WEEKLYDIGEST, April 4, 2022

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AFRICA IN BRIEF May 4 to 10 2022 Weekly Digest 2

‘Back online’: Tanzania’s president Al Shabaab attacks African Union
camp in Somalia, 3 killed
rights predecessor’s wrongs

1 When Tanzania’s presi- 4 Somalia's al Shabaab gion," al Shabaab said in a state-
dent assumed office last group attacked an Af- ment.
year after her predecessor rican Union mission
died suddenly of suspect- troop camp in the Sha- "After a fierce firefight, the Mu-
ed COVID-19, it was seen as belle region in the centre of the jahideen managed to overrun
the beginning of a new era. country, a local elder and the the base and are now in com-
Samia Suluhu Hassan, the East group said on Tuesday, and an- plete control of the entire mili-
African state’s first female presi- other resident said three civilians tary base." Farah Hussein, a shop-
dent, immediately sought to dis- had died in the crossfire. keeper, told Reuters from El Baraf
tance herself from her old boss The resident, who lives in a vil- that after the initial attack, heli-
when she told parliament to “stop lage near the scene, later said he copters were seen flying above
comparing me with [John] Magu- saw two helicopters flying by and the scene.
fuli”. Yet analysts were unsure what gunfire coming from them.
to make of Hassan who was vice "We were awoken by huge "We heard some gunshots and
president in a regime that had iso- blasts early in the morning. The sounds of weapons being fired
lated Tanzania from its neighbours blasts were at the African Union from the helicopters," he said by
and the international communi- mission base. Heavy exchange phone.
ty. Former President John Magu- of gunfire followed," local elder
fuli had pushed Tanzania towards Mohamed Nur told Reuters by "The ATMIS forces are also
new levels of authoritarianism and phone from El Baraf, about 130 in the jungles pursuing the al
turned the country into a glob- km (80 miles) to the north of the Shabaab fighters. So far we know
al pariah due to his denial of COV- capital Mogadishu. three civilians died and five oth-
ID-19. Al Shabaab, which has been ers were injured in the fighting."
Hassan’s trip to the US in April, fighting for years to topple the
her second in less than a year, was central government and estab- Officials in Shabelle and the Af-
viewed by her supporters as proof lish its own rule based on its strict rican Union mission were not im-
that Tanzania is charting a new interpretation of Islam's sharia mediately available to comment
course. law, claimed responsibility for the on the attack.
“It’s a 180-degree turn from what attack.
her predecessor was like,” Fahad "The Mujahideen launched a Al Shabaab frequently carries
Awadh, co-founder of YYTZ Agro- pre-dawn raid on an ATMIS (Afri- out bombings and gun attacks in
Processing, a cashew nut company can Union Mission) military base Mogadishu and elsewhere as part
based in Zanzibar told Al Jazeera. in El Baraf, middle Shabelle re- of its war against the Horn of Afri-
“She is going out and building ca country's central government.
bridges with these other countries. It also attacks soldiers working
She has travelled a lot in the last for the African Union peacekeep-
year going to the UK, France, Bel- ing mission.
gium, Dubai and Kenya and Ugan-
da in the region.” Rejoining the in- — Reuters
ternational community
Her rapid diplomacy is being in- US Vice President Kamala Harris meets with Tanzanian President Samia
terpreted as an intent to woo for- Suluhu Hassan in Harris' ceremonial office on the White House campus,
eign investors back to Tanzania af- on April 15
ter hostile domestic policies and
rhetoric stymied foreign domes- li, known as the “bulldozer” in the garnered $1bn in investment from
tic investment for years. Magufu- international press, spooked for- various American companies, in-
eign firms by slapping huge retro- dicating that foreign investors see
spective fines on mining compa- positive changes in Tanzania. It was
nies and setting tough terms for reported that the US firms were in-
contracts on various development terested in sectors ranging from
projects. tourism to energy.

Hassan’s trip to the US reportedly — Aljazeera

UK's plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda may
be delayed because of legal challenges

2 Britain's plan to send at dealing with migrants crossing grants from Britain to Rwanda
asylum seekers to the Channel, Prime Minister Bo- leave.
Rwanda may take long- ris Johnson's spokesman said on
er to introduce as the Tuesday. The spokesman said it "We have received pre-action
government faces le- may be a number of months be- correspondence," the spokes-
gal challenges to a policy aimed fore the first flights taking mi- man told reporters.

— Reuters

Military government breaks

defence accords with France

Mali’s ruling military has an- Nigeria's Muhammadu Buhari

3 nounced it is breaking its Nigerian president says train
defence accords with attackers using hostages as shields
former colonial rul-
er France, condemn- 5 Armed gangs who kid- “They [the kidnappers] are us-
ing “flagrant violations” napped dozens of ing civilians as human shields,
of its national sovereignty by passengers in an at- thereby making it difficult to con-
the French troops stationed there. tack on a train in north- front them directly,” he said. “It’s
The announcement was the lat- ern Nigeria are using civilians as a delicate situation … Any res-
est sign of deteriorating relations human shields, making it difficult cue operation that results in the
between Mali and France. Author- for the military to carry out a res- death of any hostage cannot be
ities in Bamako said they had in- cue mission, President Muham- deemed a success.”
formed Paris of the decision on madu Buhari said.
Monday afternoon. More than 150 people are still Abductions have become a
France so far has not issued an missing after the March 28 at- near-daily occurrence in north-
official reaction to the announce- tack, according to the Nigerian west Nigeria, where armed gangs,
ment. “For some time now, the Railway Corporation. Families of locally known as bandits, abduct
government of the Republic of the abducted say there is no ev- people for ransom.
Mali notes with regret a profound President of the National Transitional Council Malick Diaw, right, address- idence of rescue efforts from the
deterioration in military coopera- es members of the council during a meeting to vote on a revised charter government. In a statement on The brutal nature of the attacks
tion with France,” spokesman Colo- in Bamako on February 21 Monday, Buhari said the govern- has increased insecurity fears in
nel Abdoulaye Maiga said in a tele- a country also grappling with the
vised statement. Maiga cited mul- Mali in 2014. “For some time now, tion with France,” spokesman Colo- ment, which has been criticised armed group Boko Haram and its
tiple instances of French forces the government of the Republic of nel Abdoulaye Maiga said in a tele- for not doing enough to rescue factions in the northeast and ris-
having violated the country’s air- Mali notes with regret a profound vised statement. the passengers, was trying to ing criminality around the coun-
space. He referred to the June 2021 deterioration in military coopera- avoid a “tragic outcome” in any try.
move by France to end joint opera- — Aljazeera rescue operation.
tions with Malian forces and men- — Aljazeera
tioned another decision taken in
February to pull French troops out
of the West African state.
The agreements Mali has end-
ed were those that set the frame-
work for France’s intervention in

THE DIGEST VIEW May 4 to 10 2022 Weekly Digest 3

Govt

completely

lost on

urban ‘Learning nothing and forgetting nothing’

transport THE House of Bourbons had one not itemised, the beneficiaries are
ing for the return of the banned serious problem, the inability to learn never revealed, but the public carries
Alfonce Mbizwo urban commuter omnibuses. nothing and forget nothing. They the can. So much for our democracy. Paidamoyo Muzulu
continued making the same mistakes This is made possible by the possible
Editor So where are the 464 buses? that in the end caused them to lose corrupt nature among the MPs. US$200 million farm mechanisation
Harare province alone has 30 ma- their power and influence not only in programme introduced by then
I N January this year, acting jor suburbs. Presuming the prov- France, but right across Europe. The Executive gives them central bank governor Gideon Gono
Zupco chief executive Evar- ince received its share of 46 bus- parliamentary cars. Cars that most in 2007. The debt for the programme
isto Mandangwa said: “We es, it then means that only one Louis Bonaparte remains the of the MPs cannot service if they are that brought tractors, combine
received a total of 349 bus- bus should be plying each of the most renowned Bourbon. He ruled out of office basically for free. MPs are harvesters, trailers, ploughs, boom
es (last year) imported by suburbs, right? imperial France, a France that perennially promised housing stands sprayers and other accessories was
the government, excluding those conquered Europe. He was a military in the leafy suburbs, a thing that later taken over by the State under
that were given to the Public Ser- What this then points to, is that strategist and his victory attests to his reminds me of the carrot and stick. the RBZ Debt Assumption Act. The
vice Commission. These buses all those buses are literally falling astuteness. beneficiaries were never revealed.
have been dispatched to all the into a bottomless pit. The MPs, in the hope of receiving
10 provinces where they are oper- The French were so peeved by the the carrot, are induced to look the Why is Cabinet continuing with a
ating and we are expecting more Simply put, all the buses Bourbons that they declared their other way on accountability. They will failed programme? A programme
buses this year. A total of 115 bus- brought into the country by gov- country a republic and disbanded pass the Debt Assumption Bills with that in nearly a quarter of a century
es have been imported via South ernment so far are nowhere near the monarchy. They had had enough perfunctory debates. has failed to bring meaningful
Africa and these will be in the enough to satisfy the country’s of the Bourbons and wanted the returns to the country, except to
country in the coming week.” enormous transport demand, House erased from their history. This week, the Cabinet with its individual beneficiaries who have
which explains why we still have eyes on next year’s election issued a their debts taken over by the State.
Indeed, 115 more buses arrived public transport blues. It is interesting that other countries statement for the continued support
at Beitbridge Border Post en- still have monarchies, albeit in a to farmers. Loans that are State- The answer is simple. This has
route from China. We were real- Therefore, President Emmerson different form than the imperial guaranteed. In 2021, only 14% of been an election gimmick. Zanu
ly elated. Mnangagwa should not waste his monarchies of the gone era. The farmers paid back the loans, with the PF harvests electoral votes from
time and energy accusing private British still have the House of Windsor outstanding amount being taken the farmers and their families each
At the time we were told that transporters of all sorts of misde- and the Dutch still have the House of over by the state. election season.
there were already more than 1 meanours, including ripping off Orange.
000 new buses that the country the country’s poorly paid work- The Cabinet said in the 2022/23 These are farmers dependent
had reportedly bought so far to ers. They are now constitutional agriculture season, the National on the State and have their debts
ostensibly to resuscitate the ail- monarchies, ceremonial, but with the Enhanced Agriculture Scheme written off. It is about elections and
ing Zimbabwe United Passenger “The Second Republic is deter- power to unite their citizens. funding for traditional grains will keeping a certain section of voters
Company (Zupco). Although the mined to retain the purchasing be funded through State-owned beholden to Zanu PF. Voters, on
veracity of the claim cannot be power of workers, through viable It is the idea of “learning nothing financial institutions, CBZ Bank and the other side, are happy to have a
physically verified, we know for a public transport systems. Gov- and forgetting nothing” that excites Agriculture Finance Corporation government that cancels their debts.
fact that 464 buses were import- ernment will not stand by and me. We have the same problems in (AFC). The scheme is expected to Many have joined the bandwagon of
ed in the recent past. watch while hard earned incomes Zimbabwe, an electorate that learns cover 205 000 hectares under maize, not paying their bills in the hope they
of our workers are being stolen by nothing and forgets nothing and a 15 000 hectares under soya beans would be cancelled on the eve of
Therefore, if all the 464 bus- mushika-shika and makaronyera. leadership in the same mould too. and 3 000 hectares under sunflowers. elections like what happened in 2013.
es were divided equally between No!” Mnangagwa fumed on the
each of the country’s 10 provinc- occasion of this year’s Workers’ Since 2000, we are now closing The Cabinet said: “Farmers will The combination of political
es, each province should be hav- Day commemorations. to a quarter century, the State has receive funding for seed, fertilizers, leaders and voters who “learn
ing quite a handsome number supported resettled farmers post the chemicals, irrigation, electricity, nothing and forget nothing” is
of buses; actually 46, to be more But the buses he believes are land reform programme. It has given labour, combine harvesting services Zimbabwe’s crisis. It ensures the
precise. enough to service the nation them farming inputs and equipment and transport.” country continues getting the same
are, unfortunately, not enough. on a platform that should have been party returned to power despite
So, it should, indeed, come as The country, whose population a revolving fund. Basically, farmers have everything its obvious shortcomings. The
a great surprise that the country, is growing quite fast, needs not guaranteed and the only expectation electorate is refusing to change and
especially the two major cities only buses, but other forms of The originators of the idea knew is for them to produce. The voila, it plays into Zanu PF’s hands
of Bulawayo and Harare are still transport like efficient commut- something that the general citizens statement further said: “Under a perfectly.
having serious transport prob- er trains and trams to abate the did not, that the supposed loans were robust Agriculture Mechanisation
lems to the point of people call- transport crisis. a largesse and would never be paid and Tillage Services programme, Paidamoyo Muzulu is a journalist
back. So for 22 years to date, farmers four facilities are expected to deliver based in Zimbabwe. He writes in
The number of urban settle- have been getting this support, but 3 127 tractors, 56 combine harvesters his personal capacity.
ments have phenomenally grown interestingly, production figures have and 1 100 planters. AFC is offering
that Harare may arguably actu- not been improving. tillage and harvesting services, while
ally require 1 000 buses to ade- farmers will be able to hire a total
quately meet its public transport Zimbabwe continues to import of 245 tractors and 47 combine
needs. cereals each year to keep its citizens harvesters.”
fed yet each season billions are
But, why is government so in- poured to the farmers. Where is the In presenting this agriculture
tent on monopolising everything money going? It is a fact that a lot of financing package, Cabinet’s primary
in this country, including trans- the inputs procured under Command concern was food security. It has
port? Agriculture and the Presidential Input been Cabinet’s concern since 2000.
Scheme are sold on the open market Yet, 22 years later, it is still far from
Does the government even re- by the farmers. achieving its target.
alise that by pushing out private
transporters from urban trans- Instead of farming, they sell the Cabinet did not give any
portation, it has destroyed many inputs to real farmers. Shockingly, background to State funding of
livelihoods and drove many peo- they do not repay the debts they agriculture since 2000 because it
ple into abject poverty? The simply look away and Parliament would have caused grim reading.
country no longer has enough in its wisdom or lack of it year after The billions of United States dollars
formal jobs to sustain livelihoods year endorses the takeover of private poured does not match the return.
already destroyed by a decades- loans by the Treasury.
old economic meltdown. It did not say anything about the
In true mafia style, the debts are

