NewsHawks 11 August 2023

NEWS Zec caught pants down over printing of ballot papers Story on Page 5 NEWS We can’t plagiarise Zanu PF’s non-existent manifesto: CCC WHAT’S Story on Page 10 INSIDE SPORT Nakamba urges Town team-mates to 'give everything' in battle for EPL Story on Page 54 ALSO INSIDE Zanu PF 2018 promises remain a pipedream Price US$1 Friday 11 August 2023 CCC has no voters’ roll with 10 days to elections ZEC fiasco:

Page 2 #ZimElection2023 NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023 NATHAN GUMA ZIMBABWE’S main opposition CCC’s director of elections bureau Ian Makone has filed an urgent High Court application demanding that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) be ordered to immediately provide a genuine final up-to-date copy of the voters’ roll and a complete list of polling stations in terms of section 21 of the Electoral Act. This comes after the CCC discovered that Zec had provided it with a fake voters’ roll which is not the one that will be used in the 23 August general elections. The list of polling stations it was given was also flawed, with wrong information. This underlines the criminal and fraudulent way Zec is running the key elections. Makone says getting an authentic voters’ roll and genuine list of polling stations has become extremely urgent as the elections are only 10 days away. Effectively, this means at this eleventh hour CCC does not have a final, searchable and verifiable voters’ roll and complete, final and confirmable list of polling stations. The opposition is thus entering into a decisive electoral battle without a map; more like a ship without a mast, without sails and without a compass — groping in the dark. The chaos unleashed by Zec and the hurdles it has thrown on the road to 23 August makes it difficult for Zimbabwe to genuinely hold “free, fair, credible, verifiable and transparent elections” as provided for in section 155 of the Electoral Act as read with section 156 of the constitution of Zimbabwe. Section 239 of the constitution of Zimbabwe also requires Zec to conduct elections “efficiently, freely, fairly, transparently and in accordance with the law”. The CCC is the first applicant and Makone the second. Zec is the first respondent and its chairperson Priscilla Chigumba the second. Zec’s chief elections officer Utloile Silaigwana, who heads the secretariat, is the third. “This is an application for a mandatory interdict directing the respondent (Zec) to provide applicants with an up-to-date copy of the voters’ roll that will be used in the 23rd August election and which is in full compliance with the peremptory provisions of section 21 of the Electoral Act and to publish a list of polling stations which includes polling station codes and voter population information,” Makone’s application says. After a bruising court battle and political pressure, CCC was provided with a copy of the voters’ roll on 10 July, but the opposition wrote to Zec on 14 July and 2 August raising grave concerns about it. The voters’ roll was fake. On 2 August Zec published a preliminary list of polling stations, implying that the list was subject to changes. On 8 August, Makone wrote to Zec complaining about the preliminary list of the polling stations which appeared not to be a final. Crucial information was also missing on it. Also on 8 August, CCC and Makone received electronic copies of the list of polling stations for each of the 10 provinces, but without the word “preliminary” on them. “Our analysis of the list of polling stations found that there are serious deficiencies in the list itself and also clearly showed that the voters’ roll which had been provided to us was not the voters’ roll which will be used in the election,” the application says. The CCC analysed the list of polling stations and found a number of discrepancies. On 10 August, Makone and CCC lawyers wrote to Zec and Silaigwana demanding the legitimate voters’ roll and final list of polling stations. The letter was not responded to, hence Makone’s urgent court application. The CCC says the voters’ roll provided by Zec is the wrong one or fake. “The voters’ roll provided to the applicants (CCC and Makone) is not the voters’ roll which will be used in the elections and it is not compliant with section 21 of the Electoral Act,” the application says. There is also another big problem: Polling stations on the voters’ roll are different from those published on the official list of voting centres; the number of polling stations has changed (for instance, on 8 July there were 11 501 polling stations and on 8 August they had increased to 12 370, of which 10 787 were unique polling centres; and wards have been moved between and across constituencies). “The applicants have a clear right to a free, fair, credible, verifiable and transparent elections as provided for in section 155 as read with section 156 of the constitution of Zimbabwe,” the application says. “Specifically, the applicants have a clear right to have ‘reasonable access to all material and information necessary for them to participate effectively’ in an election as provided for in section 155(2) of the constitution of Zimbabwe. “That includes an accurate, up-to-date, searchable and analysable voters’ roll as provided for by section 21 (4) (5) and (7) of the Electoral Act and a list of polling stations that is complete, final and verifiable, including unique polling station codes and voter population information published in terms of section 53 (3) of the Electoral Act. “Additionally, the applicants (CCC and Makone) have a clear right to an electoral commission that upholds its obligations in terms of the law…The matter is extremely urgent because 23rd August 2023 elections are only a matter of days away.” The CCC has been fighting Zec over the voters’ roll for months now. Zec seems determined to refuse with the voters’ roll — hence their ducking and diving — as they have done in the past. CCC’s leader Nelson Chamisa CCC has no voters’ roll with 10 days to elections

NewsHawks #ZimElection2023 News Page 3 Issue 144, 11 August 2023 OWEN GAGARE WITH 10 days to go before polling day, Zimbabwe’s crucial general elections — the second ones after the demise of the country’s authoritarian leader Robert Mugabe — are mired in logistical delays, court battles and illegalities. The elections are due on 23 August. The run-up to the polls has been a hotly-contested affair. President Emmerson Mnangagwa is going head-to-head with his closest rival Nelson Chamisa, leader of the main opposition Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC), sweeping across the country’s 10 provinces on whirlwind campaigns characterised by big rallies, sloganeering and thundering rhetoric. There 10 other presidential election candidates, including one woman. Mnangagwa was in Madziva, Mashonaland Central, yesterday campaigning at an annual church gathering. He had a day earlier attended another church event to campaign in Mvuma in the Midlands province. The President has been campaigning in churches and everywhere frantically. Mnangagwa has urged Zanu PF supporters to deliver a “thunderous victory”. Chamisa was in Victoria Falls, Matabeleland North province, two days ago, swung back to Harare and is going to Masvingo province today. He says he is gunning for a “resounding victory”. Chamisa launched his manifesto in Bulawayo on Tuesday, promising reform and a new trajectory for the country stuck in a quagmire of economic crisis for decades if he wins. Zanu PF has unusually failed to produce a manifesto for the first time in 43 years. It says its infrastructural development projects and programmes are its manifesto. The road to the elections has been rugged and dramatic. The CCC has had to jump many hurdles to campaign. A number of its rallies have been banned by police on various pretexts, creating an uproar. But due to political pressure, police ended up writing an internal memo instructing its senior officers to stop the banning of opposition rallies as that was discrediting the elections. However, the biggest fight between Zanu PF and the CCC has been around the conduct of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec), which runs elections. The parties are quarrelling over electoral body’s conduct and contested decisions as the elections get closer. Zec, which has security agents in it, is widely accused of being partisan and of changing rules of the game in the middle of proceedings. Its critics say it is only concerned with ensuring Zanu PF and Mnangagwa win by fair means or foul. In a move which caused outrage, Zec two weeks ago gazetted Statutory Instrument 140A of 2023 altering the deadline for the submission of postal voting materials from 9 August to 20 August due to delays triggered by a series of electoral court cases. The changes to Section 75(1)(d) of the Electoral Act through Statutory Instrument 140A of 2023 altered the minimum period in which the chief elections officer must receive postal votes from a minimum of 14 days to a minimum of three days from polling day. Opposition parties and analysts say this was unlawful. Jonathan Moyo, a professor of politics who is also a former minister and MP, said Zec’s action was unconstitutional and illegal, almost fatally compromising elections. Moyo said the move "puts paid to the possibility of the holding of a legal and constitutional harmonised general election on 23 August 2023". Barred independent presidential election candidate Saviour Kasukuwere challenged Zec’s changes to the electoral law in court. He has had at least five court cases relating to elections, mainly on his banning from the polls. Justice Tawanda Chitapi ruled against Kasukuwere on Friday. Judges from the High Court, Supreme Court and Constitutional Court (ConCourt) have so far ruled against the former Zanu PF political commissar and minister on numerous election cases amid complaints of judicial capture. The state-controlled media is also captured and mostly denies the opposition access to its platforms for campaigns. A court has ruled state media must give the opposition coverage. Despite a series of court setbacks, Kasukuwere is still in the ConCourt challenging a High Court judgement which was confirmed by the Supreme Court, barring him from contesting the election. This week Kasukuwere lost in the ConCourt where he had gone for direct access to challenge his blocking from standing before going back to the same court for appeal. This followed a High Court application by Zanu PF activist Lovedale Mangwana, who arControversial Zim 2023 elections mired in chaos President Emmerson Mnangagwa on the campaigning train.

Page 4 #ZimElection2023 NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023 gued that Kasukuwere is no longer a registered voter — hence cannot be a candidate — since he has been in South Africa for 18 consecutive months. High Court Justice David Mangota ruled in Mangwana’s favour in a judgement which was widely criticised as flawed. There have also been other more court cases over elections. For instance, 12 CCC Bulawayo parliamentary election candidates were barred from the poll by Justice Bongani Ndlovu for submitting their nomination papers late. They were later reinstated by the Supreme Court amid observations that the court only ruled in the opposition’s favour to prevent opening a Pandora’s box over the issue of candidates who filed nomination papers late. Ten CCC candidates on the party proportional representation list for the provincial council in Bulawayo lost their court application for review challenging the nomination court’s decision to reject their papers over late filing. They are led by Aquilina Kavidza Pamberi, the lead applicant. Due to Zec’s actions, smaller opposition MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora withdrew from the presidential election this week, accusing the electoral body of being unprofessional and partisan. “We are not going to be part of the baptism, blessing of this sham. This election is a farce,” Mwonzora told journalists in Harare. “We have seen massive disenfranchisement, mass disqualification of a good number of people. There is no doubt why the MDC is being treated in a different manner from other political parties; it is because the MDC took Zec to court over delimitation. “The delimitation that we fought against is now in force and its effects are now clear on this election. Right now as we speak, Zec is busy changing boundaries of wards and constituencies. It has added more than a 1 000 more polling stations because delimitation was invalid.” Mwonzora said the Zec disqualified 87 of his party’s candidates for late payment of nomination fees. He described the election as “discriminatory, farce and a sham”. “On June 21, the MDC had 87 of its parliamentary candidates unfairly disqualified by Zec. The reason given is that they had failed to pay their nomination fees, yet it was Zec that had made it impossible for these people to pay their nomination fees,” he said. “When the extension was done the following morning, MDC was excluded from benefiting from this extension. We view this as very discriminatory. What that means is that there was massive disenfranchisement in 87 constituencies as 87 of our candidates were no longer on the ballot paper.” Many other candidates failed to secure nomination to run due prohibitive fees or submitting papers late. Zec says it is too late for Mwonzora to withdraw as he missed the 21-day notice to pull out. “They can’t force me. I have withdrawn from the race,” Mwonzora said. Legal think-tank Veritas says Mwonzora can still withdraw on the basis of the principle that when the grounds that gave rise to a law cease to exist, the law itself ceases to exist. “There is a rule of law expressed in the Latin maxim cessante ratione legis cessat et ipsa lex, which means that if the reason for a law ceases to exist then the law itself falls away or ceases to apply,” it says. Zec is insisting Mwonzora cannot withdrew not because it is a stickler for the constitution and rules, but because it is trying to cover its tracks. If Mwonzora successfully withdraws, then Zec — which has already printed the ballots illegally — would be forced to print over five million ballots afresh, which would be costly and unworkable. United Zimbabwe Alliance leader Elisabeth Valerio, the only woman in the presidential race, was initially barred, but the electoral court granted her permission to contest the poll after the nomination court threw out her papers for submitting late. Further, CCC is particularly accusing Zec of failing to uphold its constitutional mandate and obligation to conduct elections “efficiently, freely, fairly, transparently and in accordance with the law”. Section 239 of the constitution of Zimbabwe requires Zec to do this. Apart from this, Zec is under siege over a number of issues, including voter registration, inspection of the voters roll, delimitation of constituencies and location of 12 370 polling stations in 210 constituencies. The CCC has taken Zec to court over the voters’ roll. The party wants the voters’ roll to audit it to check for people who are missing, those registered more than once and the perennial problem of dead people still on the register. Two days ago, CCC secretary for elections Ian Makone filed an urgent High Court application for a mandatory interdict that Zec must provide an up-to-date copy of the voters’ roll and finalist of polling stations. Zec is also being accused of not being transparent and forthcoming with information. The election management body is deeply divided and engulfed in turmoil over the delimitation of constituency boundaries. Seven Zec commissioners revolted against chairperson Priscilla Chigumba and her deputy Rodney Kiwa, accusing them of arbitrarily writing the delimitation report and acting arbitrarily. Delimitation or drawing of new constituency boundaries happens every 10 years. The other problem is that the Central Intelligence (CIO)-run Forever Associates Zimbabwe (Faz) has unconstitutionally seized control of the running of the elections in a bid to retain Mnangagwa in office. While Zanu PF always leveraged the military to win, this time around it is using the intelligence to secure victory. The run-up to the election has also been characterised by political repression. Opposition activists, including CCC senior leader Job Sikhala and fellow activist Jacob Ngarivhume, have been jailed for political reasons. There have also been cases of political violence. Only recently, CCC supporter Tinashe Chitsunge was killed by Zanu PF activists in Harare. Given the disputed delimitation of constituency boundaries and resultant Zec divisions, voters' roll fiasco, banning of opposition rallies, jailing of opposition leaders, violence, vote-buying, coercion of voters, illegal involvement of the CIO-run Faz outfit in polls, illegalities, partisan judiciary and uneven playing field, the elections are engulfed in chaos, compromised and discredited well before the first ballot has been cast. Zec chief elections officer Utloile Silaigwana referred question to spokesperson Justin Manyau, who then asked them to be put in writing. Barred independent presidential election candidate Saviour Kasukuwere United Zimbabwe Alliance leader Elisabeth Valerio (centre).

NewsHawks #ZimElection2023 News Page 5 Issue 144, 11 August 2023 RUVIMBO MUCHENJE THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) is in a tight corner over smaller opposition MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora’s unexpected withdrawal from the presidential election which has inadvertently exposed its illegalities and lies over the printing of ballot paper. Zec has been deliberately ambiguous over the printing of ballot paper as it sought to use obfuscation to cover up its failure to comply with the law. Just recently, it said it had been printing presidential election ballot paper, but then quickly changed to say it was not and now says it is in the process of doing so. To start with, Zec has already failed the transparency test on running the elections. Section 239 of the constitution of Zimbabwe requires Zec to conduct elections, “efficiently, freely, fairly, transparently and in accordance with the law”. However, it has not been efficient, open and transparent on the electoral process. By its own inconsistent and partial admission, Zec has been printing ballot papers in fits and starts due to court cases on disputes over nominations of candidates involving Zanu PF, opposition parties and barred independent presidential election candidate Saviour Kasukuwere. To make matters worse, the printing of ballots has been done secretly, which is illegal. Consequently, Zec has so far failed to fulfill its constitutional and legal obligations on the printing of ballot papers and associated issues. Section 52A of the Electoral Act directs Zec as follows: “The commission shall ensure that the number of ballot papers printed for any election does not exceed by more than ten per centum the number of registered voters eligible to vote in the election; “The commission shall without delay provide the following information to all political parties and candidates contesting an election, and to all observers — (a) where and by whom the ballot papers for the election have been or are being printed; and (b) the total number of ballot papers that have been printed for the election; and (c) the number of ballot papers that have been distributed to each polling station.” This critical process has not been observed and followed. This means 10 days before the elections, parties, candidates and their agents simply do not know who is printing the ballot papers, where and when it started. They do not know how many ballot papers have so far been printed at what cost and where they are now. Parties and candidates are also asking if Zec has observed the 10% threshold that it must not exceed in terms of printing the total number of ballots in relation to the total number of registered voters. Further, they want to know whether Zec has already distributed the ballots to each polling station around the country. Stakeholders specifically want to know how many ballots have been distributed so far to where and when? Zec, which is deeply divided due to the dispute over the delimitation of constituencies, has not explained all this amid growing charges that it is brazenly partisan, incompetent and opaque. Zec chief elections officer Utloile Silaigwana referred questions to spokesperson Justin Manyau who, in turn, asked for questions in writing. Manyau had not yet answered The NewsHawks queries at the time of writing. CCC secretary for elections Ian Makone said Zec has not been transparent and forthcoming on the issue of printing of ballots, just like on many other electoral matters. “We have been asking them about that issue. Just last Friday we asked them about it at the multi-party liaison meeting. They have failed to provide us with a satisfactory explanation,” Makone said. “We have been engaging with them over that issue for sometime now. We want answers. We are only 10 days away from the elections.” The situation has been worsened by the Mwonzora saga. While the MDC-T leader says he has withdrawn from the presidential election, Zec says he cannot pull less than 21 days before the elections. Legal think-tank Veritas has brought a new twist to the issue. It says while the law stipulates Mwonzora cannot withdraw after 21 days from the elections, there is a legal principle that actually makes it possible for him to pull out anytime. Veritas explains: “Mr Douglas Mwonzora, a presidential candidate standing for the MDC-T party, has said he wants to withdraw from the election and has written to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) requesting the commission to remove his name from the list of candidates. Zec has refused to comply, saying it is too late to remove his name and citing section 107(1) of the Electoral Act, which reads: ‘(1) A nominated candidate for election as President may, by notice in writing addressed to the Chief Elections Officer, withdraw his or her candidature at any time before twenty-one days from the day … on which the poll in an election to the office of President is to be taken.’ “There is less than a fortnight left until polling day on the 23rd August so it seemed that Mr Mwonzora is out of time in trying to withdraw.” Veritas continues. “Actually, he isn’t. There is a rule of law expressed in the Latin maxim cessante ratione legis cessat et ipsa lex, which means that if the reason for a law ceases to exist then the law itself falls away or ceases to apply. “The reason for section 107(1) is fairly obvious: a candidate should not be allowed to withdraw from an election after ballot papers have been printed because either the ballot papers will have to be reprinted at extra expense or, if they are not and the candidate’s name is left on them, Zec will have to take steps to inform voters that the candidate has withdrawn and they should not vote for him or her. “In the particular circumstances of this election, that reason does not apply. There have been so many challenges to the nomination process, and the courts have taken so long to finalise them, that Zec has been unable to print the ballot papers — we know this because Zec’s legal representative said so during preliminary proceedings before Mr Kasukuwere’s application to the Constitutional Court was heard. “Since the reason for section 107(1) does not apply, the section does not apply either and should not be invoked to prevent Mr Mwonzora from withdrawing. "Zec should accept Mr Mwonzora’s withdrawal. If his name continues to appear on the presidential ballot papers, voters may vote for him in the mistaken belief that he still wants to be elected. If they do vote for him, they will be voting for a candidate who has renounced the election. Their votes will be as futile as if they had spoiled their papers.” Zec cannot accept Mwonzora’s withdrawal because if it does, its lie that it had not printed ballot papers while the Kasukuwere case was still going on will be exposed since he is on the ballot paper. So he has to stay as a candidate to avoid exposing Zec illegalities and lies, and reprinting of millions of ballots at huge cost. Factually, the Kasukuwere case is still on as the blocked candidate has appealed to the Constitutional Court (ConCourt). This was after he had lost battles in the High Court, Supreme Court and ConCourt initially. Kasukuwere was barred from the election by the High Court in a judgement endorsed by the Supreme Court at the behest of Zanu PF activist Lovedale Mangwana. The ConCourt dismissed Kasukuwere's application for direct access and subsequent hearing on a technicality–that he was wrongly before the court. That is why he has gone back there. He also plans yet another appeal at the Supreme Court. The ConCourt also dismissed without a hearing former Zanu PF activist and independent candidate for Southerton constituency Jim Kunaka’s application for direct access to the court, challenging Kasukuwere’s disqualification. The problem is if Mwonzora effectively withdraws now, Zec will have to reprint over 6.5 million ballot papers without him on them — which would be an inadvertent admission it had acted illegally in the first place — and distribute them to 12 370 polling stations around the country. In the process, it would have to inform opposition parties and candidates on the details of the exercise in terms of the law. Mwonzora says Zec “can’t force” him to remain the election. “I have withdrawn from the race,” he said. Zec is insisting that Mwonzora cannot withdraw legally not because it is a stickler for the constitution, laws and rules, but simply because it wants to cover up its tracks of illegally printing ballots, and to avoid having to reprint millions of them at a huge cost. Insisting he is out of the race, Mwonzora devastatingly asks: “Since when has Zec respected the rules and timelines?”, adding: “this election is a sham and a farce”. Zec caught pants down lying over printing of ballot papers Zec chairperson Priscilla Chigumba

Page 6 #ZimElection2023 NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023 NATHAN GUMA THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) is under pressure to meet the deadlines for postal voting, with the election management body changing the Electoral Act to alter the deadline for postal votes, against a backdrop of disruptive delays by a series of court cases over partisan electoral mismanagement. Zimbabwe is headed for polls on 23 August amid complaints by the opposition that the playing field is uneven. This week, the election was further discredited by growing chaos after the government controversially changed the Electoral Act to alter the deadline of postal votes. Zec confirmed says the government gazetted Statutory Instrument 140A of 2023 which altered the deadline for the submission of postal voting materials to it from 9 August to 20 August due to delays triggered by a series of electoral court cases. The changes to section 75(1)(d) of the Electoral Act through Statutory Instrument 140A of 2023 has altered the minimum period in which the chief elections officer must receive postal votes from a minimum of 14 days to a minimum of three days from polling day. This means that the deadline for receipt of postal ballot papers by the chief elections officer is now 20 August 2023. This has piled pressure on Zec to print and distribute the postal ballots throughout the country and around the world to the 17 483 registered voters who qualified to make their mark out of the 18 000 voters who applied for postal voting by deadline day on 5 July 2023, and then subsequently receive on time the postal votes back in the remaining 13 days before 20 August 2023. The original deadline for that was 9 August. The statutory instrument changed that to 20 August, which triggers a ripple effect on the postal voting process timeline set by law. The changes have been challenged in court, with aspiring presidential candidate Saviour Kasukuwere filing a High Court application to bar the changes as they violate the constitution. Kasukuwere has since lost that case. In his application, Kasukuwere had atgued: “The said Statutory Instrument sets the new timelines for the distribution of postal ballots papers departing from those ordinarily provided for in the Electoral Act. In fact, the said regulations amend certain provisions of the Electoral Act. “The preamble of the regulations makes it clear that the same has been promulgated following the unprecedented litigation post the sitting of the nomination court. Paragraph 2 of the regulations makes it clear that the same will be used for the 23rd August 2023 General harmonised elections. "The promulgation of the said regulations violates without any doubt section 157 (5) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe which is the Supreme Law of the land. The applicant thus prays that he same regulations be declared unconstitutional and that they will be of no force and effect as regards to the elections to be held on the 23 August." The government, working with Zec, used the statutory instrument to significantly and controversially intervene in the electoral process after the proclamation of the election date — which is illegal. Section 134 of the constitution says the legislature can, in an Act of Parliament, delegate power to make statutory instruments within the scope of and for the purposes laid out in that Act, but it must not delegate its primary law-making power. So the statutory instrument was promulgated by the government, working with Zec, in that context for purposes of elections. However, this has triggered a crisis which further discredits or compromises the 23 August elections. The constitution prohibits changes to the law, be they an amendment or changes in any shape or form. Yet some legal analysts say the Electoral Act anticipates those changes; so the changes are legal although controversial, but not fatal to the elections. This has also highlighted the need for the Constitutional Court to intervene and clarify the issue as this move by the government — which inherently involves President Emmerson Mnangagwa, his Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, Justice permanent secretary Virginia Mabhiza, Zec and other stakeholders in this case — discredits the elections. Section 157(5) of the constitution provides that: "After an election has been called, no change to the Electoral Law or to any other law relating to elections has effect for the purpose of that election." But Zec has tinkered with the law, less than a fortnight before the elections. The amendment by Zec has also been shrouded in controversy, as it was neither transparent nor in accordance with the law. Section 239 of the constitution of Zimbabwe requires Zec to conduct elections, “efficiently, freely, fairly, transparently and in accordance with the law”. This means amending or changing section 75(1) (d) of the Electoral Act to reduce the minimum period in which the chief elections officer must receive postal votes from 14 days to three days before polling day has a material impact on section 76, sub-sections 4, 5 and 6 of the Electoral Act. It affects the process of how postal voting is managed and run; that is how and when the ballots from 17 483 registered voters are sent from the chief elections officer to constituency elections officers and eventually to presiding officers. How postal voting works Section 76 of the Electoral Act spells out how the postal voting process works in terms of the law. “The Chief Elections Officer shall ensure that each constituency elections officer receives the ballot paper envelopes sent to him or her at least seven days before the polling day or the first polling day, as the case may be, in the election concerned; “Upon receipt of the ballot paper envelopes dispatched in terms of sub-section (4), the constituency elections officer shall forthwith distribute each ballot paper envelope to the presiding officer of the polling station indicated on the back of the envelope, together with an accompanying note indicating the number of envelopes that are sent; “The constituency elections officer shall ensure that the appropriate presiding officer receives the ballot paper envelopes sent to him or her at least two days before the polling day or the first polling day, as the case may be, in the election concerned.” Given all this, Zec is no longer constitutionally, legally and practically able to follow the postal voting legal process without resorting to shortcuts. Zec has been printing ballot papers in fits and starts due to court cases on disputes over the nomination of candidates involving Zanu PF, opposition parties and independent presidential election candidate Saviour Kasukuwere. The printing of ballots has also been done secretly, which is illegal. Consequently, Zec has so far failed to fulfill its constitutional and legal obligations on the printing of ballot paper. On the printing of ballot paper, section 52A of the Electoral directs Zec as follows: “(1) The commission shall ensure that the number of ballot papers printed for any election does not exceed by more than ten per centum the number of registered voters eligible to vote in the election; “The commission shall without delay provide the following information to all political parties and candidates contesting an election, and to all observers — (a) where and by whom the ballot papers for the election have been or are being printed; and (b) the total number of ballot papers that have been printed for the election; and (c) the number of ballot papers that have been distributed to each polling station. This critical process has not been observed and followed.” This means, 13 days before the elections, parties, candidates and their agents simply do not know who is printing the ballot paper, where and when it started. They do not know how many ballot papers have so far been printed and where they are stored. In so doing, Zec, which is also deeply divided, has failed its constitutional obligation under section 239 of the constitution of Zimbabwe which requires it to conduct elections, “efficiently, freely, fairly, transparently and in accordance with the law”. This, together with disputed delimitation of constituency boundaries and Zec divisions over that, voters' roll fiasco, banning of opposition rallies, jailing of opposition leaders, violence which has resulted in bloodshed and deaths, vote-buying, coercion of voters, illegal involvement of the Central Intelligence Organisation-run outfit Forever Associates Zimbabwe, various illegalities, partisan judicial interventions and uneven playing field, leave the 23 August 2023 general elections engulfed in massive chaos, compromised and discredited beyond repair, well before the first ballot is cast. Zec ties itself in postal voting knots

NewsHawks #ZimElection2023 News Page 7 Issue 144, 11 August 2023 BRENNA MATENDERE CRISIS in Zimbabwe Coalition has reiterated calls for a substantive urgent national elections dialogue towards meaningful and sustainable reforms, supported by the region and international partners, saying without it the cycle of rigged polls will continue on 23 August.å The civil society grouping said without all-inclusive dialogue in the country, the current situation will retard Zimbabwe’s prospects for economic recovery and democratic renewal. The Crisis Coalition said the major challenges of Zimbabwe ahead of the polls include the lack of independence by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and the judiciary. “In light of these harsh realities, the Coalition proposes the following recommendations which form part of its current work and efforts: “1. Our major recommendation is that Zimbabwe requires support of the region and the international community to address its numerous challenges through a process of national dialogue. “Dialogue must help the country return to norm compliance on democratic governance and resolving the question of political legitimacy. It remains our strongest belief that without a substantive national dialogue towards meaningful and sustainable reform, supported by the region and international partners, elections under the current context firmly puts the country on a recurring cycle of contested legitimacy, which potentially continues to retard Zimbabwe’s prospects for recovery, economic and democratic development,” said the coalition in a recent statement. The statement further asserts that, essentially, Zimbabwe requires the assistance of the region and other international stakeholders to commence a process of inclusive national dialogue among stakeholders, including political parties, civil society and business towards sustainable reforms that can return the country to norm compliance with democratic governance. “More importantly, Sadc and AU must be alive to the fact that postponing to deal with the Zimbabwean crisis has the potential to have spin-off effects at regional level. “The coalition continues to call upon various stakeholders, including development partners to support and strengthen civil society responses to the deteriorating human security situation, especially targeted at human rights defenders within its rank and file as well as broader civil society. "The independence and impartiality of Zec is critical for elections in Zimbabwe. Zec must act within the provisions of the constitution of Zimbabwe and as read with Sadc Principles and Guidelines on credible polls and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance,” reads the statement. The Crisis Coalition also said law enforcement and state security agents must cease from operating as vigilante extensions of the ruling party and must treat all political contestants fairly and in accordance with the set legal provisions. “Equally, the army must stay out from politics and elections. We also implore the traditional leadership to desist from partisan politics and uphold the constitution of Zimbabwe. “The state-controlled media must give equal and fair coverage for all political contestants as provided for by the law. “The coalition continues to urge citizens, through their own agency, to continuously work towards ensuring mechanisms for protecting citizens against undue coercion on election day and will support in any way possible such efforts to ensure the integrity of the vote is protected on election day,” Democratic reset critically required The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition said the major challenges of Zimbabwe ahead of the polls include the lack of independence by Zec (top picture) and judiciary. Chief Justice Luke Malaba

