NewsHawks 22 July 2022

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WHAT’S INSIDE Friday 22 July 2022 NMEaWssSive gold ZSPifOa RfiTnancial
leakages scandal:
NNEewWSgold through Documents
coins likely porous borders disappear
to fuel
arbitrage Story on Page 11 Story on Page 60

Story on Page 9

Susan Mutami
spills beans in
tell-all sexual
abuse scandal
by Mnangagwa

ALSO INSIDE Job Sikhala: Zimbabwe’s face of resistance

Page 2 News NewsHawks

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

Susan Mutami spills beans in
tell-all sexual abuse scandal

RUVIMBO MUCHENJE/ BRENNA MATENDERE

A CONTROVERSIAL young Zimbabwean wom- the excruciating monologue, narrating claims of although she did not have a personal relationship President Emmerson Mnangagwa
an Susan Mutami, based in Australia, with high-lev- abuse by Mnangagwa, in a four-hour Twitter Spaces with him as an elder. She said things changed in Mnangagwa know that he used to hang out at
el Zanu PF and government links, has dropped a session, a feature on the social media platform that 2003 when Mnangagwa attended a sports gala in Golden Mile Hotel with the likes of July Moyo. He
bombshell: she has accused President Emmerson allows users to have live audio conversations. Kwekwe when she was in Form Two. took me to Golden Mile Hotel. I was so innocent
Mnangagwa of raping and repeatedly abusing her at the time and did not think he would do anything
as a minor at only 15. It drew an audience of more than 13 000 listen- “I met Mnangagwa during a sports gala, where to harm me. That is when he slept with me. I did
ers. An audience of 13 000 can fill an average small he was a guest of honour. He was driving a green not tell anyone. He actually raped me because I did
The explosive revelations do not end there: Mu- stadium in Zimbabwe, such as White City in Bula- Jeep and greeted me as his niece. I did not want to not consent to it. He insisted that he would only do
tami makes further allegations of sexual abuse by wayo, Sakubva in Mutare or Mucheke in Masvingo. humiliate him, so I played along. it once or twice. He did exactly that and the next
Mnangagwa and his trusted political ally Owen thing I had blood all over. He said you are now a
“Mudha” Ncube, whom she also says preyed on her Given the multiplier effect of the huge social He then said 'when you close schools come to grown woman you can no longer play with boys
each time the President had finished with her. media audience, this means a far bigger number the party office and see me. Just say you want to see because you will fall pregnant.”
of Zimbabweans listened to Mutami’s startling car- sekuru when you get there',” Mutami said.
This creates a web of sleazy and sordid allegations nal disclosures. Some Facebook accounts also live- Mutami said for years she kept the abuse to her-
of sexual exploitation and abuse against a poor and streamed the audio, giving it a wider audience. However, she did not visit him during those hol- self as she feared retribution and being judged.
vulnerable minor by powerful Zanu PF leaders idays, only to later meet him by chance.
painted as sexual predators. In her gripping horrific tale, which raised the She said Mnangagwa would send Ncube to pick
alarm bells of abuse of power and exploitation of “In 2004 when I was in Form Three, I bumped her up whenever he wanted to sleep with her but,
Mnangagwa is not the only one to be involved vulnerable young women for sexual pleasure by into him again at Wimpy in Kwekwe. He asked unbeknown to him, “Mudha” would then drive her
in a sex scandal in the Zanu PF presidium. Zanu those in public positions of authority, Mutami said why I didn’t come to see him. He went further to to his Jesse Gardens Lodge, where he would also
PF co-deputy leader Kembo Mohadi was last year Moyo, who became famous after announcing the ask if my fees had been paid in full view of all peo- abuse her before taking her back home.
forced to resign as state vice-president over a sex 2017 military coup, was poisoned by his political ple who were there. He gave me two million dol-
escapade. Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga rivals. Publicly it was said Moyo died of Covid-19 lars in bearers’ cheques, which at the time was what “All of Mnangagwa’s colleagues like July Moyo
is currently mired in an abuse storm involving his complications. teachers were earning. He was in the company of and security aides knew of the abuse,” she said.
former wife Marry Mubaiwa. Mohadi’s resignation his long-serving aide, Temias Shumba.
set a precedent. The same fate, she says, befell former Air Force Mutami said her father died in a car accident
of Zimbabwe commander Perrance Shiri, who was “ . . . The next time that I met him, he was in a on 24 May 2005 when she was in Form Four. Her
Mutami’s unprecedented accusations — which agriculture minister at the time of his death. car and he showed me his privates and asked me if I mother then enrolled at Morgenster to upgrade
have shocked the nation and beyond — have knew what it was. He said ‘chinonzi chinhu chadad- her nursing credentials, while her siblings enrolled
far-reaching consequences on Mnangagwa’s reputa- Further, she said former prime minister Morgan dy’ (this is daddy’s stuff). We were in the car; he used at boarding schools. She was left home alone, not
tion and his long political career, especially ahead of Tsvangirai, who purpotedly died of colon cancer in to drive himself so he asked me to touch his penis. going to school.
Zanu PF’s crucial elective congress later in October. 2018, was also poisoned. It was the third time I was meeting him,” she said.
Mnangagwa then offered to pay her fees and
Mnangagwa is going to congress trying to ward Mutami said she knew Mnangagwa through “In 2004, during the second-term holidays, we asked her to move to his Sherwood Farm in Kwe-
off an undeclared challenge by Chiwenga, who be- her father who was a Zanu PF official in Kwekwe, bumped into each other again. Those who know kwe.
hind the scenes is fighting to be the Zanu PF presi-
dential candidate in 2023.

Mnangagwa and Chiwenga have been fighting
for political power and supremacy ever since they
removed the late former president Robert Mugabe
in 2017. Their power struggle over an unresolved
Zanu PF leadership issue has been raging since the
coup.

Only this week, political events showing in-
fighting within Zanu PF in Harare and Masvingo
involving former youth league leaders and war vet-
erans, respectively, point towards their deepening
rivalry.

Mnangagwa and Chiwenga have been locked
in a war of attrition since they removed Mugabe
in 2017, hence some claim that Mutami is being
sent by the former Zimbabwe Defence Forces com-
mander as a stalking horse, a claim she denies.

Mugabe tried to end Mnangagwa’s career in a
related way, amid various similar and yet more hor-
rific allegations just before the 2017 coup.

Former police commissioner-general Augustine
Chihuri had prepared files on Mnangagwa alleging
criminal activities for which he was supposed to be
arrested.

When Mnangagwa took over, his government
seized Chihuri's properties, but the courts returned
them to him last month. Chihuri, currently in ex-
ile in South Africa, claimed during the fight over
properties Mnangagwa had previously snatched his
girlfriend from him.

Mugabe wanted to arrest Mnangagwa upon his
dismissal in November 2017 on various allegations,
including allegedly forcing the late journalist God-
frey Majonga to jump off a high-rise flat in the Ha-
rare Avenues after finding him with his girlfriend in
the 1980s, before his escape into Mozambique and
then South Africa.

Mutumi said Ncube, a staunch Mnangagwa
political ally, also sexually abused her on numerous
occasions behind his boss’ back. He took advantage
of her whenever Mnangagwa was done with her.

Mutami also spoke about her consensual rela-
tionships with the late former foreign affairs min-
ister Sibusiso Moyo, who was in the military at the
time, independent legislator Temba Mliswa, deputy
Mines minister Polite Kambamura, Judicial Service
Commission secretary Walter Chikwana, and Zanu
PF politburo member Kenneth Musanhi, among
other prominent people.

An emotional Mutami often broke down during

NewsHawks News Page 3

Issue 90, 22 July 2022 Mutami claims she was held hostage by the First
Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa (below) in Kwekwe.
While at the farm, the President continued to
sexually abuse her, although he was also in a sex-
ual relationship with his accountant, who was also
staying at the farm. He later had a child with the
accountant, she says.

Mutami said her stay at the farm was not rosy
because of the physical and emotional abuse she
suffered at the hands of First Lady Auxillia Mnan-
gagwa, who suspected her of having an affair with
her husband or Shumba, his aide.

“Auxillia did not like the fact that ED was help-
ing me with school fees and I didn’t tell her that
there was something going on. So she was so mean
and rude. One day she spilled water onto the bed
where I slept with the maid at 2am, and she asked
us to wake up and clean the house at that time and
we woke up to do that with the maid,” she said.

“She once beat me up, asking who between ED
and Shumba (his aide) I was sleeping with. I was
in so much fear and I couldn’t say anything. She
brought out a gun and told me that she was once
a CIO (Central Intelligence Organisation) and
could kill me. I was only 16,” she said, sobbing.

"She called me a prostitute. At the time her three
sons were out of the country — Emmerson Jnr in
Australlia and Sean and Collins in China."

Mutami said she tried to leave the farm, but was
held hostage by Auxillia, who also denied her food.

Her plight got worse after she summoned
enough courage to tell Auxillia that her husband
had abused her. She dismissed her story and ac-
cused her of plotting to get her husband arrested.

Mutami says she later told Moyo of her ordeal
and he vowed to protect her. She met Moyo at
Mnangagwa’s farm.

“I told SB about the abuse and he cried about
it and then advised me to get an HIV test, which
came out negative,” she said.

She says Moyo confessed to her he was HIV pos-
itive, but said he would give her pre-exposure pills
to protect her from contracting the virus when they
would engage in sexual activities.

Throughout the duration of her relationship
with Moyo, Mnangagwa continued abusing her
even when she had relocated to Australia. Moyo
had advised her that abruptly cutting off the abu-
sive relationship with Mnangagwa could cause
trouble for her.

“Whenever I came back from Australia, ED
would book me at Meikles. The first time (upon
my return) he wanted to sleep with me, I asked for
protection because of the grapevine of his HIV in-
fection. He left the room unhappy after asking me
where I got the audacity to ask him for protection,”
she said.

Mutami’s disclosures have left the public shell-
shocked, even though people had already heard
juicy rumours of the alleged statutory rape and
abusive sexual escapades.

Before her Twitter Spaces tell-all disclosures, Mu-
tami has dropped many hints.

During the monologue, she said she was not
the only woman abused but there were many oth-
er young women defiled by leaders of the "mafia
government".

Contacted for comment on these serious allega-
tions, Presidential spokesperson George Charamba
said this was mere gossip.

He was combative about it.
Charamba, who is also deputy chief secretary in
the Office of the President and Cabinet, said: “We
do not deal with rumours at the President’s office. I
have nothing more to hide,” he said.
Asked if he was not concerned that the audience
of Mutami’s Twitter Spaces session had ballooned to
over 13 000 and the nation needed to know, in the
public interest, if Mnangagwa was a sex predator,
Charamba said:
“You see, I am done with you. I said we do not
deal with rumours. No no no. That is it. What
more do you want?” he asked in a fit of rage.
“I am a serious character, I do not deal with gos-
sip.”
Before the coup, reports of Mutami’s abuse had
reached Mugabe who then facilitated that a team
of detectives from the Criminal Investigations
Department meet her in China to discuss the al-
legations. Mugabe advised Mutami not to come to
Zimbabwe for the meeting, fearing she would be
killed, she says.
Former first lady Grace Mugabe also listened to
Mutami’s testimony and said she was hurt by what
had happened.
The team told Mutami that she had a choice of
making a formal police report if she wished. Before
the 2017 military coup, Grace publicly accused
Mnangagwa of being a paedophile and a sex pred-
ator — “manyengavana”.

Page 4 News NewsHawks

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

Ministers clash over conservancy invasion

BRENNA MATENDERE Land where Patrick Mnangagwa is clearing and
destroying wildlife habitat inside the Midlands
THREE cabinet ministers are locked in a Black Rhino Conservancy’s Twin Springs Range.
fierce battle over seizure of a highly protected
Midlands Rhino Conservancy by influential
figures, who include bureaucrats, diplomats,
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s brother
Patrick and Zanu PF acolytes.

The NewsHawks last week revealed that
among those who have settled in the conser-
vancy is Finance minister Mthuli Ncube.

Zimbabwe’s ambassador to South Africa
David Douglas Hamadziripi, former perma-
nent representative to the United Nations
Chitsaka Chipaziwa, Zimbabwe’s current
ambassador to the UN Albert Ranganai
Chimbindi and Air Commodore Marcelino
Jaya, who is based at the Josiah Magama Ton-
gogara Air Base in Gweru, have also settled
in the conservancy, among other Zanu PF
bigwigs.

In separate interviews, Midlands minister
of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution
Larry Mavhima, Environment, Tourism and
Climate Change minister Nqobizitha Man-
galiso Ndlovu and officials from the Lands
department, which fall under Agriculture
minister Anxious Masuka differed on wheth-
er the settlements were regular.

Ndlovu told The NewsHawks that he was
against the settlements which were directed
by Mavhima in his capacity as the chairperson
of the Midlands provincial lands committee.

It emerged that in 2019 Environment
minister Ndlovu tried to stop the settlements
after Mavhima had made a request to allocate
land in the conservancy.

At that time, Ndlovu advised that if any-
one was to be allocated land in the conser-
vancy, they were supposed to embark only on
wildlife-related business and not farming.

The invaders are, however, farming wheat,
among other crops.

In a letter referenced “Allocation of Land
within Chinyika Ranch, Circle G and Twin
Springs,” dated 9 December 2019 and ad-
dressed 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,
ZIMPARKS shall be conducting periodic as-
sessments”.

Ndlovu, who seemed to be avoiding direct
confrontation with fellow ministers while
speaking to The NewsHawks, said he would
rather stick to what he wrote in the letter.

“My letter was very clear that any land al-
locations were to be done, the beneficiaries
should have the capacity to engage in sustain-
able wildlife conservation,” he said.

Asked what corrective measures his minis-
try would take since the new settlers are actu-
ally conducting farming activities instead of
undertaking wildlife-related projects, Ndlovu
said it was beyond the purview of his ministry
to act on the mess.

“Land allocations are done by the ministry
of Lands,” he said.

Mavhima, who agreed that he was the one
who directed the allocations, strongly defend-
ed himself.

“I did not allocate the land to people uni-
laterally. There was a lot that happened be-
fore that. A lot of stakeholders were involved
and a series of consultations were done before
the allocations. I do not wake up and just do
what I think,” he said.

Agriculture minister Anxious Masuka and
his permanent secretary John Bhasera did
not pick calls or respond to messages sent to
them.

Officials from the Lands ministry said they
acted on the advice from the Midlands pro-
vincial lands committee.

NewsHawks News Page 5

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

Midlands conservancy has come of age

BRENNA MATENDERE The area invaded by Zimbabwe’s current ambassador to the United Nations, Albert Ranganai Chimbindi.

THE Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy, cur- es 10 wildlife ranges, namely Moreena, Mazuri, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s brother Pat- drives, bird watching, fishing, canoeing on the Se-
rently under siege from top government officials, Mahamara, Chinyika, Circle G, Dunlop, Twin rick and businessman Douglas Kwande, has sable, bhakwe River which stretches 15 kilometres up-
diplomats and bureaucrats who have grabbed Springs, Bemthree, Estrange and Sebakwe Recre- wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, among other species. stream, plain game hunts, mountain biking and
pieces of land in it, has been in existence since the ational Park that was “donated” to Zimparks by The black rhinos also frequent its forests. microlight flights that brought fun to visitors by
1980s, making it around 35 years old. resettled farmers. Previously known as the Great- way of viewing the conservancy sights from the
er Munyati Conservancy, the MBRC hosts black Elephant, kudu, eland, impala, bushbuck, air.
It is a registered welfare organisation and has rhinos that are resident and other wildlife species waterbuck, buffaloes, hippopotamus, wild dog,
conservancy status under the auspices of the Zim- which come in to graze from game parks that are leopard, cheetah, brown and spotted hyena are All these activities are now close to impossible
babwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authori- in its vicinity, like Ngezi Recreational Park which found in MBRC as a whole. because of the new settlers who have built homes,
ty (ZimParks) whose parent ministry is Environ- is smaller at 6 326 hectares. cattle pens and open spaces for farming, contrary
ment, Climate, Toursim and Hospitality. Before the new settlements, the conservancy to the ecological dictates of prudent wildlife man-
Twin Springs Farm, which is now occupied by offered wildlife-related activities that attracted for- agement.
It was effectively formed in 1987, then known eigners who brought forex. They included game
as the Greater Munyati Conservancy, before it
metamorphosed into the Midlands Black Rhino Endangered species must be protected
Conservancy in 1994.
An aerial view of the place invaded by Zimbabwe’s ambassador to South Africa David Hamadziripi. Francis Nhema said government recognised and
As from 1994, the key objective of the conser- supported “the effort that is being made on the
vancy became to save the black rhinoceros which was released while about 9 489 square kilometres of protection strategies for the endangered spe- ground by the rhino custodians to physically
were being slaughtered by cross-border poachers (55% being state land and 45% being private cies. protect the rhinos.”
in various parts of the country. land) also supported white rhinos.
There is also an existing Zimbabwe Rhino Besides this framework, in 1992 the country
The idea was to move the highly endangered Although there are no latest statistics, as at 31 Policy and Management Framework to protect adopted the Zimbabwe Black Rhino Conserva-
black rhinos from the Zambezi basin to a central December 2014, Zimbabwe had a total rhino the endangered species. tion Strategy and the Black Rhino Conservation
location of the country to discourage the poachers population of 825 rhinos comprising 498 black Project Emergency Plan for the same cause.
who would sneak into the country from Zambia and 327 white rhinos, with most of the animals The framework document acknowledges “the
and other countries for poaching in remote bor- kept on private conservancies. heavy responsibility borne by those who choose Output 1 of the 2011 Rhino Policy and Man-
der areas. This idea was devised by white farmers to dedicate themselves to protecting and increas- agement Framework said Zimbabwe would cre-
who owned land in Zibagwe district, an area of The statistics also revealed that 52 rhinos were ing the rhino populations of Zimbabwe”. ate “Appropriate management actions, security
their Midlands located between the city of Kwe- dehorned, 96 ear notched while four transloca- and law enforcement to minimise illegal losses
kwe and Mvuma. tions were done within Zimbabwe again as part In the same document, the then Environment of rhinos from all populations.”
and Natural Resources Management minister
Each farmer in the area owned land measuring The framework also clearly set up biological
an average of 6 000 hectares. monitoring and management benchmarks.

The 14 land owners who gave up their land Objective 2 and Key 2 of the framework reads:
drew up a constitution in which they agreed to “Implementing effective biological and eco-
stop agricultural activities, pull down internal logical management and monitoring of each
fences and stop further construction of buildings. rhino population and their respective habitats to
It was done to protect the habitat of the rhinos. achieve optimum population growth rates.”
In the Midlands conservancy, the habitat of
Through that constitution, the farmers set the rhinos has been affected by human settle-
a good precedent and after about 20 years, the ments, contrary to the wildlife conservation pol-
black rhino population had ballooned to 66 calves icy framework and the law.
(34 female and 32 male). The Parks and Wildlife Management Author-
ity’s report revealed that the department has put
In their constitution, the farmers spelt out some energy into protecting rhinos.
their objectives for forming the conservancy as: The agency revealed that it had been “Con-
“To protect and to conserve the environment and ducting rhino conservation awareness work-
wildlife particularly, but not by way of limitation shops that were particularly targeted to rural
of the rhinocerous . . . To promote and engage communities, the judiciary, the prosecutors and
in the best practicable wildlife and land manage- law-enforcement agencies.”
ment practices that ensure a safe wildlife haven “The workshops highlighted the extinction
within our conservancy . . .” threats (of rhinos) and their causes and advocat-
ed for the expeditious finalisation of cases and
The conservancy geographically encompass- improvement in convictions in rhino cases in
courts.”
BRENNA MATENDERE

ZIMBABWE classifies the black rhinoceros as
an endangered specially protected species and
the country has enacted numerous statutes to
protect the animals.

The brazen invasion of the Midlands Black
Rhino Conservancy by prominent individuals
flies in the face of national policy on wildlife
conservation.

The main legal statute that protects rhinos
and recognizes areas they are located in as highly
protected zones is the Parks and Wildlife Act. To
tighten the protection of rhinos and other en-
dangered species, in 2020 the country promul-
gated new regulations. The government gazetted
Statutory Instrument 72 of 2020 and Statuto-
ry Instrument 71 of 2020 as part of efforts to
strengthen the Parks and Wildlife Act which leg-
islates the protection of endangered species.

The regulations were cited as the Parks and
Wildlife (Specially Protected Animals) regula-
tions of 2020.

Besides rhinos, the list of the specially pro-
tected animals includes the aardwolf, bat-eared
fox, cheetah, gemsbok, pangolin, roan, wild or
hunting dogs and the Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest
(a rare type of antelope).

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Manage-
ment Authority’s report on Rhino Conservation
in Zimbabwe released in 2015 gave further com-
mitments to the protection of rhinos.

In its preamble, the report said Zimbabwe
had “continued supporting the existence of
black rhino (diceros bicornis) and white rhinos
(ceratotherium simum) in intensive protection
zones that are situated in state-protected areas
as well as private conservancies where they are
being conserved on custodianship basis.”

A total area of 7 802 square kilometres (39%
being state land and 61% being private land)
supported black rhinos at the time the report

Page 6 News NewsHawks

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

BRENNA MATENDERE Mthuli Ncube’s greatest fall
from aristocracy to disgrace
WHEN Mthuli Ncube — who last week made
headlines after invading a rhino conservancy Finance minister Mthuli Ncube is among senior government officials and diplomats who have seized the In next year’s elections, it would not be a sur-
— was named Finance minister in President Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy (below). prise if Ncube contests for a parliamentary seat
Emmerson Mnangagwa’s cabinet after the 2018 in order to entrench himself in the Zanu PF
elections, many Zimbabweans at home and other rogue members of Zanu PF do, including wealth accumulation style. Mnangagwa’s broth- sytem.
abroad gave a nod of approval, considering that land grabbing. er Patrick is also among the invaders.
he was held in high esteem. Executive Director at Africa Economic De-
In June 2019, Ncube was said to be in the The conservancy is a high protected area be- velopment Strategies, Visiting Professor of Eco-
He was seen as the man who could rescue the run to represent Zanu PF in the Lupane East by cause it is a territory of the endangered species. nomics at the Durban University and renowed
economy which was on a downward spiral, giv- elections that had been set for 3 August. economist Professor Gift Mugano, told The
en his massive corporate leadership experience, The brazen invasions of the conservancy has NewsHawks that Ncube had failed dismally in
reputation and academic qualifications. Ncube is among senior government officials now place Ncube’s name in the hall of shame turning around the economy and described him
and diplomats who have seized the Midlands despite his colorful CV of great international as the worst finance minister since indepen-
Besides being a holder of a PhD in Mathe- Black Rhino Conservancy, in a typical primitive acclaim. dence in 1980.
matical Finance from the prestigious Cambridge
University, Ncube had also worked at the very “In terms of performance since independence
top level of a number of prestigious institu- is the worst finance minister. He took office in
tions. He was previously chief economist and October 2018 when inflation was a single digit.
vice-president of the African Development Bank It was 5 percent per year on average and at one
(AfDB). point he took inflation levels to over 1 000 per-
cent that was around 2019 because inflation was
As chief economist at the AfDB, he oversaw 837 percent in July 2020.
the economics complex, which was focused on
the process of knowledge management and eco- “It was after he stopped publication of infla-
nomic research. tion figures. That was quite phenomenal and
unprecedented. We have seen poverty levels ris-
As part of his duties, Ncube supervised the ing from 29 percent to 49 percent almost dou-
Development Research Department, Statistics bling during his era. We used to have around
Department and African Development Insti- 3.5 million people in poverty now we have 7.9
tute. As a vice-president of the AfDB, Ncube people in extreme poverty within three years and
was a member of the senior management team those are quantitative indicators of how he has
of the bank and contributed to its general stra- performed.
tegic direction.
“He has tried to speak of making surpluses but
Before his appointment as Finance minister, people now understand that he lied because of
he was managing director and head of Quan- the condonation he sought in parliament where
tum Global Research Lab in Switzerland, which he announced that he spent over ZW$100 bil-
is part of Quantum Global Group, the largest lion in 2020 which was on top of what had been
private equity group dedicated to investing in budgeted for the year,” said Prof Mugano.
Africa.
Senator David Coltart, the Citizens Coali-
He was also previously a regulator and a tion for Change Treasurer General (TG) also
board member of the South African Financial described Mthuli Ncube as a failure.
Services Board (FSB), which regulates non-bank
financial institutions in South Africa. “His policies has brought extreme poverty in
most areas that I am acquainted with like teach-
Ncube was also chairperson of the board of ers who are now paid what I can say are slave
the African Economic Research Consortium, wages. He insists on paying civil servants in
chairperson of the Global Agenda Council on RTGS dollars yet they have depreciated against
“Poverty and Economic Development” (World the hard currencies.”
Economic Forum) and a governor of the African
Capacity Building Foundation. “The auction system he introduced is for the
elite who have preferential access to forex at un-
He is also a distinguished academic as a pro- realistic rates and its never a true auction. He
fessor at the University of Oxford in the United should have floated the currency and created
Kingdom, where he taught economic develop- equitable means for accessing the forex. He has
ment, public policy and doing business in Afri- also failed to deal with corruption at the RBZ,”
ca, at both the SAID Business School, and Blav- he told The NewsHawks.
atnik School of Government.
An area where Brigadier General Milton Bvudzijena has settled in Chinyika Range of the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy.
He was also a distinguished professor of bank-
ing and financial markets at the University of
the Witwatersrand in South Africa.

His curriculum vitae therefore is not just im-
pressive but reflects his lofty status in the acad-
emy.

When he arrived in Zimbabwe, Ncube was
projected as a technocrat with a well-crafted res-
cue plan for the troubled economy. That reputa-
tion was well earned.

He projected himself as a technocrat who was
committed to tackling his tough mission and
gave an impression that he was going to be far
from intricate Zanu PF politics.

He is, however, now known as Mnangagwa’s
scarf-wearing loyalist and a failure, who is undo-
ing the strong global reputation he once held.

The scarf was first seen when Mnangagwa
visited Davos, Switzerland, in January 2018 for
the World Economic Forum where he reiterated
the now tired “Zimbabwe is open for business”
mantra.

After the Davos meeting, Mnangagwa has
continued to wear the scarf even in high tem-
peratures.

He wears the scarf, be it at party events, gov-
ernment engagements or at his farm when re-
ceiving visitors.

For many in Zanu PF, the scarf is no longer
for purposes of fashion or style and has since as-
sumed mythical dimensions.

Recently citizens were caught on camera sing-
ing “Mnangagwa enda unodzosera scarf kwaNd-
unge” (Mnangagwa go and return the scarf to
Ndunge).

Ndunge was a prominent traditional healer
from Chipinge in Manicaland. The song implied
that the late traditional healer gave Mnangagwa
the scarf to impart him with spiritual powers to
rule the country.

Other officials, including Ncube, wear the
scarf as a sign of loyalty to Mnangagwa.

He has moved away from the earlier projec-
tion that he was a technocrat who would not
dabble in politics and now does exactly what

NewsHawks News Page 7

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

Govt pressures business on USD pricing

NYASHA CHINGONO The Zimdollar is the worst-performing currency in Africa.

LOCAL retailers and manufacturers were this
week pressured to stop pricing commodities in
parallel market rates since they are accessing hard
currency at the official auction rate, The News-
Hawks can report.

Retailers and manufacturers were on Tuesday
summoned by the central bank’s Financial Intel-
ligence Unit (FIU) to explain why some business-
es were drawing funds from the foreign currency
auction and then pegging prices based on the par-
allel market rates.