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ANALYSIS May 4 to 10 2022 Weekly Digest 4

US$280m

maize

bill could

choke

govt

drought. of the drought-tolerant crops that sur- ing pastures for our cattle, goats and
“The rains are welcome relief for some vived the moisture stress, for the graz- sheep. The rains are also good for re-

TBY FIDELITY MHLANGA
HE cash strapped Zimbabwe-
an government faces the ar-
duous task of raising about
US$280 million to import at
least 900 000 tonnes of grain
following a poor season that will result
in output plunging by as much as 50%
meaning that the year will be character-
ised by hunger and deepening poverty.

Last year, the country enjoyed a fine
season producing 2,7 million tonnes of
maize.

Of that, an estimated 987 000 tonnes
(t) was delivered to the Grain Marketing
Board (GMB).

However, experts project that deliver-
ies of surplus maize to GMB by mostly
risk-averse smallholder farmers this sea-
son are estimated to plunge 67%. This
threatens government’s 2022 growth
projection of 5,5% along with other im-
pediments which include currency dis-
tortions and the impact of the Russia/
Ukraine war which has wreaked havoc
on supply chains globally.

Government lifted the ban on maize
and wheat imports in February this year,
an ominous sign of the food shortage
that will hit the country this year. In its
Article IV 2022 report the Internation-
al Monetary Fund revealed that at least
a third of Zimbabwe’s estimated 16 mil-
lion people face starvation as a result of
high inflation and exchange rate fragil-
ities, which have been compounded by
a poor rainfall season.

The country is awaiting the imminent
release of the Second Round Crop and
Livestock Assessment Report by the
Ministry of Agriculture which will con-
firm the magnitude of the maize crop
failure in terms of planted area written
off. The projected harvest decline in to-
tal maize production by industry ex-
perts is estimated to be as high as 50%.

“The season was a bad one in that
there was a false start to the rains and
people who were doing dry plant-
ing were badly affected and as peo-
ple tried to replant they continued to
be hit hard by the dry spell and when
the rains came they were quite inces-
sant such that farmers could not plant
because they was too much rain,” Zim-
babwe Commercial farmers Union pres-
ident Shadreck Makombe said.

“However, with time, it was now an
issue of people saying whenever they
got a window period they could just
put down whatever they had. In terms
of harvesting you would find it’s a pro-
longed harvest period and hence these
rains are affecting those crops which
are drying. But there are some crops
which are also benefiting. So, this sea-
son it’s really a bad season. Statistical-
ly we have not got the figures, but just
by rough estimates, we are going to get
something around 40%. So, the harvest
is quite bad.”

Agriculture economist Reneth Mano
said the fairly good rains received dur-
ing the last few weeks of April were too
late for most of the maize crop dev-
astated by the prolonged mid-season

ANALYSIS May 4 to 10 2022 Weekly Digest 5

charging the water table and filling of irrigated production of winter wheat, said. ing maize production will tumble by
our water bodies that are essential for horticulture and for tobacco,” Mano Mano concurred with Makombe say- 50%.

INVITATION TO DOMESTIC COMPETITIVE TENDER “The decline in total maize pro-
duction is as high as 50%. The deliv-
Tender Number Site Visit Closing Date and Time Description ery of surplus maize to Grain Market-
ing Board by mostly risk-averse small-
1. COH/DOW/S.8/2022 N/A 17 MAY 2022 AT SUPPLY AND DELIVERY OF holders may fall even more precipi-
10:00HRS. MATERIALS FOR SOLID tously by as much as 67% from 987
WASTE MANAGEMENT 000t that GMB bought in 2021 to 350
PUSH CARTS 000t. This is not enough maize to sat-
isfy the commercial demand for maize
2. COH/DOW/S.9/2022 N/A 31 MAY 2022 AT SUPPLY AND DELIVERY OF and strategic grain requirements of
10:00HRS. PLANT AND EQUIPMENT Zimbabwe. The commercial demand
3. COH/S.9/2022 N/A for maize from milling companies and
31 MAY 2022 AT SUPPLY AND DELIVERY OF stockfeed companies is around 900
4. COH/S.10/2022 N/A 10:00HRS. DESKTOP COMPUTERS 000t per year and our minimum na-
AND PRINTERS tional strategic grain requirements is
31 MAY 2022 AT 500 000t. Should Round2 Crop As-
10:00HRS. SUPPLY AND DELIVERY OF sessment confirm the pessimistic mar-
NETWORKING EQUIPMENT ket expectations, Zimbabwe would be
AND ACCESSORIES facing a big shortfall in the domestic
maize market over the 2022-23 mar-
Tenders to be in sealed envelopes and endorsed on the outside with the advertised Tender Number, keting year,” Mano said.
Title of the Tender, the closing date and time which are submitted before the closing date and time at
Town House (Room 108) addressed to: - He urged domestic millers and stock
The Acting Town Clerk feed private industry and the nation
City of Harare, at large to start making plans to raise
Town House, the foreign currency needed to secure
Julius Nyerere Way, from the regional and global grain
Harare markets import orders of 700 000 to
900 000t of maize for timeous deliv-
Bidding documents with detailed specifications are obtainable from the Supply Chain Manager at ery into Zimbabwe between May 2022
Number 2 Coventry Road, Workington, Harare upon payment of a non-refundable fee of and April 2023.
ZWL$1,500.00
“Given the current global supply
ACTING TOWN CLERK chain bottlenecks and rising global
market prices for maize, there is need
May Her Dear Soul Rest In Peace. for government and the private sector
to set up a national maize importation
taskforce to coordinate the timeous
importation of maize at minimum cost
to the nation by avoiding the costly
coordination failures of recent times.
The Government of Zimbabwe shall
be called upon to be proactive on the
policy front and to prioritise payments
for staple maize imports in the weekly
allocation of foreign currency through
the RBZ-managed auction system as a
matter of national security, Mano said.

Zambian maize will land at an aver-
age price of US$260 –US$280/t.

Using the South Africa SAFEX fu-
tures market maize average price is
US$320 –US$340/t.

Assuming 50% imports from Zam-
bia and 50% imports via SAFEX, the
Total bill could be US$279 million or
$43,245 billion at the current official
auction rate.

Food security is a crucial component
of economic stability and national se-
curity.

According to the Agriculture and
Food Systems Strategy launched in
2020, government envisage to attain
a US$8,2 billion industry by 2025.

Cabinet said in order to maintain
farmer viability and profitability, pric-
es for maize, traditional grains, soya
bean and sunflower need to be re-
viewed upwards, so that they are in
sync with existing economic realities.
A good price that promotes sustaina-
ble growth of a particular value chain
is that which allows the farmer to real-
ise at least a 15% profit margin.

As a result, government upped the
maize and traditional grains producer
price to $75 000/t; soya bean at $171
495/t; and sunflower at $205 794,52/t.

COVER May 4 to 10 2022 Weekly Digest 6

High stakes for Zim’s reluctant youths in 2023

"BY SHARON BUWERIMWE people, including first-time voters, were a the country’s future. years and younger. However, a few par-
I AM not voting for anyone in this testimony that youths have the power to Only the old age flocked to polling sta- ticipate in elections as observed in the
election - I am voting for my job. I detect the country’s future. March by-elections.
can't go four years without a job," tions compared to the young generation
said an unemployed Zambian Youths voted for jobs, economic and implying that their future is being deter- Looking at the 2018 voter’s roll, Pro-
youth last year. political reforms. mined by the former. ject Vote 263 observed that voter apathy
Zambian elections held last year, whose amongst youths stood at 48% while from
results were largely influenced by young However, a snapshot of Zimbabwe’s According to a report by Kubatana, the 36 years and above stood at 27%.
March by-elections and the just ended country has a population of about 16 mil-
voter registration blitz speaks of a youth lion people, with approximately 77,9% of “Based on the 2018 voters roll (whose
that has no power and will to determine this population being youths aged 34 integrity was contested), from the age of

