NewsHawks 17 February 2023

Price US$1 Friday 17 February 2023 NEWS Military plots to position Chiwenga for presidency Story on Page 3 NEWS Deadline for Zacc to carry out local authorities audits WHAT’S Story on Page 6 INSIDE SPORT Zimbabwe vs West Indies Test series: How Zim players fared Story on Page 54 ALSO INSIDE Ultimatum for Chiredzi councils over land deals Mnangagwa  subverts the constitution for calculated electoral gain

Page 2 News NewsHawks Issue 119, 17 February 2023 OWEN GAGARE IN a move that has sparked political uproar ahead of general elections in August, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has brazenly breached the constitution — an impeachable offence — after failing to gazette the final delimitation report he received from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) on 3 February within 14 days in terms of the law. Mnangagwa’s actions and what has been happening behind the scenes show that there is a spirited campaign to subvert the constitution, a serious democratic aberration and constitutional offence, and fiddle with the final delimitation report to advance the President and Zanu PF’s political agenda in the run up to the polls. In terms of the constitution, Mnangagwa, who has torpedoed the gazetting process, was supposed to publish the report on 17 February after receiving it on 3 February. Section 161 of the constitution says it should be published with within 14 days of its receipt from Zec. “Within fourteen days after receiving the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s final report, the President must publish a proclamation in the gazette declaring the names and boundaries of the wards and constituencies as finally determined by the commission,” the constitution says. Zec chairperson Priscilla Chigumba said on 3 February after handing over the controversial report to Mnangagwa at State House in Harare that it was final as they had taken into account parliament and the President’s concerns and recommendations that came against a backdrop of protests of gerrymandering and malapportionment largely affecting the opposition. Some individual Zanu PF members were also affected by the delimitation process. Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda also suggested it was final after some MPs raised the issue in the legislature. Delimitation, dividing the country into wards and constituencies for elections, is done under section 160 and section 161 of the constitution every 10 years after a population census and before the elections. Informed insiders told The NewsHawks that Mnangagwa did not gazette the report primarily for two reasons. “The President did not gazette the delimitation report because government is not counting weekends and holidays, if any, in its 14 days deadline since 3 February. So their deadline is 23 February. He will gazette it on 23 February, but this is unconstitutional,” a source said. “The other reason Mnangagwa did not gazette the report is that they are still fiddling with it. They have been changing the report to suit their political agenda. That is why they are claiming it is not final so that they can create room and justify changing it to accommodate their partisan issues. There is political subterfuge underway on this issue.” The delimitation process has always been a hotbed for irregular and corrupt electoral practices in Zimbabwe since the 1980s. Gerrymandering — changing of constituency boundaries to suit a candidate or political party — and malapportionment, unequal distribution of registered voters in wards and constituencies, are the most common electoral malpractices in delimitation. Government spokesman Nick Mangwana has renewed his spirited campaign packed with political chicanery and deceit to subvert the constitution, claiming the President has not yet received the final delimitation report when he has. He says once he gets it he would gazette it. Mangwana is supported in this machination by the President’s spokesman George Charamba who initially said the report was final before joining the bandwagon to mislead the nation on the critical electoral process. Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi also made a similar claim, showing a coordinated subversion of the constitution. Ziyambi has also been working with Justice permanent secretary Virginia Mabhiza and the seven Zec commissioners who have revolted against Chigumba to undermine the delimitation process for their own political interests. They have name-dropped that Mnangagwa is supporting them, a claim which seems to have truth and credibility, at least judging by how events have been unfolding. Mabhiza, who has links within Zec and is using the rebellious commissioners to do her bidding, is said to be deeply involved as she wants to be an MP and minister after elections if Mnangagwa and Zanu PF win. It is said she is the one who encouraged Zec commissioners to revolt, and write a letter to Mnangagwa saying the delimitation report process was hopelessly and irretrievably flawed, hence should be abandoned so that elections are held in terms of the existing 2008 boundaries. A Zanu PF member Tonderayi Chidawu has taken parliament to court over the delimitation report that was tabled before the legislature on 6 January for debate, saying it does not comply with the constitution. Chidawu, also linked to Mabhiza, is represented by Professor Lovemore Madhuku. At the centre of the legal battle is whether an unsigned draft preliminary delimitation report initially presented to Mnangagwa by Chigumba on 26 December 2022, before it was tabled in parliament on 6 January 2023 within seven days as required by the constitution, was written by Zec as a body corporate, or just two members of the commission, that is the chairperson and her deputy Rodney Simukai Kiwa. This led Zec’s seven commissioners to rebel. Those dissenting include Jane Mbetu-Nzvenga, Shepherd Manhivi, Millicent Mohadi-Ambrose, Jasper Mangwana, Catherine Mpofu, Rosewita Murutare and Kudzai Shava. While the commissioners are pushing their principal Mabhiza’s political agenda, which eventually benefits Mnangagwa as he is very close to the permanent secretary, they are also revolting over cars and unpaid benefits. Chidawu, whose court application is supported by the affidavits of two Zec commissioners, is arguing that the draft report was overwhelmingly rejected by seven of the nine Zec commissioners, and should not have been forwarded to the president from parliament as it violated the constitution. Chief Justice Luke Malaba has ruled in the Constitutional Court that Chidawu’s case was not urgent, leaving it facing the risk of being overtaken by time and sunk by the vagaries of politics. After violating the constitution amid calculated chaos — there is method in the madness - on whether or not the 3 February report was a final, Mnangagwa and his government are now hiding behind a badly flawed and a conveniently self-serving interpretation of the law mixing up calendar days and court days. Mnangagwa was supposed to use calendar days to gazette the final delimitation report on 17 February. However, he is using court days to push the deadline further down to 23 February. This means he will publish the report on 23 February using court days. This action is also unconstitutional. The first step on this is to determine if the days are calendar or court days — a distinction with a difference. The next step is to count either forward, or backward, the correct number of days. The third step is to add days, as required, due to the specific manner of service. In the delimitation case, calendar days — not court days — apply. Time is computed by excluding the first day, and including the last, unless the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, and then it is also excluded. If the last day of counting 14 days from 3 February is a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, the period is extended to include the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or holiday. In this case, the last day was a Friday (yesterday), but Mnangagwa elected to violate the constitution by not gazetting the report. The situation is worsened by information gathered by The NewsHawks showing that has been tampering with the delimitation report by authorities. This has resulted in a fallout between some senior government officials, Zec managers and security personnel, particularly from the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) which played a key role in crafting the draft preliminary report that Mnangagwa and those supporting him rejected in its original form. They are now basically illegally writing their own report. Unlike during the late former president Robert Mugabe’s era when the military — through the Joint Operations Command (Joc) — spearheaded electoral processes like the delimitation exercise, in the current set up, CIO and political apparatchiks are in charge. The military is however on the ground clandestinely campaigning for Zanu PF. Mabhiza and her clique, which does not want the report or wants a heavily doctored one as a compromise, have infuriated the CIO which is backing Chigumba. The first delimitation report was handed to Mnangagwa on 26 December last year. It changed shapes and boundaries of wards and parliamentary constituencies, but ultimately left Zanu PF in a stronger position, including in the opposition fiefdom of Harare province. Three additional constituencies were created in Harare South and Epworth areas where Zanu PF currently has its only two MPs in the capital. Harare South is under Zanu PF MP Tongai Mnangagwa, related to President Mnangagwa, while Epworth is also under ruling party MP Zalerah Makari, a Mugabe family relative. The CIO thinks it had done a good job and is questioning Mabhiza’s motives. Those against Mabhiza say she cannot be trusted as she is eyeing a constituency either in Masvingo or Midlands and wants to be Justice minister. So she is mainly acting out of self-interest, they say. Senior government officials say Mnangagwa and his close associates have been secretly rewriting the delimitation report, usurping Zec’s mandate and powers, which is unlawful. Sources said on Sunday, Mnangagwa had a long meeting with Zec officials at State House, where he made his demands known, resulting in further changes to the delimitation report after his initial submissions and those made the parliamentary adhoc committee. From their unconstitutional interventions, they want to produce their own final report —different from Zec’s — and then hand it over to Mnangagwa to gazette on 23 February. This means Mnangagwa has had a second bite of the cherry, which is unlawful. Mnangagwa and his allies are chasing the 26 February deadline for the delimitation report to apply in the upcoming elections. The report must be gazetted six months before polling day. If that fails, elections will be held in terms of the current electoral boundaries delineated in 2008, a problematic proposition given that there have dramatic demographic changes and in some cases a mutation in topography taken into account during the delimitation exercise. Storm over delimitation report President Emmerson Mnangagwa (right) and Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chairperson Priscilla Chigumba.

NewsHawks News Page 3 Issue 119, 17 February 2023 BERNARD MPOFU A UNITED KINGDOM-based research firm has waded into Zimbabwe’s highly volatile political arena predicting that while the ruling Zanu PF will most likely retain power in the next general elections, the country’s military will immediately start positioning Vice President Constantino Chiwenga to replace President Emmerson Mnangagwa after the polls. Mnangagwa came to power following a 2017 military coup code-named Operation Restore Legacy. Zimbabwe is this year expected to go for elections later in the year, but some political analysts and civic society organisations say a rise in politically motivated violence and the absence of a level playing field may tip the outcome in favour of Mnangagwa’s party. However, a survey conducted for The Brenthurst Foundation by the non-partisan London-based SABI Strategy Group says Zimbabwe's opposition leader Nelson Chamisa is surging ahead of Mnangagwa — 53% to 40% — among those who say they will definitely vote in August In the controversial 2018 presidential election, Mnangagwa scraped through with 50.8% of the vote ahead of Chamisa's 44.3%. Mnangagwa was popular at the time due to the removal of the late former president Robert Mugabe through a coup, but his popularity has been waning because of unfulfilled coup promises. The unfulfilled promises have angered the military’s rank and file. Statistics show that Zimbabwe scores 38.8 (out of 100) in our Short-Term Political Risk Index (lower score indicates higher risk), with particularly poor scores in the 'social stability' and 'policy continuity' subcomponents. Fitch says Zimbabwe's Long-Term Political Risk Index score of 42.7 (out of 100) reflects questions surrounding the country's long-term stability. It says within this score, there are significant variations regarding the various subcategories. The 'scope of state' sub-component garners 55.0 (out of 100) and is reflective of the relative lack of domestic constraints evident on the Zanu PF-led government. According to the latest Fitch Solutions research note while Zimbabwe economy will accelerate to 2.4% in 2023, from 2.0% in 2022, the country faces enormous political risk in the short to medium term. The acceleration in growth in 2023, Fitch says will be driven by a more expansionary fiscal policy in the run-up to elections in the middle of the year and an easing of price pressures, which should provide further support to consumers. “Zimbabwe's political outlook remains fraught with uncertainty,” reads the report titled Zimbabwe Country Risk Report Q1 2023. “President Emmerson Mnangagwa is caught between the population's demands for change and the expectations of his military supporters that he will uphold the status quo regarding their own privileged position within the state infrastructure. “The ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front party looks set to retain its dominance over the medium term, with opposition political parties being marginalised by the incumbents. Renewed military intervention to replace President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his administration remains a possibility. Political instability will rise around the next general election, due in 2023, and will continue to be fuelled by protracted economic underperformance.” Fitch says the government “will seek to avert a regime change by prioritising the payment of military salaries and the provision of food and services”. “However, in the event that President Emmerson Mnangagwa is ousted, the country’s political difficulties will persist or even worsen in the short-to-medium term,” the report reads. “There is little consensus within the ZANU-PF on a civilian replacement, while a military candidate (most likely Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, who was head of the army when Mugabe was removed from power in November 2017) would lead to a further deterioration of investment sentiment and relations with donors.” The outlook for investment, Fitch says is considerably less upbeat. “Fears about post-election violence are likely to weigh on market sentiment, exacerbating Zimbabwe’s pre-existing lack of appeal to investors amid on-going concerns about the country’s fiscal and external vulnerabilities. We are forecasting growth in real gross fixed capital investment of just 1.0% in 2023 — down from 2.5% in 2022 — and a contribution of 0.1pp to headline growth in 2023 (down from 0.2pp in 2022),” Fitch says. Military plots to position Chiwenga for presidency Vice President Constantino Chiwenga

Page 4 News NewsHawks Issue 119, 17 February 2023 MORRIS BISHI CHIREDZI residents have given Chiredzi Town and Rural District Councils a five-day ultimatum to furnish them with all details, including documents signed between the two local authorities and land developer Full Life Open Arms Africa Investments Pvt (Ltd) controversially contracted to develop 750 hectares valued at US$155 million. The expansion of Chiredzi Town is being done at the behest of Local Government minister July Moyo. The development came as the Parliament of Zimbabwe announced it had accepted a petition from Chiredzi residents, who want Moyo investigated over abuse of office and corruption allegations. The Deputy Speaker of Parliament Tsitsi Gezi on Thursday told legislators that the petition was deemed permissible, meaning parliament is likely to investigate the allegations. The letter was sent to Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda in parliament in November last year, but was gathering dust, until The NewsHawks’ front page story on the scandal last week. “I have to inform the House that on Friday, 10th February 2023, Parliament received a petition from the Chiredzi Residents and Rate Payers Association requesting Parliament to exercise its oversight functions by investigating the corrupt practices of land barons on 750 hectares of land allocated to Chiredzi Town and Chiredzi Rural Council,” she said. “The petition was deemed admissible and the petitioners were informed accordingly.” According to a petition presented to Parliament and signed by four members of Chiredzi Residents and Ratepayers Association (CHRRA), Full Life Open Arms Africa Investments (FLOAAI) was handpicked by Moyo without following public procurement procedures. The petition further said the developer is a land baron who is set to prejudice the two Chiredzi local authorities of a substantial amount of money since he is now selling unserviced stands without paying a cent to the local councils. Residents also say they were not consulted when the land was grabbed. They also complained that an environmental impact assessment was also not carried out. In a letter dated 10 February 2023 seen by The NewsHawks and served to both local authorities this Tuesday, Chiredzi Residents and Ratepayers Association (CHRRA) through their lawyers Chadyiwa and Associates demanded to be furnished with information regarding the deal entered between the local authorities as a joint venture and FLOAAI including processes leading to the appointment of FLOAAI as a developer for the land in Chiredzi. The attorneys threatened to approach the High Court if the information is not released within five days. The developer is selling unserviced stands at US$20,61 per square metre. “Your council together with Chiredzi Rural District Council was given 750ha of land by government which land is supposed to be developed and serviced into stands. A company called FLOAAI has been appointed as the developer. The said company has commenced selling stands to members of the public although the stands have not been serviced and there is no subdivision permit making such actions illegal,” the lawyers wrote. “Our clients being major stakeholders are seeking information on the project and they have instructed us to request the information including property description of the 750h and the process which led to the appointment of the developer. “May we therefore have a response within five days of your receipt of this letter. Should you fail to avail the requested information within the timeframe given, we will approach the High Court to compel you to release the information in terms of the Administrative Justice Act (Chapter 20:28) reads part of the letter. Meanwhile Chiredzi West Member of Parliament Farai Musikavanhu told The NewsHawks he had approached Moyo twice petitioning him to stop illegal land deals in Chiredzi, to no avail. The legislator said he knows his colleagues in Zanu PF will accuse him of being a sellout for exposing corruption in Chiredzi, but said corruption is a cancer which is affecting the popularity of the ruling party. Musikavanhu, who is a former Agriculture Director at Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe said he approached Moyo two times asking him to take action against illegal land deals within Chiredzi Town Council including the 750hectares given to FLOAAI. “I have consciously decided to publicly speak out in support of our president’s stance against corruption. In my position as a Zanu PF MP and central committee member knowing fully well that some in my party will accuse me of washing our dirty linen in public. l will not eat poison because of being shy. I will always speak out against corruption,” he said. “The land baron cancer started in Chiredzi town way back with Zanu PF councillors working together with opposition councilors contracting land barons like what we are seeing happening with 750ha at Buffalo Range meant for the expansion of our town. I approached the minister two times and l remember l once received a letter from Mangwana and Partners law chambers asking me to stop interfering with council business but mine is an oversight role where l can raise a red flag if possible.” Moyo could not be reached for comment. Ultimatum for councils over corrupt land deals Local Government minister July Moyo

NewsHawks News Page 5 Issue 119, 17 February 2023 NATHAN GUMA THE Ministry of Finance and Economic Development is failing to furnish parliament with a detailed structure of government owned-Kuvimba Mining House and the Zimbabwe Asset Management Corporation (Zamco) despite several calls, raising concerns about authorities' commitment to transparency and accountability. The shadowy Kuvimba, which has been linked to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s advisor and businessman Kuda Tagwirei, has been acquiring vast public assets resulting in a growing demand for government to revel its beneficial owners. Treasury has stubbornly refused to give detailed information on the two organisations among others, in defiance of the Public Finance Management Act. Harare North legislator, Rusty Markham has been filing several written questions on the Order Paper the Minister of Finance and Economic Development Mthuli Ncube to provide detailed information about various subjects, but the request has fallen on deaf ears. This month, Markham made multiple inquiries about Kuvimba Mining House — its establishment, structure, place of registration, shareholders apart from the Government, its current asset value, its subsidiary companies, and why no reports and results have been submitted in accordance with the Public Finance Management Act, according to legal think tank, Veritas. “I am waiting for the answer. They were supposed to answer last week on Wednesday, but the deputy minister asked for another week. This week, they also asked for another week. “However, having engaged those people after having set-up Kuvimba, and the Sovereign Wealth Fund — not now, but years ago, they should have all that information,” Markham told The NewsHawks this week. Kuvimba Mining House has been linked to business tycoon Kuda Tagwirei, who was placed on the United States sanctions list in 2021, and on further additional measures, by the office of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) last year, together with wife Sandra Mpunga, Nqobile Magwizi, Fossil Agro, Fossil Contracting, and Obey Chimuka. In 2020, the OFAC designated Tagwirei for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, logistical, or technical support for, or goods or services in support of, the Government of Zimbabwe; and Sakunda for being owned or controlled by Tagwirei. “Tagwirei has utilised his relationships with high-level Zimbabwean officials to gain state contracts and receive favored access to hard currency, including U.S. dollars. In turn, Tagwirei has provided high priced items, such as expensive cars, to senior-level Zimbabwean government officials. “Since former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s 2017 departure, Tagwirei used a combination of opaque business dealings and his ongoing relationship with President Mnangagwa to grow his business empire dramatically and rake in millions of U.S. dollars,” according to the OFAC report. However, government has countlessly refuted links to Tagwirei. Tagwirei links to Kuvimba An investigation by The Sentry has revealed Tagwirei links to Kuvimba Mining House through Sotic International, an offshore company based in Mauritius. According to the investigation, Sotic’s strategy was to use Tagwirei’s wealth to buy local Zimbabwean companies that earned hard currency through mining exports and then use those dollars to import fuel and other commodities into Zimbabwe. Between 2018 and 2020, Sotic entered into an arrangement to buy 85% of ZimAlloys, a ferrochrome producer based in Gweru, 75% of Bindura Nickel, owner of Trojan Nickel Mine, 85% of Freda Rebecca Gold Mine, 50% of Great Dyke Investments, 100% of Shamva, Mazowe, and Redwing among other Zimbabwean mines. After Tagwirei was sanctioned in August 2020, he appears to have moved his mining assets away from Sotic to a then-little-known Zimbabwean firm, Kuvimba Mining House, through a newly established company, Ziwa Investments, which is the only private shareholder in the Kuvimba partnership. Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube and Kuvimba’s Chief Executive David Brown have claimed that the government of Zimbabwe owned 65% of Kuvimba’s shares, while the remaining 35% were held by Ziwa Investments. Both men denied the involvement of Tagwirei in the new structure. Kuvimba’s records are not available in Zimbabwe’s company registry, and Ziwa Investments appears not to exist. However, a company called Ziwa Resources was registered by lawyers at Tagwirei’s law firm. Almas Global Opportunity Fund, formerly used by Tagwirei to invest in Sotic International via the Cayman Islands, owns 65% of Ziwa Resources. The other 35% is owned by Zimbabwe-registered Pfimbi Resources, whose directors are Tagwirei and his wife. Kuvimba owns many of the same mines once owned by Sotic. According to a December 10, 2021, Zimbabwe stock market announcement, “Sotic and its associates” — likely Tagwirei, given his effective control of the firm — nominated an unknown Zimbabwean company, Kuvimba Mining House, to own some of the assets previously bought by Sotic, such as Bindura Mining Corporation, hence fears of illicit financial and mineral flows. In 2021, findings by The Sentry showed how Tagwirei used complex corporate structures to build and hide his wealth, potentially benefiting from preferential government treatment along the way - by analysing hundreds of company documents, court filings, and communications. The investigation showed that Tagwirei has invested in gold, nickel, platinum, and chrome mines by hiding behind South African businesspeople and offshore structures in Mauritius and the Cayman Islands and by using lawyers and financiers who are seemingly happy to turn a blind eye to accusations of cronyism and corruption. Documents uncovered by The Sentry also showed how Tagwirei has used similar networks to hide his financial interests in the public-private partnership mining company, Kuvimba Mining House, with Zimbabwe’s Finance Ministry reportedly collaborating to deflect public scrutiny from these arrangements. Sovereign Wealth Fund On Zamco, Markham has been questioning the ministry’s failure to share with Parliament a list of the “end beneficiaries”, i.e., the borrowers, both individuals and companies, whose non-performing loans (NPLs) were acquired, how they were selected etc, and other information relating to the operations of Zamco. A non-performing loan (NPL) is a sum of borrowed money whose scheduled payments have not been made by the debtor for a period of time — usually 90 or 180 days. In 2021, Zamco mopped up NPLs from the market using a US$1.2 billion facility borrowed from government, reducing the ratio from 20.45% against the internationally acceptable threshold of 5%. Zamco was set up in 2014 by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to resolve the problem of excess non-performing loans (NPLs) of banking institutions in Zimbabwe through acquiring, restructuring and disposal of NPLs. Banks are required by law to report their ratio of non-performing loans to total loans as a measure of determining credit risk and quality of outstanding loan. However, the company has been failing to provide names of beneficiaries for transparency. The Finance has also failed to provide information on the Sovereign Wealth Fund’s performance since its inception in 2015. Hence, parliamentarians have been calling for the information pertaining to its current board, “its reports, and why there is such a dearth of information available to Parliament and the public about the Fund seven years after the Act was passed”. Sovereign Wealth Fund is a State-owned facility that is established from the balance of payment surpluses, official foreign currency operations, the proceeds of privatisation, government transfer payment, a fiscal surplus and resource earnings. Last year, an equivalent of US$100 million was set aside in the 2020 National Budget to operationalise the Fund, which is established from balance of payment surpluses, official currency operations, privatisation proceeds, government transfer payment, fiscal surplus and earnings. Businessman Kuda Tagwirei MPs probe Kuvimba, Zamco shadowy shareholding set-up

