic review we-
binar organised by the Zimbabwe Inde-
pendent in September last year, Confed-
eration of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) pres-
ident Kurai Matsheza said there was a
need for the government to put more in-
vestment on electricity infrastructure to
match economic growth prospects.

“We urge the minister (Finance minister
Mthuli Ncube) to accelerate efforts at the
Batoka Gorge. That is green energy and

ANALYSIS July 20 to 26 2022 Weekly Digest 5

erators, whose use fuels the costs of run-
ning businesses as most fuel service sta-
tions only sell fuel in foreign currency and
it is expensive.

Currently, diesel costs US$1,86 while
petrol (Blend E15) is now at US$1,76.

The Batoka Gorge hydropower station,
set to be developed on the Zambezi Riv-
er between Zambia and Zimbabwe, will be
located 54 kilometres downstream of the
Victoria Falls, one of the biggest waterfalls
in the world.

Harare and Lusaka entered a memoran-
dum of understanding in February 2012,
with the African Development Bank com-
ing in as lead financier and coordinator for
the US$4,5 billion deal.

On completion, the 2400MW pow-
er plant is expected to ameliorate power
shortages affecting the two countries.

Zimbabwe heavily relies on its only hy-
dropower plant, the Kariba South Power
Station, which is the biggest power gen-
eration plant in the country, with a total
generation capacity of 1050MW.

The country also has four thermal power
stations including Hwange Power Station,
the largest coal-fired power station with a
capacity of 920MW.

Power generation at these stations is
often reduced due to the maintenance of
ageing equipment.

Zimbabwe needs an average power de-
mand of about 2000MW, but the pow-
er utility company’s total power supply
hovers around 1288MW, according to the
Zimbabwe Power Company.

This means the power average deficit is
200-700MW depending on imports avail-
ability and local generation performance.

Zimbabwe imports power from South
Africa’s power utility Eskom, Mozam-
bique’s Hydro Cahora Bassa (HCB) and
Zambia’s Zesco.

There had been renewed impetus in the
past decade to see the project through,
but according to ZRA progress was stalled
by funding problems.

An Environmental and Social Impact
Assessment disclosure process for Batoka
was completed recently, paving the way
for the implementation of the project.

Construction is expected to take six
years, but electricity generation will start
in the third year.

The bi-national project is expected to
create approximately 6000 employment
opportunities.

e local industry, whose
operations have been severe-
ly a ected by power cuts,
has been pushing the gov-
ernment to prioritise the
completion of Batoka Gorge
power station to meet higher
electricity demand projected
as the economy rebounds

COVER July 20 to 26 2022 Weekly Digest 6

Mthuli Ncube is lying on
dollarisation: Here are the facts

RBY TATIRA ZWINOIRA ing the Second Republic.
ESPONDING to questions from “Madam Speaker Ma’am, do you not think
legislators on why government is
not dollarising the economy dur- that it was ironic that during the USD re-
ing a Parliament sitting on June gime, we had no foreign currency. We had
14, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube no reserves. We could not even pay our for-
said such a move led to negative economic eign debts. We only began paying our for-
growth during the Government of National eign debts after introducing the Zimbabwe
Unity (GNU). dollar.”

Ncube said: “That is a very bad idea to only “It has given us the leeway to do what we
accept USD in our country. At the moment, do. What we did during the Unity Govern-
you have choice. We have dual currency in ment, we could not fix our roads. We bor-
the main and that is wonderful. If you de- rowed money from South Africa to do the
cide you want to accept USD only, obtain the Plumtree-Harare-Mutare Road.
USD. It is up to you and you have a choice to
do that. “This time around, we are not borrowing,
we are using our own resources and that ca-
“That does not exist in other countries but pability has been afforded by the introduc-
we also want to make sure that our own ZWL tion of our own domestic currency. If you
is circulating and it is our accounting cur- introduce the USD only, tomorrow you will
rency. Let me further explain what will hap- wipe out the banking sector completely be-
pen under US dollarization which is what cause you have to convert all those Zim dol-
happened during the Unity Government. lar balances into USD.”
What happened is that there was deflation
and deflation means that we had negative He ended: “You will wipe out the bank bal-
growth and that was totally undesirable.” ances of companies. Is that what you want?
You will create a serious situation if you adopt
He continued: “We also had an increase in the USD in this country. It is a very bad idea.
bad debts and that is why we ended up cre- No Minister of Finance should want that be-
ating ZAMCO to clean up the problem that cause it means you are walking on one mac-
was created by the USD. The competitive- roeconomic tool when the toolbox is incom-
ness of our industry was basically shut down. plete. You only have fiscal policy but no mon-
We just became a nation of importers and etary policy. So, it is a bad idea. I thank you.”
we de-industrialised and that destroyed our
industry which has only been resuscitated by The questions from legislators posed to
the introduction of the Zimbabwe dollar dur- Ncube comes as there has been increased
debate around dollarisation, arising from the
fact that the Zimbabwe dollar (ZWL) is rapid-
ly losing its value.

(Source: 2014 National Budget Statement)
However, the then Finance minister, Patrick Chinamasa, in the 2015 National Budget State-
ment revised the growth of 2013 upwards by 1.1 percentage points to 4,5% that was captured
by the African Development Bank (AfDB).
This volatility has seen price increases of basic commodities over the same period.

(Source: 2015 National Budget Statement)
The growth rates were in line with the AfDB’s projections, except for 2009 where the bank
had projected growth at 5,3% compared to Treasury’s 5,4%. Zimbabwe’s growth rate was
above the continent’s average growth rates during the GNU.

COVER July 20 to 26 2022 Weekly Digest 7

(Source: African Economic Outlook 2015) “Succumbing to the above challenges, use, confirmed a day later after the ban by ance of payments position.”
Based on this data, Zimbabwe’s economy the economy depicted signs of slowdown in Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangag- So, did dollarisation cause negative growth
over the five-year period grew by an annu- 2013, although the overall economic growth wa.
al average growth rate of 4,52% during the remained positive. As a result, real economic and deflation? No
period. activity in 2013 is estimated to grow by 3.4%, “It has always been clear that for the econ- Ncube’s claim in this regard is not true.
It was only in 2012 and 2013 that the from an estimate of 10.6% realised in 2012. omy to truly take off, we need our own cur- Was there an increase in bad debts dur-
country had negative growth, dropping 1,3 The major drivers were mining, construction rency. While the multi-currency regime
and 6,1 percentage points, respectively. and tourism, among others.” helped to stabilise the economy it did not ing the GNU?
Another point to note is that, in 2013, the give us control of monetary policy and left us (Source: Ministry of Finance and Economic
GNU ended after the July general elections The 3,4% was later revised to 4,5%. at the mercy of the US dollar which has been
which in effect ended the GNU. As such, the Thus, dollarisation was not to blame for the a root cause of inflation,” Mnangagwa said, Development, World Bank)
huge economic drop cannot be compared downturn. in a statement. Based on these figures, Zimbabwe had a
to the previous year as the GNU ruled for Further to this, dollarisation ran until June
half the amount of time. 24, 2019, nearly a decade later, when it was With the Zimbabwe dollar being first intro- Debt to GDP ratio of 47,78% in 2009, 39,95%
Thus, Ncube’s claim is false. banned through Statutory Instrument 124 of duced as the ‘RTGS Dollar’ in February 2019 in 2010, 35,53% in 2011, 40,68% in 2012, and
Was there was deflation during the GNU? 2019. through Statutory Instrument 33 of 2019, 38,5% in 2013.
Upon making the request from the Zim- This period in which the US dollar was with no foreign currency, mineral of market
babwe National Statistics Agency for the used showed confidence in the currency’s confidence it started losing value. According to the World Bank, an August
annual inflation results on a monthly basis 2010 study of 101 developing and developed
during the GNU, only the annual statistics economies spanning a time period from
were given not the monthly ones. 1980 to 2008 found that an acceptable level
However according to the central bank of the debt to GDP ratio was 77% for devel-
website there was a breakdown of the an- oped countries and 64% for developing na-
nual inflation figures from December 2009 tions.
to December 2013. The bank did not have
the inflation figures of the early 2009 quar- However, since during the GNU, Zimbabwe
ters. never had a debt over 77% it did not experi-
enced bad debt. Further, most of the debt
was arrears accumulated before the GNU.

Thus, Ncube’s claims are false.
Will the banking sector balances be
wiped out completely if the country dol-
larises?

According to the American financial and Even after the June 24, 2019 ban on forex, al inflation figures had Ncube not suspend- According to the publication highlight-
economic literacy website, Investopedia, de- this did not stabilise the Zimbabwe dollar. ed them the following month until February ed above, $971,54 billion was the monetary
flation, or negative inflation, happens when This would have been revealed in the annu- 2020. supply as of May this year. Of this amount,
prices generally fall in an economy. cult period by making available an option to 57,55% was foreign currency deposits.
Consequently, this led to return of the US use free funds to pay for goods and services
This occurs with the inflation rate falls be- dollar on March 26, 2020 as the local cur- chargeable in local currency,” Reserve Bank “Broad money (M3) stock stood at
low zero. rency was too weak to deal with the advent of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya said, ZW$971.54 billion in May 2022, compared to
macroeconomic effects of COVID-19. in a statement on March 26, 2020. ZW$671.37 billion recorded in April 2022,” the
The time the country experienced defla- report under review reads.
tion was in February 2014, where an annual “Government, through the Reserve Bank “This intervention takes into account the
inflation rate of -0,5% was recorded. In 2015, of Zimbabwe, would like to advise the public country’s limited access to foreign finance, “The money stock was largely composed
the country experienced deflation for the that it is making it is easier for the transacting which adversely affecting the country’s bal- of foreign currency deposits, 57.55%; and lo-
entire year. public to conduct business during this diffi- cal currency deposits, 42.13%. Currency in
circulation constituted 0.32% of total mon-
Based on the above, Zimbabwe did not ey supply.”
experience deflation during the GNU.
Thus, if bank dollarisation is fully imple-
Thus, Ncube’s claim is false. mented, not all bank balances will be wiped.
So, did dollarisation cause negative growth
and deflation? Further to this, Mangudya has gone on re-
Negative growth is defined as the econo- cord to state that the central bank is sitting
my producing less than the previous period. on about US$1 billion in reserve money with
What this means based on the GDP growth the bank estimating that US$1,5 billion is cir-
figures during the GNU, the economy pro- culating in the informal sector.
duced less in 2012 and 2013, down by 1,3 and
6,1 percentage points respectively. Thus, Ncube’s claim is false.
What were the reasons behind the de-
clines? The 2009 – 2011 econom-
“The 2009 – 2011 economic rebound clear- ic rebound clearly deceler-
ly decelerated in 2012, plunging the econo- ated in 2012, plunging the
my into what I described in my Mid Term economy into what I de-
Statement as a “long winter of despair, char- scribed in my Mid Term
acterised by low business and investor confi- Statement as a “long win-
dence, some disequilibrium in the economy, ter of despair, character-
little growth and employment, declining so- ised by low business and
cial indicators and generally a lackadaisical investor confidence, some
business-as-usual mentality”,” the then Fi- disequilibrium in the econ-
nance minister Tendai Biti said, in the 2013 omy, little growth and em-
National Budget Statement. ployment, declining social
“Weighed down by erratic electricity sup- indicators and generally a
ply, tight liquidity, fiscal revenue underper- lackadaisical business-as-
formance, drought and continued de-indus- usual mentalit
trialisation, the 2012 GDP growth rate was re-
vised downwards from 9.4% to 5.6% in July
2012. Regrettably, clear output indications
on the ground necessitate a further down-
ward revision to 4.4%.”
Biti continued: “The 2013 outlook also
looks bleak – blighted by a miscellany of fac-
tors that include a deeper global outturn, the
continued capital deficit, financial sector in-
stability, and a poor business climate, amid
other challenges. Overall growth is projected
to moderate to 5% in 2013, underpinned by
anticipated output improvements in mining
and agriculture”.
These factors were later confirmed by Chi-
namasa who succeeded Biti after the GNU
ended after the July 2013 elections, who is
also a member of the current ruling party,
ZANU PF.
“Over and above the political uncertainty,
the economy faced a poor agricultural sea-
son due to late, uneven and erratic rainfall.
The tight liquidity situation, retreating com-
modity prices, frequent power outages as
well as unreliable water supply, among oth-
ers, had a heavy toll on the economy,” Chi-
namasa said in the 2014 National Budget
Statement.

