NewsHawks 16 December 2022

WHAT’S INSIDE Friday 16 December 2022 UNESW$9S000 Price
laptop
NZiEmWuSnlikely scandal US$1
to benefit from raises a stink
US$55 billion DSPrOeaRmT
Africa injection Story on Page 7 final: Messi
versus
Story on Page 5 Mbappe

Story on Page 60

ALSO INSIDE Govt’s energy rescue options based on tricky assumptions

Page 2 News NewsHawks

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

Irregularities irredeemably
compromise Zec credibility

It would be difficult for Zec to efficiently run
impartial and credible elections in 2023.

OWEN GAGARE officials. in the Government Gazette within 14 days. An authentic Zimbabwean ID has a two-dig-
Delimitation in the context of elections in In terms of section 161(2) of the consti- it code at the beginning for the area where one
FROM young voters getting national identity took the card from, then six digits for the or-
cards (IDs) issued years before they were born Zimbabwe is the fixing of electoral boundaries, tution, delimitation must be completed six der number of the card, a check alphabet letter
to fake IDs, similar or duplicate ones, bloated dividing the country into constituencies and months before the conduct of any general elec- and a two-digit number at the end for the place
numbers of dead voters, chaotic voters’ regis- wards for the purposes of electing parliamenta- tion for it to be applicable to that poll. where one originates from, except for those
tration, manipulation of polling stations, gerry- ry and municipal representatives. with IDs that end with 00, denoting “alien” or
mandering during delimitation, militarisation, Failure to adhere to that provision means the “foreign”.
and resisting sharing the voters’ roll, the Zim- The process is carried out in terms of sections results of the delimitation exercise will not ap-
babwe Electoral Commission (Zec) is buffeted 160 and 161 of the constitution and section ply in the next general election, as Zec would Pachedu added: “The 2022 VR (voters’ roll)
by crippling problems. 37A of the Electoral Act. It is done every 10 be compelled by law to revert to boundaries of has voters with IDs that were issued decades
years after the population census. the last delimitation exercise. BEFORE they were born. After investigating
It would be difficult for Zec to efficiently run these IDs against the 2000-2013 (voters’ roll)
impartial and credible elections in 2023. A source said: “After the delimitation exer- “Zec is facing many serious problems, both and (Registrar-General) Office, we confirmed
cise, which is supposed to be completed this logistical, technical and credibility related,” a that Zec assigned fake young ages for some old
Pulling together threads from various sourc- month, Zec produced a preliminary report source said. IDs. Zec must explain!
es — electoral officials, state security apparat- with some significant changes which were not
chiks, research, literature reviews and snippets welcome, like loss of constituencies in rural ar- Just this week, Pachedu, which describes it- “While IDs can end with 00, No valid ID
from activists like Team Pachedu — informa- eas, with overlaps to towns and growth points. self as a group of “patriotic Zimbabwean citizens starts with 00 [issuing district]. In February,
tion gathered shows Zec is compromised and This has put Chigumba and her officials under who strive to promote a culture of transparen- we exposed these fakes, but have now con-
incapacitated to run free, fair and credible elec- scrutiny.” cy, responsibility and accountability without firmed how Zec did it thanks to fuzzy match-
tions. any fear or favour”, unearthed more sensational ing & (Registrar-General) Office. eg, FAKE
After delimiting wards and constituencies, irregularities, including fake IDs, some issued 00-3135709-D03 below was created by adding
This comes as The NewsHawks learnt Presi- Zec has to submitt a preliminary report to the before young voters were born and false num- a zero to a valid ID 03-135709-D03.”
dent Emmerson Mnangagwa is worried about President containing a list of the wards and bers of dead voters, badly exposing Zec.
Zec chair Priscilla Chigumba and her team’s constituencies, with the names assigned to each “Zec is not willing to run fair elections. Zec
capacity to run the elections satisfactorily after and a description of their boundaries. There With extracts from the voters’ roll, which must explain why there are fake IDs in the vot-
he only scraped through by a narrow margin in also has to be a map or maps showing the wards the authorities do not want to easily release for ers' roll. Zec must explain why the voters’ roll
2018 at the height of his popularity. and constituencies; and any further informa- inspection despite saying it is open for that, as has double voters using different IDs. These are
tion or particulars which it considers necessary. exhibits and evidence, Pachedu said: “Zec has very serious electoral fraud cases, but Zec open-
Chigumba ran into serious problems with been lying about the total number of dead vot- ly refused to meet us to resolve them.”
Mnangagwa after the 2018 elections over elec- The President must cause the preliminary de- ers that they removed from the roll since 2018.
toral reform issues to a point of contemplat- limitation report to be tabled before Parliament Zec overstated these totals by creating duplicate As Zimbabwe moves towards the next gener-
ing leaving the country, according to Zanu PF within seven days. Within 14 days after the dead voters on the gazetted lists. This is either al elections next year, possibly in July, more of
sources and some reports. report has been submitted to Parliament, the pure deception or gross incompetence.” the same is to be expected: Rigged and disputed
President may refer it back to Zec for further elections, particularly the presidential poll.
Latest information shows there is a new consideration of any matter or issue arising. In another revelation, it said: “We have
problem around Zec sparked by the delimita- found more fake IDs in the 2022 VR (voters’ The state of Zec and the voters’ roll portends
tion process, which apparently was not done Parliament may also refer the report back to registration). The Registrar-General's Office yet another disputed election, particularly the
properly. Some constituencies and wards were Zec for further consideration, and in that event verified our list and confirmed that the IDs presidential poll where the stakes are much
redrawn beyond recognition, while some rural the President must return it to the electoral don't exist. They also reiterated that no valid higher.
areas lost constituencies. body for further engagement. ID can have 7 (seven) middle digits with a zero
leading digit (XX-0XXXXXX). Zec must ex- Aggregated incidents of irregularities pro-
This has not gone down well with Zanu PF Once Zec has prepared its final report, it has plain these fake IDs”. vide sufficient evidence to show Zec is not fit
to send it to the President who must publish it

