NewsHawks 15 July 2022

WHAT’S INSIDE Friday 15 July 2022 RNuEsWhwS aya Price
implicated in
MNEpWofSu Mazowe gold US$1
vacates farm, fields plunder
faces hefty bill TSPhOe RquTiet
Story on Page 9 return of
Story on Page 5 the ‘Good
Murungu’

Story on Page 60

Govt chefs
csoeinzseeRrvhainnocy
in Midlands

ALSO INSIDE Zimbabwe has suffered enough: AfDB chief

Page 2 News NewsHawks

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

Mayhem as bigwigs, diplomats
invade black rhino conservancy

New settlements in Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy are starting to have an impact on the existence of the black rhinos.

BRENNA MATENDERE authorisation of an Act of Parliament. At present, Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zim- an area of their choice where a junior official from
no such law has been promulgated to legalise the Parks) by resettled farmers. the Lands ministry would then peg for them piec-
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s brother settlements, not even a statutory instrument. es of land totalling 300 hectares.
Patrick, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube, a prom- Previously known as the Greater Munyati Con-
inent businessman, diplomats, Zanu PF acolytes The conservancy is situated in the Chiru- servancy, the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy Chibura explained why the rhinos need huge
from the Marange apostolic sect and senior civil manzu-Zibagwe constituency on the 35-kilome- hosts eight black rhinos, with an unknown num- swathes of land without human settlements.
servants have invaded a highly protected Mid- tre peg along the Kwekwe-Mvuma road, on the ber of animals also coming in to browse from ad-
lands Black Rhino Conservancy (MBRC), The left side of the dusty strip road. joining game parks in the vicinity. “Rhinos are selective feeders and major herbi-
NewsHawks can reveal. vores, meaning they have to travel a very long dis-
In 2019, Environment minister Nqobizitha Twin Springs Farm, which is now occupied by tance to select what they can eat. A rhino can eat
They join Mnangagwa's close ally, Chief Secre- Mangaliso Ndlovu tried to stop the settlements Patrick and Kwande, has wildlife species including 200kgs of food daily and for that it must travel for
tary to the President and Cabinet Misheck Siban- after Midlands Provincial Affairs minister Larry sable, wildebeest, zebra and giraffe. The black rhi- 50km to 60km. On this distance it will be select-
da, who moved into the conservancy area in 2002 Mavhima had made a request to allocate land in nos also frequent its forests. ing thickets of feed. So if consultations were done
to occupy Bem 3 Farm that is located at the en- the conservancy. Ndlovu made it expressly clear we were going to point at the thickets which the
trance to the wildlife sanctuary. that if anyone were to be allocated land in the Elephant, kudu, eland, impala, bushbuck, wa- rhinos depend on so that settlements would not
conservancy, they were supposed to embark only terbuck, buffalo, hippopotamus, wild dog, leop- be done on those areas,” he said.
Their intrusion is disrupting the conservation on wildlife-related business and not farming. ard, cheetah, brown and spotted hyena are found
of the critically endangered black rhinoceros and in the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy as a A farmer who owns a property that has been in-
placing at risk 35 years of private investments in In a letter referenced “Allocation of Land with- whole. vaded summarised the implications of the devel-
the wildlife venture. in Chinyika Ranch, Circle G and Twin Springs,”- opments. “We are having an increase in poaching
dated 9 December 2019 and addressed to Mavhi- During a visit to the conservancy, The News- and a decrease in wildlife habitat. There has led
Scores of Marange apostolic sect members ma, Minister Ndlovu wrote: “Reference is made Hawks learnt that the settlers have erected fenc- to a reduction in tourism potential. International
were settled on Circle G Farm ahead of the 2015 to your letter of 10 September 2019 in which es around their areas which now restrict the free hunting revenue is being lost because the foreign
Chirumanzu-Zibagwe parliamentary by-election you request that the properties above be allocat- movement of wildlife. hunters are saying how can we come when there
to boost votes for First Lady Auxilia Mnangagwa. ed for resettlement . . . the Ministry advises on are now people settled in the hunting areas? The
the following: 1) the beneficiaries should have the Brilliant Chibura, the MBRC conservator, told country’s reputation is being damaged. Invest-
Auxilia was at that time going into an election capacity to engage in sustainable wildlife conser- The NewsHawks that no consultation with the ments running into millions in wildlife which we
to contest for a parliamentary seat on a Zanu PF vation…The properties are ideal for Black Rhino conservancy management was done before the made in 35 years are now going down the drain.
ticket following the elevation of her husband to bicorns habitat that needs to be preserved.” new settlers moved in. It is a big loss,” he said.
the post of vice-president after he had held the
seat since 2008 when the constituency was hastily “To ensure proper utilisation of land, ZimParks He said had the consultations been done, a The other economic activities in the conservan-
created during a delimitation exercise. shall be conducting periodic assessments”. proper framework would have been laid out to cy that are now being affected by the new settlers
have a win-win situation between the new settlers include recreational tourism, consumptive wild-
The settlements have the potential to put to Minister Ndlovu’s directives were flagrantly ig- who want to achieve a lot in agricultural produc- life tourism in the form of local and foreign hunt-
waste investments running into tens of millions of nored as intensive farming is now being practised tion and those who have been invested in the ing clients, non-consumptive wildlife and birdlife
United States dollars made by multiple property in the conservancy and he seems unable to rein in wildlife business for the past 35 years. tourism.
owners and stakeholders for the past 35 years in the powerful new settlers.
the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy. Chibura also revealed that the new settlements An internationally renowned conservationist
The conservancy was established in 1987 when are starting to have an impact on the existence of told The NewsHawks: “The events unfolding in
Funders like the Save Foundation of Australia farmers owning 14 pieces of land came together the black rhinos. MBRC are not a positive reflection on Zimbabwe
and Sebhakwe Black Rhino Trust also made sig- to pursue wildlife business on space totalling 63 and the great reputation the country has in the
nificant donations to the conservancy to build it 113 hectares. “The rhinos are now starting to exhibit differ- arena of wildlife, conservation, environment and
into what it is at present, but the illegal settlements ent movement patterns, which is a security threat tourism. The situation is being watched with con-
could see the investments going down the drain. The conservancy is geographically located on to their lives. They no longer have a definite res- cern by wildlife and environmental agencies and
10 wildlife ranges, namely Moreena, Mazuri, idence. We are not against the settlements, but organisations across Zimbabwe, the region and
The Parks and Wildlife Act (Chapter 20:14) Mahamara, Chinyika, Circle G, Dunlop, Twin consultations were supposed to be done prior,” he the world. If not handled correctly, there will be
prohibits human settlements or agricultural ac- Springs, Bemthree, Estrange and Sebakwe Recre- said.
tivities on conservancies, unless with the express ational Park that was “donated” to the Zimbabwe
Investigations revealed that the new settlers
would just come into the conservancy and pick

NewsHawks News Page 3

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

a mess.” The photos attached show fenced pieces of land inside Circle G Range in Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy. The people occupying this area are apostolic sect mem-
During a recent visit by The NewsHawks at the bers settled to boost votes of First Lady Auxilia Mnangagwa ahead of the 2015 by parliamentary by-election. Fencing areas reduces the wildlife habitat and restricts
movement of rhinos.
conservancy, it was discovered that Patrick Mnan-
gagwa had grabbed a piece of land that forms part winter wheat production. am not so sure that I am obliged to tell you what has also settled in the conservancy.
of Twin Springs, one of the farms that make up He owns 300 hectares in Chinyika Range and I am going to be doing with it because you are not The senior Air Force officer did not respond to
the MBRC. the one who gave it to me in the first place,” said
next to his project is that of his boss Ncube whose the ambassador. calls and WhatsApp messages.
Sources revealed that he has partnered Gwe- farm has the same hectarage. The wildlife farmers accused Midlands minis-
ru-based businessman Douglas Kwande, also Zimbabwe’s former permanent representative
known as DCK, who is into livestock and exten- In an interview with The NewsHawks, Mpham- to the United Nations, Chitsaka Chipaziwa, also ter of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution,
sive farming. bela said there was nothing wrong with him and got a piece of land in the conservancy, and he Senator Mavhima for orchestrating the settle-
his boss joining others in Chinyika Range be- confirmed it. He has since kick-started his farm- ment of high-profile people in the conservancy.
The NewsHawks crew observed that prime cause the area “was always of mixed use.” ing projects.
wildlife habitat had already been cleared to pave Mavhima chairs the Midlands committee
way for crop farming in the conservancy. “I can’t speak on behalf of the minister, but The 69-year old diplomat served as ambassa- which allocates land in the province and all allo-
I can speak for myself because I am also a land dor to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei and cations are given a final nod by his office.
There is also indiscriminate cutting down of owner in Chinyika. People there have differ- Cambodia between 1996 and 2003. He is also a
trees and it is not known how big the area that ent strategies, but what we have agreed as land former deputy head of mission in South Africa. However, in an interview, Mavhima denied
Patrick and his partner are going to occupy will owners is to have kind of a peaceful co-existence any wrongdoing.
be in total because they are still in the process of with the animals. My future plan is to create a “The national parks will be supervising our ac-
clearing the land. waterhole because on my area there is a big dwala tivities so that we do not disturb wildlife. All my “This is not a banana republic. We are also not
that seasonally has water which animals come and activities have been registered with the ministries in the Stone Age era where I can just do what I
It was also gathered that equipment such as drink.” of Environment and Agriculture.” want. There was a process which took over two
irrigation pumps and electricity transformers to years for people to be settled there.”
draw water from nearby Sebhakwe River is being “However, in future we want to sink boreholes “If you think the settlements were irregular,
moved in. There has also been the construction of so that we have a watering hole that is not season- you address that question to the relevant authori- “We had committees and different ministries
temporary roads which lead to the site from the al, but actually runs throughout the year,” he said. ties. As far as I am concerned I followed the pro- were involved. If the old farmers are aggrieved,
main pathways of the conservancy. cedures. I am confident that whatever I am going they must say the law which was broken and go
Asked if Minister Ncube has a similar vision, to do will be supervised by (the department of) to court. They must not report their issues to the
Investigations revealed that Patrick also owns Mphambela said: “He is my neighbour so our National Parks to ensure we co-exist with the newspapers,” he said.
another farm outside the conservancy near Mala- plans are consistent. They are congruent. We have wildlife,” he said.
la Primary School. He also rents the one owned farms that join each other.” On 23 June 2019, President Mnangagwa pre-
by jailed State Residences director Douglas Tap- Zimbabwe’s current ambassador to the UN, sided over the inaugural African Union-United
fuma. On his own land, Ncube drilled some borehole Albert Ranganai Chimbindi, is also a new settler Nations Wildlife Economy Summit in Victoria
towards the end of last year. Mphambela insisted in the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy. Falls.
During the visit by The NewsHawks, lush- that he observed due process when he was allo-
green wheat was seen on these two farms being cated a plot in the conservancy and argued that Before assuming the UN position, Chimbindi While he acknowledged the existence of small-
used by Patrick. his activities would not negatively impact on the was Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Ethiopia between er conservancies like Save Valley, Bubye Valley
wildlife. 2014 and 2020. Previously, he had served as the and Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve, he curiously
There is another farm one kilometre after Bob permanent representative of Zimbabwe to the Af- omitted mentioning the Midlands Black Rhino
Swift shopping centre along Kwekwe-Mvuma In the same Chinyika area, there is also Zimba- rican Union and the United Nations Economic Conservancy. The omission is now being used by
road that locals said belonged to President Mnan- bwe’s ambassador to South Africa, David Douglas Commission for Africa. people invading the conservancy to say the Presi-
gagwa himself. At the entrance to the farm, which Hamadziripi. The diplomat is now conducting dent does not recognise it as a protected area.
also has huge swathes of land under wheat pro- farming in that section of the conservancy. In an interview from his base in New York,
duction, there were army personnel. Chimbindi said he intends producing both crops Investigations by The NewsHawks revealed that
Hamadziripi replaced Isaac Moyo in the am- and livestock. owners of the farms that constitute the conser-
President Mnangagwa owns Precabe Farm bassadorial post after Moyo was appointed Cen- vancy sought to engage Environment minister
in Sherwood near Kwekwe, where Patrick is his tral Intelligence Organisation director-general “I want to do both livestock and horticulture Ndlovu when he visited the area early this year on
manager. The farm that Patrick has moved into in the aftermath of the November 2017 mili- on that piece of land. There are some discussions government business.
is at the centre of the conservancy and is critical tary coup which toppled long-time ruler Robert going on between us and the ministry of Envi-
because leopard ecological surveys are conducted Mugabe. Hamadziripi served as Zimbabwe’s am- ronment to help us on how to operate. There are They were not afforded an opportunity to en-
on the land. bassador to France during the Mugabe era and is also people from National Parks who gave us con- ter the room where he was conducting the meet-
a former senior employee of the United Nations. ditions on how we must operate,” he said. ing on the basis that it was small and could only
Elephants and rhinos frequent the farm and accommodate a few people to avoid violating a
soils are generally poor for farming. He confirmed getting a piece of land in the Air Commodore Marcelino Jaya, who is based Covid-19 social distancing regulation. But some
conservancy. “I have a piece of land there, but I at Josiah Magama Tongogara Air Base in Gweru, people who were in the room were not donning
Contacted to comment on his settlement in face masks.
the conservancy, Patrick, who listened calmly to
the questions, first said: “What has that to do
with you?”

He then launched into combative mode.
“I don’t know about that farm,” he said.
When quizzed further, he surprisingly ex-
pressed ignorance over the place where Twin
Springs is located.
“I have never been there,” he said.
Asked to explain how he could not know an
area where he has two more farms in its vicinity,
Patrick terminated the call.
However, villagers who were walking in the
conservancy and others at Bob Swift shops and
Mlala Primary School, a nearby police station and
Mlala shopping centre said they knew Patrick and
were also able to give physical directions to his
farms.
When this reporter asked a lady who had a
baby strapped to her back who owned the cleared
land on Twin Springs Farm, she answered in Sho-
na “Apo panonzi paPatrick” (The farm belongs to
Patrick).
Patrick’s partner, Kwande, confirmed that he
had settled in the conservancy, saying there was
a need for farming to be conducted in order to
feed the nation. He said there was nothing wrong
with it since the settlement was authorised by
high-ranking government officials.
“If you see people moving into a place it means
they have papers authorising them to do so. We
can cohabit with the animals,” he said.
Kwande also claimed there were white farmers
who were doing farming in the conservancy, but
The NewsHawks could not independently verify
his assertion. He insisted that the area is good for
wheat farming and that they intend to start grow-
ing the cereal.
Kwande dismissed assertions that the soils are
poor and not ideal for farming.
“If that is the case, perhaps you may now need
to go and allocate us another piece of land which
is fertile because as for us we know where we have
occupied is ideal for farming so that we feed the
nation,” he said.
Besides Patrick, there are more prominent peo-
ple now occupying the rhino conservancy.
Clive Mphambela, the Finance ministry’s chief
director, occupies a piece of land in the conser-
vancy. Last year and this season he conducted

Page 4 News NewsHawks

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

BRENNA MATENDERE Rhino conservancy under siege

ENVIRONMENT Minister Nqobizitha Man- Environment minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu
galiso Ndlovu has stood his ground and declared
that bigwigs who have invaded land in the Mid- Ndlovu also clarified the misunderstanding The conservancy was set up in 1987 when It currently has black rhinos and different
lands Black Rhino Conservancy (MBRC) have which happened between his protocol team and farmers owning 14 pieces of land came together other wildlife populations of sable, wildebeest,
done so illegally. the wildlife farmers at an engagement meeting to pursue wildlife-related business on space to- zebra, giraffe, among other species. The black
that happened early this year at the conservan- talling 63 113 hectares. rhinos also frequent its forests.
In a brazen land grab which began last year, cy.
prominent figures began settling in the MBRC. The conservancy is geographically located on Elephant, kudu, eland, impala, bushbuck,
They are conducting agricultural activities, The farmers wanted him to tour affected ar- 10 wildlife ranges, namely Moreena, Mazuri, waterbuck, buffalo, hippopotamus, wild dog,
mainly wheat farming, livestock rearing and eas, but were advised that the minister was busy. Mahamara, Chinyika, Circle G, Dunlop, Twin leopard, cheetah, brown and spotted hyena are
maize production. The minister said it was not possible for him to Springs, Bemthree, Estrange, and Sebakwe Rec- found in the conservancy as a whole.
alter his programme to accommodate a slot for reational Park that was “donated” to the Zimba-
Their illegal activities are affecting the crit- a tour of the conservancy because there had not bwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority These animals are presently competing for
ically endangered black rhinoceros and other been any prior arrangements made for that. (ZimParks) by resettled farmers. habitat with the bigwigs who have illegally set-
animal and bird species, whose habitat in the tled on the farms.
conservancy is under heightened threat.

These people include: President Emmerson
Mnangagwa’s brother Patrick, Finance minis-
ter Mthuli Ncube, Zimbabwe’s current ambas-
sador to the United Nations Albert Ranganai
Chimbindi, Air Commodore Marcelino Jaya,
who commands the Josiah Magama Tongoga-
ra Air Base in Gweru and Zimbabwe’s former
permanent representative to the UN Chitsaka
Chipaziwa.

Also settled in the conservancy is Zimba-
bwe’s ambassador to South Africa David Doug-
las Hamadziripi, the Finance ministry’s chief
director Clive Mphambela and businessman
Douglas Kwande.

In an interview with The NewsHawks, Ndl-
ovu said he stood by the letter he wrote in 2019
to Midlands minister of State for Provincial Af-
fairs and Devolution Larry Mavhima advising
him that land in the conservancy could only be
allocated to people seeking to conduct sustain-
able wildlife conservation.

In the letter referenced “Allocation of Land
within Chinyika Ranch, Circle G and Twin
Springs,”dated 9 December 2019 and addressed
to Mavhima, minister Ndlovu wrote:

“Reference is made to your letter of 10 Sep-
tember 2019 in which you request that the
properties above be allocated for resettlement
. . . the Ministry advises on the following: 1)
the beneficiaries should have the capacity to
engage in sustainable wildlife conservation . . .
The properties are ideal for Black Rhino bicorns
habitat that needs to be preserved.”

“To ensure proper utilisation of land, Zim-
Parks shall be conducting periodic assessments”.

However, the Midlands provincial lands
committee went on to disregard the directives
and allocated land to people who are now into
farming.

Asked what the position of the ministry is
regarding the new settlements, Ndlovu said:

“The question you ask here is covered by the
letter I wrote, so I don’t know what other posi-
tion I would have,” he said.

Ndlovu also said he was not aware of the set-
tlements done by the likes of Patrick, Mthuli
Ncube and the other high-ranking officials.

“I am not aware of the fresh settlements be-
ing done. The matter has not been brought to
my attention. These are illegal settlements I
suppose,” he said.

BRENNA MATENDERE Zim violates its own wildlife statutes

THE government is violating its own statutes tan audience, which included 30 African heads rhino populations of Zimbabwe”. ecological management and monitoring of each
on the protection of the rhinoceros, bringing of state and cabinet ministers; African Union Represented by the then Environment and rhino population and their respective habitats
into question President Emmerson Mnangag- commissionder for rural economy and agricul- to achieve optimum population growth rates.”
wa’s publicly expressed commitment to wildlife ture Natural Resources Management minister Fran-
conservation. cis Nhema, the government said it recognised In the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy,
Joseph Sacko; secretary-general of the Con- and supported “the effort that is being made on the rhino habitat has already been harmed by
In 2011, the country declared the rhino a vention on the International Trade in Endan- the ground by the rhino custodians to physical- illegal human settlements which go against the
“specially protected species” in a policy and gered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) ly protect the rhinos.” policy framework.
management framework signed by the gov- Ivonne Higuero and the United Nations Envi-
ernment. The invasion of the Midlands Black ronment Programme deputy executive secretary Before the 2011 framework, the country had A wildlife farmer at the conservancy told The
Rhino Conservancy by illegal occupiers, who Joyce Msuya. in 1992 adopted the Zimbabwe Black Rhino NewsHawks that large packs of dogs are being
include political bigwigs and prominent per- Conservation Strategy and the Black Rhino kept in the area by the new settlers, a practice
sonalities flies in the face of official wildlife con- In his address to that summit, Mnangagwa Conservation Project Emergency Plan aimed which is disruptive and detrimental to wildlife
servation policy. pledged to promote an “integrated concept of at protecting the endangered species in Inten- production and stability.
conservancies which involves strong private sive Protection Zones (IPZs) like the Midlands
The land grab also flouts other commitments sector participation" and reiterated that conser- Black Rhino Conservancy. “It is common knowledge that without com-
the country has made in the past to protect vancies had also “become important partners in mitted security, wildlife comes under immense
wildlife in general. developing tourism activities and products in Output 1 of the 2011 Rhino Policy and Man- threat. Unfortunately, poaching is currently at
non-traditional tourism areas, thereby enhanc- agement Framework said Zimbabwe would cre- alarming levels due to the situation prevailing
These include the Southern African Develop- ing broad-based empowerment.” ate: “Appropriate management actions, security on the ground in the conservancy.”
ment Community Protocol on Wildlife Con- and law enforcement to minimise illegal losses
servation and Law Enforcement; Parks and Spe- In the 2011 Zimbabwe Rhino Policy and of rhinos from all populations.” “For example, the sable antelope population
cies Management Plans and Policies, as well as Management Framework, the government said in the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy is
a raft of pledges made by President Mnangagwa it recognised and appreciated “the heavy re- The framework also clearly set up biological worth millions of US dollars, and these animals
when he officially opened the inaugural Afri- sponsibility borne by those who choose to dedi- monitoring and management benchmarks. are being indiscriminately killed and poached
can Union-United Nations Wildlife Economy cate themselves to protecting and increasing the at a fraction of true value as bush meat,” the
Summit in Victoria Falls on 23 June 2019. Objective 2 and key 2 of the framework farmer said.
reads: “Implementing effective biological and
The summit was attended by a cosmopoli-

NewsHawks News Page 5

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

Mpofu vacates farm, faces hefty bill

ZANU PF secretary for administration Obert abusing their authority. out bank loans to finance crop production and Zanu PF
Mpofu and his wife Sikhanyisiwe have finally The three partners say they have suffered farm infrastructure, which they allege have secretary for
vacated Esidakeni Farm in Nyamandlovu near been laid to waste by the invaders. administra-
Bulawayo following a scathing Supreme Court immense financial loss and are determined to
ruling which condemned the "brazen inva- hold Mpofu and others accountable. They took Malunga has said although the victimisation tion Obert
sion". Mpofu

However, they face a hefty bill for causing is painful, it provides a glorious opportunity
lost business and inflicting harm on the previ- to expose the abuse of power in Zimbabwe by
ously thriving horticultural business. self-serving politicians and their cronies.

Prominent international human rights law- — STAFF WRITER.
yer Siphosami Malunga, who holds title to the
farm jointly with his business partners Zepha-
niah Dlamini and Charles Moyo through their
company, tweeted last night:

"I'm pleased to confirm that I received a
message from my partners, Zeph Charles to-
day to say 'we're back on the farm #Esidakeni.'
Tomorrow we begin taking stock of the loss &
damage. Rule of law must always prevail. The
legal challenge to the Ministerial acquisition
continues."

Web, Low and Barry, the law firm represent-
ing the trio, had written to Mpofu, giving him
until the end of business on Thursday to vacate
the farm, failing which they would seek a writ
of ejectment.

Earlier in the week, Mpofu suffered a set-
back when he lost his Supreme Court appeal
against a High Court order evicting him from
Esidakeni Farm.

Mpofu and other invaders had argued that
they held valid offer letters from the Lands
ministry allowing them occupation.

The Supreme Court found that Mpofu,
his wife Sikhanyisiwe and their company
Mswelangubo Farm Ltd, who claim to have in-
vaded the farm in Nyamandlovu on the basis of
offer letters, have "no right to resort to self-help
in taking over possession without due process
of the law".

Malunga, the son of national hero Sydney
Malunga and his business partners — Dlamini,
a university lecturer and businessman Moyo--
are the owners of Esidakeni Farm whose deed
of title is registered under Kershelmar Farm
(Private) Limited. They accuse the Mpofu and
public officials of violating property rights and

Page 6 News NewsHawks

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

BERNARD MPOFU Reform deficit casts shadow
over AfDB’s Zim debt plan
ZIMBABWE’S sincerity in implementing the
letter and spirit of a raft of political governance because it is critical for the southern African clearance and resolution roadmap, as well as a new reinvigorated Zimbabwe is good for every-
reforms will come under the spotlight as the community.” re-engagement agenda. body.”
country embarks on an ambitious African De-
velopment Bank (AfDB)-backed diplomatic Adesina said despite economic challenges, The debt clearance process to be led by the Ncube said the growing debt has been an al-
offensive which seeks to anchor the country’s Zimbabwe remains a strong and reliable share- African Development Bank president will em- batross on the economy.
arrears clearance, debt relief and restructuring holder of the AfDB. He said the debt-troubled phasize the importance of implementing prior
programme. southern African nation has continued to make land compensation commitments and addi- “The current level of state debt is a signifi-
quarterly token payments of US$500 000 to tional political and economic reforms. cant barrier to Zimbabwe's goal of becoming a
Experts say the country is expected to remain service debts to the regional lender, the World middle-income nation by 2030,” Ncube said.
in debt distress in the absence of a comprehen- Bank, and other creditors. “It is going to take more than one person. It
sive arrears clearance strategy aimed at debt sus- is going to take all of us, locked hand in hand, “We are grateful that President Adesina has
tainability in the post-Covid-19 pandemic era, “Zimbabwe is one of the 54 African mem- working together to chart this course,” Adesina agreed to act as the champion of our debt ar-
sustained economic recovery and growth. Offi- ber countries of the African Development Bank told the partners. rears clearance agenda. If we don’t clear our ar-
cial figures show that Zimbabwe registered 6% Group. When one part hurts, the whole body rears, it will hamper our development agenda.”
growth in 2021 after enduring two successive hurts,” Adesina said. He added: “We did it for Somalia, helping
years of economic contraction. to clear the country’s arrears, working closely While this is happening, the opposition Cit-
Ambassadors and representatives of several with the World Bank and the IMF. We also did izens' Coalition for Change has approached the
Desperate to extricate the country from a G7 countries, the World Bank and Internation- it for Sudan, working with partners. Circum- regional bloc, the Southern African Develop-
ballooning debt overhang, the government has al Monetary Fund (IMF) met with Adesina in stances are different, obviously, but President ment Community, over the rising cases of po-
now settled on two options — the initially dis- Harare. He said they pledged to work with the Mnangagwa has made a clear commitment to litical violence and arbitrary arrests of labour
dained Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) African Development Bank to develop a debt engaging with the international community. A union leaders, civil society and opposition ac-
model and a hybrid of concessional loans, use tivists.
of domestic resources and restructuring.

AfDB Group president Akinwumi Adesina
flew into the country this week at the invita-
tion of President Emmerson Mnangagwa and
Finance minister Mthuli Ncube to take a lead-
ing role in helping Harare normalise relations
with its creditors.

Adesina told journalists that the regional
lender had agreed to take this role due to the
contagion effects which Zimbabwe’s economy
would have on the region and continent, grow-
ing numbers of people who are food insecure in
the country and his personal conviction. Adesi-
na once worked in Zimbabwe in the late 1990s.

A cocktail of dynamics playing out on the
international political economy will determine
the success or failure of the plan.

“The process requires to be backed by the
implementation of a comprehensive reform
programme, supported by the Breton Woods
institutions,” Ncube said in his debt plan titled
Arrears Clearance, Debt Relief and Restructur-
ing Strategy.

Currently battling a huge debt overhang
which has worsened the country’s sovereign
risk profile, the authorities in Harare have been
left with few options except seek debt forgive-
ness and seek bridging financing from potential
sponsors.

But most Western powers doubt Mnangag-
wa’s commitment in effecting a raft of politi-
cal reforms needed to normalise relations with
creditors and the international community.

At the turn of the millennium the United
States enacted the Zimbabwe Democracy and
Economic Recovery Act (Zidera) over Zim-
babwe’s worsening human rights record and
charges of electoral fraud.

Under Zidera, Washington can veto any
financial support extended to Zimbabwe by
Bretton Woods institutions, most notably the
World Bank and International Monetary Fund,
if Harare reneges on its promise to undertake
reforms.

Harare strongly opposes the foreign pol-
icy tool, saying it is Washington’s ploy to ef-
fect regime change following the controversial
land reform programme which saw thousands
of white commercial farmers losing swathes of
land to locals.

The US and the UK have in recent times
raised the red flag over growing political intol-
erance and the shrinking of democratic space
following Mnangagwa’s ascendancy in 2017.

Harare, on the other hand, cites the repeal-
ing of the draconian Access to Information and
Protection of Privacy Act, Public Order and Se-
curity Act among some of its political reforms.
However, critics say these laws have been re-
placed by equally repressive ones.

Despite all these hurdles which have in the
past stood, Adesina remains upbeat. As if echo-
ing former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe gover-
nor Gideon Gono's line, the AfDB president
boldly declared that: “It is going to be chal-
lenging, but it is not impossible. Failure is not
an option. The arrears clearance strategy must
succeed.”

“It is about the people of Zimbabwe. They
have suffered long enough — for two decades
now. When you look at the situation today,
40% of the country’s population live in ex-
treme poverty. We must change that and create
new hope. I believe that it is time to reinvig-
orate and re-dynamise the country’s economy

NewsHawks News Page 7

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

How Zim plans to
settle debt arrears

BERNARD MPOFU Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative, which provides Zimbabwe is battling to settle debt arrears with the World Bank.
maximum debt relief for beneficiary countries.
DEBT-TROUBLED Zimbabwe has launched Group (US$681 million): Zimbabwe will use its US$344 million concessional bridge loan from
its arrears clearance and debt management pro- To this end, the Joint World Bank-IMF HIPC own resources, including part of allocated SDRs, developed countries with excess resources, to
gramme at a time the economy is struggling to Initiative assessment, which was conducted in to clear the arrears to the AfDB, based on the ex- clear arrears to the European Investment Bank
access concessional facilities to finance capital June 2014, based on end-2004, end-2010 and pectation that the bank will disburse new resourc- (EIB). There are indications that EIB is prepared
projects. end-2013 data on public and publicly guaran- es. For the balance of the arrears to the AfDB, the to cancel all the penalties accrued amounting to
teed external debt and the respective macroeco- country will negotiate for a concessional bridge US$153 million which would reduce the amount
After years of neglect, the government has in nomic data, concluded the following: loan from emerging market economies (EMEs) required to US$191 million.
recent years been using domestic financial re- l the ratios of present value (PV) of debt-to-ex- who are willing to voluntarily channel their ex-
sources to mend key infrastructure such as the ports after traditional debt relief at end-2004 and cess resources to support Zimbabwe’s arrears l Bilateral creditors arrears clearance, debt re-
road network. But that has not been enough. end-2010 are estimated to be above the HIPC clearance, debt relief and restructuring strategy. lief and restructuring;
Rail network is rundown, schools are poorly re- Initiative threshold of 150%; and
sourced and hospitals are under-stocked. l the ratios of PV of debt-to-exports and to rev- Zimbabwe will use resources allocated from Component 4: Paris Club creditors; and
enues as of end-2013, are estimated at 130% and the AfDB under the Transitional Stabilisation Component 5: Non-Paris Club creditors.
The continuing accumulation of arrears is also 146%, respectively, which are below the HIPC Facility (TSF) Pillar II to repay the concessional l Rescheduling of outstanding and disbursed
seriously undermining the country’s credit rating Initiative thresholds of 150% and 250% respec- bridge loan. debt falling due after arrears clearance
and severely compromising the country’s abili- tively. Component 6: Negotiate for rescheduling
ty to attract foreign direct investment. It is also Component 3: European Investment Bank with bilateral creditors (Paris Club and Non-Par-
hampering efforts to mobilise direct budgetary Based on the outcome of the June 2014 assess- (US$344 million): Zimbabwe will also borrow is Club).
and balance of payments support. ment, Zimbabwe did not qualify for the HIPC
Initiative. Zimbabwe will also borrow US$344 million concessional bridge loan from developed countries with excess
Official figures from Treasury show that the resources, to clear arrears to the European Investment Bank.
country remains in debt distress, with an unsus- The joint World Bank–IMF HIPC Initiative
tainable Public and Publicly Guaranteed (PPG) assessment was undertaken despite the fact that
external debt overhang amounting to US$14.4 Zimbabwe could not qualify due to the HIPC
billion as at the end of December 2021. Initiative’s sunset clause. The sunset clause re-
stricted access to the HIPC Initiative to countries
The country has been unable to meet its debt not meeting the Initiative’s income and indebted-
servicing obligations and has, therefore, been ness criteria based on the end-2004 data.
accumulating external debt arrears since 2000,
which are now estimated at US$6.6 billion as at The sunset clause was introduced to the HIPC
the end of December 2021. Initiative to prevent the Initiative from becoming
permanent, minimise moral hazard and to en-
PPG external debt owed to the multilater- courage early adoption of reforms. The last sunset
al creditors, as at the end of December 2021, clause extension was in 2006 and Zimbabwe was
amounted to US$2.7 billion, of which US$1.5 not among the five countries that were declared
billion is owed to the World Bank Group, eligible, namely, Comoros, Eritrea, Liberia, So-
US$711 million to the African Development malia and Sudan.
Bank, US$358 million to the European Invest-
ment Bank, and US$66 million to other multi- If the window for the HIPC Initiative eligibil-
lateral creditors. ity is availed, Zimbabwe is keen to undertake the
HIPC Initiative process in order to ensure that
On the other hand, bilateral PPG external the country benefits from maximum debt relief.
debt as at the end of December 2021 amounted This would require a modification or exception
to US$5.6 billion, with US$3.9 billion owed to granted by International Development Assicia-
the Paris Club creditors and US$1.8 billion owed tion (IDA)’s executive board, to the World Bank
to Non-Paris Club creditors. HIPC Initiative eligibility criteria, for the reclas-
sification of Zimbabwe as an IDA-only country.
Arrears, according to the latest Treasury statis- This will also require the IMF board's grandfa-
tics, remain a major challenge to the economy, thering of Zimbabwe to the HIPC Initiative. In
constituting more than 77% of total external addition, a HIPC Initiative eligibility assessment
debt. Almost all external debt owed to multilat- based on end-2020 data would be needed.
eral development financial institutions (MDBs)
is now in arrears, (World Bank Group, US$1.4 Option B: Alternative arrears clearance,
billion or 88%, African Development Bank, debt relief and restructuring strategy
US$681 million or 95% and European Invest- The following is the proposed alternative op-
ment Bank, US$344 million or 95%). tion for external debt arrears clearance, debt relief
and restructuring strategy, if the HIPC Initiative
Furthermore, indicators confirm that the is not available to Zimbabwe.
country is in debt distress and urgently needs a This entails a combination of using Zimba-
comprehensive debt resolution strategy, support- bwe’s own resources, and bridge concessional
ed by the international community in order to loans from bilateral development partners who
achieve debt sustainability and sustainably grow are willing to voluntarily channel their excess re-
the economy. sources to support Zimbabwe’s arrears clearance,
debt relief and restructuring strategy. The process
As part of re-engagement with internation- includes the following components:
al financial institutions and other creditors, the l Arrears clearance to IFIs:
government, in March 2021, resumed making Component 1: World Bank Group (US$1.4
quarterly token payments to the Multilateral billion): Zimbabwe will use its own resources,
Development Banks (MDBs), the World Bank including part of its allocated SDRs, to clear the
Group (US$1 million), the African Develop- arrears to the World Bank Group, based on the
ment Bank Group (US$500 000) and the Euro- expectation that disbursements will typically oc-
pean Investment Bank (US$100 000). cur post arrears clearance. Additional arrears will
be cleared using a 48-hours bridge loan from the
Treasury also began making quarterly token G7/G20 countries, which will be repaid using
payments amounting to US$100 000 to each of resources from IDA-19 or IDA-20 and the Ar-
the 16 Paris Club bilateral creditors in September rears Clearance Fund for the HIPC Initiative. In
2021, as a sign of its commitment to the engage- addition, arrears will also be cleared from conces-
ment and re-engagement process with the inter- sional loan borrowing or grants.
national community. This strategy will need the support of G7/G20
countries and the leadership and coordination of
The country is also facing serious debt service champions/sponsors among these countries. The
capacity challenges — liquidity challenges, as champions/sponsors, would ideally be from the
reflected by low debt service ratios (actual debt G7 member countries, with five of them being
service to revenue and exports), while at the same the country’s major Paris Club creditors, name-
time accumulating arrears. Experts say, looking ly: Germany, France, UK, Japan and the US,
ahead, the country will face similar challenges in to whom the country owes a total of US$2.36
debt servicing which requires on average US$140 billion debt (58% of total bilateral external
million annually, hence, the need for debt re- debt). Other countries will, however, also be ap-
structuring. proached to participate in the process.
Component 2: African Development Bank
The NewsHawks this week outlines how Zim-
babwe, which has engaged the African Develop-
ment Bank, seeks to settle its arrears.