Sources say that during the meeting manufac-
turers and retailers were also quizzed by FIU offi-
cials, including director-general Oliver Chiperesa,
on why they were displaying "US dollar only"
price tags at a time the country is promoting the
use of the tumbling Zimdollar.

Although the fiery meeting ended in a stale-
mate, the FIU unilaterally decided that business
return to the multicurrency system, which was
recently promulgated at law for the next five years.

However, business and FIU will reconvene in
three weeks' time to discuss further issues bedevil-
ling the economy. The meeting was also attended
by suppliers, wholesalers and millers.

In candid talk, the Confederation of Zimbabwe
Industries (CZI) told the FIU that the economy
may fail to recover until certain fundamentals are
addressed. “Our input was that all these issues are
a manifestation of underlying current pricing. So,
until that is addressed, we will be going back and
forth,” CZI president Kurai Matsheza told The
NewsHawks.

Despite considerably losing value on the mar-
ket, the government insists on the use of the Zim-
dollar for local transactions.

A week before retailers and manufactures start-
ed pricing commodities in US dollars, the CZI
had warned of the rejection of the Zimdollar.

The CZI says it has no jurisdiction to prescribe
pricing to members.

“So, business must comply. That was his (Chip-
eresa’s) conclusion. We left it to individuals. As a
body, CZI is not empowered to direct anyone or
do anything that will destroy value to their share-
holders,” Matsheza said.

Although business was told to revert to a
multi-currency system, engagement on problems
facing the economy will continue.

“They said let us engage. So, there was no con-
clusion per se, but they say let us engage and agree
to meet at a later stage. We said in three weeks’
time we will be able to meet, but later reiterated
that until that meeting, the FIU has the power to
enforce it,” Matsheza added.

Before the meeting, it was reported that an “in-
tensive blitz” was in the works to identify and take
legal measures against the culprits.

The Zimdollar is the worst-performing curren-
cy in Africa and has weakened 72% against the
greenback in 2022, according to Bloomberg. It of-
ficially trades at ZW$400:US$1, but is weaker on
the parallel market, where it is quoted at between
ZW$700:US1$ and ZW$900:US$1.

Measures to protect the currency have includ-
ed lifting interest rates to 200% — the world’s
highest. Annual inflation in the country surged to
192% in June, a 13-month high.

Finance minister Mthuli Ncube warned last
week that retailers risk losing their operating li-
cences should they refuse to accept local currency
for purchases.

The Zimbabwe dollar has plunged more than
70% against the US currency this year, helping
drive inflation to 192% in June. Its official rate is
ZW$403.40 per dollar, but the greenback chang-
es hands on the parallel market for as much as
ZW$900 and its volatility is increasing reluctance
to accept it as a method of payment.

The government had threatened to withdraw
the operating licences of retailers that charge solely
in US dollars, after accusing some of rejecting pay-
ments in local currency.

The government and policymakers have tried a
series of measures to arrest the decline, including
a temporary ban on bank lending, and hiking the
central bank interest rate to 200% — the highest
in the world. The finance ministry also legalised
the use of the US dollar in the economy for the
next five years.

Page 8 News NewsHawks

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

BERNARD MPOFU Agony as Zim gropes in the
dark for currency solutions
THE relentless depreciation of the Zimbabwe
dollar at a time some regional currencies have The South African rand strengthened this week, while the Zambian kwacha below, on the other hand, has been holding firm against the dollar.
been firming against the United States dollar
has highlighted the country’s toxic politics, con- the kwacha against other major currencies,” Chi- are positive sentiments which also come with the mand but it is now demand for value preservation
fidence deficit buffeting the economy and infla- tambara said. currency and I think that they are also doing re- where everyone who has local currency will just
tionary pressures fuelled excessive money supply forms which are production-oriented,” Mugano have to overload it and buy foreign currency. That
growth, analysts have said. “When you look at Zimbabwe, inflation has said. will kill the local currency and that is the major
been trending up. So it’s really a question of mac- challenge that we face. But also suffice to say that
The South African rand strengthened this ro-economic stability as evidenced by inflation so “That is our challenge here in Zimbabwe. On who is in the black market? It’s the contractors.
week, as global investors welcomed signs of an inflation erodes the value of any currency. the contrary, I think South Africa had some nega- That’s why you even saw the Finance minister is-
easing of restrictions by China, ahead of a poli- tive sentiments on the back of a series of scandals suing a statement saying don’t go and buy money
cy-focused week in Europe and the United States. “The measures which were announced to tame which are coming on the Office of the President from the black market. We have been saying this
inflation haven’t been really effective largely be- and corruption. Coming back to us, we did the issue as economists since time immemorial, but
Experts say the domestic currency has also cause of lack of confidence and trust in the econ- opposite of what Zambia has done. We have quite they were not listening to us. But they are now
gained on China's re-opening as its Covid-19 cas- omy. Broad money supply growth has continued bad sentiments in terms of our politics, because of saying it and writing statements to that effect.”
es decline, further assisting calming market fears to increase, so obviously that’s a major problem the toxic environment which we have — the ar-
of recession, with the world's second-largest econ- — it induces excess demand and it also affects the rests which are happening to MPs. It’s not a good Finance minister Mthuli Ncube this week
omy lifting restrictions on economic activity. exchange rate. Because of chronic high inflation, thing.” threatened to blacklist government contractors
people that are being paid in the local currency that are using their local currency balances to
The Zambian kwacha, on the other hand, have to look for the US dollar on the black market He said excessive money supply growth has drive parallel market movements. This week, the
has been holding firm against the dollar on the to store their value.” resulted in many Zimbabweans ditching the do- local dollar was trading at US$1: ZW$403 on the
backdrop of investor-friendly policy and due to mestic currency for the US dollar. official market compared to US$1:ZW$800 on
increasing hard currency supply from corporates Gift Mugano, an independent economist based the parallel market.
buying the local currency to pay taxes. in Harare, said economic developments in Zam- “Also to note is that the major driver of our
bia are anchored on positive investor sentiments. currency depreciation is excessive money supply, Without confidence, policy consistency and
Economic analysts and market watchers say the he said. reforms, it will be a matter of when the local cur-
appreciation is largely driven by low demand for “One of the things which have happened in rency will be jettisoned, not if, analysts contend.
dollars on the market. While these regional cur- Zambia which is quite encouraging is that the “In as far as I’m concerned the biggest demand
rencies have been firming, Zimbabwe, which has new government has got some goodwill and there of foreign currency is no longer the import de-
over the past few months announced several mea-
sures aimed at preserving the value of the local
currency and tame inflation, appears to be grop-
ing in the dark. Like other central banks across
the globe, stubborn inflation has continued to
give the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe a headache.

Experts say apart from the upside risk brought
by Russia's invasion of Ukraine on inflation, the
monetarist view that inflation is always a mone-
tary phenomenon became a self-fulfilling proph-
ecy when the money supply expanded at a faster
rate than the growth in national output during
the first six months of the year.

Broad money (M3) closed May 2022 at
ZW$971.54 billion, a 104.38% year-to-date
increase while reserve money and currency in
circulation went up by 12.64% and 21.75% to
ZW$29.22 billion and ZW$6.27 billion, respec-
tively during the same period.

“The domestic imbalances in money sup-
ply management and the Dutch auction system
saw the further depreciation of the local curren-
cy (ZW$) as excess liquidity continued to chase
a few US$ on the market,” local brokerage firm
Akribos Research Services said.

“This resulted in the further widening of the
parallel market premium to 91.12% by end of
June 2022 as businesses and households contin-
ued to source the US$ on the alternative market
to fund working capital requirements and con-
sumption respectively,” Chris Mugaga, Zimba-
bwe National Chamber of Commerce CE, said
the depreciation of the Zimdollar mirrored policy
uncertainty and waning confidence in the local
unit. Generally you will realise that Zimbabwe’s
currency is a different currency altogether. The
reason why some currencies will be firming, on
average almost a basket of them, is because the
quality of policy in their nations is not somehow
disrupting currency,” Mugaga said.

“Currency is stable in those countries, so if the
US dollar is not stable it is bound to depreciate
against those currencies that are stable. You can’t
put them in the same basket with Zimbabwe be-
cause Zimbabwe’s currency is arguably the most
volatile in the world either on the parallel or offi-
cial market.”

The volatility and movements of the Zimdol-
lar, Mugaga said, are “unique, strange and cannot
be accounted for by authorities”.

“Basic economics will tell you that some of the
measures government has been taking seem to be
right measures but that lack of response by both
currency and inflation can then tell you that this
economy needs a tool box which is complete-
ly different from what people might have learnt
from conventional economics,” the ZNCC chief
said.

“Sometimes the effects of tools such as inter-
est rates, their transmission effects on an infor-
mal economy like Zimbabwe will remain hand-
icapped.”

Economost Prosper Chitambara, a senior re-
searcher at the Labour Economic Development
Research Institute Zimbabwe, said the firming of
the Zambian kwacha is a vote of confidence on
the government in power.

“When you look at the Zambian economy,
their fundamentals and key economic indicators
like inflation which has been on a downward
trend and obviously that has boosted the value of

NewsHawks News Page 9

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

New gold coins likely to fuel arbitrage

BERNARD MPOFU Gold coins will be sold in foreign exchange at a price based on the prevailing international price of gold
Official figures show that gold output for the first quarter of 2022 surged by 87%.
GOVERNMENT’S plans to introduce gold
coins as an asset class which hedges investors
from inflationary pressure could create arbi-
trage opportunities, as well as trigger massive
withdrawal of foreign exchange from the for-
mal banking system, a new report has shown.

Battling rising inflation and a weakening
domestic currency, Zimbabwe’s central bank
this month announced its move to introduce
the gold coins against the backdrop of firming
prices of the commodity on the international
market.

Gold is Zimbabwe’s single-largest foreign
exchange earner and production of the yellow
metal has in recent times been on an upward
trend, driven by strong output from artisanal
miners.

The announcement further stipulated that
the gold coins will be available for sale to the
public from 25 July in both local currency and
US dollars. The coins will be sold in foreign
exchange at a price based on the prevailing in-
ternational price of gold and cost of produc-
tion. The coins will be sold through the central
bank and its subsidiaries, local banks and se-
lected international banking partners.

Market players say the coins will widen the
country’s capital market with a new asset class
which underpins the strong demand for the
coins. Asset managers have been at the fore-
front of the lobbying efforts to increase asset
classes beyond treasuries, equities and private
equity since 2019.

Morgan & Co, a brokerage firm, in its re-
search note on the impact of the gold coins
on the economy noted that the policy measure
could result in unintended consequences.

“We also expect holders of nostro balances
to liquidate their balances in a manifestation
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 nostro accounts.
We also opine that, despite efforts to uniquely
identify the coins and establish due diligence
protocols, there will be arbitrage profiteering
opportunities using the gold coin. ZWL hold-
ers could purchase the coin for hard currency
and then sell the currency on the parallel mar-
ket in the worst case scenario,” Morgan & Co
says.

“The ability to sell the coin in the interna-
tional market potentially opens the country to
a withdrawal of foreign currency in the formal
market and, even more so, withdrawal of ZWL
liquidity in the country. While this could the-
oretically put downward pressure on the paral-
lel market rate, we maintain that there remain
other factors nullifying the intended effect.”

On whether the new investment option is
good right for investors, Morgan & Co says:
“The short answer is no.”

“Over the past four years, the current in-
ternational price of gold has been support-
ed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Rus-
sia-Ukraine conflict. In the absence of these
global crises, we opine that the gold price
would hover below US$1400/oz. Hence we
opine that there is notable downward poten-
tial for investors.

“Gold deliveries in Zimbabwe have signifi-
cantly recovered because of the appetising US
dollar payments to artisanal miners. Howev-
er, should there be a disparity between the
amount of US dollars used to purchase the
gold from miners and the US dollars used to
pay for the coins, this could squeeze the cen-
tral bank and its subsidiaries’ foreign curren-
cy reserves. If this ripples to the modalities to
artisanal miners, this could result in low gold
deliveries to Fidelity Printers and increase gold
smuggling activity.”

Official figures show that gold output for
the first quarter of 2022 surged by 87% to
eight tonnes compared to the same period in
2021. The increase in output was largely driv-
en by small-scale producers who contributed
61%, while large-scale producers contributed
34% and the remainder was from secondary
producers.

Page 10 News NewsHawks

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

DUMISANI NYONI Authorities dump local currency

THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has, Experts say RBZ’s introduction of the Mosi-oa-Tunya gold coins renders Zimbabwe’s local currency (below) useless.
through the introduction of gold coins, has ef-
fectively dumped local currency and dragged creased pressure on foreign currency reserves source of funds. si-oa-Tunya gold coins in both local currency
the country's monetary system back to 16th to satisfy the demand for gold. If the demand The gold coins shall be sold at the prevailing and United States dollars and other tradable
century mercantilism, experts have said. for gold coins is unsatisfied with an equivalent or denominated foreign currencies at the will-
supply, institutional investors may return to the international price of gold plus 5% to cover the ing-buyer willing-seller exchange rate.
In a bid to save the local currency from col- stock market,” the research firm said. cost of production and distribution of the coin
lapse and also halt soaring inflation, the RBZ on a payment versus delivery basis. Denominated currencies for the purpose
has introduced the Mosi-oa-Tunya gold coins According to the guidelines released by the of buying gold coins will include the British
described by critics as elitist. central bank this week, the RBZ will appoint The RBZ shall publish the Mosi-oa-Tunya pound, the euro, Australian dollar, Botswana
agents that include authorised dealers, its sub- gold coin price by 8am daily, which shall be pula and South African rand. The central bank
The coins are set to hit the streets next week sidiaries and foreign banks that will be responsi- based on the previous day’s London Bullion said domestic buyers, including individuals,
on Monday. ble for selling the gold coins on its behalf. Market Association (LBMA) PM Fix plus the may purchase in local or foreign currency.
cost of producing the coin.
Economists and researchers said the gold All sales of the gold coins by the agents The RBZ said local banking institutions shall
coins would render the local currency useless will be subject to normal know your custom- “The Mosi-oa-Tunya gold coins shall be sold not be allowed to buy the gold coins for their
and promote arbitrage opportunities. er (KYC) principles in line with international with an accompanying bearer certificate with own portfolios up until such a time as the apex
best practice, which include declaration of the security features,” the guidelines read in part. bank may grant the permission.
“Gold coins are not money. It is gold minted
into a coin and used as a store of value. The Re- The RBZ said agents shall sell the Mo-
serve Bank of Zimbabwe never ceases to amaze
us economists. The bank never runs short of
dreams. The major function of the RBZ is to
protect its currency,” economist and politician
Tapiwa Mashakada said in an article published
by the Zimbabwe Institute of Strategic Think-
ing.

“What is happening is that the bank has done
a baby dumping on its bond or RTGS Zim cur-
rency. The bank has exuded its lack of confi-
dence in its own fiat money or legal tender. The
bank has rewinded the country's monetary sys-
tem back to 16th century mercantilism which
was based on barter trade.”

Mashakada, who is also a trade and invest-
ment facilitation expert, said what the RBZ has
done is to actually adopt bimetallic coins as a
proxy for fiat money.

“After gold coins, we will see silver coins, and
diamond coins. Zimbabwe's mono-currency
has collapsed. The paradox is that whereas the
RBZ governor is running back to mercantilism
and the gold standard, the minister of Finance
is inching closer to dollarisation,” he said.

Mashakada, a former minister of Economic
Planning and Investment Promotion during the
Government of National Unity, said the gold
coin was, in a way, a corrupted version of the
gold standard of the 18th century whereby gold
was indexed to the greenback, meaning that the
RBZ gold coin will bear the market value of
gold in ounces.

“The danger is that, if not encrypted, the
gold coin can be melted into bullion and sold
back to Fidelity Printers. These are some of the
likely unintended consequences of minting
gold coins,” he said.

“Yet the solution to Zimbabwe's currency
quagmire is simple. Where we stand, dollarisa-
tion is the answer. From bearer cheques to bond
notes to RTGS, it has never worked because the
currency is not backed by anything.”

“Gold coins are not a reserve currency, hence
they cannot back up the Zimdollar. That is
where the RBZ missed the point. The impli-
cation is that hyperinflation and exchange rate
volatility will worsen, thereby plunging the
economy into stagnation. It's high time mon-
etary and fiscal policies were synchronised,” he
said.

Researchers at IH Securities said the poten-
tial arbitrage opportunity makes returns from
the Mosi-oa-Tunya coins attractive, speaking to
a strong buy opportunity.

“Investment activity on the ZSE [Zimbabwe
Stock Exchange] for the first quarter was driv-
en to a significant extent by inflation hedging
and arbitrage behaviour as opposed to critical
fundamental valuation. The present policy en-
vironment necessitates a return to fundamental
valuations as investors return to basics and in-
terrogate opportunities,” it said.

“Although we acknowledge the opportuni-
ty presented by the arbitrage in the gold coin
pricing, the mechanics of realising those returns
involve assumptions of a secondary market and
movement outside the formal market. We re-
main optimistic on the stock market as a trans-
parent and accessible investment vehicle with
clear buying opportunities.”

Morgan & Co said, as arbitrage opportuni-
ties are continuously exhausted, there will inev-
itably be pressure on the supply of gold coins.
It said consistent supply of the gold coins will
hinge on the nature and timeliness of payment
by Fidelity Printers and Refiners to artisanal
miners who have recently ramped up deliveries
following their receipt of US dollars for deliv-
eries.

“The central bank will likely experience in-

NewsHawks News Page 11

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

Massive gold leakages via porous borders

MOSES MATENGA Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation president Henrietta Rushwaya was caught at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport (below) trying to smuggle 6kg of gold.

GOLD dealers are smuggling the precious
mineral through porous border posts where
they connive with politically-connected indi-
viduals, mainly at the Beitbridge border post, a
new report reveals.

The report says syndicates are taking advan-
tage of the porous border posts, corruption
and political muscle to smuggle gold at the ex-
pense of the country.

“The pathway is fraught with corrupt nodes
that manipulate the security systems and doc-
umentation through the abuse of privileges
and power,” a report by the Centre for Natural
Resources Governance (CNRG) titled Zimba-
bwe’s Disappearing Gold: The Case of Mazowe
and Penhalonga, reads.

Only 30-40% of gold from the 8big dealers
is submitted to Fidelity Printers and Refiners
(FPR) while the rest is smuggled out.

“It was discovered that most of the gold is
pillaged, concurring with Hunter et al (2021)
findings that only 30-40% of the gold gath-
ered by large gold buyers is submitted to FPR
for the purpose of maintaining trading licences
while the rest is offloaded onto the cartel plat-
forms.”

“Most gold from Mutare and Mazowe is
smuggled to Johannesburg (South Africa) by
road and less by air,” the report stated.

“Mutare is also a transit city for gold smug-
gled from Mozambique on its way to Johan-
nesburg.”

While many have easier access to the po-
rous border posts, only a few have managed to
smuggle gold through airports with some be-
ing caught by alert security officers.

Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation president
Henrietta Rushwaya was last year caught at
Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport
in Harare trying to smuggle 6kg of gold.

Another Zimbabwean linked to Rushwaya
was also caught at Oliver Tambo International
Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, trying
to smuggle the precious mineral.

Zanu PF-linked dealers have taken over op-
erations in the gold mining and trading deals
in Mashonaland Central province, with those
linked to the ruling party being roped in by
struggling mines to avoid operational costs,
statutory obligations and compliance, leading
to serious leakages of the precious commodity
at the expense of the country;

Politically-connected individuals, including
one only identified as Kedah and an uniden-
tified female dealer, are said to be controlling
Mazowe mines where they are the biggest buy-
ers.

According to artisanal miners, Kedah sup-
plies (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
whether all the gold he acquires is remitted.
The acquisition of a gold-buying licence is
largely a cover to mop-up gold for resale on
more lucrative international markets,” the re-
port reads.

“Most of these buyers remit a bare mini-
mum to FPR to justify the continued renewal
of the licence whilst diverting the bulk to lu-
crative international markets. The licences are
also a guise to divert and justify gold posses-
sion to law enforcement agents.”

“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.”

“Starting with mining, there are thousands
of pits over the 2 939 hectares of land and hills
of Mazowe from which artisanal miners extract
gold ore.

“The miners are either ‘sponsored’ by dealers
who provide tools and food for their upkeep or
they self-sponsor. Ore from the pits is sent to
the mills that are located at convenient sites or
camps where the gold will be won.”

Page 12 News NewsHawks

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

NewsHawks News Page 13

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

WHILE Zimbabwe is drowning in debt and Contrasting economic fortunes:
making frantic efforts to get debt forgiveness Zim drowns, while Zambia rises
and bridge finance to pay off arrears from the
world’s wealthiest economies, neighbouring Zambian President
Zambia is now on the cusp of inking a debt Hakainde Hichilema
relief agreement, thanks to the goodwill cur-
rently being enjoyed by President Hakainde impediments in the past, Adesina remains economy because it is critical for the southern gieva recently warned that a global economy
Hichilema’s administration. optimistic that Zimbabwe will break its debt African community.” heading downstream would aggravate the cri-
cycle. ses of the 30% of emerging market countries
Since his ascendancy to the helm last year, Adesina said despite economic challenges, and 60% of low-income nations already in or
Hichilema has been working round the clock, “It is going to be challenging, but it is not Zimbabwe remains a strong and reliable share- near debt distress.
promising creditors that he would place the impossible. Failure is not an option. The ar- holder of the AfDB. He said the debt-trou-
copper-exporting country back on track. The rears clearance strategy must succeed,” Adesi- bled southern African nation has contin- Beyond other IMF actions such as last year’s
former opposition leader inherited huge for- na said. ued to make quarterly token payments of release of US$650 billion in Special Drawing
eign public debt of at least US$14 billion US$500 000 to service debts to the regional Rights, “Decisive action by all involved is ur-
from his predecessor Edgar Lungu. “It is about the people of Zimbabwe. They lender, the World Bank and other creditors. gently needed to improve and implement the
have suffered long enough — for two de- G20’s Common Framework for debt treat-
In promoting a culture of transparency, Hi- cades now. When you look at the situation “Zimbabwe is one of the 54 African mem- ment,” she said.
chilema, among other key reforms, cancelled today, 40% of the country’s population live ber countries of the African Development
public projects costing more than US$2 bil- in extreme poverty. We must change that and Bank Group. When one part hurts, the whole Without any reforms, Zimbabwe is howev-
lion and strengthened Parliament’s oversight create new hope. I believe that it is time to body hurts,” Adesina said. er ineligible to access additional SDR holdings
role. This is unlike in Zimbabwe, where Par- re-invigorate, and re-dynamise the country’s from G7 countries. — STAFF WRITER.
liament had until recently been relegated to IMF managing director Kristalina Geor-
an institution for rubber-stamping executive
decisions pushed by the governing party. The IMF says the debt restructuring
deal, which is expected this month,
Zambia’s debt plan revolves around a will be enough to officially ratify the
US$1.4 billion loan negotiated with the In- US$1.4 billion loan to Zambia.
ternational Monetary Fund last December.
The loan will help Zambia pay off its debt and
social services. The debt restructuring plan,
which is likely to win the support of G7 coun-
tries, is in motion and also requires China’s
support.

The International Monetary Fund has indi-
cated that the debt restructuring deal, which
is expected this month, will be enough to
officially ratify the US$1.4 billion loan to
Zambia. Hichilema promised to revive cop-
per mining after his predecessor threatened
takeovers in a populist nationalist drive. In
Zimbabwe, the economy was nearly brought
to its knees when long-serving leader Mugabe
signed indigenisation into law.

His successor, Mnangagwa, who came to
power in 2017 following a military coup,
promised to break with the past but not many
investors and creditors are convinced.

On the other hand, bankrupt Zimbabwe,
which has been moving in circles despite an-
nouncing a litany of debt strategy over the
years, appears stuck.

Harare’s sincerity in implementing the let-
ter and spirit of a raft of political governance
reforms will come under the spotlight as the
country embarks on an ambitious African De-
velopment Bank-backed diplomatic offensive
which seeks to anchor the country’s arrears
clearance, debt relief and restructuring pro-
gramme.

Zimbabwe is expected to remain in debt
distress in the absence of a comprehensive ar-
rears clearance strategy aimed at debt sustain-
ability in the post-Covid era, sustained eco-
nomic recovery and growth. Official figures
show that Zimbabwe registered 6% growth
in 2021 after enduring two successive years of
economic contraction.

Desperate to extricate itself from a balloon-
ing debt overhang, Harare has now settled on
two options: the initially disdained Highly
Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) model and a
hybrid of concessional loans, use of domestic
resources and restructuring.

Following several failed attempts to settle
the ballooning debt such as the Zimbabwe
Accelerated Arrears Debt and Development
Strategy (ZAADS) and later the Lima Plan
of 2015, Zimbabwe, according to the IMF,
is now pursuing the HIPC model, which
during the Government of National Unity was
frowned upon by Zanu PF.

AfDB group president Akinwumi Adesina
flew into the country last week at the invi-
tation of Mnangagwa and Finance minister
Mthuli Ncube to take a leading role in helping
Harare normalise relations with creditors.

Zimbabwe has been left with a few options
except seeking debt forgiveness and sourcing
bridge financing from potential sponsors.

But most Western powers, which are key
in supporting Harare’s ambitious plan, doubt
Mnangagwa’s commitment to effecting a raft
of political reforms needed to normalise re-
lations with creditors and the international
community. Apart from political governance
reforms, critics say Zimbabwe’s diamond
industry, which may play a critical role in
bringing out millions out of poverty, remains
opaque.

Despite all these hurdles which have been

Page 14 News NewsHawks

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

Chiwenga Parly absenteeism worries MPs

MOSES MATENGA ‘. . .July Moyo, Chitando, Shava guilty’

VICE-PRESIDENT Constantino Chiwenga Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga
has gone for months without attending Parlia-
ment, forcing members to push Speaker Jacob absent even if it is on leave, otherwise that is the in your court, members of this august House, serious matters, including the controversial Po-
Mudenda to find ways to ensure that he and point which I seek clarity on. Is it not something to amend the Standing Orders accordingly so mona waste-to-energy deal, the failing economy,
other ministers avail themselves to the House of which needs to be addressed?” that your concerns can be satisfied,” Mudenda and the deteriorating public healthcare system.
Assembly. added.
Mudenda said the ball was in the legislators' Independent Norton MP Temba Mliswa has
Chiwenga, who is also Health minister, was court, as they can amend the Standing Orders to “Permanent absenteeism — the ball is in your been consistent in calling for action on ministers
supposed to respond to several questions re- address the matter. court to tighten up the Standing Orders.” who do not take parliamentary business serious-
garding the failing health sector, but has failed ly, saying they are disrespecting a key arm of the
to avail himself for the duty, leaving his deputy “I have even said the Standing Orders do not MPs have in the recent past complained over state.
John Mangwiro to answer questions. demand even the reason for absent. The ball is ministers who they said were dodging grilling on

Another cabinet minister singled out for
not coming to Parliament, particularly for the
Wednesday question-and-answer sessions, is Lo-
cal Government minister July Moyo, who has
left his deputy Marian Chombo facing the wrath
of inquisitive MPs on key issues.

Foreign Affairs minister Frederick Shava has
also not been pitching up for parliamentary
question-and-answer sessions and only his dep-
uty David Musabayana has taken the time to
respond to questions.

A handful of ministers led by leader of gov-
ernment business in the lower House and Jus-
tice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister
Ziyambi Ziyambi have consistently been com-
ing to Parliament and answering questions on
subjects they have hazy information on.