Page 6 News NewsHawks Issue 119, 17 February 2023 NATHAN GUMA PARLIAMENT’S Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has given the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) a 23 July deadline to carry out systems compliance audits across all local authorities after it emerged that several of them were last audited between 2017 and 2019, raising the risk of corruption, and mismanagement of public funds, The NewsHawks has learnt. PAC also ordered local authorities, with immediate effect, put in place backup systems for information, while ordering the Ministry of Local Government to procure current accounting software by 30 June 2023. Local authorities are required by Section 35 (6) of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) to submit audited accounts to the Auditor-General. However, findings by the committee show that 16 local authorities, including city councils, rural boards, municipal councils and rural district councils were yet to send submit audited accounts to Auditor General Mildred Chiri’s office. The report presented in parliament this week by Kadoma Central legislator Muchineripi Chinyanganya shows that Gweru City Council is yet to submit its financial accounts for the period spanning from 2017-2019. Gwanda Municipality and Beitbridge Town Council are also yet to submit their audited accounts dating from 2018 to 2019, while Hwange local board has missing financial accounts of between 2017 and 2019. Rural District Councils (RDC) make the bulk of local authorities that are yet to submit, with their accounts unaudited between 2018 and 2019. The committee observed that failure to comply was caused mainly by incompetence, the Covid-19 pandemic and lacklustre appointments of comptrollers by the Auditor-General and use of old-fashioned methods of accounting. “It was caused by the following; failure by some local authorities to back up their accounting data which resulted in delays in case of systems failure, lack of sound accounting packages like Pastel and Sage in some local authorities. “High staff turnover in some local authorities resulted in inadequacy of staff. This was caused by poor uncompetitive remuneration leading to skills flight and brain drain. Incompetent treasurers as in the case of former Hwange Rural District Council treasurer who was not executing his duties well. “Delays by Auditor General in appointing auditors in time resulted in some councils having to wait for a period of time before being assigned an auditing firm. Covid-19 restrictions hampered progress. The lockdown restrictions of March 2020 made it difficult for entities to fully function,” according to the report. Most rural district councils have been using manual accounting systems, which are not only inefficient, but prone to delays and financial leakages. For instance, Beitbridge Rural District Council informed the committee that the upgrading of the council’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, that is the Pastel Evolution from Version 8 to Version 11 caused much of the delay. “There were teething problems that came with the upgrade of the system and the software vendor took a considerable time to resolve the challenges,” reads the report. In that regard, PAC has also given local authorities, in liaison with the Ministry of Local Government the task to procure current accounting software by 30 June 2023 Other local authorities are also set to foot huge bills to cover the uncovered audit period. Hwange Local Board officials told the committee that they need over ZW$5 million in audit fees, to audit council’s arrears of over five years. PAC also said measures that will enable the local authorities to submit their audited statements for audit, should be put in place. “The auditing firms and local authorities should embrace the use of technology and must adapt to conduct audits online in line with Covid-19 restrictions by 30 June 2023. The Auditor General should conduct due diligence before appointing the accounting and auditing firms to carry out the work on its behalf as some were failing to carry out the assigned audits on time or at all. “These appointments must be done by the 8th February of each year as to allow the local authorities to comply with the Public Finance Management Act and the Constitution,” PAC said. Deadline for Zacc to carry out local authorities audits Parliament of Zimbabwe Auditor General Mildred Chiri

NewsHawks News Page 7 Issue 119, 17 February 2023 THE Central Africa Building Society (CABS) has been ordered to pay US$142 000 to local architects, Richard Harold Stuart Beattie and his wife Penelope Douglas Stone after their money was converted into local currency using a US$1:ZW$1 exchange rate. This followed the passing of a Statutory Instrument (SI) 70 of 2015 by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe with support from the Ministry of Finance. CABS was also ordered to pay interest at the rate of 5% per annum from 28 November 2016 — when the money was converted - to the date of payment. The ruling has far-reaching implications for many individuals, organisations and companies whose money was converted into bond notes or RTGS because of SI 70 of 2015 and other legislation. Stone and Beattie own a company trading as Stone/Beattie Studio Partnership and had their savings eroded following the passing of the “illegal laws.” Their victory follows a protracted legal battle which started in 2019. In a landmark ruling, High Court judge Justice Jacob Mafusire, set aside part of the law which led to conversion of the duo’s money into local currency. He also granted the order ruling that the Finance minister and the Reserve Bank had improperly interfered with the contractual rights and obligations between the couple and their banker, CABS in breach of the Constitution. CABS, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and Finance minister Mthuli Ncube were cited as first, second and third respondents respectively. The judge also criticised government ever-changing policies saying the haphazard scenario needed to be explained clearly to the banking public in case they found themselves in a similar situation as the architects. Before this court, the third respondent”(Ncube) has not provided some further insights into the thought process behind the implementation of the measures above, particularly the split of people’s bank balances into Nostro FCAs and RTGS FCAs. “The modalities of the whole process of creating Nostro FCAs and RTGS FCAs and the simultaneous separation of already existing bank balances into USD and RTGS, depending on the source of the deposits, is not properly explained. “The second and third respondents allege that it was left to the individual banks to use the Know Your Customer (KYC) principles and trace the source of the deposits that had flowed into the individual customers’ accounts. But the first respondent has not explained how it actually did it. If the nameless currency was co-mingling with the genuine USD, then perhaps only the banks and the monetary authorities themselves knew. “What all this analysis boils down to is that the second and third respondents, in effecting the currency reforms aforesaid, breached one of the constitutional tenets of good governance as set out in s 3(1)(h) of the Constitution. A government must not make, let alone implement arbitrary decisions,”said the judge. In their application, Stone and Beattie sought an order that Exchange Control Directive No. R120/2018 issued by the Reserve Bank [is]unconstitutional and invalid as it violates s 71 of the Constitution. They also argued that the conversion of their US$142 000 to RTGS142 000 was unconstitutional and invalid as it violates s 71 of the Constitution and also applied for an order that CABS should pay them US$142 000. Stone and Beattie also submitted that the Exchange Control Directive No. RT120/2018 is grossly unreasonable and ultra vires s 35(1) of the Exchange Control Regulations, SI 109 High Court orders CABS to pay US$142 000 to local architects

Page 8 News NewsHawks Issue 119, 17 February 2023 of 1996, and is invalid. The judge ruled the conversion was illegal before he also slapped the respondents with costs. “The conversion of the amount of US$142 000-00 standing to the credit of the applicants’ savings account No. 1005428905 with the first respondent as at 28 November 2016 violated s 71 of the Constitution. “Paras 2.5 and 2.6 of the Exchange Control Directive RT120/2018 aforesaid violate s 71 of the Constitution. Section 22(1)(b) and (d) and s 22(4)(a) of the Finance (No. 2) Act No. 7 of 2019 violate s 71 of the Constitution and are hereby set aside,” he ruled. The background giving rise to the present ruling was that the architects at all relevant times banked with CABS. As at 28 November 2016 the balance in their account was US$142 000-00. The designation of the account was USD. That designation was in line with the currency regime in force at the time. At the time, the national economy was on a multi-currency system. That had been the situation since 2009. In terms of that system, the currencies of other countries, specifically the British pound, the euro, the USD, the South African rand and the Botswana Pula had been made legal tender in Zimbabwe, courtesy of an amendment to the Reserve Bank Act [Chapter 22:15]. The local currency would float and find its own level in the basket of all these other currencies. Over the years, the local currency depreciated in value so much that it practically became non-existent. In 2015 the State President officially demonetised it through statutory instrument [SI] 70 of 2015. After the demonetisation some rapid developments in the monetary system followed. These were achieved through policy pronouncements and legislative changes by the State President in terms of the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act [Chapter 10:20], or the RBZ as the central bank, and the third respondent, as the Minister in charge of finance. Among other such changes, the Finance minister was empowered in 2016, through a statutory instrument, to reintroduce some form of local currency. Such currency would comprise what would become known as “bond notes” and “bond coins”. The bond notes and coins eventually came into operation in March 2017. This was achieved through an amendment to the Reserve Bank Act. 6The amendment practically reproduced SI 133 of 2016. In a press statement on 4 May 2016 the RBZ had disclosed the extent of that financial guarantee. The next significant development was on 4 October 2018. On that date, the RBZ issued the Exchange Control Directive RT120/2018. The background to the Exchange Control Directive RT120/2018 is this. At that time the economy was still operating in the multi-currency system. Bank accounts were all Nostro foreign accounts. A bank in Zimbabwe will operate a Nostro account with a foreign or correspondent bank in the world financial centres where a float of money designated in foreign currency is maintained. Of the basket of currencies in use, the USD was the most predominant. Thus, most Nostro foreign currency accounts were predominantly in USD. For the present narrative, RTGS would be the new form of the local currency. It would eventually be brought into circulation by the central Government via SI 33 of 2019. Its effective date was 22 February 2019. As at 1 October 2018 the currencies in use in the economy were both the USD and another which had been created by the State through borrowing from the RBZ, and the issuance of treasury bills. The latter currency was at first nameless even though it continued to pass off as USD. In RBZ’s statement of 1 October 2018, financial institutions were directed to separate their customers’ bank accounts into two categories: those holding actual dollars of the United States, and those holding this other nameless currency still passing off as USD. Banks would open Nostro FCAs into which genuine dollars of the United States would be deposited. That other non-United States dollar currency would remain as the existing customers’ accounts. Such a process of separation would take about ten days. The modalities would be left to the financial institutions themselves. They would use their own data bases such as the Know Your Customer [KYC] principles to determine the source of the deposits in their individual customers’ accounts. Henceforth, deposits or remittances from sources outside the country would be channelled into the Nostro FCAs which would automatically be created by the banks at no cost to their customers. Ncube eventually gave the nameless currency a name, RTGS through SI 33 of 2019 and there other ups and downs in the financial sector. Stone and Beattie told the court that watching those changes from 2016, they feared the value of their deposit would devalue significantly. To them, the unfolding situation was not without precedence. They cited the bearer cheque dispensation of 2007 and 2008 when inflation had risen phenomenally. Money would be counted in quintillions of dollars. When the economy had dollarised, people’s savings had been wiped out. Therefore, to avert another disaster, the applicants say they instructed CABS on 28 November 2016, to “freeze” their account so that no deposits or withdrawals from it would be effected except upon the written instructions by the authorised signatories. CABS then refused citing the controversial policy and legislative changes and also said it had to comply. According to the architects, their bank account which previously reflected a balance of USD142 000 now reflected the same figure but in RTGS. So, in 2019 they sued CABS on the basis of the banker-customer principles of the common law. In the alternative, they sued the monetary authorities, being RBZ and Ncube in the main impugning Exchange Control Directive RT120/2018. They won the case but they lost on appeal. Stone and Beattie reformulated their case again at the High Court but respondents raised several objections. RBZ argued that this substantive claim was determined to finality by both this court and the Supreme Court. The central bank said the initial High Court judgement became invalid on appeal. “There ended the case. There is no right of appeal beyond the Supreme Court,” said RBZ. Mafusire said this was incorrect. “But significantly, in paragraph 6 of the draft order, the applicants seek the setting aside of the conversion of their USD142 000 to RTGS142 000 on the basis of unconstitutionality, specifically s 71 of the Constitution,” Mafusire said. “This is the crux of the dispute. It shall be the focus of the determination. For these reasons, the second respondent’s objection No. 2 is hereby dismissed.” The respondents had argued that the duo’s demand to be paid in USD cannot be met because following the enactment of SI 33 of 2019 aforesaid, all debts previously denominated in USD became debts payable in RTGS from the effective date. But the judge ruled, “With all due deference, I need not be detained by this objection. The constitutionality of SI 33 of 2019 is part of the raft of legislation that is under challenge “The applicants’ complaint is not without merit. The series of measures adopted by the Government in the name of reforms were undoubtedly harmful to the banking public. The Executive has expressly admitted as much, albeit, post facto,” Mafusire said. “The applicants’ allegation that their deposit of USD142 000, which was converted to RTGS, devalued more than 130 times by the time of litigation, has not been contested. “No one is compensating them. The statement issued by the State President on 7 May 2022 dubbed “Measures to Restore Confidence, Preserve Value and Restore Macroeconomic Stability” does not seem to apply to the applicants, or to anyone else outside the threshold of the amounts stated therein.” — STAFF WRITER. Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe was cited as second respondent.

NewsHawks News Page 9 Issue 119, 17 February 2023 BERNARD MPOFU A LEADING local stockbroking firm Imara Edwards Securities says Zimbabwe is facing heightened political risk due to the upcoming general elections which are likely to be hotly contested as President Emmerson Mnangagwa desperately fights for re-election. Political risk is a threat faced by investors, business and governments due to policy decisions, events, or conditions which may cause instability or change. In its latest report, Zimbabwe 2022 Review and 2023 Outlook: The Conundrum of Consistently Applying the Right Policies, Imara says elections will intensify political risk faced by business. “We expect political risk to increase as we head to the general elections. Whilst the outcomes of successive elections during the period from 2000 to 2018 were highly contested, as noted by local and international election observers, the run-up to the 2018 elections was characterised by a largely peaceful environment,” it says. “They further indicated the opening of democratic space and the ability of the opposition to campaign freely, including in areas it previously could not access. The fact that the EU was invited to send an Election Observation Mission (EOM) for the first time in 16 years further testified to this change. “However, despite some positive developments, most international EOMs concluded the elections were not in accordance with international standards. Unfortunately, some of the shortfalls have not yet been addressed.” Imara says the elections might be characterised by a fierce dispute as has always happened in the past when the opposition complained of electoral fraud and theft. “Thus, we believe some areas of contestation could emerge, particularly around vote counting and verification of results. However the environment is likely to be generally peaceful, with limited pockets of violence, in our view,” it adds. “In addition, once the election process has been concluded, the country should have a clear direction with regards to policy and future outlook. It is worthy to note that, in election years, responding quickly to new shocks or pursuing long-needed reform may be more difficult. Populist polices are likely to be prevalent. Moreover, if security risks persist or worsen, the economic outlook could deteriorate significantly.” In the outlook, Imara says catalysts that would spur stronger economic fundamentals relate to increased exchange rate flexibility, tighter monetary policy, ceasing quasi-fiscal operations, reducing capital account restrictions, fighting corruption and improving transparency. “Spending towards social and capital outlays, for example, health and education, could also be increased,” Imara states. “As previously discussed, the year 2022 faced a number of headwinds which derailed progress in reforming and turning around the economy. Data points to a fiscal deficit of 0.6% of GDP, an improvement over the -1.7% achieved in 2021. Revenues increased by 266.2% y-o-y largely driven by despite a shrinking revenue base. Meeting these goals has never been easy and often involves a difficult balancing act because efforts to address one element will inevitably come at the expense of the other two. For example, higher spending will require more debt, mobilisation of higher tax revenue and/ or printing of money. “Whilst raising more tax revenue seems logical as recommended by the (International Monetary Fund), it is both politically and socially challenging. This is also exacerbated by Zimbabwe’s poor history of tax administration, compounded by corruption and inadequate compliance systems.” However, Imara adds some progress has been made in improving expenditure controls. “The authorities have identified large payments to suppliers, the result of over-invoicing, as a source of pressures on the parallel market for foreign currency and in response have launched value-for-money audits and introduced measures to strengthen procurement regulations. The automated financial management information system has been rolled out to all ministries, departments and agencies, though processing of payments outside the system still continue.” The government forecasts Gross Domestic Product for 2023 to increase 3.8% (World Bank +3.0%) underpinned by above-average international commodity prices, normal to above-normal rainfall, anticipated improved power supply, tight monetary and fiscal policies and continued use of the multi-currency system. Agricultural production is projected to return to growth as rain levels normalise and fertiliser prices recede. Even so, the country’s agricultural production remains susceptible to the vagaries of the weather as no significant investment has been made in irrigation systems post the land reform exercise. Although it is too early to make a call on the 2022/23 crop outturn, some areas have experienced a dry spell in January to early February 2023, while some areas witnessed excessive rains increasing the risk of a reduced output. “The uncertain global economic outlook further presents risks to the domestic outlook. Global risks relate to the effects of commodity price shocks on the external markets and inflation on domestic prices,” it says. Zim faces heightened political risk ahead of August general elections Harare Central Business District

Page 10 News NewsHawks Issue 119, 17 February 2023 OWEN GAGARE THE US$360 million Harare-Kanyemba Road project will be the shortest gateway from South Africa through Zimbabwe to Zambia and further into the regional interior of Africa, reducing the distance by about 585 kilometres. That is like cutting the distance by the long Harare-Beitbridge highway stretch. Documents seen by The NewsHawks say the 354km tendered for project is being implemented by government and a private sector consortium of local construction firms, Exodus & Company (Pvt) Ltd and Ncube-Burrow Consulting Engineers. It will be financed through a global loan facility of US$360.5 million to be raised through six US$60 million revolving facility tranches. The government will unlock each facility with a 30% contribution (US$18 million) which will result in a total contribution of US$108 million, leaving a balance of US$252 million to be raised. In the deal, government is the borrower, while PIM Nominees (Pvt) Ltd is the lender. The tenure of the facility will be six years, with the grace period after signing of the loan agreement being nine months. As part of the agreement, the money will be used for the sole purpose of the project over five years, nothing else. The loan interest is one month Secured Overnight Financing Rate plus 5% per annum, while the penalty interest on unpaid due payments is 3%. After various funding options were considered, the loan facility route was deemed the best structure following comprehensive analyses of alternatives which proved to be unfit tolling models for the project. The first US$18 million payment from the government has already been made, kickstarting works on the Harare-Kanyemba Road. Documents say the Harare-Kanyemba Road is being upgraded, widened and constructed to improve the transport and trade route from South Africa — the continent’s most sophisticated economy — while unlocking Zimbabwe’s agriculture, commerce and tourism potential, especially in the remote Kanyemba area. Kanyemba is a small border settlement on the Zambezi River where Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique meet just upstream of Lake Cahora Bassa. It is situated on the banks of the river in the extreme north-eastern of Zimbabwe, forming a boundary corner with Zambia and Mozambique. The upper reaches of Lake Cahora Bassa, Zambezi's second-biggest hydro-electric facility, is not far downstream from Kanyemba. Lake Kariba — the world’s largest man-made dam — is 300km upstream. Although remote, Kanyemba is a focal point for fishing and hunting activities in the nearby Dande Safari Area, and the end-point for longhaul canoe safaris along the Zambezi River starting from Chirundu or Mana Pools. A few small fishing lodges and camps are found in the area, with boat launching facilities and a makeshift bridge. Access into or out of Kanyemba is by air charter or by off road vehicles along a long, rough and dusty road. “The Harare-Kanyemba Road is considered a strategic route for regional trade and integration linking the North-South Corridor, which is why government wants to rehabilitate it mainly focusing on upgrading, widening and construction of the 354km stretch to facilitate efficient movement of human and vehicular traffic, as well as goods and services,” one document says. “The project has construction and financing aspects. It will be financed through a global loan facility of US$360.5 million which shall be raised through six US$60 million revolving facility tranches. Government will unlock each facility with a 30% contribution (US$18 million) which will result in a total contribution from the state of US$108 million, leaving a balance of US$252 million to be raised. The loan facility route was deemed the ideal structure following comprehensive analyses of alternative options which showed as unfit tolling structures for the project.” Government say the Harare-Mvurwi-Guruve-Kanyemba Road, given a national project status, will bring huge economic benefits. “It will significantly will impact on the economy and provide multiple benefits, among them regional integration as part of a development corridor, improve accessibility to the markets, as well as private sector participation in infrastructure development,” one of the documents says. “An underdeveloped road network is usually associated with sub-optimal economic performance and low quality of life.” The documents also say farmers along the highway corridor up north will benefit. “Agriculture is the economic mainstay in Mashonaland Central province, specifically in Mazowe, Guruve, Mvurwi, Concession, Muzarabani and Mbire districts. The main cash crops grown in the area include cotton, soya beans, potatoes and tobacco, which are bulky and heavy to transport to the market. “The region has huge potential for the production of other crops such as maize, beans, sesame, and sugar cane, among others. Therefore, the construction of the project will be a catalyst to agricultural development. Agricultural yields will most likely increase, and farmers will find better markets for their produce locally and regionally, in Zambia and Mozambique. It will also boost irrigation development already underway in Kanyemba and Mushumbi.” Further, the project will also enhance trade upon completion. “Regional road infrastructure plays a crucial role in promoting intra-regional trade and movement of people and vehicles, creating an enabling environment for a sustainable flow of goods and services. The road is expected to boost regional trade within the Southern African Development Community and East African Community. “It is a regional trunk road and forms part of the A-11 and A-12 highway, which runs from Harare to Kanyemba border to Mozambique and Zambia. Zimbabwe receives goods from the ports of Durban in South Africa and Beira in Mozambique, which are further transported to Zambia and Malawi via Chirundu Border post. The road will provide an alternative route to Zambia through Kanyemba and onwards to Malawi, relieving congestion along the Harare-Chirundu Road.” A feasibility study to determine the technical, economic, financial, social and environmental viability of rehabilitating and upgrading the trunk road on a public-private partnership basis was done in 2019. Exodus & Company, one of the five contractors on the Harare-Beitbridge highway construction project, will be the lead contractor for the Harare-Kanyemba Road construction. It will sub-contract construction works to other contractors, some of them involved in the Harare-Beitbridge highway construction undertaking. Exodus & Company started operations in December 2007. It made its mark in the housing construction sector through Madokero Estate, a mixed-use housing development in Harare, completed in December 2015. Piggybacking on the Madokero Estate development, Exodus & Company approached government under a public-private partnership model to develop 497 hectares of land in Ruwa, 25.5km to the east of Harare. The project, known as Mabvazuva, was placed on the market in August 2015. From June 2016, the company embarked on a journey to transform itself from a housing development entity to a general contracting, build-design and infrastructure development firm. The scope of activities for the company increased to include infrastructure and complex buildings construction. It won its first road construction project for the resealing and rehabilitation of two kilometres for Zvimba Rural District Council the following year, 2017. In 2019, together with four other local contractors, Exodus & Company was awarded a contract for the rehabilitation, upgrading and widening of the Beitbridge-Harare- Chirundu highway. It has so far completed 60km of roadworks. Before being awarded the Harare-Beitbridge contract, the company participated in and won the international tender for the Harare-Kanyemba Road in 2018. The scope of the project includes six bridges and four tollgates. Feasibility studies indicated that revenue from tollgates will not be financially viable to provide resources to fund the project, which then necessitated government to propose to finance it through public resources. US$360m Harare-Kanyemba Road strategic route for Zim and region Boat cruising in Kanyemba on Zambezi River. Excursions are held along the Zambezi River between Chirundu and Kanyemba via Mana Pools, Sapi and Chewore.