Option A: HIPC Initiative
Zimbabwe has been exploring traditional debt
relief options, especially the Highly Indebted

Page 8 News NewsHawks

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

Zim has suffered enough: AfDB

NYASHA CHINGONO “I believe that Zimbabwe has suffered long AfDB president Akinwumi Adesina in the shops.
enough. You have a beautiful country, and you morrow is better than today,” Adesina said. Soaring inflation has evoked memories of eco-
AFRICAN Development Bank (AfDB) presi- have 40% of the population living in extreme
dent Akinwumi Adesina says clearing Zimba- poverty. We must create a new path so that to- Zimbabwe recorded annual inflation of nomic chaos under former leader Robert Mug-
bwe’s ballooning arrears to multilateral funders is around 192% in June, piling added strain on abe's 37-year rule.
critical to rescuing 40% of the population living people struggling with shortages of basic items
in extreme poverty. “We as a bank do not just want to see a healthy
and prosperous Zimbabwe but we also want to
Adesina said the new roadmap to arrears clear- see better lives. We have no choice but to make
ance, for which he has been appointed champi- sure that this is a success,” Adesina said.
on, is meant to create new hope for suffering
Zimbabweans. Adesina said he was optimistic about talks
with Zimbabwe to solve its debt crisis as he be-
He likened Zimbabwe’s US$13 billion debt gins engagement with the World Bank, the In-
crisis to a "backpack of sand". ternational Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Paris
Club.
“You cannot run up the hill with a backpack
of sand. So, Zimbabwe cannot run up the hill In March, the IMF noted that Zimbabwe
of economic recovery with a backpack of sand. had come up with a debt resolution strategy and
That backpack is heavy,” Adesina said. started token payments to creditors to re-engage.
But it said stakeholders also wanted to see polit-
Adesina added that he believed it was time to ical and economic reforms.
reinvigorate and re-dynamise the economy be-
cause it is critical for the Southern African De- Zimbabwe’s overseas creditors include the
velopment Community. World Bank, AfDB, European Investment Bank
and other multilateral and bilateral lenders.
Asked on timelines, he said: “For everything
under the sun, there is a time and a season, so we Zimbabwe is the only regional member coun-
will get there.” try of AfDB currently under sanctions from the
bank and other multilateral financial institu-
Zimbabwe is in the throes of economic de- tions because of debt arrears amounting to over
cline, with millions facing hunger, as food infla- US$2.6 billion.
tion soars.
During his Harare visit, Adesina met Presi-
According to the World Food Programme dent Emmerson Mnangagwa, Finance minister
(WFP), Zimbabwe has been placed among the Mthuli Ncube and representatives of G7 coun-
hunger hotspots, stoking fears that millions tries.
could go hungry this year.
Discussions focused on potential areas of
This comes after a poor agricultural season technical assistance that the AfDB will provide
which has seen the authorities importing grain to the Zimbabwean government in its quest to
from neighbouring countries. clear arrears.

Zimbabwe’s debt has hamstrung the country’s Adesina accepted a request in February by the
ability to borrow long-term funds for infrastruc- Zimbabwean government to serve as the coun-
ture and other national projects. try’s arrears clearance and debt resolution cham-
pion among international financial institutions
Adesina said Zimbabweans had "suffered" for and bilateral creditors.
a long time.

KHUMBULANI MULEYA Climate action project a better understanding of Southern Africa in
builds new narratives the production of multi-media work. The aim
THE British Council through their Cultural is to impact digital spaces using storytelling in
Economy Programme has partnered with the the final. dio and consultancy which specializes in anima- explorative ways and create art that changes
Swiss Agency for Development and Coopera- The facilitator (PPA) is a local poetry collec- tion, audio, video and interactive content. the way youth around the world view climate
tion (SDC) in a hybrid three-phase project. issues. The project will run for the next two
tive that nurtures storytellers from page poets The project aims to support income genera- months and participants will be taken through
The Cultural Economy Programme supports to spoken word artists with a focus on youth tion for young people through capacity build- three phases.
cultural organisations, festivals, artists and cre- development and explorative work, while Kay ing, skills exchange and decent remuneration
atives between Sub-Saharan African countries Media Africa is a multimedia production stu- using storytelling in diverse languages to create Speaking to The NewsHawks creative entre-
and the United Kingdom to create art, build preneur and project facilitator Umind?! said
networks, collaborate and develop markets and “We have three segments that we are taking par-
share artistes’ work with audiences. The two or- ticipants through. First we took them for orien-
ganisations roped in UK-based youth-led radio tation, game preparation and training. We then
station Reprezent Radio, local cultural profes- went into Cre8ive Class which is a series of talks
sionals Page Poetry Alive (PPA) and Kay Media with industry experts piloted via the WhatsApp
Africa to deliver a television game show called social media platform”.
Cre8ive Challenge Television Game Show con-
sisting of 3 competitive segments that will take The game show features mentors such as
place online and in-person. iconic vocalist and guitarist Tariro neGitare,
creative enterprise consultant Morset Billie,
The reality show is in audio-visual format media personality and poet SoProfound.
with segments that involve skills training and
two elimination rounds. It comprises three Other major highlights of the show include
teams and artists who will be competing and the Cre8tive Huddle Up, a conversation plat-
tackling challenges in real-time to create work form to be hosted on Twitter Spaces for all nine
online and in person whilst being filmed in participants on 14 July.
front of a live audience.
The Cre8tive Challenge Television Game
The spectacle blends works of literature, dig- Show will be supported by 25 of the partici-
ital skills, film and diverse collaborative art and pants who are involved with the Scripts and
is funded through the Scripts and Bars project, Bars project.
a digital content creation project that brings to-
gether 100 creatives from Zimbabwe and the “On July 23 we will be having an elimina-
UK to collaborate across the music and litera- tion round called the Cre8tive Lab which will
ture sectors. be hosted online with participants competing
from different locations in the comfort of their
The leadership training, community build- homes. Each challenge is doctored to fit within
ing and explorative work competition engages their environment and speak into climate is-
the creative arts for climate action. sues". Added Umind?!

Artists co-create interactive artworks, tell Cre8tive Studio is the finale where two teams
stories, and capture languages as part of this out of the three will compete. Prizes include
experimental and innovative project for cli- cash and grants for digital content creation
mate action. The show will be broadcasted on projects.
the Page Poetry Alive (PPA) website, YouTube
channel and across their social media pages on The final two teams will be filmed in person
23 July and 5 August which is the day slated for and shall compete on a camera set with the au-
dience helping judges to choose the winning
teams.

NewsHawks News Page 9

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

BRENNA MATENDERE Henrietta Rushwaya implicated
in Mazowe goldfields plunder
CONNECTED syndicates linked to Zimba-
bwe Miners’ Federation president Henrietta Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation president Henrietta Rushwaya
Rushwaya are plundering rich gold fields in
Mazowe, a fresh report has revealed. whether all the gold he acquires is remitted. international markets. The licenses are also a buy gold in Mazowe. She said that her pending
The acquisition of a gold buying licence is guise to divert and justify gold possession to case in court provided a glimpse into how the
Mazowe is located about 50km from Hara- largely a cover to mop up gold for resale on law enforcement agents,” reads the report. ZMF leader handles gold.
re in Mashonaland Central province and has more lucrative international markets.”
largely been one of the gold-rich areas in Zim- Simiso Mlevu, the CNRG media liaison The Zimbabwe Miners' Federation did not
babwe. “Most of these buyers remit a bare minimum officer, told The NewsHawks that during the respond to questions from The NewsHawks.
to FPR to justify the continued renewal of the organisation’s investigations, they failed to lo- Rushwaya also did not respond to questions
The vast Mazowe gold fields have sever- licence whilst diverting the bulk to lucrative cate the licence that Rushwaya was using to sent to her via WhatsApp.
al mines, with the parent one being Mazowe
Mine owned by Metallon Corporation Ltd.

Mazowe Mine comprises Jumbo Mine, but
is currently under care and maintenance after
Metallon Corporation was forced to close its
mines in 2018 due to “unsustainable costs of
running them without proper compensation
for its proceeds from the government of Zim-
babwe.”

The mine has 247 claims covering 2 939
hactares.

However, a fresh report by the Centre for
Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) titled
Zimbabwe’s Disappearing Gold: A Case of Pen-
halonga and Mazowe implicated Rushwaya in
illicit leakages of the mineral derived from her
sponsorship of rogue gold barons and artisanal
miners.

“In Mazowe, there are systematically organ-
ised networks of actors, from miners to buyers,
forming a conglomeration of activities on one
site. Although the entire mining field belongs
to Mazowe Mine, each site has a ‘manager’ to
which these actors register and get approval
and space to carry out their operations,” reads
part of the report.

The investigations leading to production of
the report found out that Rushwaya was front-
ing a gold baron called Kedah to mop up gold.

“A man known as Kedah is the main buy-
er in Mazowe. He mops up gold from artis-
anal miners. He buys at US$55 per gramme.
Kedah, whose real identity remains a mystery,
has established offices in most artisanal mining
sites around Mazowe. Kedah is said to be using
three names: Crispen, Rungano and Fungai
Mafara. He has set up offices in Matola area,
New Stands in Mazowe residential area and
Masase artisanal mining site.”

“Artisanal miners in Masase told CNRG
that Kedah took advantage of the mine closure
and appropriated large portions of land and
sponsored some miners who sell the gold to
him. He has also set up several bush gold-mill-
ing machines with several improvised elution
pits. Kedah is said to be working with Henri-
etta Rushwaya,” reads the report.

In October 2020, Rushwaya was arrested
at Robert Mugabe International airport try-
ing to smuggle six kilogrammes of gold worth
US$366 000 to Dubai.

The case also sucked in Pakistani business
tycoon Ali Muhamad, Central Intelligence
Organisation officers Stephen Tserayi and
Raphios Mufandauya as well as miner Gift
Karanda.

Rushwaya admitted that the gold belonged
to her, but said she had picked the wrong
bag with the bars instead of the one with her
clothes when she went to the airport.

The case is pending at the courts, but con-
cerns are that it will fizzle out because of her
political connections after it emerged she is the
niece of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

In May 2021, Tashinga Nyasha Masinire
was arrested by South African Police at OR
Tambo International Airport with gold worth
R11 million (US$650 000). Masinire is Rush-
waya’s former driver.

CNRG in its report said “the two cases
might be a tip of an iceberg pointing to or-
ganised crime on a massive scale. It indicates
the accused were acting in concert with airport
officials and with approval of powerful govern-
ment officials”

The CNRG report also revealed that not all
gold bought by Rushwaya’s ally Kedah goes to
Fidelity Printers and Refineries (FPR) Ltd.

“Whilst Kedah is said to be linked to some
political heavyweights in the ruling party,
CNRG could not establish these individuals.
According to artisanal miners, Kedah supplies
FPR, while others intimated that not all gold
that goes to Kedah, let alone other buyers,
finds its way to FPR.”

“The informal nature of the operations of
Kedah makes it impossible for FPR to trace

Page 10 News NewsHawks

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

Govt loses millions in shady contracts

MOSES MATENGA l MPs probe contractors' lies on project sites

GOVERNMENT is losing millions of dollars Gokwe-Nembudziya Member of
to dubious contractors, amid suspicions most Parliament Justice Mayor Wadyajena
of the companies winning tenders are backed
by powerful politicians, yet they lack the capac- Vungu Dam construction site
ity to deliver on projects.

A probe has since begun, with the parlia-
mentary committee on Lands and Agriculture,
saying it will focus on how several contractors
were awarded contracts to construct critical
dams across the country.

Most of the projects have been stalled or
delayed, with a recent visit to Silobela at the
site of the construction of Vungu Dam expos-
ing how a company was awarded a tender, but
without the required capacity and experience.

The committee chairperson, who is also
Gokwe-Nembudziya Member of Parliament,
Justice Mayor Wadyajena, said they were prob-
ing over four dams to establish how contracts
were awarded. He expressed disappointment
over the work done so far by Grindale Engi-
neering (Pvt) Ltd, the company awarded the
contract for the dam.

Wadyajena himself is under investigation
over cotton farming inputs scandal.

“We have received information from the
government and the Zimbabwe National Water
Authority (Zinwa) over the slow progress. It’s
now on 2% instead of 10%,” Wadyajena said.

“We are here on a fact finding mission and
want to establish what the contractor has done
so far.”

“We will go back to Parliament, deliberate
on the tenders, Procurement Regulatory Au-
thority of Zimbabwe (Praz) tender documents
and we are not looking at Vungu only, we have
other dams as well, about four or more we are
looking into,” Wadyajena said.

MPs left the Vungu Dam site in a huff over
the weekend after failing to find satisfactory
answers on why the authorities settled for the
contractor who had shown lack of capacity to
construct the dam.

It was not immediately established how
Grindale Engineering got the tender but avail-
able information suggests the owners were
linked to a senior government official.

Company representative Grison Muwidzi,
the firm’s managing director, was accused by
the MPs of misleading them on that they had
bought equipment worth over millions of dol-
lars.

It was established that the company had not
purchased material as claimed by the represen-
tative while some of the machinery on display
on the day MPs toured the project were not
working. But Grindale Engineering insists it
was on course to complete on time the project,
a first dam construction project for them, but
bemoaned the government's slow pace of the
government's disbursement of required funds.

The dam construction was set to take 36
months and the handover to the contractor was
only done in January this year.

The government has only disbursed a total
of US$2 624 271.51 of the required US$8.7
million, which is 10% of the total cost of the
dam construction. When completed, the dam
is set to benefit the nearby community with ir-
rigation facilities for over 1 200 hectares.

Further investigations by the MPs revealed
that no work had been done on the site since
the handover while action only started two
days before their visit as part of the investiga-
tion and fact-finding mission.

Workers who spoke to the MPs and journal-
ists confirmed work only started days before
the trip while also exposing that contrary to
claims that the contractor had used over US$3
million to buy material, most of the equipment
on the ground was hired.

The company said it has built smaller dams
in the mines but failed to name the dams and
the mines, an act the MPs interpreted as failure
and questioned why such a company won the
tender for a big project.

Wadyajena questioned why the company
won the bid ywt it has no equipment, with
some MPs wondering whether the company
was fronting big political actors.

NewsHawks News Page 11

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

Parastatals fail to submit audited accounts
l MPs fear leakages bleeding the country
MOSES MATENGA
Nurses Council of Zimbabwe and Courier Connect (below) are among entities that failed to submit their books for auditing.
AT least 34 government-owned enterprises are
hiding behind the Covid-19 pandemic for failing ther attributed their delay in submitting financial collapse by October 2022.” of this country.”
to submit their financials for the Auditor-Gener- accounts to the need to report accounts in a hy- “Where the Auditor-General’s office failed to “You look at companies like the National Air-
al's scrutiny while others claim the brain drain has perinflation economy.”
left them without capacity. conduct audits due to Covid-19 restrictions, this craft, the National Library, you will realise that
Others also blamed the delay on the intro- should be brought to the attention of the Com- these entities have actually become obsolete in the
This state of affairs is heightening the risk of duction of new currencies while others said most mittee so that the entities are not blamed for the sense that they are not performing to the dictates
leakages and corruption in parastatals. state-owned enterprises do not have adequate delay.” that they were established for.”
information communication technology infra-
Several entities have failed to submit their fi- structure, considering that the government was Dzivaresekwa MP Edwin Mushoriwa said: He highlighted the was need for PAC and other
nancial accounts since 2017 in what the Parlia- embracing e-governance in its operations model “The Public Finance Management model is meant committees to demand that each and every line
mentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said in the Covid-19 era. to make sure that there is accountability and trans- ministry give a report or status pertaining to the
was a clear violation of section 308 of the consti- parency in the handling of public funds. This is performance of parastatals under them.
tution and section 35 (6) of the Public Finance “The use of multicurrency in the country was the reason why your Committee, Madam Speak-
Management Act (PFMA). making it hard for some organisations to record er, was so disappointed to find out that a number Gweru Urban MP Brian Dube said those insti-
the actual amounts as their accounting systems, of state entities and commissions have decided or tutions failing to present their financial statements
Among the entities that failed to submit their that is Sage Pastel Evolution system Version 7 failed or neglected to submit their financial state- were acting unlawfully.
books for auditing and cited various reasons are: database for accounting did not have the foreign ments to the Auditor-General.”
Courier Connect, Medical Laboratory and Clin- currency module to enable multiple currency con- “Parliament is unable to oversee these institu-
ical Scientists Council Of Zimbabwe, Mining versions to the reporting currency.” “Some of the entities go as far as 10 years with- tions because the finances have not been present-
Promotions Corporation, Zimbabwe National out submitting financial statements for the AG ed and availed for purposes of making sure that
Statistics Agency, Zimbabwe Youth Council and The committee recommended that state-owned to audit there. What that means is that when fi- Parliament can follow if they are doing things the
the Nurses Council of Zimbabwe. enterprises invest in technological gadgets “so that nancial statements are not audited for such a long right way,” he said.
people can work off-site by December 2023.” period of time, there is danger that there is mis-
According to a report of the PAC presented in appropriation of funds. There is also danger that “I will tell you that an unpatriotic person is a
National Assembly by Hwange East member of “There is need for enhanced data protection, the objectives of that entity are not being accom- person who does not submit themselves to audit.
Parliament Tose Sansole on non-compliance with storage and back-up in all State-owned enterprises plished and at the expense of the general populace All the CEOs and board members, as well as min-
regards to the submission of financial statements to avoid the situation of losing data when systems istries under whom the audit statement has not
to the Auditor-General by some state-owned en- been presented are very unpatriotic.”
terprises and parastatals, several factors contribut-
ed to this worrying lack of accountability.

“Skills flight and brain drain of skilled workers
has resulted in shortages of key personnel in the
Accounts Departments of State-owned enterpris-
es due to poor remuneration and working condi-
tions,” the report reads.

Thousands of Zimbabweans are joining the ex-
odus in search of greener pastures as the country’s
economy continues failing.

Several state-owned entities blamed the
Covid-19 pandemic, with the Nurses Council
of Zimbabwe, Zarnet, ZimPost and many others
saying the pandemic forced them to shut their
offices and work from home, where they did not
have enough resources.

“Covid-19 derailed the audit process for Zim-
Post and its subsidiaries after their system crashed,”
Sansole said.

The report said the effects of the Covid-19
pandemic also hindered the office of the Audi-
tor-General from visiting the entities.

On the staffing issue, the report said: “The issue
of inadequate staff also affected the process with
the Nurses Council of Zimbabwe saying it has had
serious staffing shortage dating back to 2014.”

“Zarnet, in its submissions, indicated that their
salaries were uncompetitive leading to skills flight
and brain drain. Because of these operational
challenges the entity restructured the Finance and
Administration Department in 2016, thereby re-
ducing the staff complement from six to two.”

The report said the National Libraries and
Documentation Centre submitted that it did not
have an accountant and its books of accounts were
done by a mere librarian, which the Auditor-Gen-
eral said not the correct practice.

“ZBC also complained of staff turnover in
the finance section due to poor working condi-
tions. There was also a retrenchment exercise in
2014 which affected the Finance Department sig-
nificantly and the preparation of financial state-
ments.”

Some of the state-owned enterprises have been
operating without boards of directors, with the
Mining Promotion Corporation saying it failed to
submit audited statements on time because it did
not have a substantive board and was reporting to
the permanent secretary in the ministry of Mines
and Mining Development.

The hyperinflationary environment was also
blamed for the failure by state enterprises to sub-
mit financial accounts.

“State-owned enterprises blamed the hyper-in-
flationary accounting in their delay in submitting
their financial statements. The Chief Elections
Officer of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
(Zec) informed the Committee that the institu-
tion prepares its financial statements using inter-
national financial standards. He further explained
that Zec has never missed the deadline of submis-
sion before.”

“ZimStat also submitted to the Committee that
the hyper-inflation accounting was responsible for
their delay in submitting financial statements.”

“The Zimbabwe Media Commission had fur-

Page 12 News NewsHawks

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

NATHAN GUMA Bikita council in vehicle storm

BIKITA Rural District Council (BRDC) has BRDC bought six Toyota GD6 trucks (below) for its managers at an estimated cost of US$40 000 each through a loan facility.
been caught in a corruption storm in which of-
ficials registered in their personal names vehicles “While these safeguards exist to provide citi- budget consultative meetings are cosmetic and ed in the final (financial) budget which increases
worth US$380 000 bought by the local authori- zens with the opportunity to fully participate and symbolic in character. apathy and tensions between residents and their
ty, a report has revealed. share their thoughts and ideas, the ward-based council.”
“The input by residents is not always includ-
The council bought six Toyota GD6 trucks for
its managers at an estimated cost of US$40 000
each through a loan facility.

But upon delivery the vehicles were registered
in the names of the six managers, according to a
situation report for May compiled by the Zimba-
bwe Coalition on Debt and Development (Zim-
codd).

The procurement was done without the in-
volvement of the main stakeholders — the res-
idents — thereby raising questions on issues of
transparency.

The ministry of Local Governance has been
investigating the murky procurement deal.

BRDC was also embroiled in yet another
murky transaction in which the cost of borehole
drilling equipment for its water project was in-
flated by more than US$6 000, prejudicing tax-
payers.

The local authority contracted Pote Drilling
Company to drill four boreholes at a cost of
US$9 000 each, despite other companies within
the province charging low prices of US$1 500,
according to the situation report.

A snap survey by The NewsHawks shows that
some companies have been charging US$1 400
for borehole drilling and casing for 40 metres,
and US$45 for every extra metre.

“The four boreholes were drilled in Bikita
South’s Wards 1, 2, and 3. Bikita Rural District
Council chairperson confirmed the drilling of
the four boreholes (2 for the community; one for
crèche and one for a school),” the report read.

This has seen villagers and councillors at log-
gerheads over the cost (US$9 000), which is five
times more than the average charged by other
companies.

“Under normal circumstances, US$36 000
can be used to drill at least 20 boreholes, and this
could have gone a long way in solving the peren-
nial water crisis in the Bikita district,” the report
reads.

“Yes, I can confirm that we drilled four bore-
holes in Wards 1, 2, and 3 in Bikita South. How-
ever, the villagers are hot on our heels as they de-
mand explanations regarding the cost which was
between US$7 000 and US$9 000. We are also
perplexed because the cost is too high, but we
are going to ask the management to explain and
account in our next meeting,” said the council
chairperson for Bikita RDC in the report.

Other local authorities have also been under
scrutiny for questionable dealings.

In March, Harare City Council borrowed
ZW$1 361 080 800, which residents feel has not
been properly prioritised to solve service delivery
problems facing the city, according to the Zim-
codd situation report.

According to the breakdown, renovation of the
Rowan Martin Building was allocated ZW$120
000 000, which was ZW$20 000 000 more than
the amount for water provision, an urgent matter
in Harare’s various suburbs.

Public lighting was given the highest alloca-
tion of ZW$322 400 000, waste management
ZW$261 500 200, health ZW$163 500 000,
service vehicles ZW$98 750 000 and traffic man-
agement ZW$73 400 000.

“Currently, Harare’s billing system is in sham-
bles, and borrowing such an amount without ad-
dressing fundamentals for revenue collection is a
recipe for disaster,” the report says.

Poor debt recovery strategies have also seen lo-
cal authorities paying for goods and services that
have not been delivered, while failing to keep
asset registers and undertaking proper property
registers, reads the report.

Harare City Council lost US$1.8 million in
a botched trash compactor deal in which FAW
Zimbabwe could not deliver 15 out of 30 trucks
it was contracted to procure in 2017.

Residents say there is a need for their inclusion
in the budgeting processes.

Harare Residents Trust (HRT) says while
mechanisms to include residents in the public re-
source management process have been available,
little has been done to address their grievances.

“The stakeholders’ policy of the City of Hara-
re requires them to widely consult residents be-
fore implementation of their policies,” Precious
Shumba, HRT director, said.

NewsHawks News Page 13

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

Mnangagwa election fear jolts Zanu PF

Zanu PF supporters blame Finance minister Mthuli Ncube (below) for failing to address the economic crisis.

MOSES MATENGA

ZANU PF’S structures in Harare are meeting brave face “as if everything is in shape.” economy and its consequences for the party Zanu PF loss due to the administration’s fail-
to strategise on a quick economic recovery Bigwigs stationed at party headquarters victory next year. ure to address the challenges faced by the
programme to avert defeat in the 2023 general country.
elections at the hands of the main opposition have also expressed concern over the failing Analysts have predicted a Mnangagwa and
Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC), with
stakeholders saying there is a need for the par-
ty to rescue the situation before it is too late.

Fear abounds in the ruling party, with Ha-
rare provincial structures, namely the main
wing, youth league, women’s league and the
war veterans meeting this week to deliberate
on ways to take the country out of the eco-
nomic quagmire it finds itself in.

The Zanu PF government has failed to ad-
dress the economic challenges despite a co-
lourful 2018 election manifesto that prom-
ised, among other deliverables, employment,
a much improved health delivery system, ad-
dressing cash shortages among others.

But as it stands, the party in government is
struggling to address the challenges and con-
tinues to give excuses over failure to deliver.

The indaba, organised by the Zanu PF pro-
vincial secretary for economic affairs, Blessing
Chimanga, is dubbed an economic strategy
formation seminar and will see all secretaries
of economic affairs in the districts meeting to
map a way forward in the wake of a looming
poll disaster.

Zanu PF officials said the meeting’s agen-
da was to formulate “a strategy with a view of
winning the 2023 elections for the Zanu PF
First Secretary (Cde Mnangagwa) and Zanu
PF in Harare.

Recently, Zanu PF officials in Harare ac-
cused some of the party deployees in govern-
ment of failing to pursue Mnangagwa’s vision
and putting his and Zanu PF’s re-election bid
in 2023 in jeopardy.

The party supporters singled out Finance
minister Mthuli Ncube of failing to address
the economic crisis, but continued to put on a

Page 14 News NewsHawks

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

BRENNA MATENDERE Zanu PF forces teachers to rig polls

ZANU PF councillors in Mberengwa have PTUZ president Takavafira Zhou
fallen out with teachers after they forced them
into a series of meetings to arrange how to rig whether it’s a teacher or not, be outside our councillors. help it rig elections next year.
the 2023 elections in favour of the ruling par- books? The teachers must be put into cells of “The ministry of Primary and Secondary “We must therefore ensure that we maintain
ty. our party so these are the meetings I was con-
ducting and the names I compiled of teachers Education must also protect teachers from peace and stability in schools and a conducive
Progressive Teachers' Union of Zimba- were for that purpose only, not for any plans abuse, and remind school heads that schools environment that can enhance effective learn-
bwe president Takavafira Zhou confirmed son elections,” he said. must not be used for political activities and ing and teaching. Councillors are no excep-
the developments in an interview with The that whoever wants to give political lectures is tions in promoting peace, stability and educa-
NewsHawks and identified the culprits as Contacted for comment, PTUZ president not welcome to any school,” he said. tional unity of purpose,” Zhou said.
Mberengwa Rural District Council’s ward 10 Zhou, who is also the Midlands spokesperson
Councillor Devilliers Mashavakure and ward 2 of the Citizens' Coalition for Change, said he There is a long held view that Zanu PF col- Contacted for comment, councillor Masha-
councillor Cain Mahombera. was aware of the developments. ludes with election officers in rural areas to vakure vehemently denied the reports.
conduct ballot stuffing and allow multiple vot-
Contacted for comment, councillor Ma- “We want to remind these rogue council- ing to boost results for the party. “There is nothing like that. Wrong informa-
hombera confirmed visiting schools in Mber- lors that schools are institutions of learning tion. I do not know this issue,” he said.
engwa to have meetings with teachers but said and teaching, as well as politics free zones. We Zhou warned that teachers now risk being
the exercise was not for rigging purposes but also appeal to Zanu PF to reign in on its rogue “brutalised” by Zanu PF goons in Mberengwa Asked what meetings he held with teachers
only meant to create Zanu PF cell structures. if they turned down requests by the party to at the two schools, the Zanu PF councillor did
not respond to the question.
Sources said Mashavakure brought learning
at Chaza Primary School and Chomusenda
Secondary School to a halt by holding a series
of meetings with teachers on 7 July.

“In his address to teachers at Chomusenda
Secondary, Mashavakure claimed he had been
sent by the ‘President’s Office to recruit teach-
ers who want to work with Zanu PF ahead of
2023 elections,” a teacher said.

“He said in turn teachers who agreed to the
scheme would get automatic positions as elec-
tion officers on polling days where they will
then get money from government and the par-
ty. In short, he was announcing a plan to rig
elections for Zanu PF.”

The sources said Mashavakure went on to
compile a list of teachers he said had proved
loyal to Zanu PF.

“He did the same at Chaza Primary School.
This incensed a lot of teachers,” a teacher at the
school said.

“In Ward 2, another Zanu PF council-
lor Mahombera did the same and conducted
meetings in ward 2 listing names of teachers
which he and his entourage deemed Zanu PF
loyalists in order to allegedly become election
officers in 2023. They also claimed to be work-
ing with the CIO in this endeavour,” another
source said.

Mahombera said everyone who stayed in
Mberengwa was supposed to be drafted into
the Zanu PF cell structures and was adamant
the names they compiled in schools for teach-
ers were for rigging purposes.

“What we are saying is that not only teach-
ers but soldiers and police officers or in short
everyone, must be in our cell structures which
comprise of 50 people each. So the meetings
I held with teachers were for creation of par-
ty cells and had nothing to do with elections.
How can a person staying in our villages,

Youths forced to produce Zanu PF cards for stands

STEPHEN CHADENGA if l had a party card," a youth who requested an-
onymity said.
YOUTHS who want residential stands from
Gweru City Council are allegedly being instruct- Several other youths corroborated the story,
ed by the ruling Zanu PF to produce their party saying Zanu PF is demanding to see her member-
membership cards, The NewsHawks can report. ship card whenever she asks about the residential
stands.
Information gathered by this publication shows
that Zanu PF youths from the Midlands applied Attempts by The NewsHawks to find out from
for 500 stands and council allocated them the the then mayor Chikozho on whether Zanu PF
land five years ago. Citizens' Coalition for Change was allocated the stands in the first instance did
ward 10 councillor Charles Chikozho was may- not yield a clear picture as he was non-committal
or in 2017 when Zanu PF reportedly applied for in his response.
the land which it said was intended to empower
youths through access to housing projects. "This question hasn't been asked since l left of-
fice. What is the problem?" Chikozho quizzed this
Several youths from the Midlands capital this reporter.
week alleged that they were being asked to pro-
duce Zanu PF membership cards whenever they Chikozho however later said: "Council didn't
ask about the residential stands. allocate stands to any political parties."

Thousands of beneficiaries, including council Zanu's PF losing candidate in the 26 March
employees, bought the stands that were availed by-elections, William Gondo, denied the alle-
in 2014. Three contracted companies however gations that the party was demanding Zanu PF
started servicing roads at the housing scheme a membership cards from youths who need residen-
few weeks ago following years of failure to provide tial stands.
valid environmental impact assessments to the
Environmental Management Agency. Some of the "These are false allegations whoever is doing
stands are on wetlands and other inhabitable land. that is tarnishing the image of the revolutionary
party," he told The NewsHawks.
"The request for Zanu PF cards intensified par-
ticularly prior to the 26 March Mkoba by-elec- Critics have often accused the ruling party of
tion. I went to enquire on the stands thinking vote buying ahead of next year's general elections,
they were for youth empowerment but was asked especially through the partisan parcelling out of
land, mine claims, money and income-generat-
ing projects. Zanu PF however argues the move is
meant to economically empower the masses.

NewsHawks News Page 15

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

MOSES MATENGA MDC-T on fire: Pressure piles
on Mwonzora to leave power
THE MDC-T is in fresh chaos amid renewed
pressure for party leader Douglas Mwonzora . . . bigwigs plot against opposition leader
to step down for failing to respect the consti- . . . party loyalists vow to block congress
tution, alleged abuse of funds and hobnobbing
with Zanu PF while destroying the once vibrant MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora
opposition movement.
March by-elections. tion parties. leader’s poor leadership.
Mwonzora is being accused of failing to pro- Mwonzora was accused of failing to inspire Those who lost have blamed Mwonzora for Mhetu has since been fired from the party
nounce a date for congress that is long overdue
while appointing cronies to key positions to the party to victory and alienating it from the failing to lead the party, with Zivai Mhetu, who while Fungai Chiposi, who stood and lost in
consolidate his power. electorate who take him as an extension of Zanu contested on the party ticket in Epworth, say- Kambuzuma, defected to Nelson Chamia's Cit-
PF and only meant to decimate other opposi- ing the electorate openly spoke against the party izens' Coalition for Change.
Impeccable sources told The NewsHawks
that those linked to Mwonzora are pushing for
a standing committee meeting to push for the
blocking of congress until the party reorganises
its structures, a move frowned upon by other
senior leaders who are itching for the elective
indaba.