COVER May 4 to 10 2022 Weekly Digest 7

18- 19, 213 866 registered to vote and only pate in the elections. poyi said the apathy was due to lack of of tomorrow. They should be given a
182 384 voted and voter apathy rate stood “About 1 977 512 out of 2 507 991 reg- registration centres and lack of informa- chance and make registration accessi-
at 46,1%. tion by Zimbabwe Electoral Commission ble. Zec should increase its registration
istered youths did not vote,” Project Vote (Zec). centres,” Chipoyi said.
For 25-29 years age group, 729 749 reg- 263 said.
istered to vote and only 622 326 voted. “Zec should work hard to motivate According to We Lead Trust, lack of
For the 30-34 years age group, 787 786 As Zimbabwe approaches the much- youths to register to vote as they are the participation is a result of a conflation
registered to vote and 671 820 only vot- awaited 2023 elections, Weekly Digest biggest population in the country. There of issues ranging from general lack of
ed. Total voter apathy stood at 48%,” read conducted several interviews with po- is not enough information on the blitz interest, insufficient information that
the report. litical analysts and election watchdogs and some never understood what it was. enables participation and insufficient
to establish the causes of voter apathy Zec must make sure that they don’t leave funds to address the electoral and
Project Vote 263 also observed that al- among youths. the youths behind; they are our leaders governmental needs of youths.
most two million youths did not partici-
Project Vote 263 chairperson, Allan Chi- Political analysts said the apathy has
been caused by lack of credibility and
Press Statement transparency in electoral processes.
3 MAY 2022
Vivid Gwede, a political analyst said:
ZLHR STATEMENT ON WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY “The current youth apathy is a sign
of lack of trust and confidence in the
ON World Press Freedom Day, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human are relied upon by journalists when they are performing their electoral process which calls for fur-
Rights (ZLHR) pays tribute to the brave media practitioners in work. This fundamental principle is considered to be essential for ther reforms Zec. There is also a need
Zimbabwe and across the globe, who continue to pursue the press freedom by many countries across the globe. The hacking to increase civic and voter education
truth despite the persecution they often endure from autocratic of journalists in order to expose whistle-blowers undermines amongst youth ahead of the 2023
governments. effective journalism because it discourages ordinary citizens election through avenues and means
from exposing malpractices by governments, out of fear of being that are attractive and accessible to
As we reect on the importance of a free press to Zimbabwe's persecuted and arrested for revealing the truth. young people.”
democracy, ZLHR calls upon government to uphold and promote
media freedom in the country, in accordance with the In Zimbabwe, journalists continue to be targeted, arrested and Another political analyst, Methule-
constitutional obligations and to desist from the practice of detained by the authorities for their work. The authorities accuse si Moyo said political parties need to
persecuting journalists and other media practitioners. journalists of being anti-government whenever they expose work hard to convince youths to reg-
administrative malpractices, corruption and gross human rights ister to vote.
Commemorated annually on 3 May, World Press Freedom Day, violations by the government. These systematic attacks on
was established by a proclamation of the United Nations General journalists and other media personnel for their work violates the “Youths are disillusioned and des-
Assembly in December 1993 and is an opportunity for everyone constitutionally-protected right to freedom of expression and olate. They have lost hope in any-
to show solidarity with members of the press, journalists and freedom of the media. In terms of section 61(2) of the thing Zimbabwean, more so elections.
other media professionals. It is also an opportunity for members Constitution of Zimbabwe, every person is entitled to freedom of They seem to believe that nothing will
of the public to salute and honour the journalists and media the media, which freedom includes protection of the change even if people vote. They have
professionals who have lost their lives while working to condentiality of journalists' sources of information. been exposed to the belief that elec-
disseminate information to the public. World Press Freedom Day tions are rigged. So they don’t see any
is also an opportunity for the public to demand press freedom The Zimbabwean authorities also undermine press freedom in use in voting. Political parties need to
and the protection of journalists from their governments. the country by failing to ensure impartiality within the state- work hard to convince youths to regis-
controlled media. The state-controlled media promotes the ter and vote,” Moyo said.
The theme for World Press Freedom Day in 2022 is “Journalism causes of the ruling party, to the exclusion of opposing views.
under digital siege.” The theme highlights the risks that digital This state of affairs continues to prevail despite the fact that the Effie Ncube said youths are not po-
surveillance and internet hacking pose to press freedom. state has a constitutional obligation to ensure impartiality and litically empowered, adding that the
Governments across the world are using digital surveillance to equal opportunity within state-owned media. All state-owned constitution does not give them a
target journalists who are working to expose abuses of power, media must be impartial and provide a fair opportunity for the chance to be elected as presidents as
human rights violations, corruption and administrative presentation of divergent views and dissenting opinions, in terms they are less than 40 years.
incompetence. This targeting of journalists through digital of section 61(4) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. ZLHR urges the
platforms has a chilling effect on the journalists who work authorities to comply with their constitutional obligation to ensure “The biggest problem that we have
tirelessly to ensure government accountability and transparency. impartiality within state-owned media. is that young people are not political-
The targeted journalists are often tracked down, arrested and ly empowered. They are treated as just
detained by the authorities. The digital surveillance of journalists On this World Press Freedom Day, ZLHR calls upon: followers who should just be voting for
and other members of the press violates democratic principles, older people in different political par-
which prioritise press freedom and freedom of expression. Ÿ The public to salute the brave journalists in Zimbabwe and ties. It’s high time we gave the youths
across the globe; who continue to pursue the truth despite the the power within the political insti-
Press freedom is also being undermined by internet hacking. persecution they often face from autocratic governments; tutions that is proportionate to their
Autocratic governments across the globe are hacking journalists numbers. It is therefore an unreason-
communication systems in order to expose their information Ÿ Government to uphold and promote press freedom in able expectation that at least 50% of
sources and whistle-blowers within governments. Such hacks Zimbabwe, in accordance with their constitutional the high positions of parliamentarians,
violate the fundamental principle of source protection, which obligations; councillors should be people who are
requires the authorities to desist from exposing the sources that considered youths. That way younger
Ÿ Government to comply with its constitutional obligation to people begin to inspire more people
ensure impartiality within state-owned media. to participate politically and this has
to be peer driven.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
Kodzero/Amalungelo House “The other reason is that only per-
sons with 40 years and above can be
No. 103 Sam Nujoma Street, Harare, Zimbabwe voted into office as president is mar-
Phone: (+263 8677005347, +263 242 764085/705370/708118 ginalising youths from leading the
country. It’s time we change that. Let’s
Email: [email protected] give youths an opportunity because
www.zlhr.org.zw there is no scientific or other empirical
evidence to suggest that when a per-
FOLLOW US:@ZLHRLAWYERS ON TWITTER | son is 40 years and above, they are in
ZIMBABWE LAWYERS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ON FACEBOOK a better position to govern the coun-
try in a profitable way. So we should
remove that constitutional ban so that
young people are not just voters for
those who want to be president but
can also be elected even if they are 28
or 30,” Ncube said.

Another political commentator,
Rashweat Mukundu said: “The main
reason for low youth voter registration
is a restrictive and slow process of ID
access for youth. There is a correlation
between low youth voter registration
and lack of access to IDs. The ID cri-
sis is a voter suppression strategy es-
pecially in urban centres.”

An election watchdog, Election Re-
source Centre (ERC)’s legal and advo-
cacy officer, Takunda Tsunga also said:
“Voter apathy is a result of the breaks
in the trust relationship between citi-
zens and Zec due to a lack of credibil-
ity and transparency in electoral pro-
cesses coupled by an electoral frame-
work that repeatedly and systemati-
cally gets undermined.

“Citizens begin realising that elec-
tions are not producing the intend-
ed results in terms of democratic pro-
gression, therefore, this results in lower
participation levels.”

To curtail voter apathy among the
youth, several initiatives have been
launched. One such initiative is Project
Vote 263 which is driven by a group
of eager youths who came together
and volunteered to push the gospel of
voter registration under the hashtag
#RegisterToVoteZW.

FEATURE May 4 to 10 2022 Weekly Digest 8

ZITF charts new ground
»»… but more work still required

TMTHANDAZO NYONI Econet’s award-winning stand at ZITF Grace, failed to exhibit. Omega Dairy was adjudged as
HE 62nd edition of the pha and Omega Dairy — a fresh owned by the late former Presi- During its heyday, Alpha and one of the best exhibitors at ZITF,
Zimbabwe Interna- milk and dairy products company dent Robert Mugabe and his wife,
tional Trade Fair (ZITF),
which ran in Bulawayo
last week, was a mixed
bag.

It registered a significant de-
gree of success in terms of exhib-
itor participation levels, but failed
in terms of the quality of exhibi-
tions.

Running under the theme: “Re-
think, Reimagine, and Reinvent
Value Chains for Economic De-
velopment”, the fair attracted 514
exhibitors and 14 countries.

COVID-19 pandemic-induced
lockdowns restricted exhibitors
to 342 direct exhibitors from nine
countries last year, but restric-
tions have since been relaxed, as
governments begin the process
of rebuilding economies shat-
tered by the scourge.

The ZITF, one of the biggest
such international showcases in
Africa, is organised by the ZITF
Company, which has the man-
date to promote and stimulate
trade and investment in Zimba-
bwe.

While ailing State enterpris-
es and parastatals such as the
National Railways of Zimbabwe,
the Grain Marketing Board and
the Hwange Colliery Company
returned to the fair this year Al-

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FEATURE May 4 to 10 2022 Weekly Digest 9

receiving multiple awards from 2015 to 2017, the The programme consisted of presen- capital development in order to create a Weekly Digest also noted that compa-
year Mugabe was overthrown in a military coup. tations, panel discussions and breaka- self-sustaining and enterprising econo- nies were reluctant to dish out branded
way sessions in key thematic areas –in- my. materials, maybe due to tough econom-
The good dustrial and trade policy, infrastructure ic conditions currently prevailing in the
In terms of the number of exhibitors, the fair development as well as innovation and Career guidance sessions and presen- country.
was well subscribed compared to last year. the digital economy. tations also ran parallel while the Innova-
Due to overwhelming exhibition space de- tors’ Forum ran under the theme: “Inno- Organisers also need to invest in a
mand, ZITF organisers had to create more space In addition to regional policy makers vation for Sustainable Value Chains.” functional media centre so that journal-
to accommodate close to 60 exhibitors, after 71 in the areas of industrialisation, trade, ists can be able to file their stories in real
new exhibitors trooped in from Malawi, Japan, ICT and infrastructure development, the The session incorporated a pitch com- time. The one which they provided this
Mozambique, Namibia, Indonesia, Zambia, An- programme line up also featured local petition, a hackathon and speaker pres- year had no computers, defeating the
gola, South Africa, Belarus, Ethiopia, Kenya, Brit- industrialists, business leaders, and de- entations. purpose of a media centre.
ain, Tanzania and Botswana. velopment practitioners.
It was worth to note that Britain, which was The forum provided a platform for Visitors who spoke to Weekly Digest
represented by its Embassy in Zimbabwe, also This year’s ZITF also had platforms tar- young innovators and entrepreneurs to complained about high entry fees.
took part after a long period of non-participation. geted at the youth to discuss topics such highlight their innovations, network and
Zimbabwe’s former coloniser, together with as education and innovation. exchange knowledge with their peers, “They were demanding US$5 per adult
other European Union countries, imposed sanc- with a view to reviving the industry. and US$3 a child, which I regard as too
tions on the country in 2001 in protest at human The platform, according to Industry much considering our economic situ-
rights abuses and violations of democracy under and Commerce minister, Sekai Nzenza The bad ation,” Memory Dube, a mother of four,
the Mugabe administration. Nzenza, aimed to examine how best the Time is money, so goes the adage. said.
Belarus, which has taken interest in the coun- future leaders could be empowered and During the three major conferences
try’s mining, transport and energy sectors, how best they could benefit from current which were held concurrently with ZITF, By charging unaffordable fees, the or-
brought eight companies that showcased ma- initiatives. Weekly Digest observd that they all start- ganisers denied exhibitors a chance to
chinery and equipment for agriculture, mining, ed late due to late arrival of the guest of sell or advertise their products to a large
transportation and engineering. These events included the Scholastica honour. number of people.
Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce Conference held on Tuesday, which ran For instance, ZITF IBC and Connect Af-
vice-president Golden Muoni said this year’s re- under the theme: “Economic develop- rica Symposium, which were both offi- The ZITF Company charged US$20 as
invigorated showcase set the tone for better ex- ment through innovation and heritage: ciated by Chiwenga kicked off around entry fee during business days.
hibitions to come. Promoting talent and skill-based educa- 11am instead of 8am according to the
“Not much to our expectations. As we are com- tion”. programme. On Friday, the official opening day
ing from this pandemic, obviously it was neces- This forced event directors to rush the graced by President Emmerson Mnan-
sary for us to set the tone for industry and the The forum brought together learners, speakers, something which is not pro- gagwa, ZANU-PF supporters turned up
country,” Muoni told Weekly Digest. education experts and career advisors gressive. in their numbers, a sign that in Zimba-
“There were not many international companies, to share information on strategic human bwe politics takes precedence over the
signaling a fatigue brought about by COVID-19. economy.
So I think this one is just setting the tone for the
next coming 2023 trade fair. This is what many
companies would be geared for. My assessment
is that I didn't see much in terms of business vibe.
So let's set the tone for 2023 to 2025,” he added.
Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries vice
president Joseph Gunda said even though they
have not yet completed their survey, ZITF 2022
was a success.
“We had a growth in exhibitors. I think the ap-
proximate figure there is about 528 exhibitors.
So the impact is going to be felt. Judging by the
numbers that we saw, it tells a story that there's a
keen interest in people wanting to showcase their
products and to engage with each other,” he said.
ZimTrade chief executive officer Allan Majuru
said for them the fair was good “because the en-
terprises which we sponsored to exhibit at the fair
managed to meet with potential investors who
want to put money into their operations.”
Bee's Honey technical director Welcome Bhila
said the trade showcase has been better than the
previous years in terms of business generated.
"We have been exposed to local and interna-
tional markets. The business we generated from
here was good," he said.
Balzer Trading sales representative Martin
Manjoro said: "It has been an eye opener and we
got so many inquiries. This will go a long way."
Economist Stevenson Dhlamini said this year's
ZITF was very well subscribed and the standard
of the exhibitions was quite high.
“This is reflecting the economic trajectory that
is improving. The increased number of interna-
tional exhibitors also is a plus on the side of the
organisers. Perhaps what needs to be improved
by the organizers is the size of the stands be-
cause some exhibitors had to be turned away be-
cause of over-subscription,” he said.
The discussions held during three major con-
ferences resonated well with the theme. Unlike
other years, this year the conferences were re-for-
matted to address specific stakeholder feedback
including a wider diversity of views in their pro-
gramming, increased opportunities for engage-
ment and networking as well as a focused and
solution-oriented outlook.
In other previous conferences, speakers would
come and deliver speeches with little or no en-
gagements taking place.
This time it was different though Vice-President
Constantino Chiwenga, who was a guest of hon-
our at two conferences—ZITF international busi-
ness conference (ZITF IBC) and Connect Africa
Symposium—did not respond to questions from
the floor.
During the ZITF IBC, there were frank discus-
sions on the country’s progress towards structural
transformation and moving the economy up the
value chain in line with the National Development
Strategy 1.
The ZITF Diplomats Forum held on Thursday
proved to be relevant for business and diplomat-
ic exchanges.
With a pan-African flair, the event brought local
and regional political leaders, key economic play-
ers and investors together in discussing and shar-
ing solutions to the socio-economic challenges
across the African continent.
The focus of the event was on strengthening
trade and productive integration through in-
dustrial policy, which harnesses regional value-
chains.

FEATURE May 4 to 10 2022 Weekly Digest 10

Conservation conflicts: land
use in Zimbabwe’s Lowveld
TIAN SCOONES
he conservation of bi- all sides of the story, including farmers and herders living on the searching for solutions that in- about park boundaries and fenc-
odiversity in plac- those who are often not heard margins of the wildlife estate. volve all parties is essential, es or about investments in large-
es where people also in conservation debates – poorer whether over controversies scale farming, as in the Chilonga
live and farm is not Seeking compromises and
straightforward. The
last three blogs have offered
some perspectives on the di-
lemmas faced in the southeast
Lowveld of Zimbabwe, and this
blog offers an overview.

