NewsHawks 14 July 2023

Price US$1 Friday 14 July 2023 NEWS Pressure on Mnangagwa to appoint Chinamora tribunal Story on Page 4 NEWS No easy victory in presidential race: Analysts WHAT’S Story on Page 10 INSIDE SPORT Global breakaway cricket: Brighton Watambwa backs up his stance Story on Page 48 ALSO INSIDE Brics plans gold-backed currency Nigerian billionaire Zim mining deals stall

Page 2 News NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023 BERNARD MPOFU NIGERIAN oil and gas billionaire Benedict Peters’ massive investment plans to shell out over US$1 billion into a local platinum mining project and more into lithium, iron ore, tin, gold and rare earth minerals are stalling amid panic in government circles over the deals which are part of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s re-election strategy, The NewsHawks has established. This led to a crisis meeting on Friday last week between Peters and his Bravura Holdings Ltd country manager Clarkson Muzorewa and Mines ministry deputy minister Polite Kambamura and permanent secretary Pfungwa Kunaka. Kambamura had said earlier this month government would meet Peters, the energy magnate, and his executives over delays on the platinum project. Kambamura did not answer The NewsHawks question despite promising to do so. Muzorewa said he was not aware of the crisis meetings and referred queries to the Mines ministry. “I’m driving now; send all your questions on WhatsApp and will answer them,” Kambamura said. Muzorewa said: “I’m not aware of any crisis meeting held, but ask the ministry.” Mnangagwa was involved in launching Pdters’ US$1 billion platinum deal which is part of Mines minister Winston Chitando’s strategic roadmap to the achieve a US$12 billion mining industry by 2023 — the year of crucial general elections. Against a backdrop of poor performance on managing the economy and reforms, Mnangagwa is seeking re-election on 23 August amid dismal failure by Zanu PF to fulfil its 2018 election manifesto promises. The party has not yet produced its 2023 elections manifesto. Bravura was given a 3 000-hectare (7 400- acre) concession in Selous, Mhondoro-Ngezi area in Mashonaland West province about 75 kilometres southwest of Harare, in 2019. According to the Ministry of Mines, Bravura is holding onto over 20 000 hectares of platinum, lithium, iron ore, gold and rare earth metal concessions across the country, but failing to develop them productively. Bravura is not making any meaningful progress on its projects worth over US$1 billion. Sources said during the meeting on Friday last week government officials expressed serious concerns over lack of progress, saying Peters and his company had spent four years now without moving forward. In response, Peters and his team claimed they were not making progress on their projects because they needed more land to expand their concessions and production activities, although government is aware of the Nigerian tycoon’s financial problems threatening his Zimbabwean operations. Peters’ Aiteo Eastern E&P Company Limited, a leading indigenous oil exploration firm founded in 2013, is embroiled in a mounting debt crisis. According to recent disclosures by the Nigerian subsidiary of British multinational oil company Shell Plc and seven local banks, Peters’ energy company owes a staggering US$2.6 billion in oil-related loans. This figure represents an increase of US$910 million compared to US$1.7 billion owed when Shell Plc initially reported the debt. The creditors and Aiteo have been locked in a legal dispute since late 2019 when the lenders complained of the default. The U$2.6 billion debt can be traced back to Aiteo’s acquisition of a pipeline and operating interest in a highly valuable onshore oil block eight years ago. Nigerian banks such as Zenith Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc extended loans amounting to US$1.5 billion to support the acquisition, while Shell provided US$504 million in financing as the asset seller. Since the initial loan agreement, Aiteo, Shell, and the Nigerian lenders have been embroiled in a protracted legal battle. Aiteo has claimed it has already repaid US$1.2 billion and denies defaulting. However, creditors say its outstanding debt has reached approximately US$2.6 billion, including interest, fees, and penalties. This led to emergency meetings between Peters and Zimbabwean officials amid fears the deals will collapse like the Russians’ Great Dyke platinum investment. After coming into Zimbabwe four years ago amid pomp and ceremony promising to invest US$1 billion into the Selous platinum project through Bravura, Peters is struggling to live up to his promises due to financial problems engulfing him back home. As a result of the crisis, the Zimbabwean government summoned Peters and his country representative to the meeting last week. Government officials are comparing Peters’ platinum project with Tharisa Plc’s platinum investment through Karo Mining Holdings in the same Great Dyke region. Karo Mining Holdings’ US$4.2 billion platinum project on Zimbabwe’s mineral-rich Great Dyke belt is regarded as a world-class platinum group metals asset which will have a profound impact on Mhondoro-Ngezi communities and surrounding areas, as well as the economy. The project is located approximately 80 kilometres southwest of Harare. It covers 23 Nigerian billionaire Peters’ US$1bn mining deals stall President Emmerson Mnangagwa (right) with Nigerian oil and gas billionaire Benedict Peters

NewsHawks Page 3 Issue 140, 14 July 2023 News 903ha on the Great Dyke. It is located south of the Zimplats Selous Metallurgical Plant and north of the Zimplats Ngezi operations. Karo Mining Holdings plc, which owns the project, is owned 70% by South Africa’s Tharisa plc, while 30% equity is privately held by Leto Settlement Trust. Tharisa plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the largest bourse in Africa. The LSE is the second-largest bourse in the world after the New York Stock Exchange, the biggest globally by market capitalisation. The Karo platinum project is run by Karo Zimbabwe Holdings, which is owned 85% by Karo Mining Holdings plc and 15% by Generation Minerals, a government special purpose vehicle. Zimbabwe is the second-largest producer of PGMs after South Africa. Russia is third. The project has an initial life of 17 years with less than 10% of the 23 903ha mining area having been utilised to cover this production lifespan. Apart from platinum, Bravura also intends to explore mining lithium, gold, rare earth minerals and tin in Zimbabwe. It’s also seeking to mine cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo, copper in Zambia, gold in Ghana and iron ore in Guinea. Namibia and Botswana could also be options for the company. However, Bravura seems to be now badly failing to implement its projects largely due to financial problems. Peters’ initial enthusiasm for the platinum mine development project in the Maflox Claims area of Selous is thus stalling, shortly before Mnangagwa’s re-election bid. Bravura has failed to comply with regulatory requirements and fulfill its commitments to invest, leading to a shift in focus. Instead, the oil and gas tycoon and company has discreetly turned his attention to what he thinks is a low-hanging fruit, a lithium deposit in Kamativi, a small mining town in Matabeleland North province. A source said: “Peters and his company were also awarded the Kamativi lithium lump in Matabeleland North province. The asset was wanted by many investors and hotly contested. It contains lithium worth billions of dollars, and Peters and his company promised government that a dump processing plant would be built in February 2023, and production would start in July this year. They have missed the target and now say they will start production in February next year. We have visited the dump and all they have done is erect some incomplete fencing around the dump. Why should government not repossess the dump and allocate it to serious investors?” These problems and lack of progress have put Peters’ Zimbabwean projects in serious jeopardy. Deputy Mines minister Polite Kambamura

Page 4 News NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023 NATHAN GUMA PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s integrity continues facing a litmus test with him violating his constitutional obligation to establish a tribunal to investigate the suitability of Justice Webster Chinamora of the Harare High Court to continue holding office following allegations of misconduct. Early this year, Advocate Thabani Mpofu filed a complaint against Chinamora after another attorney, Advocate Taona Nyamakura, lodged a complaint against the judge for alleged conflict of interest in a legal dispute between Zimbabwe’s Delta Beverages (Pvt) Ltd, Schweppes Zimbabwe Ltd and Blakey Plastics (Pty) Ltd, a South African company. A panel set up by the JSC to review the complaint comprising judges Anne-Marie Gowora, Alfas Chitakunye and Custom Kachambwa concluded that Chinamora has a case to answer. Chinamora was already facing a series of accusations ranging from conflict of interest, judicial misconduct, bribery to different forms of corruption. In February, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) recommended that Mnangagwa set up tribunals to investigate the suitability of Chinamora and former Bulawayo High Court judge Martin Makonese’s suitability to hold office. The complaint against Makonese followed an order he issued in a commercial dispute in which he allegedly had a financial interest. He made the order without an application made before him, and without the knowledge of lawyers of the two other parties in the dispute. In April, Mnangagwa appointed a three-person tribunal chaired by retired Justice Professor Simbi Veke Mubako and consisting of Dr Gift Manyatera and Ms Sarah Moyo to inquire into the question of removal from office of Makonese but did not apñpoint a tribunal to investigate Chinamora. While Makonese resigned immediately after members of the tribunal were sworn, Chinhamora is yet to be tried for eligibility to hold office. The tribunal, in accordance with the constitution, must report its findings to the President and recommend whether or not the judge should be removed from office. Section 187 sub-section 3 makes it mandatory for the president to appoint a tribunal once the JSC makes a recommendation. However, following the JSC’s recommendations, there have been high-level moves involving senior Justice ministry officials to save Chinamora, who is seen as a pro-government judge. In terms of section 187 of the constitution, a judge can only be removed from office for inability to perform the functions of his or her office, due to mental or physical incapacity; gross incompetence or gross misconduct. A judge can only be removed from office in terms of the section. Sub-section 3, which Mnangagwa is violating, stipulates: “If the Judicial Service Commission advises the President that the question of removing any judge, including the Chief Justice, from office ought to be investigated, the President must appoint a tribunal to inquire into the matter.” Sub-section 4 reads: “A tribunal appointed under this section must consist of at least three members appointed by the President, of whom — (a) at least one must be a person who — (i) has served as a judge of the Supreme Court or High Court in Zimbabwe; or (ii) holds or has held office as a judge of a court with unlimited jurisdiction in civil or criminal matters in a country whose common law is Roman-Dutch or English, and English is an officially recognised language.” Chinamora is seen as pro-government, hence some officials feel he should be rescued from the tribunal at all costs. He has made what are seen as pro-government rulings, the latest being the one contradicting a landmark ruling by Justice Jacob Mafusire, who determined that Statutory Instrument (SI) 70 of 2015 and other legislation used by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe with support from the ministry of Finance was unconstitutional. Mafusire ordered the Central Africa Building Society (Cabs) to pay US$142 000 to local architects Penelope Douglas Stone and Richard Harold Stuart Beattie after their money was converted into local currency following the passing of SI 70 of 2015. 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 predatory legislation. However, hardly a fortnight after the ruling, Chinamora made a surprise ruling which contradicted Mafusire’s findings, leaving a local pensioner, Duncan Hugh Cocksedge, counting his losses after his US$179 000 bank balance domiciled in a Cabs account was wiped out after being wholly converted to local currency through the government’s controversial Exchange Control Directive RT120/2018. Duncan had approached the High Court seeking redress, but his application was thrown out by Chinamora. Chinamora’s ruling was a stark departure from that of Mafusire who had determined that some sections relied on by Cabs were in breach of the national constitution and contractual obligations between the applicant and the first respondent. Justice Chinamora averred that it was not for the courts to change “political questions”. The judge also said the regulation of banking activities to achieve economic stability and protect the banking public were the prerogative of the executive. Pressure on Mnangagwa to appoint Chinamora tribunal

NewsHawks News Page 5 Issue 140, 14 July 2023 BRENNA MATENDERE WORLD countries coalescing under the banner of the Brics alliance which brings together Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa are preparing to strike a blow against the United States dollar's hegemony by launching a trading currency which will be back by gold. The agenda is set to be deliberated when the countries meet in South Africa next month. The plan involves the rollout of a major new currency that could weaken the role of the dollar in global payments and ultimately displace the US dollar as the leading payment currency and also the reserve currency for several countries that include Zimbabwe. The new development in the pipeline was announced last week when the Russian embassy in Kenya declared that "The Brics countries are planning to introduce a new trading currency, which will be backed by gold.” Zimbabwe with a camatose economy will likely applaud the development as it has in the past openly castigated the dominance of the United States dollar in its domestic trade. In 2019, Zimbabwe banned the domestic use of foreign currencies and re-introduced the Zimdollar which had been dropped in 2009, after catastrophic hyperinflation forced the adoption of the US dollar under longtime ruler Robert Mugabe. President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s current administration has also in the past complained about the dominance of the United States dollar in the country and threatened its ban last month at the height of an unprecedented fall in value of the moribund local Zimdollar currency. A more specific framework for the much-touted gold-backed Brics currency could be announced during the Brics summit being held next month in South Africa. Economic analysts however say investors should not expect China or other major powers to declare an immediate abandonment of the United States dollar in international trade although they agree that there exists no single, universally preferred alternative. Leslie Maasdorp, vice-president of the Brics New Development Bank, said: “It’s going to take a very long time for currency movements to take shape so any discussion of alternate currencies is indeed a much more medium and longer-term aspiration.” Stefan Gleason who is president of Money Metals Exchange, the national precious metals company named 2015 "Dealer of the Year" in the United States by an independent global ratings group, has made his submissions on the impending Brics gold-backed currency. He said: "It could happen in just a few years. The process by which this will happen is unprecedented, and the world is unprepared for this geopolitical shockwave. "This monetary shock will be delivered by a group called the Brics. The acronym Brucs stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. "This play for global reserve currency status by the Brics will affect world trade, direct foreign investment and investor portfolios in dramatic and unforeseen ways. "The most important development in the Brics system concerns the expansion of Brics membership. This has led to the informal adoption of the name Brics+ for the expanded organisation." There are currently eight nations that have formally applied for membership of Brics and 17 others that have expressed interest in joining. The eight formal applicants are: Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Russia has had no choice but to pursue alternatives to the dollar in response to it being blacklisted from the SWIFT international payments regime due to its unprovoked war against Ukraine. Other nations have taken note of this retaliatory blacklisting — something the US had not even done during the Cold War — and have been increasingly repatriating their gold holdings to insure against future attacks or sanctions. China is looking to strike back at the US as well. The United States is nearly 100% dependent on China to supply certain rare earth materials which are needed in high-tech and energy applications. US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen went to Beijing to try to assuage the Chinese, insisting she wants the two powers to remain trading partners rather than adversaries. Implicit in her appeal to China is that any move on the part of the Chinese to ditch the US dollar and conduct trade in an alternative gold-backed currency would be viewed as an escalation of hostilities. Economists also warn that the mere fact that gold is being considered by Brics countries as a basis for international trade could incentivise central banks — and individual investors — to accumulate precious metals. If gold’s role as a global alternative currency is to expand, the economists say its price will rise also. Geopolitical shockwave looms as Brics plans gold-backed currency

Page 6 #ZimElection2023 NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023 Presidential poll battle intensifies THE court battle being waged by Zanu PF proxy Lovedale Mangwana to bar independent presidential election candidate Saviour Kasukuwere from the race is intensifying and getting increasingly desperate. Mangwana, linked to the Zanu PF Mangwana family, is clearly acting on behalf of his Zanu PF handlers to benefit President Emmerson Mnangagwa who is evidently scared of Kasukuwere, the X Factor in the election. After his High Court victory was automatically suspended due to a subsequent Supreme Court appeal, Mangwana has approached the High Court seeking leave to execute judgment pending appeal — meaning to get Kasukuwere blocked from running while the case continues. Meanwhile, Mangwana has also made an urgent Supreme Court application demanding that Kasukuwere's appeal must be set down, heard and determined urgently. — STAFF WRITER From left: President Emmerson Mnangagwa, CCC leader Nelson Chamisa and Saviour Kasukuwere

NewsHawks #ZimElection2023 Page 7 Issue 140, 14 July 2023

Page 8 #ZimElection2023 NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023 BRENNA MATENDERE ZIMBABWEAN human rights lawyer Siphosami Malunga says the new "Patriotic Act" — which basically is an amendment of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act — signed into law by President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday is invalid ab initio as it violates critical constitutional principles: The doctrines of vagueness and overbreadth. Malunga, who is Open Society Africa Programmes Director and who has worked around the world on human rights issues, says the principles of legality state that laws must be sufficiently clear and precise. The doctrines of vagueness and overbreadth are closely related; they are rooted in the principles of clarity and precision. The Criminal Law Codification and Reform Amendment Act, criminalises anyone caught “wilfully injuring the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe” and those who participate in meetings with the intention of promoting calls for economic sanctions against the country. Malunga says the new law, for example the wording "wilfully injuring the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe”, is vague and overbroad, hence invalid. The common principle behind vagueness and overbreadth is that laws must have a minimum degree of certainty for people to know clearly and precisely what is legal and not. According to the principles of legality, if a law is vague, or overbroad, respectively, it is not a valid law. A law must be clear enough to be understood and must also be precise enough that it only applies to activities connected to its purpose. The void for vagueness doctrine requires that laws must be so written that they explicitly and definitely state what conduct is punishable. Overbreadth, shorthand for the overbreadth doctrine, provides that laws regulating speech can sweep too broadly and prohibit fundamental rights. Regulation of freedom of speech or expression, for instance, is unconstitutionally overbroad if it infringes on key protected or entrenched rights. Said Malunga: "The Patriotic Act of Zimbabwe violates two key constitutional principles: First, the Void-for-Vagueness Principle which requires that terms of a penal statute must be sufficiently explicit to inform citizens what conduct on their part will render them liable to its penalties. "It also violates the Void-For-Overbreadth Principle. In other words it is overbroad. A penal statue is unconstitutional if its language is so broad that it unnecessarily interferes with the exercise of constitutional rights." Responding to Mnangagwa’s move, Khanyo Farisè, Amnesty International’s Deputy Research Director for Southern Africa, said: “The signing of the ‘Patriotic Bill’ into an Act by the President is a grave attack on the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association. The enactment of the Bill is stronger evidence that the Zimbabwean authorities are bent on further shrinking civic space and silencing dissent. “We call on President Mnangagwa to reverse his decision and immediately ensure the repeal of the law to demonstrate the commitment of his government to human rights. His government must fully and effectively respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights of everyone to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association. “The Act fails to meet the requirements of legality, proportionality, and necessity. The penalties provided by the Act include loss of citizenship, denial of the right to vote and the death penalty. Imposing these penalties on people simply for peacefully exercising their human rights is patently unconstitutional and incompatible with Zimbabwe’s international human rights obligations.” The Criminal Law Codification and Reform Amendment Act, 2022, contains overly broad provisions as it criminalises anyone caught “wilfully injuring the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe” and those who participate in meetings with the intention of promoting calls for economic sanctions against the country. The Act was first published as a Bill in the Government Gazette on 23 December 2022. The Bill was passed by the Lower House of the National Assembly on 31 May 2023 and sailed through Senate on 7 May 2023. It was signed into law by the President on 14 July 2023. ‘Patriotic Act’ invalid law: Malunga Human rights lawyer Siphosami Malunga Parliament of Zimbabwe

NewsHawks #ZimElection2023 Page 9 Issue 140, 14 July 2023 PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has finally signed into law the controversial "Patriotic Bill" which many commentators have described as one of the most draconian pieces of legislation in recent times. This was announced in the latest Government Gazette under general notice 1189 of 2023. The new law closes the little space for free expression which remained in Zimbabwe, effectively violating fundamental constitutional liberties. "The following laws, which were assented to by His Excellency the President, are published in terms of section 131(6)(a) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe — Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Amendment Act, 2023. (No.10 of 2023), labour Amendment Act, 2023 (No 11 of 2023)," read the notice by Misheck Sibanda Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet. The "Patriot Bill" sailed through the Senate in early June. It set out that Zimbabwe’s constitutional order that is based on parliamentary democracy affords many avenues for aggrieved citizens to redress wrongs internally, including against the state. “It is therefore improper for citizens and residents of Zimbabwe by recourse to foreign countries to seek to implement measures that undermine our sovereignty, dignity and independence as a nation,” reads the law. Therefore, the Act will create the crime of “willfully damaging the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe.” This is the “patriot” part of the Act. It will be an offence for a Zimbabwean to take an active part in a meeting involving or convened by an agent of a foreign government, if the citizen or resident knows or has reason to believe that the object of the meeting is to consider or plan armed intervention in Zimbabwe by the foreign government, or to subvert or overthrow the constitutional Zimbabwean government. One will be under fire if the meeting is found to have been aimed at implementing or extending sanctions or a trade boycott against Zimbabwe, an individual or to an extent that it will affect a substantial section of the people of Zimbabwe. Commenting on the development, prominent journalist and anti-corruption activist Hopewell Chin’ono described it as a dark day for Zimbabwe. “Currently Zimbabwe has two political prisoners jailed for speaking out against repression and corruption. “Opposition MP and lawyer Job Sikhala has been in jail for over one year without bail or conviction. “Political activist Jacob Ngarivhume was jailed for 4 years for speaking out against corruption and organizing an anti-corruption march. “The regime inspects Twitter handles of opposition politicians, critics and journalists for anything that offends it and gets them arrested at times using laws that don’t exist. So this law is meant to muzzle them! Today is a dark day for Zimbabwe,” he said. Opposition Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC) spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere concurred. “We condemn the signing into law of the unconstitutional Patriotic Bill. “The enactment confirms that Zimbabwe is a full blown dictatorship run by a regime worse than Robert Mugabe. In the new Zimbabwe, unjust laws will be repealed. We will deliver freedom,” she said. Commentators say the law is designed to silence civil society organisations, the opposition and journalists ahead of the 23 August elections. They also feel the law is designed to punish citizens in general while hiding behind the veil of patriotism. The penalty for meetings considered to be offensive will differ according to the object of the gathering. If the object of the meeting is to consider or plan armed intervention, the penalty for participating in it is the same as for treason. The prescribed penalty includes a death sentence or imprisonment for life. If one attends a meeting which will be considered to have been driven by an intention to subvert or overthrow the government, one will face up to 20 years. If the meeting is about sanctions or a trade boycott, the penalty for participating in it is a fine of up to ZW$200 000 or imprisonment for up to 10 years or both. According to the law, if the crime is committed in aggravating circumstances and if the prosecutor so requests, the court may impose any of the following penalties including deprivation of citizenship, if the convicted person is a citizen by registration or a dual citizen. The penalty will also include cancellation of residence rights, if the convicted person is a permanent resident of Zimbabwe, prohibition from being registered as a voter or from voting, for a period between five and 15 years, or prohibition from holding public office for a period between five and 15 years. The majority of of MPs from Zanu PF voted yes for the Bill while only 17 opposition lawmakers voted no. Independent lawmaker Temba Mliswa was kicked out of thw National Assembly for criticising the Bill. “Let history be known that I was not part of this commotion and circus, ever. So, I wish you all the best in signing this Bill. “I am not part of this Bill, and will never be part of this mess that has happened today, it is a waste of taxpayers’ money. No wonder why some of you did not come back, you are useless. No wonder why you were voted out, you did nothing to this Parliament,” said Mliswa. Meanwhile, the Bill, among other outcomes, amends section 65 of the principal Act to set 15 years as the minimum mandatory sentence for rape. This follows a realisation of widespread concerns over the rising incidence of the heinous crime of sexual violence and rape, and it has been seen fit that more deterrent measures should be put in place to stamp out the offences. — STAFF WRITER. Uproar erupts over gagging law Zengeza West MP Job Sikhala

Page 10 #ZimElection2023 NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023 BRENNA MATENDERE POLITICAL analysts have predicted a tight presidential election race that could spill into a run-off despite an Afrobarometer survey which projected Emmerson Mnangagwa winning 35% of the vote against his main rival and CCC leader Nelson Chamisa who would garner only 27%. The survey's findings meant that the CCC leader’s support base had shrunk by 6% since June 2022. The same survey also showed that the majority of respondents (65%) saying the country is going in the wrong direction while an even larger majority (69%) said the economy is bad. On the other hand, 62% of people interviewed also said living conditions are bad. Essentially, this constitutes an equal proportion from both the urban and rural areas. An overwhelming majority (85%) say the government has performed badly in addressing key issues such as unemployment, corruption, the economy and its management. Afrobarometer said 27% of the 2 400 people surveyed refused to reveal their voting intentions in the presidential race, and 26% of the respondents would not indicate how they would vote in a parliamentary election. The survey, conducted by the Mass Public Opinion Institute in Zimbabwe, has a +/-2 percent margin of error at 95% confidence level. The survey results saw Zanu PF apparatchiks going to town in celebrations predicting that the figures meant Mnangagwa would defeat Chamisa outrightly in the first round of the polls. Zimbabwe's constitution stipulates that a presidential candidate can only be declared a winner if they poll 50% plus one vote. However, in separate interviews, political analysts said due to the high number of undecided interviewees and those who refused to say which presidential candidate they would vote for, it was unlikely that Mnangagwa would clinch outright victory. Stephen Chan, professor of polotucs at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies, said either way, the presidential election result would be close. "There are genuine misgivings about the calibre and policies of both candidates. One is old and his policies don't seem to work. The other has yet to unveil convincing detailed policies that would both correct the current economic mess and lay the foundations for taking the country forward. "The latest survey suggests, if those figures are accurate, a run-off rather than an outright victory for Mnangagwa. But a lot of the survey methodology is less sound than it first appears. Right now there is still everything to play for, but the surveys with differing results do add to a sense of uncertainty. I myself have always said the result, either way, would be very close," he said. Political analyst Vivid Gwede concurred. "The survey results show in many respects that the Zanu PF government is unpopular and its performance is largely seen in the negative by the citizens ahead of crucial elections. Of course the drop in the percentage of respondents who openly support the opposition means CCC needs to do more to convince voters. "But caution needs to be exercised in taking the results at face value. A big percentage of the respondents did not reveal their preferences. This is important to understand, given the survey was undertaken close to elections, and during this time many opposition supporters do not want to reveal their preferences for fear of victimisation. "It is even made more complicated by the fact that the CCC has recently been actively encouraging its supporters to not reveal their colours through the party's so-called 'mango strategy'. Thus those who did not reveal their preferences could be either apathetic citizens or cautious opposition supporters," he said. Gwede reiterated that the survey does not point to a Zanu PF victory, but to a highly competitive election. "The winning margin is 50% plus one vote, which remains within the reach of both parties. The survey is only showing a headstart, but which could be upset by those who did not reveal their preferences," he said. Political analyst Rashweat Mukundu ruled out a clean sweep for Mnangagwa in the presidential race. He noted that fear could have influenced the opinions of opposition party supporters during the survey, resulting in them saying things they did not believe in. "The fear factor is a key concern here as you noticed 59% of Zimbabweans are concerned about the effect of politically motivated violence on political freedoms, more so the choices they have to make on the ballot when voting. "What we are also seeing is that the political space is shifting sense. Last year, Nelson Chamisa was ahead, now he is a few points behind Emmerson Mnangagwa. But, of interest is the 26% reticent group that refused to indicate their political interests. And to me, that is the key group that political actors must be fighting for. But, what is also critical in Zimbabwe is that there are two political forces that must find each other in order for Zimbabwe to move forward," he said. Mukundu also stressed that whatever the result of the 23 August election is going to be, the country needs to find an amicable political settlement to end the polarity that will essentially drag the country down for the next five years. "And, for me, I think there is need to deal with high levels of fear that are pervading our society, and also that political parties campaign on the basis of the interests that are expressed by citizens: unemployment, access to water and issues that inhibit the citizens' capacity to enjoy life," he said. No easy victory in presidential race: Analysts CCC leader Nelson Chamisa President Emmerson Mnangagwa