NewsHawks News Page 11 Issue 119, 17 February 2023 JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA CHIMURENGA music maestro — Thomas Mapfumo — has urged Zimbabwean youths to register to vote ahead of this year’s general election scheduled for August, while also calling for a free environment ahead of polls. The 78-year-old outspoken music icon said youths should take an active role in determining their future, by voting for a candidate of their choice. “The youth should speak through their vote and choose the best candidate. There is no way they can change their future if they do not exercise their right to vote,” Mapfumo told The NewsHawks. He also called for free and fair election slamming the divide and rule tactics. “I believe that candidates should be able to campaign freely and also have equal access to national television. You know here in America both candidates appear on television. “There is nothing as divisive as the party cards, why should people to asked to buy party cards. That is what is dividing our people it should not be about membership but best policies that should advise on who to vote for. “We also want to see Zimbabwean presidential candidates engaging in debates on television so that whoever has the best policies or strategy wins,” Mapfumo said. There have been fears of voter exclusion ahead of the general election with critics saying the blitz carried out last year left out several eligible voters who had no identity documents. There were widespread reports of youths failing to access national identity cards for registration a prerequisite for would be voters. In 2021, elections in Zambia were largely influenced by young people including first time voters. In the lead up to the elections, there was a heightened interest from young people showed interest on how they could meaningfully participate in the election and other democratic processes. As a result, a large turnout on the polling day contributed to President Hakainde Hichilema’s win as the youth vote constituted more than half of the electorate. When asked if he would maintain his stance against corruption and oppression when he settles home, the Vanhu Vatema singer, who is planning on retiring and settling in Zimbabwe, said he would never sell out. “Mwana wamai (my brother) I will never be bought or change what I believe in. Money is not everything I have always spent it with my family and relatives it is never about me. “Till today I send money back home because I’m not greedy or corruptible,” said Mapfumo, who has previously been offered a farm and cash by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration. Mapfumo is famous for his protest music the white minority rule in Rhodesia and then in post-Independent Zimbabwe when the black rulers turned on their own with iron-first governance. He went into self-exile in 2003, fearing for his security under former President Robert Mugabe’s authoritarian government known for its intolerance towards prominent critics. But Mapfumo has remained consistent against corruption and as the voice for the poor and oppressed. He said after his retirement he would be working in studio with young artists. “I have lot songs some unrecorded and some of them suit female voices so I will be spending more time working in studio,” he said. Register to vote, Mapfumo tells youths Chimurenga musician Thomas Mapfumo Zimbabwean youths

BRENNA MATENDERE THE late opposition MDC founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who died on 14 February five years ago, should be turning in his grave as some of his family members and close associates have joined the Zanu PF regime which tormented him until death, his former spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka has told The Newshawks. Tsvangirai died of colon cancer in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2018. “I suppose MT (Tsvangirai) is turning in his grave, mostly because of the state of the country. Zimbabwe remains mired in the rot and murk, some five years after his death. Like others, he had given this so-called new dispensation some chance but what it has shown is that we jumped from the frying pan into the fire,” Tamborinyoka said. “He is turning in his grave because Zimbabwe is now far much worse than it was in 2018 when he died. The other reason is that I suppose those who were close to him and some of his family members have joined the regime which some of us are so sure that it had a hand in his death. “His illness and death, some of us believe that the regime had a hand in it. But some of his close friends and family members have joined the same regime which tormented him from 1987 when he was leader of the ZCTU and so many times as leader of the opposition. “Now some of his family members have joined the same Zanu PF party which tormented him.” Last week, Tsvangirai’s brother Collins, was paraded at a Zanu PF function in Harare as one of the opposition figures who had joined the ruling party. He was personally welcomed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Tsvangirai’s former secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora has also been dismantling the opposition after assuming the MDC Alliance leadership through a court order that nullified Nelson Chamisa’s leadership. Mwonzora, whom many opposition supporters say is a proxy of Zanu PF, recalled several MPs who worked with Tsvangirai, grabbed party headquarters and is enjoying the government grants albeit with minority support after formation of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) led by Chamisa. Tsvangirai’s son Vincent, who is an MP, also rebelled against Chamisa and worked with Mwonzora after the 2018 elections. While Mwonzora says his MDC is fronting Tsvangirai’s legacy and uses his face as one of its party symbols, Tamborinyoka said the state of the opposition party was a mockery to late opposition stalwart’s legacy. “Indeed, the Tsvangirai we all know must be turning in his grave because the MDC he led never got zero votes in an election, even in urban areas, as it is now doing under Mr Douglas Togaraseyi Mwonzora. The man has taken the once political behemoth to the mortuary,” he said. “The party Tsvangirai led never consorted with the regime to the extent of having the party's headquarters that we named Morgan Tsvangirai House being protected by the police and soldiers as it is doing under Mr Mwonzora. The people who tormented him now turning Morgan Tsvangirai into a second Zanu PF headquarters? For all these reasons, the icon from Humanikwa in Buhera must be violently twisting and turning in his grave.” In 1999 Tsvangirai co-founded and organised the Movement for Democratic Change with Gibson Sibanda, Welshman Ncube, Fletcher Dulini Ncube and Isaac Matongo among others. Tsvangirai was arrested after the 2000 elections and charged with treason; this charge was later dismissed. He had told 40,000 supporters at a rally in Harare that Mugabe did not want to step down before the next elections scheduled for 2002 "we will remove you violently." In 2003, Ari Ben-Menashe accused Tsvangirai of plotting to overthrow the Zimbabwean government in a coup d'état, resulting in him being charged of treason. In 2004, Tsvangirai was acquitted of the treason for an alleged plot to assassinate Mugabe in the run-up to the 2002 presidential elections. George Bizos, a South African human rights lawyer who was part of the team that defended Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu in the famous South African Rivonia Trial in 1964, headed Tsvangirai's defence team. In May 2003 Tsvangirai was arrested on a Friday afternoon shortly after giving a press conference, the government alleged he had incited violence. In the press conference he had said: “From Monday, 2 June, up to today, 6 June, Mugabe was not in charge of this country. He was busy marshaling his forces of repression against the sovereign will of the people of Zimbabwe. However, even in the context of the brutalities inflicted upon them, the people's spirit of resistance was not broken. The sound of gunfire will never silence their demand for change and freedom.” On 11 March 2007 a day after his 55th birthday, Tsvangirai was arrested on his way to a prayer rally in the Harare township of Highfield. His wife was allowed to see him in prison, after which she reported that he had been heavily tortured by police, resulting in deep gashes on his head and a badly swollen eye. The event garnered an international outcry. Tsvangirai was the MDC candidate in the controversial 2002 presidential election, where he lost to Mugabe in the bloody polls. He beat Mugabe in the first round of the 2008 presidential election as the MDC-T candidate, taking 47.8% of the vote according to official results, placing him ahead of Mugabe, who received 43.2%. Tsvangirai however claimed to have won majority votes and said that the results could have been altered in the month between the election and the reporting of official results. He initially planned to run in the second round against Mugabe, but withdrew shortly before it was held, violence against his supporters countrywide. He was later made Prime Minister in 2009 in an inclusive government with Mugabe. As the 2017 Zimbabwean coup d'état occurred, Tsvangirai asked Mugabe to step down. He hoped that an all-inclusive stakeholders' meeting to chart the country’s future and an internationally supervised process for the forthcoming elections would create a process that would take the country towards a legitimate regime. He died in February 2018, Tsvangirai died at the age of 65 after reportedly suffering from colorectal cancer. He had a long history of victimization in his political career. The late MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai Tsvangirai turning in his grave Page 12 News NewsHawks Issue 119, 17 February 2023

BRENNA MATENDERE POLICE have resorted to the use of the new piece of legislation, Maintenance of Peace and Order Act, to scuttle opposition party gatherings following repeal of the Public Order and Security Act (Posa) which was discarded for not being in line with the Constitution and therefore draconian. Several rallies which had been scheduled for last weekend by the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party, were banned by the police citing provisions of the law which, when it was gazzated, was celebrated as an example of how the regime was implementing electoral reforms to provide for free and fair polls. In a case in particular, police Chief Superintended H Masvivi, who is the regulating authority for Murehwa District, cited the new law as the reason why he could not authorize holding of a CCC rally at Nhakiwa Business Centre in Uzumba on 12 February 2023. In a letter written to CCC coordinator for Uzumba, Moyazizwe Nxumalo, Masvivi wrote: “Thank you for your writing to us but be informed that the gathering cannot go ahead as the notification does not fully comply with the requirements of the law in particular Section 7 (1) (b) of the Mantainance of Peace and Order Act, Chapter 11:23 which governs notices of public meetings. Your cooperation is highly anticipated." Other police regulating authorities in more than 50 other districts used the same law to ban the CCC rallies which had been set for the same date. Mopa came into effect in November 2019 after President Emmerson Mnangagwa assented to it ostensibly to replace the repealed Posa which had been discredited as unfit for a country like Zimbabwe which is a constitutional democracy. Posa was used to clamp down on opposition supporters under the late President Robert Mugabe’s. Recently, research findings in a journal titled The Journal of Democracy, Governance and Human Rights in Zimbabwe, which was put together by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum and its partners, warned that Mopa would replace Posa in closing the democratic space. Part of the journal reads: “Notably, Section 7(1) (a) and (b) of Mopa requires convenors of gatherings to give a minimum of 7-days and 5-days’ notice of their intention to conduct demonstrations and public meetings respectively. “The Guidelines on Freedom of Association and Assembly in Africa recommend that, ‘any notice period shall be as short as possible’ and that it should be, ‘48 hours and not more than 5 days’. “Zimbabwe’s notice period is therefore longer than recommended under international law. The notification period can even extend to 14 days.” The research journal also revealed how Mopa will curtail demonstrations during the imminent election period. “This is because the regulating authority can schedule a negotiation meeting with the convener within seven days of receipt of the notification. This provision fails to recognise the different ways of exercising the freedom of association and assembly, for example with spontaneous demonstrations,” the report says. “The policing of such demonstrations has never been human rights compliant and thus earning the Zimbabwe Republic Police notoriety for its heavy handedness when thwarting gatherings. “Mopa’s failure to provide exceptions has the effect of restricting freedom of assembly and association more so during elections, where the likelihood for spontaneous peaceful gatherings and or demonstrations is high. “The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to peaceful assembly and association pointed out that, ‘The right to freedom of peaceful assembly protects the ability of individuals to protest election results to which they object, including on the grounds that those results appear to be fraudulent, and including when such protests occur spontaneously’” Section 7(5) and Section 8(11) of Mopa criminalise non-compliance with its provisions. “Failure to notify attracts a level twelve fine and or 6 months imprisonment whilst non-compliance with a prohibition notice carries a level 14 fine and or imprisonment for a period not exceeding a year,” the report highlights. “Criminal liability for breach of procedural requirements in exercising a right is not a necessary and reasonable limitation as required by Section 86(2) of the Constitution as well as international human rights law. “The possibility of arrest and imprisonment is excessive and has the effect of deterring people from organising or participating in peaceful gatherings. Mopa does not provide for accountability where the police fail to comply with its provisions, for example not complying with Section 13 when controlling gatherings resulting in injuries and deaths.” The journal also buttresses its criticism of Mopa by highlights further that the legilsation has already been condemned by the United Nations and one of the country’s independent commissions. Mopa has been condemned for failing to enable freedom of association and assembly. “The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission in its Report to the Human Rights Council voiced concern that the Mopa remains restrictive and needs further review,” the report reads. “Referring to Mopa, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of association and assembly who visited Zimbabwe in 2019 noted that, ‘…the newly established legal framework does not address long-underlying concerns and is not conducive to free and unhindered exercise of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, negatively affecting the exercise of the rights to freedom of association and expression’…” Police find new repression weapon NewsHawks News Page 13 Issue 119, 17 February 2023

NATHAN GUMA ZIMBABWE’S borrowing trends are set to increase in 2023, with the National Budget having an overall deficit of ZW$336.8 billion (1.5 % of GDP) and total financing requirement of ZW$585.5 billion, the Borrowing Plan and Issuance Calendar has shown. The borrowing plan, prepared by the Zimbabwe Public Debt Management Office (ZPDMO), contains forecasts and statements on public debt management operations. The 2023 projected financing requirement is to be met through gross issuances of Treasury Bills amounting to ZW$82.2 billion and Treasury bonds of ZW$95.2 billion, according to the borrowing plan. “The gross issuances of Treasury securities include the United Stated dollar denominated bonds of US$100 million to be issued in tranches through the Victoria Falls Securities Exchange (VFEX) for infrastructure development (roads rehabilitation and irrigation infrastructure),” according to the borrowing plan. “The projected tenors of the US$ denominated bonds are 3 to 7 years. In addition. External loan disbursements of US$418.5 million (equivalent of ZW$398.3 billion) are projected in 2023. These will be through a pipeline loan from the Afreximbank amounting to US$400 million. “The pipeline loan from Afreximbank will go through the approval processes, including ratification by Parliament.” Other external disbursements are expected to come international developmental organisations. “Others will come from (Opec Fund for International Development) OFID Smallholder Irrigation Revitalisation Project (SIRP) (US$4 million), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Smallholder Agriculture Cluster Project (SACP) (US$5.25 million), IFAD Horticulture Enterprise Enhancement Project (HEEP) (US$3 million), OFID Smallholder Agriculture Cluster Project (SACP) (US$ 1.2 million) and BADEA Urgent Response Operation to Fight Covid-19 (US$5 million),” according to the report. ZPDMO says the borrowing plan is set to be reviewed semi-annually, while the Issuance Calendar will be reviewed quarterly to ensure consistence with the changing market trends, while a separate quarterly Issuance Calendar will be published at the beginning of each quarter. “The main policy thrust is to ensure development of the domestic debt market by continued use of the Treasury bills auction system for price discovery and development of the secondary market through issuance of medium to longterm Treasury bonds, as well as enforcing compliance of the prescribed asset status by the Pension and Insurance companies,” reads the report. The country is forecasted to face challenges in borrowing spurred by high cost of borrowing, competing instruments in the market with United Stated dollar features, refinancing risk and shallow investor base. Zimbabwe has also been facing challenges borrowing from international organisations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) due to a bulging national debt. In September last year, IMF ruled out providing financial assistance to Zimbabwe, after a staff mission to the country “precluded from providing financial support to Zimbabwe due to unsustainable debt and official external arrears”. Whilst Zimbabwe cleared its arrears with the IMF, the organisation said the high debt levels and arrears with other financial institutions prevents it from further extending more loans. The IMF recommended that the central bank’s direct fiscal policy should contain the deficit in line with available non-inflationary financing, and creating fiscal space for critical spending. “This can be achieved by mobilising additional revenues, based on tax policy reforms, and by scaling back non-priority outlays, while strengthening public finance management,” read the report by the IMF mission to Zimbabwe. As previously reported by The NewsHawks, Zimbabwe’s borrowing procedure has been shrouded on controversy, with Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee demanding answers over Treasury’s decision to borrow US$88 million to fund the construction of the Mbudzi Interchange in Harare, despite having previously allocated US$144 million from International Monetary Fund (IMF) Special Drawing Rights. The interest rate on the US$88m loan has been pegged at the London interbank offered rate plus 5% per annum, with a grace period is a period of nine months on the principal amount and a final maturity date for the loan being 6 June 2025. Government has also borrowed a US$360.5 million loan from PIM Nominees, which holds a tiny stake in CBZ, rehabilitation for the construction of the Harare-Kanyemba Road over the next five years. According to the Government Gazette of 8 February 2023, the loan agreement between the government of Zimbabwe and PIM Nominees (Private) Limited was entered into in terms of section 300(3) of the constitution of Zimbabwe, as read with section 18(2) of the Public Debt Management Act [Chapter 22:21]. With the budget having a deficit, the country, indications are that the country is likely to increase its borrowing. Zim's borrowing trends set to rise Afreximbank Page 14 News NewsHawks Issue 119, 17 February 2023

BERNARD MPOFU Zimbabwe’s statistical agency has amplified the growth of the country’s informal sector after revealing that year-on-year expanded unemployment levels marginally declined to 46,3% during the last quarter of 2022 from 47,2% reported during the same period in 2021 driven by the thriving sector. Independent statistician however say the figure could be hovering around 80%. The country’s unstable socio-economic environment has been one of the major push factors driving thousands to neighbouring countries and further afield in search of better employment prospects. The growing number of Zimbabweans in regional countries like South Africa has been one of the factors behind the xenophobic attacks targeting foreign nationals in the neighbouring country. According to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency fourth quarter labour force survey published this week, the easing of Covid-19 restrictions and a sharp growth in the informal sector has reduced the unemployment levels. While the informal sector has been a major source of employment for most Zimbabweans due to a floundering economy and an exit of multinational companies over the last decade, the sector has been blamed for operating outside the taxman’s dragnet. The report shows that the number of people employed in the informal sector such as vending rose to 1 437 755 during Q4 2022 from 1 408 032 during the same comparative prior period. Agriculture which accounts for 19,3% of employment comes after the informal sector. Expanded unemployment rate is basically the combined rate of unemployment and potential labour force (PLF), where potential labour force consist of working age persons who during the reference period; were without paid work and either were seeking for work but were not available to start working or were available to start working but were not seeking for work. Persons in unemployment are defined as persons who during the reference period; were without paid work, were seeking for work and were available to start working. ZimStat conducts Quarterly Labour Force Surveys (QLFSs) as a way of ensuring timely provision of high frequency labour market statistics that informs planning and decision making. The QLFS provides key labour market indicators which include but not limited to levels of employment both formal and informal, unemployment and some labour under-utilisation indicators, income levels, labour migration and job losses. These statistics are useful in providing information for policy formulation on employment, human capital development strategies, macro-economic development, incomes support and social programmes. The survey findings also feed into the compilation of the quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) of the economy. The Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) is a national household-based sample survey which was conducted in private households both in rural and urban areas across all provinces of Zimbabwe. The survey produces key labour market indicators which include levels of formal and informal employment, unemployment and other labour under-utilisation indicators, labour migrants as well as job losses. Informal sector employs millions The informal sector has been a major source of employment for most Zimbabweans. Agriculture, which accounts for 19,3% of employment, comes after the informal sector. NewsHawks News Page 15 Issue 119, 17 February 2023

NATHAN GUMA ZIMBABWE is engaging India in its Commonwealth readmission bid after a nasty fallout with the club of mainly former British colonies over policy clashes in human rights violations at the turn of the millenium. The country quit the Commonwealth in 2003 over policy conflicts, human rights abuses and violation of the group’s democratic values enshrined in the 1991 Harare Declaration. President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration has been seeking readmission into the grouping since Mugabe was ousted in a military coup in 2017. In December last year, a delegation of Zimbabwean parliamentarians visited India led by Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda on a lobbying mission. Debating on the trip in parliament this week, Zanu PF legislator Killion Gwanetsa said the trip wass important for Zimbabwe’s readmission into the Commonwealth. “The visit to India is of paramount importance in terms of our posture as Zimbabwe. India is one of the prominent countries of the Commonwealth. The Second Republic under His Excellency, Dr. E. D. Mnangagwa, is so profound with the mantra ‘engagement and re-engagement’. Zimbabwe is in the process of finding itself back to the Commonwealth. India being one of those prominent countries, I think we get a leaf from the Indians,” Gwanetsa said. “So the visit becomes quite important. India is renowned for having one of the longest serving Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Dr Hussein Shitter Ramfer. With that at the back of India, I think we can find ourselves back to the Commonwealth and therefore, fulfilling His Excellency in terms of engagement and re-engagement. It is therefore very important that we have friendship; we have communication; we have cooperation with countries of that nature. “Let me look at it in terms of international flare, India is a developing country. It is within the reams of countries within the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). Relationship with those developing countries, Zimbabwe is bound to get technological advancement in terms of development. “Therefore, the visit at that level led by the Speaker, put bridges that we can emulate from the Indian perspective,” he said. Mnangagwa has tried to manoeuvre his way into the Commonwealth by seeking help from other leaders in the region. Among others, he has engaged Rwanda President Paul Kagame to lobby for Zimbabwe’s return to the grouping of mostly former British colonies. However, in September last year, Kagame told Mnangagwa that he needed to start convincing Zimbabweans “that things were fine before he convinces the international community” — on the sidelines of the Africa Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) held in Kigali, Rwanda. “You need to work hard to change the perception, you cannot bribe your way through it, you cannot just sweet talk some people, even if they say ok, we agree with you, things will not be fine. “The way the people of their own country feel about what is happening, it will always come out and before you even convince anyone from outside so that they cannot have a wrong perception about you, convince your own people,” Kagame said during the forum. In January this year, the British House of Lords also debated Zimbabwe’s readmission emphasising that doing so without reforms, would severely damage the Commonwealth’s reputation, while undermining the country’s struggle for democracy and human rights. “Although there have been some positive developments in recent years, they have not been as significant, rapid or numerous as many of us had hoped, especially post-president Mugabe. The country retains the death penalty and the rights and freedoms of women and girls are unequal, as they are for the LGBT community,” said Lord Leong of the UK Labour Party during the debate last year. Other British MPs have opted for Zimbabwe’s readmission to be based on how the country will hold the upcoming general election. Mnangagwa has also been accused of stifling the civic space ahead of the general elections this year. According to a 2022 report by think-tank, Zimbabwe Democracy Institute (ZDI) national freedom dipped into negative levels in 2021, with a 12.5% deterioration of the state of freedom of the public sphere during President Mnangagwa’s tenure in office, compared to 14.29% under Mugabe in 2017. In November last year, the government approved amendments to the Criminal Law Codification Act that impose stiff penalties on those accused of campaigning against the country, which is likely to clampdown on human rights activists. In December, amendments to the Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Bill also sailed through Parliament, which would give the government power to control operations of non-governmental organisations, sparking an outcry from civil society. Commonwealth readmission bid: Zim pins hopes on India Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda (left) led a delegation of Zimbabwean parliamentarians that visited India last year. Zanu PF MP Killion Gwanetsa Page 16 News NewsHawks Issue 119, 17 February 2023