Page 8 #ZimElection2023 NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023 NATHAN GUMA PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government has largely failed to fulfil its 2018 manifesto promises to end the country’s socio-economic crisis, a new report by an independent policy think-tank has revealed. With an average performance of 56%, the government’s best delivery has been in agriculture and local governance with 72% and 63% scores, respectively. On social services and corruption, the government has scored 42% and 44%, respectively, according to an assessment by an independent policy research organisation, Sivio Institute. The government has scored 56% on the economy and 58% on civil and political rights. Zimbabwe is headed to the polls on 23 August with the Mnangagwa-led Zanu PF failing to produce an election manifesto this time around. In July, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said Zanu PF will not produce an electoral manifesto, but rather use its performance over the past five years as a trump card in its campaigns. Other political parties, including main opposition Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC) and court-bound independent presidential candidate Savior Kasukuwere, have produced manifestos outlining their election roadmaps. According to the Sivio Institute's assessment report titled Five Years of Progress or Stagnation, the Zanu PF government has failed to deliver in the social services cluster that includes pension systems and allocations, housing, health and education. The government made nine promises with regards pensions, with a performance of 49%, while making 15 promises in the health sector (37%). More promises were made in the education sector, with a performance of 47% while the lowest score was recorded in housing (36%). While the Zanu PF government promised to build 78 new hospitals and at least one new hospital per administrative district by 2023 to promote the health sector, it only managed to build only 13 new clinics. The government has also allocated 11% of the National Budget to health, which is lower than its target of 15%. “Under the health sub-sector, two promises have been broken: (i) the review of the remuneration structure for medical professionals and (ii) ensure that the Treasury allocates at least 15% of the National Budget to healthcare (in line with the Abuja Declaration). The period under review has been characterised by a number of industrial actions, especially by nurses and doctors going on strike for improved conditions of service. “Several nurses have taken advantage of opportunities in the UK to migrate there,” reads the report. With the national hospitals in a dilapidated state, the government has also missed its target to reduce hospital fees by at least 50% and to provide free healthcare for cancer patients, as per its 2018 promise. In 2022, the government effected a hike in hospital fees which would see adult and children consultation fees pegged at US$12 and US$6, a 1 748% hike, sparking an outcry. On housing, the government has failed to meet its target to build 1.5 million housing units in collaboration with private sector, with only 180 000 units having been built, according to the report. The government has also failed to keep its promise to invest in more schools and the proper resourcing of existing ones by 2023. According to the report, the government has managed to register only 33 new schools, upgrading 13. The government has also broken its promise of "upholding and applying fully the rule of law, while ensuring equality before the law". “In January 2019, the government resorted to the use of force in responding to riots and since then literally banned public protests. The Covid-19 period and related lockdown measures led to an effective shutting down of the public space. “Journalists and opposition politicians were routinely arrested. To date, two leading opposition politicians are in prison. Job Sikhala, MP for Zengeza West (previously St. Mary's), has been in prison for more than 365 days on remand awaiting trial. A conviction was issued on May 3, 2023 but there remain two active charges against Job Sikhala that he waits for trial in prison,” according to the report. 2018 promises remain a pipedream

NewsHawks #ZimElection2023 News Page 9 Issue 144, 11 August 2023 NATHAN GUMA THE main opposition Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC) has promised title deeds to new farmers and people living in urban areas and improvement of war veterans’ livelihoods. In its election manifesto launched this week under the theme “One People, One Nation, One Vision”, the party said it will prioritise land ownership as part of major targets in its first 100 days in office. Zimbabwe is heading for the polls in less than a fortnight, amid outcries over the Zanu PF government's failure to fulfil its 2018 election manifesto promises. However, the CCC said it will move fast to restore economic stability by bringing closure to the land question which will deliver security of tenure to new farmers. “In order to achieve the twin objectives of meeting national food security and be a strategic player in the provision of global food reserve, the citizens’ government will implement various measures aimed at fully utilising 33 million hectares of arable land at competitive yields comparable to global benchmarks. “To achieve this, agriculture will be anchored on the following: Deal with security of tenure; newly resettled farmers will be given title to land so that land owners have both land use value and exchange value that they can use to access credit lines,” reads part of the manifesto. The party said this will help end the arbitrary displacement of citizens. “Agriculture will be anchored on the following: The restoration of collateral security in land, to facilitate sustainable funding of the agricultural sector, consistent with the constitution of Zimbabwe, granting occupation certificates to existing farmers, de-racialising land ownership, comprehensive land audit to eliminate multiple farm ownerships. “Land Tax: the citizens' government will introduce an appropriate land occupation and use tax that encourages production on titled land and facilitate provision of off-farm infrastructure by the state,” reads part of the manifesto. Zimbabwe has been locked in a land wrangle, which has led to mass displacements of villagers from ancestral land to pave way for mining and agricultural activity. For instance, villagers in the Dinde area of Hwange district are resisting a coal-mining project by Chinese company Beifa Investments, which is projected to displace more than 600 families while damaging the environment. Human rights defenders have also been challenging the government’s proposed US$2 million relocation fund for over 700 families set for displacement to make way for the Gwayi-Shangani water project. An estimated 734 families in the rivers’ catchment area are facing eviction due to the project run by Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) and being worked by engineers from China International Water and Electric Corp. (CWE), a Chinese company. “Currently, people are still fighting over land invasions, arbitrary displacements, double plot allocations and boundary disputes. The citizens’ government will reinstate land for the communities which were unfairly displaced from their ancestral land such as the Dinde, Chilonga, Chiadzwa, Chisumbanje and Mutoko communities. “The citizens’ government promises to strike a balance between the need for new investment and rights of citizens on communal lands. In this regard, in situations where potential risks of displacement arise as a result of new investments, the extensive consultations with the concerned citizens, a community consent will be sought out which will form the basis for the implementation of an orderly removal of communities from their ancestral land, compensation and resettlement,” reads the manifesto. The CCC said it will also protect the rights and interests of all veterans of Zimbabwe's liberation struggle, while transforming their livelihoods. “Through this blueprint the citizens’ government will transform and uplift the livelihoods of war veterans including detainees and war collaborators. Our concept of war veterans also includes soldiers who participated in the DRC Civil war, Mozambican Civil War. “We propose to do the following: (i) Guarantee the timely disbursement of pensions for war veterans. The pensions will be informed by the costs of living. (ii) Guarantee and ensure the welfare of war veterans through guaranteed and subsidised access to essential social services. “(iii). Creation of a veterans Consultative State Advisory Council that works closely together with and advises the government on various issues. (iv) The liberation struggle is the birth of our nation and the role of veterans of that struggle will forever be cherished and celebrated,” reads the manifesto. Opposition manifesto unveils plans for land tenure, war vets

Page 10 #ZimElection2023 NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023 NATHAN GUMA THE main opposition Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC) has responded to accusations by Zanu PF that it plagiarised the ruling party's achievements and packaged them into a manifesto. Defending its manifesto, the CCC says the document is a product of wide consultation with citizens. This week, the Nelson Chamisa-led CCC became one of the few parties to produce a manifesto outlining the party’s vision and promises ahead of the August 23 general election. A manifesto is important in the electoral process as it gives the electorate an opportunity to hold political parties to account after the elections. The ruling Zanu PF, on the other hand, has failed, for the first time since 1980, to produce its own manifesto, amid indications of several unfulfilled promises since the 2018 general election. In July, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said Zanu PF will not produce an electoral manifesto, but rather use its performance over the past five years in its campaigns. MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora, who announced his intention to make an eleventh-hour withdrawal from the presidential race, has failed to produce his manifesto, despite making several promises. While the CCC has produced its roadmap, Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga has levelled serious accusations of plagiarism, saying Chamisa has simply compiled Zanu PF’s successes i to a document he npw calls a manifesto. But the CCC denies the accusation. “In his manifesto, this young man (Chamisa) is trying to ride on the success of the second republic’s Pfumvudza programme and tries to give it another name called Zadzamatura. He is not even aware that the second republic has commissioned the Hwange Units 7 and 8 and rushes to say he wants to do the same when elected into government. Does that make sense?” he said at a rally at Mkoba Stadium in Gweru this week. However, the CCC says Zanu PF’s claims are baseless, pointing out that the ruling party does not even have a manifesto in the first place. “The CCC New Great Zimbabwe Blueprint is the product of wide consultation with citizens, input from experts and a crystallisation of our key guiding principles and value proposition for the people of Zimbabwe. Zanu PF has no manifesto so their claim that their non-existent manifesto was plagiarised is nonsensical and cannot be taken seriously,” said Fadzayi Mahere, the CCC spokesperson. Mahere said while Zanu PF has failed to produce a manifesto, its tenure has been underlined by failure, a broken economy and a currency in crisis. “49% of the population live in extreme poverty and 77% of the citizenry believe Zimbabwe is going in the wrong direction. All objective indicators point to Zanu PF’s failure to deliver economic success as they promised five years. This is why the people must vote them out on 23 August.” Zanu PF spokesperson Chris Mutsvangwa could not be reached for comment, as phone calls made to his number went unanswered. Political analyst Rashweat Mukundu also shot down Zanu PF’s argument on plagiarism, saying it shows that the party does not have anything to offer the electorate in the general election. “Zanu PF's argument on manifestos is a redundant one. Manifestos are a selling point of a political party. They set the vision and can then be used as a monitoring tool for those who are in power to say are we meeting those issues that we set out to do upon which they were elected into office. “If you do not have a manifesto, you are not a leader. You lack vision, you are radarless and claiming to be just doing things for the sake of it. And essentially, this is what Zanu PF is telling the people of Zimbabwe, that elect us, but we do not know what we plan to do when we are in power, and it is sad,” Mukundu said. Zanu PF has been accused of forcing people to attend tallies, with hundreds of state-owned buses carrying crowds to various parts of the country to create a semblance e of well-attended rallies. The party has also been using a shadowy Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) outfit, Forever Associates Zimbabwe (Faz), which, as reported by The NewsHawks, has hijacked electoral processes, sparking a row over its spirited efforts to destabilise the opposition. With three members in every ward countrywide, Faz has been intimidating people, particularly in rural areas, collecting voter information, rolling out door-to-door campaigns, night vigils, community events, technology-based messaging while monitoring all stages of the electoral process. Sources say, so far, Faz has received US$10 million and 200 cars to run its affairs in preparation for the elections. More resources have been promised to capacitate the secret structure. Faz’s mandate, working together with Zec, is to coordinate logistics and decisive forces to retain Mnangagwa in power. The organisation has also been implicated in the chaos surrounding the fielding of bogus candidates on the Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC) ticket. We can’t plagiarise Zanu PF’s non-existent manifesto: CCC CCC spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere

NewsHawks #ZimElection2023 News Page 11 Issue 144, 11 August 2023 PRISCA TSHUMA THE Citizens' Coalition for Change has pledged to craft policy measures that will propel Zimbabwe into a US$100 billion economy by 2033, upon winning the elections this year. The economy is currently plagued with volatile exchange rates, hyperinflation, depreciating currency, high unemployment and a soaring debt. The main opposition is seeking to address these and other economic issues that are affecting the growth of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) value on the global market. According to the World Bank, Zimbabwe’s GDP was estimated to be US$28.8 billion as at 2023. In its manifesto, the CCC vowed to treble the value to US$100 billion within 10 years and, in the process, prove that bad governance is the reason why the country is suffering. This goal is underpinned by the assumptions of a stable macro-economic environment, structural, political and economic reformations, and financial inclusion, an average growth rate of 10%, an average inflation rate of 6%, savings exceeding 25% of GDP, foreign direct investment exceeding 25% of GDP, with a predictable, stable and consistent monetary policy environment. The manifesto, titled The New Great Zimbabwe Blueprint, promises that in the first term, the party will create an enhanced competitive and productive economy anchored on modernised commercial agriculture, a robust services industry, and mining. “During the first five years of building the US$100 billion economy, the government will anchor its GDP growth vision on macro-economic stability, mining, agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure, modernisation of rural areas and tourism sectors of the economy,” the document reads. As a pre-condition to achieving this goal, the party said it would implement a short-term stabilising agenda to anchor the rapid economic recovery immediately after assuming office. “This will entail restoring macro-economic stability and fiscal consolidation. Indeed, given the current budget deficit, fiscal adjustments will be a necessary precondition for macro-economic stability,” the CCC says. The blueprint asserts that the party wants the country to benefit more from the export trade and realise the value of its resources. According to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, 92% of the nation’s exports constitute of primary products, with minerals accounting for 70% and agriculture 22%. In addition, the 86% of country’s exports are largely concentrated in three countries, that is, South Africa 40%, United Arab Emirates 33% and China 13%. For the expansion and transformation of the mining industry into a catalyst for broad-based development, the opposition party said it would develop linkages between the extractive sector and other sectors of the economy. “The citizens' government will ensure that the mining sector is incorporated into cluster development aligned to regions and areas of endowment,” the document says. “The citizens’ government will establish special economic zones specifically targeted for value addition and beneficiation of minerals.” The document also added that it would reduce the import bill through establishing an economy renowned for producing “signature products.” Out of the annual import bill of about US$8 billion, US$2.5 billion comprises commodities that can be produced locally. According to ZimStat, the country’s imports are largely made up of cereals US$500 million, iron and steel US$300 million, fertilisers US$150 million, pharmaceuticals US$250 million, soya bean US$290 million, tissue and paper US$200 million and fruits and vegetables US$160 million. “The citizens’ government will achieve quick wins through targeting revival and capacitating the steel, fertiliser, soaps and cosmetics, clothing and towelling, food processing, leather, car assembly, paper and edible oils industries to achieve the twin objectives of import substitution and employment creation,” the party said. The blueprint says that when elected, the CCC would address the issue of unemployment, which is pushing the youth towards drug abuse. The country’s rate of unemployment has remained above 80% while half of the population is in extreme poverty. “The citizens’ government is targeting to create 2.5 million decent jobs in five years and another 2.5 million in the next five years. “Only through pro-poor shared growth will the country see job creation socio-economic development,” the blueprint said. In addition, the CCC said it would solve the US$18.73 billion debt crisis through sustainable arrears clearance and debt resolution policies to create a debt-free country and to attract fresh capital. Moreover, the manifesto says the party will build world-class infrastructure by way of buildings, roads, rail, air, power, energy, water and sanitation, and information communication technology (ICT) systems. The party says dilapidated infrastructure is compounding the country’s economic woes and US$34 billion is required to revamp it. “The citizens’ government will therefore address the country’s infrastructure deficit of over 43 years. We strongly believe that the infrastructure backlog offers Zimbabwe an opportunity to reconstruct itself out of the persistent socio-economic crisis.” In the last phase, the party said it would shift growth from primary sectors to service sectors. During the second term, the US$100 billion economy would be anchored on health, education, ICT, distribution and financial services. “The trickle-down benefits of sustained growth will create a robust middle class that will help to propel our vision.” We will build US$100bn economy Twenty actions by the the Citizens' Government in the first 100 days. The key quick wins: 1. Release all political prisoners. Restore dignity, rights, hope and respect to all citizens. 2. Restore sanity to the education system. Remove the Continuous Assessment Learning Activity (Cala) curriculum. Dignity to teachers. 3. Remove bond notes. Stabilise the economy. Tax reforms. 4. Free and Universal Primary Education and primary healthcare. 5. Set stakeholder turnaround timelines for all public service, parastatals, municipalities, applications processes. 6. Free airwaves including allowing cheaper internet e.g. Starlink. 7. Reintroduce the executive mayors and devolution. 8. De-politicise the state, government, Parastatals and Councils. 9. Re-visit border paperwork for passengers, vehicles, and goods, especially South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, etc. Reduce cross-border charges. 10. Stop leakages and illicit financial flows. New laws and mechanisms to deal with corruption. 11. War on drug cartels and barons. 12. Title deeds to urbanites and all farmland, new farmers. 13. Massive infrastructure rehabilitation and projects. 14. Fix broken politics. Decisively deal with violence, intolerance and hate. 15. Restoring Zimbabwe in the family of nations. Normalising relations with all key nations and countries. 16. Debt resolution. 17. Fair prices to farmers for their produce and crops. 18. Restoration of leadership values, manners and ethics. 19. Repeal all oppressive legislation. 20. E-government and digital platforms for everything. First 100 days in office CCC president Nelson Chamisa

Page 12 #ZimElection2023 NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023 BRENNA MATENDERE MAIN opposition Citizens' Coalition for Change says it will implement a raft of security sector reforms if it wins a mandate to form the next government after the 23 August general elections. The reforms are aimed at ensuring an effective, well-resourced professional and non-partisan security sector which will work for the good of the nation. The CCC this week announced a 100-page manifesto in which it detailed its planned course of action if it wins the polls. The party noted that the security of Zimbabwe is key and maintaining peace is a major underlying assumption of development. “The citizens' government will therefore ensure that the security services of Zimbabwe are professionalised and transformed into institutions of excellence serving the interest of Zimbabweans and assisting civilian authority in securing the country. “The citizens' government will transform and maintain a formidable citizens security and safety framework through the Zimbabwe National Army, Air Force of Zimbabwe, Central Intelligence and Police Service,” reads part of the manifesto. On law enforcement, the party says its vision will be to build a modern, efficient, reliable, and professional police service which meets the needs and requirements of all those who live in or visit Zimbabwe. In order to achieve this, the CCC said it will modernise and digitise all police centres with modern technology to assist them to conduct their work efficiently and promote a rightsbased policing approach. The party also said it will endeavour to upgrade accommodation services at all police stations and centres and re-orientate the police to prioritise the protection of rights. Zimbabwean police are notorious for brutalising citizens and acting along political lines instead of upholding the law without fear, favour or prejudice in line with the constitution Furthermore, the CCC said it will ensure promotion is based on merit as opposed to professional and political connections. The party also said it will promote digital traffic policing aided by traffic cameras and minimal physical traffic stops and roadblocks. It also pledged to mandate police service personnel to acquire extra professional qualifications through continuous training. On the military, the CCC said it shall build an army that supports the establishment of democratic institutions in a Zimbabwe where citizens live in happiness, peace, and safety as they freely participate in the progressive governance of Zimbabwe. “The army will protect the political independence and territorial integrity of Zimbabwe while aiding a secure and peaceful Sadc region…We will endeavour to build a technologically effective force capable of securing our national borders that are currently porous. We will ensure proper remuneration of the armed forces including the provision of housing scheme, vehicles and related benefits that promote comfort in army lives. “We will improve civil-military relations including trust, loyalty and dependability… Ensure honour of service in any of the military sector…Deployment to be done through parliament in line with constitution of Zimbabwe…Partisanship will be an unacceptable vice for serving military men and women.” The party added that through “an army of service approach”, and in aid of free speech doctrines, the military will not be randomly deployed to beat up citizens in neighbourhoods during protests for better conditions. The CCC also put forward alternative measures to reform the dreaded Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO). “The intelligence arm of the state shall be set up by an Act of Parliament defining and limiting its powers. The intelligence shall focus on detecting and combating external threats of the Zimbabwean state. Internal crimes detected by the services shall be referred to the police service of Zimbabwe. “Re-orientation of the services shall be part of the transformation agenda. Expanding the scope of the intelligence services to assist in economic and financial crimes including money laundering and illicit deals,” the manifesto reads. “Personnel shall be afforded benefits in line with other security services as mentioned in the Police and Army sections.” The party said the CIO will stay active in monitoring and protecting national interests, assets and resources that include the fight against terrorism, wildlife, minerals, foreign currency monitoring, espionage, potential foreign invasions, security of tourist features, economic sabotage, national water supplies and any emerging assets that bring national benefits to the people of Zimbabwe. “The Central Intelligence shall be an agency of the state serving national interests and security in the true sense. There shall be a huge investment in the Central Intelligence Organisation for a restoration of public trust and confidence in the agency’s reputation, image improvement and alignment. “The agency should be observed as an agency with people’s interests at heart and not an agency of thugs, murderers or persecutors of opposition politicians,” reads the CCC manifesto. The Zimbabwe security sector has been repeatedly flagged for human rights abuses dating back to the dark era of the late president Robert Mugabe. CCC pledges security sector reforms

NewsHawks #ZimElection2023 News Page 13 Issue 144, 11 August 2023 NATHAN GUMA ZIMBABWE is unlikely to benefit much from deals clinched with Russia on the sidelines of the recently held Russia-Africa Summit, if Moscow's history of controversial dealings with Harare is anything to go by, a new report has revealed. Russian President Vladimir Putin gifted his Zimbabwean counterpart Emmerson Mnangagwa with an Mi-38 presidential helicopter manufactured by Russian Helicopters, a stateowned company, at the second Russia-Africa Summit held last month. Putin also announced Zimbabwe among six beneficiaries of Russia’s free-grain distribution scheme, set to help ailing countries. Mnangagwa openly supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while appealing for Putin’s help in Zimbabwe’s bid for a seat in the United National Security Council, an organ charged with ensuring international peace and security. According to an analysis by natural resource watchdog, the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG), the gifts are likely to come at a cost for Zimbabwe as several nations have been scrambling to control the country’s mineral resources. “Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has promised to soon provide Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Mali, Somalia and Zimbabwe 25 to 50 tonnes of grain ‘free of charge’ and ensure delivery of the same. “Russia is seeking closer ties with the African bloc following its invasion of Ukraine which triggered sanctions from the Western bloc. The major question to be asked is: What is the actual cost of this supposedly free lunch? Putin’s pledge comes hot on the heels of a three-day state visit by his protégée, the Belarusian President Alexandra Lukashenko who toured the country on a three-day state visit in January,” says the CNRG. The investments of Belarus and Russia in Zimbabwe have been controversial, with many of them largely military and political agreements that have seen Russia exploiting Zimbabwe’s mineral resources. DZT-Ozgeo Mining Company (1989-2016) In 2014, Penhalonga residents expressed concern over the mining operations of DZT-Ozgeo, a joint venture between the Development Trust of Zimbabwe (DTZ) and Russia's Ozgeo, accused of causing environmental degradation along Mutare River where it had been mining alluvial gold. “Apart from massive environmental degradation, nobody could explain how DTZ-Ozgeo was benefitting the residents of Penhalonga. There was no single structure or housing unit constructed by DTZ-Ozgeo in Penhalonga for the 10 years they operated in the area. The company security personnel tortured many people to death on allegations of illegal mining within its concession,” according to CNRG. The company lost its claims when the Zimbabwean government ordered all diamond miners in Marange to cease operations on 22 February 2016. Great Dyke Investments (2014-21)In 2014, the Zimbabwe government commissioned the US$3 billion Great Dyke Investments platinum project in Darwendale which was a joint venture between the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) and a Russian consortium comprising of Vi Holdings, arms conglomerate Rostec and Vnesheconombank, with allegations that the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) owned 30% in the GDI joint venture. As previously reported by The NewsHawks, the Russians pulled out of the Darwendale deal in 2021 due to a plethora of problems which include corruption, mismanagement, mistrust, and poor planning. After the deal crumbled, the Russians ceded their 50% stake in the company to Zimbabwe’s Kuvimba Mining House. Parliament has queried Kuvimba Mining House’s shareholding, which is said to be 65% owned by the government and 35% by ghost shareholders. The company now controls 50% of Great Dyke Investments. After pulling out of the hyped US$3 billion deal, Rostec, one of the companies involved, has moved to supply equipment to Zimbabwe and has since delivered 18 out of 32 Kazan Ansat helicopters, which President Emmerson Mnangagwa says will be used for ambulance, disaster management, policing and wildlife protection duties. While Mnangagwa said he personally sourced the helicopters from Putin, the nature and cost of the deal entered by government have remained unknown, raising eyebrows, as it was done without Parliament’s approval, sparking an outcry from debt watchdogs. Zimbabwe has already been dealing with Belarusian investors, with Zimbabwe Goldfields (Pvt) Ltd, a joint venture between the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) and Midlands Goldfields Limited, violating the country's mining laws in its operations amid devastating environmental damage and a cholera outbreak in Odzi, as reported by The NewsHawks last month. Zim Goldfields was formed after an agreement between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, according to an April 2022 environmental impact assessment (EIA) progress report of the mine. “Mr Lukashenko’s Belarussian company, named Zimgold, is currently committing extreme environmental crimes along Mutare River and surrounding settlements where they have been flattening hills whilst regularly shifting the course of Mutare River, which is a tributary to Odzi River which pours into Save River. “Consequently, both Odzi and Save rivers are experiencing serious siltation due to the activities of Zimgold. In November 2020, Xu Zhong Jin (Zhondin) Investments, a Chinese company subcontracted by Zimgold to mine at Premier, buried alive an unknown number of artisanal miners at Premier Estates in Old Mutare,” says CNRG. The company has also been under fire for blasting hills with disregard for human settlements, intensifying a resource curse. “Trenches have been dug less than 15 metres from homesteads. Petitioning Parliament and letters from residents have not deterred the Belarussians from the war on the environment as they use their relationship with top politicians as their shield,” reads the report. The CNRG said Russia’s economic interests in Zimbabwe are also likely to evolve into a security threat for the country. “Given that the Wagner group has tended to follow Russia’s strategic and economic interests, it is not a far-fetched idea to say they might end up in Zimbabwe soon to protect Russia and Belarus’ economic interests. “The continued discovery of so-called critical minerals, particularly lithium, puts Zimbabwe on a slippery path as these highly sought-after resources tend to attract conflict instead of peace and development, if not managed properly. “Our interest is in the potential impact of these ties to Zimbabwe’s natural resources governance and the peace, safety, and security of our people, particularly those in areas endowed with vast natural resources,” reads the report. Russian shady deals costly for Zim President Emmerson Mnangagwa meets Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Summit in St Petersburg, Russia last month.

Page 14 #ZimElection2023 NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023 BRENNA MATENDERE LAWYERS representing the opposition Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC) say the Supreme Court is rejecting heads of argument in a case in which the party is appealing a High Court order which upheld the filing of nomination papers by 17 double candidates across the country who forged signatures of senior party officials. The CCC lawyers comprise Advocate Thabani Mpofu, Webster Jiti and Paidamoyo Saurombe. The lawyers last week successfully filed an appeal at the High Court against the 17 double candidates. It was therefore a legal requirement for them to file their heads of argument for the case this week so that they can be heard. However, CCC lawyer Saurombe on Thursday said while they had prepared convincing arguments to overturn the High Court judgement on CCC double candidates, the Supreme Court was rejecting them. “The heads of argument are fine, but the Supreme Court is rejecting them,” he said. In a follow-up by The NewsHawks on Friday after working hours, Saurombe said the Supreme Court had again rejected the papers. “They rejected them again today,” he said, adding: “We are filing on the IECMS system and they are being rejected. We went to physically check at the Supreme Court and we were told that the record has not been transmitted from the High Court. We insisted the heads of argument should be issued out but today we filed again and they refused.” Saurombe revealed that they have now written to the High Court registrar seeking his intervention so that they file their papers. Asked whether the hiccups will not be affected by the fast-approaching election date, Saurombe replied: “As long as it is before elections (there is no problem) but if ballots are printed it becomes problematic for Zec (to implement a ruling favourable to the CCC),” he said. In another setback, Saurombe revealed that they have again not been called for case management over the matter despite filing the appeal last month. Last month, High Court judge Neville Wamambo dismissed an application filed by the CCC on the bogus candidates who forged signatures of party officials to pose as chosen representatives of the opposition outfit. Justice Wamambo in his judgment said there was nothing suspicious about the papers of the bogus candidates. The ruling, which sparked public outrage, resulted in the CCC filing the appeal at the Supreme Court. Last week, Saurombe said they had a strong case against Justice Wamambo's judgment. He said their major argument will simply be to tell the Supreme Court that the CCC has distanced itself from the candidates so they cannot use its name on elections. “Justice Wamambo ruled that we should not have approached the court using the appeal route and that there was nothing amiss to show that the bogus candidates were not CCC candidates. “Our appeal is simply saying, if the party has distanced itself from those candidates, that is the end of the matter. Zec cannot force candidates on CCC. The candidates can stand in any other name but not our client’s name,” he said. “It is a strong case against Justice Wamambo. We are now awaiting the case management engagement, then we file our heads of argument,” he said. According to the CCC, the 17 candidates forged signatures on their nomination papers in connivance with the Zanu PF-affiliated group, Forever Associates Zimbabwe (Faz). Faz, which has links with the Central Intelligence Organisation under the organisation’s deputy director-general Walter Tapfumanei, is running Zanu PF campaigns. The CCC was forced to approach the courts after the double candidates ignored an ultimatum to withdraw their nomination papers. At the High Court, the CCC said there was everything wrong about the papers of the double candidates. “The symbol used on the nomination papers was forged and is not that of the appellant (CCC) as given to first respondent (Zec),” the CCC submitted. “The nomination papers presented by second to 18th respondents (candidates) having been fraudulent, the presiding officer erred in coming to the conclusion that such nomination papers were presented in terms of the law and had been validly completed.” The CCC in its current Supreme Court appeal named the bogus candidates as Solomon Baramasimbe, Didymus Bande, Irvin Hatitye Nyaningwe, Malvin Razaru, Farai Michael Padzarondora, Enock Nyadhadzashe Chitoro, Shepherd Kariramombe, Traswell Chikomo, Christmas Gotemusandu, Jonathan Machokoto, Freddy Michael Masarirevhu, Tanaka Matika, George Magweta, Trouble Hasha, Lloyd Sande, Admire Adam Criza, and Terrence Khumbula. Zec is cited as the first respondent followed by the 18 parallel candidates. Zec at the High Court was represented by Tawanda Kanengoni and the rest of the respondents by Tinashe Zinto. Supreme Court rejects CCC papers CCC lawyer Webster Jiti

