WEEKLYDIGEST 16.02.2022

 Chioniso shines! First Runner Up At  Tarisai Musakanda charged with culpable
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Wednesday February 16-22, 2022

Beholden to China: A deal
that tied Zim in knots
Zim’s health workers are
in demand, govt must
do more to keep them

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AFRICA IN BRIEF February 16-22 2022 Weekly Digest 2

UN: Hunger crisis threatens half SA gold mine operator to
of Somalia’s young children
meet workers as strike looms

1 Severe drought risks push- The continuing drought has also triggered a severe water crisis in 4 South African mining coalition met on Sunday and voted
ing nearly half of Soma- Somalia company Sibanye-Still- to reject Sibanye’s latest wage offer.
li children under five into water is set to meet un- “They rejected it,” he said. “The major-
acute malnutrition this year, become far more vulnerable to dis- ing cholera, UN figures show. ions this week over a loom- ity voted to embark on a strike.”
with hundreds of thousands need- eases. The drought is also spurring a mi- ing strike at its gold operations in the
ing life-saving treatment, according country. He added that the unions would
to the United Nations, which called For “a severely acutely malnour- gration crisis, Chinyama said. On Monday, a spokesperson for only serve Sibanye with a 48-hour
for urgent action. ished child, or severely wasted child Around 500,000 people have left the company, which has one of the strike notice after meeting the com-
“Malnutrition has reached cri- … the risk of them dying from dis- largest mining operations nation- pany’s management if the deadlock
sis levels,” Victor Chinyama, head eases such as measles or diarrhoea their homes in search of food, water wide, said a meeting with unions remains.
of communications for the UN chil- is 11 times higher than for a well- and pasture since November, add- would take place this week, but did
dren’s agency UNICEF’s Somalia nourished child,” UNICEF spokes- ing to the 2.9 million who were al- not specify a day. The Commission Earlier in February, Sibanye tabled
operations, said on Tuesday. “The woman Marixie Mercado said. ready displaced inside the country. for Conciliation, Mediation and Ar- its final offer which would have in-
time to act is now,” he told reporters bitration (CCMA), which has been creased underground workers’ wag-
in Geneva via video-link, caution- That is a particularly concerning Drought and displacement also mediating between the two sides, es by 800 rands a month ($52.76) in
ing that “if you wait until things get statistic, since the drought has also increase other risks for children, in- cleared the unions to give strike no- each of the three years under negoti-
worse, or until famine is declared, it brought on a severe water crisis in cluding from armed groups in So- tice a month ago after declaring an ation. Other categories, including ar-
may be too late.” Somalia, and in turn more disease malia, where the al-Shabab armed impasse in wage talks. tisans and officials, would have got-
As the Horn of Africa region grap- outbreaks. group controls swaths of country- South Africa’s major unions, the As- ten 5 percent increases over the same
ples with its worst drought in dec- side. sociation of Mineworkers and Con- period. But Mammburu said the un-
ades, Somalia has been hardest hit, Some 7,500 measles cases were struction Union (AMCU), National ions’ demand of 1,000 rands a month
with the UN warning that 4.1 million registered in the country in 2021 In 2021, 1,200 children, including Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Soli- ($65.95) increases for each of the
people – a quarter of the Somali – double the caseload for 2019 45 girls, were recruited and used by darity, and UASA have been negoti- three years remained unchanged.
population – need urgent food aid. and 2020 combined, while about armed groups, while another 1,000 ating as a united coalition for the first
Chinyama said children were 60,000 people are at risk of con- children were abducted, according time. NUM spokesperson Livhuwani Currently, the mining industry em-
paying the highest price in the hun- tracting diarrhoeal diseases, includ- to UNICEF. Mammburu told the press that the ploys more than 450,000 people and
ger crisis, with 1.4 million of them, accounts for about 8% of the econ-
or nearly half of all those under the — Aljazeera omy.
age of five, expected to suffer from
acute malnutrition by the end of — Aljazeera
the year.
“Of these, 330,000 will need
treatment for severe acute malnu-
trition,” which can lead to death, he
said.
UNICEF, he said, urgently needs
$7m by March to buy the therapeu-
tic foods needed to treat those chil-
dren. Without the additional sup-
plies, “100,000 children with severe
acute malnutrition will miss out on
life-saving treatment,” he warned.
Drought’s effects
Severe acute malnutrition can
cause stunting and wasting and
leaves children so weak that they

Nigerians slam public spat over 'super cop' arrest

The arrest of Nigerian "super cop" bodies, an analyst tells BBC Focus velopment.
on Africa. "We got to this point due to the
2 Abba Kyari on drug-traf- refusal of the Nigerian police to re- Odinga releases song
ficking charges has laid "There was a kind of attempt to lease Kyari immediately to the Na- ahead of Kenya election
bare the "public bicker- protect [Mr Kyari] from investiga- tional Drug Law Enforcement Agen-
ing" between two of Ni- tion," says Idayat Hassan, director of cy [NDLEA]." — BBC
geria's law enforcement the Centre for Democracy and De-

Ethiopia parliament votes to lift state of emergency early 5 Kenyan presiden- ReportReport this social embed,
tial hopeful Raila Odin- make a complaint
3 Ethiopia’s parliament ga has released a music
has voted for an early single as campaigns for The catchy tune, which has an
end to a six-month state the August general election heat accompanying video, goes on to
of emergency, declared up.It's rare for candidates them- say that "whoever tells us to wait
last November when rebel Tig- selves to release campaign songs for tomorrow, is a liar".
rayan forces were threatening to - usually famous artists do it for
march on the capital, Addis Ababa. them - but Kenya does have a few Kenya is currently in full cam-
The lawmakers’ decision came entertainers-turned-MPs such as paign mode ahead of the vote in
on Tuesday after cabinet propos- singer Charles Njagua aka Jaguar. six months time polls. It is being
als last month about cutting short Mr Odinga's song titled Leo ni seen as a two-horse race between
the emergency measures in light Leo, meaning "Today is Today" Mr Odinga and current Deputy
of improving security conditions in in Swahili, is a remix of song by a President William Ruto.
the country. After swift advances in popular artist from western Ken-
November, most of the rebel forc- ya - one of the areas considered as President Uhuru Kenyatta, who
es have retreated to their home re- a stronghold for the former prime has served his two terms in office, is
gion of Tigray, and there are signs minister and opposition leader. backing Mr Odinga - once his big-
of a tentative thaw in relations be- This is the fifth time he is running gest political rival. The campaigns
tween the warring sides. for president, and many believe it'll have deeply divided the country,
Of the 312 lawmakers who at- be his last. with several politicians already in
tended the session, 63 opposed Social embed from twitter trouble for utterances that authori-
lifting the state of emergency, Parliament's decision came after the cabinet last month proposed ties say could lead to violence dur-
while 21 abstained from the vote. It cutting short the state of emergency in light of improving security ing the elections.
was not immediately clear whether conditions in the country
the state of emergency would be — BBC
lifted on Tuesday directly following
parliament’s vote. The six-month ty, and unity,” Justice Minister Ge- troops into Tigray in response to al- Kenyan presidential hopeful Raila Odinga
state of emergency allows, among dion Timothewos told a state me- leged attacks on army camps by
other things, for roadblocks to be dia briefing when the emergency the Tigray People’s Liberation Front
established, transport services to measures were declared. “And we (TPLF).
be disrupted, curfews to be im- can’t dispel this danger through
posed, and for the military to take the usual law enforcement sys- The TPLF said the federal gov-
over in certain areas. tems and procedures.” The move ernment and its allies, including Er-
Anyone suspected of having came after the Tigrayan fighters itrea, launched a “coordinated at-
links with “terrorist” groups could said they had captured the strate- tack” against it.
also be detained without a court gic towns of Dessie and Kombol-
warrant, while any citizen who has cha in the Amhara region, and indi- Abiy promised a swift victory, but
reached the age of military service cated they might advance further by late June, the Tigrayan fighters
could be called to fight. south, on the capital of Addis Aba- had regrouped and retaken most
“Our country is facing a grave ba. Both towns have since returned of the region. Fighting then spread
danger to its existence, sovereign- to government control. to the neighbouring regions of Afar
and Amhara, before the Tigrayan
In November 2020, Ethiopian forces’ retreat to their region in De-
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent cember.

— Aljazeera

THE DIGEST VIEW February 16-22 2022 Weekly Digest 3

Zimbabwean
communities matter, and

must not be sacrificed
on the altar of Chinese

business interests

sensitive sites. EPD’s great deceptionRESIDENT Emmerson
They asked the Zimbabwe gov- Dambudzo Mnangagwa is
playing the smokes and mir-
ernment to engage with its Chi- rors game with Zimbabwe-
nese counterparts to promote ans. He knows how to throw
and protect the dignity of the Corruption Unit housed in the OPC.
Zimbabwean people against Nearly four years a er its establish-
corporate injustice and human
rights abuses. ment, it struggles to show its success.
In simpler terms, the unit has not had
“It is essential to listen to the any successful high-pro le conviction
real people in the affected com- a ruse and distract his audience. is to talk about.
munities. The Chinese ambassa- time, he played another trick on the Mnangagwa, as a face saver, long af-
Alfonce Mbizwo dor should find time to tour the electorate when he launched the “per- ter citizens complained, nally threw
Editor Chinese operations and observe formance-based contracts” for Cabinet Health minister Obadiah Moyo to the
working conditions. The Chinese ministers, permanent secretaries and wolves, but he received ve-star treat-
O N Monday this investors in Zimbabwe should be chief executives of State-owned enter- ment and many were le wondering if
week, Zimbabwe- accountable to local communi- prises. he had been arrested because he was out
ans were treated ties and open to public scrutiny e O ce of the President and Cab- before one could call out “corruption is
to the spectacle starting with their contracts, their inet (OPC) last weekend started ight- killing Zimbabwe”. Paidamoyo Muzulu
of Zanu PF’s Chris- taxes and beneficial ownership,” ing full-page adverts in the State-con- On the rule of law, Mnangagwa
topher Mutsvangwa, the party they said. trolled media on the new “innovation” has to date passed two constitutional formance-based contracts move as
spokesperson threatening civic — performance-based contracts for amendments. a mere public relations stunt, where
society organisations (CSOs) for This is not the same as asking senior civil servants and chief execu- Ironically, both amendments sub- Mnangagwa wants to be seen to be do-
highlighting human rights abus- the Chinese businesses to leave tives at parastatals. stantively took Zimbabwe back in time ing something.
es allegedly perpetrated by Chi- the country, and Mutsvangwa is is a well-orchestrated move as — back to the imperial presidency of
nese investors in the country. clearly missed the point. the country moves towards the 2023 1987. It is interesting to note that Mnan-
general elections. A move that will blind e President now has power to ap- gagwa as an a erthought in his fourth
The CSOs, Mutsvangwa fumed, Most of China’s investment and sidestep the electorate to think he is point the Chief Justice and Deputy year as he decided that permanent sec-
were being used as conduits for in Africa is centred around re- a man of action. Chief Justice, Prosecutor-General with- retaries and chief executives need to
regime change by the opposi- source-rich nations such as Ni- Let us for a moment go back to his out having them subjected to inter- have their performance appraised an-
tion Citizens Coalition for Change geria, Angola and the Democrat- short history post-November 2017 views as the 2013 Constitution had en- nually.
(CCC). This is despite the fact that ic Republic of Congo. In compari- coup to establish his modus operandi. visioned.
the CSOs raised the concerns be- son, Zimbabwe accounts for just Mnangagwa in his inauguration e other amendment removed the e rst appraisal is due only two
fore the CCC was launched. 0.75% of Africa’s trade with Chi- speech spoke like a true Statesman. running mate clause, and now allows months before a general election in
na. He promised that the past was gone the President to promote judges high 2023.
“We will take them to the (Zim- and Zimbabwe was walking into a new up the bench without interviews and
babwe) Human Rights Commis- But the country has become chapter — a chapter he termed the sec- watered down devolution. So much for What e ect will wielding the axe
sion. We will take every constitu- too enveloped by Chinese influ- ond republic, a chapter he promised to the new dispensation. have on under-performing senior of-
tional avenue that exists in this ence: political, military and eco- mend the economy, create jobs, deci- Command agriculture has remained
country to protect the fairness nomic class. Unconfirmed data sively deal with corruption, respect the a conduit for siphoning State resources. cers at the end of his term?
of the investment arena in the shows that Chinese investments rule of law and ensure that Zimbabwe In the November 2021 debt state- A ruse to the electorate that he
country. We will not allow them now make up nearly 64,5% of the rejoins the community of nations such ment tabled by Finance minister Mthu- means business and get re-elected and
to do what they have done in the southern African country's econ- as the Commonwealth. li Ncube, farmers’ repayment rate is at most probably reappoint them a er
political arena. They are agents of omy. And the Chinese have be- He came out of the block quicker 15% and yet the debt has been guaran- elections?
regime change. They want to be come arrogant as a result. than Usain Bolt on the issue of exter- teed by the State. Mnangagwa is creating a diversion
a substitute of the CCC if it fails,” nalisation. Back to the performance-based con- for the public not to evaluate his per-
he said. In recent times, there have His o ce published a list of local and tracts, why now? It is ironic because the formance in his rst term and make
been numerous cases of rampant foreign companies and individuals who President has power to re any minis- secretaries and chief executives his
“We argue as Zanu PF that abuse of the local labour force by allegedly externalised millions of for- ter even without a reason. scapegoats.
Zimbabwe is open for business. Chinese employers, including a eign currency. Mnangagwa has so far red two min-
As a party, we do not distinguish Chinese miner shooting dead a In an accompanying statement, isters, Moyo and Owen Ncube (State e question is: Have Mnangagwa
the origins of an investment. The worker for demanding outstand- Mnangagwa said he gave companies Security), this did not need this newly- delivered on his manifesto? Did he cre-
companies who invest in Zimba- ing wages. and individuals three months to repat- launched performance-based contract. ate jobs?
bwe register their companies in riate the funds to Zimbabwe. Neutral Parastatals have boards where the
Zimbabwe under the laws of the Their actions in communities observers said he was on the correct chief executives report to. Is it a tac- Has the energy supplies improved?
country. The moment they come show that Chinese companies do path, but this was before China issued it concession by the President that the Has health service improved? Is there
to Zimbabwe they become citi- not pay any heed to local laws or a statement in response. boards appointed to run parastatals are quality and a ordable education? And
zens like anybody else. If they are customs. China denied its citizens or compa- incompetent and mere window-dress- has the roads infrastructure improved?
violating the laws, let them be nies had externalised. e Asian giant ers that he now needs chief executives
taken to the courts.” Many of their operations, es- asked for further particulars and in a to be accountable to him? e answer is simple: Mnangag-
pecially in the diamond-rich Ma- subtle way, reminded Mnangagwa who In the new programme, these senior wa has largely failed to deliver on his
That was an extraordinary rant range area are opaque and we had kept Zimbabwe on its feet in the o cers will be evaluated on four main promises and most likely will fur-
by a ruling party which is already dare say they would not stand past two decades, when the West im- things: Delivery, e cacy, management ther fail even in his second term be-
in the process of drawing up leg- close scrutiny. posed economic sanctions on it. and implementation. cause the economic model he is choos-
islation to handpick the CSOs it A er the three months lapsed, It begs the question that Mnangagwa ing does not address the things in his
likes to operate in the country As we pointed out in our anal- Mnangagwa did not say anything and has chosen to go public about the eval- manifesto.
under the controversial Private ysis on the trade deal between the matter of foreign currency external- uation criteria, it is important for him
Voluntary Organisation Amend- the two countries, the bilateral isation died a natural death. Mnangag- to take into con dence the public about Privatisation of services is anti-poor
ment Bill. agreement has left Zimbabwe in wa proved to have a loud bark without the duties and targets that these o cers and therefore the majority of Zimba-
servitude to the Chinese. a bite. are expected to do be also made public. bweans.
The crime by the CSOs was to On corruption, Mnangagwa did the Failure to put these documents into
express concerns over Chinese Zimbabwe adopted a ‘Look same. He established the Special Anti- the public domain will expose the per- at is why Mnangagwa is xated
business operations that were East’ policy to focus on attract- with quantitative and not qualitative
causing displacements and dam- ing Chinese investment, but then measurements.
aging the country’s ecologically so has pretty much the rest of the
world. And most countries did e man has failed, no matter how
not have to give up their dignity, many mirrors he puts in front of the
oppress their people or give the public.
Chinese a free run at their nation- Paidamoyo Muzulu is a journalist
al resources. based in Zimbabwe. He writes in
his personal capacity.
In Zimbabwe, the incompe-
tence of the Zanu PF government
did, and that it the problem. For
the Chinese, we argue that they
must work with communities in
which the have their businesses,
instead of antagonizing the lo-
cals at the behest of politicians.