The politics of land in this re-
gion is much contested and has
been for much of the last cen-
tury. National parks, conservan-
cies, hunting concessions, sug-
ar estates, large-scale farms and
small-scale farming and herding
all compete for space. Beyond
the irrigated estates and farms, it
is a dry and hostile place, where
carving out a living is difficult.
This is made more challenging
for those living close to areas
where wildlife also live, especial-
ly as the exploding population of
elephants spills over destroying
crops in their wake.

All these land uses will be part
of the future of the southeast
Lowveld near the Gonarezhou
park, but how to make sure that
conflicts don’t escalate and live-
lihoods are not destroyed? This
was the focus of the most re-
cently published trio of blogs.
Based on our recent discussions
in the area, they aimed to offer

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FEATURE May 4 to 10 2022 Weekly Digest 11

case. Ignoring local views only creates more con- CONGRATULATIONS
flict and resentment. This was the lesson learned
when the CAMPFIRE concept was developed –
the importance of sharing benefits so as to have
a joint commitment to the future both of wildlife
and of livelihoods. As the last blog in this series
shows this illustrious Zimbabwean experiment
has run into problems, but learning lessons from
these is the route to a more effective approach
to conservation, rather than reverting to the ‘for-
tress conservation’ models of the past.

Since this blog series was published during
Easter/Ramadan/Passover periods and read-
ers may have missed them, I thought I would
have a reprise this week, providing links to all
three. Read them together and please feel free
to comment on the blogs, whether you agree or
disagree. The important point is to have a de-
bate about the future of biodiversity, conserva-
tion and livelihoods.

This is a long running discussion, but one that
needs more airing across different viewpoints if
the ambitions of the action plan on biodiversity
to be launched at the forthcoming Biodiversity
COP in China are ever to be met.

This post is a compilation of the short series
of three blogs on conservation and develop-
ment issues in Zimbabwe and was written by
Ian Scoones and originally appeared on Zim-
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FEATURE May 4 to 10 2022 Weekly Digest 12

Her

superpower

is

rural

borehole

repair which aren’t working because they need ral Resettlement plans to drill 44,600 bore- holes. It’s unclear if the ministry met the first
spare parts — are not enough for the 2,900 holes countrywide by 2025. In 2021, the phase of that goal in 2021. Primrose Masi-
When Primrose Masiyakurima trained households they’re meant to service. Treasury and other government ministries yakurima stands at a borehole after repair
to become a village pump mechan- made available 1.11 billion Zimbabwean dol- work in Dora Pindo, a rural area on the out-
ic, she didn’t know that she would To address the shortage, the Ministry of lars ($7.4 million) to drill around 1,800 bore- skirts of Mutare.
later be regarded as a hero in Dora Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Ru- l TO PAGE 13
Pindo, a rural area of close to 3,000
households situated about 20 kilometers (12 miles) COMPETITIVE BIDDING
outside the city of Mutare, in eastern Zimbabwe.
Tenders are invited from registered suppliers for the supply of goods and services
She plays an instrumental role in ensuring her below. Tender documents are available upon written request to
community and other nearby towns have a constant [email protected] citing the full description of the tender and its
water supply through her knowledge and expertise tender reference number. The document is free of charge. Petrotrade will not
in repairing boreholes, deep and narrow depressions allow walk in customers for the purposes of acquiring tender documents due to
carved into the ground to locate and extract water. Covid-19 regulations.
Millions of Zimbabweans rely on more than 40,000
boreholes for their water, but repairs by government Tenders are invited for the following:
officials can take days. Masiyakurima and other vil-
lage pump mechanics ensure access to potable wa- Tender Number Description Closing Date
ter by repairing boreholes in rural areas. PT/FTS/26/2022 Provision of fuel transporting 3 June 2022
services
“As long as it is a minor problem, it takes me
hours to restore the borehole,” says Masiyakurima, Tenders must be submitted to The Head of Procurement Management Unit,
39. Many of the other village pump mechanics she Petrotrade, 7th Floor Noczim House, 100 Leopold Takawira Street, Harare and
trained with in 2017 have since abandoned the work, must be enclosed in sealed envelopes endorsed on the outside, with the
citing lack of payment — so Masiyakurima has mas- advertised tender number, closing date and the nature of supply.Tenders must be
tered repairing boreholes on her own, or with help posted in time to be sorted into Post Office Box CY 223, Causeway, before 10:00am
from community members. on the closing date.

The experience has paid off. “I always joke that I
can even do this in my sleep,” she says.

Masiyakurima is one of nine women and 87 men
trained as village pump mechanics under the Com-
munity-Based Management initiative, a component
of the rural Water, Sanitation and Hygiene program
in Mutare district. The program is a collaboration be-
tween the government and the United Nations Chil-
dren’s Fund, known as UNICEF, to help ensure sus-
tainable, safe water and sanitation for Zimbabweans
in rural areas.

Evidence Chenjerai, GPJ Zimbabwe
Primrose Masiyakurima trained as a village pump
mechanic and uses the skills acquired during the
training to handle repairs at 26 boreholes serving 12
villages in her area.
The program doesn’t provide the mechanics with
a stipend, although sometimes community mem-
bers will gather money to pay them. Masiyakurima
says she usually receives $10 or $20 for a repair.
Repairs by the Department of District Develop-
ment Fund, the government agency responsible for
drilling and maintaining boreholes, are often slow-
going; even if all spare parts are available, they can
take up to three days. So Masiyakurima and her fel-
low village pump mechanics step in when they can
to fix minor problems.
The Zimbabwean Constitution guarantees the
right to safe, clean and potable water, but according
to a 2020 report by the World Health Organization
and UNICEF, just 63% of Zimbabweans have basic
drinking water services. A 2020 Gallup World Poll re-
ports that 53% of Zimbabweans are dissatisfied with
local water quality.
The coronavirus pandemic has increased the need
for reliable water supplies, especially for rural com-
munities that can’t afford hand sanitizers and oth-
er personal protective equipment, and worsened
the water crisis in Zimbabwe that existed well before
COVID-19.
Aid agencies and government ministries have
been working for at least 15 years to boost local wa-
ter access across the country, and village pump me-
chanics have been touted as key to that effort, with
trainings dating to 2007 under different organiza-
tions. As of 2014, UNICEF had trained 1,215 village
pump mechanics.
Zimbabwe has approximately 41,754 boreholes in
various provinces, according to data by the Ministry
of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Re-
settlement. But the functionality of those boreholes
stands at just 55%, due to the lack of repairs to those
that have broken down, Dr. Anxious Masuka, head of
the ministry, said in a parliamentary hearing last year.
In addition to the difficult work of making repairs
to existing boreholes, local and government officials
acknowledge a need to drill more.
Councilor Abu Masibango, of Dora Pindo’s Ward
35, says the 26 boreholes in his area — three of

FEATURE May 4 to 10 2022 Weekly Digest 13

l FROM PAGE 12 lenges the agency faces, according to the report, are lack of move around a lot, and they are passionate about what they
Edwin Toriro, director of water supplies and maintenance at transport to get to areas to repair boreholes, shortage of fuel do. We, however, know any problem with our water source,
to do so, lack of spare parts and lack of tools to use in repairs. Masiyakurima is readily available for us.”
the District Development Fund, says that 629 boreholes of the
1,800 targeted for 2021 had been drilled as of September by “For the communities, parts cannot be sourced at local For Masiyakurima, motivation is found close to home.
both the group and development partners. The agency was hardware suppliers but from a select few hardware stores, “Being a mother, I know the struggles of walking long dis-
responsible for drilling 203 of the 629, falling short of its tar- which increases the time and cost of fixing the broken-down tances looking for water,” she says, “which is why I do what I
get goal of 399, according to an agency report published in borehole,” says Toriro. do.”
December. The final number of boreholes drilled by develop-
ment partners last year wasn’t available. Masibango, the councilor, says Masiyakurima’s training as a Evidence Chenjerai is a Global Press Journal reporter
village pump mechanic has proved invaluable to Dora Pindo. based in Mutare, Zimbabwe.
Toriro says another challenge of maintaining sustainable
water supplies is securing enough resources to make availa- “Being a woman in a male-dominated field has been
ble spare parts for all the broken-down boreholes. The chal- a blessing to us as a community,” he says. “Women do not

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POLITICS May 4 to 10 2022 Weekly Digest 14

ZEC has broad powers to ensure a free, fair, and credible election

TALEX MAGAISA tions may not be within the expertise of the commis- proval of the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamen-
here is a video clip in ten in the Constitution or primary sion which it would be reasonable to delegate to a tary Affairs. Section 192(6) of the Electoral Act states
which the Chairperson of legislation. For example, the ZEC’s third party. So far, I have focused on express powers that “Regulations made in terms of subsection (1) and
the Zimbabwe Electoral express powers are outlined in sec- that are stated in the Constitution. However, other im- statutory instruments made in terms of subsection (4)
Commission, Justice Pris- tion 239 of the Constitution. They portant express powers are stated in the Electoral Act. shall not have effect until they have been approved by
cilla Chigumba claims are stated as functions and under Section 5 of the Electoral Act makes provision for the Minister and published in the Gazette.” This is bad
that she and her organization have Zimbabwean law, functions are “additional functions and powers” of ZEC. These in- law because it undermines the independence of ZEC.
no power to perform functions that interpreted as powers. The most clude “undertaking and promoting research into elec- If the Chairperson of ZEC is complaining over this qual-
the public demands in the running well-known is the power to pre- toral matters”, “developing expertise and the use of ification of ZEC’s regulatory powers, then she has a le-
and supervision of elections. She pare for, conduct, and supervise technology in regard to electoral processes”, ensur- gitimate point.
argues that stakeholders must ap- presidential, parliamentary, and lo- ing gender mainstreaming into electoral processes,
proach parliament so that she and cal authority elections. The 2013 and “making recommendations to Parliament on ap- The moment ZEC’s regulations require approval by
ZEC can be given those powers. Constitution also gave ZEC the ex- propriate ways to provide public financing for political a member of the executive branch who is also an in-
She insists that she is not going to clusive power to register voters and parties” among others. terested party in electoral processes, it compromis-
do what the journalist was asking to compile voters’ rolls and regis- The most significant express power that ZEC has is es the elections management body’s independence.
of her because she does not have ters. It also has the mandate to en- provided for in section 192 of the Electoral Act. This The Constitution itself prohibits anything that might
the power. sure the proper custody and main- section provides for the regulatory powers of ZEC. compromise the independence of a commission, and
tenance of those voters’ rolls and Section 192(1) provides that “The Commission may by section 192(6) falls foul of this prohibition. What we do
But how true is this claim by the registers. regulation prescribe all matters which by this Act are not know is whether ZEC has made any regulations or
Chairperson of the elections man- Another important express pow- required or permitted to be prescribed or which, in its statutory instruments that have been denied approval
agement body? Does she and ZEC er is the power to mark electoral opinion, are necessary or convenient to be prescribed by the Minister, but still that provision is an unneces-
lack the necessary powers to run boundaries, which is referred to as for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.” This is a sary infringement on ZEC’s independence and should
free, fair, and credible elections? the delimitation of constituencies, broad power that allows ZEC to is- be removed. ZEC’s regulatory powers should only be
Does parliament have to confer wards, and other electoral bound- In sue regulations. Regulations are judged against the standards of secondary legislation
any more powers to ZEC than are aries. The Constitution also gives my a form of secondary legisla- under the Constitution and challenged in a court of
already granted under the existing ZEC the express power to de- tion, just like statutory in- law following the rules of administrative justice instead
legal framework? To answer these sign, print, and distribute bal- struments. Section 192(2) of being subjected to the approval of any Minister of
questions, it is necessary to exam- lot papers. The form of and assessment, government.
ine the legal framework which is procurement of ballot box- also allows ZEC to issue
made up of the Constitution and theChairpersones, and the establishment statutory instruments But ZEC has the mandate to provide advice and rec-
the Electoral Law. “as it considers nec- ommendations on improving electoral legislation and
and operation of polling essary or desirable there is no reason why it has not flagged this up in its
In my assessment, the Chairper- centres are further exclu- is being to ensure that any reports to parliament. If it feels emasculated by sec-
son is being needlessly modest re- sive powers. The Con- election is prop- tion 192(6) which subordinates it to a Minister of gov-
garding ZEC’s powers and the au- stitution also ringfenc- ernment, it should say so in clear terms, making rec-
thority that she wields as head of es the conduct and su- erly and efficient- ommendations for electoral reforms.
the elections management body. ly conducted and
To be sure, there is always room for needlesslymodestpervision of voter ed- to deal with any Implied Powers
improvement, but even under the matter or situ- So far, I have focused on express powers that are
current legal framework, both the ucation to ZEC as well ation connect- provided for in the Constitution and the Electoral Act.
Constitution and the Electoral Law ed with, arising Another type of power is called implied powers. These
provide a broad range of powers regarding ZEC’sas the power to ac- out of or result- are powers that, although they are not expressly stat-
that if used reasonably and com- ing from the elec- ed, are implied by the status, position, or functions of
petently can assist in delivering credit election observ- tion”. the person or entity under consideration. For example,
free, fair, and credible elections. a human resources director has the implied power to
powers and theers. It has the power These regula- recruit employees of an organization while a finance
The starting point is that ZEC is tions and statutory director has implied authority to sign an organization’s
one of the 5 independent institu- to instruct state or lo- instruments must, cheques. The power or authority is implied from the
tions supporting democracy under of course, comply positions that they hold. Likewise, ZEC has powers that
Chapter 12 of the Constitution. As authority that shecal authority employ- with constitution- are implied by its constitutional and statutory role as
a creature of the Constitution, ZEC al safeguards appli- the elections management body.
derives its primary powers from the ees to ensure the effi- cable to all second- The concept of implied powers has constitutional
highest law in the country. Parlia- authority. Section 342(3) of the Constitution provides
ment may grant it additional pow- wields as head ofcient, free, fair, proper, that, “Where a power, jurisdiction or right is conferred
ers but that authority comes from by this Constitution, any other powers or rights that
the Constitution. Therefore, the and transparent con- are reasonably necessary or incidental to its exercise
primary reference point for ZEC’s are impliedly conferred as well”. This means in addi-
powers is the Constitution. In oth- the electionsduct of any election or tion to express powers that are conferred by the Con-
er words, it is in the terms of the stitution, ZEC has implied powers that are reasonably
Constitution that we turn to iden- referendum. Finally, ZEC necessary or incidental to the exercise of those powers.
tify ZEC’s powers and thereafter, to For example, since ZEC has the express power to regis-
the Electoral Law for any addition- managementhas the power to estab- ter voters and compile a voters’ roll, it also has implied
al powers. powers to do anything necessary to fulfill those func-
lish a complaints mecha- tions. Powers that are “incidental to” the exercise of ex-
Express and Implied Powers press functions are powers that are associated with
Constitutional organs have two body.nism to handle and resolve those functions.
types of powers. Express powers complaints from members ary legislation. There- With respect, the ZEC Chairperson is wrong to limit
are powers that are expressly writ- of the public.
These are express powers fore, neither regulations
nor statutory instru-
that are exclusively within the ments can prescribe any-
province of ZEC. Section 321(2) of
the Constitution allows for legisla- thing that is outside the en-
abling legislation, in this case,
tion that permits a constitutional the Electoral Act. But what is clear
commission to delegate its pow- from
this examination is that contrary to the
ers, except powers to make ap- ZEC Chairperson’s assertions, ZEC has broad regulato-
pointments to any office estab- ry powers that it can use to perform its mandate and
lished by the Constitution. Dele- to promote free, fair, and credible elections.
gation of powers is a recognition The only point of sympathy and recommendation
of the operational realities of run- for improvement is that the Electoral Act qualifies
ning an organization. Certain func- ZEC’s regulatory powers by subjecting them to the ap-