According to a congress roadmap crafted by
the party, branch congresses were set for 28 and
29 May, followed by district congresses on 30
May.

Provincial congresses, including external
provinces, were set for June 6-11, while a na-
tional council meeting was scheduled for June
17 followed by others processes leading to the
July 23-24 congress.

All this has been stalled and the party is blam-
ing Mwonzora and his band of loyalists.

MDC-T national chairperson Morgen Ko-
michi said the party was waiting for a procla-
mation of the congress, but he would not be
drawn into commenting on what is causing the
delay.

Komichi said the congress was long overdue
and the party was waiting for its leader to come
up with a date while ruling out this month as
initially set.

“It is still not clear now. We are waiting for
the president to announce the date,” he said.

Party insiders said Mwonzora was not com-
fortable with congress, amid reports of revolts
against him from the provinces.

“His pact with Zanu PF is haunting him. His
handling of finances is not transparent and he
has failed to finance party projects in the prov-
inces. He attacks opposition other than Zanu
PF and people feel he has betrayed the struggle
and people no longer want him,” an insider said.

“He attacks Chamisa as a person not adher-
ing to the constitution, but he is doing exactly
that,” the source said.

A Mwonzora loyalist confirmed a push for
the party to stall the convening of congress, ar-
guing there was need to turn to the structures
first before entertaining any talk on the indaba
meant to elect new leaders.

Mwonzora is facing internal revolt amid re-
ports that senior party officials were eyeing his
post to refresh the dying movement, with names
of vice-president Elias Mudzuri, national chair-
person Komichi and businessman Norest Mar-
ara featuring prominently.

Loyalty has shifted from the former
MDC-Alliance secretary-general Mwonzora
since the party performed dismally in the 26

MDC-T vice-president
Elias Mudzuri

MDC-T national chairperson
Morgen Komichi

Page 16 News NewsHawks

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

Abigail Mohadi's Zec storm intensifies

MOSES MATENGA l Zec army links, biased appointees danger to elections

A POLITICAL storm is raging over the contro- “This conflict of interest also applies to the Abigail Millicent Mohadi Ambrose. last week added to other pronouncements by
versial appointment of the daughter of Zanu PF military personnel who serve in Zec and are bwe People’s Revolutionary Army (Zipra) forces other party bigwigs that the military is part of
vice-president Kembo Mohadi and the ruling conflicted on the basis of their historical links — now the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA), Zanu PF.
party’s Beitbridge senator Tambudzani Mohadi, with Zanu PF whereby both Zimbabwe African were military wings affiliated to Zanu and PF
Abigail Millicent Mohadi Ambrose, as a com- National Liberation Army (Zanla) and Zimba- Zapu — now Zanu PF.” Ironically, Mohadi, whose daughter is now
missioner in the Zimbabwe Electoral Commis- at the centre of the Zec appointment scandal, is
sion (Zec), amid growing calls for Parliament to Zanu PF spokesperson Chris Mutsvangwa also a military man and a retired colonel.
reverse her nomination which poses a new dan-
ger to the holding of credible elections in 2023. “Her appointment was done on the basis of
loyalty instead of competence. In a functional
Mohadi’s appointment has angered civil soci- constitutional democratic country, Mohadi Am-
ety organisations and opposition parties which brose’s scandalous interview was not going to
are calling for action while looking outside for land her the Zec commissioner’s post,” the ZDI
regional and international support to cleanse said.
Zec that has also been accused of being milita-
rised. “This appointment took the undesirable loy-
alty route at the expense of merit. In one of the
The appointment, described as al scandalous interview questions, Mohadi failed to articulate
confirmation of Zanu PF capture of the electoral the role of Zec. One therefore wonders how she
body, has also been frowned upon by some with- is going to execute her duties when she does not
in Zanu PF who say it may have been a miscal- know the motive behind the constitutional es-
culation that will jeopardize free and fair polls tablishment of Zec.”
and create another legitimacy crisis even if the
party were to win. The appointment of Mohadi comes at a time
ZEC is finalising modalities for conducting the
Though Senator Mohadi recused herself constituency delimitation process which the
from interviewing her daughter, the Zanu PF ZDI said was “potentially an ingredient inside
vice-president's former wife actively participated the menu for electoral manipulation as the
and even scored the other interviewees, a move country heads towards the 2023 elections”.
observers said raised eyebrows.
“This is substantiated by the Zanu PF polit-
A new report by the Zimbabwe Democracy buro member Ziyambi Ziyambi who said their
Institute (ZDI) titled Mohadi Appointment — party will play a leading role in the demarcation
Consolidation of Zec’s Capture by Zanu PF said of constituency boundaries in preparation of
the move should be understood in the context of 2023 elections,” the report reads.
Zanu PF’s 2023 menu of electoral manipulation.
“There is no political party that boots itself
“The politically designed appointment adds out of power. As Zanu PF, we must do things
to other manipulation ingredients such as the that we are all agreeable to as we come up with
appointment of retired security officials in the electoral boundaries. We will have another meet-
secretariat of Zec,” the ZDI said. ing to discuss how the delimitation process is
going to be conducted,” Ziyambi was quoted in
“We argue that the appointment of Mohadi the report as saying.
into Zec shows that Zanu PF is solidifying its
capture and infiltration. The appointment of a The appointment of Mohadi, observers said,
daughter of Zanu PF vice-president at a time is already a confirmation that the 2023 elections
when the constituency delimitation process is will be disputed.
ready to takeoff raises more questions.”
Civil society, the ZDI said, must report the
Zec chairperson Priscilla Chigumba said the issues to regional organisations such as African
newly appointed commissioners will be de- Union and the Southern African Development
ployed to provinces to oversee the delimitation Community, highlighting Zec's lack of indepen-
process. dence.

The opposition is convinced the ruling Zanu The ZDI also recommended that Parliament
PF is manipulating the delimitation process and reverse the appointment of Mohadi and come
the appointment of the new commissioners is up with a new one in line with the constitution.
part of the plot.
The Citizens' Coalition for Change said the
“Zec for a very long time has presided over appointment of Mohadi’s daughter and the
disputed elections that have failed to meet re- other suspicious appointments should be chal-
gional and international standards for a free, fair lenged, with the party secretary-general, Chal-
and credible election.” ton Hwende, insisting the CCC was denied a
say during the interviews.
“The 2018 elections, for example, were
marred by weakened public confidence in Zec.
Lack of trust in Zec is attributed to a myriad
of factors chief among them being appointment
of partisan commissioners and role of security
agents in its secretariat,” the ZDI report reads.

The opposition and civil society have for long
raised concern over the militarisation of Zec, but
in a recent interview with The NewsHawks Zanu
PF secretary for legal affairs Paul Mangwana said
calls for demilitarisation of the electoral body
were unconstitutional.

According to the ZDI, the appointment of
Mohadi raises two main concerns, namely con-
flict of interest and incompetence in choosing
loyalty ahead of merit.

“The fact that Abigail Millicent Mohadi Am-
brose’s father Kembo Mohadi is an interested
party in Zimbabwe’s elections is enough to dis-
miss her appointment as part of a patron-client
relationship which is detrimental to the conduct
of credible elections in Zimbabwe.”

Until his resignation in government over a sex
scandal, Mohadi was a vital figure at the deci-
sion-making level in Mnangagwa’s administra-
tion and now as the Zanu PF vice-president sta-
tioned at party headquarters, Mohadi is tasked
with canvassing support for the party ahead of
the 2023 elections in which his daughter will
play a key role.

“Thus, she cannot be an independent com-
missioner as she is supposed to be, in electoral
processes involving her father who is a deputy
president of Zanu PF party — an election con-
testant,” the ZDI said.

NewsHawks News Page 17

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

Uproar over imposition of ex-VP's daughter

RUVIMBO MUCHENJE minute these names were shortlisted that peo- something, we are part and parcel of the mess, Zanu PF vice-president Kembo Mohadi
ple in Parliament or the MPs, who sit on that all of us we are equally responsible. We should ing Mohadi Ambrose’s appointment was justi-
ZIMBABWEANS on social media have committee should have come out and said, always raise the alarm. We could have gone to fied from a gender equality perspective.
trashed the appointment of Abigail Mohadi You know what, guys, we have these names, court and challenged these people being short-
Ambrose to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commis- we feel like these people will be compromised. listed even if we had to, but now it's too late “I feel like we are being abusive to women
sion (Zec), arguing that she cannot be trusted We've known of these names ever since this they have been appointed,” Pastor Tom said. here. We must be giving women a chance to
to be independent and impartial in a contest whole process started. So why now should we do something. She is not the only one. If it was
in which her father, Zanu PF vice-president make noise about it? For me, I believe that the The Twitter Spaces debate got quite heated, your daughter, I am sure it would have been
Kembo Mohadi, is a key player. committees within Parliament have a part to with some participants raising the gender card different. There are those saying nepotism; but
play in this matter because they are the ones while dismissing issues of nepotism and peo- she won't be the only person where nepotism
Mohadi’s appointment has sparked outrage, who should have raised the alarm when this ple bringing up the issue of opposition CCC happened and she will not be the last. So I do
with people saying it is the latest evidence of process initially started so that we would not spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere, whose parents not like us victimising one girl and go on and
Zanu PF’s capture of the electoral body. have gotten to this position. So if you're go- are Zanu PF members and that this does not on about her,” Prof Feresu said.
ing to be reacting every time somebody does cloud her objectivity.
The general consensus during a Twitter Mohadi fared dismally in the interview, fail-
Spaces discussion convened by Open Parly this Others dismissed the nepotism claim, say- ing to convincingly answer questions on the
week on how the appointment of Mohadi’s constitution.
daughter affects voters’ perceptions and the
election process was that Mohadi’s appoint-
ment was nepotistic and influenced by her
parents.

A Zanu PF supporter based in South Africa
said the appointment of Abigail Mohadi Am-
brose, whose mother Tambudzani Mohadi is
a senator and was on the interview panel, tar-
nishes the image of the electoral body.

“That is clearly nepotism. I'll tell you why
I say it's nepotism, the mother of the girl was
actually part of the panel. So the mother of
the girl, whether she recused herself when it
was now her daughter's turn to be interviewed,
it does not make any difference as long as the
mother of that girl took decisions regarding
other candidates' fate, because other candi-
dates were competing against their daughter.
So she had the privilege to actually decide
against other candidates, putting her daugh-
ter at an advantage. We need to call a spade a
spade, if we have to build, rebuild and build
Zimbabwe. We cannot sugarcoat this, this was
wrong. Hence, yesterday, I wrote an urgent
open letter to the President, hoping that the
President is going to take heed of that letter,
because we cannot have politicians creating
jobs for their children. So what it means it
means mina (me) my child will never work in
government,” said Gugu Ncube.

There were efforts to sanitise the process by
saying the mother of Commissioner Mohadi
Ambrose, Senator Tambudzani Mohadi, re-
cused herself from participating in her daugh-
ter's interview.

Gugu added that the fact that Zanu PF
vice-president Kembo Mohadi no longer holds
a government post is immaterial.

“Kembo Mohadi does still have a lot of in-
fluence in everything happening in Zimbabwe.
He might not be in the government, but the
mere fact that he is still the vice-president of
the ruling party, it's that on its own Kembo
Mohadi has got a very huge influence on what-
ever is happening in the government issues of
Zimbabwe. We can't run away from facts,” she
said.

The relationship between father and daugh-
ter raises the question of conflict of interest.
Will Commissioner Mohadi Ambrose be able
to make a decision that is against her father or
the party in which her father is a bigwig?

“If she is a real accountant, Accountants
have got ethics to follow, they've got ethics to
comply with. I would go further and look at
the membership. Is she a chartered accoun-
tant, is she a member of an institute, because
chartered accountants in terms of their ethical
code, they are saying that the moment you be-
come related to the subject matter or to who
you are going to be with we are now talking of
threats that may be arising from that one. It
will be a conflict of interest,” Champion John
said.

Some participants came to the defence of
Mohadi Ambrose, saying the parliamentarians
during the interviews never raised concerns be-
cause everything was above board. The fact that
opposition MPs were either mum or absent is
what the citizens should be interrogating.

“My other problem with this entire thing
is that Parliament has control, there are com-
mittees meant to, you know, control the ap-
pointment of these things. The fact that we
are talking about this now, after these people
got sworn in, means someone was sleeping on
the job. This issue should have been raised the

Page 18 News NewsHawks

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

NYASHA CHINGONO NGO Bill attack on civil liberties

CONSTITUTIONAL watchdog Veritas says ments and found that they will not improve the it has a written constitution providing for such According to a report titled Punching Holes
the promulgation of the Private Voluntary Or- Bill at all — quite the reverse, in fact,” Veritas basic things as its name and objectives and basic to a Fragile Economy, compiled by Prosper Chi-
ganisations (PVO) Amendment Bill is uncon- argues. structures such as a management committee.” tambara, Clinton Musonza and Phillan Zam-
stitutional and an attack on civil liberties. chiya, the proposed law will have a far-reaching
Veritas proposes that: "There is a better way Veritas also proposes that all registered PVOs negative impact and implications not just for
Veritas this week released an alternative bill to regulate private voluntary organisations, and be monitored by a registrar — a government civil society organisations, but also for govern-
which addresses loopholes in the proposed law. South Africans found it when their parliament official — and a PVO board composed of rep- ment development programmes and the poor
passed the Nonprofit Organisations Act in resentatives of government and PVOs. who rely on aid for survival and access to critical
The constitutional watchdog says the PVO 1997. The long title of the Act describes the social services.
Bill, which has rattled non-governmental or- Act’s purpose admirably: 'To provide for an en- “Registration will confer benefits on PVOs
ganisations, will stifle civil society, jeopardising vironment in which nonprofits organisations such as corporate status, limitation of liability The report stated that according to the 2022
socio-economic development. can flourish'.” for members (like shareholders of companies) National Budget statement, during the period
and other benefits that may be prescribed in from January to September 2021, the country
“Veritas analysed the Bill and found it to be “The Act does not oblige non-profit organi- regulations.” received development assistance amounting to
unconstitutional, inimical to freedom of asso- sations — i.e. PVOs — to register with the gov- US$647.8 million, of which US$401.9 million
ciation, ill-conceived and badly drafted. It will ernment: instead it encourages them to do so “Registered PVOs will have to provide the was from bilateral partners and US$245.9 mil-
stifle the activities of private voluntary organisa- by giving registered organisations benefits such registrar with basic information showing that lion from multilateral partners.
tions [PVOs] of all kinds and will put at risk the as tax relief.” they are being properly run and that their activ-
social and economic development they bring,” ities are lawful: the names and addresses of their In 2022, support from the development part-
Veritas said. The constitutional watchdog says follow- office-bearers, their annual financial statements, ners is projected at US$761.5 million, broken
ing the South African model would mean that and yearly reports on their activities,” Veritas down as US$274.3 million and US$487.2 mil-
Human rights defenders and diplomats ac- registration would not be compulsory for most said. The activities of unregistered PVOs will lion from multilateral and bilateral partners,
credited to Zimbabwe have in the past criticised PVOs. be governed by the ordinary law, which those respectively.
the government over the PVO Bill, with observ- PVOs will have to obey like everyone else,” the
ers saying the legislation will further alienate “The only ones obliged to register will be proposed Veritas Bill reads. The PVO Amendment Bill was gazetted in
Harare from the international community. those that seek donations from the public — November 2021 and seeks to amend the PVO
they need to be registered to ensure that the “The Veritas Bill, in short, will give the gov- Act to impose new restrictions, but civil soci-
Zanu PF is pushing for the Bill, arguing that donations are not stolen or misused, and those ernment adequate control over PVOs, to the ety organisations have warned the proposed
NGOs in the country were sponsoring opposi- that are identified, after careful assessment, as extent that it is necessary to control them, while amendments will constrain their work and vi-
tion players and civil society actors to push for a vulnerable to being used for money laundering, complying with the constitution and Zimba- olate human rights, while negatively affecting
regime change agenda. terrorist financing or other serious crimes. It bwe’s international obligation to control mon- communities who depend on their activities.
is important for these PVOs to be monitored ey-laundering, terrorist financing and other
The controversial PVO Bill has sparked an so that Zimbabwe can comply with rules laid transnational crimes,” Veritas says. They also said the measures will hit the al-
uproar in civil society after it was published in down by the international Financial Action ready struggling economy which relies on de-
the Government Gazette last year. Taskforce,” Veritas said. “Veritas calls on members of Parliament to velopment partners to bridge yawning funding
urge the government to withdraw the Bill that is gaps due to the country’s inadequate budget
It is currently passing through the National “Any other non-profit PVO will be permit- currently going through the National Assembly and resources.
Assembly, and the minister of Public Service, ted to register with the government so long as and to replace it with the Alternative Bill.”
Labour and Social Welfare has published a long
list of amendments to the Bill which he pro-
poses to move when it reaches the Committee
Stage.

“We analysed the minister’s proposed amend-

NewsHawks News Page 19

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

xxxxxxx

Zesa seeks to recover ZW$30bn in arrears

MARY MUNDEYA Zesa’s general manager responsible for avoid being disconnected. carried out two debt write-offs yet its customers
stakeholder relations, communications “We are urging all our clients to make sure have accrued debt again.
THE Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority and welfare George Manyaya
(ZESA) Holdings has intensified a nationwide ment plans in place”, he said. that they are paid up to avoid disconnection,’’ By the end of March 2022, Zesa was owed in
blitz aimed at disconnecting power supplies to de- ZESA’s general manager responsible for stake- Manyaya said. excess of ZW$15 billion and, three months later,
faulting customers who owe more than ZW$30 holder relations, communications and welfare the figure has since doubled.
billion. Gorge Manyaya encouraged all their clients to In 2009 and 2013, the power utility company
make sure that their payments were up to date to
The development comes at a time the power
utility company is requiring US$17 million ev-
ery month for electricity imports to meet local
demand. This power disconnection exercise is
targeting every defaulting customer including
mines, farms, hospitals and commercial clients
that use the post-paid system.

One of Zimbabwe’s biggest mining firms, Ri-
oZim Ltd, recently had electricity supplies to its
Cam and Motor gold mine disconnected amid
allegations that the company owed Zesa millions
of Zimbabwe dollars.

RioZim Ltd company spokesperson Mr Wil-
son Gwatiringa declined to comment on the de-
velopment.

Cam and Motor gold mine is the second proj-
ect in RioGold’s operations and was once the larg-
est producer of gold in Zimbabwe.

On the other hand, late last year, one of the
government’s ailing parastatals the National
Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ)'s properties in
Hwange had power disconnected as a result of an
excess of ZW$21 million it owed t

NRZ workers residing at the parastatals’ Ng-
uminja village have lived in darkness for close to
a year.

Acting NRZ public relations manager Mr
Martin Banda told The NewsHawks that the para-
statal had made a payment plan with Zesa and
power is going to be reconnected soon.

“NRZ was owing ZW$21 857 401 to ZETDC
and engagements were done to have payment
plans after playing a deposit. We are aware that
Zesa is currently carrying out a disconnections
blitz to all owing clients and NRZ has made sure
that our points owing Zesa have concrete pay-

Page 20 News NewsHawks

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

MARY MUNDEYA July Moyo must stop acting
like a debt collector — MPs
LEGISLATORS have slammed Local Gov-
ernment minister July Moyo for strangely Local Government minister July Moyo
behaving like a debt collector on behalf of Norton MP Temba Mliswa
Netherlands-based company Geogenix BV
in the controversial US$400 million Pomona
waste-to-energy deal.

Moyo has written a number of letters compel-
ling the City of Harare to suspend its resolution
to halt the deal as well as pushing the local au-
thority to pay the money it supposedly owes to
Geogenix BV.

Raising the issue during this week’s National
Assembly question-and-answer session, Norton
MP Temba Mliswa lambasted Moyo, accus-
ing him of shirking his ministerial obligation
to present himself before Parliament to answer
questions from legislators whilst focusing of be-
ing a debt collector on behalf of a private com-
pany.

“Honorable July Moyo is not here to respond,
but is busy writing letters to the local authori-
ties so that money comes out. His job now is to
write letters wanting money. How can a minister
be a debt collector? He is not here to answer is-
sues of all the deals that he is doing.”

“Where is he? He is seen writing letters left,
right and centre wanting a 10% commission.
He has been paid. Ndozvinonetsa kana wadya
mari dzevanhu. Haurari usiku nekuti unenge
uchingonyora matsamba uchirotomoka (That is
the problem with compromised ministers, they
cannot sleep peacefully at night). He must come
and answer on why he is writing letters when he
is not a debt collector,” Mliswa said.

Pumula MP Sicelesile Mahlangu quizzed
Moyo’s deputy, Marian Chombo, on whether it
is the duty of a minister to act as a debt collector
on behalf of a private company.

“My question is directed to the minister of
Local Government. The minister wrote a letter
to the City of Harare to pay the so-called out-
standing amount to the Pomona company. Is it
the duty of the minister to act as a debt collector
on behalf of the private company?” she asked.

In her response, deputy minister Chombo
said: “Surely, the ministry of Local Government
is not a debt collector. We are the line ministry
and the local authorities fall under the minis-
try of Local Government and Public Works. If
a contractor or anybody brings a complaint or
request through the ministry, it is our duty to
contact the relevant local authority to try and
address the complaint or the request. If the local
authority has got a contractual agreement with
any supplier, definitely they have to honour up
to it.”

Kambuzuma legislator Willius Madzimure
immediately voiced concern over Chombo’s an-
swer, saying: “Is the minister trying to tell this
House that all of a sudden the ministry now has
the responsibility of acting on behalf of a private
company that has its own lawyers and admin-
istration that looks at its own issues? Does the
minister want us to believe that it is the min-
istry that is in contract with the City of Hara-
re? Where in the Acts of Zimbabwe do we have
a law that allows a minister to follow up on a
credit?”

But deputy minister Chombo said it is her
ministry’s duty to make sure that any complaint
raised against any relevant authority is addressed.

Responding to Chombo’s answer, Norton MP
Mliswa lamented the fa t that the Local Govern-
ment ministry was not following due process.

“My supplementary question is that the min-
ister cannot get away with receiving complaints
from stakeholders. There is a process, there is a
procedure. Even the President himself with the
powers vested in him, if there is a theft com-
plaint, he does not go and arrest. He uses the
institutions which are there to do the job. You
cannot say you are at Central Government and
you are making a decision to override. There are
processes and procedures . . .”

“These people have got their lawyers too —
why are their lawyers not doing the job?” Mliswa
asked.

Harare North legislator Allan Markham con-
curred with Mliswa, accusing the ministry of
Local Government of misleading Parliament.

“We are being misled by the Hon. Deputy
Minister. The last time the issue of debt col-
lection came up with City of Harare to collect
debts, she told us not to debt collect, but her
Ministry now goes and debt collects for a private
company,’’ Markham said.

NewsHawks News Page 21

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

Page 22 News NewsHawks

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

MOSES MATENGA Agony, filth inside police cells

CONDITIONS at Harare Central Police Station . . . no running water, poor ventilation
are posing health hazards, with suspects forced to
sleep in crammed cells with no running water, no Harare Central Police Station
toilet paper and no ventilation, recent documents
show. to assault me, but was told to immediately stop denied water and food by the state while they presence of the accused persons.
talking as I had no right to raise any complaint were overcrowded in a cell. “When we finally saw them, a number of them
This, lawyers said, was in violation of the rights and, that if I tried to complain, the beatings
of the accused persons who are forced to endure would intensify,” Zhakata said. Lawyer Paidamoyo Saurombe from the Zim- wore bloodied T-shirts. I could not greet some of
long nights in the crowded space amid calls for babwe Lawyers for Human Rights also told the them as their hands were full of blood. Accused
the authorities to take action and respect the He said they were later taken to a shed at the court that it was not easy to locate the accused one had put a sock on his hands to stop blood
rights of accused persons. back of Harare Central Police Station where they persons and that, when he finally did, their from coming out.”
were forced to crawl on the tarmac. clothes were bloodied.
The deplorable conditions are revealed in a He said he was briefed on the horrendous beat-
latest application by lawyers representing 13 Cit- In the holding cells, Zhakata said they were He said the police officers misled him on the ings they had suffered at the hands of the police.
izens’ Coalition for Change (CCC) activists ar-
rested in February and accused of public violence
and assaulting police officers and motorists while
disturbing peace.

Luckmore Zhakata, Monica Chipwanya,
Artwell Chipope, Eliah Mutsindi, Gift Mun-
dandi, Austin Masanza and seven others have
approached the High Court seeking to set aside
the ruling by Harare magistrate Yeukai Dzuda
placing them on remand.

Zhakata and other accused persons were ar-
rested in February in the city centre, accused of
public violence and pelting police officers and
members of the public with stones.

They are represented by Kudzai Kadzere of
Kadzere, Hungwe and Mandevere Legal Practi-
tioners.

Their application has exposed the deplorable
situation in the police holding cells.

“There was no functioning toilet in the cells.
We were made to sleep on concrete blocks, as
there were no mattresses. There was no venti-
lation in the holding cell which had a terrible
stench because of the non-functional toilet which
was overflowing with human excrete and urine.”

“The applicants were detained under inhu-
mane and degrading conditions at Harare Cen-
tral Police Station in facilities where there was
no running water, no food, no ventilation, no
functional toilet and tissues, no soap, no proper
bedding facilities or mattresses,” the lawyers rep-
resenting the applicants said.

The predicament the accused persons found
themselves in reflects the situation in police hold-
ing cells where accused persons face risks of dis-
eases as there are no medical checks to ascertain
whether they would be fit to sleep in such an en-
vironment.

According to the application, the accused per-
sons were also subjected to severe torture in the
hands of police and when their lawyer ultimately
located them, they were soaked in blood.

“The applicants were tortured by the police
upon arrest. The applicants were denied access to
their legal practitioner and medical practitioner
of choice and were not promptly advised of this
right upon arrest.”

The applicants argued they were unlawfully
detained and were improperly before the mag-
istrate who went on to make a decision on the
matter.

According to an affidavit by Zhakata, they were
not advised of their constitutional rights upon ar-
rest and were subjected to severe beatings by the
police in their numbers using batons, bricks and
other unknown objects all over the body.

“I bled profusely and begged the police not

NewsHawks News Page 23

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

Chiwenga introduces new wife to family

Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga recently took and introduced his new wife Miniyothabo Baloyi (donning white hat and mask), who is a colonel and his junior in the military ranks, to his
extended family in Wedza during a recent birthday event for his aunt. This follows Chiwenga’s acrimonious divorce with Marry Mubaiwa in 2019.

Page 24 News NewsHawks

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

GIVEN the current economic conditions Karanda Mission Hospital medical
in Zimbabwe and pathologies in the pub- boss on Canadian fund-raising trip
lic healthcare system, Karanda Hospital is
seen as a beacon of hope and people gen-
erally believe they can access sophisticated
medical care at the mission facility. There is
some truth in that, yet the situation is far
more complicated.The hospital in Mount
Darwin, Mashonaland Central province,
was established in 1961 to serve mission
stations in the Zambezi Valley which were
mainly churches, clinics or small dispensa-
ries. It has 150 beds and on an average work
day performs between 15 to 30 surgeries (4
000 surgeries a year) and sees 200 to 300
outpatients. Annually it deals with over 100
000 patients from within the country and
the region. The facility is known for the
large number of surgical cases it handles as
well as treating HIV and Aids, tuberculosis,
obstetrics, and hydrocephalus. It has two
full-time surgeons, a physician’s assistant
and a general practitioner. It also usually
has interns and volunteers. In a bid to keep
the hospital serving people and making a
difference to communities, Karanda’s med-
ical director, Dr Paul Thistle, a Canadian
obstetrician and gynecologist who came to
Zimbabwe in 1995 as a Salvation Army vol-
unteer initially stationed at Howard Hospi-
tal in Chiweshe, also Mashonaland Central,
before relocating to the facility in 2012 with
his Zimbabwean wife Pedrinah, a midwifery
instructor, is currently back home on vaca-
tion in Canada — and also on a fund-rais-
ing mission. Paul Thistle (PT) spoke to The
NewsHawks’ North American correspon-
dent Ngoni Donald Muzofa (NDM) in his
hometown of Scarborough in Toronto, Can-
ada, while on holiday about his mission and
various associated issues. Find below inter-
view excerpts:

NDM: Can you start by telling us about cannot save the world. You try and improve machinery and technology to diagnose all the conditions. Through counseling and educa-
how you came to be in Zimbabwe and why. the lives of one family and one person at a illnesses that we would wish to assist our pa- tion, they can get a realistic prognosis, instead
time. We combine that with education, child tients with, but we do what we can. of using scarce resources running from one
PT: I was born and raised, as well as attend- sponsorship and support for postgraduate and place to the next and holding out some hope
ed medical school in Toronto. The driving trades education. We have 4 000 surgeries a year in our oper- there is a cure.
force behind my journey was to serve God and ating rooms or theatres, in the British lexicon.
the underprivileged in any part of the world NDM: Why is holistic healthcare so im- Sometimes we refer patients to tertiary care NDM: How do you fund your operations?
where there might be a need. portant? such as a university hospital when we cannot PT: If you were to look at Karanda from a
manage a case. satellite map, you would not be able to com-
I am a soldier in the Salvation Army, and PT: Whether it's downtown Toronto, pare us in terms of standards to a community
when I finished my education and specialty in downtown Harare, or rural Mount Darwin Given the current economic challenges in hospital in Canada, let alone a tertiary hos-
obstetrics and gynecology, it was my intention district where Karanda is situated, there is Zimbabwe and the difficulties in the public pital in Toronto. Our budget is 1% of a sim-
to serve in an underserved part of the world. a need to be attentive to holistic healthcare. healthcare system, Karanda is seen as a bea- ilar sized hospital in North America. That’s
I asked the Salvation Army to send me any- People come to physicians with the obvious con of hope and people believe they can access where our friends come in and our supporters
where they chose, including Canada. They re- physical ailments, yet there are deeper under- complicated medical care at a mission hos- all around the world such as Rotary Clubs in
quested that I serve in Zimbabwe. It was the lying psychosocial and spiritual issues. And pital. There’s some truth in that. We do pay Harare and Canada. Large and small organi-
mid-90s and at the peak of the HIV and Aids sometimes there are limitations of time and attention to everybody's needs. We welcome sations and well-wishers help us to fill the gap
pandemic where there was no therapy avail- expertise to address everything. We cannot do everybody who comes to our doors, regardless by helping us to bring up the standard of care.
able to treat HIV-related illnesses. I became everything for everybody all the time, but we of what their illness may be. The ministry of Health and Child Care is also
an obstetrician and gynecologist primarily to can do what we can with what we have. And a major partner. They provide approximately
serve mothers and try to do something about that is what I believe attracts patients from all The reality is there are some ailments we 25% of our hospital operating costs such as
maternal mortality and that landed me at the over the country. cannot do well such as renal care and oncol- basic salaries for some of our paid staff. But
Salvation Army Howard Hospital north of ogy, which require chemotherapy and radia- that's not sufficient.
Harare. NDM: What medical services does Karanda tion. Oftentimes, people come with severe ill- NDM: Since there are so many patients and
provide? nesses and with their conditions advanced. So, relatives coming to Karanda, are there accom-
NDM: For how long were you supposed to we try to cure sometimes and comfort always. modation facilities for them?
serve or stay in Zimbabwe? PT: We provide general medical and surgi- PT: Overnight accommodation is available
cal care. We don’t have specialists and sub-spe- Hopefully, patients and their relatives come
PT: It was a three-year contract, but after cialists to address some of the more com- away from a visit to Karanda with a better un-
seeing the needs and opportunities to serve plicated illnesses. We also don't have all the derstanding of their illnesses and underlying
and to expand the work, I extended my con-
tract. Fast forward to 2022, and I am now
serving at a mission hospital in Karanda. I met
my wife at Howard Hospital, and we got mar-
ried in 1998. We have three children, all born
at a mission hospital in Zimbabwe. My family
has grown up in the beautiful atmosphere and
culture of rural Zimbabwe. As you continue
to work, you develop a vision to provide holis-
tic medicine. It means serving the body, mind
and spirit.

In terms of body, there are always press-
ing medical needs in underserved parts of
the world like HIV and Aids, tuberculosis
as well as maternal and child health. These
are ongoing needs. There are also underlying
psychosocial difficulties the average rural per-
son faces and therefore at Howard and then
subsequently at Karanda, we work alongside
community leaders to support the community
with income-generating projects.