AGRICULTURE July 20 to 26 2022 Weekly Digest 8

Zim food crisis: Replacing maize with sorghum and millet
I n what would have been
unthinkable a few years and the need for a nation to be self-reliant, then that is
ago, the Svosve family in the way to go," said Mia Seppo, the UNDP's Zimbabwe
north-eastern Zimbabwe representative.

There has been a resurgence in the popularity of qui-
is ditching maize for indig- noa. My hope is that Zimbabwe's indigenous grains will
enous grains in order to over- also become fashionable again"
come persistent drought and But there are numerous obstacles to overcome - in-
food shortages. cluding the fact that production of the traditional grains
This is despite the fact that is still very low with few farmers taking it up. Only 377,000
maize is second only to water metric tonnes were produced last year, compared to 2.7
in importance in the average million metric tonnes of maize.
Zimbabwean household, as To increase productivity, the UNDP is helping to roll out
maize flour is used to make threshing machines.
the national food - sadza. The Svosves say their machine - which they share with
Maize is not only a staple other families in their community - has made a huge
and a status symbol for farm- difference, reducing the threshing time to less than an
ers, but also an important hour. It would have taken several months if it was done
cash crop. manually.
But low yields have forced Seeing the Svosves as a model of success, Ms Seppo
the Svosves, who are subsist- said traditional foods could make a big comeback in
ence farmers, to focus more Zimbabwe, just as they have in other parts of the world.
on growing sorghum and mil- "There has been a resurgence in the popularity of qui-
let - both of which were sta- noa, the ancient superfood originating from South Amer-
ples before Portuguese trad- ica. My hope is that Zimbabwe's indigenous grains will
ers in the 1500s brought maize also become fashionable again," she said.
from the Americas, according — BBC
to historians.
When I visited the Svosves
at their homestead in Mduzi,
a semi-arid area with grey- Mine entra 2022 (27x5).pdf 1 12/7/2022 15:30:09

coloured stony soil, members
of the family were crowded
around a threshing machine
spitting out buckets of grain.
Family head Lovemore
Svosve said they would have
plenty to eat, even though the
rainy season was disastrous.
"We planted a sizeable
maize crop as well as sor-
ghum and millet. But we got
nothing from the maize. It
was scorched after there was
no rain for three months. We
harvested just the traditional
grains," he said.
One of his wives, Rose Ka-
rina, brought out a small black
pot with a few maize cobs in
it. That was all they harvested
from 10kg of maize seed and
more than 100kg of fertiliser.
In comparison, stacked on
their veranda were many sacks
of sorghum. They were able to
get more than one tonne from
five kilogrammes of seed and
fertiliser.
"We aren't planting maize
again. I don't know how any-
one in this area can after the
last season," she said, shaking
C

her head. M
Her comment would raise
the eyebrows of most Zimba-
Y

bweans, but the need to once CM

again grow traditional grains MY
is highlighted by the fact that
some four million people are
CY

in need of food aid and about CMY
400,000 tonnes of maize will
have to be imported this year. K

Food scarcity is compound-
ed by the fact that the econo-
my is in a perilous state, with
annual inflation rising to 191%
in June, as Zimbabwe felt the
effects of the cost-of-living
crisis triggered by a series of
global issues, including the
war in Ukraine.
The price of maize and an-
other staple, wheat, has gone
up by more than 50% since
the war started in January.
The prices for fertiliser raw
materials have also tripled,
causing a further problem as
Zimbabwe is heavily reliant on
fertiliser from Russia.
As a result of all this, farm-
ers are being encouraged
by the government and the
the UN's Development Pro-
gramme (UNDP) to plant
more traditional crops, as
they require less fertiliser, are
more drought-resistant and
nutritious.
"I don't have a crystal ball
but if you look at what we
know today in terms of climate
impact, the war on Ukraine,
the disrupted supply chains,

OPINION July 20 to 26 2022 Weekly Digest 9

‘A bright life ization, Goitsemang had a 15% to 45%
ahead’: chance of passing the virus on to her
daughter.
Botswana on
path to seeing Very few babies now born in Selebi-
Phikwe to women with the virus are HIV
no babies positive thanks to a national campaign
born with HIV to stop mother-to-child transmissions
in a country that once had the highest
B eing told her baby, Lesedi, “The relief, from the guilt and fear, was er learned she was HIV positive. “What HIV prevalence rate in the world.
was born without the HIV vi- unmatched.” frightened me the most was the idea
rus was “probably the happi- of ruining my baby’s life before she was In 1999, the government launched its
est news I’ve heard”, says Neo Lesedi, from Selebi-Phikwe, a mining even born, by passing the virus on to her.” Prevention of Mother-To-Child Trans-
Goitsemang, a street vendor. town in the east of Botswana, was born mission (PMTCT) programme. Pregnant
just months after her 35-year-old moth- According to the World Health Organ- women are encouraged to get tested
and are immediately put on antiretro-
Achieving Business Excellence Through Standards viral therapy (ART) if they are HIV pos-
INVITATION TO DOMESTIC COMPETITIVE BIDDING (RE-TENDER itive. Their babies are given ART for up
to six weeks after birth. Women who are
Bids are invited from established suppliers registered with the Procurement negative are retested during pregnancy
Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) to participate in the tender for the supply and while breastfeeding.
and delivery of brand new condition of service vehicles.
More than two decades on, Botswa-
TENDER NO DESCRIPTION CLOSING TIME na, which still has a high adult HIV prev-
DATE alence rate of 20% – with most of the
SAZ/CONSERV/007/2022 Supply and Delivery 1000hrs cases among women – is on its way to
of brand new condition of 27/07/2022 becoming the first African country to
service vehicles eliminate mother-to-child transmis-
sions.
Tender documents are obtainable by interested bidders free of charge upon request via
email: [email protected]. Transmission rates have fallen from
40% in 1999 to below 1% last year, which
Bids in sealed envelopes endorsed with the tender number, description of tender and the WHO called a “groundbreaking
closing date of tender should be hand delivered and deposited in the tender box achievement”. Seven health districts re-
addressed to: - corded no transmissions in 2021.

The Procurement Management Unit (PMU) HIV testing among pregnant wom-
StandardsAssociation of Zimbabwe en has risen across the country from
No.1 Northend Close Northridge Park 49% in 2002 to 98% in 2021, while the
Borrowdale number of pregnant women on ART in-
Harare Zimbabwe creased from 27% in 2002 to 98% last
For further details, contact the Procurement Management Unit on year. In December, Botswana became
(0242) Tel. +263 4 885511-2 / 882017-9 (Direct) 852984. the first high-burden country to receive
the WHO’s silver tier award for its ef-
Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) does not bind itself to award the lowest forts to cut child transmission rates.
tender or any bid and reserves the right to accept the whole or part of any tender. Late
tenders shall not be accepted. “There is no doubt that the country
is on the right path,” says Christopher
Nyanga, of Botswana’s health ministry.

In Central District, the country’s larg-
est, where Selebi-Phikwe is located,
just four babies have tested positive so
far this year – less than 1% of the total
births and down from 3% in 2019.

Dr Kaite Mashini, from the district’s
health team, said the achievement was
thanks to a community education pro-
gramme – including house calls to en-
courage pregnant women to register
with local health authorities – free HIV
testing and free treatment.

“When a newborn baby tests HIV
negative, we’re very much part of this
victory against the virus. We celebrate
the news with the mother, and are cel-
ebrated by the community for the role
we do,” Mashini says.

“It is painful for a mother to deliv-
er an HIV-positive child. It is a burden
that she would want to avoid, and it’s
a blessing to be able to help save them
from it.”

Arone Masilo, the district’s HIV coun-
sellor, says most of the women who test
positive adhere to treatment, “which
makes our job easy as health workers”.

“Those who do refuse are very few,
and it’s either because they can’t ac-
cept their own status as HIV-carriers,
or lack trust in government awareness
campaigns.” Catherine Mpagase, 38,
from Selebi-Phikwe, struggled to ac-
cept the news that she had contract-
ed the virus and health workers had to
persuade her to enrol on to the pro-
gramme. “I’m so grateful I listened and
so relieved my eight-year-old was born
HIV negative,” she says. “She is healthy
and stigma-free. She has a bright life
ahead of her.”

Pharmacist Aruna Bhoola in the labo-
ratory where HIV vaccines are prepared
in KwaZulu-Natal Goitsemang thinks
more awareness is needed. “There is
still stigma attached to people living
with HIV and this has the potential to
discourage expectant mothers from
enrolling for PMTCT despite the obvi-
ous benefits,” she says.

With the government hoping for an
Aids-free generation by 2030 – a UN
sustainable development goal – Nyan-
ga said more community education is
planned. Spending on the programme
– 30m pula (£2m) this year – is to in-
crease, and more medicines and skilled
personnel will be available for the last
push, he says.

“As a heavily HIV-burdened country,
it will take some time for Botswana to
completely eliminate mother-to-child
transmission. However, the country is
certainly on the right path.”

— The Guardian

FEATURE July 20 to 26 2022 Weekly Digest 10

Urban agriculture: surviving
in a collapsing economy

OIAN SCOONES areas planted have expanded mas- money from deals as people strug- ers, supermarkets and engaging in curity.
ver the last few weeks, sively, outside backyards to nearly gle to claim plots. contracting. This in turn is having New jobs in town
we have looked at ur- every available space, as the pho- an effect on rural agricultural sup- Urban agriculture is also creat-
ban agriculture in dif- to story last week showed. Compe- With both intensification and ex- ply and marketing, the traditional
ferent parts of Zim- tition for urban land is intense and tensification, urban agriculture has source of agricultural products in ing jobs in town, both formal and
babwe; from a city brokers and officials are making become much more commercial- towns, and so patterns of food se- informal. Informal jobs in the hus-
like Masvingo to small towns and ised, with people selling to trad- tle economy are known as kukurok-
growth points like Chikombed-
zi, Triangle/Hippo Valley, Maphisa,
Chatsworth and Mvurwi. In all cas-
es we see the massive growth of
urban agriculture. This takes many
forms from intensification of back-
yard plots to open space farming in
insecure, but extensive patches to
more regularised small farms in ur-
ban settings.

Responding to economic chaos
This growth of urban agriculture
is a response to the economic cha-
os that has enveloped Zimbabwe.
Rising inflation, diverging exchange
rates across multiple currencies and
the collapse of the formal sector,
with massive lay-offs has put peo-
ple living in towns in extremely pre-
carious positions.
People have to find ways to sur-
vive and nearly everyone has a
small plot to provide food, offset-
ting the escalating costs of pur-
chasing. Small-scale backyard veg-
etable growing, perhaps with a few
mealies, has always been part of ur-
ban life, but today urban agriculture
is different.
There is greater investment (many
new wells, pumps, solar power) and

FEATURE July 20 to 26 2022 Weekly Digest 11

oza or kungwahva ngwahva (the latter a 2021 single
from Qounfuzed). From providing labour for produc-
tion to offering agricultural support services, em-
ployment is being created. This is especially impor-
tant for young people who may not have land and
who have no jobs.

Piece work employment for production starts from
land clearing and preparation through to planting,
weeding and harvesting. People may be employed
to help with sales and marketing too. Others are em-
ployed to build pig sties or fowl runs and then feed
and even market pigs or chickens for example.

Growing urban production has resulted in huge
demand for transport, whether push carts or vans to
move crops to markets. As areas cultivated expand,
tillage services are in demand, and those with trac-
tors offer ploughing across the open spaces in town.
Pest control services are also being offered, with in-
dividuals buying knapsack sprayers and chemicals
and moving around offering to spray crops in peo-
ple’s backyards. As people intensify, the need for wa-
ter expands, and those offering well digging or bore-
hole installation services are in high demand. Sellers
and installers of irrigation equipment are also expe-
riencing a brisk trade, although such products and
services are only available for those with money and
are only suitable for those with secure plots.