POLITICS May 4 to 10 2022 Weekly Digest 15

l FROM PAGE 14 tionally given powers. When ZEC limits itself, it for an election just a few months after the adop- Senate vote by a two-thirds majority vote for
the powers of ZEC when the Con- only adds to the collective sense of doubt that tion of the new constitution. The CCC should the dissolution. Second, parliament is dissolved
stitution makes provisions for im- the public has about it. ZEC and its Chairper- prepare for the next elections with some antici- where it has passed a vote of no confidence in
plied powers. Those powers may son must be confident in asserting their powers pation that ZANU PF might go for an early elec- the government. Third, the President may dis-
not be expressly written in the pro- as granted by the Constitution and the Elector- tion. How might this happen? solve parliament where it has unreasonably re-
visions, but if they are reasonably al Law. Granted, it is important to remove provi- fused to pass the Appropriation Bill (budg-
necessary or incidental to the exer- sions that require ministerial approval of regu- The timing of elections is regulated by the et). The latter two circumstances are unlikely to
cise of those functions, ZEC is en- lations or presentation of reports to parliament, Constitution. Section 158(1) provides that a gen- happen, but the first is not too remote. If ZANU
titled to claim and exercise them. but these limitations do not stop ZEC from as- eral election must be held within thirty days be- PF wants an early election, it might use its two-
If there was any doubt concerning serting itself in electoral matters. fore the expiry of the five-year term of parlia- thirds majority to dissolve parliament.
the scope of ZEC’s powers, section ment. The five-year term runs from the day that
192(2) of the Constitution express- Timing of Elections the President is sworn into office. As President If this happens and there is an early dissolu-
ly states that “All institutions estab- I have always said when you are dealing with Mnangagwa was sworn in on 26 August 2018, tion of parliament before the expiry of its nor-
lished by this Constitution have all ZANU PF, you must al- mal term, section 158(1)(b) of the Constitution
powers necessary for them to fulfill ways plan with the this means the next election should or- provides that a general election must be held
their objectives and exercise their worst-case dinarily be held within 30 days within 90 days of the dissolution. The one thing
functions.” Applying this to ZEC, scenar- before the expiry of the that must be done before the next election is
its objectives and functions are io in five-year term in Au- the delimitation of constituencies. This involves
set out in the Constitution and this mind. gust 2023. Un- the marking of constituency and ward bound-
provision underscores the fact that There- der this timeta- aries which will be used for the next elections.
it has all the powers that are neces- fore, think of ble, the elec- This exercise is due to be done sometime this
sary to fulfill them. the worst thing tion will be year after the publication of the population cen-
they can do in any giv- around sus results. ZEC will use the census results and
In short, what section 192 pro- en circumstances and it will like- the same the voter registration data to map out and mark
visions demonstrate is that there ly do that. It is on this basis that the CCC, as the time electoral boundaries.
is no need for the ZEC Chairper- main challenger, must plan for elections in 2023. that
son to plead limitation of pow- There is going to be a lot of gamesmanship and elec- But once this exercise is done, it’s open season
ers when the supreme law con- this may centre on the timing of elections. tions for elections. ZANU PF strategists will be close-
fers this full range of powers, in- A strategy of surprise, catching the opponent have ly watching CCC’s election preparedness. ZANU
cluding implied powers, that ZEC unawares and unprepared is one of ZANU PF’s been enjoys the advantage of incumbency and there-
can make use of to promote free, favourites. In 2013, when the MDC parties were held fore has vast access to resources which enables
fair and credible elections. If ZEC is in a coalition arrangement with ZANU PF, they since it to quickly mobilize resources for elections. The
wrong in the exercise of such pow- were caught unawares when ZANU PF pushed 2013 – CCC should not bank on the next elections be-
ers, it is up to the courts of law to the end of ing held following the normal schedules of the
correct it. The courts would not July. past two general elections. Since Zanu PF con-
interfere where the use of those Howev- trols two-thirds majority in both House of Parlia-
powers is reasonable. ZEC should er, it would be ment (or it can bank on the cooperation of the
not be pleading limitation of pow- a mistake to work MDC-T), it has the power to dissolve parliament
ers when the supreme law of the with this timetable as and trigger an early election. For that reason,
country gives it such a broad range ZANU PF might spring a the CCC and other opposition parties must plan
of powers. It may be that ZEC is surprise early election. The well ahead with an open mind so that they are
misreading the Constitution lead- not caught unawares.
ing to self-limitation. Or ZEC is first scenario works in the normal
simply being timid in the face of course, where the term of parliament is allowed  Alex T Magaisa is a prominent Zimbabwe-
a powerful government. But this to run its full course. To understand where the an lawyer and constitutional expert current-
does not mean that it is lacking surprise might arise from, it is important to ex- ly teaching law at the University of Kent Law
powers. amine other circumstances in which an ear- School in England. He once served as advisor
ly election might be called. A general election of the then Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Mor-
The ZEC leadership simply is called when parliament has been dissolved. gan Tsvangirai from 2012-2013. He writes here
needs to be more courageous and It is important to identify the circumstances in in his personal capacity.
forthright in the use of its constitu- which parliament may be dissolved.

First, according to section 143(2), parliament is
dissolved when the National Assembly and the

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INTERVIEW May 4 to 10 2022 Weekly Digest 16

