NewsHawks 17 - 24 May 2024

Price US$1 Friday 17 - 24 May 2024 NEWS Zanu PF Youth League leader suspended over Mnangagwa Story on Page 6 NEWS Lessons for Chamisa from the Senegalese elections WHAT’S Story on Page 11 INSIDE SPORT Sibanda determined to revive Zim rugby Story on Page 46 ALSO INSIDE Chivayo monitise political access Mnangagwa  wants two  more years via backdoor

Page 2 News BRENNA MATENDERE PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa and his close political allies are now weighing the best constitutional and legal options to secure an additional two years in power outside an election when his second term expires in 2028 — without going the third term route. Mnangagwa recently abandoned the idea of a third term after experiencing fierce internal resistance mounted by Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga and his military-backed Zanu PF faction. "Mnangagwa's third term project was blocked by the army. Now he has a new plan," a senior Zanu PF official told The NewsHawks. "He no longer wants to have a third term because that route is complicated as it involves amending the constitution and a two-thirds parliamentary majority, plus a referendum, which doesn't benefit the incumbent, a disincentive to do that. "Now the new plan under consideration is to amend the constitution and electoral law to de-harmonise elections, with the effect of holding parliamentary polls in 2028; presidential election in 2030. That's different from a third term and it's less complex." In terms of the constitution, extending a presidential term limit would require amending Section 91, which disqualifies a person “for election as President or appointment as Vice-President if he or she has already held office as President for two terms, whether continuous or not, and for the purpose of this subsection three or more years’ service is deemed to be a full term”. However, section 328 (7) bars an incumbent from benefitting from such a constitutional change. It says: “Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an amendment to a term-limit provision the effect of which is to extend the length of time that a person may hold or occupy any public office, does not apply in relation to any person who held or occupied that office, or an equivalent office, at any time before the amendment.” This means such a change can only benefit future presidents. Besides, section 328 (7) can only be amended through a referendum as set out under section 328 (9) of the constitution. Section 158 of the constitution of Zimbabwe says a general election (harmonised election) must be held so that polling takes place not more than 30 days before the expiry of the five-year period of Parliament which runs from the date on which the president-elect is sworn in and assumes office. For instance, Mnangagwa was sworn in on 26 August 2018. The 30-day period before the expiry of the presidential term ran from 27 July to 26 August 2023, which was why elections were held on 23/24 August 2023. After that, Mnangagwa was sworn in on 4 September 2023. The next elections are due from 5 July 2028 to 4 August 2028. Section 143 of the constitution deals with three circumstances how Parliament is dissolved: By two-thirds of the National Assembly and Senate sitting and voting separately (self-propelled dissolution); by the President's intervention if it refuses to pass an Appropriation Bill without good reason or by operation of the law, when its term automatically expires. Zanu PF insiders say the de-harmonisation of elections process offers Mnangagwa a better chance to extend his rule without going through elections compared to a third term. That is more appealing to him than the third term political nightmare, sources say. Mnangagwa said recently he does not want a third term. Previously, he told ZTN Prime before last year’s elections: “I am going for my second term . . . this is my last term.” That was before his recent public climbdown under military pressure. Chiwenga is anxiously waiting to take over from Mnangagwa who is now serving his second term after reneging on their 2017 coup deal to run only one term and go. Mnangagwa should have served from 2018 to 2023, leaving Chiwenga to come in if elected in a popular presidential poll. However, soon after the coup internal contradictions emerged and the whole plan began to unravel. Mnangagwa, who initially wanted an inclusive arrangement after the coup, which is why he sent an emissary to the late political bigwig Dumiso Dabengwa to join his government, tried to leave Chiwenga out of the state power structure or the presidency by appointing Kembo Mohadi and Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri as his two deputies. Muchinguri-Kashiri was informed of her appointment privately and she was in the process of arranging a celebration party when Chiwenga blocked it and grabbed the position for himself. At the same time, Chiwenga seized some critical ministries from Mohadi. After the coup, on 30 November 2017, Mohadi was appointed minister of Defence, Security and War Veterans by Mnangagwa. He was named vice-president of Zanu PF on 23 December 2017 before being sworn in as co-Vice-President of Zimbabwe on 28 December 2017. However, after that Mnangagwa was forced to make sudden changes. Mohadi was removed and put in charge of the National Peace and Reconciliation portfolio, while Chiwenga took over Defence and War Veterans, powerful security portfolios. The assignments were with immediate effect.  Then acting Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Justin Mupamhanga announced: “In terms of Section 99 of the Constitution, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe may assign functions to Vice-Presidents to assist him or her in the discharge of his or her functions and perform any other functions, including the administration of any Ministry or Department or Act of Parliament. “Accordingly, His Excellency the President, Cde E.D. Mnangagwa, has duly assigned Honourable Vice-President General (Rtd) Dr Constantino Guveya Dominic Nyikadzino Chiwenga to administer the Ministry of Defence and War Veterans Affairs. Honourable Vice-President Kembo Campbell Dugishi Mohadi will administer the National Peace and Reconciliation portfolio.” The following year — 2018 after the elections sanitising the coup — Chiwenga and his allies were shocked at the Zanu PF annual conference at Esigodini to learn and witness a political spectacle: "Mnangagwa for 2023". Now it is "Mnangagwa for 2030". Chiwenga and his army allies have moved to stymie it. But Mnangagwa and his faction are not giving up. With the third term blocked, they have a new plan to amend the constitution to de-harmonise the general elections and the presidential poll, which serves their agenda. If their plot succeeds, parliamentary elections will held as due in 2028, but presidential polls — which previously fell two years after the others — can follow in 2030. This will be a reverse of the 2005 plan. Sometime in April 2005, Mugabe started to think about how he could extend his rule from 2008 to 2010 outside an election. He wanted to avoid the 2008 presidential election by moving it to 2010 when parliamentary polls were due under the name of harmonisation. Senior Zanu PF officials opposed to the move leaked the story to a Zimbabwe Independent journalist at the time, now with The NewsHawks. The first story exposing that plan was published in April 2005 soon after the  31 March parliamentary elections that had confirmed full control of Zanu PF by decimating the main opposition Mnangagwa wants two  more years via backdoor President Emmerson Mnangagwa with his political loyalist Owen "Mudha" Ncube (right). NewsHawks Issue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024

MDC which had pulled a shocker in June 2000 by losing with only five elected seats. The popular vote was also very close. The 2005 post-election situation looked deceptively familiar.  In fact, as Robert Mugabe's era appeared to be coming to an end amid growing economic problems and surging inflation, the MDC also faced existential challenges. Mugabe and Zanu PF had used more sophisticated  methods than previously to manipulate the electoral process through a range of legal and extra-legal means to ensure the result was basically decided well before the first voters reached polling stations. With the addition of 30 appointed legislature representatives that Mugabe had the right to appoint, Zanu PF held 108 of the 150 parliamentary seats, comfortably above the two-thirds majority required to amend the constitution. Zanu PF was expected to use that power to prepare a safe-landing and honourable retirement for its then 81-year-old leader who did not want to stand for re-election in 2008, but wanted to stay on for two more years. Mugabe feared defeat by MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai in 2008 amid a tumultuous economic meltdown and unprecedented hyperinflation after escaping reversal by the skin of his teeth in 2002. And as it later transpired, Mugabe lost the first round of polling in March 2008 (some say he lost the election outright), forcing a run-off in June that year. But Tsvangirai pulled out, citing violence and intimidation. Then South African president Thabo Mbeki who had been engaging Mugabe on reforms seized the opportunity to force a government national unity. Mbeki sent South African generals to investigate political violence. He had earlier managed to get the ruling party and opposition envoys to draft another constitution following the 2000 process that fell through. A new constitution was only secured in 2013. Mugabe's plans to extend his rule by two years in 2008 came under scrutiny internally after the media exposed the plot with Zanu PF at the time beset with fierce factionalism, spurred by ambitions of powerful figures to position themselves for the succession battle. A taste of political blood-letting was provided by a bitter party congress in December 2004 which propelled Joice Mujuri to become Vice-President at the expense of Mnangagwa, but the fact that the main factions substantially represented still as yet unreconciled ethnic and regional interests suggested holding the party together would be difficult. It took Mnangagwa 10 years to reverse Mujuru's seemingly inexorable rise in 2014 with the help of Mugabe who had changed plans on his succession. From 2008 onwards after rescuing Mugabe from the jaws of defeat, the army had gained control of Zanu PF internal political processes more than ever before since the Mgagao days in Tanzania in 1975. That marked the genesis of the 2017 coup. It also took retired ex-army commander Solomon Mujuru's death in a mysterious fire in August 2011 to have a major shift in the internal Zanu PF power structure to influenced Mugabe's succession. A year later, after the story of Mugabe secretly trying to extend his rule by two more years broke out — April 2006 — the then President appointed two  ministers to amend the constitution to move the presidential election from 2008 to 2010 to secure an extension of his hold on power. The journalist given the leak had the amendments. Mugabe gave Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa, his point man on constitutional issues, and his Rural Housing counterpart Mnangagwa, who was also Zanu PF's legal affairs secretary, a fresh mandate to change the constitution to delay the 2008 presidential poll until 2010 when parliamentary elections were due to allow him to hang onto office for a further two years. So this is what Mnangagwa — using that background and expertise — is trying to do now. He is trying to buy himself two more years in power until 2030 without an election. That is what his supporters mean when they say "2030 ED anenge achipo". A source explained to The NewsHawks:  "This plan was linked to Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander General Phillip Valerio Sibanda's surprise appointment to the Zanu PF politburo by Mnangagwa in December last year. "When Mnangagwa's appointment of Sibanda was blocked on grounds of it being unconstitutional, the President suffered another setback. He wanted to use Sibanda to checkmate Chiwenga from the army and politburo power bases." Mnangagwa would probably recall why Mugabe failed in his plans to avoid the same pitfalls, the sources indicate. In 2008, Mugabe did not get an extension as the parliamentary polls due in 2010 were brought forward by two years. Mugabe eventually failed to get two years through the backdoor because of internal dynamics, mainly the explosive December 2006 Zanu PF Goromonzi annual conference and the extraordinary congress in December 2007 to choose a candidate for the 2008 presidential poll. Politburo minutes on those issues were leaked to the journalist in question at the time, consistently. Zanu PF internal strife almost led to a split in the party like the 2004 congress. In 2004, it was Mnangagwa trying to break away, but in 2007 it was Mujuru who tried but balked, ensuring a stillbirth of Mavambo/Dawn/ Kusile under Simba Makoni in 2008. Under pressure, Mugabe agreed to fight the 2008 election and it was disastrous for him: He lost the first round of polling before recovering through violence. Some say he lost the election outright, but rigged the run-off, which is likely, as results took six weeks to be announced as they managed the transition. "Mnangagwa wants to stay on until 2030 through the path which he knows better. He is looking for ways to ensure he gets an extra two years in power the same way Mugabe assigned him to do in 2006," a Zanu PF official said. "De-harmonisation of elections is an option and can achieve that." Despite Mnangagwa's spirited denials that he wants a third term when his current second tenure ends in 2028, his political loyalists have not dropped their open campaign for him to remain in power beyond the present constitutional limit. Mnangagwa's bid to extend his rule to 2030 through a third term or by other means is still alive and kicking, mainly in Masvingo and Midlands provinces, his power bases. While Mnangagwa said he did not have any plans for a third term, his political allies and supporters still continue to campaign for him to stay beyond his current constitutional tenure which ends in 2028. The mantra is that Mnangagwa will still be there in 2030. He has not stopped them or denied that. If anything, he is encouraging them behind the scenes to continue with their lobby. Chiwenga and the military’s post-election political strategy blocked Mnangagwa’s third term ambitions, but not an extension. This forced him to come out clean to say he will not seek to manipulate the constitution for a third term to hang onto power as demanded by his supporters. Mnangagwa sidelined the army during last year’s general elections and used the state security service, Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO)-run Forever Associates Zimbabwe (Faz), to win the polls, fearing internal sabotage. However, military commanders always said behind the scenes after the elections Mnangagwa and Faz would be stopped in their tracks, which seems to be the case. Now his CIO-driven project has come unstuck, grinding to a screeching halt as the army backs Chiwenga to take over. Chiwenga recently influenced key military appointments, including that of his closest ally Lieutenant-General Anselem Sanyatwe as Zimbabwe National Army commander and John Jacob Nzvede as Air Marshal. Sanyatwe and Nzvede were part of Chiwenga's bridegroom party at his wedding last December. Prior to that, Mnangagwa had in 2019 removed Sanyatwe and posted him to Tanzania as ambassador amid purges of the military in the aftermath of the 2017 coup which first brought him to power. Although Chiwenga showed his clear intention to become the next Zimbabwean president during his high-profile wedding to Miniyothabo Baloyi more than at any other time before, Mnangagwa did not give up his push for a third term and now extension by proxy.  At the wedding, Mnangagwa all but endorsed Chiwenga to succeed him, but it is an open secret he does not actually want that. Mnangagwa has been giving mixed signals about it.   Until recently, Mnangagwa tried to use Zanu PF youths to push for a third term, saying he will still be there in 2030 — the same approach they used in 2018 for him to seek re-election in 2023. Their campaign for a third term was open and Mnangagwa did not distance himself from it until it became clear that it would be politically ill-fated to do so. Having tested the waters and found them dangerously deep, Mnangagwa is now beating a hasty retreat while posturing as a stickler for the constitution and rule of law. Yet his re-election was riddled with unconstitutional issues and illegalities. With Chiwenga on the political ascendancy, backed by the army, Mnangagwa says he does not have intentions of running for a third term. He says there is “no iota of evidence” where the ruling Zanu PF has pushed for something that violates the constitution. Mnangagwa says Zimbabwe is a constitutional democracy that abides by the dictates of the law. His plan is now an extension through a constitutional amendment which does not require a referendum. News Page 3 Zanu PF Midlands political heavyweight Owen "Mudha" Ncube (right) with President Emmerson Mnangagwa's son Collins. NewsHawks 1ssue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024

Page 4 News OWEN GAGARE PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has made surprise changes in the Zanu PF politburo — the party’s supreme decision-making body — amid reports that he wants to move to amend the constitution to facilitate his secret plan to hang onto power beyond the 2028 constitutional limit. To execute that mission, the Zanu PF leader brought back trusted political ally Patrick Chinamasa to legal affairs. Chinamasa, as Justice minister, and Mnangagwa, Rural Housing minister, were tasked by the late former president Robert Mugabe in 2005 and 2006 to change the constitution to harmonise the general elections by moving the presidential and parliamentary polls to 2010. This meant that Mugabe would have got two more years in office without an election. Alternatively, this meant MPs would have had their tenures cut by two years if elections were brought forward to 2008 as it later became the case. Mugabe was eventually forced into the 2008 elections which he feared amid internal strife within Zanu PF and economic meltdown characterised by hyperinflation. He lost the first round of polling to the late MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, but remained in office after a bloody run-off. Zanu PF was also defeated by the MDC in parliamentary polls. This led to a government of national unitt from 2009-2013. Now Mnangagwa wants to de-harmonise the elections to secure himself two more years in power between from 2028 and 2030. He wants parliamentary polls held in 2028, with the next presidential election coming in 2030. Although Mnangagwa has now dropped his third term bid under military pressure and says he has no intention of seeking that, his close political allies say he wants to stay on until 2030 when his second term expires in 2028. Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga and his military-backed faction have forced Mnangagwa to drop his third term plan and reconfigure their power retention calculations. Chiwenga is anxious to take over from Mnangagwa after he was duped during the coup that he could come in after 2023 as the President was going to run for a term. Instead of risking a complicated third term bid, Mnangagwa is said to now prefer a two-year extension from 2028, hence the current divisive Zanu PF mantra "2030 vaMnangagwa vanenge vachipo". In the process of making some changes, Mnangagwa demoted Mike Bimha as party secretary for commissariat. Bimha was appointed secretary for commissariat after Victor Matematanda was deployed to Mozambique as ambassador. Matematanda had replaced retired Lieutenant-General Engelbert Rugeje in that post. There were tensions between Mnangagwa and Chiwenga over those appointments. To replace Bimha, Mnangagwa appointed party ideologue retired Brigadier-General Munyaradzi Machacha. Machacha was Hebert Chitepo School of Ideology principal and party director of publications. Nicknamed George Kashiri during the liberation struggle, Machacha, a political ally of Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, was the liaison officer at Foxtrot Assembly Point in Buhera, Manicaland, in 1980 soon after the liberation struggle. He was a board member of Chinese and army diamond company Anjin Investments. Machacha was involved in the 2013 constitution-making process. He will be responsible for party mobilisation of key grassroots support for the party ravaged by factionalism and a shrinking social base. Machacha will be crucial in Chiwenga's succession bid. The Zanu PF leader also further rewarded another veteran ally Jacob Mudenda, who is also Speaker of the National Assembly, by making him Treasurer-General of the party. Mudenda played a key role in the 2017 military coup which ousted Mugabe, but had not been significantly rewarded for his effort. These changes come after Mnangagwa made a failed bid to appoint Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander General Phillip Valerio Sibanda into the politburo last December. Mnangagwa wanted Sibanda to checkmate Chiwenga in the current power matrix and get a third term or two more years in charge. Background President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s dramatic climbdown and reversal of Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander General Phillip Valerio Sibanda’s unconstitutional appointment into the ruling Zanu PF decision-making administrative organ, the politburo, as an ex officio member has brought to the fore a series of constitutional violations which characterise his presidency. Mnangagwa appointed Sibanda into the politburo last month at the end of the Zanu PF annual conference in Gweru, but was pressured to reverse it after initial resistance. “To fill the vacancy, I am appointing Cde Rose Mpofu of Matabeleland South province as a Politburo member and the new Secretary for People with Disabilities. Additionally, ‘Cde Gwenzi’, General Philip Valerio Sibanda, as an ex-officio member of the Politburo,” Mnangagwa said. The move was widely and swiftly criticised as unconstitutional and unlawful. Section 208 of the constitution provides for conduct of members of security services, specifically prohibiting acting in a partisan manner and furthering interests of any political party or cause. 208: Conduct of members of security services (1) Members of the security services must act in accordance with this constitution and the law; (2) Neither the security services nor any of their members may, in the exercise of their functions — (a) act in a partisan manner; (b) further the interests of any political party or cause; (c) prejudice the lawful interests of any political party or cause; or (d) violate the fundamental rights or freedoms of any person. (3) Members of the security services must not be active members or office-bearers of any political party or organisation; and (4) Serving members of the security services must not be employed or engaged in civilian institutions except in periods of public emergency. However, Mnangagwa insisted on it as brazenly illegal as it was amid a storm of protest. “People are mistaken, they think that General Sibanda is a civil servant. He is not a civil servant; first point. Second point, he is an ex-officio member of the politburo which means that he is not a substantive member of the politburo, he cannot vote in the politburo. He is ex-officio. So, there is no problem, there is no contradiction. He is just a civil servant and I as the President can appoint anybody as an ex-officio member which means by virtue of a certain particular position you can be allowed to sit in our substantive body of the politburo. That’s how it is. I don’t know who gets offended by him sitting in the politburo. He cannot vote, but he can contribute.” But the public pressure was unrelenting. On Friday, Harare human rights lawyer Kudzi Kadzere wrote to Mnangagwa through Mbidzo, Muchadehama & Makoni Legal Practitioners, demanding reversal of Sibanda’s appointment within 10 days. The lawyer wrote: "Your Excellency, the term ‘ex-officio' is Latin meaning literally ‘from the office or by right of office.' According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, ex officio means ‘as a result of one's status or position' or denoting or relating to a member of a body who holds the role as a result of their status or another position they hold. "In a board setup an ex officio member of the board has all the same rights, privileges, duties, an obligations as any other board member, although in the some cases the ex officio member cannot vote. "It is therefore evident that your appointment of General Sibanda as an ex-officio member of the Zanu PF politburo puts a serving Commander of the Defence Forces in an invidious position of acting or being seen as acting in a partisan manner, furthering the interests of the Zanu PF political party prejudicing the interest of opposition political parties and being seen or perceived as an active member or office bearer of the Zanu PF political party especially given that he was appointed into the highest decision making body of Zanu PF," Kadzere’s lawyers said. Constitutional changes loom ... Zanu PF reshuffles Politburo Patrick Chinamasa NewsHawks Issue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024

News Page 5 “We are instructed to demand that you reverse the appointment within the next ten (10) days failing of which our client will no choice but approach the court of law for redress.” A day after Kadzere’s letter, Mnangagwa quickly retreated and reversed the appointment. In a statement, Mnangagwa's spokesperson George Charamba said: “His Excellency the President, Dr E.D. Mnangagwa, has announced the staying of General PV Sibanda’s appointment to the ruling Zanu PF Party Politburo as an ex-officio member. The position will be reviewed at the expiry of General Sibanda’s term as a senior serving officer at the helm of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, ZDF. This deferment of the appointment resolves the apparent conflict with the country’s constitution which regulates the conduct of serving members of the security services.” Coup and legitimacy Mnangagwa’s presidency is the product of unconstitutional usurpation of power. He seized power in a coup in November 2017. The military sought to justify the coup on the basis that there were divisions in the party in government — Zanu PF and it wanted to remove criminals around the president and restore the legacy of the liberation struggle. The military demanded, among other things, the reinstatement of those Zanu PF party members who had been removed from their government and party positions, including Mnangagwa. By brazenly involving itself in Mugabe’s succession politics and the national political question, let alone aligning itself with a political party, the military violated a number of constitutional provisions that prohibit involvement of the security services in politics. Several individual freedoms and political and civil liberties, including the right to freedom of expression, freedom of movement and assembly, the right to security and freedom from torture, were violated during the coup. There was loss of life directly linked to the coup. In effecting the coup, the military immobilised the police and intelligence services and arrogated to itself the role of civilian policing, including the setting up of roadblocks on major roads and arresting and detaining those it identified as “criminal elements”. After toppling the constitutional order in the process of ousting Mugabe, Mnangagwa tried to cover up his tracks. He then tried to cover up his tracks through party and court process which subsequently followed to ensure legitimacy. In Zanu PF, he convened a party central committee meeting on 19 November 2017 after the coup to install himself as party leader. That was followed by an extraordinary congress the following month to legalise his seizure of power. On the day Mnangagwa was sworn in — 24 November 2017 — High Court Judge President George Chiweshe issued two incredible judgements: The coup was constitutional and Mnangagwa’s dismissal by Mugabe was null and void. This was later reinforced by Chief Justice Luke Malaba when he ruled that Mugabe had voluntarily resigned. However, Zanu PF member Sybeth Musengezi later took Mnangagwa to court — not in his personal, but official capacity as Zanu PF leader — saying he was not properly elected as head of the ruling party by the central committee on 19 November 2017 after the coup. Besides the coup itself, Mnangagwa came into power without following constitutional procedure; allowing the last acting vice-president Phelekezeka Mphoko to act as president in the interregnum, which was unconstitutional. Implicit bargain Soon after Mnangagwa took over power on 24 November 2017 — three days after the late former president Robert Mugabe was pressured under house arrest by the army and through threats of a Gaddafi-style execution by angry mobs to resign — he did what usurpers usually do: use judges to ensure legal legitimacy. Political legitimacy — Mnangagwa’s holy grail — was to be secured through the 2018 elections. Some usurpers just amend the constitution, change the law and even cashier judges to protect themselves against prosecution for treason, incarceration or execution. Chiweshe ruled that former president Mugabe’s defenestration of his then deputy Mnangagwa prior to his return to seize power was illegal and that the coup constitutional. Malaba dismissed an application by two fringe political outfits seeking nullification of Mnangagwa’s rise to power and incumbency which they had argued was unconstitutional and illegal. Malaba said Mnangagwa’s ascendancy was legal and procedural as Mugabe’s resignation was free, voluntary and in terms of the law. Most judges rely on the dodgy Dosso jurisprudence which can be traced to the judgement of the Pakistan Supreme Court in State v Dosso, a decision that has been termed “a carte blanche for treasonable conduct”. Local judges relied on this and the doctrine of necessity to justify their decisions. There is a rich history of case law within the Commonwealth, where there have been legal challenges to the unconstitutional overthrow of elected governments. These cases and incisive commentary on them are set out in an interesting book by Professor John Hatchard and Dr Tunde Ogowewo titled Tackling Unconstitutional Overthrow of Democracies: Emerging Trends in the Commonwealth. Hatchard and Ogowewo develop a new theoretical construct — “the implicit bargain theory” — to explain the existing jurisprudence on coups. Their study critically examines the evolution of judicial decisions on the subject. In doing so, it also evaluates jurisprudential theories underpinning these judgements. The position of the Commonwealth, especially given its strong stance against unconstitutional overthrow of governments, is clearly articulated. Ironically, the Harare Commonwealth Declaration of 1991 and the subsequent Millbrook Commonwealth Action Programme on the Harare Declaration (1995), cite coups as particularly grave violations of their principles. Zimbabwe is trying to go back Commonwealth after pulling out following diplomatic clashes with Britain almost two decade ago. After the Harare coup, judges were on the frontline of events and debate. Hatchard and Ogowewo explain why. “To understand the nature of the existing jurisprudence on coups it is important to understand what in fact produced it,” Hatchard and Ogowewo write. “For this, a new theoretical construct — “the implicit bargain theory” — is introduced to tell the story. “Judges are important players when there is a coup. The immediate effect of a coup is to eliminate two branches of government — the executive and the legislature. The judiciary is left intact. “The judiciary is left intact for two reasons. First, because judicial affirmation of the regime of usurpers confers legitimacy on the usurpers. Second, because even usurpers need to govern in a system characterised by law and order, and an existing judicial system — even if tweaked — is indispensable.” Constitutional violations The constitution of Zimbabwe is very clear on how the President should exercise his powers. The powers can only be exercised as provided for by the constitution. Zimbabwe is a constitutional democracy. This means the constitution is the highest law of the land. Parliament cannot pass a law which goes against the constitution. The executive cannot make policies that violate the constitution. No person — not even the President — is above the constitution. The courts and government must also make sure what they do is constitutional. When it comes to appointments that the President can make, the constitution provides for that. What the President has is discretion on who he gets to appoint, but even in that vein the discretion is guided. The constitution tells the President from which pool he must exercise his discretion. This is important in a democracy as it does not create a rogue President who just acts according to his whims and caprices, but one guided by the aspirations of the people. Unconstitutional inauguration After the controversial and disputed 23 and 24 August general elections, President Emmerson Mnangagwa was inaugurated as the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe. The inauguration had its own constitutional controversies in its timing. Section 93(1) of the constitution gives an aggrieved candidate in an election the opportunity to challenge the validity of an election of a President by lodging a petition or application with the Constitutional Court within seven days after the date of the declaration of the results of the election. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced results on 26 August 2023 and the opposition had seven days to file their petition. The seven days lapsed on Saturday 2 September 2023. However, section 336(2) of the constitution provides that whenever the time for doing anything in terms of the constitution ends or falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the time extends to and the thing may be done on the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday. Technically, a petition could have been filed on Monday 3 September 2023 since the seven days envisaged in section 93(1) of the constitution to file a petition fell on a Saturday, hence Monday 3 September 2023 was the final day the petition could be filed. However, inauguration was set for the very same Monday 3 September 2023. Constitutionally, the inauguration was not supposed to have taken place on that day since it was still within the seven days period. Inauguration should have taken place any other day soon after 3 September 2023. This means Mnangagwa’s inauguration was unconstitutional. Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander General Phillip Valerio Sibanda (left) with Vice-President Rtd General Constantino Chiwenga. NewsHawks 1ssue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024