Opposition MP Innocent Gonese said Parlia-
ment should act on Chiwenga and others who
were not taking legislative business seriously.

“Is there any limit to the number of times that
one seeks leave of absence because we have seen,
for example, the Vice-President and minister of
Health and Child Care, the honourable min-
ister of Foreign Affairs, the minister of Mines,
honourable minister July Moyo are never here,”
Gonese asked.

“So if we have a scenario where week in, week
out, ad infinitum, certain ministers are always
seeking leave of absence, will they ever be in at-
tendance? My belief is that when you are seek-
ing leave of absence, it should be for a specific
day when one has a specific commitment, not a
situation where you are perpetually on leave of
absence,” he argued.

The list of absentee ministers for this week
was long with almost all senior ministers un-
available.

“I know that there is no quorum for ministers
in terms of question time but we cannot have a
situation where more than half, if not 80%, are

NewsHawks News Page 15

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

Urban quarry riles Arcadia residents

NATHAN GUMA far there is no compensation that has been made produced by the blasts. have ceilings that are cracking and walls that
towards residents by the quarry mine. We have “There are three types of waves produced by are falling since they insist on continuing to ex-
WHENEVER there is a blast from the nearby tried to explain to the quarry that it has to em- plode and blast their ore,” says Mtungwazi.
mine quarry, Bianca Boer (47), a resident of Ar- ploy modern methods of blasting, ones that do the blasts,” he says. “There is the vertical ampli-
cadia suburb in Harare, no longer fears for her not sound like an atomic bomb has been placed tude wave, then the radial and horizontal ones. In 2021, Harare Quarry said it would con-
ears like she used to, despite its deafening effect. in an area. So, you can easily tell where your greatest waves duct blasting activities from Monday to Friday,
will first strike and that the houses will be af- between 3pm and 4pm, according to a notice to
Rather, watching her house crack from the “There are modern methods. Overseas, they fected. This will bring the circular and vertical the residents.
occasional blasts continually makes her crumble can demolish a whole building with little noise. effects of the explosions.”
from within. So we are saying they should employ modern However, locals like Boer no longer want to
methods, but it seems like the message is falling Mtungwazi says Harare Quarry ought to see the mine.
“The houses really shake,” says Boer, whose on deaf ears.” compensate the residents for damaging their
house is less than 500 metres away from the property. “I think it (the mine) should simply be moved
mine. “Sometimes they can blast three times a In addition, Mtungwazi says Harare Quarry away from the residential area. They do not give
week, and sometimes even more. Apparently, has not been muffling the noise and tremors “If they were smart enough, they would at us notice, but they blast the ore whenever they
community leaders have been in talks with the least give compensation in terms of repairs. We feel like doing so,” Boer complains.
mining company, but after a change in man-
agement, the company is not even talking to us
anymore. They have closed their doors.

“The mine should just be moved elsewhere
away from the residential area.”

Arcadia residents living close to Harare
Quarry Mine are bearing the brunt of problems
caused by the urban mining activity which is
causing infrastructural damage.

Houses have been cracking due to tremors
caused by ore blasting, with no compensation
from the company.

The ceiling in Boer’s house has developed
huge cracks stretching from one wall to the oth-
er, while floor tiles have lost their symmetry.

She has filled some of the clefts with concrete,
but new crevices have already begun to form on
the walls — many of which are likely to widen
should the explosions continue.

This situation is festering in several other
households, with residents living in fear should
the cracking walls fall or cave in due to the
tremors.

The conflict between the mining company
and residents has also included domestic ani-
mals, which are affected by the noise.

“You have a shaking house and, for me, this
affects my dogs,” Boer says. “When they blast,
the dogs don't want to be outside. They dash
into the house, shivering, so yeah, it is affecting
my dogs a lot.”

One of her dogs, a basset-hound look-alike,
has found a new resting place under the coffee
table within the lounge, despite having its own
kennel just outside the house.

“They are afraid,” she says as she strokes it.
“It is a pitiful sight watching them disoriented
whenever there is a tremor.”

Explosions have adverse effects on dogs and
other animals, according to the Harare Soci-
ety for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
(SPCA).

“The hearing of many animals is much more
sensitive than it is in humans and blasts can
damage their hearing severely. Dogs can suffer
irreversible hearing loss caused by the proximity
to the noise of the explosion.

“In addition, the noises caused by explosions
create fear and stress which, in turn, can cause
phobia in many animals, resulting in increased
panic reactions to any loud noises in the future.
It is estimated that one-fifth of disappearances
of companion animals are due to fireworks and
storms,” says the Harare SPCA.

“The other thing is that they do not give us
notice when they are about to blast. A single ex-
plosion can turn on car alarms,” said a resident
who spoke to The NewsHawks.

Violet Simbale, an elderly lady who has been
living in Arcadia for close to 40 years, has be-
come accustomed to the detonations.

The front of her house has a patch of cement
plaster to cover one of the cracks, and new fis-
sures are starting to show on her newly renovat-
ed house.

“My house was built a long time ago using
concrete, but it is still cracking due to the shak-
ing made by the blasts. I can imagine the toll
this is taking on houses made of brick,” Simbale
says.

Despite the quarry extraction which started
around the 1940s, Arcadia suburb has little to
show for the quarry extraction happening with-
in the community, with roads rutted with pot-
holes.

“Nothing has been done,” says Engineer Ta-
ona Mtungwazi, a local community leader. “So

Page 16 News NewsHawks

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

Call for structures a non-issue: Chamisa

MOSES MATENGA l I lead a citizens' movement, says CCC leader

THE opposition Citizens' Coalition for Change CCC leader Nelson Chamisa
(CCC) is set to contest the 2023 elections with-
out permanent structures despite shrill clamours Chamisa said there was no need to panic over The former MDC-Alliance leader said the fixed,” he said.
by some critics, with party leader Nelson Chamisa the deteriorating political crisis in the country, Zimbabwean crisis can only be resolved by a free “Zimbabwe is a question to be answered. The
saying such calls are detached from the citizens’ saying the people shall overcome. and fair election, adding that Zanu PF must desist
agenda. from violence and the abuse of state machinery answer is a free and fair elections.”
“I don’t have a political party, l lead a move- ahead of the polls. “This is not wrestling that we have to fight. It
Elections are due in a year’s time, with calls ment of the citizens. In my leadership of the cit-
growing for CCC to come up with solid struc- izen movement, we are not panicking but con- “The beauty about our situation is that there is is not boxing. Young people must not inherit the
tures if the party is to seriously compete with cerned. We will be able to deal with these issues,” a general agreement within the region and Afri- old politics of fighting and stone throwing. That
Zanu PF. Strong structures, critics say, will also the party leader said. can continent that Zimbabwe is a problem to be is archaic and Stone Age. We need new politics,
show that the party is ready to govern if it wins smart politics and politics of big ideas.”
the 2023 polls.

Exiled former Zanu PF politburo member
Jonathan Moyo has been one of the most vocal
proponents for structures, but his calls have been
met with anger from Chamisa’s loyalists who have
taken turns to dismiss him on social media plat-
forms.

In an interview with The NewsHawks, Chami-
sa said elements that were pushing him to come
up with structures were lost and their demands “a
non-issue”.

“It is a dead issue, a non-issue really,” Chamisa
said. “We are introducing fresh politics and new
culture and, of course, it will have a new structure
carrying within it new strategies.

“Those who believe in old ways will get lost in
locating the new us. The new is centred around
the citizens. This is not from the ordinary citizens,
but from other quarters and those quarters are
detached from reality and those quarters are de-
tached from citizen struggles.”

Chamisa said Zimbabwe was in dire need of a
national leader and not a party leader, insisting his
movement was for everyone hence the refusal to
focus on so-called structures.

“Zimbabwe is in need of a national leader, not
a party leader, and that has to be corrected. The
national leader must not be a partisan leader, a
segregatory leader who is also divisive,” Chamisa
insisted.

With at least three-quarters of his leadership
in the dock on one charge or the other, Chamisa
said: “It's citizens, not leadership but the citizens
of Zimbabwe that are in the dock. Zimbabwe is
a big prison and what differs are just bail condi-
tions.”

“We have freedom, but we are in the cage.
Would you say you are free when you cannot get
a job, when you cannot get cash or even support a
political party of your choice?”

There are growing calls for CCC to come up with solid structures ahead of 2023 elections.

NewsHawks News Page 17

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

CCC to challenge Zec appointments

MOSES MATENGA l The fight not about personalities, but process
l Polls without reforms lead to crisis: Chamisa
ZIMBABWEANS must not fret over personali-
ties in the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) Zanu PF vice-president
but focus on the reform of the election mother Kembo Mohadi
body ahead of the 2023 elections, says opposition
CCC leader Nelson Chamisa. forms will lead to a disputed government and yet tion without reforms will produce the outcome progress if any at all.”
another term of crisis without resolving the Zim- we have seen and known before. Disputed out- Observers have warned that, without reforms,
He says his party is strongly opposed to the babwean challenges. comes leads to disputed governments and leads to
current commission because of processes that led disputed national direction that result in retarded the 2023 elections will be bloody and produce a
to it. This followed concerns raised after Presi- “There is no option, no other way. Any elec- disputed outcome.
dent Emmerson Mnangagwa appointed Zanu PF
vice-president Kembo Mohadi’s daughter Abigail
Millicent Ambrose to Zec, together with five oth-
ers.

The noise centred on the relationship between
the young commissioner and her parents with the
mother Tambudzani being a Zanu PF senator for
Beitbridge. Tambudzani recused herself from in-
terviewing her daughter, but stayed put in inter-
viewing others.

“The issue is about electoral reforms so we do
not look at an event,” Chamisa said.

“We do not challenge events. We don’t look
at personalities. We cannot confine ourselves to
names and surnames without attacking the fun-
damental issues of credentials for one to be a com-
missioner and without agreeing on an inclusive
process of coming up with deployees to national
strategic institutions.

“We contest the current composition of Zec
because of the process that led to it. We had chal-
lenges with Zec and conduct in 2018 and those
problems must be fixed if we are to avoid the folly
of yesteryear problems.”

“Let this be broader and let us not personalise
issues. There can be a surname but qualifications
and integrity is important. All commissioners
must pass the non-partisan test, independent test
and professional test. These are the tests to be
passed.”

Zec has been under fire from opposition circles
for its handling of elections and accused of being
too Zanu PF and militarised to handle a free, fair
and credible election.

The election mother body in 2008 superin-
tended over a chaotic election and took over a
month to announce the results claiming “metic-
ulous verification”, amid claims the then opposi-
tion leader Tsvangirai had won.

In 2018, Zec was also accused of manipulating
results in favour of Zanu PF.

Chamisa warned that elections without re-

CCC leader Nelson Chamisa says elections without reforms will lead to a disputed government.

Page 18 News NewsHawks

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

Mwonzora defends Mohadi’s daughter

MARY MUNDEYA Abigail Mohadi Ambrose

MDC-T president Douglas Mwonzora has de-
fended the appointment of former vice-president
Kembo Mohadi’s daughter Abigail Mohadi Am-
brose as a Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec)
commissioner.

Abigail is one of the six people who were re-
cently appointed Zec commissioners by President
Emmerson Mnangagwa.

In an interview with The NewsHawks, Mwon-
zora, who was also part of the interviewing pan-
el, said it was unfair that Mohadi be barred from
holding public office because of who her parents
are.

“Mrs Ambrose has rights like every other Zim-
babwean and I think it's unfair that she is pro-
hibited from holding public office because of her
parentage. We believe that she (Abigail) is her own
woman capable of making her own independent
decisions, therefore who her parents are in this
case are not an issue,” Mwonzora said.

“Currently there is no law that prohibits chil-
dren of politicians or prominent people from be-
ing appointed to public offices. In this case, every
step that led to the appointment of the commis-
sioners was done publicly and Mrs Ambrose was
chosen because she was qualified, her credentials
were objectively verified.”

Asked on why they (MDC-T) recommended
Mohadi’s appointment considering the conflict of
interested associated with it, Mwonzora said there
was no way that his party could have singularly
decide the outcome of the interviews.

“Our party has 30% representation in Par-
liament of Zimbabwe’s committee on Standing
Rules and Orders. During the interviews, panelists
from MDC-T, myself included and Zanu PF, were
required to score candidates out of 5 depending
on how they would have responded to a question.
Therefore on the basis of partisanship alone, it was
not possible that we singularly decide the outcome
of the interviews,” Mwonzora said.

He added that once 15 out of the 32 candi-
dates who had been interviewed to become com-
missioners had been shortlisted, it was up to the
President to decide on who was going to be part
of the required six commissioners according to the
constitution.

Mwonzora said it was therefore unfair that
legislators be grilled over who ended up being ap-
pointed commissioner yet the President had the
ultimate say.

NewsHawks News Page 19
Slain CCC activist Moreblessing Ali.
Issue 90, 22 July 2022

Slain Moreblessing Ali’s
family goes into hiding

RUVIMBO MUCHENJE Masimbi made news during the first days of
mourning after dispersing the Ali family and
THE family of slain Citizens’ Coalition for CCC members who had gathered at Morebless-
Change (CCC) activist Moreblessing Ali have ing’s home. He “banned” the funeral, claiming
been hounded out of their Chitungwiza house to be the owner of the area where the deceased
by Zanu PF activists while suspected state se- had been staying.
curity agents are periodically visiting the home,
instilling fear. This resulted in violent clashes between CCC
and Zanu PF supporters.
The family were driven out of their St Mary’s
home soon after CCC held a prayer meeting at “We maintain the family position in that ev-
Moreblessing’s home on 13 June. The prayer eryone involved in the murder of my mother
meeting was attended by CCC leader Nelson should be arrested before we bury. That means
Chamisa and other senior party officials. Pius Jamba is not the only person in this mur-
der. Simba Chisango told me in front of a Zanu
Family members told The NewsHawks that PF crowd that if we fail to locate my mother,
Moreblessing’s son Silence and brother Welling- he would direct me to his brother, meaning he
ton are in hiding since being hounded out of knew what had happened,” Silence said.
their home.
He also implicated Masimbi.
Moreblessing was kidnapped by a Zanu PF “He came to the house questioning me and
activist Pius Jamba in Nyatsime on 24 May and pushing me to encourage my family to proceed
her dismembered body was found in a disused with burial, and not politicise the death. He even
well on 11 June. Jamba was arrested in Hurun- stopped me from distributing fliers that would
gwe five days after the body was discovered at his assist us in finding my mother. At one time, he
mother’s plot. He indicated that he killed More- said police were calling him to retrieve a body in
blessing soon after abducting her. some dam, but he was not very open with me,”
Silence added.
Moreblessing’s body has still not been buried, Meanwhile, Jamba was remanded in custody
two months after her murder. and is awaiting indictment in the High Court
for the murder. His next court appearance is on
Among other stipulations, the family are in- 28 July.
sisting that they will only bury her upon the re- Wellington Ali, brother to the deceased, is
lease of their lawyer Job Sikhala, who was at the also in hiding after he was attacked by Zanu ac-
forefront of demanding justice for Moreblessing. tivists at the Ali home after the prayer meeting.
He said it is not safe to return to his parents’
Sikhala has been incarcerated for over three house.
weeks alongside Chitungwiza North member of “What is happening with this funeral has nev-
Parliament Godfrey Sithole charged with incit- er happened at any funeral. We are no longer safe
ing public violence. even as we are talking to you we are no longer
open in this free Zimbabwe,” Wellington said.
Speaking from his hideout, Silence said burial The family are so fearful that they are yet to
arrangements for his slain mother will only be- collect the belongings of the deceased from the
gin after the release of their family lawyer. The police, despite an invitation to do so.
family is also demanding answers on what hap- “We were asked to go and get my mother’s
pened to Moreblessing. phones and clothes, but we never went there be-
cause of the threats that we had received, we are
“There is nothing we can do while Job Sikhala yet to go and collect the things,” Silence added.
is still in prison. We cannot proceed with burial He added that the family home is under con-
arrangements for my mother while Mr Sikhala stant surveillance from suspected state security
is still I in custody. We want to know the truth agents.
about her death and guidance from our family “People call us and tell us of unmarked ve-
lawyer, Job Sikhala,” he said. hicles parked outside the house. We cannot go
back there. We have asked some people to re-
After the recovery of Moreblessing’s bad- move our belongings. We do not feel safe,” Ali
ly mutilated body, the family released a list of said.
demands to be met before they could proceed
with burial. These include the arrest of Nyatsime
councillor Masimbi Masimbi and Nyatsime
Zanu PF branch chairperson Simba Chisango,
whom they are implicating.

Chisango is Jamba’s brother.

Zanu PF activist Pius Jamba Ali’s death sparked violence in Chitungwiza’s Nyatsime residential area.

Page 20 News NewsHawks

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

MOSES MATENGA Sikhala: Zim’s face of resistance

ZENGEZA West Member of Parliament Job l Arrested over 70 times under Mugabe, Mnangagwa
Sikhala shows signs of defiance as he fights for
freedom. Arrested countless times . . . Zengeza West member of Parliament Job Sikhala (handcuffed) and below.

Having spent this week battling it out in the Police said Sikhala was extracted from a ceil- of drama amid protests in some cases and heavy Former Zanu PF youth leader Godfrey
courts to secure bail following the latest of mul- ing where he was hiding while fleeing arrest. police presence in others. Tsenengamu, who now fronts a new opposi-
tiple arrests since President tion outfit, told The NewsHawks recently that
In January 2021, Sikhala was also charged Friends of Sikhala have called for 2 August Zanu PF has gone rogue and working overtime
Emmerson Mnangagwa took over, Sikhala together with journalist Hopewell Chin’ono on solidarity march, where they are calling upon to silence critics, with Sikhala being perpetually
has earned himself the “face of resistance tag” charges of communicating falsehoods. Zimbabweans to converge on the Rotten Row persecuted for his stance.
and his stance shows more determination in the courts where he will be appearing in court.
face of struggles now and ahead. His appearances in court have not been short

Nicknamed “Wiwa” after the Nigerian polit-
ical activist Ken Saro Wiwa, the Citizens’ Coali-
tion for Change (CCC) senior official has been
arrested close to 70 times, the majority under
the late former President Robert Mugabe and
a dozen times under Mnangagwa’s regime that
came into power only four years ago.

Local, regional and international support has
been mobilised for Sikhala, making him argu-
ably the face of resistance against the Mnan-
gagwa administration, with organisations in
and out of Zimbabwe speaking out against his
incarceration.

“He is bold and fearless. Wiwa is the face of
resistance and though knowing the danger of
the terrain we are in, he remains unflinching
but needs our support and solidarity,” a CCC
MP and friend said this week.

The tough-talking lawmaker is currently in
the dock and spend a month incarcerated for al-
legedly inciting violence together with Chitung-
wiza North MP Godfrey Sithole following the
murder of Moreblessing Ali and subsequent
clashes between Zanu PF and CCC supporters
in the dormitory town of Chitungwiza.

The firebrand opposition senior official is the
Ali family spokesperson and lawyer who

was also consistent in calling for justice fol-
lowing the brutal murder of the CCC activist
by suspected Zanu PF officials.

Ali’s family insists they will not bury their
loved one, a month after her mutilated body
was found in a shallow well in Nyatsime at the
home of the suspected murderer’s mother.

Sikhala has faced several charges in his po-
litical career from his days as a student leader
at the University of Zimbabwe through his ear-
ly days with the original MDC to forming his
own outfit under the MDC-99 banner until his
return to the “big tent”, where he was to re-
unite with the late opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai.

Just like in the days of Mugabe, under Mnan-
gagwa Sikhala’s charges have ranged from trea-
son, inciting public violence and undermining
the authority of the President, but he remains
undeterred.

In 2019, hardly a year after Mnangagwa was
elected to office, Sikhala was arrested for sub-
version following a video of him saying: “We
are going to take the fight to the doorsteps of
Emmerson Mnangagwa, we are going to over-
throw him before 2023, that is not a joke.”

In 2020, Sikhala was vocal under the July 31
Movement together with Transform Zimbabwe
leader Jacob Ngarivhume before he was arrested
in August and charged.

NewsHawks News Page 21

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

UN flags Zim over civil society clampdown

MOSES MATENGA . . . organisation berates Zim’s PVOs Bill

ZIMBABWE has been flagged by the United UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association Clément Nyaletsossi Voule
Nations as one of the countries in the world
systematically threatening civil liberties by im- from the FATF grey list following an on-site ahead with the Bill that has been frowned upon ment not to proceed with the law, but so far the
posing laws that affects human rights including evaluation exercise conducted in January after by stakeholders. pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
the controversial Private Voluntary Organisa- it was placed on the list following a number of
tions (PVOs) Bill and the Zanu PF-supported deficiencies in its implementation of the An- Zimbabwe is set to lose close to US$1 bil- In early 2022, the Media Institute of South-
Patriotic Bill. ti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing lion in potential income if the Bill sails through ern Africa (Misa), working with IFEX, pre-
of Terrorism Standards. and some non-governmental organisations are sented a petition that was signed by more than
The country was named together with the blocked from operating in the country. 20 partner organisations to the government of
Philippines, Thailand, Turkey, and Venezuela However, despite being removed from the Zimbabwe urging the authorities to rethink the
as countries pushing for laws meant to curtail grey list, the Zimbabwean government is going At the tail end of last year, three UN special law.
fundamental freedoms. rapporteurs implored the Zimbabwean govern-

In a report to the UN Human Rights Coun-
cil, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights
to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of As-
sociation, Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, decried
governments’ propensity to over-regulate civil
society organisations under the guise of adher-
ing to international principles. He said showed
these countries were pushing for repressive reg-
ulations against civil society actors.

The report was issued after the Human
Rights Council’s 50th session held between
June 13 and July 8 2022.

“The Special Rapporteur and other mandate
holders have repeatedly raised concerns about
over-regulation of the sector in the guise of
fighting terrorism and countering money laun-
dering,” the UN special rapporteur’s report
reads.

“Legislation being enacted or proposed is
often disproportionate to the risk and is fre-
quently exploited by governments to curtail
freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and
expression e.g., the Philippines, Thailand, Tur-
key, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of ) and
Zimbabwe.”

The PVOs Amendment Bill in Zimbabwe
has been heavily criticised locally and interna-
tionally, with observers saying it was one of the
many strategies by President Emmerson Mnan-
gagwa's administration to silence critics.

The government argues the proposed Bill is
meant to comply with recommendations of the
Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

“These laws and regulations are often char-
acterised as being necessary in order to com-
ply with the Financial Action Task Force’s
standards, with language copied from recom-
mendation 8 and its interpretive note,” Voule
noted.

“Notwithstanding the references to the task
force’s recommendation 8, the laws are gener-
ally inconsistent with the task force’s require-
ment that laws be focused on those civil society
organisations that have been demonstrated to
be at a high risk of abuse for terrorism financ-
ing and that such laws be proportionate to ad-
dress the risk identified.”

In March 2022, Zimbabwe was removed

MOSES MATENGA Human rights defenders under siege as
Mnangagwa battles party factionalism
HUMAN rights defenders in Zimbabwe are fret-
ting over a political crisis as the 2023 general elec- This really damaged his political ego and pacted. Our early warning system is flagging in- harassment of Artuz [Amalgated Rural Teach-
tion looms, saying President Emmerson Mnan- self-esteem. creased targeting and attacking of democracy ac- ers' Union of Zimbabwe] leaders are other ear-
gagwa will use every trick in the book, including tivists and human rights defenders while the civic ly warning signs that the ruling party is treating
violence, to win and silence insiders who have “So, the narrative then was Zanu PF is popular space, both online and offline, is shrinking at an 2023 polls as a zero sum game.”
been clamouring for his ouster. but ED is not. So 2023 is about changing that alarming alacrity.”
narrative. And what it means is that Zanu PF in “Civic space is the oxygen of citizen voices. We
Southern Defenders, a sub-regional network its various manifestations will most likely leverage He said the issue of Moreblessing Ali, a Citi- will also mobilise active solidarity with key actors
that works towards the protection and promo- on the margin of terror (violence) and margin of zens’ Coalition for Change (CCC) activist who in the region. Solidarity is the currency for the
tion of human rights defenders in the Southern error (electoral fraud) to win the 2023 plebiscite.” was murdered in Nyatsime last month and the vulnerable. And HRDs in Zimbabwe are an en-
African Development Community, warned that subsequent arrest of Zengeza West member of dangered species.”
rights defenders were under siege in Zimbabwe In his bid to win at all costs, Katema added, Parliament Job Sikhala and his Chitungwiza
while people’s freedoms were suffocating under Mnangagwa’s team has already begun shrinking North counterpart Godfrey Sithole were indica- He said the organisation will work with other
the Mnangagwa regime. the democratic space while also targeting rights tions of what is to come. actors, institutions and coalitions across causes
defenders to silence them. within “the human rights defenders' protection
The organisation’s team leader, Washington “It is as instructive as it is revealing of what ecosystem” to make sure all frontline and back-
Katema, told The NewsHawks this week that “Human rights and civic space defenders con- 2023 holds for the democratic contingent,” Kate- line human rights defenders are “safe but not si-
there was a need for regional solidarity for rights tinue to face multiple and intersecting challenges ma said. lent.”
defenders in Zimbabwe ahead of the polls. which include but are not limited to suffocation
of the civic and democratic space as well as rapid “The arbitrary arrests of Institute for Young “We also continue to support scalable, public
“What is concerning is that the incumbent deterioration of the situation of HRDs [human Women’s Development staff members while con- interest and constitutionally guaranteed interven-
is not only interested in winning, but he’s more rights defenders],” he said. vening a community development meeting with tions sculptured to push back on the closing civic
interested in winning with a high margin to government officials present and the continued space, both online and offline,” he said.
manage the internal succession dynamics within “Women HRDs are disproportionately im-
Zanu PF,” Katema said.

“Mnangagwa’s low-margin victory in 2018,
and more so in the context where Zanu PF as
a political party and based on the popular vote
outperformed him with almost one million votes.

Page 22 News NewsHawks

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

LIZWE SEBATA Govt misses former commercial
farmers compensation deadline
GOVERNMENT has once again failed to meet
its July deadline to pay the remaining half of the Commercial Farmers’ Union president Andrew Pascoe
US$3.5 billion in compensation to former white Former Zimbabwe white commercial farmers
farmers, whose land was seized and redistributed
to blacks under the fast-track land reform pro-
gramme.

In July 2020, President Emmerson Mnangag-
wa’s government announced that it had reached
an agreement, termed the Global Compensation
Deed (GCD), with the dispossessed farmers for
compensation.

The first payment under the deal was made in
July 2021 when the state-linked Kuvimba Min-
ing House Ltd transferred US$1 million to the
farmers, with the government asking to defer the
payment of US$1.75 billion to this July. Initially,
the government had set a target of June 2021.

The first pay cheque of US$1 million was in
the form of a dividend for the 12.5% equity
the government gave them in Kuvimba Mining
House, which they described as only a tiny frac-
tion of the finances required to pay off the full
compensation.

After the part-payment, the government ap-
pointed London-based NewState Partners as
transaction advisers to help raise the funds from
international financiers.

But Andrew Pascoe, leader of the Commercial
Farmers’ Union, one of the groupings that repre-
sented white farmers and a signatory to the docu-
ment, confirmed that they were yet to be paid the
remaining balance.

“We are still hoping that an acceptable plan
for the payments will be in place before the dead-
line,” Pascoe said in an interview.

It is understood that the government is once
again negotiating for an extension, citing the
Covid-19 pandemic as the reason for failing to
raise the funds.