NewsHawks #ZimElection2023 Page 11 Issue 140, 14 July 2023 NATHAN GUMA FREE-SPOKEN militant South African opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema says if Zimbabweans want main opposition CC leader Nelson Chamisa to become the new president, they must be allowed to vote for him without hindrances. This comes after South Africa’s governing African National Congress Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula recently claimed President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration has been implementing some reforms but the West is still not satisfied as it wants Chamisa to become Zimbabwe’s next president. Addressing the ANC 9th Western Cape provincial conference on 24 June, Mbalula said: “Mnangagwa brought some reforms in Zimbabwe, but they (the West) did not want those reforms because they want a man called Chamisa. They want him there to be the leader; the new leader of a new Zimbabwe. And then we say to the Americans and say to the British, give the Zimbabweans what they deserve, because you agreed in Lancaster that you will give them £40 billion for land reform and redistribution programme,” he said. However, dismissed Mbalula’s assertions as unsubstantiated on a range of issues. Malema says independent presidential election candidate Saviour Kasukuwere must be allowed to contest the 23 August election if Zimbabwe is a genuine democracy. By banning Kasukuwere, Malema says Mnangagwa is showing signs of panic and running scared of the former Zanu PF political commissar, minister and MP. "Why are you scared of Kasukuwere?; Kasukuwere must be allowed to contest," Malema says. Malema also lashed out Mbalula for suggesting that Chamisa is an American puppet. He says Mbalula has no right to lecture anyone on puppetry politics when the ANC and CCC policies are basically the same. If Mbalula characterises Chamisa as an American puppet, he must produce some evidence to back his claims, he adds. "Who is he to tell us that Chamisa is an American puppet?," Malema says. He says the ANC was from the inception a British project to an extent that it even inserted in its constitution that "God protect the Queen". Malema further notes the upcoming elections are critical for Zimbabwe and South Africa in the context of regional stability and economic prosperity. He adds South Africa needs a stable Zimbabwe to stem the tide of immigrants and stop xenophobia against Zimbabweans. "We need a stable Zimbabwe, especially ourselves as South Africa," he notes. South Africa has borne the brunt of Zimbabwe's dramatic collapse due to a tragic failure of leadership, governance and policy bungling, and corruption. This come as former South African president Jacob Zuma recently said Zimbabwe should take lessons and learn from its past mistakes to avoid disputed more elections. Zimbabwe has for decades now been a vortex of crisis at the heart of the region. Its economic collapse has spawned serious problems for its neighbouring, including waves of immigrants. Zuma, whose government brokered Zimbabwe's unity government which subsisted between 2009 and 2013, was in Zimbabwe for the inaugural edition of the African Voluntary Carbon Emissions Forum being held in Victoria Falls. The forum was also attended by Mnangagwa. "Looking forward to the elections, particularly if you take where we come from, from Zimbabwe and what has been happening in Zimbabwe and we know that as a result of probably the disagreements, some Zimbabweans had to leave the country,” he said. "I am hoping that when you come to elections, you would have looked at what happened in the last election and what were the short-comings; what were the mistakes and what were the other things and how to correct them so that in the next elections, you produce better results that will make all citizens feel at home, feel that we are part of the process and I am hoping Zimbabweans will do so." Zimbabwe's elections have in the past two decades been disputed due to irregularities, intimidation and violence. Malema recently urged Zimbabweans based in South Africa to return home to vote to decide their destiny. South Africa’s opposition Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie, who has been spewing xenophobic vitriol against foreigners, has been railing against Zimbabwe, saying they must leave and go back home to fix their own country. Opposition ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has been doing the same. Malema speaks on Zim elections ANC secretary-General Fikile Mbalula EFF leader Julius Malema

Page 12 #ZimElection2023 News NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023 BRENNA MATENDERE ZANU PF launched its campaign for the 23 August general elections in Chipinge last month without a manifesto for the first time in the country's history, raising concern that the ruling party does not have saleable development ideas after its dismal failure to meet those it promised the electorate in the last 2018 polls. The opposition CCC is launching its campaign in Gweru on Sunday, but it is unclear whether the party has a manifesto. If the CCC fails to unveil its manifesto, the election will therefore not be a clash of ideas as is the norm in progressive countries. Zanu PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa did not respond to questions from The NewsHawks on the party's manifesto although he read our WhatsApp messages. The ruling party hosted its campaign launch for this year's elections at Mutema Secondary School in Musikavanhu constituency. The launch was attended by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, Zanu PF second secretary Kembo Mohadi as well as party chairperson Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, among other officials. Zanu PF hired over 500 buses and lorries to transport its supporters from across the country to the venue. However, at no point did the party unveil a manifesto, raising questions over the party’s plan for the next five years. The Mnangagwa-led government has been struggling to live up to most of the promises it made during the 2018 election season, with economic instability and poverty taking root. Eradicating poverty In its 2018 manifesto, Zanu PF promised to eradicate poverty. “In line with the Sustainable Development Goals, the Zanu PF government will implement measures to eradicate poverty and inequalities. Recovering the economy in order to create opportunities and access to basic needs by all citizens. Creating social safety nets, increasing budgetary needs for social welfare. Promoting food and nutrition programmes at schools,” reads the party’s 2018 manifesto. Despite the promises, the country has been hamstrung by poverty, with skyrocketing inflation blighting livelihoods of already-burdened citizens. According to the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe's latest available figures, a family of six now requires ZW$1 million a month to survive, up from ZW$611 275 in April, reflecting the depth of the Zimbabwe dollar’s crash and resultant price spikes. Civil servants have been earning below ZW$100 000, excluding the Covid-19 allowance, while over nine million people have been plunged into poverty. This year, Zimbabwe has been named amongst the world’s poorest nations by Global Finance Magazine. Rated the most industrialised nation in sub-Saharan Africa outside South Africa in 1980, it is now among the top 20 poorest countries in the world — ranking 17th. Out of those 20 countries, 17 are from Africa, while three are from the Middle East and two are from the Oceania region in central and south Pacific Ocean respectively. South Sudan is the poorest country is Africa; Nepal in Asia; Papua New Guinea in Oceania; Haiti in North America; Venezuela in South America and Ukraine in Europe. Housing In 2018, the government promised to deliver 1.5 million houses, which it said would be delivered during its five-year tenure. This means the government would produce at least 300 000 houses per year or 25 000 a month or 6 250 houses a week. However, the government has failed to achieve this, with Local Government deputy minister Daniel Garwe revising the statistics downwards in 2020. In The Herald newspaper of 29 January 2020, Housing and Social Amenities minister Daniel Garwe was quoted as saying: “The target that we were given by government is 100 000 per year, but because of other challenges, if we achieve between 20 000 to 30 000 per year we would have done well.” Health service delivery The country’s health facilities have largely ground to a halt because of the worsening socio-economic crisis, which has seen people flocking to neighbouring countries for medical treatment, raising an outcry. Last year, the head of health in South Africa’s Limpopo province, Dr Phophi Ramathuba, took a swipe at President Mnangagwa over his leadership and governance failures, particularly in the health sector, which she said were burdening South Africa’s public hospitals. She complained that the failure by the Southern African Development Community to tackle the migration crisis in the region is putting pressure on her country’s health system, whose resources are insufficient to cater for undocumented foreigners. Most of Zimbabwe’s problems have mainly been caused by corruption and incompetence. The chairperson of Zimbabwe’s parliamentary portfolio committee on Health, Dr Ruth Labode, recently revealed how radiotherapy cancer treatment machines at Bulawayo’s Mpilo Central Hospital — purchased by the taxpayer for US$2 million — have not functioned for four years because central government has not bought spares worth US$80 000. Job creation In the run up to the 2018 general election, Zanu PF promised more than two million jobs, free primary and secondary education, among others, which it has failed to deliver. Zanu PF launched its 2018 election campaign manifesto under the theme Unite, Fight Corruption, Develop, Re-Engage, Create Jobs. However, working conditions have hit rock bottom, which has seen the skilled workforce seeking greener pastures outside the country. For instance, the nurse aide certificate has become the new gold for Zimbabweans, whose most preferential destination is now the United Kingdom. As of May 2022, the United Kingdom said it needed to fill 110 192 posts left vacant after the death of frontline health workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. The shortages included 39 652 nurses and 8 158 medical doctors, according to quarterly data for vacancies published last year by the National Health Services. Nursing assistants in the UK earn an average of £20 000 per annum (US$26 000), which translates to about US$2 100 per month. Electricity The government has failed to provide electricity, particularly in rural areas, as per its 2018 election promise. Zimbabwe still reels under massive power cuts that have been ongoing despite synchronisation of Hwange Unit 7 Power Station that has been touted to ramp up power supply. Some residential areas have been going for over 18 hours without electricity since the fourth quarter of 2022. Zimbabwe’s power crisis has been precipitated mainly by a combination of climate crisis, poor planning and economic mismanagement. For instance, in March, controversial businessperson Wicknell Chivayo was absolved of wrongdoing following accusations of misappropriating US$5.6 million for the 100-megawatt Gwanda solar project, after the Harare magistrates’ court agreed that there had been an unreasonable delay in the prosecution. Zanu PF launches 2023 poll campaign without manifesto

NewsHawks #ZimElection2023 News Page 13 Issue 140, 14 July 2023 NATHAN GUMA THE main opposition Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC) risks being blindsided in the 2023 general election campaign, should the High Court disqualify 15 of the party’s parliamentary candidates who filed their nomination papers after the 4pm deadline on 21 June. On 30 June, some voters from Bulawayo filed 12 urgent court applications challenging the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s (Zec) decision to accept nomination papers from the CCC candidates. This is likely to affect all 12 constituencies in Bulawayo, three of which already have double candidates. Candidates who filed after 4pm are Surrender Kapoikulu (Bulawayo Central), Minenhle Ntandoyenkosi Gumede (Bulawayo North), Nicola Watson (Bulawayo South), Raphael Sibanda (Cowdray Park), Collins Discent Bajila (Emakhandeni/Luveve) and Tshuma Dingilizwe (Entumbane/Njube). The list also includes Prince Dube (Entumbane/ Njube), Dereck Gono (Lobengula/Magwegwe), Desmond Makaza (Mpopoma/Mzilikazi), Obert Manduna (Nketa), Desire Moyo (Nkulumane), Soneni Moyo (Pelandaba/Tshabalala), Gift Siziba (Pelandaba/Tshabalala), Sichelesile Mahlangu (Pumula) and Albert Mhlanga (Pumula). Bulawayo has been an opposition stronghold since the 2000 parliamentary elections, held a year after the founding of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). 2000 elections The MDC, led by the late Morgan Tsvangirai, for the first time posed a serious threat to Zanu PF, winning 57 seats against Zanu PF’s 62, while the Ndabaningi Sithole-led Zanu Ndonga won a single seat, in the 2000 elections. The party won seats in all Bulawayo constituencies, in a tight election that saw several Zanu PF bigwigs falling by the wayside. The damage was not limited to Bulawayo, as heavyweights fell elsewhere, including Zanu PF presidential candidate Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was beaten by Blessing Chebundo. In Bulawayo’s Makokoba constituency, current Small to Medium Enterprises minister Sithembiso Nyoni lost to Thokozani Khupe after garnering 2 196 votes against her 12 901. In Bulawayo North East constituency, the late Joshua Malinga (2 864 votes), suffered a heavy loss to Welshman Ncube who garnered 21 100 votes. Growing popularity of the opposition also saw respected leaders of the ruling Zanu PF falling by the wayside. In the 2000 election, then politburo member Dumiso Dabengwa (3 644 votes), lost by a huge margin to the late MDC co-founding leader Gibson Sibanda who garnered 20 380 votes in Nkulumane. After the election, many people openly told Dabengwa that they would have voted for him were he not representing Zanu PF. More respected Zanu PF leaders lost out, with the late Sikhanyiso Ndlovu losing in Mpopoma and Norman Zikhali losing in Pumula-Luveve constituency. 2005 elections In 2005, the MDC’s popularity continued to grow, with the party winning all seats in Harare and Bulawayo. Zanu PF candidates failed to garner 4 000 votes in all Bulawayo constituencies. In Bulawayo East, the late Malinga lost again to Welshman Ncube, while Sithembiso Nyoni with 3 777 votes lost Bulawayo South to David Coltart who had 12 120 votes. The late Absalom Sikhosana lost in Nkulumane to Gibson Sibanda, while the late Sikhanyiso Ndlovu lost in Pelandaba/Mpopoma to MDC’S Milton Gwetu. The opposition won despite heavy militarisation of the polls. Ex-military official Douglas Nyikayaramba had retired from the army to become chief elections officer of what was then called the Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC). He oversaw the chaotic 2002 and 2005 polls, which were underlined by serious violence, particularly in the countryside, where the MDC was msking inroads. 2013 and 2018 elections In 2013, the Tsvangirai-led MDC-T won all 13 constituencies in Bulawayo, shrugging off competition from Zanu PF and other opposition outfits. However, in 2018, the opposition MDC-Alliance, led by Nelson Chamisa, won 11 out 12 constituencies in Bulawayo. Zanu PF’s Rajeshkumar Modi became the first Zanu PF candidate to win a major seat in Bulawayo in over 18 years, after the MDC-Alliance had fielded two candidates in Bulawayo South constituency. Modi’s win was marred by controversy, with MDC-Alliance candidate Muvirimi Mangwendeza alleging foul play. He said on 3 July Zec allegedly published a malicious statement declaring that he had withdrawn from the race without his knowledge and verification. His name was also missing from the ballot paper upon inspection. This saw several ballot books being removed from the constituency due to the error. Zec also erroneously published an advertisement claiming that Mangwendeza had withdrawn from the election, which he never did. 2023 election The party’s dominance in Bulawayo rests on the High Court decision. CCC’s fortunes in Byo depend on court ruling

Page 14 #ZimElection2023 News NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023 BRENNA MATENDERE LAWYERS representing the opposition Labour, Economists, and African Democrats (Lead) have applied for setdown at the High Court in a matter in which the political party is seeking an order declaring unconstitutional the government’s action which resulted in the conduct of provincial council elections being modified by a statutory instrument issued by Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi last month. The government issued Statutory Instrument (SI) 114 of 2023 on the Statute Law Compilation and Revision (Correction of Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No. 2. Act 2021) just before the Nomination Court convened on 21 June 2023, to correct and amend section 268 of the Zimbabwean constitution. Harare lawyer Paidamoyo Saurombe of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), who is representing Lead, confirmed to The NewsHawks that last Friday the matter was struck off the urgent chamber applications roll at the High Court, but was now moving forward. “So, we went back on Friday and the matter was removed from the roll of urgent matters. The judge found that our client did not have any candidates for Parliament so the matter could be heard on the normal roll. We are setting the matter down. We have already applied for setdown,” he said. Asked whether the case could become a turning point in the countdown to the 23 August elections, Saurombe reiterated that their case is solid enough to get a favourable judgement. “We do have a constitutional argument that we believe is strong and is valid,” he said. The amended section 268 of the constitution, which has resulted in the court case, stipulated that each province or metropolitan province must have a council, and that 10 women must be elected to those positions under a proportional representation system, thus excluding men. However, through SI 114 which was effected this month, both men and female candidates can be nominated on the political party lists for the 10 positions. Section 268 of the constitution has been in effect for two years. Lawyers are arguing that the correction made by the government is unconstitutional because a law affecting an election cannot be made once an election proclamation date has been announced. In this case, the election date was announced on 31 May 2023, but the amendment was on 20 June. Other opposition parties have already pointed out that the Zanu PF government enacted SI 114 of 2023 in order to benefit its candidates as the ruling party had ignored the constitutional amendment and utilised the zebra system to nominate male and female candidates for the 10 provincial or metropolitan council seats. Following the publication of SI 114, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission published a Press release on 21 June 2023 alerting political parties that they can proceed with nominating both female and male candidates for provincial or metropolitan council seats, which they went on to do. Saurombe said Ziyambi breached the constitution by using the SI to amend the constitution. “The court ruled that the speaker of Parliament be joined to the proceedings. The minister has no power to make the amendments that he did using an SI. He has to go back to Parliament. Even if the minister could make those amendments, they cannot be implemented in this upcoming election because the date has already been proclaimed,” he said. “The constitutional provision being amended makes it very clear that the provision should be effected through an Act of Parliament, hence amended or not the provision cannot be effected for this upcoming election as it is not in any Act of Parliament as provided for in the constitution,” he said. Before the court case, lawyers, including the attorney for the opposition Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC), David Coltart, had taken to social media to blast the move. Coltart said SI 144 demonstrated “gross ineptitude” by the Zanu PF regime and was also “thoroughly illegal.” “One cannot just amend a constitutional provision which has been in place for almost two years, on the day before nomination day, or at any time. It’s utterly bizarre,” he said on Twitter. Coltart noted that any nominations of male candidates which follow “this illegal SI” are equally "illegal and of no force.” “The new constitutional provisions, sections 268 and 269, bad as they are, state all the candidates must be women. A mere SI can’t change that,” he said, lamenting the constitutional violation. “No doubt Zec will again ignore this brazen breach of the constitution. But how incompetent is it for someone to wake up on the eve of an election to ‘correct’ an ‘error’ in the constitution which was published almost two years ago? The bumbling is breathtaking.” Another lawyer, Tendai Biti, said a constitution cannot be amended by a statutory instrument and even assuming an error was made recording the amendments made in the National Assembly. He argued that the Senate debated and adopted that erroneous position, which the President signed into law. “Under such circumstances, only a constitutional amendment can undo the original position. Besides, a law affecting an election cannot be made once an election proclamation has been made. This is therefore a scandalous mongrel’s breakfast, but one which not many mongrels will touch,” Biti said. Challenge on elections rages on Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi

NewsHawks #ZimElection2023 News Page 15 Issue 140, 14 July 2023 NATHAN GUMA INDEPENDENT presidential candidate Saviour Kusukuwere’s team says Zanu PF leaders are growing scared and resorting to lawfare as shown by the ruling party’s attempts to bar him from contesting. On Wednesday, Kasukuwere, widely regarded as a threat to the ruling party, found himself temporarily out of the presidential race after High Court judge David Mangota nullified his nomination to contest in the 23 August elections by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. Justice Mangota agreed that Kasukuwere had ceased to be a registered voter as he has been out of his constituency for over 18 consecutive months. The judgment came after an urgent court application by a Zanu PF activist, Lovedale Mangwana, who challenged Kasukuwere's nomination and sought that he be disqualified because he has been living outside Zimbabwe for more than 18 months. However, the ruling has been suspended after Kasukuwere’s legal team, led by Harrison Nkomo, appealed to the Supreme Court on Thursday. Kasukuwere’s chief election agent, Jacqueline Sande, who is a lawyer, told The NewsHawks that Zanu PF bigwigs are worried by his candidature and political traction. “There have never been concerted efforts to remove a candidate from the ballot, and I am saying that it is politically motivated, and it is wrong to try and use the law to bar a candidate from participating and thus barring them from choosing a leader of their choice,” she said on the sidelines of a Press conference in Harare. “We feel that the High Court ruling was improperly arrived at and we believe that the supreme court can arrive at a different decision. We have seen the attacks that have been aimed at president Kasukuwere the minute that he announced that he wanted to stand. “We have seen that there have been efforts to bar him using legal means. This is very unfortunate because it is like trying to use the law to disenfranchise president Kasukuwere. Not just him, but Zimbabweans in general. This has not been done before.” Last week, Sande dismissed police claims that there are two warrants of arrest for the aspiring president. Kasukuwere maintains his innocence in the face of accusations, saying he has been cleared of any wrongdoing twice by Zimbabwean courts. Former Zanu PF youth league commissar who joined Kasukuwere’s team, Godfrey Tsenengamu, said the just-ignited legal warfare is politically motivated. “From our point of view, this whole thing is politically motivated, because you would find out that there are a number of candidates who do not even reside in their constituencies. He votes in Sherwood, but he stays at Number 1 Chamberlain (Borrowdale),” Tsenengamu told The NewsHawks. “And, he is the one who is seeking to disqualify others on the grounds that they are not resident in the constituencies that they are registered. Even if you look at the candidates, those who vote in Budiriro and other places. They do not stay there, they just go there to vote, but they have not been disqualified. “So, this is because our political opponents know that our candidate poses a serious threat to their chances of winning on 23 August. If you look at the people that have approached the courts, it will tell you that those people do not have the capacity to push legal matters and to also even pay those teams of advocates that are fighting for their case. “So, you can see that there is a hidden hand and they are just pawns in this whole game. Our case is very strong. If the courts are not going to be manipulated, we stand a very good chance of winning the case because there is not even a case in the first place.” As previously reported by The NewsHawks, Zanu PF leaders have been itching to ban Kasukuwere’s presidential bid. Defiant Kasukuwere vows to fight on Presidential candidate Saviour Kusukuwere

Page 16 #ZimElection2023 News NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023 NATHAN GUMA THE main opposition Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC) is engaging the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) through its lawyers after the election management body released an unauditable copy of the voters’ roll, in violation of the Electoral Act, party official Ellen Shiriyedenga told The NewsHawks this week. Should Zec fail to avail an auditable voters’ roll after the engagement, the opposition party will contemplate legal action. Zec released copies of the voters’ roll to nominated candidates on Monday, after a long delay, which saw legislator Allan Markham taking the commission to court, demanding that it release an auditable electronic roll. The High Court dismissed Markham’s case in March, prompting him to approach the Supreme Court, which however dismissed his appeal seeking to overturn the ruling. Zec’s refusal to release the voters' roll sparked an outcry from the opposition amid suspicion that the electoral body was manipulating the vote register in favour of Zanu PF. Section 21 (7) of the Electoral Act mandates Zec to release an analysable copy of the voters’ roll to nominated candidates. It reads: “Where a voters’ roll is provided in electronic form in terms of subsection (3), (4) or (6), its format shall be such as allows its contents to be searched and analysed.” Section 21 (6) also mandates Zec to release the voters’ roll in reasonable time after closure of the nomination process. “Within a reasonable period of time after nomination day in an election, the Commission (Zec) shall provide: '(a) free of charge, to every nominated candidate, one copy in electronic form of the voters’ roll to be used in the election for which the candidate has been nominated; and (b) at the request of any nominated candidate, and on payment of the prescribed fee, one copy in printed form of the voters' roll to be used in the election for which the candidate has been nominated'.” Shiriyedenga said the opposition is racing against time to audit the voters’ roll. “We got the voters' roll on Monday and then today (Wednesday), we received constituency voters' rolls for our MP candidates. What we observed is that the voters' roll is formatted in a way that it cannot be audited. It is not analyzable nor searchable as is required by law,” Shiriyedenga told The NewsHawks. “It is in a PDF format and is encrypted to an extent that you cannot print out copies or convert it into any other format. Clearly, it is a toll order. “We are currently in the process of engaging our lawyers so that we can engage Zec, because this is a breach of the law.” Shiriyedenga said the unauditable voters’ roll is likely to dent the credibility of the general election. “The roll should be analyzable and searchable. We are also looking at a situation that we do not have any faith in the voters' roll based on our findings upon inspecting the roll a few weeks ago,” she said. “And clearly, the auditing would have given us the opportunity to check if all the anomalies that were identified during the inspection have been corrected. But, that opportunity is lost given that the voters' roll is in a format that is not analyzable.” Many voters discovered they had been transferred from their usual polling stations during voter inspection in May, while many people who had voted in previous elections failed to find their names. Zanu PF-affiliated Forever Associates Zimbabwe (Faz), a Central Intelligence Organisation-run outfit, was also intimidating voters during the exercise, especially in rural areas. Faz members were collecting voter information at inspection centres and demanding identity documents, among other shenanigans. As previously reported by The NewsHawks, Faz, which has taken over election processes, rolling out door-to-door campaigns, night vigils, community events, technology-based messaging while monitoring all stages of the electoral process. With three members in every ward, Faz has also been managing Zanu PF’s cell registers throughout the country. Shocker — Zec releases unauditable voters’ roll CCC official Ellen Shiriyedenga