NewsHawks #ZimElection2023 News Page 15 Issue 144, 11 August 2023 Independence without freedom, Zim echoes Rhodesia rebooted NATHAN GUMA ZIMBABWE has regressed to the authoritarian outpost it was before Independence, analysts have said, amid indications of shrinking civic space, a worsening human rights record, escalating poverty and growing inequality. The country is commemorating Heroes’ Day, which honours people who fought in the country’s liberation war. However, analysts say the human rights record has been deteriorating to the pre-independence era, with the democratic space increasingly shrinking, plunging the country into the dark days reminiscent of the oppressive Rhodesian colonial era. For instance, last month President Emmerson Mnangagwa assented to amendments to the Criminal Law Codification and Reform) Act which criminalise fundamental freedoms of association, assembly and speech of any citizen who holds meetings with foreign diplomats or any other foreigner, raising public outrage. Another piece of legislation, the Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Amendment Bill, which sailed through both houses of Parliament, has been condemned for its central objective of further closing the civic space. The PVO Bill seeks to control the operations of non-governmental organisations and silence dissenters. This week, political analysts said Zimbabwe has not yet made progress in dismantling inequality, which has put the government at par with the colonial government. “The aspirations of many of our leaders, especially nationalists who died, others before the attainment of Independence and others after the attainment of Independence had aspirations to see a just, equitable society that caters for the needs of its own people,” said Rashweat Mukundu, a political analyst. “We are now faraway from that reality, or even an imagination of it. In many ways, Zimbabwe resembles a system that they fought for where we see the gap between those who have and those who have not growing in leaps and bounds. Look at Hopley and Caledonia [crowded urban settlements] and look at Borrowdale. “Look at other northern suburbs and you will see the gap in terms of the lives of Zimbabweans. We are now in a situation where some children in Zimbabwe are no longer going to school. We are in a situation where millions have insufficient food. Where many do not have access to clean water and health services.” Mukundu said the country has not made progress in the protection of civic rights, with arbitrary arrests still rampant. “This is a key characteristic of Rhodesia — its inequality and discrimination, and its abuse of those that opposed the white colonial rule. Look at Sikhala and look at Ngarivhume, they have been placed in the same prisons that some of the nationalist leaders were being jailed by the Ian Smith Rhodesian Front government. “So, in many ways, what we can see is the change of skin color, but the same repression and disillusionment, the same disenfranchisement and abuse of state institutions for selfish political and economic ends,” Mukundu said. Political analyst Vivid Gwede said today's Zimbabwe is still far from creating a just and free society. “The liberation struggle, as explained by heroes who fought for it was premised on founding an independent, just and free society for every Zimbabwean,” Gwede said. “Decades after Independence, the living conditions of the majority of citizens are dire. Corruption shows the encouragement of greed, and basic freedoms remain restricted, especially the freedom of political choice and conscience. “People are jailed or harassed for political choices that differ with those of the government. Parties that put alternative policies to those of the ruling party are subjected to restrictions. However, the very attainment of independence itself was a milestone.” The country’s human rights record has been deteriorating since Independence, with founding leaders accused of deviating from liberation values like freedom from harassment. While still prime minister-designate in 1980, the late Mugabe said: “Our independence must thus not be construed as an instrument vesting individuals or groups with the right to harass and intimidate others into acting against their will. It is not the right to negate the freedom of others to think and act, as they desire. “Our constitution equally circumscribes the powers of the government by declaring certain civil rights and freedoms as fundamental. We intend to uphold these fundamental rights and freedoms to the full.” The late Mugabe has however been under fire for presiding over a deteriorating human rights situation, bringing to life fears of a repressive post-independence society. The record has fared worse under President Emmerson Mnangagwa. In its 2022 report titled “Civic Space Contestation Ahead of 2023”, an independent think-tank, the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute, revealed a more drastic erosion of civil liberties during the political tenure of Mnangagwa, compared to that of the late Mugabe. The ZDI analysed the civic space between 2014-2021 by contrasting Mugabe’s final four years in power ahead of the 2018 elections, and Mnangagwa’s initial four years into power ahead of the 2023 elections. The findings showed a 2% increase in the civic space and state freedom during Mnangagwa’s first year in power, compared to Mugabe in 2014. In 2019, Mnangagwa’s second year in power saw a drop in state freedom to 31%, compared to 44%. The report also showed the state of parliamentary capture, with Zanu PF clinching almost two thirds of the National Assembly seats, which made it easy for Mnangagwa to pass legislation to stifle opposition. Zengeza West MP Job Sikhala

Page 16 #ZimElection2023 NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023 NATHAN GUMA ALTHOUGH Zimbabwe is commemorating Heroes’ Day, most of the important aspirations of the liberation struggle veterans are yet to be fulfilled as the country continues wallowing in a prolonged socio-economic and political crisis caused by governance and leadership failures, The NewsHawks can report The lofty visions have turned into frustrations and disappointments, considering the catastrophic trajectory the country has taken since Independence in 1980. Some of the heroes, including Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo, have detailed their aspirations and observations in the post-independence era through books. Nkomo wrote The Story of My Life, an autobiography chronicling his life from childhood in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to his role in the liberation struggle and beyond. Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo: "The hardest lesson of my life has come to me late. It is that a nation can win freedom without its people becoming free." At the funeral of former Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (Zipra) commander Lookout Masuku, in Bulawayo on 12 April 1986, Nkomo also said “what Zimbabwe fought for was peace, progress, love respect, justice, equality, not the opposite. And one of the worst evils we see today is corruption. The country bleeds today because of corruption…” “There is something radically wrong with our country today and we are moving fast towards destruction… Young men and women are on the streets of our cities. There is terrible unemployment. Life has become harsher than ever before,” he said. Herbert Wiltshire Pfumaindini Chitepo: Former Zanu chairperson Chitepo has a vision for a better, non-discriminatory country characterised by justice for all, prosperity and equal access to land. “I could go into the whole theories of discrimination in legislation, in residency, in economic opportunities, in education,” he said in his speech during a trip to Australia in 1973. “I could go into that, but I will restrict myself to the question of land because I think this is very basic. To us, the essence of exploitation, the essence of white domination, is domination over land. That is the real issue.” Eddison Jonasi Mudadirwa Zvobgo The late Zvobgo, a renowned academic and founding member of Zanu, was critical of the Mugabe government on its worsening human rights record. Before the formation of the first government, he envisaged an end to brutality against citizens. Today, the exact opposite obtains. “We do not want to create a socio-legal order in the country in which people are petrified, in which people go to bed having barricaded their doors and their windows because someone belonging to the special branch of the police will break into their houses,” he said. “This is what we have been fighting against. This is why we are in this revolution for as long as it is necessary, to abolish this system.” Josiah Magama Tongogara: The late Tongogara was commander of the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (Zanla), a military wing of Zanu. He was resolutely against oppression. He died in 1979 without seeing an independent Zimbabwe. “What some of us are fighting for is to see that this oppressive system is crushed. We do not care whether, I do not even care whether I will be part of the top echelon in the ruling, I am not worried but I am dying to see a change in the system, that is all, that’s all. I would like to see the young people enjoying together, black, white, enjoying together. In a new Zimbabwe, that is all.” Robert Gabriel Mugabe In a speech on the eve of Zimbabwe’s Independence on 17 April 1980, Mugabe, the country’s first prime minister, said: “Democracy is and should remain disciplined rule requiring compliance with the law and social rules. Our independence must thus not be construed as an instrument vesting individuals or groups with the right to harass and intimidate others into acting against their will. It is not the right to negate the freedom of others to think and act, as they desire.” Mugabe, who died in 2019, declared that he wanted to deliver a free Zimbabwe in which everyone was accorded their civil liberties. He however failed to live up to his word, with the country’s human rights record worsening under his rule. The governance rot has worsened under President Emmerson Mnangagwa whose authoritarian government is presiding over shrinking democratic space. “Our constitution equally circumscribes the powers of the government by declaring certain civil rights and freedoms as fundamental. We intend to uphold these fundamental rights and freedoms to the full,” said Mugabe whilst still prime minister-designate on 4 March 1980. Jason Ziyaphapha Moyo Moyo, a Zapu leader, in 1977 said: “Inspirational figures, if you die for Zimbabwe, you will live forever and not a minute without movement, not an hour without the people, not a day without the struggle, Zimbabwe must be free at all costs." Dumiso Dabengwa Other heroes have died bitter deaths, with former Zapu leader Dumiso Dabengwa refusing to be buried at the National Heroes’ Acre. During his funeral in 2019, Zapu treasurer-general Mark Mbayiwa told mourners that Dabengwa refused to be buried at the Heroes' Acre as he was angry at Zanu for the injustices it committed, including his torture with his friend, Lookout Masuku. “I am proud to speak of Dabengwa who I knew from childhood. Dabengwa saw everything that happened in the country. He would say when he died he wanted to be buried next to his parents and relatives, not the thugs who have destroyed this country. It’s not a secret that Zanu PF has destroyed this country and we are struggling because of that.” Unfinished business of liberating Zim — Quotable quotes Joshua Nkomo Herbert Chitepo Robert Mugabe

NewsHawks #ZimElection2023 News Page 17 Issue 144, 11 August 2023 BERNARD MPOFU ZIMBABWEANS living outside the country’s borders are contributing nearly eight times as much foreign currency as the underperforming manufacturing sector after remitting US$1.4 billion during the first six months of the year, figures obtained from the latest Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) have shown. Despite the reluctance by the authorities to extend the postal vote to locals living in the diaspora, latest figures from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) show that remittances remain one of the major sources of foreign currency, together with mining. Zimbabwe heads for elections on 23 August and calls to allow the nearly three million locals scattered across the globe have repeatedly been frowned upon. The southern African nation largely depends on exports of primary commodities in the mining sector to boost in forex inflows. But experts say such dependence often exposes the fragile economy to global headwinds and will perpetuate its status as a net importer. According to the MPS, the current account balance is estimated to have narrowed to a surplus of US$38.3 million in the first half of 2023, compared to a surplus of US$397.9 million for the corresponding period in 2022. “This followed a more significant trade deficit, as exports contracted, while imports increased. The current account was further weighed down by services and primary income account that also registered the deficits,” RBZ governor John Mangudya said in a statement accompanying the MPS. “Remittances and other transfers (secondary income flows), however, remained resilient, thereby offsetting the deficits in the services and primary income accounts. This, notwithstanding the estimated current account balance, is projected to strengthen in the second half of the year on account of projected bullish tobacco, gold and lithium export performance and resilient diaspora remittances.” Merchandise exports, the statement further reveals, declined by 8.2%, from US$3 479.0 million in the first half of 2022 to US$3 194.2 million for the corresponding period in 2023, mainly weighed down by the subdued performance in mineral exports. Mineral exports, which account for the largest share of merchandise exports, declined by 12.5%, from US$2 898.9 million in the first half of 2022 to US$2 5836.8 million, during the period under review. The decline in exports followed the continued softening of key commodity prices largely on account of faltering global growth prospects. The country’s agricultural exports increased by 15.9%, from US$399.9 million in the first half of 2022 to US$463.5 million in 2023, during the period under review, driven by tobacco exports. Horticultural exports were, however, subdued owing to lagged effects of higher input costs for fertilizer, chemicals, fuel, packaging, and labour, which increased significantly in 2022. Manufactured exports increased by 7.6%, from US$180.6 million recorded in the first half of 2022 to US$193.84 million in the corresponding half in 2023, largely driven by rising tobacco cigarette exports. Low competitiveness, which emanated from high production and market development costs and antiquated machinery, however, continued to adversely affect manufactured exports. As at 30 June 2023, total international remittances through official channels amounted to US$1,433 million, an increase of 4% from US$1,371 million during the same period in 2022. Of the total amount, diaspora remittances amount to US$919 million, a 15% increase from US$797 million received during the same period in the year 2022. International remittances received through the normal banking system on behalf of international organisations (NGOs) amounted to US$514 million, an 11% decrease the from previous year of US$574 million. Of the total diaspora remittances, 29% came from South Africa followed by the United Kingdom (22%). Diasporans channel more forex, but denied the vote

Page 18 #ZimElection2023 NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023 RUVIMBO MUCHENJE PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s controversial release from prison of rapist Bobby Makaza through amnesty is traumatising the violated young girl who feels abandoned by the law. In a scandalous development that has left law-abiding citizens soul searching, Makaza chanted "Mnangagwa huchi [Mnangagwa is sweet like honey]" upon his release. The matter would have been sickening enough had it ended there. But the level of moral depravity has left many outraged, after the chant was converted by Zanu PF zealots into an election campaign slogan. Recently, there were reports that Makaza has been gifted a house by Deputy Youth minister Tinomuda Machakaire. Makaza, from Mutawu Village in Murewa district, has been roaming freely around the village, reigniting fear in his rape victim and the mother of the child, who is seeking to have his presidential pardon reversed by the High Court. “Equally, I have also come across social media videos of the 1st Respondent praising the 3rd Respondent for releasing him early from his prison term. My daughter is traumatised and is afraid of carrying out her normal chores for fear of encountering the 3rd Respondent. “Upon his release, the 1st Respondent returned to our village in Mutawu, Murewa under village head Mairosi where I and my daughter also stay. As such we share the same facilities such as boreholes, attend the village meetings and the 1st Respondent regularly passes through the road which passes through the homestead where my daughter is staying boasting that he was released early from prison. This he does occasionally and he makes sure that my daughter hears that it’s him and that there is nothing she can do about it,” the mother wrote. She feels let down by the law. Apart from taking umbrage against Makaza's alleged intimidation tactics, the aggrieved mother argues tjat the pardon is unlawful as Makaza, a convicted rapist, should not be eligible. The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service has come to Makaza’s defence, saying he was released because he is an elderly man above the age of 60, yet at the time of release he was 59. “A simple arithmetic calculation of the 1st Respondent’s age from the date he was sentenced by the Murewa magistrates' court sequel to his conviction for raping my daughter reveals that at the time Clemency Order 1 of 2023 was gazetted, the 1st Respondent was 59 years old. In order for the 1st Respondent to have qualified for amnesty under section 6 of Clemency Order 1 of 2023, the 1st Respondent ought to have reached the age of 60 years or above 60 years. A look at the sentence record attached hereto shows that in April 2019 when 1st Respondent was sentenced he was 55 years old, which implies that at the time of Clemency Order 1 of 2023 was gazetted, the 1st Respondent had not reached the age of 60 years. I therefore submit that the 1st Respondent was released by the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services in circumstances in which he was ineligible to benefit from the clemency order. The clemency order clearly stated that rapists, murderers and inciters of violence were ineligible for amnesty, but Makaza benefitted. Makaza forced himself on a 10-yearold child in November 2018, and was arrested, charged and convicted. Juat five years later, he has been granted clemency by President Mnangagwa, much to the dismay of the victim's community. Renewed trauma for child rape victim Bobby Makaza

NewsHawks News Page 19 Issue 144, 11 August 2023 NATHAN GUMA MINING activity by Better Brands Mining Ltd at Redwing Mine and surrounding areas in Manicaland is leaving a trail of destruction, with hazardous chemicals being deposited into Penhalonga’s Lake Alexander which supplies over 25% of the City of Mutare's drinking water, sparking fears of a health hazard, a new report has revealed. The company, which operates on more than 132 mining claims in Penhalonga alone, has been under fire for the pollution of the lake and other surrounding water bodies. The Redwing Mine concession is legally owned by South African mining firm Metallon Corporation, but has been effectively taken over by Better Brands, owned by Zanu PF politician Pedzisai "Scott" Sakupwanya, since 2019. Sakupwanya was exposed in the fourth episode of Al Jazeera’s investigative Gold Mafia documentary as President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s man who has been helping him build a war chest ahead of the 2023 general elections. As part of its operations, Better Brands has been sub-contracting artisanal and small-scale miners to extract and surrender ore to them, which has become a new mining model, as the company seeks to reduce operational costs. The miners transport their ore to the company’s milling facility, where mercury is used to extract gold from ore, while others send it to private millers, who dump the toxic waste into surrounding river streams. According to an economic review report by social justice watchdog the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (Zimcodd) published this month, Better Brands operations have been shrouded in controversy amid allegations that the company bribed other inhabitants from Mutare and Penhalonga to get an environmental impact assessment (EIA) license. An EIA licence is a planning tool used to assess potential environmental impacts of mining activity and devises mitigation measures. However, the artisanal miners’ operations are becoming an environmental hazard destroying the ecosystem and likely to affect the people’s traditional livelihoods. “With no proper monitoring this has contributed to serious water pollution in the mining surrounds. Water Pollution: Artisanal mining often involves the use of hazardous chemicals such as mercury and cyanide to extract minerals,” reads the report. “Since 2020, mining activities have made residents in Penhalonga and Mutare feel insecure every time they go to fetch water. Mercury and cyanide deposits from artisanal gold mines in Penhalonga were discovered in Lake Alexander in March last year, around 32 kilometres from the mines, which supply 25% of Mutare's water. “Residents in Penhalonga have also reported that they are drinking contaminated water that contains cyanide and mercury traces. They are frightened that they are being gradually poisoned because the water has turned a brownish color; a sign of pollution.” Other illicit miners in the area have been engaging in alluvial gold mining, which has seen the unchecked use of mercury and cyanide, both used in the extraction of gold. “With no proper monitoring this has contributed to serious water pollution in the mining surrounds. Improper handling and disposal of these chemicals can contaminate water sources, leading to pollution. Polluted water can have severe health implications for both humans and wildlife, as it can cause poisoning and other waterborne diseases. “Artisanal mining necessitates a significant amount of water for mineral processing. As a result, water sources might be depleted or they can totally dry up, particularly in locations where water supply is already scarce,” according to the report. According to the report, water scarcity spearheaded by poisoning is taking a toll on livelihoods in the Penhalonga community while severely impacting agriculture, fishing, and other traditional sources of sustenance. The artisanal miners have also been practicing environmentally ruinous practices, routinely digging river banks and streambeds, raising the risk of sedimentation and water quality damage, according to the report. “Sedimentation can choke waterways, damaging aquatic habitats and restricting community access to clean water. “Artisanal mining activities, such as deforestation and excavation, can lead to the destruction of ecosystems and habitats. This can result in the loss of biodiversity, including the disappearance of plant and animal species that rely on the affected water sources. “The loss of biodiversity can disrupt local ecosystems and have long-term ecological consequences. Artisanal mining can have both beneficial and negative social and economic effects on local populations." Massive pollution by Zanu PF politician’s mining firm

Page 20 News NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023 BRENNA MATENDERE ZIMBABWE Revenue Authority (Zimra) Commissioner-General Regina Chinamasa has written a show cause letter to Labour minister Paul Mavima asking him to declare a looming workers' strike unlawful and punish those who planned it. The development comes after Zimra employees represented by the Zimbabwe Revenue and Allied Workers' Trade Union last week issued a seven-day notice to go on strike over unresolved salary demands. In the letter, dated 9 August 2023, that has the effect of delaying the strike until the minister makes a decision, Chinamasa also demanded that the union representing the workers be dissolved. She suggested that those involved in planning the job action within Zimra be subjected to a disciplinary hearing. Chinamasa also requested from Mavima permission for Zimra to withhold remittances of the union that is representing the organisation’s workers. Part of the letter reads: “... Applicant (Chinamasa) seeks the following relief: “... it is ordered that (a) the notice to demonstrate issued by respondent (Zimbabwe Revenue and Allied Workers' Trade Union) dated 2 August 2023 is nullified. Accordingly, the Respondent and all those acting for and on its behalf are prohibited from proceeding with the job action as intended now and in future in respect of the collective bargaining matters related to salary increases and payment of allowances which should be referred for arbitration in terms of the constitution for the National Employment Council for Zimbabwe Revenue Authority. “That the Applicant be given leave and permitted to take appropriate disciplinary action on all or any of its employees engaged in the unlawful collective job action.” Chinamasa is seeking a ban on the Zimbabwe Revenue and Allied Workers' Trade Union for organising the strike. The Zimra boss also asked Mavima to allow her to report the union’s leaders to law enforcement agents. “(that) the registration of respondent as a trade union be and is hereby suspended… (that) the applicant be given leave and be permitted to withhold the remittances of union dues to the respondent for the period of suspension of the registration of the respondent as a trade union. “... that the applicant be given leave to report the respondent’s officials to criminal law enforcement authorities for their conduct in recommending, encouraging, threatening, inciting, and/or organising a collective action without being prohibited in terms of Section 104 (3) of the Labour Act…” “The respondent shall pay the costs of this application of the legal practitioner and client scale,” reads Chinamasa’s letter. However, Zimbabwe Revenue and Allied Workers' Trade Union president Dominic Manyangadze told The NewsHawks that Chinamasa’s requests are without basis and therefore have no effect or force. “All the requirements were satisfied. So, our proposed job action is legal or lawful. So, there is no way section 106 for show cause comes in. It's a clear abuse of the Institutions of government,” he said. “Look at this prayer (Chinamasa's requests). It's meant to intimidate, to destroy institutions of democracy at work place and to victimise trade union leadership. “Our frustration is their prayer in their application for show cause, which seeks to undermine the ILO Conventions C098 — Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) and section 65 of the constitution,” he added. The International Labour Organisation, an agency of the United Nations — whose statutes Zimbabwe is signatory to — stipulates that collective bargaining is a key mechanism to determine wages and working conditions. Manyangadze said the "show cause" mechanism in the current Labour Act can be abused by cunning employers who enjoy proximity to state power in their efforts to frustrate lawful job action. Chinamasa was appointed substantive head of Zimra in September last year, after having worked in an acting capacity since February. She took over from Rameck Masaire whose retirement became effective at the end of January. Before her appointment, Chinamasa was the commissioner in charge of revenue assurance and was described by the Zimra board as a tax expert with over 28 years of experience in the field of revenue mobilisation, customs, domestic taxes and enforcement of compliance to fiscal laws. The Zimra workers are demanding a 150% salary increment and that 55% of it be paid in United States dollars. Employees whose job description includes the performance of security and health checks at airports and other ports of entry are not allowed to go on industrial action by the Customs and Excise (Ports of Entry and Routes) Order, 20922, published in Statutory Instrument 14 of 2002. However, Zimra no longer has such workers because these jobs are now being done by police at the border. Port health services are being provided by the ministry of Health. The strike is planned for all Zimra employees at all border posts and airports; all employees from domestic taxes offices, customs houses and data processing centres as well as at dry pots. The workers are responsible for collecting government revenue. Part of the strike notice issued by Zimra workers on 2 August reads: “Notice is hereby given of Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) non-managerial workers’ intention to engage in Collective job action against Zimra… Declare strike illegal, punish striking workers: Zimra boss Zimra Commissioner-General Regina Chinamasa

NewsHawks News Page 21 Issue 144, 11 August 2023 NATHAN GUMA A WOMEN’S rights organisation, the Women’s Academy for Leadership and Political Excellence (Walpe), says the pre-election period has been rigid and uneven for women’s participation, despite there being several promises to level the playing field. Zimbabwe's general elections are on 23 August. The pre-election period has seen a decrease in female parliamentary candidates from 237 out of 1 648 candidates in 2018 to 70 women out of 637 candidates contesting in 2023, raising concern. Another drop in female candidates has also been realised in the presidential race, with just one candidate — down from four in 2018 — making it to the ballot, and only after the intervention of the courts. Last month, the High Court threw out an application filed by opposition Labour Economists and Afrikan Democrats (Lead) leader Linda Masarira who was challenging the decision of the nomination court to set aside her papers, dealing a blow to female candidates in the presidential race. In a statement on the electoral environment ahead of the election, Walpe said the environment has become increasingly hostile for women in politics. “Walpe is deeply concerned with the electoral environment proceeding the 23 August 2023 harmonised elections. Women’s rights organisations, Walpe included, advocated for electoral reforms since 2018 that promote the free, active, and full participation of women in the democratic processes as both candidates and voters but to date none of the reforms were implemented. “Top on the reform list was the full alignment of section 17, 56 and 80 of the constitution with the Electoral Act in order to empower to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) to reject political parties' lists during the nomination process that are not gender balanced. “Political violence both covert and overt remains one of the major hindrances to women’s full participation in elections. Women are exposed to political violence in different ways i.e as election administrators, voters, candidates and intimate partners of male political leaders,” reads the statement. Walpe says there has been an increase in human rights violations against women, which include threats of violence, online violence, sexual harassment, assault, arbitrary arrest, revenge pornography, body shaming and forced migration. “Cases of violence against women varied from intra-party, inter-party and state-sponsored violence. Zimbabwe in 2018 had a record number of four women contesting as presidential candidates, but in 2023 only one woman made it to the ballot and this was after the intervention of the courts. “The lower numbers of women have been reported at council, Parliament and President level. The steep nomination fees introduced by Zec in 2022 blocked many deserving female aspiring leaders from successfully lodging their papers at the nomination courts. The fees were pegged at US$1 000 for MPs and US$20 000 for presidential candidates,” Walpe said. The organisation has also decried low media coverage of women by the media which they said is usually negative and in most instances based on personal scandals. Walpe also said civic and voter education targeting women and young women has not been widespread, with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) yet to accredit civil society organisations that promote voter education. “Women are the majority of the 6 619 690 voters and it is prudent that voter education be prioritised amongst the population. Zec is yet to accredit civil society organisations to conduct civic education three weeks before the election. “Zec must urgently accredit civil society organisations that have not been accredited to conduct civic education. Media houses [should] dedicate space for women aspiring leaders to present their election roadmaps and manifestos regardless of the political party they are affiliated to. The government must fully align section 17, 56 and 80 of the constitution with the Electoral Act in order to promote gender parity,” Walpe said. Patriarchal election drags us back to the Dark Ages Labour Economists and Afrikan Democrats leader Linda Masarira

Page 22 #ZimElection2023 NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023

NewsHawks News Page 23 Issue 144, 11 August 2023 International Investigative Stories HONG Kong property developer Yu Shunhui is known for his philanthropy and real estate deals, but there is a darker side to his business. Reporters have discovered that he is behind a company named in a Canadian organized crime case –– and they uncovered further ties between Yu and Chinese underworld figures. The 12 apartments above a sporting goods shop in Vancouver appear unremarkable, blending in with thousands of others in the beachfront Kitsilano neighborhood. But the building’s bland, beige exterior hides a dark secret. Authorities say the apartments are a key part of a money laundering operation run by Paul King Jin, an alleged member of a Chinese organized crime group, and a self-described loan shark. Those details came to light through an ongoing civil forfeiture suit accusing Jin of laundering criminal money by having his niece buy the apartments with illicit funds, then taking out loans against them from a Hong Kong firm, which would be repaid in cash from illegal sources. OCCRP has discovered that the money trail leads much deeper –– into the murky underworld of organized crime in Asia. Documents filed at the British Columbia Supreme Court by the province’s Civil Forfeiture Office name the Hong Kong company as Everwell Knight Limited, but they do not identify its owner. OCCRP acquired corporate records showing that Everwell is owned by a Hong Kong property developer named Yu Shunhui, who has cultivated an image as a philanthropist and avid supporter of the Chinese Communist Party. Behind Yu’s public persona, reporters found a web of underworld ties. Yu owns a finance firm with three Macau-based brothers who controlled one of the gambling enclave’s major “junket” companies, which organize trips to casinos for high-rollers. Australian and Chinese authorities have cited the junket’s alleged involvement in money laundering in separate legal cases, but have not charged the brothers. Curiously, Yu and two of the Macau-based brothers are included on a donors list for a charity that also received support from scores of accused organized crime figures. But the Hong Kong property developer’s most obvious connection to alleged members of organized crime groups comes via the civil forfeiture suit, which accuses his company of laundering money for Jin. Yu declined to comment for this article. Jin’s lawyer, Greg Delbigio, declined to comment on his client’s relationship with Yu via Everwell, or other accusations made in the civil forfeiture suit, because the case is ongoing. Jin’s niece, who is accused of acting as a proxy property owner for him, did not respond to requests for comment sent to her lawyer. However, her legal response to the civil forfeiture suit calls the allegations against her “scandalous.” Her court filing says the properties were purchased with legitimate funds, and have not been used to launder money. ‘Dysfunctional Legal System’ While Yu is relatively unknown outside Hong Kong and Macau, allegations about Jin have been splashed across Canadian media for years. Aside from the civil forfeiture case, Jin has been a suspect in two major police investigations into money laundering and organized crime. Jin was charged in the first case, but it was withdrawn on a technicality. A prosecutor decided against filing charges in the second case, citing factors including the huge resources it would take to bring it to trial. Jin’s activities were also scrutinized as part of the Cullen Commission, which was tasked by the provincial government to probe money laundering in British Columbia. Jin was arrested in 2016 during the first investigation, dubbed E-Pirate, and questioned about alleged crimes, including extortion, running illegal gambling operations, and money laundering. He denied the allegations, but told police he knew his activities put his life “in danger.” “I’m a loan shark. I have money, you know,” he said, according to a police transcript that was filed as evidence in the Cullen Commision. All charges stemming from E-Pirate were withdrawn when an informant was exposed in a document inadvertently handed to the defense after the police investigation was completed. Calvin Chrustie, a retired senior officer with the federal Royal Canadian Mounted Police who played a lead role in the investigation, blamed the mistake on disclosure laws that require defense lawyers to be provided with far more information than their counterparts in other countries. “Out of 500,000 documents, or whatever they had, someone had accidentally put one piece of paper in the wrong pile. And that was the end of the case, which seems like a ludicrous outcome for a minor human error,” he said. Chrustie, who now works with the security and intelligence advisory firm International InvestigativeStories Canadian case exposes Hong Kong developer’s corporate ties to Chinese criminal underworld The Venetian Macao hotel and casino, where Meg-Star had a VIP lounge. Credit: Heorshe/Alamy Stock Photo