Weekly Digest is published daily by Alpha Media Holdings EDITOR Tel: 883184-8/887057/58/69/70/71 Tel. 883184/5/6/7/8,887069/70/1,887058/885280/1/2. AMH subscribes to truthful,
Cnr Strand/Bessemer Roads, Graniteside, Harare Alfonce Mbizwo, [email protected] Fax 76837 PRINTERS: accurate and fair reporting.
PO Box BE 1165, Belvedere, Harare, Zimbabwe SUB EDITOR & DESIGNER After hours editorial 0714 119 403 ZimInd Publishers, Cnr Strand/Bessemer Roads
Tel: 773934-8, 798894-6, 771635. Freeman Makopa, [email protected] P.O. Box AC 558, Ascot, Bulawayo. Graniteside, Harare. Tel: 771722/3 Do we measure up?
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ANALYSIS February 16-22 2022 Weekly Digest 4

Zim’s health workers are in demand,
govt must do more to keep them

ZPHYLLIS MBANJE with over 2200 of this critical force take up jobs in the National Health Over the years, the country has Africa and Namibia.
imbabwe's fragile health leaving in 2021. Service (NHS) early 2021. recorded such a rapid brain drain Currently many are jostling to
sector has been left reel- of health workers who are now
ing from a massive exo- The figure includes more than The NHS is one of UK’s largest spread over the world in countries even take up crash courses to be-
dus of health professionals 150 nurses and doctors who re- publicly funded healthcare sys- like the UK, Australia, USA, South come nurse aides and their target
signed from Bulawayo hospitals to tem. is not to work in the local health

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ANALYSIS February 16-22 2022 Weekly Digest 5

facilities but have set their sights far beyond the difficult situations," said Katsande. now subjected to rigorous processes and proval."
borders. She explained that because Zimba- getting a signature requires a senior Vice President and Health minister,
doctor with five years ex-
A glimpse into the past shows that the number bwe trained nurses in all disci- perience and a sen- Constantino Chiwenga has also said that
of health professionals has been increasing tre- plines of nursing – gen- ior member of they were planning to approach the Unit-
mendously. eral, mental health, the profes- ed Nations (UN) to discuss possible com-
pediatric and sion, pro- pensation.
According to figures from the Health Services midwifery, it vincial
Board (HSB) in 2020 the number was almost half meant that medical The VP said Zimbabwe invested a lot of
(993) the figure for 2021 while in 2019 around 700 their skills direc- money training nurses and doctors and
left. come in tor or therefore needed to be recompensed
handy in medi- should they leave, he said.
A data base created by Michael A. Clemens and situations cal su-
Gunilla Pettersson on the migration of doctors where per- But government needs to improve con-
and nurses from Africa, revealed that prior to 1999 there is a inten- ditions of service as a staring point, health
around 50 Zimbabwean health professionals ap- shortage dent experts said.
plied to be registered in the United Kingdom. of doctors. they last
practiced “There is a massive brain drain in the
This figure shot up to 221 between 1999 and "It’s very with in the health sector all due to poor working con-
2000 and almost doubled to 391 by 2003/2004. useful that previous six ditions that include renumerations and
the nurses months. low paying incentives. The extra quali-
The exodus has been made worse by the NHS have advanced, Under the new fied staff like oncologists and special-
England' s drive to rely on international recruit- all-encompassing conditions, a hospital clini- ists are actually leaving Zimbabwe to
ment to fill 39,000 existing vacancies. skillsets," she said. look for greener pastures because of the
cal director, provincial medical director or economic situation in the country. Gov-
Why the brain drain? How govt has reacted to the medical superintendent must first sign, ernment should therefore intervene and
While Zimbabwe is not the only country with brain drain followed by the Director of Curative Ser- improve the conditions of their workers.
health professionals leaving for greener pastures, vices in Health and Child Care ministry Workers should be centivised with good
it sure is among those with higher numbers. Typical of the Zimbabwean govern- before the application finally goes to the management for the better meant of
The main reasons for the brain drain are vast but ment, desperate measures have been ministry's permanent secretary for "ap- Zimbabwe”
largely due to poor renumeration and working en- rustled up to try and scuttle the plans by
vironment. the medical professionals to also leave. Medical and Dental Private Practition-
Salary negotiations have yielded little response ers of Zimbabwe Association president
with doctors earning pittances of less than US$300 The applications for prospectives are Johannes Marisa
per month.
This has resulted in perennial job actions and Congratulations to you Chairman
deadlocks.
President of the Zimbabwe Senior Hospital Doc-
tors Association Shingai Nyaguse said many
were leaving after running out of options to make
a.decent living.
"When negotiating spaces are closed then it
leaves workers with no option but to make their
own decision on what is the best way forward for
them and their families," she said referring to the
Health Service Amendment Bill which seeks to bar
health professionals from engaging in industrial
action.
The contentious Health Service Amendment Bill
which is currently being considered by the Parlia-
mentary Legal Committee, has drawn such pub-
lic ire and last month the legal think tank Veritas
said health workers will not be intimidated into ac-
cepting paltry conditions of service and refraining
from strikes.
" Most health workers are very patriotic and
would love to serve the communities they live in
but they also have responsibilities to their families
and other dependents," said Nyaguse.
While leading international health body WHO
recommends a minimum of 23 doctors per 10,000
people, past surveys shockingly reveal that in Zim-
babwe there is an average of just 1.6 doctors per
10,000 people.
This clearly shows how the doctors are over-
whelmed and work more hours and yet receive lit-
tle rewards.
Attractive offers have therefore enticed thou-
sands of local health professionals into leaving
their current employ.
In the UK the Royal College of Nursing (RCN)
has estimated that the average annual salary of an
NHS nurse is £33,384. while the average salary for
a Registered Nurse (RN) is £25 708.
In South Africa, an entry level nurse with less
than three years of experience can expect to earn
an average compensation of R 15 000 gross per
month. A mid-career Nurse with 4-9 years of expe-
rience earns an average salary of R 26 000, while
an experienced nurse with 10-20 years of experi-
ence makes on average R 37 000.
Overall, salaries range from 19,300 ZAR (lowest
average) to 57,900 ZAR (highest.)
The average registered nurse salary in Australia
is $79,399 per year or $40.72 per hour. Entry-level
positions start at $76,317 per year, while most ex-
perienced workers make up to $97,500 per year
Meanwhile a person working as a Registered
Nurse in Namibia typically earns around 14,500
NAD per month which is an equivalent of over
US$900. Salaries range from 7,110 NAD (lowest) to
22,600 NAD (highest).
In the United States overall, the average regis-
tered nurse salary is $80,010 per year.
Zimbabwean trained health professionals have
also been hailed abroad for their competitive skills
and this has created a big market for these skills.
A UK -based Zimbabwean Abigail Katsande,
who is now Head of Nursing at Linc Cymru (Wales),
a housing association and care provider said while
UK has various categories for nursing, such as gen-
eral nurse’s mental health nurses and many others,
there was not so much differentiation in the Zim-
babwean setting. The nurses are trained in all dis-
ciplines.
In an interview with RCN Wales, the qualified
mental health nurse, who has been in the UK for
nearly 30 years after training at the Scottish Bor-
ders School of Nursing (Melrose), said Zimbabwe-
an nurses were very competent.
"From what I’ve seen, the nurses can compe-
tently work with very little resources; they impro-
vise. Zimbabweans are good at being creative in

COVER February 16-22 2022 Weekly Digest 6

RBZ to The State-run AFC Commer- The RBZ said NBS was granted an al Financial Development Report
cial Bank, together with CBZ Build- extension to comply by the end of 2019/2020.
ing Society, National Building Soci- March 2022, while ZB Bank, would
ety and ZB Bank are the other banks merge with ZB Building Society. “But the Basel III framework,
that failed to meet the US$30 mil- which was proposed after the crisis
banks: lion benchmark. Generally, higher bank capital in 2009, aims to increase the quali-
contributes to financial stability in ty and quantity of capital that banks
However, they have all announced any market. can reserve in order to stand any
their gamer plans, which include forms of shocks along the way. Ba-
merging some units in order to According to experts, well capital- sel III has been widely adopted in
comply. ised banks can absorb losses during big economies, such as those with
The RBZ said AFC was granted a crisis or other distressful events. membership to the Organisation for
Time to extension for compliance to De- Economic Co-operation and Devel-
cember 2022 while Nedbank had They say in addition to financial opment (OECD),” the report said.
been required to comply by the end stability, higher bank capital tends
of June. to curb risk-taking because share- In contrast, developing econo-
holders would be having more skin mies have been taking a more cau-
Zimbabwe’s biggest banking in the game. tious approach.
group CBZ Holdings Limited, re-
shape up cently said it was set to merge its Central bank capital requirements According to experts, banks op-
major units to comply. compel banks to comply with min- erating in high-income economies
imum ratios of capital in relation to are holding more regulatory capi-
It said it will merge its flagship their risk-weighted and unweight- tal relative to their risk-weighted as-
commercial banking unit, CBZ Bank ed assets. sets now than before the global fi-
Limited and CBZ Building Society. nancial crisis.
out The banking group has applied to However, higher capital require-
or ship Finance minister Mthuli Ncube for ments could lead some banks cut- “The global financial crisis in
approval. ting lending in the short run, ac- 2007–09 revealed significant weak-
The proposed transaction comes cording to experts. nesses in the regulatory and super-
as CBZ is seeking to create a do- visory system, leading to major re-
mestic and regional multi-asset “Before the global financial cri- form efforts. Experts agree that the
class business in the financial servic- sis, regulation in many countries al- crisis stemmed in part from regula-
es sector. lowed banks to take excessive risk tory and supervisory failures. These
without holding adequate amounts failures extended to different are-
of high-quality capital, such as com-
mon equity,” according to the Glob-

BSHAME MAKOSHORI NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
ANK sector experts have week thrown
their weight behind the Reserve Bank of Notice is hereby given that the seventy-first Annual General Meeting of the Company will be held virtually, on Wednesday 09 March 2022 at 09:00 hours. The
Zimbabwe (RBZ)’s move to tighten screws purpose of the meeting is to transact the following business.
on operators that fail to comply with new
minimum capital requirements which AGENDA
came into force this January. 1. To receive, consider and adopt the Financial Statements for the year ended 30 September 2021 together with the Report of the Auditors.

After pursuing a conciliatory strategy on the big is- 2. To approve the remuneration of the Directors.
sue of capitalisation, RBZ governor, John Mangudya
said in last week’s monetary policy statement (MPS) 3. To elect the following Directors: Mr. F. Dzingirai and Mr. J. P. Van Gend retire by rotation but being eligible offer themselves for re-election. Mrs. H. Neser and
that shareholders would have to forgo dividends if Mr. M. Valela were appointed as Non-Executive Directors during the year and, in terms of the Company's Articles of Association, are required to retire and being
their firms struggle to meet new minimum thresholds. eligible for re-election, also offer themselves for election. Their re-election will be done by separate resolutions.

The seemingly hardline stance uncharacteristic of 4. To appoint Deloitte & Touche as external auditors of the Company until the conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting and to approve their remuneration
the many at the help of Zimbabwe’s financial system, for the past financial year.
Mangudya wants shareholders in such banks to seek
his approval first, before any dividend can land into A member entitled to attend and vote at the meeting is entitled to appoint one or more proxies to attend, speak and vote in his/her stead. A proxy need not be a
their accounts. member of the company. All proxies must be lodged at the company’s registered office not less than forty-eight hours before the meeting. A form of proxy is
available from the Company registered office for the convenience of any shareholder who may be unable to attend.
Under the new regime, banks would be compelled
to have the equivalence of at least US$30 million in By Order of the Board
minimum capital.
A K Nicholson 68 Birmingham Road
This would be important in making sure that the fi- Group Company Secretary Southerton
nancial system is safe and sound, with fall back posi- NAMPAK ZIMBABWE LIMITED Harare
tions in the event of shocks.
11 February 2022
It was a crucial step by the RBZ chief, who has been
working around the clock to avoid a recurrence of Notes
deadly financial sector failures, which rattled Zimba- Details of the Virtual AGM will be sent by our Transfer Secretaries, First Transfer Secretaries (Private) Limited through email to shareholders. Shareholders are
bwe’s once vibrant financial system between 2003 advised to update their contact details with the Transfer Secretaries on the following contacts:
and 2008.
First Transfer Secretaries (Private) Limited
Back then, dozens of big and small banks faltered
under the weight of a drastic rot in governance, which 1 Armagh Avenue Eastlea,
coincided with the global financial crisis.
Harare
In the end, an army of bank executives fled the
country once the RBZ started demanding explana- Telephone: +263 242 782869/7
tions.
+263 785 986 103
There has been less bloodbath since 2015, when
the last remnants of a bad past collapsed, leaving be- +263 772 627 742
hind a leaner but reliable and significantly safer finan-
cial system. +263 773 434 025

Still, Mangudya, who is seeing through the final legs Email: [email protected]
of his tenure at the RBZ, is determined to leave behind
a clean sheet - and his new regime could be one of Shareholders are encouraged to preregister on the online portal that will be provided by the Transfer Secretaries and submit their proxy forms at least 48 hours
his final steps to galvanise a financial system that has before the meeting.
generally been sound since he took over in 2014.
In order to ensure full consultations and shareholders participation, all queries/questions must be submitted to the Company and/or Transfer Secretaries at least SIYAKA building print visibility...
The sad thing is, while bank safety appears to have 48 hours before the meeting. All the submitted questions will be read out and answered during the meeting by the Chairman and the Directors.
improved, the sector still has significantly less to offer
to a market that so desperately requires capital after Directors: K. C. Katsande (Chairman), J. P. Van Gend* (Group Managing Director), F. Dzingirai* (Group Finance Director), A. H. Howie, K. J. Langley, H. Neser, Q. Swart, M. Valela
two decades of hard knocks. * Executive Directors

The trouble is, banks could revert to retaining their P O Box 4351, Harare, 68 Birmingham Road, Southerton, Harare, Zimbabwe
resources and make even lesser interventions in terms Telephone 662730/9, 0772192291/3
of lending, should they fall under tremendous pres-
sure to shore up their capital.