NewsHawks #ZimElection2023 News Page 17 Issue 140, 14 July 2023 NATHAN GUMA WHILE the Zimbabwean government has been trying to clear its image on the international forum, its human rights record has been catching up with it amid indications that there were objections to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s participation at the just-ended US-Africa Business Summit hosted by Botswana. Mnangagwa this week attended the US-Africa Summit, which is a follow-up to the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit held in December last year. Last year, Zimbabwe was for the first time invited to the US-Africa high-level meeting, attended by 49 heads of state, after Washington relaxed conditions for Zimbabwe. However, Harare was represented at a lower level by Foreign minister Frederick Shava because of travel restrictions slapped on Mnangagwa. This week, presidential spokesperson George Charamba revealed that there were overtures to bar Mnangagwa from attending the summit held in Gaborone. “With host President Dr Masisi, Botswana extended an invitation to Zimbabwe in spite of objections from some within Corporate Council for Africa and from elements within the American establishment,” he said via his Twitter handle Tinoedzazvimwe1. “Walking to the venue of the Conference in the company of the President of Niger. The US-Africa Business Summit follows up on decisions of the US-Africa Summit held towards end of last year in Washington. “On the insistence of the US government, Zimbabwe was represented by Hon Dr Shava, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. “The US government continues to pursue a policy of petty vindictiveness in spite of the fact that Zimbabwe under the second republic has avowed a policy of friendship to all and enmity to none. Africa, led by Sadc countries has adopted a policy of opposing US’ ruinous policies towards Zimbabwe, an effort commemorated yearly on 25th October.” Although the United States government promised US$55 billion investment into Africa over the next three years at the US-Africa leaders’ summit, Zimbabwe is unlikely to benefit much because of restrictive measures imposed on the country. The fund will go to “a wide range of sectors to tackle the core challenges of our time,” and is being distributed in close partnership with Congress, said Jake Sullivan, US national security adviser, during the leaders’ summit. On the eve of the summit, the US government imposed sanctions on Mnangagwa’s son, Emmerson Jr, and individuals linked to his adviser and close associate, the business tycoon Kuda Tagwirei. Also placed on the list was Tagwirei’s wife Sandra Mpunga, Nqobile Magwizi, Obey Chimuka and Fossil Contracting Agro Ltd. Over the years, the US has not been directly lending money to Zimbabwe, with the country mainly benefitting through humanitarian proceeds. Since 1980, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has extended an estimated US$3.2 billion to Zimbabwe in aid, making it one of the biggest providers of humanitarian aid in the country. The US government’s Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (Zidera) of March 2001 has seen Zimbabwe failing to access lines of credit until certain criteria are met. According to the Act, if democratic principles are not met, the secretary of the US Treasury can instruct the executives of international financial institutions to oppose and vote against “any extension by the respective institution of any loan, credit, or guarantee to the Government of Zimbabwe; or, any cancellation or reduction of indebtedness owed by the Government of Zimbabwe to the United States or any international financial institution.” The Act urges Zimbabwe to ensure there is the restoration of the rule of law, reforming election and pre-election conditions, commitment to equitable, legal and transparent land reform and the security apparatus being subordinate to the civilians. Whilst Harare says sanctions have been hampering economic development, the US has been maintaining that bad governance and corruption in Zimbabwe have been responsible for the rot. Health The US government committed to providing nearly US$20 billion in health programmes in the Africa region, according to the White House during the summit. Of the US$22 billion facility, US$11.5 billion will be used to address HIV and Aids, over US$2 billion in support of family planning and reproductive health and a further US$2 billion will be channelled in the fight against malaria. The facility will also be used to support maternal and child health. More than US$2 billion has also been invested to address the health, humanitarian and economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and, according to Sullivan, the US is planning to ask Congress for US$4 billion for healthcare workers in Africa, investing $1.33 billion annually from 2022 to 2024. Climate change Washington has since 2021 invested and harboured plans to provide at least US$1.1 billion to support African-led efforts in conservation, climate adaptation, and energy transitions. These funds include US International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) investments into Malawi’s Golomoti JCM Solar Corporation, and a Climate Action Infrastructure Facility. Zimbabwe is in need of funding to support exploration on new energy sources, as climate change has in the past months plunged the country into power dire straits — wiping out three quarters of its energy supply. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the Zambezi River Authority, a bi-national organisation, suspended power generation at the country’s Kariba hydro-power station due to low water levels of less than 3%, which are unsustainable for power generation. New trade and investment At the summit, US President Joe Biden highlighted US$15 billion in trade and investment partnerships and deals, which include: over US$1 billion signed by US Export-Import Bank (Exim), including a US$500 million memo of understanding with the African Export-Import Bank (Afrexim) to support diaspora engagement. It also includes a US$500 million deal with the Africa Finance Corp (AFC), and a US$300 million memorandum of understanding with Africa50 to match US businesses with medium- to large-scale infrastructure projects. The deals also include a new “Clean Tech Energy Network” that supports US$350 million in deals. Women’s partnerships The US also made commitments to advance women’s economic participation in Africa, with the International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) announcing US$358 million of new investments for women’s initiatives. The US State Department is also expected to launch a programme that will create green jobs for women on the continent, with an initial US$1 million investment. Tattered human rights record a blow for Zim

Page 18 #ZimElection2023 News NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023 SWEDISH ambassador to Zimbabwe Åsa Pehrson (AP) will soon be completing her tour of duty to Harare after a four-year stint which was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Ahead of her departure, Pehrson, who is in Stockholm, had an online interview with The NewsHawks news editor Owen Gagare (OG) about her stay in Zimbabwe as well as bilateral relations between Harare and Stockholm, among other issues. She revealed that Sweden played a role to ensure Zimbabwe's liberation struggle was a success and had contributed about SEK6 billion (krona) (about US$600 million) in aid to the country over the years. She said trade and diplomatic relations between the two nations can be improved with further dialogue. Find excerpts of the interview below: OG: We understand you are no longer in Harare. Where have you been posted? AP: Formally, I’m still ambassador to Zimbabwe until August. Currently I’m in Stockholm and I will be posted to Stockholm. I have been in Zimbabwe since 2019. OG: What was your greatest achievement as ambassador? AP: I would like to believe that I was creative to create safe space for dialogue with various stakeholders. The dialogue included average Zimbabweans not only in Harare but also outside . . . These were very valuable, particularly with the youths. OG: What would you consider the biggest failure or regret of your tenure? AP: I don’t have a personal regret, but I have a global regret because of the Covid-19 pandemic. There were parts we were not able to travel and have the interactions that we wanted to have . . . The pandemic effectively cut my tour of duty by almost half. OG: What are the most important programmes happening between Sweden and Zimbabwe currently? AP: Currently going on, we have a lot. We are working on a development strategy that was adopted by the Swedish government more than a year ago. And it is a five-year strategy, and we have three main areas of priority: the first being human rights, democracy, rule or law and gender equality. That is one, the second one is environment, climate and sustainable development. And then the third one is inclusive economic development. As you can already understand from the priorities, it covers a broad range of different activities, and I would say around half of the support, which is approximately SEK350 million (Swedish krona), roughly, it matches US$35 million per year. But, half of it is funded through different organisations and half of it through civil society partners. I would say it is difficult to single out the important, or the most important programmes that we are running because we have also continued from previous development strategies since we have been a donor for so long to Zimbabwe. It is also continuous work. I think what we have tried to do with the previous strategies is to put more focus on the inclusive economic development, and also target a bit more environment and climate. But you will recognise the first priority, the human rights, democracy, rule or law and gender equality. Those are priorities that I think very much characterise the Swedish support throughout the years in Zimbabwe. OG: What has your intervention achieved? Do you think Zimbabwe is on the right path? AP: I think definitely Zimbabwe is on the right path. It would even be more so if we strengthen the dialogue and, again going back, what you will hear me say many times during this interview, the importance of dialogue and to listen to one another and also contextualise and try to create mutual understanding for how we define some concepts and what we mean by different traits. You cannot be lost in translation when discussing such important issues. I think what we have during the past months is an increased engagement and willingness from Zimbabwe’s government which can also be appreciated, and of course, during the pandemic, it was very difficult to interact at all. And so, I see this as a step from before the pandemic to move on to more strengths in dialogue, finally we have the possibility to meet in person, to interact. I think the process of preparing for an arrears clearance, for example with the African Development Bank (AfDB), it also allowed us to sit down with the international community together with representatives from the government of Zimbabwe and have that frank conversation, for example on democracy, human rights and rule of law and looking at trends and indicators in looking at how we as the international community can best support that the government of Zimbabwe wants to make. So I think there is that opportunity now which is now welcome. OG: Many people believe that Zimbabwe has not moved that much in terms of human rights citing maybe the arrest of activists like Job Sikhala who has been in jail for over a year without trial; the non-implementation of the Motlanthe Commission recommendations; arrests of civil society leaders etc. What is your view on that? AP: So, I would like to refrain from commenting on individual cases as that will regard legal analysis. But I am quite aware of the case of Job Sikhala, and also follow-up to the Motlanthe Commission. Again, I think it is going back to what I just said on preparing for that arrears clearance process; that dialogue platform. I think it goes back to have that sitdown and create a mutual understanding of what is a follow-up to the Motlanthe Commission. What does it take? What does it mean? Do we understand each other? And I think there is that opportunity now to have that proper stocktaking. And yes, there are a lot of things to be done but, again, the international community is willing to support any progress the government wants to make. So, I think there is willingness from both sides and, hopefully, the opportunity with creating this dialogue platform for arrears clearance is one opportunity where this can actually happen. So, I think it takes this frank approach where you have to sit down at the table and layout and make sure that you have the same understanding of the concepts. Otherwise we will be lost in the translation moving on. So, I think the key is dialogue and also the opportunity to have a frank dialogue. OG: As one of the major donors to Zimbabwe, how much has Sweden donated to Zimbabwe since 1980? AP: Thank you for that question. I think my estimate is around SEK6 billion (krona), (about US$600 million). That is just the bilateral from the government of Sweden. But then also, this is important today, but even more so supporting the liberation process, and moving on supSwedish envoy reflects on Zim Swedish ambassador to Zimbabwe Asa Pehrson

NewsHawks #ZimElection2023 News Page 19 Issue 140, 14 July 2023 porting it as an independent nation in the early 1980s. I think it is the whole Team Sweden. We like to call it Team Sweden. That would technically include Swedish companies. That would also include collaborations between churches, collaborations between companies, not necessarily related to traditional aid. So, you have companies, agencies and churches, but also individuals, there are still examples like the Dentist Without Borders, that have activities supporting dentists in Zimbabwe. But, they have also started other projects on the sides, for example supporting schools and clinic and so on. But from the traditional aid, it is 6 billion [krona]. But there is a lot more engagement in the broader Team Sweden concept. OG: In Zimbabwe, we do not usually highlight the role of European nations played in the liberation struggle. It would be on interest to our readers to know what role Sweden played in the liberation struggle as you have highlighted. AP: I think the role that we played was for Zimbabwe obviously, but for the region as a whole. Again, it goes back to our strong belief in human rights, democracy, rule of law, freedom of rights and the freedom to exercise your human rights. And also political support, but it was also, speaking of the broader Team Sweden’s concept so to speak — it also had connections through collaborations through churches and individuals that were engaged at the time of the liberation struggle. It also meant that there were strong ties with Sweden, and that we also had a lot of collaborations with those fighting for independence in Zimbabwe at the time. And also the ones that then picked off the independent Zimbabwe in 1980 and we tried to be supportive as we could. And so, you mentioned aid, and of course that is one way of supporting. But, there are also broader ways of supporting through political support, and putting Zimbabwe on the agenda and also of course companies and again churches and individuals through people-to-people collaborations. OG: What is the level of trade between Zimbabwe and Sweden right now? AP: So, the level of trade between Zimbabwe and Sweden is not very significant. So the best reply to that is that it has a lot of potential. We do have Swedish companies based in Zimbabwe. In mining, for example, we have a couple of companies that are doing quite well. We also have representatives of the Swedish brand selling garden equipment that is also doing quite well in Zimbabwe. So there is a lot of potential. Going back again to engagement about Zimbabwe and Sweden, there is an opportunity to further develop and dig a bit further into opportunities and going ahead. In my tenure I had one visit by the Chamber of Commerce. I think again, the pandemic cut that short, but surely, there are opportunities to be followed up. OG: What are the opportunities, and why hasn’t the potential been harnessed in your view? How do Swedish companies view Zimbabwe and its operating environment? AP: It is a good question. One of the reasons is that Zimbabwe is very far away from Sweden. But then, Sweden is not shying away from trade. But, I think there is a curiosity and questions asked about Zimbabwe’s business climate, I think a lot can be done, putting facts to the business community and industry and point to opportunities in Zimbabwe. I do not think there is a specific reason as to why we do not have significant trade with Zimbabwe. Like I said, I think there is definitely a lot of potential and there are players working on that. So, I think we have to give it some time, but I do not see any obstacles. OG: What do you think about the investment climate in Zimbabwe? AP: There are lots of opportunities in Zimbabwe. I think when you also travel the country, you see a variety. You see the different sectors and the opportunities, and the biggest opportunity you find is the people :well-educated population, which is also interested in the national relations. So, I think there are a lot of opportunities. Sweden, for example, has got lots of technology on sustainable development, sustainable solutions — just to mention a few. Again, it is connecting the different actors and have fruitful conversations leading into opportunities I think. OG: In your view, what is the state of democracy, rule of law and human rights. You touched a bit on that, but what is your assessment? AP: My assessment is that there are challenges, but again I think, going back, the key is dialogue, and to have an honest dialogue about that. And through that dialogue, again, find ways in which the international community can best support Zimbabwe’s own ambition. At the end of the day, it is a sovereign country and it has its own vision for the future. And I think the only way to do that is have a frank dialogue, have a sitdown and make sure we do not misunderstand each other and then we can also target our support in the best way possible for Zimbabwe to achieve its goals. I think stressing the level of human rights and democracy; Zimbabwe is a democracy as an independent nation. I think what we in all humbleness learnt as a democracy on the other side of the globe is that it takes constant work. You cannot tick a box and then go the rest of the time, but you have to continuously work on democracy in pointing at different rights that cannot be exercised fully, or different parts of your rule of law — because also, time changes and people also. And, there is constant development. I think we can share the experiences that we have had. From Sweden, we discuss a lot, we also scrutinise our legislators. We hold them to account. In our society, for example, opposition plays a key role, and sometimes even more important than the sitting government, in a sense that as a constructive opposition, you point out issues that need to be resolved and present your alternative viable alternative to the government’s agenda, so to speak. So, there is no such thing as a perfect democracy. It is constant work. OG: In your engagements with the government of Zimbabwe, have you been frank in your engagements? AP: Yes, I have been frank. OG: How do you describe the relations between Stockholm and Harare right now, in the context of the EU, or Brussels diplomatic standoff with Harare. AP: I think starting from the EU, Sweden is currently the chair of the EU for a few more days until the end of June. I think what the EU is seeking, as also is Sweden bilaterally, is an increased dialogue with Zimbabwe. We would like Zimbabwe to make progress and we want Zimbabwe to flourish. That is why we are present in Zimbabwe with an embassy and delegation. The two actors, the EU and Sweden, we have a lot of support to Zimbabwe. So there is lot of goodwill and lots of support going in from the EU and from Sweden bilaterally. And I think you mentioned face-offs, I think again, the only way to resolve any misunderstandings or disagreements is that we have to have a sitdown and to have a frank conversation. From the EU side, we also place great importance on the regular political dialogues that we have together with the Zimbabwean government. So it is again on the theme of dialogue and to be able to interact as a player in Zimbabwe. OG: What targeted sanctions remain on Zimbabwe and, in your view, did they work or not? AP: So, we call them restrictive measures. The only one left is the arms embargo on the Zimbabwe Defence Industries. On the second question on whether sanctions have worked or not, sanctions or restrictive measures are an instrument from a toolbox that has to be seen from its diversity. We have political engagements from the EU. There is also development co-operation and there is trade, just to mention a few. The relation is broad and sanctions are part of that, but it does not define the relation. I think, initially the [restrictive measures] regime was adopted in a different context. What they needed to do was highlight where change was needed and also the need for dialogue. And, if you compare to when they were imposed to today, definitely the dialogue and interactions have improved. So again, we go back to my favourite theme of dialogue and a need to have a certain space where we can be very frank with one another and how we can best support Zimbabwe. OG: What is the status of re-engagement between Zimbabwe and Sweden? AP: I think the status is good. I think we have explored in the past couple of years how to strengthen our bilateral relations. So, the relations are good. That is my view. OG: Who is being posted to Zimbabwe after you and what advice would you give to your successor? AP: His name is Mr Per Lindgarde. He will take this posting in August . . . My advice in all humbleness is to continue interactions, including with the brilliant youths. Opposition plays a key role, and sometimes even more important than the sitting government

Page 20 NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023 BRENNA MATENDERE ZIMBABWE'S ambassador to Belarus, Graham Mudzimba, appointed in July this year, is a close ally of President Emmerson Mnangagwa and, while he will represent the country in the Eastern European nation, concerns have also emerged that he will also represent the First Family’s growing business interests. Mudzimba was previously ambassador to Cuba. He is also an ex-director in the President’s Office responsible for special projects. Revelations that Zimbabwe would appoint an ambassador to Belarus was first made by Foreign Affairs and International Trade minister Frederick Shava after his meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on 28 March. Shava is another close ally of Mnangagwa from the Midlands, the Zanu PF leader’s home province. During the visit to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, foreign journalists asked when Zimbabwe would name an ambassador to Belarus. “Belarus already runs an embassy in Zimbabwe. Based on the principles of reciprocity, Zimbabwe has recently opened its embassy in Minsk. We have already discussed the interior works in the premises where the embassy is located. And this will be done as quickly as possible. Only after that an ambassador will be appointed. This will not be long in coming, within the next few months,” Shava said then. In April this year, Mnangagwa positioned First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa and his children at the centre of cutting family business deals with Belarus. Auxillia flew out of the country with her twin sons, Sean and Collins, to hold separate meetings with Belarusian leader Lukashenko and his Foreign Affairs minister Sergei Aleinik on purely personal deals using her proximity to power in Harare. According to Belarusian media house Belta, Auxillia discussed issues involving business deals in agriculture, technology and mining. In another development that showed how Mnangagwa is using state power to cement First Family business ties, in February he was captured by the media arriving in Malabo in Equatorial Guinea, with his son Emmerson Junior. Equatorial Guinea is led by Teodoro Obiang Nguema and his son Teodoro Jnr who is Vice-President — an arrangement Mnangagwa will be happy to stitch back home in Harare. Again, early this year, Mnangagwa and Lukashenko met in Harare. Emmerson Jnr attended high-level meetings at State House despite not being a government official amid concern that he was pursuing family business interests. Emmerson Jr was again spotted the following day at another high-level event where Lukashenko and his delegation visited the National Heroes’ Acre to lay a wreath on the grave of the unknown soldier. While the Heroes’ Acre event included scores of other ordinary citizens, it was his presence at the State House closed-door meetings which raised eyebrows. Lukashenko, in a statement after meeting Auxillia and her sons Sean and Collins in Minsk in April, confirmed that he had clinched deals which he had negotiated with Mnangagwa in Harare during his February visit. Lukashenko made it clear that the deals which Auxillia had followed up in Belarus had been made on his friendship basis with Mnangagwa in Harare, implying they were personal and not for the Zimbabwean government. “Dear Mrs Auxillia Mnangagwa, as we agreed with the president, you are in Belarus today on a very important visit. I am fulfilling the request of my friend President Emmerson so that the technologies that are in demand in Zimbabwe are in your country. We are ready to help you implement several projects at the request of your country and your president to build high-tech enterprises. First of all, this concerns humanitarian activities.” Controversial businessman Alekzander Zingman, who is Mnangagwa's close ally and is Zimbabwe’s consul in Belarus, was present in the meetings that Auxillia and her children attended. For the first time, Auxillia excluded state media journalists from the jaunt, cementing the narrative that the visit was purely over interests of the First Family despite the fact that the trip was state sponsored. Ambassador to Belarus for First Family business deals Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Belarus Graham Mudzimba (right) First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa (second from left) meets Belarusian officials, including the country’s President Alexander Lukashenko (third from left). #ZimElection2023

NewsHawks Page 21 Issue 140, 14 July 2023 BRENNA MATENDERE THE Amalgamated Rural Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe (Artuz) has written to the government recommending the closure of schools next week so that teachers are spared political victimisation by Zanu PF activists and members of the party’s shadowy group Forever Associates Zimbabwe (Faz) in rural areas ahead of the 23 August elections. The letter, addressed to Primary and Secondary Education permanent secretary Thumisang Thabela and dated 12 July 2023, was signed by Artuz secretary-general Robson Chere. The labour union said it has received 567 cases of distress from its members countrywide since President Emmerson Mnangagwa proclaimed the elections. The union proposed that schools close on 18 July 2023, so that teachers are spared the abuse. Part of the letter reads: “The Amalgamated Rural Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe, Artuz, wishes to advise your good office that our members have proposed an early closing date on 18 July 2023. The proposal has been necessitated by escalating political conflict ahead of the 23 August 2023. The conflict has also spilled into schools as politicians tussle for political power.” Artuz cited two cases which it said are part of the 567. “Find below two sample reports from members . . . On Tuesday 4 July all Chidoma Primary School learners were ordered by one head Assa Moyo to go back home at exactly 0830hrs because there was a Zanu PF rally at Chidoma dip tank. “The grade 7 classroom was used as the caucus room for Zanu PF officials. ECD A classroom was used as the kitchen. At the rally Zanu PF midlands vice-chairman, one Chiherenge, ordered all school heads that no school learner must pay fees until voting day. All teachers were ordered to go to the rally. We couldn't take videos for fear of victimisation as teachers," reads the letter. Chidoma Primary School is in Gokwe. The NewsHawks gathered that the said rally was later addressed by former State Security minister Owen Ncube. The union also attached a letter of complaint from one of its members who complained about the invasion of the school by Faz. Part of the letter received by Artuz reads:" Greetings, hope you are well. Sir we are having problems at our school. We have got someone residing at our school anoti iye mudhomeni (who claims to be an agricultural extension officer) and is refusing to vacate the school accommodation. Staff is having problems of accommodation. Parikuuya zvekare mumwe munhu zvekare anoti ndeve Faz achiitisa musangano yeZanu PF pachikoro (someone claiming to be a member of Faz is also conducting Zanu PF meetings at the school)… We need your help before we are terrorised." Artuz said it hoped the ministry would act to protect teachers and learners. “The union has received 567 reports of such worrying content from different schools across the country. We hope your good office will protect the teacher, learner and the whole school ecosystem by allowing an early schools closure,” wrote Chere. In an interview with The NewsHawks, Obert Masaraure, the Artuz president, said schools are no longer safe for teachers. “Our plea is that schools be closed next week until after elections. We have noted the cases of victimisation of our members in previous elections and we suspect the situation can get worse. So we have decided to call for early closure of schools,” he said. Rural teachers petition govt over Zanu PF terror Artuz president Obert Masaraure #ZimElection2023

Page 22 News NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023 NATHAN GUMA CIVIL society organisations say the politicisation and securitisation of the mining sector are subjecting mine workers to dangerous working conditions, poor wages, unfair labour contracts and human rights abuses. A large number of Zimbabwean mine workers are receiving low renumeration and benefits despite mining companies pocketing huge profits. A joint statement by natural resource watchdog, Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) and the Zimbabwe Diamond Allied Mine Workers' Union (Zdamwu), says the lack of will to address the concerns of workers by the government and mining companies had shortchanged labourers. “The slave wages being paid to diamond mine workers in Zimbabwe create serious challenges for those concerned with responsible sourcing. “Such extreme exploitation of labour is one of the key reasons why stakeholders are pushing the Kimberley Process to review the definition of conflict diamonds so as to include diamonds mined under inhuman and unfair labour conditions,” reads part of the report. “Zdamwu has engaged the relevant stakeholders such as the ministry of Public Service, Labour, and Social Welfare and the ministry of Mines and Mining Development, to no avail. Statutory bodies such as the National Social Security Agency (Nssa) and National Employment Council (NEC) have been ineffective in addressing these grievances largely due to the politicisation and securitisation of the mining sector.” According to the report, diamond workers have been earning wages that are below the poverty threshold. “Until the recent strike, the lowest-paid Anjin Investment employee was earning US$180. Now, Anjin has the lowest remuneration among the diamond mining companies, with the lowest-paid employee earning US$355 (65% USD and 35% ZWL),” the report reads. “This is despite the fact that diamonds are sold hundred percent in United States dollars. Among the three diamond mining companies — Anjin, Murowa Diamonds and ZCDC, it is ZCDC which is offering the highest remuneration, with the lowest earning around US$400.” Other diamond mining companies have resorted to paying NEC minimum salaries of US$350, while demands for a living wage are being resisted. CNRG and Zdamwu have also criticised the government’s failure to reinvest profits into mining companies, which has fulfilled the resource curse. “The situation in the villages where diamonds are mined is worse than it was before the diamonds were discovered. Infrastructure such as roads, clinics and schools are in an advanced state of dilapidation,” the report says. “Marange scores worse in terms of community development. The government has not reinvested diamond profits into the communities. Instead, the government and the mining companies in Marange are investing hundreds of thousands of dollars into public relations and damage control. “There is need for a masterplan of how to reinvest some of the diamond profits into the community such as the construction of quality roads, upgrading the Marange clinic, supplying clean water to the relocated families and income-generating projects. “The concept of corporate social responsibility has largely been tokenistic. Community roads are being further degraded by shunting trucks and yet there is no effort to upgrade the roads. Consequently, public transport to places like Marange is now too expensive due to the condition of the roads, caused by mining.” Other mining companies have also been implicated for having no occupational safety, health, and environmental standards, jeopardising the health and safety of employees. “In Hwange, several workers have been seriously injured at work due to poor safety standards,” the report says. “At coking companies in Hwange, employees are using surgical masks instead of dust masks to protect themselves from coal dust. In coking companies, employees are supposed to wear heat-resistant personal protective clothing, particularly those working at the battery. “However, most of the workers wear standard worksuits and overalls which do not adequately protect them from the heat. At Blanket Mine, women are forced to wear overalls instead of worksuits.” Politicised mining sector puts workers at high risk