NewsHawks News Page 3

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

for purpose, and elections would simply not be Africom Holdings offices at No. 99, Churchill Road, Gunhill, Harare.
impartial and convincing.
court papers. Later Zec said it had no server to be transparent, but also to be seen to be thoritarian leaders who agree to hold elections
Sources within and outside Zec told The linked to an external host, meaning it has one transparent. are generally able to remain in power longer
NewsHawks this week the controversial elector- housed within its system. than autocrats who refuse to allow the popu-
al body is now “irredeemably captured, com- “Mnangagwa himself — as President, presi- lace to vote.
promised, and partisan”. However, an investigation by Pachedu dential candidate and the one respondent with
showed Zec servers were hosted by Africom. everything to lose in the ConCourt case — vir- In the engaging and provocative book, How
A top security source said: “Zec is now deep- tually confirmed the existence of the server in to Rig an Election, Nic Cheeseman and Brian
ly part of the problem; not just on elections, When the Zec website was hacked on 1 Au- his opposing papers, which Zec claimed did Klaas expose the limitations of national elec-
but also for electoral democracy and national gust 2018, forensic experts investigated. They not exist. tions as a means of promoting democratisation,
stability. Something must be done, and done found that Zec was hosted on an Africom serv- and reveal the six essential strategies that dicta-
urgently to stop electoral officials — who are er, IP 41.57.65.19, sharing hosting with oth- “And more tellingly, the involvement of tors use to undermine the electoral process in
hired guns — from continuously manipulat- er sites like netguardsec.com. Shared hosting Africom, a military company, was precisely order to guarantee victory for themselves.
ing elections to the detriment of the country means the server was not at Zec. to computerise the electoral process and net-
and its people. It’s no longer acceptable and work the system with respect to the capturing Based on their first-hand experiences as elec-
sustainable.” The geolocation was an important confirma- and processing of voting data at Zec’s national tion watchers and their hundreds of interviews
tion of what Moyo says in his book. command centre. It is Zec that roped in Af- with presidents, prime ministers, diplomats,
Zec is not only constitutionally and legally ricom to computerise the system and run its election officials, and conspirators, Cheeseman
tasked with running elections in a non-partisan Africom was located at No.99 Churchill, multiple servers, fully knowing that the com- and Klaas document instances of election rig-
way — its legitimacy depends on being per- Gunhill, Harare. pany’s purpose was to set up a voting and re- ging from Argentina to Zimbabwe, including
ceived to do so. In other words, irrespective of sults database. notable examples from Brazil, India, Nigeria,
citizens’ political persuasion, they should have Moyo writes: “The foregoing discussion of Russia, and the United States — touching on
confidence in it. the 2018 rigging system is particularly import- “It is dishonest for Zec to deny the existence the 2016 election.
ant regarding the question of the Zec server, of the server or servers to give the impression
Besides these technical issues over the voters’ which contained the result of the presidential that, in this day and age, Zimbabwe’s electoral The eye-opening study offers a sobering
roll, there is the Zec computer server which election that showed Chamisa with 66% of the body does not have a computerised system for overview of corrupted professional politics,
showed that the military was in charge, in par- vote and Mnangagwa with 33%. I have point- capturing, storing and processing voting data. while providing fertile intellectual ground for
ticular that the 2018 elections were run by the ed out in the preceding chapters that Zec’s bare Zec had a main sever with election results and the development of new solutions for protect-
army. denial in Chamisa’s ConCourt case that it did it was linked to other multiple servers run by ing democracy from authoritarian subversion.
not have any server on which it kept the result Africom on behalf of the electoral body.”
Zec was caught up in a new transparency of the 2018 presidential election was false and Efforts to get a comment from Zec were un-
gap in April as it got increasingly entangled in not supported by any evidence, and inconsis- Contrary to what is commonly believed, au- successful.
a web of lies over its mysterious server at the tent with its constitutional obligation not only
centre of the 2018 presidential election con-
troversy after an independent internet geoloca-
tion investigation traced its system — the cli-
ent-server connection — to a military-owned
communication service provider, Africom
Holdings.