But in the eyes of capital markets analyst, Mike
Nhete, bank executives and their shareholders must
be in constant touch to see how they navigate the
capital demands.

“Banks managements can approach their share-
holders to raise capital,” he said.

“Some will opt to retain dividends to add to capi-
tal. But you find that some shareholders are ready in
invest more to help banks meet their minimum capi-
tal requirements.”

He spoke as Nedbank, one of five banks reported
to have failed to meet minimum capital requirements
in last week’s MPS, said on Monday that it had raised
enough capital.

“Further to the announcement in the monetary pol-
icy statement of 7 February 2022, that Nedbank Zim-
babwe Limited was non-compliant with the mini-
mum capital requirement as at 31 December 2021, the
bank is pleased to advise the public that Nedbank has
raised additional capital through a rights issue and
is now compliant with the minimum capital require-
ment of ZW$ equivalent to US$31,1 million, against the
regulatory minimum of the ZW$ equivalent to US$30
million,” Mangudya said in a market update.

COVER February 16-22 2022 Weekly Digest 7

as of banking regulation, but cap- It said “since the financial crisis, (Basel I and II)”. He said the banking institutions isfactory with the average non-per-
ital regulation was lacking as well, regulators have been revamping In his MPS, Mangudya said the bolstered their capital positions forming loans (NPLs) to total loans
in the sense that it did not provide regulation by, for example, launching through organic growth including ratio of 0,94% as at 31 December
banks with enough high-quality eq- the Basel III framework. Capital reg- sector remained adequately capital- recapitalisation of revaluations gains 2021, against an acceptable interna-
uity capital to weather the crisis. It ulation is a major element of this re- ized, with average capital adequa- on investment properties as well as tional benchmark of 5%.
also did not sufficiently curb bank form effort, so it is the subject of this cy and tier one ratios of 32,86% and capital injection by shareholders.
risk-taking before the crisis. There is chapter. The chapter begins by de- 26,54%, respectively, above the reg- Total banking sector loans and
a consensus as well that regulatory fining bank capital and summarizing ulatory minima of 12% and 8%, re- The RBZ said it was confident that advances increased by 61% from
weaknesses stemmed in part from its main functions. It then discusses spectively. the remaining institutions would $142,79 billion as at 30 June 2021 to
the lack of enforcement of existing the reasons for regulating bank capi- meet their minimum capital require- $229,94 billion as at 31 December
regulations and the failure to use su- tal and reviews efforts to standardize The aggregate core capital in- ments by 31 December 2022. 2021, largely attributed to the trans-
pervisory powers,” the report added. capital regulation across countries creased by 59,11% from $63,39 billion lation of foreign currency denomi-
as at 30 September 2021 to $100,83 Mangudya said the banking sec- nated loans.
billion as at 31 December 2021. tor asset quality also remained sat-

FEATURE February 16-22 2022 Weekly Digest 8

Beholden to China: A deal
that tied Zim in knots

OBY TATIRA ZWINOIRA ture of the investment. Zimbabwe where rural communi- against Chinese businesses, with labour practices.
UTSPOKEN Amer- These reasons can be seen in ties are increasingly speaking out workers complaining about poor Unconfirmed data shows that
ican psychologist,
Umar Johnson, in an
interview last year
claimed that China
wants to colonise Africa.

In an interview with an American
media house called Acres of Dia-
monds Media, Johnson gave three
main reasons why China wanted to
colonise Africa.

He said China wanted to reduce
its large population of over 1,4 bil-
lion people by sending its unwant-
ed excess to Africa.

Secondly, the highly impover-
ished nature of Africa offered Chi-
nese investors cheap labour as
most countries on the continent
do not have a minimum wage or
basic labour rights practices.

Lastly, the high number of hu-
man rights abuses in Africa has
turned away most of the western
countries who have either reduced
or shunned doing business with
African nations despite the conti-
nent having most of the world’s re-
sources.

Thus, most African countries are
left in a desperate state, looking
for fresh investment, leaving most
willing to accept Chinese money
without really scrutinising the na-

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FEATURE February 16-22 2022 Weekly Digest 9

Chinese investments now make up nearly 64,5% of Article 10 states which investments the article, it states: babwe to escape or terminate any invest-
Zimbabwe's economy. bilateral treaty applies to: “This agreement shall enter into force ments with China as a lot of hurdles are
involved.
This figure was revealed by the American think “This agreement shall apply to invest- on the first day of the following month af-
tank, American Enterprise Institute, who said re- ments which were made prior to or after ter the date on which both contracting As a result, once the government of
cently that investments and contracts with Zim- its entry into force by investors of either parties have notified each other in writing Zimbabwe or business enters into a deal
babwe reached US$11,64 billion last year, from only contracting party in accordance with the that their respective internal legal proce- with China, they are essentially tying
few millions in 2005. laws of the other contracting party in ter- dures have been fulfilled, and shall remain themselves to the Asian counterpart for
ritory of the other contracting party.” in force for a period of ten years. years.
However, this number could be way higher if pri-
vate deals were added. Article 11 states there should be regular “This agreement shall continue in force Interestingly, signing the bilateral
meetings between China and Zimbabwe if either contracting party fails to give a agreement on behalf of China was Wu Yi,
The total Chinese investment is against a gross in order to review the implementation of written notice to the other contracting a former Vice Premier of the People's Re-
domestic product of US$18,05 billion at the end of this agreement; exchange legal informa- party to terminate this agreements one public of China.
2020, according to the World bank. tion and investment opportunities; re- year before the expiration provided for in
solve disputes arising out of investments; paragraph 1 of this article.” Chinese media reportedly refer to Yi as
While this may explain why Chinese firms get and forward proposals on promotion of the "iron lady" as she was known to be a
away with poor labour practices, one sided invest- investment. ‘Difficult to terminate Chinese invest- tough negotiator internationally.
ment deals and exploitation of communities, it ments’
leaves questions where there is any legal backing Lastly, the regular meetings are to study During the period of 1991 until 1998,
to China’s strategy in Zimbabwe. other issues in connection with invest- Section three goes on to state that af- when the bilateral treaty was signed, Yi
ments ter the expiration of the initial 10 year pe- held the posts of Deputy Minister of For-
The answer is yes, in the form of a bilateral riod; either contracting party may at any eign Economic Relations and Trade and
agreement between China and Zimbabwe signed “where either contracting party re- time thereafter terminate this agreement Minister of Foreign Trade and Econom-
on May 21, 1996 that went into force on March 1, quests consultation on any matters pro- by giving at least one year's written notice ic Co-operation. Signing the agreement
1998. vided for in paragraph 1 of this Article, the to the other contracting party. on behalf of Zimbabwe was Herbert Mur-
other contracting party shall give prompt erwa, who served as the southern African
To that effect, this article examines the second response and the consultation be held al- “With respect to investments made pri- nation’s Finance minister during the peri-
half of the bilateral treaty between China and Zim- ternately in Beijing and Harare,” section or to the date of termination of this agree- od the treaty was signed.
babwe as it will show the legal reasons how Chi- two under Article 11 reads. ment, the provisions of Article 1 to 11 shall
nese businesses should conduct themselves in the continue to be effective for a further peri- Without the termination of the bilateral
African country. The bilateral treaty between China and od of ten years from such date of termina- treaty, the China/Zimbabwe relations will
Zimbabwe is enforced under Article 12. tion,” section four, under this article reads. continue to favour the Asian giant, leaving
The trade deal Zimbabweans and resources at its mercy.
Under Article 8 of the bilateral treaty, section Under sections one and two, under the As such, this makes it difficult for Zim-
one, says any dispute between Zimbabwean and
Chinese businesses must be settled diplomatical-
ly.
However, diplomatic settlements favour Chi-
na since it has more global sway on the military,
political and economic front compared to Zimba-
bwe, which has poor relations with the internation-
al community.
Also, China holds important seats on interna-
tional bodies and thus can decide what goes on
relating to Zimbabwe leaving the southern African
country in a position of servitude.
Sections two and three of the article reads:
“If a dispute cannot be settled within six months,
it shall upon the request of either contracting par-
ty, be submitted to an ad hoc arbitral tribunal
(hereinafter referred to as the tribunal). Such tribu-
nal shall comprise of three arbitrators. Within two
months from the date on which either contract-
ing party receives the written notice requesting for
arbitration from the other contracting party, each
contracting party shall appoint one arbitrator.
“Those two arbitrators shall, within a further two
months, together select a third arbitrator who shall
be a national of any other State which has diplo-
matic relations with both contracting parties. The
third arbitrator shall be appointed by the two con-
tracting parties as chairman of the arbitral tribu-
nal.”
The treaty goes on to state in section four: “If
the tribunal has not been constituted within four
months from the date of the receipt of the written
notice for arbitration, either contracting party may,
in the absence of any other agreement, invite the
President of the International Court of Justice to
appoint the arbitrator (s) who has or have not yet
been appointed”.
The tribunal is also given power to determine its
own procedure with decisions reached by major-
ity vote.
Each of the parties of the tribunal must bear the
costs associated with the arbitration.
Dispute resolution
Article 9, section one, states disputes between
Chinese and Zimbabwean parties must be settled
amicably through negotiations.
“If a dispute involving the amount of compensa-
tion for expropriation cannot be settled within six
months after resort to negotiations as provided for
in paragraph 1 of this Article, it may be submitted
at the request of either party to an ad hoc arbitral
tribunal,” reads part of section three.
It then lays out the way in which the tribunal
shall operate in section four.
“Such an arbitral tribunal shall be constituted
for each individual case in the following way: each
party to the dispute shall appoint an arbitrator,
and these two shall select a national of any other
State which has diplomatic relations with the two
contracting parties as chairman.
“The first two arbitrators shall be appointed
within two months of the written notice for arbi-
tration by either party to the dispute to the oth-
er, and the chairman shall be selected within four
months. If within the period specified above the
tribunal has not been constituted, either party to
the dispute may invite the secretary general of the
International Centre for Settlement of Investment
Disputes to make the necessary appointments.”
Under this tribunal for compensation, like with
disputes, sections five and six state that it shall de-
termine its own procedures and decisions shall be
reached by majority votes.
But, section seven reads that the tribunal shall
adjudicate in accordance with the laws of the con-
tracting party (China or Zimbabwe) to the dispute
accepting the investment.
Section eight states that costs to the tribunal
shall be handled by both parties in arbitration.

FEATURE February 16-22 2022 Weekly Digest 10

MDC unrecognisable four years
on from Tsvangirai’s death

OBY NQOBANI NDLOVU viding Mugabe with his first se- al Welshman Ncube and others Mugabe in the harmonised elec- opposition supporters that forced
N September 1999, rious challenger since independ- formed another MDC as they dif- tions to force a run-off but the can- the MDC-T leader to pull out in
a new political par- ence in 1980. fered with Tsvangirai over partici- ny old political master was to un- protest.
ty, the Movement pation in Senate elections. leash an unprecedented wave of
for Democratic In 2005, the party survived a violence that killed hundreds of The election was dismissed as
Change (MDC), was split when then secretary gener- In 2008, Tsvangirai outpolled not free and fair, with regional
launched at a mass rally in Harare,
the first time in years that the late
president Robert Mugabe’s Zanu
PF’s dominance of the local politi-
cal scene was seriously threatened.

Led by a mixture of trade un-
ionists, church leaders, stu-
dents movement and intellectu-
als among other groupings, the
MDC was a response to economic
devastation created by Mugabe’s
questionable economic policies.

The new party, led by the late
Morgan Tsvangirai was at the fore-
front of the campaign that cam-
paigned for a "No" vote in the
2000 constitutional referendum.

Building on the NO vote success,
the party won a significant num-
ber of seats in the parliamenta-
ry elections later that year despite
Mugabe unleashing his machinery
for violence and alleged vote rig-
ging.

In the early 2000s, the MDC
leadership moved to strengthen
and institutionalise the party, while
setting out to challenge Zanu PF’s
hegemony.

In 2002, Tsvangirai contested his
first presidential election, receiving
over 40 percent of the vote, de-
spite an uneven playing field, pro-

FEATURE February 16-22 2022 Weekly Digest 11

countries forcing Mugabe into a unity agreement zani Khupe. must go mantra but they must go beyond “That is a problem that was challenging
with Tsvangirai, a period that saw the country enjoy Mwonzora has since gotten endorse- that and be built on substantive ideologi- for the MDC beyond pronouncing them-
relative stability after the hyper-inflationary eco- cal foundations very clear to the people so selves as a social democratic movement.
nomic turmoil. ment of the State after he recently re- that there is that ideological commitment The MDC was destroyed by lack of ideo-
ceived $150 million under the Political Par- to principle and a particular value system,” logical coherence as well as greed and op-
When the unity government ended in 2013, and ties Finances Act despite the unresolved Ncube argued. portunism on the part of the leadership.”
a new general election was called, Mugabe had dispute.
rebuilt his party’s strength, and sowed dissent “This is a very big problem for the op- Four years on from his death, Morgan
among opposition politicians, who proved ill-pre- Analyst Effie Ncube said greed, oppor- position in general. They need to work on Tsvangirai’s MDC is unrecognizable from
pared for the campaign. tunism and failure to have a well-ground- their ideological perspective which can tie its 1999 forerunner. The march 2y6 by-
ed ideological foundation was MDC’s un- in people to certain values, value systems elections and the 2023 general elections
Zanu PF won a surprise landslide victory, leaving doing. and not just because people are angry at may remove it from public consciousness
MDC supporters demoralised, and the Zimbabwe- Zanu PF. altogether.
an people disillusioned with the possibilities of op- “Political parties must go beyond slo-
position politics. gans. They should not be built on Zanu PF