State involvement and politics
As urban agriculture expands, public services are
getting involved. Urban agriculture presents a di-
lemma for town planners and council officials, as a
comment on a recent blog in this series noted. They
know it’s important and many may have plots them-
selves, but outdated by-laws from the colonial era
notionally make much of such farming illegal.
Meanwhile, agricultural extension agents are be-
ginning to work more in urban areas, offering advice
and support to urban farmers. Farmer-to-farmer ex-
changes are happening as new urban farmers share
experiences. Pfumvudza plots can be found, and
those engaging get free inputs. As elections near,
such subsidised programmes become more impor-
tant and urban constituencies become significant
for the incumbent party who have lost much sup-
port to the opposition over the years.
Economic linkages
As with all agriculture, forward and backward link-
ages associated with intensifying economic activity
become important in generating employment op-
portunities. Urban agriculture not surprisingly shows
many similar characteristics to what we seen in ru-
ral areas, where agricultural growth since land re-
form has had spin-off linkage effects in the wider lo-
cal economy, including small towns situated in ru-
ral areas.
With the growth of agriculture in towns them-
selves, these linkages are being transformed, often
to the detriment of rural production and marketing.
Some are shifting operations from rural areas to ur-
ban areas, moving irrigation equipment, vehicles,
grinding mills and so on to towns. With these chang-
es come new patterns of (mostly informal) employ-
ment, and new opportunities especially for young
people. As demand for urban land spirals not only
for building but also farming, those who control land
in and around towns become more and more pow-
erful.
As we have discussed in this short blog series, ur-
ban agriculture is the centre of both a new politics
and a new economy linked to land and agriculture,
as well as a new dynamic of food security, with ma-
jor implications for how people are able to navigate
and survive in a collapsing economy.
This article first appeared on Zimbabweland

HEALTH July 20 to 26 2022 Weekly Digest 12

‘I Am Still cancer are not getting the correct treat- ages 30 to 49 has ever been screened for atives wanted to protect the family’s pri-
waiting’: ment,” the oncologist says. cervical cancer. The agency recommends vacy, learned from Parirenyatwa Group of
Health system women get screened every five to 10 years Hospitals that his mother would have to
fails cancer Previous Next starting at age 30. wait several months to begin treatment.
patients Cervical cancer is the most common
cancer and responsible for most cancer Kelvin, a 25-year-old resident of Harare, “When we went back in November last
Amid the ongoing deterioration of Zim- deaths among women in Zimbabwe, ac- is trying to secure radiotherapy treatment year, they said they would call us when it
babwe’s health system, services that re- cording to a study published in 2021 by for his mother, who was diagnosed with was her turn to have the radiotherapy ses-
quire modern equipment and advanced BMC Public Health, an academic journal cervical cancer in 2020. sion. We haven’t received their call yet,”
training suffer the most. focused on the epidemiology of disease. Kelvin says. “You never know how [bad] the
For cancer patients, the situation is dismal. Bro- But World Health Organization data shows When doctors told the family that chem- situation is before you have someone who
ken-down machines and an acute shortage of on- only 1 in every 5 Zimbabwean women of otherapy needed to be complemented is sick.”
cologists result in patients waiting months, some- with radiotherapy, Kelvin, who asked to
times years to be treated, public health experts say be identified only by his first name as rel- Credence Sithole shows on his mobile
— patients for whom a week could be the differ-
ence between life and death.

With a robust primary care system installed in
the 1980s, Zimbabwe’s health services were once
among the best in southern Africa. The economic
and political upheaval under former President Rob-
ert Mugabe spelled the end of that era. Over the
past two decades, health care funding evaporated,
and many physicians left the country. Those who
remain frequently strike to demand more supplies
and better pay.

“Cancer treatment services are among the worst
affected due to limited number of specialists [and]
limited treatment facilities, especially radiothera-
py and chemotherapy, as well as diagnostic facili-
ties,” says Grant Murewanhema, a gynecologist and
public health specialist who works in Zimbabwe’s
public hospitals.

According to the Ministry of Health and Child
Care, there are only 12 oncologists practicing in
Zimbabwe — 10 in Harare and two in Bulawayo.

Of the three facilities offering radiotherapy in
the country, only one, Oncocare Zimbabwe, has
functional external beam radiotherapy machines.
The only private institution of the three, it charg-
es 500,000 Zimbabwean dollars (ZWL) ($1,369) per
week of treatment. Patients may require three to
five weeks of treatment, depending on the case.

The average monthly household income in Zim-
babwe is 15,805 ZWL ($43), according to a 2020 re-
port by the Food and Nutrition Council, the govern-
ment agency in charge of food security issues.

The three external beam radiotherapy machines
at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, in Harare, as
well as the two machines at Mpilo Central Hospital,
in Bulawayo — both public hospitals — break down
frequently and sometimes take months to be re-
paired. All external beam radiotherapy machines in
Parirenyatwa and Mpilo are currently down.

The two hospitals also have brachytherapy ma-
chines, devices that dispense radiation inside the
body. At Parirenyatwa, only one out of its two ma-
chines is working, while Mpilo’s only machine is
down, according to the Ministry of Health and Child
Care.

Radiotherapy machines at Harare’s Parirenyatwa
Group of Hospitals, one of two public clinics that
offer the service in Zimbabwe, have not worked
since January.

The agency directed questions to Dr. Patience
Mba, a consultant oncologist at Sally Mugabe Cen-
tral Hospital in Harare. She says the brachythera-
py machine in Parirenyatwa — the only functioning
one in public hospitals in the entire country — treats
five to six patients a day.

Radiotherapy is a type of treatment that uses ra-
diation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. A per-
son may receive radiotherapy internally or external-
ly, depending on the size and location of the tu-
mor, among other factors. External beam radio-
therapy comes from a machine that moves around
the body as it aims radiation in different directions.
In internal radiotherapy, a source of radiation is put
inside the body, sometimes through a brachyther-
apy machine.

Mba admits that they have faced challenges with
the machine breakdowns. “Cancer services in Zim-
babwe may not be at our best in terms of our vision
and our goal,” she says, “but we have services where
we are managing to offer something from diagno-
sis up to treatment and we are working on palliative
care guidelines.”

Another oncologist at one of the public hospi-
tals, who asked not to be identified for fear of re-
taliation, says that while the Ministry of Health and
Child Care has made efforts to restore the ma-
chines, without a service contract the breakdowns
are frequent and costly. Most cancer patients at her
hospital have cervical cancer, whose main mode
of treatment includes radiotherapy. “If we are not
doing that, it means all those women with cervical

HEALTH July 20 to 26 2022 Weekly Digest 13

phone a picture of his mother, Miriam Sithole, who died of teriorate. “I have regrets to this day that maybe I should have After he underwent three cycles of chemotherapy from
breast cancer in 2015. sought for treatment outside Zimbabwe, but again she had January to March 2021 at Parirenyatwa, his doctor told him
no passport, and at that time it wasn’t easy to get one,” he that the wound on his cheek hadn’t healed and recom-
Credence Sithole, a Mutare resident who lost his mother to says. Cancer patients in need of surgery are also placed on mended surgery, Muchato says. The operation requires 16
breast cancer in 2015, is also painfully aware of the state of dangerously long waiting lists — in 2014, Zimbabwe had only hours of sedation and the only three beds available are for
the country’s radiotherapy machines. 45.8 surgeons per 10,000 cancer patients, according to WHO people who need to be under such sedation. “Doctors have
data. advised me that, if it continues to grow, it will get to a point
After a biopsy, doctors referred his mother to radiotherapy where an operation will be impossible,” he says.
at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals. The family was then told At his home in Mabvuku, a suburb east of Harare, Zimba-
the machine was down. Their next option was Mpilo Central bwe, Steven Muchato holds some of the medication he uses His wound — and pain — keeps getting worse. “In October
Hospital in Bulawayo, but their machines were also broken. to manage pain. Muchato was diagnosed with skin cancer in 2021, I was told that it would not take two weeks before I am
2019 and is still waiting to have surgery. called for the surgery,” he says. “I am still waiting for that call.”
“I had a ray of hope in April 2015,” he says. “I got a call, and
I was told that we had an appointment on Monday for radio- Steven Muchato, a 39-year-old resident of Harare who was Gamuchirai Masiyiwa is a Global Press Journal reporter
therapy at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare.” His mother died diagnosed with skin cancer in 2019, is still waiting to have based in Harare, Zimbabwe.
just 30 minutes before their departure from Mutare. surgery.
— globalpressjournal.
Sithole says it was heartbreaking to watch his mother de-

Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Programme

In line with international best practice and the Customs and Excise Act 3.Benefits of AEO Programme for the granting of AEO status
[Chapter 23:02] section 216B, Zimbabwe has implemented the Autho- • Faster movement of cargo through the Border/Port of entry • Examination of application by ZIMRA
rized Economic Operator (AEO) programme. • Simplified Customs formalities • Onsite inspection by ZIMRA
• Fewer physical and document-based controls • AEO authorization
1.Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) • Reduced demurrage and other related costs
• AEO is a programme under the World Customs Organization • Priority treatment in query resolution 6.Obligations of an AEO
• Choice of the place for physical examination The AEO is required to;
(WCO) SAFE Framework of Standards to secure and enhance • Facilitation for movement of cargo during periods of trade dis- • Keep proper records it terms of Section 223 of the Customs &
international supply chain security and facilitate movement of
legitimate goods across international borders. ruptions Excise Act [Chapter 23:02].
• An AEO may defined as a party involved in the international • Improved relations with ZIMRA • Maintain an accounting system which is in accordance with the
movement of goods in whatever function that has been ap- • Promotes an AEO accredited entity as a secure and reliable
proved by or on behalf of a national Customs Administration Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP) and which
as complying with WCO or equivalent supply chain security trade partner thereby improving business competitiveness. facilitates audit based customs control.
standards. AEO include inter-alia manufacturers, importers, ex- • Mutual recognition of AEO authorizations between Customs • Ensure that its staff members conduct business in accordance
porters, brokers, carriers, consolidators, intermediaries, ports, with the procedures of the Customs & Excise Act and any oth-
airports, terminal operators, integrated operators, warehouses, authorities as a long term benefit. er Act administered by ZIMRA or any instructions given by the
distributors. The facility is open to all stakeholders in this supply • Provides businesses with internationally recognized security Commissioner of Customs & Excise.
chain. • Ensure a relationship of good faith is maintained by its staff at
standards. all times in dealing with the ZIMRA.
2.ZIMRA AEO Programme • The opportunity to self-assess allows entity to have a full in- • Allow ZIMRA officers physical and electronic access to the in-
• Administered by Customs and Excise Division, the AEO Pro- formation and documents as provided for in terms of Section
sight into its operations and business practices, identify and 223 of the Customs & Excise Act.
gramme is a voluntary programme open to all business entities strengthen any security or compliance related weaknesses • Use compatible E-Systems for Customs procedures and com-
that participate in the global supply chain. mit to regularly upgrade the systems.
• Business entities that meet pre-determined compliance stan- 4.Qualification Criteria • Ensure that its premises are in conformity with the appropriate
dards are accredited as AEOs and as such enjoy appropriate Any entity interested in getting benefits of the AEO programme shall security and safety standards.
facilitation on Customs clearance. apply in writing to the Commissioner of Customs & Excise for accredi-
tation. The entity must meet the following conditions: My Taxes, My Duties: Building my Zimbabwe!!
Exporter/Importer Logistic Operators Carriers • Be established in Zimbabwe;
• Have appropriate record of compliance with Customs and other Disclaimer
Place of Export/Import Customs Brokers Warehouse This article was compiled by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority for information purposes
relevant laws; only. ZIMRA shall not accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from use of material
• Have a satisfactory system of managing commercial and, in this article and no liability will attach to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority.
To contact ZIMRA:
where appropriate, transport records; www. zimra.co.zw @Zimra_11
• Have proven financial solvency; and ZIMRA.ZW
• Ensure that there is general maintenance of approved security [email protected]/[email protected]
0242 –758891/5; 790813; 790814; 781345; 751624; 752731
and safety standards at both the entity`s place of operations as +263 0782729862
well as its business systems and procedures. e-TIP http://ecustoms.zimra.co.zw/etip