In the early days, they were centred around
HIV and Aids, but now they are independent
of that. It involves looking after widows and
orphans by providing income-generation ac-
tivities so they may have a better life and sus-
tainability. That's always a challenge in rural
Africa in general, and rural Zimbabwe in par-
ticular. But you take it one step at a time. You

NewsHawks News Page 25

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

in the surrounding villages for patients and NDM: How are you able to mobilise and cility? are looking at transitioning. We have already
relatives who cannot make the trip back and inspire people to support the Karanda cause? PT: We have a training centre, specialis- made steps to having a national Zimbabwe-
forth from their home. Their home might be an board of directors supporting the hospi-
200km to 300km away if it's Harare, for ex- PT: With partnerships based on trust and ing in nursing and midwifery. My wife is a tal, working alongside national professional
ample. mutual respect. It’s built on asking and re- nurse and midwifery instructor. And we have health care staff, supported by businesses and
ceiving views of the community on what their trainees from all over Zimbabwe coming on well-wishers in Zimbabwe. We also intend to
Many people cannot be seen in one day. needs are. We call it needs assessment. But it attachment, not just healthcare, but in admin- strengthen our partnership with the Zimba-
If you get up early in the morning and arrive doesn't come easy. It requires longevity. Rural istration and other fields. We feel comfortable bwean diaspora, those who are working and
early enough, you may be able to get medical hospitals in Zimbabwe — and even elsewhere to provide the training, which is called super- living abroad, and give them an avenue; a
attention in one day. in the world — have a history of rapid turn- vision on site. trustworthy avenue, a worthwhile cause to
over of staff. give back to.
We call it one-stop shopping, and it may NDM: What are the pressing needs for
include registration, screening, nursing care, People use them as a stepping stone to Karanda right now? NDM: If someone wants to assist in what-
doctor consultation, investigations including something bigger like working in the urban ever shape or form, how can they contact you
X-rays, ultrasound and laboratory work, and areas or abroad. The good news is Karanda has PT: We have ongoing hospital operation- or how do they go about it?
then treatment plans. It may even include day a core nucleus of staff that have committed al costs. It doesn't sound attractive, but the
surgery. Most often the investigations are de- themselves to working in a difficult environ- more support we can receive from well-wish- PT: My email address is: drpthistle@gmail.
layed, or patients arrive late due to transport ment. And I think that's one of our strengths. ers in Zimbabwe and abroad, the less we have com and you can find us online at: www.
challenges. Buses that reach Karanda only run It doesn't come easy, and it can change over- to charge our patients. We have a patient fee karanda.org. We have internet challenges at
once or twice a day. night. But that leads to a collegiality that is schedule to balance our budget, and it's cur- our mission hospital. So, I am not always on-
not found easily in other working environ- rently about US$1.5 million annually. Right line, but I check.
NDM: What advice can you give to other ments. So that partnership extends to urban now, we have four doctors and 40 to 50 nurs-
medical centres to emulate the way you are areas because people who get treated at Karan- es. Including grounds and maintenance staff, NDM: Any final thoughts on this issue?
running Karanda? da bring a good message back to their families. cooks and cleaners would get us to about 180 PT: We have all been through a healthcare
staff. crisis with the Covid-19 pandemic. We have
PT: I think it goes back to the concept of Our outreach and influence extend to over- all seen how critical healthcare is around the
holistic medicine; that people have a variety of seas. And one of my jobs during my holiday in Half of those get their basic salaries from the world and the contrasts between those who
needs. We cannot always meet all their needs Canada is to spread the news and raise aware- government through the ministry of Health. have and have not.
with a one-stop-shop approach, but through ness about the work at Karanda. I am always We pay salaries for half of our workers. We get In rural Zimbabwe, the contrast is even
our other allied professionals at Karanda such keen to reach out to new partners. By reaching support from friends in South Africa and local more striking between the need for health-
as our chaplain, social workers, nursing care out to people, figuring out how people might pharmaceutical companies in Zimbabwe. We care and the resources. I would like to think
and community care coordinators who follow be able to help you, how you can have a mutu- have partners here in Canada that send con- that at Karanda Mission Hospital we are do-
up in the villages. So, you need to have a team ally beneficial relationship in the community, tainers of medical surgical supplies and hospi- ing our best with what we have, but through
approach. in the country and abroad. tal equipment. your partnership we can do more and provide
an even better standard of care to our under-
You cannot do it alone. There’s a Shona ex- NDM: Do you have volunteers at Karanda That fills a huge void. Donations come in served, deserving patients.
pression chara chimwe hachitswanyi inda (one and where do they usually come from? the form of cash, food, equipment or online There are a lot of challenges, but there's al-
thumbnail cannot crush a louse by itself ). We contributions. There are always more needs ways joy. There's job satisfaction in doing the
are fortunate to have dedicated professional PT: We have visitors and volunteers who than there are resources. We are talking about little things in life. I think Mother Teresa said
staff and general hands to keep our hospital take their precious time, often during their rural Zimbabwe where the average income is we cannot always do great things. But we can
running. The most important hospital worker holidays, from their businesses and medical still probably a dollar a day. Hospital care is do small things with great love. There is satis-
is the cleaner who gets up at 5am and cleans practices, to come over. Given my Canadian expensive everywhere in the world. We try to faction in doing what you can, whether it’s a
the hallways and offices before the patients ar- connection, many come from Canada. We also run on a shoestring budget, but it still costs mother saved during childbirth, whether it's a
rive. have many from America, Europe and Austra- money to buy the shoes. malnourished child restored to health through
lia. All of them bring their own experiences our nutritional supplementation, or a person
So, this collegial approach and partnership and skills set. They say many hands make light NDM: What strategies are you employing living with HIV or Aids on treatment, and
extends outside of our walls to the communi- work, and they encourage us and embrace the to get more Zimbabweans involved? back to work as a fully functional member of
ty. We get in-kind donations during the har- vision we have for the community. society.
vest season from the local community, farmers PT: Karanda has traditionally been a mis-
and businessmen. These partnerships extend NDM: Do you have medical students from sionary hospital supported by missionaries or
to the industries and businesses in Harare. Zimbabwean institutions coming to your fa- mission-sending organisations in the tradi-
tional West. But I think moving forward, we

Page 26 International Investigative Stories NewsHawks

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

InInvteesrtniagtaiotinvaelStories

Secret operations: The Peruvian
charged with laundering massive

amounts of drug money

FOR decades, Carlos Sein Atacha- tors as a money changer or used-car der profits made on the European economic increases,” which they said an above-board businessman, the ac-
hua allegedly led a global money salesman, and used aliases like “Abra- market. were “in line with alleged launder- countant said. “What he wanted was
laundering empire. Police say his ham Levy.” At other times he carried ing maneuvers of assets derived from to have a clean, legal, commercial
gang’s drugs, sent with logos de- credentials saying he was a fluid engi- Atachahua was finally arrested on drug trafficking.” Argentinian prose- umbrella, so that his children could
picting ancient Peruvian symbols, neer with a degree from a Lima uni- money laundering charges in Argen- cutors declined to comment on why see that he was going to work.”
reached Italy’s ‘Ndrangheta and oth- versity. tina in 2020, two years after his long- Atachahua has not been charged with
er criminal groups, while corrupted time accountant, Diego Xavier Guas- drug-related offenses or whether he If that ever happens, Guastini
money-exchange houses around the For at least 14 years, authorities tini, turned against him and began might be, because “it’s an ongoing won’t see it. In October 2019, a few
world were allegedly used to launder say, this approach worked. Staying providing information to authorities case.” days after he gave a third debriefing
profits. under the radar, Atachahua laundered on his boss. By that time, Atacha- to authorities about Atachahua, the
money for an Argentina-based drug hua’s criminal file alleges, his group As he awaits his fate, monitored accountant was shot dead.
Carlos Sein Atachahua Espinoza trafficking empire from at least 2006 had used a fortune in dirty money to from his Argentina home via an elec-
sometimes showed up to meetings to 2020, with connections in Latin set up sham companies and buy up tronic ankle bracelet, OCCRP and Argentinian news outlets reported
dressed in stained mason’s overalls — America, Europe, and North Ameri- millions in Argentinian real estate, partners have unraveled Atachahua’s that a Toyota truck blocked the path
not an outfit one might expect from ca according to testimony his accoun- including parking lots. Reporters also network –– and showed how he of Guastini’s Audi A4 as he drove
someone charged with laundering tant gave to Argentinian authorities. found various properties and land avoided detection for so long. His op- through a suburb of Buenos Aires.
money for a transnational drug traf- parcels connected to Atachahua and erations were revealed through court Then, a gunman on a motorcycle
ficking organization. He looked more Argentinian prosecutors have his family in Peru. documents, interviews with author- blasted him three times. “They hit
like a man who had been doing work charged Atachahua with money ities in South America and Europe, me, they hit me,” he reportedly said
around the house. laundering, and not drug traffick- Atachahua has served time in and immigration records, as well as to a bystander who helped him to
ing. However, they have also alleged Peru on drug charges, while he and property and company information. the sidewalk. Guastini died from his
But behind this disheveled every- that he was involved in moving co- Guastani were both investigated by wounds at a nearby hospital.
man appearance, the dark-haired caine halfway around the world from Uruguayan police for trafficking. The organization Atachahua was
Peruvian, 52, was a meticulously cau- its source in South America, often Guastini alleged in interviews with involved in is accused of laundering Atachahua has not been accused
tious — and very wealthy — man, stamped with logos depicting Peru- Argentinian prosecutors that Atacha- at least $7 million, but authorities of the murder of his accountant, who
according to Argentinian prosecu- vian suns. Beyond Peru, he linked hua ran a low-visibility global drug told the press in 2020 that the figure had links to other, unrelated criminal
tors. Those testifying against him say up with traffickers from neighboring trafficking organization that worked could be much higher. Guastini told groups. Allegations against Atachua-
he dealt largely in cash and kept in- Colombia as well as selling to Italy’s with other networks to move cocaine authorities that Atachahua took pains ha from police and other sources, and
formation compartmentalized among powerful ‘Ndrangheta criminal clan. to Europe. to conceal his illicit activities because in official indictments, have not been
the people he led, keeping everything As millions flowed in, it’s alleged he he had ambitions of eventually going proven in court.
on a need-to-know basis. used corrupt money exchange houses While investigating Atachahua’s straight.
on both sides of the Atlantic to laun- suspected money laundering activi- Through his legal team, Atachahua
He presented himself to prosecu- ties, prosecutors found “unjustified His plan was, over time, to become declined to comment.

NewsHawks International Investigative Stories Page 27

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

Under the Radar acquired with the proceeds of crime. exchange houses in that country. business was not without its mishaps. intimidating a witness away from
Atachahua rose from obscure They also made donations to an up- Guastini said Gomer River Cortez In 2007, two mules were nabbed at appearing at a key hearing, further
beginnings. In Huánuco, a city in scale school in British Columbia. disrupting the investigation. After
central Peru, he inherited criminal Galvez, owner of a Peru-based money Barcelona airport carrying 400,000 in a change in prosecutors, Guastini
smarts from his family, which has However, for someone in the drug exchange called Mister Dollar, took undeclared euros, according to Span- said, the case against both him and
been involved in the drug business business, Atachahua’s leadership style in the suspicious cash they brought. ish authorities. Authorities seized the Atachahua became “paralyzed” and
for decades. and patient approach to business Reached by phone, he denied know- vast majority of the cash. was unsuccessful.
In 1999, he had his first record- were unusually modest, experts say. ing Atachahua or Guastini. “All kinds
ed brush with the law, when he was He wasn’t interested in the golden of people come here with money to In June 2012, Atachuaha and Atachahua would not be tracked
arrested and later sentenced to nine handguns, celebrity meetings, or lav- change, wanting to change dollars,” Guastini went to Amsterdam via down for years.
years in prison in Peru for drug traf- ish haciendas often flaunted by nar- he said. France to meet people Guastini de-
ficking and document forgery, after co-barons in Colombia and Mexico. scribed in his testimony to prosecu- Atachahua’s Downfall
cocaine was found in a car he was Valdivia did not respond to a re- tors as “the Calabrese” –– presumed After this close call, Atachahua
riding in. He was freed early for rea- “Most drug traffickers have that quest for comment. to be the ‘Ndrangheta crime group seemed ever more determined to
sons that remain unclear, and by the weak point, that they always seek to from the southern Italian region of squirrel his proceeds away. In 2013,
mid-2000s had made his way to Ar- display their profits, to show off, be- Cash was often carried along the Calabria. Immigration records back his daughter was gifted shares in her
gentina. cause that is the purpose of their busi- same overland routes allegedly used up Guastini’s version of events. parents’ companies — firms that are
Settling in the upscale Caballito ness,” prosecutor Eduardo Castañeda, by the organization to smuggle drugs now the subject of the Argentinian
neighborhood in Buenos Aires, Guas- from Peru’s Specialized Prosecutor’s from Peru to other countries, accord- A few months later, in November investigation.
tini said Atachahua started off selling Office Against Organized Crime, told ing to Guastini’s testimony. 2012, Uruguayan police launched By 2016, she began a life in Cana-
drugs locally. But he soon broadened reporters. an operation against Atachahua’s da, and two years later was engaged to
his horizons, taking his cocaine — Money that made its way to Ar- operatives based on an anonymous a Canadian citizen. Guastini, mean-
believed to have been sourced in Bo- By contrast, Castañeda said, gentina was allegedly laundered using tip. The tipster told police about a while, was embarking on a partner-
livia or Peru — to Europe, via exit Atachahua’s approach was “some- four companies set up by the organi- house where suspected drug dealing ship of his own: Starting in 2018, the
points in Uruguay and Brazil. thing particular.” It was an approach zation, with front people — includ- was taking place. They put the house accountant began providing informa-
Guastini explained to authorities characterized by abundant caution. ing, prosecutors believe, Atachahua’s under surveillance and noticed a ve- tion about Atachahua’s operations to
how his boss networked with Co- wife Maribel del Aguila Fonseca, as hicle with Argentinian license plates. Argentine authorities.
lombians, Uruguayans, Chileans, and “He always said that a person has well as his daughter. The funds were Police made arrests that hinted at the Over the following years, author-
Italians — all with their own estab- to know 20 percent of the operation, used for buying up garages and real global links the group had made. ities slowly became better informed
lished trafficking routes — in an ef- that if they knew more than 20 per- estate. about Atachahua’s operations. The
fort to “corporatize” his business and cent, it was risky. Even his wife knew One of those detained was Fran- boss responded by making security
move it out of the slums. 20 percent of the operation,” Guasti- Guastini said a good deal of cash cesco Pisano, an Italian working as a adjustments.
Peruvian flight and border data ni told prosecutors. was converted into gold coins bought trafficker for the ‘Ndrangheta. Two According to Argentinian investi-
obtained by OCCRP supports this from Argentina’s Banco Piano with- Argentinians and two Uruguayans gators, in the months before he was
account, showing that the ambitious A Money Laundering Machine out invoicing, and then hidden in were also arrested, and more than arrested in 2020, Atachahua was pre-
Atachahua was already traveling to Once the organization had off- false pipes in the walls of an apart- 276 kilograms of cocaine were seized, paring to send a large shipment of
Brazil and Chile as early as December loaded its cocaine in Europe and else- ment inhabited by an elderly cou- along with over 47 kilograms of co- drugs to Spain. He appeared to know
2002. where, Atachahua needed to get the ple. Atachahua had brought them to caine paste. he was being tailed, but managed to
Guastini alleged that once cocaine profits back to South America, the in- live there in order to give this golden stay a step ahead. Every time he ar-
was sourced, it was moved overland dictment alleges. Sometimes, he sent bunker the appearance of an ordinary Atachahua and Guastini got away, rived in Argentina through Ministro
across South America in private vehi- cash into Peru and Argentina using home. But when Argentine author- but their meetings with those arrest- Pistarini International Airport in
cles and commercial trucks carrying “mules” who brought it in their hand ities raided the place, no coins were ed had been captured on video. So Buenos Aires, he would circle the fa-
products such as bananas and toi- luggage on commercial flights. Oth- found. Elsewhere, the family appears was his departure: At 1:13 a.m. on cility for at least an hour to lose the
letries. The packages, Guastini said, er times, he used currency exchange to have funneled money into the gas November 24, 2012, just before the officers. “He always made it,” said
were stuffed into secret compart- houses in Italy. industry. police swooped in, Atachahua’s Re- one source close to the case.
ments in the chassis and locked in To do this, the accountant, Guas- nault Megane was recorded crossing Eventually, his luck ran out. In Oc-
place with expanding foam. tini, said he would personally pick In the region of San Martín in the Fray Bentos bridge linking the tober 2020, he was arrested in a raid
The “merchandise” marketed by up cash in Spain before driving it the Peruvian Amazon, the Atacha- two countries. reported by media to have involved
the organization Atachahua is al- to northern Italy in a rental car. huas established a fuel-sales company 400 Buenos Aires police officers who
leged to be associated with was often There, he said, he delivered money to called Inversiones NCN S.A.C., with According to Uruguayan author- swooped in on 25 separate homes
marked with a Peruvian sun, evoking Chavin Cash, an exchange house near branches in the northern provinces ities, Pisano had struck a deal with and businesses affiliated with the net-
Incan tradition and his indigenous Milano Centrale train station run by of Rioja, Moyobamba, and Mariscal a Uruguayan trafficker which would work. Authorities reportedly seized
origins, Guastini said. a Milan-based Peruvian named Hec- Cáceres. The company’s general man- have seen the drugs taken to Calabria millions of dollars in cash in at least
The organization avoided searches, tor Valdivia Chavez. ager is Neddy Luz Atachahua Espino- from the port in the Uruguayan capi- 10 different currencies, a gun, and 49
even if it meant longer trips. Some- When Peruvians legitimately sent za, Atachahua’s sister. tal Montevideo. cell phones.
times an operation could take 40 money from Milan back to their fam- The next month, following the in-
days, Guastini told authorities, with ilies, Guastini said, Valdivia would The station, flanked by cargo Crucially for the Buenos Ai- dictment of the organization’s main
consignments sent in winding routes add extra cash to the amount. The trucks, does not have any listed ad- res-based Atachahua, Uruguayan po- members, including Atachahua, a
to Brazil and elsewhere before being Argentinian criminal file says Guas- dress and can only be found by asking lice did not share information about judge ordered the seizure of more
shipped to Europe. tini would give Valdivia a contact in locals for directions. Workers there him and Guastini with their Argen- than 30 billion Argentinian pesos, or
Guastini claimed that in 23 years Lima who could withdraw the alleged told reporters that day-to-day opera- tinian colleagues. One Uruguayan roughly $383 million at the official
of business, Atachahua’s organization narco-trafficking earnings. At oth- tions were run by outside administra- police source close to the case said exchange rate.
“had not had a single loss.” Atacha- er times, mules would carry cash to tors and that Atachahua’s sister rarely they “did not trust” Argentinian fed- Peruvian authorities said they are
hua, he alleged, often followed ship- Peru, and take the illicit earnings to visited. eral police at the time, because they not investigating Atachahua, and
ments around the world, making had not been fully cooperative. they have no information on Guas-
appointments to meet buyers and Close Calls tini or Valdivia, the money changer.
liaise with underworld contacts. Im- The Atachahua money-moving According to Guastini, Atacha- None of the three men have been
migration logs from Argentina and hua’s group had also succeeded in investigated in Spain or Italy either,
Peru show that he used at least eight according to authorities.
passports or national IDs on his trav- Just before Atachahua’s capture, his
els overland and by air. wife Maribel, who became a fugitive
Border records from Argenti- and subject to an international war-
na show that from 2008 to 2020, rant after she traveled to Peru, left the
Atachahua traveled in and out of the country. In October 2021, however,
country over 200 times — nearly she was arrested in Argentina, say-
two-thirds of the time to Peru. He ing she had only left to visit her sick
also traveled 18 times to and from parents, and gave a statement to the
Canada, where his daughter lived. authorities.
Peruvian border records show him Atachahua’s daughter was also
making 290 trips in and out of the questioned when she traveled to Ar-
country between 2002 and January gentina in 2020, and banned from
2020, including journeys to Panama leaving the country again.
and Chile. In a statement to a judge, Atacha-
According to Argentine authori- hua’s wife said it was the first time she
ties, after his daughter turned 18 in had been “involved in a court case.”
2012, she began receiving fictitious She said she was “not [in] a gang or
donations from her parents. These an illicit association.”
donations, authorities believe, were “We are a family.”
designed to “remove a shadow” from
their own assets, all of which had been — Organised Crime and Corrup-
tion Reporting Project.

Page 28 Editorial & Opinion NewsHawks

CARTOON Issue 89, 15 July 2022

Confidence a result
of legitimacy only

EDDIE CROSS, an economist and former member of the Driven by elite desire: To loot
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s Monetary Policy Committee,
made interesting renarks this week which deserve everyone’s Hawk Eye
attention.
Dumisani
Without mincing his words, he said the country’s econom- Muleya
ic problems are being caused by “entrenched interests” whose
selfish actions are “almost a form of state capture”. He added
that Mnangagwa must be careful of his advisers.

Speaking in an unusually candid interview with the state
broadcaster, Cross said Zimbabwe generates US$34 million
per day, compared to Zambia’s US$13m, yet the neighbour-
ing country is faring much better. The kwacha is even stron-
ger than the Rand these days.

Cross says Zimbabwe must get rid of its forex auction and
adopt conventional foreign exchange management.

He is one of Zimbabwe’s most fascinating characters. For
many years, he was MDC founder Morgan Tsvangira’s adviser
on economic policy.

Cross was supposed to be a cabinet minister in the Govern-
ment of National Unity from 2009 to 2013 but was dropped
at the 11th hour. Before then, he had worked in large cor-
porations, including the Agricultural Marketing Authority,
Dairy Marketing Board (now Dairibord) and the Beira Cor-
ridor Group.

In 1999, he joined the opposition Movement for Dem-
ocratic Change and was appointed secretary for economics.
He was the member of Parliament for Bulawayo South from
2008 to 2018.

After resigning from politics, Cross served on the cenyral
bank’s Monetary Policy Committee and has also served as an
economic adviser to Finance minister Mthuli Ncube.

In more recent times, he has authored President Mnangag-
wa’s authorised biography.

Quite clearly, Cross’ opinions are often newsworthy. It is
for this reason that his utterances this week deserve scrutiny.

State capture is a serious matter.
It is a systemic form of corruption in which the ruling elite
and powerful businesspersons manipulate the state’s deci-
sion-making processes and policy formulation to their own
advantage. This is done to serve narrow commercial and
sometimes political interests — at the expense of the com-
mon good. The national interest is sacrificed on the altar of
selfish pursuits. What Cross is saying is not new.
For decades, political analysts have argued that Zimbabwe
operates like a criminal organisation which prioritises the in-
terests of a few to the detriment of the long-suffering majority.
One could actually argue that the people who are benefit-
ting from the corruption-induced rot do not number beyond
5 000. They are holding millions of citizens to ransom.
The social costs of state capture are frightening. An econo-
my endowed with vast resources that generate lots of foreign
currency is failing to provide jobs and a living wage. Where is
all the money going?
Cross cited Zambia, which has recorded steady progress
since Hakainde Hichilema defeated Edgar Lungu’s corrupt
and repressive government at the ballot box. But we must, of
necessity, emphasise the point that Zambia’s refreshing prog-
ress is a product of political legitimacy. Free, fair and credible
elections engender confidence. Citizens and investors cannot
trust an illegitimate government. Without trust, there is no
confidence. Without confidence there is mayhem and despair.
In Zimbabwe’s case, trust and confidence can only be re-
stored via a free, fair and credible 2023 general election. Any-
thing else is wishful thinking.

Reaffirming the fundamental impor- The NewsHawks is published on different EDITORIAL STAFF: Marketing Officer: Voluntary Media
tance of freedom of expression and me- content platforms by the NewsHawks Digital Managing Editor: Dumisani Muleya Charmaine Phiri Council of Zimbabwe
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mocracy and as a means of upholding Interest Journalism Assistant Editor: Brezh Malaba [email protected] The NewsHawks newspaper subscribes to the
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stitution; our mission is to hold power Beverly Court, 6th floor News Editor: Owen Gagare
in its various forms and manifestations Harare, Zimbabwe Subscriptions & Distribution: fair and balanced news reporting. If we do not
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corruption to ensure good governance Beatrice Mtetwa, Raphael Khumalo, Reporters: at No.: 34, Colenbrander Rd, Milton Park, Harare.
and accountability in the public inter- Professor Wallace Chuma, Teldah Mawarire, Nyasha Chingono, Enoch Muchinjo, Moses Matenga,
est. Doug Coltart Jonathan Mbiriyamveka Telephone: 024-2778096 or 024-2778006,
Email: [email protected] 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

NewsHawks New Perspectives Page 29

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

Companies & Markets NewsHawks

Issue 76, 15 April 2022
BusinessPage26
MATTERSNewsHawks

MARKETS CURRENCIES LAST CHANGE %CHANGE COMMODITIES LAST CHANGE %CHANGE
USD/JPY
GBP/USD 109.29 +0.38 +0.35 *OIL 63.47 -1.54 -2.37
USD/CAD
USD/CHF 1.38 -0.014 -0.997 *GOLD 1,769.5 +1.2 +0.068
AUD/USD
1.229 +0.001 +0.07 *SILVER 25.94 -0.145 -0.56

0.913 +0.005 +0.53 *PLATINUM 1,201.6 +4 +0.33

0.771 -0.006 -0.76 *COPPER 4.458 -0.029 -0.65

Afrexim emerges RBZ’s biggest creditor

BERNARD MPOFU

NEARLY 90% of the Reserve Bank legacy debt total external debt service payments amounting velopment banks and Paris Club creditors. The As at the end of May 2022, since the resump-
is owed to the African Export and Import Bank to US$59.3 million, comprising of US$49.7 government in September 2021 began making tion of the token payments, a total of US$8 mil-
(Afreximbank) as the regional trade finance in- million for the active portfolio and US$9.6 mil- US$100 000 quarterly token payments to each lion token payments were made to the MDBs
stitution emerges as one of Harare’s most con- lion as token payments to the multilateral de- of the 16 Paris Club creditors. and US$4.8 million to the Paris Club creditors.
venient go-to lender, official figures have shown.

Zimbabwe’s domestic financial and capital
markets are the major source of budget financing,
as access to external sources remains constrained
due to the accumulation of external debt arrears.

Total public and publicly guaranteed (PPG)
external debt stock as at end December 2021
stood at US$13.35 billion, of which 42% is owed
to bilateral creditors, 20% to multilateral cred-
itors and 37% is RBZ external debt (including
blocked funds).

Arrears on external debt which amounted to
US$6.6 billion (49% of total PPG external debt),
remain a major protracted challenge to restoring
debt sustainability and to the economy, resulting
in the lack of access to official external financing.

“The RBZ’s total external debt stock as at end
December 2021, amounted to US$1.421 billion,
representing 5 per cent of GDP. ... Of the total
RBZ external debt, Afreximbank is owed a total
of US$1.240 billion (87 per cent),” reads the lat-
est Annual Public Debt Bulletin.

The blocked funds/legacy debts emanated
from currency reforms by the government, which
saw the RBZ accumulating foreign currency pay-
ments for goods and services, which it could not
remit due to shortages of foreign exchange. These
blocked funds amounted to US$ 3.35 billion as
at the end of December 2021.

During the period from January to December
2021, Treasury, according to the bulletin, made

New MD for Nestlé Zim

FOOD and beverage company Nestlé has ap- that makes him perfect for this role. His exten- Nestlé Zimbabwe’s new MD,
pointed Luke Gomes as the new cluster head for sive experience is invaluable for this role, espe- John Luke Gomes.
its Greater Zambezi region, one of three clusters cially in this moment where food security, access
within Nestlé East and Southern Africa Region and affordability of nutrition, socio-economic
(ESAR). awareness, among other concerns, rank high
with consumers and stakeholders. We look for-
The cluster covers five countries, namely ward to collaborating with him in continuing to
Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and drive our purpose and amplifying success in the
Madagascar, and in his role, Gomes will be based region.”
in Harare and also assume the role of Nestlé
Zimbabwe managing director. Joining Nestlé in 1988, Gomes kicked off his
career as a sales promoter in India, progressed
In his previous role, Gomes led the Nestlé and held other roles during his three-decades-
infant nutrition business in 18 Countries across long tenure in the business. Over his career, he
East and Horn of Africa (HOA), southern Af- has been instrumental in driving business effec-
rican and Indian Ocean islands. He champi- tiveness and delivering business objectives across
oned the portfolio and played an influential various countries.
role in people development within those coun-
tries, driving business growth. He also led the He took the reins on 1 June 2022, succeeding
Nestlé infant nutrition business in Bangladesh Asim Rifat, who has taken on the role of busi-
as a director, and in Sri Lanka he led as country ness executive officer, Nestlé Nutrition Middle
business manager. Prior to that he was the proj- East and North Africa. He was also recently ap-
ect leader for Nestlé Continuous Excellence in pointed a board member of the Swiss Zimbabwe
South Asia and Southeast Asia. Business Chamber where he will play a role in
transforming the Zimbabwean business com-
Speaking on the appointment, Bruno Olier- munity through fostering deep political and eco-
hoek, chairperson and managing director at nomic relations between Switzerland and Zim-
Nestlé ESAR, said, “Gomes is a strong leader, babwe. — AFRICAN MEDIA AGENCY/STAFF WRITER
people-oriented, with an exemplary versatility

NewsHawks Companies & Markets Page 31

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

Tourism records upswing in business

BERNARD MPOFU Tourism accounted for 4.25% of Zimbabwe’s gross domestic product in 2018.

THE tourism sector’s revenue for
the first quarter ending March
was up 138% to US$129 million,
buoyed by the easing of Covid-19
restrictions and the coming of new
airlines into the country, a new
Treasury report has shown.

According to the World Bank,
Zimbabwe’s tourism sector could
have lost nearly US$700m in busi-
ness due to restrictions aimed at
slowing down the spread of the re-
spiratory disease.

The country reported its first case
of the coronavirus in March 2020,
prompting the authorities to en-
force several measures such as halt-
ing global travel which hit hard the
tourism sector.

“International tourist arrivals
stood at 126 955 during the first
quarter of 2022, an improvement
when compared to the same period
last year. The positive performance
was on account of a freer global
travelling environment when com-
pared to the whole of last year,”
reads the latest Treasury Bulletin.

“In terms of receipts, the sector is
estimated to have generated about
US$129.2 million during the pe-
riod under review compared to
US$54.2 million generated in the
same period in 2021, reflecting a
138% increase.”

Of the 126 955 arrivals, 62.7%
came from Africa, while 20.9%
came from Europe, with all the oth-
er regions contributed the remain-
ing 16.4%.

Official statistics show that tour-
ism accounted for 4.25% of gross
domestic product in 2018, which
translated to US$1.03 billion. In
2019, the sector accounted for
6.3% of the gross domestic product
(GDP).

In 2019, the sector accounted
for 6.3% of GDP with a value of
US$1.23 billion. At the same time,
the data also shows that tourism
accounted for 1.56% of national
employment levels in 2018, with
around 100 000 jobs supported
and created.

The year 2022 begun on a posi-
tive note for travel, with the author-
ities gradually removing Covid-19
restrictions, allowing tourism activ-
ities to resume.

New airlines such as Eurowings
Discover began flying into Victoria
Falls, South Africa’s Airlink added
a new Harare-Durban route while
Fastjet Zimbabwe introduced the
Victoria Falls-Kruger Mpumalanga
route.

The report further shows that
there was notable recovery in the
accommodation sector, with na-
tional average hotel room occupan-
cy level recording a 20% improve-
ment, up from the 14% occupancy
rate in 2021 to 34% in 2022. All
regions in the country experienced
growth ranging from 7% to 37%,
with Bulawayo recording the high-
est growth and an occupancy rate
above 50%.

“The buoyant results for the first
quarter remain closely dependent
on the resilience of the domestic
market, with the local clientele ac-
counting for an average of 94.7%
which was hedged by MICE (meet-
ings, incentives, conferencing and
exhibitions) business, the report
further reads.

Page 32 Companies & Markets NewsHawks

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

‘Gold coins safe haven for asset managers’

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (below) announced the introduction of gold coins as a means to control runaway inflation.

DUMISANI NYONI profiteering opportunities using the gold coin. fying the intended effect,” it said. Morgan & Co said gold deliveries in Zimba-
ZWL holders could purchase the coin in ZWL, The researchers also discouraged investors bwe have significantly recovered because of the
GOLD coins, set to be released in the market on sell the coin for hard currency and then sell the appetising greenback payments to artisanal and
25 July, will be a safe haven for asset managers, currency on the parallel market in the worst case from investing in gold coins, saying over the small-scale miners.
pension funds, and insurers who have been lob- scenario.” past four years, the current international price
bying the monetary authorities to increase asset of gold has been supported by the Covid-19 However, should there be a disparity between
classes beyond treasuries, stocks, and private eq- The report, however, says the ability to sell pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. the amount of United States dollars used to pur-
uity, researchers have said. the coin on the international market potential- chase the gold from miners and the US dollars
ly opens the country to a withdrawal of for- “In the absence of these global crises, we used to pay for the coins, this could squeeze the
Zimbabwe’s central bank announced ear- eign currency in the formal market and, what opine that the gold price would hover below central bank and its intermediaries' foreign cur-
ly this month the introduction of the Mo- is worse, withdrawal of local currency liquidity US$1 400 per ounce. Hence, we opine that rency reserves.
si-oa-Tunya gold coins as the country battles to from the country. there is notable downside potential for funda-
control runaway inflation that has considerably mental investors. However, we reiterate that de- “If this ripples to the modalities to artisanal
weakened the local currency. “While this could theoretically put down- mand will be firm because of a need to diversify gold miners, this could result in low gold deliv-
ward pressure on the parallel market rate, we investments and liquidate nostro balances,” they eries to Fidelity Printers and increase gold smug-
The inflation rate more than doubled last maintain that there remain other factors nulli- said. gling activity,” it said.
month to 191%, stoking memories of the hy-
perinflation of 2008 that saw the Zimbabwean
dollar re-denominated three times before being
effectively abandoned in 2009.

The apex bank indicated that the gold coins
would act as a store of value and were expected
to reduce the demand for US dollars, a phe-
nomenon largely blamed for the tumbling value
of the local currency.

The gold coins can be converted to cash and
are tradeable locally and internationally.

The coins will each contain one troy ounce
of gold.

“The coins widen the country’s capital market
with a new asset class (gold) which underpins
the anticipated strong demand for the coin,” re-
searchers at Morgan & Co said in their latest
economics and market intelligence report.

“Asset managers, pension funds, and insurers
have been at the forefront of the lobbying ef-
forts to increase asset classes beyond treasuries,
stocks, and private equity since 2019, and we
think that these coins are a step forward.”

“Further, we opine that these entities will
likely liquidate their ZWL [Zimdollar] holdings
on the stock market to fund the purchase of
these coins,” they said.

Researchers also expect holders of nostro bal-
ances to liquidate their balances in a manifesta-
tion of the “bird-in-hand” phenomenon.

“Given the volatile policies in the country,
we assert that there is more confidence in gold's
ability to store value than in nostro accounts,”
the report said in part.