In 2014, another split occurred when then MDC-T WORLD WETLANDS DAY 2022
secretary-general, Tendai Biti and deputy treasur-
er-general, Elton Mangoma pulled out of the par- The Smallholder Irrigation Revitalisation Programme (SIRP) joins the nation in
ty to form MDC Renewal which later split into two commemorating the 2022 World Wetlands Day, running under the theme “Value,
groups, one led by Biti, which became People’s Manage, Restore, Love – Wetlands”. Funded by the Government of Zimbabwe, the
Democratic Party and another led by Mangoma, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the OPEC Fund for
called Renewal Democrats of Zimbabwe. International Development (OFID), SIRP seeks to build resilience against climate change
and economic shocks among vulnerable smallholder farmers as well as ensuring food
Tsvangirai and Biti had been long-standing allies security. The programme places value on wetlands, particularly their importance for the
in their campaign to remove Mugabe from power. vulnerable, smallholder farmers that the programme seeks to support, in light of the
effects of climate change and economic shocks.
On Saturday February 12, 2022 MDC Alliance
leader Douglas Mwonzora was to preside over As the programme seeks to build resilience among farmers in the semi-arid provinces of
what has been left of the opposition party since Matabeleland South, Midlands, Masvingo and Manicaland, wetlands carry great
Tsvangirai’s death in February 2018 when he ad- ecoSmnoalmlhiocldaernIdrriegnatvioirnonRmeveitanltiasaltivoanluPerogforarmthmeese communities. The communities in the four
dressed a paltry crowd during a by-election cam- benNeguncgiaunryyapnreoBvuinilcdeinsgoften receive little rainfall as they are situated in Natural Regions 4
paign launch in Highfields. andNo5..1ABsoarrorewsduallte, tRhoeayd are not able to cultivate enough food to ensure that they are
fooHdAsReAcuRrEe due to limited and unreliable rainfall. Wetlands such as dams and rivers
Across town, President Emmerson Mnangagwa proTveild0e24c2ri2ti5c1a6l8w9 ater for domestic use, watering domestic animals and irrigation for
was addressing thousands of his party faithful in theEsmeacilo: minfmoru@nsitiriepzsi,me.norsguring increased production and productivity all year round.
Epworth.
Twitter: @sirpzim
Mwonzora has been Nelson Chamisa’s political SincWeebtshitee:pwrwowg.rsairmpzimm.eorigs centered on water provision and boosting food production,
nemesis since 2014 when he unexpectedly won a weFtlaacnebdooakn:dSmcaallthcohldmereInrrtigmataionnaRgeevmitaelisnattiaonrePcrorgitricamaml ceo(SmIRpPo)nents of our interventions.
contest for the position of secretary-general even Wetlands such as dams and rivers provide important water for agricultural activities and
though the former, as organising secretary, was in sh production which the programme seeks to promote. Through SIRP, communities
a position to influence party structures in his favour
and had been nominated by 11 out of the 12 party living adjacent large water bodies
provinces. planted over 30 000 trees in
various catchments and are
One theory was that Tsvangirai, who died of can- constructing contour ridges to
cer, engineered Mwonzora’s victory by influencing prevent soil erosion and ooding.
the voting patterns of congress delegates.
On this day we rally behind all
The reason given for this is that he wanted to environmental stewards in
curtail Chamisa’s political ambitions because of his promoting the sustainable
perceived role in the MDC’s surprising poor show- management of wetlands, their
ing in the 2013 national elections. restoration and conservation. We
urge our communities to desist
Tsvangirai later appointed Chamisa into the ex- from activities that degrade and
ecutive as his deputy, alongside Elia Mudzuri and destroy wetlands.
Thokozani Khupe, who had been elected at the
previous congress. Chamisa would move quickly to Banga wetland within the catchment of Banga Irrigation Scheme
engineer his ascension to the leadership of the par-
ty following Tsvangirai’s death in 2018, sparking an- Smallholder Irriga on Revitalisa on ProgrammeNgungunyane Building
other round of divisions which eventually led to the No. 1 Borrowdale Road HARARE
‘death’ of the MDC.
Tel 0242 251689Email: [email protected]
Abednico Bhebhe, a former senior official in the Twi er: @sirpzim
opposition party, said instead the MDC as the idea
at the core when it was launched in 1999 has been Website:www.sirpzim.org
saved after Chamisa moved away from the brand Facebook:SmallholderIrriga onRevitalisa onProgramme(SIRP)
to form the Citizens for Coalition Change (CCC).

Chamisa moved with the entire MDC Alliance
leadership and structures after Mwonzora started
muscling in on the name MDC-A name and sym-
bols.

“The party has been saved by the forming the
CCC. The CCC is actually the skeleton of the MDC,
the frame of the mdc that was formed in 1999. The
MDC has actually outwitted Zanu PF by forming
the CCC,” Bhebhe said, adding the MDC suffered
from infiltration since 1999.

“The infiltration was the major cause of the MDC
to eventually die a natural death. The final coffin on
the nail was introducing Mwonzora to the party. He
has always been their proxy; history will show that
he has always been attached to the ruling party.”

Political analyst Dumisani Nkomo said Mwon-
zora’s party was not representative of the original
MDC in ideology or thrust.

“We need to be clear that the party which
Mwonzora is leading is not the original MDC. They
just have the name but the original MDC has since
evolved and rebranded itself. We should not be
debating about a non-existent entity and trying
to link the MDC led by Mwonzora with the original
MDC which has evolved and changed its name to
CCC,” Nkomo said.

Political analyst Rashweat Mukundu said the
MDC leadership is also to blame for the collapse of
the party four years after Tsvangrai’s death.

“The party cannot be absolved from failure to be
consistent in implementing party policy. The big-
gest mistake was to create TsvangiraI as a singular
centre of power and despite his political astuteness
and courage in facing Zanu PF, Tsvangirai failed to
create leadership cohesion, hence the many splits,
some of which could have been avoided,” Mukun-
du argued.

“It was these missteps that allowed for infiltra-
tion of the MDC and created the basis for the lead-
ership discord that we now see. There is no doubt
that the MDC, founded to fight a dictatorship, was
infiltrated by fortune seekers such as the current
leaders who saw it necessary to collapse the party
for personal gain.

“The party became a cesspool of some unprin-
cipled political actors and it is only befitting that
the MDC be buried so that something new can
emerge.”

Mwonzora is currently engaged in a bitter battle
for the MDC name with his former deputy Thoko-

ECONOMY February 16-22 2022 Weekly Digest 12

FDI slowdown highlight
Zim’s economic struggles

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is estimated ing the US$. factors contributed to this decline. The Dutch prices.
to come in at around US$150 million in 2021 However, in the short to medium term, we foreign currency auction system introduced Although annual inflation registered a de-
compared to US$194mn in 2020. by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe in 2020
Unfortunately, this decline in FDI inflows anticipate continued use of the US$ as the continued alleviating foreign currency short- cent decrease in December 2021, relative to
started in 2019, before the COVID-19 pan- local currency has been depreciating in the ages thus reducing the rate of increase of December 2020, it is still higher than the de-
demic. The rapid policy changes implemented in last few RBZ foreign currency auctions. With cost of production. sired levels. Inflating highest in the CPI bas-
2019 resulted in Zimbabwe losing investor confidence, the US Fed having increased interest rates, ket is the transport segment. This could be
which it had gained in 2018, after the election of a new we expect the US$ to strengthen making our Commendable fiscal discipline was ob- on the back of high oil prices experienced in
government. Exacerbating the low FDI inflows trend in local currency even weaker and our exports served during the period under review with 2021 globally. Moving into 2022, month on
Zimbabwe was the COVID-19 pandemic which also af- expensive which affects our current account the government prioritizing production and month inflation rate shed 0.42 percentage
fected investment flows globally. balance. Is inflation finally under control? manufacturing initiatives. The monetary pol- points from December 2021 rate of 5.76% to
icies implemented during the same period 5.34% in January 2022. We are of the view
We expect aggregate FDI inflows to Zimbabwe to Annual inflation closed the year 2021 at managed to stimulate the economy while that the government will maintain fiscal dis-
remain low in 2022. However, based on 2021 observa- 60.74%, significantly lower than December at the same time controlling the increase in cipline and the Central Bank will continue us-
tions, we expect foreign investments towards the min- 2020 annual inflation of 348.59%. A blend of
ing industry to increase. Despite a down drift in foreign
direct investment, capital injection from local investors
has gained momentum in the past few years. We have
witnessed an uptick in corporate transactions and eq-
uity financing as companies expand via mergers and
acquisitions as well as organically.

Of note, was the announcement of the potential ac-
quisition of 31.22% stake in First Mutual Life by CBZ
Holdings in 2021. In 2020, we witnessed the acquisition
of Dawn by African Sun, ZHL acquiring a control block
in Fidelity Life Assurance (FLA) and Sotic International
completing their takeover of BNC. On the other hand,
government spending in real terms on infrastructure
development went down during the period under re-
view, 2021, compared to 2020. We believe this is attrib-
utable to the Treasury's on-going goal to reduce the
budget deficit through cutting on spending.

IH View: The uncertain business environment char-
acterised by a depreciating local currency and a for-
eign currency auction allotment backlog hinder FDI
from recovering. This is coupled by Zimbabwe’s place-
ment on the AML grey list of countries, legacy sanc-
tions and well-known political dynamics. Government
has made some efforts on specific political reforms
and measures to compensate disposed former com-
mercial farmers.

Nevertheless, it is clear that the country will have to
take an inward approach and focus on the current re-
covery in private sector confidence reflected in local in-
vestment and transaction activity. Whilst this is a key
driver to stimulate the economy, we still believe addi-
tional capital injection from foreigners is needed to ac-
celerate this process

The Question of Currency
During its inception year, the Dutch Foreign Curren-
cy Auction system introduced by the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe was successful in stabilizing the economy
through increased availability of foreign currency thus
slowing down depreciation rate of the local currency.
The parallel rate exchange premium narrowed from
300% in June 2020 to 38% in Dec 2020.
Between January 2020 and December 2021, the lo-
cal currency depreciated by 4.55% from 81.8 to 85.5
against the US$. The amount of money allotted on
the auction has gradually increased from US$26.67mn
issued out on the first day of the auction to circa
US$46mn recorded December 2021, which translates
to a growth rate of 72.59%.
However, moving into 2021, the parallel market ex-
change rate premium started to widen. By the close of
the year, it had moved from 40% to 97%.
Of note is the correlation between parallel market
exchange rate and money supply (M2). As expected,
month-on-month inflation is also moving in tandem
with percentage change in money supply (M2). While
there are several factors contributing to inflation, we
believe change in money supply is a major driver.
We are of the view that the uptick in money supply
is as a result of increased government expenditure as
the authorities seek to stimulate growth in the econo-
my. In local currency terms, money supply (M2) more
than doubled year on year from $203bn to $413bn in
December 2021.
Using interbank rate, M2 money supply increased by
53% from US$2.5bn to $3.8bn while at parallel market
rate it inched up from US$1.76bn to US$2bn. This trans-
lates to an increase in money supply, using a parallel
market rate, of 17% which is significantly higher than
the projected real GDP growth of circa 6% for 2021. Re-
serve money ended the year at an estimated value of
$25.94bn (US$0.24bn at interbank and US$0.13bn at
parallel market rate) from $18.76bn (US$0.23bn at in-
terbank and US$0.16bn at parallel market rate) record-
ed December 31, 2020, registering an uptick of 23% in
US$ terms. Zimbabwe continues using a dual curren-
cy system with authorities working towards abandon-

ECONOMY February 16-22 2022 Weekly Digest 13

ing monetary policy as a tool to stabilize the economy.
The last released Monetary Policy Statement but-

tresses this view that the Central Bank will maintain a
hawkish stance on money supply at least in the short-
term. In October 2021, the RBZ increased Bank poli-
cy rate from 40% to 60% and the Medium-Term Bank
Accommodation (MBA) Facility interest rate from 30%
to 40%. Of concern is the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Although the government has secured enough vac-
cines to achieve herd immunity, the country is not im-
mune to global inflationary pressures which arise from
supply chain disruptions. Apart from importing infla-
tion, the disparity between the interbank exchange
rate and the parallel market rate has potential to drive
prices as businesses continue to peg their prices using
parallel market rate.

We also forecast 2021/22 agriculture output to
come in lower compared to the previous year owing
to late continuous rains. On this background, we an-
ticipate persistent food inflation. Based on the afore-
mentioned factors, we anticipate inflation rates to re-
main high in 2022.

Monetary Policy impact on banking sector
Over the past few years, Zimbabwean Banking Sec-
tor performance has been characterized by sub- in-
flation interest rates, very low Loan to Deposit Ratios
(LDR), and negative real Return on Assets (ROA) ratios.
The poor performance in LDR is due to the short-term
structure of the majority of deposits and the sub-infla-
tion interest rates which discourage lending.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe adopted a tight
monetary contraction policy in 2021 which resulted in
annual inflation rate dropping from 349% in Decem-
ber 2020 to 60.74% in December 2021 and 60.71% in
January 2022. In October 2021, the Central Bank also
revised overnight lending rates from 40% to 60%. Un-
der these new operating conditions, we expect an in-
crease in long-term deposits as we anticipate an up-
tick in savings. We also forecast aggregate deposits
to continue on an upward trajectory as the local cur-
rency depreciates and higher conversion factor is used
to translate US$ denominated deposits to RTGS. As of
December 2021 foreign currency deposits stood at cir-
ca US$1.7bn. We expect aggregate loans to inch up
on the back of the anticipated increase of long-term
deposits and the potential for banks to make prof-
its in real terms. We forecast an increase in loans es-
pecially towards agriculture and mining as the coun-
try embarks on expanding production. On the back
of Monetary Policy Impact on Banking the aforemen-
tioned factors above, we expect Loan to Deposit Ra-
tios to register an uptick in 2022. We, however, expect
Non-Performing Loans to total loans Ratio to slightly
increase in 2022 but still remain lower than the gener-
ally accepted international threshold of 5%. We believe
the negative effects of COVID-19 on loan performance
will persist in 2022. Non-funded income is expected
to keep on surging owing to an increase in digitiza-
tion which was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandem-
ic. Regardless, we believe profitability for the industry
as measured by Return on Equity (ROE) and Return on
Assets (ROA) will moderate as costs continue to dollar-
ize. We expect electricity and fuel costs to inflate the
most thus putting margins under pressure. We believe
inflation rate is still high and remains a major threat to
the sector’s profitability. We are of the view the sec-
tor’s viability is heavily dependent on the RBZ’s abili-
ty to control inflation rate. We also believe this will be
an arduous task for the Central bank considering the
country is also importing inflation from global price
upticks taking place. Zimbabwe’s banking sector has
remained adequately capitalized. The sector recorded
a 19.20% increase in aggregate core capital from $53.18
billion as of 31 December 2020 to $100.83 billion as of
31 December 2021, mainly as a result of the significant
growth in retained earnings.