5.AEO Application Process
• Consultation with nearest ZIMRA office on AEO application

procedure
• Completion of and submission of self-assessment question-

naire, application form and other relevant attachments required

BUSINESS July 20 to 26 2022 Weekly Digest 14

Unpacking the Zim gold coins

OBy Obvious Khumalo and Rapirai Matimba problem. To add on to the lack of confidence issue, eco- gold for the month of July 2022.
n the 27th of June 2022, the RBZ, through a nomic participants are now relying on forward rate pricing As a comparison, the Krugerrand is denominated into
press statement announced that the instru- of goods and services as well as benchmarking products in
ment (Gold Coin) will be minted by Fideli- the US dollar. This pushed the economy back into hyperin- three (3) that is 1 Ounce, ½ Ounce and ¼ Ounce. Their pric-
ty Gold Refineries (Private) Limited and will flation and has led to the increase in demand for the US$ ing is as follows (in Rands);
be sold to the public through normal bank- in domestic transactions mostly outside the formal banking
ing channels. On the 28th of June 2022, the RBZ in a press channel. This is because of the sub optimal exchange rate Size Average Price (Rands)
statement published the salient features of the gold coins. in the formal market and the high cost of transacting in the • One Ounce 32,061.25
Below are the characteristics of the gold coin and a com- formal banking system. • Half Ounce 16,867.58
parison with the South African Krugerrand Coin. • Quarter Ounce 8,868.95
RBZ Gold Coin characteristics Expected price Based on the pricing discussed above, the po-
1. Weight One Troy Ounce The Gold Coins are estimated to be sold at a minimum tential price point (circa US$1890.00), the main
2. Purity 22 Carats price of prevailing gold price plus the production costs (5% target market for the coins are banks, corpo-
3. Identification Serial Numbers surcharge) and as at 15 July 2022, the minimum price is es- rates, institutional investors and to a lesser ex-
4. Ownership Physical Possession and timated at US$1,890.00. Below are the historical prices for tend individuals.
Bearer Ownership Certificate This is supported by the liquid asset
5. Liquidity Liquid Asset Status status and prescribed asset status that
6. PA Status Prescribed Asset comes with the coins. The ZWL payment
Status option can be a way of mopping up ex-
7. Collateral Coin can be used cess liquidity in the economy. How-
as collateral ever, this may create arbitrage op-
8. Buy back The Bank will portunity since gold is finite if it is
buy back the coin at the instance of the priced at the current WBWS rate.
Holder It is also our view that instead of
9. Trade date 25 July having one coin, they should
2022 have introduced one ounce,
10. Currency USD and ZWL half ounce and quarter
and other currencies ounce coins.
11. Selling Agents RBZ, Fidelity This will aid in making
Gold Refinery, Aurex, Local Banks and select- the coin more liquid and af-
ed international banking partners. fordable to the greater part of
Krugerrand characteristics the market. As with the Kruger-
1. Weight One Troy Ounce rand which the authorities seem
2. Metal Composition 91.67% Gold and 8.33% to have copied from should be list-
Copper ed on an exchange (ZSE, VFEX or
3. Size 32.77 mm diameter, 2.84mm thic FINSEC). This will make it more easi-
Rationale for the issuance of Gold Coins ly tradable and the price determination
The main reason for issuing gold coins according to the would be market based.
RBZ is the preservation of value. This idea emanated from Moreover, having it listed would allow all
the current exchange rate volatility in the country. We at- the coins to be under one custodian.
tribute the volatility to policy missteps and inconsistency Key takeaways
which has eroded confidence amongst economic partici- Gold coin pricing - it is most likely to be
pants. This can also be attributed to the inability of the Auc- priced at a premium to take production costs
tion System to satisfy foreign currency needs of firms in the into consideration. Information on pricing will be
country which has resulted in the demand for the green- made available by the RBZ before the coins are on
back as a store of value for both corporates and individuals. the market by 25 July 2022.
According to the RBZ data, there has been a steady in- Tax and legal implications – clarifications are yet to
crease in foreign currency balances in the banking system
from US$340,000 at the end of 2018 to US$1.9 billion as at be made with regard to law and tax implications on this
end of April 2022. Foreign currency deposits make up about new instrument. It is our view that amendments be made to
45% of total deposits in the economy, a marginal increase sections of the Gold Trade Act (Chapter 21:03) as per 2017
of 4% registered as of January 2019. This can be attributed amendments which prohibits dealing and or possession of
to the rapid growth in export proceeds and diaspora remit- gold without a licence.
tances. In light of the above, the country has a foreign cur-
rency allocation problem not a foreign currency generation Security – each gold coin will have a serial number for
unique identification and a bearer ownership certificate.
However, self-custody as most will prefer may present high
risk for investors. In addition, the coins may be used as col-
lateral in the event that the holder wishes to pledge them
as security.

BUSINESS July 20 to 26 2022 Weekly Digest 15

CITY OF KADOMA Investment time horizon – gold coins can be
held as a long-term investment given its dura-
PROPOSED LEASE OF COUNCIL LAND bility. For corporates, pension funds and asset
managers, the instrument has liquid asset sta-
Notice is hereby given in terms of Section 152 of the Urban Councils Act [Chapter 29:15], the City of tus as well as a buy-back arrangement which
Kadoma intends to lease the following stands for the mentioned purposes to individuals and institutions who compels the RBZ to purchase the instrument
tendered their applications: at the instance of the holder. As such, the gold
coin can be held for short term liquidity re-
Stand No Size Location Applicant Use Condition quirements. Investor risk tolerance – gold has
Lease traditionally been a good hedge during times
8996 800m2 Rimuka Old Bus Terminus Sarah Ngulube Commercial Lease of inflation like the one we are experiencing
8997 Commercial Lease globally. As such, this instrument is a relatively
150m2 Mariga Street Memory Tafara safe haven for the cautious investor with a low
9718 200m2 Mashayamombe Street Shumba Commercial tolerance to risk.
t/a Harare Pfacha
Tendai Farera Asset allocation and investment strategy –
holding the gold coin presents a diversifica-
Copies of the Council Resolutions and the detailed terms and conditions will be open for inspection during tion opportunity into the commodity markets.
normal business hours at the Public Relations Offices at the Town House, Kadoma until 18 August 2022. For institutional investors, the instrument al-
lows them to increase compliance with regu-
Any person who wishes to object to the above proposal may lodge his/her objection in writing to the Town latory requirements since the coin has a Pre-
Clerk using the below mentioned address. scribed Asset Status. Investors who are look-
ing to preserve value, the gold coin is the way
M. DONDO CITY OF KADOMA to go since gold has been traditionally a good
TOWN CLERK P O BOX 460 store of value. Expected returns returns from
FITT SQUARE an investment in gold are not in any way cor-
KADOMA related to equity markets. Gold is traded in the
commodities market and it fluctuates large-
06821-22044-6 ly being driven by global macro-economic de-
velopments. As an example, the gold price lost
around 3% in 2021 due to the global corona
virus pandemic related risks. The outlook for
gold in 2022 remains encouraging as rising re-
cession expectations might hold prices around
current levels. However as noted from the price
chart above for July, the recent decline in price
might be pointing to a correction of the initial-
ly perceived effects of the prevailing geopoliti-
cal tensions as well as the recent rate hikes by
the Fed in the US.

Strategy
Investors can use their excess ZWL balanc-
es to buy gold coins. This is only after clarity on
the pricing model by the RBZ, especially on the
production cost component which adds up to
the total cost of the gold coin. Moreover, us-
ing ZWL balances will allow for inflation hedg-
ing and rate linked returns with the returns be-
ing generally uncorrelated to the performance
of equity markets.
If investors wish to buy gold coins using ei-
ther USD cash or USD local nostro, it will be
relatively unattractive. This is because gold is
generally negatively correlated to the strength
of the USD (the current global reserve curren-
cy). As such, gold’s appeal increases when US
interest rates are low and the US dollar is weak
as was the case during the Covid 19 pandemic.
Gold does not have a yield, therefore, when
rates are low other safe investments do not
generate significant income and gold is con-
sidered safer. However, given the Fed’s antici-
pated rate hikes and a prolonged high-rate en-
vironment, we see an increasing demand for
dollar assets.
Inflation buster?
The introduction of gold coins in the country
could influence inflation in a way but it is not
the panacea to the inflation problem because
inflation is triggered largely by money supply
growth. When there is an alternative store of
value, we believe the depreciation of the local
currency will be contained.
The writers are analysts at WealthAccess,
an asset management firm based in Harare,
Zimbabwe

INTERVIEW July 20 to 26 2022 Weekly Digest 16

ICT guru Sta ord
Masie speaks out
I have got my friend that I have known
for a very long time, Stafford Masie. they scoffed and they said it is never go-
By way of introduction, Stafford ing to happen, and take a look at it today,
has been in the ICT industry for more it is everywhere.
than 25 years, he worked for Telkom,
and he has worked for Dimension Data as Bitcoin
a software engineer. This is what people are doing again
with Bitcoin. You are coming into this
Stafford was responsible for establish- space in a skewered metamorphic way,
ing Google’s presence in South Africa in and just like when we built the car with
2006. After leaving Google in 2010 he the engine we put steel warts to drive
founded several fintech businesses and with it the first time because we came
several technology startups. from riding horses and we thought that is
the way to design a car.
He is known for two payment plat- It took us years to finally invent the
forms, Payment Pebble and Payment steering wheel to move the car around,
Blad, which has actually been rolled out and I think this is the same issue that we
in Australia and New Zealand as we speak have with Bitcoin.
and more countries. The problem that we have right now, is
it is kind of like the newspaper industry
He is an inventor, a mentor in the ear- with the internet.
ly age technology startups, he lectures I remember going to the Mail & Guard-
at several business schools, such as Wits, ian and talking to you guys about the in-
Gibbs and Henley. ternet and telling you how big it was go-
ing to be, and even then there were peo-
Over the past six years Stafford has fo- ple in the room years ago who were like,
cused on Bitcoin, block chain network, no.
and all aspects of crypto currencies.
ures, the stimulus that has been given, I function and then you get mass concen-
He serves on a number of boards, in- mean it is just not sustainable. tration of wealth.
cluding Discovery Bank. So please join
me in welcoming Stafford Masie. The problem with fiat currencies The market capital of the top five tech-
The economic structures that we have nology companies and you combine it,
Below is part of what Masie (SM) said in the world today, if we look at the infla- it outstrips every other company on the
when he appeared on the South African tionary measures etcetera, it is not sus- SMP500 combined.
edition of In Conversation with Trevor, a tainable.
popular programme presented by Alpha Fiat currencies are farcical, and the We have never seen this before in the
Media Holdings chairman Trevor Ncube. thing that Bitcoin does is it makes the history of humanity. We have never seen,
masses understand the history of mon- not just capital, the market capital.
Stafford Masie: Something technolog- I was at Google at the time I think. ey and understand where money comes
ically speaking that has impacted man- So the Mail & Guardian were like no, from, what money is, what is the identity If I was just to measure this on the ba-
kind, more so than probably anything we and I said to them this is going to change wrapped around money and I think that is sis of attention, all of us are in those con-
have ever seen before then right. your business, this is going to change very important. tainers in some form, from an attention
everything and they were like no, sort of, So as we move along more and more perspective.
So I am talking about the late 1990s maybe in 10 years time and then look at people are getting educated about what
and backward. what it did. this is. Eye balls perspective, revenue per-
Everyone wants to talk about Bitcoin I think from a Zimbabwe perspective, spective, just general internet usage per-
So we ran around showing people the on the basis of speculation, right. you know what happens when you print spective.
browser, and people were like nah it is not You guys want to talk about it like money and you print money, and you
going to work man, you download a vid- should I buy it or should I sell it? keep printing money. I mean these are not nation states,
eo and it takes three weeks to download. Is it going to go up or is it going to go We see many examples of that. these are businesses.
down? We see Venezuela, we see Argentina
You connect to the internet and it See I do not talk about it that way, I go through it, we have seen Cyprus go These are businesses that control bil-
screams, and then you need like a com- talk about it within the context of under- through it, and we have seen Iceland go lions and billions of users.
puter science degree to get the driver to standing Bitcoin. Very few people want through it.
work and the network interface card. to actually understand it. We saw in Ukraine what happens with And we have seen what they can do
They just want to know if I put 10 bucks the war, and what happened with the cur- in terms of sentiments, we can see what
We were like, this is going to change in it can it go to 100,000 bucks? rency there, the run on the currency. they can do in terms of elections, you can
everything and people were like no, it is This is exactly where I was in the late So we see that these things are very see what they can do in terms of false
not. 1990s and the early 2000s in the Unit- possible. news and alternative facts etcetera.
ed States, people just wanted to buy the Then we have this guy, Milton Friedman.
People said it was a fad, people said it stock and see the stock go up. He gave us the fitness function in the So it is incredible that we have seen
was never going to go anywhere but we So you have to take the time, you have early 1970s. this concentration, and my argument is
knew what was happening. Why? to understand it, and every single one of He gave us this fitness function pretty this is not sustainable either.
you in this room, and every single one of much at the same time when Nixon took
Because as technologists we saw the you watching on the stream right now, the dollar and ripped it away from the If you take a look at that, productivity
amount of humanity cascading into this this will impact you in the next 24-36 metal. is going through the roof but wages are
space. months. He said that the dollar was no longer stagnating.
It is going to touch you more so than linked to gold that was it, the dollar was
Every kid that was working in computer the internet, I presume. now in this world of GDP and political sta- So we have seen businesses doing
science, any programmer that was work- If you think about the internet right, bility and rule of law and so on to fit a nar- more with less humanity, because they
ing on internet stuff, everywhere it was you have to pay somewhere to go offline. rative. can, and I have come up with a quote: “AI
internet stuff. You have to pay somewhere to go to a re- Fiat currency is just a narrative. is a superpower, and its kryptonite is in-
sort to get disconnected. The US dollar is the global reserve cur- equality.”
Then in the late 1990s I lived in the We used to talk about hyper connectiv- rency, yes.
United States and I flew to the MIT Cam- ity between offline and online, now you I think it will continue to be that, but And that is the fitness function that
pus to watch a presentation given by two are perpetually online. there is something that is now emerging drives our economies today, it is leaders
gentlemen that were leaders in an open This is not going to be different. that is independent of any nation state, that are essentially measured on the ba-
and flare software plain. So world leaders, coming out and say- independent of any particular leader in sis of deriving value for shareholders, be-
ing this thing is bad, Warren Buffet saying the world and it lives independently. cause that has been your sole responsi-
Then when I watched their presenta- it is rat poison, and people who are heads It has the capability to execute autono- bility since the early 1970s.
tion I had that same goose bumps mo- of world trade organisations and world mously, and that is a very scary thing.
ment that I had when I touched the inter- banks saying watch out for this thing, this So he (Friedman) gave us this fitness Now you have these superpowers that
net for the first time. thing is not real, this thing does not have function. enable you to do more with less human-
any underlying value, be careful. He said the sole responsibility of an or- ity.
I saw people speaking about free and I do not think we will have good money ganisation is to derive value for its share-
open source software. again before we take the thing out of the holders. What does the Standard Bank CEO
hand of government. More or less the same time that Nixon do, he goes and closes all these bank
Then I flew back to the Novel Campus That is, we cannot take them violent- did this thing with the fiat currency. branches. Why?
in Utah and Eric Schmidt was there and ly out of the hands of government, all we What happened was what we see in
everyone. can do is that by some sly and rounda- 2018, two trillion of fiat currency. Because he does not need bank
bout way introduce something that they This is mass concentration of capital. branches anymore because he has got
I said that free and open source soft- cannot stop, and that is what Bitcoin is. People worn this amount of nation state all this technology, bots.
ware is going to change the world, we It is something that has just come, be- capital in their personal individual capac-
need to get on the bandwagon. cause let us be honest, what the world ity, this is not sustainable. Standard Bank bots is all this AI exe-
has done with fiat currencies is not sus- This is when you take things like AI and cuting around his business, so he does
This company was making billions of tainable today. you blend it with Milton Friedman’s fitness not need all this structure that has hu-
dollars on propriety software built by en- It is not. I mean the amount of dol- manity inside of it.
gineers on certain floors in southern Utah. lars that have been printed in the last 24
months in the world, the austerity meas- This is because he is driven by Mil-
I was telling them that kids building ton Friedman’s fitness function, his sole
things on the outside freely would sur- responsibility is to derive value for his
pass their business and they were like, no. shareholders.