NewsHawks News Page 23 Issue 140, 14 July 2023 BRENNA MATENDERE THE Health Apex Council which represents 21 associations of radiographers, senior doctors, junior doctors, nurses, pharmacy technicians, registered general nurses (RGNs), midwives, therapists and primary care nurses, is preparing to declare the incapacitation of its members following failure by the government to respond to its repeated calls for a salary review. The health professionals are currently earning a US$200 flat allowance across the board and most of them receive a basic salary of ZW$26 133 (US$26), transport allowance of ZW$ 2 426 (US$2.40), housing allowance of ZW$ 2 776 (US$2.70), general allowance of ZW$5 483 (ZW$5.40) and special civil service allowance of ZW$ 5 483 (US$5.40). While health workers are employees of the government, their employer is the Health Service Commission and not the Public Service Commission, therefore they are paid via a different arrangement from that of other civil servants. That situation has therefore seen the health workers failing to have their salaries reviewed the last time they were done for civil servants in April. During that last review, local currency salaries for civil servants were raised by 100% while the cushioning allowances were raised from US$200 to US$250, but this package did not include health workers. The NewsHawks this week gathered that the Health Apex Council wrote a letter on 26 April to acting secretary of the Health Service Commission, Albert Mbengwa, complaining about the issue, but no remedy has been provided by the government, leaving the sector miffed to an extent of preparing to declare incapacitation. The letter to Mbengwa signed by the Health Apex Council leader Dr James Sibanda, who took over from Dr Tapiwa Kusotera at that time, highlighted that the salaries of the body’s members had been eroded, but the pay has since further depreciated by over 600% since April. Part of the letter ignored by the government which first complained about the exclusion of health workers in the April remuneration review done for civil servants reads: “Up to now no explanation has been given to Health sector about that exclusion. Furthermore the Health Apex wrote requesting an urgent HSBNP, up to now nothing has materialised the meeting is yet to happen. We request that the negotiations commence immediately. We appreciate the Health Sector Specific Allowances (on call, standby/call out, night duty, nurse managers and special health allowances). “However, there is a group of non-medical personnel who don’t benefit from these allowances. Instead they get a special civil service allowance. Which begs the question are they health workers or not? “With the hyperinflation rearing it’s ugly head once again and that the premium between the auction rate and parallel market rate is now over 80%, health workers feel the cushioning allowance should now be increased substantially (by 100%) not marginally (25%) as offered to the rest of civil service. 100% remuneration review to ZWL emoluments from Deputy Director and below for all sectors wasn’t applied to the health sector.” Dr Sibanda, who also leads the Zimbabwe Government Radiographers Association, further wrote: “Let it be put on record that the depreciation of ZWL has already surpassed that 100%. To put it into perspective, the price of a loaf of bread has jumped from ZWL900 to ZWL1 800 in supermarkets within a period of a month. How many loaves of bread does the basic salary buy per month? We also need an understanding of administration and in-service allowances as introduced.” In an interview with The NewsHawks this week, Llyod Sarai, the Health Apex Council spokesperson, said the situation of the body’s members has become very sad. “This is where we are heading (declaring incapacitation). We are suffering from serious segregation as Health Sector. In April we were left out when others were given 100% salary increase as well as USD50. We hope that the HSBNP will be convened in the shortest possible period. We wrote several letters asking the employer to address this anomaly but it seems our calls are falling to a deaf ear. Only on 15 June when the employer convened a bipartite negotiating meeting, this was after a year without talks. The talks did not yield anything as the employer did not bring anything meaningful to the table,” he said. Sarai added: “This silence has left many health workers with no choice but to leave the country as these talks were their only source of hope. It is unfortunate that we are approaching yet another payday on Friday 14 July without any increment. So as Health sector we are still negotiating to correct the historical imbalances which will bring us to the April 2023 baseline before discussing about the June 2023 cost of leaving adjustment.” “We also have a situation where some health workers are benefiting from neither health sector specific allowances nor what the rest of other civil servants will have been given. “These employees have been neglected for too long and this has created serious salary distortions in the ministry. This has left junior employees earning more than seniors, causing unnecessary disharmony in the ministry. “As Health Apex Council we have been on several occasions questioning the manner in which the employer makes decisions that affect employee welfare without their involvement. This has many a time brought in half-baked solutions. We have other employees who are not benefitting from donor retention allowances. This was done notwithstanding the fact that as health sector we use a multidisciplinary approach. “This discrimination has affected the inter-operability of the health delivery system. We want everyone to benefit from the cake even if they are to get a piece that is embracing the principle of Ubuntu (you can't eat alone)” he said. In 2018 when nurses went on strike there was a huge blow in the health sector, with citizens dying at public hospitals after failing to get urgent medical services. Constantino Chiwenga, the Health minister who doubles as Vice-President and is a former army general, employed a militant approach towards the industrial action by firing 16 000 of the nurses who had downed stethoscopes. The move however backfired and the nurses who had been fired were reinstated. There were more casualties in July 2020 when the police arrested 12 nurses protesting outside state hospitals demanding to be paid in United States dollars after galloping inflation eroded their salaries. Health workers set to declare incapacitation

Page 24 News NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023 WHEN the paramilitary organisation the Wagner Group — Vladimir Putin’s “private army” — first set foot in the Central African Republic (CAR) five years ago, the Russian Federation was re-establishing diplomatic relations with CAR after a 40-year absence. The country had been ravaged by 20 years of politico-military crises and cycles of deadly armed conflicts that the United Nations and Western countries were failing to adequately address. With no solution in sight, Russia offered Central African President Faustin-Archange Touadéra an alternative in the form of diplomatic support and military and political assistance via Wagner. What resulted was a campaign of terror. While various armed groups have continued to commit egregious human rights violations against civilians, The Sentry’s investigation found that, under the cover of a counteroffensive against anti-Touadéra armed groups, Wagner, Touadéra, and his inner circle have perpetrated widespread, systematic, and wellplanned campaigns of mass killing, torture, and rape throughout the country. Executed by Central African armed forces and Wagner fighters backed by militiamen, these campaigns of terror have served as psychological warfare to force anti-Touadéra militiamen and their allies to accept defeat and the broader population to accept the authority of Wagner and of Russia’s ally, Touadéra. In order to “annihilate” their enemies, Wagner, Touadéra, and his inner circle raised a parallel army that could be controlled and privatised for their own interests. In the past two years, Wagner has increased the training and outfitting of approximately a dozen military units — most of which were created after January 2021, with many of the newly incorporated soldiers being members of Touadéra’s ethnic community — and of militiamen who have been deployed as proxies in military operations. While Touadéra’s inner circle retains control of operations within the capital Bangui, Wagner has managed to establish military control of operations outside Bangui, for which their motto is “leave no trace” — in other words, kill everyone, including women and children. In the midst of this, Wagner has shown intense interest in controlling Central African minerals, particularly gold and diamonds, targeting mining sites and using violent military campaigns to drive civilians away from mining areas. Wagner-affiliated mining companies — primarily Lobaye Invest, Midas Ressources, and Diamville — have been granted mining licenses and export authorizations, and Wagner has been using its transnational networks in CAR, Sudan, Cameroon, Madagascar, and Russia to help set up industrial-scale gold production, thereby escaping national and international scrutiny. The situation in CAR today is more concerning than ever. A recent study found that 5.6% of CAR’s population died in 2022, which is “more than twice as high as estimates for any other country in the world.” The authors of the study “raised the alarm over a humanitarian crisis exacerbated by Wagner’s activities,” concluding that “the efforts of the Wagner mercenaries at least contributed to increased difficulties of survival over the past two years.” In CAR, Wagner has perfected a blueprint for state capture, supporting a criminalized state hijacked by the Central African president and his inner circle, amassing military power, securing access to and plundering precious minerals, and subduing the population with terror. As Wagner continues to expand its reach into ever more countries — with Burkina Faso being the most recent example, and Chad being the next target in central Africa — it is likely that the paramilitary group will continue to deploy strategies that have seen success. The use of propaganda and terror as psychological warfare has been observed in several African countries where the group has established its presence, particularly in CAR and Mali. In these two countries, Wagner’s modus operandi has aimed to expand Russian influence, to the detriment of Western interests; Wagner’s hard and soft power — backed with Russian political and logistical support — has thus resulted in a diplomatic rupture with Western countries. In other countries, such as Libya and Sudan, Wagner has infiltrated groups led by militia commanders Khalifa Haftar and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, or “Hemedti,” that it then uses to guarantee logistical facilities and financial gains. While Wagner has been building on established blueprints, the international community — critically including African states — has various tools to counter Wagner’s malign presence in CAR and on the African continent more broadly. Key recommendations UN member states should establish a coalition similar to the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS — critically including African states — to counter the Wagner Group’s malign influence on the African continent and elsewhere by focusing on the group’s finances, movement of foreign fighters, and propaganda. The United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada, Japan, and other jurisdictions should widen the scope of sanctions imposed against the Wagner Group’s network, including by investigating the individuals and entities named in this report. They should investigate and impose network sanctions against the individuals and entities linked to Touadéra’s inner circle that are enabling Wagner’s presence in CAR, and they should coordinate such sanctions actions to increase impact. The US should designate the Wagner Group as a foreign terrorist organization, as reporting by The Sentry and others clearly indicates that the group meets the three legal criteria for designation — a foreign organisation engaging in terrorist activity that threatens national security. The EU and its member states should add Wagner to the EU terrorist list to allow for greater law enforcement and judicial cooperation on Wagner across EU member states and beyond. The UK should also consider taking steps to proscribe Wagner as a terrorist group under the Terrorism Act 2000. — THE SENTRY. Architects of terror: Wagner’s blueprint for state capture in the Central African Republic

NewsHawks Page 25 Issue 140, 14 July 2023 A HONG Kong trading company was allegedly defrauded out of more than $13 million in a sophisticated international scam. Their investigations led them to a convicted Bangladeshi fraudster — and uncovered payments he made to his long-time friend, the head of Bangladesh’s capital markets regulator. In July 2021, Shibli Rubayat ul Islam, the chairman of Bangladesh’s capital markets regulator, took to a stage in Los Angeles. It was the first stop in his “The Rise of the Bengal Tiger” roadshow, which aimed to drum up enthusiasm for foreign investment into the country. As the face of Bangladesh’s international sales pitch, Rubayat ul Islam touted the country’s growing economy and regulatory reforms under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. But behind the scenes, the picture was not so rosy. Just under two weeks earlier, Bangladesh’s anti-corruption authorities had received a complaint alleging that the regulatory chief had gotten payments from a bank account connected to a multi-million-dollar fraud. At the heart of the accusations was a convicted scammer, Javeed Matin, whom Rubayat ul Islam had met at university and had been friends with for two decades. Throughout much of 2020, the complaint alleged, Matin helped launder the proceeds of a scheme that defrauded a Hong Kong-based supply chain and sourcing company, Ming Global Limited, out of more than $13 million. Under the pretense of an investment, these funds were sent to two accounts held by a U.S. company, Monarch Holdings Inc., which then wired over $800,000 to Rubayat ul Islam’s personal account and to the accounts of a Bangladeshi company he appeared to be behind. (Current ownership details were unavailable.) Through his lawyer, Rubayat ul Islam, who chairs the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), told OCCRP he was not affiliated with the Bangladeshi company and that the transfers to his personal account were legitimate rent payments. Ming Global filed a lawsuit against Monarch in the U.S. in 2020, but later shelved it, which the company’s director told OCCRP was because none of the defendants — or the money that was allegedly stolen — are in the country. The company also filed a suit to recover funds in Bangladesh from Rubayat ul Islam, who has filed a countersuit against them. The country’s Anti-Corruption Commission has taken no apparent action since it received the complaint against Rubayat ul Islam nearly two years ago. “The legal system is one of the biggest disappointments of all this,” Ming Global’s director, Sarath Kumar Hegde, told OCCRP. After the alleged scam took place, the BSEC approved Matin’s Bangladeshi company, also called Monarch Holdings, to receive a stock-trading license, even though Matin had been convicted for a 2010 “pump-and-dump” tax fraud scheme in the U.S., which should have disqualified him under Bangladeshi law. (The chairman of the BSEC does not personally approve the licenses and OCCRP found no evidence Rubayat ul Islam influenced the process.) Matin’s partner in the Bangladesh-registered Monarch was one of the country’s top cricket players, Shakib Al Hasan, who sometimes joined Rubayat ul Islam in his roadshow appearances. In a separate case, that company was reportedly fined for stock price manipulation last year. The allegations against Rubayat ul Islam — which have not been made public until now — have had no apparent effect on his standing as chairman of the BSEC: He has continued his speaking appearances, and remained the public face of the country’s push for foreign investment. Prime Minister Hasina, whose government has been accused of allowing corruption to run rampant, faces general elections next year. OCCRP’s previous reporting showed how one of Hasina’s top aides accrued over $4 million in New York real estate, without any apparent legitimate means of affording the properties. “In general, financial regulators should take steps to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest,” Ross Delston, a Washington-based attorney who specializes in financial crime issues, told OCCRP. “In cases involving long-standing International InvestigativeStories Chairman of Bangladesh’s securities regulator got payments from bank accounts used for alleged $13m Fraud An aerial view of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Credit: Keren Su/China Span/Alamy Stock Photo International Investigative Stories

Page 26 NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023 friendship combined with financial dealings and allegations of fraud, a financial regulator should recuse themselves from any official dealings with friends and business associates and allow others in the regulatory body to make all such decisions, including those involving licensing.” Matin, Al Hasan, the Anti-Corruption Commission, and Hasina’s office did not respond to requests for comment. Matin’s Previous Fraud Conviction Rubayat ul Islam met Matin, the convicted scammer, while they were both at the University of Dhaka. The two “established strong friendly relations,” which they maintained for two decades, according to a statement from Rubayat ul Islam’s suit in Bangladesh. Over that time, Rubayat ul Islam worked in business before joining academia and becoming a prominent professor and researcher in banking and finance. He served in high-level positions at his alma mater before he was appointed head of the BSEC in May 2020. Matin, meanwhile, went into business. After studying at the University of Mississippi, he set up multiple apparel companies in the U.S. during the early 2000s. In 2010, he ran afoul of U.S. stock regulators when he was accused of running a “pump-and-dump” scheme. The scheme took place while Matin was serving as chief executive officer of Veltex Corporation, a Utah-registered apparel company purportedly operating in the U.S., Canada, and Bangladesh, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) complaint. Between 2004 and 2008, Matin moved millions of Veltex shares to a Colorado-based company, Wilshire Equity Inc., without registering them properly. He then “touted Veltex by issuing a series of false and misleading press releases grossly inflating Veltex’s revenues, embellishing its overseas operations, and assuring investors that Veltex’s financial statements were being audited,” the complaint said. When Veltex’s share price jumped due to his own fraudulent claims, Matin netted about $6.5 million from shares sold through Wilshire Equity. The court ruled against Matin and his associates on two separate charges in 2011 and 2012, and they were ordered to pay a total of $13 million to the SEC and more than $100 million in damages to Veltex. In 2015, Matin pled guilty to one count of bank fraud in a separate case, and agreed to forfeit over $170,000. He was sentenced to 27 months in prison, but was granted “supervised release” after a few months. A decade later, Matin’s name would appear in connection with another alleged scam, which the Hong Kongbased Ming Global described as an “elaborate fraud based on non-existent investments” that “bilked” it out of more than $13 million. Ming Global Says It Was Duped The alleged fraud started in May 2020. In the testimony filed at U.S. court, Hegde, the Australian businessman serving as Ming Global’s director, said he received a cold call from people claiming to work for a well-known Hong Kong investment firm. According to the testimony and copies of emails, a purported employee pitched Hegde investment opportunities and directed him to a company website, which had an apparently legitimate logo, contact information, and business address. The next month, Ming Global sent $20,000 to two U.S. bank accounts provided by the employee, both held in the name of Monarch Holdings, which was registered in Nevada. Hegde’s contact told him the funds would be invested in two biotechnology companies and even gave him an online account to track the stocks. Ming Global later paid over $2 million more, ostensibly to be invested in blue-chip stocks and “pre-IPO” shares in a private equity firm. In July, with the stocks apparently doing well, Hegde asked one of his contacts to retrieve his money. But he was told that to cash out, he would need to invest another $10 million. Ming Global obliged, paying the money to the same Monarch bank accounts. Then his contact stopped responding. Throughout July and August, Hegde was bounced between different contacts, who made excuses for the delays and asked for hundreds of thousands of dollars in new payments to unlock the funds. By the end of August, Hegde wrote to one of the agents to say that “having no visibility or clarity is making lots of my investors nervous, including me.” The representatives responded with more excuses and delays. Private Investigators Uncover Matin’s Involvement Growing suspicious, Ming Global commissioned investigations into Monarch Holdings — the U.S. company into whose bank accounts it had paid the money — from the private consultancies Control Risks and IFW Global. The private investigators found that scammers “well versed in financial crimes” appeared to have faked their association with the Hong Kong investment firm, and that employees at the real firm had never heard of them. U.S. company records did not show who owned Monarch Holdings. But subpoenaed bank records showed that Matin had been added as a signatory to both of the Monarch accounts where Ming Global had sent money, one at U.S. Bank, and another at Bank of America. In one application, Matin was listed as the company’s “CFO.” As millions of dollars from the alleged scam were moving into Monarch Holding’s U.S. accounts, money was also moving out through a series of over-thecounter withdrawals, wires, debit purchases, checks, and ATM withdrawals. Both accounts were closed shortly after. A large chunk of the money from these accounts was sent to a Singaporean entity which the IFW Global investigation said was controlled by Matin’s associate. The remainder was sent to recipients in 14 other countries. Over $800,000 had been sent directly from the U.S. bank accounts Matin controlled to accounts in Bangladesh — a trail which led to the BSEC head, Rubayat ul Islam. BSEC Chief Receives Payments Out of this amount, Rubayat ul Islam received about $278,000 into his personal account between late June and late July, 2020, bank records show. About $564,000 more was sent from Monarch’s accounts to an account held by a company called Xin Bangla Fabrics. OCCRP was unable to obtain Xin Bangla’s current ownership information, because of difficulties with the company registry. But Rubayat ul Islam was listed in public documents as Xin Bangla’s contact person, including in a 2007 Swiss embassy newsletter about a Bangladeshi-Swiss business forum. He is also listed as the company’s managing director in an online registry of Bangladesh companies. In its complaint to the anti-corruption commission, Ming Global said Xin Bangla was fully owned by the Rhine Group, a Bangladeshi company. Rhine Group’s registration documents, from 1991, show Rubayat ul Islam as a director and its largest shareholder. The company’s website is no longer available, but until at least 2015, it showed Rubayat ul Islam to be its general manager. In an email exchange with IFW Global, shared with OCCRP, Rubayat ul Islam said Rhine Group had been closed more than a decade ago and that he had no ownership of Xin Bangla. He said the company was run by Ariful Islam, his elderly uncle. Investigators also quoted a phone call with Ariful Islam, in which they said he told them that the company had no current business activities and that it was in fact owned and managed by his nephew. A transcript and recording of the call was shared with OCCRP, but Ariful Islam did not respond to requests for comment and the call was not possible to independently verify. Xin Bangla’s bank records show limited activity after 2017, until a sudden influx of large amounts which appear to have come from Monarch’s accounts. The last withdrawal was made in late 2020 and the account was closed in May 2021. As for the money sent into Rubayat ul Islam’s personal account, he said that Matin had paid the funds as “advanced rent and construction costs” for commercial space in an industrial building in a district of Dhaka. (It had been labeled in the Bank of America transfer as “family support.”) The lease agreement, which Rubayat ul Islam submitted as part of his suit — and which bears only Matin’s signature — had a number of unusual elements. First, it was agreed on the same day the last payment was made to Rubayat ul Islam’s personal account. Second, it was agreed between a California-registered company run by Matin called Matesta Apparel Inc., though the transfers had been sent from Monarch’s accounts. The last section of the contract also appears to incorrectly refer to the fifth and sixth floors of the building, rather than the fourth and fifth, as the rest of the contract says. Though the site was supposed to be used for a garment factory starting on Jan. 1, 2021, with the lease lasting five years, a reporter who visited the site in January 2023 found that the floors were empty. Rubayat ul Islam’s lawyer declined to comment in detail on questions about the lease because the suit in Bangladesh is still in progress. But he said that the allegations against his client were “absolutely misconceived and misconstrued and the outcome of a misunderstanding.” “The whole issue is very plain and simple to the effect that my client received $277,924 into his bank account as advance rent, security deposit and advance construction costs under a lawful lease agreement executed by him and Matesta Apparel Inc., a US based conglomerate following all legal and tax processes,” he wrote in an email. He said his client had been “left with no choice but to file a suit” after Ming Global failed to come up with “convincing and acceptable proof of ownership and entitlement of the amount.” BSEC Approves Matin’s Company for Trading License In May 2021, well after the alleged scam took place, the BSEC cleared the Bangladeshi version of Monarch Holdings to receive a stock trading license. Even apart from the alleged scam involving Ming Global, Matin’s prior conviction for the pump-and-dump scheme should have disqualified him from receiving the license. BSEC rules prohibit issuing licenses to companies whose directors have been convicted for “any offense of moral turpitude” in any jurisdiction, without exceptions. Thomson Reuters World-Check, a database for background checks that was required for each license applicant at that time, showed Matin’s earlier U.S. conviction. A Google search of Matin’s name also shows the original 2010 complaint against him. The Bangladeshi Monarch has since become increasingly prominent, adding as a partner the cricketer Shakib Al Hasan. Al Hasan is a huge star in Bangladesh and current captain of the national team. He has also been the BSEC’s “brand ambassador” since 2020, and has accompanied Rubayat ul Islam on his international speaking tour. In January 2021, a few months after Monarch Holdings was granted its license, the BSEC launched two advertisements featuring Al Hasan. The next month, just as IFW Global was contacting Rubayat ul Islam about his involvement with Matin, Al Hasan joined the regulatory chief on a roadshow stop in Dubai. Matin’s venture with Al Hasan has since expanded to Bangladesh’s second stock exchange, in the port city of Chittagong. The two have also started a new electronics business, also sharing the Monarch name. The Bangladeshi Monarch has hit at least one spot of trouble, though. Last year, the company was reportedly fined 35.5 million Bangladeshi taka, worth roughly $300,000, for stock manipulation. — Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. Javeed (fourth from left) with Shakib Al Hasan (third from left) in Dhaka. Credit: Screenshot from Facebook.com/Syed Touhid Al Rajib International Investigative Stories