BRENNA MATENDERE A GOLD rush in the Midlands’ Shurugwi district by both licenced mining companies and artisanal miners has spawned a health catastrophe in the region which has seen the HIV prevalence rising way above the national figure of 11 percent- raising fears that new infections can rise countrywide. Statistics obtained by The NewsHawks this week show that Shurugwi district’s HIV prevalence is standing at 15.62 % with the pandemic’s incidences rate at 0.40 % which is significantly high. Nationwide, the rush for other minerals like lithium has also contributed significantly to the rise of sexually transmitted infections. Shurugwi District Aids Coordinator from the National AIDS Council, Peter Muzarakuza, told The NewsHawks that the HIV situation was being driven by the gold miners who had disposable income, which they are using to lure young girls. He said HIV hot spots include Surprise, which is a densely populated suburb as well as Makusha, Circle V, Wonderer, Chimona and places around Boterekwa Mountain where there is indiscriminate mining of gold by Chinese companies and illegal miners. “Our challenge is that the gold miners are very mobile and come for the mineral from across the country. That is why we have a high rate. Also important to note is that the situation then becomes like when you throw a stone in a single point of a water body and then it splashes to other areas. That is how the HIV will likely spread,” he said. Muzarakuza however insisted that NAC is doing all it can to contain the situation. “What we are now doing is what we call combination prevention which involves various methods of stopping new infections that are spiking cases of HIV. We are also targeting apostolic churches whose young girls are also at risk. Moreover, we are ramping up information dissemination programmes to ensure that the miners are taught on HIV prevention, treatment and care, just to manage the situation,” he said. The NewsHawks also found that Vungu district in the Midlands with a population of 121 000 people was also recording high HIV cases at 13.51 % prevalence of the pandemicagain due to existence of growing gold rush in the area. Sukholuhle Sibanda, the Vungu District Aids Coordinator, confirmed the figures and said a pool of partners like the Joint Hands Welfare Organisation putting together resources to fund a programme called DREAMS which is earmarked at targeting young female adolescents in HIV awareness programmes. “We are targeting young girls who are at risk as well as the older men mostly into mining activities who are the perpetrators. Through the DREAM programme, we are speaking to young girls to dream beyond trinkets from miners and see a long-term future without HIV,” she said. “Mining areas are the hotspots but we introducing programmes and facilities to help reduce the new infections,” she said. Health authorities in December last year singled out a lithium project owned by a Chinese company in Goromonzi as spurring a health crisis after employing over 4 000 workers without establishing a static clinic at the plant which resulted in an upsurge of Sexually Transmitted Infections in the district. Located 38 kilometers from capital Harare, Arcadia Lithium Project which sits on 14 kilometers of land in the mountainous Goromonzi area, is owned by Honayou Cobalt which bought out Australian investors Prospect Resources for US$422 million in May last year. Soon after taking over the lithium mining operations, the company went on a massive recruitment drive of workers, among them mobile equipment operators, tipper truck drivers, drilling machine operators, steel fixers, filter machinists, water cart operators, milling machine operators and diesel plant operators. However, the population of the company’s employees in the small district of Goromonzi has now resulted in the spike of diseases mostly STIs due to absence of a health centre that can provide robust services for prevention and treatment of the ailments. Grayham Mafoke, the National Aids Council’s Goromonzi District Aids Coordinator (DAC) told The NewsHawks during a visit of the Arcadia Lithium Project last year that in the third quarter of 2022, STI cases shot up above all the other districts in the province. Goromonzi district recorded 1 800 STI cases amid reports that scores of commercial sex workers from Harare and Chitungwiza had flocked to the area. “The lithium project employees about 4 000 workers and 95 percent of them are male mostly from Harare who come to work leaving their families in Harare in what we call spousal separation which is driving rise of the ailments. So without a static health centre around we have seen this increase of diseases that are transmitted sexually in communities where the mine workers are staying,” he said. Mafoke also revealed that there has since been an emergence of hot-spots in the district at mostly growth points like Juru, Mverechena, Mutangadura, among others. “In the event that people here want services like treatment, they will have to travel to Harare mostly and so you will find out that most people find the distance too long and so if there is an STI that emerges, it circulates more within the community because of lack of treatment,” said DAC Mafoke. NAC has deployed a peer mentor at the mining plant, Sandra Masamba who is helping with having the workers change their behavior and scale down cases of STIs. In an interview, she said the plant had become a haven of sex workers and all was being done to try and contain the situation through provision of contraceptives and HIV self-testing kits. “When the mine workers finish work and go into the communities, they are taking on STIs as some commercial sex workers are targeting them. We are also on the highway corridors and so the ladies come here a lot so there is need for increased health care services,” she said. Gold rush spawns health disaster Commercial sex workers target mine workers in gold rich areas. NewsHawks News Page 17 Issue 119, 17 February 2023

WHEN Didac Giménez Sánchez married his colleague in July 2021, it had all the glitz and glamor of a celebrity wedding: After saying their vows on a stage surrounded by flowers and delicate pink art-deco arches in the garden of a country estate south of Kyiv, the couple partied the night away in a reception emceed by a Ukrainian TV star. But there was a skeleton at the feast. Among the guests was a man named Jose Maria Hill Prados, a Spanish pedophile who had been convicted of sexually abusing Sánchez 14 years earlier. Not only did he attend Sánchez’s wedding, he was seated at the groom’s table. According to Sánchez’s autobiography, he was introduced to Hill Prados as a teenager by a volunteer at a children’s home, where he would go to use computers and escape his troubled family. The Spaniard was convicted of abusing Sánchez and his sister, and making child pornography. Hill Prados was sentenced to eight years in a Spanish prison in 2007. But the following year, Sánchez recanted, claiming police had pressured him to make the accusations after he was caught shoplifting. (Hill Prados tried to appeal his conviction, but the court turned him down.) After Hill Prados was released, he and his former victim went into business together. Corporate records show Sánchez set up a surrogacy company called Subrogalia in Spain in 2013, which connected couples who are struggling to conceive with women who could carry their embryos. Soon after Hill Prados got out of prison, his adopted son became the owner of another Subrogalia in Ukraine to help find those surrogates. Hill Prados later took a majority stake in that company, and an employee in Ukraine told OCCRP he had always understood Hill Prados to be his boss. Their business was swiftly mired in accusations of trafficking in children. Reporters found that Subrogalia has been investigated in at least two countries for crimes that include selling babies and providing desperate clients with infants that were not biologically theirs. “It is absolutely appalling that a convicted sex offender should be allowed to operate in such a sensitive area as gestational surrogacy, which is based on exploitation of women living in poverty,” said Nina Potarska, Ukrainian head of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. “Given the background of such exploitation, it is not surprising that there are allegations of malpractice, such as trafficking of babies.” Subrogalia is part of a network International InvestigativeStories Figures behind Eliminalia also run surrogacy businesses accused of baby trafficking International Investigative Stories Their companies are under investigation for arranging fictitious marriages, falsifying documents to smuggle babies out of Ukraine, and trading children for profit. Page 18 NewsHawks Issue 119, 17 February 2023

Raid by Ukrainian authorities at InterFiv’s offices in Ukraine. Credit: Security Service of Ukraine, CC BY 4.0 of companies controlled by Sánchez and Hill Prados that today stretches to nine countries. They include Eliminalia, a reputation manager that has used threats, fake news, and even impersonated European Union officials to conceal the dubious pasts of its clients — many of whom are convicted or accused criminals. Hill Prados appears to have employed the same tactics that Eliminalia used, such as altering critical stories and flooding search engines with unrelated content that mention his name, to hide his own past. While Google appears to have de-indexed many of these stories, a search of his name on Bing still brings up more than a million hits on “news” sites, some of which appear to be operated by a Venezuelan who runs a reputation management business. None appear to mention his pedophilia conviction. But Hill Prados hasn’t been able to escape the headlines. In 2016, Spanish media outlet El Confidencial reported that a 17-year-old boy who was working at a music company owned by Sánchez alleged that Hill Prados made sexual advances toward him. Sánchez denied the accusation in an interview with the online outlet, but noted of Hill Prados, “everybody knows he likes boys.” Hill Prados, Sánchez, and Subrogalia did not reply to requests for comment. Lawyers for Eliminalia declined to comment. Family Business Hill Prados founded Subrogalia in Ukraine in 2015, seeking to take advantage of the country’s liberal surrogacy laws. Before the Russian invasion, an estimated 2,000 babies were born to Ukrainian surrogate mothers every year, making it one of the world’s top hubs for gestational surrogacy. Although Sánchez has publicly claimed he owned Subrogalia, corporate records show Hill Prados in fact owns a controlling stake in its Ukrainian business. Asked by El Confidencial why he had agreed to act as a frontman, Sánchez said it had been a personal favor “because I destroyed the life of Hill Prados and his family.” Subrogalia Ukraine’s other investors were Hill Prados’ sons Andrei and Alan, who both hold minority stakes and management positions. Andrei and Alan were the eldest of two pairs of brothers Hill Prados adopted from Russia in the 1990s via a charity he set up called Parents Forever. Within a few years, all four of these boys had alleged Hill Prados sexually abused them and were removed from his custody, though the case fell apart on procedural grounds, according to Spanish media. Like Sánchez, all four later withdrew their allegations. The brothers did not reply to a request for comment. Andrei and Alan were also seated at the groom’s table at Sánchez’s wedding, along with Hill Prados. According to the seating plan, he was listed under the name “Diego,” but analysis of a video of the proceedings with facial recognition software confirmed it was him. Indeed, Hill Prados appears to have officially changed his name to Diego after being released from prison. Corporate records show he used a Spanish identification number in that name to register Subrogalia in Ukraine, though reporters were able to match the number to his previous name, Jose Maria. It’s unclear if Hill Prados changed his name in order to conceal his criminal past when opening Subrogalia. Maria Dmytriyeva, an expert on the industry, said Ukraine’s lax laws mean it is not illegal for a sex offender to own a surrogacy business. “The entire industry is regulated by two paragraphs in a law and two ministerial instructions,” she said. Subrogalia has since expanded its operations to Russia, Greece, and, briefly, Mexico. But Ukraine remained its top area of operation: a former manager said that, before the war, women there bore around 100 babies every year for paying parents, each earning the company around 8,000 euros in profit. It didn’t take long for the surrogacy company to face legal problems on both ends of Europe. ‘Trading Children’ In 2016, the year after the Spanish version of Subrogalia was founded, a judge ordered the company to pay 88,000 euros to two pairs of prospective parents for “serious and grave” breaches of contract. Subrogalia was found to have misled the parents, making false claims about their capabilities, and failing to deliver a child as promised. One of the parents told Spanish media her mother had taken a loan out on property she owned to finance the process. “How do you tell a grandmother who has [taken on] a mortgage that she is not going to be a grandmother?” she said. In an apparent bid to distance itself from the case, Subrogalia Ukraine changed its name to Eurosurrogacy in 2017, while in Spain Subrogalia was replaced by another company that called itself Gestlife. But the move wasn’t enough to thwart law enforcement. In 2018, Ukrainian police also opened an investigation into Eurosurrogacy’s partner, BioTexCom. One of the largest IVF clinic chains in the world, BioTexCom creates and implants the embryos for around 95 percent of Eurosurrogancy’s Spanish clients. BioTexCom employees were accused of being part of a “criminal group” that used surrogacy programs as a guise for trafficking children. Prosecutors allege they helped “foreign citizens to make illegal deals, involving minors” that amounted to “trading children for a financial reward.” Eurosurrogacy was named as one of its partners in these crimes, and had its bank accounts frozen as a result. The investigation is ongoing. “As of today, this criminal proceeding has been suspended, no procedural actions have been taken since 2019,” BioTexCom said in a statement, claiming that the investigation had found no instances of babies genetically unrelated to the commissioning parents. Hill Prados did not reply to questions regarding the investigation into Eurosurrogacy. BioTexCom said it was not aware of his crimes when they went into business together, and suspended cooperation with him as soon as they found out. Undaunted, Sánchez set up his own Ukrainian IVF clinic in 2017 named InterFiv, and one of Hill Prados’ sons became its beneficial owner in 2021. But just weeks before Sánchez’s wedding, Ukrainian law enforcement raided InterFiv’s offices in Kyiv. Again, law enforcement suspected InterFiv of human trafficking, including charges that it had given parents babies that were not their own. In other cases, InterFiv had allegedly arranged fictitious marriages and falsified documents to smuggle babies out of Ukraine. No charges have been brought against Sánchez, Hill Prados, or anyone in his family. In February 2022, a court extended the investigation for one year, though the Russian invasion of Ukraine a week later delayed proceedings. Police told OCCRP the investigation is ongoing. A source in Ukraine’s security service said they had found evidence to support the charges, and expected a case to be brought against InterFiv once the legal system gets up and running again. It’s unclear when that will be. Sánchez and Hill Prados have now discarded InterFiv, and set up a new company in Kyiv, InterEko, to operate their clinic. But investigations have continued to dog them. In November 2022, a Subrogalia representative in Russia was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for human trafficking after he was convicted of selling a child that had been refused by one Spanish couple to another Spanish woman instead. — Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. NewsHawks International Investigative Stories Page 19 Issue 119, 17 February 2023

The NewsHawks is published on different content platforms by the NewsHawks Digital Media which is owned by Centre for Public Interest Journalism No. 100 Nelson Mandela Avenue Beverly Court, 6th floor Harare, Zimbabwe Trustees/Directors: Beatrice Mtetwa, Raphael Khumalo, Professor Wallace Chuma, Teldah Mawarire, Doug Coltart EDITORIAL STAFF: Managing Editor: Dumisani Muleya Assistant Editor: Brezh Malaba News Editor: Owen Gagare Digital Editor: Bernard Mpofu Reporters: Brenna Matendere, Ruvimbo Muchenje, Enock Muchinjo, Jonathan Mbiriyamveka, Nathan Guma Email: [email protected] Marketing Officer: Charmaine Phiri Cell: +263 735666122 [email protected] [email protected] Subscriptions & Distribution: +263 735666122 Reaffirming the fundamental importance of freedom of expression and media freedom as the cornerstone of democracy and as a means of upholding human rights and liberties in the constitution; our mission is to hold power in its various forms and manifestations to account by exposing abuse of power and office, betrayals of public trust and corruption to ensure good governance and accountability in the public interest. CARTOON Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe The NewsHawks newspaper subscribes to the Code of Conduct that promotes truthful, accurate, fair and balanced news reporting. If we do not meet these standards, register your complaint with the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe at No.: 34, Colenbrander Rd, Milton Park, Harare. Telephone: 024-2778096 or 024-2778006, 24Hr Complaints Line: 0772 125 659 Email: [email protected] or [email protected] WhatsApp: 0772 125 658, Twitter: @vmcz Website: www.vmcz.co.zw, Facebook: vmcz Zimbabwe Political chicanery over Zec delimitation report Dumisani Muleya Hawk Eye Editorial & Opinion Cdes, I'm back from a very lucrative trip to Equatorial Guinea. We're now poised for a landslide victory THAT governments in countries like Zimbabwe should be elected by citizens at regular intervals is not in doubt and a key democratic principle. Competitive multi-party elections may give incumbents legitimacy, but they are often imperfect and their legitimising effect is patchy, especially in authoritarian environments such as Zimbabwe. The electoral arena in Zimbabwe is fundamentally flawed. It is uneven and skewed. State institutions and the electoral body, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) in this case, are captured to serve the interests of the incumbent and the ruling party. What is currently happening regarding the delimitation process is instructive. President Emmerson Mnangagwa and government officials, in cahoots with some Zec commissioners, are trying to subvert the constitution to further their political interests. In a move that has sparked political uproar ahead of general elections in August, Mnangagwa has brazenly breached the constitution – an impeachable offence - after failing to gazette the final delimitation report he received from the Zec on 3 February within 14 days in terms of the law. Mnangagwa’s actions and what has been happening behind the scenes show that there is a spirited campaign to subvert the constitution, a serious democratic aberration and constitutional offence, and fiddle with the final delimitation report to advance the President and Zanu PF’s political agenda in the run up to the polls. In terms of the constitution, Mnangagwa, who has torpedoed the gazetting process, was supposed to publish the report on 17 February after receiving it on 3 February. Section 161 of the constitution says it should be published with within 14 days of its receipt from Zec. Delimitation is done every 10 years after a population census and before the elections. The delimitation process has always been a hotbed for irregular and corrupt electoral practices in Zimbabwe since the 1980s. Gerrymandering and malapportionment are the most common electoral malpractices in delimitation. Government spokesman Nick Mangwana has renewed his spirited campaign packed with political chicanery and deceit to subvert the constitution, claiming the President has not yet received the final delimitation report when he has. Mangwana is supported in this machination by the President’s spokesman George Charamba. Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi is also involved. Ziyambi has also been working with Justice permanent secretary Virginia Mabhiza and the seven Zec commissioners who have revolted against Chigumba to undermine the delimitation process for their own political interests. They have name-dropped that Mnangagwa is supporting them. What Mnangagwa and Zec are doing is undermining the general principles of democratic elections in terms of the constitution. The constitution says elections must be “conducted efficiently, freely, fairly, transparently and properly”, but the situation on the ground is the opposite. To make matters worse, political repression and violence are intensifying. This makes the environment toxic for elections. Although the electoral process may be characterised by large-scale abuses of state power, biased state-controlled media coverage, harassment of the opposition, and lack of transparency, elections are held – as a ritual, a charade or a farce. Delimitation process is profoundly flawed Page 20 NewsHawks Issue 119, 17 February 2023 President Emmerson Mnangagwa (right) and Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chairperson Priscilla Chigumba.

Page 26 NewsHawks Issue 76, 15 April 2022 Business MATTERS NewsHawks CURRENCIES LAST CHANGE %CHANGE USD/JPY 109.29 +0.38 +0.35 GBP/USD 1.38 -0.014 -0.997 USD/CAD 1.229 +0.001 +0.07 USD/CHF 0.913 +0.005 +0.53 AUD/USD 0.771 -0.006 -0.76 COMMODITIES LAST CHANGE %CHANGE *OIL 63.47 -1.54 -2.37 *GOLD 1,769.5 +1.2 +0.068 *SILVER 25.94 -0.145 -0.56 *PLATINUM 1,201.6 +4 +0.33 MARKETS *COPPER 4.458 -0.029 -0.65 BRENNA MATENDERE THE Tripartite Negotiating Forum’s labour side has written to Labour and Public Service Minister Paul Mavima asking him to urgently call a crisis meeting of the platform, immediately gazette the minimum wage agreed by parties to the forum in September last year and organize a gathering that would bring President Emmerson Mnangagwa to the table. The letter dated Thursday 16 February 2023, is referenced “Gazetting and Review of Minimum Wage”. It was delivered to Mavima’s offices located in the 9th floor of Kaguvi Building on the same day. TNF is a constitutionally formed body that comprises government, the business sector and labour represantatives. It was formed by an Act of Parliament called the Tripartite Negotiating Forum Act which makes it a serious platform of discussing issues affecting workers. Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions’ acting secretary general, Kudakwashe Munengiwa and the Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions’ secretary general Kenneth Shamuyarira co-signed the latest letter. Part of the letter reads: “On behalf of Organised Labour, we bring to your attention outstanding issues that have not been resolved after our last TNF meeting where we agreed that every worker must be paid at least US$150 per month. “We are particularly unhappy that you have literary refused to gazette the agreed amount as a minimum wage and you prefer to call it a “guideline line” despite the fact that at the Victoria Falls meeting we all agreed to the gazetting of the US$150 minimum wage. Your failure to do so has made it difficult to enforce the US$150 as organize employers say they have no obligation to pay it.” The workers added that they had agreed that the amount would be reviewed upwards in the first quarter of this year. “Surprisingly, we are already in the first quarter of the year and no meeting has been called to review this amount. As partners, we feel you are not taking TNF platform seriously and understanding the importance of organised labour as a stakeholder and a partner in the TNF,” reads the letter. The workers urged the minister to angering workers while asking him to facilitate a meeting with Mnangagwa. “Comrade minister, workers out there are highly agitated and they might be forced to take the law into their own hands as the cost of living continues to spiral,” the workers said. “We demand that you convene an urgent meeting of the TNF and arrange for another meeting of organized labour with H.E President Emmerson Mnangagwa.” In an interview with The NewsHawks, Munengiwa who is also secretary general of the Zimbabwe Urban Councils Workers Union (ZUCWU) said the letter to Mavima was essentially putting him on notice over the grievances of the labour side of the TNF. “We are disappointed that the Minister is refusing to gazzete a wage that we agreed on during a meeting held on 23 September last year. So, we are putting him on notice and saying if things remain as they are we must have a TNF meeting attended by the chief executive officer of this country who is Mnangagwa who said by 2030 he wants Zimbabwe to be middle class economy. In order to have that mission achieved, it starts with workers having a descent minimum wage so we want to help the country’s CEO achieve his target of 2030,” he said. Munengiwa also highlighted that the workers would pursue other options to push for a descent minimum wage if Mavima still remained adamant. Last year Mnangagwa was forced to jolt into action 13 ministers who sit in the Tripartite Negotiating Forum (NTF) to urgently attend meetings of the platform to discuss solutions to worsening economic hardships. Workers had petitioned Mnangagwa threatening to seek intervention of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The meeting was then held on 23 September 2022 at the NSSA boardroom. Mavima chaired the meeting. Zimbabwe has an obligation to respect social dialogue and make it function in terms of ILO Convention 144 which Zimbabwe has ratified. Failure to do so makes the country liable to ILO sanctions and workers may instigate processes that may lead to that position being taken by the international body. TNF demands crisis meeting Labour and Public Service Minister Paul Mavima