Fast forward to today every one of your  “In Conversation With Trevor” is
glowing rectangles is running on its cor- a weekly show broadcast on YouTube.
nel, free and open software sort of code. com//InConversationWithTrevor. Please
get your free YouTube subscription to this
If you have got an iPad, if you have got channel. The conversations are sponsored
an Apple Mac, the core technology, if you by Nyaradzo Group.
are running an Android phone, the core
platform is open air software.

The cloud in the world today runs on
open air software.

So we have got the intent that people
scoffed at, it became mainstream and it
is everywhere, the utility.

Open air software, people laughed and

OPINION July 20 to 26 2022 Weekly Digest 17

Half-year economic review

WTAFARA Mtutu global risks overwhelmed counts was outlawed and the statistics is the agriculture average inflation to increase
E are halfway these measures. By the end of capital gains withholding tax sector’s poor grain deliveries to c.230%, and parallel market
into 2022, and March 2022, the parallel rate was increased to 4% for an to the Grain Marketing Board rates to move beyond 1 000 by
the economic had moved to 680, up from investment holding period of (GMB), which are underpinned year-end.
environment 190 in January, and inflation less than nine months. by the unpalatable payment
has been more picked up 12,2 percentage prices and modalities to grain Before we delve into the eq-
volatile than initially anticipat- points from the beginning of Lending activities by banks farmers. uity strategy for investors, we
ed. The impact of several eco- the year to 72,7%. were suspended for 10 days, note that Zimbabwe’s current
nomic events has necessitated and this was met with a steep GMB deliveries in the lat- economic trajectory firmly
a revision of budgets by com- The ZSE was unfazed as it decline in the stock market est market season totalled follows the country’s turn of
panies, and a recalibration of picked ZW$312 billion in the of 40,5% in the weeks that 5 000 tonnes between April events between 2004 and
investment portfolios by local month after the monetary pol- followed. and June compared to 55 000 2007. This trajectory merits a
investors. icy measures were announced. tonnes in the same period last strong case for continued CPI
An announcement of an in- year despite an above-average growth and currency depreci-
The year began with an ex- In April, the monetary policy crease in interest rates to at agriculture season because of ation until a stable currency is
pected average inflation rate committee announced an in- least 100% for individuals and the current purchase price for adopted. It is on the backdrop
of 115% for Zimbabwe in 2022 crease in the bank policy rate 200% for corporates in June maize of ZW$75 000/tonne. of this revelation that we pro-
and an expected depreciation from 60% to 100% and the further strained liquidity the pose that strategy outlined in
of the parallel market rate to tightening of quarterly reserve stock market without denting Although 30% is paid in for- the next lines.
the 400–600 range by De- money growth from 7,5% to the depreciation of the local eign currency, input prices
cember 2022. 5%. In addition, the central currency both on formal and have significantly increased, We recommend investors to
bank introduced the quasi-lib- shadow markets. and several retailers have be- overweight blue-chip stocks,
However, as detailed below, eral willing-buyer-willing-sell- gun selling fertilisers exclu- which registered a stronger re-
global and local shocks merit er exchange rate. In the month To add salt on the wound, sively in foreign currency. covery in USD after the econo-
a revision of these expecta- that followed, parallel market the central bank recently in- my’s dollarisation in 2009.
tions given that Zimbabwe’s rates jumped from 290 to 390 troduced gold coins, which As we step into the second
parallel market rates currently and inflation gained another we opine will further withdraw half of the year, we note that Top picks include Delta,
range between 650 and 700, 23,7 percentage points from liquidity from the stock mar- global commodity prices have Innscor, and Simbisa Brands.
while the latest inflation rate the March inflation rate. ket with marginal impact on retreated to pre-crisis levels, We also acknowledge that
stands at 192%. the parallel market rate and and this is likely to drive a de- some investors are bound by
The ZSE continued its rally, inflation. cline in global inflation expec- their investment mandates,
The Russia-Ukraine crisis gaining ZW$1,466 billion over tations for the rest of the year. and thus we propose intra-
that began in February upend- the same period. However, A brief look at the sectoral sector switches.
ed global commodity markets measures announced by the performance of the economy’s We note the very possible
and quickly culminated into a President on May 7 took the pivotal industries – mining and decline in gold deliveries on A few worthy of mention in-
global crisis that had econo- economy by surprise and sent agriculture – prompts mixed the back of unsustainable trad- clude moving from OK Zimba-
mists incorporating a possible the stock market into a tailspin. feelings. The mining sector ing modalities around the gold bwe to Meikles, CFI to Nation-
recession in their models. was highlighted by a buoy- coins, while the poor deliveries al Foods, Seed Co Limited to
Quarterly reserve month ant recovery of gold deliveries of grain to GMB will continue Tanganda, and RTG to African
The crisis was marked by a growth was reduced to 0% and to 16 tonnes, up 59,3% com- unabated without any revision Sun.
surge in the price of soft com- Intermediary Money Transac- pared to last year’s first half to payment modalities.
modities like corn and wheat tion Tax (IMTT) for foreign cur- deliveries. Tafara Mtutu is a research an-
given the magnitude of ex- rency transfers was increased While Zimbabwe could ex- alyst at Morgan & Co Research.
ports by Russia and Ukraine. to 4%. We attribute the jump to the perience a reprieve from — [email protected] or
appetizing payment modali- global supply-side inflationary +263 774 795 854.
The crisis escalated when In addition, third party fund- ties to artisanal miners. How- pressures, we maintain that lo-
Russia leveraged on its oil and ing in investors’ trading ac- ever, offsetting these upbeat cal drivers of inflation will drive
gas reserves to maintain cur-
rency stability, which under-
pinned the surge in the price
of oil and gas.

The increase in the cost of
energy subsequently rippled
to all parts of the world at a
critical time when the econ-
omy is still recovering from
pandemic-driven supply chain
challenges.

This all resulted in the 40-
year high year-on-year infla-
tion rates ranging between
8,1% and 9,2% in developed
economies and much higher
in several developing econo-
mies in the month of May.

The immediate response by
major central banks, which
was centred on containing in-
flation by increasing interest
rates at the expense of eco-
nomic growth, was felt on a
macroeconomic scale.

The World Bank trimmed
initial real GDP growth esti-
mates from 4,1% to 2,9% be-
cause of the escalating crisis
and the slowdown in China,
which remains embroiled in
the Covid-19 pandemic.

US equities responded in
kind, and this was exacerbat-
ed by a tech stock cool-off af-
ter pandemic-related fatalities
nosedived earlier this year in
several parts of the world.

Zimbabwe’s economy has
struggled to cope with emerg-
ing global developments de-
spite the many policies that
have been instituted in the
first half.

In the RBZ’s first monetary
policy statement of the year,
key measures such as increas-
ing foreign currency for ex-
porters and a leeway to pay
50% of royalties in local cur-
rency were announced in a
bid to stem the depreciation
of the local currency and ris-
ing inflation.

However, this did little to
maintain the short-lived sta-
bility as the parallel rate con-
tinued to depreciate and