While the army says it does not run elec-
tions, evidence has shown that it in fact did
through Fernhaven Investments, which was
chaired by the late Foreign minister Sibusiso B.
Moyo, who was the face of the November 2017
coup that initially brought President Emmer-
son Mnangagwa to power.

The technical link between Africom and the
army — and in the process Zec — is unde-
niable. This is besides having security or army
personnel seconded to the electoral body.

According to High Court case number HH
357-18, Moyo was a board chairperson and di-
rector of Africom, while Chonaka Hlabangane
Ndlovu was also Africom director. Kwanayi
Kashangura was the major shareholder and di-
rector until he was removed. Moyo then took
charge on behalf of the army through Fernhav-
en.

It has already been revealed that key state
security agents instrumental in the rigging of
2018 elections, included retired major Chivasa
and Mavis Matsanga from the Central Intelli-
gence Organisation.

In his seminal monograph on the 2018 pres-
idential election, Excelgate — How Zimbabwe’s
2018 Presidential Election was Stolen, Jonathan
Moyo, a professor of politics and former min-
ister, says Mnangagwa lost the election to his
main rival Nelson Chamisa, then MDC-Alli-
ance and now Citizens’ Coalition for Change
leader, but was rescued by Zec through manip-
ulation and rigging.

Moyo is now brutality critical of Chamisa’s
politics and says he will lose the next election
as his main opposition CCC is “structureless”.

However, Chamisa this week told The New-
sHawks he is working through “community
structures and social actions” pending the
launch of his party.

Moyo’s book mentions Chigumba’s flight
bid after angering Mnangagwa.

After taking over the control of the state and
its institutions, the military, in a bid to protect
and consolidate the gains of the coup, brazen-
ly commandeered the Zec machinery, partic-
ularly its computer network server, corrupted
its internal system as well as logistics and il-
legally changed the route and destination for
the collation, compilation and transmission
of the result of the 2018 presidential election
for purposes of rigging the election in favour
of Mnangagwa, whom it had imposed as Pres-
ident of Zimbabwe on 24 November 2017 af-
ter toppling the late former president Robert
Mugabe.

Zec’s computer server was at the heart of the
rigging system and 2018 electoral dispute.

At the time, Zec first indirectly said it had a
server, then changed the story in court and said
it did not have one.

However, Mnangagwa, better placed to
know, confirmed it was there in his opposing

Page 4 News NewsHawks

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

BERNARD MPOFU IN WASHINGTON DC Where does Zim stand on these issues?