— IH Securities

POLITICS February 16-22 2022 Weekly Digest 14

Plight of the Zimbabwean teacher

OBY ALEX MAGAISA Back then, teachers were revered figures in earned enough and could save sufficiently to part of the wages in US dollars, and a set of
n Wednesday, I received a mes- the community. They commanded respect. afford a mortgage to buy a home. In the ru- subsidies on the importation of vehicles and a
sage on social media from a Back in the colonial period, when opportu- ral areas, where schools provided accommo- housing scheme. These proposals have been
colleague. “When will Magai- nities were few and far between, graduating dation, families were able to build their rural met with mockery by teachers and observ-
sa write something about the as a teacher was one of the great achieve- homes, creating insurance for the post-retire- ers. Always ready with a light-hearted take on
plight of teachers in Zimba- ments for Africans. A mother whose son be- ment phase of their lives. A teacher could af- the government’s lame efforts, Zimbabweans
bwe?” read the message. The colleague was came a teacher was no longer called by his ford to buy a decent vehicle which in rural ar- have responded by saying “Promising teach-
relaying a message from a teacher who de- son’s first name. Instead, fellow villagers eas served multiple purposes for the commu- ers that they won’t have to pay full taxes on
scribed himself as “a teacher who is wallow- called her Mai Teacher, mother of the teach- nity. Nowadays, many can’t afford the fare for the importation of motor vehicles is like prom-
ing in abject poverty”. er. And the teacher’s homestead was referred public transport. ising women a free beard trim”. They laugh at
to as kwaTeacher, his maize field was “mun- Over time, the status of the teacher has di- how the government is mocking teachers by
“This is from one of the BSR readers”, my da waTeacher” and his cows were “mombe minished significantly as wages have been promising something unattainable. It’s prom-
colleague wrote as he passed on the mes- dzaTeacher”. It was no ordinary status. Young eroded. Nowadays, teachers are treated ising a tax break on something that a teacher
sage. It was a sobering moment. It remind- men and women graduating at O Level ap- with contempt. They are mocked because cannot even afford.
ed me of our collective shame over how we plied to teacher training colleges. It was a their earnings are pitiful. The situation of re-
have habituated to the sorry situation in the profession to aspire to. tired teachers is worse. Like other re- A day after the offer, the government is-
public education sector. The poverty that af- tired civil servants, they are giv- sued another notice, suspending without
flicts members of the teaching profession has AMany of the men and women who went en peanuts in state pensions. pay for 3 months all teachers who have “ab-
been normalized. When they go on strike, Even those who spent dec- sented themselves from duty since the offi-
some people might even think the teachers on to lead the struggle for independ- ades making private sav- cial opening of schools”. Apart from the fact
are the problem, not the victims of a repres- ence started as teachers. Perhaps the teaching that this knee-jerk reaction will further para-
sive and thoughtless system. most well-known of them was Robert ings have ended up with lyze an already stricken public education sys-
Mugabe, taught by the Jesuits at Ku- very little thanks to a tem, the minister’s action is illegal. She has
Like many Zimbabweans, I owe my station tama before enrolling as a teacher family was racket of insurance no authority to suspend civil servants who
in life to the tireless efforts of teachers many in various parts of the country. The companies pleading are employed by the Public Service Commis-
of whom went well beyond the call of duty to same profession would later take able to send with the effects of sion, and she cannot suspend employees in
see to our success. I was raised in a family of him to Ghana, where he found their children to hyperinflation. The such general terms, let alone through a press
teachers. The wages that my parents earned love. ZANU’s founding leader statement. But this is typical of an intolerant
were enough to afford us a decent lifestyle. Ndabaningi Sithole also trained some of the result is that once a regime whose only language is that of threats
They were able to send us and many other as a teacher before he joined the best-performing respectable profes- and coercion.
kids to decent schools. clergy. The iconic Herbert Chite- schools that sion that permitted
po also began his career as a families to live de- That the concerns raised by teachers are le-
Some of the most influential people in my teacher. Even Abel Muzorewa cent lives, teachers gitimate and deserving of serious attention is
life were the men and women who took me are now living the lost on the regime. It behaves like a man who
through the paces at all levels of school edu- started as a teacher. One might Zimbabwe’s life of hunter-gath- is armed with a hammer and sees every prob-
cation. I remember how Mr Bvumbe at Avon- say that the teaching profession erers, from hand to lem as a nail. For such a character, the only so-
dale Junior School in the mid-late 80s shaped was the seedbed of the struggle mouth. lution is to apply the force of the hammer to
my development in very unfamiliar territory for independence. It was from its education This week, when the nail. As Obert Masaraure, president of the
during those formative years. Mr Mushang- ranks that the intellectuals of the schools were due to Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zim-
we, my history teacher at Assisi High School struggle were born. open after a lengthy babwe said, “Teachers have been reduced
remains a lifelong brother and friend. Mr Chi- A teaching family was able to pandemic-induced to paupers, they are living in poverty. Teach-
urayi, our headmaster was a towering figure send their children to some of the system could closure, teachers went ers can’t even afford to pay school fees in the
who kept us focused. Such was his authority best-performing schools that Zim- on strike demanding schools where they ordinarily teach.” The ab-
his mere presence was enough to command babwe’s education system could of- offer. better wages. It’s a sign surdity of this situation where teachers can-
the attention of ants. fer. Some of Zimbabwe’s best schools not even afford to pay for the education that
are run by missionaries. They charge of how bad things have they are delivering is staggering.
Mai Chakanyuka was there when I graduat- become under the reign of
ed from writing on the floor to earn a place in fees for boarding facilities. A lot of stu- Emmerson Mnangagwa that However, although teachers appear help-
Group 1 at Kwenda Primary School. There was dents at those schools were from teaching less, they are not without power. The prob-
Mai Madzivanyika’s guiding hand in those families. They valued education and want- teachers are benchmarking their lem is that they might not realize the power
formative years. These were mother figures ed the best for their children. Many products demands on what they were earning when they hold. Striking is one thing but it is by no
that showed me the way in those early years. of this investment are flourishing in various Robert Mugabe was in power. Mugabe ruled means the panacea to their long-term prob-
I could write a long list to fill the pages. Suf- parts of the world. Back then teachers earned the country with an iron fist. He was in charge lems. They are in this desperate situation be-
fice to say that each of them played an im- enough to send all their kids to such schools when the country experienced hyperinflation cause of deep-seated structural problems
portant role in shaping my life. I am sure eve- while still living a decent life. in 2007-08. Yet when the country dollarized, that are anchored in an economic architec-
ryone reading this has a story or two to tell in As regular wage earners, teachers had ac- a teacher was earning an average of US$540 ture that favours the political elites and their
honour of teachers that contributed to their cess to credit facilities at shops, banks, and a month. Now a teacher earns just a fraction associates. Indeed, to isolate teachers from
development. Yet members of this profes- building societies. Teaching was a truly mid- of that. Inflation and chaotic currency policies the complex matrix that includes other dis-
sion that has done so much for so many have dle-class profession that enabled members have left the teacher earning a pittance. empowered groups is to make a grave error.
been reduced to penurious lives. of the profession to become homeowners in In response to the strike, the government Teachers, nurses, police officers, soldiers, and
decent residential areas. This is because they proposed a 20% wage increase, payment of

POLITICS February 16-22 2022 Weekly Digest 15

other civil servants are all part of a public education systems in Zimba- pay more attention to the prob- an had been unjustly recalled. a person who had lost an election
system that systematically favours bwe, but this gap is widening. The lems and invest more resources to Her claim to the seat was also du- could now exercise power to recall
the elites and impoverishes the rest. pre-existing division was generally resolve them. They can afford to be MPs who had been elected under
blurred by the fact that the public nonchalant because they do not bious because she had competed her rival’s ticket.
The system plays divide and rule, education system functioned rela- suffer the consequences of their as a presidential candidate in the
making one part of the public sec- tively well and produced a good set decisions. 2018 general elections and lost dis- whereby MPs who had been
tor feel like it is better placed than of results, especially in the church- mally to the party whose seat she elected. It also did not make sense
the others. Hence, the regime pays run schools. However, the pan- The irony of the Khupe recall was now occupying. The fact of why MPs who had been elected
soldiers and police officers first, demic exposed the great weak- After the matter was the legitimacy of under the MDC Alliance ticket could
then nurses with the teachers com- ness in the public educa- news her position in parliament was al- be removed from parliament by any
ing last. When nurses strike, teach- tion system. While stu- ways weak because of the way the party other than the MDC Alliance.
ers carry on. When teachers strike, dents in the private vacancy was created and her oc-
nurses carry on. Soldiers and po- education sector The legal technicality which was
lice officers are not legally allowed had more ac- cupation of it. Her case is a true exploited was that the recall pro-
to strike. Without networks of soli- cess to online definition of the adage that vision is not based on the identity
darity, these divided sectors will al- learning re- what goes around comes of the party under which one was
ways be victims of division and rule sources, it around. elected but the party in which he
by those in power. Their power lies was dif- But while Khupe has or she was a member at the time of
in active networks of solidarity. ferent unclean hands, her the election. It was this that made it
for case nevertheless possible for the MDC-T to claim the
If they understood their power, provides yet an- right to recall the MPs who had oth-
they would not let their employer those other illustration erwise been elected under the ban-
run rings around them as it does. in that the recall ner of the MDC Alliance.
The regime can fire nurses or teach- public provision in its
ers when they go on strike on dif- schools. current for- One of the defining features of
ferent occasions, but it will drive it- Those in mulation is the recall provision is that it is party-
self into a cul-de-sac if it applies the rural are- not fit for centric and ignores the rights and
same repressive methods if all civil as suffered the purpose. interests of the voters. The voters
servants acted in unison. It is good most as schools It is not have no say in the question of re-
to see statements of solidarity with were closed for long surpris- calling the MP. This promotes party
teachers from nurses and the Zim- periods impacting pu- ing that dictatorship at the expense of the
babwe Congress of Trade Unions. pils’ learning experiences. the recall voters. A recall has at least two oth-
It can be the beginning of a pow- Another divide that has of provision er consequences: first by-elections
erful wave that will draw the gov- Thokoza- is being must be called to fill the constitu-
ernment to treat civil servants with emerged is between students writ- used as ency vacancies and second, in the
greater respect than it is doing. If ing examinations under the local ni Khupe’s latest recall from Parlia- a political case of PR MPs, the party simply
the sectors remain disaggregated and foreign examination boards. ment last week, she now has the weapon nominates replacement MPs.
and their efforts are sector-based While students who wrote under dubious distinction of being the to settle
and piecemeal, the regime will con- foreign examination boards cele- most recalled MP in Zimbabwe’s personal The problem with by-elections is
tinue to have a field day. brated the release of their results, parliamentary history. She was re- disputes that it adds another cost to taxpay-
those under the local board were called in 2018 after Nelson Chamisa between ers. This might not be a problem in
More significantly, however, still writing exams for 2021. These took over the leadership of the par- politicians. the case of one constituency, but
teachers and other civil servants effects of these divisions may not ty. She has been recalled again by It was orig- where MPs are recalled en masse
must accept that their problems are be apparent in the immediate Douglas Mwonzora, mak- inally in- as has happened in recent years,
systematic and will not be resolved ing her the only per- troduced it is an unnecessary cost to place
by industrial action alone. Their term, but they will certainly Many son to have been as a weap- on taxpayers’ shoulders. This is es-
problems are a symptom of gov- manifest in the long-term recalled twice in on of retalia- pecially pertinent in a country that
ernance weaknesses that pervade impact with the widen- two consec- tion. Back in the is already struggling economical-
Zimbabwe. There can never be a ing gap between the of the men utive parlia- late 1980S, the ly, where scarce resources could be
few islands of sound governance for two categories. This ments. maverick politi- deployed to more productive areas.
teachers, nurses, or soldiers, while is a recipe for more and women Unsur- cian, Edgar Tekere
the rest of society is a sea of bad inequality that prising- had fallen out of fa- The replacement of PR MPs
governance. Zimbabwe’s is a sys- creates condi- who went on to ly, Khupe vour with Mugabe and might be cheaper, but it also has
tem that needs a systemic overhaul. lead the struggle fortions of instabil- is unhap- ZANU PF. But ZANU PF serious costs on democracy. The
py about leaders discovered that case of Khupe and her allies is a
Indeed, the same forces that ity. And now, as the lat- they could not expel him good example of this. Khupe com-
drove the ZCTU to spearhead the teachers in the est re- peted against the MDC Alliance in
formation of the original MDC in public educa- call. from parliament after they had the 2018 election and lost. In 2020,
1999 to drive political change have But one fired him from their party. The par- she took a seat in parliament as a
not subsided. The MDC may have independence startedtion sector go cannot liamentary system that Zimbabwe PR MP under the MDC-T, taking the
been hijacked by a few reactionary avoid had was built on the Westminster seat of an MP whose party had de-
elements who have driven it to the on strike and system in Britain, where floor-cross- feated her. This is because she was
ground, but the Citizens Coalition of ing is permitted. now deemed to be the acting pres-
Change (CCC) represents a vehicle as teachers. Perhapsthe system ident of the MDC-T.
that has the potential to regain mo- The recall provision was intro-
mentum and rejuvenate the strug- is paralyzed, duced to plug this “loophole” al- Many of the problems around
gle. Teachers are the ones that in- lowing a political party that the MP the recall provision could be mini-
teract with young people in the ed- the most well-known ofthe situation was a member of at the election to mized if its use by a political party
ucation system. They are the ones in the private them was Robert notic- recall him or her if he or she ceased was qualified by the need for citi-
that shape the consciousness of education ing that to be a member of the party. It did zens’ approval. In other words, there
students in their formative stages. Mugabe, taught by thesector pro- there not help ZANU PF against Tekere must be a mechanism by which cit-
Promoting civic engagement and is more because the new provision could izens who voted for the MP have a
voter registration are some of the ceeds as nor- not be used retrospectively. But it role to play in approving or disap-
things that they ought to promote mal. But this Jesuits at Kutama than a has been a menace in the hands proving of the recall. The law could
in their spaces. normal is artifi- huge of political parties since then. Both set a minimum threshold of eligi-
amount ZANU PF and the MDC parties have ble voters in a constituency or prov-
And most significantly, teach- before enrolling as acial and unsus- of iro- used it extensively against individ- ince that must be satisfied before
ers are key participants in the elec- ny to her uals who were regarded as having the recall provision is triggered. If
tion process. They are usually em- tainable. complaints. deviated from the party line. In all voters agree with the party, the MP
ployed as election officials, man- teacher in variousOne of the sys- cases, none of the parties has ever will be recalled, but if they disagree,
ning operations at polling stations. Khupe com- consulted the voters before exercis- there will be no recall. This would be
For their services, they get an allow- temic weakness- plains that she ing the power of recall. a more democratic method, but it
ance. Unfortunately, some of them es is that those in parts of the would also reduce the incentive to
do not look at the bigger picture, charge of the pub- has been tar- The MDC used it in 2002 when abuse the recall provision.
that after that moment, they will re- lic education system geted because it recalled Munyaradzi Gwisai. The
turn to their ordinary lives as teach- have no incentive to country. she is a woman. MDC also used it in 2014 when it Floor-crossing in Zimbabwe
ers on meagre wages, treated with make it better since they recalled Tendai Biti and others af- A final point that needs address-
contempt by the regime. By acts of do not use it. Political elites She claims to have ter they formed PDP. It was also ing is the issue of floor-crossing and
commission or omissions, some of written a letter to the UN used by the MDC against Thokoza- whether joining another political
them become enablers of their re- use the private education sys- ni Khupe in 2018. ZANU PF has also party leads to the automatic loss
pression. tem. They are not directly affected Secretary-General protesting her used the recall provision. It used it of a seat when an MP was elect-
by the problems they are causing in alleged mistreatment. But Khupe’s in 2014 when it recalled MPs that ed as a member of another par-
But teachers who occupy these the public education system. If they gender discrimination claim is a were aligned to former Vice Presi- ty. This question might seem odd
roles could use their role as gate- had a vested interest in the pub- long shot. She forgets that she got dent Joice Mujuru’s so-called Ga- considering all that has happened
keepers of the election process, lic education system, they would into parliament after a fellow wom- matox faction. The likes of Didy- in recent years with MPs being re-
ensuring that there is fairness, and mus Mutasa, Kudakwashe Bhasiki- called because they have alleged-
that evidence of irregularities is ti, and Temba Mliswa were recalled ly ceased to be members of their
identified and collected, especial- from parliament in that episode. It sponsoring political parties. But as
ly in the rural areas. ZANU PF has was also used to recall members of I argue in this part, readers may be
had 42 years to improve the con- the G40 faction following the coup surprised that there is no automat-
dition of teachers. Independence in November 2017. ic prohibition of floor-crossing un-
was supposed to be the dawn of a der our law.
new and brighter era. But a teacher It only drew more public atten-  Alex T Magaisa is a prominent
is now worse off than he or she was tion when it was deployed first by Zimbabwean lawyer and consti-
in 1980, a serious indictment of the Khupe and later by Mwonzora to tutional expert currently teach-
post-independence government. recall MPs after the controversial ing law at the University of Kent
The government has failed teach- Supreme Court judgment in March Law School in England. He once
ers, and in doing so it has failed the 2020. But it had long been used as a served as advisor of the then
public education system. political weapon. The use by Khupe Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Mor-
and Mwonzora captured more at- gan Tsvangirai from 2012-2013.
A big problem is brewing via the tention because of the apparent He writes here in his personal ca-
divided education system in Zim- absurdity. In the case of Khupe, it pacity.
babwe. There has always been a did not make sense to voters how
division between the private and