Page 6 News KELVIN JAKACHIRA AS political manoeuvres to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term beyond 2028 through the backdoor gathers momentum, a Zanu PF youth leader, opposed to the move, has been suspended for resistance and faces expulsion from the party. The campaign to extend Mnangagwa’s term to 2030 started in earnest in Masvingo and has now moved to the Midlands province, the President’s political stronghold. Although Mnangagwa has said he does not want a third term, his Midlands allies insist he will still be in charge in 2030, something which needs a change of the constitution to happen. The internal fight over this issue is beginning to claim political casualties as tensions grow. Danmore Mambondiyani, the Zanu PF deputy secretary for administration, has been barred from executing his duties amid allegations of vote-buying and his opposition to the 2030 plan. Officially, Mambondiyani is accused of bringing to a national youth executive meeting a bag supposedly full of money before going to the deputy secretary for youth affairs John Paradza and secretary for youth affairs Tinotenda Machakaire to give them US$200 and US$100 respectively. Machakaire is Youth Empowerment minister, while Paradza is Environment deputy  minister. However, insiders say charges  against Mambondiyani actually stem from a Zanu PF national executive meeting held on 9 May in which he refused to chant slogans demanding the extension of Mnangagwa’s term beyond the constitutional two fiveyear term limit. The youth national executive meeting was organised to co-opt eight members of the national executive. Deputy Finance minister Kudakwashe Mnangagwa — the President's son — was appointed deputy secretary for external affairs in a process that was denounced as imposition. Among other appointments are Sports deputy minister Emily Jasaya co-opted as the deputy secretary for mines and Charles Munganasa as deputy secretary for local government. Munganasa a board member of the state-controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), was recently appointed acting chief executive of the propaganda megaphone.  During the meeting, Mambondiyani was quizzed why he was not chanting slogans promoting the extension of Mnangagwa’s term beyond 2028 when everyone was doing so. Zanu PF youth league sources say the real reason Mambondiyani is in trouble is that he is known for saying Mnangagwa should cede power to his deputy Constantino Chiwenga once his term ends in 2028. In a letter to Mambondiyani, Zanu PF youth secretary for legal affairs Phineas Makombe write: “Please kindly take note that on Thursday the 9th of May 2024 during the National Executive Council of the Youth League, you exhibited conduct unbecoming of a National Executive Member. Chapter 6 Article 38 (filing vacancies) sec (554) provides conduct and manner over how co-options or vacancies shall be filed in any party structure. “However, to the contrary, you yourself Cde Mambondiyani came with a bag supposedly full of money went to the Deputy Secretary for Youth Affairs Cde T Machakaire opened the bag in full view of the media and the National Executive Council and gave Cde Paradza 200 United States dollars and Cde Machakaire US$100. "You further went on to chant publicly ‘Vote Cde Mambondiyani’ for a certain vacant post in the National Executive Council of the Youth League, before and during the meeting. The above conduct in full view of the media insinuates that party vacancies or post can be acquired through vote buying, these actions further disregard constitutional provisional stated in Chapter 6 Articles 38 sec (550) (6).” Added Makombe: “The chanting of your name by yourself during the apex meeting and in a disrespectful manner are consistent to Chapter (6) Article (38) sec (550) (9) whereas this refers to Article 37 sec 549 (8) (11).  Given the above charges you are hereby in terms of Chapter (5) Article (36) sec (528) Prohibited to act on behalf or as the Deputy Secretary for Administration of the National Youth League Executive Council. Kindly take note that by issue of this Prohibition Order, your matter shall be directed to the National Disciplinary Committee for further action and guidance.” A Zanu PF insider said Mambondiyani’s real crime is his opposition to the 2030 plan. “He is very clear that Mnangagwa must not extend his term, but should give Chiwenga an opportunity to take over when his term ends in 2028,” said the insider. Mnangagwa and Chiwenga are locked in a fierce power struggle over succession. Although they were allies when they ousted the late former president Robert Mugabe in 2017, they have been fighting over the party's unsettled leadership question. Their deal was that Mnangagwa would serve one term and leave in 2023 for Chiwenga to come in, but the President reneged on that.  Now he actually wants to extend his rule beyond 2028 to 2030, something Chiwenga and his allies such as Mambondiyani are fiercely opposed to. Zanu PF youth leader  suspended over ED 2030 Suspended Zanu PF youth league national secretary for administration Danmore Mambondiyani. NewsHawks Issue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024

NewsHawks News Page 7 1ssue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024 Chivayo enjoys patronage access

Page 8 News NewsHawks Issue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024 BRENNA MATENDERE PLANS by Treasury to beef up the Financial Intelligence Unit and the police as Zimbabwe turns to Gestapo-style tactics to defend the value of the domestic currency, Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), could be catastrophic in the medium term, economic analysts have warned. Finance minister Mthuli Ncube on Wednesday told Parliament that Treasury will commit more resources to law enforcement agents as the authorities roll out a blitz against informal foreign currency traders. The development comes barely a week after Ncube announced via Statutory Instrument 81A of 2024 that the government will levy a fine of ZiG 200 000 (US$14 782) on offending firms and individuals. He had earlier warned of looming regulations to enforce the sole use of the official exchange rate in the economy, which is set daily by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. The new rule now also scraps a previous requirement for retailers to put a 10% premium on the going exchange rate in their pricing. “The Financial Intelligence Unit has been effective in investigating illicit activities, money laundering and other aspects and, in fact, triggering the sanctions on those who are deviating from the prescribed exchange rate or pricing frameworks. But, of course, we can never say they have all the capacity they need. In fact, they have written to me to say minister, we need more capacity and I have granted that and we will be giving them more resources so that they can hire more personnel, equipment or whatever they need like tools of trade to remain effective on the ground, but that is on one hand,” Ncube said. “Again, we have said to the law enforcement agents, the police, that if they need additional capacity, we are happy to support that whether it is equipment mobility, we have to support that, because this is an important issue. I can assure him and I can assure the nation that we really mean business and we will make sure that our law enforcement agents and agencies are equipped enough to deal with the situation.” The NewsHawks also gathered that officers from the central bank's FIU are conducting in-store investigations to establish whether or not retailers were colluding with informal foreign currency traders. The domestic currency is officially trading at around  US$1: ZiG13.5. Recently, police swooped on illegal foreign exchange dealers operating on the streets of Harare in dragnet arrests that saw a total of 65 money changers thrown behind bars. Economic analysts told The NewsHawks this week that the Gestapo-style crackdown by the government to shore up the ZiG will backfire. Economic analyst Prosper Chitambara said the heavy-handedness will hurt the ordinary person whom the government says it is determined to protect. “Well, there are two downside risks that could actually arise, in my view. The first risk is that it could result in a shortage of goods or commodities within the formal retail outlets, because the government is trying to bring sanity by penalising businesses that are trading official exchange rates,” he said. “But, of course, there are those two downside risks. And of course, the best way of probably mitigating those risks is to ensure that at least formal businesses have access to foreign exchange. Because as long as they are accessing foreign exchange on the black market unofficially, then that obviously is going to affect, obviously, the sustainability of formal businesses.” National University of Science and Technology-based economic analyst Stevenson Dhlamini warned against the strong-arm crackdown. “It is generally accepted in economic thinking that when governments intervene in the market system, it leads to price distortions that lead to shortages of goods and services. Therefore, unless the government supports the banking sector in ensuring availability of foreign currency, we might run the risk of shortages of products in the formal market,” he said. Development economist Chenaimoyo Mutambasere said ZiG currency is  tied to market perception as it lacks the transparency and convertibility necessary for trust and stability, and these critical factors are bound to make the price control measures difficult. “We may see products still on the market shelves because people simply cannot afford to buy them. What might happen instead is supermarkets may offload their products  and exit the market altogether. Certainly if this carries on Zimbabwe will be back in 2008 by December, at the latest. “More than a month later, we have no clear assurance of the asset backing the ZiG. Furthermore, its convertibility features have not been explained or legislated . Essentially, can I walk into the bank and swap my ZiG for gold bars?” she asked. “Without clarity on the assets backing ZiG and a legal framework for its convertibility, it's primarily used for transactions rather than as a reliable store of value. This diminishes its demand and lowers its value below the intended exchange rate. “Value is derived by market forces of supply and demand and not by commandeering as is being attempted. The market will always find a way to circumvent these laws . The adverse side of having such laws is that they are an infringement on property rights and off putting for investors. “Moreover, this contradicts the notion of a free market where willing buyers and sellers determine value as is stipulated in the MPS [Monetary Policy Statement]. Its  limited exchangeability and potential copyright concerns are going to  hinder ZiG  acceptance and utility,” she said. Economic analyst Professor Gift Mugano, posting on his X handle, described the statutory instrument on exchange control as a disaster. “The New Amendments to the Exchange Control is a total disaster! Goods will disappear from the formal sector and appear in the informal sector! Unfortunately, GOZ can’t regulate or enforce compliance in the informal sector because it’s gigantic & stubborn. This gives the informal sector latitude to set own informal rules and disregard government policies/regulations. The informal sector has flexibility to operate at competitive exchange rates/black market rates which will definitely kill the formal businesses. The irony is that we have been on this road before and it didn’t work!” he remarked. Mugano said the government must develop a culture of conducting impact assessments of its policies and come up with improved measures. He called for an investigation into the economic crisis to enable the government to come up with comprehensive solutions which must include political remedies. “Otherwise we are going nowhere,” he concluded. In Germany during World War Two, the Gestapo was discredited for its heavy-handedness and surveillance capabilities. Its power was used to focus upon political opponents, ideological dissenters (clergy and religious organisations), career criminals, the Sinti and Roma population, handicapped persons, homosexuals, and, above all, the Jews. Those arrested by the Gestapo were often held without judicial process, and made political prisoners througout Germany. Using similar Gestapo methods, the government of Zimbabwe is desperate to protect the ZiG, but the new currency has lost 47.4% of its value on the parallel market since its introduction on 8 April. Although physical ZiG notes are yet to be circulated, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe pegged it at ZiG13.56 to the US dollar, but it has crashed and is now trading at ZiG33 to the US dollar on the black market. The arrested money changers have been remanded in custody with such officials as Information permanent secretary Nick Mangwana praising the development on the basis that it will set an example to others. Zanu PF vocal MP Tafadzwa Mugwadi, in support on the clampdown on money changers, also wrote: “When you are a citizen to any republic, there are things that you have no right to choose by ginya (force) for example: 1. National ID card 2. type of passport 3. Tax 4. laws to obey 5. currency to use 6. paving way for motorcade.” The ZiG was launched by the central bank on 8 April in an effort to tame chronic high inflation which, according to independent estimates, is now the highest in the world at 2 647%. The Zimbabwe dollar, which was demonetised and replaced by the ZiG, lost over 96% of its value in just 12 months. In 2008, the late President Robert Mugabe appointed Godwills Masimirembwa to head the National Incomes and Pricing Commission which had a straightjacket mandate to control prices of basic food commodities in order to suppress inflation, but the effort flopped. The commission deployed inspectors to descend on businesses who were flouting the price controls. Their discredited inspections reached manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. More than 7 000 storeowners and manufacturers were arrested in the wake of the price clampdown. Mugabe also imposed sweeping price slashes in June 2007 and then a six-month price freeze again in a bid to control inflation, but it resulted in widespread shortages of basics like bread, flour, cooking oil, margarine, meat and even shoes. The new ZiG unit is the sixth attempt by the southern African nation to have a functioning local currency. It is backed by 2.5 tonnes of gold and about $100 million in foreign currency reserves, according to the central bank. Finance minister Mthuli Ncube in parliament. Goverment firmly tightens Gestapo-style grip on ZiG

News Page 9 BRENNA MATENDERE THE casting of nearly 20 000 postal votes by South Africans living outside the country’s borders will not only test the efficacy of democracy in the continent’s most diversified economy but will also expose neighbouring Zimbabwe’s intransigence and long-held tradition in disenfranchising its citizenry in the diaspora, a local electoral watchdog has said. South Africa goes to elections later this month in polls widely described as both complex and intriguing for the governing African National Congress. Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) board chairperson Andrew Makoni says the fact that South African citizens living in 101 countries will vote from their foreign destinations later this month exposes Zimbabwe’s election management system which has been steadfast in rejecting diaspora votes of millions of people scattered across the world for years. About 18 469 South African citizens living in 101 countries around the world registered to vote using an online registration portal system operationalised in December 2023 ahead of the country’s general elections slatted for later this month. The countries with the most people who registered online include the United Kingdom (5 938), the Netherlands (1 844), Germany (746), the United States (821), Ireland (675), United Arab Emirates (1 068), China (515), Australia (588), New Zealand (314), Cuba (293), Portugal (284) and Belgium (280). On the African continent, South Africans in 28 countries, including Mauritius (316), Lesotho (224) Namibia (148), Botswana (170), Zambia (96), Zimbabwe (77), Kenya (73), Ghana (45) and Tanzania (40), will be allowed to vote at their respective embassies. Speaking at the Zesn annual general meeting in Harare this week, Makoni said a similar arrangement should be made for Zimbabweans living in the diaspora to vote. “South Africa is a young democracy, yet it has achieved the feat for its diaspora citizens to vote from 101 countries. This must be a push, we must put until all Zimbabweans living in the diaspora are allowed to vote,” he said. The number of foreign-based Zimbabweans varies significantly from  four million to seven million, although five million is widely cited. Ahead of the August 2023 general elections, Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi put his foot down in rejecting repeated calls for Zimbabwean citizens in the diaspora to cast their votes, despite the fact that the country continues to rake in billions of US dollars in diaspora remittances. Millions of citizens in the diaspora have been denied a chance to vote since Independence in 1980, yet Zimbabweans who are posted to diplomatic missions do cast their ballots through a postal voting system. Electoral bodies and opposition parties in Zimbabwe have thus been emphatic in calling for the diaspora vote. However, Ziyambi told the National Assembly that the government will never allow the diaspora vote. His remarks were in response to written questions from the then Chitungwiza North MP Godfrey Sithole enquiring about the government’s plan to ensure citizens in the diaspora vote in national elections. In his prepared response to Parliament, Ziyambi said the country’s constitution only allows voting in the 210 constituencies that are inside Zimbabwe and nowhere else. He insisted the constitution does not mandate the setting up of constituencies outside the borders. Makoni however said if South Africa can allow the diaspora vote, Zimbabwe can do so too. “What does South Africa have which we do not? All Zimbabweans must be allowed to vote… We must continue to speak strongly about the need to make our elections credible,” he said. The diaspora vote has been a contentious matter since the formation of the opposition MDC which has morphed into the Citizens’ Coalition for Change. Among electoral reforms that civil society in Zimbabwe insists on is the diaspora vote. Mutare Central former MP and lawyer Innocent Gonese, told The NewsHawks that the government’s position on the diaspora vote has no legal basis. “The pronouncement by the minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs as well as the stance taken by Zanu PF on the diaspora vote is not consistent with provisions of the constitution. The constitution, in terms of section 67 on political rights, is very clear that every adult Zimbabwean citizen has a right to participate in peaceful political activities and also to vote. There is no restriction whatsoever.” “This is buttressed by the provisions which are in the schedule of the constitution. They [Zanu PF] are hiding behind a finger in raising the issue of constituencies and so on. It is neither here nor there for the simple reason that the Electoral Act must be in conformity with the provisions of the constitution,” said Gonese. He said the fact that people on government business abroad and workers at embassies voted meant that everyone else outside the country can also do so easily. “I therefore submit that the stance taken by Zanu PF is simply a way of depriving citizens with full entitlement to vote their rights. If it is the issue of constituencies that a person must vote in the constituency they were born only, then let’s therefore have a provision that diasporans can vote for the President on the basis they were born in Zimbabwe,” argued Gonese. Political analyst Rashweat Mukundu told The NewsHawks that the ban on foreign-based Zimbabweans from voting amounts to disenfranchisement. “The fact that we have postal voting means anyone can vote without being physically in Zimbabwe. The statement that people need to vote only in their constituencies is more of a political statement than a legal one,” he said. In the Southern African Development Community, besides South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique and Namibia allow the diaspora vote. Dual citizenship, as provided for in section 42 of the Zimbabwe constitution, has also increased the impetus for diaspora voting. Although unsuccessful, several court petitions have been filed with the Constitutional Court demanding the right to vote to be extended to the diasporans. Of note is the example of Gabriel Shumba and others versus the ministry of Justice and others recorded as case number CCZ 4/18. South Africa diaspora vote exposes ZEC hypocrisy The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission building in Harare. NewsHawks 1ssue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024

Page 10 News NewsHawks Issue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024 NATHAN GUMA OPPOSITION MP for Dzivaresekwa Edwin Mushoriwa says while the National Assembly has approved the ratification of the Protocol on the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Citizens to Social Protection and Social Security,   the government has been insincere in cushioning citizens against the harsh economic environment and hunger. The protocol seeks to strengthen social safety nets for African citizens by recognising social protection as a fundamental human right. While Zimbabwe had signed the protocol in 2022, the country is yet to ratify — the final step a country takes to formally agree to be bound by its terms. Zimbabwe has been in a socio-economic quagmire, that has been worsened by the El Niño-induced drought, which is set to see more than three million people food insecure. In the National Assembly recently, Mushoriwa said that while the protocol is important, the Zimbabwean government has been insincere to ending shocks facing the people. “This protocol was signed in 2022 and whereas I was complaining about the gap, in this case the gap is alright.  What I just find a bit tricky is that whilst we need to make sure that we approve this treaty, I think when we signed, Zimbabwe should actually have taken some steps that show we have signed such a protocol which respects the social protection and social security,” he said. Mushoriwa said the government’s insincerity in protecting citizens has been evident in its failure to provide sufficient funds in budgeting towards social welfare. For instance, ZW$2.4 trillion was allocated towards social welfare in 2024, out of the ZW$58.2 trillion national budget. This is equivalent to about 0.4% of the gross domestic product, 1.1 percentage points lower than the 1.5% global target. “What I find queer is that since 2022, 2023, even the 2024 budget that we actually passed last December, there has been a down slide in respect to our budget as a country towards social protection and social security of our people. “Whereas after signing, we should have seen a move by government towards realigning and making sure that there is allocation of sufficient resources, because it is not enough to just sign without the need to then walk the talk.” “What we are doing in as much as we are supporting the ratification of this treaty but what we now expect is government to urgently walk the talk in respect to making sure that our people are protected. Today, and I say this being an MP that represents a high-density suburb where most of the people are living beyond the poverty datum line, where most of our people require protection and assistance from the state.” Mushoriwa said while aid has over the years been given to the vulnerable, it has in several instances failed to reach its intended recipients. “The ministry of Public Service and Social Welfare have, in the recent past, been delinquent in failing to provide the necessary resources and this is going to be made worse given the current drought situation that we find ourselves in,” he said. “Drought does not just affect the rural set up. It affects each and every person in Zimbabwe, including those people that are staying and living in the urban set up. “My request to the honourable minister is to simply say that we should make sure that once we rectify, once we have signed any protocol and in this case the African Charter on the Social Protection and Social Security, it should also be accompanied by a move by the government in that right direction, rather than to have a situation where we sign and then we see our budget in respect to social security going down, sliding down” In response, Zanu PF legislator for Gokwe Kabuyuni Spencer Tshuma said the government has been doing well in cushioning citizens. "Firstly I would like to commend the government of Zimbabwe for being part and parcel of such an important piece of legislation,” he said. “Needless to say that our government has walked the talk of protecting its citizens throughout the period, especially at the beginning of the Second Republic. We must be cognizant to the fact that there have been a lot of hindrances that have come our way, but government has been seized from day one to make sure that our people are not left vulnerable. “Even right now as we experience the phenomenon of El Niño, we have seen government going out of its way to source for food to make sure that no one goes hungry and the President of Zimbabwe Comrade Mnangagwa has come out openly to say that no one is going to be hungry during this whole disastrous period and while he has said that, he has not only said it by word, he has said it by action as well as we have seen government going out and making sure that they are providing grain for the vulnerable.” The government has in the past said conflicting statements on Zimbabwe’s food security status. For instance, in March, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister Ziyambi Ziyambi stated that the government would not hastily declare the El Niño-induced drought a state of disaster, as it was food self-sufficient. However, in April, President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared the drought state of national distaster, appealing for US$2 billion in aid. In Febraury, Agriculture minister Anxious Masuka said the country is food secure, at a time when regional neighbour Zambia had banned maize exports to ensure available stocks are reserved for its people. “The nation is informed that a total of 3 027 559 hectares was planted to crops during the 2023/2024 summer season, out of the targeted 3 674 000 hectares. Of the total planted area, 1 676 274 hectares was planted to maize, 362 541 hectares to sorghum, 141 169 hectares to pearl millet, and 271 823 hectares to groundnuts,” Masuka told a post-cabinet briefing in February. “A cumulative 2 283 272 metric tonnes of maize and 271 623 metric tonnes of traditional grains is expected from the planted area. “Zimbabwe consumes 2.2 million metric tonnes of maize/traditional grains (1.8 metric tonnes for food and 400 000 for stockfeed). This translates to 6 027 metric tonnes daily, with 4 931 metric tonnes going towards human consumption. The monthly human consumption requirement is 150 000 metric tonnes.” Legislator for Dzivaresekwa Edwin Mushoriwa Authorities insincere about social security