Contacted by The NewsHawks, Finance min-
ister Mthuli Ncube refused to comment, saying
negotiations are on-going.

Finance ministry spokesperson Clive Mpham-
bela had not responded to the questions he re-
quested in writing.

Economists said the government has no capac-
ity to pay the debt.

“We do not have the capacity to do that on
our own, given our total budget,” Eddie Cross,
a former member of the Monetary Policy Com-
mittee, said.

Economist Prosper Chitambara concurred
with Cross.

“I don’t think the government will be able to
pay the money by the end of this month. In my
view, it does not have the capacity to fork out
such an amount, given the state of the economy
and obviously the state of government finances at
the moment,” Chitambara said.

According to the compensation agreement be-
tween farmers and the government, Zimbabwe
will issue long-term bonds and jointly approach
international donors with the farmers to raise
funding.

During the late Robert Mugabe era, thousands
of commercial farms in Zimbabwe were seized
from white farmers to ostensibly correct racially
skewed colonial land ownership imbalances.

White farmers, many of whom said they were
ready to participate in a more orderly process of
land reform, received no compensation when
their property was seized.

Under the compensation agreement, the gov-
ernment made a commitment to re-pay ex-com-
mercial farmers for improvements undertaken on
the land — irrigation, buildings and dams — and
not the land itself.

Last year, Treasury announced the appoint-
ment of United Kingdom-based Newstate Part-
ners as financial adviser to the agreement with
effect from April 2021.

According to Ncube, the financial adviser had
already commenced work with the Joint Re-
source Mobilisation Committee supporting its
capital-raising efforts.

Ncube then said the Newstate Partners had ta-
bled funding options that include bonds issued
domestically (both listed and unlisted), bonds is-
sued into international markets (both listed and
unlisted); and listed and unlisted equity and quasi
type instruments.

The agreement has been criticised by some
critics as part of Zanu PF’s strategy to get West-
ern sanctions lifted and improve foreign direct
investment.

NewsHawks News Page 23

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

NYASHA CHINGONO Massive civil service strike looms

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s govern- Public Service minister Paul Mavima
ment is faced with a crippling job action from
its restive civil servants, with public sector labour “As has been previously stated, healthcare Mnangagwa’s regime is under pressure to pac- salaries, this spells doom as poverty has taken
unions saying the authorities have ignored their workers are likely to re-embark on industrial ac- ify the restive civil servants as economic fortunes root.
pleas to effect foreign currency salaries and cush- tion. There are formal channels in which con- wane.
ion them from chronic high inflation. ditions of service are discussed. The minister’s “In my opinion, the Zimdollar has already
pronouncements have no bearing. It betrays gov- A strike would deal a blow to Mnangagwa’s reached its dead end. Everywhere I went on my
Last week, salary talks between the govern- ernment’s desire to act unilaterally,” he added. government which is also faced with critical food visit to Zimbabwe, people sought to conduct
ment and civil servants broke down after the au- shortages following a poor agricultural season. transactions in US dollar. There is no faith, as I
thorities reportedly took too long to implement Most of the country's nurses earn ZW$20 found even in the high-density suburbs, in the
agreed conditions of service. 000 (US$53) a month, according to the Zimba- The Zimdollar has continued on a death spiral Zimdollar. It is a currency without credibility.
bwe Nurses' Association. as inflation rises, causing the authorities sleepless You can't stop people voting with their feet. But
In a letter to Public Service minister Paul Ma- nights. maintaining the Zimdollar will make people
vima, the joint unions told the government that They are demanding monthly pay of US$540, vote against the government in 2023,” political
workers were withdrawing from the National which is equivalent to what they received in This week, retailers courted the wrath of the commentator Stephen Chan said.
Joint Negotiating Council (NJCNC) and the 2018 before the local currency slumped. authorities for displaying "US dollar only" price
Health Service Bipartite Negotiating Forum. stickers. For civil servants who receive meagre

“Following a series of meetings held between
the government and workers for the past two
years which saw a lot of disagreement being
reaches and meetings ending inconclusively be-
tween government and the Apex Council and
the Health Apex respectively, the civil servants
made an analysis into the nature of this prob-
lem. The research proved that: The government
did not take heed of the call by the workers to
improve the US dollar (salary) component re-
gardless of inflation skyrocketing,” the letter ad-
dressed to Mavima reads.

Civil servants also accused the government of
"making unilateral decisions during the negoti-
ating process. This is informed by perpetual im-
plementation of unnegotiated salaries and condi-
tions of service, thereby diminishing the essence
of the negotiating process”.

Workers say a nationwide strike is imminent.
“The same labour force would also want to
bring to your attention that all the labour unions
under the auspices of their federations are in uni-
son with the observations and standing position
that they will abide by the 14th day nationwide
industrial action submitted to your office on the
4th of July.”
Unions representing civil servants have been
on a collision course with the government as
they renewed their demand for better salaries in
the face of runaway inflation.
Year-on-year inflation more than doubled to
192% in June, putting pressure on the local cur-
rency which has lost considerable value during
the first half of the year.
They say the government’s announcement
that civil servants would get a salary increment
in local currency was unilaterally made and they
do not “recognise” the move.Progressive Teach-
ers' Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) secretary-gen-
eral Raymond Majongwe said civil servants were
subsidising the government as salaries had been
eroded by soaring inflation.
Majongwe, a militant unionist, said sala-
ries were below the poverty datum line and the
monthly family basket, plunging civil servants
into poverty.
“The salary increment is of no consequence
because, as we speak, the so-called 100% (incre-
ment) has almost eaten into the salaries because
basic commodities have gone up. Civil servants
will not be able to afford, come month-end, be-
cause we know for a fact that the Poverty Da-
tum Line has gone up. According to ZimStat, a
family of six now needs not less than ZW$114
000. Why are we subsidising government? We
are basically saying it is unfair and cruel for us to
subsidise government,” Majongwe said.
He added: “The government must mellow
down to constructive discourse, let us go to the
table and honestly discuss these things. Govern-
ment cannot duck and dive, threatening people.”
Under pressure from striking healthcare work-
ers, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube announced
a 100% salary hike, but this has done little to
pacify a restive civil service.
While teachers are threatening to strike, health
workers who adjourned their industrial action,
pending talks say the government has not come
back with an offer.
“The health workers adjourned the industrial
action in good faith. Unfortunately, we have not
yet received an offer from the government. There
has not been any further communication. It is
our hope that we will get an offer,” Health Apex
Council team leader Tapiwanashe Kusotera said.
Health workers had gone on strike over a
fortnight ago after rejecting a government of-
fer to double their local currency wages, saying
the 100% hike would not even compensate for
annual inflation whose official rate jumped to
131% in May.

Page 24 News NewsHawks

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

OWEN GAGARE Harare-Beitbridge highway project:
A new big step in the right direction
AS we turn right off the Harare-Beitbridge high-
way — just before the intersection of the Harare Construction work along Harare-Beitbridge Road.
and Bulawayo arteries five kilometres north of Be-
itbridge Border Post on the banks of the Limpopo Mbudzi flyover junction in Harare where he led ularly the Harare-Beitbridge highway. town council officials, including town clerk Loud
River — a huge construction camp zooms into the tour of construction works being done there at The joint venture project is being done by Ten- Ramakgapola, MP for Beitbridge East Albert
sight. a cost of US$85 million. Ngulube and Transport minister Felix Mhona,
sor Construction, Fossil Contracting and Masim- our delegation of hungry journalists wastes no
It mirrors the new vibrant stream of life The traffic interchange — which involves con- ba Holdings. time before heading straight for food and drinks.
breathed into Beitbridge, the small, yet strategic struction of 12 interconnected bridges — con-
frontier town by a US$300 million private sector nects Simon Mazorodze, Chitungwiza and High At least 135 properties will be demolished to The delegation, which had left Harare and slept
upgrade programme and government’s emergency Glen roads, which feed vehicles from western pave way for the project. Chinyanga said compen- in Masvingo the day before, had only had break-
road rehabilitation works underway. Chitungwiza and other neighbourhoods into Ha- sation at fair value would be paid. fast and no lunch until late afternoon on 15 July.
rare city centre, as well as national arteries, partic-
The border post is being revamped by ZimBo- As we arrive and exchange greetings with staff Typically, the journalists headed straight for
rders. It is now a different world from what it was and managers at the Bitumen World campsite,
— bigger than the South African side. The project
involves facelifting certain parts of the busy bor-
der town, including the bus terminus and roads,
which has remained a development backwater
despite generating millions for the government in
revenue.

Our convoy of journalists and government
officials on a tour of the Harare-Beitbridge high-
way and the border post projects enters the camp
which is a hive of activity.

People walk up and down, some hectic at
work, others gather, chat and laugh, while a few
idle around across the vast yard strewn with cars,
blue construction trucks, equipment, benches and
chairs, water bowsers and many other relevant
paraphernalia lying around within the campsite
perimeter fence surrounded by dry savanna wood-
land and vegetation that typify the local arid en-
virons.

There is even a brand new-looking executive
helicopter parked majestically at the centre of the
yard.

Although helicopters have an image prob-
lem — they are seen as complicated, difficult to
fly and not generally as safe as jet aircraft — this
blue one parked at the Bitumen World campsite
on the northern edge of the now fast-expanding
Beitbridge town looks sophisticated and modern.

Unmistakably, the helicopter is a status symbol
for the construction magnates, but also signifies
the seriousness of those behind the project and the
megabucks involved.

The lively campsite is run by Bitumen World,
a reputable local construction and infrastructure
development company. It is one of the two main
camps along the Harare-Beitbridge stretch from
Bubi River to the south being rehabilitated by the
firm.

From Masvingo to Beitbridge, which is 290km,
the sequence of major rivers is Tokwe, Runde,
Mwenezi and Bubi. So from Bubi going down
south, that is where Bitumen World is working.

Journalists, even those who are usually critical
of the government’s performance — including
cynics and polemicists — agreed Bitumen World
and the authorities are doing a splendid job.

Construction of infrastructure has become core
business for Bitumen World. This speaks to the
construction of new or rehabilitation of roads,
both national and secondary routes, development
of urban infrastructure, bulk earthworks, and con-
struction of concrete structures and buildings.

There are about five companies involved in the
580 kilometres road project.

Apart from Bitumen World, the other compa-
nies include Tensor Systems, Masimba Construc-
tion, Fossil Contracting (Kuzolunga!) and Exodus
Company.

Initially each company was allocated a 20-kilo-
metre stretch, with room for expansion to 100km
depending on their performance.

Ministry of Transport permanent secretary
Theodius Kudzanayi Chinyanga, who led the tour
from Harare to Masvingo before leaving the other
part of the trip to colleagues, said there has been
significant progress in rehabilitating the road, es-
pecially considering Covid-19 disruptions and
other unforeseen interruptions.

He said 330km had been upgraded as of last
week, with 200km targeted for completion this
year. About 340km to 350km should be complet-
ed by the end of this week. The remainder of the
distance would be bypasses.

The cost of the project is US$1.5 million per ki-
lometre, which means it would add up to US$870
million. If cost escalations arise, it might go to
about US$1 billion.

Chinyanga singled out Fossil Contracting for
praise while briefing journalists onsite just before
Chivhu, saying the company had done a great job
on its stretch.

Before he ended his role in Masvingo, Chin-
yanga had been with the journalists right from the

NewsHawks News Page 25

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

the buffet where there was some sumptuous food billion. and regulation of the basic services associated with infrastructure needs.
— roast beef, chicken, sausage (boerewors), and The economic collapse of the past two decades these networks. However, the government is under pressure
other meats, salads and the usual Zimbabwean
starchy cuisines — sadza/isitshwala, potatoes, led to large declines in rail and aviation services. Problems in this area stem from a disjoined to improve its infrastructure, especially after the
rice, and some pasta, as well as an assortment of In the case of the railways, for example, freight approach to regulation and oversight among the Kazungula Bridge Project was officially commis-
soft drinks. carried in the mid-1990s was about 14 million ministries responsible for these sectors, com- sioned in May last year.
tonnes, equivalent to almost 80% of the network pounded by a substantial loss of skills in the
To show the business-like attitude of the late capacity. public workforce; Institutional and regulatory The 923-metre bridge with two border facili-
lunch, no liquor was provided, much to the cha- inadequacies also resulted in minimal amounts ties on either side, is not only a win for Botswana
grin of beer-loving journalists. By 2009, the amount of freight carried was 2.7 of investment by the private sector in basic infra- and Zambia, it also contributes to integration in
million tonnes, equivalent to 15% of the original structure, despite periodic efforts to attract such the southern Africa region, and illustrates devel-
After eating, our convoys heads out straight to design capacity of the network. investment, for example, in the transport and opment cooperation. The bridge and one-stop
the border to see what ZimBorders is doing. It is communications sectors; The deterioration in border posts will support trade and transport
also a hive of activity as usual. According to a previous World Economic Fo- basic infrastructure has, in turn, had a serious im- along the North-South Corridor, and indeed the
rum report, Zimbabwe’s border administration is pact on other productive sectors of the economy Trans-African Highway on the Cape to Cairo
We gather at ZimBorders offices for a briefing inefficient by regional comparison. Clearance by as well as the level and quality of services. route.
with general manager Nqobile Ncube and his col- customs and other border agencies is excessively
leagues. burdensome, costly and time consuming. To make matters worse, Zimbabwe’s exter- The bridge also provides impetus to the recent-
nal debt is unsustainable and continues to grow ly launched African Continental Free Trade Area.
Soon after, they take us through the new bor- This is what the Beitbridge Border Post up- owing to accrual of arrears and new payments of
der post complex. The area looks modern and grade is meant to address. interest and penalty charges on existing payment The AfDB supported the project through an
spacious. The freshly-minted immigration termi- arrears. African Development Fund loan of US$76.5
nal is built with stone thematic designs like Great The last AfDB study on Zimbabwe’s infrastruc- million to Zambia. In addition to funding from
Zimbabwe, with the words Welcome to Zimba- ture said about US$14.2 billion was needed, in- Zimbabwe has 476 public and publicly-guar- the two governments, the overall project was
bwe inscribed outside. cluding US$4.6 billion of private investment, to anteed (PPG) loans, as well as over 500 debt se- co-financed by the Japanese International Coop-
upgrade existing infrastructure and new capacity, curities which are active and currently running. eration Agency and the EU-Africa Infrastructure
The grounds are vast with a lot of structures including roads, railways, water supply, sanitation Trust Fund.
built around and some still under construction. and energy provision. As at the end of December 2020, total PPG
external debt, including Reserve Bank of Zimba- The total cost of the project was US$259.3
People walk around minding their own busi- With a gross domestic product of about US$25 bwe (RBZ) external guaranteed debt amounted million. It was approved in December 2011 and
ness as human and vehicular traffic flow in and billion (rebased) and a budget of US$8.5 billion, to US$10.5 billion, representing 71.2% of GDP. completed in December 2020.
out of the border across the Limpopo River, Zimbabwe cannot afford the resources needed for
which separates Zimbabwe and South Africa. infrastructure rehabilitation and capacity expan- Excluding the RBZ external debt of US$2.1 The project seeks to facilitate trade activities
sion. billion, total external public debt stood at US$8.4 and the global competitiveness of Zambia and
It is a marvel to behold in a country like Zim- billion, which is an increase of 4.1% from the to- Botswana, improve the regional connectivity of
babwe with dilapidated infrastructure and general GDP in Zimbabwe averaged US$7.6 billion tal public external debt stock of US$8.094 billion the North-South corridor and contribute to im-
decay. from 1960 until 2021, reaching an all-time high in 2019. proved regional integration of the Southern Afri-
of US$26.2 in 2021 and a record low of US$1.05 can Development Community (Sadc).
As the tour wound down to a close, it was time billion in 1960. The increase in the total PPG external debt is as
for the evening function at Shamba Gardens. It a result of the continued accumulation of arrears, This puts pressure on Zimbabwe to revamp its
was going to be a Press briefing, dinner and drink- Sustained deterioration in the quality of infra- as well as the disbursements from the active port- infrastructure as it might now lose its traditional
ing event all in one. structure assets stemmed from awfully inadequate folios recorded in the year under review. advantages in the geo-economic scheme of things
levels of public expenditures for routine and peri- of the region.
Speakers were lined up — the main ones being odic maintenance of the infrastructure networks, PPG external debt owed to the multilateral
Ngulube, Zimbabwe National Roads Administra- especially in power, water and sanitation, and creditors amounted to US$2.68 billion, of which Sadc embarked on a journey in 2012 to trans-
tion (Zinara) chairperson George Manyaya, Zim- transport. US$1.53 billion is owed to the World Bank form infrastructure in the region, when it adopted
babwe National Editors Forum (Zinef) chairper- Group, US$729 million to the AfDB, US$356 the Regional Infrastructure Development Master
son Dumisani Muleya and Mhona. Infrastructure services in road transport and million to the European Investment Bank, and Plan.
communications that are provided by the private US$68 million to other multilateral creditors.
Ngulube paid tribute to the government for sector are now more expensive than in neighbour- Southern Africa’s population is growing, with
focusing on his constituency for a long overdue ing countries, reflecting in part the economic On the other hand, bilateral PPG external debt projections indicating that by 2027 the number
development opportunity, saying it was a strategic costs of the deterioration. amounted to US$5.75 billion, with US$3.79 bil- of people living in the region will surpass 400
town which needed to be upgraded to improve lion owed to Paris Club bilateral creditors mainly million.
the gateway to and face of the nation. In the parastatal-dominated sectors such as comprising Germany (US$1.02 billion), France
power, rail transport, and fixed line communica- (US$724 million), Japan (US$435 million), UK This places a greater demand on the need for
Manyaya said Zinara had rebranded and is tions, services prices have been kept low and, as (US$416 million) and US (US$285 million). robust and modern regional infrastructure that
now pushing hard to ensure roads are fixed. a result, the economic costs of the deterioration meets the developmental aspirations of Sadc cit-
have emerged in the form of large and, in some The Non-Paris Club creditors are owed izens and its integration agenda. These aspirations
The tour was organised by Zinef and Zinara, cases, unsustainable operating losses. US$1.67 billion, which comprise mainly China include the need to improve access to energy, in-
part of the ministry of Transport. Zinara chief ex- (US$1.57 billion) and India (US$70 million). formation technology products and services, safe
ecutive Nkosinathi Ncube gave a vote of thanks, The deterioration in the physical infrastruc- water and sanitation services, and transport infra-
urging people to unite and work hard to rebuild ture has been accompanied by lack of progress in Clearly, the country lacks resources to fund its structure and services.
the country. building institutional capacities for management

The idea of the tour was to give journalists an
opportunity to observe empirically what was hap-
pening and ask critical questions about the proj-
ect, which they did.

A robust engagement with government offi-
cials, including the minister, characterised the
tour.

Muleya urged journalists not just to write the
feel-good stories about the tour, but also to also
investigate and follow the money as corruption is
usually inherent in such big money infrastructure
projects.

Mhona explained the context of the Beitbridge
town development plan and the road infrastruc-
ture programme, saying the process was going to
cover the whole country.

Government declared all roads to be a state of
national disaster on 9 February 2021. Shortly af-
ter, a second Emergency Road Rehabilitation Pro-
gramme (ERRPII) was launched.

The objectives of ERRP II are to improve the
road network, which was extensively damaged
during the rainy season, and to harness the po-
tential of the transport system in promoting
economic growth. Zimbabwe’s infrastructure,
including roads, has become dilapidated due to
bad governance, economic failure and lack of in-
vestment.

ERRP II is focused on repairing some
26 000km of the road network. Zinara has tak-
en over 500km of roads from the country’s urban
councils, including 32 roads totalling 250km in
Harare, 38 roads totalling 84km in Masvingo,
eight roads totalling 12km in Mashonaland Cen-
tral and nine roads totalling 25km in Manicaland.

Authorities say priority in urban areas is on
arterial roads with access roads to be attended to
when more funding becomes available.

A previous African Development Bank report
on Zimbabwe’s infrastructure says the share of the
total road network of almost 90 000 km in fair
to good condition declined from 73% in 1995
to about 60% for much of the past decade. The
additional 12 800km of road network that was
reclassified to poor condition requires complete
rehabilitation, the cost of which is about US$1.1

Page 26 News NewsHawks

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

TOP businessman Kenneth Raydon Sharpe has Ken Sharpe wins land battle
scored big against a land challenge by the Zimba-
bwe Homeless People’s Federation (ZHPF) after Businessman Kenneth Raydon Sharpe
the High Court ruled that the court application
was filed out of time. allegations of fraud, corruption and collusion “The ZHPF cannot escape the sins of its own The application is in the result dismissed with
would be seriously disputed by the respondents. conduct. It shall not be accorded a second bite of costs,” the judge ruled.
The applicants, ZHPF, Knowledge Kwambana, It, notwithstanding, made up its mind to file this the cherry. Its case on the respondents stands on
and Warship Dumba were seeking cancellation of application instead of proceeding by way of an ac- no leg. Sunshine Development proved their three Court papers show that a memorandum of un-
the deeds of transfer of the land measuring almost tion,” the judgement read. preliminary issues on a balance of probabilities. derstanding was entered into on 22 June 2007.
100 000 hectres to Sunshine Development (Pri-
vate) Limited. — STAFF WRITER.

Sunshine Development is a joint venture
company (JVC) between HCC Sharpe’s Augur
Investments, with the objective of building mid-
dle-income houses and a hotel at Mabelreign Golf
Course, as well as developing a commercial centre
at Hopley and Mukuvisi phase one.

The matter spilled in the courts last year, with
the applicants arguing that the land was supposed
to benefit the less privileged homeseekers.

High Court judge Justice David Mangota still
established that Sunshine Development also has
the same at heart.

“For instance, whilst the applicant alleges that
the transaction which brought about the agree-
ments is prejudicial to the public, the first respon-
dent, HCC, states in the same breadth that the
same is beneficial to the public.

“I cannot under the stated set of circumstances,
sing with the applicant or with the first respon-
dent. Similarly, whether or not Sunshine Devel-
opment was unjustly enriched is a factual matter
which the applicant alleges and the respondents
deny,” Justice Mangota said.

The judge also ruled that the agreement was a
matter of public record.

“The applicant, which claims to have a keen in-
terest in the affairs of good governance in Harare,
cannot suggest that it was unaware of the agree-
ments which the parties signed in 2007 up until
2021 when it filed the current application,” the
judge said.

“Given its interest in the affairs of the City of
Harare, the applicant cannot be said to have been
unaware of the agreements from 2010 to 2021.

“The applicant does not explain why they did
not apply or sue for more than three years which
is reckoned from 2010 requires little, if any de-
bate,” Mangota said.

Mangota also said misconduct issues as alleged
by the applicants could not be resolved.

“The applicant should have foreseen that its
prejudice allegations would be seriously disputed
and should have proceeded by way of action.

“The applicant should have foreseen that its

NewsHawks News Page 27

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

MOSES MATENGA Govt officials complicit in human
trafficking, there's no political will
A NEW report has exposed government com-
plicity in human trafficking, with the authorities tims of human trafficking.” connections to police and local politicians who Due to pandemic-induced school closures and
failing to act on several cases involving abuse of “During the previous reporting period, an allegedly accepted bribes and allowed individuals worsening economic conditions, observers re-
local and foreign nationals. to enter the mines and work without oversight. ported child sex trafficking and child labour like-
NGO assisted four potential labour trafficking ly increased, particularly in agriculture, domestic
According to the United States State Depart- victims allegedly exploited on a Member of Par- “Trafficking victims reported law enforcement service, informal trading, begging, and artisanal
ment Trafficking in Persons report on Zimbabwe, liament’s farm; the government did not report threatened and intimidated them when they tried mining.
there is no political will to fight human traffick- any action to investigate the allegations by the to report their cases.”
ing. Some officials are said to be protecting the end of the reporting period.” “Children ages 9 to 14 work as nannies, house-
culprits. Observers, the report said, reported the gov- maids, and gardeners in urban areas and mining
The report reads: “The government of Zimba- ernment lacked systematic procedures to effec- communities; some employers force children to
The report notes that there has not been any bwe does not fully meet the minimum standards tively investigate cases and immigration officials work by withholding wages, denying them access
trial or conviction of government officials en- for the elimination of trafficking but is making lacked capacity to detect and investigate traffick- to school, and subjecting them to GBV [gen-
gaged in human trafficking, even amid allega- significant efforts to do so.” ing. der-based violence].”
tions that some officials were facilitating for Zim-
babweans to go into forced labour in countries “The government did not amend its anti-traf- “The government demonstrated negligible vic- Traffickers exploit women and girls from Zim-
like Oman and Kuwait. ficking law to criminalise all forms of trafficking. tim identification and protection efforts. For the babwean towns bordering South Africa, Mozam-
The government did not identify any trafficking second consecutive year, the government did not bique, and Zambia in forced labour, including
“The government did not report any investi- victims or provide care for victims in its desig- report identifying any trafficking victims. NGOs domestic servitude, and sex trafficking in broth-
gations, prosecutions, or convictions of govern- nated shelter. The government did not convict reported the ministry of Public Service, Labour, els catering to long-distance truck drivers on both
ment officials complicit in human trafficking any traffickers. Therefore Zimbabwe remained and Social Welfare (MPSLSW) referred six traf- sides of the border.
crimes,” the report reads. on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive ficking victims for services.”
year.” Due to economic conditions worsened by the
Corruption, the report added, was also a fac- “The government continued to lack the politi- Covid-19 pandemic, undocumented Zimbabwe-
tor affecting Zimbabwe’s capacity to deal with It also emerged that despite calls by victims to cal will to address child and forced labour, partic- an women and children increasingly travel to
human trafficking that is also rampant on farms take action on the alleged trafficking of 17 Zim- ularly in agriculture.” South Africa for employment, where their lack
and mines, many of them run by government babwean women exploited in Kuwait in 2016 of legal status increases their vulnerability to traf-
officials. and the victims’ stated willingness to participate “As reported over the past five years, human fickers.”
in trials, the government did not do so for the traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in
“However, corruption and official complicity fifth consecutive year. Zimbabwe, and traffickers exploit victims from Facilitators recruit and transport Zimbabwean
in trafficking crimes remained significant con- Zimbabwe abroad.” migrants to South Africa, where international
cerns, inhibiting law enforcement action during “The government arrested a Zimbabwean criminal syndicates subject them to sex trafficking
the year. Observers reported the government did labour recruiter for recruiting Zimbabwean “Internal trafficking is prevalent and under-re- in Musina, Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Durban.
not have a system to investigate and prosecute women to work in Oman, where they were al- ported. Traffickers exploit Zimbabwean adults
complicit officials.” legedly exploited in domestic servitude; the case and children in sex trafficking and forced labour, Traffickers have exploited Zimbabwean wom-
remained pending at the end of the reporting including in cattle herding, domestic service, and en in domestic servitude, forced labour, and sex
It also emerged that senior government offi- period. The government reported collaborating mining in gold and diamond sectors.” trafficking in Iraq, Kenya, Kuwait, Saudi Ara-
cials obstructed investigations into allegations with the governments of South Africa, Botswana bia, Oman, China and Uganda, often under the
of child labour violations on farms in Mazowe and Oman on investigations involving trafficking “More than 71% of child labour occurs in the guise of legitimate employment. Zimbabwean
district. of Zimbabwean victims.” agriculture sector, including on tobacco, sug- labour recruiters ensnare Zimbabwean women
arcane, and cotton farms, as well as in forestry for exploitation in domestic servitude in Oman,
“For the fourth consecutive year, the govern- According to the report, violent gangs forced and fishing sectors, where children weed, spray, where their passports are confiscated, and they
ment did not investigate serious, credible claims workers into labour in some artisanal and defunct harvest, and pack goods. Some of these children are forced to work without pay.
that complicit magistrates, judges, and senior gold mines, operating with impunity due to their are victims of forced labour, including some who
government officials undermined judicial in- work on small, unregulated farms.”
dependence, including by bribing judges with
farms and homes.”