Chinamo: Old Even if you accept that the Commis-
habits die hard sion must be there, just that fear that so
F ormer Zimbabwe Securities gets me going, that is what drives me. what happens to me?
& Exchange Commission chief TN: So, as you leave the Securities & years ago, when the Commission itself
executive Tafadzwa Chinamo was established there was that sort of re- What if they do this and do that? I
has spoken of the challenges Exchange Commission, and when you sistance from the establishment that: ‘no think that is what really brought it about.
he faced in efforts to modern- look back, are there things you look back what are these guys doing here’?
ise the country’s capital markets in his and say oh I wish I could rewind and redo TN: One thing that I have found, cor-
decade at the helm of the organisation. this? I guess if you put that into context then rect me of I am wrong here, the delay to
maybe there was that thinking that you embrace automation as far as the mar-
Chinamo (TC) told Alpha Media Hold- Are there areas that you regret having know I think things are fine, why don’t the ket is concerned, what was behind that
ings chairman Trevor Ncube (TN) on the done? Commission come and regulate all the and what is the status right now?
platform In Conversation with Trevor other players except the issuers.
that the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange was TC: I cannot say regret, maybe it is a bit As you leave are you in a happy place
among the last exchanges to automate a strong a word, but doing things differ- So the issuers, they would be regulat- as far as automation is concerned, but in
its trading processes because of resist- ently certainly. ed by the listing rules of the Zimbabwe the first instance why the resistance?
ance from players. Stock Exchange, but these are rules that
I think for me first of all is that, when are being overseen by a private compa- TC: Again Trevor, old habits die hard.
In a wide-ranging interview, he shared people look at the Securities & Exchange ny, and there is so much in terms of sanc- When I joined the Commission in 2011 we
his thoughts about the development of Commission they look at someone whose tion that a private company can institute were probably the last notable Stock Ex-
Zimbabwe’s capital markets and things position it is to solve all the problems of against misconduct of people. change that was not automated.
that can be done differently. the capital markets.
It is like you and your bank; your bank We still had our brokers going and sit-
Below are excerpts from the interview. I think it is a reasonable expectation. cannot take you to jail for overdrawing ting around a table and do call over.
TN: Mr Tafadzwa Chinamo, welcome to That is what structurally, if you look at your account or something or things like
In Conversation With Trevor. the hierarchy of the capital markets, the that. Now for them it worked, you know.
TC: Thank you for Trevor, it is such a Securities & Exchange Commission is at I guess also when you look back a lot
privilege and honour to be here. Thank the apex of that. So, at some point you now need a force of the bromine firms were run by people
you. So, whatever happens underneath it, of law to ensure that players within that who were quite senior, both in terms of
TN: So, you are the former chief exec- certainly the Commission is accountable space are accountable to that piece of age and just knowing everything.
utive of the Securities & Exchange Com- for that. legislation, which did not happen. For them to shift easily into this elec-
mission of Zimbabwe. You have just The regret that I have, or things that we tronic age was always going to be a
stepped down. What is it like to be with- should have done more vigorously and I So, because of that, I would say that all problem.
out a job? guess pushed a bit more was to put the the shortcomings we had as a Commis- So, this is something that the Commis-
TC: I think it is interesting, it is a new Commission in a position that it was in sion was because of that. sion literally had to force the market to
space. charge of the entire space. do, and it had to come unfortunately in
It is something that one does not re- What do I mean by that? When the Act TN: Talk to me about the tension that stages.
ally plan for. establishing the Commission was prom- clearly existed and was loud, between the First, we started with the central secu-
Like if it is a new job, you are looking ulgated, it covered everything else with- Commission and the Stock Exchange? rities depository, where all the paper files
forward to the job, but stepping down I in that space except one group of players What was behind that? or rather certificates were converted into
think when it finally happens, is a differ- who in my view are the most important, electronic form if you wanted to trade on
ent space. who are the issuers of securities, so your TC: I think it is just natural Trevor, and the market.
I am sort of finding my way, but I like it listed companies. Zimbabwe is not unique in that sort of sit- Then a year or two after that, the Ex-
all the same, it is good. So, they do not fall directly under the uation. change itself automated.
TN: You are finding your way. I have purview of the Securities & Exchange I think as far as that is concerned we
been trying to get you to come on the Commission which is a problem, be- In most countries, if you look at the big- have achieved it, but if you look at mod-
conversation and it was not easy, sounds cause when you look at the mandate of gest market of all the United States. The ern capital markets today, I think what
like you still have a diary? the Securities & Exchange Commission, SEC there came into being I think in 1932, we have is just the basic model.
TC: I thought I would actually be rest- the first thing that they talk about is in- but the New York Stock Exchange and all There is so much more that we are not
ing. vestor protection. the capital markets had been around long doing.
I had said to myself because it was Now, you only protect an investor, or before that. So, if I look at the interface between an
such a stressful job, there was not much rather, the only person who stands to investor and the markets, in most coun-
time to rest, there was always something abuse or to do wrong against an investor TN: Right. tries it is all electronic, it is via tablets, via
going on. invariably is the issuer. TC: It was a realisation again because of smartphones and so forth.
Your mind is on the job seven days a TN: State entity. that, that you need a government body Brokers themselves have also invested
week, so I thought that come the 1st of TC: Yes, because the relationship is with legislative powers to stamp author- heavily in IT infrastructure which has not
February this year, I would wake up and simply that, if you look at the capital ity and order into that market. happened in this country.
it would all just vanish and I would just markets, really if you just break it down, Again, when you then bring a regula- With the coming on board of C-Trade,
have all the time to myself. you have got investors with capital and tor into a space where the players believe I think that was a good platform, where
It has not been like that. companies that want that capital, every- that things are fine, it is never going to via your mobile phone and EcoCash you
At the moment I am torn between go- body else just brings these two together. be easy. could actually create an account and
ing back to formal employment or going So, the risk that an investor faces is So, I think it was only natural that the trade on the market.
out on my own. with the person to whom they have given tension was there, because of that also, A few years later the ZEC came up
I think in that discovery or navigating their money, but if those people are not that the Commission had no direct au- with its own ZEC Direct, but these are
that path this is where again I find myself accountable in terms of how they report thority over issuers. the things that the intermediary play-
drawn to so many things. to the investors, or even any if the things Whenever things were grey, they would ers, mainly the brokers should have done
There are just so many things that I that they do, they do not report directly hide behind the Zimbabwe Stock Ex- themselves.
could possibly do, and I hope that I do to the Commission. change, and the Commission really could Their platforms should have enabled
make the right choice sooner rather than I think that for us has always been a not do much. you as a client or a broker.
later. problem. It could, I guess, shutdown the Ex- l “In Conversation With Trevor” is
TN: It cannot be an easy space to be TN: Was that deliberate? What was the change, but then what good would that a weekly show broadcast on YouTube.
in? I think there is tension there? thinking behind excluding the listed en- do? com//InConversationWithTrevor. Please
Do I go on my own, or do I go back to tities from the purview of the Act? There were two centres of power there, get your free YouTube subscription to this
the corporate world? What is your think- TC: I think when you go back and you the Stock Exchange and the Commission. channel. The conversations are sponsored
ing process like? Can you take us into really say how did it come to that? I think The Commission was obviously new, by Nyaradzo Group.
that space? it is good to go back a little bit and see whereas the Exchange had the relation-
TC: I think all my working life I have what the market was like before the ships with all the other players.
been in the corporate world. Commission was there. TN: Were there specific issues? What
I have worked in the financial services TN: Okay. were the niggling issues? One or two is-
industry ever since I left university. TC: You had a Stock Exchange; there sues that were problematic?
It is an area I think I am comfortable was at the time the Zimbabwe Stock Ex- TC: I think it was just fear that someone
with, I am happy with, but also one gets change Act of 1974, which essentially else was going to be in charge.
a sense that personally anyway, that I made the Stock Exchange the regulator It is like two bulls in a kraal, there is go-
have done my bit, especially in the last of the capital markets. ing to be tension.
10 years with the Securities & Exchange I think in a lot of minds that situa-
Commission. tion was working, there was no need to
It really was a slog. change that.
I feel that maybe I do not have the sort There are one or two places in the
of energy that I had 10 years ago when I world where that sort of happens.
took on this job. I think South Africa is one which is ac-
I do not think I would be doing the next tually an anomaly in the new world order
job justice, I do not think that I have the of things.
same sort of stamina and resolve to un- I think, yes it was because of that also.
dertake a huge responsibility of the na- You may recall, if you go back 10-12
ture of the Securities & Exchange Com-
mission.
However, you never know with these
things, it depends with the opportunity
obviously and the challenges I am pre-
sented with.
I love challenges, I like taking on things
that seem impossible. That is really what

OPINION May 4 to 10 2022 Weekly Digest 17

Rouble: New petrodollar rising?

TTAFARA Mtutu According to the US Energy currency of choice by the global price of oil above US$120 per realised the very real possibil-
HE Russia-Ukraine Information Administration, community. barrel in the interim. The US ad- ity of their currencies achieving
conflict, which began Russia accounts for 45% of to- ministration has considered re- “petrodollar” status.
in February 2022, has tal gas imports in the Europe- In addition to Russia’s oil sales laxing oil sanctions on Venezue-
evolved into an eco- in roubles to “unfriendly” na- la in exchange for oil supply up If other oil-producing na-
nomic conflict that an Union (EU), and 40% of the tions, Russia has begun selling to 800 000 barrels a day, but tions abandon the use of the
has roped in the rest of the bloc’s total gas consumption. oil and coal to China in yuan this has been met with strong US dollar in favour of their own
world in many ways than previ- Hungary is the first EU nation since the former was slapped objections by voices from both currencies, this could end the
ously anticipated. ready to accept the new terms with sanctions and this could political parties in the US as well US’ petrodollar dominance.
Nato-member states spell the begin- as Venezuela’s opposition lead-
attempted to end the ning of the er Juan Guaidó. On the off chance that the
conflict by imposing eco- end of the US US was dethroned as the pet-
dollar’s domi- From an economic perspec- rodollar, the currency could
The Russian rouble lostnomic sanctions on Rus- tive, the sale of oil in other cur- weaken, and this could im-
sia - like an exclusion from 42% in value between nance as the rencies will reduce the demand prove Zimbabwe’s odds as a
the United Kingdom(UK) petrodollar. of the US dollar with an equiva- competitive manufacturer in
financial system, a ban It is also in- lent uptick in demand for cur- the sub-Saharan region.
on Russia oil and gas im- February 1, 2022 and teresting to rencies such as the rouble and
ports by the US, removal note that the yuan, with a possible deprecia- The economy continues
of Russia from the inter- US is also in tion of the US dollar relative to to be driven by the US dol-
national financial mes- March 14, 2022 a tight space these currencies. If the possibil- lar and local manufacturers
saging system Swift and given that it is ity of the greenback’s loss of its have lamented the high USD-
having all assets of Rus- a net importer petrodollar status takes hold, denominated costs that make
sian banks frozen in the of oil and its many nations could be forced Zimbabwe’s products region-
UK, among other measures relations with to rethink their currency bas- ally uncompetitive. For exam-
- which resulted in an immedi- dictated by Russia - an ominous other oil producing nations like ket that makes up their foreign ple, Zimbabwe has the highest
ate but temporary depreciation sign of more EU nations to yield UAE and Venezuela are on the reserves, and this could further price for fuel in Africa accord-
of the rouble against the United in the absence of any short- sour side. The country’s net im- push the US dollar further from ing to statistics from Global
States(US) dollar. term alternatives. porter position for oil of about grace. This could also extend Petrol Prices and this under-
The Russian rouble lost 42% The move to price oil and gas 3,2 billion barrels per day puts to a shift in cash movements in pins the nations’ uncompeti-
in value between February 1, in roubles comes as a blow to the economy at a disadvantage flights-to-safety from US dollar- tive exports.
2022 and March 14, 2022. How- the US dollar, which has long because it presents a net expo- denominated assets in favour of
ever, Russia quickly leveraged been the only currency of trade sure to oil that is not favourable. assets denominated in other A weaker USD could make
on its oil reserves by announc- in oil and gas. This has earned Net importers of oil tend to currencies, but this remains a Zimbabwe’s exports attrac-
ing that it would start selling its the greenback the colloquial be price-takers with limited wildly remote possibility in the tive to countries with relatively
oil and gas in roubles, a move “petrodollar” term and has ce- room to dictate favourable pric- near future given the economic stronger currencies like the
that cornered Nato members in mented it as a stable currency es with net oil exporters, among strength and influence of the Russia’s rouble, UAE’s dirham
Europe like Germany, Hungary, that investors flock to in times other concerns. US. and Saudi Arabia’s riyal in this
Finland, Poland, Slovakia, and of global economic uncertainty. The Guardian reports that re- scenario.
Lithuania and resulted in a re- The new order at Russia’s be- lations with the oil producers Measures by Moscow with re-
bound of the rouble from 132,34 hest seems to be gaining trac- in the Middle East have soured gards to oil and gas sales have Tafara Mtutu is a research an-
RUB/USD to 74,08 RUB/USD in tion and this could weaken the to their lowest in modern times also set a precedent for other alyst at Morgan & Co Research.
a space of five weeks. US dollar’s dominance as the and this is likely to keep the oil-producing nations who have — [email protected] or
+263 774 795 854.