Page 24 International Investigative Stories News NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023 Critical Risk Team, said such lapses helped make Canada “a safe zone for the world’s most notorious crime groups.” “Canada provides a dysfunctional legal system that fosters a low risk environment,” he said. After E-Pirate fell apart, Jin came into police sights again with another investigation called E-Nationalize. According to a statement by a special prosecutor appointed to evaluate the case, police recommended charges against Jin that included “participation in the activities of a criminal organization,” as well as instructing a “person to commit robbery with firearm for benefit of criminal organization.” The evidence from E-Nationalize was handed to the British Columbia Prosecution Service in 2021. But after two years of consideration by the agency, Special Prosecutor Chris Considine announced in March that he would not press charges. In his statement, Considine predicted “considerable dispute” over information gathered by police –– including more than two million communications requiring translation from Chinese –– which defense lawyers would claim access to under Canada’s broad disclosure laws. Considine cited gaps in Canadian legislation that would make it hard to convict Jin –– even though police presented evidence that he ran money through an underground bank called Silver International. Consodine said the use of such an underground bank could be prosecuted as a criminal offense in the U.S. and U.K., but not in Canada. British Columbia’s attorney general, Niki Sharma, told OCCRP that the decision not to press charges was “frustrating.” “For too long, international criminal organizations took advantage of B.C.’s open economy –– laundering billions of dollars a year,” she said, adding that the government plans to strengthen civil forfeiture laws. ‘Proceeds of Crime’ Authorities are now using civil forfeiture to go after some of Jin’s alleged assets –– including the Vancouver apartments, and the money sent to Yu’s Hong Kong company, Everwell Knight. The civil forfeiture case, filed in July 2022, alleges that Jin was “the beneficial or ‘true’ owner and directing mind of Everwell” and that he was using the company to launder money. The suit also accuses him of laundering money through British Columbia casinos, as well as the underground bank, Silver International. That unlicensed financial network was allegedly run by a man named Jian Jun Zhu, who was killed in a 2020 shooting at a Japanese restaurant in Richmond, near Vancouver. Media covering the attack reported that Jin was sitting next to him and survived, receiving a wound to the face from a piece of flying glass. Silver International serviced clients including Asian, Middle Eastern, and Mexican organized crime groups, according to a report Canada submitted to the Financial Action Task Force, a G7 anti-money laundering initiative, which was shared with journalists. The report said about 1 billion Canadian dollars ($750 million) a year was laundered in the province through the underground bank and casinos. The civil forfeiture suit reveals another method Jin allegedly used to clean illegal cash: With his niece acting as a proxy owner, police say Jin used illicit funds to purchase the 12 apartments above the store in Kitsilano, and one adjacent to it, as well as a property in neighboring West Vancouver. Together, they are worth about 12 million Canadian dollars ($9 million). Jin took out phony loans against the properties in collusion with Yu’s company, Everwell, and used them “to launder the proceeds of crime” by using illicit funds to pay back the loans to the Hong Kong company, the civil forfeiture suit says. But the legal documents leave many questions unanswered, including the role Yu played in the scheme. Who is Yu? Yu’s business activities are characterized by complex layers of corporate ownership. He has been involved in more than 40 companies in Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China and the British Virgin Islands, according to corporate records. At the same time, he has cultivated a public image as a cultured Hong Kong businessman who supports the Chinese government. In 2021, as Beijing dismantled freedom of speech in Hong Kong, Yu wrote in the state-controlled newspaper Wen Wei Po that he had “witnessed the great power of the leadership of the Communist Party of China.” Elsewhere, he has praised Chinese President Xi Jinping. Yu has portrayed himself as a patriotic philanthropist, supporting Covid pandemic relief efforts, cultural groups, and poverty alleviation for the families of “martyrs” in Sichuan province who died in the Communist revolution. Back in the late-2000s, before he became known for his charity work, Yu was named in a corruption case involving a high level official. At that time, Yu was chairman of a real estate development company in China’s southern Guangdong province, and he bribed a top provincial government figure, according to an official summary of a Chinese court case. The official was convicted, but there is no indication that Yu was charged. That official, Chen Shaoji — reportedly known by the gangster epithet “Uncle Ji” — “illegally” provided Yu with an official government certification, and allowed him to use a “backup police car license plate” in return for two home theater systems and a luxury Chopard watch, the court records allege. Chen was handed a commuted death sentence in 2010 over the case. Three years after Chen’s verdict, Yu resurfaced in Macau, the former Portuguese colony famous as China’s gambling capital, and as a hotbed of organized crime. This was when he began cultivating his image as an entrepreneur and philanthropist. Among the organizations Yu has supported is the Macau branch of the Hong Kong-based Tong Sam Charity Association. The donor list is a who’s-who of alleged criminal figures, including Alvin Chau and Wong Tat Hou, who are both widely reported to be top members of the 14K triad organized crime group . The Tong Sam Charity donor’s list also included two brothers from the Pang family, a gambling industry clan accused of having ties to organized crime. Through a spokesperson, Yu declined to comment on his relationship to the Pangs, Jin, and others mentioned in this story, or on allegations made against his Hong Kong company in the Canadian civil forfeiture suit. “We are not accepting any questions or interviews at the moment,” Yu’s assistant said in a WhatsApp message. The Pang Brothers As it turns out, the Pang brothers — Pang Ngok Hei, Pang Ngok Wa, and Pang Ngok Fong — are also in business with Yu. The website of the Pangs’ Hong Kong-based conglomerate, Optimus International Group (HK) Limited, is peppered with business jargon like “honesty, innovation and win-win.” It also includes a list of Pang family firms in sectors like real estate, microcredit, and jewelry. One of the firms on the Optimus website, Zhongshan Lianfa Trading Co Ltd, is part owned by Yu’s real estate company, Zhongshan Danan Group Co Ltd. There is little public information available about Zhongshan Lianfa, which was established to provide “financial support (through) small loans,” according to the website. Pang Ngok Hei and his brothers also ran Meg-Star International Company Limited, a firm known as a “junket,” which facilitates trips to casinos, often in different countries, and commonly loans gamblers money. In 2022, Meg-Star was cited in a lawsuit by Australian authorities for alleged involvement in organized crime and money laundering. A case brought by Australia’s financial regulator against Crown Melbourne Limited, a major casino operator, said “multiple individuals associated with [Pang Ngok Hei] and Meg-Star junket were likely to be involved in serious criminal activity, including a junket representative allegedly linked to human trafficking and sex slavery.” In May this year, Crown agreed to pay a fine of 450 million Australian dollars ($303 million) for violating anti-money laundering laws, including failing to “conduct appropriate ongoing customer due diligence.” The Australian regulator also noted in the suit that Pang Ngok Hei was a former executive at Suncity Group, Macau’s biggest junket. According to corporate records, Suncity was run by Chau, the alleged member of the 14K triad who donated to the Tong Sam Charity along with Yu. Chau was recently handed an 18- year jail sentence in China on 289 separate criminal charges. The verdict against Chau repeatedly mentions the Pang brothers’ Meg-Star junket as a vehicle for laundering money. Gambling junkets are notorious for cleaning illicit funds, and for working with organized crime, said anti-money laundering expert Eryn Schornick. Money launderers also tend to use a “diversified business portfolio,” including companies in sectors like real estate, finance and jewelry, she added. A second brother, Pang Ngok Wa, is closely connected to another wellknown triad figure. Macau corporate records reveal that he was a co-owner of a “real estate and trading” company with Wong Wanwa, also known as “Fat Girl,” who was jailed in 1999 along with her boss in the 14K triad, Wan Kuok-koi, or “Broken Tooth.” They started the company after she was released from prison in 2007. Yu also owned companies with a man named Liu Shaowu, who has held roles as a director or co-owner in firms that include Wong Wan-wa and the Pangs, according to corporate registry documents. Among those firms is Zhonghshan Lianfa, the micro-loan company owned by Yu and the Pangs. The corporate secretary for Optimus and Meg-Star did not reply to emailed requests for comment. A person who answered the phone at MegStar said the junket company was out of business, and that the Pangs would not reply to emailed questions, adding: “They don’t give interviews.” Schornick said Yu’s alleged association with Jin, his business relationship with the Pangs, and the scores of firms he set up in different jurisdictions, raise questions about whether some of his companies may be used for money laundering. “Who is behind Yu?” she said. “For what purposes is he creating this web of corporate structures?” — Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. Property in Vancouver allegedly used for laundering money. Credit: Chung Chow/Business in Vancouver

International Investigative Stories News Page 25 THE U.K. continues to lead the so-called “axis of tax avoidance,” which drains an estimated $151 billion from global coffers through corporate profit-shifting, a new report found. Countries could lose $4.7 trillion in tax revenue over the next decade as multinational corporations and wealthy individuals continue to use tax havens to underpay taxes, according to a new report. And among the jurisdictions enabling the loss of public money, the report says, are those that set global tax rules. The State of Tax Justice 2023, authored by advocacy group Tax Justice Network, identifies four countries responsible for the majority of global corporate tax loss, dubbing them “the axis of tax avoidance:” the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland. The U.K., along with its socalled “second empire” — its overseas territories and crown dependencies — is responsible for nearly a quarter (24%) of such losses, making it “the world’s greatest enabler of global corporate tax abuse,” the reports says. The “second empire” has historically served as “satellite offshore jurisdictions” to facilitate illicit financial flows and corporate profit-shifting to taxfree territories. Together, the U.K., the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland are responsible for more than half of the $301 billion lost to corporate tax abuse annually, TJN found, with an estimated $151 billion lost from $550 billion in corporate money moved to the four countries. Each is also part of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, a group of high-income countries that collects economic data and uses it to make recommendations on regulatory reforms, corporate governance and tax policy — not just for its members, but for the entire world. The TJN report analyzed aggregate data for 47 countries collected by the OECD to estimate the potential $4.7 trillion tax revenue loss. But the real figure may be even higher, TJN warns, given the limitations of the OECD data and other studies on the topic. According to the analysis, the top 10 biggest contributors to the global problem of tax havens and financial secrecy are the U.K., the Netherlands, the Cayman Islands (a British overseas territory), Saudi Arabia, Luxembourg, Bermuda (a British overseas territory), the United States, Singapore, Ireland and Hong Kong. This week, UN Secretary-General António Guterre published a draft report evaluating options for a new framework for international tax cooperation under UN auspices. TJN has long called to shift responsibility for corporate tax standards from the OECD to the UN, and the group’s chair Irene Ovonji-Odida previously hailed Guterres’s willingness to consider such reforms as a historic chance to establish “a globally inclusive tax body.” In a statement, Ovonji-Odida called taxes a “key tool to combat inequalities,” but said that “a fundamental obstacle is the ease with which powerful elites step outside of their social obligations — outside of their responsibilities to the societies they are a part of, and from which they profit.” Mostly, the tax dodging “takes the form of separating taxable income from the underlying assets and activities,” she added. “Profits made in one country are declared in another. Personal wealth is held through offshore entities, often secretly.” While major economies experience the largest losses to offshore tax evasion in absolute numbers (about $169 billion annually), lower-income countries, which lose about $2 billion annually, “endure by far the deepest losses” in terms of overall tax revenue or spending on vital services such as health and education. According to TJN’s report, “In countries at all income levels, those who already find themselves most marginalized economically and socially will bear the brunt.” The report says the problem of “rampant global tax abuse” has worsened over the past decade, despite OECD promises to curb it. The advocacy group reiterated its calls for substantial global reforms. “Countries have a choice to make: forfeit the money now, and with it our future, to the wealthiest handful of people in the world,” the report says, “or claim it, and with it a future where the power of the wealthiest corporations and billionaires, like the kings and barons before them, is reined in by the march of democracy.” — International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Tax havens to cost countries $4.7 trillion over the next decade, advocacy group warns The Royal Exchange by the Bank of England in London, U.K. NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023

Page 26 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 How evil are politicians? Dumisani Muleya Hawk Eye NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023 AS political campaigns in Zimbabwe reach a climax, there has been a notable influx of international election observers, but we must remember that these folks are not here on a safari holiday but to further the interests of democracy. The European Union set the ball rolling, announcing a mission led by Fabio Castaldo, a member of the European Parliament, as chief observer. The African Union (AU) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) will deploy a joint team led by former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan. The Commonwealth observer mission is led by former Kenyan minister Amina Mohamed. The former club of mostly ex-British colonies says the election "marks a significant step in Zimbabwe's democratic governance" at a time the country's request to rejoin the organisation is being assessed. The Carter Centre's observer team is led by Attahiru Muhammadu Jega, former chairperson of the Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria. The Southern African Development Community (Sadc) has been conspicuous by its silence so far. Election observation is not an event but a process; the sooner Sadc puts boots on the ground, the better. But now that local and international observer teams are generally increasing the pace of deployment, Zimbabweans hope these important officers will be visible, accessible and responsive. Harare is not Zimbabwe. Gone are the days when election observers booked into five-star hotels and spent their entire time observing the polls from balconies. The observers — if they are going to be useful to voters — should also venture into remote areas, particularly where there is a higher risk of electoral malpractice. In July, the Zimbabwean government revealed that it had invited 46 countries and 17 international organisations to observe the 23 August general elections. Hopefully, we will not witness the absurd spectacle of a capital city teeming with all manner of observers while the rural areas go unwatched. Zimbabwe has a history of election rigging. Experience has shown that observers can play a critical role in ensuring a semblance of transparency and fairness. Make no mistake, this election is already tainted in many respects. Accusations of gerrymandering erupted soon after the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) conducted its delimitation process. Not only that. Electoral law was brazenly tinkered with — way after the promulgation of the election date — in flagrant violation of the statutes. And then we witnessed desperate attempts to disqualify candidates whose nomination papers had been properly accepted by Zec. Presidential aspirant Saviour Kasukuwere has been subjected to incredible stonewalling by the courts. His contrived disqualification, after the nomination court approved his papers, has exposed the fallacy of "judicial independence" in this polarised society. No doubt, the election observers will be taking their responsibilities seriously. Observers are expected to help monitor the entire electoral process, from voter registration to vote counting. In the Zimbabwean context, the observers could assist in building public confidence in the electoral system by enhancing transparency and credibility. In communities where voters are at the mercy of Zanu PF thugs, observers can sometimes be the only visible deterrence. Last week, Zanu PF hoodlums murdered opposition CCC activist Tinashe Chitsunge in Harare's Glen View South constituency in broad daylight. If such a cold-blooded killing can be perpetrated in the capital city, we shudder to imagine the perils which await voters in remote areas. In Zimbabwe, electoral laws and internationally accepted standards for democratic elections are routinely flouted with impunity. Previous observer missions have compiled countless reports highlighting gross irregularities, but their recommendations are seldom taken on board. Despite this, the observers must continue working diligently and without fear or favour in the interests of freedom and democracy. Observers not on holiday

New Perspectives Page 27 “El Niño to return in 2023 after a threeyear La Niña Phase,” writes the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations in its latest Resilience Bulletin. The multi-year La Niña event officially dissipated in March 2023. According to the World Meteorological Organisation, the onset of El Niño has begun and there is 90% probability it will continue in this half of 2023. While uncertainty remains at this stage, most models suggest that the El Niño will be of moderate strength. El Niño brings with it a higher-than-normal chance of drier-than-average conditions during the November-March period in Zimbabwe. This period coincides with the main agricultural season and could affect crop planting, growth and yield as well as water availability for livestock. Such forecasts bring to the fore the need to understand and act on climate crisis, a concern which is being neglected by almost all politicians in the election period. The latest scientific assessment of climate crisis systems has demonstrably changed on both global and regional scales since the pre-industrial era. The lives and livelihoods of billions of people around the globe are under severe threat of climate-related disasters. The masses are facing these issues every year now. Previous years saw various climate crisis-related calamities like cyclones in Zimbabwe and Mozambique, floods in Malawi, Pakistan, China and South Africa, droughts in Europe and China, hurricanes in Canada and the Caribbean, and heatwaves in Europe and Asia. The floods, heatwaves and tornadoes have once again alarmed the world to secure this globe. In November 2022, Egypt hosted COP-27 to discuss challenges regarding climate change. The participants of the conference reiterated that the global community would fulfil its commitments to cope with the challenges emanating from climate change. The major and positive development of COP-27 was the consensus to establish a Loss and Damage Fund. The Loss and Damage Fund was a major success of COP-27. During the conference, a few Western states seemed reluctant to finance countries who suffer because of climate change. It has been eight months since the establishment of the fund. Still, the fund has not been fully operationalised. First of all, the process to complete procedural matters for full functioning of the Loss and Damage Fund is being delayed. Some deadlines have already been missed by committees responsible to give final shape to proposals related to designing mechanisms of financial support to be presented at COP-28.  Such delays raise questions about the sincere efforts of rich nations to turn the Loss and Damage Fund into reality. Secondly, rich countries are having various concerns about finance for poor countries. The idea of collecting US$100 billion for the Green Climate Fund annually to support projects on mitigation and adaptation fell short of achieving its goals. Similarly, many countries mentioned ambitious targets to phase out fossil fuels and mitigate carbon emissions in their National Determined Contributions (NDC) but, in reality, they are not taking practical steps to achieve those targets. According to UN Environment Programme Emission Gap Report of 2022 “updated national pledges since COP26 – held in 2021 in UK – make a negligible difference to predicted 2030 emissions and that we are far from the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to well below 2°C, preferably 1.5°C. In such a scenario, where previous goals and commitments to tackle climate crisis on an emergency basis are undermined, how can these rich nations can be trusted to provide financial support to operationalise the Loss and Damage Fund’? Developing states are still looking towards developed states to honour their commitments. Likewise, developing a consensus on the mechanism of financial support will be another challenge for the global community. Several questions need to be discussed and pondered while developing the final proposal for the Loss and Damage Fund to be presented at COP-28. What will be the criteria to fix the number of funds to be collected in this money? One mechanism can be to collect funds annually from rich nations.  If such a criterion is finalised, then rich nations with fewer carbon emissions can raise a hue and cry. The second option is to collect funds from a developed nation directly proportional to the amount of carbon emission of that particular nation. This option can also be deliberated on while the draft of the proposal is finalised. If consensus is developed on this mechanism, then the next step will be to fix the exact amount to be donated against a mutually agreed measuring scale of carbon emission. Another issue will be to allow or forbid any nation to directly invest in green projects of the country affected by climate disaster rather than depositing the amount in the Loss and Damage Fund. If more than one developing or developed nation becomes a victim of climate disaster in a year, then which country will be supported on a priority basis? What factors and elements will be taken into account to make such a decision? The second option can also be criticised if elements of empathy and human suffering are ignored just because the suffering nation could not develop solid plans due to lack of capacity or any other reason. Likewise, priority should be given to rescue and relief missions such as food and medicine. Moreover, the fund can also be used for long-term plans of rehabilitation. Similarly, the modus operandi for the transfer of funds can also be discussed as to how the money will be given to vulnerable states. In this regard, NGO and INGOs may take the lead to help climate- affected states and these organisations may be provided with money from the Loss and Damage Fund. In Zimbabwe, climate crisis raises concern with its social, environmental and economic impacts. Zimbabwe is frequently exposed to natural hazards like droughts and cyclones. These hazards, when combined with vulnerabilities in the shape of poverty, exclusion and inappropriate political decisions and actions, make people more susceptible to impacts of hazards. The agricultural sector is most vulnerable to climate crisis and changes in cropping and productivity as a result of weather changes will affect the poor rural communities of the country. Considering the tough facts, the Zimbabwean authorities should adopt immediate actions to combat detrimental effects of climate crisis. Cyclone Idai is a reminder that climate change-related disasters can significantly set back Zimbabwe’s development ambitions and its ability to reduce poverty. The damage to infrastructure, assets, crops, and livestock has also been massive. Zimbabwe is a low-income country with a primarily agrarian economy. Agriculture continues to be a significant occupation for 62% of the population.  To cope with climate challenges, Zimbabwe can implement a combination of short-term and longterm strategies to mitigate the impact of climate crisis and promote sustainability. The country needs to invest in renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal power to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and lower greenhouse gas emissions. It needs to implement energy efficiency measures in industries, buildings, and transportation to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. It needs to increase efforts for afforestation and reforestation to expand forest cover and enhance carbon sequestration. This can also help reduce soil erosion and protect biodiversity. All these are missing in leading political parties manifestos. Climate change is one of the most important global environmental challenges facing humanity, with implications for food production, natural ecosystems, fresh water supply, and health, among others. The harmful impacts of climate crisis are already manifesting themselves around the world in the form of extreme weather events like storms, cyclones, floods, and droughts that are mounting in frequency and intensity. The Loss and Damage Fund is urgently needed by developing nations that are directly impacted by the negative impacts of climate change despite their minimal contribution to global carbon emissions. Several questions must be discussed to reach consensus. The procedural delays and challenges ahead are putting a question mark on the timeline and activation of the Loss and Damage Fund. *About the writer: Kaduwo is a researcher and economist. Contact [email protected], call/WhatsApp +263773376128 Coping with climate crisis Econometrics HawksView Tinashe Kaduwo NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023

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 central bank sees year-on-year inflation easing to between 60-70% by yearend from the current triple-digit figures as the bank of last resort maintains tight monetary policy to restore macro-economic stability. After registering one of the highest inflation rates in the world, the authorities in Zimbabwe announced several interventionist measures to stem inflation and defend the value of the local currency. Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya said the central bank will continue to implement a tight monetary policy stance for the next six months to sustainably anchor inflation and exchange rate expectations. The tight monetary policy path will be anchored on the following measures: bank policy rate which is currently at 150% will be reviewed in line with developments in the month-on-month inflation. The medium-term accommodation lending rate, which is currently at 75%, will also continue to be reviewed in line with inflation developments and long-term productive sector funding needs. The RBZ also says the bank policy rate remains the minimum lending rate for all banks; and the deposit interest rates on savings and time deposits which are currently pegged at 30% and 50% per annum, respectively, will also be reviewed in line with inflation developments. “The bold measures put in place by the Bank and Government which include a combination of the further liberalisation of the foreign exchange market, continued mopping of excess liquidity through the wholesale auction and digital gold-backed tokens coupled with measures to strengthen demand for local currency and operationalisation of the blocked funds debt assumption by government have stabilised the exchange rate and firmly anchored inflation expectations," says Mangudya in his Mid-term Monetary Policy Statement. “The robust macro-economic fundamentals are expected to anchor and sustain the current stability in the medium to long term. The upward trend of month-on-month inflation which sharply reversed in July 2023 to minus 15.3% is expected to continue to correct in August 2023. In the outlook, monthly inflation is expected to continue to decline with annual inflation expected to end the year between 60% and 70%.” Zimbabwe's annual consumer inflation eased sharply to 101.3% in July 2023 from a nearly 2-1/2 year high of 175.8% in June, helped by an appreciation of the Zimbabwe dollar. The annual inflation had risen from 86.5% in May 2023 to 175.8% in June 2023, fell to 101.3% in July 2023. BERNARD MPOFU LESS than half of the country’s deposit-taking microfinance institutions were adequately capitalised in line with the minimum threshold of ZW$5 million as undercapitalised players make frantic efforts to meet the year-end capitalisation deadline, a new report by the Reserve Bank has shown. According to the Midterm Monetary Policy Statement (MPS), as at 30 June 2023 the aggregate core capital for the sub-sector was ZW$131.32 billion, a significant increase from ZW$29.49 billion as at 31 December 2022. The increase was largely driven by fresh capital injections, as well as organic growth. “Three out of seven operating DTMFIs were compliant with the minimum capital requirement of ZW$5 million as at 30 June 2023, and these were African Century Limited, InnBucks Microbank and Success Microfinance Bank,” reads the MPS. “The non-compliant DTMFIs are at various stages of capital raising initiatives and they continue to submit on a quarterly basis, updates on their re-capitalisation initiatives.” The MPS also shows that a total of 170 out of 208 credit-only microfinance institutions were compliant with the minimum capital requirements of ZW$ equivalent of US$25 000. “The non-compliant credit-only microfinance institutions are putting in place recapitalisation strategies to comply with the requirements and to facilitate the underwriting of more meaningful businesses,” the report reads. The central bank says total loans for the microfinance sector increased by 672.66% from ZW$46.01 billion as at 31 December 2022, to ZW$355.50 billion as at 30 June 2023. The sector, the Reseve Bank says, registered an improvement in the loan portfolio quality as evidenced by a decrease in the portfolio-at-risk (>30 days) ratio from 10.95% to 9.48% over the same period. “The microfinance sector registered significant progress with an aggregate net profit of ZW$145.52 billion for six months ended 30 June 2023, from ZW$4.93 billion recorded during the comparable period in 2022,” the apex bank says. “The increase, which exceeded the annual inflation of 175.8% as at 30 June 2023, was largely attributed to improved operational efficiency as reflected by an improvement in the average operational self-sufficiency (OSS) ratio to 230.39% for the six months ended 30 June 2023 from 202.50% registered in the comparative period in 2022, against the international benchmark of 100%.” RBZ sees inflation easing by 70% ‘Microfinance firms undercapitalised’ RBZ governor John Mangudya

NewsHawks Companies & Markets Page 29 Issue 144, 11 August 2023 A REBOUND of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) resulted in asset management firms’ exposure to the equities market increasing to 54% during the first three months of the year, a new report by the capital market’s regulator has shown. As the Zimbabwe dollar weakened, many investors turned to the ZSE to hedge against rising inflation. According to the Securities and Exchanges Commission of Zimbabwe's first-quarter newsletter, the capital market sector remains resilient as at 31 March 2023, as measured by Securities Market Intermediaries’ (SMIs) ability to maintain adequate capital and fair profitability. During the opening quarter of 2023, seven new collective investments schemes (CIS) were licensed, bringing the total number of licensed CIS to 79 inclusive of dormant funds, up from 72 as of 31 December 2022. In other licensing categories, there were no newly licensed SMIs between 31 December 2022 and 31 March 2023. A total of ZW$50 billion worth of trades were settled during the quarter and funds under management (FUM) as at 31 March 2023 were ZW$2.4 trillion, a 54% surge from the ZW$1.6 trillion reported as at 31 December 2022. “Funds under management (FUM) as at 31 March 2023 were ZWL2.4 trillion, a 54% surge from the ZWL1.6 trillion reported as at 31 December 2022. The industry average for the period ended 31 March 2023 stood at ZWL115 billion. The year-on-year comparison shows a 212% increase from the ZWL778 billion reported as at 31 March 2022. Total FUM denominated in USD stood at USD17.8 million as at 31 March 2023,” the report reads. “The industry’s exposure to the stock market rose steadily to 54% from 46.08% recorded in December 2022. This was largely attributable to the rebound of trading activity on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. Exposure to property investments dropped from 42.84% recorded in December 2022 to 34.27% recorded in March 2023. Private equity, money market, cash/call deposits and bonds all account for the remaining 10.96% investment exposures for the asset management industry.” The ZSE recorded a 14% increase in turnover value, while the volume of trades decreased during the same period. The ZSE All-Share Index increased from 19 493.85 to 38 568.48, adding 98% in the first quarter of 2023. — STAFF WRITER. PRISCA TSHUMA THE Association for Business in Zimbabwe (Abuz) says the government should invest more in energy to solve perennial problems which have affected both domestic and industrial consumers. Experts say poor regulation and unsustainable tariffs have discouraged investors from investing in the capital-intensive energy sector. Zimbabwe is mainly relying on two power stations, Hwange thermal and Kariba hydro, to meet its energy demands. Companies, on the other hand, have been establishing small hydropower stations and relying on alternative sources of energy to ease the crisis. Abuz is a registered mutual support business association formed in Bulawayo in 2004 to advance the interests of thr business sector. Electricity woes have been a recurrent problem for businesses operating across all sectors of the economy. Shortage of electricity in the country has increased costs for businesses as they have had to turn to alternatives like generators, resulting in the decline in capacity utilisation. Due to the continued power cuts, most businesses have not been operating the usual number of shifts, thereby creating a mismatch between productivity and fixed costs of running plant and machinery. Abuz chief executive officer Victor Nyoni said industry needs consistent and reliable supply of electricity. “This obviously is important for the whole production chain and indeed for our customers and consumers of our goods and services. Its shortage in Zimbabwe has caused lower production, leading to companies reducing working hours hence losses by many,” he said. In March this year, Energy minister Soda Zhemu admitted that equipment at Hwange Power Station needed urgent replacement, to alleviate the outages. Three units were lost at the thermal power station on 23 and 24 February 2023 due to a depressed power supply outage, causing a loss of 363 megawatts from 440 megawatts to 77 megawatts. Nyoni said the power crisis is affecting government operations, not just the business sector. “Even the government is failing to collect reasonable taxes because Zimra devices installed at companies need to be powered too. Therefore, compliance to Zimra regulations is equally compromised,” Nyoni said. The association said the government needed to encourage companies through various incentives to invest in solar energy to alleviate the power crisis. “We have already seen some mining companies that have invested in alternatives sources of power such as solar system. Casmyn Mine in Matabeleland North is one example,” he said. However, according to Zimbabwe Power Company statistics, electricity generation currently stands at 1 880 megawatts with the independent power producers accounting for 280 megawatts from the total power generation. The generation is expected to increase by 600 megawatts with the recent commissioning of the Hwange power station units 7 and 8. This development was funded through a US$1.3 billion loan awarded by the Chinese government. ZSE rebound leaves asset entities exposed Invest more in energy, govt told

PRISCA TSHUMA EMPLOYERS in the tourism sector have commended the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (Caaz) for approving the entry of two South African airlines into this country. Caaz issued foreign operator permits (FOPs) to low-cost carriers FlySafair and Cemair to start flying into Harare and Victoria Falls routes. These FOPs would allow the respective South African registered airlines to operate passenger and cargo operations into Harare and Victoria Falls. According to the aviation regulator, this move will benefit passengers through fare savings, increased connectivity and more frequencies resulting in greater convenience and time savings. President of the Employers’ Association for the Tourism and Safari Operators, Clement Mukwasi, said the entrance of the two airlines would increase service efficiency in the tourism and travel areas. Mukwasi said the growth of the aviation industry would attract foreign investors, as air travel was the main enabler of the recovery of tourism. “The licensing of additional airlines is a signal that investors are confident that the country is a safe investment hub,” he said. “We hope to see more and more international airlines chartering clients into our various tourism cities,” he added. According to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency's international migration statistics for the first quarter of 2023, air transport accounted 22.3% of visitors who entered Zimbabwe. Road transport was the most favoured, accounting for 77.5% of visitors entering the country, leaving the railway transport with 0.2%. Moreover, the association said the continued growth of the aviation industry was making the tourism industry more attractive, especially the premium tourist city, Victoria Falls. The resort city has been benefiting from foreign direct investments from construction of hotels and the Victoria Falls Exchange, a foreign currency stock exchange headquartered in the city. “All these developments have created a very big economy for Victoria Falls. The destination has become the most attractive one in southern Africa,” said Mukwasi. Mukwasi said Zimbabwe's open skies policy is finally paying dividends. Zimbabwe implemented the fifth Freedom Traffic Rights, which allow for the movement of airlines from the country of origin to another country, at the same time picking up passengers for their final destination. In February this year, the aviation regulator granted Foreign Operator Permits (FOP) to Eswatini Air and Zambia Airways. The FOPs authorised the respective airlines to operate passenger and cargo operations into and outbound Harare's Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport. BERNARD MPOFU THE Deposit Protection Corporation (DPC) says it reimbursed nearly half of the depositors of six failed banks, as the scheme embarks on an aggressive debt recovery process for the financial institutions under liquidation. Zimbabwe’s fragile financial services sector has experienced turbulence which has seen some banks close shop due to shareholder delinquency and poor corporate governance, among many factors cited by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. According to the DPC annual report for 2022, the corporation was appointed liquidator of six failed contributory banking institutions (CBIs). Another failed institution, Capital Bank, was closed in June 2014 and was eventually placed under provisional liquidation on 9 October 2019 and in final liquidation on 31 March 2021. “During the period under review, the corporation continued its resolution of five banks under liquidation. The failure resolution options that the Corporation utilied during the review period were depositor reimbursements and liquidations,” the report reads. “Furthermore, the Corporation also compensated depositors of DTMFIs and POSB for loss of value, following the availing of a tranche by government. Liquidation dividends were paid out to concurrent creditors of three (3) closed banks during the year 2022, namely, Interfin, Afrasia and Allied banks. Among the three institutions, Afrasia and Interfin concurrent creditors were paid full interest dividends for the amounts they were owed “As at 31 December 2022, DPC had reimbursed 23 242 out of 54 909 depositors of the six banks currently in liquidation, whilst in monetary terms, about ZWL4.04 million (63%) had been paid out as deposit insurance payments to depositors of the six closed Banks.” Afrasia Bank, the report shows, had the highest payout amount of ZW$2.6 million, which translates to 64% of the total amount paid to depositors (ZW$4.04 million) of the six banks as at 31 December 2022. In terms of the number of depositors paid to date, Afrasia Bank also had the highest number of depositors paid of 14 206 (61%) out of the 23 242 depositors paid for the six banks under liquidation. Genesis Bank had the least number of depositors compensated due to its low deposit base. The DPC says poor quality of depositor records at banks has been a major challenge affecting the corporation in getting depositors’ contact details like addresses, phone numbers and e-mails. “During the period under review, the Corporation continued to execute its mandate as liquidator of closed banks through the realisation of assets and payment of liquidation dividends to creditors and uninsured depositors,” the report reads. “DPC is currently undertaking the liquidation of five closed Banks following the finalisation of the liquidation of Genesis Investment Bank. Total recoveries in cash, Treasury Bills and properties were ZWL713.6 million, which translate to a 264% recovery rate as at 31 December 2022. Total dividends paid out to concurrent creditors of the six (6) failed CBIs under liquidation increased by 87% from ZWL109.4 million in December 2021 to ZWL204.4 million in December 2022. This translates to an average dividend payout of ZWL1.08 per dollar to concurrent creditors.” Entry of SA airlines to benefit travellers DPC reimburses nearly half depositors of six failed banks Page 30 Companies & Markets NewsHawks Issue 143, 11 August 2023