“Military officers patrolling the Beitbridge
border post received bribes to facilitate unau-
thorised crossings, including in past years from
organised criminal groups likely transporting vic-

Page 28 International Investigative Stories NewsHawks

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

InInvteesrtniagtaiotinvaelStories

Panama papers whistleblower
speaks out: “Shell companies

are Putin’s best friend”

THE anonymous whistleblower behind of Iceland and Pakistan to resign and edge. We live in a perilous world, and you reached out to us, what did you about the “biggest leak in the history of
the bombshell leak known as the Panama sparked global protests. that weighs on me sometimes. But have in mind? data journalism.”
Papers has emerged anew to warn how overall I am doing quite well, and I
offshore companies are enabling Russia’s Governments have since recovered at consider myself very fortunate. When I contacted you, I had ab- I remember seeing the posts fly by
war machine. least $1.3 billion in tax revenues as a re- solutely no idea what would happen on social media by the thousands. It
sult, but John Doe is concerned that rising You stayed silent for six years. Hav- or if you would even respond. I cor- was like nothing I had ever seen. A lit-
John Doe, as the whistleblower insisted nationalistic and authoritarian govern- en’t you been tempted to reveal that it responded with many journalists who eral information explosion. The people
on being called, had only spoken out pub- ments are looking to overturn advances in was you who made the secret offshore were uninterested, including at the I was with were talking about it as soon
licly once before, but reached out recently transparency. The interview comes also as dealings of heads of states and heads New York Times and Wall Street Jour- as they heard. I did my best to act the
to the two German journalists who had the U.S. Congress debates legislation that of governments, drug cartels, and nal. Wikileaks, for its part, did not even way anyone else hearing about it for the
received the leak of documents in 2015 would make it harder to hide behind shell criminals public? bother answering when I reached out to first time would have.
concerning the Panamanian law firm companies in the United States. Since them later on. (Editor’s note: the New
Mossack Fonseca. 2015, the Panama Papers have spawned I have often wrestled, as I think many York Times and Wall Street Journal did Many experts compare the Panama
books, podcasts, documentaries, and even people do, with issues of being credited not want to comment, and Wikileaks Papers with Watergate. The most im-
Those two reporters from Suddeut- a Hollywood movie starring Meryl Streep. for my work. Fame was never part of did not respond to a request for com- portant Watergate source was Associate
sche Zeitung, Frederik Obermaier and But the whistleblower has remained silent the equation. At that stage, the only ment.) FBI Director Mark Felt, who went un-
Bastian Obermayer, now work for Ger- — until now. concern was staying alive long enough der the name “Deep Throat” and finally
many’s Der Spiegel. They agreed to share for someone to tell the story. Making The global team started to publish revealed his identity 33 years after Wa-
the transcript of their John Doe interview To ensure anonymity, the Der Spiegel the decision to compile the data avail- the Panama Papers on April 3, 2016. tergate …
with OCCRP and other media groups reporters spoke to John Doe on an inter- able to me at Mossack Fonseca took What was that day like for you?
that participated in the award-winning net call, using software that read out the days and felt like looking down the I have thought about Mark Felt from
investigation under the umbrella of the whistleblower’s answers. The interview, barrel of a loaded gun, but ultimately, I recall it being like most Sundays. time to time and the types of risks he
International Consortium of Investigative which took place in the presence of a wit- I had to do it. I met some friends for a meal and was faced. My risk profile looks a bit differ-
Journalists (ICIJ). ness, has been shortened for readability, stunned to learn that Edward Snowden ent than his. I may have to wait until
lightly edited and, as is standard practice You reached out to the German had supercharged interest by discussing I’m on my deathbed.
John Doe issued a manifesto weeks af- in German journalism, submitted to the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, which the project on Twitter.
ter the publication of the Panama Papers interview subject for authorization prior initiated a collaboration of more Why is that?
in 2016, decrying global inequality and to publication. than 400 journalists, coordinated by The NSA whistleblower, who now The Panama Papers involve so many
calling on governments to do more to curb the International Consortium of In- lives in exile in Russia, had somehow different transnational criminal orga-
the use of offshore companies that hide for- How are you doing? Are you safe? vestigative Journalists (ICIJ). When found out about the investigation and nizations, some of them with links to
tunes of the rich and often of the corrupt. I am safe, to the best of my knowl- tweeted even before we had published governments, that it’s difficult to imag-
ine how it could ever be safe to identi-
The reporting, which was reward-
ed with a Pulitzer Prize, led the leaders

NewsHawks International Investigative Stories Page 29

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

fy myself. Felt primarily had to worry Do you fear Russia might seek re- not diminish at all, and, if anything, tool but there are others. For example, complished was unprecedented, and I
about Richard Nixon and his cronies, venge? increased. Not long after, there was an the United States could raid some of am extremely pleased, and even proud,
and Nixon resigned just a little more FSB-linked murder in Berlin in broad the offshore incorporators’ offices on that major reforms have taken place as
than two years after the break-in, ren- It’s a risk that I live with, given that daylight. That could have been me. Sec- American soil to send the signal that a result of the Panama Papers. The fact
dering him powerless. Even in 50 years, the Russian government has expressed ond, the German government did not this type of activity is no longer accept- that there have been subsequent jour-
it’s likely some of the groups I worry the fact that it wants me dead. Before actually honor the financial arrange- able. It would be easy for them to do. nalistic collaborations of similar scale is
about will still be with us. Russia Today’s media presence was ment that we agreed to. That caused But it hasn’t happened. also a real triumph. Sadly, it is still not
curtailed due to Russia’s attack against additional problems that jeopardized enough. I never thought that releasing
Did you tell anyone at all about Ukraine, it aired a two-part Panama my safety. Third, the German Federal The Russian elite routinely hides one law firm’s data would solve global
your role in the Panama Papers? Papers docudrama featuring a “John Police have repeatedly turned down the ownership of luxury homes, yachts, corruption full stop, let alone change
Doe” character who suffered a tor- opportunity to analyze more data about jets and other assets through com- human nature. Politicians must act.
After the news broke, I told only a ture-induced head injury during the the offshore world beyond the Panama plex offshore arrangements. How can
few of the people I care about most. opening credits, after which a cartoon Papers, which is frankly shocking. (Ed- this be stopped? We need publicly accessible corpo-
boat sailed through the pool of his itor’s note: the German Federal Police rate registries in every jurisdiction, from
So, you have remained silent now blood, as though it were the Panama declined to comment.) I think the Western world viewed the British Virgin Islands to Anguilla to
for six years. Why do you want to Canal. However bizarre and tacky, it Vladimir Putin as a nuisance for a long the Seychelles to Labuan to Delaware.
speak up now? was not subtle. We have seen others So, you don’t think the German time, but one that they could control Now. And if you hear resistance, that
with connections to offshore accounts authorities did enough to keep you with economic incentives. Obvious- sound you hear is the sound of a politi-
There have been several occasions and tax justice resort to murder, as with safe? ly, that has not worked. It would take cian who must be sacked.
over the past six years where I have the tragedies involving Daphne Carua- a truly extraordinary effort, a kind of
been tempted to speak up. At each one na Galizia and Ján Kuciak. Their deaths I want to be fair to them. They did modern-day Manhattan Project, where Since 2016, thousands of Panama
of those points, it has seemed like the affected me deeply, and I call upon the offer some small degree of protection, the goal would be the untangling of the Papers stories have been published.
world was careening closer and closer European Union to deliver justice for but this is a type of situation where it enigmas of the offshore world. Cer- Are there any you think the world
toward catastrophe, and so the need to Daphne and Ján and their families. only takes one mistake to yield a di- tainly, the computational capacity to still needs to see?
attempt to intervene has always seemed And to deliver rule of law in Malta, one sastrous and irreversible result. For a do this exists. The question is whether
increasingly urgent. At the same time, of Mossack Fonseca’s former jurisdic- number of reasons, I was not comfort- the political will does. So far, I have not There are so many untold stories.
however, I have had to balance a few tions. able with their overall approach, espe- seen much evidence. One that comes to mind is a trust with
factors. cially as time went on. If the German yellow paper checks that was likely
In 2017, the German Federal Police government had truly appreciated the Why do you think we haven’t seen set up for a drug cartel by a Colom-
What exactly are you referring to? got a ton of documents from Mossack importance of the Panama Papers, I am a major Russian whistleblower yet? bian consulting firm, in which a large
First, of course, is my own physical Fonseca, also from an anonymous confident that it would have been han- American bank appears to have allowed
safety, and that of my family. And sec- source. dled much differently. Even given some requisite amount direct use of its correspondent bank ac-
ond is the fact that the world is a big of bravery, it also takes a certain degree count with a bank in Panama. Payees’
place with a cacophony of voices all Yes, that was me. From the begin- What exactly did you want from of freedom to become a whistleblower. names were typed on these checks with
trying to get their point across. I want- ning, I was willing to work with gov- the German Federal Police? Witness Someone has to be there to listen and a typewriter. To call this arrangement
ed my words to carry meaning, not to ernment authorities because it seemed protection? A new identity? Or more there must be at least some desire to unusual would be an understatement –
get lost before the next Donald Trump quite clear to me that there needed to money? make change. Apart from the fact that they might as well have issued checks
tweet. In 2016, I wrote of my fear based be prosecutions for the crimes described Putin murders and imprisons the brave, made out of actual red flags.
on what I was witnessing, “that severe in the Panama Papers. More than any I can only say that they have not it’s very hard to find that kind of free-
instability could be just around the other, the German government assured honored the financial arrangements we dom in a place like Russia. Edward Snowden once mentioned
corner.” I am afraid that instability has me that it would keep me and my fam- agreed to. German police have shared your case as being the best-case sce-
finally arrived. ily safe; and after some time, we were Mossack Fonseca data with dozens of Edward Snowden is trapped in Rus- nario for a whistleblower: You creat-
What kind of instability do you able to work out an arrangement that countries, but they limited it to data sia. Even though he criticizes Putin’s ed big impact and are still unknown
mean? seemed fair. about citizens of the country in ques- government as being corrupt, he can- and free. Is that also how you see your
The rise of fascism and authoritari- tion. According to this logic, data about not leave the country because he would role?
anism globally, from China to Russia to Unfortunately, the German govern- oligarchs could only be shared with face trial in the U.S.
Brazil to the Philippines, but especially ment violated its agreement soon after, Russian authorities, unless there are I count myself as incredibly lucky
now in the United States. and from my vantage point, put my criminal investigations in other coun- Snowden is just one puzzle piece in that everything has worked out as well
America has made some terrible safety at risk. Regrettably, I would not tries — an absurd situation, especially an information war Russia has been as it has, even if nothing is perfect. Re-
blunders in its history, but it has served recommend that others trust the assur- given that these men have recently been waging against the United States for maining unknown has had the obvious
as a balancing force against the abso- ances of the German state. sanctioned in response to the Russian most of the past century. If the Amer- benefit of keeping me relatively safe,
lute worst regimes when needed most. invasion of Ukraine. ican intelligence community has evi- but there has been a cost as well, which
That balance has functionally ceased to According to media reports, you dence against him, it should lay it out is that I have not been able to keep the
exist. Tax havens seem to be of crucial were rewarded with 5 million euros. Unfortunately, neither the govern- for all to see. If they do not, President issue in the public eye the way that Ed-
importance for strongmen in autocratic Why are you unhappy with the Ger- ments of Germany nor the United Biden should pardon him and welcome ward Snowden did regarding the NSA
regimes. man Federal Police? States have expressed much interest in him home. It’s really that simple. wiretapping revelations. Of course, he
Putin is more of a threat to the Unit- the Panama Papers. Instead, they are paid with his freedom to some degree.
ed States than Hitler ever was, and shell There were three major problems. focused on yachts. Frankly, yachts do How satisfied are you with the im- There are always trade-offs.
companies are his best friend. Shell First, once the German Federal Po- not matter very much, beyond symbol- pact of the leak?
companies funding the Russian mili- lice had the data, I was essentially left ic value. Offshore companies and trusts What has your leak taught you
tary are what kill innocent civilians in on my own to defend myself with no matter. Sanctions are one important I am astounded with the outcome about whistleblowing?
Ukraine as Putin’s missiles target shop- protection of any sort. I felt this was of the Panama Papers. What ICIJ ac-
ping centers. Shell companies masking unwise as the threat to my safety did I would say the most important
Chinese conglomerates are what kill thing is that my example shows that
underage cobalt miners in the Congo. it is possible, although perhaps rare,
Shell companies make these horrors to make a major difference and still
and more possible by removing ac- maintain a good life. But it takes a lot
countability from society. But without of work and a lot of luck to stay one
accountability, society cannot function. step ahead.
The Panama Papers seem to be
more relevant than ever, due to the Is there anything you would rec-
Russian aggression in Ukraine. For ommend to potential whistleblow-
example, one of the oldest and closest ers?
friends of Vladimir Putin, the cellist
Sergei Roldugin, got sanctioned at Telling the truth about sensitive mat-
the end of February. The main reason ters is never easy. I would say that an
for that has been found in the Pan- underappreciated factor is just how dif-
ama Papers, which showed that Rol- ficult it is to keep a level head. Whether
dugin seems to have acted as a proxy you are talking to journalists or govern-
for his powerful friend and owns ment authorities, be prepared for every-
billions — at least on paper. Are you thing to move very slowly. It’s import-
pleased about that twist of events? ant to just breathe and find other things
I was glad to see Roldugin sanc- to think about from time to time.
tioned. I think it’s brilliant.
If you could turn back time, would
you blow the whistle again?

In a heartbeat.
— Organised Crime and Corrup-
tion Reporting Project.

Page 30 Editorial & Opinion NewsHawks

CARTOON Issue 90, 22 July 2022

Poverty shreds
human dignity

WHAT is happening in Zimbabwe is heart-rending. Unlike Mnangagwa should come clean
during the hyperinflation of 2008 when shop shelves ran out of on Susan Mutami abuse scandal
everything except salt and toilet paper, in today’s chronic high
inflation the supermarkets are full of goods — but most people ?
simply cannot afford the astronomical prices.
Hawk Eye
The poor — who now constitute the majority — can be ob-
served forlornly staring at the sumptuous goodies on supermarket Dumisani
shelves while salivating helplessly in the vain hope of one day Muleya
placing their hands on decent food. Pushing a large shopping
trolley has become a status symbol in this country.

The World Bank defines “extreme poverty” as living on less
than US$1.90 per person per day. But the Bretton Woods insti-
tution must surely devise a new definition, in view of what the
world is witnessing in countries like Zimbabwe.

The 2022 Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee
(ZimVac) report has revealed astonishing levels of poverty in rural
areas, with the average household in Matabeleland North surviv-
ing on shoestring expenditure of US$16 per month.

On the national front, the average household is surviving on
US$27 expenditure per month. Comparatively, there has been a
drastic decline in household expenditure this year compared to
the corresponding period in 2021.

It must trouble the conscience of every Zimbabwean that there
are families surviving on monthly expenditure as low as US$16.
It works out to US$0.53 per household per day — and remember
a family may have up to 10 members.

Although the poverty picture is generally dire countrywide,
Matabeleland North seems overly vulnerable. The ZimVac report
reveals that 92% of households in Hwange district consume poor
diets. This is almost the entire population. The district is home
to Victoria Falls, the world's largest waterfall; Hwange Nation-
al Park, which boasts the highest diversity of mammals of any
national park in the world; and vast coal, timber and electricity
resources. Clearly, the locals are not benefitting.

Poverty is running riot in Zimbabwe. The report shows the
average household monthly income has decreased from US$75
to US$57. In Matabeleland North, it is US$38. Some propa-
gandists are already desperately attempting to rubbish the new
report, but they will not fool anyone. ZimVac is a consortium of
government, donors, UN agencies, non-governmental organisa-
tions and academia. The government is fully represented in the
livelihoods surveys and the methodology is a settled matter.

The extreme poverty in our communities is real.
Poverty is dehumanising; it strips you of dignity. Most people
are not scrounging for freebies. Not at all. They want to work for
themselves, earn a decent living and look after their families.
Policymakers have a responsibility to get out of their ivory
towers and go to the grassroots. That is the only way they can be
responsive to the needs of the long-suffering masses.
To break the intergenerational cycle of penury, society must
address the effective and efficient delivery of education, health
and other social services.
These challenges require specific interventions.
Zimbabwe cannot expect to re-invent the wheel. From the ex-
periences of East Asia and Latin America in the last few decades,
we have learnt that the most sustainable strategy for tackling pov-
erty is the stimulation of economic growth.
And when we talk about economic growth we are not referring
to the theoretical postulations which self-serving politicians are
fond of spouting. The economic growth must be organic, peo-
ple-centred and equitable. It has to create opportunities for or-
dinary citizens, catapulting entire communities into mainstream
economic activity.
At the governance level, one tool for achieving this is devolu-
tion. Devolution is a constitutional imperative. Sadly, the Zanu
PF government is afraid of people-power and has subverted devo-
lution. Taxpayer funds meant for devolution are now at the mer-
cy of unaccountable politicians. We cannot tackle poverty with
this mindset.

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
dia freedom as the cornerstone of de- Media which is owned by Centre for Public Cell: +263 735666122
mocracy and as a means of upholding Interest Journalism Assistant Editor: Brezh Malaba [email protected] The NewsHawks newspaper subscribes to the
human rights and liberties in the con- No. 100 Nelson Mandela Avenue [email protected] Code of Conduct that promotes truthful, accurate,
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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and office, betrayals of public trust and Trustees/Directors: with the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe
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

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Website: www.vmcz.co.zw, Facebook: vmcz Zimbabwe

NewsHawks New Perspectives Page 31

Issue 90, 22 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

ZIMBABWE’S tax agency says it was owed Tax liabilities shoot up: Zimra
ZW$33.2 billion in unpaid taxes as of Decem-
ber 2021 compared to ZW$8.6 billion recorded performance of the revenue head is largely at- translates to a positive variance of 53.7%. The Increased imports and easing of Covid-19 re-
during the previous year as companies and in- tributed to intensifi ed enforcement to curb value of transactions increased by 214.69% strictions improved the performance of the rev-
dividuals battled economic headwinds triggered fuel smuggling and fuel transit fraud by the Au- from ZW$2.50 trillion in 2020 to ZW$7.88 enue head, the authority says.
by Covid-19-induced lockdowns which restrict- thority through the Electronic Cargo Tracking trillion in 2021. Low liquidity on the market
ed business activity. System (ECTS). Increased consumption of ex- resulted in increased electronic transactions that “Mining royalty collections of ZW$13.76
cisable goods, particularly alcohol and airtime, boosted the performance of the revenue head. billion were 19.53% above the set target of
According to the Zimbabwe Revenue Au- also positively influenced the performance of The revenue head contributed 9.64% of the to- ZW$11.51 billion. Collections were largely in-
thority (Zimra) annual report, net revenue col- the revenue head,” the report reads. tal net revenue collections.” fluenced by improved international commodity
lected grew in nominal terms from ZW$23.19 prices, particularly of gold and platinum. The
billion collected in 2019 to ZW$463.57 billion “IMTT [intermediated money transfer tax] Custom duty collections were ZW$32.15 bil- revenue head accounted for 2.97% of the to-
collected in 2021. The nominal growth in reve- collections amounted to ZW$44.68 billion lion against the set target of ZW$27.31 billion, tal net revenue collections,” reads the report. —
nue collected mirrors growth in gross domestic against a set target of ZW$29.07 billion, which which translates to a positive variance of 17.7%.
product and inflation. STAFF WRITER

“Debt increased on all tax heads. This was
partially driven by economic challenges as a
result of Covid-19-induced lockdowns and in-
flationary pressures. However, strategies imple-
mented to recover debt included constant fol-
low-up of debtors, negotiated payment plans,
garnish orders and set-off arrangements,” the
authority’s 2021 annual report reads.

“The huge Customs Debt movement of
3160.65% is in respect of excise duty due to the
audits into mainly the fuel sector undertaken in
2021. A number of the clients are on a settle-
ment plan. The debt on customs duty is attrib-
utable to outstanding assessments from notices
of seizures/receipt for items held (RIH).”

VAT collections accounted for 25.17% of the
total net revenue collections, compared with
24.5% in 2020.

Turning to corporate tax, the authority said:
“Revenue collections were 28.71% above the set
target of ZW$73.55 billion. Collections were
mainly driven by increased production capaci-
ty in the manufacturing sector, which increased
from 47% in 2020 to 56.25% by end of 2021.
Corporate income tax contributed 20.42% of
the total revenue collections. The authority’s
risk-based enforcement activities and debt col-
lection strategies also enhanced the revenue
head’s performance.”

Individuals contributed 17.12% to total rev-
enue.

“Excise duties of ZW$56.97 billion were
12.87% above the set target of ZW$50.47 bil-
lion. The revenue head accounted for 12.29%
of total net revenue collections. The positive

Insurance firms shift to forex transactions
sion Commission Short-Term Insurance Report 2021.” Total assets reported by short-term insur-
BERNARD MPOFU for the quarter ending 31 March 2022, busi- Total gross premium written (GPW) by ers increased from ZW$11.44 billion as at 31
ness improved during the period under review March 2021 to ZW$28.62 billion as at 31
THE uptake of foreign currency-denominated as the economy opened up. short-term insurers increased by 87.62% from March 2022. Investments in prescribed assets
short-term insurance products rose by 33% to ZW$3.99 billion in March 2021 to ZW$7.49 by short-term insurers increased by 49.82%
US$24 million during the first quarter of the The outbreak of Covid-19 and the introduc- billion during the comparative period in 2022. from ZW$354.72 million as at 31 March 2021
year, as confidence in the domestic currency tion of several measures aimed at slowing down to ZW$531.45 million as at 31 March 2022.
wanes, a regulator’s report has shown. the spread of the respiratory infection had, un- In terms of foreign currency-denominated
til December 2021, reduced economic activity business, the short-term insurers reported an “None of the short-term insurers was com-
The Zimbabwe dollar continues to lose in the country. increase of 33.32% from US$18.37 million re- pliant with the minimum prescribed asset ratio
ground against the United States dollar, with ported for the quarter ended 31 March 2021 of 10%. Eighteen (18) out of nineteen (19) in-
most service providers and retailers increasing- “The foreign currency-denominated Gross to US$24.49 million for the quarter ended 31 surers reported capital positions above the min-
ly demanding payments in hard currency. The Premium Written for the quarter ended March 2022. imum capital requirement (MCR) of ZW$37.5
economy is also battling rising inflation which 31 March 2022 increased by 33.32% from million,” the report reads.
will result in most insurance claims becoming US$18.37 million reported during the first The total business written by short-term re-
worthless. The Zimbabwe dollar (ZW$) depre- quarter in 2021 to US$24.49 million reported insurers increased by 93.33% from ZW$2.17 The report further shows that 18 out of the
ciated against the US dollar, shedding 31%, for the comparative period in 2022,” the report billion for the quarter ended 31 March 2021 to 19 operating insurers reported capital positions
from US$1:ZW$108.7 recorded at the end of reads. ZW$4.19 billion during the period under re- that were above the minimum capital require-
the fourth quarter of 2021 to US$1:ZW$142.4, view. In terms of foreign currency-denominat- ment of ZW$37.5 million as at 31 March
registered at the end of the quarter under re- “Foreign currency-denominated business ed business, the reinsurers reported an increase 2022. The reported capital positions were com-
view. contributed 35% of the total business generat- of 45.71% from US$17.48 million reported for puted without accounting for non-admissible
ed by short-term insurers down from 38.85% the quarter ended 31 March 2021 to US$25.47 assets as stipulated by the law.
According to the latest Insurance and Pen- recorded during the comparative period in million for the quarter ended 31 March 2022.

NewsHawks Companies & Markets Page 33

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

BERNARD MPOFU Econet bemoans tariff delay

ECONET Wireless, Zimbabwe’s largest mobile about ZW$13.4 billion was incurred when the ment.” pany says.
network operator by subscriptions, says curren- official rate was devalued from ZW$124 to the Volume increases in data and voice of 58% “Investment in infrastructure over the years
cy volatility and delays in reviewing tariffs are US dollar to ZW$338, a depreciation of 172%
threatening the viability of the country’s tele- thereby eroding the gains made by the Com- and 19%, Myers added, reflected the increased has been on a downward trend as a result of
communications industry. pany in the year ended 28 February 2022. The demand from customers. Stringent cost align- acute foreign currency shortages in the country.
company is highly susceptible to exchange rate ment measures and close monitoring of the The business has been investing an average of
While consumers have over the months ex- movements because it imports equipment and business’ cost structure had a positive result on 5% of revenue compared to other telecommuni-
pressed displeasure over the cost of data in the software for operating purposes, which means the earnings before interest, taxation, deprecia- cation peers in the region whose average annual
country, Econet said the depreciation of the that any exchange rate depreciation significant- tion and amortisation (EBITDA) margin which capital investment is over 15% of revenue. This
Zimbabwe dollar has affected the profitability of ly impacts on its ability to invest in new equip- marginally firmed to close the year at 52% continues to have an adverse effect on the cus-
the business. against a prior comparative of 51%, the com- tomer experience,” Myers said.

“The low tariffs of the industry are much low-
er than the region and this poses a threat to in-
dustry viability. The telecommunications indus-
try has been struggling to meet the capacity and
coverage demands of its consumers," Econet
chairperson James Myers said in a statement
accompanying the company’s audited abridged
consolidated financial results for the year ended
28 February 2022

“The last tariff review for the sector, during
the reporting period, was carried out in Septem-
ber 2021 using the telecommunications pricing
index (TPI). The inflation that was experienced
since that time has not been factored into our
pricing framework as at February 2022, mean-
ing that our tariffs are now unviable for the busi-
ness to continuously invest to meet the increas-
ing demand for its services.”

The company, Myers added, uses the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) auction rate for re-
porting purposes. In the period under review,
the exchange rate to the US dollar moved from
ZW$84 to ZW$124 (prior year from ZW$18
to ZW$84), a depreciation of 48%.

“This resulted in exchange losses arising from
foreign currency denominated obligations de-
creasing from ZW$22.8 billion to ZW$5.1
billion, resulting in an incremental profit of
ZW$17.7 billion,” he said.