“We also opine that, despite efforts to
uniquely identify the coins and establish due
diligence protocols, there will likely be arbitrage

NewsHawks Companies & Markets Page 33

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

FranklySpeaking

Starting this week — once a month — The Corporate law in Zimbabwe in legislation. The common law and case
NewsHawks will run a column by Beatrice and why it basically matters law still apply and assist in the interpreta-
Moyo, a local lawyer practicing at Mushori- tion of the Act. Where the Act is silent,
wa Pasi Corporate Attorneys and co-author From 2000 to 2015, the Zimbabwean banking sector experienced unprecedented bank closures amid common law will apply. Zimbabwean
of the Directors Handbook in Zimbabwe, a corporate law and governance violations.  common law consists of all law that is not
comprehensive guide on company law provi- found in legislation. It comprises a com-
sions every director should know. lying body of law to address and regulate with all of these characteristics. Transparency - Lawmakers should bination of rules drawn primarily from
corporates in an effort to avoid such cor- In economics literature, a firm is often be open and transparent with businesses Roman-Dutch law and, to a lesser extent,
Basically, corporate law regulates how porate scandals and their ramifications. when designing and implementing cor- from English law.
corporations, investors, shareholders, direc- So one may ask: What is corporate law? characterised as a “nexus of contracts”. porate laws. In addition, the laws should
tors, employees, creditors, and other stake- Corporate law comprises of the group Most research on corporate governance be easily accessible, and encourage trans- Prior to this Act, there was a Compa-
holders such as consumers, communities, and of laws which regulate the rights, relations, parency and high standards of corporate nies Act [Chapter 24:03], which came
the environment interact with one another. and conduct of persons, companies, or- has been concerned with the resolution of governance. into effect on 1 April 1952, to consolidate
ganisations and businesses.  this collective action problem. and amend the laws in force in Zimbabwe
It dictates how corporates are formed, This body of laws has a significant im- Fairness - Company law must be ap- relating to the constitution, incorpora-
structured, governed and controlled, with pact on the economy in general and on Alternative mechanisms may mitigate plied consistently and equally among tion, registration, management, adminis-
corporate governance specifically regulating commercial activity. It ought to promote it: (i) partial concentration of ownership business enterprises. The laws ought also tration and winding up of companies and
the balancing of interests among a business’s and facilitate commercial enterprise and and control in the hands of one or a few to be in harmony with international best other associations. It became appropriate
different stakeholders. economic growth and large investors, (ii) hostile takeovers and practices that the corporate environment in Zimba-
not restrict it. proxy voting contests, which concentrate bwe be updated in line with international
Corporate law and governance therefore Ideally, corporate ownership and/or voting power tempo- Accountability - Company law should developments and trends to ensure that
directly shape what businesses do and how law should be clear, facilitate the accountability of business, new business initiatives and company ex-
they do it, and indeed in some ways what certain and accessible rarily when needed, fostering trust in businesses. It should fa- pansions take place in Zimbabwe.
they cannot do. as companies in gen- (iii) delegation and cilitate greater sensitivity to social and eth-
eral play an important Beatrice concentration of ical concerns, while ensuring efficiency of The old act lacked adequate mecha-
Beyond their distinct legal and policy role in wealth creation Moyo control in the board companies and their management. nisms to address the broader stakeholder
spheres, the impact of corporate law and gov- and growth in any of directors, (iv) concerns. The new Act is applauded for
ernance cut across other important realms, country. It comprises alignment of mana- The legal framework of corporate law giving significant rights to a variety of
including economic management, transpar- legislation, regula- gerial interests with in Zimbabwe. stakeholders, including employees, trade
ency, accountability, human rights and envi- tions to statues, case law and common investors through unions and minority shareholders.
ronmental matters. law. In this article we look at the tenets executive compen- In Zimbabwe, the Companies and oth-
and characteristics of corporate law in sation contracts, and er Business Entities Act [Chapter 24:31] There are various other acts which,
Some of the key concepts and characteris- general, then discuss the legal framework (v) clearly defined (Hereinafter, COBE or the New Act) on the broad spectrum, also form part of
tics of corporate law such as legal personality, of companies in Zimbabwe. fiduciary duties for CEOs together with which came into force in the first quarter company law in Zimbabwe for example
limited liability, liability within corporate Different studies, The Essential Elements class-action suits that either block corpo- of 2020 is the primary legislation govern- the Securities and Exchange Act [Chapter
groups, and delegated management have of Corporate Law: What is Corporate Law? rate decisions that go against investors’ ing company law. 24:25] and the various regulations there-
been obstacles to legal accountability for by John Armour, Henry Hansmann & Rei- interests, or seek compensation for past under which deal with public companies
multinational or transnational companies nier Kraakman, for instance, show five actions that have harmed their interests. The Act covers a number of aspects, and Public Entities Corporate Gover-
on human-rights related abuses by their core structural characteristics of a business Tenets of corporate law including registrable entities, directors’ nance Act  [Chapter 10:31], which deal
business partners and subsidiaries. corporation: (i) legal personality, (ii) lim- There are four basic tenets of corporate duties, calling and conducting meetings, with state owned entities.
ited liability, (iii) transferable shares, (iv) law, which when all achieved, result in a corporate governance topics as well as
Meanwhile, several aspects of corporate centralised management under a board good corporate law system that ultimately shareholder rights and remedies, to name There are also statutes that regulate
law and governance such as rules on com- structure, and (v) shared ownership by assists in achieving a prosperous economy. a few. companies under financial distress like the
pany disclosure, non-financial reporting, contributors of capital. In brief these include: Insolvency Act [Chapter 6:04]. There are
directors' duties and stakeholder engagement In virtually all economically important Simplicity - Company law should be In addition to COBE, there are a num- a number of other statutes which will ap-
are important for protection of human rights jurisdictions, there is a basic statute that all-encompassing, but not complex. The ber of statutory instruments to the new ply depending on the industry in which
and remediation of any harms. provides for the formation of companies laws should be clear and concise, and sim- Act which regulate various aspects per- the company operates.
plify the procedure for formation of com- taining to companies, including pre-for- Characteristics of corporate law
  panies as well as ensure affordable costs in mation requirements and post-formation There are a number of characteristics of
forming and maintaining a company. requirements. corporate law. However, there are five ma-
BEATRICE MOYO jor characteristics which include, legal per-
Company law also encompasses case sonality — this means that a company or
CORPORATE law breaches and corpo- law and common law. Not all rules and business entity, once registered, acquires
rate governance scandals can occur any principles of company law are sourced a separate legal persona separate from its
time anywhere in the world whenever founder and shareholders.
there is evidence of unethical behaviour,
negligence, third-party interference or There is also limited liability, depend-
corruption that impacts a company’s per- ing on the entity registered, this means
formance and reputation. that if the company is sued, only its assets
are at risk, and not those of the founder
Some of the most common violations or shareholders, except in exceptional cir-
or scandals include creative accounting, cumstances, and where the corporate veil
dodgy business practices, data breaches, has been pierced.
environmental damage or corruption.
Examples of the biggest international The limited liability therefore permits
corporate scandals in recent times — not owners to take risks and diversify their in-
ranked according to notoriety — include vestments.
Enron, Volkswagen, Lehman Brothers,
BP and Uber. Another characteristic of corporate law
is that it creates shares, which the owners
Closer home in South Africa some of hold and may easily sell or transfer or be-
the corporate outrages rocked Steinhoff, queath in their personal estates.
Tongaat Hulett, VBS Bank, KPMG and
Gupta-related companies, among others. Thus where an owner decides they
no longer want a share in the company,
In Zimbabwe, there have also been the company itself does not have to shut
many prominent cases of corporate scan- down.
dals such as those that affected United
Merchant Bank, a series of other bank The fourth characteristic of corporate
collapses including Trust, Royal, Barbi- law is that the owners and the managers of
can, Interfin and Time, leaving depositors the company may be separated. The own-
stranded and a trail of economic instabil- ers and shareholders may appoint direc-
ity, and scandals at companies like ENG. tors who, at law, are tasked with managing
the affairs of the company, while reporting
From 2000 to 2015, the Zimbabwean to the shareholders and having, among
banking sector experienced unprecedent- other things, certain decision ratified by
ed bank closures amid corporate law and the shareholders.
governance violations. 
The final characteristic is that the share-
Besides that, the Auditor-General every holders of the company have the right to
year releases reports showing scandalous the companies’ profits. Usually, an owner
corporate governance failures and cor- has decision-making authority and profit
ruption at state enterprises or parastatals, sharing in proportion to their ownership
further shedding light on Zimbabwe’s interest.
protracted economic problems.
To be continued…
This has highlighted the importance *About the writer: Beatrice Moyo is
of corporate law and governance, and the a local lawyer at Mushoriwa Pasi Cor-
impact of corporates on individuals, com- porate Attorneys and a co-author of the
munities and society. Directors Handbook in Zimbabwe, a
comprehensive guide on company law
In the process, this has brought to the provisions every director should know.
fore the need for legislators and regulators Email: [email protected]
to rethink regulatory frameworks and en-
forcement, and for companies to re-imag-
ine their organisational structures and fo-
cus on business ethics.

There is also need to revisit the under-

Page 34 Stock Taking NewsHawks

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Pricelist

`

14 July, 2022

Market Cap ($mn) 2,034,378.56 0.76% Top 5 Gainers 14.98% Top 5 Losers -14.58% Value Leaders ($) 376,602,100 Top 5 Gainers YTD 500.00%
All Share Index 16,109.31 0.69% Lafarge 10.25% NTS -12.27% Econet 218,853,700 Zeco 295.42%
Top 10 Index 9,859.23 1.28% African Sun 8.53% FML -9.86% Delta 139,599,100 CFI 216.03%
Value Traded ($) 121.39% Star Africa 4.16% Turnall -9.08% Innscor 121,994,800 NMB 212.76%
Interbank rate (USD/ZWL) 966,555,971.50 1.31% Mash 3.88% Willdale -6.63% EHZL 84,979,200 Afdis 184.05%
393.8579 OK Zimbabw e FMP Simbisa FCB
Market Cap (US$mn) 0.76%
YTD Movement (%) 5,165.2603 -57.64%

Bloom be r g Opening LTP Closing Price Previous Volume traded Value traded Shares In Market Cap Market Cap Price Change Price Change

Ticker (RTGSc) (RTGSc) (RTGSc) Change (%) Price (RTGSc) (shares) (RTGS$) Issue (mn's) (RTGS$ mn's) (US$ mn's) RTGS YTD (%) US$ YTD (%)
39,095.00 - 39,095.00 - 39,095.00 - - 119.49 46,716.38 118.61 212.76% -13.71%
Afdis AFDIS: ZH 1,179.17 1,300.00 1,179.17 18,505.72 46.99 102.41% -44.15%
1,300.00 10.25% 239.25 10,100.00 131,300.00 1,423.52 3,893.54 9.89 -35.72% -82.27%
African Sun ASUN: ZH 239.25 - 239.25 - 1,800.00 - - 1,627.40 7,865.59 19.97 72.25% -52.48%
1,800.00 - 1,800.00 - 8,004.63 - - 44,172.02 112.15 166.22% -26.55%
Ariston ARISTON: ZH 8,004.63 8,000.00 1,999.88 436.98 60,791.65 154.35 -42.86% -84.24%
1,999.88 8,000.00 1,999.88 -0.06% 2,600.00 35,800.00 2,864,000.00 552.15 34.42 0.09 14.71% -68.35%
Art ARTD: ZH 2,600.00 - 2,600.00 - 238,000.00 - - 3,039.76 49,107.77 124.68 -25.65% -79.49%
238,000.00 - 238,000.00 - - - - 0.00 0.00 - -
Axia AXIA: ZH SUSPENDED - - 26,000.00 - - 1.32 2,271.13 5.77 52.94% -57.80%
26,000.00 - - - 13,045.85 - - 20.63 70,559.30 179.15 79.60% -50.45%
Bridgerfort MMDZ: ZH 13,045.85 26,000.00 - 37,000.00 42.94 39,235.12 99.62 295.42% 9.10%
37,000.00 26,000.00 13,500.00 28,125.12 300.00 78,000.00 8.74 367,246.20 932.43 73.25% -52.20%
Bridgerfort Class B 28,125.12 13,500.00 37,000.00 3.48% 2,505.00 200.00 27,000.00 522.66 8,967.92 22.77 -28.43% -80.25%
2,505.00 37,000.00 28,159.26 - 5,108.39 300.00 111,000.00 106.04 132,028.77 335.22 25.37% -65.41%
BAT BAT: ZH 5,108.39 28,195.00 2,505.00 11,561.55 777,200.00 218,853,700.00 1304.18 308,388.24 782.99 40.05% -61.36%
11,561.55 5,096.50 0.12% 592.73 358.00 3,581.56 9.09 36.26% -62.41%
Border BRDR: ZH - 11,904.23 - 6,500.00 - - 2590.58 43,676.75 110.89 92.00% -47.03%
592.73 5,000.00 2,200.00 2,393,700.00 121,994,800.00 2590.58 2,396.31 6.08 39.37% -61.55%
Cafca CAFCA: ZH 6,500.00 12,200.00 592.73 -0.23% 961.55 3,163,600.00 376,602,100.00 604.25 21,190.16 53.80 184.05% -21.63%
2,200.00 6,500.00 2.96% 2,000.00 671.95 12,108.91 30.74 -12.27% -75.80%
CBZ CBZ: ZH - 2,200.00 800.00 - - 108.92 9,248.29 23.48 -4.24% -73.58%
961.55 6,500.00 - 140.00 1,300.00 84,500.00 2159.81 751.22 1.91 -39.00% -83.17%
CFI CFI: ZH 2,000.00 981.11 - 1,600.00 690.14 18,609.89 47.25 166.67% -26.43%
- 1,754.55 - 24,800.00 - - 1,238.16 47,869.10 121.54 -11.43% -75.56%
Delta DLTA: ZH 800.00 950.00 2.03% 32,076.21 2,700.00 26,490.00 536.59 184,666.24 468.87 99.54% -44.95%
140.00 1,700.00 746.94 -12.27% 12,480.00 1,100.00 19,300.00 1,163.12 11,480.00 29.15 79.38% -50.51%
Dairibord DZL: ZH 1,600.00 800.00 140.00 -6.63% 480.02 19,600.00 146,400.00 193.02 9,295.37 23.60 54.10% -57.48%
24,800.00 140.00 1,600.00 - 5,100.00 2,300.00 3,220.00 569.88 12,324.34 31.29 -7.27% -74.42%
Ecocash EHZL:ZH 32,076.21 1,600.00 24,800.00 - 10,255.43 3,200.00 80.00 26,527.84 67.35 -16.07% -76.84%
12,480.00 24,800.00 32,404.61 - 1,100.00 200.00 4,910,400.00 1,859.07 7,934.31 20.15 -5.89% -74.03%
Econet*** ECO: ZH 480.02 32,200.00 14,350.00 1.02% 161,100.00 19,800.00 139,599,100.00 241.65 110,192.57 279.78 17.20% -67.66%
5,100.00 14,350.00 500.00 14.98% 2,550.00 430,800.00 1,478,050.00 252.65 10,286.17 26.12 216.03% -12.81%
Edgars EDGR: ZH 10,255.43 500.00 5,100.00 4.16% 1,200.00 10,300.00 13,500.00 755.65 2,602.19 6.61 62.70% -55.11%
1,100.00 5,100.00 10,500.00 - 2,794.60 2,700.00 56,100.00 68.40 37,328.58 94.78 5.77% -70.82%
FBC FBC: ZH 161,100.00 10,500.00 1,050.00 2.38% 8,199.06 1,100.00 10,500.00 404.17 5,425.19 13.77 0.00% -72.41%
2,550.00 1,050.00 161,100.00 -4.55% 795.00 1,050.00 253.87 294.84 0.75 0.00% -72.41%
Fidelity Life FIDL: ZH 1,200.00 2,545.00 - 2,600.00 100.00 1,285.88 6,550.33 16.63 -10.34% -75.26%
2,794.60 - 1,025.00 -0.20% 852.50 100.00 - 66.17 21,274.10 54.01 9.29% -69.85%
FCB FCB: ZH 8,199.06 2,545.00 2,902.95 -14.58% 10,500.00 7,635.00 37.09 24,809.48 62.99 -4.93% -73.77%
795.00 1,025.00 8,199.06 3.88% 17,491.18 - 456,125.00 251.94 100,260.26 254.56 98.16% -45.33%
First Mutual FMLH: ZH 2,600.00 3,000.00 795.00 - 163.14 300.00 3,152,600.00 2,495.50 8,348.53 21.20 52.82% -57.84%
852.50 2,600.00 - 14,333.33 44,500.00 247.20 37,071.17 94.12 111.91% -51.03%
First Mutual Properties FMP: ZH 10,500.00 SUSP 852.50 - 227.25 108,600.00 - 562.18 879.51 2.23 14.50% -68.41%
17,491.18 SUSP 10,036.09 - 9,998.21 - 4,715.08 35,703.85 90.65 42.48% -60.69%
GB Holdings GBH: ZH 163.14 17,834.04 -4.42% 443.75 - - 261.06 1,972.16 5.01 -2.47% -73.09%
14,333.33 - 177.06 1.96% 3,000.86 - - 384.07 3,087.75 7.84 -3.23% -73.30%
GetBucks GBFS: ZH 227.25 - 14,200.00 8.53% 192.50 - 321,155.00 357.10 3,112.04 7.90 -43.44% -84.40%
9,998.21 10,000.00 229.00 -0.93% 13,200.00 - 84,979,200.00 493.04 23,125.16 58.71 71.43% -52.70%
Hippo HIPO: ZH 443.75 18,000.00 9,998.21 0.77% 2.88 3,200.00 120,402.00 106.47 13.34 0.03 500.00% 65.54%
3,000.86 175.00 400.00 - 418.94 476,500.00 99,400.00 1,778.00 7,141.78 18.13 4.44% -71.18%
Innscor INN: ZH 192.50 14,200.00 2,900.00 -9.86% 538.00 68,000.00 12,824.00 175.19 3,098.88 7.87 84.88% -48.99%
13,200.00 229.00 175.03 -3.36% 2,010.04 700.00 - 463.34 6,926.21 17.59 -14.83% -76.50%
Lafarge LACZ: ZH - 13,200.00 -9.08% 5,600.00 32,400.00 1,818.22 7.14 0.02 - -
2.88 400.00 - 11,000.00 - 5,800.00 576.00 13,423.24 34.08 175.00% -24.13%
Mash MASH: ZH 418.94 2,900.00 2.88 - 8,100.00 2,800.50 344.58
538.00 164.25 392.79 -6.24% 200.00 - 167.89
M as im ba MSHL: ZH 2,010.04 - 538.00 - 1,600.00 - 122.03
SUSPENDED - 2,010.04 - - 10,351,920.00
Meikles MEIK: ZH 11,000.00 390.00 - - -
- 4.25 - 2,635,500.00 -
Nam pak NPKZ: ZH - 11,000.00 - -
- - -
Natfoods NTFD: ZH - -
-
NMB NMB: ZH

NTS NTS: ZH

OK Zimbabw e OKZ: ZH

Old Mutual OMU: ZH

PPC PPC: ZH

Proplastics PROL: ZH

RTG RTG: ZH

Seedco SEED: ZH

Sim bis a SIM: ZH

Star Africa SACL: ZH

Tanganda TANG:ZH

Truw orths TRUW: ZH

TSL TSL: ZH

Turnall TURN: ZH

Unifreight UNIF: ZH

Willdale WILD: ZH

ZBFH ZBFH: ZH

Zeco ZECO: ZH

ZHL ZHL: ZH

Zim pape r s ZIMP: ZH

Zimplow Holdings ZIMPLOW: ZH

Hw ange HCCL: ZH

RioZim RIOZ: ZH

Econet shares in issue include Class A Shares

Exchange Traded Funds Opening LTP Closing Price Change Previous Price Volume traded Value traded Market Cap Market Cap Price Change Price Change
(RTGSc) (RTGSc) (RTGSc) (%) (RTGSc) (RTGS$) (RTGS$ mn's) (US$ mn's) RTGS YTD (%) US$ YTD (%)
Datvest Modified Consumer Staples ETF 182.14 181.00 181.81 182.14 41,037.00 -41.15%
Morgan&Co Made in Zimbabw e -0.18% 507,655.00 74,611.12 123.68 0.31 81.81%
Morgan&Co Multi Sector 123.05 123.00 120.53 123.05 20.53%
OM ZSE Top-10 ETF 2,700.00 2,800.00 2,800.00 -2.05% 2,700.00 738.00 732,406.65 2,967.45 7.53 20.53% -22.75%
3.70% 3,065.00 20,664.00 3,525.98 8.95 180.00%
922.55 900.00 904.73 922.55 -43.76%
-1.93% 27,730.00 723.78 1.84 103.82%

* The complete list of ZSE Indices can be obtained from the ZSE website: www.zse.co.zw

Victoria Falls Stock Exchange Pricelist

14 July, 2022

Bloom be r g Opening LTP Closing Price Previous Volume traded Value traded Shares In Market Cap Market Cap Price Change Price Change
Ticker (USc) (USc) (USc) Change (%) Price (USc) (shares) (US$) Issue (mn's) (US$ mn's) (RTGS$ mn's) US YTD (%) RTGS$ YTD (%)
BIND:ZH 3.50 3.50 - -
BNC - 0.00% 3.50 1,272.73 44.55 17,544.58 -36.36% 130.65%
Caledonia CMCL:ZH 1,300.00 1,300.00 - -
Padenga PHL:ZH 30.00 - 30.00 0.00% 1,300.00 - - 0.62 8.06 3,174.49 0.00% 262.45%
Seed Co Intl - 0.00% 30.00 537.67 161.30 63,530.00
SCIL:ZH 28.10 28.10 - - 42.86% 417.78%
- 0.00% 28.10 242.24 68.07 26,809.91
0.18% 263.09%

* The complete list of VFEX Indices can be obtained from the VFEX website: https://www.vfex.exchange/

Property
NewsHawks

Issue 89, 15 July 2022 PROPERTY INTERIORS ARCHITECTURE GARDENING Page 35

The home of prime property: [email protected]

Dilapidated city structures messing up CBD

The derelict structure covered with sheet metal at the corner of Chinhoyi Street and Nelson Mandela Avenue in Harare is now used as a brothel by the ladies of the night. — Pictures: Aaron Ufumeli

Page 36 CNrietiwcaslATnhainlyksins g NewsHawks

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

Tragic end beckons for troubled Zimdollar

NYASHA CHINGONO

THE Zimbabwe dollar is head- Last month, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube gazetted the US dollar as legal tender for the next five years.
ed for a tragic end as retailers
and manufacturers this week that Zimbabwe’s industry is at a brought back the Zimdollar in the duty rebate licences to allow da or emotions. Unfortunately,
brazenly displayed their prefer- disadvantage and if things con- 2019. companies to import. We will the toolbox is now empty!”
ence of a more stable US dollar, tinue in this direction, the in- not allow this. They are break-
analysts have said. dustry will struggle.” The economy has not recov- ing the law. The law says that Mugano’s assertions are alive
ered since, amid renewed fears citizens or anyone approaching to the realities on the market,
This week, government of- What is unsettling is how the of hyperinflation as inflation a shop should be able to use cur- which at times elude the author-
ficials fumed over an apparent government keeps ignoring the more than doubled in June to rencies within the multi-curren- ities.
rejection of the Zimdollar, is- advice of experts as it continues 192%. cy regime. We absolutely cannot
suing threats to retailers selling to proffer failed policies. tolerate this kind of nonsense.” According to Professor Steve
certain products exclusively in Lack of confidence in the Hanke’s currency watchlist,
the greenback. Last month, Finance minis- local currency played out this Earlier in the week, Reserve Zimbabwe is in second to the
ter Mthuli Ncube gazetted the week, with top beverage pro- Bank governor John Mangudya Venezualan bolivar.
While authorities are in sixes US dollar as legal tender for the ducer Schweppes Zimbabwe said Zimbabwe had no capacity
and sevens trying to salvage a next five years, a smart move pricing its products exclusively to fully re-dollarise, in an appar- Hanke, who has in the past
tumbling Zimdollar, which has considering waning confidence in US dollars. ent attack on certain quarters described the Zimdollar as hav-
lost significant value over the in the economy. pushing for exclusive use of the ing plunged into a death spi-
past two months, a different sit- It did not take long before greenback. ral, believes Zimbabwe’s infla-
uation is obtaining on the mar- This was in the hope that the this move attracted a reaction tion figures are higher than the
ket. investors who have been shelv- from the authorities. “This economy has no capac- 192%.
ing investments would be en- ity to fully dollarise. The pref-
The saying, “you cannot rig couraged to pour funds into the Finance permanent secretary erence might be there, which is Former Finance minister Ten-
the economy,” is ringing true, moribund economy. George Guvamatanga revoked emotional. I feel the emotion, dai Biti, who is credited with
just a week after the monetary Schweppes’ duty waiver. but the capacity to re-dollarise turning around the fortunes of
authorities announced they He admitted last month that this economy is not there.” Zimbabwe’s economy after the
were introducing gold coins as a the economy was suffering from His boss, Ncube, also weighed hyperinflationary 2008 period,
store of value. a lack of confidence. in, saying:” We are quite aware Economist Gift Mugano said: believes the government had
that some retailers are putting "Look at this new pricing re- failed to rein in the economy.
Pictures of "US dollar only" Ncube and others in govern- stickers to say this product can gime. This is reality. I know
signs from top retail outlets ment are now confronted with only be bought in US dollars. I some colleagues will say all sorts “The economy has exposed
flooded social media this week, lack of confidence in the local want to make it clear and cat- of things to defend their failed them. As we have always argued,
signifying a tragic end to the currency. egorical that it is totally unac- policies, but it doesn't change you can rig an election but not
fairy tale of a "strong" local cur- ceptable, and as a government, the reality. Economics is a field the supermarket. They have
rency. Zimbabwe, which had we will not allow that.” which doesn't respect propagan- failed and failed in absolute
dumped its currency in 2009 terms. The worst government in
As the government alleges after a hyperinflationary pe- “We will withdraw licences, the history of governments.”
economic sabotage, the forces riod that decimated its value, and already we have withdrawn
of supply and demand continue
to carry the day.

It is apparent that the Zim-
dollar has failed to spark and
any further insistence on the
contrary could spell doom for
the economy.

The Confederation of Zim-
babwe Industries (CZI) warned
that retailers would soon reject
the Zimdollar.

And it did not take a week for
the accurate prophecy to play
out on the market.

Policy interventions imple-
mented by the authorities over
the last six months to protect
the local currency and rein in
inflation, such as a temporary
ban on bank lending and im-
posing an interbank exchange
rate have so far failed, the CZI
said last week.

“Although year-on-year in-
flation has been on an upward
trend since August 2021, there
is a noticeable exponential in-
crease since March 2022 which
is threatening to lead to hyper-
inflation if sustained,” the CZI
said in a report dated 5 July to
its members. “This also means
that policy is losing the battle
with respect to protecting the
local currency as there is a risk
for it being rejected in the mar-
ket.

“With prices of goods increas-
ing over a month at rates that
are well above what our coun-
terparts are experiencing over a
period of 12 months, it implies

NewsHawks Critical Thinking Page 37

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

BAR Book Forum: Ndlovu-Gatsheni’s
book, “Epistemic Freedom in Africa”

Roberto Sirvent, editor of the Black
Agenda Report (BAR) Book Forum,
asked German-based Zimbabwean
academic Professor Sabelo J. Ndl-
ovu-Gatsheni five questions on his book
Epistemic Freedom in Africa: Depro-
vincialization and Decolonization.
Prof Ndlovu-Gatsheni is chair of Epis-
temologies of the Global South, Faculty
of Humanities and Social Sciences and
vice-dean: research, Africa Multiple
Cluster of Excellence, at the University
of Bayreuth in Germany.

Roberto Sirvent (RS): How can
your book help our readers under-
stand the current political and so-
cial climate?

Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni cene cannot be the same knowledges tological; rather it demonstrates how sumerism and its “I” consciousness; spirituality of a sort and partly so as
(SNG):  My book directly addresses which takes the world out of the pres- the epistemic is deployed by colo- divisive Olympics of oppressions to open up to spiritualities that are
and explicates the topical issues of the ent systemic, institutional and epis- nialists in its identification of who to which destroy solidarities; xenopho- constitutive of lives of the majority
intersections of the colour/race line as temic crisis and into a better world subject to genocide, who to subject to bia, Afrophobia and narrow nation- of the people. These are some of the
articulated by W.E.B. Du Bois (1903), free of racism, heteropatriarchy, sex- enslavement and who to consign to alisms that takes us nowhere;  and ideologies that have to be dismantled
the epistemic line (which I introduce ism and anti-Blackness. Therefore, the zone of the wretched of the earth.  indeed colonially imposed alienations urgently.
and define in this book), and the gen- activism and community organising that have lead the oppressed peoples
der line which has preoccupied Black has to involve recovery of knowledges RS: We know readers will learn of the world to abandon their histo- RS: Who are the intellectual he-
and African feminist scholarship and that have been suppressed, displaced a lot from your book, but what do ry, cultures, names and heritages of roes that inspire your work?
activism; not as past concerns but and stolen from the enslaved and col- you hope readers will  un-learn? In struggle. Relearning necessarily en-
as constitutive of the contemporary onised peoples as well as producing other words, is there a particular tails picking up the struggles from the SNG: Epistemic Freedom in Afri-
political and social climate charac- new knowledge born from the battle- ideology you’re hoping to disman- Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) and ca  was and is inspired by numerous
terised by asymmetrical global power fields of history and struggles them- tle? escalating the decolonisation strug- intellectuals, academics, activists and
structures, invisible social pyramidal selves. What my book underscores gles as part of a reworlding from the leaders from the Black and African
which is racialised and gendered, and is captured in chapter 1 in terms of SNG: Epistemic Freedom in Afri- underside of the present Euro-North world in its planetary reach as well
contemporary politics of global polit- “seek ye epistemic freedom first,” ca  introduces the readers into what American-centric modernity. There- as other progressive thinkers and in-
ical economy knowledge, which has which like the warning from Audre the Black/African feminist and indig- fore, Epistemic Freedom’s clarion call tellectuals from the rest of the world.
remained imbricated in coloniality Lorde, is about how the knowledge enous people’s liberatory formations is for what I have termed the “ten These giants in the struggles for
and mediated by unequal intellectual of the master cannot change the col- have termed “learning to unlearn in d’s” of the decolonial turn: deimpe- Black and African liberation include
and academic divisions of labour. As oniser’s model of the world and is order to relearn.” This is a painstak- rialisation of asymmetrical global but are not limited to Edward Wil-
such, this book delves into perennial never meant for liberation of the de- ing decolonial process and struggle power structures; depatriarchisation mot Blyden, William E.B. Du Bois,
and tormenting existential questions scendants of the racialised, enslaved, to liberate the consciousness from its of the heteronormative sexism; dehi- Cheikh Anta Diop, Angela Davis,
of how does it feel to be kicked out colonised, feminised and exploited. entrapment by the colonial cognitive erarchisation of the inverted racial Gloria Anzaldua, Molife Kete Asante,
of the human family so as to be sub- What this book offers is the other ar- empire. Hopefully after reading this social pyramid and of conceptions Theophile Obenga, VY Mudimbe, Ifi
jected to genocides; how does it feel chive, the Black archive, the African book there would be concerted effort of humanity; deracialisation through Amadiume, CLR James, Kwame Nk-
to be socially classified and racially archive, the Black feminist and Afri- by readers to abandon what Carter destruction of the colour line; decan- rumah, Julius Nyerere, Frantz Fanon,
hierarchised as sub-human so as to be can feminist archive, the subaltern ar- G. Woodson termed “mis-education” onisation of canonised knowledges; Steve Bantu Biko, Joshua Nkomo,
subjected to enslavement, colonial- chive, the Indigenous people archive and invest energy in “re-education” decorporatization of the corporatized Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, Aimé
ism and racial capitalism; how does as constituted by a relevant knowl- framed by decolonisation and depa- ways of living; deparochialisation of Césaire, Nelson Mandela, Leopold
it feel to be a people whose history edge emerging from battlefields of triarchization. So, this book invites social theorising through opening it Sedar Senghor, Walter Rodney, Samir
and knowledge was denied and stolen history and born of struggles against us to “unlearn” a lot: mimicry and up to epistemologies of the Global Amin, Issa G. Shivji, Cedric Rob-
so as to be subjected to the colonial racism, enslavement, colonialism, imposed inferiority; complexes, as- South; deuniversalisation of the col- inson, Kimberly Crenshaw, Patricia
juggernaut of cognitive imperialism, imperialism, heteropatriarchal sex- similation of coloniser’s knowledge oniser’s model of the world and em- Hill Collins, Maria Lugones, Audre
which invaded the mental universe of ist normativity, and racial capitalism and the tendency to see bourgeois bracement of pluriversality; debour- Lorde, Oyewumi Oyeronke, Bagele
its targets; and indeed how does it feel with its exploitative enslaving episte- conceptions of family, life and the geoisement through shifting from Chilisa, Linda T. Smith, Walter D.
to live in a world that is framed and mes and practices. At the same time world as a universal standard; colo- bourgeois way of life as an aspiration Mignolo, Cathrine Odora Hoppers,
shaped by what James Blaut termed this book does not decouple the epis- nial languages, cultures and manner- of everyone; and desecularisation Adebayo Olukoshi, Souleymane
“the coloniser’s model of the world.” temic from the material and the on- isms; individualism, capitalism con- partly because secularism is itself a Bashir Diagne, Achille Mbembe, An-
In this sense, Epistemic Freedom just
like Franz Fanon’s classic work  The
Wretched of the Earth, is an indis-
pensable handbook for the current in-
surgent and resurgent decolonisation
of the 21st century, confronting the
combined and inextricably entangled
afterlives of racial slavery, afterlives
of colonialism known as coloniality
and indeed rampaging global racial
capitalism and its exploitation of not
only labour but also nature resulting
in ecological crises and plunging the
human lives the verge extinction.  

RS: What do you hope activists
and community organisers will
take away from reading your book?

SNG: What activists and com-
munity organisers must take away
from this book is that the knowl-
edges which plunged the world into
the present crisis of the Anthropo-

Page 38 Critical Thinking NewsHawks

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

ibal Quijano, Mahmood Mamdani, temic Freedom  is entitled “African confinement of the majority of the rumah termed the “African genius” of John Henrik Clarke “If we are go-
Archie Mafeje, Bernard Magubane, Futures” and it underscores the fact people of the world into a “discovery” and indeed the Black genius. In short, ing to be master of our destiny, we
Ibbo Mandaza, Thandika Mkandaw- that the past, the present and the and a “past” that their history, their the struggles of the Black and African must be masters of ideas that influ-
ire, Amina Mama, Fatou So, John future are still snared to the system- present and indeed their future was people have produced various utopic ence that destiny.”  Epistemic Free-
Henrik Clarke, Malcom X, Marcus ic, structural, institutional and epis- denied. The paradigm of “difference” registers of the future across space and dom is informed by this thinking and
Garvey, Toyin Falola, Paul Tiyam- temic straightjacket of global colo- became a justifying ideology of theft time and carrying various names but this is why it invites all the victims
be Zeleza, Terence Osborne Ranger, niality. Global coloniality operates of other people’s history, present and all framed by Black radical tradition.  of racism, enslavement, genocides,
Ngwabi Bhebe, Patrice Lumumba, through theft of past, present and the future via social classification and Thus, one can speak of Ethiopianism, colonialism, heteronormative patri-
Thomas Sankara, Amilcar Cabral, the future. Remember that the very hierarchisation in accordance with Garveyism, Negritude, Pan-African- archy, and racial capitalism to “seek
Ali A. Mazrui, Boaventura de Sou- materialisation of Euromodernity is race. Therefore, decolonisation in its ism, Harlem Renaissance, African epistemic freedom” not as an end in
sa Santos, and many other giants. I through what Gurminder K. Bham- various iterations some problematic, Renaissance, Afropolitanism, Afroto- itself but as a means to an end. Our
learnt a lot from their works, most bra correctly identified as “rupture” is fundamentally about reworlding pia, Rhodes Must Fall and Black Lives imagination of the future and our
of which were produced in the midst and “difference”. Rupture was and is from the underside of Euromoder- Matter as intellectual-cum-cultur- practical reworlding of the world
of struggles and are therefore born of technology of colonisation of time, nity. This struggle and process be- al-political-cum-activists formations from the Global South predicated on
the struggle and from the battlefields dividing it into “premodern” and gins with relocation of the targets inspired by an ongoing imagination decolonisation has to tap into other
of history.   “modern” with the colonisers claim- of racism, enslavement, colonialism, of a better world in which Blackness knowledges, our knowledges born of
ing and monopolising the “modern” patriarchy and racial capitalism back is not considered a problem to be struggles and that are most relevant
RS: In what way does your book temporality. The targets of genocides, to human history. This relocation is solved. for an envisioned decolonised and
help us imagine new worlds? enslavement and colonialism, were about taking charge once more for depatriarchised pluriversal world of
pushed into a “premodern” tempo- one’s destination. It entails release In the words of bell hooks, noth- all of us.
SNG: The last chapter of  Epis- rality known as the “past”. It is this from coloniality of what Kwame Nk- ing which is not imagined can ever
become and indeed in the wisdom — Black Agenda Report.