FRESH from the US-Africa Summit in Wash- Sadc states divided over US
ington DC, with a US$55 billion financial pack- demands to combat Russia
age over the next three years, African leaders from
the region find themselves confronted with a re- Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera says Africa is not for sale.
ality check of a complex American geopolitical
matrix in which they are pawns on the diplomat- a collective position of non-alignment towards Assembly, with all 193 UN member states in at- Late September last year, regional embassies
ic chessboard. conflicts outside the continent. tendance, a total of 141 countries voted in favour accredited to Russia celebrated the 37th anni-
of the resolution, which reaffirmed Ukrainian versary of Sadc at the Korston hotel in southern
The US tabled US$55 billion, as well as busi- “Africa Is Not For Sale. Africa is open for busi- sovereignty, independence and territorial integ- Moscow.
ness deals and initiatives in areas like technology, ness not for sale or looting. We must defend what rity.
space, cybersecurity, food security and the envi- is ours and make sure that no one takes from In Russia, 10 Sadc member states are prom-
ronment for African leaders. us what is ours,” declared Malawian President African representatives and their votes was inently represented, namely: Angola, DRC,
Lazarus Chakwera at the summit, pointing to considered very interesting. Some 17 African Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia,
This came against a backdrop of the US’s the bold stance against the scramble for Africa’s countries abstained from the vote at the UN South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa resources by external powers. General Assembly to deplore the Russian inva-
Act, which seeks to use the continent’s leaders as sion of Ukraine, while some other 28 countries Sadc member countries in Russia, which have
pawns in global politics. “If the world wants what we have they must in the continent voted in favour. historical ties with Moscow dating back to the
buy in a fair trade so that we use proceeds to days of liberation struggles in the region, have
Labelled as the Countering Malign Russian build ourselves new cities, new universities, new Among those abstaining from the vote were structured bilateral mechanisms designed to
Activities in Africa Act, the proposed law was infrastructure, industries and new programmes South Africa, Algeria, Uganda, Burundi, Sene- deepen bilateral relations.
passed on 27 April by the House of Represen- that lifts people out of poverty and vulnerability.” gal, South Sudan, Mali and Mozambique. Oth-
tatives in a bipartisan 419-9 majority and will ers were Sudan, Namibia, Angola, Zimbabwe, They are also engaged in efforts to forge bilat-
probably be approved by the Senate, although it The US, Russia, China and the European Equatorial Guinea, Central Africa Republic, eral relations between the 85 regions of the Rus-
is now facing difficulties in getting support to go Union, as well as Japan, are in fierce competition Madagascar, Tanzania and Congo. sia and their country’s regions.
through. for African alliances, resources and influence, in
what is widely viewed as the new scramble for Eritrea was the only African country that stood There are other equally significant aspects of
This legislative measure is broadly worded, en- Africa. All these power blocs have their own sum- with Russia and voted against the resolution. cooperation with Russia. These include military
abling the State Department to monitor the for- mits with Africa. ties, with several Sadc embassies having military
eign policy of Russia in Africa, including military Besides that however, Egypt, Tunisia, Ni- attaches; education, tourism, trade and economic
affairs and any effort which Washington deems as Chakwera said African resources should re- geria, Kenya, Chad, Ghana, Gambia, Gabon, cooperation.
“malign influence”. main in the hands of Africans, but must not be Rwanda, Cote d’Ivoire, Libya, Liberia, Djibouti,
stolen by some people. Mauritania, Somalia, Niger, Benin, Lesotho, Bo- Russian Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov previ-
The Act will force African countries to choose tswana, Zambia, Malawi, Mauritius, Comoros, ously put it: “Africa is an important partner for
between the US and Russia, which for many “Let us stand up with one voice and tell the Seychelles, Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe, Russia, a participant in the emerging and sustain-
countries in the region is undesirable given the World, Africa is open for business but not for Sierra Leone and DRC, among others, voted yes able polycentric architecture of the world order.
importance of both countries to them. sale,” he said. — condemning Russia. Our relations with the states of that continent
are valuable in their own right and should not be
It may punish African countries that collabo- “It takes only Africans to build the African Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Guinea Bissau, subject to the fluctuations on the international
rate with Russia against US interests. continent . No foreigners will develop the con- Ethiopia, Eswatini were not in the room. Uganda arena.
tinent. We must not always look upon them be- said it abstained from the vote to uphold “neu-
This puts African countries, especially in the cause what they give us does not build anything trality” as the incoming chair of the Non-Aligned “We are aware that our African friends hold
region where Zimbabwe is a key player, in a tight but simply causes tension in the continent like Movement (Nam). NAM is a forum made up the same views. Relying on the accumulated
corner. they did in the past.” of 120 developing countries to assert their inde- experience of productive cooperation, Russian
pendence from the competing claims of the two diplomats seek to pursue a consistent policy for
On the one hand, African and Southern Afri- In the scathing speech, Chakwera further lam- superpowers. deepening the range of Russia-Africa relations.”
can Development Community (Sadc) countries basted Western and Eastern countries, saying
want the American largesse, but on the other they must build and not steal from the continent. The US position would be difficult to push, This makes US geopolitical matrix and ma-
they want to keep good relations with Russia for “There is no one outside Africa who can build it, especially in Sadc despite the region’s internal di- noeuvres in Africa complicated even in the af-
historical, economic and geopolitical reasons. not any European, Asian or American.” visions on the Russia-Ukraine war. termath of the US$55 billion funding package
announced by Biden this week.
Delegations from all 50 invited African coun- On 2 March at the United Nations General
tries and the African Union, alongside members
of civil society and the private sector attended the
US-Africa summit this seek.

US President Joe Biden, Vice-President Ka-
mala Harris, and members of the US cabinet
engaged extensively with leaders throughout the
summit.

The first day kicked off with a focus on the
vital role of civil society and African diaspora
communities in the US. It featured sessions on
topics ranging from trade and investment; to
health and climate change; to peace, security, and
governance; to space cooperation.

The second day focused on increasing two-way
trade and investment at the US-Africa Business
Forum. Chief executives and private sector lead-
ership from over 300 American and African com-
panies convened with the heads of delegation to
catalyse investment in critical sectors, including
health, infrastructure, energy, agribusiness, and
digital.

Biden closed the business forum.
Afterwards, he hosted a small group of lead-
ers at the White House for a discussion on the
upcoming elections in 2023, saying the US sup-
ports free, fair, and credible polls in Africa. He
then hosted all 50 heads of delegation and their
spouses for dinner at the White House.
The final day was dedicated to high-level dis-
cussions among leaders, with Biden opening the
day with a session on partnering on Agenda 2063
— the AU’s strategic vision for the continent.
Next, Harris chaired a working lunch. Biden
closed the day with a discussion on food securi-
ty and food systems resilience, a critical issue for
African countries disproportionately impacted
by the rise in food and fertiliser prices amid dis-
ruptions to global supply chains as a result of the
Russia-Ukraine war.
However, Sadc, during its summit held on
17 and 18 August at Palais du Peuple (Parlia-
ment Building), Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC), vehemently expressed its collective oppo-
sition to the proposed US law.
In a resolution, the 16-member regional bloc
complained that the US has made the African
continent “the target of unilateral and punitive
measures”. They said its Senate’s Foreign Rela-
tions Committee pushed the bill designed to stop
President Vladimir Putin using Africa to bypass
American sanctions and fund his war in Ukraine.
Sadc leaders — even if they are actually divid-
ed on the Russia-Ukraine conflict as shown by
their United Nations votes several times — took