News Page 11 RUVIMBO MUCHENJE ZANU PF spokesperson Chris Mutsvangwa and Women's Affairs minister Monica Mutsvangwa’s son, Neville, spent yet another weekend in jail for illegal foreign currency deals. The move shows the intensity of political rivalry and raw animosity between Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga and the Mutsvangwas. Chris Mutsvangwa last week indirectly attacked Chiwenga over the Neville case. Neville's arrest for illegal currency dealings has political undertones, reflecting the ongoing power struggle within Zanu PF between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Chiwenga. The Mutsvangwas are longtime Mnangagwa political allies, but have now been cornered by Chiwenga and his Zanu PF military faction in a show of power. Defence lawyer Josephine Sande said the state has failed to prove a prima facie case against the 44-year-old Harare businessman and his co-accused. Sande said the magistrate's court erred by denying Neville and his co-accused Elias Majachani and Simbarashe Tichingana bail as there was no evidence. The trio is facing charges of dealing in foreign currency, stashing cash and money laundering. Neville's lawyer said the state was basing its evidence on Visa cards which were seized from his Mount Pleasant home in Harare. In her submissions before High Court Justice Esther Maremba, Sande argued that possession of Visa cards is not illegal and not evidence that someone is involved in illegal foreign currency deals through cash or money laundering. “I submit that mere possession of bank cards is not proof enough that someone is dealing in cash. It is not even illegal,” Sande said. She said there was no way the state would charge Neville and his co-accused with money laundering charges without the involvement of the central bank or its Financial Intelligence Unit which would have raised suspicions on the transactions using the Visa cards. Neville is facing a further charge of illegally using Starlink,  a satellite internet service operated by Starlink Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of American aerospace company SpaceX. Zimbabwe has not yet licensed Starlink — which will be a big game changer — as the authorities drag their feet on technology and progress because they want control and rent-seeking opportunities. NATHAN GUMA ZIMBABWE was conspicuous by its absence at the recently held US-Africa Business Summit held in Houston, Texas, in stark contrast to last year’s edition held in Botswana attended by President Emmerson Mnangagwa and several other regional leaders, The NewsHawks has learnt. Since taking over from long-time ruler Robert Mugabe in 2017, Mnangagwa under his "Zimbabwe is open for business" mantra undertook to anchor the country’s foreign policy on economic diplomacy with the international community. The business summit, hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), enables leaders to connect with government and private sector decision makers to drive US-Africa sustainable business partnerships. The CCA, established in 1993, is the premier US business organisation focused exclusively on promoting greater US-Africa trade, investment, and business partnerships. While President Mnangagwa attended the previous edition in 2023 hosted by Botswana, his name did not appear on the list of confirmed heads of state who were part of this year’s edition held between 6-9 May in Texas, US. Zimbabwe, which has been taking every opportunity to attract foreign direct investment, did not send a delegation to the summit, with 16 countries sending ministerial delegations. The US-Africa Business Summit brings together US and African government and private sector leaders, including African heads of state, ministers, chief executive officers and senior executives of American and African companies, institutional investors, and international financial institution representatives, to explore and expand trade, investment, and business opportunities. Contacted for comment on why Zimbabwe was not represented at the highest level this time around, the spokesperson of the ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Livit Mugejo, directed questions sent to another spokesperson, Micheal Mukura. He did not respond. Regional heads of state who attended were Liberian President Joseph Boakai, Malawian leader Lazarus Chakwera, Angolan President Joao Lourenço, Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi, Cabo Verde President José Maria Neves and Kashim Shettima, Vice-President of Nigeria. Also in attendance were Nthomeng Majara, Lesotho deputy prime minister and David Sengeh, chief minister of the Republic of Sierra Leone. The summit was also attended by Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US representative to the United Nations, Katherine Tai, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and Reta Jo Lewis, the president and chair of the board of the US Export Import-Bank (EXIM), among others. World Trade Organisation (WTO) director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was also in attendance, and Wamkele Mene, secretary-general of the African Continental Free Trade Area secretariat. According to the US-Africa factsheet, the US-Africa Summit is important for enhancing bilateral trade, investment, and commercial opportunities and promoting women’s and youth entrepreneurship, among other outcomes. In 2022, Zimbabwe was for the first time invited to the US-Africa high-level meeting, attended by 49 heads of state, after Washington relaxed conditions for Zimbabwe. However, Harare was represented at a lower level by Foreign minister Fredrick Shava because of travel restrictions slapped on Mnangagwa. Mnangagwa has remained sanctioned despite US President Joe Biden’s termination of the US Zimbabwe sanctions programme, unblocking all individuals, entities and property that had been blocked under that authority. Mnangagwa and 11 other individuals, who include First Lady Auxillia, were in March targeted with fresh sanctions under the US Global Magnitsky (GloMag) sanctions programme. Three companies linked to Mnangagwa’s ally and businessman Kuda Tagwireyi, were also sanctioned under the latest punitive measures. They were sanctioned for corruption and human rights violations. As previously reported by The NewsHawks in July last year, presidential spokesperson George Charamba hinted that there were overtures to bar President Mnangagwa from attending the summit held in Gaborone. “With host President Dr. Masisi, Botswana extended an invitation to Zimbabwe in spite of objections from some within Corporate Council for Africa and from elements within the American establishment,” he revealed via his X handle Tinoedzazvimwe1 last year. “Walking to the venue of the Conference in the company of the President of Niger. The US-Africa Business Summit follows up on decisions of the US-Africa Summit held towards end of last year in Washington. “On the insistence of the US government, Zimbabwe was represented by Hon Dr. Shava, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. The US Government continues to pursue a policy of petty vindictiveness in spite of the fact that Zimbabwe under the Second Republic has avowed a policy of friendship to all and enmity to none. Africa, led by Sadc countries has adopted a policy of opposing US’ ruinous policies towards Zimbabwe, an effort commemorated yearly on 25th October.” Zim shut out of US-Africa summit Mutsvangwa's son spend yet another weekend in detention NewsHawks 1ssue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024

Page 12 News NewsHawks Issue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024 Lessons for Nelson Chamisa from the Senegalese elections BRENNA MATENDERE UNIVERSITY of Cape Town-based constitutional law expert Justice Alfred Mavedzenge has rallied the Zimbabwean opposition led by politician Nelson Chamisa to take lessons from events in Senegal that resulted in former president Macky Sall transferring power to a rival movement that coalesced around new Senegalese head of state Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye. Mavedzenge said courageous opposition leadership, clear ideological grounding; collective and selfless leadership are key lessons Chamisa and the Zimbabwean opposition can take from Senegal. “At the moment our attention is on Senegal where citizens have succeeded in stopping their president from seeking a third term. In addition, they succeeded in electing a youthful opposition candidate (Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye) as their president. These are aspirations shared by many Zimbabweans given the legitimate suspicion that President Emmerson Mnangagwa may be tempted to seek a third term and/or postpone the next (2028) elections to 2030. “It is a positive thing that, as a people, we are interested in how others are achieving change in their countries. Culturally, that is our nature. I am reminded of one of our indigenous proverbs which says 'kugara nhaka huona dzavamwe' which means: in order to achieve our aspirations, we must learn from others. “However, the biggest question is whether we are learning the right lessons? What are some of the lessons which can be drawn from recent events in Senegal?  Is there any basis to learn anything from Senegal?” he asked. Mavedzenge said Chamisa must learn to shun his high insecurity fears and work with a broader movement. “The approach to opposition politics in Zimbabwe needs a major overhaul. There is a need to transition from building individual oriented groupings to establishing issue-based movements. Zimbabweans need to look out for and support leaders who have clear ideological grounding capable of uniting people across the traditional political, social and religious divides. There is a need for opposition leaders who live and practise democratic values of consultation and accountability. Without these values it is impossible to build a movement capable of spearheading a democratic breakthrough,” he said. Senegal events In 2023, former president Sall was forced to abandon his third-term aspirations when he made a public announcement in which he declared that he would not contest in the 2024 elections. Earlier in 2012, Senegalese citizens successfully stopped another of their presidents (Abdoulaye Wade) from seeking a third term, when they united and overwhelmingly voted for Sall, the then-opposition candidate. After abandoning his third term bid, Sall attempted to prolong his tenure by postponing elections. Presumably, this was part of his attempt to buy more time in order to identify a preferred successor whom he could support in the elections. In Senegal, candidates for presidential elections are approved by the Constitutional Council. President Sall’s preferred candidate was not approved by the Constitutional Council on account of failure to meet one of the eligibility requirements. Using its majority in Parliament, former Sall’s party attempted to postpone the elections. On 5 February 2024, Parliament passed a Bill postponing the presidential election from February 2024 (as originally scheduled) to December 2024. This sparked widespread protests which resulted in several people being killed by state security agents. The postponement of the elections was challenged through a petition filed before the Constitutional Council. The council ruled in favour of the petition, holding that the postponement was unconstitutional. It ordered the elections to be held as soon as is possible, without specifying a date. A follow-up application was filed before the Constitutional Council requesting the body to clarify the date for elections, and the council ruled that the elections must be held prior to the end of March 2024 in line with the constitutional deadline. The election was subsequently held on 25 March 2024 in compliance with the ruling of the Constitutional Council and the constitution. Faye won the elections by 54.28%, defeating the candidate of the then ruling coalition  Amadou Ba, who garnered 35.79% of the total votes. Faye has since taken over the reigns from Sall, as the president of the Republic. President Faye has appointed Ousmane Sonko as his Prime Minister. As mentioned above, prior to the March election, Ousmane Sonko was the most popular opposition leader who, however, had been disqualified from contesting in the elections, and he chose to endorse his colleague Faye.         Chamisa comparison Mavendzenge said unlike Senegal’s Sonko who could work with Faye, Chamisa has shown that he is highly insecure with the idea of working side-by- side with other competent leaders. “Unlike Sonko and Faye who were open to criticism, Nelson Chamisa perceives those who are critical of his leadership style as jealous of him or Zanu PF enablers. Sadly, it is a view also shared by several Zimbabweans in the opposition. “As a result, Nelson Chamisa has run his parties as if they are religious cults. The results have been quite costly not only for him but for Zimbabwe’s struggle for democratic breakthrough. For instance, even though the Senegalese government banned the then main opposition party (PASTEF) led by Sonko, they did not succeed to decimate the opposition. “In Zimbabwe, the dismantling of Nelson Chamisa’s Citizens' Coalition for Change has automatically led to the death of the opposition, and the ruling party Zanu PF is now enjoying free reign. In this sense, the difference between Senegal and Zimbabwe is that in Zimbabwe Chamisa became the opposition while in Senegal, Ousmane Sonko built an opposition movement,” he said. Clear ideological grounding Mavedzenge said Faye and Sonko mobilised the Senegalese people around a clear ideological standpoint and projected themselves as de-colonial leaders who are committed towards ending the French neo-colonial exploitation of Senegal. “This allowed them to establish alliances with various interest groups within Senegal and in the diaspora.  The Zimbabwean opposition leadership space has persistently been occupied by personalities who are demagogues but with unclear ideological inclination, and as a result they have failed to establish the necessary alliances with critical stakeholders within and outside of Zimbabwe,” he said. Mavedzenge said even though he had a trade union background, the late opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was not ideologically articulate and as a result he was very much untrusted amongst African leaders and some of the critical stakeholders within the Zimbabwean body politic. “Consequently, Morgan Tsvangirai succeeded to galvanise support within the opposition circles but was largely unsuccessful in his efforts to establish alliances with those who traditionally support Zanu PF. However, in 2008 he succeeded I defeating President Robert Mugabe but he could not capture state power due to lack of support from critical domestic and regional leaders, partly because of lack of trust which is attributable to his ideological opaqueness. “The current opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa, appears to have suffered the safe fate. He confuses religion with [political] ideology. He forgets that, even though God may be in support of his candidature, God is not religious. God still expects his chosen leaders to use their wisdom to articulate a clear vision, and craft a path which those who support them can follow.” Courageous opposition leadership The Senegalese opposition’s success in stopping former president Sall’s third-term bid and winning the March 2024 presidential election is attributed to the brave and courageous personality of its leadership. “In Zimbabwe, the main opposition leader Nelson Chamisa does not lead from the front. He leads from social media handles. When he took over the leadership of the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance in 2018, Nelson Chamisa vowed that he would lead peaceful protests from the front. “Since then, he has only participated in one march where he became famous for doing push-ups as a symbolic demonstration of courage, but nothing further materialised,” said Mavedzenge. Some of the opposition leaders, who include Job Sikhala, Jacob Ngarivhume, Makomborero Haruzivishe, Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri, Netsai Marova, Obey Sithole and others, engaged in peaceful protests and were detained and ended up in jail for very long periods. Job Sikhala, who was deputy national chairperson in Chamisa’s party, spent 595 days in prison, while youth leader Makomborero Haruzivishe was jailed for a year. “Unlike Faye or Sonko in Senegal, Nelson Chamisa did not lead any protest to demand the freedom of his fellow comrades. In fact, he discouraged and distanced himself from groups of opposition supporters who attempted to organise peaceful protests as means of putting pressure on the state to release these leaders.  Without leaders who are capable of leading from the front, it is impossible for Zimbabweans to achieve what the Senegalese achieved under the leadership of Sonko and Faye.” Former CCC leader Nelson Chamisa

News Page 13 BRENNA MATENDERE THE Zimbabwe Banks and Allied Workers' Union (Zibawu) is challenging the takeover matrix of Standard Chartered Bank by FBC Bank Holdings, saying some transfer arrangements made recently are tantamount to gross abuse of employees’ labour rights last seen in the colonial era. In May last year, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) announced that the registrar of banking institutions approved FBC Holdings Limited’s acquisition of 100% shareholding (significant interest) in Standard Chartered Bank Zimbabwe Limited which would also result in FBC Holdings Limited taking control of Standard Chartered Bank Zimbabwe Limited as defined in terms of the Banking Act [Chapter 24:20]. The RBZ also advised the public that approval had been granted by the registrar of banks for FBC Holdings Limited to be registered as a controlling company for Standard Chartered Bank Zimbabwe Limited. In the latest development, in a letter dated 8 May 2024, StanChart Bank chief executive officer Mubaiwa Mubayiwa wrote to workers saying their employment would be transferred to FBC Holdings whereupon they would receive a one-time ex-gratia payment of ZiG 101 838. “Following the announcement of the sale of the Bank to FBC Holdings Limited on 8 June 2023, we would like to advise you that subject to obtaining regulatory approval, we intend to complete the sale on or around 18 May 2024… “The ex-gratia payment will be subject to tax and any applicable statutory deduction and will be paid to you on or around 16 May 2024 being the last payroll date prior to the completion date. Details of your final entitlements will be set out in your final payslip which will be made available for you …” a copy of Mubayiwa’s letter to one worker reads. Two days later, Zibawu secretary-general and former Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) president Peter Mutasa hit back. In a letter dated 10 May 2024, he wrote to Mubayiwa, saying the terms were grossly unfair and of utmost oppressive nature. “It is our view that such colonial labour relations legacy no longer has room in a constitutional democracy  at the workplace. Our laws demand that you consult the works council on such matter before implementation to allow workers to share their input. We therefore demand that you withdraw your oppressive terms of transfer and immediately engage the works council as per the provisions of the Labour Act,” wrote Mutasa. In an interview with The NewsHawks, Mutasa confirmed the standoff. “We are up in arms with the bank because throughout the transaction it has been not consulting workers in term of the law. Unlike other transactions like Barclays' sale where interests of all stakeholders were protected, this one has been a disaster for workers and pensioners. “Now the bank is giving an arbitrary gratuity but tying it will oppressive terms that seek to curtail workers from raising past, present and even future claims .The terms can even prevent workers from raising claims at FBC and this is a violation of section 16 of the Labour Act. So we believe the bank would not do that to workers in Europe. It is taking advantage of our environment,” he said. Mutasa said the workers will seek remedy through collective action. “The Bank is taking advantage of the weak labour laws and shrinking civic space. We will therefore not waste much time in the courts but pursue serious collective action at both local and international levels. We will continue to call Standard Chartered Bank to order, even after the finalisation of the transaction until they correct this injustice,” he said. “We don’t believe it is a British corporate practice or political culture. It is a matter of unethical conduct by Standard Chartered group and local management. Barclays Bank respectfully engaged its workers when it pulled out from Zimbabwe. It never used such primitive intimidation and dishonesty. Barclays negotiated a respectful gratuity and also gave Zimbabwean workers 15% employee share ownership trust.  We therefore cannot allow Standard Chartered and its local partners FBC Holdings to treat African workers as sub-humans.” FBC Holdings is part of the Zanu PF business empire and the ruling party owns a stake in the financial institution that used to be headed by newly appointed RBZ governor John Mushayavanhu. StanChart takeover riles workers NewsHawks 1ssue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024

Page 14 News NewsHawks Issue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024 RUVIMBO MUCHENJE LOCATED 45 kilometres from Harare, Makumbi Mission Hospital, which traditionally had a remarkable reputation as the go-to Catholic-run health facility servicing hundreds of thousands of people in Goromonzi district, has taken a tailspin. The hospital's new owner, the state, seems unmoved by the dire situation at the medical institution and the rapidly deteriorating health crisis. All this came to light this paat week when a parliamentary portfolio committee on Health and Child Care toured the facility. The hospital serves a catchment area of 386 199 people, yet the mortuary can only cater for three corpses at a time. The district health services administrator, Evelyn Runodada, says the situation is so dire that some bodies are placed on the floor awaiting the exit of those that would have accessed the morgue fridge earlier. Runodada was responding to questions posed to her by members of Parliament on whether or not the hospital had the capacity to deal with non-communicable diseases such as cancer. What the lawmakers discovered was shocking. “It is a challenge to us, usually we have more than three bodies at a time in the mortuary. What do we do? We double our bodies per tray, that is one strategy that we use and at times we put them down on the floor and we communicate with the relatives our situation and ask them to quickly come and take their body,” she said. The floor on which the bodies are placed does not have a temperature control mechanism to lessen the risk of decomposition, so when one of the bodies in the trays is taken by the deceased's family, the corpses on the floor are quickly placed in the freezers. She added that sometimes there are unidentified bodies that should be given a pauper’s burial by the government, which is a lengthy process that keeps the morgue occupied. “For those bodies that are brought in dead by the police,  some of them take time without being collected and that poses a challenge and some of them will never be collected and going through the process of a pauper's burial is a lengthy process, so we have a challenge there and at times we ask the police to take the body to Parirenyatwa [Hospital in Harare]. And most of the time Parirenyatwa won’t have space as well and in our district this is the only mortuary that we have, so we don’t have anywhere else to refer our bodies. So we end up taking [the body] for the sake of humanity. We cannot ask someone to stay with a corpse at their house, so we are trying our best,” she said. A mortuary is a place of respect and care for the dead, and morgue attendants ensure that the corpses are treated with dignity during the final stages before their funeral, which might not be the case at Makumbi Hospital. Public health care institutions in Zimbabwe are under scrutiny  for failing to deliver on their mandate of service provision. The derelict state of Makumbi Mission Hospital highlights how the sector has depreciated over the years. Makumbi Mission Hospital, formerly owned and run by the Roman Catholic, was officially opened in 1946 and the government of Zimbabwe took over operations at Independence in 1980. Unfortunately, there has not been much infrastructure development on the hospital; it has essentially remained the same since 1946. “When the hospital was built in 1946, that is the mortuary that we are using and it has the same capacity,” she told the members of Parliament. The ideal situation would be to have the capacity to carry at least 12 bodies. “We have been trying to lobby for funds to construct a new mortuary, we would like it to be a 12-body mortuary. So we have been applying for PSIP [Public Sector Investment Programme] funds, we have been promised and we are still submitting our requests for a mortuary,” she said. Runodada also told Parliament’s Health portfolio committee how dire the situation is not only at the morgue but even the kitchen that prepares food for patients. “This is our kitchen, we have these pots, (six of them), these were condemned. They are no longer working. So we are now using them for water storage. We are supposed to be taking them out, but they are too big for our doors and we have got a water challenge here, so we use them to store water,” she said. The institution now uses smaller pots similar in size to those found in domestic households to prepare food for patients, but this is not good enough. “So we have two stoves that are functional and we have got a number of patients to feed and sometimes it poses a challenge. All our patients get food. We make an effort to make sure that they are fed, so we have staff members who come as early as 3 o’clock to start making porridge because our stoves cook slowly. Sometimes they put fire outside to cook for the patients. We also use gas. We also invest in buying gas to cook for the patients,” she said. Citizens have lamented the government's priorities. Lots of money is spent on luxury cars, yet an entire district cannot cater for more than three corpses. As if not burdened enough, Makumbi Mission Hospital does not have an incinerator to burn medical waste. It has only one ambulance, bought in 2013, to service the district's 25 wards. Given the terrible road network in the area, the ambulance is constantly breaking down. The sole ambulance is also the hospital's only mode of transport for ferrying water from community boreholes to the institution whenever there are water shortages. Lawmakers face horror of derelict Makumbi hospital Makumbi Hospital mortuary that only cater for three corpses at a time.

News Page 15 Fed-up Redcliff residents drag municipality to court NATHAN GUMA WHILE Redcliff is now wallowing in decay and ruin, the steel-producing dormitory town, located 227 kilometres southwest of Harare, used to be a respected urban area known for its efficient service delivery and good social amenities. The town’s decline is continuing, with no solution in sight. The local residents, with the help of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, are now dragging Redcliff Municipality to court over its failure to provide water for three consecutive years. “We have gone for six years without water,” says Tawanda Mapiye, secretary for the Combined Redcliff Residents and Tenants Association (CRRTA). “For three years, getting a sporadic supply and three years completely dry, without anything. The situation is terrible and is worsening all the time. We have had meetings with the council as to when they are going to bring back water supplies. However, we have been getting excuse after excuse.” Mapiye says the situation is worsening, with residents now resorting to buying water from boreholes, most of them located close to sewer pipelines, raising fears of communicable diseases like cholera and typhoid. This is contrary to the World Health Organisation's benchmark which recommends the supply of between 50 and 100 litres of water per person per day to ensure that basic needs are met. “Other people are fetching water from Cactus Port Dam Pool, which they will end up boiling. This is not a safe source of water. Toilets are in a sorry state as they do not have water. People are resorting to the bush system. It is better for someone to take a hoe and dig somewhere else for ablution as the system is completely non-functional,” Mapiye told The NewsHawks. “Council has used devolution funds to rehabilitate a medical centre and Torwood Hospital. It is not like they are not getting water from Kwekwe. “The water is coming, but council’s priorities are misplaced. Because of the bush toilet system, residents simply don't have a safe drinking borehole water system anymore, since all the human waste will somehow find its way into the water table for eventual consumption.” According to CRRTA’s founding affidavit, the municipality has been selectively providing water to other areas, citing uneven terrain. The affidavit cites the minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, Climate and Rural Development and the minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing as respondents, who are yet to respond. Residential areas like Simbi and Rutendo, which also fall under Redcliff Municipality, have been getting water supply. While suburbs like Torwood have been receiving water on a weekly basis, others such as Redcliff suburb have not been receiving any supplies over the past three years. “The municipality has been able to provide water to residents while others are starved of it on the other end. The municipality was at least supposed to redistribute or ration whatever little that they may allege is there fairly to all,” it reads. “It is not justifiable how the municipality is able to maintain water in some selected areas whilst others do not get any share completely. Even if the excuse may be due to terrain, the municipality ought to have employed technology to cater for the areas on higher terrain.” Social justice advocate Ruben Mbofana says Redcliff is continuing to deteriorate. “Nearly everything is on the verge of collapse,” Mbofana, who is also a Redcliff resident, told The NewsHawks. “Let us remember that Redcliff used to he referred to as 'Little London' due to its exceptional standards — whether in housing, shopping centres, medical and educational institutions, and recreational facilities. “However, all of these now lie in ruin. Nothing is functional anymore, except the schools, although standards have shockingly gone down. Zisco Club, Golf Club, Torwood Stadium — amongst others which used to be the envy of many in the country — are now an embarrassing sight and dysfunctional. “The two main hospitals (Torwood Hospital and Redcliff Medical Centre) have not been operating for nearly two decades. I will not even mention the state of our roads and non-functional street lights. The situation is even worse in nearly every established residential area in the town. There is really nothing of substance that has been done to improve the situation. All we hear are endless excuses by the local authority over a lack of resources.” As previously reportedly by The NewsHawks, the town’s standards are continuing on a downward spiral, with Torwood Hospital now defunct for years, with part of it now operating as a clinic following the municipality’s intervention. Patients are usually directed to Kwekwe General Hospital from various council polyclinics like the nearby Torwood Polyclinic. The 22-kilometre journey to Kwekwe General Hospital is often perilous, as the area is awash with machete-wielding gangs who rob and even kill travellers. To some residents, paying a US$1 bus fare to Kwekwe General Hospital is a non-starter, while hospital bills are beyond the reach of most residents, many whom are unemployed and survive on selling tomatoes and scrap metal. NewsHawks 1ssue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024