MATHEW MARE Roman Catholic Church: As
guarantor of children’s rights
PREVIOUSLY we unpacked the
background of a study which is an-
chored on tracing and analysing
church-state relations and how they
impact on the quality of rights en-
joyed by congregants.

We also traced the origins of Af-
rican Independent Churches (AICs)
and cited the Johanne Marange Apos-
tolic Church (JMAC) as one of them.
Further, we explained the churches’
doctrines and how these have impact-
ed on the observance of human rights.
The chapter also reflected on the state-
ment of the problem, purpose of the
study, objectives of the study and
touched, in brief, on the methodolo-
gy. In essence, chapter one acted as a
precursor to the whole of this study.

This chapter forms part of the re-
view on related literature that un-
packs theology and its relevance to
this study. The thesis is based on a
theological exploration, hence it be-
comes imperative to unbundle the
notion of theology in order for one
to understand from the onset the
key tenets of theology that helped to
mould this study. The same chapter
is also dedicated to locating relevant
theories and concepts that help to ex-
plain application of theology in the
contemporary world. Theories such
as the doctrine of discovery and the
doctrine of dominion of the Roman
Catholic Church were discussed at
length in this chapter. These come in
handy when one seeks to understand
church-state relations.

Catholic Church as guarantor of Pope greets families of the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe.
children’s rights
The role of the church is to ensure thew, 18:16 ESV). families, the Church, society and gov- echism) cedural processes for dealing with al-
that the church and its institutions While the Bible affirms God’s love ernment for they are a source of hope The Roman Catholic Church has legations of misconduct. The Vatican
protect from any form of abuse and and renewed hope, and the church, like in its secular letter of 2009 states that
harm the children they interact with and preferential treatment for chil- a loving mother, …cannot abandon any conducted image repair by using the the church in the person of the bishop
in the execution of their duties. In the dren, various churches treat children of her little ones…. (Africae Munus, Catholic Bishops Conference to pres- or his delegate should be prepared to
Bible we see Jesus taking an exempla- differently. In JMAC, children are Chapter 11, Articles F, paragraph 65: ent a picture of a church that respects listen to the victims and their families
ry role in drawing children to himself presented as no better than bricks, 2014). and promotes the rights and the wel- and to be committed to their spiritu-
as well as protecting them when he whereas in a number of mainline fare of children. The 1983 Code of al and psychological assistance (ibid,
said, “let the children come to me, do churches they have clearly formu- Furthermore, the Roman Catholic Canon Law (Codex luris Canonici), 2014:8).
not prevent them for the kingdom of lated pro-child policies. The Canon Church’s catechism does also teach Motu Proprio Sacramentorum Sanc-
God belongs to such as these” (Mark, Law in the Roman Catholic Church that: …being in the image of God, the titatis Tutela of 2001 and updated in *About the writer: Dr Mathew
10:14 ESV). This position persuades helps to evaluate the church’s com- human individual possesses the dig- 2010 deals with allegations of sexual Mare is a Zimbabwean academic
one to the conclusion that the Bible is mitment to protection of the rights of nity of a person, who is not just some- abuse by the clergy and other acts of who holds two bachelor’s degrees,
against the maltreatment of children. children and women. Pope Benedict thing but someone. He/she is capable of sexual misconduct on women and five master’s qualifications and a
In the book of Mathew, Jesus takes a XVI (Roman Catholic Church) in his self-knowledge, of self-possession and of children (Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops PhD. He is also doing another PhD
position that seems to suggest some Apostolic Exhortation to the Special freely giving himself/herself and entering Conference, 2014:6). The church un- and has 12 executive certificates in
stiffer punishment against those that Assembly of Bishop of Africa, Africae into communion with other persons. dertook to hold to account any agent different fields. Professionally, he is
violate the rights of children when he Munus stated that: And he is called by grace to a covenant of the church who abuses children. a civil servant and also board mem-
said: with his creator, to offer him a response The church has accorded the bish- ber of the National Aids Council of
…children are a gift of God to hu- of faith and love that no other creature ops the responsibility to implement Zimbabwe.
…whoever causes one of these little manity and they must be the subject of can give… (The Roman Catholic Cat- guidelines of 2012, pastoral and pro-
ones who believe in me to sin, it would particular concern on the part of their
be better for him to have a great mill-
stone hung around his neck and to be
drowned in the depth of the sea…(Mat-

NewsHawks Critical Thinking Page 39

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

Taona B. Offensive lawfare: Tool Artuz youth activist Roy  Issa. This is not-
Denhere for political repression withstanding the fact that when Issa died
after falling off from the 7th floor of James-
MAJOR-GENERAL Charles J. Dunlap in Dissent  and the Possibility of Politics”, in of offensive lawfare against its real and per- earlier charges they pressed against Sikhala. on Hotel in June 2016, Masaraure was not
his academic piece titled “Lawfare Today: A which he argues, inter alia, that “a new kind ceived political arch nemesis. Thus, it dates Consequently, Sikhala`s lawyers rightly ar- present on that fateful day, hence in 2016 he
Perspective”  opined that: “As I say, lawfare of politics can be seen on the streets and in back to the genocidal and ethnocidal period gued that the state is involved in the criminal was neither questioned nor investigated by
is much like a tool or weapon that can be the courtrooms of the country. This politics of Gukurahundi when the likes of the late shenanigan of splitting the facts. That is, it is the police. Furthermore, an inquest which
used properly in accordance with the high- is made by a new kind of citizen – one that Dumiso Dabengwa, Sydney Malunga and attempting to genetically modify other frivo- was held  at Harare magistrates' courts ruled
er virtues of the rule of law — or not. It all is neither respectful nor passive, but instead Lookout Masuku, after they were acquitted lous charges based on the same old video clip out any foul play over the death of Issa.
depends on who is wielding it, how they do insurgent".  Moreover, the Zimbabwe Law- of treason in April 1983, subsequently found they pressed the earlier charges.
it, and why”.  yers for Human Rights (ZLHR) through themselves  re-arrested within the grounds Over the last three years Masaraure and
its relentless litigious work in defending pro of the High Court under the infamous relic Accordingly, we are again witnessing Chere have been on a collision course with
Over the last three years the term lawfare democratic forces, civil society activists and of colonial law, the Emergency Powers Act, the Zanu PF government opportunistically the Zanu PF government. This is due to
has been increasingly invoked and loosely human rights defenders, provides a good and and further detained without trial for the and ruthlessly weaponising the law against their disciplined militant and radical trade
thrown around in the legal and political dis- practical example of defensive lawfare. next three years. Moreover, both the late Sikhala and Sithole as a form of  extralegally unionism of championing better salaries and
course of Zimbabwe. Morgan Tsvangirai and the late Ndabaningi and extra-constitutionally neutralising and working conditions for the rural teachers,
However, on the flip side of it , there is Sithole — former leaders of the opposition emasculating opposition politicians. Thus, which they represent through their Artuz
Thus, it has largely assumed a negative offensive lawfare  where the law and judicia- MDC and ZANU Ndonga respectively both Sikhala and Sithole are likely to be grid- organisation. Therefore, it was through the
connotation in the majority of instances it is ry are instrumentalised and weaponised  as — were once victims of state-sanctioned locked within the oppressive, captured and credible leadership and organising skills of
invoked and referenced. This is largely due to an instrument for undermining and eroding  offensive lawfare, when they were arraigned partial criminal justice system of Zimbabwe. Masaraure and Chere, together with the rest
the manner in which the law and judiciary the constitutional rights, civil liberties and on trumped-up charges of committing acts The state, incahoots with the judiciary, will of Artuz, that rural teachers have become
have been instrumentalised and weaponised human rights of ordinary citizens. Some of of  treason against the then president Robert be opportunistically shifting legal goalposts bolder, more vociferous and courageous in
against pro-democratic forces, civil society the features of offensive lawfare is that it is Mugabe. through denial of bail and manufacturing fighting for their labour rights and better
activists and opposition movements in Zim- undergirded by the rule by law or the rule of of frivolous charges, such that Sikhala and  working conditions. This, ultimately,  has
babwe. The law is increasingly deployed as big men. This is a common practice in both Accordingly, this then demands us to cen- Sithole will remain politically and socially unsettled the Zanu PF government, hence
a sword by the state  and as an instrument competitive authoritarian regimes and hege- tre our attention  around the current wave of  hamstrung  and illegally stuck within the the  law has been instrumentalised and wea-
of oppression, coercion and control on cit- monic regimes, where the judiciary becomes offensive lawfare of attrition which is being vicious circle of persecution by prosecution. ponised against the leadership of Artuz.
izens. However, lawfare can also be a force involved in state-sanctioned extralegal mea- perpetrated against two Citizens' Coalition Where their  legal team and families will
for good, that is citizens and pro-democratic sures like criminalisation of pro-democratic for Change (CCC), opposition members of continue to be posted from pillar to post by The manner and circumstances under
forces can also deploy the litigious methods  forces, and systemic  and excessive use of pu- Parliament Job Sikhala and Godfrey Sithole both the compromised and captured magis- which Masaraure was arrested and charged
of lawfare as  a form of an administrative-law nitive pre-trial detentions of pro-democratic and as well as  Amalgamated Rural Teachers' trates and judges  in their relentless quest to clearly raise eyebrows and further  expose the
review mechanism, where citizens demand forces in clear violation of the constitutional Union of Zimbabwe (Artuz)  key leaders; seek justice for the duo. complicity of the police and judiciary in aid-
the state to uphold  the rights of the citizens requirements of granting bail . Obert Masaraure and Robson Chere. ing and abetting rule by law and judicial au-
and honour its constitutional obligations. There is a historical precedent to this thoritarianism. For instance, Masaraure was
That is, the law being instrumentalised and Therefore, the courts will inevitably Job Sikhala and Godfrey Sithole were type of malevolent lawfare by the Zanu PF arrested on 14 June, just a few weeks after
deployed as a shield  to protect the citizens become theatres of political contestation arrested on 14 June 2022 and subsequent- government, whereby it politically emascu- he had won the 2022 Front Line Defenders
and to push back against the extralegal and whereby the state will attempt to usurp the ly jointly charged with incitement to public lates and decapitates its political opponents Award  for Human Rights Defenders at Risk
extra-constitutional excesses of the state. powers of the judiciary  in order to achieve violence. They were arrested after an orgy of through extralegally removing key opposi- for Africa. Coupled with the fact that he was
its authoritarian objectives. violent clashes between CCC supporters and tion leaders from the political and electoral arrested  just six days before Artuz planned
Accordingly, the focus of this opinion Zanu PF supporters during a funeral wake space, through the use of extensive and  un- peaceful protests against poor working con-
piece will be centred on deconstructing law- Suffice to say in both instances of de- of the murdered CCC activist Moreblessing lawful pre-trial detentions. Thus, between ditions and  poor salaries for the teachers.
fare as an instrument of political repression fensive lawfare and offensive lawfare, the Ali in Nyatsime area. However, as expected, 1983 to 1986 key PF Zapu stalwarts such Chere was subsequently arrested on 5 July.
and consolidating power within the author- judiciary will ultimately be inextricably en- both Sikhala and Sithole were denied bail as Dumiso Dabengwa, Sydney Malunga As expected, both Chere and Masaraure
itarian ecosystem of Zimbabwe. Thus, I will croaching into the political arena. Therefore, when they appeared before magistrate Gib- and Lookout Masuku were detained with- were railroaded into a judicial labyrinth of
be spotlighting the manner in which the the courts will be transformed into a forum son Mandoza, on the frivolous and baseless out trial.This ultimately deprived PF Zapu blatant denial of bail and extensive  pre-trial
increasingly paranoid and insecure Zanu PF of juristocracy and thereby  affect the signifi- grounds that they are a threat to public se- and Joshua Nkomo of experienced and key detentions.
government has excessively and extra-legally  cance of politics and vibrancy of civil society. curity. Accordingly, after spending another political assets during the 1985 general elec-
criminalised pro-democratic forces and civil This is where these two doctrinal forms of 23 days of pre-trial detention at Chikurubi tions. Accordingly, there is a possibility that a After Masaraure was given brief respite
society activists and stifled dissent and free lawfare intersect. Maximum Security Prison, they appealed similar authoritarian game plan by the Zanu when the High Court on 29 June awarded
speech. against magistrate Mandoza's ruling at the PF regime might be at play,  targeting key him bail on the Issa murder case, he was
Thus, the offensive lawfare is then experi- High Court. Nonetheless, the Judge Lucy CCC leadership as the 2023 general election again re-arrested on 7 July. This time, just
Therefore, I shall define what lawfare is enced when government officials and senior Mungwari  unsurprisingly denied them bail slowly draws closer. This could not be a far- like Sikhala, he was being charged with ob-
and unpack two distinct types of doctrines politicians use the courts and the judiciary as on another baseless grounds that the duo fetched assertion, considering the fact that structing the course of justice. Therefore, this
of  lawfare. That is offensive lawfare and de- a platform for persecuting, criminalising and will likely disturb public order or undermine the organising secretary of CCC, Amos Chi- systematic pattern and the extralegal convey-
fensive lawfare. delegitimising  pro-democratic forces, civil public order or security. Notwithstanding, baya, was recently arrested and charged on or belt of  arrests, pre-trial detentions, then
society activists and their political foes. How- the fact that Sikhala has been unprecedent- frivolous grounds of convening an unsanc- brief release from remand prison and then re-
However, I shall primarily focus on the ever, defensive lawfare immediately kicks in edly arrested and charged a record 67 times, tioned meeting in violation of the draconian arrested again on other frivolous and baseless
doctrine of offensive lawfare and attempt to when civil society, human rights lawyers and nevertheless, all the charges were later on Maintenance of Peace Act. grounds, clearly demonstrates a well-drilled
unpack the way in which  offensive lawfare pro-democratic forces push back and fight either withdrawn against him or he was ac- and coordinated network of state-driven
has been viciously deployed by the state  as a against the state authoritarian shenanigans of quitted and absolved of any wrongdoing. Suffice it to say that state-sanctioned of- offensive lawfare. With its  ultimate objec-
repressive instrument for  authoritarian con- criminalising and delegitimising opposition fensive lawfare has also extended its tentacles tives of keeping the costs of challenging the
solidation and for stifling political and civic politics and civil society engagements and However, on 12 July, Sikhala was  sur- into civil society organisations. Through sys- authoritarian excesses and misgovernance of
activism. Thus, I will be using the recent  ar- activities. Consequently, lawfare will inevita- reptitiously driven out of Chikurubi prison tematic and calculated targeting of civil soci- the Zanu PF government  very high, thereby
rests and pre-trial detentions of Job Sikhala, bly spawn what is called the judicialisation without the knowledge of his lawyers and ety activists and trade unionists by the state. preventing organisations such as Artuz and
Godfrey Sithole, Obert Masaraure and Rob- of politics and politicisation of the judiciary. family, then again to be further charged with Thus, a good case in point is the latest judi- its leaders from primarily concentrating on
son Chere as the case studies. I believe the State offensive lawfare at play obstructing or defeating the course of justice. cial harassment and judicial  persecution of their civic and trade unionism duties. Since
doctrine of defensive lawfare will also need Historically, the  Zimbabwean  political and This latest charge was not based on avail- Artuz senior leaders such as Obert Masaraure they will be internally focused in fighting
its own different  opinion piece, which will legal  landscape is littered with a plethora ability of fresh and incriminating evidence, and Robson Chere.  Both  Masaraure and court battles, thereby  expendenig their re-
be sequentiel to this opinion piece. of incidents where the Zanu PF govern- but rather it was purely based on the same Chere were arbitrarily arrested and charged sources, energies and time in legal battles
What is lawfare? ment has ruthlessly deployed  the doctrine video clip which formed the basis of the on trumped up allegations of murdering  rather than in civic and political activism
In simple terms, lawfare means to deploy law Conclusion
as a mechanism for pursuing political ends. Lawfare in its offensive form is an essential
However, in terms of juristocracy,  law  can extralegal toolkit in the hands of a dicta-
become a double-edged sword, that is it can torship. Thus lawfare has been deployed by
be deployed as both as a sword or shield. both colonial dictatorships and post-colonial
Therefore, lawfare can be a force for good or dictatorship with devastating consequences
a force for bad. Lawfare as a force for good on the sacrosanct  regime of the rule of law,
can be involved in the adjudication of con- good governance and human rights. Accord-
tentious and political issues that promote the ingly, in both historical and contemporary 
rule of law and constitutionalism through periods successive Zanu PF governments
judicial  litigating by both the litigants and have relied and deployed  offensive  lawfare
judges. Accordingly, the law will be deployed against both real and perceived political op-
as a shield  and act as a checks-and-balances ponents and human rights defenders, as  part
mechanism against  the state, the powerful of its authoritarian consolidation brinkman-
and the government in favour of  the ordi- ship.
nary citizens and the less powerful.
However, the current Zanu PF govern-
This can be categorised as the defensive ment will continue on its unrestrained quest
lawfare, whereby law is instrumentalised as of instrumentalising and weaponising the
a socio-politico legal construct that acts as a judiciary against the pro-democratic forces
protective shield in defence of constitutional and human rights defenders    as the 2023
rights, civil liberties and human rights for the general elections draw near. Thus, in an ef-
ordinary citizens. Consequently, defensive fort to cripple and destabilise the CCC and
lawfare is undergirded  by an activist judi- progressive civil society organisations, we are
ciary  and activist lawyering which act as a likely to  witness a number of  opposition
watchdog against rule by law and capture of leaders, human rights defenders and civil so-
judiciary by the executive and the interests of ciety activists being extralegally arrested and 
the powerful. This form of defensive lawfare charged and extraconstitutionally denied
was well-articulated and intellectually cap- bail by the  state.
tured by Julian Brown in his scholarly work
titled “South Africa's Insurgent Citizens: On Consequently,  the doctrine of offensive
lawfare is going to be an invaluable oppres-
sive instrument for the Zanu PF government
between now and the 2023 general elections.

*About the writer: Taona Denhere is a
human rights and international develop-
ment lawyer based in the United Kingdom.

Page 40 Critical Thinking NewsHawks

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

A new resurgence of decolonisation: We
need to do African studies with Africans

THIS is Part 2 of an interview in [the Africa Decolonial Research Net- because it can be dangerous to move ment demands, I asked, why weren’t Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni.
which German-based Zimbabwean work] in 2011 as an epistemic move- into these spaces of administration we using the language which the
Professor Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni re- ment in the first instance that was con- where managerialism rules. But at the movement was using? And then the you want to use. Whatever grammar
flects on the relationship between the two cerned with issues inside universities same time, it can also be dangerous to question came: “But there are so many you want to use. But for me, from
overarching themes explored in his book where the politics of knowledge was a leave that space for reactionary forc- grammars of change. Transformation the office which I occupy, I want to
— Marxism and Decolonisation — glaring issue. The outbreak of Rhodes es and their hypocritical politics. So, is one of them. Social Inclusion is one see changes concretely on the ground.
and his new position at the University Must Fall and Fees Must Fall in 2015 we felt that there was a need to push of them. Africanisation is one of them. Whether we are changing using in-
of Bayreuth where he occupies a profes- and 2016 respectively read to us like some of our forces into those spaces, Decolonisation is one of them.” So, digenisation, Africanisation, I have
sorship in “Epistemologies of the Global a translation of theory into praxis. It while others remained on the ground then it meant that we were exhausting no problem with the name. But I
South”. He discusses the influence that was mainly because of the Rhodes to make sure that all the flanks were ourselves in these grammars. Which will come to assess, what are you do-
the student movement in South Africa Must Fall and the Fees Must Fall covered, and to monitor any tenden- one? Then I said: “No, no, no. I don’t ing  within a department? What are
had upon the development of key themes movements that even conservative ac- cies that undermined the struggles for want to be trapped in nomenclatures you  doing  within a faculty? What
in the book. Ndlovu-Gatsheni elabo- ademics and the universities were put decolonisation. So, I did move from while the realities on the ground were are you  doing  within a college? And
rates on his dual role as a theoretician under pressure to implement changes being head of the Archie Mafeje Re- dire for students, young academics, if there is actually concrete change, I
of radical forms of Marxism and decolo- in institutional cultures, curriculum, search Institute for Applied Social and women academics who were on have no worry about what term we
nisation in the African context, and his scholarship, funding models, pedago- Policy Research (AMRI) and became the receiving end of what Ramon are using. So, I spent the last five years
promotion to the role of university ad- gies, demographics, and iconography. a director of that Change Manage- Grosfoguel correctly termed “racist/ before I came to Bayreuth in that of-
ministrator responsible for institutional- On one end was the urgent need on ment unit responsible for the scholar- sexist” cultures of domination. fice, where I ended up being the Act-
ising movement demands in the wake of the part of the university leaders to ship and curriculum transformation. ing Executive Director, and we were
the student uprisings. Ndlovu-Gatsheni placate the Rhodes Must Fall and Fees Administrators of the university were If we’re using Africanisation, what I not comfortable with the concept of
emphasises the necessity of rupturing the Must Fall activists because the uni- comfortable with the concept “trans- demanded was a practical explanation “Change Management”. We thought
bounds of compartmentalised academic versity feared further eruptions, and, formation” rather than “decolonisa- of what was being done under this it smelled neoliberal. So we renamed
disciplines in order to engage in radical on the other, there were committed tion”. Activists were saying “we are grammar of change. If we are using the office into a Department of Lead-
forms of praxis. Against the Eurocentric progressive academics and students beyond transformation and we are for social inclusion, again I demanded ership and Transformation (DLT).
narratives of the white-dominated in- who thought that this was an oppor- decolonisation”. At the management that it be explained practically, so as And it had very clear areas of change.
stitutions of African Studies, he offers tunity to bring about real and genuine level, they were not very comfortable to see whether it was really adequate We wanted to change scholarship, cur-
us a brilliant genealogy of transdisci- change within the universities, and with the term decolonisation. I main- to the task at hand. And that’s how I riculum, and the language of learning,
plinary  African  traditions of African even outside the universities, informed tained the concept of decolonisation will measure whether you are moving teaching, and research. That was one
Studies. The questions were sent to Prof by decolonisation thinking and prax- and critiqued “transformation” as not forward or not. So, that’s the way we area. Then there was a second strand,
Ndlovu-Gatsheni by Yousuf Al-Bulushi, is. At the University of South Africa radical enough and as having failed. broke the deadlock, while they were which concerned a change of institu-
an assistant professor in the Department in 2016, they built what is called the Rhodes Must Fall never cried for trying to trap us into spending a lot of tional cultures, including racism, sex-
of Global and International Studies at “Change Management” unit within “transformation”. They were clear that time debating: “Is it decolonisation? Is ism, xenophobia, and other aspects.
the University of California, Irvine, US. the vice chancellor’s office. I was invit- they wanted decolonisation. So if the this transformation? Is it social inclu- Then third, there was the leadership,
ed into that space. And again, I con- university’s new initiatives were really sion? Is it Africanisation? management, and governance domain
Yousuf Al-Bulushi:  I wanted to sulted with the network and comrades developed in response to those move- that also needed to be decolonised. It
ask you a little bit about the broader Is it indigenisation?” So, I said: had embraced neoliberal corporatist
movement context that may have in- “No, no, no, use whatever concept cultures in which knowledge, educa-
formed this volume. You’ve already
touched on it by talking about how
your decolonial theory working group
that began in 2011 may have influ-
enced the “Fallist” movement in im-
portant ways. But I’m wondering if
you could say a little bit more about
how the movement may have also in-
fluenced your theorising. I’m thinking
of some of the problems and tensions
that emerged, either in the “Fallist”
movement itself, or in what we could
call the broader globalisation of the
Movement for Black Lives, which is
now definitely decentred from the
United States exclusively. Did those
of you involved in this volume have
specific conversations around the
problems that emerged in these move-
ments, when these struggles began to
have ripple effects on college campuses
throughout the world, and might we
view the volume as also responding
to and thinking further about these
problems that emerged in the move-
ments?

Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni:  Yeah.
In fact, even within the intellectual
decolonial movement, we always had
these tensions about what we’ve just
discussed. The tensions about how
seriously are we taking the gender
question into account, and how com-
mitted are we? How different are we
from other patriarchs who have been
parroting this concept of decolonisa-
tion but practising patriarchy at the
same time? That tension has always
been there. The other issue was that of
doing decolonisation as an intellectu-
al project versus doing decolonisation
as a liberation project. So, there were
also tensions between those who are
using decoloniality for careerist pur-
poses mainly and then they abandon
the mud and brick aspect of it, which
is the activist part.

You’re talking here to somebody
who led in the formation of ADERN

NewsHawks Critical Thinking Page 41

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

tion, and research were commodified colonisation, they need to be on top tial problems facing humanity? And ship has to have an agenda. It can’t be in the volume trying to answer that
and commercialised. Then the systems of the scholarship of revolutionary Marxism and decolonisation became an agenda-less game. To me, I’m not question, and to say: “No, we’re hu-
and the policies of the university had change to be effective. And being on handy to me in the sense that I always shy to say my research and scholarship man beings with a history.” Then, of
to be subjected to change so as to top of the revolutionary discourses re- said, “but Marx never wrote for a pro- is informed by the struggles for liber- course, the developmental question,
make them supportive of the agenda quires that they must research widely motion to professorship”. He was not ation of the oppressed and this does which is also linked to that.
of decolonisation. And that’s the way on all these other topics.  They must sitting down writing a book so that he not mean I compromise on scientific
it was structured. also be research-led in thinking and could become lecturer, senior lecturer, quality. I do both. And secondly, that Thinking about it from the con-
action.” And that book, I wrote it associate professor, etc. Behind all the does not therefore mean that it is not tinent, it has taken me back to the
It was not the easiest part of the job while I was in office, because I was re- writing there was an agenda of liber- rigorous. I do both, but I think it is 1960s. It takes me back to what was
because you needed to mobilise the acting to critical questions which were ation and exposure of the dangers of important that there must be a higher happening in Ghana when it gained
entire constituency of the university posed to the office and to me. So, it’s capitalism as well as bourgeois leader- purpose. Why are we doing it? And I independence in 1957. Kwame Nkru-
behind the agenda of decolonisation. another way of learning how to write ship of the world. And I then thought think even the Western philosophers, mah was the head of state, but he was
Academics in Westernised universities a book while you are still doing the about Frantz Fanon, who, when he was whatever they were doing in philoso- also actively involved in the struggles
work through dissensus rather than work of activism and administration. writing, was also involved in a very vi- phising, had a purpose. There was phil- for epistemic freedom. To the extent
consensus (laughter). So, really, you olent struggle for liberation in Algeria. osophical support for racism, enslave- that he was a leading figure in the es-
need to spend a lot of time to make Now you mentioned  Black Lives And the issue was how to make sense ment, and colonialism! So we need to tablishment of the Institute of African
sure that what we are bringing is a su- Matter and I was saying, in South Af- of what was taking place, and also to do scholarship which has a purpose Studies at the University of Ghana.
perior thinking to what they are used rica, it was more of Rhodes Must Fall equip the comrades with a better way for  decolonisation. It was never just This was a catalyst for change with-
to. The university council and vice and Fees Must Fall as the rupturing of understanding the complexities of philosophy for the sake of philoso- in a university that was linked to the
chancellor seemed genuine in want- point. Of course, it converges with the the struggles they’re involved in. Then phy. There were Western thinkers who University of London tradition. There
ing to decolonise the university. So I Black Lives Matter movement. And I thought about the work of Amílcar were  in support  of imperialism and was no African Studies, it was very pe-
spent most of the time really mobil- analytically, we need to read them as Cabral. All the theorisation that he was the colonial project. And if you then ripheral. If you look at his speech at
ising. From an administrative point events of the same moment, or some doing was not from a lecture room, or say we must do scholarship which is the formal opening of African Studies,
of view, DLT was also even given the conjuncture. And if we read them that a lecture theatre, or an office. But it not in support of anything, then it’s a it talks about the African genius, how
task of documenting where there was way, we will then see that, despite the was from the bush and it was meant useless scholarship. We need to be on do we regain the African genius? And
resistance. But because I was also an fact that they emerge in different geo- for the consumption of the comrades fire for justice, if I can be allowed to then at the Congress of the Pan-Af-
academic, I was not very comfortable spatial regions of the world — the US who were involved practically on the draw from Cornel West’s concept of ricanists he talks about  the African
quickly saying “these people are resist- and South Africa — there are a lot of ground. So, that’s why I was really “Black prophetic fire”! We need to be renaissance. And  Professor Kenneth
ing”. Perhaps they don’t understand commonalities. They all quickly trav- happy about the idea of knowledge on fire for gender equality. We need Dike from Ibadan, who was also there,
what we are talking about. So, that’s elled out of their areas of origin, into from the battlefields of history. And to be on fire for equal redistribution talks about regaining our epistem-
basically the tension which I saw. the planetary, if I can use that word. if we link it with the work of Boaven- of material resources. We need to be ic sovereignty. So that is an attempt
That’s where you will see Rhodes Must tura de Sousa Santos, to the episte- on fire in defence of Black lives. The to say, “but political independence
But in the movements themselves Fall starting in Cape Town, and then mologies of the South, that is, those scholarship needs to be animated by without epistemic freedom would be
there were also tensions related to oth- Rhodes Must Fall in Oxford. You will knowledges which emerged from realities which actually decimate hu- empty”. So, it would be important to
er identities that were not accommo- see the Black Lives Matter and the struggles against colonialism, against man lives. And fundamentally, to even move in that direction, to the extent
dated, like LGBT+. There were a lot of killing of George Floyd in the USA, capitalism, and  against patriarchy. save the Earth from capitalist exploit- of Nkrumah inviting W.E.B. Du Bois
reactions within the movement. And I sparking the movements against stat- Was it not Karl Marx who said cap- ative logics. to Ghana to continue with his  Afri-
think they were inevitable, if I can put ues all over the world targeting monu- italism emerged dripping with blood cana encyclopedia. And if Nkrumah
it that way. This Rhodes Must Fall/ ments and iconography of racists, en- from every pore? So, the “blood and Al-Bulushi: Studies of Africa with- was not removed from power in 1966,
Fees Must Fall movement — just like slavers, imperialists, and colonialists. tears” is not a metaphor if the world in Africa — as opposed to the Western we don’t really know what would have
the liberation struggles — they were And I think I always think about these is read from Marxism and decolonisa- formations, institutionalised in bod- been the outcome of all these efforts.
schools in revolutionary thinking and as planetary decolonial movements tion, because the coloniser’s model of ies, such as the African Studies Associ- But I found that to be a very import-
revolutionary praxis. You learn while of the 21st century. Of course, there the world emerged through violence, ations in the UK and the US — have ant aspect of this issue of African
you are doing. You learn while you’re are specific locations with regards warfare, genocides, enslavement,  dis- arguably oscillated between two com- Studies. Because at the moment, a lot
doing. So, throughout there is learn- to where they come from, but they possession, displacement,  and  racial peting polls over the past half-century. of the way people are thinking about
ing and unlearning of a lot of things. quickly become planetary in terms of and gender exploitations. On the one hand, at the height of the African Studies is to think from the
their resonance. anti-colonial struggles in the 1960s US and also to think from England.
And then the other aspect which And I think if we think from this and 1970s, political economy and What I’m trying to do is ask, how do
I learned is the issue that if you cre- Al-Bulushi: What you’ve just con- “underside of modernity” (to use a the question of development came to we think about the movement for
ate an office like the one which I’m veyed about the back and forth be- concept from Enrique Dussel) and dominate many studies as an exclusive African Studies in Africa itself? And
talking about, which is located in the tween the work of movements and build from that, the question of lens through which one was supposed you already mentioned the issue of
vice chancellor’s office, people take the work of scholarship, even when thought, knowledge, and action as to pursue all forms of intellectual in- associations. 1957 — Ghana gains
whatever you say in terms of “compli- working within the institution, is such always intertwined become clear and quiry. On the other hand, especially independence. 1957 — US Associa-
ance”. And that’s a very problematic a rich example of praxis. So I want urgent. And in the Southern African since the 1990s, scholars like Mah- tion of African Studies is established.
way of thinking, that “now the office to ask you a little bit more about the region during the armed liberation mood Mamdani and Achille Mbem- It begins to overwhelmingly push the
has said X, and we need to comply”. centrality of praxis to this volume. In struggles against white settler regimes, be have been somewhat critical of issue of African Studies as Area Stud-
But in their hearts and minds, they conversation with the work of Hamid there was a clear thinking that the what they viewed as an overemphasis ies, while Nkrumah is pushing African
have not changed. So, that’s another Dabashi, you explain in the volume guns and revolutionary thought be- upon political economy. And instead, Studies as part of the advancement of
reality, which I realised. If you make that philosophers of liberation write longed together. One had to always they’ve examined other questions such Pan-Africanism and the African na-
it a matter of compliance, people will across and against disciplines. And think about the revolution, but with as the relative autonomy of the polit- tional revolution. Whether it was a
give you a good report, but without that this is because they write with your gun under your arm [laughter] ical, postcoloniality, and questions of coincidence or not I don’t know, but
having changed their consciousness of “blood and tears”. This means that so that you could do both simultane- subjectivity. The critique of Marxism it happened in the same year — when
knowledge or their politics of knowl- praxis arguably lies at the heart of your ously. So, it’s not like bourgeois intel- is a question that this volume takes up, Nkrumah is talking about epistemic
edge. conception of Marxism and decolo- lectualism, or bourgeois pontification. but via other reference points, such as autonomy (African genius and Afri-
nisation. And this is certainly a chal- The Tanzanian intellectual  Issa Shiv- Ayi Kwei Armah, Stokely Carmichael, can renaissance), then in the US they
The other challenge which we faced lenge to many purely academic theo- ji  once said that bourgeois pontifica- and Onkgopotse Tiro. Can you share are establishing an association to read
as a challenge, which is continuing risations of radical critique, although tion is 99% irrelevant (laughter). Only some of these critiques with us and Africa from the outside, funded from
now, is the issue of sexual harassment it’s obviously most loyal to the origi- perhaps 1% relevant. So, I thought, explain what they might offer to on- the US which was involved in a Cold
within the institutions. It divided a nal formulations of actually existing when we bring together the issue of going conversations across sometimes War. But during that time, it looked
lot of comrades who were supposed Marxism and decolonisation. As the Marxism and decolonisation, we’re competing liberatory traditions of like the continent was very confident
to be on one side. So, they were re- US-based ethnic studies scholars Eve bringing something which is 99% rel- struggle? of where it wanted to go. If we move
ally many factions within the move- Tuck and K. Wayne Yang have argued evant, and practical. And I saw it, in from Ghana to Nigeria (Ibadan), you
ment. And the good part, we always about the overly loose use of the term the sense that Rhodes Must Fall was Ndlovu-Gatsheni:  The starting will also find that there was a clear
say, is that it was never meant to be an decolonisation, “decolonization is not full of action. So it’s really important point is very good: what are the key argument: “In order for us to move
event. It is a process, and it is a pro- a metaphor”. So, I’m wondering if you to me that we don’t fall into bourgeois questions which animate African forward, we need to rewrite African
cess which is not about other people, can expand upon the priority of praxis intellectualism, which is always just Studies and African thought? I think history.” And if we went to Dakar,
but about ourselves. And that issue of to your theorisation and what it might pontificating, while you are sitting you have raised the question of devel- with Cheikh Anta Diop, “we need to
being about ourselves I’ve tried to em- look like for scholars to take the ne- in air-conditioned offices and hotels. opment. Decolonisation starts with dispel the Eurocentric conception of
phasise many times. Because a person cessity of engaging in praxis more seri- We need to combine the two. But our existential questions. For example African history”. And if you moved to
like myself, I was never produced by ously. As we train the next generation training was not meant to be like that. W.E.B. Du Bois posed the question Dar es Salaam, again, you will find a
a decolonial university or something of Marxist and decolonial scholars, And I think what we need to do is to as follows: “How does it feel to be a very interesting leftist tradition with
like that. I’m also produced by these should we be insisting that their schol- do scholarship differently. We need to problem?” And that’s an existential Walter Rodney, Samir Amin, Shivji,
very problematic institutions. So, on a arship always involve radical forms of know that scholarship has to have a question. And this is then picked up Mamdani and others, of course, also
daily basis, I must also interrogate my- praxis as well? liberatory purpose. by Aimé Césaire, putting it in terms of critiquing the Ibadan School, arguing
self, learn to unlearn in order to relearn the tormenting question: “Who am I? that the Ibadan School is all about
some of the things, so that we become Ndlovu-Gatsheni:  It’s an import- But I must hasten to say, there are Who are we? What are we in the anti- kings and queens. It’s not about the
better and perhaps we will create the ant question which also preoccupied a spaces whereby we are divided as ac- black world?” I think these existential people. History is not made by queens
institutions of relationality which are lot of us: how adequate is it to think ademics and intellectuals into those questions form an ideal background and the kings. It’s made by the people
better than the previous ones. So, it’s from disciplines? How adequate is who push for a purposeful scholar- for what is called the Black Radical and then the Dar es Salaam School
really a learning curve which I came thinking from the disciplines for prac- ship, a liberatory purpose, and those Tradition. There are questions of life. begins to do what might be called a
through, and I’m thankful for being at tical changes? And going back to the who think that, no, no, if you do that, And then, of course, the next question People’s History From Below.
the centre because it made me a better work of Lewis Gordon about  Disci- you are bringing ideology to schol- which also animates African Studies
person and helped me to express my plinary Decadence, whereby the dis- arship and undermining scientific is  the question of history and being In 1967, there is the establishment
ideas writing books better. cipline becomes a spectacle, which thinking. You are actually bringing human. And that question of history of the Association of African Univer-
makes you see some things and not identity to scholarship. You are bring- arose from a context where there were sities. And in that association there is
But you’ll realise that, while I was in see others. We always have an issue ing subjectivity to scholarship. You are attempts to deny that those designated a clear definition of what an African
office, I also wrote a book called Epis- because all of us were trained in disci- really moving away from objectivity as Black are human beings and there- university is. It is born in Africa, not
temic Freedom in Africa: Deprovincial- plines. But the issue is how do you get and impartiality and all that. But to fore have history. There is a lot of work transplanted from outside. Then you
isation and Decolonization (Routledge, out of the discipline into the existen- me it’s important that knowledge has move up to 1973 with the establish-
2018). And that book, I wrote it be- to be relevant and useful. Scholar- ment of  CODESRIA  and others.
cause I always told the vice chancellor:
“Those who are in this office of yours,
who are supposed to lead in this de-