NewsHawks News Page 5

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

NATHAN GUMA Zim unlikely to benefit from
ALTHOUGH the United States government US$55 billion Africa injection
promised US$55 billion investment into Af-
rica over the next three years at the US-Africa ture Facility. US President Joe Biden
summit that ended this week, Zimbabwe is Zimbabwe is in need of funding to support
unlikely to benefit much because of restrictive
measures imposed on the country. exploration on new energy sources, as climate
change has wheeled the country into power
The fund will go to "a wide range of sectors dire straits — wiping out three quarters of its
to tackle the core challenges of our time," and power supply.
is being distributed in close partnership with
Congress, said Jake Sullivan, US national se- The Zambezi River Authority, a bi-national
curity adviser, during the summit. organisation, has also force-suspended power
generation at the country’s Kariba hydro-pow-
Zimbabwe was for the first time invited to er station due to low water levels of less than
the US-Africa high-level meeting, attended by 3%, which are unsustainable for power gen-
49 heads of state, after Washington relaxed eration.
conditions for Zimbabwe.
The country has been going for between 18
However, Harare was represented at a lower and 22 hours without electricity.
level because of travel restrictions slapped on
President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Foreign Af- New trade and investment
fairs minister Frederick Shava represented the At the summit, US President Joe Biden
country. highlighted US$15 billion in trade and invest-
ment partnerships and deals, which include;
On the eve of the summit, the US govern- over US$1 billion signed by US Export-Im-
ment imposed sanctions on Mnangagwa’s son, port Bank (Exim), including a US$500 mil-
Emmerson Jr, and individuals linked to his ad- lion memo of understanding with the African
viser and close associate, the business tycoon Export-Import Bank (Afrexim) to support di-
Kuda Tagwirei. aspora engagement.
It also includes a US$500 million deal with
Placed on the new list is Tagwirei’s wife San- the Africa Finance Corp (AFC), and a US$300
dra Mpunga, Nqobile Magwizi, Obey Chimu- million memorandum of understanding with
ka and Fossil Contracting Agro Ltd. Africa50 to match US businesses with medi-
um- to large-scale infrastructure projects.
Over the years, the US has not been directly The deals also include a new "Clean Tech
lending money to Zimbabwe, with the coun- Energy Network" that supports US$350 mil-
try mainly benefitting through humanitarian lion in deals.
proceeds.
Women's partnerships
Since 1980, the United States Agency for The US also made commitments to advance
International Development (USAID) has ex- women's economic participation in Africa,
tended an estimated US$3.2 billion to Zimba- with the International Development Finance
bwe in aid, making it one of the biggest pro- Corporation (IDFC) announcing US$358
viders of humanitarian aid in the country. million of new investments for women’s ini-
tiatives.
The US government's Zimbabwe Democ- The US State Department is also expected
racy and Economic Recovery Act (Zidera) of to launch a programme that will create green
March 2001 has seen Zimbabwe failing to jobs for women on the continent, with an ini-
access lines of credit until certain criteria are tial US$1 million investment.
met.

According to the Act, if democratic prin-
ciples are not met, the secretary of the US
Treasury can instruct the executives of inter-
national financial institutions to oppose and
vote against “any extension by the respective
institution of any loan, credit, or guarantee to
the Government of Zimbabwe; or, any cancel-
lation or reduction of indebtedness owed by
the Government of Zimbabwe to the United
States or any international financial institu-
tion.”

The Act urges Zimbabwe to ensure there is
the restoration of the rule of law, reforming
election and pre-election conditions, commit-
ment to equitable, legal and transparent land
reform and the security apparatus being subor-
dinate to the civilians.

Whilst Harare says sanctions have been
hampering economic development, the US
has been maintaining that bad governance and
corruption in Zimbabwe have been responsi-
ble for the rot.

Health
The US government committed to provide
nearly US$20 billion in health programmes
in the Africa region, according to the White
House during the summit.
Of the US$22 billion facility, US$11.5 bil-
lion will be used to address HIV and Aids, over
US$2 billion in support of family planning
and reproductive health and a further US$2
billion will be channelled in the fight against
malaria.
The facility will also be used to support ma-
ternal and child health.
More than US$2 billion has also been in-
vested to address the health, humanitarian and
economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic
and, according to Sullivan, the US is planning
to ask Congress for US$4 billion for healthcare
workers in Africa, investing $1.33 billion an-
nually from 2022 to 2024.