COLUMN May 4 to 10 2022 Weekly Digest 18

From a French stampede, more
air pies and gallivanting Ncube

THERE were wild celebrations across Finance Corporation, and other known
Zimbabwe this week after France’s Em- running dogs of the white monopoly
manuel Macron was re-elected as pres- capital.
ident of his country, as local politicians Since his appointment, one of the
broke their ankles rushing to be his best man’s biggest successes has been to
friend. take a large number of pictures with im-
Within minutes of the French version portant people. If the country got a dol-
of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission lar for each time Ncube has posed for
(Zec) announcing the results, the coun- photos with people with money, at far
try’s current owner and purported Pres- away locations, from Davos to Washing-
ident, Emmerson Mnangagwa, sent out ton, then Zimbabwe would be Africa’s
a tweet. biggest economy by now.
“Congratulations to my good friend Title deeds air pies
President Emmanuel Macron on your Ahead of the useless by-elections,
historic re-election. The future is bright voters in Epworth were promised title
for French Zimbabwean relations,” he deeds. Last week, at a Zanu PF celebra-
posted. tion event, they were told to wait a while.
Not to be outdone, the country’s aspir- “When we were printing titles, we were
ing owner, Nelson Chamisa, brought up told that there are people who are print-
Macron’s age, just to show that he was ing their own fraudulent copies. We in-
more like- struct-
ly to be ed the
Macron’s Tidbits printers
The new criminals friend to stop
surrounding the president than his printing
older rival so that
was. we is-
“Con- sue you
gratu- Twitter: @MuckrakerZim with bio-
lations metric ti-
OMy Dear People goats claiming they belong to a govern- to the tle deeds,
ne useful barometer you ment scheme. 44-year-old Emmanuel Macron on this which are similar to e-passports,” Mnan-
can use to check the health historic re-election. This is such an in- gagwa said.
of our country’s economy is A picture of the loser posing with Ngwe- spiration and reminder to all the young As for election promises of water sup-
the Zimbabwe International na has been circulating on social media and people across the world that it’s doa- plies, he also said: “It will take time to
Trade Fair (ZITF), which end- the government’s silence on the matter im- ble. Going forward, France is a strategic solve water challenges because there
ed in Bulawayo yesterday. plies that they condone his activities. ally and a key player in addressing global are structural issues which need to be
challenges,” he said. taken care of.”
This year’s annual trade exhibition at- The threats cannot be taken likely giv- Back in France, Macron’s advisors are Congratulations to the people of Ep-
tracted 514 exhibitors and 14 countries, a en what some of these criminal gangs that working flat out trying to figure out just worth for joining the rest of the nation in
feat some of your wannabe economists say align themselves with Zanu PF have done who these two men fighting over him being fed on air pies.
is an indicator that it was a huge success. in the past to deprive citizens of their prop- are. Laughable Zacc
erty. The evil in our midst The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Com-
Yet a closer look at the quality of the ex- As inflation rose above 96% and the mission (Zacc) recently announced that
hibits and organisations that stood out What is more scandalous is that no one Zimbabwean dollar (Zimdollar) went it had fired one of its commissioners for
will show you how fast we are sinking as a in the so-called new dispensation sees any- into free-fall, the mass- corruption. Zacc’s
country under the Lacoste gangsters. thing wrong with the name of the president es once again turned to apparent plan to
being dragged into such a scandal. As inflation rosetheir owner for solutions. send a thief to catch
For a perspective, let us look at some of He told the people of a thief clearly did
the entities that won awards on Friday for Ngwena himself seems to be happy pos- Epworth: “These eco- above 96% and not really work.
having the best exhibitions during ZITF. ing for pictures with people of questiona- nomic players (destabi- the Zimbabwean But Zacc is not
ble character such as Kundishaya or it’s a lising the currency) are dollar (Zimdollar)
We had the Ministry of Defence winning case of birds of the same feather flocking not working alone, they giving up. It has
the non-industrial, non-commercial cate- together. are being sent by for- been reported that
gory. the commission is
Do you still remember the Coup DJ telling eign countries hostile to targeting to recover
The less said about this the better lest I you that army tanks had been rolled to the Zimbabwe to weaken the went into free- US$50 million worth
am accused of being bitter, kkkkkk. streets to account for criminals that were currency. So we are de- of assets believed to
surrounding Gushungo? vising methods to deal fall, the masses be proceeds of cor-
But wait for this one…..Zanu PF walked with them. We will close once again ruption.
away as the winner in the small to medium Were the tanks being rolled to open some big companies and turned to their Loyce Matanda-
enterprises category! space for the likes of Kundishaya and Pas- banks.”
sion Java to thrive? Munopengaaaa! owner for Moyo, the boss at
The party that Gushungo formed in 1963 He described all these Zacc, says her com-
and had an array of companies that used Sad day attacks on the currency mission will go after
to be a force in Zimbabwe’s economy con- Today Zimbabweans will join the rest of as “evil”. criminals and take
siders itself a “small to medium enterprise”, the world in celebrating Workers’ Day, but He did not say what solutions. away their ill-gotten
kkkkk. it will be a time for mourning for the few spiritual warfare he wealth.
lucky ones that still have jobs in this coun- would deploy to exorcise This will be a big
Maybe the naughty judges were on to try. this “evil” he was speaking of. We are surprise to our corrupt bigwigs, who are
something. Things were tough during Gushungo’s sure it does not include exorcising the pretty sure that, in the Second Republic,
days, but when they chased him out of evil monetary ghosts at central bank, corruption is actually encouraged and
Remember this is a party that inherit- town in 2017 you could buy bread for less which have managed to increase money not criminalised. Otherwise, why else
ed one of the strongest economies in Af- than US$1. supply by up to 150% over the past year. would Zacc have virtually zero convic-
rica even as it emerged from a brutal war The least paid civil servant was get- Let us also speak less about the evil tions?
and international isolation, but they have ting more than US$500 a month and that ghosts that somehow still managed to Strip corrupt chefs of their loot? This
turned it into a basket case in their 42 ruin- amount has been reduced to less than $50 preside over foreign currency shortag- will never happen. The only thing Zacc
ous years in power. on the ruling parallel foreign currency par- es in a country with inflows over almost has managed to recover, according to
allel markets. US$10 billion. press reports, are detergents and beer
We also had some outfit called MenBe- Unlike Gushungo, Ngwena does not seem It takes a special kind of “evil” to be from cross-border traders on buses from
lievED winning the first time exhibitor cat- to be moved by the plight of civil servants that incompetent. Only a large dollop of Musina.
egory. who are now classified among the country’s Emmanuel Makandiwa’s anointing oil on Clownish spin doctor
poorest if we are to use the poverty datum top of Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe can Is it not always refreshing to listen to
Basically, it tells you that the coup gang’s line as a yardstick. save the Zimdollar. the government’s spokesperson, Nick
main occupation is political power and Those that are employed in the private Useless gallivanting Mangwana, addressing the major issues
they have no clue when it comes to the sector are not faring any better as compa- Meanwhile, the man supposed to be of the day? The man is a true gift to the
economy. nies struggle in the face of the collapsing fixing this currency mess has been gal- country and Africa as a whole.
Zimbabwe dollar. livanting in America, hobnobbing with Amid rising prices, a war in Europe, in-
The ZITF was a perfect opportunity for I am not claiming to be a prophet like the same imperialists that we have been creasing poverty and a drought, Man-
them to show the world what they have those charlatans that take turns to kneel in told are behind the collapse of our be- gwana took time to tackle the major is-
done since grabbing power from Gushun- front of the crocodile, but I can tell you that loved currency. sue of the day: he questioned why some
go to revive the economy, but they fum- things will only get worse. Mthuli Ncube, the man who tells eve- parties are not following democratic
bled it. Horrid’s Page 2 girl also took her Ngwena and his gang from the special ryone within a 100km radius that he principles by bending the rules, and be-
theatrics to the fair and she did not disap- class have absolutely no clue what to do once taught economics at snooty British having like mafia organisations.
point. with a tanking economy. schools, is in America to attend meet- “No Constitution. No checks and bal-
This is why you keep hearing them blam- ings of the International Monetary Fund ances. No processes. That’s not a polit-
We were told by the usual suspects that ing saboteurs that they will never mention (IMF), the evil capitalist institution that ical party, it’s an oligarchy,” Mangwana
her “magnificent and well-stocked kitch- by name. Mthuli was even blaming Putin’s refuses to give us money. said. Who can disagree with this sort of
en” had “taken the Zimbabwe Internation- war for our economic woes and he expect- Ncube has been posting pictures of cutting-edge analysis? The nation needs
al Trade Fair by storm”. ed us to take him seriously! himself with the likes of France’s rep- to come together to reward Mangwana
The chickens are coming home to roost resentative to the IMF and World Bank, handsomely for describing his party so
Munopengaaaaaa! for the power usurpers. the vice-president of the International accurately.
If anything it was a show of lack of class And there would be gnashing of teeth
by the new occupants of that once re- come 2023.
spectable residence at Chancellor Avenue. Munopengaaa!!!
Shameless looters Gushungo Chete Chete!
The Lacoste gangsters have become so Dr Amai Stop it! PhD (Fake)
brazen in their looting they now do it while
providing running commentary.
A Zanu PF youth league thug by the
name Taurai Kundishaya has been all over
Twitter threatening to seize anti-corrup-
tion campaigner Hopewell Chin’ono’s

AFRICA May 4 to 10 2022 Weekly Digest 19

South Africa's Jacob Zuma would do
anything for the Guptas - Zondo report

South Africa's former President Jacob Zuma "would try's economy at the behest of the Gupta family. Some of Judge Zondo's most scathing words were for the
do anything" that the wealthy Indian-born Gup- In particular it describes the 2015 sacking of Finance Min- ruling ANC party, asking something many South Africans
ta family of businessmen "wanted him to do for have asked themselves: Where was their government when
them" from early in his first term, corruption in- ister Nhlanhla Nene because he would not comply with the this corruption was taking place at state-owned entities?
vestigators have concluded. Guptas' wishes, and the appointment of two subsequent
The commission investigating allegations of widespread ministers - Des van Rooyen, and Malusi Gigaba - who were "Were they aware of everything but lacked the courage
corruption in South Africa during Zuma's nine years in pow- friendly to the family's interests. to stop President Zuma and his friends, the Guptas, in what
er, known as "State Capture", says the former president they were doing? Were they looking the other way?" the re-
placed the interests of corrupt associates ahead of those "The reasons that President Zuma gave" for Mr Nene's port asked.
of his country. sacking "made no sense whatsoever", the Zondo report
says. At the time of writing there is no comment from former
Further, it says that the Guptas identified Zuma as some- President Jacob Zuma, but he has rejected past editions of
one whose character could be used against the people of Its fourth report also details a web of corruption at the the report, saying they were not worth the paper the find-
South Africa to advance their own business interests. state electricity utility Eskom, culminating in key members ings were written on.
of the company's executive being put in place by the Gup-
These scathing conclusions were revealed over more than tas. Zuma defied an instruction to give evidence to the com-
1,000 pages of this fourth part of the commission's report - mission saying it was biased against him, which led to him
released on Friday - which is led by South Africa's Chief Jus- Having appointed friendly board members, the aim was being imprisoned for contempt of court last July.
tice Raymond Zondo. to "then divert Eskom's assets to the Guptas' financial ad-
vantage", Judge Zondo's report found. Months later in September he was released on medical
Central to the commission's investigations has been the parole, before being ordered back to jail by the high court
claim that one family bought their way into the most influ- Atul, Rajesh and Tony Gupta fled South Africa in 2018 in December. Zuma has appealed against the decision and
ential organs of the state via Zuma. when President Zuma was removed from office, and their so remains on parole.
current whereabouts are unknown
Both Zuma, who served as president from 2009 until While this report confirms what many South Africans had
2018, and the Gupta family, who came to live in South Afri- Eskom has had to receive several taxpayer-funded bail- long suspected, the impact of seeing it in black and white
ca in 1993 just as white-minority rule was ending, deny any outs because of poor management, with South Africans ex- cannot be overstated.
wrongdoing. periencing frequent power cuts since 2008.
After years of denials from Zuma and his associates, this is
Because this commission is an inquiry it has no power The report recommends that criminal prosecutions of in a sense a collective vindication.
to prosecute, however an amended regulation passed by former Eskom Chief Executive Matshela Koko, and Chief Fi-
President Cyril Ramaphosa last year allows law enforcement nancial Officer Anoj Singh be considered by the country's But with it comes a deep sense of betrayal - that those
agencies to access information gained at the commission. law enforcement agencies. They have both previously de- who South Africans trusted to look after them after the bru-
nied any wrongdoing. tality of apartheid, instead looked after themselves.
'Hiring and firing'
The Zondo commission's latest report details how Zuma Eskom has said it welcomes the report's findings and that There is still one final edition of the commission's report
hired and fired ministers central to the running of the coun- it has "set up a project team… to ensure that the report is to be released, expected in June.
reviewed, understood and appropriate actions are taken".
Whatever its findings, it promises to be a watershed mo-
'Deep betrayal' ment for South Africa's fledgling democracy.

AFRICA May 4 to 10 2022 Weekly Digest 20

Kenya’s pletely changed the local Somali clan uplifted, while others who had been pre- selves left out and marginalized.
Mission in power play. viously dominant, especially after the 1991 — Africablogging
Somalia: collapse of the Somalia state, found them-
Time for a The economic clout of some clans was
change in

tact?

TBy Linda Apollo
en years after Kenya’s military invasion
into Somalia began, what are some of the
significant achievements of the interven-
tion? It has had mixed outcomes, some
successes, and some setbacks too.
The original intention was to push out al-Shabaab
from those regions in southern Somalia adjacent to
the Kenya border and to create a security buffer
zone after Kenya blamed the militant group for kid-
nappings and cross-border raids.

What are some of the significant achievements of
the intervention over the last decade?

One major achievement of Kenya’s Defence Forc-
es (KDF) is that they have contributed to Somalia’s
stabilization and its state-building project, expand-
ing the territory under the control of the govern-
ment of Somalia.

Kenyan troops have also helped liberate towns
and cities in southern Somalia, pushing out al-
Shabaab from the city of Kismayo, its stronghold
and major revenue base.

However, success within Kenya’s sector and area
of responsibility under AMISOM (Sector 2) has been
limited. Today, the Juba Valley serves as al-Shabaab
headquarters. The group controls all major towns in
the Middle Juba region of Somalia.

The Kenyan military and its allies in the Jubaland
government control only islands of a few towns that
are disconnected from each other, and besieged
and isolated by al-Shabaab.

The militants control the hinterland and major ac-
cess roads, and it is difficult for both civilians and
government officials to move between liberated
towns.

Kenyan troops have also helped liberate towns
and cities in southern Somalia, pushing out al-
Shabaab from the city of Kismayo. Moreover, fol-
lowing the initial success in capturing towns, ad-
vances have stalled.

KDF and AMISOM have not conducted major of-
fensive operations since at least July 2015, and So-
malia’s troops and Jubaland forces, on the oth-
er hand, remain incapable of taking the fight to al-
Shabaab without significant assistance from the Af-
rican Union peacekeepers.

Also, the initial purpose of the intervention, which
was to prevent al-Shabaab incursions into Kenya,
has not been achieved. Every year, Kenya experi-
ences dozens of attacks along its northeastern bor-
der and in Lamu County. The attacks target both
security forces and civilians, claiming dozens of fa-
talities.

Kenya went in without fully understanding the
potential impact of its intervention on local political
dynamics, especially in Jubaland, and it now finds
itself caught up in Somalia’s complex clan woes.

From the outset, Kenya went in without Moga-
dishu’s approval; the then Somali Transitional Fed-
eral Government (TFG) under President Sheikh Sha-
rif Sheikh Ahmed objected to the intervention, say-
ing that it had not been consulted.

The relationship between the two countries has
not been cordial, especially under the current So-
malia leadership of President Mohamed Abdullahi
Farmajo.

This is mostly attributed to differences over Ken-
ya’s military involvement in Jubaland, its support for
Jubaland regional leader Ahmed Madobe and the
long-running maritime dispute between the two
countries on which the International Court of Jus-
tice ruled in October 2021.

Relations between the two countries have dete-
riorated to the extent that they have twice cut dip-
lomatic ties. The Gedo crisis of 2020/21 is a testa-
ment to Kenya being caught up in Jubaland’s inter-
nal clan politics.