PRISCA TSHUMA THE Zimbabwe Farmers' Union has urged the government to offer more incentives that support the growing and consumption of small grains in the country as climate change-related factors change the country’s rainfall patterns. Zimbabwe hosted a pre-conference workshop last week as a precursor to the highly anticipated India-Africa International Millet Conference, scheduled for 30 and 31 August 2023, in Nairobi, Kenya. The workshop was conducted to promote millet cultivation, production, and consumption as a sustainable and nutritious "smart food". The meeting brought together diverse stakeholders, including government officials, research institutes, private sector entities, and civil society organisations. The conference, a collaborative effort by the governments of India and Zimbabwe with the support of the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat), aims to address the opportunities and challenges in the millet sector. ZFU operations director Prince Kuipa was part of the panel discussing ways of promoting small grains. Kuipa said there was a need for the government to craft policies and programmes solely focused on the promotion of small grains cultivation and production in the country. He said the low yields in small grains production and the pricing policies discouraged smallholder farmers from cultivating these crops. “I think in the last year’s crop, livestock and fisheries assessment report, for pearl millet was at 0.38 tonnes per hectare, and finger millet was 0.28 tonnes per hectare, which is too low. “And then when you go on also to policy in terms of the prices that would stimulate production of these crops, you see that for maize its 335 tonnes per hectare but the same for traditional grains which is also 335 tonnes per hectare,” he said. The union advocated for a differentiation in the pricing policy as maize had more protection in terms of productivity than small grains. “Therefore, would it not be good that there is also a price incentive for the production of small grains in terms policy?" said Kuipa. Kuipa lamented that government schemes promoted crops like maize while neglecting small grains. “When I was looking at the second round of the crop, livestock and fisheries assessment report (CLAFA-2), the crops that are mentioned under Intwasa/Pfumvudza scheme are maize and sorghum, which means that millet is also lagging behind in terms of support,” he said. “With the increased support in region 4 and 5, hopefully we are also going to increase production of small grains,” he added. Moreover, Kuipa said there was a need to commercialise the small grains to gain traction from the farmers and increase the yield. “The small grains or millet are treated more as smallholder crops and just for household food security, unlike maize which is also grown for commercial purposes,” he noted. The union added that there was a need to invest in information dissemination to enable the farmers to make decision on which crops to cultivate that would bring high yields. “In Regions Four and Five sometimes, you see that farmers are continually trying by all means to grow maize. This is because there is lack of early warning information and weather information advising the farmers on how the season is going to pan out at the farming level, so they can make decisions,” said the ZFU. According to CLAFA-2, traditional grains production was estimated at 280 966 metric tonnes (mt), 45% more than 194 100mt produced in 2021/2023, while sorghum production was expected to be 191 125mt, which is 32% more than 144 633mt recorded in the 2021/2022 season. Pearl millet production was projected to be at 71 221mt, which is 61% more than 44 143mt produced in 2021/2022 and finger millet production was estimated to be 18 610mt, which is a 250% increase from 5 321mt produced in the 2021/2022 season. Incentivise small grains production NewsHawks Companies & Markets Page 31 Issue 143, 11 August 2023

Page 32 Companies & Markets NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023 PRISCA TSHUMA MORALE has hit rock bottom at financially-troubled clothing retailer Truworths due to delays in payment of salaries as the company desperately attempts to turn around its fortunes. Employees who spoke to The NewsHawks said so dire is the situation that some have gone for several months without being paid while others are walking to work due to failure to raise bus fares. The workers said the company has been staggering salaries, resulting in them spending the festive season in December with a balance that was paid in January. A worker who spoke on condition anonymity said the company has been paying them between US$10 and US$20 since last year, which has managed to clear salary balances up to January 2023. The worker complained that in the past weeks, they received ZW$325 000 piecemeal, which was below US$70 when calculated using the official bank rate. “The CEO knows that we have not been paid. I am not sure why he denied that when you contacted him,” the worker said. “We're not sure whether that’s the salary for February or not coz they do not update us. So we can safely say as we enter this new month we have not been paid for six months,” said the worker. Truworths chief executive Themba Ndebele said while the company has been facing a going concern crisis, it has been funding its payroll. “There is nobody who has gone for five months without either the ZWL or USD payment. There is nothing like that,” he said. He added that he met with the workers’ representatives last week on Monday to discuss issues to do with full payment of salaries, and not non-payment of salaries. “There will be shortfall on some United States dollar (salaries) because USD hasn’t been available or there will be shortfalls on RTGS because RTGS hasn’t been available. We provide either of the two. We have always done that for over 12 months,” said Ndebele. However, workers said the meeting was not a works council meeting but rather a reaction of the employees to a news article published by The NewsHawks in which Ndebele said he was unaware of the non-payment of salaries. “Last week it was not a meeting, it’s a reaction from workers when we saw an article in newspaper about our CEO's comment that he wasn't aware about our five to six months without pay. To tell the truth, we are suffering. Rent, school fees, even food, we feel our top management is hiding something to us,” said the worker. Last month, Truworths 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. The rights offer opened on 14 July and was scheduled to close on 9 August. Another worker said they were pinning their hopes on fresh capital injection. “There have been talks of an investor coming in this August but the details remain sketchy to us employees coz we're not sure whether he is paying all outstanding salaries or he is just injecting working capital.” Disheartened, the worker added that they did not know if they will ever get paid under the current management. BERNARD MPOFU RISING inflation and a weakening local currency have forced Treasury to increase the taxfree salary threshold to ZW$500 000 from ZW$91 666 as pressure mounts on President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration ahead of the general elections. Mnangagwa, who is seeking re-election on 23 August, is battling high unemployment levels and a floundering economy despite publicly projecting a rosy picture. The depreciation of the Zimbabwe dollar has prompted some retailers and service providers to ditch the local unit for the greenback. According to a letter written by Finance secretary George Guvamatanga, the highest marginal tax rate of 40% now applies on income above ZW$15 000 000, which translates to roughly US$3 000 on the official market. “As you are aware, the local currency Pay as You Earn tax table which comprise a tax-free threshold of ZW$91 666 per month, with the highest marginal rate of 40% on income above ZW$1 000 000 PER MONTH, was reviewed with effect from 1 January 2023, wrote Guvamatanga in a letter addressed to Zimbabwe Revenue Authority Commissioner-General Regina Chinamasa. “Due to recent macro-economic changes that necessitated salary reviews, a significant number of employees are caught up in a bracket creep, consequently, some salaries and wages are subject to higher rates of tax. In order to provide relief to taxpayers and boost aggregate demand for goods and services, Treasury has approved a review of local currency tax tables with effect from 1 August 2023.” Ahead of the polls, Mnangagwa’s government has been making frantic efforts to calm the disgruntled nearly 300 000-strong public service, demanding a decent living wage. According to an Afrobarometer survey conducted by the Mass Public Opnion Institute (MPOI), unemployment (46%), management of the economy (35%), and infrastructure development (26%) top the list of citizens' development agenda (in election campaign). Other issues that citizens want to see the election campaign to address are water supply (21%), corruption (20%) and education (17%). Drug abuse (9%) is one problem that has emerged in the top 10 most important problems that the people believe should be addressed. Truworths workers sing the blues Weakening local currency forces salary tax adjustment

Companies & Markets Stock Taking Page 33 Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Pricelist ` Top 5 Gainers Top 5 Losers Value Leaders ($) Top 5 Gainers YTD Market Cap ($mn) 9,417,287.16 1.00% Meikles 8.71% SeedCo -15.00% Econet 1,450,985,000 SeedCo 1433.00% All Share Index 118,909.17 -0.28% RioZim 5.21% Turnall -10.45% Delta 1,404,678,000 RTG 1421.98% Top 10 Index 55,205.26 -0.70% DZLH 2.32% Ariston -2.08% Nampak 52,521,000 Nampak 1254.05% Value Traded ($) 2,969,788,920.00 37.38% EHZL 1.74% Masimba -1.81% EHZL 22,362,850 Mash 1240.87% Interbank rate (USD/ZWL) 4,555.7500 -0.03% Star Africa 0.59% Edgars -0.74% Turnall 16,866,550 FBC 1222.58% Market Cap (US$mn) 2,067.1211 1.00% YTD Movement (%) -31.66%  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 180,000.00 - 180,000.00 - 180,000.00 - - 119.49 215,090.14 47.21 583.37% 2.65% Ariston ARISTON: ZH 2,399.88 2,350.00 2,350.00 -2.08% 2,399.88 2,200 51,700.00 1,627.40 38,243.80 8.39 479.67% -12.93% Art ARTD: ZH 4,666.67 - 4,666.67 - 4,666.67 - - 436.98 20,392.29 4.48 233.33% -49.93% Bridgerfort MMDZ: ZH 1,659.09 - 1,659.09 - 1,659.09 - - 12.00 199.09 0.04 107.39% -68.85% Bridgerfort Class B 3,365.00 - 3,365.00 - 3,365.00 - - 1.32 44.55 0.01 29.42% -80.56% BAT BAT: ZH 1,400,000.00 - 1,400,000.00 - 1,400,000.00 - - 20.63 288,869.24 63.41 400.16% -24.87% Border BRDR: ZH SUSPENDED - - - - - - 42.94 0.00 0.00 - - Cafca CAFCA: ZH 239,960.00 - 239,960.00 - 239,960.00 - - 8.74 20,960.77 4.60 1099.20% 80.14% CBZ CBZ: ZH 90,600.00 90,600.00 90,600.00 - 90,600.00 200 181,200.00 522.66 473,531.29 103.94 571.11% 0.81% CFI CFI: ZH 220,000.00 - 220,000.00 - 220,000.00 - - 106.04 233,289.93 51.21 434.37% -19.73% Delta DLTA: ZH 194,997.15 195,000.00 195,039.93 0.02% 194,997.15 720,200 1,404,678,000.00 1305.85 2,546,928.16 559.06 442.12% -18.57% Dairibord DZL: ZH 43,979.61 45,000.00 45,000.00 2.32% 43,979.61 10,900 4,905,000.00 358.00 161,100.39 35.36 1185.71% 93.13% Ecocash EHZL:ZH 14,071.88 13,995.00 14,316.81 1.74% 14,071.88 156,200 22,362,850.00 2590.58 370,888.02 81.41 257.20% -46.34% Econet*** ECO: ZH 50,006.79 50,000.00 49,982.27 -0.05% 50,006.79 2,903,000 1,450,985,000.00 2590.58 1,294,829.11 284.22 419.16% -22.02% Edgars EDGR: ZH 12,000.00 11,000.00 11,911.11 -0.74% 12,000.00 45,000 5,360,000.00 604.25 71,972.62 15.80 1153.80% 88.34% FBC FBC: ZH 82,000.00 - 82,000.00 - 82,000.00 - - 671.95 550,998.94 120.95 1222.58% 98.67% Fidelity Life FIDL: ZH 13,010.00 - 13,010.00 - 13,010.00 - - 108.92 14,170.92 3.11 442.08% -18.57% First Mutual FMLH: ZH 17,500.00 - 17,500.00 - 17,500.00 - - 690.14 120,775.04 26.51 583.59% 2.68% First Mutual Properties FMP: ZH 10,100.00 - 10,100.00 - 10,100.00 - - 1,238.16 125,053.89 27.45 741.67% 26.43% GB Holdings GBH: ZH 1,180.00 1,180.00 1,180.00 - 1,180.00 16,300 192,340.00 536.59 6,331.75 1.39 557.97% -1.16% GetBucks GBFS: ZH 4,300.00 - 4,300.00 - 4,300.00 - - 1,163.12 50,014.09 10.98 97.25% -70.37% Hippo HIPO: ZH 180,000.00 180,000.00 180,000.00 - 180,000.00 1,200 2,160,000.00 193.02 347,437.02 76.26 885.77% 48.07% Lafarge LACZ: ZH - SUSP - - 0.00 - - 80.00 0.00 0.00 - - Mash MASH: ZH 12,400.00 - 12,400.00 - 12,400.00 - - 1,687.58 209,260.42 45.93 1240.87% 101.42% Masimba MSHL: ZH 90,860.00 90,860.00 89,214.55 -1.81% 90,860.00 3,300 2,944,080.00 241.65 215,590.27 47.32 1015.80% 67.61% Meikles MEIK: ZH 60,031.28 64,005.00 65,262.50 8.71% 60,031.28 400 261,050.00 256.15 167,170.38 36.69 482.70% -12.47% Nampak NPKZ: ZH 12,200.00 12,200.00 12,200.00 - 12,200.00 430,500 52,521,000.00 755.65 92,189.07 20.24 1254.05% 103.40% NMB NMB: ZH 16,700.00 - 16,700.00 - 16,700.00 - - 404.17 67,496.67 14.82 343.36% -33.40% NTS NTS: ZH 2,120.00 - 2,120.00 - 2,120.00 - - 253.87 5,382.10 1.18 107.84% -68.78% OK Zimbabwe OKZ: ZH 12,812.39 - 12,812.39 - 12,812.39 - - 1,296.31 166,088.53 36.46 296.43% -40.45% 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 43,995.00 43,200.00 43,227.59 -1.74% 43,995.00 10,900 4,849,955.00 251.94 108,905.70 23.91 -75.91% 96.77% RTG RTG: ZH 13,500.00 - 13,500.00 - 13,500.00 - - 2,495.50 336,891.90 73.95 1421.98% 128.62% Seedco SEED: ZH 134,395.26 114,240.00 114,240.00 -15.00% 134,395.26 600 685,440.00 249.37 284,884.48 62.53 1433.00% 130.28% Star Africa SACL: ZH 528.00 540.00 531.11 0.59% 528.00 79,000 419,580.00 4,715.08 25,042.28 5.50 150.75% -62.33% Tanganda TANG:ZH 111,835.77 - 111,835.77 - 111,835.77 - - 261.06 291,963.59 64.09 1151.43% 87.98% Truworths TRUW: ZH 1,000.00 - 1,000.00 - 1,000.00 - - 384.07 3,840.68 0.84 263.64% -45.38% TSL TSL: ZH 52,000.00 - 52,000.00 - 52,000.00 - - 358.08 186,200.02 40.87 1081.69% 77.51% Turnall TURN: ZH 1,400.00 1,250.00 1,253.65 -10.45% 1,400.00 1,345,400 16,866,550.00 493.04 6,181.00 1.36 217.58% -52.30% Unifreight UNIF: ZH 20,465.00 - 20,465.00 - 20,465.00 - - 106.47 21,789.95 4.78 296.22% -40.48% Willdale WILD: ZH 1,825.00 - 1,825.00 - 1,825.00 - - 1,778.00 32,448.53 7.12 913.89% 52.30% ZBFH ZBFH: ZH 63,500.00 - 63,500.00 - 63,500.00 - - 175.19 111,246.06 24.42 462.20% -15.55% Zeco ZECO: ZH 3.31 - 3.31 - 3.31 - - 463.34 15.34 0.00 0.00% -84.98% ZHL ZHL: ZH 5,798.80 5,795.00 5,795.00 -0.07% 5,798.80 3,600 208,620.00 1,818.22 105,365.78 23.13 1003.81% 65.81% Zimpapers ZIMP: ZH 1,000.00 - 1,000.00 - 1,000.00 - - 576.00 5,760.00 1.26 314.44% -37.75% Hwange HCCL: ZH SUSPENDED - - - - - 167.89 - - - - RioZim RIOZ: ZH 18,400.00 52,185.00 18,400.00 5.21% 18,400.00 300 156,555.00 122.03 22,453.42 4.93 31.43% -80.27% 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 631.00 - 631.00 0.00% 631.00 - - 270.52 0.06 250.56% -47.34% Datvest Modified Consumer Staples ETF 700.00 680.00 680.00 -2.86% 700.00 10,000 68,000.00 1,540.42 0.34 335.90% -34.52% Morgan&Co Made in Zimbabwe 502.00 500.00 500.00 -0.40% 502.00 21,021 105,105.00 12,310.00 2.70 339.56% -33.97% Morgan&Co Multi Sector 18,000.00 - 18,000.00 0.00% 18,000.00 - - 22,667.01 4.98 682.61% 17.56% OM ZSE Top-10 ETF 2,350.00 2,400.00 2,362.49 0.53% 2,350.00 21,696 512,566.00 3,393.13 0.74 266.84% -44.90% 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 20,011.00 20,500.00 20,498.88 2.44% 20,011.00 490,675 100,582,900.00 147,453.16 32.37 400.17% -24.87% Victoria Falls Stock Exchange Pricelist Market Cap US$ (mn) 946.52 1.71% All Share Index 70.60 1.33% Value Traded US$ 49,168.02  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 3.79 3.80 3.80 0.26% 8.64 1,600 60.80 1,432.52 54.44 247,995.71 45.04% 603.80% Axia Corporation Limited AXIA:ZH 5.20 - 5.20 0.00% 14.75 - - 552.15 28.71 130,803.78 -56.05% 192.59% BNC BIND:ZH 1.26 1.13 1.13 -10.32% 1.26 46,312 523.33 1,272.73 14.38 65,519.97 -50.87% 227.07% Caledonia CMCL:ZH 1,350.00 - 1,350.00 0.00% 1,350.00 - - 0.62 8.37 38,131.63 3.85% 591.32% FCB FCB:ZH 2.10 2.00 2.05 -2.38% 2.10 5,600 114.70 2,159.81 44.28 201,711.33 23.65% 492.97% Innscor Africa Limited INN:ZH 38.55 38.10 39.65 2.85% 38.55 70,881 28,106.25 571.20 226.48 1,031,785.38 -39.74% 301.18% National Foods Holdings Limited NTFD: ZH 201.00 210.00 208.64 3.80% 201.00 55 114.75 68.40 142.71 650,151.02 16.79% 677.52% NedBank Zim Depository Receipts 1,200.00 - 1,200.00 0.00% 1,200.00 - - 0.16 1.92 8,756.06 4.35% 594.66% Padenga PHL:ZH 17.99 18.00 18.00 0.06% 17.99 875 157.50 544.30 97.97 446,346.20 -21.47% 422.82% Seed Co Intl SCIL:ZH 28.00 - 28.00 0.00% 28.00 - - 393.65 110.22 502,141.09 -6.51% 522.38% Simbisa SIM:ZH 34.93 36.15 36.16 3.52% 34.93 55,563 20,090.70 562.18 203.29 926,120.28 -1.20% 557.72% West Prop Holdings Limited 1,000.00 - 1,000.00 0.00% 1,000.00 - - - - - 0.00% 214.43% Zimplow ZIMPLOW:ZH 3.99 - 3.99 0.00% 3.99 - - 344.58 13.75 62,635.92 60.62% 969.26% * 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 ϭϭ ƵŐƵƐƚ͕ ϮϬϮϯ ϭϭ ƵŐƵƐƚ͕ϮϬϮϯ NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023

Page 34 News Analysis NATHAN GUMA THE conferment of national hero status on Zimbabwe's late ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Johannes Tomana, despite his meagre contribution to national progress has re-ignited debate on the controversial nature of the honour. It also shows President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s penchant for honouring people on party lines, rather than for servuce to the nation. Tomana’s sudden death on 6 August left officials, friends and relatives shocked amid fears that he was poisoned at a funeral in his rural Honde Valley home in Manicaland province. Family members say he died after complaining of stomach pains after attending the funeral. Mnangagwa said the recognition follows his contribution to Zimbabwe and a distinguished career as a skilled legal practitioner, Deputy-Attorney General (2006), Attorney-General (2008) and as the country’s first Prosecutor-General under the new constitution from November 2013. “In these multiple roles, Ambassador Tomana played a critical role in shaping the country’s legal ethos and the prosecutorial system. The redeployment in 2020 in the second republic as Ambassador to the DRC saw him advance Zimbabwe’s Engagement Policy with singleness of purpose. “His Excellency again extends his deepest, heartfelt condolences to the Tomana family on the untimely passing on of a loving, hardworking and caring husband, father and guardian. He urges the Tomana family to derive solace from the assurance that the nation he so dilligently served, beffitingly honours him today in the very special way and joins them in sharing their grief,” read a statement of his conferrement. Political analysts say the controversial conferment of hero status has been calculated to reward political loyalty rather than national contribution. “There is nothing outstanding that Tomana did to be called a national hero. Herein lies the lack of sense of the processes which has no tinge of national criteria, but is rather a Zanu PF project, more so after the 2017 coup,” said Rashweat Mukundu, a political analyst. “Conferment of hero status is political and seeks to promote a Zanu PF and not a national sense of duty and heroism. Mugabe tried to keep the criteria credible, but with the coup government any of their friends can end up at the shrine.” Political analyst Vivid Gwede said there have been no clear criteria on the conferment of national hero status, which has seen deserving candidates being denied the honour. “The conferment of hero status has for long been following lines of party affiliation and loyalties. But even within those there has been lack of clarity on and in the application of conferment criteria. “The result being that there are people whom the public expected to be declared heroes but were left out and others whom the public did not feel were heroes but were declared. This has diminished the value of the exercise,” Gwede said. Tomana has been Mnangagwa’s sidekick and is one of the pillars of support who helped him ascend to power through a military coup in November 2017 during the cut-throat succession battle to take over from the late president Robert Mugabe. He was in Mnangagwa's faction throughout the fierce succession battle which was settled via a coup. His conferment has also sparked outrage from opposition activists. “Zanu PF has declared Tomana a national hero. The last time I heard about this fool, he was trying to amend the law so that 12-year old girls can get married. The other time he tried to charge Tsvangirai with treason charges. I hope after the burial we will not hear his name again,” said Lisa Ncube, an activist of the main opposition Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC). In 2016, while still prosecutor-general, Tomana was fired by president Mugabe for allegedly obstructing justice over the handling of an alleged bomb plot case linked to the first family and a lawmaker aligned to the ruling Zanu PF. Tomana was accused of releasing from police custody four suspects who allegedly planned to bomb former first lady Grace Mugabe’s Alpha Omega Dairy in Mazowe. He was also accused of covering up a rape case involving former Bikita West member of Parliament, Munyaradzi Kereke, who was jailed 10 years for raping a minor. He was however released in August 2021 after serving less than five years of his sentence. Mnangagwa has in the past also come under scrutiny for conferring hero status along political and not national lines. In 2021, he conferred provincial hero status on Zimdancehall artiste Soul Jah Love, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, with several people thronging his burial, despite lockdown restrictions which limited the number of mourners to 50. Analysts said Soul Jah Love did not deserve the honour, because he had not made any significant contribution to the country. They also pointed out that he had a history of serious drug abuse. Analysts however, believe that Mnangagwa’s decision was politically-angled so he could appeal to young people and win their support in his re-election bid. Some of the founding members of the nation have also refused to be buried at the National Heroes’ Acre.  For instance, in the months leading to his death, the late Mugabe told his family that he did not want to be buried at the National Heroes’ Acre, expressing fears that his body might be used for rituals by his opponents. He was eventually buried at his rural village in Kutama, not at the National Heroes’ Acre, at a private ceremony, with close family and friends in attendance. Prominent liberation struggle stalwart Dumiso Dabengwa was conferred national hero status, but was however buried in Ntabazinduna, some 34 kilometres outside Bulawayo. Mourners who included former freedom fighters and the general community saluted the late Dabengwa with dignity and respect although they showed frustration, anger and resentment against government officials present at the burial. None of the three members of the presidium attended his burial. Tomana hero status reignites debate The late ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Johannes Tomana. pic: The Herald NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023

Page 35 VERITAS DOUGLAS Mwonzora, a presidential candidate standing for the MDC-T party, has said he wants to withdraw from the election and has written to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) requesting the commission to remove his name from the list of candidates.  Zec has refused to comply, saying it is too late to remove his name and citing section 107(1) of the Electoral Act, which reads: “(1)    A nominated candidate for election as President may, by notice in writing addressed to the Chief Elections Officer, withdraw his or her candidature at any time before twenty-one days from the day … on which the poll in an election to the office of President is to be taken.” There is less than a fortnight left until polling day on 23 August, so it seemed that Mwonzora is out of time in trying to withdraw. Actually, he is not. There is a rule of law expressed in the Latin maxim cessante ratione legis cessat et ipsa lex, which means that if the reason for a law ceases to exist then the law itself falls away or ceases to apply.  The reason for section 107(1) is fairly obvious:  a candidate should not be allowed to withdraw from an election after ballot papers have been printed because either the ballot papers will have to be reprinted at extra expense or, if they are not and the candidate’s name is left on them, Zec will have to take steps to inform voters that the candidate has withdrawn and they should not vote for him or her. In the particular circumstances of this election, that reason does not apply.  There have been so many challenges to the nomination process, and the courts have taken so long to finalise them, that ZEC has been unable to print the ballot papers – we know this because ZEC’s legal representative said so during preliminary proceedings before Saviour Kasukuwere’s application to the Constitutional Court was heard. Since the reason for section 107(1) does not apply, the section does not apply either and should not be invoked to prevent Mwonzora from withdrawing. Zec should accept Mwonzora’s withdrawal.  If his name continues to appear on the presidential ballot papers, voters may vote for him in the mistaken belief that he still wants to be elected.  If they do vote for him, they will be voting for a candidate who has renounced the election.  Their votes will be as futile as if they had spoiled their papers. *About the writer: Veritas provides information on the work of the Parliament of Zimbabwe and the laws of Zimbabwe and makes public domain information widely available. Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information supplied. Mwonzora should be allowed to withdraw Reframing Issues Zimbabwe Electoral Commission responds: it's too late to withdraw IN the following statement, Zec chief elections officer Utloile Silaigwana spells out the law with regards the withdrawal of candidates. He says section 107 of the Electoral Act allows presidential candidates to withdraw their candidature by way of a written notice to the chief elections officer no later than 21 days from polling day. In the public interest, The NewsHawks publishes Silaigwana's statement in full: NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023

Page 36 The Big Debate JONATHAN MUNEMO ZIMBABWE is facing a host of pressing challenges that voters dearly want the next president to address. Persistently high  inflation, elevated interest rates, and a slumping and volatile Zimbabwe dollar have combined to fuel a cost of living crisis for households and battered business activity. These will be among the key economic concerns weighing on Zimbabweans as they prepare to cast their votes at elections scheduled for late  August. President Emmerson Mnangagwa is campaigning to secure a second mandate that will extend his five-year term in power. He will square off against 10 presidential candidates, including the opposition’s main candidate Nelson Chamisa. Inflation remains sticky and jumped 175.8% in June from 86.5% a month ago. Part of the recent re-acceleration in inflation was triggered by the Zimbabwe dollar’s slide, which plunged  85%  in the two months through May and pushed up import costs. Although inflation edged lower in July, it still remains significantly elevated. The central bank responded by hiking interest rates to  150% from a previously elevated level of 140%. This move intensifies the pullback on business and consumer spending caused by currency weakening. Additionally, the high pace of price growth has outpaced nominal wage growth, leaving many people struggling to afford everyday essentials. Fewer jobs add to these concerns. Stubbornly high inflation and its negative impact on the value of the Zimbabwe dollar are symptoms of much deeper problems rooted in decades of fiscal and central bank governance weaknesses. That’s why inflation has defied central bank efforts to rein it in with a series of aggressive rate hikes. The next president will therefore need to push for reforms in governance to tackle deep underlying problems. Otherwise the country will remain locked in a seemingly endless battle to ward off the economic crisis that is being acutely felt by voters. Governance vulnerabilities Governance broadly refers to institutions used to exercise authority by the government. Long-running weaknesses in fiscal and central bank governance institutions have undermined the capacity of the government to effectively formulate and implement sound fiscal and monetary policies for many years. Between 2005 and 2008 for example, the government pursued an expansionary fiscal policy. Public spending averaged 8% of GDP. However, because of weak budgetary processes, spending was less efficient especially in areas critical for supporting stronger growth such as education, health, and public infrastructure. This meant that the economy could not generate more government revenue. Average government revenue collected was only about  5%  of GDP over this period. The budget shortfalls were financed by printing money, which undermined the independence and credibility of the central bank. This impaired the central bank’s ability to fulfill its mandate, including supporting price stability. The influx of printed cash in the economy fanned domestic demand but did nothing to spur the production of goods and services to meet it. Inflation spiked and drove the value of the currency lower, raising the cost of imported goods and thus amplifying inflation pressures. This dynamic created a feedback loop in which rising inflation and a weakening currency reinforced each other. The result was hyperinflation. In 2008 inflation reached  231 million  %, prompting the government to withdraw the weakening Zimbabwe dollar from circulation the following year and to replace it with the US dollar to combat hyperinflation. In the years following the switch to the US dollar, inflation receded until 2019 when the Zimbabwe dollar was re-introduced. This was done without fixing vulnerabilities in fiscal and monetary governance that had eventually led to the demise of the Zimbabwe dollar in 2009. Because of these vulnerabilities, inflation skyrocketed to 255% in 2019 — a 23-fold increase from a year earlier as money supply growth quickened from  28% to 250%  amid a widening government budget deficit which topped 10% of GDP in 2017. Since then, the central bank has not been able to get a sustained deceleration in inflation despite aggressive rate hikes. And the negative feedback loop between high inflation and a collapsing local currency was on full display again following the plunge in the currency in recent months. This has made the US dollar more attractive, and it is used more widely to pay for everything from food, fuel, school fees, rent and other services. In February the central bank adopted a new inflation gauge that tracks prices in both Zimbabwean and US dollars to capture this reality. The US dollar is also seen as a haven which has taken on greater importance as inflation remains stubbornly high. In many ways, the return of the Zimbabwe dollar evokes bad memories of the inflation crisis of 2008 which still loom large for many people. Weaknesses in governance breed corruption Weaknesses in governance also create opportunities for higher levels of government corruption, which can lead to public spending waste, inefficiencies and lower revenue collection. All worsen budget deficits and add to monetary financing pressures on a central bank lacking independence. In 2022,  Transparency International  ranked Zimbabwe 157 out of 180 countries based on perceived levels of public sector corruption, where the lower the rank the higher the perceived corruption. The evidence also showed no significant progress in tackling corruption for more than a decade. Another 2022 survey by  Afrobarometer  revealed that a staggering 87% of Zimbabweans believe corruption has increased or stayed the same. A path forward Zimbabwe’s economy is facing a confluence of challenges: inflation that won’t go away, higher interest rates and a sliding currency. The fallout has included a cost of living crisis, slowing business activity and fewer jobs. These problems are symptoms of deeply embedded structural weaknesses in the economy. The following reforms are crucial for addressing these structural weaknesses: • Fiscal governance reforms to strengthen the budgetary process. This will enhance revenue collection and increase the efficiency of government spending. These reforms should also aim to boost revenue collection by lowering pervasive informality in the economy. • Central bank governance reforms to promote autonomy of the bank’s operations, including monetary policy independence which is important for preserving price stability. In addition, good fiscal governance positively affects central bank governance by reducing the need for central bank financing, which allows a reduction in inflation. — The Conversation. *About the writer: Jonathan Munemo is professor of economics at Salisbury University in the United States. Zimbabwe heads to polls amid cost-of-living crisis NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023