Page 16 News NewsHawks Issue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024 VERNA NYAMUCHENGWE HARARE residents have bemoaned the absence of an efficient accounting and billing system at the city council amid concern that many ratepayers are being overbilled for services rendered by the local authority. In 2019, the City of Harare dumped the South African-made Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) from Quill Associates, citing that it had become expensive at US$75 000, only to replace it with SAGE at a cost of US$300 000. Quill Associates and the local authority had an acrimonious separation which left Harare’s books in a shambles and, to date, the local authority has been receipting manually, which is a nightmare for accountants. Harare Residents Trust director Precious Shumba told The NewsHawks that the shortcomings of council have shortchanged residents as inaccurate billing — including for services not provided for, specifically water consumption and refuse collection — has been the order of the day. “In light of these inaccuracies, the City of Harare's billing system is shambolic and evidently a source of conflict between the city and the ratepayers who argue that they cannot be charged for services not rendered and for water not actually consumed,’’ said Shumba. Combined Harare Residents' Association (CHRA) director Reuben Akili reinforced Shumba’s point, saying the current system is prejudicing ratepayers. “They have to utilise all the available modules and stop the deliberate manipulation of the system for the personal benefit of corrupt and incompetent officials within the council,’’ said Akili. Akili said they have in the past written to Parliament and the local authority over the unreliable accounting system. “The disasters passed on to residents are emanating from employees at the Rowen Martin Building [council's accounts section] who are failing to interpret the figures, thereby inflating residents,” he said. The situation has been going on for five years and when the then Auditor-General, Mildred Chiri, picked it in the 2020 report, Parliament made an inquiry into the state of affairs of the local authority’s accounting system and recommended that the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission probe why the council cancelled Quill’s ERP and opted for the more expensive Sage system. It is against this background that President Emmerson Mnangagwa has appointed a commission of inquiry led by retired Justice Maphios Cheda, aided by Steven Chakaipa, Norbert Phiri, former People’s Democratic Party president Lucia Gladys Matibenga, Khozani Ncube, while and th3 ministry of Local Government's permanent secretary John Bhasera will be secretary. In 2022, the then chairperson for the Finance and Development Committee in the City of Harare, Councillor Costa Mande, as reported by The NewsHawks, admitted that council books were in a shambles because of the absence of an effective ERP. The absence of a fully integrated ERP system at council means that the financial records, billing system and management reports are in a shambles. Without proper ERP software, it is difficult to automate and manage core operations for optimal performance. Mande added that there was no way of plugging revenue leakages in the absence of an ERP. Auditor-General Chiri revealed in a 2020 report that Harare City Council could have been prejudiced of close to US$190 million owing to a shoddy accounting system. “According to the council, trade and other payables to the tune of US$105 542 322 were unverifiable. In addition, trade and other payables totalling US$83 712 713 had debit balances and should have been reclassified. This suggests that the council might have prepaid or overpaid suppliers and has to recover the same,” read the report. The problems have persisted, with council operating without a functional ERP. Shambolic council books worrisome Harare Residents Trust director Precious Shumba

News Page 17 NATHAN GUMA/DELIGHT GUMA IT is afternoon, and Panganai Munhanga, a smallholder farmer in Mutare’s Zimta Park, is clearing part of his land, located on a marsh, to extend his banana field. During a normal farming season, this land is swampy and waterlogged, but due to the El Niño-induced drought, characterised by high temperatures and low rainfall, the halfbaked black soil is still showing signs of antecedent moisture. “This black soil is good for bananas,” he says. “The sun has no effect on the banana trees. Their roots are strong and have a longer lifespan. The small well I have is enough to keep them up for a long time.” Munhanga is part of the many smallholder farmers across the country who are embracing drought resistant crops to avert the devastating effects of the drought which is projected to leave almost eight million people in need of food aid. Close by is a heap of brown-leaved banana saplings for transplanting. “As long as the roots are not tampered with, the saplings will grow well. They can even outperform the ones planted before them,” says a smiling Munhanga. “The sun and drought are out of the question. With the right inputs, I am going to expand the field. I am currently looking for inputs, particulalry fertilisers, to speed up growth. With fertilisers, bananas will be ripen in three or four months.” “I have cultivated a sample on a small piece of land and managed to get reasonable income. I believe if I grow them over a large piece of land, there will be more income.” Bananas do not require large amounts of water. According to research by India’s Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), the total water requirement of banana plants is about 900-1 200 millimetres for its entire life cycle, which can be met through natural rainfall as well as supplementary irrigation. Another farmer, Memory Chayambika from Chimanimani Hot Springs, some 240 kilometres southeast of Zimbabwe, says she will also continue growing bananas and small grains after much of her large grain crops have been devastated by the ravaging drought. “I cultivate bananas, beans and maize. Beans and maize did not perform well, even bananas,” says Chayambika who operates under the Zimbabwe Smallholder and Organic Farmers Forum (Zimsoff ). Zimsoff is an organisation that seeks to promote livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe using sustainable and viable ecological agriculture, while influencing policies and public awareness towards agro ecology and smallholder farmers’ rights. “Despite that, the bananas performed better than other crops unlike the previous seasons. For instance, I used to get six 50 kilogrammes of beans per hectare. Maize, I would get a tonne and sell them in areas like Gweru. I do not think everything is going to remain the same. The seasons are shifting.” Other areas across the country are now taking a collective approach to promoting resilience against climate-related shocks. For instance, in Zvishavane’s Mutambi Village, all farmers now grow small grains only as large grain crops like maize are failing. Eddias Shumba from Mutambi in Chief Mazvihwa's area of Zvishavane has aborted growing large grains for Mutare-based smallholder farmer Panganai Munhanga (pictured) is now growing bananas and sugar cane in response to climate change which has caused large grain crops to fail. (Picture by Delight Guma recently in Mutare). Farmers devise resilience strategies amid climate crisis NewsHawks 1ssue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024

Page 18 News NewsHawks Issue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024 small grain crops.   “Mutambi is known for growing small grains since we are in [agro-ecological] region four. Even our village head encourages us to grow small grains such as rapoko, finger millet, sorghum, peanuts, roundnuts, groundnuts, and maize, especially the old breeds like yellow and red maize,” said Shumba, a farmer under Zimsoff. Shumba says he has not been hard hit by the drought compared to farmers from nearby villages. “I was not really affected by the El Niño-induced drought. I was not severely affected by the El Niño conditions. Yes, I did not get the desired yield, but my crops performed well. My hybrid seeds were the ones that were largely affected,” he told The NewsHawks.    “Last season was better, I got three tonnes of sorghum, half a tonne of zviyo, two tonnes of rapoko and six tonnes of groundnuts. This season, I got less, and made only a tonne of sorghum and 100 kilogrammes of rapoko. I am yet to thrash millet and have only reserved groundnuts for seed. This is better as farmers that produced hybrid seeds did not reap at all.” Ngoni Chikowe, a Zimsoff technical officer based in Mutoko, says his organisation has been encouraging water harvesting, and a migration from exotic to traditional grains and, to promote climate resilience. “We have been encouraging farmers to use drought resistant crops that are resilient to drought. We have the likes of finger millet, sorghum, pearl millet and roundnuts,” Chikowe told The NewsHawks. “These are some of the crops that we are encouraging farmers to grow because climate change is not reversing. It will continue to be even worse. So, with these kinds of crops, you can see that some farmers have a better yield than those who practised traditional farming. “On water harvesting, we have a technique on how to harvest water across the country. In Mutoko, we have been trapping water since our area is mountainous. Some of it we have been storing underground. So, we have been encouraging farmers to use such methods to promote resilience." Climate change expert Kundai Ngwenya says farmers ought to consider water harvesting as a key factor in promoting resilience. “Most agricultural activity is rainfed. When rain patterns change, this means that there are also going to be fluctuations in terms of the harvest or the expected harvest,” Kundai Ngwenya, African Union Economic Social and Cultural Council (Ecosocc) cluster chair for Infrastructure and Energy, told The NewsHawks. “So you find that the most significant threat now is failure to predict the unpredictable weather patterns. So now if you look at the summer cropping seasons, you will find that there have been false starts to the 2020, 2022 to 2023 summer cropping season. Crops had to die and wilt.” While irrigation has continued to be of importance, Ngwena said farmers ought to start small. “Water harvesting is one of the strategies farmers can use to promote climate resilience. If you cannot drill a borehole, then you start small, depending on the scale of operation. But you can start small by just digging these wells, what we call mugodhi, and then you can pump water from there to a certain piece of land. "These can work for some, for something like an acre. There is also the irrigation system. But now because we are also having power challenges, it has to be solar powered.” A farmers' grouping, the Women in Agriculture Union (WAU), already has the foresight to encourage women farmers to take up irrigation. WAU, a consortium of women from various agrarian organisations aimed at identifying gender gaps and disparities in the agriculture sector, has been using innovative methods to promote water harvesting. “In terms of climate change, we promote more of conservation farming methods and on water harvesting, we have been encouraging women so they have irrigation,” said Olga Nhari, WAU director. “We have come up with initiatives like 'mukando' whereby they make contributions to acquire machinery such as centre pivots and boreholes so that they can have boreholes drilled. We are also encouraging them to have greenhouses so that they can manage to produce all-year-round. “We have also partnered with companies, some of which are into greenhouse construction, and those that are in irrigation equipment so that we have discounted prices for women to get the machinery while paying in instalments.” For Munhanga, bananas are his crop of choice, with the ability to give him money all-year round in spite of the drought. “I hope to expand my farming venture so I can end up delivering bananas to various parts of the country,” he says. Abnormal heat coupled with extreme dryness has been widespread across the country which has seen crops fail, raising the need for farming methods that promote climate resilience (Usaid's Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fews Net) Map for March 2024)

News Page 19 KELVIN JAKACHIRA THE bail application for Women's Affairs minister Monica Mutsvangwa’s son, Neville, was heard at the High Court on Friday with his Josephine Sande submitting that the state has failed to prove a case against the 44-year-old Harare businessman and his co-accused. Sande argued that the magistrate's court erred by denying Neville and his co-accused Elias Majachani and Simbarashe Tichingana bail. They are facing charges of dealing in foreign currency, trading in cash and money laundering. Sande said the state was establishing its evidence on Visa cards which were seized from Neville’s home in Mt Pleasant, Harare. In her submissions before High Court judge Esther Maremba, Sande argued that possession of Visa cards is not illegal and is also not evidence that someone is dealing with cash or money laundering. “I submit that mere possession of bank cards is not proof enough that someone is dealing in cash. It is not even illegal,” Sande averred. Sande said bank cards are the property of banks which have authority to disclose transactions undertaken using the seized cards. She said there was no way the state would charge Neville and his co-accused with money laundering charges without the involvement of the central bank or the Financial Intelligence Unit which would have raised suspicions on the transactions using the Visa cards. The High Court will make a ruling next Wednesday. Neville is facing a further charge of using the Starlink satellite internet service which is unlicensed in Zimbabwe. NATHAN GUMA VILLAGERS in the Seke area of Mashonaland East province are increasingly facing prosecution for resisting the operations of a granite rock mining company they accuse of destroying the environment, The NewsHawks has established. Tensions have been running high since Matscandnavia Investments (Private) Limited instituted the arrests of locals accused of trespassing areas pegged out for mine prospecting. The villagers are pushing back against the company, a subsidiary of Seven Stars Mining, which is exploring for granite in the Mayambara area without following the due process of law. The company, through its employers and agents, has already pegged out land in four villages, namely Savanhu, Mhonda, Mhundwa and Charigwati in Seke’s Mayambara area, sparking outrage. Last month, Blessing Munemo, a councillor from Savanhu Village, dragged the company to court, seeking to bar it from carrying out any prospecting, exploration and mining activities without following the due process of law. Munemo later told The NewsHawks that the company has set pegs in the area and is prohibiting villagers from trespassing as it continues with its prospecting plans. “The situation is intense, they are arresting villagers on trespassing allegations,” Munemo said. “The Marondera magistrate evaded and said he has no jurisdiction, and was working on assumptions not facts highlighted on my application. There has been no engagement with the company and they have sent me a letter demanding me to pay for malicious damage.” As previously reported by The NewsHawks, Munemo said the company’s operations are likely to have harmful effects in the area. On 11 March, Munemo, with the help of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, wrote a letter to Matscandnavia Investments demanding that it stop its quarry mining activities and remove the pegs because it had not complied with provisions of the law as it did not have an environmental impact assessment (EIA) certificate. An EIA is a mandatory requirement used to assess the significant effects of a proposed project on the environment. However, Munemo says the company instead wrote to the chief executive officer of Manyame Rural District Council alleging that he was disrupting the quarry mining project in Mayambara. “Unwittingly, that same letter of 20 March 2024 also confirms two things. Firstly, that Matscandnavia has not yet obtained the environmental impact assessment certificate in relation to its project in Mayambara Village, Seke, and secondly, that the company is carrying out quarry mining activities in Mayambara Village, Seke, and has already pegged the area,” reads his founding affidavit. “This has therefore prompted me to make the application on the following grounds: I am advised by our legal counsel that to succeed in an application of this nature, I must demonstrate and prove the following: (a) The existence of a clear right; (b) There is a reasonable apprehension of irreparable harm; (c) The balance of convenience favours the granting of the application; (d) Absence of protection by any other similar remedy.” Munemo said that the local communities are on the verge of losing their grazing land should the company be allowed to continue operating without an environmental impact assessment. “Furthermore, I submit that my apprehension of irreparable harm is reasonable under the circumstances. Firstly, villagers and I are going to effectively lose our grazing pastures, cultivating land and sacred traditional and cultural shrines to the company’s operations,” he said. “Moreover, if the first respondent continues with its intended mining activities without any environmental impact assessment having been done and approved by the [Mines ministry] 2nd Respondent, it would effectively mean that I and my fellow villagers would be staying in the midst of a mining location and we would be exposed to unmitigated and unassessed environmental hazards.” “Such a situation exposes us to an unhealthy and unsafe environment as we do not know the environmental impact of the company’s mining activities and measures to mitigate such effects.” Munemo also said the community is set to suffer irreparable harm if the interdict is not granted and the company continues with its intended mining operations. “I submit that there is no alternative remedy to confer us with protection from the company’s shenanigans. We instructed our lawyers to write to Matscandnavia, their letter dated March 20, which followed our letter of demand clearly shows that they will not be deterred unless stopped by this Honourable Court,” he said. “It is therefore clear that the company is not going to stop at anything unless it is stopped by an order of this Honourable Court.” Granite has been a major export for Zimbabwe, with the country mining close to 230 000 metric tonnes of the rock in crude or rough trim worth US$25.8 million in 2021. Granite mining’s contribution to overall mining output has been growing steadily, having increased from 177 tonnes in 2017, 182 tonnes in 2018 to 184 tonnes in 2019. Several local and international companies have been plundering black granite from Mt Darwin, Murewa and Mutoko, making millions of United States dollars in the process while local villagers are wallowing in the depths of poverty and despair. In 2022, the government through Statutory Instrument 127 imposed a ban on raw granite exports, except with the authorisation of the minister of Mines, following an outcry over irresponsible mining by major entities. Seke villagers battle for their land rights THE Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) has determined the complaint made by the late businessman Chemist Siziba against prominent lawyer Advocate Keith Kachambwa, finding there was no act of unprofessional conduct he committed. Siziba had lodged a complaint with the LSZ on 12 May 2022 alleging that Kachambwa had consented to an order without his knowledge. The order by consent related to a special plea which was set down for argument at commencement of trial. In his written response, Kachambwa denied the allegation. He indicated that the order by consent was entered into with the knowledge and agreement of Siziba. He attached documents and affidavits from lawyers present at the hearing, including the instructing attorney Chenaimoyo Gumiro and Advocate Firoz Girash who appeared for one of the parties in the matter. They both confirmed that Siziba was present at the hearing and agreed to the order by consent. After due process had been carried out, the LSZ considered the complaint at a council meeting held on 4 April 2024 and found not merit in the complaint. It decided that despite Siziba's claim that the order was granted without his knowledge and that he only became aware of the order at trial, he did not complain or seek rescission of the order before the same trial judge who granted the order. Instead, he chose to comply with the order by consent and continued with the main trial despite knowledge of the order by consent. The Law Society further found that Siziba failed to substantiate the allegation of unprofessional conduct and dismissed the complaint against Advocate Kachambwa. LSZ clears Advocate Keith Kachambwa Possession of Visa cards is not a crime: Mutsvangwa’s lawyer Neville Mutsvangwa NewsHawks 1ssue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024

ZIMBABWEAN human rights lawyer Siphosami Malunga, who recently quit as Open Society Africa programmes director (executive director of the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa prior to that), has left a lasting legacy of fighting for human rights locally, regionally and internationally. Malunga publicly confirmed his departure from Open Society Africa on social media a week ago as he moves to seek greener pastures, saying: "My comrades at OSISA/ OSF-Africa gave me a befittingly rowdy, emotional, and intoxicating farewell yesterday. A chapter ends, and a new one begins." At home, Malunga, just like his nationalist late father Sydney Malunga, has been fearless and spoke on any issue without fear or favour. His activities pivoted social justice, empowering local communities, civil society organisations, media and pro-democracy organisations. For instance, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Malunga provided a lot of humanitarian support to organisations at home. He was always involved in lively debates and participation in local political, economic and social issues. His public lectures on Joshua Nkomo were insightful and attracted huge participation. Malunga recently produced profound works through media, journals and fresh research on the Gukurahundi genocide, which form part of his PhD in international law from the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. At regional level, he also rose to the occasion, providing support to human rights, civil society, humanitarian and media organisations across the region. Malunga was also always there for his colleagues, for instance when Swati human rights lawyer and opposition activist Thulani Maseko was shot dead by unknown gunmen at his home in Luyengo, Mbabane, last year in January, he was vocal. Malunga strongly condemned Maseko's murder and visited eSwatini. Internationally, he also left a mark. He was involved in the Serious Crimes Tribunal in East Timor, an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia in the north of the Timor Sea. In brief, Malunga worked with many individuals, civil society organisations and pro-democracy movements to promote reform and change. Some of his areas of focus were on advancing social justice: He worked with colleagues and allies fighting for the rights of marginalised communities, promoting equality and challenging injustice, repressive laws and practices. In his own right, he contributed to jurisprudence, especially on his PhD on Individual Criminal Responsibility on Gukurahundi and whether the massacres fit the legal definition of genocide. In this case, his research will help shape human rights law, while also influencing future generations of lawyers and Page 20 News Malunga's human rights legacy activists in their works. By sustaining humanitarian, legal support and advocacy, he also helped to empower communities to demand their rights and hold governments accountable. Malunga also inspired those he worked closely with and future generations to have courage and determination on human rights law and advocacy. Through his organisation and partners' hard work, he also helped protect fundamental liberties: Freedom of speech, expression, assembly, and the press; ensuring that citizens can freely express themselves; hold those in power accountable. His organisation also promoted international cooperation: It worked in a coordinated way across borders to address global human rights issues, fostering international cooperation and standards. MALUNGA'S PROFILE: Siphosami Malunga holds a PhD in International Law from University of Witwatersrand. Malunga was programmes director at Open Society Africa. He was previously executive director of the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA). He is a prominent human rights lawyer and advocate for justice, transparent and accountable governance. He has previously held United Nations posts around the world focused on democratic governance, development, peacekeeping, post conflict recovery, justice sector reform, and transitional justice. Malunga is also an international criminal lawyer; he was the lead defence counsel in the Special Panel for Serious Crimes in East Timor and defended the militia commander Johni Marques in the first crimes against humanity trial (Los Palos Case) and other militia commanders. He is a regular contributor on political and economic governance, human rights and accountability issues in national, regional, and international publications. His most recent publications include: "Defending Open Societies in the Context of Covid-19: The role of Philanthropic Foundations in Responding to the Pandemic and the Case of the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa," International Review of Philanthropy and Social Investment (2020); "The Killing Fields of Matabeleland: An Examination of the Gukurahundi Genocide in Zimbabwe," African Yearbook on International Humanitarian Law (2021); "Unpacking Gukurahundi Atrocities Against the Ndebeles of Zimbabwe: What Are the Possibilities for Individual Criminal Responsibility of the Perpetrators Under International Criminal Law?" and "A History of Atrocity: Patterns, Perpetrators and Prospects for Accountability for International Crimes in Zimbabwe" in: Lubaale E.C, Dyani-Mhango N. (eds) National Accountability for International Crimes in Africa, Palgrave Macmillan (2022) and "Evaluating the Individual Criminal Responsibility of Gukurahundi Perpetrators Under International Law," Comparative and International Law Journal of Southern Africa (2023). Malunga holds a PhD from Wits University, South Africa, an LLM from the University of Oslo, and LLB, University of Zimbabwe — STAFF WRITER. Siphosami Malunga NewsHawks Issue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024

NewsHawks News Page 21 1ssue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024 Legal Insights DONALD MADONDO TRUTH be told without fear or favour, corruption is pervasive in Zimbabwe. It is now a cancer eating away all facets of life. Corruption has been a major issue for many years, with the public sector being the most corrupt, followed by political parties, Parliament, public officials and the judiciary. Zimbabwe scored 24 out of 100 on Transparency International's 2023 Corruption Perception Index, ranking 149th out of 180 countries. There have been numerous reports of corruption, including the theft of diamond revenues, corrupt land deals and corrupt government contracts. The government has been criticised for not doing enough to tackle corruption and for restricting the operations of non-governmental organisations. While all forms of corruption are bad, corrupt judges can indeed pose a significant threat to justice and democracy. Judicial corruption can undermine the integrity of the legal system, erode public trust, and compromise the rule of law. When judges are corrupt, they prioritise personal gain or interests over fairness and impartiality, leading to unjust rulings and miscarriages of justice. Corruption among Zimbabwean judges has been a persistent concern, with reports of bribery, nepotism, and political interference in the judiciary.  This has eroded public trust and undermined the rule of law. Some instances include: *Bribery: Judges have been accused of accepting bribes in exchange for favorable rulings. *Political interference: The ruling party has been accused of influencing judicial appointments and decisions. *Nepotism: Judges have been accused of favouring relatives and friends in court cases. *Selective justice: Judges have been accused of applying the law selectively, depending on political connections. *Delayed judgments: Judges have been accused of delaying judgments to extort bribes or political favors. These allegations have led to calls for reform and greater judicial accountability. In 2022, the Zimbabwean government launched an anti-corruption crackdown, which entailed the arrest and prosecution of several high-profile figures, including judges. However, more needs to be done to address the root causes of corruption and restore public trust in the judiciary. In a democratic society, an independent and impartial judiciary is essential for ensuring accountability, protecting human rights, and upholding the constitution. Corrupt judges can subvert these functions and damage the very fabric of democracy. It is crucial for societies to implement measures that prevent and address judicial corruption, such as strengthening judicial accountability and oversight mechanisms, ensuring transparent and merit-based judicial appointments,  providing adequate resources and support for judges to perform their duties effectively, promoting a culture of integrity and ethical conduct within the judiciary, encouraging public scrutiny and whistleblower protection to expose corruption. By addressing judicial corruption, we can help safeguard the integrity of the legal system and ensure that justice is served for all. *About the writer: Donald Madondo is a nom de plume for a local lawyer who writes for The NewsHawks. Corrupt judges subvert justice 

Page 22 International Investigative Stories News THREE people arrested in a raid on an alleged money laundering ring in Singapore invested over $30 million in Dubai real estate, leaked data reveals. One of the suspects, who was wanted in China at the time, was behind a property broker that became a major sales agent for the city’s largest real estate developer, part-owned by Dubai’s ruler. In an emphatic sign that ambitious young real estate brokerage Fidu Properties had made its mark in Dubai, the company’s logo was emblazoned along the length of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper. The honor in 2019 marked a rapid ascent for Fidu, which had been set up barely two years earlier. Its success was aided by a partnership with Emaar Properties PJSC, Dubai’s largest property developer that is part-owned by the Dubai ruler’s investment vehicle. Within a few months of opening its Dubai office in 2018, Fidu and Emaar struck a $100-million deal in one of the developer’s luxury projects, The Grand at Dubai Creek Harbour, according to press reports. By 2019, Emaar-built developments accounted for at least 90 percent of Fidu Properties’ sales, according to Fidu press releases. But in August last year, Su Jianfeng, a key figure behind Fidu, was arrested in Singapore in a dramatic bust of an alleged money laundering ring that has since led to the seizure of more than $2.2 billion in assets. Singapore police have charged 10 people with laundering the proceeds of illegal online gambling and scam operations across southeast Asia. Su Jianfeng was also the subject of a 2017 Chinese arrest warrant for illegal gambling. Six of the people arrested have already pleaded guilty and been sentenced. Su Jianfeng is in detention in Singapore awaiting trial. Now, an investigation by OCCRP and The Straits Times, based on leaked property data from Dubai, reveals that Su Jianfeng and two other people arrested in the money laundering case invested more than $30 million in Dubai real estate, through projects mostly developed by Emaar and brokered by Fidu. Three other people named in connection with the case own properties worth over $40 million. One of them shares an address with two men who, like Su Jianfeng, are wanted in China for illegal gambling, and they too own significant real estate assets in Dubai. While the Singapore bust was International InvestigativeStories Singapore money laundering suspects invested huge sums in Dubai property Su Jianfeng (center). Credit: Screenshot of video shared on Facebook by FIDU Properties NewsHawks Issue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024