Page 22 Companies & Markets NewsHawks Issue 119, 17 February 2023 PRISCA TSHUMA BRICK manufacturer, Willdale Limited is in dispute with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority because of the increase in claims for output VAT over the company’s products. The Authority increased the VAT rate to 15 percent from 1 January this year through Public Notice 2 of 2023 issued on 30 December last year. ZIMRA raised claims for the output VAT on bricks on grounds that the Company zero-rated bricks without supporting legislation, which Willdale disputed. “...the company and other industry players have objected to ZIMRA’s interpretation of the law and the matter is pending,” said Willdale. Despite this, the brick company recorded a revenue increase of 36 percent for the first quarter ended 31 December 2022, compared to the prior year due to steady prices. “Average prices remained firm, sustained by a favourable product mix, while management remained focused on cost management,” the company said. Meanwhile, the sales volume for the quarter declined by 2 percent owing to low product uptake caused by liquidity shortages. “Production levels in the quarter declined in line with available working capital.” “The scheduled maintenance program has progressed well and the plant is expected to meet targeted efficiencies during the coming peak production season,” added the company. Willdale lamented the high borrowing rates, which are constraining the group from using borrowings to fund the business. “...High borrowing rates are making it uneconomic to finance the business through borrowing.” The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe recently reduced its interest rates to 150 percent from 200 percent through its Monetary Policy published on 2 February this year. The company said it is constantly reviewing its short term business plans to navigate the fluid business environment. It has planned several projects, which would provide the critical mass for the business. Going forward, Willdale said it would exploit the opportunities presented by the firm demands for housing development, shopping mall and school infrastructure construction, provided stock availability is not affected by electricity shortages. PRISCA TSHUMA THE Zimbabwe Stock Exchange has halted trade in Innscor Africa Limited shares, with the last day of trade being 17 February 2023, enabling the company to trade on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX). The halt would be effective on 20 February 2023 to allow for the settlement of shares. “Following the implementation of the halt, Innscor Africa Limited will be delisted from the ZSE on Thursday, 23 February 2023 and subsequently listed on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) on Friday, 24 February 2023,” said the statement. The group would start trading its shares on the foreign currency bourse next week on 27 February 2023. Innscor Africa announced its intentions of delisting on ZSE and listing on VFEX last year in December. “The Directors of Innscor Africa Limited wish to advise all shareholders and the investing public that the Board has approved the delisting of the Company from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, immediately followed by its listing on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange.” The Group delisted on the ZSE as the company believed that listing on VFEX would benefit existing and future shareholders. “The VFEX provides favourable tax incentives for investors enabling the optimisation of returns. These include zero capital gains tax on VFEX resident and non-resident investors and a 5% dividend withholding tax for foreign investors,” the group said in their circular to shareholders. Like other securities that have migrated from ZSE, Innscor moved to VFEX to gain access to USD capital, which would enhance the group to grow organically and inorganically. Innscor was pushed to migrate to VFEX because of the cost efficient trading that is on the USD currency market. “Trading on the VFEX results in lower trading costs; in aggregate, these amount to 2.12% compared to 4.63% on the Zimbabwean Stock Exchange,” said Addington Chinake the chairman of the group. Chinake said these benefits and others would help boost Innscor Africa’s regional profile and commercial standing, which would in time improve the Group’s regional expansion prospects. Willdale clashes with Zimra over VAT surge ZSE halts Innscor shares trading

Companies & Markets BERNARD MPOFU DEBT-RIDDEN Zimbabwe says it will look up to gold to plug funding gaps for the economy as the southern African nation remains ineligible to access long term capital from international financial institutions, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube said this week. Official figures from Treasury show that the country remains in debt distress, with an unsustainable Public and Publicly Guaranteed (PPG) external debt overhang amounting to US$14.4 billion as at the end of December 2022. The country has been unable to meet its debt servicing obligations and has, therefore, been accumulating external debt arrears since 2000. Although Zimbabwe has settled arrears with the International Monetary Fund, the non-payment of arrears has made Zimbabwe ineligible from accessing funding institutions such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the African Development Bank which enjoy preferred creditor status. Speaking at the launch of the US$10 million gold facility, Ncube said the yellow metal would help Zimbabwe finance some of its key projects. “It was in the 2022 National Budget Statement that I announced that Zimbabwe had been allocated US$958 million by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as part of a General Allocation of US$650 billion that was released globally to all IMF member countries,” Ncube said. “The mining sector has potential to generate foreign currency earnings and create jobs that will have a multiplier effect in growing the economy. The Gold Facility has the potential to close the funding gap and spearhead increased productivity, as well as finance bankable projects with a focus on the value addition. Such strategic deployment of resources will ensure that Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030 remains on course as we target a knowledge driven and industrialising upper middle-income society by 2030.” Under the new gold facility, government will provider a USD$5 million Gold Service Centre Revolving Facility (GSCF) for the construction of 6 Gold Service Centres to improve access to critical facilities by Artisanal Gold Small-scale Miners (AGSM). The remainder will finance the Artisanal Gold Small Scale Miners Facility (AGSMF) which will be accessed through the Mining Loan Fund (MLF) which is administered by the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development. Experts say Zimbabwe’s mining sector is highly diversified, with close to 40 different minerals. The predominant minerals include platinum group metals (PGM), chrome, gold, coal, diamonds and lithium. The country boasts of the second-largest platinum deposit and high-grade chromium ores in the world, with approximately 2.8 billion tons of PGM and 10 billion tons of chromium ore. The sector accounts for about 12 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). According to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe statistics, the country’s total mineral exports increased from only US$889.1 million in the 2008, to US$5,085.43 million by 2021. The exports grew by an annual average rate of 39.1 per cent for the period 2008 to 2021. Zimbabwe’s top mineral export, increased from US$1.2 billion in 2020 to US$1.7 billion in 2021 according to RBZ. The RBZ attributed the 42 percent increase in 2021 to improved gold output and firm prices as global economies recovered from COVID-19 lockdowns. PRISCA TSHUMA RETAIL Group, OK Zimbabwe Limited has recorded sales volume decline of 11.33 percent for the third quarter ended 31 December 2022 attributed to the decline in consumer spending. The quarter was characterised with high annual inflation rates and liquidity constraints, resulting in dampened consumer demand. Despite the decline in volumes, there was a revenue growth of 18.3 percent for the quarter and 28.4 percent for the nine months in inflation adjusted terms. The profit margins of the Group remained consistent with the prior year. However, excessive power outages increased operational costs for the business as the Group heavily relied on generators and other alternative power sources. Meanwhile, the Group said it was investing in volume recovery plans that have resulted in a growth of 3 percent recorded in December 2022. “The Group continues investing in volume growth strategies embedded in various strategic projects which have a high potential to contribute to growth and improve the overall business performance in the last quarter of F23 and the coming financial years,” the Group said. OK Zimbabwe finalised its acquisition of Food Lover’s Market and its subsidiaries in January this year as part of its volume growth strategic projects. “Three stores namely Food Lover’s Market Avondale, Borrowdale and Bulawayo were added to the OK Zimbabwe Limited table and whose performance will be included in the final quarter of the Group’s financial year,” said the retailer. The company also opened their first in-store pharmacy that operates in Glenview, trading under the Alowell Pharmacy brand. Although the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe reviewed interest rates down from 200 percent to 150 percent the operating environment remains fragile subject to policy changes. Going forward, the Group urged the authorities to provide more incentives for productive sectors to invest in growth projects and stave off current operational cost increases necessitated by power shortages and exorbitant fuel costs. Indebted Zim banking on gold to plug funding gaps OK Zim sales dip 11% in third quarter Finance minister Mthuli Ncube NewsHawks Page 23 Issue 119, 17 February 2023

Stock Taking Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Pricelist ` Top 5 Gainers Top 5 Losers Value Leaders ($) Top 5 Gainers YTD Market Cap ($mn) 2,911,834.35 -1.86% Zimpapers 14.94% Econet -7.97% Innscor 1,577,039,000 Hippo 173.82% All Share Index 27,301.03 -0.77% Fidelity Life 12.50% Star Africa -3.19% Econet 1,440,689,000 SeedCo 168.38% Top 10 Index 16,645.38 -0.23% Meikles 11.11% EHZL -3.12% Delta 637,568,000 African Sun 152.11% Value Traded ($) 3,837,220,357.25 147.82% African Sun 5.31% Axia -2.83% Afdis 151,791,000 Nampak 127.30% Interbank rate (USD/ZWL) 864.0822 0.85% Afdis 4.59% FCB -2.31% African Sun 12,445,880 DZLH 125.71% Market Cap (US$mn) 3,369.8580 -1.86% YTD Movement (%) 11.41% Bloomberg Opening LTP Closing Price Previous Volume traded Value traded Shares In Market Cap Market Cap Price Change Price Change Ticker (RTGSc) (RTGSc) (RTGSc) Change (%) Price (RTGSc) (shares) (RTGS$) Issue (mn's) (RTGS$ mn's) (US$ mn's) RTGS YTD (%) US$ YTD (%) Afdis AFDIS: ZH 27,248.00 28,500.00 28,500.00 4.59% 27,248.00 532,600 151,791,000.00 119.49 34,055.94 39.41 8.20% -14.31% African Sun ASUN: ZH 5,888.45 6,200.00 6,201.24 5.31% 5,888.45 200,700 12,445,880.00 1,423.52 88,275.72 102.16 152.11% 99.66% Ariston ARISTON: ZH 484.57 500.00 500.00 3.18% 484.57 7,000 35,000.00 1,627.40 8,136.98 9.42 23.33% -2.32% Art ARTD: ZH 2,100.00 2,090.00 2,090.00 -0.48% 2,100.00 700 14,630.00 436.98 9,132.83 10.57 49.29% 18.23% Axia AXIA: ZH 13,789.43 13,395.00 13,399.09 -2.83% 13,789.43 1,100 147,390.00 552.15 73,983.12 85.62 20.48% -4.58% Bridgerfort MMDZ: ZH 800.00 - 800.00 - 800.00 - - 3,039.76 24,318.12 28.14 0.00% -20.80% Bridgerfort Class B 2,600.00 - 2,600.00 - 2,600.00 - - 1.32 34.42 0.04 0.00% -20.80% BAT BAT: ZH 277,400.00 - 277,400.00 - 277,400.00 - - 20.63 57,237.38 66.24 -0.90% -21.51% Border BRDR: ZH SUSPENDED - - - - - - 42.94 0.00 0.00 - - Cafca CAFCA: ZH 30,425.00 - 30,425.00 - 30,425.00 - - 8.74 2,657.66 3.08 52.05% 20.42% CBZ CBZ: ZH 14,000.00 - 14,000.00 - 14,000.00 - - 522.66 73,172.61 84.68 3.70% -17.87% CFI CFI: ZH 56,865.00 - 56,865.00 - 56,865.00 - - 106.04 60,300.14 69.79 38.12% 9.39% Delta DLTA: ZH 50,047.57 50,060.00 50,001.41 -0.09% 50,047.57 1,275,100 637,568,000.00 1304.18 652,106.20 754.68 38.98% 10.07% Dairibord DZL: ZH 7,900.00 7,900.00 7,900.00 - 7,900.00 2,700 213,300.00 358.00 28,282.07 32.73 125.71% 78.76% Ecocash EHZL:ZH 7,276.67 7,100.00 7,050.00 -3.12% 7,276.67 600 42,300.00 2590.58 182,635.70 211.36 75.89% 39.30% Econet*** ECO: ZH 19,016.76 18,000.00 17,500.23 -7.97% 19,016.76 8,232,400 1,440,689,000.00 2590.58 453,356.93 524.67 81.77% 43.96% Edgars EDGR: ZH 1,300.00 - 1,300.00 - 1,300.00 - - 604.25 7,855.22 9.09 36.84% 8.38% FBC FBC: ZH 7,005.00 7,010.00 7,010.00 0.07% 7,005.00 72,800 5,103,280.00 671.95 47,103.69 54.51 13.06% -10.46% Fidelity Life FIDL: ZH 2,400.00 2,700.00 2,700.00 12.50% 2,400.00 200 5,400.00 108.92 2,940.93 3.40 12.50% -10.90% FCB FCB: ZH 1,868.75 1,900.00 1,825.67 -2.31% 1,868.75 97,800 1,785,510.00 2159.81 39,431.09 45.63 15.92% -8.20% First Mutual FMLH: ZH 1,950.00 1,950.00 1,950.00 - 1,950.00 400 7,800.00 690.14 13,457.79 15.57 -23.83% -39.67% First Mutual Properties FMP: ZH 1,700.00 - 1,700.00 - 1,700.00 - - 1,238.16 21,048.67 24.36 41.67% 12.20% GB Holdings GBH: ZH 160.25 160.50 160.24 -0.01% 160.25 167,400 268,239.00 536.59 859.83 1.00 -10.65% -29.24% GetBucks GBFS: ZH 2,250.00 - 2,250.00 - 2,250.00 - - 1,163.12 26,170.16 30.29 3.21% -18.26% Hippo HIPO: ZH 50,000.00 - 50,000.00 - 50,000.00 - - 193.02 96,510.28 111.69 173.82% 116.86% Innscor INN: ZH 81,521.28 81,500.00 81,500.72 -0.03% 81,521.28 1,935,000 1,577,039,000.00 569.88 464,453.41 537.51 14.20% -9.56% Lafarge LACZ: ZH - SUSP - - 0.00 - - 80.00 0.00 0.00 -100.00% -100.00% Mash MASH: ZH 820.00 820.00 820.00 - 820.00 600 4,920.00 1,859.07 15,244.41 17.64 -11.33% -29.77% Masimba MSHL: ZH 11,800.00 - 11,800.00 - 11,800.00 - - 241.65 28,515.14 33.00 47.58% 16.88% Meikles MEIK: ZH 20,000.00 20,000.00 20,000.00 11.11% 20,000.00 800 160,000.00 252.65 50,529.22 58.48 78.57% 41.42% Nampak NPKZ: ZH 2,050.00 2,050.00 2,047.99 -0.10% 2,050.00 24,900 509,950.00 755.65 15,475.60 17.91 127.30% 80.02% NMB NMB: ZH 4,508.38 - 4,508.38 - 4,508.38 - - 404.17 18,221.60 21.09 19.69% -5.21% NTS NTS: ZH 1,020.00 - 1,020.00 - 1,020.00 - - 253.87 2,589.50 3.00 0.00% -20.80% OK Zimbabwe OKZ: ZH 5,423.08 5,700.00 5,448.41 0.47% 5,423.08 60,300 3,285,390.00 1,285.88 70,060.25 81.08 68.58% 33.51% Old Mutual OMU: ZH 8,199.06 SUSP - - 8,199.06 - - 66.17 0.00 0.00 - - PPC PPC: ZH 795.00 SUSP 795.00 - 795.00 - - 37.09 294.84 0.34 - - Proplastics PROL: ZH 3,400.00 6,300.00 3,400.00 - 6,300.00 1,500 94,500.00 251.94 8,565.81 9.91 90.91% -18.40% RTG RTG: ZH 1,008.33 - 1,008.33 - 1,008.33 - - 2,495.50 25,162.83 29.12 13.68% -9.97% Seedco SEED: ZH 20,000.00 20,000.00 20,000.00 - 20,000.00 27,700 5,540,000.00 247.20 49,440.53 57.22 168.38% 112.55% Star Africa SACL: ZH 178.00 172.00 172.32 -3.19% 178.00 22,100 38,082.00 4,715.08 8,125.03 9.40 -18.64% -35.57% Tanganda TANG:ZH 18,606.37 18,600.00 18,600.00 -0.03% 18,606.37 300 55,800.00 261.06 48,558.01 56.20 108.13% 64.84% Truworths TRUW: ZH 280.00 280.00 280.00 - 280.00 500 1,400.00 384.07 1,075.39 1.24 1.82% -19.36% TSL TSL: ZH 5,320.00 - 5,320.00 - 5,320.00 - - 357.10 18,997.85 21.99 20.90% -4.25% Turnall TURN: ZH 500.00 525.00 500.39 0.08% 500.00 6,400 32,025.00 493.04 2,467.12 2.86 26.76% 0.39% Unifreight UNIF: ZH 6,300.00 - 6,300.00 - 6,300.00 - - 106.47 6,707.88 7.76 21.97% -3.40% Willdale WILD: ZH 289.78 290.00 293.59 1.31% 289.78 16,200 47,561.25 1,778.00 5,220.03 6.04 63.11% 29.18% ZBFH ZBFH: ZH 11,300.00 - 11,300.00 - 11,300.00 - - 175.19 19,796.54 22.91 0.04% -20.77% Zeco ZECO: ZH 3.31 - 3.31 - 3.31 - - 463.34 15.34 0.02 0.00% -20.80% ZHL ZHL: ZH 861.00 875.00 875.00 1.63% 861.00 27,800 243,250.00 1,818.22 15,909.41 18.41 66.67% 32.00% Zimpapers ZIMP: ZH 435.00 500.00 500.00 14.94% 435.00 4,000 20,000.00 576.00 2,880.00 3.33 107.22% 64.11% Zimplow Holdings ZIMPLOW: ZH 3,175.00 3,175.00 3,175.00 - 3,175.00 1,000 31,750.00 344.58 10,940.43 12.66 86.76% 47.91% Hwange HCCL: ZH SUSPENDED - - - - - 167.89 - - - - RioZim RIOZ: ZH 16,000.00 - 16,000.00 - 16,000.00 - - 122.03 19,524.72 22.60 14.20% -9.55% Econet shares in issue include Class A Shares Opening LTP Closing Price Change Previous Price Volume traded Value traded Market Cap Market Cap Price Change Price Change (RTGSc) (RTGSc) (RTGSc) (%) (RTGSc) (RTGS$) (RTGS$ mn's) (US$ mn's) RTGS YTD (%) US$ YTD (%) Cass Saddle Agriculture ETF 225.00 - 225.00 0.00% 225.00 - - - - 25.00% -1.00% Datvest Modified Consumer Staples ETF 155.00 170.00 162.40 4.77% 155.00 13,152 21,359.40 367.89 0.43 4.10% -17.55% Morgan&Co Made in Zimbabwe 133.15 135.00 135.00 1.39% 133.15 1,600 2,160.00 3,323.70 3.85 18.68% -6.01% Morgan&Co Multi Sector 2,200.14 2,150.00 2,150.00 -2.28% 2,200.14 1,500 32,250.00 2,707.45 3.13 -6.52% -25.97% OM ZSE Top-10 ETF 901.99 900.00 900.27 -0.19% 901.99 81,528 733,975.00 1,293.02 1.50 39.79% 10.71% Opening LTP Closing Price Change Previous Price Volume traded Value traded Market Cap Market Cap Price Change Price Change (RTGSc) (RTGSc) (RTGSc) (%) (RTGSc) (RTGS$) (RTGS$ mn's) (US$ mn's) RTGS YTD (%) US$ YTD (%) Tigere REIT 4,878.00 4,880.00 4,875.87 -0.04% 4,878.00 12,100 589,980.00 35,073.25 40.59 18.97% -5.78% Victoria Falls Stock Exchange Pricelist Market Cap US$ (mn) 639.54 -0.52% All Share Index 106.18 -0.56% Value Traded US$ 14,207.53 -58% Bloomberg Opening LTP Closing Price Previous Volume traded Value traded Shares In Market Cap Market Cap Price Change Price Change Ticker (USc) (USc) (USc) Change (%) Price (USc) (shares) (US$) Issue (mn's) (US$ mn's) (RTGS$ mn's) US YTD (%) RTGS$ YTD (%) BNC BIND:ZH 2.10 - 2.10 0.00% 2.10 - - 1,272.73 26.73 23,094.56 -8.70% 15.29% Caledonia CMCL:ZH 1,300.00 - 1,300.00 0.00% 1,300.00 - - 0.62 8.06 6,964.50 0.00% 26.27% National Foods Holdings Limited NTFD: ZH 181.00 - 181.00 0.00% 181.00 - - 68.40 123.80 106,977.00 1.32% 27.93% NedBank Zim Depository Receipts 1,150.00 - 1,150.00 0.00% 1,150.00 - - 0.16 1.84 1,591.55 0.00% 26.27% Padenga PHL:ZH 25.77 25.00 25.98 0.81% 25.77 53,494 13,897.50 537.67 139.69 120,701.37 13.35% 43.12% Seed Co Intl SCIL:ZH 25.99 - 25.90 -0.35% 25.99 - - 393.65 101.95 88,097.31 -13.52% 9.19% Simbisa SIM:ZH 43.04 45.50 42.24 -1.86% 43.04 734 310.03 562.18 237.47 205,190.88 15.41% 45.72% * The complete list of ZSE Indices can be obtained from the ZSE website: www.zse.co.zw * The complete list of VFEX Indices can be obtained from the VFEX website: https://www.vfex.exchange/ Exchange Traded Funds Real Estate Investment Trust 17 February, 2023 17 February, 2023 Page 24 NewsHawks Issue 119, 17 February 2023

NewsHawks Page 25 Issue 119, 17 February 2023 do not form part of mechanisms that facilitate co-ordination between the different levels of government,” she said. Constitutional court to confirm judgement? Veritas believes the Constitutional Court is likely to confirm the judgement, as its correctness is beyond argument. “The Minister’s arbitrary power to override decisions of a local authority is so clearly contrary to the concept of devolution envisaged by the Constitution that it is difficult to see the Constitutional Court coming to a different conclusion from that reached by the learned Judge. “Devolution and decentralisation of power are founding constitutional values, but ten years after the Constitution was enacted virtually nothing has been done to devolve power from central government to provincial and local authorities.    It is high time the Government and Parliament took up this important task. “The Constitutional Court may however take some time to confirm the judgment, so we need to look at what legal effect the judgment has now, before it is confirmed by the Constitutional Court, and what effect it will have after confirmation,” Veritas said. Effect of judgment before it is confirmed “In terms of section 175 of the Constitution the judgment “has no force” unless it is confirmed by the Constitutional Court. However, that does not mean that section 314 of the Urban Councils Act is valid until the Constitutional Court declares it to be unconstitutional, because section 2(1) of the Constitution states that any law inconsistent with the Constitution is invalid to the extent of the inconsistency. “There is no conflict between sections 175 and 2(1) of the Constitution, because they deal with different things:  the legal force of a court order declaring a law to be unconstitutional (in this case, the judgment we are considering) and the validity of an unconstitutional law (in this case, the Urban Councils Act),” says Veritas. Personal Interests? The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) says it has been challenging the provision within the Urban Council’s Act for its failure to promote inclusion in governance. “When we talk about governance, decisions are not made by one person, but by those representing the people. What is important is that Section 314 of the Urban Councils Act gives ultimate power to the minister to change decisions made by council, which is undemocratic. “Sometimes, power can be subject to abuse because the minister can rescind, only because he has the power to do so, or he can use it for own personal interests. “When you look at sections of the constitution, tiers of government are acknowledged. Therefore, local authorities are not departments of government as they are established under Section 275 of the constitution. They are no longer established by an Act of Parliament. “If it were still under an Act, then it would have been a different case. The provision we are challenging did not promote democratic participation of the people in decision making processes,” said Ruben Akili, (CHRA) acting director. Controversies July Moyo has been making controversial decisions, interfering in council business, for instance, the controversial Pomona deal, which has been roundly condemned for its failure to benefit residents, while milking council of tax payers’ money. The controversial US$400 million waste-to-energy deal would see Harare City Council pay US$1 million per month to dump waste at the Pomona Dumpsite, for 30 years, raising public outcry. In July last year, local government minister July Moyo – acting like a debt collector, threatened Harare City Council to pay a US$1 million in arrears to Geogenix BV, for dumping at the dumpsite, to which Mayor Jacob Mafume refused to pay. In 2022, Moyo sent out memoranda to all local authorities in the country, ordering each out of the country’s 63 rural local authority to purchase a single fire tender which would see the dealers receiving US$29 250 648, and a further US$29 714 944 from 32 urban local authorities. In both scandals, local authorities heaped blame on Moyo for interfering in their direct operations. Moyo’s tentacles are also spreading and reaching to the parcelling out of land. As reported by The NewsHawks, he was recently implicated in a US$155 million Chiredzi land deal, which has exploded, as residents and Members of Parliament up the ante in the explosive issue which underlines rampant corruption in local authorities involving senior municipal and political bigwigs. While residents had initially made appeals to President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his government to stop Moyo and his associates from parcelling out land for the town’s expansion and to investigate the corrupt land deal, he went on with his plan. With the uproar intensifying, the entity Moyo gave the contentious land to, Full Life Open Arms Africa Investments, is now selling it unserviced residential stands at US$20.61 per square metre. Given the land size of 750 hectares and that 1 hectare is 10 000 square metres, this means sold in full the land cost US$155 million. NATHAN GUMA THE High Court judgement which trimmed Local Government minister July Moyo’s powers to rescind council decisions serves as a wake-up call for the government to align the Urban Councils Act and the Rural District Council’s Act with the constitution to avoid undue interference by central government in decisions of local authorities, analysts say. Provisions in the Urban Councils Act have been divorced from the Constitution, which has seen clashes between government and council. On January 11 this year, High Court ruled that the local government minister has no right to revoke decisions made by local authorities, an action that legal think tank, Veritas says is a valuable addition to constitutional jurisprudence - even in its unfinished state. This is because the minister has been using Section 314 of the Urban Councils Act, which critics say is prone to misuse by the minister. “Where the Minister is of the view that any resolution, decision or action of a council is not in the interests of the inhabitants  of the council area concerned or is not in the national or public interest, the Minister may direct the council to reverse, suspend or rescind such resolution or decision or to reverse or suspend such action,” reads the section. In her judgement, Justice Priscilla Munangati Manongwe said the section is unconstitutional as:  “Any power exercised by a Minister must have a legal basis; it must comply with the law both procedurally and substantively.  This is the principle of legality, a component of the rule of law.  Hence the minister could issue directives under section 314 only if section 314 itself is valid, i.e. conforms to the constitution.” She also said the provision contradicts with the concept of devolution, which seeks to cascade power to local authorities and communities. “It is an essential constitutional value expressed in section 3(2)(l) of the Constitution and in the preamble, which speaks of “the democratic participation in government by all citizens and communities, while being a danger to democracy. “The Constitution in sections 264, 274 and 276 confers governing and management powers on local authorities, and those powers should not be interfered with clandestinely;  they should rather be fostered by ensuring the independence of local authorities. “Section 265(3) of the Constitution, which states that an Act of Parliament must provide mechanisms to facilitate co-ordination between central government and local authorities, cannot justify section 314 because the power to reverse, suspend or rescind council resolutions are drastic actions that High Court judgement on July Moyo a wake-up call for govt News Analysis Local Government minister July Moyo