COLUMN July 20 to 26 2022 Weekly Digest 18

The scary return of US dollar donations:
Green Bombers Now we know real
The crazy season is back, seeing as patriotic currency!
it is the youth militia is back. Zanu PF political commissar, Border Gezi,
The government has just an- premiered in the establishment of the youth
nounced that it is resuming the militia. They were law unto themselves in
2008 when they were used as foot soldiers
enrolment of the militias under a to set up and run torture camps.
nice name: Youth Service in Zimbabwe. They cut off the limbs of both imagined
According to them, the programme will and real opponents when we got into the
enroll 100 000 youths spread over 5 years. run-off phase after the late Robert Mugabe NEWS that some unscrupulous businesses the organisation said.
are now insisting on only using the Unit- Who can argue with what they are say-
That means an average of 20 000 every was beaten in the presidential contest by ed States dollar, refusing to touch our own ing? Councils should not put self-interest
year, or 10 000 every six months, or some 1 the also late Morgan Tsvangirai of MDC. patriotic currency, have angered patriots ahead of national interest. That is the job
700 every month. The trainees will train over They robbed villagers of their livestock and all over the country. of national government officials.
sent many into exile. They were part of the This week, the man who is four years Not only is this the first time we have
six months.
This means that, if the project starts this campaign that killed hundreds of people. into his economic experiment on what ever heard of this association, it is also the
month, an awesome 20 000 cadets would What’s worse? The very people who struc- happens when you ruin an economy while first time someone has spoken out against
have passed out by the time we get to the tured and marshalled the June 27: Win or
next elections in 2023. But even if the en- War terror campaign during the run-off pe- posing as its Finance minister spoke out corruption by encouraging corruption.
strongly against people who prefer the US Patriotic deal
rollments are delayed, it’s still possible to riod are still there, apparently more powerful dollar over our own money. There was more anger against those
achieve that number before the elections. today than they were back then. “We cannot tolerate this kind of non- who dare oppose the hugely patriotic Po-
Things are not cast in stone and, knowing You see, a lot is stake at the 2023 elec- sense, absolutely not. They are breaking mona deal.
the Zanu PF government as most of us and tions. Nelson Chamisa of CCC is raging like
them do, desired numbers can be achieved a typhoon right now. He is scaring the socks the law,” Mthuli Ncube said after cabinet’s The Herald, which naturally must be an-
week- gry on
through crash programmes. off Zanu PF. He poses a serious existential ly snooze Tidbits behalf
The authors of the militia programme are danger to President Emmerson Mnangag- fest. of those
telling us that it is meant to instill discipline, wa who is likely to be the Zanu PF candidate. who are
respect and tolerance among the trainees But despite Chamisa’s huge popularity, he To show eating on
who will be taken on a voluntary basis. The may still fail to bag an outright win when the how much its behalf,
graduates would then be given “high prior- times comes. the na- had yet
tion hates
ity” if they want to carry out vocational and But even die-hard Zanu PF people know using im- anoth-
academic studies at our tertiary institutions. that Chamisa will be such a big challeng- perial- Twitter: @MuckrakerZim er editori-
Nothing, so far, is being said about er that, even in the event of a Mnangag- ists’ mon- al in sup-
whether or not they will get “high priority” wa victory, there will be no decisive win- port of
when it comes to employment in the civ- ner. A recent Afrobarometer survey hinted at ey, the
most patriotic leader, President Emmerson the deal. The paper invoked one Dudley
il service, nor what curricula they will use at that. Since it’s likely that neither Mnangag- Mnangagwa, donated US$30 000 to the Bates, a former mayor of what was to later
the training centres. But since government wa nor Chamisa will get more than 50% as country’s outstanding Moot Court team become colonial Salisbury.
is linking this programme with another one is required for one to form the next govern- and another US$10 000 to Major Winnet According to the paper, Bates who was
already being run by the Primary and Sec- ment, there is bound to be another presi- Zharare. most “notorious for dumping garbage in
ondary Education portfolio, it implies that dential run-off. This is where the youth mi- We are grateful that we have a lead- the street and refusing to pay rates ran for
a lot of the graduates will be absorbed as litia will become relevant, if history is going er who can give away his spare change to council, and startling everyone by getting
teachers. to be useful enough in this context. Thing is, the masses. in, then became mayor, spent all the mon-
It’s easy to see that they are dangling the if Chamisa forces a run-off, Zanu PF will slide
job carrot. We saw lots of the trainees being into very panicky mode. When Zanu PF does Dr Amai’s recipes ey on a town house and a mayoral chain,
Despite what haters say, the good news totally neglected services, overdrew the
absorbed as nurses in the past even though that, as has always been the case, it’s Arma- keeps flowing like a flood all across the overdraft and fled a couple of months be-
they couldn’t tell a chisel from a syringe. geddon. That party loves power too much country. fore the next election”.
We saw many of them getting into teach- and it will use hook and crook to keep it. According to the paper,
ing even though they could hardly count up Since it used the youth militia in 2008, it’s a There were wild We cannot the man “bankrupted the
scenes of celebration town” and left it in ruin.
to 10 and still don’t know the difference be- good and grounded prediction to say that it on the street after the
tween cheese and chalk. will use the young pawns once again in 2023 country’s New Dr Amai tolerate this We wonder why the
After all, during the coalition government if there is a run-off. It seems, therefore, that launched a new book, paper would frame Bates
between 2009 and 2013, estimates are that Zanu PF is bribing young people to ensure a as a bad person. Surely,
about 75,000 youths and other people skewed electoral victory next year. It’s dan- called Cooking with kind of it sounds like this man
Amai: Zimbabwe-
were taken in as ghost workers. We all know gling jobs and study opportunities, know- an Traditional Cuisine would have qualified for
where they were coming from. ing very well that the response to its equally Cookbook. nonsense, a senior position in our
It wasn’t even going to be necessary to try skewed youth training project will be over-
and curry favour with us by loudly announc- subscribed due to high youth unemploy- According to the absolutely not. government.
ing that beneficiaries of the project will ment and the attending hunger. Hunger, Herald, the continent’s They are Mangudya’s pain
be recruited on a voluntary basis. Strictly by the way, is one portent instrument poli- most trusted news Appearing before a
speaking, there is nothing voluntary about ticians use to make people vulnerable and source, “the book con- breaking the
this. The majority of Zimbabwean youths is then manipulate them. sists of mouth-water- law committee of parliament
jobless. They would kill for any opportunity It’s pretty important to acknowledge that ing recipes that were this week, John Man-
that gives them a job. So, they will be forced youth militias would always be useful for compiled from all the gudya, voted the conti-
to join the youth service project by hunger Zanu PF. Here is a party that has hardly in- 10 provinces when the nent’s best central bank
vested in its young ones and a very neces- First Lady held tradi- governor if you read the
list of Africa’s top gover-
nors from bottom to the
and poverty. No free choice there. tional meal cookout
The first and foremost temptation is to sary generational renewal. The old mada- competitions across top, had a few gems.
trace the dots regarding the re-introduc- las form the fulcrum and pith of power. They First, he told the nation that those who
tion of the youth militia programme to next are in denial mode and, strangely and cra- the country”. say “bond notes” had failed were yet to
There is more good news.
year’s elections. As you know too well, there zily, seem to be thinking that they will rule “Already, Rainbow Towers has started to bring evidence to show him that they had
will be general elections in 2023, any time for ever. Call that the Herod effect if you like. prepare some of the dishes in the menu indeed failed. He reminded us all that
from July. When the programme was in- Nothing is new about it, though. Mugabe book in appreciation of Amai’s work,” it bond notes were never a currency, but an
troduced at a deliberate level at the turn was going to rule from the grave if they was reported. At this rate, Rainbow Tow- export incentive. Using his measure, we
of the millennium when Zanu PF fortunes hadn’t pushed him over the cliff that event- ers will be receiving international culinary are sure that, by the time bond notes were
were fast receding, the youths notorious- ful November in 2017. There is a telling co- awards. put out of circulation in 2019, our exports
ly known as Green Bombers or Border Gezi incidence. As government — to mean Zanu Mike Chimombe, who is so successful were roaring.
were closely aligned to the ruling party. PF, of course — brings back the youth mili- that nobody knows what business he ac- He was not finished. He reminded us
They were used to maim and kill dissenters. tia, there is a resurgence in machete gang tually runs, bought one of the books for again that he feels our pain, saying: “We
That was during the time of the fast track violence involving mostly young illegal min- US$1 600. Who would pay Zimdollars for do feel the pain of this economy and be-
land redistribution programme. They were ers. These young people have been spon- such precious literature? cause we feel the pain of this economy
invariably used to terrorise opponents dur- sored in the past to terrorise ruling party op- We were even told that Amai’s recipes that is why we are doing all we think is
ing subsequent elections. The idea was to ponents, both real and imagined. The com- “have high nutritional value and medicinal necessary for this economy to recover.”
cow people into submission, so as to pre- bination of the youth service militias and the properties”. We will soon no longer need In other words, “we feel your pain. It is
serve the tenure of those in power. machete gangs is as ominous as it is spook- medicines in our hospitals. Just feed pa- not enough, which is why we are doing
The timing of the reintroduction of the ing.
When all is said and done, though, it’s clear tients with Dr Amai’s food and they will be all we think is necessary to make it even
youth service militia by the so-called “Sec- up and running in no time. worse”.
ond Republic”—which, in reality, walks, that the Zimbabwean economy can’t sustain Violence mongers
quacks and flaps like a pre-age version of a new project like the youth service one. Civ- ‘Rubbish’ talk
Reports say Harare residents had There has been a lot of anger after some
the first republic — thus gives a good hint il servants are crying out for better working “slammed Harare City Council” for refus- Zanu PF official was captured on video
of what the project is all about. There are conditions. Clinics and hospitals need drugs ing to accept the deal to give away the calling for the killing of Nelson Chamisa
issues of trust here. You can’t tell us you and so on. The list is long. Yet our politicians city’s Pomona dump site to Geogenix BV, a and all those who dare think he can rule
are going to bring back a project associ- are embarking on a new programme that company represented by Delish Nguwaya, this country.
ated with terror on the eve of a new elec- needs huge resources. For the what? the country’s most credible entrepreneur. Speaking at some local meeting of the
An organisation called “Zimbabwe Na- reeling party, the man was captured say-
tion. People have sharp memories, and they tional Organisation of Associations and ing: “When we say ‘Down with Chamisa’
will easily associate the new project with the
ones that were there in the past. Residents Trust” came out to demand that we mean he must be killed.”
The year 2008 has come and gone, yes, l Tawanda Majoni is the national co- councillors stop standing in the way of a Of course, some are calling on the po-
but it’s not easy to forget that year. There ordinator at Information for Development lice to hunt the man down and arrest him
was systematic violence against the oppo- Trust (IDT), a non-profit organisation that deal that will bankrupt the council.
“The selfish and corrupt tendencies be- for inciting violence. Do they think inciting
sition and imagined enemies of Zanu PF supports journalists. The views expressed ing exhibited in the implementation of violence against the opposition is a crime?
that resulted in gory murder, torture, dis- in this article are those of the author and the Pomona waste management contract Little do they know that the officials at
placements and hurt. The youths were used not necessarily reflect AMH's editorial smacks of safeguarding their personal in- Zanu PF headquarters are also hunting for
to do the killing and maiming, just as the stance. He can be contacted on majonitt@ terests (councillors) ahead of national de- the man, to give him a promotion?
youths had done from the time the late gmail.com velopment, which is totally unacceptable,”

AFRICA July 20 to 26 2022 Weekly Digest 19

South Africa: Teaming up with
the enemy to guard Mandela

In the autumn of 1994, Nelson Mandela, who had been Mr Tshabalala in an incredibly awkward position. On their very first day at work, these two groups of body-
a political prisoner in South Africa four years earlier, was He was now required to put his anger towards white dom- guards made their feelings known.
moving into his new presidential office at the Union
Buildings in the capital, Pretoria. ination aside, and work side-by-side with the same police- The black officers closely surrounded Mandela, while the
The nation stood at the unfamiliar intersection be- men who represented everything he feared and hated. white ones stood a few feet away.
tween hope and uncertainty.
"There were fundamental trust issues when we started the The president almost immediately noticed these racial
That was because apartheid, a decades-old system of amalgamation process," he says, his face suddenly tensing tensions and sat them down.
governance that pitted citizens against each other along ra- up as he talks about this period of his life.
cial lines, had just collapsed. Mr Tshabalala remembers what Mandela told them.
At one point, the black bodyguards wondered if their white "He said: 'Guys, I want you to ensure that you work togeth-
It was time for people from all walks of life to hold hands counterparts were planning to harm their political master, er. We've gone through a difficult period in our country. We
and forge a new path towards peace and reconciliation, fol- Mandela. are building a country now. Part of building a country is for us
lowing years of bloodshed. to reconcile and work with all South Africans'."
"You know, you always had that in mind to be quite hon- Mandela's charm
But no-one knew exactly what the promised land looked est. 'How do I trust these guys when they locked him up for The team reluctantly and grudgingly followed their boss's
like, not even Mandela himself. all these years?' Some of them were involved in all kinds of orders.
criminalities while they were defending apartheid. So, it did But of course there was no escaping Mandela's charm, sin-
One of the first steps the new government took was to as- cross our minds." cerity and rare ability to get two clashing factions to work to-
semble an elite security detail that would protect the head of gether.
state, as he assumed his new role. 'There to do a job' Weeks into their gruelling schedule, members of the pro-
But Gert Barnard, a white member of the presidential pro- tection unit began warming up to each other.
In an extraordinary move, Mandela's administration tection unit, did not see things that way. In that process, they found out how tricky it was to work
merged a group of white officers from the notorious apart- His responsibility, he says, was to catch a bullet for the man for Madiba.
heid police force with black political activists. who was fondly known as Madiba. "I remember one incident when our motorcade was driv-
"I spoke to a number of my colleagues during that time. ing to the office, and it was raining. I think he noticed a lady
Jason Tshabalala I asked: 'Has it ever crossed your mind to take out Madiba who was stuck on the side of the road. All of a sudden he said:
I looked at my comrades and said: 'How do you trust these [Mandela]?' I cannot recall any of the apartheid police guys 'Stop!'" Jason laughs, as he recalls this moment.
guys? How are we going to work with these guys?'" that ever said, 'I was thinking of it.' We were there to do a job. Mandela ordered his bodyguards to help the stranded
In today's terms, it would be like asking Russian and Ukrain- We were professionals." motorist.
ian or Palestinian and Israeli armies to join forces. Mr Barnard was an experienced police officer who previ- "So, you can imagine the whole protection detail with suits
"I looked at my comrades and said: 'How do you trust these ously guarded two apartheid-era heads of state, FW de Klerk and ties, helping this lady in the rain. That was Madiba for
guys? How are we going to work with these guys?' We were and PW Botha. you".
sworn enemies and it was difficult for all of us," Jason Tsha- He was born and raised in a conservative Afrikaner family Mr Barnard says he was always surprised at how engaged
balala, a black member of Mandela's team of bodyguards, in the mining town of Stilfontein, in the North West Province. his boss was on a personal level.
tells the BBC Africa daily podcast. "I saw how my dad came home and whenever a black guy "He wanted to know what is happening in our lives. We had
Mr Tshabalala was born and raised in the township of wanted to clean the garden he would say, 'no! no!'" His father a unit in Cape Town and in Pretoria. Each unit had two teams
Soweto, where Mandela once lived. would then use a derogatory word for black people. looking after Madiba. So, in one team there were about 16 to
He took a decision in the 1980s to actively campaign "I obviously saw that and I didn't want to fall into that same 18 bodyguards, and Madiba knew each and every person. He
against apartheid, after his mother was fired from her job for trap of not respecting people." knew their wives, he knew their children."
chewing gum during working hours. Mr Barnard says that he was guided by his strong Christian Mandela died peacefully at his Johannesburg home on the
This personal incident made him acutely aware of racial values, which discouraged racial hatred. 5th of December 2013.
discrimination and the unfairness in his country. Fast forward to 1994, and his assertions were put to the If he was still alive, he would have turned 104 years old to-
He later joined the liberation movement, the African Na- test. day, 18 July.
tional Congress (ANC), which sent him to countries like Zam- There was animosity. We interrogated them when they Meanwhile, Jason Tshabalala and Gert Barnard went on to
bia and Russia, for extensive academic and military training. were still called terrorists, and now we had to work together." serve as security officials in the private sector.
For months, he handled different types of weapons, pre- He had to report for duty with the same people he was To this day, they remain friends who are part of the same
paring to fight a racist system that claimed the lives of some once told were planning to attack and drive white South Af- WhatsApp group of former bodyguards.
of his closest comrades. ricans to the sea.
The new black and white bodyguard team came together "There was animosity. We interrogated them when they — BBC
after Nelson Mandela was sworn in, in May 1994 were still called terrorists, and now we had to work together."
But with apartheid coming to an end in 1994, fate placed