NewsHawks Page 23 1ssue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024 widely covered, these Dubai property purchases have not been reported until now. As OCCRP went to press on Su Jianfeng was handed six new forgery charges, including allegations related to five properties in Dubai, of which three appear in the leaked records. Taken together, the newly-discovered purchases involve over 100 properties, bought for more than $100 million in total, according to the leaked data. They include units comprising entire floors of the Grande Downtown, a luxury skyscraper opposite the Burj Khalifa, worth at last $47 million. The purchases all occurred between October 2019 and October 2020. While such “high volume property investments” are not “automatically tied to money laundering,” they “can definitely be a red flag,” said Benedikt Hofmann, the deputy representative for Southeast Asia at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Many of the properties identified by reporters were in other flagship Emaar developments in Downtown Dubai, and The Grand at Dubai Creek Harbour, both advertised and marketed by Fidu Properties. (There is no suggestion Emaar knew about Su Jianfeng’s background or his alleged money laundering activities.) The investments raise questions over whether Dubai’s notoriously light-touch approach to due diligence allowed members of the alleged money laundering ring to move suspect funds into Dubai property. Alex Cobham, the head of financial transparency campaign group Tax Justice Network, said regulators should have “a requirement to establish the source of funds.” Since 2019, realtors in Dubai have been legally obliged to carry out anti-money laundering risk assessments. The tie-in with Su Jianfeng and Fidu could be embarrassing for Emaar and, by extension, Dubai’s ruler, Cobham said, but added that the case could serve as a catalyst for improving regulations in the emirate. “The Royal family is arguably [a victim] of the complete failure of any regulatory standard, and the bad press this generates,” Cobham said. “Either way, it’s on them to change this, as they preside over the entire system.” UAE officials — including at the ministries of interior, economy, and justice — and Dubai Police did not respond to detailed questions from reporters. UAE embassies in the U.K. and Norway sent a brief comment saying that the country “works closely with international partners to disrupt and deter all forms of illicit finance.” “The UAE is committed to continuing these efforts and actions more than ever today and over the longer term,” the statement added. Emaar Properties did not reply to written requests for comment. Fidu Properties and Su Jianfeng’s lawyer did not respond to emailed requests for comment. Suspects’ Properties On videos posted to Fidu’s social media accounts, Su Jianfeng presents as a boyish and modestly dressed executive — yet clearly in charge. He leads Fidu executives into a blacktie gala event to rapturous applause from employees in one video. In another, he presides over the opening of a second company office in September 2019, cutting a large red ribbon as staff clap. Despite the Chinese warrant for his arrest, 36-year-old Su Jianfeng — who holds Chinese, Cambodian, St Kitts and Nevis and Vanuatu passports — was able to pour huge sums into Dubai real estate. Between 2017 and 2020, Su Jianfeng purchased at least 10 apartments and two villas in Dubai, worth at least $15 million, according to leaked transaction data reviewed by OCCRP. In April 2019, he co-founded Fidu Properties DMCC, an affiliate of Fidu Property Real Estate Brokerage that had been incorporated in Dubai in late 2017. Fidu Properties DMCC is based out of Dubai’s free-trade zone, where foreign investors can take advantage of tax breaks, ease of capital transfer, and the right to full foreign ownership. He controls a 50 percent stake in the company and is one of two directors, Dubai company records reveal. The other half of Fidu Properties DMCC is held by Su Sihai, who is the sole shareholder of the affiliated company, Fidu Property Real Estate Brokerage. Su Sihai has not been implicated in the Singapore money laundering case and has not been charged with any crime. He declined to comment on his connection to Su Jianfeng. In the wake of the 2023 arrests, Singapore police seized more than $170 million worth of assets in Singapore belonging to Su Jianfeng, including at least 13 properties there worth over $85 million. Two of Su Jianfeng’s alleged co-conspirators also own property in Dubai. One of them, Su Haijin, has already pleaded guilty and in April was sentenced to 14 months imprisonment. Like many of the other arrested suspects, Su Haijin has sizable asset portfolios all over the world, as reported by OCCRP. But the leaked data reveals previously-unreported properties in Dubai, including 11 apartments worth an estimated total of at least $11 million. The units made up the entire 58th floor of the Grande Downtown, the luxury Emaar development opposite the Burj Khalifa. Lin Baoying, a Dominican and Cambodian national, is the third person arrested by Singapore police who has newly-revealed Dubai assets. She owns a luxury villa at Emirates Hills, an Emaar development, worth at least $7 million. She is in Singapore awaiting trial. Su Haijin and a lawyer for Lin Baoying did not respond to requests for comment. The Emaar Connection Emaar, backed by the Dubai ruler’s investment fund and the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund, had identified China as a crucial market for its long term growth strategy in 2018, the same year Fidu Properties opened its local office for business. Emaar’s Chinese language billboards advertising key projects have since popped up along highways in Dubai, and the company’s name written in Chinese is featured during the Dubai Fountain Show, a nightly tourist spectacle centered on the Burj Khalifa. Emaar’s largest shareholder is the Investment Corporation of Dubai, the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund, which owns roughly 22 percent of the company’s shares. The second largest shareholder is Dubai Holding, the investment vehicle of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai’s ruler. Dubai Holding was also Emaar’s joint venture partner for the Dubai Creek Harbour master project, of which The Grand at Dubai Creek Harbour — which Fidu brokered — is a key part. Emaar works with multiple brokers, but Fidu’s website boasts that it has earned “top platinum broker” status with Emaar, indicating it was one of the developer’s most important partners. The website also says Fidu won fourth place in Emaar’s 2019 top broker awards, and was the top Chinese real estate brokerage in Dubai that year. The ties between the firms’ leading figures are suggested by multiple photo-ops with top Emaar executive Mohamed Alabbar and Fidu’s senior staff members, as well as personal visits by Fawaz Sous, Emaar’s then head of sales, to Fidu’s offices. The photos have been published on the two companies’ websites and social media. Emaar CEO Amit Jain has also been photographed with Su Sihai, Su Jianfeng’s partner in Fidu. When Su Jianfeng applied for bail in October 2023, he told a Singapore court in an affidavit that he had worked as a property agent in Dubai and had earned substantial referral commissions which constituted legitimate funds brought into Singapore. The courts rejected his request for bail as he was unable to provide verifiable documentation of either his employment or real estate transactions. Fidu is still in business in Dubai, and its website touts a “strong association with globally renowned developer” Emaar. Despite his ties to Fidu, Su Jianfeng does not appear among the list of 25 staff featured as part of the firm’s team on the website. However an archived version of the site from 2020 profiles Su Jianfeng’s partner in Fidu, Su Sihai, and names him as CEO. It shows a group photo featuring the pair standing at the center, surrounded by other staff. The profile, and the photo, have since been taken down. — Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. International Investigative Stories The Dubai Creek Harbour. Credit: Youtube video screenshot by Lisa Dubai Property

Page 24 WHILE government and authorities have a duty to enforce law and order in the broader context of ensuring the rule of law, arresting currency traders and black market dealers chasing arbitrage will not resolve the problem. Dozens of currency traders, including Neville Mutsvangwa, son to Zanu PF spokesperson Chris Mutsvangwa and Women's Affairs minister Monica Mutsvangwa, have been arrested for illegal trading. However, defending the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) using law and order instruments is not helpful and won't make much of a difference. Currency traders will only change their approach and operations, disappear more into the murky underworld than evaporate into thin air for good. Government should address the root causes of the currency problem. The causes of Zimbabwe's currency problems include the economic crisis and the attendant currency turmoil which has been ongoing since the 1990s. This has decimated the Zimbabwe dollar and led to its change six times. ZiG is the new version, but it is likely to suffer the fate as other Zimbabwean dollar variations before it. The economic crisis was partly caused by Zimbabwe's involvement in the second Congo War, budget deficits, excessive spending on social services, and losses incurred by state-owned enterprises. Zimbabwe's currency collapse and chaos triggered  by the overprinting of money, which led to hyperinflation amid an economic meltdown. The Mugabe regime economic policies, including land reform initiatives and price controls, also contributed to the economic and currency crisis. The country's dependence on imports and decline in exports, particularly tobacco and minerals, also worsened the situation. Government's failure to manage public finances and the impact of global events, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia conflict, also affected Zimbabwe's currency. So arresting currency traders will not be enough to stop the black market for several reasons. Demand and supply is a mjaor issue. As long as there is a demand for foreign currency and a supply of local currency, the black market will continue to exist. In terms of economic fundamentals, if the official exchange rate is not aligned with the market rate, the black market will persist. There is also a problem of lack of trust. If people don't trust the official banking system or the government's economic policies, they will continue to seek alternative ways to exchange currency. Smuggling is also a factor.  Currency can be easily smuggled across borders, making it difficult to control the flow of money. Corrupt officials may be complicit in the black market, making it difficult to enforce laws and regulations. In some countries, including Zimbabwe, many people do not have access to formal banking services, driving them to the black market. Political instability and uncertainty fuel the black market as people and currency dealers seek safer alternatives. To combat the black market, government and monetary authorities should address the underlying issues. They need to implement economic reforms to stabilise the currency and economy. There is also a need to improve access to formal banking services and build trust in the system. Implementing effective border control and anti-money laundering measures is also needed. On top of this, givernment should also address corruption and ensuring good governance. Arresting currency traders may be a short-term solution, but it does not address the root causes of the black market.  A comprehensive approach that tackles the underlying issues is necessary to effectively combat the black market. 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 me- dia 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 AFTER months of hollow propaganda on food security, the Zimbabwean government has finally read the writing on the wall and admitted that the country faces an existential threat. The latest crop assessment report presented to cabinet this past week shows that cereal production is expected to fall by 77% from 2 579 237 metric tonnes to 744 271 metric tonnes during the 2023-2024 summer season. Hunger stalks the land. The numbers are staggering in their sheer magnitude. Almost eight million citizens need food aid, half the country's population. Let that sink in: one in every two Zimbabweans needs food donations. Last year, The NewsHawks comprehensively investigated Zimbabwe's precarious food security situation. The findings painted a worrying picture: chronic hunger is real, contrary to official claims. We also established that officials are in the habit of making lofty claims about overflowing grain silos, yet the reality on the ground shows that hunger at household level is worsening. Zimbabwe, after all, has the world's highest inflation rate; not only that, in much of 2023 it had the highest food price inflation in the world. It also means malnutrition and stunting are posing risks to child welfare. The hunger crisis has spectacularly exposed the government's unsophisticated propaganda strategy. The whole of last year, President Emmerson Mnangagwa repeatedly boasted that Zimbabwe had attained food security. In reality, Zimbabwe is far from attaining a semblance of food security. You can check the annual hunger statistics, from the likes of ZimStat, ZimVac, World Food Programme and the World Bank. It must have been a chastening experience for the President to finally concede that there is a massive hunger problem. After repeatedly telling the world that hunger was now a thing of the past, he was now bringing out the begging bowl, asking the international community to donate food aid totalling US$2 billion. As one analyst rightly observed, the government has failed to: sufficiently develop Zimbabwe's irrigation capacity; implement agricultural policies that place farmers (particularly small-scale farmers) at the centre of the food security agenda; incentivise farmers to expand the production of drought-tolerant small grains like sorghum and millet; tackle corruption in the agriculture value chain, for instance Command Agriculture looters went scot-free. It indeed goes without saying that propaganda has its limits. This is a learning moment for the authorities. What is needed in the food security discourse is honest and pragmatic leadership. Drought is a factor, but it does not entirely explain why the state’s grain silos are suddenly empty. Hunger — especially in the Zimbabwean context — is not caused by erratic rain alone. Who should be held accountable for the worst hunger crisis in 40 years, and what can be done to salvage livelihoods? To devise a sustainable solution to the hunger crisis, we must begin by telling each other the truth: Hunger is a governance issue. There are no two ways about it. Drought of leadership Dumisani Muleya Hawk Eye Police arrests not solution NewsHawks Issue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024

NewsHawks Page 25 1ssue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024 New Perspectives TINASHE KADUWO “IN sub-Saharan Africa, growth is projected to rise from an estimated 3.4 percent in 2023 to 3.8 percent in 2024 and 4.0 percent in 2025, as the negative effects of earlier weather shocks subside and supply issues gradually improve. The forecast is unchanged for 2024 from the January 2024 WEO Update, as a downward revision to Angola owing to a contraction in the oil sector is broadly offset by an upward revision to Nigeria” — An excerpt from the recently released April 2024 World Economic Outlook (WEO) by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The report projected a rather weak economic outlook for Zimbabwe, whereby for both 2024 and 2025, real gross domestic product (GDP) growth was projected at 3.2%. Here, it needs to be indicated that growth projections for Zimbabwe, as per the WEO, are well below those of other developing countries. In emerging market and developing economies, growth is expected to be stable at 4.2% in 2024 and 2025 and for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) were growth is expected at 3.8% for 2024 and 4.0% for 2025. Low-income developing countries in which Zimbabwe is classified are expected to experience gradually increasing growth, from 4.0% in 2023 to 4.7% in 2024 and 5.2% in 2025, way up above that of Zimbabwe, as some constraints on near-term growth ease. This is indeed a serious cause for concern for the country, which needs domestic production to dent inflation from the supply-side, and greater exports for much-needed positive consequences in terms of foreign exchange build-up to ease imported inflationary channels, reserves accumulation to propel the newly introduced ZiG currency, and help lighten an otherwise acute debt distress issue. Highlighting the importance of tackling inflation from not just through demand-squeeze policies, but also through supply-side initiatives, an answer in the "Transcript of Global Financial Stability Report April 2024 press briefing", IMF staff member Jason Wu pointed out in this regard: "It is, indeed, the case that both the supply and demand side contribute to inflation. So in that sense, policy is needed on both sides. In the case of Zimbabwe, for example, monetary policy has been tightening over the past two or three years to control inflation. And inflation has remained stubborn implying that more work needs to be done. And that includes on the demand side; fiscal consolidation needs to be continued. But also on the supply side, including things like the reform of stateowned enterprises. Over-emphasis on interest rate and money supply to control inflation from the demand side has apparently had strong negative consequences for economic growth, due to the underlying increase in cost of borrowing, and overall cost push inflation denting investment prospects. "Moreover, economic growth is needed for greater revenue collection to increase fiscal space so that welfare-oriented spending could be made to dent the otherwise quite fast increase in people falling below the poverty line, given an apparently almost a perpetual period of stagflationary headwinds facing the economy. In addition, the serious climate change challenge facing the country also needs greater spending to build resilience in this regard." At the same time, as per the WEO, while the CPI inflation for the current year has been projected at 561 percent, the IMF expects CPI inflation to remain stubborn at 554.7% in 2025 and 400% in 2029. These numbers are worrisome and probably “Sarajevoed” the sudden dampening of the ZWL and the introduction of the ”structured currency”, the ZiG.   Such projections are worrisome, given the serious underlying challenges in the shape of polycrisis facing the global economy, including Zimbabwe, especially in terms of the climate change crisis, the Pandemicene phenomenon, and the conflict in Ukraine, and the Middle East. In a book published in 2023 titled "Permacriis: a Plan to Fix a Fractured World", Gordon Brown, Muhammad A. El-Erian, and Michael Spence pointed out with regard to the polycrisis facing the world economy, as follows: "Russia invaded Ukraine. Tensions between US and China surged. Inflation in the United States and throughout Europe was raging at levels not seen in decades. …And climate change’s ceaseless trail of destruction grew with floods in Asia and parts of Africa, droughts in Africa and heatwaves across Europe. …Do you feel like we’re in a permacrisis? …As Ronald Regan famously asked while campaigning for president in 1980, ‘Are you better off today than you were four years ago?’ What about one year ago, or six months ago? Do you feel the world is heading in the right direction? Chances are you feel a bit of anxiety. There aren’t enough green lights out there. Too many are flashing yellow or solid red'." Hence, while it is important that expenditure efficiency be enhanced, it is important that a counter-cyclical policy approach is adopted — at the back of enhancing the tax base, and possibly an enhanced special drawing rights (SDRs) allocation by IMF supported by an IMF programme to make necessary climate change and welfare spending. The projections from the IMF paint a sad picture of Zimbabwe’s economic outlook. The authorities should focus more on improving the real economy rather than focusing on the survival of ZiG. Policies should focus on improving productivity, import substitution, value addition and strengthening institutions. By doing that, the new currency, embossed with the Zimbabwe Bird emblem, may find its wings again. *About the writer: Tinashe Kaduwo is a researcher and economist. Contact: kaduwot@gmail. WhatsApp +263773376128 Did IMF projections send RBZ into panic mode? Econometrics HawksView Tinashe Kaduwo

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 THE United States says Zimbabwe’s structured debt dialogue which is anchored on a raft of economic and political governance reforms is key in unlocking concessional funding for the debt-troubled southern African nation. The Finance ministry has resumed negotiations with creditors and the international community as Treasury seeks to resolve Zimbabwe’s nagging debt overhang. With the country remaining in debt distress while borrowing is limited, public debt has continued to increase, driven by external arrears and legacy debt. Official figures show that despite making token payments over the past few years, Zimbabwe’s total debt stock has soared to US$18 billion as of December 2023. Two years ago, Zimbabwe established a structured dialogue platform— led by African Development Bank president Akinwumi Adesina and facilitated by former Mozambican leader Joaquim Chissano — with all creditors and development partners in order to institutionalise negotiations on economic and governance reforms to underpin the arrears clearance and debt resolution process. Political interference and policy reversals have often been cited as some of the reasons unnerving potential investors from injecting capital into the debt-ridden southern African nation. “The Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (Zidera)  has not changed. Zidera is a legislative act and is not a sanction,” the US embassy in Zimbabwe says in an explainer published on its X handle. “The United States has never used Zidera to oppose international financial institution loans or debt restructuring for Zimbabwe. Zidera outlines a clear roadmap for the United States to support government of Zimbabwe access to concessional financing and possible debt restructuring but this could only happen once government of Zimbabwe has paid its outstanding debt arrears to the international community. This is why the AfDB-facilitated dialogue is so important. The issues of democratic governance, economic reform and land reform addressed in that dialogue relate to many of the issues cited in Zidera.” In March, US President Joe Biden terminated the Zimbabwe sanctions programme and replaced it with the Global Magnitsky regime which focuses on 11 individuals who include President Emmerson Mnangagwa and three companies. Washington accuses the designated individuals and companies of aiding the violation of human rights in Zimbabwe. Harare dismisses the charge and wants the sanctions to be lifted. As consistently reported by  The NewsHawks, Zimbabwe faces a herculean task in improving its ranking on the Mo Ibrahim Index as the country commits to far-reaching political governance reforms in order to cosy up to creditors. The Mo Ibrahim Foundation defines governance as the provision of political, social, economic and environmental goods that citizens have the right to expect from their state, and that a state has the responsibility to deliver to its citizens. According to the Arrears Clearance and Debt Resolution Process Governance Reforms Matrix, Zimbabwe agreed upon seven sub-indicators under the Mo Ibrahim Index and has undertaken to improve on its rankings. The sub-indicators are:   Democratic elections; absence of violence against civilians; impartiality of the judicial system and judicial processes; civil society space; institutional checks and balances; and transparency in public procurement procedures. Zimbabwe currently scores 49.54 (in 2022) out of 100.0 in overall governance, ranking 29th out of 54 in Africa. The country scores lower than the African average (48.9) and lower than the regional average for southern Africa (54.2). Under the implementation matrix seen by The NewsHawks, Zimbabwe seeks to improve the governance index to 51.03 this year from 49.54 reported last year. Next year, the country sees the score improving to 52.56 before further climbing to 54.14 the following year. Published since 2007, the Ibrahim Index of African Governance assesses governance performance in 54 African countries over the latest available 10- year period. It provides a framework and dashboard for any interested audience to assess the delivery of public goods and services and public policy outcomes in African countries. Zim debt resolution dialogue crucial: US Finance minister Mthuli Ncube

BERNARD MPOFU EXILED former Tourism minister Walter Mzembi says the sale and rebranding of Meikles Hotel, one of the country’s iconic hospitality establishments, marked the death of globally competitive home-grown tourism brands. This week, the Meikles Hotel was officially rebranded to “Hyatt Regency Harare The Meikles” as the last flagship business to carry the full name of the Meikles family completed its makeover. President Emmerson Mnangagwa and other senior government officials like Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mushayavanhu officiated at the completion the refurbishment and rebranding of the hotel. “I don’t know why I feel this sad nostalgic loss of a home brand,” Mzembi said on his official X handle. “Meikles was a globally acknowledged hotel brand holding its pride of place amongst the best in the world, its departure for me is a funeral of home excellence. Is this loss by those who know branding better, shared?” With over 100 years of existence, Meikles, which hosted international celebrities like the late great “King of Pop” Michael Jackson  as well as global political leaders, was one of the oldest and probably the most wellknown five-star hotel in Zimbabwe. The company’s hotel division has evolved over time but was, at various points, made up of the Cape Grace Hotel in South Africa, and in Zimbabwe, the Meikles Hotel, and the Victoria Falls Hotel. Between 2014 and 2018, the Meikles Hotel incurred losses of nearly US$15 million, prompting its former owners to consider disposing of it. By 2019, Meikles was constrained on capital and would have needed to invest another US$30 million to renovate the hotel. In its 2015 annual report, the company expressed concern over the introduction of a  new value-added tax on tourism players. "More than 75% of our hotel guests are foreign visitors, and the introduction in January 2015 of value-added tax (VAT) at the standard rate of 15% on accommodation charged to foreigners further hindered revenue growth," read the annual report in part. “The introduction of VAT could not immediately be passed onto guests in full given the weak demand. The introduction of VAT has effectively made Zimbabwe an expensive destination, and the South African source market, given the depreciating rand, was significantly affected. "This has impacted negatively on occupancy growth in the last quarter of the financial year." The sale of the Meikles Hotel for US$20 million to Albwardy of the United Arab Emirates was announced in 2019 and concluded in 2020. Market watchers say given the losses that the Meikles had been incurring, this was a good deal for the local company, considering that the proceeds were allocated to better opportunities such as its agribusiness ventures and the five-star Victoria Falls Hotel. BERNARD MPOFU THE European Union sees Zimbabwe's annual exports to the regional bloc reaching €1billion (nearly US$1.08 billion)  from the current €700 million (US$760 million)  in the short to medium term, driven by horticulture as relations between Harare and the West gradually thaw. Diplomatic engagements between Zimbabwe and the EU became frosty after the southern African nation embarked on a chaotic land reform exercise which resulted in over 4 000 white former commercial farmers losing vast tracts of land to locals. Harare then turned to the East to counterbalance Western isolation. After promising to compensate white farmers who lost commercially viable land, diplomatic engagements have since been improving as seen by the EU’s growing financial and technical commitment to Zimbabwe in recent years. The EU stationed its delegation in Harare immediately after independence in 1980. With over 450 million people in 27 countries, the EU constitutes a single market providing duty-free and quota-free aces for Zimbabwean products. “We have a trade agreement with Zimbabwe, it’s the Economic Partnership Agreement. It has been in existence for several years and very frequently when we go somewhere and we talk about it, people are not aware that Zimbabwean companies can export duty and tariff-free to the European Union and they can also import from the EU with some restrictions  to protect their own market.  For example, no dairy product, no poultry, etc. Otherwise companies can buy duty and tariff-free packaging material,” the head of EU delegation in Zimbabwe, Jobst von Kirchmann, said in a media briefing. “So far we have €700 million annual trade, the fourth-biggest buyer, the fifth-biggest trading partner, the biggest buyer of horticulture products in the country. We could do much more. First of all, the companies have to know that this option exists. We have less than 200 companies registered for exports, it could be 2000. We on our side have set a programme to facilitate trade…I hope that in the next couple of years, maybe we reach the €1 billion in trade because we have a significant increase over the last years. We have €700 million now, so it is a realistic objective.” Turning to the El Niño-induced drought, von Kirchmann said over US$60 million has already been allocated under the “Team Europe Initiative” to address various aspects of the drought cycle. “This year, Team Europe’s efforts under the Greener and Climate Smart agriculture became particularly relevant considering the current El Niño-induced drought situation exacerbated by climate change.” EU sees Zim trade rising to $1bln Meikles sale marks death of iconic tourism brand NewsHawks Companies & Markets Page 27 1ssue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024