NewsHawks Page 27 Issue 140, 14 July 2023 Plaintiff seeks to sue Germany over revenue raised due to Panama Papers’ tax fraud investigations A PERSON claiming to be the whistleblower behind the Panama Papers is attempting to sue the German government and federal criminal police anonymously in a complex legal and financial dispute over an alleged deal to purchase the leaked dataset, according to a recent lawsuit filed in the United States. On July 3, the Washington D.C. judge in the case, Chief Judge James Boasberg, ruled that the plaintiff could proceed with it using a pseudonym publicly — but would have to reveal their identity to the court. The anonymous plaintiff argues that they should not have to provide the court with identifying information, as it would put their life in danger. The plaintiff has accused German authorities of reneging on an alleged agreement to pay the source 10% of revenue over a 50 million euro threshold recouped from investigations into tax fraud and other financial offenses based on the trove of files, which Germany purchased in 2017, and is seeking more than $14 million in compensation. In early 2015, the 11.5 million documents that later became known globally as the Panama Papers were leaked to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, which shared them with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. ICIJ brought together a team of hundreds of investigative reporters from around the world, and their stories — published in Süddeutsche Zeitung and more than 100 media outlets — exposed the secret offshore holdings of world leaders, celebrities, criminals and more. ICIJ is not commenting on its sources and never pays for information. Known only as “John Doe,” the whistleblower behind the huge leak has always insisted on maintaining his anonymity, saying it is essential to ensure his survival. After the 2016 Panama Papers’ investigation exposed financial corruption and crimes by some of the world’s most powerful people, he issued an 1800-word manifesto explaining his thinking entitled “The Revolution Will Be Digitized.” Coincidentally, “John Doe” is a fictitious name typically used for anonymous male litigants in U.S. courts, and it is being used for the plaintiff in this case — but the court stated that the pseudonym did not suggest anything about the person’s sex. In rare public statements several years apart, the Panama Papers whistleblower has said that he has feared for his life and for his family’s safety, and that all whistleblowers deserve greater protection. The unknown court claimant is representing themself in the action first lodged in June in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. German authorities declined to comment. The court filings allege previously unreported information about the whistleblower’s thorny negotiations with Berlin for compensation and protection in the aftermath of the massive leak. In a written response to questions sent to an email address listed as part of the legal filings, the anonymous plaintiff told ICIJ that their lawsuit “should be a clear sign to the European Union that EU-wide whistleblowers protections are necessary.” The person wrote that they had filed a motion to appeal the ruling that they must identify themself to the court. Their emailed response further warned of the global repercussions of failing to take issues regarding the protection of whistleblowers seriously, stating: “[W]hile Germany played games Putin invaded Ukraine.” In their comments to ICIJ, the plaintiff cited the IRS whistleblower program, which includes provisions to pay sources for sharing information, as a potential model for the European Union. Jennifer Gibson, the legal director of The Signals Network, an international whistleblower support organization, said that if the complaint is accurate, the German government is running an ad hoc system to pay whistleblowers that lacks the formal protections of the U.S. system. As a result, she said, it “leaves whistleblowers unprotected, at risk and with no safe options when things go wrong or disputes arise.” “Germany should decide — does it want to run a whistleblower reward program or not?” she said. “If it does, then it should set up a transparent, formalized system that protects whistleblowers and prevents the type of backroom deals that allegedly occurred in this case.” The complaint outlines a perceived “serious threat posed to [the] Plaintiff’s life by numerous powerful and corrupt businessmen and politicians” who were exposed by the Panama Papers revelations, and states that the whistleblower recognized they would need money to protect themselves after the investigation’s release. The plaintiff states in the complaint that a “market exists for leaked tax data” and the German government had “paid in the past for data similar to the Panama Papers.” In early 2015, German authorities used evidence from an earlier Mossack Fonseca dataset it had purchased to launch a raid on a bank — data that ICIJ and Süddeutsche Zeitung also already obtained at that time. According to the court filing, in late 2016 and early 2017, the plaintiff began a months-long negotiation to sell the papers to Germany’s federal criminal police, known as the BKA, which sought to use the leak to uncover financial crimes and collect tax revenues. The complaint says the plaintiff, a U.S. citizen, accelerated the negotiations after the 2017 inauguration of Donald Trump, whose business interests came up several times in the Panama Papers. According to the court filing, the plaintiff says they traveled to Germany in February 2017 to continue negotiations with the BKA, which they accused of dragging out the talks, endangering the whistleblower’s safety, and eventually forcing them to pay rent at their German safe house. On June 23, 2017, however, the BKA and the whistleblower allegedly struck an agreement. The plaintiff included a document in their court filing written on BKA letterhead signed by “Vice President Henzler,” which the complaint says refers to BKA Vice President Peter Henzler, that lays out the alleged deal: The whistleblower would receive an initial payment of 5 million euros (about $5.6 million at the time), and 10% of any funds the German government collected as a result of the Panama Papers above 50 million euros. The BKA confirmed in a July 2017 press release that it was in possession of the Panama Papers, and anonymous German government sources said Berlin paid 5 million euros for them. A BKA spokesperson declined to comment to ICIJ about the lawsuit or how the papers were obtained. The complaint alleges the source received the initial “post-tax” payment of 5 million euros, but that BKA officers told them the funds recovered were far below the 50 million euro threshold that would entitle them to further payments. On April 9, 2021, BKA officers allegedly told the whistleblower that 13.5 million euros ($16 million at the time) had been recovered as a result of the Panama Papers. That same month, ICIJ reported that Germany recovered $195.7 million as a result of the leak. The plaintiff wants the U.S. court to order the German government to pay them at least $14.5 million. The complaint says that neither ICIJ nor its partners paid for the Panama Papers, which were provided “to expose a wide variety of crimes.” In addition to the struggle to maintain their anonymity, the plaintiff must also convince the court that it has jurisdiction over their case — challenges likely made more complex by the fact that they do not have legal representation. The complaint argues that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), a law that establishes criteria for when foreign states can be prosecuted, gives the court jurisdiction; the plaintiff told ICIJ that “there is no question” the FSIA applies. Scott R. Anderson, an expert in national security law and a fellow at the Brookings Institution, told ICIJ the matter was complicated. “The plaintiff may well have a plausible case…[but] it faces some serious and complex jurisdictional hurdles,” he said. The best way for the plaintiff to win this argument and secure his anonymity, Anderson said, was to hire a lawyer to represent them. “At best, these are close and contested legal issues that don’t have clear answers.” — International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. International Investigative Stories

Page 28 NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 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] SUB EDITORS: Mollen Chamisa, Gumisai Nyoni Business Development Officer: Nyasha Kahondo Cell: +263 71 937 1739 [email protected] Subscriptions & Distribution: +263 71 937 1739 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 Editorial & Opinion When they're begging for votes Dumisani Muleya Hawk Eye PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has signed into law the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Amendment Bill, 2022, which criminalises anyone caught “wilfully injuring the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe”. In one fell swoop, he has just cemented Harare’s credentials as the capital city of unmitigated impunity. He is doing this a month before the 23 August general elections. How on earth can the elections be free, fair and credible? The Bill was first published in the Government Gazette on 23 December 2022. It was passed by the National Assembly on 31 May 2023 and sailed through the Senate on 7 June 2023. It has now been assented to by the President, who has had more than enough time to listen to the voices of reason and abandon this unjust law. As correctly stated by human rights defenders including Amnesty International, this patently undemocratic law will open the door to violations of the human rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association. Moreover, the penalties provided by the Act range from loss of citizenship, denial of the right to vote and the death penalty. What is Mnangagwa's endgame? With the passing of the "Patriotic Act", his true colours have come to the fore, laying bare the catastrophic extent of his reformist posturing. For a man who has spent a lifetime in the shadows, one would expect him to fully understand the limits of naked deception. When he rose to power on the back of the November 2017 military coup, Mnangagwa promised a clean break with the past. He has failed spectacularly. Across the length and breadth of Zimbabwe, people are forlornly remarking how Mnangagwa is far worse than Robert Mugabe. Not only that — many are saying Ian Smith was a better devil. This is tragic for a man who masquerades as a Rambo-like liberator. What we are witnessing is a stark reminder that the transition of power itself does not guarantee immediate democratic change. Zimbabweans were sold a dummy in 2017. In the first place, there was no transition to talk about. The coup was no transition; it was a continuation of authoritarian rule. In that connection, we must scrutinise Zimbabwe's political culture and institutions. Democratic change requires not only a change in leadership but also a shift in the political culture and functioning of institutions. Long-standing political structures and practices can take time to transform. Mugabe may be gone, but Mugabeism and Zanuism are very much alive. But the Mnangagwa malaise runs deeper. From the word go, he has shown an unhealthy obsession with consolidation of power: After assuming the presidency, his rule has been characterised by a ruthless determination to consolidate power within the ruling party, by any means necessary. This explains why — in the 2023 election campaign — the "bhora musango" (internal Zanu PF sabotage) peril continues hanging precariously above his head like the proverbial sword of Damocles. It is an empirical fact that, even in the 2018 elections, Zanu PF parliamentary candidates garnered more votes than Mnangagwa. As a candidate, he is a hard sell. The brand of politics examplified by this newly promulgated draconian Act has severely limited the space for political opposition and weakened checks and balances in Zimbabwe. Zanu PF is incapable of reform and the evidence is glaring. Political change is a complex and multifaceted process. Factors like civil society activism, international pressure, and grassroots movements also contribute to shaping the political landscape. Zimbabwe's circumstances are of course unique, and achieving democratic change often requires sustained efforts, both from within and with external support. Mnangagwa’s new "Patriotic" Act is a scandalous subversion of Zimbabwe's constitutional freedoms. It cannot pass constitutional muster. The law is vague and overly broad. It is open to abuse. The constitution of Zimbabwe clearly stipulates the rights to freedoms of expression and assembly. Mnangagwa’s law will rip those constitutional guarantees to shreds. This is bad law. Mnangagwa has clumsily sought to disguise authoritarian overreach as law. He is failing to learn from history; the arc of the Zimbabwean polity is long, but it will eventually bend towards justice and freedom in the fullness of time. At the stroke of his pen, he has opened himself to a massive political backlash on the eve of an already difficult election while undoing his government's international diplomatic re-engagement drive and spooking the investor community. Mnangagwa may have just created a Frankenstein monster. Frankenstein monster!

NewsHawks Page 29 Issue 140, 14 July 2023 EVERY country should pay its sovereign debt. Default, we are told, is not an option. The United States pays interest on approximately US$850 billion in debt held by the People’s Republic of China. China, however, is currently in default on its sovereign debt held by American bondholders. These are some of the signs of a major shift in the global economic order. The global order is shifting and Zimbabwe has to be circumspect in dealing with the transformation. For better or for worse, the status quo powers (the US and the West) are weakening and on the other hand the perceived revisionists (China and the East) are encroaching upon the West’s former spheres of influence. What, one may wonder, gives the custodians of the current world order their power? And as such, what is their biggest vulnerability? This single variable, if it goes unchecked, will spill the beans of disaster for Washington and her allies. The US averted yet another threat of default on its sovereign debt. The US has been the strongest economy in the world since the Second World War. It possessed almost two-thirds of the global gold reserves which gave it immense financial strength and consequently legitimised the US dollar as a global reserve currency. Yet by 1971, the US had printed too much paper currency which threatened it with the inability to pay back the dollars it had printed, in gold, which was the trend before US President Richard Nixon scrapped the Gold Standard. This ushered in an era of fiat currencies which were pegged to the US dollar. But the dollar itself was not backed by any commodity which would act as a collateral. Money was being printed out of thin air. However, the US made sure to maintain the strength of the dollar by signing a deal with Saudi Arabia and later with other oil-producing countries, convincing them to sell their oil only in US dollars. This was the petrodollar and it ensured an artificial demand for the US currency. As the famous slogan in economic terms goes: No dollars, no trade, no energy. This, in turn, allowed the US financial institutions, especially the Federal Reserve, to print as many dollars as they wished since every country in the world had a demand for them. This came with its downsides, however. Being the most indebted country in the world, the US economy is prone to upheavals in international trade and energy supply. The dollar’s legitimacy depends on the demand that it possesses in global trade. If that demand is lowered, or worse, removed, countries holding US dollars as forex reserves would start selling their dollars in exchange for a new reserve currency or precious metals such as gold. The overselling of the dollar will automatically lower its price relative to other currencies, decreasing its value; as well as causing unprecedented inflation for dollar-dependent economies such as Zimbabwe and the US economy itself. Therefore, if the offshore US dollars find their way back into the mainstream US economy, that will cause extreme Dollar saturation and oversupply which has the capacity to crumble the entire US economy. The Petrodollar is the backbone of the US economy as well as its biggest liability and an existential threat to the US. This to some extent explains the US war on Iraq and later on in Libya where the trend of de-dollarisation was gaining traction on the state-policy level. The war in Ukraine manifested the multi-faceted vulnerabilities faced by nation-states. The world that the US helped create is slowly crumbling apart. International sanctions, one of the mainstays of the West’s dominance over the world, have backfired. Russia swiftly came under Western sanctions which, including other events, hindered its ability to trade in dollars. Russia’s exports are heavily dependent on fossil fuels with crude petroleum topping the list. Not only is Russia still able to sell its petroleum products, but it also is exporting it with an additional insult to injury to the West, by selling petroleum in return for the Russian ruble or the Chinese yuan. The case with the Chinese yuan is interesting and is reminiscent of the interwar period when the US had become the largest producer and exporter in the world which gave its currency, the dollar, great confidence. The same confidence is being shown by the yuan as some countries such as Pakistan have been reportedly paid yuan to Russia in return for crude oil. What might come as a surprise is the news circulating about India paying the Russians in yuan as well. Even India, which is considered a pivot for the US in the Indo-Pacific region, is prepared to ditch the dollar when and wherever suitable. China is in a highly favourable position to increase its relative power potential in the larger scheme of the global financial setup. The yuan is backed by the world’s second-largest economy and the largest exporter in the world. Due to the demand for Chinese products and the vast networks of trade that China has created for itself, the yuan will always be in demand if China maintains its heavily export-oriented economy. These are all prerequisites for a currency to attain global reserve status and China certainly possesses a leverage in that regard. Zimbabwe unfortunately is not able to be decisive about which side to pick. It is true that on the one hand Zimbabwe has China which has stood by its commitments throughout the good and bad times. It has lent military and economic support to Zimbabwe and has been its most reliable diplomatic partner as well. However, owing to our history of indulgence with the US, our economy is designed in a subservient model. Since Independence, instead of empowering our own economy through focusing on mass production and exports, we have relied mostly on the US Aid, economic assistance, and loans by the International Financial Institutions – which are overtly controlled by the US. Only economic self-sufficiency and self-reliance will allow us to steer our foreign policy in the direction we want. In this highly interdependent world, paradoxically, it is wiser to be least dependent on others but to have others dependent on you. Zimbabwe is not in such a position. Exercising an independent foreign policy with a crumbling economy solely surviving on foreign loans and deposits is not even a good fictional plot for the most preposterous of movies, let alone in the real world that we live in. However, in the long run, we need to make our decision. The West may be approaching relative weakening and the East will rise spearheaded by China, with support from the growing influence of the Brics; maybe not swiftly but in the coming 15 to 20 years. In that context, fortunately, Zimbabwe still has time to gradually align herself more with the states that protect or favour her economic interests. Therefore, the foremost focus must be on establishing a strong and reliable economy based on industrial production, advancements in the realm of sciences, and prioritising the national economy in such a way that the result comes in the shape of economic strength. *About the writer: Kaduwo is a researcher and economist. Contact: [email protected], WhatsApp +263773376128 New Perspectives Ditching the US dollar! Econometrics HawksView Tinashe Kaduwo

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 BERNARD MPOFU ZIMBABWE’S investment agency says a Chinese company has expressed interest in establishing a US$400 million coal-fired power plant in the country as the southern African nation races against time to comply with a looming ban on the use of fossil fuels. Experts say Zimbabwe, currently battling a huge energy deficit due to limited investment in the capital-intensive sector, has one of the largest coal reserves on the continent and may in future find itself in a Catch-22 situation as traditional source markets shift to renewable sources of energy such as hydro and wind. Zimbabwe heavily relies on coal for electricity production, with four out of five of its stateowned power stations being thermal powered. The country could find itself in a fix when the ban on coal comes into effect. According to the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (Zida) second-quarter report for the period ending June, the mining sector attracted the most investment during the period under review, with 62 new licenses issued and a projected investment value of US$202.7 million. The construction sector was the second-largest recipient of investment, with six new licences issued and a projected investment value of US$59.78 million. The services sector saw a significant increase in investment in the second quarter of 2023, with 43 new licences issued and a projected investment value of US$41.94 million. “The global boom in demand for energy has seen an increase in the number of investor inquiries into the sector,” reads the report. “In Q2 2023, 68% of projected investment value for all licences were issued in the energy sector. The highest projection for investment was from Zhongjin Heli Energy (Pvt) which proposed to bring US$400 million towards coal mining and thermal power generation in the Matabeleland North province. This is expected to eventually lead to increased power generation and reduction of the power supply deficit should all the projects be implemented as planned.” Zida says in 2022, licences were issued to investors from 22 countries, including Zimbabwe. During the first six months of 2023, the agency managed to draw investors from 32 countries. “During both periods, China had the highest number of investors and investment value by a considerable margin, with mining being the most preferred sector, followed by the manufacturing sector,” the report says. World leaders committed to a shift away from coal at the Glasgow climate summit, with signatories pledging. In 2021, world leaders, including Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, converged on Glasgow, Scotland, during the UN Climate Change Conference and pledged to end all investment in new coal power generation domestically and internationally. Countries of the global south currently play catch-up with industrialised nations which have for decades been relying on fossil fuel to power their thermal stations, among other uses. Africa’s most industrialised nation, South Africa, got a shot in the arm when it secured commitments for US$8.5 billion over the next five years from Britain, France, Germany, the United States of America and the European Union to reduce carbon emissions and develop new renewable energy projects. Zimbabwe heavily relies on coal for electricity production, with four out of five of its stateowned power stations being thermal powered. The country could find itself in a fix when the ban on coal comes into effect. World leaders committed to a shift away from coal at the Glasgow climate summit, with signatories pledging to end all investment in new coal power generation domestically and internationally. They also agreed to phase out coal power in the 2030s for major economies, and the 2040s for poorer nations. Data shows Zimbabwe holds 553 million tonnes of proven coal reserves, ranking 38th in the world. China has directed billions of dollars into coal power in other countries over the past decade, largely as part of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), its massive, international infrastructure development project. During this period, the country ranked as one of the world’s largest funders of overseas coal-based energy, along with South Korea and Japan. Two years ago, Zesa executive chairperson Sydney Gata told journalists visiting Hwange Power Station that China’s decision has instantaneously affected two major projects in Zimbabwe. “It must be noted that the economies of countries such as Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe were constructed on fossil fuel as the primary energy source,” Gata said. “The economy of Zimbabwe has been touted as the fastest growing economy in Africa by the IMF and the World Bank. This growth was based on a fossil fuel economy. Hence decisions to cut funding on fossil fuel energy will leave a profound gap in the economic and social stability of the Sadc countries. Their targets for United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be missed, as all the SDGs are predicated on electricity supply which is available, accessible and affordable.” Chinese President Xi Jinping recently said at the UN General Assembly that China — the world’s largest public financier — “will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad”. Chinese banks have already swung into action. Three days after Xi’s speech, the Bank of China announced it would no longer provide financing for new coal-mining and power projects outside the country from the last quarter of this year. Xi’s statement is expected to affect at least 54 gigawatts — which involve Zimbabwe’s projects — of proposed China-backed coal plants that are not yet under construction. Chinese investor plans a US$400m plant for Zim Hwange Thermal Power Station

NewsHawks Page 31 Issue 140, 14 July 2023 Companies & Markets BERNRAD MPOFU WHILE the government says the volume of locally-manufactured products in the retail sector rose to 85% last year from 40% five years ago, a weakening economy and rising price levels have forced the authorities to endlessly relax import requirements to plug a deficit in output, raising questions on the validity of official figures. As election season gathers momentum, post-cabinet Press briefings have become platforms for ministers to hype-up achievements made since their appointment, with the hope of retaining their portfolios or better ones despite the starkly contrasting realities on the ground. Zimbabwe, a net importer, has been relying on imports of both finished products and throughput from its key trading partners such as South Africa and China. However, Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa recently projected a different picture during a post-cabinet briefing. She said manufactured exports have increased in value from US$324 million in 2021 to US$366 million in 2022, with most exported products being food, manufactured tobacco, textiles and packaging. Capacity utilisation increased from 47% in 2020 to 66% in 2022. “The strong performance in the industry and commerce sector demonstrates that the Second Republic led by His Excellency the President, Cde E.D. Mnangagwa, is walking its talk in industrialising and modernising the economy, as well as economic growth,” Mutsvangwa said. “Cabinet would like to advise that the State of Industry Booklet detailing performance in the industry and commerce sector is available for public reference.” Despite hyping-up the state of the manufacturing sector, realities on the ground paint a different picture. The government has over the years been gazetting several statutory instruments relaxing import restrictions. The minister Finance and Economic Development gazetted Statutory Instrument 89 of 2023: Customs and Excise (Suspension) (Amendment) Regulations, 2023 to suspend duty in the importation of ammonium nitrate solution by listed companies for a period of 12 months. The duty would be suspended for specified amounts of ammonium nitrate. The suspension of duty will not suspend value-added tax (VAT) and the companies will still be expected to pay VAT for the imported ammonium nitrate. Treasury has in the past gazetted statutory instruments relaxing the importation of groceries, reflecting how uncompetitive local producers have been and also how they are failing to meet domestic demand. Last October, Kurai Matsheza, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) president, left delegates attending the ZimTrade Exporters’ Conference shocked when he said famine-hit Somalia fared better than the southern African nation in terms of export diversification. “There is a need to diversify, obviously, our production processes. Mining and services are coming up but more than 70% of our exports are mineral-based,” Matsheza said. “In terms of the export diversification index, Zimbabwe is about 2.5, which is even lower than countries such as Somalia. The higher the number, the less diversified you are. So, the ideal situation is to move closer to zero . . . Only 18% of products exported by Zimbabwe have shown some competitive advantage,” Matsheza said. Just to bring that into perspective, according to the World Bank, in the early 2000s, Zimbabwe used to introduce 600 new products in the export basket. The rate of discovery (export of previously un-exported products), however, has been declining and in 2019 it dropped to just five. According to the Zimbabwe National Statistical Agency figures for the volume of the manufacturing index for the first three months of the year, the average output index for foodstuffs for the first quarter of 2023 was 390.3 compared to 625.2 recorded in the 4th quarter of 2022. This reflected a 37.6% decrease in foodstuffs production. Immediately, Zimbabwe’s quest to transition into an upper middle-income economy by 2030 was brought into sharp focus and questions were asked as to how feasible this ambitious project is without a robust export-driven development plan. For decades, economic diversification has been a policy priority for low-income and middle-income economies. Zimbabwe, which at Independence had one of the most diversified economies on the continent, has often been cited as a case study on the efficacy of sanctions. During the 1965 Universal Declaration of Independence era under former late prime minister Ian Smith, Rhodesia, a British territory in southern Africa that had governed itself since 1923, now regarded itself as an independent sovereign state. It was slapped with sanctions, but emerged stronger. Through a combination of inward-looking policies and an aggressive industrialisation drive, Rhodesia, which later became Zimbabwe at Independence in 1980, managed to build a solid manufacturing sector with forward and backward linkages and its core infrastructure continues to stand to this day. Reality disproves electioneering

Page 32 NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023 Companies & Markets BERNARD MPOFU ZIMBABWE’S investment agency wants Treasury to scrap the Intermediated Money Transfer Tax (IMTT), saying this will improve the country's business environment. Debt-ridden Zimbabwe has been primarily relying on domestic resources such as taxes and grants to finance some of its key capital projects as the economy continues to underperform. Finance minister Mthuli Ncube last month reduced IMTT in foreign currency to 1% from 2% to ameliorate transactional costs which had been blamed to pushing up prices. Market watchers say the reduction of US dollar IMTT will hopefully encourage some return of USD deposits into the banking sector, potentially resulting in some uptick in liquidity. The Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency says removing the tax will make the country more attractive to investors. Zimbabwe has been lagging regional peers on attracting foreign direct investment. Critics blame this on policy inconsistency, bureaucratic inertia and poor infrastructure, among other factors. “The Minister of Finance and Economic Development gazetted an Amendment to the Finance Rate of Intermediated Money Transfer Tax (IMTT) Regulations which aim to reduce the rate of IMTT charged on individual transactions,” Zida says in its first-half investment report. “The rate was reduced from 2% to 1%, a decision which the Agency considers as a step towards the right direction. Lowering IMTT tax will positively impact ease of doing business in Zimbabwe and the Agency can only hope for the tax to be reduced to 0.” Before last month’s reduction of IMTT, retail giant OK Zimbabwe groaned over the tax saying the threshold was a huge burden to the business. Experts say apart from the weakening domestic currency currently pushing prices, the country’s multiple layers of tax are also inflationary. IMTT is now applied to all transactions, even on formal businesses that also pay corporate tax. Local businesses are also battling low aggregate demand due to a weakening Zimbabwe dollar, rising inflation and prolonged power outages. BERNARD MPOFU A NEW report by a quasi-government entity has shown that multiple layers of laws and regulations continue to worsen Zimbabwe’s ease of doing business and competitiveness despite pronouncements by the executive projecting the country as pro-business. After taking power in 2017 following a military-assisted transition, President Emmerson Mnangagwa promised to break with the past and adopt a raft of neoliberal policies to make Zimbabwe an attractive investment destination. Driven by Mnangagwa’s "Zimbabwe is open for business" mantra, the government then remodelled its investment agency along that of Rwanda and established a national competitive commission. Experts also say Zimbabwe may fail to realise much from the enormous potential of the over one billion people strong market once the African Continental Free Trade Area takes shape. According the World Bank, Zimbabwe remained on position 140 out of 190 economies on the 2020 World Bank Ease of Doing Business.The country of improved to 140 in 2019 from 155 in 2018. According to the latest NCC report titled: The Effects of Laws and Regulations on Zimbabwe's Competitiveness and the Role for Regulatory Impact Assessment, Zimbabwe should do more to make its business climate friendly to both domestic and foreign capital. Government agencies issue numerous business regulations every year in the form of primary legislation, secondary legislation such as statutory instruments (SIs) guidelines, circulars, manuals, and formats notifications. These regulations govern the operation of businesses by setting out the legal requirements for achieving policy objectives. As such, regulations are necessary for a well-functioning, market-based economy, but they, according to the NCC, do not always achieve their socio-economic goals. “The regulatory environment can either promote or hamper business operations. Like fish in the water which is fine when water is clean and not contaminated, businesses thrive when the regulatory environment is clean and not contaminated by toxic regulations,” reads the NCC report. “Regulations can, however, have significant negative effects on businesses. It is therefore important to put a filter Regulatory Impact Assesment (RIA) within the country’s regulatory governance cycle to remove toxic regulations. “Zimbabwe’s regulatory business environment has for a long time been considered business unfriendly. Business owners, business associations, media, international observers and organisations and key indices measuring the business environment in Zimbabwe have called out the country’s unconducive regulatory business environment. To this end, the introduction of RIA is undebatable.” The RIA, the reports says, acts as a gauge to test the quality of regulations. It therefore filters “toxic regulations”, thereby managing the quality of the regulatory inflow and stock. “The major important benefit of RIA is that it provides crucial information to decision-makers on whether and how to regulate with a view to achieve public policy goals,” says the NCC. “Significant benefits of RIA derive from adopting a structured, rational thinking, decision-making, and consultation process. A well-functioning RIA system assists policymakers in identifying the potential outcomes of proposed regulations and determine whether regulations will achieve the intended objectives. “Competitiveness and the regulatory environment of a country are key to economic growth and development as well as improvement of the standards of living for Zimbabwe. To this end, continued implementation of policies, strategies and programmes that addresses competitiveness gaps is key if the country is to successfully enhance all competitiveness aspects of the economy. However, this requires concerted efforts by all stakeholders, including Government, Private Sector, amongst others.” Regulations, the report further noted, can have unintended negative effects and, as a result, limit the competitiveness of business. “One of the most obvious (negative) effects of regulations is that it increases the costs of doing business, the report reads. “Other regulations may distort the healthy competition in the marketplace, for example, by creating market barriers, or disrupt innovation, or impeding international trade. Scrap money transfer tax: Zida Lip service to ease of doing business Finance minister Mthuli Ncube