AFRICA July 20 to 26 2022 Weekly Digest 20

The choice Even though the economy grew, it fol- (NARC). Among others, this brought to- sition KANU led by Uhuru and Ruto. When
facing lowed the colonial pattern of marginalis- gether 1997 presidential candidates Raila the constitution was defeated, Kibaki
ing large sections of a dependent country Odinga and Mwai Kibaki. Raila, who had ejected Raila and his faction from the cab-
Kenya and that produced what it didn’t consume and served as a minister in Moi’s government inet.
how we consumed what it couldn’t produce. in 2001-2 before defecting, stepped aside
got here to allow Kibaki to be opposition flag-bear- This set the stage for the 2007 elections
Kenyatta’s death in 1978 and replace- er. The NARC candidate defeated Uhuru in which Kibaki faced Raila. Kibaki was nar-
The upcoming Kenyan elections on 9 Au- ment by Daniel arap Moi brought the pos- Kenyatta, the KANU nominee that Moi had rowly declared the winner, but many be-
gust will mark a turning point in the na- sibility of a fresh start. But this hope was picked to be his successor, in a landslide. lieved the vote had been manipulated.
tion’s future and could be the country’s short-lived too. The country saw the re- Raila also claimed victory. Popular demon-
most consequential poll to date. The introduction of torture chambers, deten- Kibaki was sworn in on a wave of hope. strations descended into an orgy of deadly
presidential contest election is effec- tion without trial, and a reign of terror un- Many believed their new president’s violence in which 1,500 people were killed
tively a two-horse race between Deputy President leashed on opponents. Tribalism thrived promise that “corruption will cease to be and 350,000 were displaced.
William Ruto and veteran politician Raila Odinga. even as Moi preached “peace, love and a way of life” and, in 2003, Kenyans were
Neither is proposing a paradigm-shifting leftward unity”. Furthermore, the economy col- surveyed to be the most hopeful people in Kenya was rescued from full-scale civil
break with Kenya’s current neoliberal and neo-pat- lapsed. Kenya had to turn to structural ad- the world. Ordinary citizens arrested cor- war by the signing of the National Accord
rimonial character. Nevertheless, their agendas are justment programmes (SAPs), which led rupt policemen and frog-marched them and Reconciliation Act in 2008. This led to
starkly different and each would irreversibly change to de-industrialisation and the decima- to police stations across the country. a power-sharing deal in which Raila be-
the country’s trajectory. tion of domestic industries as protective came prime minister. The deal also paved
fiscal barriers were dismantled to liberal- Yet once again, Kenyans’ hopes were the way for the promulgation of a new
Ruto proposes returning Kenya to a pre-industri- ise trade. betrayed. Within months, the ebullient na- 2010 constitution, which devolved pow-
al era, reverting to small-scale informal production tional mood had turned to despair. Impu- er and resources from the centre to many
and subsistence agriculture, reversing gains the From new hope to despair nity and corruption returned as the pillars hitherto ignored regions in the periphery.
country has made in the past two decades. Raila A decades-long bloody struggle for of politics and public life, as an ethnic ca- The document also explicitly sought to de-
promises a return to the country’s industrialisation multiparty democracy against Moi’s one- bal known as the “Mount Kenya Mafia” mand higher ethical standards of Kenyan
agenda, which took off in the 2000s but has floun- party dictatorship bore fruit in 1992, pav- captured the state. In the words of an- leaders, though attempts to improve gov-
dered under the current administration, with a vi- ing the way for multi-party elections in ti-corruption activist John Githongo, this ernance by referring to the constitution’s
sion of putting Kenya back on track towards be- 1992 and 1997. Moi won both as nascent new elite declared: “it is our turn to eat”. standards have had little success. As au-
coming a standard capitalist advanced economy. opposition parties fractured amid leader- thor Issa Shivji aptly observed: “Constitu-
ship disputes. In 2005, Kibaki brought a butchered tions don’t make revolutions. Revolutions
Most analysis of Kenyan elections tends to focus In 2002, however, the opposition learned version of a popular draft constitution to make constitutions…Constitutions rarely
on the noise of politicians’ personalities and party their lessons and formed a broad national a referendum. Raila fiercely opposed the herald fundamental transformations.
dramas. However, it is crucial to understand and in- front under the National Rainbow Coalition document, which would have consolidat-
terrogate the two main candidates’ agendas, one ed presidential powers, as did the oppo- — African Arguements
of which will end up shaping the lives of around 56
million citizens. Embassy of the Republic of Malawi
HARARE
This examination must begin by seeing the presi-
dential aspirants’ visions in the context of the coun- 1.The Malawi Embassy in Harare is looking for services on call for maintenance of its properties. The Embassy,
try’s history of governance and politics. therefore, intends to pre qualify contactors for various works as follows:

A legacy of colonialism and lost hope ITEM NO. DESCRIPTION REFERENCE NO PERIOD
Kenya is a nation of boundless potential yearn-
ing for change in which most people live in pover- Lot 1 Provision of Plumbing works MWE2022/001 12 Months
ty while a handful enjoy obscene wealth. It is a na-
tion of plenty, but one that has repeatedly been be- Lot 2 Provision of Electrical Works MWE2022/002 12 Months
trayed by predatory politicians who abuse the trust
bestowed upon them. Lot 3 Provision of General maintenance works MWE2022/003 12 Months
This history can be traced back to the British co-
lonial project, which was brutal and repressive as Lot 4 Provision of Stationery MWE2022/004 12 Months
well as racist and parasitic. The colonialists forceful-
ly expropriated Kenya’s rich highlands, creating the Lot 5 Provision of Computers and MWE2022/005 12 Months
agrarian economy whose primary purpose was to
supply British industries and kitchens. Meanwhile, printing equipment
unlike in colonies like Australia or New Zealand, the
government made no investments in advancing in- 2.Interested contractors and service providers are advised to submit applications demonstrating capacity to
dustry or social welfare; education for Kenyan sub- perform the said works or supply the required services.
jects merely imparted crude agricultural skills suit-
able for an obedient workforce. Assessment of applications shall be based on the following criteria;
In the 1940s, the British developed a new strate- a. Duly authorized and signed application letter
gy as the possibility of decolonisation loomed. They b. Certi cate of incorporation or its equivalent
sought to create a “responsible” middle class that c. Copy of valid tax clearance certi cate
could guarantee their foreign capital investments d. A valid and categorized Certi cate of Registration with the National Construction Industry (for contractors)
and head off any potential working-class rebellion. e. Brief company pro le with business addresses, contact details, and quali cations of Directors
Kenyan nationalists were allowed to share power f. Recently audited nancial statements for the last two (2) years or proof of access to lines of credit
with their colonial masters as a subservient client g. Proposal of timely acquisition (own, lease, hire, etc.) of relevant essential equipment
elite in return for guaranteeing to reproduce coloni-
al structures in the event of independence. 3.Applications in sealed envelopes clearly marked“Pre-Quali cation of Contractors for Routine Renovation Works of
Despite this tactic, a radical independence move- Embassy Properties”or“Pre-Quali cation of Stationery/Computers and Printing Equipment”must be deposited in a
ment known as the Mau Mau emerged and grew tender box located at the reception of the Malawi Embassy in Harare by 22 July, 2022., addressed to:
in the 1940s-50s. Kenya was granted independence
in 1963. H. E Ambassador
At independence, the popular national move- Embassy of Malawi
ment Kenyan African National Union (KANU) came 9/11 Duthie Road
to power. It promised to not only liberate Kenya Alexandra Park, Harare
from the yoke of colonialism but free people from
the degrading conditions they had been subject-
ed to by imperialism. It vowed to eradicate poverty,
disease, and ignorance. Kenyans were extremely ex-
cited about the future.
However, their dreams were already dead by the
end of the first republic, killed by ethnic chauvinism
and corruption perpetrated by a brutal cabal that
captured the state. Political elites hijacked the “mil-
lion-acre scheme”, which was meant to return va-
cated colonial land to its original owners. The gov-
ernment failed to engage in nation-building. And
President Jomo Kenyatta undermined the multi-
party system as he centralised power.
KANU’s development agenda meanwhile end-
ed any hopes of socialist economic transformation.

OPINION July 20 to 26 2022 Weekly Digest 21

AfCFTA icy, intellectual property rights and e-
a commerce.

poverty African governments should seek
alleviating to build broad public support for Af-
CFTA and help businesses benefit from
force its provisions. Distributional impacts
should be carefully monitored, and pol-
icies designed to provide social safe-
ty nets and programmes for worker-re-
training and job-switching.

Considering the wide disparity in so-
cioeconomic development in Africa,
bridging the heterogeneity gap is also
problematic.

Over 50% of Africa’s GDP is contribut-
ed by Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa
while six sovereign island nations collec-
tively add 1%. The AfCFTA has the great-
est income disparity compared to other
blocs and is more than double the levels
witnessed in the Association of South-
east Asian Nations and the Caribbean
Community.

EBEN MABUNDA To make the most of the AfCFTA, Afri- as planned and ensure the agreement Eben Mabunda is an analyst and
can governments should conclude talks covers investment and competition pol- TV anchor at Equity Axis, a leading
R atified and set in motion in financial research firm in Zimbabwe.
January of 2021, the African — [email protected]
Continental Free Trade Area
(AfCFTA) has the potential to
unlock ginormous econom-
ic value for the continent. The pact cre-
ates a continent-wide market; embrac-
ing 55 countries with 1,3 billion people
and a combined GDP of US$3,4 trillion.

The findings of a new World Bank re-
port carried out in partnership with the
AfCFTA Secretariat reveals that AfCFTA
has the potential to bring significant
economic and social synergies to Afri-
ca which will translate to poverty allevi-
ation, increased incomes and accelerat-
ed economic growth.

If AfCFTA’s goals are fully realised, 50
million people could escape extreme
poverty by 2035, and raise incomes by
8%, or $450 billion, by 2035, and the
number of people living in extreme pov-
erty would fall by 45 million.

When fully enforced, the AfCFTA
would boost the continent’s income by
8% to about US$571 billion. The report
adds that the pact could create almost
18 million better-quality jobs with wom-
en workers seeing the biggest gains.
Under deep integration, Africa’s exports
to the rest of the world would go up by
32% by 2035, and intra-African exports
would grow by 109%, led by manufac-
tured goods.

The AfCFTA promises to eliminate tar-
iffs on 90% of goods and reduce barriers
to trade in services according to the new
report. It adds that AfCFTA will boost the
continent’s ability to attract investment
— both from within Africa and outside.
FDI is important because it brings the
fresh capital, technology, and skills so
badly needed to raise living standards
and reduce Africa’s dependence on vol-
atile commodity exports.

The report also notes that greater FDI
could raise Africa’s exports to 32% by
2035, with intra-African exports grow-
ing, especially in the manufactured
goods sectors. Inflows of FDI attracted
by the AfCFTA would bring jobs and ex-
pertise, build local capacity and forge
connections that can help African com-
panies join regional and global value
chains.

Much as there are all these possibili-
ties, deliberate cohesive moves are re-
quired to make this vision a reality. It is
imperative to harmonise policies on in-
vestment, competition, e-commerce,
and intellectual property rights.