Page 28 Companies & Markets MTN boss Mupita gets CEO of the year award ZIMBABWEAN-born MTN Group president and chief executive Ralph Mupita has been named CEO of the year by the Africa CEO Forum at a glamorous ceremony in Kigali. He won the award at the Africa CEO Forum 2024 in the Rwandan capital yesterday. Mupita, an engineer, corporate executive and businessman, leads Africa’s largest mobile network operator. The 2024 edition of the Africa CEO Forum was organised in partnership with International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. It brought together over 2 000 African private sector leaders and international investors. MUPITA PROFILE BSc (Hons), Engineering, Cape Town; 2000, MBA, Cape Town; GMP, Harvard; exec. prog., London Business School and INSEAD. Formerly, engineer on construction projects, Haw & Inglis. Since 2001, with Old Mutual, South Africa, including: 2004, Managing Director, Old Mutual Unit Trusts; 2006, Strategy Director; 2008, Managing Director, Retail; 2011, Chief Executive Officer, Old Mutual Emerging Markets; also interim Strategy Director and Chair, Emerging Markets Exco IT Subcommittee. Director, Emerging Markets, OMLACSA. Member of various subsidiary boards. Member of the Advisory Board, Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town. MUPITA PROFILE BSc (Hons), Engineering, Cape Town; 2000, MBA, Cape Town; GMP, Harvard; exec. prog., London Business School and INSEAD. Formerly, engineer on construction projects, Haw & Inglis. Since 2001, with Old Mutual, South Africa, including: 2004, Managing Director, Old Mutual Unit Trusts; 2006, Strategy Director; 2008, Managing Director, Retail; 2011, Chief Executive Officer, Old Mutual Emerging Markets; also interim Strategy Director and Chair, Emerging Markets Exco IT Subcommittee. Director, Emerging Markets, OMLACSA. Member of various subsidiary boards. Member of the Advisory Board, Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town. Involved with LEAP School, South Africa. — STAFF WRITER. NewsHawks Issue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024 MTN Group president and chief executive Ralph Mupita

Companies & Markets Page 29 Secrets to successful career NewsHawks 1ssue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024 FAILURE, hard work, and belief in yourself and the people around you are the hallmarks of a successful leadership career, says Ralph Mupita, Group President and CEO at African telecommunications giant MTN. Being sent far away to boarding school in Zimbabwe at the age of 13 laid the foundation for Ralph Mupita’s broad worldview. He remembers this as a time of becoming interested in the world around him and exploring new possibilities — qualities he embodies now, even while at the top of his game. “I was always trying to seek out and find new things to do,” remembers Mupita. “A lot of that has shaped me into the person I still am today. I am a work in progress, that is how I often think of myself.” Mupita, who has had executive positions in two of Africa’s biggest brands, MTN as well as Old Mutual, is a strong believer in life as a continuous journey of learning and growing. “I see failure as an important part of growth and development,” he said. “If you are not failing, then you are not pushing the boundaries hard enough.” At a recent UCT Graduate School of Business Alumni Reunion Weekend, the MBA alumnus from the class of 2000 shared five of his biggest career lessons on his journey to success. 1. Push yourself – hard Mupita said while some failures are fatal and need to be avoided, these tend to be quite rare, in reality. “You have to push yourself to the point where you are learning,” he says. This means being willing to be uncomfortable. It also means being able to get up again if knocked down. He admits to being unsure about key decisions during his own career. Before taking the position of Chief Financial Officer at MTN for instance, he worried he lacked the right experience or traditional financial background for the role. It was his wife who reminded him that he was good at transitioning between roles and industries. He often reflects that if he had known how difficult a particular situation would be, he might not have signed up for it in the first place. It’s important to avoid overthinking decisions and spending too much time worrying about potential pitfalls, he says. 2. Back yourself Apple founder Steve Jobs once said that young people need to “stay hungry and stay foolish” — referring to the drive to do something others might not understand. Jobs said that being fired from Apple in 1985 was one of the best things that happened to him. It led him to rediscover his love for innovation and to the development of new ventures, like Pixar, which made the world’s first computer-generated animation feature film, Toy Story. Mupita says young people need to believe in themselves, even when others don’t. He recommends finding people who will support you. Mupita acknowledges the support that others have given him in his career and credits people like Paul Hanratty, the current Group CEO of Sanlam, for sharing sage advice and guidance. 3. Surround yourself with the right people Hiring the right people is absolutely critical, says Mupita. More diverse teams, consisting of different races, genders, and cultures leads to more ideas, better productivity, and greater execution. “You can get everything right in your business, but if you don’t get people and culture right, you will fail.” He believes in having more women in executive decision-making positions and actively supports gender diversity at MTN. 4. Learn to walk away Mupita has learned the hard way that sometimes it is better to walk away from a deal. At times, big opportunities may present themselves and the possibilities might seem very attractive. It can be difficult to accept that perhaps stepping away is the right decision. However, it is important to be able to stand back and really evaluate the opportunity, the long-term benefits, and the potential hazards. Don’t be afraid of making hard choices, he says. 5. Obsess about the customer “What is stopping that lady in Ghana from selling her woven baskets and seeing the world as a market, like Amazon does? What stops her is the lack of access to the Internet,” says Mupita. Thinking like this has led to MTN launching a highly-lauded fintech platform providing mobile money services in Africa. MTN’s Mobile Money (MoMo) service has millions of users across the continent and had an estimated valuation of $5 billion in May 2021. While COVID-19 wreaked destruction in many parts of the world, Mupita says it has also transformed the way we work and created more digital opportunities. “My advice to young professionals looking into the future is: be agile and resilient. Be prepared to learn and unlearn. It is not possible to learn everything, so try to find the space where you are comfortable to not know everything and create systems around you to support and help you grow.” Ralph Mupita is Group President and CEO at MTN and an MBA alumnus from the UCT Graduate School of Business. He was speaking at the 2021 UCT Graduate School of Business Alumni Reunion Weekend.foundation for Ralph Mupita’s broad worldview. He remembers this as a time of becoming interested in the world around him and exploring new possibilities — qualities he embodies now, even while at the top of his game. “I was always trying to seek out and find new things to do,” remembers Mupita. “A lot of that has shaped me into the person I still am today. I am a work in progress, that is how I often think of myself.” Mupita, who has had executive positions in two of Africa’s biggest brands, MTN as well as Old Mutual, is a strong believer in life as a continuous journey of learning and growing. “I see failure as an important part of growth and development,” he said. “If you are not failing, then you are not pushing the boundaries hard enough.” At a recent UCT Graduate School of Business Alumni Reunion Weekend, the MBA alumnus from the class of 2000 shared five of his biggest career lessons on his journey to success. 1. Push yourself – hard While some failures are fatal and need to be avoided, these tend to be quite rare, in reality, says Mupita. “You have to push yourself to the point where you are learning,” he says. This means being willing to be uncomfortable. It also means being able to get up again if knocked down. He admits to being unsure about key decisions during his own career. Before taking the position of Chief Financial Officer at MTN for instance, he worried he lacked the right experience or traditional financial background for the role. It was his wife who reminded him that he was good at transitioning between roles and industries. He often reflects that if he had known how difficult a particular situation would be, he might not have signed up for it in the first place. It’s important to avoid overthinking decisions and spending too much time worrying about potential pitfalls, he says. 2. Back yourself Apple founder Steve Jobs once said that young people need to “stay hungry and stay foolish” – referring to the drive to do something others might not understand. Jobs said that being fired from Apple in 1985 was one of the best things that happened to him. It led him to rediscover his love for innovation and to the development of new ventures, like Pixar, which made the world’s first computer-generated animation feature film, Toy Story. Mupita says young people need to believe in themselves, even when others don’t. He recommends finding people who will support you. Mupita acknowledges the support that others have given him in his career and credits people like Paul Hanratty, the current Group CEO of Sanlam, for sharing sage advice and guidance. 3. Surround yourself with the right people Hiring the right people is absolutely critical, says Mupita. More diverse teams, consisting of different races, genders, and cultures leads to more ideas, better productivity, and greater execution. “You can get everything right in your business, but if you don’t get people and culture right, you will fail.” He believes in having more women in executive decision-making positions and actively supports gender diversity at MTN. 4. Learn to walk away Mupita has learned the hard way that sometimes it is better to walk away from a deal. At times, big opportunities may present themselves and the possibilities might seem very attractive. It can be difficult to accept that perhaps stepping away is the right decision. However, it is important to be able to stand back and really evaluate the opportunity, the longterm benefits, and the potential hazards. Don’t be afraid of making hard choices, he says. 5. Obsess about the customer “What is stopping that lady in Ghana from selling her woven baskets and seeing the world as a market, like Amazon does? What stops her is the lack of access to the Internet,” says Mupita. Thinking like this has led to MTN launching a highly-lauded fintech platform providing mobile money services in Africa. MTN’s Mobile Money (MoMo) service has millions of users across the continent and had an estimated valuation of $5 billion in May 2021. While COVID-19 wreaked destruction in many parts of the world, Mupita says it has also transformed the way we work and created more digital opportunities. “My advice to young professionals looking into the future is: be agile and resilient. Be prepared to learn and unlearn. It is not possible to learn everything, so try to find the space where you are comfortable to not know everything and create systems around you to support and help you grow.” *About Ralph Mupita: He is Group President and CEO at MTN and an MBA alumnus from the UCT Graduate School of Business. He was speaking at the 2021 UCT Graduate School of Business Alumni Reunion Weekend.

Page 30 NewsHawks Issue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024 Companies & Markets SINGAPORE Airlines is setting the bar high when it comes to bonus payouts. The carrier will reward its employees with a bonus worth nearly eight months of salary, a person familiar with the matter told CNN on Friday. The person asked not to be named because the information was not intended to be made public. Singapore Airlines did not respond to a request for comment. On Wednesday, the company reported a record annual net profit of $1.98 billion in the 2023 to 2024 fiscal year. “The demand for air travel remained buoyant” throughout the year boosted by a rebound in North Asia as China, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan fully reopened their borders after the pandemic, the airline said in its earnings statement. The Singapore flag carrier was named the world’s best airline last year, according to the prestigious Skytrax World Airline Awards. This is the fifth time in the 23-year history of the awards that the airline has scooped the top spot. Goh Choon Phong, the airline’s CEO, said the win was down to the tireless work of his team, who made “many sacrifices to ensure that SIA was ready for the recovery in air travel. That has allowed us to emerge stronger and fitter from the pandemic.” It is not the only airline that is giving its staff a generous bonus. Dubai’s Emirates will pay its staff a bonus equivalent to 20 weeks’ salary, Reuters reported this week, citing an internal email. The state-owned airline, which also posted record full year profit, declined to comment. However, the coming year could be difficult for the sector, Singapore Airlines said in its earnings statement. “Geopolitical tensions, macroeconomic uncertainties, inflationary pressures, and supply chain constraints pose challenges for the aviation industry,” it said. Anna Cooban contributed to this report. — CNN. The world’s best airline is paying staff a bonus of 8 months’ salary Singapore Airlines planes on the tarmac on 5 December 2020. Kevin Lim/AP

Operating environment THE global economy remained weak, saddled with the continuation of inflationary pressures and rising interest rates in the wake of increasing geo-political tensions. Suppressed global demand elicited tighter monetary and fiscal policies in advanced economies. In the January 2024 edition of the World Economic Outlook report, the International Monetary Fund estimates the global economy to have grown by 3.1% in 2023, a reduction from the 3.5% achieved in 2022. Global inflation is estimated to have declined from an annual average of 8.7% in 2022 to 6.8% in 2023 with a further improvement projected in 2024 to 5.8% grounded on the easing of supply side issues and continuation of restrictive monetary measures. Broadly, these inflation projections still remain above long-term averages recorded during the pre-COVID era with similar trends having been observed also in developing countries. Against the backdrop of sustained headwinds, the local economy is estimated to have grown by 5.5% in 2023 slower than the 6.5% achieved in 2022. A fragile currency management framework saw the Zimbabwean dollar depreciating by 788% during the year to close at ZW$6 104.00 against the US dollar, creating a pass-through effect on local currency inflation. Measured on a currency weighted basis, year-on year blended inflation closed 2023 at 26.52% compared to a restated 56% at the end of 2022. Change in functional currency Post the listing on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) on the 19th of May 2023, the Bank adopted the United States Dollar (USD) as its functional and reporting currency effective from 1 January 2023. This is expected to simplify the results and make them more understandable to stakeholders. The change in currency was tested against and satisfied the requirements of IAS21: The effects of changes in foreign exchange rates. Earnings performance The Bank’s consolidated adjusted profit after tax for the year ended 31 December 2023 amounted to USD15.4m, 26% higher than USD12.2m posted in the corresponding prior year period. At this level of fundamental performance, adjustment is made on the IFRS profits to exclude once-off adjustments arising from the technical mechanics of transitioning from reporting in the local currency, ZWL, to USD. This adjusted earnings level translates to an adjusted earnings per share of US$0.71 cents for the period which is 26% higher than US$0.57 cents for the prior year. This performance was underpinned by an increase in the customer base, growth in the loan book, and exchange gains. Capitalisation and liquidity The Bank’s core capital increased by 3% from USD50.9m as of 31 December 2022 to USD52.5m as at 31 December 2023. This level is above the regulatory minimum of US$30m with a comfortable margin of safety being maintained. The Bank’s capital adequacy ratio remained strong, closing the period at 28% which is well above the regulatory minimum of 12%. With a liquid assets ratio of 52%, the Bank carried a comfortable buffer above the regulatory minimum of 30% representing capacity to underwrite more business. Dividends The Board has declared a final dividend of US0.22 cents per share. This brings the total dividend for the year ended 31 December 2023 to US0.36 cents per share. Outlook Looking ahead, growth prospects for the Zimbabwean economy for 2024 are expected to be subdued on account of the El-Nino weather phenomenon and its impact on the 2023/2024 summer cropping season, as well as reduced earnings from mining as a result of low levels of global commodity prices. The rapid devaluation of the Zimbabwean dollar experienced at the start of 2024 creates added pressure on economic performance and underlines the challenge for monetary authorities to find a lasting solution to engender market confidence. Our commitment As a growing Bank, to consolidate our commitment to Zimbabwe, we have firmly established our roots and commenced the construction of a Head Office that is inspired by the desire to project our contribution to environmental stewardship. Our listing on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange further consolidates our commitment and positions the Bank strategically to attract high quality funding and make a lasting contribution to the growth of the economy. Appreciation We continue to grow our business based on the collaborative efforts of all our valued stakeholders. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to our customers for their trust and belief in our business ethos and the values that are at the core of our operations. Their resolute support encourĵages us to do more. To my fellow directors, management, and staff, I am inspired by our continued efforts to collaborate and grow our business as we provide solutions to address the needs of our customers. Thank you. Patrick Devenish Companies & Markets Page 31 The Banker Patrick Devenish NewsHawks 1ssue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024 First Capital Bank chairperson statement

Page 32 NewsHawks Issue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024 VLADIMIR CHLOUBA DEMOCRACY in Africa has not had a good year. Military juntas from Mali to Niger  appear to have cemented their grip on power. Sudan’s democratic dreams were dashed when the country’s  two most powerful strongmen opted for war. And there is now evidence that ordinary Africans may be losing faith in democracy as the best form of government. Afrobarometer, an organisation that polls respondents from over 30 African countries, has found that no more than two thirds of Africans say they prefer democracy to any other form of government. In Angola, Lesotho, Mali, Mozambique, and South Africa,  support for democracy  has now dipped below 50%. At least some popular support for democracy appears to be quite sticky, however. My research as a scholar of traditional authorities and their link to democratic governance shows that attitudes towards democracy in many African countries are also shaped by interaction with traditional leaders. These include chiefs and traditional institutions such as chiefs’ councils and customary courts. Could African traditional leaders be good for democracy? The answer is complicated. Relatively democratic traditions could help keep a young democracy alive even when formal institutions are weak. But hereditary traditional monarchies could serve as a potent reminder of how undemocratic a political system can be. A novel method Political scientists have long speculated that political attitudes are a result of social learning and socialisation. Until recently, we lacked the data to examine whether traditional institutions influenced this process. I used a statistical software package that connects datasets with varying definitions of ethnic groups. This  approach  has been used in a number of studies of African politics, ranging from  ethnicity in politics  to the legacies of colonialism and female empowerment. The results show that individuals from ethnic groups with more democratic traditional institutions are more likely to support democracy in general. The effect is even more pronounced for respondents who claim to have regular contact with their traditional leader. This finding may be surprising, because chiefs are rarely seen as encouraging their followers to support democratic governance. Traditional leaders In  Afrobarometer surveys, citizens in 19 of the 22 countries that were covered repeatedly ranked chiefs as more trustworthy than elected politicians. Chiefs remain popular, even among those who endorse democratic rule. In every country where the question was asked, the majority of citizens believed that chiefs either strengthened democracy or did not affect it at all. Only small minorities reasoned that traditional leaders could be bad for democracy. My research suggests that many African citizens, like those in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and Lesotho, take cues from traditional institutions when making sense of formal politics. I linked over 50,000 Afrobarometer survey respondents to information about local traditional institutions. Specifically, I linked survey data to a novel measure of how democratic those institutions are. This metric was developed by a team of German political scientists who recently  surveyed  hundreds of local experts to classify the “democraticness” of local traditional institutions in Africa. Some traditional institutions include features associated with democracy, such as equal empowerment, broad participation and inclusive decision making. Ethnic groups with institutions like this were coded as relatively democratic. Traditional institutions lacking these features were coded as relatively autocratic. Each ethnic group received a score for the “democraticness” of its traditional institutions. I examined whether that score was associated with political attitudes expressed by survey respondents. To measure support for democracy, I used a survey question about a scenario in which elections and parliament were abolished and the president could decide everything. The analysis also controlled for other factors likely to affect political attitudes. They included age, education, gender, urban residence, news consumption, whether the respondent voted in the last election, and whether they saw themselves as members of their president’s ethnic group. Citizens whose traditional institutions were more democratic were more supportive of democracy. The effect was stronger among respondents who reported having contact with their chief in the past 12 months. Chiefs shaping attitudes Why should ordinary Africans be affected by their experience with traditional institutions when thinking about formal politics? For one, traditional institutions represent for many African citizens the most immediate form of governance that they experience on a daily basis. Traditional leaders continue to allocate land, preside over customary court cases, and even resolve marital disputes. All politics is local and in most parts of Africa, local politics is often traditional. Second, traditional institutions often rely on unwritten norms and customs. That includes norms that are relevant for thinking about politics. This does not mean that attitudes towards politics are somehow culturally determined or that they can’t change. It just means that traditional institutions are one of the factors shaping attitudes towards politics. But my findings can also be interpreted in a less positive light. Relatively undemocratic traditional institutions can potentially perpetuate attitudes that are at odds with democratic politics. Indeed, my and my colleagues’ past research  indicates that citizens who belong to ethnic groups that were organised as centralised states in the precolonial era are more comfortable with handing all power to their country’s president. My newest work confirms this. It shows that traditional political systems with an absolute monarch may weaken citizens’ commitment to democracy. — The Conversation. *About the writer: Vladimir Chlouba is assistant professor of leadership studies at the University of Richmond in the United States. Belief in democracy is on the decline in Africa News Analysis

Reframing Issues Page 33 BRIGHTON MATEBUKA WHEN I see the likes of Job Sikhala and  recall the treatment that the late Morgan  Tsvangirai  endured as well as thousands of political and human rights activists in Zimbabwe, a few questions come to my mind.  I struggle to understand why it seems difficult for a black government to reconcile with or embrace the humanity of its fellow citizens. To the best of my recollection, and I stand to be corrected, Smith's racist Rhodesian  settler regime only deported white citizens who did not conform to its racist ideology, as opposed to torturing, maiming or killing them. In contrast, Zimbabwe's new black government started on a murderous path via Gukurahundi and has continued on that path when dealing with political dissenters.  It weighs heavily on my conscience that we are unable to attach importance to our dignity, liberty, as well as to respect the sacred right to life, a gift that occurs naturally.  What is it that makes it so easy to unleash such bone-chillingly brutish savagery and extreme cruelty on each other? You see, I can understand why Smith's rabid hatred and prejudice would,  in that perverse way, help him rationalise such treatment towards us, but not our very own black government.  It rankles that some even have the gall to mock and malign victims, delegitimise and normalise such egregious human rights violations in our land.  How do our leaders go to bed and sleep soundly in such situations? Where does the morbid satisfaction with inflicting pain, crushing souls and brutalising others come from?  To think that  Sikhala  spent nearly 600 days detained by a black Zimbabwean government on trumped up charges is unconscionable.  Even now,  it is clear that he is working under some sort of political handbrake imposed by his jailors — so his soul remains "shackled", meaning he is still serving his sentence from outside! I still struggle to understand why the illusion of immortality continues to plague our leaders notwithstanding the lessons offered thus far by the repeated spectacular and dramatic denouements and ignominious ends of other historical figures. We all meet the same end after all! Here is my message to our leaders. For every act of torture, elimination, prolonged unlawful detention, brutality, threats, harassment, humiliation and other egregious human rights violations meted out to citizens, you lose an equal amount of your humanity in return.  I have always argued that tyranny, savagery and brutality debases/ dehumanises both the victim and the perpetrator.  With 68 arrests for Wiwa  so far and no sound or lawful convictions — his incarceration laden with torture, threats, pre-trial detention and inhuman and degrading treatment — and yet he still stands tall and defiant and shares his story with the world, refusing to be silenced? If the answer to my question is  Smith  never did that to his white  Rhodesian  citizens, then it means that  he had more humanity towards his fellow Rhodesians  than  Zimbabwe's black government that emerged in  1980  has ever had towards its own black citizens! Ahoy Wiwa. Ahoy Union. The Struggle Is Our Birthright! *About the writer: Brighton Matebuka is a Zimbabwean based in the United Kingdom. The Wiwa Tribute - Did Ian Smith torture Rhodesians? NewsHawks 1ssue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024