NewsHawks Page 33 Issue 140, 14 July 2023 Companies & Markets PRISCA TSHUMA CLOTHING retailer Truworths is hoping to turn around its business prospects after shareholders approved the company’s capital-raising initiative to beef up its balance sheet. Faced with growing competition and battling a weakening economy, the apparel retailer —which also has famous brands such as Topics and Number 1 stores — has been scaling down on operations by closing some branches to stay afloat. In its latest financial report for the half-year ended 3 January 2023, Truworths raised concerns over the continuity of the business in the face of the diminishing economy. The transaction was proposed to sustain the viability of the business, raise additional capital, at a sustainable cost in light of the high interest rate environment. The company issued a renounceable rights offer of 384 067 512 ordinary shares at a price of ZW$5.80 per rights offer share in a bid to raise US$2.2 million for working capital. Themba Ndebele, Truworths chief executive, told The NewsHawks that the shareholders had an extraordinary general meeting on 4 July to discuss the resolution of the rights offer. “We had our extraordinary general meeting for the capital raise by way of a renounceable rights offer on 4 July. The shareholders approved the rights offer and the rights offer opens on Friday 14 July,” he said. He said the offer was supported by three major shareholders and underwritten by one of the major shareholders. Renounceable rights are rights to purchase a set number of shares in a company at a discounted price, offered to existing shareholders when a company wants to raise more capital. This offer usually coincides with the company’s decision to issue a new round of stock, which would dilute the shareholders’ equity in the company. In a circular to its shareholders, the company stressed the necessity of implementing the rights offer because it was the last hope for its sustainability. “If the renounceable rights offer is not implemented as outlined in this circular, the company will be unable to effectively sustain its operations and growth. The company will face severe cash flow constraints, high finance costs, and reduced working capital,” said the retailer. The informal sector has posed threats to the continuity of the company, as the cross-border runners have flooded the market eating into Truworths market share. These cross-border runners hold an unfair competitive position due to the low prices that they offer compared to the prices offered at Truworths. There have been allegations that Truworths has been failing to pay its employees’ salaries for the past five months. However, Ndebele dismissed the claims, saying he is not aware of non-payment of salaries. BERNRAD MPOFU THE Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe has warned that the macro-economic environment will remain unstable as pressure piles on the authorities to print more money ahead of the 23 August general elections. Already, election-related spending by the government is shooting through the roof as President Emmerson Mnangagwa goes for broke, spending public funds to retain his position after the polls. Just this week, Cabinet resolved to increase the public sector wage bill to cushion workers from rising inflation. “The economy remains fragile on the back of inflation pressures, exchange rate volatility, capital constrains and infrastructure deficits,” the Chamber said it its first-quarter review for 2023. “Macro-economic instability may persist, given that traditionally election years are accompanied by populist interventions that typically result in monetary growth, exchange rate volatility and high inflation.” During the period under review, business bemoaned rolling power outages for affecting output. The power supply situation during the first quarter of 2023 was depressed, with widespread power outages across all sectors of the economy. Domestic generation averaged around 700 megawatts against peak demand exceeding 1 500MW. Frequent breakdowns at Hwange Power Station and low water levels at Kariba Hydro Power Station resulted in low domestic power generation. Key sectors such as mining were the worst affected, with reports of outages exceeding 12 hours a day. In the outlook, while power supply is set to improve (on the back of the synchronisation of Hwange units 7 and 8 as well as improved water allocation at Kariba hydro power station), power supply remains fragile against the backdrop of frequent breakdowns at Hwange units 1 to 6. “The power supply situation coupled with worsening domestic structural bottlenecks are expected to negatively impact on domestic economic growth,” reads the report. “Government is projecting economic growth to slow down to 3.8% in 2023. Meanwhile the situation is expected to be worsened by the combined effect of high inflation and exchange rate volatility which has resulted in macro-economic instability during the period under review.” The International Monetary Fund, in its 2023 publications, revised downwards global economic growth projection for this year to 2.5% from the original forecast of 2.9%. The revised forecasts are on the back of emerging risks including tight global financial conditions, worsening trade and diplomatic relations between China and the United States as well as ongoing conversations around currency options to replace the US dollar in global trade. Election-linked spending terribly strains economy Truworths hopes to turn around prospects Power outages are affecting key sectors such as mining.

Page 34 Companies & Markets NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023 BERNARD MPOFU ZIMBABWE’S wobbling economy and the uncertainty around the August general elections may trigger a sell-off on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) as risk-averse foreign investors exit the market, a new report by FBC Securities has shown. Local firms migrated to the foreign currency-indexed VFEX while a handful others came to the bourse to raise capital as a safe haven at a time the economy was facing currency volatilities. Official figures show that market capitalisation advanced 127% between December and June 2023 to US$1.29 million as the bourse has seen a number of listings to date. The benchmark VFEX ALSI has however shed 23% in the year to 30 June. Experts say while local authorities maintain a more optimistic outlook for the country’s gross domestic product growth this year, expecting growth of around 6% as opposed to an initial 3.8% projection, existing global and local economic complexities point us to a more conservative outlook for the local economy. The World Bank has revised its projections for the Zimbabwean economy downwards from an initial growth forecast of 3.6% to 2.9%, citing global shocks, structural bottlenecks, and price and exchange rate instability as restrictive factors. The local currency has also faced increasing pressure, particularly in the last months of the first half, losing 739% and 742% of its value against the US dollar on the official and parallel market, respectively, between December 2022 and June 2023. “Performance on the Victoria Falls Exchange has remained largely subdued in the first half of the year, with selling pressure generally prevalent,” FBC says in its H1 (first half) and Outlook report. “Ahead of the 2023 general elections, we expect a cautious sentiment to prevail among investors as they continue to assess the impact of the elections on business. Historically, election periods have been marred by economic volatility and bouts of violence, which may dampen investor confidence. “Despite the growing trend of dollarisation locally, with estimates of the economy being over 80% dollarised, the VFEX remains dominated by sellers. We anticipate investors will remain cautious moving into elections and the second half of the year, which may increase selling pressure and limit the amount of foreign currency directed to the USD-denominated bourse.” A sell-off occurs when a large volume of securities are sold in a short period of time, causing the price of a security to fall in rapid succession. As more shares are offered than buyers are willing to accept, the decline in price may accelerate as market psychology turns pessimistic. Uncertainty may trigger VFEX sell-off

Page 35 WHEN I entered the public relations profession, I was associated with the sobriquet "spin doctor." I learned soon enough that it had nothing to do with cricket and it was being used less flatteringly. The term found fame through Nicholas Jones’ book, “Sultans of Spin,” itself an interesting twist to the hit song Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits. In the book, Jones skilfully explains the symbiotic relationship between politicians and the media, shedding light on the tactics used to shape narratives and control the flow of information. The more palatable alternative to the term "spin" is perception management. Perception management is controlling how people view something. It involves the strategic use of communication tools and techniques to influence how people think and feel about a particular subject. PR, marketing, and political communication habitually resort to this practice. Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky popularised the other related term "manufacturing consent" in their book of the same name. According to the authors, this refers to the systematic manipulation of the media and public opinion to serve the interests of those in power. The term that we are most used to is "propaganda," which is often associated with politics of the gutter type. Interestingly, it has found currency in public relations and corporate communication. Perception management seeks to shape people's views. One cannot say the same about propaganda. Interchanging the terms is a precarious proposition. Elections are important in a democracy, giving citizens the chance to choose their representatives. Edward Bernays, a founding father of PR, said "propaganda" is essential in a democratic society. “Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government, which is the true ruling power of our country,” he said. He argued that propaganda can be used as a tool for democratic and corporate manipulation of the population in his book. Bernays believed that propaganda could be a force for good if it were truthful and directed towards goals that were positive for society. However, the process is not always as straightforward as it seems, especially in countries like Zimbabwe, where the political landscape is often fraught with tension and uncertainty. In such contexts, the role of perception management in PR is paramount, particularly in manufacturing consent during elections. Public relations, at its core, is about managing relationships and communicating messages to build mutual understanding. In the election process, PR can help shape public opinion, influence voter behaviour, and manage the perception of candidates, their campaigns, and political parties. In Zimbabwe, like in many other countries, public consent is not simply given; it is manufactured through strategic perception manRole of perception management in Zimbabwe's general elections agement. This involves the deliberate shaping of the public's understanding and interpretation of the political process, the candidates, and the issues at stake, creating a favourable disposition towards a particular candidate or party. The role of PR in this process is multifaceted. First, PR professionals help craft the narrative around the candidate. This narrative, often built on the candidate's track record, promises, and personality, is disseminated through various channels, including the media, campaign events, and social media. This narrative helps to shape the public's perception of the candidate, influencing their voting decisions. Second, PR plays a significant role in what we call "issue management." This involves identifying potential issues or controversies that could damage a candidate's image and crafting strategies to mitigate these risks. This could involve pre-emptive actions, such as clarifying the candidate's stance on contentious issues, or reactive strategies, such as managing crisis communication when a controversy arises. Third, PR is crucial to stakeholder management. In an election, stakeholders include not only voters but also political allies, donors, and the media. “PR professionals help to manage these relationships, ensuring that they remain favourable and contribute positively to the candidate's image.” In Zimbabwe, the political atmosphere is often very charged. “PR’s role in managing perceptions under these circumstances becomes even more critical.” This is true, given the history of election-related controversies and allegations of electoral manipulation. Here, PR not only helps to manage the image of the candidates but also contributes to creating a perception of a free and fair election process. In a country where media freedom is not guaranteed, PR takes the middle road free from the labelling that has tarnished the climate in the country. While media is said to be polarised into either stateowned or private, PR has become a vital tool for candidates and parties to communicate their messages directly to the public. This involves not only traditional PR tactics but also the strategic use of digital media and social networks, which have become increasingly influential in shaping public opinion. The importance of perception management by PR in manufacturing consent during elections cannot be overstated. They are pivotal in shaping the public's perception of the candidates and the election process, influencing voting decisions, and determining the outcome of the elections. However, while PR can be a powerful tool for positive change, it can also be misused to manipulate public opinion and undermine the democratic process. Therefore, it is crucial that ethical standards and a commitment to transparency and truthfulness guide the practice of PR in elections. We will examine this crucial aspect in a future article. In conclusion, the role of PR in elections, particularly in Zimbabwe, is critical. From crafting the candidate's narrative to managing issues and stakeholders and communicating the right messages to the public, PR plays an essential role in gaining consent during elections. *About the writer: Lenox Mhlanga is a strategic communications consultant with over 23 years of experience in the profession. He has worked for the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, as well as blue chip clients inside and outside Zimbabwe. He is a mentor, facilitator, lecturer, and adviser, as well as PR thought leader. Mobile: +263 772 400 645 Email: [email protected] Corporate Communications Lenox Lizwi Mhlanga People queue in order to cast their ballot outside a polling station located in the suburb of Mbare in Zimbabwe's capital Harare, on July 30, 2018. Luis Tato—AFP/Getty Images NewsHawks Companies & Markets Issue 140, 14 July 2023

Page 36 News Analysis Stock Taking Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Pricelist ` Top 5 Gainers Top 5 Losers Value Leaders ($) Top 5 Gainers YTD Market Cap ($mn) 10,505,122.50 0.99% Masimba 6.26% NMB -14.98% Delta 620,926,100 SeedCo 2315.24% All Share Index 131,829.50 -0.42% Delta 3.68% FML -14.93% Masimba 547,335,600 FBC 1593.55% Top 10 Index 63,158.87 -0.54% RTG 0.31% Zimpapers -13.60% Econet 104,874,200 Cafca 1559.20% Value Traded ($) 1,411,228,620.00 -27.31% OK Zimbabwe 0.24% Hippo -10.90% Meikles 50,018,500 ZHL 1519.05% Interbank rate (USD/ZWL) 4,985.0615 -0.06% - - Star Africa -7.33% OK Zimbabwe 42,164,060 Tanganda 1349.09% Market Cap (US$mn) 2,107.3205 0.99% YTD Movement (%) -30.33%  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 200,000.00 - 200,000.00 - 200,000.00 - - 119.49 238,989.04 47.94 659.30% 4.23% Ariston ARISTON: ZH 3,055.00 3,050.00 3,015.22 -1.30% 3,055.00 2,300 69,350.00 1,627.40 49,069.56 9.84 643.76% 2.10% Art ARTD: ZH 6,000.00 - 6,000.00 - 6,000.00 - - 436.98 26,218.64 5.26 328.57% -41.17% Bridgerfort MMDZ: ZH 1,710.00 - 1,710.00 - 1,710.00 - - 12.00 205.20 0.04 113.75% -70.66% Bridgerfort Class B 2,930.00 - 2,930.00 - 2,930.00 - - 1.32 38.79 0.01 12.69% -84.53% BAT BAT: ZH 1,919,743.26 - 1,919,743.26 - 1,919,743.26 - - 20.63 396,110.55 79.46 585.84% -5.85% Border BRDR: ZH SUSPENDED - - - - - - 42.94 0.00 0.00 - - Cafca CAFCA: ZH 332,006.67 - 332,006.67 - 332,006.67 - - 8.74 29,001.14 5.82 1559.20% 127.77% CBZ CBZ: ZH 90,620.00 90,620.00 90,620.00 - 90,620.00 600 543,720.00 522.66 473,635.82 95.01 571.26% -7.85% CFI CFI: ZH 256,280.00 256,200.00 256,200.00 -0.03% 256,280.00 5,000 12,810,000.00 106.04 271,676.72 54.50 522.30% -14.57% Delta DLTA: ZH 196,043.33 203,010.00 203,249.15 3.68% 196,043.33 305,500 620,926,100.00 1305.85 2,654,128.22 532.42 464.94% -22.45% Dairibord DZL: ZH 29,000.00 - 29,000.00 - 29,000.00 - - 358.00 103,820.25 20.83 728.57% 13.74% Ecocash EHZL:ZH 15,788.34 - 15,788.34 - 15,788.34 - - 2590.58 409,009.14 82.05 293.91% -45.93% Econet*** ECO: ZH 58,598.13 58,500.00 58,523.55 -0.13% 58,598.13 179,200 104,874,200.00 2590.58 1,516,097.53 304.13 507.87% -16.55% Edgars EDGR: ZH 10,795.02 - 10,795.02 - 10,795.02 - - 604.25 65,228.67 13.08 1036.32% 55.99% FBC FBC: ZH 105,000.00 - 105,000.00 - 105,000.00 - - 671.95 705,547.42 141.53 1593.55% 132.49% Fidelity Life FIDL: ZH 10,000.00 - 10,000.00 - 10,000.00 - - 108.92 10,892.33 2.18 316.67% -42.80% First Mutual FMLH: ZH 26,450.00 22,500.00 22,500.00 -14.93% 26,450.00 100 22,500.00 690.14 155,282.19 31.15 778.91% 20.65% First Mutual Properties FMP: ZH 9,375.00 - 9,375.00 - 9,375.00 - - 1,238.16 116,077.25 23.29 681.25% 7.25% GB Holdings GBH: ZH 1,100.00 1,100.00 1,100.00 - 1,100.00 700 7,700.00 536.59 5,902.47 1.18 513.36% -15.80% GetBucks GBFS: ZH 4,370.00 - 4,370.00 - 4,370.00 - - 1,163.12 50,828.27 10.20 100.46% -72.48% Hippo HIPO: ZH 258,140.70 230,000.00 230,000.00 -10.90% 258,140.70 200 460,000.00 193.02 443,947.30 89.06 1159.59% 72.91% Lafarge LACZ: ZH - SUSP - - 0.00 - - 80.00 0.00 0.00 - - Mash MASH: ZH 10,226.91 - 10,226.91 - 10,226.91 - - 1,687.58 172,587.70 34.62 1005.89% 51.81% Masimba MSHL: ZH 85,675.00 85,675.00 91,040.52 6.26% 85,675.00 601,200 547,335,600.00 241.65 220,002.79 44.13 1038.64% 56.31% Meikles MEIK: ZH 79,755.81 67,795.00 74,543.22 -6.54% 79,755.81 67,100 50,018,500.00 256.15 190,943.01 38.30 565.56% -8.63% Nampak NPKZ: ZH 11,878.03 11,600.00 11,664.29 -1.80% 11,878.03 1,400 163,300.00 755.65 88,140.99 17.68 1194.59% 77.72% NMB NMB: ZH 20,665.00 17,570.00 17,570.00 -14.98% 20,665.00 800 140,560.00 404.17 71,012.97 14.25 366.46% -35.97% NTS NTS: ZH 1,850.00 - 1,850.00 - 1,850.00 - - 253.87 4,696.64 0.94 81.37% -75.10% OK Zimbabwe OKZ: ZH 19,242.01 19,000.00 19,288.23 0.24% 19,242.01 218,600 42,164,060.00 1,296.31 250,035.61 50.16 496.80% -18.07% Old Mutual OMU: ZH - SUSP - - 0.00 - - 62.68 0.00 0.00 - - PPC PPC: ZH - SUSP - - 0.00 - - 37.09 0.00 0.00 - - Proplastics PROL: ZH 45,000.00 - 45,000.00 - 45,000.00 - - 251.94 113,371.03 22.74 -75.91% 87.20% RTG RTG: ZH 11,465.00 11,500.00 11,465.00 0.31% 11,465.00 300 34,500.00 2,495.50 286,108.56 57.39 1192.56% 77.44% Seedco SEED: ZH 187,916.56 179,985.00 179,985.00 -4.22% 187,916.56 16,000 28,797,600.00 249.37 448,835.20 90.04 2315.24% 231.56% Star Africa SACL: ZH 648.21 600.00 600.72 -7.33% 648.21 282,900 1,699,445.00 4,715.08 28,324.45 5.68 183.61% -61.07% Tanganda TANG:ZH 129,500.00 - 129,500.00 - 129,500.00 - - 261.06 338,078.64 67.82 1349.09% 98.93% Truworths TRUW: ZH 1,050.00 - 1,050.00 - 1,050.00 - - 384.07 4,032.71 0.81 281.82% -47.59% TSL TSL: ZH 54,000.00 - 54,000.00 - 54,000.00 - - 358.08 193,361.56 38.79 1127.14% 68.46% Turnall TURN: ZH 1,300.00 1,300.00 1,300.00 - 1,300.00 500 6,500.00 493.04 6,409.52 1.29 229.32% -54.79% Unifreight UNIF: ZH 20,460.00 - 20,460.00 - 20,460.00 - - 106.47 21,784.63 4.37 296.13% -45.62% Willdale WILD: ZH 1,821.28 1,800.00 1,800.00 -1.17% 1,821.28 100 1,800.00 1,778.00 32,004.03 6.42 900.00% 37.28% ZBFH ZBFH: ZH 74,700.00 - 74,700.00 - 74,700.00 - - 175.19 130,867.41 26.25 561.35% -9.21% Zeco ZECO: ZH 3.31 - 3.31 - 3.31 - - 463.34 15.34 0.00 0.00% -86.27% ZHL ZHL: ZH 8,500.00 - 8,500.00 - 8,500.00 - - 1,818.22 154,548.60 31.00 1519.05% 122.26% Zimpapers ZIMP: ZH 1,165.64 995.00 1,007.15 -13.60% 1,165.64 114,500 1,153,185.00 576.00 5,801.18 1.16 317.40% -42.70% Zimplow Holdings ZIMPLOW: ZH - SUSP - - 0.00 - - 344.58 0.00 0.00 -100.00% -100.00% Hwange HCCL: ZH SUSPENDED - - - - - 167.89 - - - - RioZim RIOZ: ZH 18,400.00 - 18,400.00 - 18,400.00 - - 122.03 22,453.42 4.50 31.43% -81.97% 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 603.33 600.00 600.00 -0.55% 603.33 36,280 217,680.00 257.23 0.05 233.33% -54.24% Datvest Modified Consumer Staples ETF 974.19 950.00 950.00 -2.48% 974.19 16,500 156,750.00 2,152.06 0.43 508.97% -16.40% Morgan&Co Made in Zimbabwe 765.00 680.00 680.00 -11.11% 765.00 10,580 71,944.00 16,741.60 3.36 497.80% -17.94% Morgan&Co Multi Sector 20,893.19 - 20,893.19 0.00% 20,893.19 - - 26,310.34 5.28 808.40% 24.70% OM ZSE Top-10 ETF 3,400.00 3,300.00 3,300.00 -2.94% 3,400.00 3,338 110,154.00 4,739.63 0.95 412.41% -29.66% 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 25,428.00 23,000.00 23,000.00 -9.55% 25,428.00 10 2,300.00 165,444.29 33.19 461.20% -22.96% Victoria Falls Stock Exchange Pricelist Market Cap US$ (mn) 976.07 -0.23% All Share Index 73.43 -0.17% Value Traded US$ 88,681.92 91%  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 (%) African Sun ASUN:ZH 4.06 - 4.06 0.00% 8.64 - - 1,432.52 58.16 289,932.73 54.96% 722.81% Axia Corporation Limited AXIA:ZH 6.00 5.00 5.03 -16.17% 14.75 55,000 2,766.38 552.15 27.77 138,450.84 -57.49% 209.69% BNC BIND:ZH 1.03 - 1.03 0.00% 1.03 - - 1,272.73 13.11 65,349.62 -55.22% 226.22% Caledonia CMCL:ZH 1,600.00 - 1,600.00 0.00% 1,600.00 - - 0.62 9.92 49,451.81 23.08% 796.56% FCB FCB:ZH 1.80 2.00 2.00 11.11% 1.80 1,000 20.00 2,159.81 43.20 215,336.20 20.63% 533.02% Innscor Africa Limited INN:ZH 44.99 45.00 45.00 0.02% 44.99 200 90.00 571.20 257.04 1,281,354.59 -31.61% 398.21% National Foods Holdings Limited NTFD: ZH 200.00 200.00 200.00 0.00% 200.00 4,687 9,374.00 68.40 136.80 681,957.49 11.96% 715.56% NedBank Zim Depository Receipts 1,200.00 - 1,200.00 0.00% 1,200.00 - - 0.16 1.92 9,581.19 4.35% 660.13% Padenga PHL:ZH 20.50 - 20.50 0.00% 20.50 - - 544.30 111.58 556,242.08 -10.56% 551.54% Seed Co Intl SCIL:ZH 26.45 26.45 26.45 0.00% 26.45 1,172 309.99 393.65 104.12 519,043.84 -11.69% 543.33% Simbisa SIM:ZH 38.00 37.00 37.79 -0.55% 38.00 200,768 76,121.55 562.18 212.45 1,059,074.48 3.25% 652.14% West Prop Holdings Limited 1,000.00 - 1,000.00 0.00% 1,000.00 - - - - - 0.00% 244.06% * 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 ϭϰ :ƵůLJ͕ ϮϬϮϯ ϭϰ :ƵůLJ͕ϮϬϮϯ NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023