Deeper integration in these areas
would help build fair and efficient mar-
kets, improve competitiveness, and at-
tract even more FDI by reducing the
risks of shifting regulations and policies.

To maximise its benefits, the first step
will be to conclude planned negotia-
tions on investment, e-commerce and
intellectual property.

The report also recommends build-
ing grassroot support for and under-
standing of the agreement, simplify-
ing red tape to encourage investment,
and pairing the deal with a “comple-
mentary agenda” that includes training
and advice for national trade ministries
charged with supervising compliance
and administration.

ARTS July 20 to 26 2022 Weekly Digest 22

Stories from Dangamvura:
When Safirio was King

Over recent weeks, it has been soon enough. Safirio’s shows were early and The band members would change a cou- dressed like some Karate Kid character –
pleasing to follow the nostal- by 6pm families would all be lined up out- ple of times during the show. There was no headband and all. He might have been into
gic conversations on Twitter side the Dangamvura Beit Hall to buy a tick- tuning of guitars on stage, that irritating martial arts then and his dancing was ultra-
about the Zimbabwean music et and dash to the front seats. habit that many lead guitarists used to do energetic, with abrupt pauses accompa-
and artists of yesteryear. then. The drummers were worse with their nied by a frozen stare and then back to a
It brought to my mind my own experienc- A curious thing at the ticket sales was “gu-che gu-che gugu-che-gu.” Everything frenetic mesh of sound.
es from the late 1970s to the early 1980s in that Safirio himself would be in the cubicle was tight in Safirio’s act.
Umtali/Mutare. The Beit Halls (community where tickets were sold. He did not handle Elijah had his own hits, including Rhoda,
centres), council bars, taverns, and hotels of the money but seemed to be counting the And the impersonations of American Vana Tinogumbura, and my favourite then,
Dangamvura, Sakubva and Zimunya town- number of tickets purchased, and probably bands – from Motown to Country – were on Vakomana Vadzoka. The latter was a song
ships were vibrant with the music of local point. I can still hear in my head some frag- celebrating the return of the “boys” from
bands. calculating the audience the war. With Elijah done, it was now time
numbers. ments such as Chic’s Le Freak: for the man himself to appear. Dressed in
These places were also regular hosts of Ah, freak a yellow, blue, or purple silk shirt with frills,
the Harare-based acts that we heard on ra- Once we were all settled on our green out and wearing a broad, impish Colgate grin,
dio or at the record bars in downtown Umta- metal chairs, the Ocean City Band would Le freak, c’est chic Safirio would belt away his hits, mostly in a
li where you could request them to play a hit take the stage, male singers in matching Freak out! duet:
song whilst pretending you really wanted to suits and female singers in matching outfits. The R&B cover songs would be followed
buy the 7-single. Safirio did not cut corners on costumes and by Elijah Madzikatire coming on stage Ndini Dickson
outfits. Repachitupa Tichaona
Of the out-of-town acts, there was con- With the Sea Cottage Sisters swaying to
sensus on the sheer entertainment value of our right side of the stage and Chibhodhoro
one maestro. either beating the congas or drums, the
stage was a buzz of coordinated activity.
Safirio “Mukadota” Madzikatire was a mi- With this routine done, the band would play
ni-industry by himself. His shows, which were a filler whilst other members went back-
about four hours long, gave us a dizzying ar- stage to prepare for the next act. The com-
ray of routines – the international song cov- edy routine would see Safirio now trans-
ers, son Elijah Madzikatire’s performance, formed into Mukadota wearing that rang-
Safirio’s own songs, Katarina’s dances, and er’s hat, the khaki hunter’s jacket, and the
the comedy. It was a unique vaudeville feast. ridiculous gumboots. We knew there would
be Chibhodhoro somewhere either playing
The hype around Mukadota’s shows a baby or being naughty and trying to trick
would start on the Saturday afternoon as his someone.
entourage drove into town – the VW micro- There would be the gangly and stupid
bus laden with the members of the Ocean Toro, and of course, Mai Phineas. But our
City Band and the Sea-Cottage Sisters and eyes were all on Mukadota, out to swin-
instruments tightly tied on the roof. We dle someone or putting on some airs and
watched as the band offloaded their drums, claiming he had just come from America,
guitars, microphones and more, by a side could no longer speak Shona, and only ate
entrance to the Dangamvura Beit Hall. “American goulash”. It was slapstick com-
edy of the highest form. We loved it and
Later that afternoon, the man himself roared with laughter.
would arrive at the community centre in his Hours later and after a few more songs,
elegant yellow BMW, wearing a straw hat. we would troop out into the open air, hot
As he alighted from his car, Safirio would and a little dazed by the rollercoaster of a
not smile or wave at us. This was business, show. I wish these were my final memories
and he was finicky about sound-checks of Safirio. Sadly not.
and set-ups. In 1993, or wat it 1994, I saw the man him-
self seated in a small dingy pub called The
For us loitering by the hall and watch- Star on Julius Nyerere Street, with a quart of
ing the spectacle of preparation by the beer in front of him. He looked down and
band, this was also a chance for us to greet out.
a homeboy, John “Chibhodhoro” Muyambo, Two years later, he was dead.
and feel proud that one of our Mutare guys
was playing drums for Safirio as well as act- — newZWire
ing in the Mukadota stage dramas.

Still in the groove: Chibhodhoro perform-
ing at the Zimbabwe Jazz Festival 2019 (PIC
3-mob.com) The evening could not come

SPORT July 20 to 26 2022 Weekly Digest 23

Barcelona’s summer spree is not about
building a team but selling a story

Robert Lewandowski has signed a four- der what possible motivation Barcelona might have for
year deal with Barcelona, which means conducting themselves more modestly. Paris Saint-Ger-
he probably has a good 18 months be- main and Manchester City have demonstrated the effec-
fore they ask him to take a wage cut. tiveness of disregarding financial strictures and essential-
Give or take. Naturally a good deal de- ly forcing the rest of the sport to bend to their hubris and
pends on how much deeper into their financial might. Manchester United spend the best part of a dec-
quarry Barcelona have managed to dig themselves ade ignoring the future and simply get richer and rich-
in the meantime. Perhaps, alternatively, Lewan- er. Saying one thing and then doing another is the foun-
dowski will be asked to defer a portion of his sala- dation stone of modern politics. Contracts are routine-
ry, or maybe amortise it into 420 easy monthly in- ly signed for five years and ripped up after 12 months
stalments, or accept payment in the form of $BAR and any player who wants them honoured can simply be
fan tokens. framed as lazy, selfish or mercenary.

This is the perk of being the world’s biggest and Nothing really means anything. Failures are never real-
most incoherent club: there is always another lever ly punished. Gambles are never really gambles. Twelve of
to squeeze. Bankrolled by the partial sale of their the world’s biggest clubs try to destroy European football
broadcast rights for the next 25 years, Barcelona and their punishment is simply to let them back in and
have brought Lewandowski, Raphinha, Franck Kes- give them another go.
sié and Andreas Christensen to the Camp Nou this
summer. César Azpilicueta, Jules Koundé and Ber- — The Guardian
nardo Silva are also being pursued. In a way this is
the most mystifying part of Barcelona’s spending POTSOTPBOENAEDDVNISEEWDDSAOTOEN
spree, over and above the question of where the
money is coming from. What sane player would
join this ridiculous club in the first place? What have
they been told? And just what, exactly, are Barcelo-
na playing at? FC Barcelona president Joan Lapor-
ta, left, and Danish defender Andreas Christensen
pose for the media during his official presentation
after signing for FC Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain,
Thursday, July. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

It is just under six months since the president,
Joan Laporta, held an extraordinary press confer-
ence unveiling the results of an internal audit that
discovered evidence of false accounting, forging of
documents, unexplained payments to third parties
and colossal financial mismanagement. Debts were
running at close to £1bn. Player wages required a
substantial cut to comply with La Liga regulations.
Nevertheless, Laporta also had some proud news
to report: the signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubamey-
ang was on the verge of being completed by the
end of the week.

This curious doublethink – “we’re broke, new
signings incoming!” – has persisted into the sum-
mer. Never mind that two new forwards were hardly
the priority for a squad already boasting Aubamey-
ang, Memphis Depay, Ousmane Dembélé, Ferran
Torres and Ansu Fati. Never mind that senior play-
ers are being pressed to take another pay cut, af-
ter many agreed wage reductions during the pan-
demic. Never mind that the sale of Frenkie de Jong
to Manchester United is being held up by around
£17m in owed wages. This is Barcelona, where the
sun always rises and the party never stops.

The consensus within the game – from fans, from
agents, even from rival clubs – is that Barcelona’s
spending defies sense, that it is a doomed and
deeply irresponsible gamble on their future, per-
haps even a form of betrayal. That given the rich
pipeline of talent flowing from La Masia, Barcelo-
na could simply have made a virtue of their strait-
ened circumstances and allowed Xavi to build a
new squad around the rich academy talent of Pe-
dri, Gavi and Riqui Puig. There may be a good deal
of logic in all this. But to shake a fist at Barcelona
for living beyond their means is really to misun-
derstand what motivates this club, what turns the
wheels of modern football, a world where logic only
occasionally impinges.

A Barcelona fan in Poland urges Robert Lewan-
dowski to join her team

Laporta may be many things but he is not stupid.
What he recognises, above all, is that Barcelona’s
future is not necessarily tied up in financial probi-
ty or sound business sense or even trophy accumu-
lation but in self-projection. The last pre-pandem-
ic accounts showed that Barcelona derive just 18%
of income from matchday revenue. Most of the rest
– the television subscriptions, the Spotify sponsor-
ship deal, the merchandise, the global network of
soccer schools, renting out the Camp Nou pitch for
weddings – is not remotely contingent on Barce-
lona winning anything. It relies purely on Barcelo-
na being Barcelona: the brand, the behemoth, the
myth. In a way Barcelona are no longer building a
football team. They are selling a story. The loss of Li-
onel Messi was devastating on a sporting and emo-
tional level but much worse was the brand dam-
age: the pall of decline, the sense that this giant of
the game might no longer be an ultimate destina-
tion. And so only a response of equal and opposite
magnitude would suffice. The idea of recasting it-
self a smaller, better-run club is antithetical to every
commercial principle the modern Barcelona stand
for. Grasp this, and everything else follows.

In any case, look further afield and you may won-

July 20 to 26 2022 Weekly Digest 24

Zimbabwe to host India, Bangladesh
before first tour to Australia in 18 years

Z imbabwe are set for a busy two months with three ODIs in Townsville on August 28, 31 and Septem- Zimbabwe vs Bangladesh 2022:
incoming tours from Bangladesh and India ber 3. 1st T20I - July 30, Harare
and a visit to Australia after 18 years. 2nd T20I - July 31, Harare
India, who haven't toured Zimbabwe since Zimbabwe have not toured Australia since May 2004, 3rd T20I - August 2, Harare
2016, are set to play three ODIs on August 18, while the two sides last met in a bilateral ODI back in 1st ODI - August 5, Harare
20 and 22 in Harare. The series is part of the ICC ODI Su- 2014. Bangladesh play Zimbabwe in three T20Is from 2nd ODI - August 7, Harare
per League that serves to identify the seven direct quali- July 30 to August 2, before the two sides face-off in three 3rd ODI - August 10, Harare
fiers, along with the hosts, for next year's 50-over World ODIs on August 5, 7 and 10. All matches will be staged in Zimbabwe vs India 2022
Cup in India. Zimbabwe are currently placed 12th in the Harare. That series will be followed by India's tour. 1st ODI - August 18, Harare
13-team pool, with just three wins in 15 matches. It must 2nd ODI - August 20, Harare
be noted that the ODI series is scheduled to finish less A young India squad, led by Shikhar Dhawan, is cur- 3rd ODI - August 22, Harare
than a week before the 2022 Asia Cup, which is set to be rently in the Caribbean for a three-match ODI series that Australia vs Zimbabwe 2022
played between August 27 and September 11, in the UAE. will be followed by five T20Is that finish on August 7 in 1st ODI - August 28, Townsville
Florida. 2nd ODI - August 31, Townsville
With their place at this year's T20 World Cup sealed, 3rd ODI - September 3, Townsville
Zimbabwe will also have an opportunity to acclimatise Earlier last week, Zimbabwe secured their spot at the
to Australian conditions when they tour the country for 2022 T20 World Cup by winning the eight-team qualify- — ESPNCRICINFO
ing tournament in Bulawayo. They beat Netherlands in
the final by 37 runs with Sikandar Raza returning 4 for 8.