The Big Debate Prepared-for-delivery presentation by Professor Jonathan Moyo during a ZimLive Twitter Space on 7 February 2023. The discussion was held under the topic: The Politics and Legalities of Delimitation WHEN it comes to the politics and legalities of the delimitation of electoral boundaries of constituencies and wards, it is trite to point out that politics is law and law is politics. But, of course, as specialised disciplines; politics and law are different in very fundamental and important ways. In this regard, this discussion is on the politics less of delimitation, as such, but more on the politics of the 2023 delimitation report prepared by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC). In one sense, the discussion is rather late in that it would have been more useful had it taken place soon after ZEC presented its draft preliminary delimitation to President Mnangagwa on December 26, 2022, well before January 6, 2023, when Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee tabled its analysis of the Report for the debate in Parliament on January 13 and 14, a debate which facilitated the submission of Parliament’s views to the President on  January 19 for onward transmission to ZEC. Holding this discussion before the parliamentary process would have perhaps impacted on the content of ZEC’s final delimitation report. Conversely, this discussion is arguably somewhat premature in that it is taking place before the eagerly awaited publication by the President of a Proclamation in the Gazette declaring the names and boundaries of the wards and constituencies finally determined by ZEC, in terms of section 161(11) of the Constitution. This is because the content of the final report is unknown and thus not yet reviewable by the public. However, putting aside the content of ZEC’s delimitation Report, this discussion is important and timely in that its focus is mainly on the process being used or being followed by ZEC to produce its final report. An often-forgotten perennial truth is that Process is King because it influences content. The quality of content is determined by the quality of its process. In so far as the politics of the ongoing delimitation exercise go, there is a clear and present risk that the content of ZEC’s final delimitation report that the President must publish by February 17, 2023, will be poisoned, compromised and rendered unconstitutional by a botched process to the detriment of the forthcoming harmonised general election which could become irretrievably illegitimate before the fact. A development of that kind, whose possibility remains clear and present, would be most unfortunate for the country, and every effort needs to be made to avert that possibility. With the foregoing in mind, there are three critical political questions to unpack, namely: Is ZEC a functional body corporate, with the capacity to produce the final delimitation report? In terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, has ZEC submitted its Final Delimitation Report to the president? In terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, what is the role of the President upon receipt of ZEC’s Final Delimitation Report? Before unpacking these three questions, a brief background to the politics of delimitation of electoral boundaries of wards and constituencies in Zimbabwe might provide a useful context. Putting aside two referendums on draft constitutions in 2000 and 2013; Zimbabwe has had 10 elections in 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2013 and 2018. Out of these only the 1980 Independence election did not have delimited electoral boundaries for wards and constituencies because Zimbabwe was treated as a single constituency, with voters required to provide their national registration cards as there was no registration of voters for the Independence election. Until the 2008 elections, the authority that delimited electoral boundaries in previous elections (bar the 1980 one) was the Delimitation Commission, an ad hoc body that came to life before every general election between 1985 and 2005. What is notable is that before 2004 the only permanent body with electoral functions was the Registrar General’s Department which registered voters in between elections. The other bodies with electoral functions, namely the Election Directorate, the Electoral Supervisory Commission and the Delimitation Commission were all ad hoc in composition and function, as they come to life only at election time. When ZEC was first setup, it was under an Act of Parliament in 2004, it did not have the power to register voters nor to delimit electoral boundaries. In September 2005, ZEC became a constitutional body under Constitution Amendment Number 17 of the former Constitution, but it was not given the powers to register voters or to delimit electoral boundaries. Under the same Amendment, the Delimitation Commission also became a constitutional body but remained an ad hoc structure that came into existence from time to time ahead of a general election. The situation changed dramatically in 2007 under Constitution Amendment Number 18 which abolished the ad hoc Delimitation Commission and gave ZEC the power to delimit electoral boundaries.  The current electoral boundaries for 1,958 wards and 210 constituencies were done by ZEC in 2008 for the first harmonised general election held that year. The table below shows how the distribution of registered voters and constituencies among provinces after the delimitation between 2000 and 2005 when Zimbabwe was divided into 120 constituencies and since 2008, when the country was divided into 210 constituencies, and now. The point to underscore here is that Zimbabwe has a rich history of delimiting electoral boundaries through an ad hoc statutory or constitutional body which used to come to life from time to time or, as the case now is, every ten years. Upon critical reflection, it may very well be that it is too much to expect ZEC to have 14 functions stipulated under section 239 of the Constitution, which include delimitation, plus other additional functions under section 5 of the Electoral Act. By its very nature, the delimitation of electoral boundaries is essentially technical, and its execution requires a broad set of skills that ZEC does not need in between elections and thus does not have within its ranks. The delimitation exercise is therefore best executed or done by an ad hoc delimitation commission that comes to life from time to time as contemplated under section 59 of the former Constitution, effected through Amendment Number 17. A body, like ZEC, that conducts elections is not best suited to draw electoral boundaries for wards and constituencies not least because it is invariably tainted by the disputes of the elections that it conducts. Let me now turn to the three key process questions that are necessary to unpack with respect to the current delimitation exercise. First, is ZEC a functional body corporate, with the capacity to produce the final delimitation Report? This question has become important because of the conduct, in fact misconduct of seven ZEC “rogue” commissioners. I am characterising them as “rogue” because the seven commissioners have manifestly acted in ways that are contrary to their constitutional oath which requires them to be independent. Somehow, the hope of the seven commissioners and those behind them is that their actions are supposed to lead to a conclusion that, with respect to the delimZec chairperson Priscilla Chigumba Dearth of delimitation accountability unhelpful and damaging to elections Page 26 NewsHawks Issue 119, 17 February 2023

The Big Debate itation exercise, ZEC is not a body corporate and has no capacity to produce the required final delimitation report. In effect, the seven ZEC Commissioners, who were appointed in July 2022, clearly seek to invalidate ZEC decisions. But the delimitation exercise is not an overnight process. Most if not all of the decisions made by ZEC on the delimitation exercise were taken before the seven rebellious commissioners were appointed. The seven commissioners are thus bound by those decisions. It is rogue behaviour for the seven Commissioners to seek to disown Commission decisions and processes at their tail end, when they simply have no mandate and no power to do so as individuals or as a rebellious group. Tellingly, in their rogue actions, the seven Commissioners have not cited any provision of the Constitution or any other law to back up their misconduct. It is mind boggling that the seven Commissioners imagine that they can block, suspend or even overturn constitutional processes purported by a “resolution” taken among themselves over a beer or by a MEMO that they sent to President Mnangagwa! In the circumstances, the obvious question which has not been confronted is whether these rogue seven commissioners are still competent to remain in office as ZEC commissioners after violating their supreme oath of office to uphold the Constitution of Zimbabwe? The argument that the seven rogue commissioners did not sign the draft preliminary or the final delimitation report is politically interesting from a grandstanding point of view, but it has no administrative significance. Commission documents are signed by the ZEC chairperson, the presumed legal authority, on behalf of the Commission. Anyone who has cared to look into the matter will find that this is the practice even with respect to reports to Parliament and ZEC’s official annual accounts. It is unthinkable that the seven rogue Commissioners imagine that they can hold the Commission to ransom, only and simply because they are the majority. The administration of a constitutional body is not a number’s game. While this is a matter to be handled by lawyers and settled in court, the fact that two of the seven rogue commissioners have tendered affidavits to support a case by a total stranger to ZEC and its core business, thereby dragging the Commission into the mud while it is not even cited in the matter, just goes to show how destructively naïve the lot is. The position of the seven rogue Commissioners, especially the two in court against ZEC, has become untenable. How can they work at ZEC, while suing the Commission by proxy? Who at ZEC will ever trust them? There are only two options left for these commissioners, to resign or face the consequences of disciplinary action. To the second process question, in terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, has ZEC submitted its final delimitation report? It is surprising, unfortunate, scandalous and dangerous that this question is in the air out there in the public domain. On  February 6, the Herald newspaper carried a story headlined, “Zanu PF cell verification meetings continue”. In the story, the paper reported that Zanu PF Politburo Member and Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary affairs, Ziyambi Ziyambi – speaking in Chinhoyi the previous day – “dismissed claims that the final draft of the delimitation report was ready. He said the report presented to President Mnangagwa by ZEC was basically for consideration.” On this matter, the facts are public and therefore noticeably clear. No one has made any claim but what is there is what none other than the ZEC Chairperson, Justice Priscilla Chigumba herself, said not when she was speaking to journalists but what she said to the President when she was handing President the final report on February 3, 2023, she said, and I am quoting her verbatim: “Your Excellency in terms of section 161(1) of the Constitution, the concerns which you forwarded to us from Parliament and yourself have been adhered by the Commission and these are our responses and this is the hard copy which is the result of us giving effect to these concerns.” The operative phrase is that she said “in terms of section 161(10) of the Constitution.” That section says: “As soon as possible after complying with subsections (7) and (9), the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission must submit a final delimitation report to the  President.” That is what ZEC did on February 3, 2023, when it invoked this section as the ZEC chairperson handed the final delimitation report to President Mnangagwa.  This is not a claim, as alleged by Ziyambi, it is a public fact with both political and legal consequences. In terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, what is the role of the President upon receipt of ZEC’s final delimitation report? Soon after the ZEC chairperson, Justice Chigumba, handed the President the final report last Friday on February 3, 2023, the President said, and I am quoting him verbatim: “Thank you very much. I will attend to this and make my observations”. That is what he said.  Now, understandably, people can speculate about what the President meant by “I will attend to this” or “and make my observations.” However, the speculation is unnecessary and conclusions from that speculation are irrelevant because the Constitution is unambiguously clear about what the President must do, not what he may do but what he must do, and this is in section 161(11) which says: “Within fourteen days after receiving the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s report, the President must publish a proclamation in the Gazette declaring the names and boundaries of the wards and constituencies as finally determined by the Commission.” What this means is that President Mnangagwa must publish ZEC’s final delimitation report handed to him on February 3, 2023, by February 17, 2023.  This is neither a claim nor a matter of the President’s discretion, it is the Constitutional position arising from the factual position that Justice Priscilla Chigumba, the ZEC Chairperson, handed the final delimitation report to President Mnangagwa on February 3, 2023. There are two process questions, that should be unpacked about the role of the President in the delimitation exercise. It was surprising and wrong that President Mnangagwa made submissions on the ZEC draft preliminary delimitation report separate from Parliament. Two reasons explain this. In the first place, section 116 of the Constitution defines Parliament as follows: 116 The Legislature  The Legislature of Zimbabwe consists of Parliament and the President acting in accordance with this Chapter. This means that the President is part of Parliament, such that references to the submission of the ZEC draft preliminary report to Parliament in terms of section 161 (7) and (8) of the Constitution include the President. In any event, the leader of the House who is responsible for business government in Parliament, is the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, who is the President’s appointee. The President has more than many opportunities to have his views on ZEC’s draft preliminary delimitation report placed before Parliament by his Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, who is leader of the House. This would be transparent in the spirit of the Constitution, especially as it involves ZEC and elections in which the President has a political and even a personal interest. There is a second and more important reason why the President’s submission separate from Parliament is wrong.  There is nothing in section 161 of the Constitution which provides for the President to make a submission separate from Parliament on ZEC’s draft preliminary delimitation report. Under section 161 of the Constitution, which deals with delimitation, what the President must do after delimiting wards and constituencies is provided in subsections 7 and 8 which stipulate as follows: (7) After delimiting wards and constituencies, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission must submit to the President a preliminary report containing—  (a) a list of the wards and constituencies, with the names assigned to each and a description of their boundaries;  (b) a map or maps showing the wards and constituencies; and  (c) any further information or particulars which the Commission considers necessary;  and the President must cause the preliminary delimitation report to be laid before Parliament within seven days.  (8) Within fourteen days after a preliminary delimitation report has been laid before Parliament—  (a) the President may refer the report back to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission for further consideration of any matter or issue;  (b) either House may resolve that the report should be referred back to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission for further consideration of any matter or issue, and in that event the President must refer the report back to the Commission for that further consideration.  Therefore, in terms of the Constitution, the President’s role is akin to that of a Post Office in that the President receives the ZEC draft preliminary delimitation report and causes it to be laid before Parliament within seven days in terms of subsection (7); and sends it back to ZEC within 14 days if he or Parliament so decide in terms of subsection (8). The Constitution requires the President to be as neutral as a post office, he should not fiddle with the delimitation mail from ZEC to Parliament or from Parliament to ZEC. All told, the fact that the President should not make a submission separate from Parliament does not mean that he cannot engage ZEC directly or Parliament through his Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs save that any such engagement must be transparent to ensure accountability. In the circumstances, those who have challenged the legal position arising from the factual position have ulterior motives far removed from the constitutional process. Their stance is at odds with public facts and is contrary to the peremptory provisions of section 161 of the Constitution. As such, their stance is a naked attempt to usurp the powers of ZEC, as a Chapter 12 institution, an independent constitutional body which – in terms of section 235(1)(a) – is “not subject to the direction or control of anyone.” Be this as it may, let me conclude by proffering an explanation why there has been an apparent and rather brazen attempt to subvert the Constitution by usurping the powers of ZEC in relation to the process of finalising the delimitation exercise. First, it’s now clear that there are some government mandarins in the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs who are working with some or all of the seven rogue ZEC Commissioners, and those mandarins either want to smuggle some nefarious content into the final report under the false pretext that what was submitted to President Mnangagwa is “a draft final report” – an oxymoronic phrase which cannot be found anywhere in the Constitution; or they are simply kicking the can down the process to buy time beyond February 26, 2023,  after which the electoral boundaries of ZEC’s final delimitation report would not apply for the forthcoming 2023 harmonised general election; in terms of section 161(2) of the Constitution. Whatever is the case, the antics of the mandarins have been unhelpful distractions that can only succeed in damaging ZEC and the public interest. Finally, from a process point of view and going by the content of its draft preliminary report, it would be remiss of me not to commend ZEC for its progressive interpretation and application of section 161(6) of the Constitution, regarding the delimitation formula. After the President submitted ZEC’s draft preliminary delimitation report to Parliament a potentially divisive debate, based on section 161(3) of the Constitution, ensued with widespread claims that ZEC had either used the delimitation formula in section 61A of the old, repealed Lancaster Constitution; or that ZEC had misconstrued or misunderstood section 161 of the 2013 Constitution. Subsection (3) relied upon by proponents of this view provides as follows: (3) The boundaries of constituencies must be such that, so far as possible, at the time of delimitation equal numbers of voters are registered in each constituency within Zimbabwe. While there’s indeed a formula for delimitation under section 161(3) of the Constitution, which basically is based on dividing the total number of registered voters at the time of the delimitation exercise by 210 (the number of constituencies in Zimbabwe), that is only a simple starting premise of what is in fact a very complex and taxing technical and discretionary exercise based on section 161(6) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe which provides that: (6) In dividing Zimbabwe into wards and constituencies, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission must, in respect of any area, give due consideration to⎯ (a) its physical features;  (b) the means of communication within the area;  (c) the geographical distribution of registered voters;  (d) any community of interest as between registered voters;  (e) in the case of any delimitation after the first delimitation, existing electoral boundaries; and  (f) its population;  and to give effect to these considerations, the Commission may depart from the requirement that constituencies and wards must have equal numbers of voters, but no constituency or ward of the local authority concerned may have more than twenty per cent more or fewer registered voters than the other such constituencies or wards. While the criticism of ZEC’s delimitation formula purported to rest on the interpretation of the proviso that in giving effect to the six considerations under subsection (6), that: “…the Commission may depart from the requirement that constituencies and wards must have equal numbers of voters, but no constituency or ward of the local authority concerned may have more than twenty per cent more or fewer registered voters than the other such constituencies or wards.” The loquacious ZEC critics did not at all pay any attention to the key six parameters under section 161(6) of the Constitution, to which “the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission must,  in respect of any area, give due consideration,” namely: (a) its physical features;  (b) the means of communication within the area;  (c) the geographical distribution of registered voters;  (d) any community of interest as between registered voters;  (e) in the case of any delimitation after the first delimitation, existing electoral boundaries; and  (f) its population; It remains to be seen how ZEC’s final delimitation report responded to the criticism regarding the delimitation formula it used in its draft preliminary delimitation report.  I hope ZEC has not been swayed. The formula used by ZEC in its draft preliminary delimitation report is progressive and highly commendable as it took into account the public and national interests of marginalised areas such as the Matabeleland region. Applying a delimitation formula entirely based on section 161(3) of the Constitution, without balancing it with the six peremptory considerations in section 161(6), would be detrimental to national unity and national cohesion and would undermine the national and constitutional objectives of devolution. *About the writer: Professor Jonathan Moyo is a political scientist and former cabinet minister. NewsHawks Page 27 Issue 119, 17 February 2023

Page 28 Critical Thinking NewsHawks Issue 119, 17 February 2023 IBBO MANDAZA/ TONY REELER In March 2021, one of us (Ibbo Mandaza) issued an analysis of the then current state of Zimbabwe, making the point that there could be no solution to the Zimbabwe crisis without forthright regional and international action. The solution was argued to be three-fold: a genuine national dialogue, a regional initiative, and international scaffolding for the regional dialogue. The goal was a political settlement and a transitional arrangement (including substantial reform of the state and return of the military to full civilian control, all leading to elections under new social contract. Without repeating the basis for this argument, it is evident that things have worsened considerably over the (nearly) next two years. There is consensus for this view, as has been demonstrated in 35 Policy dialogues held by the SAPES Trust since March 2021. In these dialogues, covering the political economy, human rights, elections, and corruption, the expert panellists were in no doubt that things were getting worse; that the government was unable to produce and implement policies to address the rot; and that elections would not be the panacea for restoring the state to legitimacy and international re-engagement. Furthermore (and extremely important), unlike other societies in the region and beyond, the Zimbabwe state (Read Zanu PF) has since independence in 1980, regarded and treated the opposition — whether it was Joshua Nkomo and ZAPU, Edgar Tekere and ZUM, Morgan Tvsangirai and MDC, and now the CCC — as enemies, to be vanquished completely. The major argument advanced by the government for the parlous state of the nation has been to blame sanctions, unwisely supported by Africa, and to claim that there are sufficient reforms to warrant the Commonwealth re-admitting Zimbabwe. As regards the economy, NO economist in the eight dialogues during the past two years believed that sanctions were a material cause of the country’s dire economic status; ALL were in no doubt that the major causes were poor policies, erratic fiscal behaviour, and rampant corruption. Former Finance Minister, Tendai Biti, was particularly alarming in outlining the extent of the corruption and the losses to the country, whilst international expert, Steven Hanke was in no doubt that Zimbabwe was heading for its third dose of hyperinflation. Whilst the government gained some support from the mendacious report on unilateral sanctions by the UN Special Rapporteur, the impact of that report has clearly ben minimised by the widespread, unilateral (not UN mandated) sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of the Ukraine. It was clear from all those talking about the economy that the fundamental problem was a total absence of the substantive reforms promised so earnestly in 2017. The one hope for curing the coup was an undisputed election in 2018, but once again Zimbabwe failed the test of credibility, helped enormously by a less than satisfactory treatment of a crucial election petition by the Constitutional Court. Its attempt to resolve the problems of the violence after the election in 2018 — setting up a Presidential Commission to investigate this — has been wholly undermined by the government’s failure to take the Montlanthe Commission’s recommendations seriously. However, lurking in the background since November 2017 has been an even more serious problem, one given too little attention nationally, regionally, and internationally, and once again a product of the judiciary. Few have paid attention until recently to the judgements of the High Court and the Constitutional Court concluding, in effect, that Section 212 of the Constitution gave the military a right to intervene in civilian affairs in order the protect the Constitution and over-riding Section 213, the provision in the Constitution that clearly empowers only he President with the concurrence of the legislature to deploy the military. Certainly in 2017, and whatever the military and others thought, Robert Mugabe was in full constitutional power of his office, and most definitely did not deploy the military. Quite simply, the problem is that this interpretation by the courts, until it is overturned (as it should) gives the military the right to deploy itself when it considers (and despite the President) that the constitution is under threat. Zimbabwe must be a rare country when it has established a legitimate right for military coups. Thus, it can be asserted, as was the case in March 2021, there is no evidence that the return to constitutionalism, rule of law, and adherence to human rights has taken place since 2017. Despite all the factors that President Emmerson Mnangagwa Zim: Still expecting the impossible? Take action at national, regional, and international level – Now!