“Unfortunately, immediately following the
end of the financial year, an exchange loss of

BERNARD MPOFU Cottco to settle ZW$3bn legacy debt

AGRO concern Cottco Holdings says it has “However, following the settlement of sub- duction and import demand from China and tonnes (23%) allocated to local customers and
plans to settle its legacy debt by next March as sidy amounts outstanding from 2020, the out- Bangladesh slowed down as food security took the remainder (77%) exported. Cottco’s lo-
business improves on account of increased de- standing payments will be settled in the cur- precedence over clothing worldwide,” she said. cal toll-spinning arrangement resulted in 937
mand for cotton seed. rent season. The Company is forecasting to be tonnes of lint being value added.
current on its debts for the year ending of 31 “The inflation of the United States dollar at
According to the company’s trading update March 2023.” around 9% per annum has impacted the pric- Ginned seed of 62 160 tonnes was sold
as at 30 June, Cottco had a legacy debt of ing of goods locally, and this inflation coupled mainly to local oil expressors and stockfeed
ZW$3.3 billion at the start of the 2021 cot- Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Dube added, with speculative pricing by suppliers in order to suppliers. The first quarter ended 30 June 2022
ton-buying season. This debt, the company has led to global increase in fuel prices and keep ahead of inflation continues to put pres- is traditionally the commencement of the in-
says, was driven by high producer prices set in worldwide shortages of food, among other sure on Cottco margins. The increase in local take season. Intake officially commenced on 13
the 2020 season, against a declining lint price turmoil, which has resulted in an increased de- borrowing rates to 200% per annumis also of June 2022, which was about a month later than
in that same period, unfavourable exchange mand for oil seeds, including cotton seed. additional concern as the Company needs to usual as the bulk of the crop was a late crop
rates and a prolonged buying season. access credit from time to time for operational owing to the delay in first rains.
“Whilst lint prices had risen to 158.19 c/lb needs.”
“This constrained the Company’s ability in May 2022, there was a sharp decline at the As at 13 July 2022, intake stood at 34 497
to secure adequate funding for the 2021 sea- end of June 2022 to 105.13 c/lb as the United For the year ended 31 March 2022, the tonnes, and intake is expected to peak in July
son and whilst the Company was able to pay States increased its forecast of expected lint pro- Cottco sold 50 187 tonnes of lint with 11 663 and August 2022, the company says.
farmers ZW$3 billion, the balance of ZW$956
million was outstanding,” acting company sec-
retary Jacqueline Dube said in a statement.

Page 34 Companies & Markets NewsHawks

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

Seed Co braces for election turbulence

BERNARD MPOFU ter-company debtors and non-seed sales. Op- rate instead of the inter-bank rate. Finance costs both operating expenses and seed deliveries. The
erating expenditure rose in response to market were 9% of turnover compared to 8% prior contribution from associates and joint ventures
ZIMBABWE Stock Exchange-listed concern rate-based purchase prices. year. The appetite to borrow more was caused was nearly a third lower than prior year mainly
Seed Co says it is bracing for economic turbu- by a mismatch between receipts and payments due to the 35% reduction in profitability of the
lence as the country heads towards next year’s “The rise was also partly attributable to pay- arising out of delayed payments from govern- continental associate operations,” the company
general elections. roll-related costs and depreciation on revalued ment schemes and a sharp increase in prices for says.
assets and expenses that were billed at market
Rolling power cuts, delays in accessing for-
eign exchange from the formal market and ris-
ing inflation are among the major economic
problems confronting most local businesses.

In its full-year results for the year ending 30
March, Seed Co said the period under review
witnessed an unstable economic environment
dominated by a weakening currency, volatile ex-
change rates and pricing distortions.

Although the decline in Covid-19 cases and
the subsequent removal of lockdown restrictions
was a notable development towards normalisa-
tion of operations, the cost of production soared
because of inflationary pressures. Most farmers,
the company says, delayed planting due to late
rains and a mid-season dry spell compounded
the situation, resulting in notable crop write-
offs during the season.

“The challenging Zimbabwean economic sit-
uation is not expected to end soon with increas-
ing uncertainty in view of upcoming elections
next year,” reads a statement accompanying the
financials.

“The global economy is also facing unprec-
edented challenges stemming from Covid-19,
as well as climate change and now new shocks
arising from the conflict in Ukraine. Whilst
these developments impact fragile economies
the most, the unavoidable need to focus on food
security and import substitution is expected to
spur investment in agriculture in Zimbabwe
and on the African continent.

“The group is better positioned to leverage its
strong brand and intellectual property to active-
ly participate in enhancing primary food pro-
duction to plug supply gaps. The continuation
of the gap between official and alternative mar-
ket exchange rates in Zimbabwe will however
continue to weigh down real profitability as sell-
ing prices are linked to official rates while vir-
tually all business costs track alternative rates.”

Inflation-adjusted turnover was 8% lower
than prior year and this is attributable to vol-
ume reduction and pricing challenges.

Other income increased when compared
to the prior year due to exchange gains on in-

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NewsHawks Companies & Markets Page 35

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

Zim misses out on G7 stimulus package

BERNARD MPOFU Finance minister
Mthuli Ncube
ZIMBABWE missed out on a G7-backed
multi-billion-dollar stimulus package designed to The World Bank says although
help countries of the global South weather eco- management of central government
nomic shocks caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. finances improved in 2019, size-
able contingent liabilities, coupled
The reason for the country’s exclusion is the with a considerable debt burden
failure to pay arrears to international financial in- and limited access to concessional
stitutions (IFIs), Finance minister Mthuli Ncube financing, continue to limit Zimba-
has said. bwe’s ability to clear arrears.

The Covid-19 pandemic has precipitated an
unprecedented economic crisis worldwide, with
disastrous social consequences. After 25 years of
continuous growth, Africa was severely hit and
suffered recession in 2020.

Despite receiving a quota-based allocation
of nearly US$1 billion from the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) last year, Harare was in-
eligible to receive more financial support after its
debt stock ballooned over the years. The coun-
try defaulted on arrears payments at the turn of
the millennium, resulting in the failure to access
long-term funding from multilateral lenders such
as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund
and the African Development Bank.

As first reported by The NewsHawks last year,
the world’s advanced economies parcelled out
part of their IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDR)
to shore up developing countries currently reeling
from the impact of Covid-19.

“Zimbabwe cannot adequately respond to the
Covid-19 pandemic in a way that protects the
vulnerable and addresses inequality without ar-
rears clearance, debt relief and restructuring,” said
Ncube said in the latest Arrears, Debt Relief and
Restructuring Strategy availed to The NewsHawks.

“The country has already been left out of the
Covid-19 pandemic responses by the IFIs, the G7
and G20, including the Debt Service Suspension
Initiative (DSSI) and G20 Common Framework.
The country has to emerge from the Covid-19
pandemic and debt crisis in a position to achieve
its developmental goals in Vision 2030 and NDS
[National Development Strategy].”

The DSSI is intended to suspend debt pay-
ments from the poorest countries to official bi-
lateral creditors based on countries’ requests for
forbearance, with a view to providing immediate
liquidity to tackle challenges posed by Covid-19.

The G7 is an informal grouping of seven of the
world’s advanced economies. The G20 holds a
strategic role in securing future global economic
growth and prosperity. Together, the G20 mem-
bers represent more than 80% of world gross do-
mestic product, 75% of international trade and
60% of the world population.

In May 2021, France hosted the Paris sum-
mit on supporting African economies after the
Covid-19 pandemic caused economic shocks on
the continent. Paris took the lead and made a firm
commitment to lobby advanced economies to
parcel out part of their SDR to weaker economies.

A declaration of the document seen by The
NewsHawks shows that Zimbabwe, which badly
needs financing to stabilise its economy, was con-
spicuous by its absence at the Paris Summit which
was attended by Francophone, Saxophone and
Lusophone countries in June 2021.

Countries which adopted the declaration in-
cluded: Algeria, Angola, Belgium, Benin, Burki-
na Faso, Cameroon, Canada, China, Comoros
(a Chinese ally which counterbalanced Russian
and Indian influence in the Indian Ocean), Con-
go, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast,
Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Ghana, Italy,
Japan, Kenya, Mali, Mauritius, Mauritania, Mo-
rocco, Mozambique, Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria,
Portugal, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Spain,
South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Chad, Togo, Tu-
nisia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom,
United States of America, Zambia.

The summit was also attended by the chairper-
son of the African Union, the chairperson of the
African Union Commission, the president of the
European Council and the president of the Euro-
pean Commission.

According to the World Bank, although man-
agement of central government finances improved
in 2019, sizeable contingent liabilities, coupled
with a considerable debt burden and limited ac-
cess to concessional financing, continue to limit
the country’s ability to clear arrears.

Page 36 Companies & Markets NewsHawks

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

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NewsHawks Companies & Markets Page 37

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

Corporate culture determines PR success

PEOPLE often talk about a com- ture that will support your public has unique goals, but one thing er trust. A good culture has senior Corporate culture is an import-
pany’s culture yet it is not always relations effort. is for certain. The success of your management who delegate respon- ant factor to ensure the success of
considered in the bigger context of PR efforts depends on how people sibilities to the right people and PR programmes. A lot of corporate
a public relations (PR) strategy. Create a shared vision: Define in your organisation relate to each empower them to implement cor- image is based on how customers,
your company’s vision and values other. porate policies. It ensures systems employees, and partners feel about
Several years ago, a financial clearly. Trust is essential in the era of arti- and processes are in place to make your company. Corporate culture
backer and I formed Sunshine Cor- ficial intelligence and the prevalence sure that the business can deliver on determines how the organisation
porate Communications, a bou- Make sure they represent your of algorithms. It is the reason people its promises. and PR specifically operate in rela-
tique agency that assists businesses company’s personality and culture. continue to seek the advice of hu- The relationship between con- tion to its internal and external in-
by telling their story and building If it sounds like a lot of work, think man experts, even when Google or sumer and brand is complex and fluences.
their image. One of the first things about how much time you invest in Alexa might do the same thing. dynamic. A good culture has senior
that we did in those nascent days of recruiting the right talent, ensuring For many In the cut-throat world of com-
forming the consultancy was to set you align them with your mission people, the key munications, there’s one element
up internal processes to ensure that and brand values. Treat your em- to trust is the Corporate that can make or break your PR
we delivered on our promise. ployees like you would treat our consistency of Communications programmes: culture.
customers. values — a cor-
We realised early on that compa- porate commit- The most effective public rela-
ny culture can enhance the effec- Transparency: Companies that ment to doing tions depends on a team of people
tiveness of reliable service to the cli- have embraced a corporate culture what it says it who understand and align with
ent, whether it be content creation, of transparency and have open com- is going to do. Lenox Lizwi Mhlanga your business objectives and values.
or among others, media relations or munication lines with their stake-
crisis management. holders are far more likely to avoid Trust makes The people involved have to be
crises and manage them quickly if your company more palatable, management who delegate respon- "on brand" and corporate culture
What is a corporate culture? It is they occur. more believable, and more credible. sibilities to the right people and acts as a major determinant of
the way employees work together, The relationship between con- empower them to implement cor- whether this is achievable.
interact and relate to their environ- A good corporate culture is one sumer and brand is complex and porate policies. It ensures systems
ment. It is one cornerstone of any of the best assets a well-run public dynamic. However, there are certain and processes are in place to make *About the writer: Lenox Mh-
business, and it is one thing that can relations department can have. cultural elements within the organ- sure that the business can deliver on langa is a specialist communi-
make or break a company. Consid- isation that contribute to consum- its promises. cation consultant and can be
ering this, every business should Trust: One of the key elements reached at: lenoxmhlanga@gmail.
give serious thought to what its cor- of a good culture (or corporate com and +263772 400 656.
porate culture is. culture) is a company’s trust lev-
el. Every company is unique and
We can define culture as the val-
ues and beliefs which are shared
within an organisation and act as
a guide to behaviour and decision
making. Culture is dynamic and
many internal and external factors
such as demographics, leadership,
competitors, economy and industry
trends can influence it. In short, all
things that impact strategy and ex-
ecution.

A healthy corporate culture is
fundamental to the success of any
company. We perceive it as an indi-
cator of the quality of a company’s
products and services, the viability
of its business model, and its integ-
rity.

A company’s culture affects its
ability to stay relevant in an indus-
try. It also has a direct effect on the
effectiveness of its PR programmes.

In PR, getting an article pub-
lished in a top media outlet is every
practitioner’s dream. However, it is
important to understand that this
type of publicity cannot happen
without the internal structures and
teamwork.

Media houses often receive thou-
sands of Press releases every day and
even if your story is great, it can be
lost in the noise. The most crucial
part of your PR campaign is build-
ing strong relationships with the
writers and editors.

Most businesses are working in
a high-pressure environment with
tight deadlines. When receiving in-
formation from an outside source,
such as the media, many business
leaders find themselves in a situa-
tion of having to take someone else’s
word for it.

The key to that is building a
good company culture. Here are
some tips for helping you build and
maintain a healthy corporate cul-

Page 38 Stock Taking NewsHawks

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

Property
NewsHawks

Issue 90, 22 July 2022 PROPERTY INTERIORS ARCHITECTURE GARDENING Page 39

The home of prime property: [email protected]

Paving way for Mbudzi Traffic Interchange

Some of the properties that are going to be demolished and owners compensated to make way for the Mbudzi interchange. Pictures: Aaron Ufumeli

Page 40 News Analysis NewsHawks

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

NYASHA CHINGONO Zimdollar on its death On 25 July, the central bank will
bed but govt clings on release the Mosi-oa-Tunya gold coin
GOVERNMENT’S insistence on as a store of value, amid hopes that
maintaining the moribund Zimdollar Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya. the coin will lessen pressure on the
on the market, despite signs that the US dollar and improve investment.
local currency is headed for a tragic Analysts maintain that expecting Zimdollar second to the Venezualan flation rate is not 102% as officially
end, will only hurt the already strug- to rely on a poor currency which is bolivar as the second-weakest unit claimed but more than 450%. The gold coins will be bought at
gling economy, analysts say. not tradable outside Zimbabwe is in the world, has often described the 5% above the international market
tantamount to flogging a dead horse. local currency as going through a Amid the falling Zimdollar, the price of gold.
Chronic high inflation may force “death spiral”. authorities continue to announce a
the authorities to dump the local cur- American economist Steve Han- cocktail of measures to arrest inflation Gold coins cannot be held for less
rency again, for the second time in ke, whose currency watch places the Hanke believes the country’s in- and strengthen the local currency. than 180 days, according to central
over a decade, as the Zimdollar con- bank.
tinues on a downward slide.
While there are mixed feelings as
After several episodes of interven- to the viability of introducing the
tionist measures and command-style gold coins, it remains to be seen
policies which evoke yesteryear trep- whether they will turn the corner for
idations, the government’s insistence Zimbabwe.
on bringing back the Zimbabwe
dollar, without addressing the fun- Economist Prosper Chitambara
damentals necessary for sustaining a says the government is under pressure
currency, is terribly backfiring. to end the chronic high inflation.

Rising levels of inflation and low “Government is under pressure
output in the real sector continue to to bring an end to this chronic high
blight any prospects of defending the inflationary crisis. The possibility is
value of the local unit. that authorities may be forced to fully
re-dollarise. The way the market is re-
In recent months, the central bank jecting the Zimdollar, the authorities
hiked interest rates to 200% in a bid will be left with no option other than
to discourage borrowing for "arbi- to re-dollarise,” Chitambara said.
trage", but unrelenting problems be-
devilling the local currency persist. Chitambara said full dollarisation
will "stabilise" things.
Last week, local producers and re-
tailers displayed US only stickers as “With high inflation, it means
the Zimdollar falls out of favour with people will not be willing to hold or
business. In response, the Finance transact with the Zimdollar.”
ministry chided local businesses for
refusing the currency, while the cen- Faced with unprecedented eco-
tral bank summoned manufacturers nomic situation characterised by
and retailers over the move. record inflation, which officially
reached 231 million percent in 2008,
One US dollar is now officially Harare was forced to ditch the Zim-
worth ZW$400 from ZW$391 last babwe dollar in 2009 for a basket of
week. However, the parallel market currencies dominated by the green-
exchange rate is between 800 and back.
900, at times 1 000.
As the economy wobbles, many
Although Zimbabwe promulgated Zimbabweans are beginning to draw
the multi-currency regime, recog- parallels between what happened in
nising the US dollar as legal tender 2008 and now.
at law, the Zimdollar continues in a
tailspin. While rising inflation remains the
common denominator, this time
After insisting that the local cur- around, unlike then, shops are well
rency was 1:1 with the US dollar, stocked, but most consumers lack the
the authorities abandoned the peg in buying power.
2019, to introduce the interbank rate
and the auction system to determine Economist Rashweat Mukundu
the exchange rate. said: “The Zimdollar is long dead and
this at the hand of the Finance min-
The interbank exchange rate has istry and monetary authorities. The
somewhat failed to stabilise the Zim- death is a result of unbridled printing
dollar which is on a free fall, while the of the Zimdollar. Businesses are sim-
US dollar continues to firm up. ply being commonsensical in pricing
in US dollar, as no one will be able
Amid calls to re-dollarise, the gov- to continue in business by using the
ernment insists the Zimdollar still has Zimdollar and struggle with what has
a role to play. become an unsustainable exchange
rate.”

NewsHawks Critical Thinking Page 41

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

This article by Dr William Jethro Nkomo: A liberation struggle
Mpofu, a researcher at the Universi- philosopher nailed to the cross
ty of the Witwatersrand in Johannes- philosophers of liberation normal-
burg, South Africa, began as a public and allow bloody battles to ensure. not even know why they support The late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo. ly keep to fair and just play and lay
lecture presented on the cause of the There are oral narratives that tell and follow them. are crucified symbolically and oth- all their cards on the table which
Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Founda- erwise. They become candidates for makes them pathetic politicians in
tion at the Holy Trinity Church, in of how Nkomo would not celebrate Like cult leaders, they are fre- persecution and humiliation if they a world where politics is played as
Braamfontein, in that country’s com- when he got reports of numbers of quently followed without clear rea- are not assassinated. a dirty game by schemers and cun-
mercial capital on 2 July 2022. enemy combatants that Zipra had son or question, except what can be ning foxes. As I demonstrate below,
liquidated in battle.  Philosophers summarised and simplified as their The reason for this is that they Rhodesian prime minister Ian Smith
Nkomo – who was born on 19 of liberation frequently disarm their greatness. Supporters and followers are hated and feared by their oppo- secretly approached Nkomo, twice,
June 1917 and died on 1 July 1999 soldiers and prevent rather than en- tend, then, to manufacture many nents. Robert Mugabe, for instance, and offered him the country and
– was the founding nationalist leader able military victory, which may be myths and fictions about the leader was what Doris Lessing called a “ter- power, and Nkomo insisted on in-
of Zimbabwe’s main liberation move- a good humanist and spiritual thing to explain their support. rified little man” when Nkomo was volving Mugabe in the secret deal,
ment. to do but a grave political fault that a bold huge man who exuded a terri- against all political common-sense.
gives victory to deadly and unforgiv- The whole political folklore fying aura that changed the weather
After his studies in South Africa in ing enemies that go on to turn the around Nkomo, for instance, that and the climate when he appeared. The philosopher of liberation
the 1940s, Nkomo returned home in dream of liberation into a horrific he had supernatural powers and oth- proper is allergic to opportunism
1949. He joined the Rhodesian Rail- nightmare, which is what happened erworldly abilities prevented many Mugabe’s hatred for Nkomo that which is normally capital for the
ways as a social welfare officer based in in Zimbabwe. brave soldiers and wise heads from covered his fear of the man was so pragmatic politician.
Bulawayo. The toxic colonial environ- correcting him when he was wrong. extreme. Paul Moorcraft records an
ment exposed him to racial inequali- Their excessive love and respect incident when Nyerere was conduct- Optimism is a name that philoso-
ties, including huge salary differences for human life makes philosophers Nothing is as popular and pow- ing some peace talks between Mug- phers of liberation answer to. In the
between blacks and whites doing the of liberation frequently vulnerable erful as a good philosopher of lib- abe and Nkomo. When Mugabe’s thickest of dystopia and darkness,
same jobs. to being killed and/or exposing their eration in his or her time. They turn came to sit before Nyerere, he they see light and utopia. They are
soldiers and followers to slaughter. command incorrigible support and refused to sit on the same chair that tragic optimists in that they cling to
Appalled by brazen racism and in- a following. They are sheepishly lis- Nkomo had sat on, calling the Zapu the hope that things will come right
justice as well as generally poor social In God’s world where there is a tened to even when they are politi- leader “that fat bastard”. even when all signs point to the
conditions and the suffering under time for everything, time for war cally wrong, like cultic leaders. That abyss. They are incorrigible vision-
which Africans lived, Nkomo joined and time for peace, those that are makes them dangerous personages Apparently, Mugabe would only aries and, as a result, they fantasise
the trade union movement to fight ra- shy or hesitant to deploy the ways of that can lead entire populations to sit on the chair if it was fumigated instead of strategising in politics.
cial oppression and inequality. the warrior in war are consigned to the abyss. and disinfected. Mugabe’s persecu-
the menu of their enemies. tion, humiliation of Nkomo, and That makes them poor and failed
Two years later, he was appointed For their huge following, they the burning desire to eliminate him politicians that can be accused by
Workers' Association secretary. Being against war, which is a often then leave behind many dead physically was rooted in extreme cynics of living in the proverbial
great attribute of philosophers of supporters, angry followers and dis- fear and hatred. paradise of fools, seeing bright stars
In 1953, as he became a trade union liberation, can be a great weakness appointed believers that realise too in the sky when it is burning mis-
force to reckon with, he was invited by that endangers even liberation itself little too late that the political direc- However, Nkomo, despite all of siles coming to burn them and their
Sir Godfrey Huggins, Southern Rho- that is the claim to existence of the tion taken was to hell even if it was Mugabe’s animosity and dread, con- supporters.
desia's prime  minister, to represent philosophers of liberation. Nkomo paved with great intentions and dec- tinued to invest trust, hope and even
Africans at the London Conference himself, in his book The Story of orated with beautiful flowers.  love and respect for Mugabe as I will In that way, the typical philos-
on the proposed Federation of the two My Life, belabours the point that he illustrate below. opher of liberation is a dangerous
Rhodesian countries and Nyasaland. thought armed struggle unnecessary With all their love for life, theirs dreamer.
and needless, and that belligerents and that of others, philosophers of Another strength which is also a
Kenneth Kaunda and Hastings should have negotiated from the liberation are seized with political weakness of the philosophers of lib- Philosophers of liberation, be-
Kamuzu Banda represented Northern start.   messianism. They can be sacrificial eration as great humanists is their cause of their poverty of realpoli-
Rhodesia and Nyasaland respectively. and selfless to a point of being sui- strong moralism. They are afraid of tikal thought and disdain for cun-
Nkomo returned home bitterly op- Philosophers of liberation, be- cidal. It is for that reason that, like the cunning and scheming that nor- ning, scheming and calculating in
posed to the idea. cause of their grand visions and roy- the religious messiahs, they almost mally accompanies political games- politics, rarely come to power. They
al aura – if not divine touch– fre- always end up on the cross of cru- manship. come out losers in negotiations and
The same year, Nkomo resigned quently command great following. cifixion. If they are not crucified elections because fraud, force and
from the Rhodesian Railways to start Some of their many supporters may physically as in being killed, they Even as they get involved in pol- scheming are not theirs.
his own business as an auctioneer and itics that has been rendered a “dirty
insurance agent in Bulawayo, becom- game” by cunning schemers, the When they come to power, which
ing the first African to venture into is rare, they become benevolent dic-
that area. tators. They are not always demo-
cratic in decision-making but lead
In 1955, he became African Work- or rule like monarchs where their
ers' Unions president and that inev- opinions are political doctrines,
itably propelled him into national and their words are political com-
politics, especially after the December mandments. But they always love
1954 All-African People's Congress their people and are loved by them.
held in Ghana where he interact- Kenneth Kaunda, the great human-
ed with liberation movements from ist of Zambia, was such an example.
around the world. Kaunda would simply shed tears and
sob than make a strong argument. It
From 1957-1959, Nkomo led the might have been emotional black-
Southern Rhodesia African National mail, but Kaunda frequently used
Congress. In 1960, when the Nation- tears, presidential tears, to advance
al Democratic Party was formed he his political will before the Zambian
was elected its leader, working with nation.
other nationalists such as like Nd-
abaningi Sithole, Leopold Takawira, But still, the Zambians loved
Herbert Chitepo, Morton Malianga, their KK, he who would not hurt a
George Silundika and Robert Mug- fly. In power, philosophers of liber-
abe, among others. ation become national monuments,
saints and legends. Their political
The banning of the NDP in 1961 victory is frequently more symbolic
led to the founding of Zapu, with than material.
Nkomo as leader again.
Because of his Madiba magic
When Zapu was prohibited in charm, Nelson Mandela became an
1962, Nkomo led its front, the People’s international tourist attraction, for
Caretaker Council. his rare humility and conciliatory
spirit. He became more of a sym-
Upon intensification of the struggle, bolic and ceremonial leader who left
Nkomo led Zapu throughout the lib- his followers still displaced, dispos-
eration war to Independence in 1980, sessed, unequal and poor in a South
until it merged with Zanu in 1987 Africa where economic apartheid
to form Zanu PF. Zapu was effective- walks on two legs in the streets.
ly dissolved after it was subjected to
a campaign of violence and killings, To be continued…
which culminated in genocide. *About the writer: Dr William
Jethro Mpofu is a Zimbabwe-
Through all that, Nkomo remained an-born researcher at the Univer-
philosophical about issues, main- sity of the Witwatersrand, Johan-
taining his idealistic disposition and nesburg, in South Africa.
dream of a united, inclusive and di-
verse, as well as prosperous nation – he
lived as a liberation philosopher until
the end of his life.

WILLIAM JETHRO MPOFU

THE philosophers of liberation fear
war, they fear death and love life,
theirs and that of others, to a fault.