Climate change The US government committed to provide nearly US$20 billion in health programmes in the Africa region.
Washington has since 2021 invested and
harboured plans to provide at least US$1.1
billion to support African-led efforts in con-
servation, climate adaptation, and energy tran-
sitions.
These funds include US International De-
velopment Finance Corporation (IDFC) in-
vestments into Malawi's Golomoti JCM Solar
Corporation, and a Climate Action Infrastruc-

Page 6 News NewsHawks

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

MORRIS BISHI Sweet dreams of Mkwasine

DREAMS by locals of becoming successful sugar estates turn bitter
sugarcane farmers after the government ac-
quired Mkwasine Sugar Estates as part of the Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe (below) withdrew its employees, who used to manage issues of service delivery at Mkwasine Sugar Estates (top).
land reform programme in the year 2006 are
gradually fading for over 300 outgrower farm- dards. prove their skills, hence the need for them to state-of-the-art golf course, tennis courts and
ers. "Farmers are negatively affected practically apply those skills so that their yield swimming pools and a country club. They are
by so many factors, chief among them the can improve," said Shoko. however now dilapidated. Cattle are being
Before Independence, Mkwasine was known herded onto Mkwasine Golf Course, which is
as Little England due to the number of suc- 23% mill door price. Our university offered Just like the status of Hippo Valley and now a bush.
cessful white outgrower farmers. More than 20 a training course to sugarcane farmers to im- Triangle Estates, Mkwasine used to have a
farmers in the area owned private aircraft.

The estate, then owned by Hippo Valley and
Triangle Limited, was producing over 850 000
tonnes of sugarcane before the government sei-
zure. The farmers grabbed the thriving sugar
crop which was in the fields.

Outgrower farmers are now struggling to
meet the standards set by white settlers, they
are also struggling to maintain structures left
by the settlers and they are now producing be-
tween 400 000 and 500 000 tonnes per an-
num.

Tongaat Hulett Zimbabwe withdrew its
employees, who used to manage issues of ser-
vice delivery, including water purification and
management of roads in 2017 and left skeleton
staff which they later withdrew.

Currently there is a health time bomb due to
a shortage of clean water, worsened by the ab-
sence of an authority which can manage issues
of service delivery in the area without conflict.
The road network is also dilapidated.

Mkwasine Management Committee
(MMC), a body selected by farmers to spear-
head development issues, is facing resistance
from individual farmers disturbing the smooth
running of the estate which is now in a sorry
state.

Chiredzi district development coordinator
Lovemore Chisema told The NewsHawks that
the state of Mkwasine is depreciating on a dai-
ly basis and there is a need for all stakeholders
to come together and find a solution which can
restore the status of the once thriving estate.

"This is an issue we are seized with at the
moment, but it is complex since farmers are
the ones who should find a solution. It seems
the MMC is facing challenges which should be
addressed by either dissolving it or they should
start provide the services needed since individ-
ual farmers are paying monetary contributions
to the committee," said Chisema.

A sugarcane farmer from Mkwasine told The
NewsHawks that indigenous farmers abused
money when the government allocated them
plots with sugarcane crop when land reforms
wa introduced in the sugar industry. He said
they then failed to maintain the plots, resulting
in poor yields.

"We have no one to blame but ourselves. We
are not good at farming sugarcane, it needs a
lot of concentration, but if you look at it most
of us are cellphone farmers who are not con-
centrating on our fields. Farmers rely on sup-
plies of inputs from Tongaat Hulett which are
paid later on a higher scale. As l speak, Mk-
wasine is now crumbling, l can say the almost
9 000 hectares under sugarcane is being un-
derutilised with most farmers now concentrat-
ing on other crops," said the farmer.

Blessing Mahwerera, Mkwasine manage-
ment committee secretary-general said they
are facing challenges of supplying clean water
since ZESA removed some of its transform-
ers, resulting in difficulties in pumping water
in other areas. He said his committee is in the
process of buying a new grader to maintain
roads in the area.

"Our roads are under the jurisdiction of
Chiredzi Rural District Council but we are in
the process of acquiring a grader to maintain
roads which does not fall under council. We
are facing challenges in pumping water due to
shortage of power transformers, but we are try-
ing as a committee to address issues of service
delivery. Most farmers are harvesting between
50 to 80 tonnes per hectare meaning we are
not far from meeting the required target," said
Mahwerera.

Great Zimbabwe University professor and
sugarcane expert Munyaradzi Shoko said the
Sugar Act of 1963 is the main factor hamper-
ing outgrower sugarcane farmers since the law
favours the miller, Tongaat Hulett. He said
farmers should push for its amendment. He
also said farmers should improve their farming
skills so that they meet Tongaat Hulett stan-

NewsHawks News Page 7

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

MPs probe US$9 000 a laptop scandal

RUVIMBO MUCHENJE

ON Monday, Parliament's Public Accounts
Committee, chaired by Willias Madzimure,
received evidence from Blinart (Private) Limit-
ed, the company that won a tender to supply
173 laptops to the legislature at over US$9 000
each. Elizabeth Muchenje, the managing di-
rector, appeared on behalf of the company and
justified the prices. She however clashed with
legislators who felt she was dodging questions.
Below is an excerpt of the session. In the com-
mittee meeting, members of Parliament, Temba
Mliswa, Dexter Nduna, Chalton Hwende, Nya-
sha Masoka and Marko Raidza contributed to
the discussion:

Madzimure: Welcome, Miss Muchenje, we Nduna: Any reason why? Muchenje: No, sir, you missed it. $2 000. Parliament of Zimbabwe
would like you to tell us about the laptops tender, Muchenje: Because of the quantity. Nduna: Yes, I will. so it’s $39 for each computer.
mari yamanga makataura kuti izosvikawo ipapo Nduna: Why? Muchenje: It’s $39.
yainge yakatarisawo zvipi mozotiudzawo masuppli- Muchenje: That’s how we operate. That’s how Nduna: You are free to answer. Muchenje: But you missed something $39 is
ers aikusupplier kwaibva zvinhu zvacho. How did we agreed. Muchenje: OK $39 that’s the cost, $39 on for hotel and ticket per computer. It’s per com-
you arrive at the pricing and may you tell us who Nduna: So, you were going to go with the each. puter.
your suppliers were? e-ticket and go to the hotel three times so this is Nduna: We want the breakdown of how you
how you came up with $2 000? came up with this figure. Nduna: 60×39, and which hotel in my view
Muchenje: Thank you, sir. Parliament flighted Muchenje: No, OK maybe can you give me Muchenje: It’s there, sir. I gave you this (paper). would charge you about 600 or US$1 000.
a tender, we responded from The Sunday Mail; back my paper? Hwende: I will (check the paper), but you said
actually we sent an email requesting the bid doc- Hwende: You mean this one? you have the document then you take it. We ex- Muchenje: I think you’re missing something sir.
ument, and then we tendered. When we put up Muchenje: Yeah, can you circulate it and bring, pect you to also know the figure from your head. Can you please have a look at my costing.
the bid after a few months we received an award I want to use it? Muchenje: OK sir, no problem. Let me take a
letter to say that we had won the tender, I have the Mliswa: OK, well that paper is coming, you photo of it. Hwende: Explain. Can you explain?
letter with me right here. The laptops were going spoke about the prevailing rate. If you talk about Nduna: Take your time just get the question, Muchenje: No, I want him, sir, honourable to
for nine thousand . . . the prevailing rate, you’re talking about the black internalise and then answer. check my costing first before you answer before
market? Muchenje: Ok sir. you ask because you’re missing everything.
Ndu-
Madzimure: So, you are free to leave the letter Muchenje: No, it's the official rate. Nduna: Yes, we are not chasing you. na: Just answer what I have asked.
as you go through the letter, munogona kutisiira- Mliswa: So you were supposed to say official Madzimure: Mai Muchenje. Muchenje: No, no because that’s not true.
wo tsamba yacho handiti (you can leave the letter, rate not what you said, prevailing rate. Muchenje: Yes. What you’re saying is not true sir.
right?) Muchenje: No, it's the official prevailing rate. Madzimure: This committee of Parliament is Hwende: Yeah, but make us understand.
Mliswa: No, I am trying to help you. different from any other meeting that you may Muchenje: What do you want to understand?
Muchenje: Okay ndokusiirai (I will leave it), so Muchenje: Oh, thank you. have attended. The responsibility that we have is Can you just take the?
the unit price for the laptop was US$9 264. Mliswa: You were supposed to say prevailing huge. There is a lot of expectations of people like Madzimure: Honourable Nduna can you pose
official rates. yourselves out there, who may want to understand the question you want her to answer.
Mliswa: Sorry chair, may she just pass around Muchenje: Actually, it’s in writing sir, it’s in why some of the things did happen. Therefore, the Muchenje: What do you want to understand?
the letter. black-and-white, see ‘official prevailing market line of questioning might not be to your expecta- Can you give me the question, ask me, to make
rate’. Sorry about that sir. tion, but I beg you to indulge in trying to answer you understand.
Muchenje: The award letter? Madzimure: Sorry honourable members, can the questions. We are not rushing you, take your Hwende: No, honourable chair, I think the
Mliswa: Yes. you come through the chair? time, answer the questions. conduct of your witness I do not think we expect
Muchenje: So, the laptops were US$9 264.49 Nduna: Chair, now that she has gotten the Muchenje: Thank you sir. this. This is Parliament.
each payable in RTGS at the prevailing rate on the documentation, I just wanted to reiterate my Nduna: So, I want to know the three times that Muchenje: Can you ask me whatever you want
date of payment. question. you were going to go out, you were going to pay to know?
Madzimure: But this 9 000 was US dollar. Madzimure: Honourable Hwende, let’s con- your ticket, accommodation and incidentals and Hwende: No, you don’t ask questions, we
Muchenje: Yes, and I have a document here centrate so that we do not miss something im- this is what came up to US$2 000 profit over and called you here you must answer our questions.
from the internet, we printed everything and we portant. above the US$5 000 that you spoke about. This is Madzimure: Order, honourable Hwende.
put the cost build-up, so I can pass it round also. Nduna: I am just repeating my question, hon- where your profit is derived from and you go on Hwende: No, no, chair but your witness is out
Muchenje: It was a high-end laptop and with ourable chair. May you please confirm that you further to say it was US$39 per computer. This is of order you know, this is an honourable Parlia-
seven other accessories with it. went on the plane three times, went and stayed what you would’ve had as expenses on the supply, ment. You can’t address as like you’re in a shebeen
Hwende: Seven accessories? in the hotel three times in order to bring in the the importation and the supply, the air tickets, the we are asking questions.
Muchenje: It was HP Spectra 32 GB, there whole, the whole amount of the number of lap- food, the hotel $39 per computer. In your adjudi- Muchenje: Sir, I do not take that insult sir.
was a laptop stand, laptop back-up, laptop pouch tops that you were asked to supply? cations after you have said exactly the amount, do Hwende: No no no.
type C-to-HDMI adapter, four-port USB adapter, Muchenje: I did sir, sorry point of correction. you think it is fair both to yourself and to govern- Muchenje: That’s so wrong.
wireless mouse HP, MS professional office 2019 Nduna: Just wait for terms. ment to go and spend three blocks? It’s how many Madzimure: Sorry, honourable Hwende, can
and antivirus. Thank you sir. The cost amounted Muchenje: We didn’t go, I said it was supposed computers per each block? you allow her a chance to respond? Honourable
to US$5 176.36, that was the cost for everything to be three times. Muchenje: Can I answer you? I think you Hwende.
here, then when I put the Zimra 14.5% and the Nduna: OK, so yes you put in the price sheet missed the point. I need to answer. Muchenje: I’m sorry sir.
courier charges, hotel and tickets it came to US$6 based on going out of the country three times Nduna: I want to know how many computers Madzimure: Mai Nyakudya, sorry Mai
026.12 then mark-up 35%, we came to US$2 191 staying in the hotel three times and then also pay- you were asked to supply. Muchenje, I want you to . . . That’s why I have said
for mark-up, then VAT . . . ing for incidentals and otherwise to come up with Muchenje: 173. take your time. Mrs Muchenje I have said to you
Hwende: Two thousand and what? a figure of $2 000. Nduna: So, three blocks would mean about 60, the responsibility that we have is big and when I
Muchenje: US$2 191.99. mark-up per laptop. say it’s big, it’s big kumunhu wese (to everyone) to
Hwende: Heyyy! the extent that we expect any witness, who comes
Muchenje: Then the grand total was and appears before this committee, will not chal-
US$9 314.87, you can actually have a look at the lenge this committee, because the consequences
document, the costing. Everything is there, thank of challenging this committee is beyond what you
you sir.
Madzimure: OK honourable members as we
peruse the document, you can raise any question
to Miss Muchenje.
Nduna: Yes, can I.
Nduna: Thank you honourable chair. Sorry I
am unable to connect, but I just want you to clar-
ify according to you the forward pricing that you
put up, was it according to the rates that you antic-
ipated would fit, say, the US dollar RTGS the time
you get paid one? Secondly the issue of hotel, was
it per each computer or were you disintegrating
in the form? Were you going to collect per each
computer outside the country? Etiquette pay each
computer or you group them to come up with this
US$2000 that you’re talking about?
Muchenje: Thank you sir. Actually, that rate
that we used was the prevailing rate, the rate that
we used towards the average rate is that time when
we quoted it, that’s the one that we used and
then for the hotel, air tickets, and everything we
grouped it in three so we were going to supply
these three times, like in three batches.