WINNET CHINDEDZA/ ADMIRE MHINDU/ FARISAI MLAMBO THE voting process in Zimbabwe has brought mixed feelings to the Zimbabwean voter, the winning party in jubilation and the losing parties in "Great Depression". The crookery and dissembling language of the politicians leaves a lot to be desired. The voting system is characterised by a lot of uncertainty as the opposition parties always complain about the uneven playground. "Vote for peace and prosperity, vote for change, vote for economic empowerment" has been the language used during campaigns. However, this has not been fulfilled as the electorate is  saddened by the post-election results. Therefore, the electorate needs to be wary of the language of the politicians. However, everyone has a right  to vote for what he/she falls for.  The voter observes the events surrounding the election period in anticipation, listening to campaign speeches, debates and conventions  pertaining to the elections, and the voter starts weighing on expected  economic rewards and losses. He/she then decides on which party to  vote for. The consequences of a certain party choice are then judged by  the voter in terms of his/her personal economic situation, that is, pocketbook voting or in terms of the economic well-being of the nation as  a whole, that is, socio-tropic voting (Dawns, 1957; Kinder & Kiewiet, 1981; Krause, 1997). Therefore, the electoral period conveys different  meanings to different persons. During the campaign period, the voter critically analyses policy achievements of the governing parties or officials,  to compare these achievements and future policy plans to the alternatives put forward by opposition parties or candidates, and, in case of dissatisfaction with the present ruling party, the voter may want to alter the relative  power positions between government and the opposition parties or candidates. Therefore, voters must evaluate candidates’ promises in terms of the  post-election role that the elected officials will have to play. The critical focus of voters should be on a given set of elected officials, who use their constitutional powers to try to move government policy in their preferred  direction. Such officials, when voted into power, just disappear and reappear in the next campaigns; they are interested in fulfilling their selfish ambitions and they are not worried about the welfare of the voter who voted them into power.  Many a time in Zimbabwe, the voter is persuaded to vote for politicians who use persuasive language. If it is the ruling party, their language will be so persuasive that the voter will vote them back into power, even though they did not fulfill what they promised in the last elections. The ruling party will cite what made them not to fulfill promises made in the last elections, the most popular being sanctions, which most rural voters do  not understand. The language of the candidates is so crafty and foxy to the extent that the innocent voter believes them. What is most interesting in Zimbabwe is that the opposition parties blame the ruling party for the sanctions imposed on the country and the ruling party takes it on, on the  opposition parties. It is a blame game for the politicians. All this is done to convince the voter into voting them to power.  After giving an introduction of the voting process, voters and politicians in Zimbabwe, we now move on to briefly discuss the theoretical framework that informed this chapter. The mixed-utility theory of vote choice regret: an overview The chapter builds on pre-election, polling day and post-election periods in Zimbabwe. Soon after elections are conducted, some voters are not totally happy with their decision, and others think they made a bad decision. This indicates that the inclination to regret can be explained by the mixed utility theory, whereby voters try to exploit a mixture of instrumental and expressive utilities.  The theory that informs this chapter supposes that a voter derives utility from two sources: how much he/she likes the party for which he/she votes (expressive utility), and how much his/ her vote makes a difference to the party that is elected (instrumental utility) (Bol et al., 2018). According to Bol et al. (2018), a voter regrets his/her choice if  he/she realises, after the election, that she made a choice that did not maximise her overall utility. They contend that a voter regrets voting for a party if the utility of voting for some other party is higher than the utility of voting for another party; it can be either the party he/she likes the most or the party he/ she dislikes the most among the viable parties (Bol et al., 2018).  To illustrate the difference between the two utilities, we give examples of two voters in Zimbabwe. There are three main political parties in Zimbabwe, Zanu PF, which is the ruling party, the main opposition party, CCC and MDC-A.  For our illustration, we will use two main popular parties, that is, CCC and Zanu PF. Voter A is an expressive voter and votes for Zanu PF because it is the party that defends the policies he/she stands for. Voter B is an instrumental voter and he/she votes for CCC because it is the party that (supposedly) will implement his/her most preferred policies. The key difference between the two is that A is not affected by the probability of winning of the different parties when he/she decides for which party to vote; he derives satisfaction from the act of voting for his/her preferred party. By contrast, B does consider the different parties’ probabilities of winning, as he/she wants his/her vote to influence which party is elected.  That goal typically implies voting for a party that has some chance of winning in his/her local district. Most Zimbabwean voters are partly expressive and partly instrumental;  they are faced with two-choice voting, for their instrumental and expressive choice. The voter is in a dilemma. At district level, the candidate votes for a member of parliament (CCC) he/ she thinks has policies that work out for the development of the country he/she believes in (instrumental), and a presidential candidate for the party he/she likes (Zanu PF) (expressive voting). The voter will regret his/her choice if he/she realises that his/her vote could have elected party B. He/she also thinks that he/she would be better off under the policies of party B than under the policies of the party that won the election. So, most of the voters regret their choices. To such voters, voting brings blisters instead of bliss.  Having discussed the utility theory as the one informing this chapter, we shift our attention to messages that are used by politicians to lure voters during the pre-election period in Zimbabwe. As shall be demonstrated,politicians use language that tries to convince the voters that they will get maximum utility by voting them into power.  Political parties in Africa use different campaign strategies to win the hearts of the electorate. Hallin and Mancini (2004: 26), cited in Chari (2018), observe that "Political parties and candidates in both democraticand non-democratic states are employing campaign tactics similar to consumer product advertising." If campaigning is likened to consumer  advertising, the implication is that politicians use language which has some "trickery" to mislead or trick the electorate into believing that  they will deliver if they are given the mandate to rule. Campaigning in Zimbabwe is done through rallies, on television and radios as well as on social media. In this chapter, we will do a content analysis of messages  that political parties pass to the electorate through posters and billboards.  Particular focus will be on the analysis of the messages in an endeavour to establish how political parties either coerce or persuade the electorate through the language they use in campaigning.  Campaigning can be done face to face at rallies or through media.  Various forms of media such as newspapers, televisions, radios and billboards have been used in Zimbabwe and beyond by political parties to campaign during the pre-election period. There are differences in access to such media in different countries. Isbell and Appiah-Nyamekye (2018) observe that Ghana enjoys a free media environment. They add that in Ghana, 56% of the population across all levels of education see the radio as a primary source of information on political developments in their country. However, in some parts of developing countries like Zimbabwe, some citizens do not have access to the radio or television, and in such cases, politicians make an effort to meet face to face with the electorate through campaign rallies. According to Paget (2019) in Lewanika (2019), the predominant means of campaigning in Africa is the rally. Thus, political parties reach out to those without access to media through rallies, all in an effort to convince them, through promises, that they should be elected into power.  In the run-up to the 2018 general elections, parties in Zimbabwe  campaigned through rallies, posters and billboards and, in some cases, these were broadcast on the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Cooperation Television (ZBC). Lewanika (2019) notes that election campaigns are the  channels through which political candidates contest to win votes through  declaring their capability and attesting to their capacity to serve, lead,  decide and command political affairs. Chigora and Chilunjika (2016) quote Part XXIB 1609 of the 2012 Electoral Act as saying that all political parties should enjoy access to media. However, these scholars note that  Zanu PF enjoys domination in the use of public media in Zimbabwe, while the opposition complain that they have not been permitted to market and advertise their ideas through the public platform. In the subsequent section, we analyse some of the messages that came from those who wanted to be voted into power during the pre-election  periods in the 2018 presidential elections. Particularly, we will analyse messages on posters and billboards that were used for campaigning. All the messages on the billboards analysed in this chapter were also broadcast on the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation. — Electoral Politics in Zimbabwe, Volume 1: The 2023 Election and Beyond The Big Debate Page 37 Voting: Bliss or blisters? Zim electoral experience NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023

Page 38 Reframing Issues DR HAZEL CAMERON THE International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda’s historic judgment in the  Akayesu Judgment  established that rape and other forms of sexual violence can be an actus reus of genocide as defined by the United Nations Convention on Genocide Article II. The  Akayesu Judgment  therefore provides a logical framework to analyse a hidden episode of extreme post-colonial state violence in the newly independent Zimbabwe, namely a state policy of mass atrocities in Matabeleland and parts of the Midlands, targeting the minority Ndebele ethnic group during Operation Gukurahundi. The specific foci of this study are the patterns of mass rape and sexual violence in the military operation between 1983 and 1984 in Matabeleland. Drawing on 36 in-depth interviews with survivors from throughout Matabeleland, this study provides a critical new lens on Operation Gukurahundi through its identification of uniform systematic patterns of rape and other forms of sexual violence across Matabeleland. The article concludes that the patterns of rape and other forms of sexual violence identified in this study are indicative of a state policy of systematic genocidal rape between 1983 and 1984, deployed with the intent and effect to destroy, in part, a specific ethnic group, namely the minority Ndebele of Zimbabwe, thereby fulfilling every condition of the Genocide Convention principles of genocide. Never again” becomes more than a slogan: It’s a prayer, a promise, a vow. There will never again be hatred, people say. Never again jail and torture. Never again the suffering of innocent people, or the shooting of starving, frightened, terrified children. And never again the glorification of base, ugly, dark violence. It’s a prayer. (Wiesel 2012: 77) Inflicting injury and harm Article II of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (United Nations 1948, UNGC) [hereafter Genocide Convention] defines genocide as meaning specific acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group and includes deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group. The Genocide Convention does not explicitly enumerate rape as one of the listed acts of genocide; however, the judgement of  Prosecutor v. Jean-Paul Akayesu  at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), established in 1994 by the United Nations to prosecute those allegedly responsible for crimes of genocide and other gross violations of human rights in Rwanda, reached the unprecedented conclusion that rape can be an act of genocide (Akayesu 1998). The ICTR recognized how rape and sexual violence functioned to destroy the minority Tutsi group of Rwanda and noted the intersectionality of the crime of genocidal rape and how genocidal rape during the genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda targeted certain women because of their ethnicity (ibid.). The Akayesu Judgement was pivotal in advancing the discourse around rape as an act of genocide (see, for example,  Mackinnon 1994;  Allen 1996;  Sharlach 2000;  Reid-Cunningham 2008;  De Brouwer & Chu 2009;  Bergoffen 2012;  Smith 2013; Di Caro 2019). The  Akayesu Judgment  also determined that although the act of genocidal rape by the Hutu genocidaires was to destroy a particular group, the outcome of the act was the infliction of serious injury and harm (Akayesu 1998: 731). Furthermore, the ICTR acknowledged that, although “the group” is of principle concern to the crime of genocide, genocidal rape is one of the worst ways of inflicting harm and injury on an individual member of that group and that genocidal rape was conceivably the most efficient and grave way of inflicting injury and harm on individual Tutsi women, thereby advancing the destruction of the whole Tutsi group (Russell-Brown 2003: 352). The definition of rape and the findings of the Akayesu Judgment established that rape can be an  actus reus  of genocide, whereby rape was not perceived to be sexual in nature but rather as a weapon of state harm, a violent act perpetrated against a member of a group with the intent of destroying that group. The ICTR Trial Chamber also affirmed in its substantive legal findings that rape might constitute genocide as deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part (ibid.: 505–506) and as imposing measures intended to prevent birth within the group (ibid.: 507). The Rwandan genocide must also be understood as taking place within the context of a civil war, and to this end a rich body of literature exists that evidences the prevalence of sexual violence in war (Siefert 1994; Jamieson 1999) and other conflict zones (Heineman 2011). But genocide can also be a “peacetime crime” (Basaglia 1987;  Scheper-Hughes 2002). Indeed, there is a growing body of literature and documentary film, which characterizes as genocide, mass atrocities perpetrated during a peace-time joint state military and intelligence campaign known as Operation Gukurahundi in the newly independent Zimbabwe between 1983 and 1987 (see, for example,  Vambe 2012;  Coltart 2016;  Centre for Innovation and Technology (CITE) 2019;  Mpofu 2019; Genocide Watch 2021; Dube 2021;  Ncube 2021;  Mpofu 2021; Sibanda 2021; Tshuma & Ndlovu 2022; Khumalo 2019). To date there has been no rigorous criminological study of the mass atrocities of Operation Gukurahundi, during which rape and sexual violence were rampant. The legal findings of the ICTR, however, namely that rape can be an actus reus of genocide, provides a logical framework within which to explore whether the perpetration of rape and other forms of state violence during the operation were official state policy, intended to destroy in part the Ndebele group, by “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, and imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group” (United Nations 1948). Developing what can be usefully described as a “rape as an act of genocide framework” is of significant epistemological advantage to this study, as it facilitates conclusions to be drawn on whether the sexual crimes of Operation Gukurahundi constitute genocide in accord with the definition of the Genocide Convention, as clarified in the  Akayesu Judgment  of 1998; namely that rape is defined as a physical invasion of a sexual nature, committed on a person under circumstances which are coercive. Sexual violence, which includes rape, is considered to be any act of a sexual nature which is committed on a person under circumstances which are coercive. (Akayesu 1998: 598) The sexual crimes of Operation Gukurahundi which are explored in this article are: public spectacles of multiple perpetrator rape targeting children and adults; forced witnessing of the rape of female and male family members; rape and sexual violence followed by mass killing; forced intrafamilial rape; forced bestiality; forced nudity; targeting the womb of pregnant women; internment in concentration camps for purposes of sexual servitude; forced pregnancy; and genital mutilation. Sexual violence is not a phenomenon exclusively directed at women in genocide. Evidence has established that men are also at risk of sexual violence during a genocide (Kaitesi 2013). The agreed definition of rape in the  Akayesu Judgment  is gender neutral and will be interpreted herein to be applicable to both male and female victims, although males as victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence were not explicitly considered by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda prosecution (Di Caro 2019). *About the writer: Dr Hazel Cameron is a criminologist and a lecturer of peace and conflict studies within the School of International Relations, University of St Andrews in Scotland. Her research interests include state crime; global elite bystanders to crimes of the powerful; political violence; torture; genocide; war crimes; and crimes against humanity. Cameron spent over a decade undertaking fieldwork in Rwanda. She is currently researching the rationale of UK and US foreign policy towards Zimbabwe during the Gukurahundi era. Although widely reported at the time by the press, the international community largely ignored the massacres. These crimes against humanity,  which  also included torture, forced starvation, disappearances, displacements,  and rape continue to haunt Zimbabwe.  Cameron is co-editor of the journal  Genocide Studies International  and is affiliated to the International State Crime Initiative and the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research. Operation Gukurahundi: A Policy of genocidal rape in Zim, 1983-87 NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023

DUMISANI O. NKOMO ONE does not need to be a philosopher or political scientist to describe the economic and political quagmire that we face as a people. That is why we need change. Our party, the Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC) and our leader Nelson Chmaisa recently launched a blueprint for change. The New Great Zimbabwe blueprint offers hope to the nation by providing a well-thought-out empirical policy framework to transform the fortunes of the country. I will pick a few nuggets from the blueprint to explain why a New Great Zimbabwe is possible and why this manifesto is a crucial factor in uplifting the nation from its current morass. Refreshingly, the blueprint offers clear and implementable policy alternatives and options. The New Great Zimbabwe document outlines the importance of a citizen-centred vision formulation process as a foundational cornerstone for nation building. While the country has had many vision documents such as Vision 2020 and vision 2030, this blueprint provides a radical paradigm shift in that it moves the process of vision formulation away from the centre to the periphery which is the domain of citizens. In order for the country to transition to a booming social, economic and political giant, it is critical for Zimbabweans themselves to define where they want to see the country going and what they expect from the government. This bottom-up approach is a tool of reconciliation and reconstruction which provides a roadmap of where the country as a collective entity desires to be. The blueprint locates the process of vision formulation within the first 100 days of a CCC government. A shared national vision is the beginning of the journey of transformation and the key to unlocking a theory of change with a clear roadmap to transformation. A theory of change in layman’s terms is all about describing how change will happen. It outlines how we want to get to where we want to go and the steps it will take to get there. A nation without a vision is doomed and a nation without a shared vision, shared values sets itself up for failure so the Shared Vision Process articulated in the Great New Zimbabwe blueprint is a manifest commitment to prosperity for posterity. The process of sculpting a shared vision is a tool of reconciliation and reconstruction premised on citizens being the centre of nation building. This vision casting process  will result in a national vision made in the image of the people of Zimbabwe in their diversity and multiplicity. Reconstruction and modernisation of the country’s infrastructure is a canon that is eloquently articulated in the document providing the basis of a growing developmental state and ensuring that the quality of life of citizens is improved. The country’s infrastructure, especially the public transportation system and infrastructure, is dilapidated and archaic. There is need for a new road and rail system which is central to economic recovery. The blueprint proposes modernisation of the public transportation system epitomised by a modern rail/ tram system which would boost business and the well-being of citizens. For that to happen, substantial investment would need to be made by the government as well as other players using models such as public-private partnerships, amongst a basket of infrastructural development models. Importantly, the document envisages an infrastructure masterplan which would explore reconstruction and modernisation of road, rail, communication, water and energy infrastructure. An exciting feature of the raft of policy proposals is that of proper, planned and effective devolution of power to other tiers of government, namely provincial governments and local governments. A system of five autonomous regions with governors is proposed at sub-national level whilst at local metropolitan/city level executive mayors will be reintroduced. This is a welcome break from ceremonial, ornamental ribbon-cutting mayors who are unable to effectively preside over local authorities. The proposed arrangement will deliver a devolution development dividend. Critically, this model of devolution provides an effective local government framework bringing about: 1. Greater control of local resources by communities; 2. Relevant local policies and laws; 3. Effective service delivery; 4. Facilitating greater transparency and accountability; 5. Enabling ease of doing business; and 6. Bringing government closer to the people; The document proposes to integrate Zimbabwe into the global family of nations. This is an important step as no nation is an island and no country can survive on its own. Restoration of human rights and sound governance are the first steps in achieving this. Quite clearly the blueprint advocates multilateralism, engagement and an open-door policy based on the country’s principled positions. This will open the door for foreign direct investment, thus creating jobs and opportunities for citizens. The issuing of title deeds to resettled farmers is a critical policy shift which will genuinely empower farmers as it will unlock security of tenure, with downstream benefits such as access to credit .The proposed "one tractor for each village" concept is attainable in the long term and will transform agricultural productivity. All in all, the blueprint is a sure sign that Zimbabwe will be in good hands under the leadership of Chamisa and the CCC. Other key concepts outlined in the document include: • Health – access and quality of health services, especially primary health care. One new hospital in every district is clearly attainable; • Education – doing away with the Continuous Assessment Learning Activity (Cala) curriculum and introducing a new curriculum which recognizes that children and learners are gifted differently and focus should be on bringing out the best in children according to their unique talents and giftings instead of the current one-size-fits-all education model; • Reconciliation – the blueprint proposes restorative, rehabilitative and restitutive justice; • Economic growth strategies – stabilising the macro-economic environment through prudent, investor friendly economic policies. Policy predictability and policy consistency would be key factors in ensuring that there is a conducive macro-economic environment; • Growing small to medium scale enterprises so that they lead in production and contribution to the GDP; • Lean and mean government — a small cabinet of not more than 15 people; • Introducing e-commerce and e-government, culminating in smart government; and • Restoring confidence in government and public institutions. Zimbabwe has a great future if it is placed in the right hands. The New Great   Zimbabwe blueprint offers hope for the future. *About the writer: Dumisani Octavius Nkomo is a CCC candidate for council ward 5 in Bulawayo. He is a writer and organisational development practitioner. He writes here in his personal capacity. Contact him on email: [email protected] 077967926. Reframing Issues Page 39 CCC manifesto: New Great Zimbabwe is clearly possible CCC released its manifesto stating its vision for the country if elected into power. NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023

Title: Comrade King Authors: Khulu Radebe/Jeff Kelly Lowenstein Publisher: Jacana Media COMRADE King is the title of a new book co-authored by Khulu Radebe, a South African freedom fighter who learned at age 50 that he was a king, and Jeff Kelly Lowenstein, a journalist, professor and founder of the Centre for Collaborative Investigative Journalism (CCIJ). Radebe had already had a full life before discovering he was a king. As a teenager, he was part of Alexandra township's 1976 uprisings. Arrested and sent to Robben Island, he was one of the youngest prisoners there. Returning to Alex, he participated in the township’s 1986 Six Days War. Radebe joined the armed struggle, repeatedly dodging death from the enemy and from fellow uMkhonto WeSizwe soldiers in Angola. Then, at age 50, and proving a prophet’s prediction correct, he learned that he was the ruler of the AmaHlubi people of the Embo Nation, a nation that stretches along the east coast of Africa. Comrade King is a powerful blend of fearless truth-telling about dark aspects of South African history and the freedom struggle as well as a core of resilience, courage and strength that can be strong sources of inspiration. The new book will be launched on 15 August 2023 and the event will be  streamed live at 6pm Zimbabwe time.   The e-book can be purchased by going to: https://rb.gy/aa5hl.  The NewsHawks brings you the following excerpt: Joining the Struggle Introduction:  Witnessing the brutality of the apartheid government’s peri-urban police toward parents in the community spurred Khulu Radebe and his classmates to meet at nights and plan what they could do to confront the oppression they witnessed on a daily basis. Youth from Alexandra played a significant, but little-known, role in helping to plan what later became known as the Soweto Uprising that began on June 16, 1976.  In Alexandra Radebe threw the first rock against a police car on 18 June during a time that shattered the relative calm the regime had been able to impose following the lifetime imprisonment of Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and the other Rivonia Trialists in 1964. Text:  During our childhood in Alexandra, our parents would be woken up by the peri-urban police between 3am and 4am every morning from Monday to Friday. ‘Maak oop die fokken deur!’ the young Afrikaner boys would yell while violently kicking open the house door and demanding to see passes and permits. Our parents needed to have both a pass and a permit. The permit showed the police who was eligible to sleep in the house. The pass was a different type of permit for people working in town. It meant that they had the right to be in Johannesburg, at least while they continued to work… You would have to pay a fine of R90 if you were arrested. Those who didn’t have the money would be sent to a farm to plant or dig up potatoes by hand for 90 days. People were given one rand per day for their labour on the farm, hence the 90 days. A lot of parents would run away naked or skimpily clothed because their papers were not in order. They would flee to an area near Alex called Marlboro, which in those days we called Emjeri. It was an area that had been cultivated by a group of Portuguese farmers before being abandoned. One of the decaying houses had an underground prison with chains for slaves. You would see a lot of parents coming back from hiding in Emjeri at around 6am. Other parents would stay until 7am at the latest, after which even those working close by had to move on if they didn’t want to be late for work. Neighbours would lend them clothes to cover themselves and try to lessen their humiliation. Coming across parents running naked in the streets as we were making our way to school or the local shops disturbed us. Their abuse violated the necessary sense of respect for adults that is fostered in children from all South African cultures, including, ironically, the Afrikaner one. Seeing your parent, or the parent of a nextdoor neighbour, naked on the street in fear of being arrested was simply not right. How do you relate to any parent you have seen naked? The topic would come up every time we met at street corners. In 1974 and 1975 we took a decision within a growing sense of our power as young people: ‘This is not right,’ we said. ‘If we don’t fight against this thing, it will never stop.’ We started by organising ourselves in our own area. Another youth group from 18th or 19th Avenue did the same. That is how the core of our growing group started on its mission to oppose the apartheid state. When the uprising happened in 1976, we were already fully committed and ready. After 1976, we escalated our resistance… As the middle of June came around in 1976, we said, ‘Let’s go and march and hand in a memorandum stating that we are not comfortable with writing mathematics in Afrikaans without being prepared for it.’ The purpose of our march, which was to begin in Orlando, Soweto, was to make a strong statement about our memorandum and petition. We planned to do this by gathering as many people as possible from the various schools in that area. The peaceful march was supposed to end at Orlando Stadium. We were on our way there when we were suddenly given short notice to disperse, quickly followed by the hullabaloo of the effects first of teargas, then of live bullets. When we heard that students had been injured and killed, we responded by burning cars and township administration offices in Alexandra. Hastings Ndlovu was the first student to be shot dead, before Hector Pieterson. But the main issue was not who was shot that day; it was that a student march had taken place to hand in a petition concerning student rights. On 17 June, a select group met at the back of Alexandra Stadium at about 5 pm to organise the response we would make the following day. Students were dressed as if they were going to soccer practice. That was when people were given tasks and responsibilities: who was going to do what, who was going to give the speech. ‘This is how it’s going to be tomorrow,’ we decided. ‘Take all your books and pretend that you’re going to school. We all go to school and we disrupt the classes. If we don’t go to class, we won’t have the same impact.’ The township was already organised and there was a great deal of tension around. Alex students doing their secondary schooling in Soweto, and students from the Shangani-language Bovet Higher Primary School that stood on the grounds of the Swiss Mission church, were involved. Groups from Pholosho Senior Primary, Gordon Higher Primary, Skeen Primary and the Lutheran School were present, too. The last group was from the coloured school at the corner of John Brand and 3rd Avenue. All those schools came together to present the memorandum that had not been handed over because the police had started shooting. The morning of 18 June was very cold. We set off, with Toto Skhosana and Japie Vilankulu leading us. Japie started chanting: ‘Are we afraid of them?’, after which Toto yelled: ‘Are we afraid?’ ‘No!’ the marchers responded. We chanted for a while longer before singing the sombre song ‘Senzeni na?’ (‘What have we done?’). We did not care if we died. As we continued to sing and march, we stopped at the Casino flat on 4th Avenue. Japie stood on the stoep, again asking: ‘Are we afraid of them?’ ‘No, we are not afraid!’ came our answer. The whole march couldn’t get to all those schools, so a predetermined group broke away at 6th Avenue to fetch the students from Gordon. Another breakaway group went to Skeen Higher Primary. The students at the coloured school who were supposed to join in the march remained stuck in the school because their headmaster refused to let them out. We regrouped at the corner of 4th Avenue. There was no evidence of a police response. All was well. At that moment, though, a notorious black policeman named Sibeko who was known for harassing our parents drove through in a Datsun van painted in that greenish-brownish military colour. He was pulled out of the vehicle, kicked and stabbed. I don’t know whether he was killed. We turned right towards the Putco bus rank at 1st Avenue. Two white policemen were reporting for duty. When they saw the crowd of students, they drove on as if nothing was happening. I caught sight of a police Valiant. Furious and wanting revenge for the events of June 16, I threw a stone that landed in the middle of the windscreen and broke it. The car sped away towards the police station. That was the first time a police car had been stoned, and the other students gained strength from that gesture. We marched down towards the coloured school because we needed those students to join the march. The shooting began on 3rd Avenue. We dispersed and met at the Lutheran church at 7th Avenue that became the venue for Sub A and Sub B education. I remember that a student called Ntwaza lost the school bell for Alexandra Secondary when he threw it down in the chaos. As we hid there, we started talking about a beer hall down the road. In those days, beer halls were symbols of oppression to many people, especially for those who were politically aware. ‘Let’s go and burn it,’ we yelled. A lot of people went there, broke in and started looting. Some people reversed a bus into the venue, removed the safe and went after the beer in a big way. The march had turned from a student march into something else. We next moved on to 12th Avenue, where some people broke into the welfare office next to the Jersey Joe Boxing Club and started giving out blankets. Some adults among the crowd covered themselves in the blankets and rolled on the ground as if they were kids playing. Meanwhile, from 12th to 8th avenues on Selborne Street there was suddenly a fierce battle with the police, who started to shoot without warning. I ran away as soon as this happened. ‘I’ve played my role, let me go back home,’ I told myself. Page 40 Reframing Issues At the age of 50, a freedom fighter discovers he is a king NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023