In the midst of an escalated war
such as Zimbabwe’s war of libera-
tion was, the philosopher of libera-
tion would be reluctant to cry havoc

Page 42 Critical Thinking NewsHawks

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

MATHEW MARE Roman Catholic Church as
a violator of human rights
SCHOLARS say churches tend not
to talk much about the secular law responsibility to care for the poor can people both the gospel and the AICs came at a time when the Af- 1959 the Presbyterian clergy in
with regard to the rights of chil- and the vulnerable. Of course the package that wrapped the gospel. ricans were fed-up of colonisation Zambia blatantly refused to be part
dren and their abuses. Rather, the church only continued with char- and Western-founded churches. of the non-racial negotiations for
Roman Catholic Church tends to itable work at a relatively small While in Africa these churches The Roman Catholic Church, for union. The attitude of the Presby-
refer much to the biblical (Bosch, scale. continued to transmit the gospel example, used the colonial govern- terian clergy in Zambia, South Af-
1999:376). in the Western culture, seeming- ment to take land from the natives. rica and Zimbabwe changed drasti-
Similarly, the African Traditional ly whispering that repentance was cally after these countries attained
The literature consulted by this Religion (ATR) had their mecha- synonymous with behaving and liv- Land is at the core of ATR and their independence.
study showed that the Roman nisms to respond to human security ing a Eurocentric life. it is an identity to an African man.
Catholic Church’s doctrine of do- considerations. When the ATR was To date, Western-founded churches Zwana (2010:10) adds that
minion and discovery shaped Eu- antagonised by Western-founded On the other hand, these mis- own substantial amounts of land, the problem of Western-founded
ropean states’ political behaviour. churches, the colonial governments sionaries came to Africa with a properties and social utilities. churches is that they failed to con-
Countries such as the United States failed to replace the role which was pre-conceived notion of a dark textualise and to use traditional ar-
codified some of the papal decrees being played by ATR. continent that they had to illumi- In some instances, the con- tefacts and African elements such
and a number of European courts nate through the introduction of gregants were used as cheap la- as sadza and maheu for Holy Com-
use it as point of reference (inter In so doing, it created a gap some western civilisation, western bour. Weller (1984:204) argued munion.
ceatera papal bull, 1452:345). which was later filled by AICs. culture and of course religion. that, whilst the Western founded
Balcomb (2014:56) argues that the churches were able to build church- He went on to state that lan-
In terms of human rights vi- Western-founded churches and the Western churches lost the op- es, hospitals, colleges, universities guage, artefacts and symbols are
olations, the Roman Catholic colonial governments failed to dia- portunity to be relevant to Africa and schools, they failed to under- central to any culture, and AICs
Church’s doctrine of dominion logue with African cultural aspects by their failure to be more con- stand the psychology of Africans. were successful in that regard. Zwa-
and discovery led to colonisation, like the rites of passage, African in- textual to the needs of the Afri- na also notes that Africans showed
slave trade, deprivation of proper- struments and worshipping style, can. Balcomb (2014) goes on to Bax (1997:10) postulates that they were ready to leave the shelters
ty rights, undermining of people’s prophetic ministry, liturgy and advise Western founded churches Western founded churches never and comfort of the Western-found-
cultures, hegemonic behaviours failure to create harmony with the that they could still make African came together to blame the Human ed churches to worship in the open
by the European states and wars traditional leadership. Christians children of God without Rights violations by the colonial spaces because AICs successfully
which affected largely women and abandoning their God given culture government or showed any support managed to speak to the hearts of
children. Instead of creating a complemen- because it is neither a sin nor an af- for the liberation struggle. the Africans.
torship and synergies with ATR, front to their participation in the
The study of church-state rela- the Western-founded churches be- Kingdom of God (ibid, 2014:56). However, outside the confines of The doctrine of one centre
tions helps to understand how the gan to antagonise them resulting Samuel Huntington asserted that, theology, some clergyman would in of power is perhaps a borrowed
relationship would impact on the in a religious polarity and human whenever there is a clash of civilisa- their individual capacity support phenomenon from the Catholic
human rights discourse. insecurities. tion, the superior one subdues the the liberation struggle. In post-in- Church since the doctrine of pa-
weaker ones. dependence Zimbabwe, those in- pal infallibility and the doctrine of
In the case of Zimbabwe, the rise Balcomb (2014:56) goes on to dividual clergymen who support- discovery existed first before states
of African Independent Churches argue that the problem of West- Huntington’s political philoso- ed its struggle were recognised in existed in the present form.
(AICs) was as a result of human ern-founded churches is that they phy helps to explain how the doc- their individual capacities and the
rights violations by Western-found- came to Africa wrapped in Western trine of discovery was able to dis- negative attitude towards West- States only existed through the
ed churches. culture; and the missionary enter- lodge ATR. ern-founded churches remained. 1648 Treaty of Westphalia. In Eu-
prise sought to market to the Afri- rope there is hegemonic political
However, while some arose to According Zvobgo (1996:1), Bax (1997:10) argues that in
challenge the human rights vio-
lations by the Western-founded
churches, they equally stand ac-
cused of violating the rights of
women and children by importing
certain toxic cultural practices into
their theologies.

This is to say, there are human
rights violations in both AICs and
Western- founded churches.  The
issue of theologies that violate the
rights of women and children cut
across all religious spheres.

In Luke (6:20-26), Jesus explains
that the Kingdom of God is for
the poor and the needy. Winter
(1994:200) argues that the ear-
ly church taught civic education
among its members.

Bosch (1999:180) argues that
the early church had most of its ad-
herents among the slaves, women
and foreigners. He added the early
church began to preach and prac-
tice love and acts of charity which
also included almsgiving and care
for widows, travellers, slaves, sick,
imprisoned, and the poor.

Von Harnach (1967:147) con-
tends that the early church was
driven by the love of Jesus which
they expressed through charitable
work. In Acts 2:45, the Christian
congregation would sell their pos-
sessions and distribute the proceeds
to the poor.

Balch et al (1986:55) say that
women played the same roles as
men and this is in line with Gala-
tians (3:28), which argued that the
baptized community should be an
egalitarian community where there
is neither Greek nor Jew…slave nor
free…male or female. 

The ecclesiastical abuse of wom-
en and children is therefore unbib-
lical, but a papal decree and wrong
practice that may not have suffi-
cient scriptural justification.

With the creation of states and
emperors the duo took over the

NewsHawks Critical Thinking Page 43

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

behaviour which is based on abso- To add on, there are also unre- inantly pushed for their values, to Africanise its practices to fit bishop Pius Ncube who, unlike
lutism yielding to limited human ported human rights violations in norms and ethos, ignoring the fact into the contextual environment of members of AICs, had his sexual
rights and democracy. the church’s formation houses and that Africans had their own values, the African society. The Anglican scandals covered extensively. Thus,
seminaries where nuns and priests norms and ethos as well before the Church and the prosperity gospel the Western-founded religions
The Roman Catholic Church are trained. coming of the missionaries. preachers are the major beneficia- inclusive of the Roman Catholic
since its formation has never re- ries of these defections. Church must adopt survival strat-
spected the rights of women and The Roman Catholic Church There is therefore an urgent egies before these churches become
children and the most respected stands accused of gender and hu- need for the Catholic Church to Since the Catholic Church has ruins in Africa. The relevance of
philosophers of all centuries were man rights violations and there are institute thesis and anti-thesis of its assumed statehood status, it must the Westernc-founded churches in
Catholics. a number of cases of sexual abuse recruitment strategies to avert con- have clearly defined strategic plan Africa is continuously diminishing.
involving Catholic bishops on tinuously losing congregants, cate- documents, public relations officer
Early philosophers like Aristot- women and boys, most of whom chists, priests, nuns and especially for image building and image re- The Roman Catholic Church,
le would argue to say women and are in “mass auxiliary teams”. seminarians in the formation hous- pair processes. like most Western-founded church-
children are the same and they must es. While Vatican 11 recognised es, did not plan for post-indepen-
be denied basic rights like food and In Africa, the church was an ac- African agents of the gospel, these The strategic plan document dent strategies in Africa.
nutrition (Heard, 1997:1). Heard tive participant in colonisation and have been subjected to various ra- must address issues to do with
argues that the human rights dis- AICs emerged as a protest (Mukon- cial and Human Rights violations pneumatology, especially the doc- They failed to formulate context
course started in Europe by phi- yora, 1993:147). at formation houses and seminar- trine of charismatics, celibacy in specific strategies in order to im-
losophers in order to search for a ies. light of sexual abuses involving prove their church-state relations
moral standard for political organ- Pope John Paul 11’s Vatican 11 nuns and priests, livelihoods of contextually.
isation and behaviour. He goes on became the turning point and the The Roman Catholic Church priests and nuns and human rights
to state that human rights did not church began to reconstitute and produced a very important doc- abuses by the church on nuns and The other aspect is that, while
come from opposition politics as is reform itself. The Vatican 11 doc- ument but lagged on monitoring priests, especially those in the for- the Catholic Commission for Peace
the popular belief but from philo- ument was grounded research, able and evaluation to ensure that its mation houses and seminaries. and Justice is instrumental in lim-
sophical debates (ibid, 1997:2). to articulate the real challenges that goals are achieved and implemen- iting the excessive use of force by
were affecting the church. tation problems addressed. According to Banana (1991:30), the state on its citizens, its open
Thomas Aquinas, in his volume missionaries institutionalised their criticism on democracies made the
Summa Theologia, takes the debate The issue of the African agents According to Bourdillon hegemonic character. Banana al- Roman Catholic Church to be seen
further and introduced terms such of the gospel was the Vatican 11’s (1973:28), early missionaries cre- luded to the pouring of informa- as an agent of regime change and
as "right thinking", and Hugo Gro- greatest religious milestone and ated enmity with Africans by la- tion from a superior mind into the neo-colonialism.
tius added the term, "de jure belli et an effective mobilisation strategy. belling their culture devilish and empty pupil.
paci" which means immutability of Weller (1984:10) posits that West- non-existent, and the Vatican 11 According to Baur (1994:17),
what is wrong and right. However, ern religion when it came to Africa document was very articulative in However, with African states what missionaries forget is that in
the scholars agreed that the eccle- failed to contextualise the gospel, addressing the past mistakes by ear- managing to decolonise them- their attempt to evangelise, they
siastical moral standards were the resulting in it lacking its African- ly missionaries. selves politically, few post-indepen- end up colonising states religiously.
benchmarks for the development ness. dent African states continued to Thus, there were three major forms
of human rights, up until the ref- While at policy level African give political protection to West- of colonisation in Africa, namely:
ormation period when ecclesiastical The Vatican 11 was a positive agents of the gospel were legally ern-founded churches. religious, political and economic
beliefs were shaken by rationalism, step therefore in the contextualisa- recognised, in practice the mission- through the slave trade which, in
and later, political philosophers tion of the gospel and the church aries’ colonial mentality which was The position previously oc- turn, shaped how Africans perceive
like Emmanuel Kant. coming out openly that it no lon- already institutionalised in their cupied by the Western founded Westerners.
ger condoned injustices and human formation houses and seminaries churches was replaced by AICs
Kant says the state has a moral rights violations. The church went took centre stage. (ibid, 1991:31). The church-state To be continued…
obligation to safeguard the rights of on to form the Catholic Commis- relations tilted in favour of AICs
its citizens where a state is expected sion for Justice and Peace (CCJP) With the Vatican 11 resolution, and few priests and nuns who di- *About the writer: Matthew
to formulate laws that will be uni- to fight injustices in all the facets Africans joined seminaries and rectly supported the revolutionary Mare is a Zimbabwean academic
versal and should respect equality, of life (ibid, 1984:11). formation houses in numbers; but struggle continued to enjoy state who holds two bachelor’s degrees,
freedom and autonomy of citizens. only few would qualify and en- protection in their individual ca- five master’s qualifications and
According to Mukonyora dure the treatment at these centres. pacity, for example, Fr Fidelis Mu- a PhD. He is also doing another
However, in a rebuttal to po- (1993:147), the perception of con- Though Africans are by nature re- konori (SJ) and the late Archbish- PhD and has 12 executive certif-
litical ideas of Kant who argues version by early missionaries who silient, a number of them are found op, Patrick Chakaipa.  icates in different fields. Profes-
for the state as the guarantor of were predominantly Roman Cath- to have dropped out for various sionally, he is a civil servant and
citizens’ rights, John Locke in his olics was misguided in that it in- unknown reasons from seminaries. Catholic priests who became also board member at the Nation-
work Two Treatise on Government, volved forcing Africans to change critical of the post-colonial African al Aids Council of Zimbabwe.
argues that, human rights are God their values, norms and ethos. Some of the reasons may be states were exposed of their mis-
ordained and given to humankind found in the failure by the Church demeanours, for example, Arch-
(ibid, 1997:4). The early missionaries predom-

The idea of states as the guaran-
tor of rights of citizens is becoming
more and more complex, with some
churches beginning to assume the
statehood status, for example, the
Vatican City, which is the citadel
of the Roman Catholic Church and
the Islamic Republic of Iran which
is also another classic example.

The Catholic Church is perhaps
the only Christian church with a
statehood status. The United Na-
tions awarded the Vatican City
state recognition, meaning the
Vatican City, like any state, can
enter into agreements, engage in
diplomatic relations and is entitled
to have armies like any other sover-
eign state.

The nuncios are the Pope’s repre-
sentatives/ambassadors.

While the early Catholic Church
could have laid the foundation
for the birth of human rights, the
church later started to formulate
theologies and doctrines that op-
pose human rights.

Just like Machiavelli’s Prince was
the tutor of tyrants and dictators,
the Roman Catholic Church’s doc-
trine of discovery and dominion
laid the foundation for slave trade,
property and Human Rights vio-
lations, colonisation, and cultural
erosion amongst other vices.

Within the Catholic Church it-
self, there are gender disparities.
The nuns are inferior to the priests.

Page 44 CRreiftriacmaliTnhgiInsksuinegs NewsHawks

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

Alex Magaisa's remarkable legacy: obituary

NIC CHEESEMAN Lawyer and key adviser to Morgan Tsvangirai who helped
draft Zimbabwe’s 2013 constitution
THE lawyer and intellectual
Alex Magaisa, who has died aged The late Alex Magaisa.
46 of a heart attack after a long
period of illness, was a key ad- komba district of Zimbabwe, to nist for the Daily News newspa- Despite this, he remained an rights organisations under one
viser to  Morgan Tsvangirai  and Seddy (nee Makwinja) and Phil- per from 2010 to 2012, and his affable personality and his refus- umbrella. As an executive direc-
his Movement for Democratic lip Magaisa, Alex boarded at St BSR commentaries on Zimba- al to be drawn into name-call- tor and board secretary, he hoped
Change (MDC) party during a Francis of Assisi high school in bwean politics combined rigour ing attracted admirers on both that the CLC would promote re-
crucial period in Zimbabwe’s po- the Mashonaland East province. with an ability to communicate sides of Zimbabwe’s political di- search and advocacy about the
litical history. After taking a law degree at the academic insights to a mass au- vide, which was a rarity in such rule of law, human rights and
University of Zimbabwe, gradu- dience. a polarised system. In 2017,  he constitutionalism in his home
After  the country’s disputed ating in 1997, he joined the law appeared in a photo with sever- country.
presidential elections of 2008, firm  Gill, Godlonton & Ger- The elegance of his prose and al of Zanu-PF’s younger leading
when  Robert Mugabe  and his rans as an associate, working on his willingness to speak truth to members, stating: “We have se- He is survived by his wife,
Zanu PF party were forced to litigation. In 1999, he moved to power made him the most re- rious disagreements on our pol- Shamiso (nee Jongwe), and their
accept a  power-sharing govern- the UK, to begin a PhD in law spected political commentator itics but we are not enemies,” two sons, Tinomuda and Anoti-
ment with Tsvangirai as prime at the University of Warwick, in  Zimbabwe, but this honest and urging “young people … to da.
minister, a parliamentary com- which he finished in 2003. In bravery could be dangerous. In shun violence and instead have
mittee was established to revise 2007 he joined the University of 2020, Magaisa’s BSR publicised healthy relationships with their • Dr Alex Tawanda Magaisa,
the country’s outdated and au- Kent, and established himself as and analysed the names of ben- opponents despite political dis- lawyer and writer, born 10 Au-
thoritarian constitution. In 2011 an expert on company and intel- eficiaries of the Reserve Bank of agreements”. gust 1975; died 5 June 2022.
Magaisa travelled from the Uni- lectual property law, Zimbabwe- Zimbabwe (RBZ)’s farm mech-
versity of Kent, where he was a an constitutional practice and anisation programme, whereby Aside from his writing and ac- — The Guardian.
law lecturer, to join the technical land law. taxpayers’ money was said to tivism, Magaisa did much to fos-
team advising that committee. have passed through packages to ter solidarity within Zimbabwe- *About the writer: Nic Chee-
Following his time with Tsvan- individuals including Zanu-PF an civil society, and last year he seman is professor of democracy
The constitutional review pro- girai, Magaisa moved away from politicians, judges and church played a leading role in the cre- at the University of Birming-
cess was as fraught as it was im- the political frontline, and his pastors. This triggered a fresh ation of the  Constitutional Law ham, the author of How to
portant. Although negotiations wider influence blossomed. wave of intimidation against Centre  (CLC), which brought Rig an Election, and a former
took place against a backdrop Magaisa and his collaborators. a number of legal and human director of the African Studies
of  harassment, as depicted in He had already been a colum- Centre at the University of Ox-
the 2014 documentary  Dem- ford.
ocrats, a new constitution was
approved in 2013 that, while
limited, promised to improve
women’s rights, ban torture and
guarantee freedom of expression.
However, the refusal of Mug-
abe to respect  the constitution,
and the continued  state repres-
sion  under his successor,  Em-
merson Mnangagwa,  mean that
these gains have yet to be realised
in practice, which is one reason
why Magaisa never stopped cam-
paigning for further legal and
political change.

By the time of the 2013 gener-
al elections Magaisa was serving
as chief adviser – effectively chief
of staff – to Tsvangirai. When the
polls, which the MDC claimed
were undermined by a flawed
and vastly inflated electoral reg-
ister, intimidation by Zanu-PF
and censorship of independent
media,  were won by Mugabe’s
party, Magaisa formed part of the
MDC legal team that challenged
the result in court. The petition
was unsuccessful, in part because
the judges were appointed by
Mugabe and generally favoured
the ruling party, and the MDC
moved back into opposition.

Magaisa returned to Kent,
but continued to visit Zimba-
bwe regularly and emerged as
an influential commentator on
the country’s politics. His eru-
dite blog, the Big Saturday Read
(BSR), filled the vacuum left by
a heavily censored and polarised
media. With almost 500 000
Twitter followers, he had more
online devotees than the coun-
try’s main newspapers.

Born in what is now the Chi-

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 45

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

Climate crisis: US$2 trillion for weapons
versus US$100 billion to save the planet

MURAD QURESHI

DURING late April and early carbon emissions by the US mil- astation from climate-induced governments  spent  US$2 trillion beyond just Africa and the Mid-
May, South Asia experienced the itary. superstorms and rising seas. on weapons, with the leading dle East.
terrible effects of global warm- Germany’s money goes to war countries being those who are
ing. Temperatures reached almost not climate After the recent German elec- the richest (as well as the most One COP meeting has already
50°C in some cities in the region. Germany hosts the secretariat of tions, hopes were raised that the sanctimonious on the climate de- taken place on the African conti-
These high temperatures came the United Nations Framework new coalition of the Social Dem- bate). Money is available for war nent and another will take place
alongside dangerous flooding Convention on Climate Change. ocrats with the Green Party would but not to deal with the climate later this year. Abidjan (Côte
in northeast India and in Ban- In June, as a prelude to COP27, lift up the green agenda. But catastrophe. d’Ivoire) hosted the UN Con-
gladesh, as the rivers burst their the UN held a  conference  in German Chancellor Olaf Scholz vention to Combat Desertifica-
banks, with  flash floods  taking Bonn on climate change. The has  promised  €100 billion for The way weapons have poured tion in May and Sharm el-Sheikh
place in places such as Sunamganj talks ended in acrimony over “loss the military, “the biggest increase into the Ukraine conflict gives (Egypt) will host the UN Climate
in Sylhet, Bangladesh. and damage” finance. The Euro- in the country’s military expen- many of us pause. The prolonga- Change Conference from 6 to 18
pean Union consistently blocked diture since the end of the Cold tion of that war has placed 49 mil- November.
Saleemul Haq, the director of all discussions on compensation. War”. He has also committed to lion more people at risk of famine
the  International Centre of Cli- Eddy Pérez of the Climate Action “[spending] more than 2% of the in 46 countries, according to the These are major forums for Af-
mate Change and Development, Network, Canada,  said: “Con- country’s gross domestic prod- Hunger Hotspots report by the rican states to put on the table the
is from Bangladesh. He is a veter- sumed by their narrow interests, uct on the military”. This means United Nations agencies, as a re- great damage done to parts of the
an of the United Nations climate rich nations and in particular more money for the military and sult of the extreme weather con- continent by the climate catastro-
change negotiations. countries in the European Union, less money for climate mitigation ditions and conflicts. phe.
came to the Bonn Climate Con- and green transformation.
When Haq read a tweet by ference to block, delay and un- The military and climate ca- Conflict and organised violence When the representatives of
Marianne Karlsen, the co-chair dermine efforts from people and tastrophe were the main sources of food in- the countries of the world gather
of the UN’s adaptation com- communities on the frontlines The money being swallowed into security in Africa and the Middle at Sharm el-Sheikh for COP27,
mittee, which  said  that “[m]ore addressing the losses and damage the Western military establish- East, specifically in northern Ni- they will hear Western represen-
time is needed to reach an agree- caused by fossil fuels." ments does not only drift away geria, central Sahel, eastern Dem- tatives talk about climate change,
ment”, referring to the negotia- from any climate spending but ocratic Republic of the Congo, make pledges and then do ev-
tions on loss and damage finance, On the table is the hypocrisy of also promotes greater climate ca- Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, erything possible to continue to
he  tweeted: “The one thing we countries such as Germany, which tastrophe. The US military is the Yemen and Syria.  exacerbate the catastrophe. What
have run out of is time. Climate claims to lead on these issues, largest institutional polluter on we saw in Bonn is a prelude to
change impacts are already hap- but has been sourcing fossil fuels the planet. The maintenance of The war in Ukraine has exac- what will be a fiasco in Sharm el-
pening, and poor people are suf- overseas and has been spending its more than 800 military bases erbated the food crisis by driv- Sheikh.
fering losses and damages due to increasing funds on its military.  around the world, for instance, ing up the price of agricultural
the emissions of the rich. Talk is means that the US military con- commodities. Russia and Ukraine — Globetrotter.
no longer an acceptable substitute At the same time, these coun- sumes  about 1.5 million litres together account for about 30%
for action (money).” Karlsen’s tries have denied support to de- of oil daily. In 2021, the world’s of the global wheat trade. So, the *About the writer: Murad
comment came in light of the veloping countries facing dev- longer the Ukraine war contin- Qureshi is a former member of
treacle-slow process of  agree- ues, the more hunger hotspots the London Assembly and a for-
ment  on the “loss and damage” will grow, taking food insecurity mer chairperson of the Stop the
agenda for the 27th Conference War Coalition.
of Parties (COP27) meeting to be
held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt,
in November 2022.

In 2009, at COP15, devel-
oped countries had agreed to
a  US$100- billion  annual adap-
tation assistance fund, which was
to be paid by 2020. This fund
was intended to assist countries
of the Global South to shift their
reliance on carbon to renewable
sources of energy and to adapt
to the realities of the climate
catastrophe. At the time of the
Glasgow COP26 meeting in No-
vember last year, developed coun-
tries were unable to meet this
commitment. The US$100-bil-
lion may seem like a modest fund
but is far less than what the UN
says is the “trillion dollar climate
finance challenge  (and opportu-
nities)” that will be required to
ensure comprehensive climate
action.

The richer states, led by the
West, have not only refused to se-
riously fund adaptation but they
have also reneged on the original
agreements, such as the  Kyoto
Protocol (1997). The US congress
has refused to ratify this import-
ant step toward mitigating the
climate crisis. It has shifted the
goalposts for reducing its meth-
ane emissions and has refused to
account for the  huge output  of

Page 46 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

MEMORY PAMELA KADAU Overturning Roe vs Wade in
US: Lessons for Zim activists
On 22 June 2022, the United States could push these conversations and
Supreme Court overturned the Roe work to the margins in favour of
versus Wade decision by a split deci- criminalisation of abortion, support-
sion of six to three. ed by religious and cultural infer-
ences, ignoring the root causes of un-
The Roe vs Wade decision had wanted and unintended pregnancies
been passed by the same court on 23 such as limited access to family plan-
January 1973 and ruled that abortion ning services, information deficits,
was a right protected by the consti- contraception failure, rape, incest etc.
tution of the US under the right to
privacy enshrined in the fourteenth Celebrities protest the historic sweeping illegalisation of abortions. Gains can be reversed
amendment. The 1973, Roe versus Wade ruling
mester-based framework. and social relationships in most of the struggle is far from over. represented a step toward enshrin-
The decision to overturn this land- However, both Planned Parenthood world today. Sexual and reproductive health ing bodily integrity of women and
mark ruling has given states the abil- A few years ago, sexual and repro- the right to determine when to give
ity to restrict abortion access entirely. versus.  Casey  and  Roe  v.  Wade  were Women leaders of the Suffragette ductive health rights (SRHR) prac- birth in law. Few would have imag-
Roe vs Wade history overturned by the Supreme Court in movement of the 20th century ad- titioners witnessed the chilling effect ined then that a sustained pushback
To understand the impact the Su- 2022. So, when the decision to over- vanced the cause of women's right to of Global Gag Rule across the world. by conservative groups would result
preme Court decision of 1973 had on turn the ruling was passed on 22 June vote. Today millions of women across Women were denied access to con- in its overturning 43 years later.
the US legal regime governing abor- 2022, the conservative politicians the world enjoy this right oftentimes traceptives and forced to seek unsafe
tion, one must appreciate the federal and media saw it as a victory for their as if it has always been this way. abortion, triggering a rise in maternal What this shows is the fragility of
system in the US. The federal system cause and celebrated. The US states mortality rates due to unsafe abor- gains made in the struggle for wom-
of government allows states to pass now retain the right to regulate abor- Until the early 20th century the tions in our backyards. en’s total emancipation. Conservative
legislation in their territories on is- tion. majority of women globally did not forces which are determined to sus-
sues not governed by the constitution enjoy this right and in Zimbabwe, In addition, the Global Gag Rule tain the status quo can easily reverse
or the national level of government, This discussion looks at lessons for women only got the right to vote in resulted in many non-governmental gains made in struggle.
including abortion. abortion advocates, women rights 1980. While the Suffragette move- organisations (NGOs) losing fund-
activists and feminists in the Africa ment was based mainly in the Global ing, meaning that they could no For us in Africa, this means we
It was one such piece of legislation drawing lessons from the Roe versus North its impact reverberated across longer sustain their work. Women must be vigilant and stand on guard
restricting access to abortion in the Wade case. the world demonstrating the power and girls had nowhere to go for safe against relapse back to the order we
state of Texas which resulted in the of globalisation in spreading the in- confidential sexual and reproductive have so audaciously pushed back
Applicant (using a nom de plume of Many may ask as to how a court fluence of ideas both progressive and mealth (SRH) services. against. It is a stark reminder that
Jane Roe) appealing to the US Su- decision made thousands of kilome- regressive. what we are celebrating today can
preme Court. ters across the Atlantic Ocean affects Consequently, the overturning of easily be pulled off the table at a mo-
abortion advocates, woman rights Many other movements have con- Roe versus Wade will likely affect the ment's notice.
On 23 January 1973, in a seven- activists, feminists and/or sexual and tinued to push for women’s emanci- access of sexual and reproductive
to-two decision, the court ruled that reproductive health service provid- pation in all aspects of life. One area health services and enjoyment of This is even more precarious for
abortion was protected by the US ers on the continent specifically in which has remained a sticking point these rights in the same way. It can those of us in countries like Zim-
constitution under the 14th amend- Zimbabwe. The lessons below will is bodily autonomy and integrity. also influence in-country policies, babwe where the democratic deficit
ment's right to privacy. demonstrate the answer to this ques- undermine and demobilise the work runs deep and institutions are weak.
tion. The ability to determine when to of SRHR advocates. If women rights activists and fem-
The decision meant that all US Power and women's bodies give birth is an important aspect of inists fail to continue building sol-
states had to abide by the court ruling Women pushing against power struc- women's bodily autonomy, yet pow- The reality is that early marriag- idarity and defending gains made,
in all matters pertaining to abortion. tures in society have driven many of er structures in many societies, are es, child sexual abuse, high maternal one day we may wake up to our own
the historical struggles for emancipa- determined to control this choice. mortality and morbidity are challeng- version of these regressive decisions.
It annulled all existing abortion tion and freedom. These power struc- This is an important lesson to draw es that our communities are still grap- It is time to push forward the conver-
restrictions up to 12 weeks and with tures are the main tools of the patriar- from the overturning of Roe vs Wade pling with.   sation on domestic funding otherwise
some caveats later so there are no ad- chy, which continues to define gender decision by the US Supreme Court. all these gains made will continue to
ditional court proceedings necessary It is further evidence for women and The overturning of Roe versus Wade be reversed by policy shifts at a global
from state to state level. feminists around the world that the level.