INTERVIEW February 16-22 2022 Weekly Digest 16

‘I was rejected by TN: What you are living with, what you
my father’ have is albinism which is a genetic dis-
MARVELOUS Tshuma, a with albinism if you sleep with that person order and affects you in that your body
singer, song writer and you will be healed of HIV, cancer and oth- does not produce enough melanin.
actor, who is living with er such sicknesses.
albinism says she was re- It affects your skin, it affects your hair,
They thought if you slept with such a your eyes and affect the way that you
jected by her biological person you would be healed. see.
father from birth because he did not un- In Binga you have to understand there
derstand her condition. were many witch-doctors. You have problems with reading from
Tshuma (MT) told Alpha Media Hold- There was an old lady, who said to me screens because of photophobia which
ings chairman Trevor Ncube (TN) on the once that if I got my head shaved they affects you?
platform In Conversation with Trevor that wanted my hair!
growing up in rural Binga was not easy I was still young so I did not understand These are huge hurdles of having to
because of dangerous myths around peo- what they would want to do with my hair. deal with something that most of us take
ple living with albinism. Now when I told my mum she told me as normal? How do you deal with those
The Noble Hands Zimbabwe Trust dep- they would use my hair to do all kinds of ple by their names. issues?
uty director and Albinism Konect ambas- rituals. TN: Also living with albinism is not a
sador spoke about her tough upbringing She also said all those people who are MT: In regards to reading, I can say as
and what can be done to change people’s high-ranking in society would want her to choice? You did not make that choice? it stands we have no other option, so I
attitudes towards people like her. take me to these witchdoctors. MT: Exactly. So not having melanin is not would have to read regardless.
TN: Marvellous, welcome to In Conver- When we moved around the village
sation With Trevor. people would say look at that white girl. a crime. I now accept who I am and am So I will reduce the brightness of my
So the fact I had all that attention, peo- happy. phone and start reading up close so I can
MT: Thank you so much my brother. see.
TN: Marvellous, I thought we should sit ple were envious of my mother due to Why am I happy? I am happy because I
down and have this conversation to help that. am an artist. If it is on the other hand something like
people all over the world understand Even at church, priests and the like documents (PDF’s) I will have to zoom in
your life, why you have become so suc- would do the same. Even now, if this building catches fire because my phone screen is small.
cessful and I have found your story very TN: So it was a belief that because of they will say (of me) there was a white per-
inspirational. son who died in there! So for those I would have to buy and
You were born in Binga. use a tablet or use a bigger phone for me
Talk to me about where you went to They won’t even recognise you! to see properly.
school and your early upbringing? TN: Hahaha. They will recognise you and
MT: Okay. I grew up in Binga, in Sa- not me? Then in regards to school, in Grade 7
mende, the village is called Samende. MT: They will say there were some black they wrote in large font and helped me
It was near a school at that time be- people and a white person. on that.
cause that is where my dad and my mum You see. So that attention I love it. I love
were working so we used to stay there. the fact that I am different. On textbooks, when we were reading
Then when my father and mother had Even what I wear, I can wear red things like group reading they used to give me
difficulties because of me as you know…. the attention that you draw if someone easily while others cannot. my own textbook so that I could read.
TN: No we do not know. So tell us. You would get some of your hair they would I can wear any colour, I can do many
are born, and your mum and dad see you then do what they do and end up getting things, look at me right now. TN: What is the best way of being help-
and there is a problem in the marriage the same attention? TN: So tell me; that’s huge. ful to people living with albinism?
because of who you are. That is the belief in our culture? You have gone to fully embrace who you
MT: Yah. At that time my mum used to MT: Exactly. So that feeling that I was are, accepting who you are, and using who What is the best way in terms around
work at this other church where there were not safe in the village was affecting me. you are to make progress in your life? your eyesight, being able to read, what
white people, who worshipped there. TN: Why were you not safe in the vil- How did you get there? How did you do should society be doing to make life eas-
So when I was born my dad had said lage? Was it because people would want that? ier?
“Mwana uyu, she is not my child but she is your hair? MT: It was not easy, but I think I can
the child of a white man”. MT: Yah. I remember this other day I was thank my mum and my family, my whole MT: I think first of all we need to edu-
So he told her to go to her “husband”, coming from school. We came across a family and my grandmother, because even cate our communities.
the white man. motorbike in the bush. when I became an adult around 18-19 years
So my mum had to try and explain that I did not know at that time but others old my relationships would stress me. We need to educate everybody with
I was an albino child, but my dad did not apparently knew, in saying that the mo- This was because some would just shout or without albinism, both parties so they
understand. torbike driver wanted me. in the road that they wanted to taste a understand what albinism is.
My mum had to go back to church and To this day I do not know whether it was white girl!
then the church tried to talk to my father, true or whether it was a lie. They just wanted to sleep with me. So that even in schools, when it is said
but he said no and thought it best they When this happened we would walk TN: To sleep with you for the experi- a child cannot see they would under-
divorce. from school and if we heard a motorbike ence? stand that these people have short eye-
They divorced and then after some time moving in the bush we would run. MT: Yah. So even if a guy would come up sight, they need spectacles for them to
they had to sit down with elders and then The motorbike would follow us. to me and say Marvie I love you, I would see.
they got back together. TN: Clearly you think this person was not even believe them because I would
However, I could see that there were following and chasing you? be thinking that this is the type of person It is not that me and another per-
some problems in my parents' marriage MT: Yes. We had to run home, and when who wants to taste a white girl, and just son with albinism have exactly the same
because my dad did not love me I got home I told my mum and have an experience. problem, each person would have to
much. she said I should just forget I used to be the target of bullying in have their eyes checked to see what the
about it. secondary school. problem is and which spectacles they
SoSometimes if I was sick he My friends who I People used to mock me and say they would need. In my case I went to the
grew up with told liked me, but behind their friends would hospital, but I did not find the specta-
would just tell my mum to me that the mo- be laughing and say they had been ac- cles that helped me to the point where I
torbike wanted cepted by a musope. could see with them, they just told me I
when I wastake me to the hospi- my head! It was not easy for me, but when I grew do not need spectacles as I was not go-
TN: So your up and began getting involved in the arts, ing to be driving and the like and they
tal but other siblings mother ful- things began to change. said my eyes were just bad.
ly embraces TN: You used to be bullied? Is that what
born my dadwould not go to the you, and fully you are saying? Or you used to bully peo- So for others they can see and actually
accepts you? ple? read billboards, but I cannot.
hospital. MT: Yah. I MT: I used to bully people.
used to ask TN: Really? So your reaction was to hit So the eyesight issues will be different,
had said “MwanaFor me that my mum back? Is that what you are saying? but no one who has albinism has good
whether I was MT: Yah. I used to protect myself before eyesight, all of us are shortsighted so we
would always be a monkey. it comes, so that they would not get the need spectacles.
Then my opportunity to do so to me.
uyu, she is not mythe solution. mum used to TN: Attack as a form of defence. Then on the issues of skin type, we
TN: How many tell me to look at MT: When I started in high school every- need sunscreen lotion, that is very impor-
myself and I would one would gather around me and put me tant. So now people actually think that
child but she is thekids were you? look and myself and in the centre and start to touch my skin, a person with albinism, if they get sun-
my hair and say it was not soft. screen lotion then all is okay.
How many sib- So I had to be ready to fight, this experi-
ence toughened me up. No this is not the case.
child of a whitelings do you Even in the classroom, people with al- You need another kind of lotion for you
binism cannot see properly, I would stand to lay a foundation on the skin, for the
have? up from my seat and run to the chalk- skin to be moisturised, then sunscreen is
board to read a sentence. our melanin.
man”. So he toldMT: We are As I would be doing this I would be  “In Conversation With Trevor” is
wearing a hat and go there and read then a weekly show broadcast on YouTube.
nine and I am the someone would say I was blocking them com//InConversationWithTrevor. Please
from seeing the chalkboard with my hat, get your free YouTube subscription to this
her to go to herfourth born. and they would accuse me of blocking channel. The conversations are sponsored
TN: So essential- their view. by Nyaradzo Group.
They would say I should sit down.
“husband”, thely your father some- So I used to be tough so that even if
they verbally bullied me I would be hard
what rejected you be- headed and continue reading and then
go back to my desk.
white man.cause of who you are?
MT: Yah, because he she would ask whether
I had a tail.
didn’t understand. I would answer no. So she
So over time he passed away
and it did not affect me because I did not would then say then it meant I was
not a monkey.
know the love of my father. TN: Wow.
TN: This is because you never had it?
MT: Yah. So we had to move to my MT: Then in Shona that saying “mu-
grandmother’s (home). sope”, meaning someone who has their
So my grandmother’s place was quite a skin bleached.
distance from the school, it was 3km away. I understand, yes, we have very light
It was a very hard time for me, it was not skin (albino), and that we do not have any
safe because you know due to the pre- melanin, but you do not address someone
vailing myths people think that a person according to their condition, you call peo-

BUSINESS February 16-22 2022 Weekly Digest 17

Long road ahead for the Zimdollar

Zimbabwe’s dollar has success of de-dollarisation. auction system with the support a very welcome move that will in- There are, however, limita-
stood its ground since In the monetary policy state- of the IMF’s SDR allocation could centivise “formalisation” of funds tions to the policy measures that
its resurrection in 2019 reduce dependence on the par- from mattress banks. However, the could offset the envisaged out-
despite overwhelm- ment, the central bank commit- allel market and, if implemented effectiveness of this move hinges come. The statement is worry-
ted to the following measures in successfully and consistently, on providing a rate of return that ingly vague on the informal sec-
ing odds that continue support of the local currency: is unmatched among similar in- tor and the high external debt
to batter the local currency. The Fine-tuning the foreign curren- could even foster confidence in vestments. For example, investing burden of about US$10 billion.
first year of the ZW$’s return was cy auction system through time- the official rate in the long run. ZW$ balances in the stock market To add on, the election season is
marked by a 85% depreciation, ous settlement of bids, compre- The promotion of the local cur- at the beginning of this year has gaining momentum and politics
followed by a 79% depreciation in hensive KYC measures, and build- rency through part-payments already yielded 19% in less than is likely to take centre-stage at
2020 and further depreciation of ing up foreign currency reserves, of statutory obligations is two- two months, and this hardly com- the expense of economic stabil-
25% in 2021 on the official front. Promoting the use of the local pronged in its approach to sup- pares with an annual interest rate ity, as has been the case in past
We note measures such as the currency by allowing part-pay- porting the local currency. Firstly, of 20%. Further, these rates remain elections. We also note that the
Dutch auction system this could comple- well below the Finance ministry’s ZW$ is not yet globally accepted
and support from Afrex- ment demand of inflation rate target of 25%- 35% by many international institutions
imbank which have sig- We opine that the measures foreign currency by the end of December 2022. and international investors with
nificantly slowed down on the interbank funds in Zimbabwe have been
the depreciation, but to improve access of US$ on as exporters look These measures fit in well with disinvesting as quickly as they can
there remains more that for ZW$ to pay other drivers of foreign currency through the auction system, all
needs to be done to ce- the auction system with the some of their stat- movements. The monetary policy signalling the poor confidence in
ment the ZW$’s place utory obligations statement also opens measures to the currency that remains largely
among other curren- support of the IMF’s SDR al- in the local cur- control excess liquidity in the mar- unresolved.
cies in Zimbabwe and rency. In addition, ket, which will limit the supply of
abroad. location could reduce de- some businesses ZW$. Coupled with the anticipat- Sentiment in the market irrevo-
Among the many that are liable to ed increase in demand for ZW$, cably points to continued curren-
challenges that the lo- pendence on the parallel obligations in for- this could oppose downside pres- cy depreciation in 2022 with dif-
cal currency faces is eign currency will sures on the currency throughout fering opinions on the magnitude
the bipolar exchange market and, if implemented have the option to the year. Complementary effects of the loss in real value to holders
rates in the country. use some of their are also likely to emanate from of ZW$. Investors with ZW$ seek-
Currently, the local cur- successfully and consistently, ZW$ balances to the current account surplus which ing returns that are sweeter than
rency officially trades fulfil their obliga- draws from the strong global deposit rates, albeit at higher risk,
at ZWL$118,87 to the could even foster confidence tions without go- commodity prices. Zimbabwe’s can seek exposure on the Zimba-
USD, implying a gap ing through the current account balance is largely bwe Stock Exchange. The bourse
of almost 100% when in the official rate. parallel market. driven by receipts from the min- gained 1 046% in 2020 vis-a-viz a
compared to parallel We also expect ing sector and heightened global loss in value in the currency rates
market rates of about a slight decline in prices of gold, platinum group on the interbank market of 79%,
ZW$$230 to the dollar, parallel market ac- metals (PGMs), and other hard and 312% in 2021 when the offi-
despite measures to close the ment of royalties by exporters as tivity after the introduction of ZW$ commodities on the back of el- cial and parallel markets lost 25%
gap. However, the latest monetary well as taxes and duties in ZW$, fuel given that there is no alloca- evated global risks will likely sup- and about 44% in value, respec-
policy statement by the RBZ gov- Introducing ZW$ fuel stations, tion for individuals’ fuel purchases port the surplus in 2022. A current tively. Novice investors can invest
ernor Dr John Mangudya comes Instituting savings and time on the auction system. Further, account surplus typically implies in ETFs as well as solid stocks in
with new measures that could deposit rates of 10% and 25%, fuel is at the base of almost every more demand for the local cur- line with recommendations from
change the odds of the local cur- respectively. product’s manufacturing pro- rency compared to foreign cur- their investment advisor.
rency, and we contextualise this Increasing foreign currency cess, and availing fuel in ZW$ at rency. As a result, these two drivers
through the lens of (i) local con- retention thresholds for import- the official rates could calm pass- could slow depreciation of the lo- Tafara Mtutu is a research an-
fidence and elevated global risks intensive sectors. through inflation pressures. In- cal currency on the formal market alyst at Morgan & Co Research.
(ii) trade flows (iii) current account We opine that the measures stituting minimum deposit rates and, at best, keep official currency — [email protected] or
sustainability and (iii) historical to improve access of US$ on the on savings and term deposits is depreciation below 40% in 2022. +263 774 795 854.