Page 34 NewsHawks Issue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024 Reframing Issues The following is Zimbabwean opposition politician Job Sikhala's speech at the United Nations Human Rights and Democracy Summit in Geneva, Switzerland. I WANT to greet you, honourable guests of this important Summit for Human Rights and Democracy from all four corners of the world. I am Job Sikhala, the surviving political prisoner from Zimbabwe. I am a prominent lawyer and was an opposition member of Parliament before my incarceration. On June 14, 2022, I was arrested for representing Moreblessing Ali, a single mother & opposition political activist who was brutally murdered. They cut her body into three pieces and dumped it into a deep well. By the time we finally found her body, she was decomposed. And for taking on her family's legal case, I endured 595 days of pre-trial incarceration at the notorious Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison. It is disheartening to disclose sad moments of traumatic experiences one has walked through in life as it gives persecutors the satisfaction of their evil deeds. I am just one in thousands of victims of persecution in Zimbabwe. My arrest was nothing more than political persecution. In my political career spanning almost 3 decades, I've been arrested 68 times. In nearly all of those cases, I was always found innocent. But on June 14, 2022, when I was 49 years old, with a wife and 11 children at home (yes, 11!), I was arrested and thrown into prison. This time around, they refused to release me on bail. It was the only way Zimbabwe's corrupt regime could effectively manipulate the 2023 elections and stop me from contesting them. For 595 days, the state held me in pre-trial incarceration. They'd yet to convict me of a crime, and still, they kept me caged in solitary confinement day and night, always in chains. I was denied food and visits from relatives, colleagues, and friends. Access to reading materials and prayers from a religious leader of my choice. I am a lawyer; I know my rights. I know how corrupt and cruel Zimbabwe's regime can be. Still, I was shocked. I had to seek multiple court orders to assert my rights. When I became sick with severe diarrhoea and vomiting, they denied me the medical doctor of my choice. When I got sick for the second time and was passing heavy blood, they kept me chained to a hospital bed for the entirety of my treatment, despite being on a sleeping dose. The regime made me face five trials. They blackmailed my initial legal team, led by Beatrice Mtetwa, to stop them from representing me. They threatened my lawyer, Harrison Nkomo, by pointing a gun to his forehead. In the end, the state denied me legal representation on the commencement of my trial when my lawyers Jeremiah Bamu and Harrison Nkomo were attending other cases in the superior courts, and the court proceeded with my trial. Endless postponements to the conclusion of my cases was the order of the day to just keep me in their caged solitary confinement. They procured two convictions against me. One from a law that does not even exist!! They insulted my character, labelling me an "unrepentant and incongruent criminal." And bail rulings pronounced me guilty before the trial even started. "Innocent until proven guilty" does not apply to anyone who dares to stand up to Mnangagwa's corrupt regime. While I was in prison, they destroyed my legal practice, I founded my office looted, and my furniture scattered in different locations. Mnangagwa's regime systematically destroyed me politically, socially, and economically. I came out and found everything ruined. And they didn't stop there. Moreblessing, Ali's family refused to bury her body until my release. We were all extremely emotional when the day finally arrived. But they unleashed a drunken mob of disrupters onto her burial to sing obscenities against me and disrupted the funeral, and no one was arrested up to date.  Imagine that your beloved daughter and mother have been brutally murdered and cut into pieces, and you can't even hold a private or respectful funeral to bury her. My family also became a victim of persecution. My beloved wife, Ellen, was unjustly arrested for a spurious road traffic offence. They convicted her and confiscated her driver's license to prevent her from bringing me food in prison. Her driver's licence has not yet been returned by the regime up to date. And it's not just my family. Everyone associated with me has been persecuted. Six University of Zimbabwe students, Emmanuel Sitima, Darlington Chigwena, Comfort Mpofu, Benjamin Watadza, Gamuchirai Chaburumunda, and Lionel Madamombe, were arrested for demanding my release. They were denied bail, missed their university exams, and were denied to contest the university of Zimbabwe students' leadership elections. Once more, I want to thank these brave students, my wife, my children, and everyone in Zimbabwe and from around the world who stood with me during this difficult period. My persecution reflects the suffering of countless Zimbabweans. Many have endured torture, brutality, arrests, disappearances, and death for resisting our oppressors. Millions have fled persecution and embarked on an exodus into the Diaspora. There is nowhere in the world where you won't find a Zimbabwean. So many desperately want to come home to live in a free and democratic society. But that time has not yet come. Pastor Tapfumaneyi Masaya was abducted and found dead.Takudzwa Ngadziore abducted, tortured, and left for dead. Makomborero Haruzivishe had to jump the borders to the UK, running away from persecution. These are just a few of thousands of cases happening in my country. The state procured a fake conviction against Jacob Ngarivhume, and he spent ten months in prison. In fact, my persecution marked the closure of democratic space in Zimbabwe. Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda and members of the ruling Zanu-PF party have obliterated our multi-party democracy. They've pushed opposition members of parliament out of Parliament and banned their activities. In July 2023, they passed "The Patriotic Act," a new, repressive legislation curtailing freedom of speech and association. According to Mnangagwa's corrupt regime, I am committing a crime just by standing here and talking to you today and giving the testimony of what they did to me. I could be arrested again when I returned home for the facts and the truth I am telling you here. They plan to pass the Private Voluntary Organizations Bill this year, which would give the Registrar unchecked authority to block pro-democracy and human rights organizations. They target the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and like-minded organisations who protect the vulnerable in society. The regime has systematically destroyed the right to education and the right to demonstrate and petition. As I speak, sixteen teachers from the Amalgamated Rural Teachers' Union, including their President Obert Masaraure, face criminal charges for exercising their legitimate, peaceful, and constitutional rights to petition the government.  These teachers, who make a mere US$270 per month as all other civil servants, just wanted an increased wage. Now, they're accused of promoting public violence, bigotry, and breaches of peace. Tertiary education is reserved for the children of privileged elites who've looted our country of every resource. Skyrocketing tuition fees have led numerous students to drop out. They find themselves on the streets, educated but unemployed, succumbing to drug addiction, and facing the grim prospect of incarceration. For nearly two years, I shared my pain with many young men and women who'd been accused of taking drugs and were left to rot in prison. Our young people can not imagine a better future. To make matters worse, Southern Africa now faces one of the worst droughts in history because of climate change. Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique, and Malawi are all in desperate need of aid. In the past, Zimbabwe's regime used to distribute foreign aid along party lines, rewarding their supporters with food and starving the opposition. We pray that our citizens won't face the same fate this time. I urge the world to provide food aid to Zimbabwe. We will vigilantly watch for any discrimination in the distribution of food relief based on political affiliation. Silence in the face of unjustified persecution is acquiescence to evil. Just as the world united against apartheid South Africa, today, we must stand together against the harassment, false imprisonment, torture, and murder of all innocent human rights advocates, no matter where they live. That's why I'm here today. That's why we launched the National Democratic Working Group (NDWG) in Zimbabwe. We're a coalition of different constituency groups. I serve as its chairman and facilitator, and our goal is to engage Zimbabweans in this national governance crisis. Together, I am confident that we will pave the way for a free & democratic Zimbabwe. I hope you will support us.  May the Almighty God bless all of you. Thank you. Sikhala presentation at the UN Geneva summit 

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 35 1ssue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024 BRIAN HUNGWE / ALLEN MUNORIYARWA THIS paper provides a legal analysis that interrogates the Information Communication Act (ICA) in Zimbabwe. Its purpose is to examine the extent to which the ICA protects journalists and lawyers privileges critical constituencies in any democratic state. The ICA, passed in 2007, has remained a heavily contested legislation in the country. On the one hand, it is understood to be security minded legislation, yet, other critics have argued that it interferes with the journalist’s source privilege, and lawyer–client confidentiality. In this paper, we are concerned about whether the Act provides adequate safeguards where the subject of surveillance is a practising journalist or lawyer. Thus we ask: to what extent does the ICA provide adequate legal safeguards to lawyers and journalists? Through a qualitative textual analysis of the law, the paper determines the constitutional implications of the main provisions of the Act on whether they reflect constitutional norms that safeguard the legal privileges accorded to the professions. We note that the ICA does not provide adequate safeguards for the protection of lawyers and journalists. We, therefore, argue that ICA is a weaponised legislation meant to emasculate these two communities of practice. As such, we call for the Act’s alignment with the current broadened constitutional provisions. South Africa’s Constitutional Court has invalidated unconstitutional provisions within its surveillance and interception laws, likewise identical provisions within its neighbouring state, Zimbabwe should follow the same. Both countries share common historical, political and economic ties.. Background and context  The Interception of Communications Act [Chapter 11:04] (hereinafter ‘the Act’ and or ‘ICA’) was enacted in 2007 and is still to be aligned with the current 2013 constitution of Zimbabwe. The old Lancaster House constitution, a post-liberation war document that was drafted after a 1979 constitutional conference, was amended 19 times in 30 years and regrettably did not specifically provide for the right to privacy unlike the present constitution. However, the adoption of the ICA in Zimbabwe gave the country a membership card to the club of nations that acknowledge the necessity of national security and the concomitant need to restrict fundamental rights and freedoms to protect national security-related imperatives.  The Act must be understood in the context of various political developments with impact and implications on national security in Zimbabwe since the turn of the millennia. Since 2000, a year synonymous with the violent land reform programme and attendant state sanctioned human rights abuses, Zimbabwe has witnessed violent demonstrations, riots, mass protests, vicious electoral contestations and other acts of political and economic subterfuge. To some, the increase in state security-related legislation has followed the degeneration in internal political dynamics, characterised by fierce political contestations between the governing Zanu PF, opposition political parties and other civil society movements. Zimbabwe is going through economic turbulence, dating back to the 2000s politically motivated seizures of white-owned commercial farmlands. The resultant economic downturn has put severe pressures on the government, which has since tightened its grip on power amid fears of a Western-sponsored regime change agenda. The economic crisis was often accompanied by state-sponsored gross human and property violations, accompanied by corruption and abysmal monetary policies. The Heritage Foundation reported that, "Zimbabwe’s economic freedom score is 39.0, making its economy the 172nd freest in the 2023 Index. … [It] is ranked 46th out of 47 countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region and is one of the least free economies ranked in the 2023 Index." Furthermore, it reports that the economy is "characterised by instability and policy volatility, which are hallmarks of excessive government interference and mismanagement." To manage public dissent, the government has previously, from the early 1980s to late1990s, maintained state monopoly on the telephone business using a parastatal, the Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (PTC), and arbitrarily and effectively barred the introduction of cellphones for a prolonged period. In circumstances where private players sought to venture into the telecommunications business, the government used state security and fought legally to bar them. Scholars find this approach tyrannical and against modernisation. At present, there are two state-owned mobile phone operators and one privately owned. However, all internet service providers (ISPs) and mobile phone companies are licensed and regulated by the state-owned telecommunications regulatory body, Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz). Notwithstanding, establishing ISPs and mobile phones is difficult due to exorbitant application and operating fees. Nonetheless, a significant section of the population had a total of 14.08 million cellular mobile connections in early 2023, representing about 85.4% of the total population. The last census statistics reveal that the country’s total population is 16.49 million. There were about 6 million internet users in Zimbabwe at the start of 2023, with 1,.5 million social media users. The government is mulling plans to increase internet penetration to above 75% by 2025. Insights into Zimbabwe’s state security surveillance operations were disclosed in 2014 by the former minister of State for National Security in charge of state intelligence between 2005 and 2009, Didymus Mutasa who indicated that the government, "sees everything … We have our means of seeing things these days; we just see things through our system. So no-one can hide from us in this country." The former speaker of Parliament, who also was the former ruling Zanu PF's secretary for administration, warned Zimbabweans to, ‘[b]e careful not to denigrate our president [;] we will visit your bedrooms and expose what you will be doing.’ Subsequently in 2015 after he had left government, Mutasa said, "Your phones are listened to a lot. The CIO is huge and it produces many reports". It is important to note that these statements have not been refuted by the state to date. There are several noteworthy provisions of the Act which since 2007 have become contentious and subject to legal contestations. In this paper, we provide a qualitative analysis of selected provisions of the ICA, particularly those that deal with surveillance practices. Our aim is to provide a critique of the extent to which these provisions protect vulnerable communities of practice. We purposively chose lawyers and journalists as some of the most vulnerable for several reasons. Firstly, since Zanu PF authoritarianism started intensely hardening in the post-2000 period, specific communities have been targeted. These include journalists  and lawyers,  at the centre of targeted surveillance. While research is growing on how these communities of practice have been targeted, there is very little research at the intersection of these professions and their exposure to legalised form of surveillance.  This legal analysis makes an attempt to close this gap by providing an analysis of a specific law and how it affects journalists and lawyers quotidian practices.  Methodologically, we utilise qualitative textual analysis. This is a qualitative method that allows us to examine the structure, content and meaning of a legal instrument, and how it relates to the historical, political, economic, social, and cultural contexts of its production. Often, this method had been used to provide analysis of legislations. The article is organised as follows. In the next section, we provide a brief synopsis of international legal standards of surveillance. This is important if we are to determine the extent to which current domestic legislation meets the international barometers set on domestic surveillance.  We follow that section with an analysis of how it affects journalists, before we analyse how it impacts on lawyer-client privilege. We then draw South Africa’s tested constitutional parameters of Regulations of Interceptions of Communications Act (RICA) to reveal existing deficiencies of the ICA.  We then conclude the article by assessing important deficiencies of this constitutional provision. Legal analysis of the Zim Information Act

Page 36 NewsHawks The Big Debate Issue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024 The politics of stadiumology DR ADEBIMPE OFUSORI AS South Africa's general elections on 29 May draw closer, focus on large crowds at stadia during political party manifesto launches and campaigns, a phenomenon dubbed "stadiumology" in this article, is one of the main mobilisation strategies. Former president Jacob Zuma launched his opposition uMkhonto weSizwe party manifesto recently before a huge capacity crowd at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, Johannesburg. Other parties — three of the big five; ANC, DA and EFF — did that at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, which is the political battleground in these polls. President Cyril Ramaphosa has been campaigning in stadia like Zuma and others. Political campaigns often utilise large gatherings to cultivate perception of huge public support. Filling venues, sometimes with paid attendees, creates an impression of momentum and following, potentially swaying middle-ground and undecided voters and influencing public opinion. Additionally, extensive media coverage of the large rallies amplifies campaign messages and increases candidate or party visibility. While renting a crowd offers short-term benefits in terms of visibility, the tactic can backfire. If the strategy is exposed, it then can generates negative media coverage and undermine public trust in the campaign's authenticity. The potential for negative publicity necessitates careful consideration before resorting to such tactics. Renting a crowd by parties raises concerns about the legitimacy and genuineness of a campaign. Public awareness of paid or coerced participation can erode trust in the candidate or party, damaging their credibility and reputation. This issue warrants a closer examination to understand its role and effectiveness. This analysis goes beyond sheer numbers, exploring the practice of "rent-a-crowd" tactics in the South African context. Stadiumology is generally referred to as the use of large venues, such as, stadiums to gather people for events or activities. It is a strategy for holding large political rallies in stadiums or other venues to demonstrate popularity, stimulate support, or influence public opinion. South Africa’s stadiums carry historical significance, particularly those associated with the anti-apartheid struggle. For instance, First National Bank (FNB) Stadium in Johannesburg hosted the final match of the 2010 Fifa World Cup, symbolising the country’s progress and unity since the end of apartheid. Although, stadiums in South Africa have other significance rather than just being used as sports venues; it symbolise the state’s achievements or failures. In an election year, the use of stadiums for political rallies and events can serve as a means for political parties to demonstrate their strength and connect with voters on a grand scale. These events can become powerful tools for mobilising supporters and demonstrating a party’s popularity. It is difficult to predict the success of a political party by the number of occupied or empty seats in stadiums at political rallies because some stadiums can be more crowded than others. The ability to fill a stadium with enthusiastic supporters can create a perception of momentum, convincing undecided voters. The atmosphere of these events can also energise the party base, leading to higher voter turnout among loyal supporters. The implications of Stadiumology on voter behavior in an election year in South Africa The study of stadiumology involves examining the political, social, and economic impact of stadiums on communities. In South Africa, stadiums carry significant symbolic value and can have profound implications on voter’s behavior in an election year. Below are the implications of stadiumology on voter’s behavior: Economic Benefits: The economic benefits associated with hosting events in stadiums, such as increased tourism and revenue generation, can indirectly influence voter sentiment towards incumbent parties or candidates who are seen as promoting economic development and job creation. Accessibility: The location and accessibility of stadiums can affect voter turnout. If a stadium is located in a densely populated urban areas or regions, an area with high voter turnout potential, with strong party support, it can be strategically used by political parties to mobilise supporters and maximise turnout. Media Coverage: Media are normally attracted to stadiums where important events are held. Political rallies held in stadiums can receive extensive coverage, reaching voters who may not attend the event in person but are exposed to it through various media channels. Positive media coverage can shape public opinion and influence voter behavior. Community and Identity Stadiums are often at the heart of local communities, serving as spaces for not just sports but also cultural events and gatherings. Political parties may leverage these spaces to engage with communities on a more personal level. This community-focused approach can affect voter’s behaviour emphasising identity, belonging, and shared experiences. Opposition and Political Division: Large rallies can also contribute to division, as they create a highly obvious division between supporters and opponents. This can reinforce existing political divisions and influence voter behaviour by solidifying partisan lines. Legacy and Accountability In South Africa, the legacy of major events like the 2010 World Cup still echoes. In an election year, voters may evaluate political parties based on how they have managed stadium infrastructure and whether they have delivered on promises related to economic growth and social development. This accountability can influence voter behaviour as parties are held to their commitments regarding the legacy of these grand projects. Symbolism and Identity: Stadiums are more than just sports venues; they are often symbols of national pride, community identity, and political achievement. In South Africa, this symbolism can be particularly potent, given the country’s history and diverse cultures. During an election year, political parties may use stadiums to align themselves with positive imagery, evoking a sense of unity and national pride. This can influence voter’s behaviour by reinforcing a sense of belonging or nostalgia, driving voters towards parties that resonate with these sentiments. Infrastructure Development: South Africa has invested heavily in stadium infrastructure, especially leading up to major international events like the FIFA World Cup and the Cricket World Cup. The construction and renovation of stadiums have not only enhanced the country’s sporting facilities but also contributed to its overall infrastructure development. Security and Orderliness: Stadium events require coordination of security measures to ensure the safety of attendees. The perception of security and orderliness at political rallies held in stadiums can impact voter confidence in the party’s ability to govern effectively and maintain law and order. Economic Impact and Resource Allocation: Stadiums often represent significant public investments, and their construction and maintenance can spark debates about the allocation of resources. In an election year, voters may scrutinise the economic impact of these investments, questioning whether they bring sufficient benefits to justify their costs. Political parties may need to address concerns about underutilised stadiums or “white elephants” to maintain voter trust. This scrutiny can influence voter behaviour, with some voters prioritising parties that emphasise fiscal responsibility and social welfare. Community Engagement and Grassroots Mobilisation: Stadiums can also be central to community life, hosting various cultural and social events. Political parties might use these venues to connect with local communities on a more personal level, hosting smaller gatherings or community-focused events. This grassroots approach can affect voter behavior by fostering a sense of intimacy and responsiveness. Voters may feel more valued and heard, leading them to support parties that engage directly with their communities. In conclusion, Stadiumology in the context of South Africa’s election year can play a significant role in shaping voter behaviour through mobilisation, media impact, community building, messaging, and potentially coercion or polarisation. Understanding the dynamics of stadiumology in South Africa is essential for comprehending its broader implications on society, politics, and governance in the country. Also, understanding these implications can help political parties strategise their campaign efforts, utilise stadiums effectively as campaign venues, and tailor their messages to resonate with voters in South Africa during an election year. *About tge writer: Dr Adebimpe Ofusori is a researcher at the School of Chemistry and Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. She writes in her personal capacity. Jacob Zuma, leader of uMkhonto weSizwe party

Africa News Page 37 This "double-faced" tendency persists as modern leaders live "extravagantly" while the nation grapples with a lack of basic amenities for its citizenry – a situation described as "sadistic opulence." LILONGWE, Malawi -  As Malawi celebrated the birthday of its "father and founder" Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda on May 14th, the nation grappled with the complex "double-faced" legacy of his three-decade reign, writes  Justin  Mthawanji. Banda, a "shrewd" politician who championed Pan-Africanism while "glorifying" English etiquette, embodied contrasting traits that have shaped Malawi's contemporary leadership. Hailed as a developmental "visionary", he was also a "sadistic despot" who "ruthlessly eliminated" political opponents. Contemporary leaders have selectively emulated Banda's most "sinister" qualities – his "sadism" and "arrogance" – while overlooking the positive aspects of his "patriotism" and commitment to progress. The "opulent" lifestyle Banda maintained in the midst of "widespread poverty" epitomized this duality. "Infamous" for his "lavish indulgences", he "audaciously" drove a Rolls Royce flanked by bare-footed praise singers during an era when ordinary Malawians lived in "destitution", walking "literally naked" in his own words. This "double-faced" tendency persists as modern leaders live "extravagantly" while the nation grapples with a lack of basic amenities for its citizenry – a situation described as "sadistic opulence." Banda's foreign policy further exemplified his "contradictory" nature. As the only African nation led by a black leader to maintain ties with "apartheid" South Africa and support the Western-backed RENAMO in Mozambique's "civil war", Malawi faced "diplomatic isolation". Banda justified these "controversial" alignments as necessary to secure mining jobs for Malawians through the Mthandizi "labor export" deal. His "loyalty" was rewarded when the apartheid regime built Lilongwe's capital city, while the CIA aided in "capturing" his political foes. Echoing this pattern, Malawi's current foreign policy has raised "eyebrows" by supporting Israel's activities despite global calls for a "ceasefire" in Gaza, allegedly to facilitate "labor export" deals for Malawian youth. As Malawians reflected on Banda's "complicated" legacy on May 16th, concerns lingered about repeating the mistakes of a leader whose "double-faced" persona combined "visionary" achievements with "authoritarian" excesses and conflicting allegiances. — Africa Brief. Kamuzu Banda's "Double-Faced" Legacy Haunts Modern Malawi Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda (in the middle) NewsHawks 1ssue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024

Page 38 NewsHawks Issue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024 Africa News NICOLA PITCHFORD MALAWI  introduced free primary education in 1994. This has significantly improved access to schooling. However, the country – which is one of the poorest in the world – still faces a high learning poverty rate of 87%. Learning poverty is a measure of a child’s inability to meet minimum proficiency in reading, numeracy and other skills at the primary school level. Malawi’s rate means that 87% of children in standard 4, at age 10, are unable to read. Only 19% of children aged between 7 and 14 have foundational reading skills and  13%  have foundational numeracy skills. This leads to social and financial dependency. It also limits the extent to which individuals can actively participate in society. Children become  especially vulnerable  to pernicious social issues such as forced marriage, female genital mutilation, and child labour. The primary education sector also has  many challenges. These include overcrowded classrooms, limited learning materials, and a shortage of trained teachers. There is a pressing need for innovative, transformative approaches to providing foundational education to meet the goals envisioned in  Malawi 2063, the country’s long-term national plan. To accomplish this, the government of Malawi is using scientific evidence to enable meaningful and effective learning happen at scale. This evidence has been generated in parallel by researchers from the University of Nottingham in the UK and the NGO  Imagine Worldwide  in the US and Africa. We have been testing the efficacy of an interactive educational technology (EdTech) developed by UK-based non-profit  onebillion  to raise foundational education by different groups of learners in Malawi. The EdTech delivers personalised, adaptive software that enables each child to learn reading, writing and numeracy at the right level. Children work on tablets through a carefully structured course made up of thousands of engaging activities, games and stories. Over the past 11 years, we have built a complementary and robust evidence base focusing on different aspects of the software and programme. In 2013, I conducted the first pupil-level randomised control trial at a state primary school in Malawi’s capital city, Lilongwe. Randomised controlled trials are prospective studies that measure the effectiveness of a new intervention compared to standard practice. They are considered the gold standard in effectiveness research. We wanted to test whether the EdTech could raise young children’s numeracy skills. The study showed that after eight weeks of using the EdTech for 30 minutes a day, learners in grades 1-3 (aged 6 to 9) made significant improvements in basic numeracy compared to standard classroom practice. Teachers were also able to put the EdTech to use with ease. Now, after many studies, Malawi’s government, in collaboration with Imagine Worldwide, is embedding the EdTech programme in all state primary schools nationwide. This will serve 3.8 million children per year in grades 1-4 across all 6,000 state primary schools in Malawi. Rigorous testing After our initial 2013 study, we kept testing the EdTech through rigorous studies.  One  showed that the EdTech programme significantly raised foundational numeracy and literacy skills of early grade learners. Our results showed similar learning gains for girls and boys with the EdTech. This equalises foundational education across gender. Another study showed that children with special educational needs and disabilities could interact and learn with the EdTech, albeit at a slower pace than mainstream peers. The EdTech wasn’t just tested in Malawi. We wanted to see if it could address learning poverty in different contexts, thus equalising all children’s opportunities, no matter where they live. Research in the UK  demonstrated that the same EdTech raised the basic numeracy skills of children in the early years of primary schools compared to standard classroom instruction. It was also found to support numeracy acquisition by  developmentally young children, including those with Down Syndrome. It was also shown to be effective in a  bilingual setting. Brazilian children’s basic numeracy skills improved compared to standard practice after instruction with the EdTech delivered in either English, their language of instruction, or their home language, Brazilian-Portuguese. Alongside the research from the University of Nottingham, Imagine Worldwide undertook a series of studies in Malawi and other countries to investigate how this EdTech could raise foundational skills over longer periods of time and in different languages and contexts, including refugee camps. Imagine Worldwide conducted  six randomised control trials, including two of the longest over 8 months and 2 years. They showed robust learning gains in literacy and numeracy. They also found that children’s excitement about school, their attendance, and their confidence as learners improved. The EdTech programme also mitigated against learning loss during school closures. During Imagine’s 2-year randomised control trial in Malawi, programme delivery was interrupted for seven months by COVID-related closures. Yet, results showed that children who had participated in the EdTech programme prior to schools closing returned to school with higher achievement levels than their peers who had received standard instruction only. Applying the evidence to policy Malawi’s government was pleased with the early results and the programme was expanded to about 150 schools, with the help of UK non-profit Voluntary Service Overseas. A national steering committee was established by Malawi’s government to monitor the programme and review additional emerging research. In 2022 the Education Ministry formally launched the programme through which the EdTech will be rolled out; it was introduced in 500 new schools at the start of the 2023/2024 school year, in September 2023. To achieve the promise of the early research, ongoing implementation research and monitoring is helping to ensure programme quality and impacts are sustained as it rolls out nationwide. Strong evidence Basic literacy and numeracy are the keys to unlocking a child’s potential — improving their health, wealth and social outcomes. Our combined research has shown that child-directed EdTech can deliver high-quality education for millions of marginalised children worldwide. The evidence is strong, diverse and replicable. Now governments need to follow the lead of Malawi to abolish learning poverty and make foundational education a reality for all children, everywhere. — The Conversation. *About the writer: Nicola Pitchford is professor of developmental psychology at the University of Nottingham in Britain. Dr Karen Levesque, head of research at Imagine Worldwide, co-authored this article. Malawi’s school kids are using tablets to improve their reading and maths skills Children in Malawi work on their tablets, which are loaded with activities, games and stories. onebillion.org, Author provided (no reuse)