Page 42 Critical Thinking NewsHawks

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

You’ll begin to see that there is a shift. in 1973, first of all there is the assassi- decolonial thinking is  the work of if you don’t understand the colonial- struggles, rather than the way it has
First, the economies were no longer nation of Amílcar Cabral, who was a James Blaut, The Colonizer’s Model of ity of being, you won’t understand been hijacked by elites. I think that’s
performing well enough to finance the leading light in the anti-colonial phase the World. And he was a geographer, why some people were subjected to what we mean by “democratic”. If we
universities. Second, on the political of postcolonial thought. It becomes a I think. The issue which we are trying genocide, while others were subject- re-route it through people’s concrete
front, you had military dictators and turning point. And he also says that to engage is this notion of “worlding ed to enslavement, while others were struggles, which are anti-capitalist,
the rise of Idi Amin and the others. in 1973 we have the outbreak of the from Europe”. And what Marxism subjected to dispossession. You won’t anti-racist, anti-patriarchal, then it
And then third, at a global scale, you Arab-Israeli war, which was being and the decolonial in combination understand. Because the issue is the regains its popular aspect, whereby it
have the beginnings of the Washing- watched by Edward Said. And he be- are trying to do is to pose a counter coloniality of being. If we pose it is not an imposition from above. And
ton Consensus and the Structural gins to write that canonical text, Ori- re-worlding from the global South. If properly, it actually says: “This is a de- if we think that way, even for decolo-
Adjustment Programs. And then the entalism, based on the observations we think that way then you will cen- vice.” They were looking for a device: nisation, then we need to think how
whole African national decolonial he made during the Arab-Israeli War, tre certain events which might oth- “Who are we going to colonise? Who to re-route it through the people’s
project collapses. And when it collaps- whereby Western media was Orien- erwise be peripheral, like the Haitian are we going to enslave? Who are we struggles. Rather than the way it has
es, a lot of academics engage in what talising the Arabs as cowards destined Revolution. This becomes a very cen- going to dispossess?” And then they been hijacked by the petite bourgeoi-
we call survivalist politics. Either you to be defeated by Israel. And I always tral example of re-worlding from the brought a criterion that the ontologies sie and nationalist elites, which, if we
adopt a comprador position in the in- add that, if we were thinking from the global South. You will find the people of human beings will be graduated. use Fanon’s terminology, are associat-
tellectual sphere in which you just be- continent, 1973 was also the forma- who were enslaved, who were kept in So there will be some with the high- ed with the “pitfalls of national con-
come a conduit so that you get paid. tion of CODESRIA. chains but who never lost the drive to er ontology who are white, and then sciousness”, and all its corresponding
Or you degenerate into sycophancy, reproduce space on their own terms. there are others who are lighter, and problems.
again singing for your supper. So, it’s a very complex terrain, some who are darker. And then there
which, as I said, forces you to end up And the second aspect takes us to are others who are pushed out of the This then means that the Marxism
And this takes us to the emergence presenting another lecture. But it also the concept of the geographies of opu- human family all together. And those and decolonisation of the 21st century
of what you were talking about — takes us to the other dimension, which lence versus the geographies of pover- are the ones are who were subjected is open to other movements, like rad-
postcolonial discourses. And again, is always falling between the cracks: ty. And our approach is to study this, to genocide. Those are the ones who ical ecological movements, feminist
I always try to be very careful when the gendering of African Studies and not from a conventional geographic are pushed into a subhuman category. movements, and Indigenous peoples’
I’m talking about this. Because some the contribution of feminist scholar- way where it can be naturalised, but Those are the ones who were subjected movements. In that way, it is really
people want to dismiss it and say “the ship to African Studies. What changes by denaturalising what has been nat- to slavery. Colonialism was not a ran- not rigidly proletarian, so to speak. It
posts” were a problem — that post- does it bring? How is it cutting across? uralised by the coloniser’s model. And dom process. You needed to have clear adapts to the challenges of the present
colonialism was actually born out of Where did it intervene? I then see the if you bring Fanon into this issue of targets and a structure which allowed times. And if Stalin is used as an exam-
postmodernism and poststructural- recent insurgence of decolonisation in the geographies, his concept of the you to say: “No, I will colonise these.” ple of a spoiler in Marxism, then we
ism. But I think we need to nuance the 21st century as perhaps a “fourth zone of being and the zone of non-be- You fight them, then you target them can say there were also many spoilers
this as well, in the sense that there is wave” within this context in which we ing has links with urban space and differently, and you subjected them to in decolonisation during the 20th cen-
a version of postcolonialism which return to reopening the basic episte- the Manichaean structure. The town modern colonial power differently. So tury. People like Mobutu Sese Soko
is informed by postmodernism and mological questions, if I can use that of the Black, and town of the whites. I found that we can link those things and many others gave it a bad name.
poststructuralism, but there is also an- argument from Immanuel Wallerstein. I supervised a Master’s thesis which in a very interesting way. So, the democratic is really to say: we
other version is informed by anti-co- To me the basic epistemological ques- was using Fanon to study the geogra- take into account the distortions and
lonialism. If you look at the significant tions include: What is the relationship phy of Sandton, which is the richest Al-Bulushi:  Finally, the book re- the abuses of these liberatory theories,
work of scholars like  V.Y. Mudim- between knowledge and identity, for suburb in South Africa, and the poor ally underscores the importance of as the book is trying to say, but you
be, The Idea of Africa, The Invention of instance? What is the relationship township of Alexandria, which is just Marxism in the 21st century being don’t then throw away the bathwater
Africa, you can’t dismiss this literature between knowledge and ideology, for across the M1 highway. And they were democratic. And this term may mean together with the baby. As a science
and say: “It contributes nothing to Af- instance? What is the relationship be- using the M1 as really a dividing line different things to different people. of understanding capitalism, in all
rican Studies!” Even Mbembe’s On the tween knowledge and geography, for between the two. And it really brought Can you expand upon the specificity its mutations, I think Marxism is still
Postcolony, it has generated so much instance? And all these questions, you out very clearly the Manichaean struc- of the democratic in your democratic very useful. And decolonisation and
for us in African Studies. And then cannot just dismiss them  as they are ture. They’re just neighbours, on one Marxism of the 21st century and why decoloniality are very useful in under-
you go to the work of Pal Ahluwalia, doing in France and say: “This is Crit- side the houses are very small match- it’s so important for your project? standing the afterlives of colonialism.
who wrote this book Out of Africa, in ical Race Studies which is something boxes, and on the other side are gigan- So that’s what we meant by “demo-
which he was saying: “Let’s not quick- from America, which is an imposi- tic houses. And if the police see you [a Ndlovu-Gatsheni:  And when you cratic”. But we don’t mean the liberal
ly say that the postcolonialism is com- tion on us.” I think that’s a lazy way resident from Alexandria] on the oth- raised the question I thought it’s not definition of democracy.
ing from Europe.” And his idea is that of dealing with it. These are difficult er side in Sandton at one o’clock, they only “democratic Marxism”, but it
you will find that thinkers like Jacques questions which have come back to will always ask you where you are go- must also be “democratic decoloni- But at the same time, I think, if
Derrida, Michel Foucault, and others haunt us. And we need to confront ing. And you need to say “well I’m go- sation”. And I think we were sup- we take them together, Marxism and
are Maghrebian thinkers, rather than them directly. ing to George’s house” or something posed to put it in quotation marks, decolonisation, it also enables us to
French thinkers, if their history and like that, or “I’m working” if you are the “democratic”. Because it doesn’t speak today about the sovereignty of
linkages with Tunisia and Algeria are Al-Bulushi: You’ve just mentioned Black. And if you have no answer for mean the liberal democracy which the people rather than the sovereignty
considered. And if you think that way the question of geography. And I think the police, they just take you across we’re all familiar with. It must mean of the state. And I think that emerged
then you will understand them dif- you’ve already given us a rich sense of M1 and drop you back in Alexandria. something deeper than that. And with clearly in the Arab Spring, where peo-
ferently. So, it’s a complex terrain in how you were thinking about, and You belong in that geographical field reference to Marxism, we’re thinking ple were really trying to gain their
which African Studies finds itself, but how the volume is thinking about, — don’t come to this other side. about how to shift from the orthodox sovereignty against the sovereignty of
you cannot then dismiss the contribu- how we might radicalise and decolo- version of Marxism, which was very the state. But there was a time in the
tion of post-colonial thought easily. nise our geographical imaginations. So, I found this concept of Black prescriptive, very rigid, very dogmat- decolonisation of the 20th century,
So I’m hoping you can say a little bit Geographies to be very important, ic, highly curated, if I can use such a whereby the sovereignty of the state
What I’ve always tried to say is that more about that, with regards to the but I also found that it is also breaking word, and perhaps even intolerant of was confused with the sovereignty
there is a long decolonial intellectual geographical imagination that is at out of the disciplinary. Geography was diversity. of the people. But I think now we’ve
movement, with its own sub-move- work in this volume. And relatedly, not always known that way. It’s really learnt that the sovereignty of the state
ments. So, if you think in that way, I wonder what you make of the bur- an interesting way to bring in race, to This tradition suffered the high is never the sovereignty of the people.
then you spend all your time trying geoning field of Black Geographies bring in gender into issues of space. price of Stalinism. It was also state- It also makes us reconsider the horizon
to consider nuances and contexts of and the interventions by people like And this type of thinking makes peo- led. This gave Marxism a bad name. of decolonisation. In the 20th century,
particular moments and intellectual Katherine McKittrick, Ruth Wilson ple rethink their fields of study. If it People then decided to associate the the horizon or the heaven of decolo-
traditions that emerged.  Julian Go’s Gilmore, and Clyde Woods? Might wasn’t for your question, I wasn’t fol- failure of the Soviet Union with the nisation was the attainment of state
work on how anti-colonial thought is we see your volume as helping to fur- lowing Black Geographies that much. failure of Marxism. But, to me, Marx- status, or national status. But I think
social theory helps us also to under- ther globalise some of the themes in ism is a science. And it is still relevant we’ve realised that the state is actually
stand this better by using the idea that their work, even if more implicitly So, I really had do to go back to even after the fall of the Soviet Union. a coup within the modern world-sys-
there are waves. He uses postcolonial than then explicitly? check, because I’m reading  Kather- Because as a science of understanding tem, saving capital more than the peo-
for everything — rather than the de- ine McKittrick’s  Dear Science  here. capitalism, there is nothing which ri- ple.
colonial — in his waves perspective. Ndlovu-Gatsheni:  Yeah, in fact, So, I knew a bit about it. But I hadn’t vals it. It continues to be a very useful
Importantly, he identifies the signif- when I saw that question, I thought delved deeply into thinking about science. Then its democratisation con- Approaching it that way enables us
icance of 1973 as a turning point in that the departure link perhaps in Black Geographies yet. It actually cerns re-routing it through people’s to rethink many things which went
postcolonial thought. And he says that links very well within the whole con- wrong in the 20th century.
cept of coloniality of being. Because
— Antipode.

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 43

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

MEMORY PAMELA KADAU Political parties must deliver
on gender equality promise
THE discourse on Zimbabwe’s dem-
ocratic deficit often misses the big-
gest hurdle: under-representation of
women.

To illustrate this point, the num-
bers do not lie. In the 2018 elections,
52% of registered voters were wom-
en and 54% of voters who cast their
vote on polling day were again wom-
en. Statistics thus show that women
are the dominant voting bloc in the
country, but a further look at the
numbers paints a gloomy picture as
to the leadership and representation
of women. Out of the 210 directly
elected representatives, only 26 were
won by women in 2018, represent-
ing just 12% of the total seats. In the
recently held 26 March by-elections
in which 29 constituencies were up
for contest in March 2022, only two
seats were won by women. For want
of a better expression; this is simply
unacceptable! Women's under-rep-
resentation is a mortal threat to de-
mocracy.

Gender equality is not a favour Realising how women have been dozen men can pass an amendment. must intensify campaigns which are LEAD president Linda Masarira.
At the root of women's under-repre- historically marginalised, the consti- Therefore, the deception of Constitu- pushing for women to vote for wom-
sentation is patriarchy and its atten- tution provided for 60 proportion- tional Amendment 2 must never be en. Voting for women must start in violence.  Political parties and govern-
dant mental models which perpetu- al representation seats which were used as a pretext not to be fully com- intra-party elections so that as many ment at large must therefore address
ate gender inequality by classifying scheduled to end in 2023. The draft- pliant with constitutional provisions. women as possible get to the nomina- these sustained attacks and violence
women as second-class citizens. Lead- ers of the constitution, and the mil- Political parties must implement tion court. Beyond that, it must cas- by putting in place policies and puni-
ership patterns in most political par- lions of women who voted for it at gender equality cade to the national plebiscite where tive measures to bring perpetrators to
ties seem to paint a picture that wom- referendum anticipated that by 2023 The 2023 general election is on the women must emphatically vote wom- book regardless of status or position
en are included as an afterthought we would have put in place structures horizon and it has become apparent en! within the party. In addition, polit-
because it is often men who consti- to operationalise gender equality; that full implementation of the con- End violence against women in pol- ical parties and their members must
tute the most important structures of at the very least in the three estates stitution remains a concern. It is now itics raise strong voices against political
the political parties. Constitutions of of the state. However, it was men in the political parties' court to oper- One of the barriers to women's politi- violence and stand unapologetically
political parties are often drafted by once again, through Constitutional ationalise this by guaranteeing equal cal participation is violence. Violence with victims of such violence.
more men and they reflect their world Amendment 2, who made this tran- representation of women and men against women in politics (VAWP)
views. For example, all major political sitional provision almost permanent across elective wards and constituen- continues to manifest at national, in- Conclusion
parties represented in the Parliament by extending it for a further 10 years. cies, senate, and provincial councils. ter-party or intra-party levels. Recent The under-representation of women
of Zimbabwe have structures exclu- Political parties in Zimbabwe cannot cases include the online and offline is unacceptable in the context of a
sively for women which are separate The intention of men in power get away with token involvement attacks on former deputy prime min- legal regime which recognizes gen-
from what they strangely term "main was to sidestep gender equality by of women for cheap political ends; ister of Zimbabwe Thokozani Khupe, der equality. Political parties have a
wing". Given the numbers of wom- pointing toward the so called "60 free women's participation must be effec- president of LEAD Linda Masarira, big role to play by ensuring that the
en in the country and in political seats", which is disingenuous. Repre- tive and meaningful. This demands spokesperson of Citizens' Coalition internal processes promote effective
membership, it is contradictory how sentation of women as set out in the that candidate selection must at the for Change (CCC) Fadzayi Mahere, and meaningful women's representa-
a structure dominated by a few men collective interpretation of sections very least meet gender equality. abduction, torture, arrest and con- tion. For the 2023 general election,
is referred to as "main". However, this 17, 56 and 80 cannot be satisfied tinued judicial persecution of CCC anything short of 50-50 at nomina-
nomenclature is reflective of the atti- outside 50-50 representation in elect- Political parties must also deliber- members Cecilia Chimbiri, Netsai tion court level is unacceptable! It is
tudes which run deep within political ed and appointed positions. ately end bias. There is a warped be- Marova and MP Joana Mamombe, high time the political parties walked
parties, condescending attitudes that lief that for women to run for office enforced disappearance and death the talk. The women's movement and
view gender equality as a "favour" or Whilst gender quotas are instru- they must be much better in order of CCC member Moreblessing Ali. women in politics must continue de-
"privilege". Misplaced attitudes that mental, there must only be regarded to overcome this bias, whereas their In some cases, it is apparent that the manding gender equality and that in
regard inclusion and equal participa- as incremental progress towards gen- male counterparts are not subjected attacks are mainly because of their 2023 Zimbabwe must have its first
tion of women in politics as a show of der equality, not at permanent solu- to the same benchmarks. gender. Women in politics have been woman speaker of Parliament.
benevolence by powerful men. tion. called "Hure/Prostitutes", unsuit-
It is a miscarriage of democratic able to represent due to their marital *About the writer: Memory Pa-
Gender equality is not a favour, it Compliance with constitution- practice to muzzle a majority and for status while their male counterparts mela Kadau is a feminist and wom-
is a fundamental right just like the al provisions supersedes attempts at levers of power to be controlled by a rarely experience such criticism and en's rights defender. She writes here
right to life. No polity can be legiti- using the legislature to amend the minority simply because of gender. in her capacity and can be contact-
mate when the majority of those un- constitution to suit narrow political Women's groups and movements ed on: [email protected],
der it lack a voice and are relegated interests because the supreme law was she tweets @memorykadau
to the status of an afterthought. This voted for by millions while only a
makes the political parties in Zimba-
bwe and indeed the national polity an
illegitimate establishment controlled
by cliques of men.
The constitution of Zimbabwe
In 2013, millions of Zimbabweans,
the majority, consisting of women,
voted for a new charter. This supreme
law provided for an expansive Bill of
Rights which broadened the scope of
what citizens must enjoy and exercise
as fundamental rights. It represented
a fundamental departure from the
old order. For women, it was a sigh of
relief, for the first time in the young
history of our state women's rights
were enshrined in the constitution.
Sections 17, 56 and 80 provide for
several far-reaching rights for wom-
en, including equal representation
in elected and appointed positions.

Page 44 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

Urban agriculture thriving in Zim

IAN SCOONES Mr Chiramba from Chatsworth has chased a Jojo tank for water storage and In Chikombedzi, Mr Ndahwi pro- terere from Triangle bought a kombi
a resettlement farm and an urban plot. has built pig sties for a piggery project. duces significant quantities of maize with the proceeds. Other urban farmers
OVER the last few weeks the team He produces vegetables in his urban in his backyard plot. This is stored and explained how their kids went to school
from Chikombedzi, Triangle, Matobo, stand to sell to Rufaro school and the Maize production in open spaces has sold, as well as used for home con- from the profits.
Masvingo, Chatsworth and Mvurwi huge church gatherings that happen grown hugely in and around towns. sumption.
have been exploring the growth of ur- nearby. He finds this easier and more These sites are along roadsides, in aban- However, the small-scale backyard
ban agriculture and its implications for efficient than using his rural farm. He doned industrial areas and in areas Millers such as K Jere from Masvin- plots have limits of space, and the open
wider food systems. has invested in a well, a pump and uses designated for building. For example, go are setting up in town as more and space farming remains illegal and high-
drip irrigation, which was paid for by a Mrs Moyo from Masvingo has five more maize is being produced in ur- ly insecure. It is only those with titled
They have talked to many urban relative in the diaspora. He comments 200m squared plots scattered around – ban areas. People can then bring their plots near towns who can intensify, in-
producers and taken photos of their how prices of inputs are going up ev- some near a dam site, the others near shelled maize grain to be milled into vest and have enough land to diversify.
enterprises. ery day and he insists that he is paid the steelmakers. As a widow with three flour. Mrs Mpofu from nearby Masvingo has
in US dollars. This puts off some, but young boys she has to provide food and such a 6.5 hectare plot at Morningside,
We bring you a photo story that local currency is worthless he explains. she seeks out plots through local con- Some urban farmers specialise, as which she and her now late husband
compiles a selection of images that were Money from the horticulture project nections. there is a limit to how many vegetables, bought in 1981. For cropping, she fo-
shared through WhatsApp, together has paid for his children’s school fees, tomatoes and other standard crops can cuses on irrigated vegetables and maize.
with some case studies of different ur- as well as provided for the investment She grows maize,  nyimo, ground- be grown and sold. In some areas, chil- Two ha of her plot is irrigated, and since
ban farmers – including backyard pro- on the plot. Most recently he has pur- nuts, sweet potatoes, sugar beans and lies have become a popular niche crop, 2019 this has included a portion of drip
ducers, those who farm in open spaces vegetables. She even managed to get while in other areas tree nurseries are irrigation. IN addition, she has invest-
and those with titled plots. some seed and other inputs from invested in. The demand for certain ed in livestock production, including
the  Pfumvudza  programme this year trees grew in the pandemic, as local a herd of cattle and a number of pigs.
Investment in intensification of ag- to help her. The maize from the field treatments required lemon in partic- Maize is useful for livestock feed and for
riculture in urban plots is essential. in the photo below on the outskirts of ular. The pandemic also increased de- home consumption, but she doesn’t sell
Space is limited and production has Masvingo has been harvested and the mand for onions, garlic and ginger, as to GMB. Her main commercial crop
to be maximised. This means ensuring cobs taken to the homestead for safe well as local herbs. these days is garlic, and last year she
a year-round source of water. In Chi- storage and later sale. sold 220kgs. Demand has boomed due
kombedzi township in the Lowveld, Mr Soko from Mvurwi has invested to the pandemic and she sells directly
Bigson Hasani has dug a deep well In the same way, Mrs Mtisi also from in lemon trees and during the pandem- to Spar, as well as a contract company.
and has invested in a submersible so- Masvingo explains how her farming – ic had a roaring trade. She is a retired teacher and manages
lar pump, powered by a panel erected both backyard and in open spaces along the whole plot, with the help of some
in the plot (see photos). The same ap- the Mucheke river – feed her family of Meanwhile in Chikombedzi, a workers and one of her children.
plies to the Matobo Dace project near five kids (two in Form 1, the others number of people are growing chillies
the police camp at Kezi growth point in primary). This has been especially encouraged by demand from farmers Like many urban farmers, Mrs Mpo-
in Matabeleland South. This means important as her husband lost his job for ‘chilli cake’, which if burned can fu also has chickens. In her case – again
vegetable and maize production can at Zimplats. Profits from farming has repel  elephants. Some are being sup- because of having capital and a larger
increase from a seasonal addition to a meant they have been able to complete ported by the Gonarezhou trust, while plot – she has been able to expand pro-
core enterprise. Collective projects such their house and they can even support others are doing it independently. duction in recent years.
as Matobo Dace become centres where relatives with extra food. As discussed
training occurs too. in last week’s blog, such urban produc- Mr Katerere from Triangle started The final photo is of a group of wom-
tion of maize and other staples is es- growing fruit trees in the backyard of en from Runyararo high density suburb
Mrs Moyo (pictured right) from sential for food security in towns these his company house in 2014. He was in Masvingo having a discussion on ur-
Maphisa has a successful garden plot. days, and is undercutting sales from the laid off but now survives from this ban farming as part of the research. All
After finishing building the house in rural areas. business. He has learned to graft lem- have open space plots growing maize,
the township she started growing veg- on, lime, orange, mango, avocado and sweet potatoes and other staples, as well
etables to supplement her income as an more. There is big demand from farm- as backyard gardens, where vegetables
extension worker and to provide for her ers from Triangle estate, Mkwasine and dominate production.
three children. She grows vegetables, to- Hippo Valley. At one time, he explains,
matoes and peppers, selling bundles to he sold USD800 worth of seedlings to Women are central to urban agricul-
vendors from the township and making one estate worker who has now estab- ture and often manage the plots, both
around R320 (US$19) each month. lished a huge orchard at his home in in the backyard areas as well as in open
Zaka. spaces. As an independent source of
Pumping to a plastic water tank from income such activities are essential for
a submersible solar pump in a backyard Green Paradise nursery in Mvurwi providing for the family, and this was
well is the basis of Pastor Uragu’s garden town was started about ten years ago at especially the case during the pandem-
in Chikombedzi. He grows sugar cane, a very small scale. In the last few years it ic.
tomatoes and vegetables, supplying the has expanded massively. Gibson Ndise-
local township. His garden project was ni supplies both exotic and indigenous *This blog by Ian Scoones first ap-
established in 2011. He sells to vendors trees and flowers to locals, and now peared on Zimbabweland. Scoones is
in town, but also the vegetables supply supplies gum tree seedlings to tobacco a professor at the Institute of Devel-
relish for church gatherings. The garden companies operating in the area in large opment Studies, University of Sussex,
is 20 metre x 40 metre in size, but is quantities. United Kingdom.
highly productive. He wishes to inten-
sify further with drip irrigation if he can Urban gardening, especially special-
get enough profit for investment. ised nurseries, makes money. Mr Ka-

Morgan Mukahi Mukahihwa and
his wife have a garden at the back of a
hospital house in Triangle. He has now
retired, but his wife is still working as
a nurse aide at Colin Saunders Hospi-
tal. They have six children, all of whom
have completed secondary education.
In addition to vegetables they also
have chickens on their plot and 50 are
sold for each batch. From the garden
and chicken production earnings they
bought a Mazda 323 car.

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 45

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

Ways to improve HIV prevention pill
uptake among young women in Zim

MORTEN SKOVDAL

ADOLESCENT girls and young PrEP can reduce the risk of HIV infection by over 90%.
women in sub-Saharan Africa
have a very high risk of acquiring giving adolescent girls and young at the clinic may come at a cost. In female friendly. Strong gender PrEP use.
HIV. The latest  global Aids up- women information about PrEP resource poor settings, these small norms subject many adolescent
date report suggests that a stagger- and how to access it. The cam- associated costs can be prohibi- girls and young women in sub-Sa- Looking ahead
ing six out of seven new infections paigns would also have to debunk tive and need to be eliminated, haran Africa to different forms of A recent  report  by Zimbabwe’s
among 15-19-year-olds in sub-Sa- myths about PrEP only being for either through reimbursements or social control around their sexual- ministry of Health and Child
haran Africa are among girls. women engaged in sex work – a through an incentive-based pay- ity. The healthcare providers rec- Care found young women to have
common myth in the study area ment system. ognised their role in this. Young an HIV incidence more than nine
Entrenched  gender inequali- – as well as fears about potential women fear going to the clinic, times higher than that of their
ties make young women and girls side effects. Campaigns targeting • Strengthen the human re- worried they might be seen by male peers. HIV prevention ser-
more vulnerable to coercive be- adolescent girls and young wom- source capacity of health services community members. They also vice planners looking to increase
haviour that leaves them unable en must be accompanied by com- to deliver PrEP. PrEP is still rela- fear the attitudes and indiscre- access and uptake of PrEP among
to negotiate safe sex. munity campaigns. These should tively new in many sub-Saharan tions of healthcare providers, who adolescent girls and young wom-
encourage parents to talk to their African settings, including Zim- may disapprove of a young girl’s en in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in
But there is a method for ad- children about HIV prevention babwe. use of PrEP, and may tell parents the region must take heed of these
olescent girls and young women methods, including PrEP, and that their girl is sexually active. findings.
to protect themselves from HIV to shift community perceptions Although PrEP has been avail- Healthcare workers fully recognise
without having to convince a about PrEP as a pill that encour- able in Zimbabwe since  2018, it these challenges and call for the Many more actions will of
partner to use a condom at the ages promiscuity. has been limited to certain pop- delivery of PrEP through  sexual course be needed for the effective
time of sex. Pre-exposure prophy- ulation groups through demon- and reproductive health hubs that rollout of PrEP for adolescent
laxis, or PrEP, is a pill containing • Involve adolescent girls and stration projects. PrEP services to are discreet, youth friendly, and girls and young women in sub-Sa-
antiretroviral drugs that can help young women in the rollout of adolescent girls and young wom- staffed by young and sex-positive haran Africa.
prevent HIV. If taken consistent- PrEP. Young women must design, en are still limited and in their healthcare workers. They also rec-
ly, PrEP can reduce the risk of sex- feature in and deliver the aware- infancy. ognise that such services must be However, the six actions emerg-
ually transmitted HIV infection ness campaigns. Young women open outside school hours if they ing from our interviews with
by about 99%. need role models of peers on PrEP. A young woman looking for are to reach adolescent girls. healthcare workers in Zimbabwe
PrEP is therefore unlikely to find highlight solutions to some key
HIV prevention medication • Eliminate costs associated specialised and dedicated staff • Improve the PrEP pill and challenges.
has been part of HIV preven- with PrEP uptake. PrEP is freely who is ready and available to as- its packaging. The pill is big and
tion efforts since around  2014. accessible in many sub-Saharan sist. Investments are needed to some people find it uncomfort- — The Conversation.
Globally, PrEP has contributed African countries. But getting to make available a cadre of trained able to swallow. Some may also
to declines in new HIV infections the clinic, taking time off work prescribers who can deliver PrEP experience significant side effects. *About the writer: Morten
among high-risk populations. But to go to the clinic for refills and to young women in a professional Its packaging challenges secret Skovdal is associate professor in
this does not seem to be the case monitoring, and getting registered and timely manner. health psychology at the Univer-
for adolescent girls and young sity of Copenhagen in Denmark.
women in sub-Saharan Africa. • Make PrEP services youth and

In a recent study, my colleagues
and I at the  Manicaland Centre
for Public Health Research  in-
terviewed healthcare providers in
eastern Zimbabwe to understand
the low uptake of PrEP and what
they would recommend to im-
prove it.
Insights from healthcare providers
We asked 12 healthcare providers
about their experiences of making
HIV prevention services available
to young people. We asked them
specifically about PrEP. We also
invited the healthcare providers to
share their top three recommen-
dations for improving access to
PrEP for young women.

This is the first study of its kind
to focus on the perspectives of
healthcare providers in southern
Africa. Considering their perspec-
tives is particularly important.
Healthcare providers are not only
at the front-line in the delivery of
PrEP. They often live in the same
community and understand the
socio-cultural contexts of their cli-
ents. This combination of experi-
ences is valuable and must inform
future programming.

Their recommendations point
to six actions.