COLUMN February 16-22 2022 Weekly Digest 18

Coup president worries
about coups in Africa
LEADERS gathered at the African
Union (AU) summit, which ended are not enough US dollars in the country
earlier this week, were privileged to will be news to the string of well-connect-
have expert opinion on all sorts of ed agents who are making good mon-
ey importing luxury cars for government
critical issues, including coups. chefs.
“The issue of coups and attempted Generous govt
coups, five of them in the same region, is Civil servants will now get about US$175
a worry to the AU,” said President Emm- per month after the latest adjustment an-
erson Mnangagwa, whose hands-on ex- nounced this week, caused by unruly el-
pertise in the field is highly regarded and ements who refused to turn up for work.
much sought-after across the continent According to Finance minister Mthu-
and beyond. li Ncube, it is all thanks to the President,
He went on, asking: “What is it that we who “directed” that civil servants be giv-
should do to forestall any future coups?” en more money. The “government re-
Leading countries properly and running mains committed to continue improving
professional armies, for instance, is not an the conditions of service for teachers and
option. This is a no brainer. Again, Mnan- the entire civil service, as the economy im-
gagwa asked: “What is it that the AU has proves”, Mthuli said.
Primary and Secondary Education minister Evelyn Ndlovu not done to make sure that the African Where would these civil servants be if
states do not for
Ncube is mounting not have Tidbits the gen-
a dead horse persons erosity of
that are the Presi-
attracted dent. How
to doing astute of
unconsti- him to
tutional realise
activities.” Twitter: @MuckrakerZim that poor
workers
Well, must be
MBY DOCTOR STOP IT Cde Mthuli recently issued a statement on first of
y Dear People, how he can widen the use of the Zimbabwe all, they would start by not encouraging protected from the effects of his own ru-
Just like that, we hear dollar for transactions. coups by calling them “military-assisted inous rule.
that several hundreds of transitions”. After lecturing businesses to take the
teachers have been sus- Among many other useless things, one of Mnangagwa was not finished, adding a Zimbabwe dollar seriously, it was only fit-
pended for failing to resume their duties those is that people may now pay a compo- few more gems: “We are saying that Eco- ting that the same government shows
when schools opened a week ago. nent of their duty in local currency. was (Economic Community of West Afri- faith in our own currency by paying work-
can States) should stand to the challenge ers in the imperialist’s currency.
Launchmore offered them a carrot in the But here is the problem, a few days later, of what has happened. But as with the Laughable policy
form of an additional US$100 and allowing Mthuli announced that teachers will receive rest of Africa, we must make sure that we News that the government is introduc-
them to import cars duty free. a component of their salary in US dollars. condemn drastically the issues of coups ing performance contracts was met with
on our continent.” widespread laughter across the govern-
More on this later. This is the biggest vote of no confidence Well, if Africa starts stopping coups ment. According to the government, the
When this tactic failed to lure the teach- in the local currency from Mthuli, as it shows from happening and condemning them, Integrated Results-Based Management
ers back to work, Primary and Second- that not even he trusts the currency. some among us would not be in power. System, launched this week, will make
ary Education minister Evelyn Ndlovu was We need to slow down on sure that chefs do
wheeled out to deal with the teachers and If he trusted the Zimbabwe dollar, then he that one. their jobs.
she duly suspended them. would have raised teachers’ salaries in Zim- Hallucinating Herald “The issue of coups We all await to see
Well, I won’t go into the legality of this ac- babwe dollar terms rather than introducing The Herald, the world’s whether the coun-
tion, but this is where problems start. a US dollar component. best-selling newspaper of and attempted try’s top civil servant
Baba was an educator and made sure
that the Ministry of Education was always There is a matter of pride and stroking coups, five of themfact-based information, himself will be eval-
headed by someone who understood the one’s ego, but the reality is that the Zimba- uated and have his
profession. bwe dollar is as dead as a dodo. surprised itself this week
Madam Evelyn has little or no with its reportage of the in the same region, results publicly dis-
regard for education. What Mthuli is doing is to stubbornly teachers’ strike. is a worry to the AU,” played. We are cer-
Firstly, on her Curriculum mount a dead horse because he has staked tain that, as soon
Vitae that is registered with his reputation on the success of the local As schools reopened, as the evaluation is
Parliament, it is said she unit, but it is clear that at some point he has some teachers decided to
has an honorary doctorate to dismount. stay away. Naturally, the done, matching his
from the Commonwealth Herald saw things differ- successes against
University. It’s a dead horse. ently. his promises, deci-
The Commonwealth Dougie’s campaign trail “Teachers in most of the country’s prov- sions to make such things public will be
University is even got off to a patchy start inces ignored calls by their representative rescinded, in the national interest.
more fake than my kkk. unions not to report for duty over pay,” the Since when is performance a qualifica-
UZ doctorate kkk. paper said, confirming that news report- tion for jobs in the top echelons of public
It doesn’t help He was used to ers sometimes see imaginary things, in- institutions?
that it is an hon- large rallies, but the cluding absent teachers. Freebies season
orary doctor- stark reality hit him A day after this report, Herald had Crazy season is upon us; as election
ate for that mat- changed its mind, reporting that there campaigns for the March 26 by-elections
ter, meaning she yesterday that he was, in fact, “mixed attendance”. have gone gear up. It is not like the coun-
is really not fit for doesn’t have the Now, why had some teachers stayed try ever snaps out of election season an-
purpose. people and is be- away? It had nothing to do with their sil- yway. Elections are a national obsession,
All her other qual- ly excuses, such as salaries that are about even when it is not election season.
ifications are quite ing primed for a US$70 per month. It was because of the But voters are not complaining as free-
dubious like “prepa- massive loss. British. These teachers, the paper report- bies have started flowing.
ration for university en- ed to a shocked nation, “have been ac- In Mutare, Zanu PF’s official Binali Yard
try” at the Donetsk State There were cused of working with Western interests led a group of party chefs as they doled
University in Ukraine. barely any to cause political and economic instabil- out fertilisers to voters, telling them: “We
Like, honestly what is people at the ity in Zimbabwe”. are giving you fertilisers. Put it to good
that? The leaders of the teachers’ unions are use.”
I think you now realise launch of his “allegedly handsomely rewarded finan- Elsewhere, Zanu PF has been handing
that Baba was a God-send campaign cially for the strikes”. Well, at least some- out soap and detergents, to make sure
for this country. and it is now one is paying teachers. the unwashed masses turn up clean at the
Teachers will continue hav- clear why he Clueless Mangudya polls.
ing problems like this as long didn’t want the According to John Mangudya, the num- In Kuwadzana East, the opposition CCC
as they are led by ministers who are totally by-elections in ber one governor of reference for candidate handed out books to a library
clueless of their needs. the first place. scholars of bad economics all his party has long abandoned. May
In addition, the so-called perks that were Dougie even around the world, anyone elections be held every week from
offered to teachers are patronising and dis- failed to field can- still dreaming about going now on. It is the only time politi-
respectful of our educators. didates in at least back to the dollarisation era cians give voters any attention.
Teachers don’t need duty free cars and three constituencies. needs to sit down and have Meanwhile, Zanu PF’s Mike
they don’t need to have their children’s Oh, well he made his their head examined. Bimha says Mnangagwa will
school fees paid for by the government, but bed and he has to sleep Dollarisation is “not a hold rallies this weekend. Ac-
rather they need to be paid their worth and in it. panacea to sustainably and cording to Bimha, in his speech-
then they can decide what they want to do At least he can count competitively develop the es, “the President will highlight
with their money themselves. on his daughter’s support country,” according to Man- the successes registered in the
Just give teachers a living wage and they on Twitter. gudya. He is, of course, right. past few years”.
will gladly go to work without threats, car- Speaking of rallies, Launchmore also held What he forgot to do, howev- This is, obviously, likely to
rots and sticks. his party’s launch in Epworth with this most er, is to tell us what the pana- make those speeches
elaborate vote-buying scheme ever. cea is. Clearly, like the rest very short.
Launchmore promised to distribute title of us, he has no clue.
deeds for people in Epworth, regardless of News that there
surveying and other processes that must be
completed.
Needless to say, that too turned out to be
hot air.
You don’t just dish out title deeds for the
sake of it.
There is a process that should be followed.
Anyway, such populism always backfires.
Let’s wait and see how this one goes.

AFRICA February 16-22 2022 Weekly Digest 19

How one writer’s
story ignited a
debate about
torture in Uganda

IRukirabashaija displays scars on his back he says were inflicted from torture in detentionist, told journalists that he was tor- [Rukirabashaija]’s case there is with electrocution, strangulation,
n December, Ugandan activist protest against the torture and il- tured by military intelligence offic- what we would call ‘dark forces’ in isolation, death threats and “Liver-
and writer Kakwenza Rukira- legal detention of their supporters. ers after being detained the month the security services who use un- pool” water torture, where victims
bashaija wrote a series of in- before. derhand methods and they will try were forced to lie face up, mouth
sulting tweets about President The United States and the Eu- “They caned me to an extent to cover their footmarks,” he add- open, beneath a flowing tap. For-
ropean Union issued statements ed, without giving specifics. eign support Throughout his 36
Yoweri Museveni and his son. condemning human rights viola- years in power, Museveni has en-
This week, he fled the coun- tions in Uganda. that I lost my consciousness,” he In a televised address last August joyed strong financial and military
try, scarred but unbowed after a While Rukirabashaija’s story has said, displaying wounds on his Museveni said torture is “unneces- support from the United States
monthlong ordeal in state deten- received the most attention, the swollen feet and scars on his stom- sary and wrong”, blaming its per- and other Western governments,
tion. “They tortured me,” he told Al history of torture under Museveni ach, back and legs. sistence on “indiscipline” and “tra- despite their occasional criticisms
Jazeera by phone, saying that he is long and deep. The government later claimed ditional ways”. of his record on human rights.
he is linked to a rebel group.
was in Malawi and hoped to reach Record of abuse The African Centre for Treat- “Why do you beat a prisoner,” he That relationship may finally be
Germany for medical treatment. In the tense months surround- asked, displaying a picture of a sus- shifting as hardliners in the Ugan-
“They were using pliers to pluck ing last year’s presiden- ment and Rehabilitation pect with a scarred back. “Because dan security forces tighten their
tial election, the Ugan- of Torture Victims, a you are too lazy to interrogate him.” grip and repression becomes hard-
flesh from my thighs. Whenever I non-governmen- er to ignore.
look at my body in the mirror I shed Somedan security forces de- tal organisation in He nonetheless insisted that “our
tears.” of those whotained more than human rights record is incompara- In December, the US imposed fi-
Rukirabashaija says that soldiers 1,000 people, many released Kampala, regis- ble to any in the world”. nancial sanctions on Abel Kandi-
ters more than ho, Uganda’s military intelligence
wereabducted him, forced him to dance of them bundled 1,000 survivors But Mathias Mpuuga, the lead- chief, accusing him and his offic-
and beat him unconscious after into unmarked of torture eve- er of the opposition in Parliament, ers of subjecting detainees to “hor-
told Al Jazeera that the president’s rific beatings and other egregious
made allegations ofhe wrote on Twitter that Muhoo- minivans and speech was “window-dressing” acts … including sexual abuse
zi Kainerugaba, the president’s son ry year, most which obscured a long history of and electrocutions, often result-
of them vic- torture in Uganda. ing in significant long-term inju-
torture, including thatand commander of the land forces, tims of beat- ry and even death”. Kandiho has
they had beenwas “obese” and a “curmudgeon”. “Torture has been the hallmark of since been moved to a senior posi-
driven to un- ings by the security agencies in this country,” tion in the police. Yet, Museveni will
known loca- he said. “It’s now coming out be- have less need for the US backing
tions. cause of media proliferation, cour- once Uganda starts pumping oil,
He alleges that these abuses Some of tesy of social media, and the world a long-awaited milestone expect-
blindfolded, beaten withwere committed at the headquar- those who were police or can now tell how it is happening.” ed in 2025. The World Bank fore-
army. casts that the project will generate
ters of Special Forces Command released made “Unfortu- In 1989, three years after former $1.5bn a year for government cof-
rebel Museveni fought his way to fers – more than the $1bn that the
cables, had genitalia(SFC), an elite presidential guard allegations of power, a report by Amnesty Inter- country receives annually from the
that was led for many years by torture, includ- squeezed, nately, torture national noted a “significant im- US. Patrick Pouyanné, chief exec-
Kainerugaba himself and remains ing that they had scalded provement” in human rights com- utive of TotalEnergies, praised the
fiercely loyal to him. A spokesman been blindfold- were is still preva- pared with the earlier regimes of “clear leadership” of President Mu-
with lent in Ugan- Idi Amin and Milton Obote. Yet it seveni on a recent visit to Kampala,
for the unit denied it was involved. ed, beaten with ca- boiling water da,” said Samuel also described Museveni’s soldiers as he declared that the French oil
If torture was meant to silence bles, had genitalia Herbert Nsubuga, beating prisoners with iron rods giant and its partners would invest
the NGO’s chief ex- and tying them “kandooya-style”, $10bn in the Ugandan project.
Rukirabashaija – who won the PEN squeezed, were scalded ecutive. He noted that with the upper arms bound pain-
Pinter Prize for international writers with boiling water, burned fully together behind the back. — Aljazeera
of courage in 2021 – it backfired. with irons, forced to sit in cold Uganda passed an anti-tor-
After his release on January 26, water, injected with unknown sub- ture law in 2012 but “we have not Those methods were still be-
he returned to social media and stances, and given electric shocks. yet had any officers of note who ing used in 2004, according to Hu-
gave a harrowing television in- Although the details of these have been prosecuted and con- man Rights Watch (PDF), together
terview, displaying the scars that claims are hard to verify, the evi- victed”. Meanwhile, Ofwono Opon-
crisscrossed his back and thighs. dence was often imprinted on vic- do, a government spokesman, said
His case ignited a national debate. tims’ bodies: burns, scars, lacera- “our safeguards are by and large
More than 100 opposition legis- tions and missing toenails. effective and working”, claiming
lators – some of whom have them- Allegations of torture continue that cases of torture are “isolated”
selves been tortured in the past – to emerge. On January 31, Samu- and “extremely low” in number.
have walked out of Parliament in el Masereka, an opposition activ- “It looks like in Kakwenza

AFRICA February 16-22 2022 Weekly Digest 20

Youth perspectives on Mozambique's insurgency:
Is inclusive governance the key to stopping it?

Efforts to contain the on- vices, youth feel slighted and find
going conflict in Mo- few alternative prospects for their
zambique appear to be future.
losing ground. Accord-
Safety and security is another
ing to reports, Niassa factor driving youths to extremism.
province is now likely to become According to Afrobarometer data,
the next frontier of insurgent activ- one in three citizens (31%) fear ex-
ity by the Islamist group Ahlu-Sun- tremist violence. Given high levels
na Wa-Jama’a (ASWJ). This comes of distrust between society and the
amid offensives by troops from national army, the focus groups re-
the Southern African Development vealed instances where youths felt
Community (SADC) and Rwanda safer in joining the ASWJ than the
in Cabo Delgado, the birthplace of government. Human-rights abus-
the conflict, leading to speculation es, heavy-handed state repression
that the ASWJ has shifted the base and corruption have done little to
of its operations. The Islamic State instill trust, although there are ex-
(IS) has claimed ties to the group, pectations that the situation will
but the extent of these linkages is improve with foreign intervention.
unknown. Meanwhile a growing This speaks to the state-centric
body of evidence speaks to the lo- system of the government that pits
calised dimensions of the conflict people apart in an “us-and-them”
and the need for enhanced gov- scenario.
ernance. Youth also alluded to a manip-
Recent research by the Institute ulation of both religious texts and
for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) ethnic identities as factors behind
has found that ASWJ recruits youth recruitment. Although widely tout-
into the insurgency by appealing ed as a religious conflict, IJR’s re-
to their feelings of marginalisation search found that economic incen-
across economic, political, securi- tives have been used to lure young
ty and social spheres. The research, people into mosques where ex-
which was conducted in Septem- treme Salafist religious messag-
ber 2021 in partnership with the es were being preached. This of-
Centre for Democratic Dialogue ten overlapped with ethnic factors
(CDD) in Mozambique, host- related to perceptions of inequi-
table resource distribu-
ed focus groups with tion among different
young people to
understand ethnic groups. Ac-
TrehseesaerfcihndbiyntghsecUonniftiermd cording to Afro-
the drivers Nations (UN), that barometer, one
and key found that, while in four people
challeng- feel that they
es sur- have been
round- religion is often cited as treated un-
ing eoxatfrtrehemealsisisteottnlrgeefrcooorrruunjpiotossin,hminagavney fairly based
youth understanding of on religion Recent research by the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) has found that ASWJ recruits youth into the in-
recruit- or ethnicity. surgency by appealing to their feelings of marginalisation across economic, political, security and social spheres.
ment These find-
while ings confirm
also research by
seeking religious texts. the United Na-
possible tions (UN), that
pathways to found that, while
inclusion for
disenfranchised religion is often cit-
ed as a reason for join-
youth. From these ing extremist groups, many of
discussions, the research-
ers identified five critical elements these recruits have little or no un-
at play: derstanding of religious texts.
Moreover, higher than average
�Material considerations relat-
ing to a lack of inclusive economic years of religious schooling actu-
development; ally builds resilience, bringing to
�The manipulation of religious the fore the importance of creating
and ethnic identities; counter-narratives to disrupt ex-
tremist interpretations of religious
�A lack of safety and security;
�Weak governance and demo- texts. Rather, it is the patronage
cratic despondency; and underlying ethnic identities that
remains critical to address.
�Fractured social cohesion Ultimately, these factors boil
All of these speak to the over-
arching structural constraints of down to one single issue: the crit-
living in Mozambique’s underde- ical need for inclusive governance
veloped north. Without a concert- across all spheres. Youths often
ed effort to address these structur- mentioned their feelings of aliena-
al drivers, military action is unlikely tion from the state, with few mech-
to yield lasting peace. anisms for engagement. Youths
Overwhelmingly, youths cited also expressed their dissatisfac- Overwhelmingly, youths cited hunger, poverty and unemployment as factors that drive them to recruitment.
hunger, poverty and unemploy- tion with democracy and as such, Cabo Delgado is often labelled the ‘Forgotten Cape/Cabo Esquecido’ due to its extremely low levels of human
ment as factors that drive them to a sense of democratic despond- development that are largely the result of unequal resource dispensation