NewsHawks Critical Thinking Page 29 Issue 119, 17 February 2023 suggest an election cannot be a solution to the country’s problems, Zimbabwe is six months away from another election, and the context for the elections is no better than it was in 2008. Nobody in all the seven policy dialogues held between March 2021 and January 2023 believes that this coming election will meet the conditions for legitimacy, and the contrast with Kenya that also had a horrible election in 2007 were illuminating. It was also illuminating to see the differences between Zimbabwe and Zambia. Any brief analysis of the conditions for elections in June 2023 demonstrates that not only will the election fail the test of credibility, but the election will likely make things considerably worse. According to every expert on the policy dialogues, ZEC has failed to demonstrate the necessary conditions of Impartiality, Equality, Representativeness, Transparency, and Non-discrimination for delimitation, as was predicted last year in October. The delimitation report has been rejected by members of the ruling party, with one member even going to court. There is, as always, the refusal by ZEC to make the voters’ roll easily available, claiming that auditing the voters’ roll leads to tampering, the most feeble excuse possible given that previous analyses, in 2009 and 2013, showed extraordinary problems with the roll. As for the conditions under which political parties must operate, it is clear that political violence is increasing; opposition political parties are unable to operate freely in holding meetings and rallies; civic space is closing (and may close completely with the application of the Private Voluntary Organisations Act); the courts are being weaponised to deal with activists and opposition party members (the continuous denial of bail to Job Sikhala being the most egregious, but not unique); and the completely blunt use of government resources to cajole the populace into supporting Zanu PF. Thus, Zimbabwe now stands in the usual state of paralysis that takes place when elections are pending. The regional and international community does the usual things. Exhorts the government to ensure a legitimate election; prepares to observe the election, even though no observer mission to date has been able to do more than scratch the surface; validates the election by even being there to observe; and probably will require local remedy in the event there are disputes. Here the manner in which Kenya has cleansed itself of potential threats to elections, and can stand by the outcome, irrespective of foreign approval, is exemplary. This is why an audit of the election climate is so critical. If all the conditions for a legitimate election are not present, then this must require action. In 2000, the Commonwealth pointed out that there would be consequences is the conditions for a legitimate election were not met and the outcome was unsatisfactory: bad behaviours would have consequences, and Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth. If one of the tests for democracy is the holding of elections, then the quality of the election matters: elections are not just symbolic, they determine the nature of political power, and who holds it must have the acceptance of the nation for legitimacy. Zimbabwe has failed this test in every single election since 2000. However, it is not merely that the pre-election audit matters and should have a determining effect on any conclusion about the outcome of the election, it should guide the actions of the regional and international community in deciding what must be done when the election fails the test of acceptability. The consequences for Zimbabwe, and the region, are not trivial, and the usual responses that Zimbabwe must do better next time, will not solve the problem of a state that will not, and cannot reform: as pointed out earlier, the problems are too deep and insoluble without a total overhaul of the state, the removal of the securocracy, and serious dealing with the growing economic crisis. Zimbabwe, like Rhodesia before it, has reached a “Lancaster House” moment, a point at which there is no possible solution without cohesive regional and international action. That was the point made in March 2021. No election could solve Rhodesia’s problems without a major change in the politics and this required a political settlement, with acceptance by all internal political forces agreeing on a different solution to the status quo of military struggle. Of course, Zimbabwe does not have a civil war, but is so entrenched in its political polarisation that negotiation, and not the farce of POLAD, is the only way forward, and that will require mediation of a serious kind. If there is no serious attempt to address the problem, it is not hard to predict the short-term future. The economy will continue to slide into hyperinflation; thousands more Zimbabweans will migrate; the begging bowl will be out for humanitarian relief to support the broken social safety net; re-engagement will remain a distant dream; the government will resort to greater and greater coercion; and the “black swan” of severe social and political unrest become ever more likely. The “Zimbabwe problem” is not just a singularity, but is a problem for the whole region, as it was 44 years ago. So, take action – NOW. *About the writers: Ibbo Mandaza & Tony Reeler are Co-Conveners of the Platform for Concerned Citizens.

Page 30 NewsHawks Issue 119, 17 February 2023 MATTHEW MARE THE International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, hereinafter CESCR, recognises the right to adequate food as a fundamental Human Right. The Convention recognises children’s fundamental right to freedom from hunger and malnutrition (CESCR, 1999). The human right to adequate food is of crucial importance for the enjoyment of all rights and to uphold the same. The government of Zimbabwe introduced the National School Feeding Programme in 2016. The National School Feeding Programme in Zimbabwe, which is administered by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, is a special intervention humanitarian program targeting children in disadvantaged communities countrywide who are believed to be attending school on empty stomachs. The nutrition school feeding programme was a guaranteed way of nurturing healthy children who are the bedrock of any prosperous and stable society. More so, the initiative resonates with the 2030 sustainable development goals aimed at ending poverty and hunger and encouraging partnerships. The school feeding programme has the greatest impact among learners who receive sufficient nutrition to allow them to concentrate on school tasks, while developing into healthy adults. Schools are recording high enrolment rates after the introduction of the school feeding program, and absenteeism as well as dropouts have gone down tremendously. Government’s school feeding program has had a positive impact on attendance by school children in drought-prone Masvingo’s Chivi district, (NewsDay: 2019). Statistics by the Ministry of Health and Child Care reveal that about one hundred thousand (100 000) children face Zim’s national school feeding programme malnutrition and are attending school on empty stomach (Ministry of Health and Child Care, 2018). The deputy director Nutrition Services in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Handrea Njovo, said only seven percent of children in rural areas are receiving a balanced diet while the rest are malnourished (The Herald, 2020). This is so because of insufficient food supply due to successive droughts in the country. Zimbabwe’s economic situation, aggravated by onslaughts of drought, contributes to a regular depletion of its food supply thereby forcing children to attend school on empty stomachs. School feeding has a positive impact on attendance and learning outcomes as well as improving health. Home-Grown School Feeding (HGSF) has seen the increased school attendance realizing the African Child’s Full Potential through Effective Home-Grown National School Feeding Programme in Zimbabwe is a special intervention humanitarian program targeting children in disadvantaged communities countrywide who are believed to be attending school on empty stomachs. School Feeding (UNICEF, 2018). There are also non-state actors who are participating in the school feeding programs. Angel of Hope Foundation in 2019 launched a supplementary feeding program where a donation of several tonnes of corn-soya blend porridge was made to alleviate malnutrition among children countrywide (The Herald 2020). However, it is pertinent to note that the scheme also has its share of flaws that are compromising its effectiveness. It is marred with contentions of misappropriation and targeting failures. Nevertheless, the feeding programme’s efficacy is uncontestable as many schools continue to implement the programme to the benefit of vulnerable children. Whilst these measures are highly commendable, its applicability in a society where the church doctrine teaches against formal education, should attract the attention of the government. The government must put in place measures to ensure that no child or sector of the society is left out. The government must ensure theologies from closed societies are transformed and all violations against children are mitigated. There are key African Independent Churches like Johanne Marange Apostolic Church with over a million followers and whose doctrines not only affect the church but also adjacent societies. A million following in a state with a population of 14.5 million people is not an insignificant number. In that million following, 85% are children. *About the writer: Matthew Mare is a Zimbabwean academic who holds two bachelor’s degrees, five master’s qualifications and a PhD. He is also doing another PhD and has 12 executive certificates in different fields. Professionally, he is a civil servant and also board member at the National Aids Council of Zimbabwe. Reframing Issues

NewsHawks Page 31 Issue 119, 17 February 2023 Matyszak: Speaking truth to power TONY REELER IT with sadness that the Research and Advocacy Unit (Rau) announces the death of Derek Anton Matyszak. Derek was a founding member of Rau and a former chairperson of the Amani Trust, as well as a board member of multiple Non-Government Organisations (NGOs). He was a well-known lawyer and academic, but most well-known for his legal activism. After graduating from the University of Cape Town with a BA. LLB, and the recipient of a Beit Scholarship and the D.B. Molteno prize for the most outstanding student in constitutional law, Derek worked for five years in private practice. In 1991, he assumed a post as Director of the Legal Aid and Advice Scheme at the University of Zimbabwe, and subsequently in 1993 became lecturer in Procedural Law, a post he held until 2007. He taught so many lawyers in practice in Zimbabwe today. In that regard and taking into account all his academic and civil society activities, his contribution to the country was immense. Derek was an activist at heart, and believed in the power of the law to protect civil and political rights. He supported multiple civic causes and organisations, supporting Gays and Lesbians Association of Zimbabwe, Kubatana, the Amani Trust, and finally Rau. His influence in all these causes over many years is little known as Derek by nature preferred to work quietly in all his actions. Few know, for example, that Legal Aid and Advice Scheme, under Derek’s guidance, was one of the founding members of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum, providing legal assistance to the victims of the food riots in 1998. This voluntary assistance, using students under his supervision, became the forerunner of the civil litigation strategy now used by human rights organisations to combat the impunity for gross human rights so frequently applied by the government. During this time, and at his time with the Amani Trust and Rau, Derek developed into the formidable legal and political analyst that some many know. He authored more than 80 research papers, legal opinions, and opinion-editorials, and the range of his inquiries was extraordinary. Derek produced the first independent audit of the voters’ roll in 2009, and thereafter became well-known for his detailed analyses of elections. He also undertook detailed critiques of indigenisation, the ZANU-PF constitution, and many other constitutional issues. With his analyses were always minutely researched and argued comprehensively in great detail, Derek, like Alex Magaisa subsequently, became the go-to person for constitutional matters in the political crisis that has afflicted Zimbabwe since the late 1990s. After leaving Rau in 2017, Derek worked for the Sapes Trust and the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in Pretoria, where once again was a prolific commentator on Zimbabwe, authoring 28 reports and opinion-editorials between 2018 and 2019. He subsequently worked with Veritas and as an independent consultant. Derek was not your typical lawyer: few in the profession are addicted to motorcycles and rock music. His music collection would not have looked out of place in a high street music shop. However, as a lawyer in court and on the public platform, he was a formidable opponent. Apart from always being exceptionally well-prepared, his very quick mind enabled him to see the flaws in other’s arguments, and woe to those who were sloppy or poorly prepared. He was a frequent discussant at the Sapes Policy Dialogues over the years, startling many with his blunt, but always well-researched, presentations. Derek called a spade a spade ALWAYS. Often his energy in presenting looked almost explosive, but mediated by wry comment and dark humour. His passionate belief in civil liberties and his belief that the state needed always to be controlled from excesses meant that he undertook an enormous amount of legal work pro bono never pro deo: Derek was allergic to the latter term. However, things changed and took a turn for the Derek suffered a massive stroke in 2019 which left him disabled and curtailed his prolific contributions to democracy. From humble beginnings in Shabani (Zvishavane now), Derek become one of the powerful advocates for democracy and civil liberties, and it was always vocational for him. In quick succession, Zimbabwe has lost two (with Magaisa) immense talents, the kinds of talents that might have graced the bench with judges of erudition and courage. Derek and Magaisa played the role of public intellectuals who were critical, particularly at this moment in the life of Zimbabwe a nation which is going through political and economic upheavals, with far-reaching social consequences. Having died in Brazil where he had relocated a few years ago after suffering the stroke that left him paralysed, Derek is survived by his wife, Nadia, and his brothers in South Africa and England. Go well, compagnero (comrade)! *About the writer: Tony Reeler is a senior researcher at the Research and Advocacy Unit. Derek Anton Matyszak Obituary

Page 32 Reframing Issues NewsHawks Issue 119, 17 February 2023 people have noticed. Musk calls himself a “free speech absolutist” but he demonstrably isn’t. He has unbanned a bunch of toxic characters that Twitter quite rightly banned — including former US president Donald Trump and a slew of rightwing nutters. No sooner had he unbanned white supremacist Nick Fuentes and disgraced rapper Kanye West, than they both tweeted anti-Semitic things and praised Hitler. Free speech is all good and well, as long as Musk’s voice is the one everyone hears on Twitter, it seems. One Twitter employee told Platformer: “He bought the company, made a point of showcasing what he believed was broken and manipulated under previous management, then turns around and manipulates the platform to force engagement on all users to hear only his voice.” The employee added, summing up the prevailing morale at the company: “I think we’re past the point of believing that he actually wants what’s best for everyone here.” At the beginning of February, Musk held a meeting with engineers, where he reportedly said: “This is ridiculous. I have more than 100 million followers, and I’m only getting tens of thousands of impressions.” When one of the two remaining principal engineers told him that people were losing interest in him, Musk told the engineer: “You’re fired, you’re fired,” Platformer reported. Who needs the Florida Man when the world has the next big thing in terms of Elon Musk will rue the day he bought Twitter — the rest of us already have BUYING Twitter had been the biggest mistake of Elon Musk’s otherwise stellar career. He will live to regret it and it will forever tarnish his reputation. Far removed from his original plan to “unlock” Twitter’s “extraordinary potential”, Musk is behaving like a spoilt billionaire brat with a truly regrettable narcissistic streak. It’s really not a good look. This week as Americans fixated on the annual Super Bowl extravaganza, Musk inserted himself into the centre of attention because his tweets didn’t get the same engagement as US President Joe Biden’s humorous one. I kid you not. The manner in which it was done was painfully revealing of the continuing trainwreck that is Musk’s $44-billion takeover of the “digital town square”. His cousin James Musk messaged Twitter engineers at 2.36am on Monday, February 13, just hours after the Philadelphia Eagles won the game. Biden’s tweet about his wife supporting them received 29 million views; while Musk’s tweet, which he subsequently deleted, only got 9.1 million. “We are debugging an issue with engagement across the platform,” James Musk wrote on the internal Slack messaging app. “Any people who can make dashboards and write software please can you help solve this problem. This is high urgency. If you are willing to help out please thumbs up this post.” Some 80 Twitter staff were tasked with fixing Musk’s declining popularity and decreasing engagement with his tweets. “Employees worked through the night,” reported the excellent Platformer publication, and one possibility was that “Musk’s reach might have been reduced because he’d been blocked and muted by so many people in recent months,” Platformer reported. Even before this, “Musk’s long stint as Twitter’s main character, both in the run-up to and aftermath of his $44-billion takeover, had led huge numbers of people to filter him out of their feeds.” So now everybody on Twitter gets to see every one of Musk’s tweets — even if they don’t follow him, as some elon musk unrepentant ego and Twitter narcissism? Covfefe. There is a very sad thing happening here. Bullied at school, Musk has emerged as an adult bully himself. He has bullied his way through this abortive Twitter acquisition, behaved in a way that is frankly unethical (he tried to back out of the sale by claiming spambots were more rampant than stated), and been reckless with staff (firing half of them, then discovering many engineers were still needed) and revenue (many advertisers withdrew principally because of Musk’s weird management decisions). Worse, he has spread patently false information (most notably, claiming Nancy Pelosi’s husband was attacked while paying for sex with a male prostitute). That is not so much free speech as a moral free-for-all. Musk may well go on to do great things with Tesla and SpaceX — and the other company he co-founded, OpenAI. But this megalomaniac, narcissistic behaviour is truly revolting to see in action. Musk, so brutally bullied himself as a teenager, has morphed into the worst kind of bully himself — rich, entitled, delusional and narcissistic. It’s the absolute worst of toxic masculinity and Musk’s unforgivable behaviour makes it hard to praise him for the previously brilliant things he has done. So much for: “Twitter has extraordinary potential” and “I will unlock it”. Musk will rue the day he decided to buy Twitter. The rest of us already do. — Daily Maverick.

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 33 Issue 119, 17 February 2023 DARA MASSICOT TO understand how Russia’s bad planning undermined its performance and advantages, it is helpful to imagine how the invasion of Ukraine would have started if Moscow had followed its prescribed military strategy. According to Russian doctrine, an interstate war such as this one should begin with weeks of air and missile attacks against an enemy’s military and critical infrastructure during what strategists call “the initial period of war.” Russia’s planners consider this the decisive period of warfare, with air force operations and missile strikes, lasting between four and six weeks, designed to erode the opposing country’s military capabilities and capacity to resist. According to Russia’s theory, ground forces are typically deployed to secure objectives only after air forces and missile attacks have achieved many of their objectives. The Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) did conduct strikes against Ukrainian positions at the war’s beginning. But it did not systematically attack critical infrastructure, possibly because the Russians believed they would need to quickly administer Ukraine and wanted to keep its leadership facilities intact, its power grid online, and the Ukrainian population apathetic. Fatefully, the Russian military committed its ground troops on day one rather than waiting until it had managed to clear roads and suppress Ukrainian units. The result was catastrophic. Russian forces, rushing to meet what they believed were orders to arrive in certain areas by set times, overran their logistics and found themselves hemmed in to specific routes by Ukrainian units. They were then relentlessly bombarded by artillery and antiarmor weapons. Moscow also decided to commit nearly all its professional ground and airborne forces to one multiaxis attack, counter to the Russian military’s tradition of keeping forces from Siberia and the Russian Far East as a second echelon or a strategic reserve. This decision made little military sense. By attempting to seize several parts of Ukraine simultaneously, Russia stretched its logistics and support systems to the breaking point. Had Russia launched air and missile strikes days or weeks before committing ground forces, attacked along a smaller  frontline, and maintained a large reserve force, its invasion might have looked different. In this case, Russia would have had simpler logistics, concentrated fires, and reduced exposure for its advancing units. It might even have overwhelmed local groups of Ukrainian air defenses.  Moscow stretched its logistics and support systems to the breaking point. It is difficult to know exactly why Russia deviated so wildly from its military doctrine (and from common sense). But one reason seems clear: the Kremlin’s political interference. According to information obtained by reporters from  The  Washington Post, the war was planned only by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Russia’s bad planning undermined its war performance and advantages closest confidants in the intelligence services, the armed forces, and the Kremlin. Based on these accounts, this team advocated for a rapid invasion on multiple fronts, a mad dash to Kyiv to neutralize Ukrainian President  Volodymyr Zelensky  through assassination or kidnapping, and the installation of a network of collaborators who would administer a new government — steps that a broader, more experienced collection of planners might have explained would not work. The Kremlin’s ideas were obviously ineffective. Yet it delayed important course corrections, likely because it believed they would be politically unpopular at home. For example, the Kremlin tried to entice ad hoc volunteers in the early summer to plug holes created by severe battlefield losses, but this effort attracted far too few personnel. Only after the September collapse of the military’s front in Kharkiv did Moscow order a mobilization. Later, the Kremlin did not allow a retreat from the city of Kherson until months after their positions became untenable, risking thousands of troops. Before and during wars, countries rely on operational security, or OPSEC, to keep crucial aspects of their plans secret and to reduce vulnerabilities for their own forces. In some cases, that entails deception. In World War II, for instance, the Allies stationed troops and decoys on a range of beaches in the southern  United Kingdom  to confuse the Nazis as to which location would be used to launch an attack. In other instances,  OPSEC  involves limiting the internal dissemination of war plans to lower the risk that they will go public. For example, in preparation for Operation Desert Storm, U.S. pilots who would later be assigned to eliminate Iraqi air defenses trained for months to conduct such strikes but were not told about their specific targets until  days before the attack began. The Kremlin’s war plans, of course, were made public months before the war. As a number of news outlets have reported, including  The New York Timesand The Washington Post, U.S. intelligence agencies uncovered detailed and accurate outlines of Russia’s plans and then shared them with the media, as well as with allies and partners. Rather than abort the invasion, the Kremlin insisted to journalists and diplomats that the large contingents of troops massed on Ukraine’s borders were there for training and that it had no intention of attacking its neighbor. These claims did not fool the West, but they did fool most Russians—including those in the armed forces. The Kremlin withheld its war plans from military stakeholders at many levels, from individual soldiers and pilots to general officers, and many troops and officials were surprised when they received orders to invade. A recent report by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a British defense and security think tank, which was based on extensive fieldwork and interviews with Ukrainian officials, found that even senior members of the Russian General Staff were kept in the dark about the invasion plans until shortly before it started. Because most military leaders were not brought into the planning effort until the last minute, they could not correct major mistakes.  The government did not appear to undergo what is referred to in Russian strategy as a “special period” — a time of categorizing, stockpiling,  and organizing resources for a major war — because its planners did not know they needed to get ready for one. The excessive secrecy also meant that Moscow missed several key opportunities to prepare the defense industry to produce and store essential ammunition. Even after they were stationed near Ukraine, Russian units were not staffed or supplied at appropriate levels, likely because planners believed the troops were conducting training exercises. And because the military did not have time to coordinate its electronic warfare systems, when Russian forces attempted to jam Ukraine’s communications, they also jammed their own.  Prewar secrecy led to problems that were especially pronounced in the air. Before the invasion, Russian pilots had experience fighting in Syria, but operations there had taken place over uncontested territory, most often in the desert. The pilots had virtually no experience fighting over a larger, forested country, let alone against an adversary capable of hitting their jets with layers of air defenses. They were given little to no training in such tactics before the invasion. That inexperience is partly why, despite sometimes flying hundreds of missions per day, Russia has been unable to dismantle Ukraine’s air force or air defenses. Another factor was how Russia decided to employ its forces. Because Russia’s ground troops were in grave danger within days, the VKSwas quickly reassigned from suppressing Ukrainian air defenses to providing close air support, according to RUSI analysis. This adjustment helped prevent Russia from establishing air supremacy, and it forced the Russians to fly at low altitudes, within reach of Ukraine’s Stinger missiles. As a result, they lost many helicopters and fighter jets. Pre-war secrecy and lies were not the only ways that the Kremlin played itself. Once troops began rushing toward Kyiv, Moscow could no longer deny the fact of its invasion. But for months, it continued to obscure the conflict or delay important decisions in ways that hurt its own operations. At a basic level, Russia has refused to classify the invasion as a war, instead calling it a “special military operation.” This decision, made either to mollify the Russian population or because the Kremlin assumed the conflict would end quickly, prevented the country from implementing administrative rules that would have allowed it to gain quick access to the legal, economic, and material resources it needed to support the invasion. For at least the first six months, the false classification also made it easy for soldiers to resign or refuse to fight without facing desertion charges. *About the writer: Dara Massicot is a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation and is an adjunct professor in Georgetown University’s Security Studies Programme. Massicot previously served as a senior analyst for Russian military strategy and capabilities at the Department of Defense. Her work at RAND focuses on security issues in Russia and Eurasia like Russian military modernization, conflict and force projection studies, escalation dynamics, and U.S. force posture and plans. Her areas of interest include high intensity conventional warfare and support to U.S. war-planning efforts. Russian President Vladimir Putin

Page 34 Reframing Issues NewsHawks Issue 119, 17 February 2023 CORPORATE PROFILE 


NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 35 Issue 119, 17 February 2023 Platinum Investment Managers Platinum Investment Managers: Who we are Platinum Investments Managers (Pvt) Ltd is a licensed Asset Manager in terms of the law and falls under the oversight of the Securities Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe. The company was founded in 1999, as the asset management division of MBCA Holdings Zimbabwe, which is a subsidiary of Nedbank SA, before rebranding to Platinum Investments Managers (PIM) in 2010. This was after the successful sell of the company to a consortium of local investors as detailed in the ensuing shareholding list provided below. in terms of Funds Under Management (FUM) and strived to remain within the first quartile in terms of long term investment performance in line with our long term view of the investment markets. This record has been achieved on the back of a solid foundation of trust generated from reliability and transparency of our investment processes and strategies and the assurance of safety on client funds. Currently PIM offers investment services to private, corporate, pension funds and unit trusts clients supported by the overriding principle where clients takes the lead in setting objectives and PIM follows in meeting them For the past twenty-two (22) years, PIM has managed to remain within the top ten (out of sixteen)

Page 36 Reframing Issues NewsHawks Issue 119, 17 February 2023 Ownership Table 1: Platinum Groupe Shareholding Name of Shareholder Exodus Makumbe Foundation Regedzai Trust P. Mapika Family Trust Pran Trust Tinafadzo Trust Ballantyne Real Estate (Pvt) Ltd Drewstan Investments (Pvt) Ltd Directors Control Total % Shareholding 60% 7% 6% 6% 1% 0.50% 0.50% 19% 100% Platinum Investment Managers PIM is a 100% owned subsidiary of Platinum Groupe, alongside Platinum Financial Solutions and Platinum Securities. The complementary structure of the units has strengthened the group’s synergistic structure and product offering launching it on a much stronger growth footing.