• Run PrEP awareness cam-
paigns, specifically at schools,

Page 46 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

ABAYOMI AWLEWA Wole Soyinka’s life of writing
holds Nigeria up for scrutiny
AKINWANDE Oluwole Babatunde characters with impact, strong plots,
Soyinka, known simply as Wole Soy- poor governance, poverty and the fu- the unchanging content of the nar- Wole Soyinka. accurate settings and language.
inka, cannot be easily described. He is ture of independent African nations. ratives or drama. Read King Baabu His 1965 play Kongi’s Harvest
a teacher, an ideologue, a scholar and His themes have remained constant or The Beatification of the Area Boy premiered in Dakar, Senegal in 1966 Soyinka has written only three
an iconoclast, an elder statesman, a over time and many African states and Chronicles from the Land of the at the first Negro Arts Festival. The novels: The Interpreters (1965), Sea-
patriot and a culturalist. are still grappling with issues he has Happiest People on Earth to observe lead character, Kongi, was played by son of Anomy (1973) and Chronicles
raised since the 1950s. the change in Soyinka’s style. Soyinka himself. It deals with themes from the Land of Happiest People on
The Nigerian playwright, novelist, Forms of writing of corruption, ego and paranoia. The Earth (2021), which came almost 50
poet and essayist is a giant among his Through his works, I discovered Soyinka’s plays cut across diverse so- lead character, Kongi, is the archetype years after his last. The novels focus
contemporaries. In 1986, he became that he has deep knowledge and un- cio-economic, political, cultural and of dictatorship globally. He suppress- mainly on Nigeria and its many ills,
the first sub-Saharan African, and is derstanding of his mother tongue, religious preoccupations. A Dance es all voices of reason, revelling in his including corruption, religious bigot-
one of only five Africans, to be award- Yoruba. For instance, in Death and of the Forests, one of the most rec- illusion of power and thinking no one ry and inept governance.
ed the Nobel prize for literature. the King’s Horseman and other plays, ognised plays, was written and pre- can stop him – until he meets a tragic
This was in recognition of the way we see Yoruba wisecracks, philosophy sented in 1960 to celebrate Nigeria’s end. The characters in the first two nov-
he “fashions the drama of existence”. and proverbs translated into his lan- independence. It reflects on the ugly Other plays depict clashes of cul- els have dreams which are sometimes
guage of communication, English. past and projects into a blossoming ture between white influence, colo- dashed through a tragic truncation of
His works reveal him as a human- These enrich his writings. future. nial values and black African orien- their lives. The latest captures con-
ist, a courageous man and a lover of tations. Soyinka never blames but temporary Nigeria, the Nigerian dias-
justice. His symbolism, flashbacks I find the changing forms of his dramatises the evil people do through pora and the myths of an ever-crawl-
and ingenious plotting contribute creative works interesting in spite of ing giant. It paints a picture of things
to a rich dramatic structure. His best going wrong for the country.
works exhibit humour and fine poet-
ic style as well as a gift for irony and Certain poems stand out
satire. These accurately match the among  Soyinka’s collection. These
language of his complex characters to are Telephone Conversation and Abi-
their social position and moral qual- ku. The former uses humour to talk
ities. about the serious issue of an African
experiencing racism as a new student
His works have such impact that in a British university. The latter com-
some of them are used in schools in ments on Nigeria’s inability to devel-
Nigeria and some other anglophone op; the poet explores the futility of
countries in West Africa. Some have life.
also been translated into French.
Life and activism Soyinka’s non-fiction includes The
Soyinka was born into a Yoruba fami- Man Died: Prison Notes (1972), his
ly in Abeokuta, southwest Nigeria, on autobiography, Ake: The Years of
13 July 1934. His parents were Sam- Childhood (1981), Isara: A Voyage
uel Ayodele Soyinka and Grace Enio- Around Essay (1990), Ibadan: The
la Soyinka. He had his primary edu- Penkelemes Years (1989) and You
cation at St Peter’s Primary School in Must Set Forth at Dawn (2006). In
Abeokuta. In 1954, he attended Gov- these works he has narrated how the
ernment College in Ibadan, and sub- story of his life and his family inter-
sequently University College Ibadan twines with the fate of Nigeria.
(now the University of Ibadan) and
the University of Leeds in England. As an essayist and intellectual, he
has highlighted the specific failings
He was jailed in 1967 for speaking of individuals in the Nigerian polity.
out against Nigeria’s civil war over the Soyinka is not afraid of mentioning
attempted secession of Biafra from names of people he writes about, nor
Nigeria. Soyinka was also incarcerat- the wrongdoings he is accusing them
ed for taking over the radio station of of.
the disbanded Nigerian Broadcasting
Corporation in Ibadan to announce These works include Myth, Liter-
his rejection of the 1965 Western Ni- ature and the African World (1976),
gerian election results. Art, Dialogue, and Outrage: Essays
on Literature and Culture (1988),
He joined other activists and dem- The Black Man and the Veil: Beyond
ocrats to form the National Demo- the Berlin Wall (1990) and The Open
cratic Coalition to fight for the resto- Sore of a Continent: A Personal Nar-
ration of democracy in Nigeria. rative of the Nigerian Crisis (1996).

He now lives in Abeokuta. They are essays that have contrib-
Themes and style uted to Soyinka’s status as a global
My first contact with Soyinka was in intellectual.
secondary school when we were made
to read his play Lion and the Jewel. — The Conversation.
Some of my classmates then felt he *About the writer: Abayomi
was difficult to read and assimilate. Awelewa is a lecturer in African
I later found out Lion and the Jewel and African diasporan literature at
was actually one of the simplest titles. the University of Lagos in Nigeria.

Soyinka’s works often address the
clash of cultures, the interface be-
tween primitiveness and moderni-
ty, colonial interventions, religious
bigotry, corruption, abuse of power,

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 47

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

José Eduardo dos Santos obituary

President of Angola for nearly 40 years whose rule was marred by corruption

JOSÉ Eduardo dos Santos, who The late Angolan former President José Eduardo dos Santos. tions unit, and became the MPLA’s
died aged 79 on 8 July, was pres- representative to Yugoslavia, Zaire
ident of Angola for almost four cause of his loyal behaviour during a new phase with UN-monitored a final peace agreement was signed (now the Democratic Republic
dramatic decades, commander in the coup attempt, but also as rep- elections, which the MPLA won. two months later. Despite the mil- of the Congo) and China, before
chief of the armed forces and par- resenting a younger generation. But Unita again returned to war itary victory, as a pointer to the joining its central committee.
ty leader. when they lost the election. In possibility of reconciliation those
Dos Santos inherited a crippled the 1990s, as the conflict dragged who had followed Savimbi to the In line with the fall of commu-
A desperate struggle for inde- country and an active war. Under on, corruption scandals touched end were finally reintegrated into nism in eastern Europe, in 1991
pendence from  Portugal  was fol- President  Ronald Reagan  from senior Angolans concerning arms national politics. Dos Santos declared at an MPLA
lowed by 27 more war years as 1981 the US openly aided Unita. deals with the ex-Soviet bloc, congress that Marxism was over
Angola supported the liberation Angola resisted numerous South and the French politician Charles Born in the capital, Luanda, and social democracy was the way
struggles in southern Africa, pay- African invasions and attacks Pasqua  was convicted, and then José was the son of Jacinta José forward. The party was by then
ing an extremely high price for its with Cuban assistance. Massive acquitted, of profiting from ille- Paulino and Avelino Eduardo dos heading towards a mood of polit-
principles. destruction of the country’s infra- gal arms sale to Angola, while at Santos. While at school he joined ical paralysis and a degree of de-
structure, and hundreds of thou- the same time there were curious the MPLA, which sent him to the mobilisation, evident by the end
Dos Santos led a long and fi- sands of destitute, wounded and transactions over repayment of a Soviet Union to gain degrees in of the civil war.
nally successful resistance, with displaced people was the reality. $5bn debt to Boris Yeltsin’s Rus- petroleum engineering and radar
Cuba, to repeated military offen- sian government. transmission in Azerbaijan. In From 2002 onwards, important
sives by apartheid  South Africa. But in late 1987 Cuba turned 1970 he returned via the Repub- infrastructure features were con-
However his legacy is indelibly the tide by sending their best Several peace accords were again lic of Congo (Congo–Brazzaville) structed, notably with Chinese
marked by his family’s extravagant planes, best pilots, weapons and signed by Dos Santos’s government and joined the MPLA’s guerrillas aid, Brazilian cooperation and
level of corruption and by his oil- 30,000 troops to southern Angola with Unita, and in 1997 a govern- as a wireless operator in the inhos- the help of the oil-fuelled boom
rich country’s failure to remedy to relieve the 12,000-strong cream ment of national unity was creat- pitable equatorial forest of Cabi- that had started in the 90s. But an
extreme inequality. of the Angolan army surrounded ed with Unita and another former nda. air of corruption was embedded
in Cuito Cuanavale by a South Af- group, the FNLA. Dos Santos in these achievements that went
In April 1974 the fascist regime rican army with air superiority. and others in the MPLA leader- The MPLA involvement with along with a fading of the MPLA’s
in Portugal, the colonial power, ship wanted and imposed tolerant Cuba had begun five years pre- original principle of putting polit-
fell. That September Dos Santos By late March 1988 the battle behaviour towards Unita former viously, when Neto and another ical commitment above personal
was elected to the central commit- of Cuito Cuanavale was won and combatants – revenge and perse- leader, Lucio Lara, met Che Gue- interests.
tee and politburo of the MPLA the South African army forced cution could easily have emerged. vara in Brazzaville. A handful of
(People’s Movement for the Lib- to withdraw. Later that year in a Cuban guerrillas went to Cabinda It was a sign of the times when
eration of Angola), while serving tripartite agreement, which gave However, Savimbi, with a group as military advisers. Dos Santos in 2016 Dos Santos appointed his
as a telecommunications officer. Namibia independence, Cuban of his soldiers, continued the war went on to serve as a sub-com- daughter Isabel  to head Angola’s
After independence in 1975 he troops also agreed to withdraw. until his death in February 2002; mander in the telecommunica- key national asset, the oil com-
became minister of foreign affairs pany Sonangol. His son José Fi-
and later minister of planning un- Dos Santos led the country into lomeno (Zenú) headed the $5bn
der the first president, the poet, national asset fund.
doctor and intellectual Agostinho
Neto, a veteran of Portugal’s pris- In 2017  the president decid-
ons. ed not to seek re-election. Under
the anti-corruption campaign ini-
The independence war turned tiated by his successor, João Lou-
into the ugliest of decolonising renço, Isabel was removed from
confrontations as the US, un- Sonangol and in 2020  Zenú was
der presidents Richard Nixon sentenced to a five-year prison
and Gerald Ford, opted to protect term, after repaying substantial
South Africa’s white regime, and sums of money sent abroad. He
its occupation of Namibia, from appealed.
the growing resistance in the re-
gion. Continuing court cases indi-
cate a massive level of diversion
They had their own candidate of state funds for private interests,
for leader of independent Ango- and bank loans of hundreds of
la,  Jonas Savimbi  of Unita (the millions of dollars that have never
National Union for the Total In- been repaid. The Dos Santos fam-
dependence of Angola). As Portu- ily and a number of generals close
gal retreated in 1975, the South to the former president who prof-
African army, with CIA support, ited from these deals have now
invaded Angola to prevent the lost their fortunes and are await-
MPLA, with its support for the ing court hearings. Isabel, whose
African National Congress and business empire once spanned
Namibia’s independence move- a supermarket chain, telecoms,
ment, Swapo, from taking power. brewery and banking interests, has
denied any wrongdoing. The for-
Cuba brought a military force mer president spent his last years
across the Atlantic to support the in exile in Barcelona.
MPLA, stopping that plan, and
Angola proclaimed independence, Isabel was the daughter of his
led by the MPLA, on 11 Novem- first marriage, to Tatiana Kukano-
ber 1975. However, a new war was va, whom he had met in Azer-
promptly unleashed on Angola baijan. That marriage ended in
by South Africa, using Unita as a divorce, and two others followed
proxy. before in 1991 Dos Santos mar-
ried Ana Paula de Lemos, who
Meanwhile, the country was survives him, and with whom he
thrown into crisis by a violent had three children, Eduane, Josea-
coup attempt in May 1977 by na and Eduardo.
pro-Soviet militants hoping their
claimed sympathies for Moscow His children Tchizé and the
would provide them with external musician Coréon Dú (José Eduar-
support. do Paulino dos Santos) came from
his relationship with Maria Luisa
When Neto died suddenly in Abrantes; Zenú came from one
1979, Dos Santos, aged only 37, with Filomena Sousa.
was elected his successor from
within the politburo in part be- — The Guardian.

Page 48 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

DAVE ANYONA KANUNDU Choice facing Kenya Uhuru and Ruto
and how we got here In their almost decade-long rule, Uhuru
THE upcoming  Kenyan  elections on 9 and Ruto have overseen the most cor-
August will mark a turning point in the After many cycles of betrayed hopes, Kenya votes again in August. Neither rupt period in Kenya’s history. Levels of
nation’s future and could be the country’s frontrunner promises a leftward break, but their visions differ vastly. public looting today are so brazen that
most consequential poll to date. perpetrators no longer bother concealing
Veteran politician Raila Odinga (right) and Uhuru Kenyatta. their malfeasance. Billions of dollars have
The presidential contest election is ef- disappeared from public coffers, and the
fectively a two-horse race between Deputy ment by  Daniel arap Moi  brought the lice stations across the country. constitutions…Constitutions rarely herald president himself has publicly said that at
President William Ruto and veteran poli- possibility of a fresh start. But this hope Yet once again, Kenyans’ hopes were fundamental transformations. They are the least Ksh2 billion (US$17 million) is lost
tician Raila Odinga. Neither is proposing was short-lived too. The country saw the product of fundamental transformations”. to corruption every day. Kenya has taken
a paradigm-shifting leftward break with reintroduction of torture chambers, de- betrayed. Within months, the ebullient on unmanageable levels of debt for phan-
Kenya’s current neo-liberal and neo-patri- tention without trial, and a reign of terror national mood had turned to despair. Im- Another legacy of the 2007 post-elec- tom projects that have never materialised
monial character. Nevertheless, their agen- unleashed on opponents. Tribalism thrived punity and corruption returned as the pil- tion unrest was an International Criminal and paid hugely inflated costs for those
das are starkly different and each would even as Moi preached “peace, love and uni- lars of politics and public life, as an ethnic Court investigation into the alleged archi- that have.
irreversibly change the country’s trajectory. ty”. Furthermore, the economy collapsed. cabal known as the “Mount Kenya Mafia” tects of the violence. Indictees included
Kenya had to turn to structural adjust- captured the state. In the words of an- Uhuru and Ruto who, aware that holding The Uhuru-Ruto administration has
Ruto proposes returning Kenya to a ment programmes (SAPs), which led to ti-corruption activist John Githongo, this public office would insulate them from fac- also purposefully deindustrialised the
pre-industrial era, reverting to small-scale de-industrialisation and the decimation new elite declared: “it is our turn to eat”. ing trial, joined forces to run against Raila’s economy, decimating local manufacturing
informal production and subsistence ag- of domestic industries as protective fiscal Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and increasing Kenya’s dependence on im-
riculture, reversing gains the country has barriers were dismantled to liberalise trade. In 2005, Kibaki brought a butchered in 2013. Amidst claims of vote-rigging fa- ports. The education sector has floundered
made in the past two decades. Raila prom- From new hope to despair version of a popular draft constitution to cilitated by the infamous Cambridge An- as the government has restricted access to
ises a return to the country’s industrialisa- A decades-long bloody struggle for multi- a referendum. Raila fiercely opposed the alytica, the two were declared winners and universities in favour of “vocational educa-
tion agenda, which took off in the 2000s party democracy against Moi’s one-party document, which would have consolidat- took office. tion” aimed at creating a low-skilled work-
but has floundered under the current dictatorship bore fruit in 1992, paving ed presidential powers, as did the opposi- ing class. Intellectual and professional pur-
administration, with a vision of putting the way for multi-party elections in 1992 tion Kanu led by Uhuru and Ruto. When President Uhuru and Deputy President suit and honest work have been shunned
Kenya back on track towards becoming a and 1997. Moi won both as nascent op- the constitution was defeated, Kibaki eject- Ruto ran for re-election in 2017, again in favour of “hustling”, which in practice
standard capitalist advanced economy. position parties fractured amid leadership ed Raila and his faction from the cabinet. against Raila. They were declared victors means self-enrichment through theft of
disputes. once more, but the Supreme Court nul- public resources.
Most analysis of Kenyan elections This set the stage for the 2007 elections lified the results on the grounds that the
tends to focus on the noise of politicians’ In 2002, however, the opposition in which Kibaki faced Raila. Kibaki was electoral commission had overseen a lita- The ambition of becoming a mid-
personalities and party dramas. However, learned their lessons and formed a broad narrowly declared the winner, but many ny of irregularities. When the opposition dle-income country that feeds her people
it is crucial to understand and interrogate national front under the National Rain- believed the vote had been manipulated. boycotted the rerun in protest at the elec- through high-tech agriculture have been
the two main candidates’ agendas, one bow Coalition (NARC). Among others, Raila also claimed victory. Popular demon- toral commission’s failure to address the replaced by musings on the merits of
of which will end up shaping the lives of this brought together 1997 presidential strations descended into an orgy of deadly problems identified by the court, Uhuru small-scale subsistence farming and the
around 56 million citizens. candidates Raila Odinga and Mwai Ki- violence in which 1,500 people were killed won uncontested. glorification of low-tech “wheelbarrows”,
baki. Raila, who had served as a minister and 350,000 were displaced. which have become the icon and central
This examination must begin by seeing in Moi’s government in 2001-2 before Kenya was left split down the middle campaign promise of Ruto’s presidential
the presidential aspirants’ visions in the defecting, stepped aside to allow Kibaki Kenya was rescued from full-scale civil with a president who had legal authority bid.
context of the country’s history of gover- to be opposition flag-bearer. The NARC war by the signing of the National Accord but little popular legitimacy. Some politi-
nance and politics. candidate defeated Uhuru Kenyatta, the and Reconciliation Act in 2008. This led cians and citizens actively contemplated Where Kenyans saw themselves as
A legacy of colonialism and lost hope Kanu nominee that Moi had picked to be to a power-sharing deal in which Raila be- secession. In a bid to restore calm, Uhuru beacons leading the rest of the continent
Kenya is a nation of boundless potential his successor, in a landslide. came prime minister. The deal also paved and Raila held talks that led to a now infa- towards economic nirvana, Kenyans are
yearning for change in which most people the way for the promulgation of a new mous handshake between the two rivals in now being sold primitivity and ignorance
live in poverty while a handful enjoy ob- Kibaki was sworn in on a wave of hope. 2010 constitution, which devolved pow- 2018. The nation exhaled. as aspirational.
scene wealth. It is a nation of plenty, but Many believed their new president’s prom- er and resources from the centre to many The choice facing Kenya
one that has repeatedly been betrayed by ise that “corruption will cease to be a way hitherto ignored regions in the periphery. No sooner had the ink dried on their This is the backdrop of the upcoming 9
predatory politicians who abuse the trust of life” and, in 2003, Kenyans were sur- The document also explicitly sought to de- agreement than a new internecine battle August elections and how we got here.
bestowed upon them. veyed to be the most hopeful people in the mand higher ethical standards of Kenyan emerged between Uhuru and his deputy Once again, Kenyans will face a choice be-
world. Ordinary citizens arrested corrupt leaders, though attempts to improve gov- Ruto. tween two familiar faces at the ballot box,
This history can be traced back to the policemen and frog-marched them to po- ernance by referring to the constitution’s but each with a very different vision.
British colonial project, which was brutal standards have had little success. As author The last four years has seen an unseemly
and repressive as well as racist and parasit- Issa Shivji aptly  observed: “Constitutions public spat unfold between the president Ruto, a self-designated “hustler-in-
ic. The colonialists forcefully expropriated don’t make revolutions. Revolutions make and his newfound ally Raila on the one chief”, romanticises ignorance and poverty
Kenya’s rich highlands, creating the agrar- hand, and Ruto on the other. to advance a cynical class warfare agenda.
ian economy whose primary purpose was He advocates “bottom-up economics”,
to supply British industries and kitchens. which when interrogated mainly promises
Meanwhile, unlike in colonies like Austra- sustained deindustrialisation. His vision
lia or New Zealand, the government made echoes both the colonialists’ plan for the
no investments in advancing industry or indigenous population and Kenyatta and
social welfare; education for Kenyan sub- Moi’s deliberate suppression of Kenya’s
jects merely imparted crude agricultural advancement to ensure a subservient pop-
skills suitable for an obedient workforce. ulace.

In the 1940s, the British developed a Ruto’s agenda leaves many questions
new strategy as the possibility of decolo- unanswered. What does it mean for the
nisation loomed. They sought to create a average Kenyan? How can a country of 50
“responsible” middle class that could guar- million feed itself on subsistence farming?
antee their foreign capital investments and What does it mean to create a low-skilled
head off any potential working-class rebel- “hustler” working class who cannot re-
lion. Kenyan nationalists were allowed to spond to increasing global demands for
share power with their colonial masters as technical skills and automation? How can
a subservient client elite in return for guar- a country without industry compete in a
anteeing to reproduce colonial structures world in which other countries are aiming
in the event of independence. for self-sufficiency?

Despite this tactic, a radical indepen- Raila’s 10-point manifesto builds from
dence movement known as the Mau Mau a vision of Kenyan life transcendent from
emerged and grew in the 1940s-50s. Ken- the brutality of poverty and ignorance. It
ya was granted independence in 1963. aims to reinvigorate and safeguard indus-
try to produce for Kenyans and gain global
At independence, the popular nation- competitive advantage. Raila promises
al movement Kenyan African National universal healthcare, and his campaign’s
Union (Kanu) came to power. It promised central feature is an ambitious social wel-
to not only liberate Kenya from the yoke fare programme for the indigent. His
of colonialism but free people from the de- manifesto attempts to break Kenya away
grading conditions they had been subject- from path dependency shaped by its colo-
ed to by imperialism. It vowed to eradicate nial origins. It attempts to right the wrongs
poverty, disease, and ignorance. Kenyans of the past and present and to help Kenya
were extremely excited about the future. leapfrog into an advanced future.

However, their dreams were already Kenya is at a crossroads. After decades
dead by the end of the first republic, killed of betrayed promises, these elections pro-
by ethnic chauvinism and corruption per- vide another opportunity for citizens to
petrated by a brutal cabal that captured mobilise a movement for a new more
the state. Political elites hijacked the “mil- equal Kenya. We need a politics that aims
lion-acre scheme”, which was meant to to transform the degrading, dehumanis-
return vacated colonial land to its original ing and back-breaking conditions under
owners. The government failed to engage which most of our compatriots live and
in nation-building. And President Jomo work. We must reject a politics that seeks
Kenyatta undermined the multi-party sys- to perpetuate poverty, disease, and igno-
tem as he centralised power. rance. In this political contest, the choice
is an easy one.
Kanu’s development agenda meanwhile
ended any hopes of socialist economic — African Arguments.
transformation. Even though the econo- *About the writer: Dave Anyona
my grew, it followed the colonial pattern Kanundu is a political economist and
of marginalising large sections of a depen- public policy adviser in the East African
dent country that produced what it didn’t region.
consume and consumed what it couldn’t
produce.

Kenyatta’s death in 1978 and replace-

NewsHawks Africa News Page 49

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

“THE EU could import 50 bcm Ukraine war makes Africa gas
more of LNG on a yearly basis” de- more important than ever
clared the European Commission in
March. In May, the bloc expanded EU's political decision to reduce dependency on Russian gas in protest at Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Egypt and West Africa are the alternative suppliers.
that ambition to include 10bn cubic
metres (bcm) of pipeline gas. It is possible, instead, that compe- increase gas supplies to Europe. Commission wants to diversify its Other operators with interests in
tition between European companies This is not necessarily because of gas supply chains more widely. In its Mozambique include TotalEnergies
Its political decision to reduce its could be a case of “robbing Peter to strategy for “External Energy Engage- and ExxonMobil. TotalEnergies de-
dependency on Russia in protest at pay Paul”. According to Gower, this capacity. In April, the Ministry of ment in a Changing World”, released clared force majeure, following an
Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine means deal shows a move by Algiers away State Petroleum Resources admitted on 18 May, it declared that “Senegal attack by Islamist rebels, but there are
the EU is now scrambling for alter- from Spain and “we may see gas pre- that the country’s (indeed Africa’s) and Angola also offer untapped LNG hopes that it will be able to begin pro-
native supplies. In its REPowerEU viously destined for Spanish markets largest LNG exporter, Nigeria LNG potential”. duction by 2028.
plan, released on 8 March, the Com- sent to Italy instead”. Limited, was operating at 70% capac-
mission specifically mentioned Egypt ity because of disputes over the price With Western majors such as BP, Eni is also working to bring on
and West Africa as potential sources. Supplies from Egypt may arrive of third-party gas supplies. Resolving ExxonMobil and Shell having an- production in the Republic of Con-
But does this mean it is boom time at European terminals more quickly these disputes is likely to take some nounced pull-outs from Russia fol- go.
for Africa’s gas? than those from Algeria, facilitated by time. lowing the invasion of Ukraine, an-
the reopening of the Damietta lique- alysts expect the companies to place In April it announced the signing
At present, Algeria is by far the faction plant on the Mediterranean Ground was broken for a new Ni- renewed emphasis on their holdings of a letter of intent to develop an
largest African supplier of natural gas coast. That followed an agreement geria LNG train, the country’s sev- in sub-Saharan Africa. LNG project with a capacity of over
to the EU, providing 12.6% of its im- between Eni and EGAS last year. This enth, last June after a decade-long 4.5 bcm/year once fully operational.
ports in 2021 (45 bcm), according to has eased the long-standing capacity delay. Despite this, observers warn BP has been developing LNG off It expects production to begin by the
the Commission’s statistics. difficulties in Egypt. against raising expectations. Con- Senegal and neighbouring Mauri- end of 2023.
struction has been further delayed by tania for some it. It has already sold Overcoming the obstacles
Nigeria is a distant second with But, as Gower points out, “Egypt Covid and other troubles. The com- cargos from Phase 1 of its Greater There is no shortage of resources in
3.5% (12.6 bcm, according to S&P itself relies on imported Israeli gas pany’s CEO recently announced a Tortue/Ahmeyim (GTA) project, accessible offshore locations around
Global Platts Analytics) with Egypt to meet its rising domestic demand revised expected completion date of which is expected to deliver about 3.4 the coasts of southern and western
just behind with 2.5% (9 bcm, ac- and its export contracts, as its own 2025. bcm annually. Africa. The obstacles to exploiting
cording to the country’s minister of reserves are in decline. Boosting ex- them are political.
Petroleum) in 2021. ports to Italy does not look so easy, There is little chance that other Gas from Phase 2, along with more
unless the volumes are made up of di- sub-Saharan Africa producers will be from two nearby projects, will at least While the European Union’s search
Egypt’s figure was, notably, a qua- verted cargoes of imported Israel gas able to do much to relieve the EU’s double this figure and remains un- for new supplies of gas has provided a
drupling over the year before. processed in Egypt.” gas supply problems in the short contracted, according to Rystad En- new opportunity, its climate policies
term. Forecasts from researchers at ergy. have introduced new uncertainties.
Massimo Di Odoardo, vice-presi- This may explain why, in its May Rystad Energy issued in February
dent, global gas and LNG research at communication, the EU declared suggest only modest increases in pro- The next country with the poten- The key elements of its RePowerEU
Wood Mackenzie, says African pro- that it, “aims to conclude a trilateral duction in 2023 with major rises in tial to make a significant impact on plan are diversifying supplies, reduc-
ducers will face stiff competition. agreement with Egypt and Israel” be- LNG output not expected to begin European LNG markets is Mozam- ing demand and ramping up the pro-
fore this summer. until new deepwater fields come on bique. duction of green energy in the EU.
“Africa is well positioned given its Nigeria Held Back By Disputes stream after 2027.
proximity”, he says. “But European There are doubts too about whether Developing new production The Eni-led Coral South project The fate of African LNG producers
demand might not be there forever, the third big supplier, Nigeria, can In the medium term, the European is expected to begin production this will depend upon how they balance
and others are trying to seize the op- year, with all its output, expected to those three imperatives.
portunity, including in the US and be around 4.5 bcm/year, purchased
the Middle East. Timing to market by BP. — Africa Business.
will be key. Africa needs to move fast
if it wants to be a key supplier to Eu-
rope as it tries to diversify away from
Russia.”

Some of those other suppliers are
already expanding their output. In
late March, the US committed to
“work with international partners
and strive to ensure additional LNG
volumes for the EU market of at least
15 bcm in 2022”.

This would replace around 4% of
the EU’s total gas imports this year,
with higher volumes in prospect over
the coming decade. However, this still
leaves a significant gap to fill. What
is the potential for African countries
to ramp up supplies to the EU in the
short term?

Can Algeria And Egypt Meet De-
mand?

The producers with the greatest
ability to meet the EU’s increased
needs are those with existing connec-
tions to European buyers. Sonatrach
of Algeria and Egypt’s EGAS have
been early beneficiaries, courtesy of
their long-standing relationships with
Eni of Italy.

Just a month after the EU unveiled
its REPowerEU plan, Eni announced
a deal with Sonatrach to increase
exports of gas through their shared
TransMed pipeline by 9 bcm per
year. Two days later, Eni announced
a deal with EGAS of Egypt for 3 bcm
of LNG to be shipped during 2022.

But extra flows from Algeria will
take time to ramp up, according to
Alice Gower, director, geopolitics and
security at Azure Strategy.

“While it is possible that Algeria
could increase its gas exports to Eu-
rope following the deal with Eni, it is
likely to fall short of the 9 bcm goal,
not least because of pipeline capaci-
ty issues (there is only 8bcm of spare
capacity). But also, Algeria does not
have spare capacity available. Add
growing domestic demand and there
may not be enough gas to go around.”

Page 50 Africa News NewsHawks

Issue 89, 15 July 2022

Libya: A country in need of a king?

ASHRAF BOUDOUARA Restoring a symbolic monarch may sound anachronistic, but after a
decade of division and chaos, it makes perfect sense to many Libyans.
MORE than a decade has passed
since the fall of Muammar A billboard with Muammar Gaddafi's picture at Sebha Airport in Libya in 2010.
Gaddafi in 2011, but the  Lib-
yan  Uprising is no closer to a news is that there is already an er could unite the country and killed, abducted, and tortured. one model to consider.
happy ending. alternative available: Libya’s In- bring competing factions to- It has no opponents on the bat- Such a plan would also likely
dependence Constitution. gether with assurances that their tlefield.
After three attempts at hold- Back to the future concerns will be heard. face resistance from those who
ing elections without a consti- Libya’s “birth certificate”, as it is Instead, it has the unique currently enjoy a degree of pow-
tution – or, for that matter, any known in the country, was the Restoring a symbolic monar- potential to reconcile the na- er in Libya. However, support
legal framework – the UN tried, drafted by the UN in 1951. It chy would have other benefits tion’s past with its future, and for this solution has  grown  to
in a last-ditch effort, to hold an included freedom of the press, too. the ability to reconcile Libya’s the point it cannot be ignored
“urgent constitutional dialogue” freedom of expression, equality minorities. Despite decades of much longer. The independence
in Egypt last month. Unsurpris- before the law, an elected parlia- First, it would prevent the anti-monarchy propaganda un- constitution is finally a serious
ingly, the talks failed. ment, and regular elections. At need for the creation of a ruling der Gaddafi, the late King Idris topic of conversation, validat-
its heart was a largely symbol- Presidential Council that would and his son Prince Hassan are ing what Libyans like me have
Libya is back to square one. ic monarchy, led by the Libyan enthrone Libya’s current crook- still seen positively. Their pic- been saying for years. It is now
It has “two prime ministers”, hero Idris al-Senussi, who served ed political class. Those pushing tures can be found at every pro- critical that Libya’s birth certif-
one who  refuses to give up as father of the nation and King for this as a solution are simply test across the country. Many icate not get hijacked by actors
power while the other struggles of Libya until his overthrow in looking for a way to guarantee Libyans who came of age in working for their own interests
to acquire legitimacy.  Violent a coup led by Gaddafi in 1969. their individual interests. 1969 lament the coup to their and who seek to spoil Libyans’
clashes  have started in Tripoli, grandchildren as a terrible mis- last chance for peace and recon-
and oil and gas exports are once Over half a century later, Second, it would give us the take and urge them to repair ciliation.
again being  interrupted  by mi- there is growing talk in Libya historical continuity we need to it. The Senussi family – now
litias. This has followed years of restoring the independence build a nation, a continuity that led by King Idris’ 59-year-old Restoring a monarchy will
of  political stalemate  and in- constitution. And with good has been obfuscated by 42 years grandson Mohammed – also has sound strange to many ears. But
stability, stemming from an reason. It would solve many of dictatorship and 11 years of impeccable Islamic credentials in a divided and chaotic Libya,
inability to elect a government problems in one fell swoop. chaos. This instability has, most and offers a genuine chance of it makes perfect sense.
recognised by the East, West It would create a framework concerningly, led to a lack of na- reconciling secular and Islamist
and South of the country – the for holding elections. It would tional identity and unity, and a actors. — African Arguments.
three distinct regions that came give us a constitution that we situation in which powerful par- *About the writer: Ashraf
together to form Libya in 1951. could use as starting point from ties only seek to promote their Restoring Libya’s indepen- Boudouara is a political an-
These geographic divides  con- which to modify and develop. It own interests at the expense of dence constitution would not be alyst based in Libya. Having
tinue to play a major role in po- would give us a sense of national the Libyan state. straightforward. It would have been involved in advocating
litical life and animate debates identity beyond the shadow of to happen by consensus, and the for a constitutional democrat-
regarding the allocation of re- Gaddafi. While many may see a And third, it would put the exact mechanisms would need ic solution for Libya for many
sources and political equality. return to monarchy as anachro- future of Libya in a clean pair of to be agreed by various parties. years, he currently serves as the
Many Libyans feel another civil nistic, a suitable symbolic lead- hands. Though King Idris’ reign An Afghan  loya jirga  model in chairperson of the National
war is just around the corner. was far from perfect, a new which tribal leaders make de- Conference for the Return of
monarchy would not be impli- cisions by consensus would be the Constitutional Monarchy.
Libya today is a country with- cated in a civil war in which it
out a social contract. As in the did not participate. It has not
Gaddafi years, authority derives
from force rather than trust; it
is about the monopoly of vio-
lence rather than the national
interest. Those who have been
successful in garnering power
are those who have  resorted to
force  over consensus, and who
have turned to violence rath-
er than risk losing power in an
election. It is no way to run a
country, and certainly no way to
build one.

Libyans have  no trust  in any
individual or institution in Lib-
ya, and rightly so; they have not
earned it. The burning down of
Tobruk Parliament and the
houses of numerous politicians
by protesters in early-July attest
to that sentiment.

Peacebuilding efforts to date
have focused on creating some-
thing new, such as writing a
constitution not grounded in
Libyan’s historical experiences
or relying on leaders who do
not have the consensus of the
people. UN-led efforts have em-
phasised elections over all else.
Yet over and over, these process-
es have ended in war. Over and
over, they have led to an im-
passe, as local actors string the
international community along
until opportunities arise to seize
power through force.

With the mandate of UN sec-
retary-general’s special adviser
for Libya, Stephanie Williams,
set to  expire, there is no better
occasion to change course. It is
time for more local and authen-
tically Libyan approaches to
take centre stage, and the good