Reframing Issues Page 41 Zimbabwe’s impending elections: A challenge for international observers LARRY GARBER ZIMBABWEANS head to the polls on 23 August for the second time since Robert Mugabe’s nearly four decades in power ended in 2017. As many countries do, Zimbabwe has invited international observers to monitor the elections. But delays in inviting and then accrediting such missions and limits imposed on their activities suggest the government is doing so somewhat reluctantly. The tensions pose significant challenges for those observing the upcoming elections and, more generally, for anyone concerned about the role of observers in assessing the quality of electoral processes around the world. Given  ongoing negotiations  with the international community to clear the country’s debt arrears, Zimbabwe’s government needs the imprimatur that international observers could provide but is sensitive to any potential criticism of its conduct. Still, even in the short time left before the vote, there are steps the government can take to enhance the quality of the elections. Zimbabwe’s history suggests that the government’s actions are not the result merely of entrenched bureaucratic processes but reflect a determined effort to limit the scope of the observation effort. President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government may have an interest in obscuring conditions that hinder a free and fair vote. The human rights situation in Zimbabwe is demonstrably worse than five years ago – Amnesty International recently  described it  as “a brutal crackdown on human rights, especially the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association.” Among the abuses: the Zimbabwean government successfully engineered the break-up of the main opposition party that contested the 2018 elections by awarding the party assets to a minority faction;  few proposed electoral reforms have been enacted;  opposition activists have been arrested and detained  for significant periods; popular distrust has increased regarding the independence of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and the judiciary; opposition candidates are being removed from the ballot on questionable legal grounds, although court rulings have reversed the most egregious cases; and the government continues to provide economic and social benefits to supporters of the ruling party that are denied to the opposition. My involvement with Zimbabwe’s elections, while sporadic, has spanned almost 40 years. It began in 1985, when I joined three colleagues as part of a modest international effort on behalf of a small human rights organization based in the United States. The Mugabe government’s response to our request to observe was telling: it allowed us the freedom to travel around the country and to speak with whomever we chose, but it declined to accredit our small team, which would have provided access inside polling stations. Some Improvements in 2018 The situation improved considerably in 2018, when I co-directed an international observer delegation organised by the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute (IRI and NDI, respectively). The newly installed government of Mnangagwa, who had been Mugabe’s vice president and took office after a 2017 coup, was  seeking to project a new era of engagement with Western democracies. He welcomed international observers and facilitated their operations. I arrived in Zimbabwe in midApril 2018, well before the election was scheduled, and remained for a month beyond the July 30 election day. Our delegation was accredited to observe all aspects of the election process and to deploy long-term observers in all 10 provinces for more than a month prior to the elections. And a high-level pre-election assessment mission engaged with key government officials and articulated, two months before election day, a set of recommendations to enhance the quality of the elections. The run-up to the vote was less violent than previous elections and election day administrative processes worked well. The  IRI/NDI delegation  noted “several improvements to the electoral process compared to Zimbabwe’s past elections.” Nonetheless, the delegation concluded that, “equally important problems give rise to deep concerns that the process thus far has not made the mark.” The government was not happy with this critical bottom line, which hindered their campaign to lift  sanctions  that had been imposed by the United States and the European Union since the early 2000s. The run-up to the 2023 elections has presented many of the challenges encountered in elections prior to 2018 and some of the same from that year as well. The president  announced  the 23 August election date on 31 May, within the legally prescribed time period, and the electoral commission established regulations five days later for submitting applications for both domestic and international observer accreditation. But the accreditation process took time, so the first international observers sponsored by the European Union, for example, did not begin arriving until the end of June, less than two months before the election. In addition, observers were not authorised to monitor the setting of district boundaries following the new census and voter registration processes, which took place prior to the proclamation of the election date. Enhancing Election Credibility Under these circumstances, one can legitimately ask what purpose international observers will serve.  However, even in the limited period left before election day, observers can suggest steps that can be taken to enhance the credibility of the vote. A few examples: • Political parties should be authorised to organise rallies with minimal hassle and with adequate protection from the security forces, unlike a  pattern reported recently  of police banning opposition rallies, citing shortage of resources; • The design and printing of the ballots should be conducted in a transparent manner; • The multi-party liaison committees authorised by law to ensure that problems are addressed in real time should be convened on a regular basis in each of the provinces and with the ability to ensure that corrective actions are taken. Zimbabwean activists overwhelmingly welcome the presence of international observers. They expect the international observers to deter or identify the most blatant election-day rigging, and to offer an objective assessment of the overall electoral process. They expect that international observers will do more than merely comment on election day events but will emphasise that honest, credible, and transparent elections are defined also by the political and security environment before and after election day. In this regard, the European Union and Carter Centre, with their  rigorous standards and considerable experience  with election observation in settings like Zimbabwe, will be particularly important. Moreover, data collected by Zimbabwe’s wealth of civil society organisations  during the past 10 months will contribute to the ability of international observers to provide a comprehensive analysis of the entire election process and to comment more broadly than on the election-day events alone. To avoid Zimbabwe’s approach serving as precedent for future elections in other countries, international organisations should carefully consider appropriate responses.  Indeed, once the elections are complete, international organisations such as the Carter Center, IRI, NDI, and the European Union, should review existing policies and practices  for observing elections in situations where the host government limits the time for onthe-ground observation to take place and imposes other constraints. While such actions may be within the sovereign rights of government, they suggest an antagonism toward the observation process that adversely impacts the multiple goals of international observation. The challenges facing Zimbabwe will not end on 23 August, as the negotiations over the country’s debt arrears attest. Whatever the outcome of this election cycle, officials in Washington and Brussels will have to be cognizant of both the economic and social needs of the population and the imperative of supporting the evolution of democratic institutions. Experience in Zimbabwe alone demonstrates just how difficult the task will be. — Just Security. *About the writer: Larry Garber is an independent consultant with more than 35 years of experience working on issues relating to international development, democratic elections, and human rights. The views expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of any organisation with which he has been affiliated. NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023

Page 42 Reframing Issues World News MATTHEW MARE THE Marriage Act Chapter 5.11 in sections 20 and 21 allows marriage of minors by written consent of their legal guardians. If the consent of the legal guardian(s) cannot be obtained for whatever reason, a judge of the High Court may grant consent of the marriage. The Act makes it possible for African Independent Churches (AICs) in general and Johanne Marange Apostolic Church (JMAC) in particular to have its theological practices permitting parents to marry off minors and consent on behalf of their children. The Marriages Act in Zimbabwe is at cross purpose with the fight to end women and children abuse. In assessing the relationship between Human Rights and theology in JMAC it is equally important to highlight the legal position. The Human Rights discourse should be discussed in light of the laws of Zimbabwe vis-avis the position of the church with regard to human rights issues. The Marriage Act in Section 22 states that no boy aged below 18 and no girl aged below 16 can marry except with the written consent of the minister of justice, legal and parliamentary affairs. This means that girls can marry at 16 years of age. In addition to Section 22 of the marriage act in Zimbabwe, the General Law Amendment Act Chapter 8.07 in section 15(5) permits the operation of laws that grant majority status at an age earlier than 18 years. This can be related to the marriage act which states that once a girl gets married whilst a minor, she automatically becomes a major and does not lose this status even if she divorces whilst still a minor. Zimbabwe has a dual legal system thus it recognises both the civil and customary laws and, in this study, whilst the civil laws do not condone rights denials; the customary law does not fully protect the rights of women and children. The Marriage Act is not gender sensitive in that it does not fully protect the girl child against early marriage. The Marriage Act in Zimbabwe is at variance with the International conventions for example the Convention on the Rights of Children and Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women as well as pressure groups in the manner of Msasa Project. The Maintenance Act Chapter 5.06 defines a child as a person under the age of 16 years and a young person as someone aged 16 years, but below 18 years. The same act defines a legal guardian to mean a husband of a girl who is under 18 years of age. This means that, while the customary law recognises that, any person below the age of 18 is not yet an adult, it however, permits and recognises the marriage of under 18 girls. The provisions are reflected in the theology of JMAC where under 18 aged girls are married off to elder polygamous persons. Customarily, one is considered to be a legal person through either attaining the age of 18 years and or through the institution of marriage as is defined under Maintenance Act Chapter 5.06 of the customary law. The Maintenance Act Chapter 5.09 Section 11 states that maintenance of a child shall cease when they marry, meaning that the act recognises child marriages. In addition to the Maintenance Act Chapter 5.09, section 8 of the Matrimonial Causes Act states that a maintenance order in favour of a child shall cease when the child marries meaning it recognises child marriages. This provision defines adulthood in terms of marriage and not through the legal age of majority. While, in the past AICs came under intense criticism for Human Rights abuses, there is no scholarship that has attempted to establish the interface between human rights and the theology of JMAC to ascertain the extent to which JMAC theology is at variance with human rights on women and children. The critical analysis of the constitution helps the study to attain a rounded picture of the nature that exists between the two variables and determine the extent to which the relationship affects women and children rights in AICs in general and JMAC in particular. The Guardian of Minors Act Chapter 5.08 states in Section 4(1)(b) that a parent who is granted sole guardianship shall have power to consent to the marriage of a minor child. This is to say, in Zimbabwe, it is permitted to marry a minor with the consent of the legal guardian. If this clause is anything to go by, the marriage of minors with aid of legal guardians is permissible at law. These are some of the controversial clauses being utilised by churches such as JMAC to legalise child marriages. The Act represents the state and through its laws one can measure the seriousness of the state in addressing the rights of women and children. It is pertinent to note that there is no specific Act of Parliament against child marriages other than basing on the Constitutional Court ruling on the 20th of January 2016, in which marriage of children under the age of 18 years has been outlawed. The ruling was widely celebrated as a milestone development in preserving the sexual reproductive health rights for minors who are below the age of 18. In abolishing child marriages, the constitutional court of Zimbabwe has given life to section 81. However, there is need to realign any laws which are at variance with the judgement. The Constitution of Zimbabwe in terms of section 81 guarantees that children under the age of 18 have the right to be protected by the law. But children in JMAC are not being protected by the law as the constitution demands. About the writer: Dr Matthew Mare is a Zimbabwean academic who holds two bachelor’s degrees, five master’s qualifications and a PhD. He is also doing another PhD and has 12 executive certificates in different fields. Professionally, he is a civil servant and also board member at the National Aids Council of Zimbabwe. The Marriage Act and minors Marriages Act in Zimbabwe is at cross purpose with the fight to end women and children abuse. NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023

Reframing Issues Page 43 SISHUWA SISHUWA AFTER the 2021 political transition, the strength of Zambia’s civil society, which served as a check on power since the early-2000s, has been gravely undermined by two major developments. The first has been the mass recruitment into the government of the most influential elites from civil society who spoke truth to power under the Patriotic Front (PF). When former president Edgar  Lungu undermined democracy, for instance, the actions and words of certain individuals – from academia, professional associations, churches – helped shape public opinion and held him to account. The  most outspoken civic leaders and public commentators under the PF included Pamela Chisanga, Judith Mulenga, Felicity Kalunga, Chama Fumba alias Pilato, Laura Miti, Fr Emmanuel Chikoya, Musa Mwenye, Bishop John Mambo, Pamela Sambo, O’Brien Kaaba, McDonald Chipenzi, Nicholas Phiri, Elias Munshya, Chibamba Kanyama, Rueben Lifuka, John Sangwa, Linda Kasonde, Muna Ndulo, Brebner Changala, and Telesphore Mpundu. Following his election, President Hakainde Hichilema moved to appoint the first 14 of these 20 prominent individuals to diplomatic missions, the civil service, parastatals boards, and other public bodies. While this may have benefited the government, the mass recruitment of experienced non-state actors has significantly weakened the capacity of civil society. A few of these former activists now overly praise Hichilema and defend government decisions at every turn. The second development is the failure of the remaining civic organisations to effectively hold the government to account. Except for a few forthright and principled actors such as Changala and Archbishop Mpundu, many of the civic bodies and commentators who challenged Lungu and the PF are now willfully silent, even when the same wrongs or injustices they previously criticised occur. The rest speak with a new purpose: shielding President Hichilema and his ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) administration from responsibility or blame. Where they attempt to offer criticism of government actions or Hichilema’s leadership, the criticism is so lukewarm that even its target probably sees it for what it ultimately is: flattery or kowtowing of the elite variety. Zambia’s mainstream civil society has become severely compromised. Nothing best demonstrates this point than a statement issued by a collection of civil society organisations on the cost-of-living crisis dated 2 August 2023. The statement is so hollow and poor on all accounts that silence by its nine signatories would have been golden. To avoid misinterpreting what the civil society organisations said, it is worth quoting and scrutinising their statement on a paragraph-by-paragraph basis. The organisations start with a heading of their statement and the subject of their concern.  “JOINT CSO PRESS STATEMENT DATED 2ND AUGUST 2023 ON THE RISING COST OF LIVING IN ZAMBIA We, the undersigned Civil Society Organizations, note with concern the rising cost of living in Zambia.” This section is very important. We learn from it that the statement addresses the burning issue in Zambia today: the cost-of-living crisis. We also learn from here that the signatories to the statement represent Zambia’s foremost civil society organisations. The undersigned are nine institutions that include a church mother body and the country’s numerous and geographically diffuse women’s organisations housed in the Non-governmental Gender Organisations’ Coordinating Council (NGOCC). The signatories to the statement are ActionAid Zambia, Alliance for Community Action, Bloggers of Zambia, Chapter One Foundation, Centre for Trade Policy and Development, Council for Christian Churches in Zambia, Transparency International Zambia, NGOCC, and Zambia Council for Social Development. I cannot imagine any collection of civic organisations in Zambia today that would beat these in terms of stature. When civic organisations that represent the best of Zambia’s civil society movement come together to issue a press statement on the cost-of-living crisis, their action is significant and deserves to be taken seriously. This is because a statement from such eminences is supposed to enlighten us about the history of the crisis, the current state of the crisis, and how the country should confront or resolve it. So, what exactly have these civic eminences said in their statement?   Civil society: “The cost of living as measured by the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflections’ (JCTR’s) Basic Needs and Nutrition Basket (BNNB) has been on the rise reaching a mid-year average point of K9,126.40 in Lusaka, while the national average basket stands at K6,466.04 for a family of five. The rise in the cost of living has been on account for several factors including the rise in commodity prices such as mealie meal and retail fuel pump prices. Inflation has remained in its double digits at 10.3% in the month of June 2023 keeping it outside the target range of 6-8%.  Similarly, the Kwacha has continued to depreciate against major global currencies averaging K19.05 per US Dollar in the first half of the year. The cost of the country’s staple food, mealie meal, has increased to a record level of K300 per 25kg bag in some parts of the country. Just yesterday, the retail pump prices of petroleum products were equally increased. Petrol was increased by 2.57% while low Sulphur diesel by 6.81% and they are now selling at K25.57 and K23.36 per litre respectively.” This eclectic assembly of statistics from the JCTR on the Basic Needs Basket, the rate of inflation and the prices of the core variables in Zambia totally conceals the actual conditions of life of most ordinary Zambians. One would expect these august organisations to have intimate socioeconomic knowledge of the everyday life in the communities they purport to serve. Official figures show that 8 out of 10 adult Zambians are not in any gainful employment. Half of this lot stopped looking for work long ago. The other half is young and the dream for a formal job has not yet been snuffed out of them. The age dependency ratio of working-age population in Zambia stands at  80.52 percent. What the country is facing is not a crisis of youth unemployment. It is a crisis of employment, as over 80 percent of the population is below the age of 35. We do not have a significant old population. Additionally, 97 percent of Zambia’s economy is made up of small and medium enterprises, which contribute 70 percent of GDP. Instead of prefacing their statement with a scientific description of the concrete conditions of life for the average Zambian, the civic bodies chose to hide the actual social crisis. We expect these groups to remind us that Hichilema was elected to power in August 2021  because the conditions of life for most Zambians had already deteriorated to unbearable levels. It is those conditions that have worsened over the last two years. Why have these eminent civic organisations consciously concealed this? Given their combined experience, wisdom, and access to data — since they purport to be working in our communities — why have they robbed us of an analysis of the horrible conditions of life in Zambia today, where mass unemployment and informalisation of economic activity has meant that ordinary people are removed from the small formal sector that is dominated by foreign entities? A careless assembly of a few statistics is not what Zambians are interested in. They are interested in seeing that the cost of living is lowered and that their basic needs are guaranteed. The core ingredients both in economic and domestic life of any people are electricity, petrol, diesel, rent, transport, and food. The statement from the civil society organisations tells us absolutely nothing about what has happened to these fundamentals between 12 August 2021, when Hichilema took office, and now. Why?  Civil society: “As Civil Society, we are also concerned with the way Government is undertaking the process of removing vendors from the street. While we are in support of the actions to remove vendors from the streets and re-allocate them in designated marketplaces, it would have been important for Government to adequately sensitize the vendors on the merits of this process. The majority of Zambian’s are in the informal sector, hence removing them from the streets without clear adequate alternative spaces would make their lives quite unbearable.” There is a fundamental contradiction here.  On the one hand, the eminent civic organisations declare their support for the removal of ordinary Zambians from the most concentrated site of economic activity — the street. On the other, they acknowledge the absence of ‘adequate alternative spaces.’ Why are civic leaders supporting the elimination of poor people from the street when they themselves are not sure where these ordinary Zambians will end up? There is something wrong about this kind of civic activism. Removing or not removing the traders is not the issue. The issue is that it is unacceptable for the  government  to take away poor people’s source of livelihood without first creating a superior substitute. Some of these civic organisations are supposed to be defending our constitutional rights. The primary right we all have is the right to life which is connected to economic activity. To support the killing of the sites of portent economic struggle for impoverished Zambians, before adequate alternatives are provided, amounts to committing economic genocide against the poor. For the majority of people who eke a living from the street, the micro capital they have cannot support or sustain them in the formal market, where they are required to buy a stand. These civic institutions should know this, since, going by their names, they deal with grassroots life and communities.  Civil society: “The soaring cost of living is already causing great hardship to many Zambians, the majority of whom are just scraping a living. The situation may be worsened by the removal of vendors from the streets without alternatives as it leaves a handful of them without trading places and ultimately with no incomes to support their livelihoods.” Here, the key psychological phrase is a handful of them. By deploying the expression, the civic bodies are attempting to minimise the number of those affected. It is not a handful of people who are affected; it is a mass of poor people who operate in the informal sector. In Zambia, the formal sector is the anomaly; the informal one is the normal. According to the latest official labour force report, 73 percent of the employed Zambian population work informally. Since 1991, Zambians have collapsed into a heap of undiluted poverty, mass unemployment and extreme inequalities. The portion of the population that is involved in genuine systemic and structural employment has dwindled to almost an insignificant percentage of the actual total labour force, most of which is either unemployed or eking out a miserable living from the street or from tilling the land. Arguably, there is a very tiny capitalist class, largely of the ‘businessman type’, which however is incapable of giving Zambia any ‘national character’ complete with the liberal claptrap about ‘rule of law’ and ‘respect for the constitution’, let alone any semblance of morality, especially in the public domain and in politics. This social base is grown on the ever-shrinking real economy. Zambia is an impoverished country, materially and culturally, notwithstanding its natural wealth. We Zambians have absolutely no control, whatsoever, over our country’s economic life. Foreign capital reigns supreme. Some of the members of the middle class and politicians survive on getting kickbacks from representatives of foreign capital. This is the wider economic and social context that has condemned many ordinary Zambians to vending on the street. Poor people are working on the street not out of choice but lack of better options. The reality is that the government has not  created  sufficient and life-affirming formal markets across the capital city and the country more generally capable of Zambia President Hakainde Hichilema Civil society has collapsed in Hakainde Hichilema’s Zambia NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023

Page 44 Reframing Issues World News accommodating everyone if they left the street. In other words, market stalls are inadequate, even if available vendors will be required to purchase or rent them from the civic authorities and asked to pay daily levies when they make a pittance from their sales. And the cost of living is not soaring. It is an acute crisis. Acute because it was worse when Hichilema, who promised to reduce the price of mealie meal, fertiliser, petrol, diesel, paraffin and cooking oil, and the general cost of living, was elected. Since then, the cost of all these things has gone up and life has become impossibly hard for the majority Zambians.  Civil society: “We also note that the high cost of living in countries such as Kenya and Nigeria have led to civil unrest. Indeed, economic hardship provides fertile ground for populist and authoritarian expressions to take root in the country. Zambia has just emerged from a long period of economic and democratic decline which ordinary Zambians are still paying for today.” To confidently assert that Zambia has emerged from a long period of economic decline suggests the corner has been turned, that things are better now for ordinary people. Consciously or unconsciously, this was a very good public relations campaign by our eminent civic actors for Hichilema and his friends in government. No! The truth is that things in Zambia are bad, really bad! There is no ‘emerging’ when it comes to the cost-ofliving crisis. The intolerable conditions of life for majority Zambians have worsened over the past two years, pushing many poor people closer to the grave than they were in August 2021. This is extremely unjust. It is, in fact, undemocratic. Hichilema and the UPND must be grateful that Zambia has a non-militant and non-combative population. Elsewhere, the worsening living conditions since August 2021 would have seen people peacefully take to the streets in exercise of their right to protest. The importation of examples of what happens when most people cannot afford to meet basic needs is a passive way of concealing the rising anger and frustration among Zambians. We have enough examples at home to understand what happens when a government starves or fails to feed millions of its population. When Kenneth Kaunda,  in the 1980s, presided over terrible conditions – some of them instigated, like now, by International Monetary Fund (IMF) policies – that made Zambia a tinderbox, the majority poor protested. Even after Kaunda abandoned the IMF prescriptions, more food protests occurred,  some turning deadly, and he was ousted from power at the next competitive election in 1991. What is perhaps shocking is that today’s generation of Zambians, who have known so much misery at the hands of this and previous administrations, are not responding to these government invitations to rebel against our sub-human existence. What kind of human beings are we, Zambians? Elsewhere, the people will rise to peacefully protest in the spirit of defiance, fight with limitless courage in pursuit of a better life and happiness, in order to reclaim their dignity. Our civil society — and the UPND government whose anti-poor terrible policies it is supporting — should thank Zambians for our passiveness — while it lasts. If the assorted civic elites do not want people to rise against Hichilema, they should demand that the president and his friends in government must create conditions that make it possible for citizens to actualise their full potential, to enjoy their freedoms and lead meaningful lives. Unless drastic measures are taken now to arrest the cost-of-living crisis, civil unrest cannot be ruled out. Where we are coming from and where we are now is as clear as where we may end up. Arising from an extremely weak understanding of  the crisis of poverty in Zambia affecting the majority, civil society’s suggested recommendations of what needs to be done to address the issue are as shocking as the preamble of the statement. This is precisely because the premise from which the civic bodies are rising conceals the debilitating poverty that assaults the average Zambian. Let us look at the individual recommendations from our civil society on the question of what is to be done.   “We therefore call on the government to – • Meaningfully and effectively communicate with the Zambian people on the state of the economy and outline measures they are undertaking to address emerging challenges from the social and economic reforms currently being undertaken. The suggestion here is that Hichilema and the UPND have sustained us in a state of ignorance about the supposedly good things they are doing, for us. To remedy this problem, they need to communicate to us ‘meaningfully and effectively’ about the state of the economy. The implication is that what Hichilema needs to do is to dismiss Minister of Information  Chushi Kasanda  and the relevant officials at State House who are failing to communicate the wonderful things he is doing for us. Once the president finds better liars, our problem would be solved; we will no longer suffer. There is something extremely patronising and quite insulting about this. The problem is not the lack of communication. Neither is it Chushi Kasanda or Clayson Hamasaka – notwithstanding their many failings. The problem is that Hichilema is failing to honour what he promised:  lower the cost of living and of doing business. Why is this collection of our august civil society organisations failing to call him out on this straightforward issue?  Zambians do not need to be told ‘meaningfully and effectively’ that they are suffering. They know and understand their misery better. What they want is simple: concrete solutions to their everyday problems, which include expensive petrol, diesel, fertiliser, ‘saladi’, mealie meal, transport, food, and other basic services. Zambians elected Hichilema because he — not Kasanda, Hamasaka, or anyone else — undertook to reduce their hardships, their suffering. Two years down the line, the prices of essential commodities are all rising faster. We do not want any explanation for this. We want the prices to go down. The primary responsibility of the government is not to explain our problems; it is to solve them. Urgent measures need to be taken to lower the cost of living, now. Instead of worrying about how the UPND is communicating, civil society must demand answers from Hichilema on why the prices of essential commodities are not going down. Recently, the president said the prices of basic services will “stabilise” soon. In case Hichilema does not know or he has forgotten, we did not vote for him to stabilise prices. We voted for lower prices, and Hichilema graphically showed us how he would reduce them. He looked and sounded brilliant then. Where has that brilliance gone?  • “Government should consider further activation of the Zambia National Service and the Zambia Correctional service to get on board and contribute towards maize production, this will help alleviate the rising costs related to mealie meal, further to that, it will create new job opportunities for the young people;” There are two problems with this section. The first is the deliberate attempt by civil society to indirectly offer a justification for the high prices of mealie meal: shortage of maize. Their suggestion makes it look like the problem confronting Zambia is the low supply of maize. This is false. The government has told us that we have too much maize and consequently must export lots of it to needy African countries. If the issue is about scarcity of maize, shouldn’t the civic leaders be advising the government to immediately stop the export of maize – as opposed to treating it like any other commodity – in order to meet domestic needs? Shouldn’t they take issue with Minister of Agriculture Mtolo Phiri who recently announced that the government will soon kill agriculture in rural areas by stopping the Farmer Input Support Programme — the very facility that sustains Zambians in mineral-lacking rural areas and one that has contributed to national food security, thanks to hardworking rural farmers? The second problem is that the proposal to activate national and correctional services to start producing more maize ignores the urgency of the issue at hand: the fact that Zambians are hungry today and want their hunger to be attended to, now. It is mockery of extreme insensitivity to tell a hungry person that they should wait for food in the unknown future. Zambians are not interested in the methods the UPND will use to reduce the price of essential commodities. What they want is affordable food, now. Our civic leaders should have advised the government to take drastic measures such as subsidising mealie meal production to calm the rising domestic prices. Recently, India, a top rice exporter accounting for 40 percent of the global trade in the cereal, banned the export of rice to calm the escalating prices at home. The government of India, a country with a huge prison system, did not ‘activate’ the Indian prison services to produce more rice. They acted decisively because they understand that the protection of the domestic food market is the primary responsibility of any responsible government. In contrast, the Zambian government has just exported one million tonnes of mealie meal to the Democratic Republic of Congo! At a time when the major institutions of the world such as the World Food Programme, Food and Agricultural Organisation, and Oxfam are telling everyone that we are headed towards a huge global food crisis, Hichilema and his friends in government are celebrating taking out of the country a commodity that is out of reach for its starving population.   • With regards to clean up exercise on street vending, while this is move is welcome, government will need to provide the assurance on the adequacy of alternative trading spaces, this calls for improved and reliable communication on where those alternatives are, and on the carrying capacity of those trading spaces; Here, the civic bodies are referring to the recent decision by the government to remove, on sanitary explanations, informal investors from plying their trade on the streets of Lusaka, despite lack of evidence that the affected can all be accommodated in formal stalls. Here is the actual problem: why should assurances of adequate trading spaces be provided after removal? Isn’t the job of civil society to stop the government from acting until it has guaranteed adequate and open alternative sources of livelihood to the poor? Zambia needs new civic actors to protect the poor from these civic institutions whose only response to the state-instigated hardships on vendors is that the state should communicate in a reliable fashion. Poor Zambians should have no illusions about whose interest these civic bodies serve. This is civil society for the minority: those in power and the tiny formal sector. It is important for the poor in Zambia to see all the organisations that signed the statement for what they really are to them: their real class enemies. It is worth noting that when it comes to their class, Hichilema and his friends in government have failed to raze down the houses in the  controversial Forest 27, as they promised during campaigns. Instead, they have regularised the constructions because those affected can easily put up a legal fight. But they have no problem with disrupting the lives of the poor vendors since they know that they are defenceless. The UPND Deputy Secretary General Gertrude Imenda is now telling us that the government can do as it pleases to these vendors because they are a dispensable and insignificant voting constituency. It is a mark of Zambian discipline – or lack of collective political consciousness – that the poor have not risen to peacefully demand the exit of Hichilema from power the same way he has removed them from the streets. Anyone who still harbours lingering doubts about the callousness, extreme cruelty, and selfishness of the ruling elite in Zambia today should simply listen carefully to the government’s response to the statement from civil society on the cost-of-living crisis: “The cost of living has not risen at all…Who says because of removing street vendors, then the cost of living has risen? That’s total nonsense…. There is no hardship. People are used to easy life like they were doing it in PF where people were getting money anyhow and throwing it away. This time, work hard and get your money. The president wants people to be doing something.” Here, we see a very senior government minister communicating to two targeted audiences. One is the suffering majority whose hardships he contemptuously dismisses as merely a figment of their poverty-impaired imagination. For things are okay in Zambia – anyone who says anything to the contrary is playing cheap politics! The other targeted audience is our civic eminences, whose assertion that the problem is lack of communication is rejected as invalid. The problem, according to the government, is that majority Zambians are hungry and poor because they are lazy, do not work hard, and are simply used to cheap, free things. This nasty trashing of the poor shows that the UPND are so arrogant that they cannot distinguish friendly fire from enemy fire: to them, all fires must be repelled, no matter how harmless. The only language such politicians understand is electoral defeat or loss of power.  • Consider convening an economic indaba, this will greatly help in communicating to the citizens the state of economic and social affairs in the country, it will equally help citizens better understand measures government may be exploring to address challenges related to their livelihood; and This is a classic elite, USAID-like, response to problems: convene a workshop! Here, our prime civil society organisations are returning to the theme of communication. According to their civic eminences, the problem is not extreme poverty nor the anti-poor policies of Hichilema and his UPND. It is that the  hungry citizens  have not been provided with communication that is good enough to calm them down, to persuade them to accept their status. The measures being taken by the government to address their plight — measures that we are not told — are good. The real problem, according to the nine-member group, is that Hichilema and his friends in government are failing to communicate to this hungry mass of ignorant bodies. In other words, the assumption by our civil society is that the poor are stupid and ignorant, and that they need to be brought in one place — possibly at the Taj Pamodzi Hotel — and fed with a carefully prepared statement that explains their degrading and lowly existence. Once this is done, they would happily return home, satisfied with the newly-found understanding of why they must remain poor and not sell things on the street, or of ‘the state of economic and social affairs in the country’. I do not think even the public relations team of the ruling party could have managed to put up this perfect excuse in order to shield Hichilema and the government from blame or criticism. If a house is burning, the solution is not to call for an indaba on fires; it is to put out the fire. Zambians do not require an indaba or debate forum. They want solutions to their immediate problems: the skyrocketing prices of mealie meal, ‘saladi’, fuel, transport, sugar, and food. Before the election, Hichilema presented himself as a genius at solving those problems. Let him solve them now. The task of civil society, as is the responsibility of the rest of us, is to hold him to account based on the promises he already made. I do understand though — and I am even sympathetic to — the primary impulses that are causing individuals including those in civil society today to betray public interest and identify themselves with the ruling elite. In an impoverished country like Zambia where the state is the dominant employer, the ability to stay alive requires association with the government of the moment. The price of dissenting, of challenging the government, of being in the minority, is very high. I know this from personal experience under this administration and previous governments. It is a grave mistake, I think, for the government to weaken civil society by conscripting most of those who stood up to Lungu and the PF into government bodies. I ask Hichilema and the UPND to not destroy civil society this way – they need it. It is wrong for the state to have a  predatory strategy  towards its critics. They simply succeed in diluting their sources of legitimate criticism and positive reflections on their performance. The result is mediocrity amplified everywhere and loss of public voices to point out critical failings of the state. It is a strategy that is counterproductive and one that ultimately weakens Zambia’s democracy. A more fruitful relationship, in my view, is to pay attention to the substantiative content of independent criticism and opinions while protecting the independence of critics. No democracy is without critics and no government anywhere in the world believes itself to be perfect.  • Engage meaningfully with critical stakeholders in industry and civil society on various social and economic reforms being undertaken, this will help with consensus building on a number of issues.  At this stage, it is hard to know if the subject of the statement is still ‘the rising cost of living’. The operative words in this section are critical and consensus building. Our civic eminences have decided that the reason why things are as they are in Zambia today is because the government is not talking to two ‘critical stakeholders’: themselves and unidentified players from industry. Civil society is also telling Hichilema and his friends in government that there is disagreement ‘on various social and economic reforms being undertaken’ and that the solution is to hire the two identified groups to become the consensus builders for the UPND. Who decided to bring together the prime civic organisations of our country to defend the party in government this way? If this is the state and quality of civil society in Zambia today, then the statement confirms the collapse of this key institution or, at the very least, the fading power of its watchdog role. As the gulf between the worsening state of the economy and Hichilema’s hollow rhetoric to the contrary widens by the day, the UPND, which lacks effective spin-doctors, is likely to be more brutal than the PF because the ruling party now knows that its abuses will not provoke vocal criticism from civil society. Any onslaught on democratic rights by Hichilema, criticised by the opposition as a stooge of foreign mining companies and Western countries, is also unlikely to attract much outrage from the West, whose governments and diplomats have so far avoided criticising their malleable partner.  Every regime has its own civic institutions and intellectuals. What largely exists in Zambia today is civil society for Hichilema and the UPND. When will a genuinely independent and pro-poor people civil society emerge? — Mail & Guardian. *About the writer: Sishuwa Sishuwa is a Zambian writer, historian and senior lecturer at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023