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 37 Issue 119, 17 February 2023 Board of Directors Directorship and Key Management Platinum Investment Managers Mr S Magombedze (Non- Executive Board Chairman) Sam has extensive experience in the public, manufacturing and mining sectors having worked for several companies at senior management level in the mining, public auditing and accounting, agricultural, agro-processing and packaging industries. He holds a BA in Business Studies (Accounting and Finance) and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Zimbabwe. He serves as a director in various companies which include Cormasoft and Africom among others. Mr A M Chingwecha (Non- Executive Director) Currently Abisai is the Group Finance Director of Art Corporation Limited, a listed corporation in Zimbabwe with interests in stationary manufacturing , distribution and car battery manufacturing. He is a Fellow of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (FCCA), and a Registered Public Accountant in Zimbabwe. Mr Chingwecha is an Executive Director of Blue Track Investments (Pvt) Ltd, Stenhop Investments (Pvt) Ltd, and Autoflow Investments (Pvt) Ltd, and also sits as a Non Executive Director on the Boards of several private companies. Abisai also holds a Bachelor of Accounting Science Degree (BCompt) (UNISA), and is a Certified Chartered Accountant (ACCA). Cletus Nyachowe Non-Executive Director Cletus is the Director of Business Development for Global Power, an infrastructure development company. He previously held several senior management and engineering positions at Zesa. Cletus sits on the boards of ZB Reinsurance (Pvt) Ltd, ZB Bank Limited, Harare Institute of Technology and ZESA Endowment Fund. He is a fellow of Zimbabwe Institution of Engineers, a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, and a member

Page 38 Reframing Issues NewsHawks Issue 119, 17 February 2023 Board of Directors Directorship and Key Management Platinum Investment Managers of South African Institute of Electrical Engineers. Mr Nyachowe’s academic qualifications include a Masters of Business Administration Degree and a BSc Engineering (Honours) Degree in Power and Electronic Engineering, both from the University of Zimbabwe. Cassius Gambinga CA (Z) - Non-Executive Director Cassius is the Finance Director of the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ). In his career, Cassius served as an Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer for Premier Finance Group (Pvt) Ltd, Finance Director of Premier Banking Corporation (Pvt) Ltd, Divisional Finance Director for PG Industries (Pvt) Ltd, Chief Internal Auditor for Universal Merchant Bank of Zimbabwe and Finance Manager for Turnall. He also sits on the Board of CBZ Life Insurance and Greatlinks Investments. Cassius who is a Chartered Accountant CA (Z) holds a Bachelor of Accounting (Honours) Degree from the University of Zimbabwe and is also a Chartered Public Accountant. Prosper Mapika CFA - (Managing Director) started his career in 2004 as an Investment Analyst at Premier Asset Management before rising to the position of Fund Manager in the same organization two years later. He joined the pioneering team that led the acquisition of MBCA Capital from Nedbank in March 2010 and has served as the managing Director of the re-branded Platinum Investment Managers since June 2011. Prosper holds a B Comm. Banking (cum laude) and Msc. Finance & Investments from NUST. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst from the CFA Institute, USA. Prosper has 16 years’ experience in the fund and investment management industry having

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 39 Issue 119, 17 February 2023 Key Management Directorship and Key Management Platinum Investment Managers Romeo Musimwa (Fund Manager) Starting his career as Call Manager at the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange in 2007, Romeo has a valuable MBCA capital in April 2008 as a Research Analyst where he rose to become the Fund Manager in June 2012, a position he has retained until now. Romeo is a holder of a B.Comm. Finance, NUST and an MBA – Finance with University of Zimbabwe. Tinashe Chigunhah (Senior Risk and Compliance Manager) started his career at NDH Asset Managers where he served back office and dealing internship, he joined Premier Bank from 2005 to 2010 serving in various risk management capacities for the bank and the group as a whole. He holds a B Comm. (Hons) Finance, and an MSc. in Finance & Investments from NUST. Liberty Kusena (Finance Manager) administration. In his carrier, he served as Assistant Accountant – Premier Banking Corporation (2005 – 2007) and Finance and Admin Manager (responsible for Backoffice) – Premier Asset Managers (2007 – 2010). He has been in his current position since April 2010. Liberty holds a Bachelor of Accounting and a Master’s in Business Administration with the MSU and ACCA. Princess Mazumba, CFA. ( Senior Portfolio Manager). Princess joined Platinum Investment Managers in 2013 as the Client Services Officer responsible for the Bulawayo Branch. She later rose through the ranks to her current position of Senior Portfolio Manager where she works closely with the Fund Manager in investment management and client engagement. Princess holds a B Comm Honours Degree in Finance from NUST and she is a Chartered Financial Analyst from the CFA Institute of America. 14 years’ experience in the fund and investment management industry. He later joined the then Tinashe has more than 16 years’ experience in financial and investments risk management. Having Liberty has more than 15 years’ experience in accounting, financial management and Backoffice

Page 40 Reframing Issues NewsHawks Issue 119, 17 February 2023 Products and Services. Platinum Investment Managers While following a customer focused approach in investment solutions, the following are available products at Platinum Investment Managers; Discretionary Balanced Mandates Offering a mixture of equity, fixed income and real estate strategies. Most popular product for long term investors such as Pension Funds. Specialised Mandates Customer focused solutions in Alternative Assets such as property development, property acquisitions, real estate management, infrastructure, private equity and structured notes. PIM has developed a unique positioning in the delivery of real estate solutions to client portfolios across the value chain and with a strong footprint in all property sectors. All Equity Mandates Focusing on stock selection with the capacity to provide client specific, specialist mandates with a bias to growth (or value if required). Equities refer to financial instruments that signify an ownership position in a company and represents a claim on its proportionate share in the company’s assets and profits. Fixed Income Mandates Designed to outperform client benchmarks through superior security selection, yield curve positioning and interest rate forecasting. Fixed income securities are investments that provide a return in the form of fixed periodic payments and the eventual return of principal at maturity; unlike a variable income security, the payments of a fixed income security are known in advance. Cash Management Mandates Focuses on money market investments only. Investments are done on instruments such as Treasury Bills, Bankers Acceptances and Fixed Deposits with stable financial institutions.

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 41 Issue 119, 17 February 2023 Table 2: Assets Under Management

Page 42 Reframing Issues NewsHawks Issue 119, 17 February 2023 OUR INVESTMENT STRATEGY Platinum Investment Managers PIM Investment Policy, Philosophy and Processes The unequivocal objective of the Platinum Investment Managers’ investment team is to protect clients' assets through the application of a low volatility fund management philosophy that seeks to preserve the capital of its investors during downward market movements, and simultaneously strives to grow the real wealth of its investors during favourable market movements

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 43 Issue 119, 17 February 2023 Platinum Investment Managers At Platinum Investment Managers, we adhere to a single set of beliefs that is applied consistently – whether in overseeing our individual funds and investment programmes or in providing advisory and investment services to our clients. This philosophy is the key to the success of our investment strategies and to the success of our clients. It is a succinct, direct and long standing approach. There are five pillars that form the bedrock of our philosophy and these are; A long term outlook matters - An approach based on short term goals or tactics doesn’t represent an investment philosophy. The risk of short-term price declines is too significant in the bond and stock market to hazard money kept for short term goals. Investing in the bond or stock market is for money that will be needed in the long run. Trade only when necessary - Excessive turnover of assets within a portfolio can impede investment objectives. Balance and Diversification are musts - Being balanced across asset classes and diversified within asset classes are core elements of long-term investment success. Costs erode returns - Keeping investment costs to a minimum, whether they are management fees or transaction costs, provides a major head start towards success. Cost is a predictable factor that may be controllable unlike financial market returns and volatility. Portfolio Approach to Investment Management- Investments should be evaluated from a “portfolio perspective” i.e. when developing the Investment Policy Statement, setting the Strategic Asset Allocation and managing investments; investors, analysts and portfolio managers should analyse the risk return trade off of the portfolio as a whole not the risk return trade off of the individual investments in the portfolio. Our rallying call is value investment, which means that we invest in securities that we believe trade at substantial discount to what we consider to be their true business value. We are patient investors, not market timers. As such, where we identify growth, we believe that overtime; the price of a security will rise to reflect its underlying value. Our Investment Philosophy

Page 44 Reframing Issues NewsHawks Issue 119, 17 February 2023 Our Investment Processes Platinum Investment Managers At Platinum Investment Managers, our investment process begins with a process of careful and comprehensive evaluation of each client’s objectives followed by an application of that information to create a portfolio properly diversified within asset classes. It is our belief that the practice of allocating a portfolio has a far greater impact on overall performance than variables such as market timing, investment selection or industry weighting. It is our mandate therefore, to make effective asset allocation decisions and create portfolios on our client’s behalf that reflect these important factors. A fully diversified portfolio can be created using a combination of equities, bonds, property and money market instruments. On-going portfolio monitoring and control is the final step in the investment process. Risk Management and Governance. Effective risk management is at the backbone of the daily portfolio management activities and is viewed as critical to our success. Thus, a culture of risk assessment is embedded in our day to day activities. The company boasts of a competent Investments Management Committee (IMC). The IMC has the responsibility of providing overall guidance to the Fund Managers who are in charge of the day to day management of the funds under management. The IMC in turn reports to the Board Risk and Investments Committee which meets quarterly to approve long-term investment strategies, review and align existing strategies as well as adopting new products. Platinum Investment Managers also draw guidance from the group’s risk and audit departments.

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 45 Issue 119, 17 February 2023 Strengths of our Investment Process Platinum Investment Managers Emphasis on Core – Satellite investment strategy allows for a managed risk taking philosophy to balance between investment growth and capital preservation requirements of the fund. Combines quantitative and fundamental approaches in the process recognizing shortcomings of each approach and thus allowing for complementarity. Limited portfolio turnover to guard against the value eroding effect of transaction costs and by so doing, give emphasis to the more important role of asset allocation. The investment process and philosophy follows a long-term approach in line with the nature of the fund’s obligations. Diversification both within and across asset classes enhances the risk return potential of the fund

Page 46 Reframing Issues NewsHawks Issue 119, 17 February 2023 Platinum Investment Managers Why Platinum Investment Managers? Track Record and Safety: The Company’s long track record and stronger proprietary balance sheet bear all the hallmarks of safety. Completeness and Synergies: Through use of group skills in Advisory and Securities, Platinum Investments Managers is able to offer a complete range of Investment Banking and Fund Management services at reasonable cost to the client. Performance and Skills: Platinum Investments Managers has an established track record of investment performance (refer to table above), reflecting inherent and nurtured skills. These have been further strengthened through integration of the skills base with other units in the business. In addition to the above key competencies, Platinum Investments Managers has strong internal systems, tested investment processes and sound IT systems. Our resolve towards continuous customer satisfaction needs no emphasis. Custody of Client Funds: The Fund management approach at Platinum Investment Managers is anchored on the principle of separation of client funds from our own. This has been assured by a structure whereby all our key clients’ assets are held through a Custodial Arrangements with registered Custodians. Our role in such a structure will be limited to making investment decisions and providing investment and performance reports. The Custodial Accounts can be opened in the name of the client and separate account statements issued by the Custodian. The additional fees charged by the custodian for this facility pale into insignificance compared to the comfort and convenience that the arrangement brings to the structure. Performance Reviews and Reports Performance is measured using the Modified Dietz Method to account for period to period changes in portfolio value. Where market values are readily available, these will be used for

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 47 Issue 119, 17 February 2023 purposes of determining end of period values for performance measurement. In cases where specialised valuations methods are required, such as in Real Estate or Private Equity, PIM will provide a detailed description of the valuation methods used and specify whether the valuation is external or internal. In most instances, independent professional valuers shall be engaged at least once a year to value Alternative Assets. PIM seeks to adhere to the GIPS standards in Portfolio performance measurements. Use of benchmarks is fundamental as a means to provide the basis for performance evaluation and determination of performance rewards. These benchmarks will be agreed ahead of the investment period with the client and specified in the Investment Policy Statement. Depending on the nature of the product, the benchmarks may be customer specific or they may be publicly available points of reference. Monthly portfolio statements are prepared and sent to the client by the 7th day of the following month showing the portfolio holding and performance for the month and year to date. Quarterly, a detailed portfolio and investment report is prepared and sent to the client by the 14th day of the following month. The report will outline our view of the markets, economy and strategy going forward. A detailed performance review of the portfolio will also be carried out. For Quarterly updates, the Fund management team will meet with Client for a presentation of the portfolio report. Our key objective in investment management is the attainment of maximum returns for the benefit of our principals, who are our clients. To this end, our fee structure pays more attention to value addition than book value of funds under management. When developing fee structures for our big clients, we have recommended a performance bonus and a small flat management fee subject to negotiation. The performance benchmarks applied will be agreed beforehand with parties concerned. This approach has been generally received by our target clients given its mutually beneficial characteristic. Management Fee Structure Platinum Investment Managers

Page 48 Reframing Issues NewsHawks Issue 119, 17 February 2023 Our proposed management fee structure is as follows: 1) A base management fee calculated monthly on market value of the fund on the closing day of the month as follows: Fund Value ≤ US$250,000 – a base fee of 1.25%p.a. is proposed US$250,000.01≤ Fund Value ≤ US$499,999.99 – a base fee of 1.10%p.a. is proposed. US$500,000 ≤ Fund Value ≤ US$999,999.99 - a base fee of 1%p.a. is proposed. Fund Value ≥ US$1,000,000 – a base fee of 0.75%p.a. is proposed. 2) A performance bonus of 10% of the “relative value added” paid annually. Relative Value Added is a measure of excess return above a pre-specified Benchmark. 3) The performance bonus is conditional upon a “high watermark provision”. This provision states that a performance bonus can only be paid if absolute portfolio value is above the all- time historical high. Thus, even if there is benchmark outperformance in a particular year but the portfolio value is still below the “high watermark”, no performance fees shall be paid. It should be noted that the final fee structure is subject to adjustment and refinement in line with client input. At Platinum, our primary objective is to ensure that client needs and objectives are met at minimal cost. This overriding principle is what guides our unique customer focused approach to business dealings, where the customer takes the lead in setting objectives and we follow in meeting them. Key Pension Fund Clients Platinum Investment Managers 2. Public Service Pension Fund 3. Platinum Groupe Pension 4. Haggie Rand Pension Fund. 5. AAZ Pension Fund. 6. Datlabs Pension Fund 7. Steelforce Pension Fund. 8. Gold Ridge School Pension Fund 9. Total Zimbabwe Pension Fund 10. Allied Timbers Pension Fund 11. Petrotrade Pension Fund. 12. Columbus McKinnon Pension Fund 14. The Joseph Pension Fund. 15. Old Mutual Pension Fund 1. Unilever Pension Fund

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 49 Issue 119, 17 February 2023 Registered Office and Contact Details Legal Advisors Sawyer & Mkushi Legal Practitioners 11th Floor, Social Security Centre, Cnr J/Nyerere Way/Sam Nujoma St, Harare Gula-Ndebele & Partners Legal Practitioners, 2nd Floor, ZB Centre, 59 K. Nkrumah Ave Harare Transfer Secretaries Network Secretarial Services 4th Floor, Globe House Jason Moyo Avenue Harare Bankers Stanbic Bank Limited Pearl House Samora Machel Avenue Harare No. 23 Quorn Avenue Telephone: 08644122131-135, 242-308153, 308157, 308109, 307736 Website: www.platinumgroupe.com Mount Pleasant P O Box CY129, Facsimile: 336265 Causeway Harare

JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA A GOOD actor knows when to leave the stage. At the age of 78, and a glittering career spanning nearly five decades, Thomas Mapfumo, the Zimbabwean music icon, has graced the stage for a lifespan.  And he is now exiting.  The Chimurenga music maestro has hinted on retiring. He plans to relocate back home from the United States, where he has lived since 2003.  The man who goes by quite a few monikers --- Mukanya, Hurricane Hugo, Gandanga - belongs to a special class of Zimbabwean singers who have dominated the music scene in this country for many decades.  Mapfumo is a contemporary of no less an icon than the late Oliver Mtukudzi, and together they were the two biggest stars in the country for as long as many remember. He is famous for his protest music. He stood with the masses when black people were oppressed in white-ruled Rhodesia, and then in post-Independent Zimbabwe when the black rulers turned on their own with iron-first governance.  This outspokenness against the regime, particularly of the late President Robert Mugabe, sent Mapfumo into self-exile, fearing for his security under the authoritarian government known for its intolerance towards prominent critics.  So, the legendary Mapfumo settled in Oregon, United States, and never set foot in his homeland until Mugabe was removed from power in a coup in 2017. He came back home after Mugabe's demise, but soon fell out with the new government of Emmerson Mnangagwa, who has shown traits of his mentor Mugabe.  So Mukanya went back to his principled stance - opposing oppressive rulers. He has challenged Mnangagwa to step down and hand over power to younger and more vibrant leaders.  People like him and Mnangagwa, Mapfumo said, should be resting at home whilst the younger and energetic generation run the country.  And he is leading by example, going into retirement.  “Yes, it is true I am looking at retiring soon after my world tour which is scheduled to start on 24 June 2023,” Mapfumo said. “It has been a long journey but Zimbabwe is our home, this is where family graves are and I am hoping to come.” Pressed to comment further on his return home, Mapfumo said: “I have plenty of music, some of it unrecorded, which I want to share with young musicians. I have songs that best suits female artists and this is what I will be doing when I come home.” Like Mtukudzi, Mapfumo has, spent his entire life aspiring, and achieving, to put Zimbabwean music on the world map.  “I changed how Zimbabwean music was viewed worldwide and for that I was invited to perform at international stages because my sound was uniquely Zimbabwean," he said.  Originality is something Mapfumo doesn't compomise on, simply because this is what made him the megastar he is.  “The music has Zimbabwean identity and mbira is not just an instrument but a traditional music instrument that identifies with our roots and culture, " he said.  " I’d like to encourage the young musicians to take pride in Zimbabwean music if they want to make it. There are people here especially in United States who know music and they are able to tell whether the sound is original or not." Zimbabwe has given the world such music stars as Mapfumo himself, Mtukudzi, the Bundu Boys and the recently departed mbira maestro Stella Chiweshe.  “Of course, when I started out I used to do Rock n Roll which was popularised by the likes of Elvis Presley but I realised that I wasn’t going to breakthrough with foreign sound," Mapfumo said.  "Now that all these group are no more, I am the only one now representing Zimbabwean sound on international stage." Turning to Ambuya Stella Chiweshe's death on 20 January 2023, Mapfumo said the Mbira queen was an epitome of Zimbabwean traditional music. “In fact, I was friends with her husband Peter (Reich). They came to my house when I used to stay in the Avenues (in Harare). And my first tour of Germany I performed together with Stella Chiweshe. Her death was really a sad loss to the nation,” he said. “I encourage fans to look forward to upcoming podcast which will be done by my son Tapfumaneyi on Ambuya Chiweshe. She was a big name even here including Mbuya Dyoko who also played mbira. So, it is a big story coming which I will be talking about her music and my personal experience with her. " His local manager Sam Mataure told The NewsHawks that Mukanya was upbeat about his retirement. “It is rare for an artist to retire from stage and leave in style as what Mukanya wants to do," Mataure said. "He will use the tour to say thank you to promoters, artists, managers, band members both living and late as well as fans." Mataure, who is recovering well from a mild stroke said: “Basically, the tour will take him across the world and it ends in Zimbabwe where he is going to settle."  The world tour starts in June with a memorial gig in the United Kingdom where Mukanya will be honouring his longtime promoter, Linus William Kadzere. On his 40th birthday Kadzere’s wife --- Priscilla flew Mukanya from the US to perform for his friends and family for six hours. As Kadzere was a genius businessman, he saw an opportunity whilst Mukanya was in the UK having gone for three years without staging a concert. Kadzere then decided to promote Mukanya in London, Leicester and Bradford and this was the discovery of the then desolate Athena venue which is now home to many Zimbabwean promoters as well as friendship forward between Kadzere and Mukanya. Mataure said there is also going to be a tribute football match in the UK. “Mukanya is a football fanatic and remember he used to own Sporting Lions in Zimbabwe," he said.  "He also had football friends, the likes of David Mandigora and George Shaya. So, he would want to pay tribute to some of these football legends,” he said. The tour begins on 24 June 2023 in the UK dubbed Greatest Hits where fans pick songs they want on the playlist. Then on 6 August 2023 still in the UK, Mukanya will perform at a memorial concert for one of his longest serving promoters Linus Willlam Kadzere who died on 6 August 2021. On 26 August 2023 there is going to be Legends gig where Mukanya tributes band members both late and living, as well as football legends while in the UK. The final lap of the tour is scheduled for Zimbabwe at a date to be announced. Mataure said it was important for fans to celebrate Mukanya whilst he was still alive. STYLE TRAVEL BOOKS ARTS MOTORING Porsche just got angrier Being a Fashion Model Life&Style Page 50 Issue 119, 17 February 2023 It's been a long journey: Music icon Mukanya hints at retirement Thomas Mapfumo