This resulted in a wide array of Organise, action and organise
laws across the US depending on the While at face value, the overturning
political power in each state. of Roe versus Wade seems an Ameri-
can issue, a deeper analysis shows that
Conservative leaning states like it is, in fact, about the struggle to
Texas had very restrictive laws reg- control and dominate women's bod-
ulating abortion, while liberal states ies. It is about power structures push-
like New York had regulations mak- ing back against the tide of women’s
ing it easier to access abortion. Roe emancipation and, if women’s rights
vs Wade ruling attracted both acclaim activists and feminists fail to defend
and vicious criticism. The political their gains, they will be swept away
left largely saw it as a significant move by reactionary forces.
in ensuring that women were in full
control of their bodies which have For us in Africa specifically, Zim-
been subjected to patriarchal control babwe where our intersectional reali-
since the middle ages, specifically on ties exacerbate our vulnerabilities, the
abortion and contraception. lessons from the US demand that we
better organise to defend and advance
On the other hand, the political the cause of women's total emancipa-
right saw it as an attack on conserva- tion now more than ever. The key
tive ideals which subjected women to message is ‘continue strengthening
stringent cultural/religious controls and building the movement’ to safe-
through patriarchy. For 43 years, the guard the gains and continue work-
ruling was roundly criticised by the ing on the realization of reproductive
conservative politicians, supporters justice. ORGANISE! ACTION! OR-
and media who relentlessly worked to GANISE!
ensure that it is overturned.
*About the writer: Memory Pa-
This included the gradual change mela Kadau is a feminist and
in the composition of the US Su- women's rights defender. She can
preme Court bench which in recent be contacted on: memory.kadau@
years has leaned to the right. In 1988 mail.com and on Twitter @memo-
and 1989, Planned Parenthood  of rykadau
Southeastern Pennsylvania versus
Casey brought a lawsuit against the
governor, protesting the constitution-
ality of the statutes enacted by gover-
nor Robert Casey, that required that
a woman seeking an abortion give
informed consent from either parent
(when under 18) or husband.

In 1992, the  US Supreme Court
affirmed “the basic principle”
of  Roe  v.  Wade, that women have a
right to obtain an abortion prior to
fetal viability, but rejected  Roe’s tri-

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 47

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

JUSTIN SILJEUR Africa must solve economic
problems using technology
IT was a stressful and difficult time opportunities to eradicate the high
in Malawi in 2001. It is an African goods and services to remote villages. people, has a median age of 20, and effect of mobile money, it has been poverty levels, redress the education
country synonymous with poverty, Another example is 5G technologies has more than 122 million active us- proven that increased access to mobile and infrastructure gaps, and protect
infrastructure gaps and relative eco- enabling ambulances to become mo- ers of mobile financial services who money in Kenya increased long-term the environment. 
nomic and political volatility. bile hospitals where doctors could re- are radical adopters and innovators consumption and lifted more than
motely control robots to deliver spe- in everything digital. Yes, Africa has 2% of households out of poverty. In 480 BC, in ancient Greece,
Malawi had a famine, brought cialised operations in a remote village.  enormous gaps in education, health 300 Spartan warriors made a heroic
about by intense flooding and systems, electric power and trans- In developing countries, with scarce last stand resisting a significant in-
drought that harmed the grain har- The Japanese government acknowl- port infrastructure and is behind the resources such as bank branches and vasion force by the Persian Empire.
vest. As a result, many villages expe- edges that this smart vision can only curve in the ease-of-doing-business fixed-line telecommunications, cell Surrounded and outnumbered by a
rienced grain shortfalls, resulting in be achieved through the government rankings. But, when benevolent lead- phones are adopted to do daily finan- ratio of 40:1, they put up a spectac-
unbearable prices. At the same time, and other stakeholders, such as the ers transform these difficulties into cial transactions. Money is deposited ular fight showing the power of an
Malawi experienced political turmoil, private sector and civil society, work- opportunities, they create real social into an account linked to a phone, army defending its native soil. The
and the government turned its back ing together to solve societal challeng- impact by connecting people to pre- which could then be transferred to Spartans had a secret strategy for their
on people. There was no hope. No es. viously unavailable services, boosting other users and easily converted back success. It was their battle formation,
money for food. People were starving. productivity and growth, and creating into cash. Africa is well positioned to also known as Hoplite warfare. The
We are not Japan. And Africa has jobs at mass. leapfrog historical and technologi- Hoplite war technique was a team
But, during this period of hardship very different problems. But the abil- cal barriers by using next-generation effort. Half the shield was to protect
is an amazing story about a coura- ity to solve these using technology is We have many examples of great technologies that deliver financial in- yourself, and the other half protected
geous boy who transformed a social real. technologies doing social good. A clusion and eradicates poverty.  the person to your left. Coordination
and economic problem into an op- great example of financial inclusion and discipline were critical but most
portunity.  Acha Leke, the author of  Africa’s is the Mpesa success story. According In South Africa, we share similar important of all was trust. If your
Business Revolution, argues that Af- to a 2016 study on poverty and the difficulties. We need leaders who can neighbour broke rank, you would be
Thirteen-year-old  William Kamk- rica has huge potential. The conti- reimagine these unsolved problems as exposed to the spear points of the en-
wamba had to drop out of secondary nent is home to more than 1.2 billion emy.
school because there was no money
but he used to sneak into the library Just as in the ancient Spartan war-
to learn about energy generation. He time, South Africa must appoint 300
stumbled on a textbook,  Using En- of our best leaders from government,
ergy, with a snapshot of a windmill business, civil society, and academia
on the front cover. He found vari- to address the social and economic
ous pieces of scrap metal, batteries problems. Three things are needed
and an ancient radio and, coupled from these benevolent leaders to de-
with the science and technology text- liver impact, which include establish-
book, built a windmill that generates ing a collaborative culture, well-en-
enough electricity to irrigate the land. trenched trust and the sharing of a
deeper purpose and a sense of ubuntu
In this story lies optimism, hope in solving our country’s problems.
and courage. One young boy could
defy the odds by using technology to In addition, centres of excellence
solve social problems that help eradi- must be established that coordinate
cate hunger and poverty and raise liv- and focus on how emerging technolo-
ing standards, aligning to the United gies such as artificial intelligence, ma-
Nations’ 17 sustainable development chine learning, the internet of things
goals. and robotics can address healthcare,
financial inclusion, smart energy grid
There are strong similarities be- and infrastructure and innovative
tween this story about using technol- public services. 
ogy for social good and  Society 5.0,
an initiative by Japan. Society 5.0 is Finally,  Graca Machel  further ad-
the vision and blueprint for a smart vocates a social compact where all
society that aims to resolve various stakeholders accept a shared responsi-
social problems by incorporating in- bility to solve Africa’s most significant
novations and emerging technologies social and economic challenges and
such as artificial intelligence, the in- meet the sustainable development
ternet of things, big data and multi- goals. 
sided platforms into all facets of social
and economic life. This enaissance provides a clean
canvas where we can paint a new
It is a fully integrated, data-driven, story. A story where technology can
inclusive, human-centred and equi- address the unique problems that cre-
table society that balances economic ate opportunity for all. Perhaps more
advancement with resolving social than anywhere else, this is a country
challenges. The author of the  Unes- where we can do well by doing good.
co Science Report, Yasushi Sato from
Niigata University, further defines — Mail & Guardian.
it as a society using next-generation *About the writer: Justin Siljeur
technologies to simplify daily life, is a lecturer in digital transforma-
overcome global problems and solve tion at Stellenbosch Business School
each of the 17 sustainable develop- on the MBA and BMA programmes
ment goals by 2030.  and the co-founder of Pétanque
NXT Africa.
Society 5.0 envisions a sustainable,
inclusive socioeconomic system pow-
ered by next-generation digital tech-
nologies such as big data analytics, ar-
tificial intelligence, machine learning,
the internet of things and robotics.

Products and services will be opti-
mally delivered to people and tailored
to meet their needs. Imagine auton-
omous vehicles and drones delivering

Page 48 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

GUY LAMB Mass shootings in SA a shootout between different
often over group turf groups of miners.
IN just two days in early July,
25 people were shot dead in four A group of men opened fire at the Soweto township bar, shooting scores. Since 2017, mass shootings,
separate incidents at taverns particularly in  Khayelitsha  in
across South Africa. In one of South Africa Police Minister Bheki Cele. conflicts between taxi organi- the Western Cape, have increas-
these shootings, in  Soweto, 16 sations over access to transport ingly been attributed to extor-
people lost their lives. there were 416 multiple murder Criminal gangs operate in routes and taxi ranks. Another tion efforts by gangs. Acts of
cases involving 953 victims. This most major cities in South Af- driver has been the perceived mass firearm violence have been
The killings made internation- equated to 9% of murders for rica, especially in Cape Town competition from other public used to terrorise township busi-
al headlines  and were shocking this period. and Gqeberha, in the Eastern transport service providers, such nesses and residents into paying
even in South Africa, a society Cape, where much of the  vio- as bus companies. “protection” fees.
with one of the highest  murder Historically, most mass shoot- lent crime  has been attributed
rates in the world. ings in South Africa have been to gang activity.  Gang con- Factional disputes, which Such violent organised crim-
associated with three main flicts have traditionally revolved have frequently been linked to inality appears to have become
There has been intense specu- things: gang conflicts, rivalries around gangs seeking to domi- party politics, have often been more prevalent.  Extortion  ef-
lation about the motives behind in the minibus taxi sector and nate poorer urban neighbour- related to access to and control forts might be the cause of the
the killings in the absence of re- factional or inter-group feuds hoods to facilitate and benefit over territory. recent tavern shootings in Sowe-
liable evidence that explains why (mainly in KwaZulu-Natal). from the trade in illegal goods, to and Pietermaritzburg.
the multiple murders took place. These forms of collective vio- especially drugs. Mass shootings have at times
lence have ultimately emerged been the outcome of conflicts Turf battles between extortion
To provide some insights into from efforts to control certain Violence in the  minibus taxi between vigilantes and gangsters gangs have also tended to result
the possible reasons, I reflect on spaces and resources. industry  has often arisen from (or those regarded as criminals in mass shootings between these
some of the research about mass by vigilante groups) over control groups.
shootings in South Africa with a over specific communities. This
view to recommending violence has been an ongoing problem All these forms of collective
prevention interventions. in Philippi East in the Western violence appear to have become
Cape. For example in Septem- self-perpetuating. Mass shoot-
South African police classify a ber 2017, 11 people were fatally ings have tended to ignite  re-
mass shooting as an incident in shot in one evening at the Mari- taliatory attacks, which in turn
which three or more people are kana informal settlement  in have led to further violent re-
shot with a firearm. Available fighting between gangsters and prisals. This has contributed to
evidence indicates that mass other residents. norms and beliefs that prioritise
shootings in South Africa are the use of violence to manage
mostly perpetrated by organised Vigilantes in  Phoenix  were inter-group conflicts becoming
criminal groups, such as gangs, also responsible for mass shoot- more entrenched in crime-af-
with motives often linked to ings during the July 2021 unrest fected communities.
competition over territory and in KwaZulu-Natal.
resources. On top of this, Covid-19 and
Mass shootings have also been the war in Ukraine have had se-
And that shooting incidents associated with the illegal gold rious implications for the  legal
have a tendency to result in re- mining sector, due to conflicts economy  as well as the illegal
prisal attacks. between  competing groups of economy. Organised criminal
miners  (or “zama zamas”) and groups have been feeling the eco-
Based on my insights gained between zama zamas and law nomic pinch. Hence  competi-
over decades of researching vio- enforcement or private security tion between groups, especially
lence in South Africa, my view is personnel. For instance, eight il- between street gangs and groups
that the police will need to pri- legal miners died in a shootout specialising in extortion, appears
oritise the confiscation of illegal with police at a mine in Or- to have become more acute and
firearms and improve the func- kney in  October 2021. And more violent.
tioning of crime intelligence to in  January 2018, seven died in
reduce the occurrence of mass Way forward
shootings. The South African govern-
ment has two options to reduce
Patterns of crime mass shootings. Both will re-
Mass shootings have been quire monumental policing ef-
taking place in South Africa for forts.
decades. Incidents were prom- The first entails the estab-
inent during the 1990s, espe- lishment of  targeted police op-
cially in the province of KwaZu- erations  that focus on the con-
lu-Natal  as a result of tensions fiscation of illegal firearms and
between supporters of the Afri- ammunition where the risk of
can National Congress and the mass shootings is the highest,
Inkatha Freedom Party. Over such as Khayelitsha and Delft in
the past three decades conflicts the Western Cape and Soweto in
between  minibus taxi associ- Gauteng. This is critically im-
ations  and between  criminal portant as the upturn in violent
gangs (especially in the Western crime appears to be linked to the
Cape province) have frequent- widespread availability of ille-
ly been characterised by mass gal firearms. These are the most
shootings. common weapon  used to com-
Quarterly crime data  indi- mit murder, attempted murder
cate that incidents involving and robberies with aggravating
multiple murder victims have circumstances in the country.
increased substantially over the This would need to be linked
past year. to a process of tightening
Most murder cases involve the the firearm law to reduce the di-
use of a firearm in which a single version of firearms into criminal
perpetrator murders a single vic- hands. More than 5,000 licensed
tim. Nonetheless, multiple mur- firearms are lost or stolen each
ders are perpetrated on a regular year.
basis. For example, the 2019/20 The second option necessi-
crime data  indicated that there tates considerable  intelligence
were 508 murder cases where gathering. The police service’s
two or more people were slain crime intelligence arm needs to
simultaneously. A total of 1 133 be able to identify and monitor
people died in the incidents. the activities of groups responsi-
This represented 5% of murders ble for mass shootings to secure
for 2019/20. arrests and convictions in court.
No data for multiple murder — The Conversation.
cases was provided for 2020/21. *About the writer: Dr Guy
But  quarterly crime data  for Lamb is a criminologist/lectur-
2021/22 showed a significant in- er at Stellenbosch University in
crease in such murders. For the South Africa.
six-month period between 1 Oc-
tober 2021 and 31 March 2022,

NewsHawks Africa News Page 49

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

X.N. IRAKI Inflation is rising in Kenya:
Here’s why, and how to fix it
INFLATION has hit many coun-
tries recently, from the  United Productivity is key in reducing inflation – it rides on innovation and efficiency, which should be encouraged.
States to Sri Lanka.
flation. decisions taken in other countries someone. They often  penalise ef- produces only 39% of its national
In Kenya, too, the rising pric- The second factor is corruption that affect the value of their cur- ficiency  and they can distort the wheat consumption. Land for ag-
es of basic commodities have left rencies. market with overproduction and riculture is being put into alterna-
most citizens wondering what and mismanagement. Whether vested interests. They are also hard tive use or is subdivided.
is going on. The price of a 2kg it’s in procurement where pric- A fourth driver of inflation is to implement. For example, the
packet of maize and wheat flour es are inflated, or when goods tax. It raises the price of goods price of maize flour has suddenly Productivity is key in reducing
hit 200 shillings (US$2) from a are not supplied or  substandard and services. The  Finance Act been cut  by more than a 100%, inflation. High productivity rides
low of 120 shillings in about three ones are supplied, consumers pay 2022  brought in new taxes and from Ksh 210 to 100. How will on innovation and efficiency,
months. That is a 67% increase. the price. raised the rates of other existing the government ensure this pass- which should be encouraged. In-
The 12-month  overall inflation ones. It seems the government did es to consumers without creating creasing productivity takes time.
rate reached 7.91% in June 2022. The  cost of corruption  to the this to raise money without incur- shortages? Price police? You have to redesign factories,
economy has been put by Presi- ring more debts. irrigate new land, try new crops
Politicians eyeing Kenya’s 9 Au- dent Uhuru Kenyatta at 2 billion Raising interest rates can reduce or animal breeds, put money into
gust elections have been offering shillings, translating to about 7% Fifth is market structure. Lack money in circulation and cool off research and development and
solutions in exchange for votes. of gross domestic product annu- of competition in some sectors the economy. But Kenya is still change national culture to focus
ally. makes it easy for owners (or car- largely an informal economy with on efficiency while cutting red
Kenya’s average annual per cap- tels) to raise prices. Kenya has 80% of jobs  outside formal set- tape and bureaucracy. You have to
ita income is US$5 270. With in- If people make illegal water or a  Competition Authority  but its ups. Operators in the informal come up with new and enforce-
flation, citizens lose even this lim- power connections, honest people reach and effect have not been felt. economy don’t always borrow able laws to create competition.
ited purchasing power. pay for that. If a tender for build- What can be done through formal channels, so ad-
ing a road is inflated, someone In Kenya, politicians have pro- justing interest rates has limited Voting is a few minutes’ busi-
The same money buys pays for it. If government and its posed a  number of solutions, impact. ness but taming inflation takes
less. Wages and salaries do not go agencies over-employ, someone some vague, others unsustainable. a long time. The politicians can
up fast enough. pays for that. If it takes longer to Kenya could increase the supply make their promises, but they
get services like port clearance and Price controls are the most pop- of basic commodities by allowing can’t beat the market and its laws.
Citizens’ discontent can change building approvals, someone pays ular with politicians because you competitive importing of maize
the way they vote in democratic for it. If bribes are exchanged, are seen to be doing something. and wheat. The increase in supply — The Conversation.
countries or lead to violence in someone pays for it. The 50-shil- But that will make matters worse would reduce the price. Compe-
undemocratic ones. The Kenya ling note given to police at a road- by creating shortages. Suppliers tition is one of the most power- *About the writer: XN Iraki is
African National Union, which block is paid by someone else. will not take goods and services to ful weapons against inflation. associate professor in the Facul-
ruled the country from indepen- the market if they cannot make a ty of Business and Management
dence in 1963, was voted out in A third driver of inflation is a profit. In the long run, Kenya must Sciences at the University of
2002 partly because of  citizens’ weak currency. Kenya’s currency produce more of whatever is in Nairobi in Kenya.
discontent  over the state of the has  declined  by 3.5% since the Subsidies have to be paid by shortage. For example, Kenya
economy. And in the US, eco- start of the year, partly because of
nomic discontent has been a big
factor in voting; it led to Donald
Trump’s win  in the 2016 presi-
dential polls.

That is why politicians are so
quick to promise relief.

But can they provide it? The
two key drivers of inflation in
Kenya’s consumer price index are
food and energy.

Russia’s war on Ukraine has
raised the price of oil to the high-
est level in history, which spills
over to the rest of global econo-
my. And about 30% to 50% of
Kenya’s imported wheat comes
from Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine
is exporting  60% less wheat this
year compared with 2021, leading
to a rise in price of wheat and its
derivatives like bread.

Unreliable rains have cut do-
mestic production of maize and
other food crops in Kenya. Pro-
duction is about 15% to 20% be-
low the five-year average.

Some of the drivers of Kenya’s
inflation are local while others are
external and beyond its control.
My view, based on my analysis of
the Kenyan economy and other
countries, is that inflation can be
managed but there are no quick
fixes.
Drivers of inflation
In Kenya, a confluence of many
factors has inflated prices, partic-
ularly after the Ukraine war and
the pandemic.

One is elections. Lots of mon-
ey is spent during electioneering.
Some of it is just given out with no
commensurate productivity. Ken-
ya saw this in 1990, when money
in circulation rose before the 1992
elections and so did the rate of in-

Page 50 Africa News NewsHawks

Issue 90, 22 July 2022

Remembering Fanon: African legend

FRANTZ Fanon, the Martinique-born colonial world expressed in space: by these two quotes, from the end of The late Frantz Fanon. phy of liberation.
psychiatrist, philosopher, revolutionary "The colonist’s sector is built to chapter 2 and the beginning of chapter critique of the nationalist middle class "That same Europe, where they were
and leading pan-Africanist, would have 3. and nationalist parties reads like a script
been 97 on 20 July 2022. last…a sector of lights and paved which has been repeated over and over: never done talking with humanity, nev-
roads, where the trash cans constantly "The insurrection proves to itself its er stopped proclaiming that they were
He left a remarkable imprint. His overflow with strange and wonderful rationality and demonstrates its matu- Privileges multiply and corruption only anxious for the welfare of human-
views influenced many in the field of garbage, undreamed-of leftovers…The rity every time it uses a specific case to triumphs…Today the vultures are too ity. Today we know with what suffer-
mental illness as well as pan-African- colonist’s sector is a sated, sluggish sec- advance the consciousness of the people numerous and too voracious in pro- ings humanity has paid for every one of
ist thinkers and anti-colonialism and tor, its belly is permanently full of good in spite of those within the movement portion to the lean spoils of the nation- their triumphs of the mind."
black liberation campaigners. things." who sometimes are inclined to think al wealth. The party, a true instrument
that any nuance constitutes a danger of power in the hands of the bourgeoi- Fully cognisant of the fact that neo-
Fanon’s wide-ranging interests can In contrast, the colonised sector,"the and threatens popular solidarity." sie, reinforces the machine, and ensures colonialism can wear a Black or Arab
be gleaned from his writings on nu- shanty town, the Medina, the reser- that the people are hemmed in and im- face, Fanon is critical of how newly
merous subjects including politics, psy- vation…(is) a disreputable place in- If the rationality of revolt becomes mobilised. independent African countries, even
chiatry and even sports. Fanon’s influ- habited by disreputable people. You the material force of revolution where when they used the language of social-
ence and legacy are remarkable. are born anywhere, anyhow. You die “violence represents the absolute line At the same time, wary of the rising ism, didn’t do much more than follow
Psychiatry in colonial society anywhere, from anything. It’s a world of action,” the “new politics is in the xenophobia and chauvinism in newly Europe’s model, looking to take over
Fanon highlighted how, by institution- with no space, people are piled one on hands of…[those] who use their mus- independent West African nations, the colonial apparatus – its states and
alising patients, psychiatric hospitals top of the other, the shacks squeezed cles and their brains to lead the struggle Fanon argues that national conscious- institutions — for their own interests.
tended to further alienate them from tightly together. The colonised’s sector for liberation”. ness is not in fact nationalism. Rather, Fanon considered this a product of the
their communities. It also became clear is a famished sector, hungry for bread, national consciousness “enriched and crisis of thought, the lack of a philoso-
to him, while working as a psychiatrist meat, shoes, coal, and light." But it is the cowardice and apathy deepened into humanism…is the only phy of liberation.
in Algeria between 1953 and 1956, of the “elite” and their “incapacity” to thing that will give us an international
that patient integration was impossible He then adds an important measure “rationalise popular practice” and “at- dimension.” For him the building of a "That same Europe, where they were
in colonial societies. of decolonisation, tribute it any reason” that leads to the nation has to be “accompanied by the never done talking with humanity, nev-
Mental illness and post-colonial so- postcolonial tragedy. discovery and encouragement of uni- er stopped proclaiming that they were
cieties "If we examine closely this system versalising values.” only anxious for the welfare of human-
Decolonial thinking is often associated of compartments…its ordering and It was not only the leaders who were A new humanism ity. Today we know with what suffer-
with literature from the late 1990s and its geographical layout will allow us to subject to Fanon’s anger. He was bru- Those universal values are expressed ings humanity has paid for every one of
early 2000s. Yet the scholarship goes mark out the lines on which a decol- tally honest in his criticism of the revo- in the four-page conclusion to  The their triumphs of the mind."
back much further, and has no short- onised society will be reorganised." lutionary militant: Wretched of he Earth:
age of impressive exponents from the Fanon rejects the humanism pro-
global south. Among these, Fanon en- Fanon rocked the  All-African Peo- It sometimes happens at meetings "So, comrades, how is it that we do claimed in Europe. Based on colonisa-
joys preeminence. ples Conference  in December 1958 that militants use sweeping, dogmatic not understand that we have better tion, exploitation, slavery and violence,
when he raised the issue of violence in formulas. things to do than follow Europe?" European humanism dehumanises.
Fanon played soccer from a young contrast to Kwame Nkrumah’s non-vi- And so “We must find something dif-
age and it became part of his life. As olent “positive action” agreed upon by The preference for this shortcut, Fully cognisant of the fact that neo- ferent”. He rejects what is central to
a psychiatrist, he even attempted to many delegates. The following year in which spontaneity and over-sim- colonialism can wear a Black or Arab European humanism, profit and the
use soccer as part of therapeutic inter- Fanon became ambassador to Ghana ple sinking of differences dangerously face, Fanon is critical of how newly reduction of the human to outputs in
ventions for patients. His views on the and by then the crucial problem for combine to defeat intellectual elabora- independent African countries, even production.
sport mirror his damning eloquence Fanon was the lack of ideological clar- tion, frequently triumphs. when they used the language of social-
against colonial and capitalist exploita- ity among leaders, regardless of their ism, didn’t do much more than follow “If conditions of work are not modi-
tion. position on violence and non-violence. He calls the militant’s logic shocking Europe’s model, looking to take over fied,” he adds, “centuries will be needed
The rationality of revolt and the phi- and inhuman. the colonial apparatus – its states and to humanise this world which has been
One of the seminal moments in the losophy of organisation The nationalist bourgeoisie and their institutions – for their own interests. forced down to animal level by imperi-
anti-colonial struggle and the history The centrality of the “rationality of re- organisation Fanon considered this a product of the al powers”. He’s saying, humanising the
of pan-Africanism was the All-African volt” to a “new politics” is highlighted Given that he was writing at a mo- crisis of thought, the lack of a philoso- world means rethinking everything,
People’s Conference in Ghana in 1958. ment when more than half of Africa “work[ing]out new concepts… and
Ghana was then the only African na- had recently gained independence, his setting afoot a new humanity”.
tion to have achieved independence Time as the space for human devel-
from colonial rule. When Fanon rose opment
to speak, not many knew who he was. Fanon envisioned time akin to Karl
But what he said that day inspired Marx’s great phrase, as “space for hu-
many with its militancy. man development”.

Fanon wrote a number of books "The sense of time must no longer
and articles. The best-known of these be that of the moment or the next har-
is arguably The Wretched of the Earth, vest, but rather that of the rest of the
published months after his death in world."
1961. A book published in 2021 to
mark the 60th anniversary of the glob- Humanising the world means creat-
al classic features his most important ing a new conception of time, the time
quotations, which continue to resonate to create a new society.
today.
"We have realised that the masses are
As fate would have it, Franz Fanon equal to the problems which confront
and Nelson Mandela, among the best- them…experience proves that the im-
known proponents of African liber- portant thing is not that three hundred
ation, were born in the same week in people form a plan and decide upon
1918 and 1925, respectively. Mandela’s carrying it out, but that the whole peo-
birthday, which is celebrated globally, ple plan and decide even if it takes them
falls on 18 July. Fanon’s is two days lat- twice or three times as long. The fact is
er, on 20 July. The two great men have that the time taken up by explaining,
one more thing in common: they both the time ‘lost’ in treating the worker as
admired and were hugely influenced by a human being, will be caught up in
the Algerian revolution of the 1950s. the execution of the plan."
Quotes from The Wretched of the
Earth Rather than top-down the plan
Fanon died on 6 December 1961, just should come from “the muscles and
after the publication of his last book, the brains of the citizens” because “peo-
The Wretched of the Earth. ple must know where they are going,
and why”. In the early pages of  The
The following is an extract from Ni- Wretched of the Earth  Fanon speaks
gel C. Gibson's book,  Fanon Today: of those dehumanised beings who be-
The Reason and Revolt of the Wretch- come historical protagonists through
ed of the Earth. He discusses some the struggle.
important quotes from Fanon’s global
classic. This is just the beginning, the work
Space of humanising the world does not end
In the first chapter of The Wretched of there, in fact by the end of the book it
the Earth, "On Violence," Fanon de- is clear that while this remains a cru-
scribes colonialism as a system of abso- cial turning point because conscious-
lute violence that can only be opposed ness, let alone material reality, are not
through violence. He references South changed overnight. Mental and phys-
Africa as he powerfully describes the ical liberation has to be ongoing after
the colonists had been kicked out. The
“new society”, the liberated “new per-
son” — collectively, socially, and indi-
vidually — has to be consciously and
intentionally developed.

— The Conversation.