News Analysis Page 37 NATHAN GUMA THE Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) might have done well by symbolically moving to halt the arbitrary banning of opposition campaign rallies by a partisan police service, but actual progress will be judged by practical realities on the ground as the country heads for the polls. This week, the ZRP confirmed a leaked memorandum which ordered its provincial and district commanders to stop the random ban on opposition campaign rallies, amid indications of a hostile political and security environment ahead of crucial elections. The memo, written on 8 July by police commander of the 2023 general elections, Commissioner Ndofandaedza Jaboon, said that rallies must not be banned out of partisan whim. Jaboon said rallies can only be banned when there are compelling reasons in terms of the law as that triggers political tensions and discredits the electoral process and elections. “Commanders should note that for elections to be deemed free, fair and peaceful and credible, the playing field should be reckoned as level, hence the police actions should not discredit the electoral processes,” read the letter directed to officer commanding police provinces, officer commanding Support Unit, director of the Criminal Investigation Department and the director of police intelligence.   “The Regulatory Authorities (officers commanding districts) should acquaint themselves with provisions of the Electoral Act and MOPA [Maintenance of Peace and Order Act] as to make informed decisions. The purpose of this legal instrument is for the police to prepare and take actions aimed at ensuring that any political activity is done peacefully. “Of late social media has been awash with incidences where some political parties claim to have been denied the right to hold their rallies by the police resulting in skirmishes. These skirmishes are discrediting the electoral process, as such, commanders are requested to ensure that political parties are allowed to hold rallies unless there are very valid reasons to warrant such rejections. Under such circumstances, Regulating Authorities are urged to thoroughly consult before coming up with decisions to deny any political player opportunity to hold a rally or meeting.”  However, two days after the memo was released, the police moved in to ban the opposition CCC’s Gokwe rally, laying bare the growing divisions within the police service. The move to ban the Gokwe rally, despite the release of the memo also suggested that the deep state has been busy at work, fuelling tensions for calculated political reasons to benefit sinister characters acting from the shadows. Ironically, Zanu PF has been allowed to carry out its programmes unhindered while police and other state security agents are being used to thwart opposition activities. Political analysts say while police have done well by imposing an arbitrary ban on opposition rallies, progress will be judged in the run up to the polls. “It is a game of deception. The message that they released that they would like to stop CCC rallies recklessly as they were doing is not a message that changes their approach, but rather it is a message for the media and election observers, that intends to portray the police in a positive light whilst the policy of banning CCC continues on the ground,” said Rashweat Mukundu, a political analyst, in an interview with The NewsHawks. “Essentially, they would like to cover their tracks and say: 'We told you we are not going to ban rallies,' but that does not in any way mean that they have changed their thinking around interfering and essentially banning CCC from mobilising its supporters.” Vivid Gwede, a political analyst, said police have in some cases been used for political benefit. “The police work on orders as well as the prevailing policy. It would be hard to think that they would do things that they have not been sanctioned either tacitly or overtly, especially on sensitive matters such as politics. The way the police are trained matters for how they conduct themselves. “If they are trained in a partisan way it also would reflect in their work ethic. Whatever the case, the constitution and the electoral law demand that they respect the rights of all political parties to campaign freely, and failure to adhere to this is causing the current  controversy,” Gwede said. The continued banning of the opposition CCC is also likely to pose a threat to the credibility of the 23 August general election. According to a report by the Southern African Political and Economic Series Trust (Sapes) and the Research Advocacy Unit (RAU) titled: Best Practices in Elections: Can Zimbabwe Meet These in 2023?, the country’s preparedness of the general election is at its worst, with the authorities falling short on five key principles of a good election, namely: integrity, information, insulation, inclusion and irreversibility. The report shows that the country still has major shortcomings in promoting equal participation in electoral processes, which has largely been underlined by violence. This has been evident with the rise in organised violence and torture, which has been increasing since January 2022, with the main culprits being identified as Zanu PF supporters and state security institutions. “Zanu PF supporters and the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) responsible for 78% of the alleged violations, and opposition political parties responsible for less than 2% of documented violations,” the report reads. “Inclusion refers to the notion that elections are about free and equal participation in the electoral process. It refers to the ability of citizens to register as voters, to obtain information (directly and indirectly), to be free from intimidation and violence, and for all forms of treating to be absent.” The jury is still out on the recent police directive. If it is implemented to the letter and spirit, it would go a long way in ensuring that the elections have a semblance of credibility. The move to ban polls had further poisoned the environment amid concerns over the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission’s failure to avail an auditable voters’ roll, as well as a climate of widespread intimidation of voters. Partisan police tainting already troubled polls The officers commanding districts should acquaint themselves with provisions of the Electoral Act and MOPA [Maintenance of Peace and Order Act] as to make informed decisions. NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023

Page 38 The Big Debate NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023 Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition is deeply concerned about the passing of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Amendment Bill, popularly known as the "Patriotic Act," by the Government of Zimbabwe. This development reflects a worrisome escalation of the use of laws to crackdown on the fundamental rights and freedoms of Zimbabweans, particularly regarding freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association. Of major concern is that this is also happening a few weeks before Zimbabwe holds a crucial national election. Undoubtedly, this has every potential to further diminish the credibility of the entire electoral process. It is surprising that at a time the government has invited foreign observers to come and observe our electoral process, it then chooses to gag citizens from talking about the same election, including its shortcomings which are all too glaring. The determination by observer missions on their views of our elections is informed by the experiences of Zimbabwe’s citizens and institutions, both good and bad, and it is every citizen’s right to speak as they see things, not what the government wants to be said. Essentially, this new law is yet another threat to the ability of citizens to engage in open political discourse and to participate freely in the electoral process. This will without doubt undermine the inclusivity and fairness of the entire electoral process and ultimately compromise the overall legitimacy of the 23 August elections. The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) have already noted how the law is deliberately vague and excessively broad in its definition of liable offences; it “does not define sovereignty and national interest, which could be broadly and subjectively interpreted to criminalise the lawful conduct of those expressing their freedom of expression.” Yet, clear and precise definitions of criminal acts are crucial for individuals to understand the boundaries of their legal liabilities. Some of the penalties proposed by the law for deliberately injuring the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe — such as the death penalty, long imprisonment, loss of citizenship and banning of persons from electoral participation for five years — are too harsh and inappropriate for vaguely defined offences. In addition, the provision for the death penalty means that the new law violates section 48 of Zimbabwe’s constitution, which only allows for the death penalty in cases of murder in aggravating circumstances. As part of its longstanding commitment, the Coalition firmly opposes the death penalty without exceptions, irrespective of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or the state's chosen method of execution. The death penalty is a grave violation of the right to life as enshrined in the constitution of Zimbabwe. Of greater concern is the law's potential to grant authorities excessive powers to curtail human rights. It is clear that this law is just meant to curtail the rights and freedoms of those perceived to be critical of the government, including political activists, human rights defenders, journalists, civil society leaders, opposition parties, and whistleblowers. Such actions by the government only cements our earlier assertions as the Coalition, that the ruling elites in Zanu PF want to turn Zimbabwe into a one-party state and dictatorship. Before assenting to the two laws (Patriotic Bill and Labour Amendment Bill), President Mnangagwa had on his desk at six repressive laws which await his assent to become law - these include the Judicial Laws Amendment Bill, Prisons and Correctional Services Bill, Police Amendment Bill and the Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Amendment Bill. All these Bills in essence are bringing new provisions that further curtail not only the rights and freedoms of Zimbabweans, but are generally meant to curtail and further shrink the civic an democratic space, and ensure Zimbabwe becomes a one party state where dissent and criticism of the ruling party is outlawed. This however runs contrary to the promise of 1980 and an independent Zimbabwe and will surely be resisted by all genuinely “patriotic” Zimbabweans. It is the duty of every Zimbabwe to defend the constitution and clearly the passing of this "Patriotic Bill" by the elites in Zanu PF is antidevelopmental and is itself an act of unpatriotic behaviour. The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition strongly urges the government of Zimbabwe to reconsider this Amendment Act and ensure that it upholds the principles of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. We call on the President to exercise restraint and take into account the concerns raised by civil society and human rights organisations. Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum: Death of democracy. President Emmerson Mnangagwa has signed the draconian Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, known as the “Patriotic Bill”. The law imposes sanctions on citizens who meet foreign agents to discuss sanctions or call for foreign intervention in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR): We maintain our position of 1 June 2023 that amendments introducing so-called patriotisim provisions are not only unconstitutional, but also violate Zimbabwe' obligations provided in various human rights instruments. The Act lists offences such as “wilfully injuring the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe” for active participation by Zimbabweans in meetings inside and outside Zimbabwe on issues of military intervention, subverting/ upsetting/ overthrowing or overturning the constitutional government, or on economic sanctions and trade boycotts. Following a critical analysis of these provisions, ZLHR concluded that the provisions are vague, lack certainty, are imprecise, and are thus prone to abuse by law enforcement. The Bill does not define “sovereignty” and “national interest”, which could be interpreted broadly and subjectively to criminalise the legitimate conduct of those asserting their freedom of expression. ZLHR is gravely concerned that the Bill penalises citizens and residents for merely attending a meeting where sanctions are considered, whether the sanctions target any individual or official or class of individuals. The vague criminalisation of meetings between Zimbabwean citizens and foreign governments violates human rights to freedom of assembly, association and expression guaranteed in the Constitution. Zimbabwe has also voluntarily agreed to be bound by numerous United Nations and African Union human rights instruments providing these rights. Of grave concern in the Act are the excessive penalties for wilfully injuring the sovereignty and national interest of Zimbabwe, which include the death penalty, lengthy imprisonment, revocation of citizenship, prohibition from being registered as a voter or voting at an election for a period of at least five years. ZLHR notes that some of the penalties are manifestly unconstitutional. The death penalty can only be imposed on a person convicted of murder in aggravating circumstances, as provided for in section 48 of the constitution of Zimbabwe. The penalty of prohibition of registration as a voter or voting at an election violates political rights as provided for in section 67 of the constitution as read with paragraph 2 of the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution, which provides for disqualification for registration as a voter only if a person has been convicted under the Electoral Act. Revocation of citizenship can only be done in terms of section 39 of the constitution of Zimbabwe, and conviction for so-called unpatriotic conduct is not a ground for revocation in terms of section 39 of the constitution. The proposed provisions will result in the closure of the civic space and violate human rights at a time when Zimbabwe has committed to implement critical reforms under the Structured Dialogue on Arrears Clearance and Debt Resolution process. Admire Masikati, Zanu PF Bulawayo regional leader: Many people don't like their own nation. The law was passed at the right time as this will make Zimbabweans to love their country. Fadzayi Mahere, opposition CCC spokesperson: We condemn the signing into law of the unconstitutional Patriotic Bill. The enactment confirms that Zimbabwe is a full blown dictatorship run by a regime worse than Robert Mugabe. In the new Zimbabwe, unjust laws will be repealed. We will deliver freedom #ForEveryone! John Dlamini, opposition Zapu chairperson: It's fascist. They don't want to be scrutinised by the people. They put a law which says, don’t blame Mnangagwa, don’t say there are no jobs in Zimbabwe. That's wrong. They put a law which says don’t blame Mnangagwa, don’t say there are no jobs in Zimbabwe, don’t say you are hungry. What is there is that the people who put this law are not patriotic. Zanu is a party which is not patriotic, the leadership of Zanu, Mnangagwa himself is not patriotic. If he was patriotic, we wouldn’t be dying of hunger, hospitals would be full of medication, they wouldn’t be stealing gold and diamond, they wouldn’t be killing people. Canadian embassy in Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe's Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and association for its citizens. The new legislation goes against these principles and undermines Zimbabwe's efforts to forge a new chapter in its engagement with international partners. British embassy in Zimbabwe: The rights to freedom of expression and association are guaranteed in Zimbabwe’s constitution. Parts of today’s new legislation have serious implications for Zimbabweans’ ability to exercise those rights without fear, and for Zimbabwe Govt’s efforts at international re-engagement. United States embassy in Zimbabwe: Every Zimbabwean has the right to freedom of expression, assembly, and association. New legislation subverts these constitutional rights, undercuts Zimbabwe’s international re-engagement efforts, and is bad for business. President Emmerson Mnangagwa Reactions to Mnangagwa’s repressive 'Patriotic Act’

Reframing Issues Page 39 JOSIAH TARU EZEKIEL Guti, who has died at the age of 100, was one of the founders of Zimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa (Zaoga). He also established a media empire, a university, a hospital and numerous schools, and wrote 127 publications (books, pamphlets and tracts). Baba Guti, as he is affectionately known, leaves behind more than 70 years of evangelising and a vibrant local church. It has the  third-largest  membership in Zimbabwe after the Roman Catholic Church and the Johanne Marange Apostolic Church. The church also has a transnational arm,  Forward in Faith Ministries. It is found in more than 168 countries and has over three million members. Guti was one of the first Zimbabweans to establish and run a Pentecostal church in colonial Zimbabwe, modelled around Western Pentecostal movements. This was at a time when most Africans formed “Zionist” independent churches that worshipped outdoors in nature and wore white garments. He was part of a nine-member “prayer band” (a small group of intercessors) that left the Apostolic Faith Mission in 1959. The activities of the band were perceived as  threats  to the control and position of white missionaries and church leaders in Salisbury (later Harare). It continued with its proselytising and evangelising mission until Zoaga was established in 1960. As a social anthropologist of Christianity who researches Pentecostal movements in Zimbabwe and their relation to the state, I have followed Guti’s career. He leaves a considerable legacy, not just as a church leader who preached self-reliance and hard work instead of miracles and prophecies, but also as a nation builder. Humble beginnings Guti began his career as a carpenter and entrepreneur with a business providing roofing services. He was also a lay preacher without any qualifications in theology or religious studies. The prayer band conducted its activities at marketplaces, hostels, under trees — Zoaga was reportedly begun under a gum tree in Bindura  — in schools and at his house in Highfield in today’s Harare. The band appealed particularly to migrant labourers and urbanites who performed menial labour. From the beginning, Guti targeted the subaltern who had aspirations of upward mobility and permanence in colonial urban spaces. His message gave hope to his followers through performative rituals. Congregants who came in old or torn clothes, for example, were given new clothes during the service. He ministered to both the material and spiritual needs of his followers. Guti always appropriated technology to spread the gospel. In his early years, he used bicycles and motorbikes to take him from one preaching opportunity to another. Later he would use communications technologies like television and the internet to build his transnational church. He spearheaded what is called the “reverse mission” — taking the AfEzekiel Guti: Revered Zim church leader who preached hard work and morals instead of miracles rican gospel to a “backsliding” western world. Self-reliance Guti made an indelible mark on the lives of his followers by speaking to their needs. His message focused on self-reliance through what has become known in academic discourse as “penny-capitalism” – or “matarenda” (talents) in Zaoga parlance. Members of Zaoga are encouraged to have a “side hustle” dedicated to funding a particular cause within a specific year. This can be in the form of moonlighting by, for example, vending, knitting jerseys or selling candy and food. The talent system promotes multiple sources of income and becomes the basis of self-reliance. In one of my conversations as part of my ongoing research with a female head of household and Zaoga member, she noted that she’d managed to send her daughter to a boarding school and purchase a residential stand, furniture and appliances through matarenda. By listening to Guti’s sermons and reading his  books, I have concluded that this talent system was not a way of  responding to  the global neoliberal economic system. Rather, hard work and thriftiness were religious duties for every Christian and a way of promoting spiritual growth. When the Zimbabwean government introduced a programme to remove state subsidies and increase the informal economy, members of Zaoga were already well prepared as they were running side hustles to earn extra money. To buttress the gospel of self-reliance, Guti discouraged his followers from taking loans from banks because they enslaved the borrower. To help his followers save money, he preached against drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes. He also took a lifelong stand against sexual immorality. From the beginning, Guti was a pragmatist. His school of Pentecostalism never over-emphasised miraculous healing or amassing great wealth. Nation building Under Guti’s leadership, Zaoga constructed a  biomedical hospital  which assists Zaoga members and the wider community. The church also built a  university  in Bindura,  bible schools and secondary schools. It established a media empire with TV and radio channels. These projects were partly funded through materenda. His establishing of Zaoga contains elements of  cultural resistance  to the colonial project. Guti lived in the same residential area where the  Zimbabwe African National Union (Zanu — later the ruling Zanu-PF) was formed in 1963 to fight for independence. This may help explain the affinity between black self-reliance and the  nationalist ideology of black empowerment. After independence, Guti’s church worked with the  post-colonial government  on several projects and missions. Legacy Guti was an astute leader and administrator, but his legacy depends on what happens to Zaoga now that he has passed. Will the new leadership maintain the pragmatic gospel that encourages faith and hard work? Or will it shift to charismatic Pentecostalism that emphasises  miraculous wealth  through tithes and donations? Already the church has been  threatened  by the  splits and schisms that are common in Pentecostal movements. But Guti’s leadership sustained and grew the movement despite these challenges. His contribution to the Zimbabwean Pentecostal landscape over 75 years is immense. His gospel appealed to the downtrodden, giving them hope. His pragmatism in dealing with poverty helped many of his followers during the economic crisis that Zimbabwe has experienced. Guti was an excellent mobiliser of resources for church activities, tapping into local and global networks to conduct  philanthropic activities. Above all, history will note his immense role in assisting the marginalised and less privileged through the movement he founded. —- The Conversation. *About the writer: Josiah Taru is a lecturer at Great Zimbabwe University. Archbishop Ezekiel Guti NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023

Page 40 Reframing Issues NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023 MATTHEW MARE THE orthodox churches have a way of honouring their heroes by making them saints. A saint is the highest honour to be accorded an individual ecclesiastically. Meanwhile, there are many African religious heroes who even fought colonialism and some have done tremendous humanitarian work. Africa has many Mother Theresas, but it has not devised a term and a method od Africa (Zaoga), Forward In Faith Ministries International worldwide. The historiography on liberation struggle in Zimbabwe is biased towards political independence. Zimbabwe experienced four liberation struggles, the first Chimurenga, the religious liberation struggle 1932 to 1962, the third chimurenga popularly known as the second chimurenga and the fourth chimurenga which was on land reform. The same way land was taken back to its rightful owners, religion was taken back to the black majority through the proclamation of the Vatican 11 by the Pope. It is after this religious independence that, even the orthodox churches began to accept blacks in its bureaucracy, we now have African agents of the gospel like priests, nuns, catechists and pastors. This religious independence did not come on a silver platter. The founders of African Initiated churches (AICs) faced a lot of persecution from both the colonial government and the orthodox church. The new orthodox African church began to support liberation movements and conduct colonialism. Thus the AICs cut the ligament which connected the orthodox churches to the colonial regimes. The orthodox church, especially the Roman Catholic Church, ended up supporting the liberation struggle and turned against the Smith regime because it was domesticated and indigenised through the Vatican 11 proclamation. Guti is one of the founding fathers who formed African independent churches (AICs) when it was not fashionable to do so. To date, Zaoga is in more than 160 countries. There is no known religious figure who had managed to penetrate more than 160 countries. The AICs played a key role in influencing Africans to rise and demand for independence. As early as 1932, the AICs were the first to challenge the Western expressions of Christianity. The AICs leaders were actively involved in dislodging the colonial regime, for example Johanne Masowe leader Shoniwa Masedza, incited African workers on European-owned farms to refuse to work for a white man and influenced them to demand higher wages. This prompted the Rhodesian authorities to confine AICs, they were ordered that worship had to take place indoors and inside a church building. The AICs resisted the draconian order which was an act of protest against colonialism. Some went further not to read European bible and relied on continuous revelation and in some instances followers were ordered to burn it, for being irrelevant to African needs and aspirations. The AICs fought a non-violent revolution, a model which was later used by Gandhi’s satyagraha and ahimsa. Gandhi is recognised for the salt march, one of the most successful non-violent protests ever recorded in human history. They taught the masses on mass resistance, stayaways and winning a war without guns. Religion, like politics, has its own heroes and in the orthodox church they call them saints in recognition of their contribution to the growth of Christianity. Since 1960 when Zaoga was founded, the church broke the Western hegemonic tenets in a number of ways to include localisation of gospel, construction of hospitals and universities. He has written over 100 books on marriage, faith, counselling among other. He also demonstrated a high level of patriotism when he continued to support liberation struggle in pre- and post-independent Zimbabwe. Despite Zimbabwe being a secular state, Zaoga and the entire AICs continue to preach peace, harmony and inclusivity. Zaoga is one of the AICs that respect women and children. The church had not been associated with the archaic theologies that seek to undermine women and children. Guti lived an exemplary family life, for the 100 years he has lived, there are no adverse reports of domestic violence and promiscuity. Guti joined the religious renaissance in 1960 and 1962 the religious independence was won. Prior to Vatican 11 of 1962, the Western churches had paternalised the missionaries and excluded the Africans in leadership positions. The AICs also challenged the role that was played by missionaries in the colonisation of Zimbabwe. Their theologies incorporated African values and practices in their expression of the christian faith. To win their religious argument, they established themselves as protestant movements. The proponents were Samuel Mutendi, Johanne Masowe, Johanne Marange, Paul Mwazha and Mai Chaza who pushed for worshipping the African way. They resisted colonisation through resisting anything that represented it and this included the orthodox churches which worked together to colonise Zimbabwe. Masowe, for example in 1932, was arrested several times for preaching a gospel that promoted civil disobedience at a time when Europeans were the recognised leaders of the church. The Rhodesian authorities ordered the prison wardens to persecute him by piercing his fingers with needles until blood dripped.  The AICs leaders were put under strict state surveillance as their followers continued to swell. The national policies such as indigenisation has its roots in the initiatives by AICs who indigenised religion and the religious language. They replaced the white messiahs with the black ones hence the indigenisation and the localisation of the gospel at a time when racialism was at the peak. They defied the odds and they established churches, for Africa by Africans to serve African interests, even if the socio-political environment was not conducive for that. They drew the attention of the Rhodesian government’s state arms in Mashonaland towns, mines and commercial farms where they were preaching resistance to the colonial government. Masowe preached against displacement after the Land Apportionment Act hence the AICs became the voice of the voiceless. Their actions triggered political consciousness as a build up to the religious independence whose proponents were the founders of the AICs. AICs are liberation movements in their own right and were a liberation force. It played a central role in fighting oppression, segregation, people’s sufferings (human security) by encouraging resistance to the colonial government. They broke ranks the Rhodesian government when they mobilised their followers to shun Western hospitals, schools, employment and this is why the Johanne Marange to date dissuade their followers from any association with the Western civilisation and their social amenities. At the core of their theology was the sense of belonging for an African men. Their push for African renaissance gave birth to political theology where the colonial administration was seen as the barrier to AICs’ goal of African religious pan-Africanism. The first colonial recognition of women was the Vatican 11 of 1962 which saw the roman catholic church start to recognise women as nuns, catechists among other key positions in the church. However, Mai Chaza of Guta RaJehova of the AICs was the first woman in the colonial era to break colonial legacy and patriarchy by becoming the first woman to lead and found a church. Their push also gave birth to black theology and, in turn black, feminism. The first feminism was won by AICs in Africa when they forced the Roman Catholic church to issue the 1962 Vatican 11 which liberalised women, who can now occupy key roles in the mainline and orthodox churches.  The religious independence pushed for political independence hence the church leaders were part of the founding members of Zanu, e.g. Rev Ndabaningi Sithole, Rev Abel Muzorewa and later Rev Canaan Banana. The AICS have led numerous protests against the colonial government. The colonial government responded by banning the AICs. Masowe and Marange began their ministries in 1932 at the height of colonialism and the Africans were feeling the effects of racial discrimination and the Great Depression. In the 1970s across Africa, the AICs became the beacons of expression Christianity with African lenses. The bible was domesticated hence the AICs theology is theology of indigenisation. In addition,  African ancestors were also elevated to the same positions as saints. Similar to missionary founded churches, the AICs also formed some associations where they cooperated. The AICs were founded primarily to fight colonial churches that were founded by the colonial structure to advance Western value systems. They pushed for African renaissance and pushed for religious liberation. Their theologies were a protest to Western religious value systems which supported colonisation. The orthodox churches played a key role in the colonisation of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe won two independences, in 1962 the religious independence was won and in 1980 the political independence. The Vatican 11 which gave white churches an African face through indigenisation, enculturation and domestication. The Rhodesian government tried in vain to suppress the AICs and subjected them to brutal approaches which were all resisted. It is unfortunate that, the role played by the AICs in both political and religious independence had not been properly recorded and is often overlooked. This is the ligament that connects Zanu PF to the AICs, the relationship is historical and not political as is the popular belief. In further recognition of the role that was played by the church to liberate Zimbabwe, then prime minister Robert Mugabe invited them to be collaborators in rebuilding the country after the war. To date, they are the beacons of peace and they also fosters good governance. These churches continue to be the agents of peace and unity within the country. The Zaoga church had never preached hate speech but had always thrived to the beacon of peace and ubuntu. The church promotes national values by realigning its theology to the constitution and he has founded Mbuya Dorcus Hospital and the Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University to educate the nation. These initiatives accord him national hero status. This will go a long way in acknowledging the role which was played by AICs. In the fruition of time the government may also consider posthumous conferment of the heroic status to the 1932 founders of the religious renaissance. *About the writer: Matthew Mare is a Zimbabwean academic who holds two bachelor’s degrees, five master’s qualifications and a PhD (Systematic Theology). 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. [email protected]. ac.za The late Zimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa founder Archbishop Ezekiel Guti Story of a great Zimbabwean preacher