When Jubaland forces and federal government
troops clashed in the Gedo town of Bula Hawo,
Kenya allegedly supported and gave refuge to dis-
sident Abdirashid Janan, providing him with a base
in Mandera, inside Kenyan territory, from which to
recruit militias to carry out attacks on Mogadishu-
backed troops stationed in Bula Hawo.

The port is the region’s economic pillar and when
Kenya liberated the city of Kismayo in 2012 it com-

OPINION May 4 to 10 2022 Weekly Digest 21

A win for US$38500, having moved below the
crypto as key US$40000 level late last Friday. The
price of the largest crypto was as high
CAR as US$43000 last Thursday before the
adopts depression began.
bitcoin?
Meanwhile, central bank digital cur-
EBEN MABUNDA rencies (CBDC) are fast gaining traction
the world over, including in Africa. Ni-
T HE Central African Republic geria became the first country in Africa
(CAR) became the first African to launch its own Central Bank Digital
country to declare Bitcoin le- Currency, dubbed the eNaira, in Octo-
gal tender and the second in ber last year, while Ghana is said to be
the world this week after El at an advanced stage of launching its
Savador blazed the trail last September, e-cedi.
in what can be perceived as a score for
cryptocurrency by crypto pundits. The Bank of Zambia, the Reserve Bank
of Zimbabwe and the Kenyan Central
The development comes on the back Bank are also carrying out research on
of encouraging statistics where crypto digital currencies. To date, nine coun-
usage and financial inclusion on the tries have launched a digital currency
continent are concerned. — 14 are in the pilot stage while 87 oth-
ers are exploring it.
The CAR National Assembly believes
that the new Bitcoin law will help the Deliberations on how CBDCs could
nation’s economic recovery. The gov- be used for cross-border payments are
ernment thereof indicated this Monday ongoing according to the IMF.
that it would establish the legal frame-
work for cryptocurrency regulation in gressively to tighten monetary policy. Bitcoin fell 3% on Monday to around Eben Mabunda is an analyst and
the country, while also establishing Bit- TV anchor at Equity Axis, a leading
coin as an officially accepted currency. financial research firm in Zimbabwe.
— [email protected]
The adoption of cryptocurrency
brings several advantages, which in-
clude transacting, which is generally a
quick, and straightforward transaction
processes, the elimination of inter-
mediaries, such as banks and online
marketplaces and the use of the block-
chain system — the decentralised
data-storage ledger that tracks every
transaction undertaken on it, among
others.

By and large, crypto has aided fi-
nancial inclusion on the continent with
increasing P2P transactions across Afri-
ca. In fact, no region uses P2P platforms
at a higher rate than African cryptocur-
rency users, as they account for 1,2% of
all African transaction volume and 2,6%
of all volume for Bitcoin, specifically.

The move, however, brings expo-
sure on a security level coupled with
the high-risk and speculative nature of
cryptocurrencies whose fundamentals
have been questioned by central bank-
ers across the world.

According to the 2021 Global Crypto
Adoption Index: Worldwide Adoption
Jumped Over 880% with P2P (peer to
peer) Platforms Driving Cryptocurrency
Usage in Emerging Markets.

As the second-most-populous con-
tinent globally with about 1,5 billion
people, Africa has the third fastest-
growing market. Africa’s cryptocurrency
market grew over 1200% by value re-
ceived in the last year, but the region
also has some of the highest grassroots
adoption in the world, with Kenya, Ni-
geria, South Africa, and Tanzania all
ranking in the top 20 of our Glob-
al Crypto Adoption Index.

In addition to being the third-fastest
growing cryptocurrency economy, Af-
rica also has a bigger share of its overall
transaction volume made up of retail-
sized transfers than any other region
at just over 7%, versus the global aver-
age of 5,5%Still, it remains the smallest,
with only 2% of the global value of all
cryptocurrencies.

In September 2021, El Salvador be-
came the first country in the world to
announce Bitcoin as a legal tender. El
Salvador president Nayib Bukele said in
November that the country is planning
to develop a “Bitcoin City”.

According to the pro-Bitcoin presi-
dent, sales of Bitcoin bonds with a 6,5%
coupon rate within the first five years
will fund the development of Bitcoin
City.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies
dropped Monday as expectations that
the Federal Reserve would move ag-

ARTS May 4 to 10 2022 Weekly Digest 22

Diamond Platnumz on fame,
Netflix and being loved-up

Tanzania’s biggest star has been in London to the expectation becomes too high, I think that’s why some In the context of this, I had to ask him about his recent
promote his new EP First of All, and, despite people say you know what: 'I’m going to give an EP.'" appearance on the Netflix reality show Young Famous and
suffering from a cold, no doubt brought on by African.
the dramatic drop in temperature, Diamond It is interesting that even with his success and experience,
Platnumz was in a very good mood. the pressure is still there when it comes to releasing new On the show, he comes across as quite the player, pur-
We had invited him to a studio to perform a few of his music. suing South African rapper Nadia Nakai and talking about
new tracks acoustically, and he was in his element, pick- previous lovers and even children he may have out there.
ing up random musical instruments in the room and chat- I take it very seriously. I’m thinking of how I can promote
ting about fingering to the guitarist we had brought in to our music from back home, so every song I do I have to We needed some things that can make people get at-
accompany him. make sure I don’t let my people down. No matter how much tracted more to watch the show, you see, so I’m cool with
He sang four songs: Fine, Sona, Loyal and Somebody - I do this, I still feel: 'But OK what if they don’t like this song?'" that character, I’m fine with that.
and would happily have done more if his team hadn’t been
keen to whisk him off to his next engagement. There are up-tempo songs on the EP, including a bang- I mixed with my real life and I want to say 98% is real. We
First of All has 10 tracks so would qualify as an album but ing track called Fresh featuring Focalistic, Costa Titch and are human beings, we can’t be 100% perfect. People love
Diamond explained that the EP was born because he had Pabi Cooper, but the overall feeling is sweet and loved-up. lying - just because they’re celebrities they want to look
created so many songs in the process of making his next positive all the time.
album. People love those songs, even I do love them. You know
An EP (meaning extended play) is longer than a single but you can be on the bed and you want to listen to a song People need to understand the reality of life, but then,
shorter than an album. and it can’t be up-tempo, you need something that can they need to understand that we are trying to be better.
But for the 32-year-old awarding-winning musician make you feel like you are floating.
the main difference between the EP and the album is the “I’m not married yet, so you never know… Looking for the
amount of fanfare: “When you tell people [it’s an] album It’s good nowadays to release a song that can be played person you are going to get married to, is like searching for
in the room and in the club as well so it makes it more easy the proper thing, and that’s what I was trying to do.
to get more streams.”
I saw Nadia and I was like OK let me see how it goes. I
One of the love songs Diamond performed for us was never wanted to act like I’m too decent. I’m a man, I get
Loyal - in it he sings: “I promise to be loyal… take my phone attracted, when I see a proper girl, I feel like I want to have
and take my password baby oh, take my ATM card spoil relation with, especially when I’m single, I feel like why
yourself eeoh.” not?”

SPORT May 4 to 10 2022 Weekly Digest 23

Audi and
Porsche
to enter
Formula
1

German car companies Audi and Por- 6 DAYS LEFT FOR CENSUS ENUMERATION
sche have decided to enter Formula
1, the boss of their parent group Volk- 2022
swagen said on Monday.
VW chief executive Herbert Diess APNODPHUOLUASTINIOGN
said discussions about F1 at board level had creat-
ed divisions within the group. CENSUS

He said Audi and Porsche bosses, whose brands 21st to 30thApril 2022
are VW's biggest income generators, argued enter-
ing F1 would bring in more money than not doing For enquiries,
so. please contact

"You just run out of arguments [against it]," Diess Toll free line
said. 08080580

Speaking at an event in Wolfsburg, where VW BE SURE TO BE COUNTED!
is based, Diess added that Porsche's preparations
were more concrete than Audi's, without specify-
ing details.

Porsche is said by F1 insiders to be preparing an
alliance with Red Bull.

Porsche would partner with the team's new en-
gine division, which has been set up to design and
build the drinks brand's own power-unit for the
new engine regulations due in F1 in 2026, and the
team would run as Red Bull-Porsche.

Audi will come in as a team and has been linked
with buying out an existing entrant.

It is said to have had talks with McLaren, Sauber,
Aston Martin and Williams.

The VW Group has toyed with the idea of enter-
ing F1 for decades, without ever formally commit-
ting.

It was included in discussions over the current
engine rules when they were being discussed at
the beginning of the last decade, but ultimately
decided against entering.

Last year, then Porsche Motorsport vice-pres-
ident Fritz Enzinger told BBC Sport the company
was again considering an entry, as long as the new
engine rules went in a way that suited it.

This is now the case. F1's new engine will run on
fully sustainable fuels - a non-negotiable require-
ment for a VW Group entry - and will make electric
power a greater proportion of the overall output of
the engine than is currently the case.

Last month, the VW Board approved in principle
the idea of Porsche and Audi entering F1, once the
engine rules were confirmed.

F1 has not yet fully defined the engine regula-
tions but the overall direction of travel is clear.

The architecture of the engine will be the same
as now, a 1.6-litre V6 turbo hybrid.

The hybrid system itself will be simplified for
2026, with the removal of the complex MGU-H,
which recovers and redeploys energy from the tur-
bocharger.

The hybrid is planned to produce 50% of the to-
tal power output of the engine.

This is now the case. F1's new
engine will run on fully sus-
tainable fuels - a non-nego-
tiable requirement for a VW
Group entry - and will make
electric power a greater pro-
portion of the overall output
of the engine than is currently

the case.

CONTACT US [email protected]

www.zimstat.co.zw @Zimstat Zimstat Zimstat 0242-703971-6

May 4 to 10 2022 Weekly Digest 24

Jefferies in frustrating
International GT Open start

ZBY MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE #133 both DNF. However, R.Z and Axcil’s sons learnt: we will be back stronger than at Estoril in Portugal before moving to Paul
imbabwe motor rac- Ferrari #73 led the ProAM Class until the ever for Round 2 at Paul Ricard Circuit in Ricard and the other races will be in Bel-
ing driver Axcil Jefferies very last lap, when they had to settle for a two weeks!” Kessel Racing said. gium, Hungary, Austria and Italy, with the
and his Kessel Racing final P5. series finale scheduled for Barcelona in
team endured a frus- The GT Open series comprises seven rac- Spain on 16 October 2022.
trating start to the In- “Mistakes have been pinpointed and les- es at different circuits in Europe beginning
ternational GT Open series after
experiencing electrical problems
during qualification of the week-
end races at Estoril, Portugal.

However, the 28-year-old driv-
er and his Polish teammate Ro-
man Zieiman recorded the fast-
est lap of the race in their Ferrari
488 GT3 during the first race on
Saturday to help Kessel Racing
to an overall seventh after round
one of the series.

Jefferies and Zieiman were par-
ticularly impressive on the first
day where they finished second
in the PRO AM class while they
led most of the race on Sunday
before trouble came in the final
lap to push them to fifth.

The Kessel Racing pair sits third
in their class ahead of the sec-
ond round of the series which is
scheduled for the Paul Ricard cir-
cuit in France in two weeks’ time.

Jefferies took to social media
to echo his frustrations in quali-
fication races.

“Purple, Purple, Engine Off Un-
lucky Quali for us. On both laps of
my 2nd set of tires we had a small
electrical problem! Nevertheless
our time from the first set was
good enough for P2! We have a
great car for the race, will do the
maximum to make the most of it,”
he wrote after the race on Sun-
day.

The previous day Jefferies cel-
ebrated claiming the fastest lap
in the race.

“Position 2 for Roman Ziei-
man and myself in Race 1 in Esto-
ril! Great start to the International
GT Open season and to top it off,
fastest lap of the race! Enjoyed
that one,” he said.

Jefferies joined Kessel Racing
for the competition this year and
is teaming up with veteran driver
Zieiman who boasts of vast expe-
rience in Ferrari Challenge com-
petitions.

The pair has already made one
appearance together in the GT
Open at Monza last year while
Kessel Racing needs no introduc-
tion in the GT Open, as the Swiss
based team has collected a to-
tal 6 overall race wins in recent
years.

Kessel Racing also shared their
sentiment on the first round of
the International GT Open.

“Premises were good and we
collected some great results at
the 2022 International GT Open
first round in Estoril

“Omar Jackson and Charlie
Hollings’ Ferrari 488 GT3 EVO
#77 achieved Position 1 in AM
Class; while R.Z (Zieiman) and Ax-
cil’s #73 finished the battle of its
ProAM Class in P2; in the same
Class Murat Ruhi Cuhadaroglu
and David Fumanelli ended in P7.
Unfortunately car #11 - driven by
Stephen Earle and Erwin Zanotti
– DNF(did not finish) for an acci-
dent right after the race started.

“Race 2 has been much hard-
er, mostly because cars #77 and