NewsHawks Africa News Page 39 1ssue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024 ANGOLAN authorities should credibly investigate a break-in at the home of  prominent journalist  William Tonet and drop the criminal defamation charges he faces, the Committee to Protect Journalists has said.  A man armed with a pistol broke into Tonet’s home in the capital, Luanda, at around 4 a.m. on April 27, according to the journalist who spoke to CPJ, media reports, and a statement by the local union Syndicate of Angolan Journalists (SJA). Tonet, director and editor of the privately owned newspaper Folha 8, said he was awake when the intruder came into his bedroom, and the journalist shouted at him, causing the man to flee and escape in a white Toyota vehicle waiting outside. Tonet said he did not file a police complaint because he does not “trust authorities in Angola,” citing the “inadequate” police response to a  June 6, 2023, fire that destroyed the Folha 8 office in Luanda and the subsequent investigations that “came up empty.” Twelve film cameras, seven still cameras, and editing equipment, all  worth around US$50 000, were destroyed in the blaze. Tonet told CPJ that he is separately facing a criminal defamation and insult case following a complaint by a former judge over a 2020 report by Folha 8. Criminal defamation carries up to 1.5 years in prison, while insult carries up to one year, according to the penal code. “Between a fire at his Folha 8 newsroom last year, the April 2024 break-in at his home, and the prospect of prison time over criminal defamation charges, Angolan newspaper journalist William Tonet seems besieged on all sides,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Muthoki Mumo,  in Accra. “Authorities must take steps to ensure that Tonet and other critical journalists do not operate in an environment of fear and legal persecution.” Tonet said he did not think the man was a “common thief” because several valuables in the house were left untouched, and he seemed to have a planned exit. The break-in occurred two months after Tonet returned to Angola after receiving medical treatment in Portugal. Luzia Sebastião, a former judge in Angola’s Constitutional Court of the Republic, filed a criminal defamation and insult complaint against Tonet in connection to a June 2020 report, which cited a book alleging that the judge was implicated in a massacre  that  killed thousands  in the aftermath of the 27  May 1977, political crisis. Folha 8 published an article  in July 2020 in which Sebastião denied the allegations. The case was adjourned on 23 November 2023, after Tonet’s lawyer submitted a request to delay the proceedings to allow Tonet to travel abroad for treatment, the journalist told CPJ. A new court date has yet to be set. Sebastião told CPJ that she “agrees with the decriminalization of defamation defended by CPJ” but said, “it is currently the only legal avenue to seek redress in effect in Angola.” She said she would not comment further on a case that is before a court. Tonet and Folha 8 have faced over 100 defamation cases since the paper was founded in 1996, according to the journalist and a 2014 news report by the German public broadcaster DW. “While investigations and accusations can be idle for years, they can be reopened at any point if it is in the interest of those in power,” Tonet told CPJ. In 2011, a court  convicted  Tonet on a criminal libel charge and handed him a one-year suspended sentence. In 2012, police raided the Folha 8 offices amid an investigation into offenses of “outrage against the state” after the newspaper published a satirical photo montage of the country’s president and vice president.   Nestor Goubel, spokesperson of the national police in Luanda, told CPJ that he could not comment but would seek information on the break-in at Tonet’s home and the June 2023 fire at Folha 8. – Committee to Protect Journalists. Photo credit: DiasporaEngager (www.DiasporaEngager.com). Angola journalist Tonet’s home invaded by gunman as defamation case continues

Page 40 NewsHawks World News Issue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024 The hard-line Shiite cleric was seen as a possible successor to Iran’s supreme leader. Mr. Raisi’s death comes at a moment of turbulence for a country facing a deepening conflict with Israel. ERIKA SOLOMON/FARNAZ FASSIHI EBRAHIM Raisi, Iran’s president and a top contender to succeed the nation’s supreme leader, was killed on Sunday in a helicopter crash. He was 63. A conservative Shiite Muslim cleric who had a hand in some of the most brutal crackdowns on opponents of the Islamic Republic, Mr. Raisi was a protégé of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and a devoted upholder of religious rule in the country. Mr. Raisi’s presidency was shaped by two major events: the 2022 nationwide uprising, led by women and girls, demanding the end to the Islamic Republic’s rule and the government’s brutal crushing of that movement; and the current Middle East war with Israel, with which it had a long history of clandestine attacks. As the president under Iran’s political system, Mr. Raisi did not set the country’s nuclear or regional policy. But he inherited a government that was steadily expanding its regional influence through a network of proxy militia groups and a nuclear program that was rapidly advancing to weapons-grade uranium enrichment levels following the United States’ exit from a nuclear deal. Mr. Raisi endorsed and supported both of these policies and viewed them as essential for Iran to maintain its influence in the region and to exercise leverage over the West. His death came as a yearslong shadow war became one of direct confrontation in the wake of Israel’s military assault on Gaza in retaliation for the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. Mr. Raisi was born in the northeastern city of Mashhad to a family of clerics, and he studied at the country’s famous seminary in Qum before participating as an 18-year-old in the 1979 Islamic revolution, which deposed Iran’s shah. Just two years later, Mr. Raisi became a judge in the newly created Islamic Republic, beginning a steady ascent to the top of Iranian politics. Like Mr. Khamenei and his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic revolution, Mr. Raisi donned a cleric’s black turban, one that is reserved for “sayyids,” or people who trace their lineage back to the Prophet Muhammad. The issue of succession in Iran has become more pressing because Mr. Khamenei is 85 and frail. The selection of the next supreme leader is an opaque process of political rivalries and jockeying. Under the Constitution, an elected body of clerics called the Assembly of Experts picks the supreme leader. Mr. Raisi was viewed as one of the top contenders for that role and was favored by the hardline faction, as was Ayatollah Khamenei’s son Mojtaba, an influential cleric who helps run his father’s office. Mr. Raisi’s death essentially paves the path for the younger Mr. Khamenei to succeed his father. Political analysts described Mr. Raisi as a loyal enforcer of Mr. Khamenei’s policies and a facilitator of the growing power of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran’s politics and economy. “He was not someone exuding charisma. His speeches were not motivating people to the streets. He was executing policy,” said Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House. “Above all, he was a regime insider. He was an ideologue who worked within the system and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi Iran President Ebrahim Raisi dies in helicopter crash at 63

NewsHawks World News Page 41 1ssue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024 through the system.” Mr. Raisi’s supporters, including conservative pundits on state media, praised him for reimposing strict religious and social rules, being intolerant of dissent and turning Iran’s policies away from the West toward more engagement with Russia and China. From 2016 to 2019, Mr. Raisi was at the helm of Astan Quds Razavi, a powerful multibillion-dollar religious conglomerate under the control of Mr. Khamenei and believed to be one of his most significant sources of wealth. In 2019, Mr. Raisi became the head of Iran’s judiciary, and during his tenure he oversaw some of the most brutal crackdowns on dissent. At least 500 people were killed during nationwide demonstrations in November 2019 in response to a spike in fuel prices. The judiciary arrested activists, journalists, lawyers and dual national citizens. He became president in 2021 in an election that was widely seen as orchestrated to ensure his victory, with his most serious rivals having been disqualified. Mr. Raisi campaigned as an anticorruption candidate but took up the presidency under a cloud of condemnation by government opponents and international rights groups. Rights groups highlighted Mr. Raisi’s background as a member of a four-person panel that ordered the execution of 5,000 political dissidents in 1988 without trials at the end of the Iran-Iraq war. Mr. Raisi has not denied being part of the panel and said in a speech that he was a junior official appointed to the role by the supreme leader at the time. “We lost a generation of political minds and activists who could have been important players in Iranian society,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran. Mr. Raisi, he argued, played a hand in several of the most repressive moments of Iranian history, in particular the crackdowns on antigovernment protests in 2009 and 2022. Mr. Raisi took power three years after Donald J. Trump, as president, withdrew from the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. After the United States exited the deal, Mr. Trump reimposed tough economic sanctions on Iran, hitting the country’s oil sales and banks. A year later, after Iran failed to reap the benefits of the nuclear deal, it returned to enriching uranium at a near weapons-grade level. Mr. Raisi took office promising to pursue a “resistance diplomacy,” meaning a defiance of Western powers but an openness to negotiations, particularly with the United States, to return to the nuclear deal and to seek the removal of sanctions. But months of negotiations fell through in the fall of 2021, and no deal has been reached with the Biden administration. One of Mr. Raisi’s most important foreign policy achievements as president was one that had long eluded his predecessors: the restoration of ties with Iran’s longtime regional adversary, Saudi Arabia. In 2023, the two nations signed a deal in Beijing to re-establish diplomatic relations. Although largely symbolic, the agreement was seen as key to defusing their regional rivalry. Mr. Raisi prioritized forging closer relations with Russia and China and pivoting away from the West, saying that Iran could not trust the United States and Europe after the collapse of the nuclear deal. Mr. Raisi’s government reached a sweeping 25-year economic, security and military deal with China: Iran agreed to sell Beijing discounted oil in exchange for $400 billion investments in Iran by Chinese companies in a wide range of sectors. He also traveled to Moscow frequently to meet his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir V. Putin, and they deepened security and military relations. Iran has sold drones to Russia, which has used them in its war in Ukraine, although Mr. Raisi has denied this role. Mr. Raisi’s impact on domestic policy during his presidency has been felt far more deeply, and his legacy is likely to be a contested one. During his rule, the country suffered severe economic downturns, driven by international sanctions and high unemployment. “If you want to think of his legacy, he left the country’s economy in ruins, and it has become more repressive,” said Sina Azodi, a lecturer on Iran at George Washington University. “Iran was never democratic or free, but, since 2021, political repression has increased. No voice of dissent is tolerated.” Under Mr. Raisi’s watch, Iran’s currency plunged to a record low, climate change and mismanagement intensified water shortages, and the country was hit in January by the deadliest terrorist attack since the 1979 founding of the republic. Mr. Raisi also oversaw a brutal crackdown on antigovernment protests that erupted in 2022 after the death of a 21-year-old Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, while she was in the custody of Iran’s morality police. Her death set off a wave of protests led by women who took off their head scarves and called for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic. After many Iranian women defied the mandatory hijab rule and appeared in public for over a year without covering their hair, Mr. Raisi announced this spring that he was going to re-enforce the hijab rule. His government dispatched the morality police back on the streets in April, after having earlier said the force was abolished, and many arrests of women turned violent. Allegations of human rights abuses, for which the United States imposed sanctions on Mr. Raisi in 2019, dogged him on the international stage until the last years of his life. Last December, he canceled a visit to the United Nations in Geneva amid concerns that he could face arrest over his alleged role in the 1988 mass executions because Sweden had prosecuted a more junior Iranian judiciary official under crimes against humanity. But Mr. Raisi did attend the U.N. General Assembly in New York every year, delivering heated speeches that blamed the dissent in Iran on foreign enemies while portraying his country as a model of good governance and as an upholder of human rights. Mr. Raisi is survived by his wife, Jamileh Alamolhoda, a university professor of philosophy and education and daughter of an ultra hard-line influential cleric, Ahmad Alamolhoda. The couple have two daughters and at least one grandchild. — New York Times. *About the writer: Farnaz Fassihi is the United Nations bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of the organization, and also covers Iran and the shadow war between Iran and Israel. She is based in New York. More about Farnaz Fassihi. Rescue workers continuing to work at the crash site of a helicopter in northern Iran.

People & Places Hyatt Regency Harare The Meikles offers iconic architecture Page 42 Nestled in Zimbabwe's capital, sunshine city, Hyatt Regency Harare The Meikles offers iconic architecture, charm, luxury, and easy access to major attractions. From wildlife safaris in the city outskirts to vibrant city life, the hotel offers visitors an opportunity to embark on an African adventure. NewsHawks Issue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024

JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA THERE are quite a number of reasons behind a musician’s longevity – the sheer ability to stay at the top for a very long time, or even for the duration of a career. For me, two things stand out: relevance and consistency. No matter how good an artiste you are, your place in the consciousness of your followers is not guaranteed to be a permanent feature without possessing these qualities. In light of this benchmark, it is safe to say now that Winky D – the Zimbabwean reggae-dancehall wizard – has mastered both! Whenever this creative genius releases something new, it is sure to get people talking, whether you are a fan of his or not. I am privileged to have witnessed and covered Winky D’s journey since the formative years of his career. Considering how he always made the impression of a focused young man in those early days, it is hardly surprising that a more mature Winky has indeed become a forward-looking person. His greatest strength is that he has been able to swiftly move with the everchanging music demographics. It is thereby little wonder his sound has changed, or is continuously changing, so that it finds audience in the younger outgoing age-group. Not to forget his heavy social media presence. To prove that music is indeed changing, Winky D has long moved from Zim-dancehall to Zim-pop, simply because that is where the market is. His latest offering, EP Love Quartet, seems to be a deliberate effort to move away from the spotlight of the powersthat-be on Zimbabwe’s political landscape, a clique that has often critiqued Winky for being anti-establishment in his mass-popular culture type of content. But Winky accepts that this kind of uncomplimentary feedback is an everyday battle he has to live with. From his huge and loyal fanbase, which resonates with his message, he finds comfort. So Love Quartet is supposed to paint that Cinderella story, while avoiding politics and the backlash that comes with it from his ever-ready hecklers. Not to say this is the first time Winky has serenaded his fans with the love bug; he has done that countless times before. Here, he has simply done it again, in Love Quartet, showing his tender side insofar as love and affection are concerned. Shift, Akayenda, Iyeye and Dai – which range from hot to lukewarm – are the tracks on the EP. But perhaps it is Akayenda which has captured the imagination in more ways than one. The reason being that the visuals are quite familiar, especially to those who have watched the epic movie The Titanic. Titanic is a 1997 American epic romantic disaster film that was directed, written, produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. Incorporating both historical and fictionalised aspects, it is based on accounts of the sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet star as members of different social classes who fall in love during the ship's maiden voyage. The video by Winky, featuring Frya, bears some resemblance to the movie, especially when Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet share moments that include riding the Titanic at the bow of the cruise ship. Then we see the actual sinking of the ship, where Winky abandons his lover, played by Frya, as she drowns. That said, of particular interest is the captain of the ship, a drunk. He is constantly taking shots of whiskey as the ship approaches a stormy tide. But this is art, Winky is telling a story that passengers are pinning their hopes on the captain, who does not care about their safety and welfare. Simply put, there is no way this ship would sail smoothly if the captain is drunk and unable to stand on his feet. In other words, a ship without a sober captain is doomed! To the uninformed, this comes across as a political message, but to the informed music lovers this is purely a work of art. What then this means is that Winky D has given people something to talk about. Come to think of it, the timing of the release cannot be ignored! It is not a holiday, summer or even a festive season.  We are at the beginning of the winter season, of all times. That is the genius of staying at the top and remaining relevant. Winky D’s Love Quartet is more than just music! STYLE TRAVEL BOOKS ARTS MOTORING Porsche just got angrier Being a Fashion Model Life&Style Page 43 Issue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024 Winky D

Page 44 Fans want to watch good football, simple as that I DO not know if such statistics are kept somewhere, but you cannot dispute that Mutare smashed its own radio listenership record one glorious afternoon 30 years ago, and I daresay it was a truly special experience never to be seen again in this city. In a bygone era when radio commentary was the only available source of real-time action for domestic football in Zimbabwe, several thousands of fans nationwide — not so lucky to be at the stadiums — turned to the airwaves every weekend to get swept away by the wordplay of their favourite commentators. But on 12 December 1993 Mutare really outdid itself as Tanganda FC, the heartbeat and pride of the city, took on giants CAPS United 265km away in the capital city Harare in a replayed final of the Castle Cup, the country’s most prestigious knockout competition. I had been sent away to the hometown for holidays as a primary schoolboy and I remember Sakubva — the bustling township with its flurry of activity and commotion — suddenly taking on an unusual aura of tranquility that particular Sunday afternoon as pretty much everybody prepared themselves for kickoff in intense and nervous anticipation. The busy streets were deserted as several groups of friends huddled by the roadside, glued to the mobile battery-powered receivers of those times. Older folks tuned in indoors and in the open air of homes. Because, to everybody here, Tanganda was their own homegrown project. No single institution before had been part of their town’s collective consciousness at that scale. The players were humble and likeable local lads from in and around the city — born and bred. They were the neighbourhood’s friends, brothers, cousins, nephews, uncles, sons and grandsons. And they were about to bring the iconic Castle Cup home. Ian Matondo, Ford Chitakatira, Patrick Chapoterera, Johnson Paradza, Nelson Bandura.  Adoring local fans had keenly witnessed all this homegrown talent rise from the rudimentary facilities of Sakubva’s Sports Oval, or Chisamba Ground, to national prominence. Those who once played with or against these guys at school or on the streets, and perhaps used to rate themselves as the better players back in the day, now ungrudgingly recognised the Tanganda stars as their ambassadors and source of joy. So there was unbelievable natural connection of souls, that fine December afternoon three decades ago, as Mutareans attentively listened to every in-field exploit of their local heroes away in the capital.  The rare calmness was wildly disturbed each time Tanganda scored, scores of people fanatically running onto the street in utter ecstasy, hugging and screaming with joy. The huge celebrations reverberated from one big section of sprawling Sakubva to another, separated by hilly landscape, and even from across the railway line in standalone Chikanga. Then suddenly the crowd dispersed, with the kind of self-control humans voluntarily exercise in moments like this. Back to the radio, not wanting to miss any of the action. A 2-2 draw after extra time sent the match into a penalty shootout, won 7-6 by Tanganda. You can imagine the scenes well into the night after the match! Unbelievable. I write this after a conversation I recently had with a visiting cousin, a Mutare purebred. He was young, but he remembers Tanganda’s crowning moment like it was yesterday. He however feels robbed, that his city hasn’t had a team they call their own since the days of Tanganda. Buffaloes and Highway were probably the last clubs to have that special place in the hearts of local folk. They were not like Tanganda, certainly not, but they had a good number of guys that people could relate to. There have been teams over the years that have set base at Sakubva Stadium, and they must be commended for that. There are other clubs too in other parts of the country that play outside their areas. It decentralises the game. My cousin doesn’t miss any match involving Manica Diamonds or Bikita Minerals in Mutare. “People just want to watch good football,” he says. “While of course we might support Manica Diamonds or Bikita as technically the home team, there is really no attachment, to be honest. If the visiting team knit good passes, we will applaud. We go to the ground for the fun. People want to be entertained.” The key words for me there are “good football" and "entertainment”. In the absence of this, and no emotional attachment to teams, fans will continue to stay away. Tanganda FC during the club's heyday. Enock Muchinjo HawkZone Sport NewsHawks Issue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024

Sport Page 45 ‘It’s time!’: Mtongwiza outlines ambitious vision for Zimrugby LOSSON Mtongwiza has always had a romantic connection to the Rugby World Cup since he keenly followed Zimbabwe’s progress at the 1991 edition as a star-struck 17-year-old Prince Edward schoolboy. That early experience for the famed Harare boys’ school learner strongly roused aspiration in him to also desire to go to the World Cup one day. And he has indeed been to the World Cup — four of them. Not however with Zimbabwe, as he would have loved. Because that 1991 World Cup in Britain would remain the last time Zimbabwe has featured in the greatest rugby showcase on earth. Mtongwiza has been travelling to the World Cup in his personal capacity over the last four consecutive tournaments, to equip himself with the skills and knowledge of running the game at the highest level in his home country. 2011 in New Zealand. 2015 in England. 2019 in Japan, and 2023 in France. “Throughout those many years, I have seen various plans and programmes that are good, and some not so good for the union (Zimbabwe Rugby Union),” Mtongwiza told SportsCast last week. I have had many interactions with visiting teams, and visited several countries. I took those visits as learning experiences. I spent at least three weeks [at the World Cups] studying how these tournaments are put together and run. Now I want to take my country Zimbabwe with me to the World Cup, for my fellow countrymen to experience the magic of this wonderful tournament. Together we will go to the World Cup. It’s time!’ The 50-year-old Harare entrepreneur has been one of the two vice-presidents of the current Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) executive since 2017, his second tenure in that role with the first one having been achieved when he was just 30. The seasoned official believes that his two decades in the administration of Zimbabwean rugby, which started at the young age of 29, has given him a bird-eye’s view of the state of rugby in his country to enable him to successfully structure a return to Zimbabwe’s former glory in this sport. Mtongwiza is running for president of the ZRU at a watershed elective annual general meeting in Harare on 25 May. While he has been a board deputy for seven years, Mtongwiza reckons becoming the number one at the ZRU head offices — if given the mandate next week — will give him the platform to execute his vision and strategy without bottlenecks. “I have enjoyed playing a supportive role in the game for well over two decades while I was building my business,” he said. “Now I am ready to run for the top job with the experience I’ve acquired.  I will have ample time on my hands, as I have all the structures I need in place.” As a player in the mid-'90s, Mtongwiza represented Zimbabwe at Under-20 and Under-21 levels, and turned out domestically for Old Hararians and Harare Sports Club. He soon realised he was cut for administration at a young age, becoming chairperson of Harare province in 2003 and then enjoying his first tenure as ZRU vice-president in 2004. For many years Mtongwiza has held several influential roles at the hugely successful Old Hararians, his boyhood club, the latest position being that of club-president. Additionally, he is a previous team manager of Zimbabwe’s 15s and Sevens national sides. — SportsCast. NewsHawks 1ssue 176, 17 - 24 May 2024

GERALD Sibanda, the former Zimbabwe rugby international who is now vying to head the game in his homeland, has promised to deliver with “the same energy and spirit” he was known for as a player. The 37-year-old sports entrepreneur has officially announced his candidacy ahead of the elective annual general meeting of the Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) on 25 May, where he will battle it out with two others in what is expected to be a close election. “I’m so delighted that I’ve raised up my hand for the post of ZRU president,” Sibanda told SportsCast on Monday. “I always knew that at some point I would come into the administration of the game of rugby, to help develop and grow it. After being approached by a number of stakeholders, I considered my position. I’ve come back to the game.” After hanging up his rugby boots in 2018, Sibanda ventured into sports business, going on to establish the Real Betis Academy in Harare, the top Spanish club’s first of its kind in Africa. He is also the founder and chief executive of sports marketing firm, Athletes Sphere Management. The football side of things keeps him busy, but Sibanda is banking on his youthful vigour to also make a difference in the game that shot him to prominence. “I will use the same energy and spirit I used as a player when I played rugby for my country both in 15s and Sevens, and at junior level,” he remarked. “I’ve been to three World Cups with my country. In 2005 as vice-captain of Zimbabwe (at the short-lived Under-19 Rugby World Championship in South Africa), in 2009 as a player (at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai) and in 2018 as part of the management at the World Cup Sevens in San Francisco, USA. So ja, I believe I have better understanding and exposure of what it takes to be right there at the top. But it’s a team game, it’s not about me. Together we are ready to repay and serve those that have called me back to rugby, a game I love so much. I’m confident that given the opportunity, there will be massive shift and massive turnaround.” While he played at the highest level in the shorter version of the game, Sibanda’s greatest desire is to see the current generation of players take Zimbabwe back to the World Cup of the pinnacle format of the sport. Zimbabwe, nicknamed the Sables, were the only African team in the first two editions of the World Cup in 1987 and 1991, but have not qualified for the sport’s biggest showcase ever since. “I know we have lost valuable time in terms of the good rugby that Zimbabwe used to play in the '80s and the '90s,” said Sibanda. “We’ve lost good opportunities to grow and advance the game. We are living in an era where the game has grown commercially, where the game has gone professional. Zimbabwe has to catch up with the rest of the world, in line with the development plans of (global governing body) World Rugby. Obviously my inspiration comes from my seven years of sports management with different brands around the world. So ja, I’m ready to surround myself with a good team, with people who believe in me, and with the people of Zimbabwe who dream that our team will play again at the World Cup. People who dream that one day rugby in our country will be professional, a fantastic commercial product for our corporates and stakeholders in government and industry. I’m delighted that we have a plan in place for grassroots development, we have a plan in place for infrastructure development, so that rugby can be the sport of choice in Zimbabwe. My aim is to emulate the (ZRU) boards of 1987 and 1991.” A versatile backline player with relentless workrate, pace and eye for the try-line since his days at Milton Boys High in Bulawayo and Churchill Boys High in Harare, Sibanda spent the last stage of his playing career in Europe, retiring in Romania in 2018. Sibanda will challenge incumbent ZRU president Aaron Jani at the highly-anticipated AGM in Harare. Losson Mtongwiza, one of the two current vice-presidents of the union, is the other candidate. — SportsCast NEWS $60 Covid tariff for visitors & tourists CULTURE Community radio regulations under review @NewsHawksLive TheNewsHawks www.thenewshawks.com Thursday 1 October 2020 WHAT’S INSIDE ALSO INSIDE Finance Ministy wipes out $3.2 Billion depositors funds Zim's latest land cStory on Page 3 Story on Page 8 Chamisa reacout to Khupe Unofficial president calls for emergeFriday 17 - 24 May 2024 ALSO INSIDE Mtongwiza outlines ambitious vision for Zimrugby Sports Sibanda determined to revive Zim rugby Gerald Sibanda