recruitment. Cabo Delgado is often ency is taking hold. Indeed, Afro- ers of the conflict, without which groups and develop mechanisms peace and security.
labelled the ‘Forgotten Cape/Cabo barometer data shows that a quar- hope for lasting peace will not be for problem solving, social innova- �In addressing corruption, more
Esquecido’ due to its extremely low ter of Mozambicans aged 18 and realised. The recent expansion of tion and skills development.
levels of human development that 30 years did not vote, while 58% the conflict makes it critical to con- assertive and independent over-
are largely the result of unequal said they were dissatisfied with the template the implications for the �Provide support to youth-fo- sight is necessary. This includes the
resource dispensation. National- state of the country’s democracy. broader region. cused institutions and youth hubs unbundling of elitism that drives
ly, almost one in two Mozambican The bottom line is simple to and ensure a two-way engage- grievances and facilitates youth
youths report going without food summarise but harder to achieve In lieu of the above, the following ment that takes youth perspectives radicalisation.
‘several times’, ‘many times’, or ‘al- – a pressing need for the Mozam- recommendations are made: into account.
ways’ according to the IJR’s 2021 bican government to look internal- �Prioritise human development
Afrobarometer public opinion sur- ly and to ask hard questions. The To the Mozambican government: �Assess blockages in govern- outcomes that help build resil-
vey data, and this figure may even time of blaming external forces is �Adopt a zero-tolerance ap- ment grievance mechanisms so ience.
be higher in Cabo Delgado*. over. Now is the time to act with proach to human rights abuses in that they can be more responsive
In the province, these challeng- a matter of urgency, implement- the military, enforceable through to the grievances of communities �Consider macroeconomic pol-
es are overlayed by perceptions of ing pathways to inclusion that will an independent oversight body, in Cabo Delgado. icy interventions that can devel-
elite enrichment by former FRE- include security measures as part and develop mechanisms to op employment intensive industry
LIMO military figures and an il- of a more holistic package of re- strengthen engagement between �Allocate national resources on a in Cabo Delgado that can be con-
licit economy that thrives on cor- sponses. the military and communities. needs-basis and make meaningful nected to global supply chains.
ruption. Coupled with educational Longer-term holistic and inclu- �Prioritise the adoption of efforts to ensure that youth in Cabo
deficits, poor infrastructure, and a sive measures must be taken to ADIN’s strategy for Cabo Delgado, Delgado are the recipients of qual- Insist on coordinated external
near absence of government ser- address the root causes and driv- ensuring inclusive consultations ity public services. engagements, in line with national
with youth and other marginalised and local priorities and ensure the
�Develop a national framework accountability of foreign troops.
for youth engagement in terms of
— AfricaPortal

ECONOMY February 16-22 2022 Weekly Digest 21

Corruption ter allegations that he illegally granted
must a US$60 million contract to a sinister
go! firm that sold the government Covid-19
PPE at inflated prices in what is known
TEBEN MABUNDA Law enforcements have been on a cused of criminal conduct during her as the ‘Drax scandal.’
HE latest corruption rank- “catch-and-release” circus with fingered time as Minister of Public Service that
ings released in Transparency corrupt officials facing no genuine ar- resulted in the loss of US$95 million at Both former ministers are happily
International’s Corruption Per- rests and imprisonments. the National Social Security Authority. unleashed!
ceptions Index 2021 (CPI)
report, place Zimbabwe in In 2019, former Tourism minister Prisca Former Health minister, Obadiah Zimbabwe’s predicament calls for in-
position 157 out of 180 countries glob- Mupfumira was fired after she was ac- Moyo, was discharged in June 2020 af- stitutional reforms, the establishment
ally. The findings of the report amplify of an independent judiciary system, the
the depth of corruption in Zimbabwe ending of impunity, the establishment
whose economic impact is too expen- of transparent systems, and a strong
sive to ignore and poignantly signal the political will to eliminate corruption.
dire need to pull out the cancer from
the roots. According to the Economic Develop-
ment in Africa Report 2020 by the UN
The CPI scores 180 countries and Conference on Trade and Development
territories by their perceived levels of (Unctad), Africa loses about US$88,6
public sector corruption, according to billion, annually in IFFs. Curbing IFFs,
experts and business people. The CPI could almost halve the $200 billion
uses a scale from 0 to 100; 100 being annual financing gap Africa faces to
very clean and 0 highly corrupt. achieve the sustainable development
goals.
Zimbabwe had a score of 23 behind
Nigeria (a nation in which corruption Sanctions must go! I agree, more crit-
has been prevalent for decades), Mo- ical: Corruption must go!
zambique and Uganda at 24, 26 and 27
respectively. Eben Mabunda is an analyst and
TV anchor at Equity Axis, a leading
Illicit Financial Flows (IFF) have cost financial research firm in Zimbabwe.
the country billions of dollars over the — [email protected]
years. Transparency International es-
timates Zimbabwe has lost more than
US$100 billion to corruption since 1980.
Annual estimates differ from Afrodad’s
approximation of US$570 million a year
to Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commis-
sion’s approximation of US$3 billion
annually.

The mining sector is the backbone
of the country’s economy, accounting
for approximately 65% of export earn-
ings. Sadly, the sector has over the years
been plagued by IFFs with the coun-
try’s Home Affairs ministry estimating
US$100 million worth of gold losses
every month.

Under Robert Mugabe’s adminis-
tration, diamonds worth US$15 billion
were announced by the government as
having been looted.

At the epicentre of the crisis are the
country’s porous airports, an exit portal
for pilfered mineral resources. Remem-
ber Henrietta Rushwaya’s RG Mugabe
airport arrest.

Recent Investigations by The Stand-
ard, Information for Development Trust
(IDT) and Zimstar News published last
September revealed:

“Private aircraft have been sneaking
in and out of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe
(RGM) International Airport and other
Zimbabwean flight ports without de-
tection due to poor air traffic control.”

Corruption has over the years become
deeply entrenched in Zimbabwe with
countless reports of bribes demanded
by the police, local councils, vehicle in-
spection officials, tax officials, sales and
procurement officers in the private sec-
tor, among others.

The ‘Report on Cartel Power Dynam-
ics in Zimbabwe’ published by Maverick
Citizen in February 2021 noted the ex-
istence of corrupt cartels in Zimbabwe:

“The study finds three types of cartels:
the first being collusive relationships
between private sector companies; the
second being abuse of office by pub-
lic officeholders for self-enrichment;
and the third and main type being col-
lusive relationships between public
officials and the private sector… cartels
are deeply entrenched in many parts of
Zimbabwean life.”

The abuse of basic human rights, in-
fringement of property rights, and the
absence of the rule of law have wors-
ened the situation.

ARTS February 16-22 2022 Weekly Digest 22

Chioniso
shines! First
Runner Up At

Poetry
Slam Africa
Bulawayo based spoken word artist,
writer and singer Chioniso was recent- the supervision of seasoned professionals during a
ly crowned first runner up at the 65th one night stay at a guest resort.
edition of Grand Slam Africa which was
held on the 22nd of January 2022 in Ema DeJesus from Mozambique and Chion-
Nairobi, Kenya. Poets are availed the opportunity iso, were the only non Kenyan slammers respec-
to share conscious works that cover a range of so- tively with Ema only being able to participate vir-
cial issues and explore depth of emotion through tually. The Grand Slam consisted of three rounds.
raw talent. It’s through Poetry Slam Africa’s initia- The final round left five poets in the running for
tive that Chioniso was shortlisted for the Slam final the title, Enigma Kreative, Muthoni ni Mimi, Nyash,
after a successful preliminary audition held virtual- Chioniso and Slim Shaka. With a cumulative score
ly in June of 2021. The final consisting of six guest of 29, 73 points Chioniso was just 0.11 points shy of
poets and twelve slammers, infused with musi- this year’s slam title winner Slim Shaka. Her work
cal performances from various talents, was held has appeared in Isele Magazine, Brittle Paper, The
at the Kenya Cultural Conference Centre. This was Kalahari Review, Doit4thekidz Magazine and Litro
preceded by a poetry workshop held the day be- Magazine.
fore, outside of Nairobi, in the quiet, scenic town of
Naivasha where the poets were given the chance Brittle Paper, a renowned African Literary Mag-
to interact with and learn from each other, under azine featured her as their November Spotlight
Artist of 2021 and called her poem “I Want to Fall
Apart Quietly.” a breath of fresh air.

—earGROUND

SPORT February 16-22 2022 Weekly Digest 23

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Formula 1's
governing body says inquiry is ongoing

Formula 1's governing body failed to make The FIA said that there would be "a number
any proposals following its inquiry into the of updates to the format based on the feed-
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at a high-level meet- back of fans, media and teams", without say-
ing on Monday. ing what those would be.
Instead, the F1 Commission of teams, F1
and the FIA was told that analysis into the controver- However, a couple of changes have be-
sial events at last year's title-deciding race was still on- come clear. Last year, points were available
going. only for the first three finishers, with three
to the winner, two for second and one for
The meeting was told that there may be an an- third.
nouncement on changes to race management later
this week. 'Sprint' events see a shorter race held on
Saturdays, the results of which set the grid
However, there was agreement for F1 to hold three for the main grand prix. Qualifying is moved
'sprint' events this season. to Friday, setting the grid for the sprint.

At the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Max Verstappen beat And pole position will be officially award-
Lewis Hamilton to clinch his first Formula 1 title, having ed to the faster driver in qualifying, after
overtaken the Briton on the final lap. drivers objected to the winner of the 'sprint'
race being designated as the pole winner.
Mercedes' Hamilton had appeared in control of the
race and on course for the title himself until a late safe- — BBC
ty car.

The race was restarted with one lap to go, with Red
Bull's Verstappen on fresh tyres and Hamilton on old
ones - and the Dutchman swept by to win.

When the FIA announced its inquiry into the Abu
Dhabi race last December, it said it would present its
findings to the F1 Commission in February.

And a statement from the FIA said that its president
Mohammed Ben Sulayem had "led detailed discus-
sions" on the Abu Dhabi race at Monday's meeting.

But at that meeting, F1 bosses were told by Sulayem
and Peter Bayer, the FIA executive director of single-
seaters, that the inquiry was not yet concluded.

"Feedback from the Commission on matters raised
will be incorporated into the president's analysis and
he will publicly present news of structural changes and
an action plan in the coming days," the FIA added.

It means that the crisis that has engulfed F1 since
the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - when race director Michael
Masi applied the rules incorrectly during a safety peri-
od in an attempt to ensure the race did not end under
caution - is still very much alive.

Masi's improvisations with the rules on two differ-
ent fronts - the timing of the restart and and on deal-
ing with lapped cars - directly influenced the outcome
of the world championship.

The crisis was not about who was champion - had
Masi operated the rules correctly, there were still a se-
ries of circumstances under which Verstappen might
have passed Hamilton - but about the fairness and in-
tegrity of competition.

Hamilton was devastated by events and lost faith
in the FIA as a result. It emerged last month that he
would not decide whether to return to F1 this season
until after he had seen the results of the FIA inquiry.

An FIA spokesman said that Sulayem, who had al-
ready consulted the teams individually on Abu Dhabi,
wanted to discuss the issue with the F1 Commission in
a formal session.

The spokesman said he "understood" the surprise
expressed by some at the delay but said: "What is im-
portant is a good process and a good decision, ex-
plained well."

He added that a statement on the reorganisation of
race control in the wake of the inquiry was expected
this week.

Masi was at the F1 Commission meeting, BBC Sport
understands.

Many insiders believe his position is untenable amid
the expected reorganisation of race control that will in-
evitably arise from the inquiry.

The failure to announce concrete decisions as to
how to deal with the issues raised by Abu Dhabi left a
number of figures at the meeting frustrated.

Two months have passed since the Abu Dhabi race
and some senior figures cannot understand why the
FIA has been unable to come up with concrete pro-
posals as to what needs to change in that time, BBC
Sport understands.

Insiders said that one possibility for the future or-
ganisation of race control has emerged.

This could see the role of race director rotated
through a number of people during the season - but
that Masi may well not be one of them.

Three sprint races agreed
The meeting did succeed in solving the impasse
over the number of 'sprint' races this year.
A stand-off over financial issues has led to the aban-
donment of the initial plan to double the number of
'sprint' events to six.
Instead, a compromise plan has been agreed to
hold three sprints again this season, on the same fi-
nancial terms as last year.
These will be held at the Emilia Romagna, Austrian
and Brazilian Grands Prix.
The points available at the sprint events will be ex-
panded, with eight points for the winner, seven for
second and so on down to one point for eighth place.

February 16-22 2022 Weekly Digest 24

Tarisai
Musakanda
charged with

culpable
homicide after

death of
pedestrian

Tarisai Musakanda, the Zimbabwe bat-
ter, is reportedly expected to appear
in court on charges of culpable homi-
cide and failure to report an accident.
Musakanda, who was driving his car in
Harare on the night of January 16, was allegedly
involved in a collision with a pedestrian, who has
been identified as Gwinyai Chingoka - a tennis
player who has represented Zimbabwe in the
Davis Cup.

Chingoka was 38.
According to a report in The Herald, Chingo-
ka sustained fractures on the left leg and elbow,
and died in hospital on January 27.
Musakanda is alleged to have stopped at the
scene of the accident and driven the injured Ch-
ingoka to hospital, but that he did not report the
accident to the police within 24 hours of the in-
cident. It is alleged that Musakanda filed a po-
lice report on January 28, a day after Chingo-
ka's death.
The post-mortem ruled that the road acci-
dent was the cause of Chingoka's death.
This is not the first time Musakanda has been
in trouble related to driving. In January 2020,
he returned home from Australia after his club
team, New City Cricket Club, sacked him for a
drink-driving conviction.
The 27-year-old Musakanda has played five
Tests, 15 ODIs and 12 T20Is since his internation-
al debut in 2016. His most recent appearance for
Zimbabwe was in a T20I against Bangladesh in
Harare in July 2021.

— espncricinfo