Reframing Issues Page 45 BHASO NDZENDZE/ SIPHAMANDLA ZONDI EAGER to  escape perceived western domination, several countries – mostly in the global south – are looking to join the  Brics  bloc. The five-country bloc (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) is also looking to grow its global partnerships. What began in 2001 as an acronym for four of the fastest growing states, Bric (Brazil, Russia, India and China), is projected to account for 45% of global GDP in purchasing power parity terms by 2030. It has evolved into a political formation as well. Crucial to this was these countries’ decision to form their own club  in 2009, instead of joining an expanded G7 as envisioned by former Goldman Sachs CEO Jim O’Neill, who coined the term “Bric”. Internal cohesion on key issues has emerged and continues to be refined, despite challenges. South Africa joined the group after a Chinese-initiated invitation  in 2010; a boost for then president Jacob Zuma’s administration, which was eager to pivot further to the east. The bloc also gained by having a key African player and regional leader. Ever since, the grouping has taken on a more pointedly political tone, particularly on the need to  reform global institutions, in addition to its original economic raison d’etre. The possibility of its enlargement has dominated headlines in the run up to its 15th summit in Johannesburg on 22-24 August. We are political scientists whose research interests include changes to the global order and emerging alternative centres of power. In our view, it won’t be easy to expand the bloc. That’s because the group is still focused on harmonising its vision, and the potential new members do not readily make the cut. Some may even bring destabilising dynamics for the current composition of the formation. This matters because it tells us that the envisioned change in the global order is likely to be much slower. Simply put, while some states are opposed to western  hegemony, they do not yet agree among themselves on what the new alternative should be. Evolution of Brics Brics’ overtly political character  partially draws  on a long history of non-alignment as far back as the Bandung Conference of 1955. It was attended mostly by recently decolonised states and independence movements intent on asserting themselves against Cold War superpowers – the Soviet Union and the United States. Brics has come to be viewed as challenging the counter hegemony of the US and its allies, seen as meddling in the internal affairs of other states. Reuters estimates that  more than 40 states  are aspiring to join Brics. South African diplomat Anil Sooklal says 13 had formally applied by May 2023. Many, though not all, of the aspiring joiners have this overtly political motivation of countering US hegemony. The other important incentive is access to funds from the Brics’ New Development Bank. This is especially pronounced in the post-Covid climate in which many economies are yet to fully recover. Of course the two can overlap, as in the case of Iran. The notable applicants have  included  Saudi Arabia, Belarus,  Ethiopia, Argentina, Algeria, Iran, Mexico, and Turkey. Expanded Brics A strategically expanded Brics would be seismic for the world order, principally in economic terms. Key among the club’s reported priorities is reduction of reliance on the US dollar (“de-dollarisation” of the global economy). One of the hurdles to this is the lack of buy-in by much of the world. Though some states may disagree with the dollar’s dominance, they still see it as the most reliable. Given the extent of globalisation, it’s unlikely that there will be attempts to chip away at the west’s access to strategic minerals and trade routes as happened during the  Suez Crisis of 1956, at the height of the Cold War. Instead, the new joiners would likely use their new Brics membership to better bargain with their western partners, having more options on hand. Herein lies the challenge (and the paradox) with BRICS expansion. On one hand, the grouping is not yet offering anything concrete to justify such drastic measures as de-dollarisation. On the other, the current five members also need to be selective about who they admit. Among the considerations must surely be the track record of the applicants as well as their closeness to the west. The experience of having had a right-wing leader such as former Brazilian president  Jair Bolsonaro  in its midst must have been a lesson about the need to be circumspect when admitting new members. Weighing the likely contenders In this regard, aspirants such as Saudi Arabia and Mexico seem the least likely to make the cut in the short term. That’s despite the Saudis’ oil wealth and Mexico’s  leftist-progressive  leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Although they might be currently experiencing rocky relations with Washington, they have proven to be capable of rapprochement following previous disagreements with the US, with which they seem inextricably intertwined. Saudi Arabia has a long-term military relationship with the US, while Mexico is the US’s number-one trading partner. Of equal importance in the evaluation of potential new members is the relationship the aspirants have with the existing Brics members. This is because another crucial lesson has been the tiff between two of its largest members, China and India, over their disputed border. As a result of the uneasy relationship between two of its members, the bloc has become alert to the importance of direct bilateral relations and dispute resolution among its constituent leaders. Among the applicants, Saudi Arabia, which has had a fractious relationship with Moscow in the past, seems to face an uphill climb. It also has difficult relations with Iran, another applicant, despite their recent rapprochement. The country which seems the most suitable to join Brics for ideological reasons, and will expand the bloc’s footing in the Caribbean, is Cuba. It enjoys strong ties with the existing members. It also has solid “counter-hegemonic” credentials, having been the bête noire of the US for more than 60 years. Cuba is also a leader in the Latin American left and enjoys strong ties with many states in Central and South America (particularly with Guatemala,  Honduras,  Nicaragua  and  Venezuela). Membership would boost its influence. Character matters If an expanded Brics is to be an agent for change on the world scene, it will need to be capable of action. Having rivals, or states that are at least ambivalent towards each other, seems anathema to that. Eager to proceed cautiously and expand strategically, the current Brics states seems likely, at least in the short term, to pursue a Brics-plus strategy. In other words, there may emerge different strata of membership, with full membership granted to states that meet the group’s criteria over time. It is thus not mere expansion, but the character of the expansion which will guide the five principals on whether they grow from that number. — The Conversation. *About the writers: Bhaso Ndzendze is associate professor (international relations) at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa. Siphamandla Zondi is acting director if the Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation at the University of Johannesburg. An expanded Brics could reset world politics but picking new members isn’t straightforward Heads of state at a BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023

Page 46 Reframing Issues World News LISA GARBE SENEGAL’S government has shut down internet access in response to  protests about the sentencing of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko. This is a  tactic  governments are increasingly used during times of political contention, such as elections or social upheaval. The shutdowns can be partial or total, temporary or prolonged. They may target specific platforms, regions, or an entire country. I am a researcher who investigates the  causes  and  consequences  of internet access disruptions and censorship in various African countries. This includes understanding how shutdowns work. It is important to understand the complex technicalities behind internet shutdowns, for at least two reasons. First, understanding how an internet shutdown works shows whether or how it can be circumvented. This makes it possible to support affected communities. Second, the way a shutdown works shows who is responsible for doing it. Then the responsible actors can be held to account, both legally and ethically. Different forms of shutdowns require different levels of technical sophistication. More sophisticated forms are harder to detect and attribute. There are two common strategies governments use to disrupt internet access:  routing disruptions and packet filtering. How to shut down the internet Routing disruptions Every device connected to the internet, whether it is your computer, smartphone, or any other device, has an IP (internet protocol) address assigned to it. This allows it to send and receive data across the network. An autonomous system is a collection of connected IP networks under the control of a single entity, for instance an internet service provider or big company. These autonomous systems rely on protocols – called border gateway protocols – to coordinate routing between them. Each system uses the protocol to communicate with other systems and exchange information about which internet routes they can use to reach different destinations (websites, servers, services etc). So, if an autonomous system, like an internet service provider, suddenly withdraws its border gateway protocol routes from the internet, the block of IP addresses they administer disappears from the routing tables. This means they can no longer be reached by other autonomous systems. As a consequence, customers using IP addresses from that autonomous system can’t connect to the internet. Essentially this tactic stops information from being transmitted. Information cannot find its destination, and people using the internet will not be able to connect. The disruption of border gateway protocols can easily be detected from the outside due to changes in the global routing state. They can also be attributed to the internet service provider administering a certain autonomous system. For instance, data suggests that the infamous  internet shutdown in Egypt in 2011  – an unprecedented blackout of internet traffic in the entire country – was the result of tampering with border gateway protocols. It could be traced back to individual autonomous systems and hence internet service providers. Border gateway protocol disruptions that entirely disconnect customers from the internet are rare. These disruptions can easily be detected by outside observers and traced back to individual organisations or service providers. In addition, shutting down entire networks is the most indiscriminate form of an internet shutdown and can cause significant collateral damage  to a country’s economy. Packet filtering To target specific content, governments often use packet filtering – shutting down only parts of the internet. Governments can use packet filtering techniques to block or disrupt specific content or services. For instance, internet service providers can block access to specific IP addresses associated with websites or services they wish to restrict, such as 15.197.206.217 associated with the social media platform WhatsApp. Governments also increasingly use deep packet inspection technology as a tool to filter and block specific content. It’s commonly used for surveillance. Deep packet inspection infrastructure enables the inspection of data packets and hence the content of communication. It is a more tailored approach to blocking content and makes circumvention more difficult. In  Senegal, internet service providers likely used deep packet inspection to block access to WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. When internet shutdowns are done through packet filtering, only individuals within the affected network are able to detect the shutdown. Therefore,  active probing  is required to detect the shutdown. This is a technique that’s used by cybersecurity researchers and civil society actors to study the extent and methods of internet censorship in different regions. Violation of rights Though the two most common strategies are  routing disruptions and packet filtering, there are many other tools governments can use. For instance, domain name system manipulation, denial of service attacks, or the blunt sabotage of physical infrastructure. A detailed overview of techniques is provided by Access Now, an NGO defending digital civil rights of people around the world. There is wide agreement that internet shutdowns are a violation of fundamental rights such as freedom of expression. However, governments are developing increasingly sophisticated means to block or restrict access to the internet. It’s therefore important to closely monitor the ways in which internet shutdowns are being implemented. This will help to provide circumvention strategies and hold the implementers to account. — The Conversation. *About the writer: Lisa Garbe is a research fellow at the WZB Berlin Social Science Centre in Germany. Internet shutdowns: Here’s how the governments do it NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023

Africa News Page 47 GONZALO SCHWARZ/ MAGATTE WADE CLIMATE activists are pursuing increasingly extreme measures to fight for environmental policy changes. In recent months, activists have vandalised works of art around the world, defaced public and private property, and disrupted Wimbledon. These protests, sometimes called "eco-vandalism," have led many to believe climate activists are going too far. A less flashy but perhaps more troubling trend has been the embrace of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards, which claim to use investment strategy to address societal challenges but similarly go too far in harming the developing world. For many policymakers, activists, and investors, inequality is exactly the type of social issue ESGs are meant to address. ESGs, however, foster greater inequality by making the rich richer and the poor poorer. While this may seem counterintuitive, it's not surprising when we look at data from around the world. For many policymakers, activists, and investors, inequality is exactly the type of social issue ESGs are meant to address. ESGs, however, foster greater inequality by making the rich richer and the poor poorer. While this may seem counterintuitive, it's not surprising when we look at data from around the world. Take Sri Lanka — this developing nation scored very highly on the environmental components of ESG standards. But in 2022, the government faced a coup and massive protests due to food and fuel shortages spurred by a lack of development. By overemphasizing environmental factors and neglecting economic growth, ESG investing hurts the poorest members of their society. Protests in the Netherlands point in a similar direction, where farmers have seen their livelihoods threatened by new environmental policies. The continent of Africa stands as a stark reminder of what we stand to lose by embracing erroneous ESG standards. As more African nations and people strive for a path to sustainable development and flourishing, international treaties and alliances threaten to  rob them of their opportunity for growth. All developed nations have relied on cheap and abundant energy to achieve economic growth, but they are now threatening to close the door behind them and leave Africans in the cold. Climate activists argue that because  Africa is at greater risk of climate-related events, it is in their best interest to forgo abundant energy sources. This ignores the fact that without propane,  between 1-2 million women die  each year from indoor air pollution caused by cooking with charcoal or biomass. Africa has some of the highest levels of inequality and societal challenges, but it is also one of the most exciting and opportunity-laden regions in the world. Rather than addressing these challenges, ESG investing worsens inequality and creates a troublesome double standard by which some nations continue to prosper while withholding the benefits that come from cheap and safer fuel from the people who need them most. We propose a new ESG investment strategy focused on equality of opportunity, shareholder value, and growth. Entrepreneurship and business creation are the ultimate tides that lift all boats. Everywhere in the world, employment is the main way people can climb the income ladder. A dynamic economy fosters greater opportunity by providing more employment prospects, more goods and services to society, and diverse paths to flourishing. To support entrepreneurship and dynamism, we need to remove barriers to business creation and innovation. We need to help places like Africa access affordable energy to spur high levels of economic growth. Equality of opportunity leads to less international inequality and more social mobility. When it comes to shareholder value, we don't want to engage in the wearing discussion that says companies must choose what to care about most: people or profit. We are more partial to the notion that businesses and entrepreneurs exist to fulfill market demands or find solutions to pressing problems. This imbues entrepreneurs and workers with a sense of meaning and purpose. Companies that care about shareholder value are worried about the long-term value of the business, not just short-term profit. And when they are worried about the longterm value of the company, they focus on creating opportunities for their employees and providing goods and services that both improve their bottom line and serve others in society. Long-term shareholder value is aligned with the idea that businesses create value for themselves and for society. Finally, and maybe most important, growth matters. As research and data clearly show, economic growth and economic development lead to less environmental degradation, less energy consumption, and better adaptation to climate change. Instead of strong-arming developing nations to get on board with the climate agenda, developed countries should help promote the type of growth that will eventually lead to less pollution and better environmental standards. Developed countries can do this by removing barriers to trade, reducing aid that destroys local markets and opportunities for work, and stopping foreign aid that contributes to corruption and bad governance by undemocratic regimes. A new investment agenda that embraces equality of opportunity, shareholder value, and growth will lead to more international development, less inequality, more social mobility, and increased human flourishing. It will also lead to better environmental conditions, fewer societal problems, and improved governance. ESG investing has gone too far. The time to change direction is now. — Newsweek. *About the writers: Gonzalo Schwarz serves is president and CEO of the Archbridge Institute. Magatte Wade is founder of SkinIsSkin.com; senior fellow, African Initiatives at Atlas Network; and a board member of Conscious Capitalism, Inc. The poor get poorer with ESG investing A farmer harvests Mopane worms from a tree in the early morning at a farm outside Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on Jan. 20, 2023. ZINYANGE AUNTONY/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023

Page 48 World News Africa News Mana Pools National Park is known for its exceptional walking and canoeing safaris. Why you should consider safari in Mana Pools National Park BRITISH billionaire adventurer Richard Branson recently enjoyed a safari with family and friends kn Zimbabwe's Mana Pools National Park. It included canoeing down the Zambezi River, Africa's fourth-longest river. But what exactly is an offer at Mana Pools? Zimbabwe stands out as a magnificent safari destination, distinguished by its serene atmosphere and a refreshing lack of crowds compared to other African countries like Botswana or Zambia. The allure of Zimbabwe lies in its authentic charm and unspoiled natural beauty, and this essence is epitomised by the captivating Mana Pools National Park. Within this reserve thrives a diverse and thriving ecosystem, making it a haven for wildlife enthusiasts. Remarkably, Mana Pools remains one of the least developed national parks in Africa, preserving its pristine and untouched allure. It’s an oasis for those seeking to explore the untamed and wild side of the continent. Despite its natural state, Mana Pools does not compromise on offering world-class safari accommodation. Amid the wilderness, you can find exceptional bush camps and luxurious lodges that cater to every traveler’s needs and budgets, ensuring a comfortable and unforgettable stay. What sets Mana Pools apart is the opportunity for a truly unique safari experience. Embrace the enchanting open-aired safari tours, allowing you to immerse yourself in the untamed beauty of Zimbabwe. For those seeking more adventurous encounters, kayaking and walking safaris are also on offer, providing an intimate and thrilling way to connect with the African wilderness. Mana Pools National Park is an irresistible gem that will undoubtedly capture your heart and ignite a deep love for the magnificence of Africa. Dive deeper into this hidden treasure as we explore the wonders that await within its boundaries. What to pack for safari When preparing for a safari in Mana Pools National Park, it is crucial to pack the right essentials to ensure a comfortable and enjoyable experience in the wilderness. Here is a comprehensive list of items to consider bringing: Clothing • Lightweight, neutral-colored, and • breathable clothing (longsleeved shirts and pants to protect from the sun and insects). • A wide-brimmed hat or cap for sun protection. • A lightweight, waterproof jacket or poncho, as weather conditions can be unpredictable. • Sturdy and comfortable closed-toe shoes or hiking boots for walking safaris. • Sandals or comfortable shoes to wear around the campsite. • Sweater or light fleece for cool evenings and early mornings. Personal items • Valid passport and necessary travel documents. • • Prescription medications and basic first aid kit. • Insect repellent containing DEET. • Sunscreen with a high SPF. • Lip balm with UV protection. • Personal toiletries and a small towel. • Hand sanitiser and wet wipes. Photography gear • Camera with extra batteries and memory cards. • Binoculars for wildlife viewing. Travel accessories • Lightweight daypack for carrying essentials during activities. • Reusable water bottle (hydration is crucial). • Flashlight or headlamp with extra batteries. • Power bank or portable charger for electronic devices. Miscellaneous • Sunglasses with UV protection. • Personal snacks for in-between meals. • Ziplock bags to protect electronics and keep items dry. • Cash (small denominations) for tips and small purchases, as credit card facilities may be limited. Optional items • A pair of lightweight binoculars for enhanced wildlife viewing. • Field guidebooks to identify and learn about the local flora and fauna. • Notebooks and pens for journaling or sketching. • Scarf or bandana to shield your face from dust. • Swimsuit if the campsite has a pool or water activities. Remember that Mana Pools National Park is a remote and pristine area, so it is essential to pack responsibly. Limit single-use plastic items, and respect the environment by adhering to park guidelines and leave no trace principles. By packing smartly and thoughtfully, you’ll be well-prepared to make the most of your safari adventure in Mana Pools. What to look out for in Mana Pools National Park Mana Pools National Park offers a remarkable safari experience with diverse wildlife and breathtaking landscapes. When exploring this pristine wilderness, keep an eye out for the following highlights: 1. Abundant wildlife: Mana Pools is renowned for its diverse wildlife population. Keep an eye out for the Big Five – lions, elephants, buffalo, leopards, and rhinos. You may also spot other predators like African wild dogs, cheetahs, and hyenas, as well as an array of antelope species, hippos, crocodiles, and diverse birdlife. 2. Elephants by the river: Mana Pools is particularly famous for its large herds of elephants that frequent the Zambezi River. Watch these gentle giants as they bathe, play, and cross the river in a unique and enchanting setting. 3. Predator activity: The park provides excellent opportunities to witness predator-prey interactions. Keep an eye out for lions stalking their prey or leopards resting in the trees. 4. Canoe safaris: Do not miss the chance to experience a canoe safari on the Zambezi River. This offers a different perspective and thrilling encounters with wildlife at the water’s edge. 5. Walking safaris: Explore the park on foot with guided walking safaris. It’s a fantastic way to get closer to nature and discover the smaller details of the ecosystem. 6. Birdwatching: Mana Pools is a birdwatcher’s paradise with over 400 bird species. Look out for impressive raptors, colorful bee-eaters, and the iconic fish eagle. 7. Stunning sunsets: The sunsets in Mana Pools are truly magical. Capture the breathtaking vistas as the sun dips below the horizon, painting the sky with vibrant hues. 8. Stargazing: At night, the lack of light pollution in the park offers a brilliant stargazing experience. Marvel at the African night sky and its countless stars. 9. Ancient trees: Mana Pools is adorned with ancient and majestic trees like the acacia and mahogany. They add to the unique atmosphere and provide shade for wildlife. 10. Wilderness experience: Embrace the untouched and remote nature of Mana Pools. The park’s authentic charm lies in its natural splendor and lack of development, offering a genuine wilderness experience. Always remember to maintain a safe distance from the wildlife and follow your guide’s instructions to ensure both your safety and the well-being of the animals. A safari in Mana Pools National Park promises to be an unforgettable adventure, filled with awe-inspiring moments and close encounters with nature’s wonders. — Travel Daily News. NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023

Africa News Page 49 OLAYINKA AJALA HOPES are fading for a quick resolution of Niger’s coup or the potential use of force by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) to free Nigerien president Mohammed Bazoum and restore him to power. Ecowas leaders gave the Nigerien military junta an ultimatum to cede power within seven days of 30 July or face a military intervention. The deadline of 6 August came and went, and the putschists remained. Ecowas meets again on 10 August to discuss the situation in Niger. However, hopes of a Nigeria-led Ecowas military intervention in Niger now appears dim. The first indication that it would be difficult to immediately restore democracy in the country surfaced when  demonstrations  in support of the coup started. An attack on the French embassy in Niamey was followed by a daily protest in support of the coup. The size of the protest increased daily. Anti-France sentiments  also increased, with more people supporting the junta. Niger shares a border with  seven countries in the region, four of which are members of Ecowas. Of those four,  Mali and Burkina Faso  have been suspended due to similar coups d'etat. Both countries have threatened to support Niger if Ecowas tries to use force. The remaining two countries in the bloc bordering Niger are Nigeria and Benin. Outside Ecowas, Chad and Algeria have both ruled out participating in any military action and Libya has its own challenges. The likelihood of a military intervention further diminished when Nigerian legislators rejected the idea. They argued for the use of “other means” than force. Nigeria is the largest country in the Ecowas bloc and principal financier of the bloc. It will be difficult for Ecowas to carry out military intervention without the full support of Nigeria. As a scholar of  politics and international relations  I have  researched  the implications of foreign military bases in Niger. I have also previously analysed the role Nigeria plays in regional organisations such as Ecowas and the  Multinational Joint Taskforce  in the region. My view is that the unwillingness of Nigeria’s politicians to support military intervention, coupled with growing local support for the junta in Niger, will make the use of force almost impossible. This leaves Ecowas with little or no option than to pursue a diplomatic resolution. Why military intervention is unlikely There are three main reasons why the use of force is becoming more unlikely. First, the increasing popularity of the putschists in the country is a cause for concern. The growth of protests in support of the coup is an indication of a wider acceptance than previously envisaged. Hundreds of youths  joined  military personnel to stand guard at the entrance to Niamey. Some of these youths vowed to join the military to fight any incursion. Second, politicians in Nigeria and Ghana fear that any military intervention would result in human catastrophe, which would further destabilise the region. Politicians from Nigeria argue that any war in Niger will have a serious impact on northern Nigeria, a  region that is already strained by insurgency. Apart from Islamist terror organisation, Boko Haram, which has ravaged the north-eastern part of the country, clashes between farmers and pastoralists have also destabilised other parts of northern Nigeria. Seven Nigerian states share borders with Niger. An attack on Niger would lead to a large influx of refugees into Nigeria. This has  created anxiety  in northern Nigeria. President Bola Tinubu, who took office only recently, will find it difficult to ignore the senators from the region who rejected any military intervention. Third, Niger has fought terrorism in the region and has been a reliable partner. The country is a member of the  Multinational Joint Task Force  and the  G5 Sahel, two key organisations tasked with countering terrorism and fighting trafficking in the region. A military intervention in Niger which could result in a full blown war would embolden terrorist groups. It will also result in soldiers previously fighting side by side against terrorist groups now fighting against each other. With  Islamic State West Africa Province, an Isis affiliate, already operating in the region, an attack on Niger could create a situation similar to what happened in Syria. Isis took advantage of the fighting in Syria to establish a caliphate in 2014. Way forward Since military intervention to restore democracy in Niger is unlikely, diplomacy remains the only solution. The de facto leader General Abdourahamane Tiani was on the verge of being removed  as leader of the presidential guard before the coup d'etat. Many high-ranking military officers in the country are involved in the mutiny and it is almost impossible they will be able to work with Bazoum again. They could be tried for treason, which is punishable by death in Niger. As I have explained elsewhere, the mutiny was partly a result of the large presence of foreign military troops in the country. It has further weakened the relationship between the Nigerien military and France. The military junta has  cancelled  military cooperation with France. If Bazoum is released and restored as president, he will have to remove several military leaders who participated in the coup or renegotiate Niger’s military alliance with France. Both options are fraught with difficulties. The most likely diplomatic option is for Ecowas to negotiate a short transition window with the military junta. This will include a quick return to democratic rule. This will calm the tension and give some assurance to partners within and outside the region. With the level of support the junta has received from the Nigerien public and outside the country, Ecowas negotiators must be open to making concessions. Third party countries with lower stakes in Niger must lead these negotiations and France must be willing to change its relationship with the country to one of mutual benefit. At the moment, Nigeriens see France as an exploiter and are keen to end their long-held relationship. In all, there is no easy solution to the impasse in Niger. — The Conversation. *About the writer: Olayinka Ajala is a senior lecturer in politics and international relations at Leeds Beckett University in Britain. Niger’s coup leaders waving at a crowd of supporters in Niamey on August 6, 2023. Balima Boureima/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Niger coup: Why an Ecowas-led  military intervention is unlikely NewsHawks Issue 144, 11 August 2023

JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA WITH just over a week before Zimbabwe’s watershed general elections, United States-based artiste Charlie D has made a call to “Liberate Zimbabwe”. The song is social and political commentary, urging his fellow countrymen to actively participate in the upcoming polls as a way of uniting the polarised nation. “Liberate Zimbabwe” features an infectious melody and a powerful message that resonates with the spirit of the late Bob Marley’s iconic song, “Zimbabwe I and I Liberate.” Well, it may be viewed by some as a political song that takes sides in Zimbabwe's volatile politics, but every citizen is entitled to their democratic choice, and every message is open to various interpretations. The song seeks to conscientise and motivate the country’s youth to recognise the importance of their vote and the need to take up their position and determine the direction of the country. In a recent interview, Charlie D, born Charles Munyaradzi Doro, passionately expressed his beliefs, stating: “Every opportunity we have to shape the destiny of our country must be taken seriously. Each one of us has a part to play, and I firmly believe that our responsibility is to vote and trust in God for the outcome.” The release of “Liberate Zimbabwe” marks a turning point in Charlie D’s career, as he uses his platform to advocate positive change and encourage fellow Zimbabweans to exercise their democratic rights and responsibilities. Through his music, he hopes to ignite a sense of unity and empowerment among the nation’s citizens. The accompanying video for “Liberate Zimbabwe” promises to be visually stunning and thought-provoking, capturing the essence of the song’s powerful message. This artistic endeavour serves as a call to action, urging Zimbabweans to unite and strive for a brighter future. For those not in the know, Charlie D was born on 18 April 1979 at St Edith Hospital in Mbare, Harare, to Joseph and Eunice Doro, who happened to be lovers of music. The boy had no option but to fall in love with music. Raised between Zengeza 3 Chitungwiza and Njanja Rutanhira, Zimbabwe, up to his early teens, Charlie D saw the struggles of both ghetto youth and village youth. According to Charlie D, at a tender age of 10 he knew he had to succeed in every endeavour so as to uplift his people. At every school play, choir, and poetry events, he showed up and always won any award in the offing. This found him performing for former president Robert Mugabe and first lady Grace. Thanks to a full scholarship from the president to go study abroad, his uncle managed to get him in college in America immediately after his Advanced Levels. With the help of a few family members who had taken responsibility to raise Charlie D after both of his parents died, he landed in America in the 1990s as a teenager. It was not long before he was discovered at a talent show in Washington DC by a Jamaican Label, Top Notch Records in Decatur, Georgia. Left with an option of either continuing with school or getting paid, after three months Charlie D gave in to the money and the label moved him to Georgia. With money in his bank account, even the sky did not seem to be the limit for him. Charlie D was signed originally to be a strictly roots rock reggae artiste. Having coaches like Israel Vibration Apple, he quickly mastered the ins and outs of the industry. During this period he developed a unique style of mixing hip-hop beats with his Afro reggae style. Charlie D began doing hooks and features with prominent Atlanta artistes but, before long, his record label shut down due to unforeseen issues. However, the artistes were still taken care of. Without a home label, Charlie D went to the back to the drawing board. He hit every show talent and all the underground spots in Atlanta and, within a few weeks, a new family led by Emperor Seacy, the chief executive of BME Records and Honey of Atlclubs took the talented entertainer to a new level. They gave Charlie D a management deal and, in line with the advice he got from Shorty Lo, the team did everything independently. Charlie D was getting booked like a mainsteam artiste. This saw him perform alongside legends like 112, Young Dro, Mr Too Official (QC record), Kilo Ali, Soulja boy, R Kelly, Franchise boys, to mention a few. He has worked with legendary DJs like DJ Jelly, Scream, Collipark and more. Unfortunately, the second week after he got on the biggest radio deal in Atlanta, Charlie had to go serve Uncle Sam for seven years. Charlie D expressed that he had no regrets about doing time for that long because it gave him time to reflect and understand himself and strategise. During his stint as a guest of the US system, he wrote a few poetry books. STYLE TRAVEL BOOKS ARTS MOTORING Porsche just got angrier Being a Fashion Model Life&Style Page 50 Issue 144, 11 August 2023 Liberate Zimbabwe: A musician’s call to action Charlie D