JUSTIN PEARCE IN Angola’s Malanje province, the buildings of Camalundu stand abandoned amid open fields. On one of them, the fragmented words “IAN NGOYI” recall a figure little-known in Angola but familiar to South Africans: anti-apartheid leader  Lilian Ngoyi. These large letters partly hide some words that were painted previously. From the faded letters that are visible, I could make out some words apparently in Spanish. These layers of paint – texts of South Africa’s then liberation movement, the African National Congress (ANC), on top of Cuban texts painted on Portuguese colonial buildings – illustrate the changing uses of the site over the years. Over the past three years I have been part of a project called  Global Soldiers in the Cold War. We study the international exchanges of ideas about soldiering and politics that resulted from the interlinked liberation struggles and civil conflicts across southern Africa in the 1970s and 1980s. As part of this research I visited some of the sites where liberation soldiers were trained in Angola. The sites provide a rare tangible record of the international solidarity that existed during the Cold War: solidarity that prompted Cuba to provide civilian and military expertise to Angola’s MPLA-led government and to liberation movements from Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The liberation movements looked not only to their own countries’ histories but to earlier struggles in Cuba and Vietnam for ideas and inspiration. After taking control of independent Angola in 1975, the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) – still fighting a civil war against its rival, National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (Unita) – gave refuge to liberation fighters from Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa. The apartheid regime in South Africa, determined to undermine the liberation movements, provided military support to Unita in order to weaken the MPLA. Both the MPLA and the exiled movements enjoyed the support of Cuban and Soviet military advisers. Camalundu, established by the colonial government as an agricultural training centre, was used by the MPLA first as a civilian and later as a military training centre, with Cuban personnel. Places of learning and solidarity Historians have viewed liberation guerrilla training camps as a particular kind of social and political environment. Host countries like Angola allowed exiled movements to act, to a certain extent, like enclave governments with state-like powers over their own members. Guerrillas, already filled with idealism, absorbed ideas and experiences from their new environment. But they were also at the mercy of national and international strategic calculations, without the immediate prospect of returning home in triumph. Camps were places where liberation fighters came into contact with officials and soldiers from their host countries, as well as trainers from Cuba and the Soviet Union. The slogans painted at Camalundu provide evidence of how people were taught that they were there as part of a global struggle. Facing the building with Lilian Ngoyi’s name was another slogan in Spanish: “VI cumbre un paso mas en la unidade de los no-alineaos” (six completes another step in the unity of the non-aligned), a reference to the sixth congress of the Non-Aligned Movement, which was held in Havana in 1979. From King Cetshwayo to Ho Chi Minh South African history appears again with the name of Cetshwayo, the last Zulu monarch to resist the British Empire before conquest. His name was painted above the entrance of another now-abandoned building. This was likely painted in 1979, the ANC’s “Year of the Spear”, the centenary of the Battle of Isandlwana when Cetshwayo’s army resisted the better-armed British. On a similar building, the letters “…O C… MI…” point to the commemoration of the Vietnamese revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh. On another building, the remains of his portrait are just about visible, above the English translation of a slogan associated with him: Nothing is more precious than freedom and independence. An ANC delegation  visited Vietnam in 1978, a visit that had a profound effect on its military strategy. Many of the slogans at Camalundu seem to point to events between 1978 and 1980. Not long after that, the ANC presence there ended when its soldiers were moved to Caculama, further east. Caculama had housed a training camp established by the Zimbabwean African People’s Union (Zapu), which became vacant after Zimbabwe became independent in 1980 and the Zimbabwean soldiers went home. Around the same time, American president Ronald Reagan and South African prime minister  PW Botha renewed their respective countries’  commitment to supporting Unita  against the MPLA. The Angolan ruling party had taken a firm stand against apartheid and Washington saw it as a bridgehead for communist influence. The MPLA began to see the foreign liberation fighters it was hosting as a potentially useful military reserve. The former ANC soldier Luthando Dyasop recalls how ANC leader Oliver Tambo told soldiers of the ANC’s army, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), they needed to “bleed a little” in recognition of Angola’s support for the South African struggle. Southern Africa liberation movements and geopolitics Whereas Camalundu’s buildings stand in open countryside, Caculama is buried in thick bush. Trenches and the remains of underground bunkers remind us that this was the front line of the MPLA’s war against UNITA. Exiled movements were responsible for their own security within Angola. When the MPLA positioned ANC soldiers somewhere like Caculama, it knew that in defending its own camps, the ANC would also be part of the government’s defensive lines. In their different ways, Camalundu and Caculama provide historians with evidence of liberation struggles and how they were entangled with the international politics of the time. A Zimbabwean government delegation, I was told, had visited Caculama shortly before I was there – an acknowledgement at least of the site’s historical significance. Yet so far almost no attention has been given to preserving these sites. — The Conversation. *About the writer: Justin Pearce is senior lecturer at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Reframing Issues Page 41 The sixth congress of the Non-Aligned Movement, held in Havana in 1979, commemorated at Camalundu. Justin Pearce NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023 Painted messages in Angola’s abandoned liberation army camps offer a rare historical record

Page 42 Reframing Issues World News East, southern African governments must prioritise human rights ahead of elections TIGERE CHAGUTAH FIVE countries across East and southern Africa will hold presidential elections this year. In each country, human rights are under threat — including as a result of armed conflict — yet the polls could and should offer the chance for the respective governments to prioritise human rights before, during and after the elections. Prioritising human rights couldn’t be more urgent for these governments given the dire state of human rights in their countries, with the majority also experiencing armed conflict, further aggravating the human rights situation. In 2023, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Sudan, Somaliland and Zimbabwe are set to hold elections, amid one of the most difficult periods in Africa’s recent history, with many countries still grappling with the impacts of Covid-19 and armed conflict on the continent and elsewhere. Over the course of the past three years, the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine have wreaked havoc on markets, pushing up the prices of consumer goods such as maize-meal, bread and cooking oil, and directly impacting people’s livelihoods. Debt has also been rising in many African states, with most countries owing more than 60% of their gross domestic product to creditors. As a result, interest rates are rising while spending on healthcare, education and transport is falling, which undermines people’s economic, social and cultural rights. The rising debt also means fewer funds are available for dealing with the next economic crisis or climate disaster. Unless something extraordinary happens, a lot of election promises in these countries are going to be just that — promises that are likely to remain unfulfilled. Over the past three years, in the DRC, Sudan and Somaliland there has been a spike in human rights violations, including killing of civilians, conflict-related sexual violence, and destruction of property. In Madagascar and Zimbabwe activists, journalists, human rights defenders and political opposition have faced growing repression. A crackdown on the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association have also intensified, with the authorities using “national security” concerns or the Covid-19 pandemic as a pretext to ban, suppress or violently disperse protests. Human rights under attack In the DRC, for example, security forces have repeatedly resorted to excessive use of force to disperse protests. Since May 2021, the authorities have enforced a “State of Siege”, which is similar to a state of emergency, in the North Kivu and Ituri provinces, which they have used as a tool to crush peaceful dissent. Security forces in the area have killed at least two human rights defenders and activists and arbitrarily detained dozens of other activists on trumpedup charges. Serious violations of human rights are also continuing in the country, including the ill-treatment of detainees and mass killings of people caught up in armed conflict and inter-communal violence. People from regions affected by armed conflict, including in eastern DRC, have been especially affected amid the displacement of more than 200 000 people and a deepening humanitarian crisis, with women and children among the most affected. In Madagascar, the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated the effects of prolonged  droughts  and recurrent tropical cyclones which have had a devastating impact on the country over the past five years, with many suffering acutely from food insecurity. Consequently, malnutrition rates in the region have increased affecting hundreds of thousands, while access to water, sanitation and hygiene has been greatly diminished. In Sudan, the authorities have used  military crackdowns  to crush popular protests, killing hundreds of people and injuring thousands of others. Protesters, including women and children, were unlawfully detained and ill-treated, while many others were forcibly disappeared. Another round of  armed conflict broke out in April, sparked by power struggles between rival military strongmen, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan – who commands the country’s armed forces and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who heads the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group. Hundreds have been killed and thousands injured in the violence which continues with no end in sight, amid a fast-unfolding humanitarian crisis in the country. In Somaliland, fresh conflict erupted in December following the assassination of Abdifatah Abdullahi Abdi in Las Anod town by unknown armed men. As of April, the conflict had claimed more than 100 lives with over 600 injured, while tens of thousands were displaced.  The authorities have also increasingly resorted to  censoring, harassing and prosecuting state critics over the past five years. They targeted dissenting voices by shutting down media houses and arbitrarily arresting and prosecuting individuals perceived as being critical of government policies. Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa leads the country to this year’s elections following a first term in office marked by a systematic and brutal crackdown on human rights, including the violent suppression of protests. His government also weaponised the law to persecute opposition members and supporters by subjecting them to arbitrary arrest. Senior opposition leader Job Sikhala is languishing in jail following his arrest in June 2022, after facing a number of charges and convicted in what appeared to be an escalating crackdown on freedom of expression. As these countries prepare to hold elections, presidential candidates and political parties must commit to ensure full respect for human rights in the run up to the polls, during the elections and post the elections if elected such as by ensuring that there is no impunity for past human rights violations and guaranteeing the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. They should also present a concrete plan on how they intend to build rights-respecting societies. In the DRC, Madagascar, Sudan, Somaliland and Zimbabwe, fully respecting and protecting the human rights of everyone must be the new normal. Anything less is unacceptable. — Mail & Guardian. *About the writer: Tigere Chagutah is Amnesty International’s director for East and southern Africa. NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023 Voting remains critical to bring about the change desired.

NewsHawks Africa News Page 43 Issue 140, 14 July 2023 WILLIAM RUTO/ FATIH BIROL MANY people associate technologies like solar and wind power with efforts to tackle climate change. But for the world’s most vulnerable populations, they are much more than a clean-energy solution. By creating jobs, improving health, and increasing social mobility and gender equality, they build a path to a more prosperous future. This is especially true for Africa. In terms of energy sources, the continent has immense potential that has gone largely untapped. Despite being home to 60% of the best solar resources globally, for example, Africa has roughly the same  installed solar PV capacity  as Belgium, a small country not known for its sunshine. There is also great potential for hydro, wind, and geothermal power in many African countries, and these energy sources can play an important role in diversifying and securing electricity supply. Leveraging the continent’s natural endowments responsibly will be essential to its development. The economic and social benefits of renewable energy could be huge. Throughout Africa, hundreds of millions of people still lack access to electricity – a major impediment to gaining an education, finding regular employment, and contributing to a productive economy. The global energy crisis has only exacerbated the situation, as mounting debt problems and rapid price increases have made it even harder to reach the United Nations’ goal of  universal energy access  by 2030. Renewables are vital to address this, with solar, in particular, set to become the cheapest source of electricity  nearly everywhere in Africa by 2030. Electricity is not the only energy concern on the continent. Four out of five people  in Sub-Saharan Africa still cook with wood and biomass, which, when burned, produces harmful smoke. In fact, nearly a half-million premature deaths per year in Sub-Saharan Africa are  linked to household air pollution resulting from the lack of access to clean cooking facilities. This disproportionately affects women and children, not only in terms of health but also in lost time and lack of opportunity. Clean cooking solutions could mean more children in the classroom, rather than out collecting firewood, and more women with the time to find work or start a business, which could provide a route to financial independence. The use of clean cooking fuels also reduces greenhouse-gas emissions. Addressing Africa’s energy challenges requires meaningful investment from both the public and private sector. Currently, only about  3%  of energy investments worldwide are made in Africa, even though the continent is home to 17% of the world’s population (over 1.2 billion people) – a figure that is expected to  double  in the next 30 years. International financial institutions should step up to mobilise private capital, acting as first movers to absorb risk and protect investments. Doing so would help promote projects that support vulnerable populations, lay the groundwork for sustainable economic growth, and ensure that Africa becomes an attractive destination for investment. Investments in resilient and efficient power grids will be critical to meeting the growing energy needs of densely populated urban centers and growing industries. At the same time, off-grid systems powered by solar and batteries have already revolutionized the way remote towns gain access to electricity. Both centralized and decentralized power systems will be important for expanding electricity access to all Africans. Building reliable, modern energy systems can also help Africa develop its industrial base and manufacturing capacity, including for clean-energy technologies, whose market is set to grow rapidly this decade. The continent is already a major player in producing the raw materials needed for clean-energy technologies and is home to more than 40% of global reserves of cobalt, manganese, and platinum – key minerals for batteries and hydrogen fuel-cells. These resources must be extracted and used in a way that benefits local populations and respects environmental and social standards. Beyond mining, African economies must focus on strengthening their refining and manufacturing capacity, as well as on constructing their export infrastructure. This will require a well-equipped labor force of trained engineers, technicians, and scientists. As is well known, Africa has contributed the least to global greenhouse-gas emissions and yet suffers some of the worst effects of climate change. To help ensure that it has an opportunity to play a central role in the emerging clean-energy economy, we are calling for a New Energy Pact at the African Climate Action Summit  in Nairobi this September and ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (Cop28) in Dubai later this year. The pact aims to foster deeper collaboration between African countries and their international partners to accelerate the continent’s unacceptably slow progress toward universal energy access; to increase investments in renewables and energy-efficiency improvements in Africa; and to lay the groundwork for African countries to contribute to emerging clean-energy supply chains. Success would require African governments to work with international partners to develop more ambitious plans to finance and realize energy projects in Africa while addressing governance, environmental, and labor issues. Done right, a New Energy Pact can generate lasting benefits for Africa, such as greater energy security and improved living standards, and help the world reach its climate goals. If Africa is left out of the clean-energy future, the entire planet stands to suffer. — Project Syndicate. *About the writers: William Ruto is President of Kenya. Fatih Birol is executive director of the Paris-based International Energy Agency. Executive Director of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol A new energy pact for Africa Looking ahead to the African Climate Action Summit in September, governments and their international partners must commit to working toward universal energy access, accelerating the deployment of renewables, and boosting investment in green industries on the continent. Otherwise, Africa may be left out of the clean-energy future.

Page 44 World News NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023

JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA FLOYD Mayweather Jnr, who landed in Zimbabwe on Thursday on a visit he calls the "Motherland Tour", has been roped into Zanu PF's election campaign by his host, parliamentary aspirant Pedzisayi "Scott" Sakupwanya.  The controversial youthful entrepreneur, who is said to be wealthy, is vying to be MP on a ruling party ticket in his home area of Mabvuku, a sprawling township in Harare. Sakupwanya initially invited the world-famous retired American boxer to Zimbabwe after they bumped into each other during a vacation abroad.  Although veiled efforts have been made to de-politicise the trip by making a local jewellery company the tour organiser, Sakupwanya and his handlers are hoping to charm the voters of Mabvuku, especially the youth, using Mayweather's celebrity status. The 46-year-old Mayweather Jnr will hand over a donation comprising a boxing ring to Zimbabwe's Sports minister Kirsty Coventry, Africa's greatest Olympian. The ring was sourced by Sakupwanya's Better Brands and the Zimbabwe National Boxing and Wrestling Board of Control.  It is no coincidence that the donation will be made in Mabvuku, where Sakupwanya is contesting. Mabvuku is not the bedrock of boxing in Harare. Boxing is more popular in places like Mbare but because it is Sakupwanya behind the tour, a lot is at stake in Mabvuku. Previously, Sakupwanya and his clique have funded sports tournaments and music galas while they sip on expensive champagnes, quaffing high-end whiskey and puffing on shisha while the poverty-stricken youths dance in the dust until the break of dawn. Besides the lavish parties, Sakupwanya has also been dolling out food hampers to the elderly, a move the youths say was disempowering if not sustainable. And Sakupwanya is stopping at nothing to win the Mabvuku seat for the ruling Zanu PF, using his financial muscle to finance free shuttle buses to and from the city centre in the suburb. By bringing the global boxing icon to Mabvuku, Sakupwanya hopes to drum up support not just for himself but also for Zanu PF. An elated Mayweather touched down early Thursday morning at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport to a hero’s welcome. Clad in a camo outfit, black T-shirt and a matching flat base cap flipped sideways, The Money Man arrived aboard his 22-seat US$50 million Gulfstream private jet emblazoned with his surname — Mayweather — looking fresh and bubbly. The Money Man, who claims to be a billionaire but is thought to be worth US$450m, was welcomed at the airport by a traditional dance group, symbolising warm Zimbabwean hospitality — even joining the troupe in song and dance. While in the shuttle bus, The Money Man pulled some stunts before beaming to the cameras, saying:” I am back home . . . I am back where I belong . . . I am back home.” His guest, Sakupwanya, made his fortune from gold, and like Mayweather, is known for a flamboyant lifestyle, complete with flashy displays of cash and expensive cars. A convoy of luxury cars and a police escort were part of the warm reception that The Money Man got as he was taken to his hotel. Mayweather Jnr handed over a boxing ring in Mabvuku before he briefly addressed the crowd. The NewsHawks, however, has been told by sources that Mayweather — through his handlers — has been advised not to go all out into the political campaign, to protect his brand. And Sakupwanya seized the opportunity to launch his election campaign, addressing journalists. “People thought I could not bring Mayweather, but now I have been vindicated and people should trust me with the office and vote for Zanu PF,” he said. Sakupwanya rose to prominence in 2020 when pictures of him posing with gold bars and cash amounting to what was said to be US$5 million went viral. His flashy lifestyle is similar to that of Mayweather Jnr. In the Gold Mafia documentary, "a four-part investigation by Al Jazeera's investigative unit which revealed a series of gold smuggling gangs in southern Africa", self-styled prophet Uebert Angel said Sakupwanya was "the biggest gold guy in Zimbabwe. He's right there; he's in his house, sleeping on five million US dollars." According to Al Jazeera, Sakupwanya used to be a domestic worker for another implicated gold dealer, Ewan MacMillan, but has since overtaken his former boss. MacMillan was also featured in the documentary. In one of the interviews, he claimed: "I have [Zimbabwean President Emmerson] Mnangagwa's gold-studded Rolex because the son ran into debt and had to pay the debt off." "I paid the debt off and he said: 'Please don't tell my dad.' I’ve got the dad's watch; it's blue-faced with gold studs." The retired American legend is one of the greatest boxers of all time and his success in the ring has enabled him to accumulate enormous wealth throughout his career. By some estimates, Mayweather Jnr's net worth is US$450 million and he has earned more than US$1.1 billion throughout his career, making him the richest boxer of all time. He remains an inspiration to many sport enthusiasts. STYLE TRAVEL BOOKS ARTS MOTORING Porsche just got angrier Being a Fashion Model Life&Style Page 45 Issue 140, 14 July 2023 Floyd Mayweather Jnr roped into Zanu PF campaign effort Former World Boxing Champion (WBC) Floyd Mayweather, who arrived on July 13, 2023, has been in the country for three days to drum up support for President Emmerson Mnangagwa's party ZANU-PF. Pic: Reuters

Page 46 People & Places Sport Floyd Mayweather's controversial visit to harare NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023

THE heartache of Zimbabwe’s failure to qualify for the Cricket World Cup still fresh, one of the country’s leading sports academies has made a first step to secure the future well ahead of the imminent retirement of the core of the current Chevrons squad. With Craig Ervine, Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza all on the wrong side of 30, the question has often found itself on the lips of concerned Zimbabwe cricket fans: is there a future after these guys, does the nation has players to seamlessly replace them? “Yes, of course,” said youth coach Cromen Zinyama, who coaches at Hellenics School in Harare. “The future is safe as long as there is development that’s already going on through the programmes of ZimCricket, private academies and schools. We do have that throughout the country. At Ramah, we are trying as much as we can to develop fully-groomed players to undertake any task at any given time.” 35-years-old Zinyama is co-founder of Ramah Sports Academy, initially with roots in Chitungwiza, but with a national presence now. The thriving academy is on its way to the United Kingdom this week for the inaugural tournament of the International Council For Cricket Academies (ICCA), to be held in Northamptonshire, from 16 to 26 July. Due to examination commitments, they will tour with 12 players – six each for the Under-13s and Under-15s squads. The squads will then be filled with players of Zimbabwean origin living in the UK, and others travelling from the United States. “I’m looking to coming on tour for the experience, and I will learn to play in different conditions, and I’m looking forward to meeting players from different countries, and I think I will have a great time,” said Ramah Under-15 vice-captain Fergus Watson. The delegation for the UK has already been finalised. Zinyama, who played cricket at Churchill School and made a handful of appearances for the Mashonaland Eagles, will coach the Under-13 side while Blessing Mafuva has been put in charge of the Under-15s. “The parents are taking care of all the travelling expenses and we got kit sponsorship from LM Auctions and Wellord,” said Zinyama. “Our boys are getting some bits and pieces we need in the UK from the Zim cricket community being led by Patrick Gada and Joseph Madyembwa.” Six teams will take part in the inaugural event, namely: Ramah Sports Academy (Zimbabwe), Major League Cricket (USA), Coaching Beyond Cricket Academy (India), Vernon School of Cricket (UK), and Mercantile Cricket Association (Sri Lanka). RAMAH TOURING SQUADS Under-15s: Reuben Sanders (captain), Fergus Watson (vice-captain), Tyler Champman, Kirby Madaramate, Dwayne Gambiza, Christian des Fontaine, Priyadarsan Aravinthkumar, Akhil Kotaru (wicketkeeper), Kavin Govindaraju (wicketkeeper), AaryanBoddupally, Bharath-Venkata Yamani. Unders-13s: Blaine Candy (captain), Cameron Oosthuizen (vice-captain), Ben Lashbrook (wicketkeeper), Tijan Nicholson, Adrian Hunda, Ryley Nkomo, Dean Chiwombe, Adithiya Dev Mitra, Aarav Sanghavi, Akshay Sripathy, Raghav Lakshmanan Abhimanyu Harish, Aarush Iyengar. — STAFF WRITER PHEW! What a relief, Zimbabwe is back from international football isolation, after Fifa lifted the country’s suspension this week. Zimbabwe has been in the wilderness since March 2022, and have missed out of qualification for the next Africa Cup of Nations finals – as well as youth and women’s tournaments. Also, a great loss in terms of Fifa-funded training for coaches and referees. World Cup qualification begins soon, and Zimbabwe is in the draw for that. But the national team is not everything, especially after you have endured a ban of nearly two years. As a nation you need to look at all structures and see how you should move forward post-isolation. Zimbabwean football was already in intensive care before the suspension; the expulsion nearly took the life out of the game in this country. I think as much as we are delighted that we have been readmitted, we lost valuable time to fix inherent issues that are in the game – stadia, coaches, player remuneration. We have tonnes of work to do. Across the whole spectrum there are no coaches. Where do we start? Under-17, Under-20, Under-23, seniors – both men and women – what is the starting point? As the World Cup qualifiers begin, is Zifa liquid enough to bring in foreign-based players? How much do they have in their coffers? I think the normalisation committee appointed by Fifa and Zifa should come up with a plan of some sort to bring ex-Warriors players on board and create a sub-committee that will be in charge of recruiting coaches and scouts, because the game is non-existent from all levels. Fifa has only allowed us back, but the hard work to reclaim our glory, if there ever was, is left to us. Sport Page 47 The future is here …leading Zim cricket academy tours UK Coach Cromen Zinyama (front row, fourth from left) pose for a photo with some of the touring players. Zimbabwe last played international football at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon. NewsHawks Issue 140, 14 July 2023 What a relief that we’re back, but where do we restart from? Alwyn Mabehla HawkZone

50c PRICE SPORT Zim Cricket launches Premier League NEWS $60 Covid tariff for visitors & tourists CULTURE Community radio regulations under review @NewsHawksLive TheNewsHawks www.thenewshawks.com [email protected] Thursday 1 October 2020 WHAT’S INSIDE ALSO INSIDE Finance Ministy wipes out $3.2 Billion depositors funds Zim's latest land controversy has left Ruwa farmer stranded Story on Page 3 Story on Page 8 Story on Page 16 Chamisa reaches out to Khupe Unofficial president calls for emergency meeting +263 772 293 486 Friday 14 July 2023 ALSO INSIDE Leading Zimbabwe cricket academy tours UK Sports Zim defeat West Indies Extraordinary life of a Zimbabwean football great Brighton Watambwa (left) during the toss as captain of Belgium against Gilbtrator in 2014. Global breakaway cricket: Brighton Watambwa backs up his stance Last week, former Zimbabwe fast bowler Brighton Watambwa made remarks in this newspaper, laying out his bold take on the current state of affairs that made global headlines in the cricketing world. Watambwa – who played six Test matches for Zimbabwe in 2001 and 2002 – called for a breakaway competition amidst the reduction in the number of teams in the Cricket World Cup, in an era other major global codes are expanding. The 46-year-old ex-fast bowler played cricket in the first pro-league attempts in the United States, before going on the captain lowly Belgium. Following his remarks to The NewsHawks, Watambwa drew our attention to this BBC article, below, which supports his point: MAJOR League Cricket wants to sign up England's best players for future editions but its founders have dismissed claims it is a threat to English cricket as "short-sighted". The inaugural T20 franchise tournament in the United States starts on Thursday (Friday 01:30 BST) with two England World Cup winners — Liam Plunkett and Jason Roy — involved. "American sports fans want to see the best in the world. That's the demand in US professional sports," MLC co-founder Vijay Srinivasan told BBC Sport. "They don't want second-tier talent. They insist on the best. England is fortunate to have some of those with the likes of Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow and Harry Brook." England opener Roy decided to cancel his incremental white-ball deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) — worth £60 000-£70 000 — to play in MLC, where he could potentially earn £150 000 for the tournament between 13-31 July. The 32-year-old previously claimed his "priority is England" with a 50- over World Cup in October but a lucrative franchise T20 tournament, and one which runs parallel to the English summer, has been seen as a threat to the England team and county cricket. Srinivasan insisted that notion was "a little bit short-sighted" and MLC is "not looking to step on anyone's toes". He added: "We want the best in the world to come here and we want to do it in a way that makes sense for the player, makes sense for their national team obligations and so on. "We need to find a window in the global cricket calendar that makes sense to get the best players. "I think MLC is bringing a lot of mainstream attention to the sport in the US and that's going to help the global cricket ecosystem." The US men's national team have not qualified for a major ICC tournament since the 2004 Champions Trophy but will participate in the 2024 T20 World Cup as co-hosts alongside West Indies. As an associate ICC member, USA Cricket only receives a fraction of the budget full ICC members get, and Srinivasan believes the sizable investment in the sport's infrastructure by MLC will be a boost to cricket in the country and help drive the national team forward. This year's MLC will be played at two grounds — in Texas and North Carolina — but owners of the six franchises are committed to building new stadiums, while the tournament itself will give exposure to a quota of homegrown players. "One of the things we identified was that cricket in the US is not going to be successful unless the US has a strong cricket team," added Srinivasan. "It's not about putting up a tournament, then coming back 12 months later and doing it again. There has to be something more. "What we are doing is not building these stadiums to play MLC once a year. We want the US men's, women's and U19s teams to be playing in these venues where the best teams in the world come and play against them. "On the back of it, the US needs a competitive national team. That's why when the ICC T20 World Cup comes to the US next year we want to make sure the US can compete with the rest of the world. "The world of cricket is going through a big transition, but for us MLC is a platform for all things US cricket. We don't view it in isolation and a standalone thing that is detached. There's a lot more legs to the stool." – BBC Africa/ The NewsHawks.