Page 8 News NewsHawks

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

may think. We have had very big people com- Parliament Public Accounts Committee chairperson Willias Madzimure Hwende: What is the name of the (supplier)?
ing to sit in that chair as witnesses and they have Muchenje: We hadn’t finalised which compa-
thought that this committee will, I don’t know This was cancelled so there is nothing that hap- break down slowly. The issue that I am getting to ny to use.
what sometimes people think. Let me be blunt, pened here, no transaction happened. We actually is simple, the viability of business. If you are not Hwende: No, the one that you sought a quota-
vanofunga kuti vakatsika somewhere (they think apply for money when there is need, right? getting money from auction, in US dollars so how tion from, which you then used.
they are untouchable). With this committee there then do you remain viable? That’s the question I Muchenje: We used the internet sir, when we
is nothing like that because patakatsika takasiya- Mliswa: The question that I am asking is how am asking, and two, proof of moneys she has got- quoted, we were using the internet.
na siyana (we all have back-up), but, that is not often have you dealt with this Parliament in terms ten from the auction to buy computers. We need Hwende: Yes, but, when you are searching . . .
the issue here. The issue before you here is to ex- of supplying? the invoice which was put at the Reserve Bank. Muchenje: Because it gives us plus or minus,
plain to this committee ‘how did you manage to We need to look at the supplier. This is where I average.
build up your cost to what you said it is? If you Muchenje: This was the first time sir, nothing, am getting to at the end of the day. In terms of Hwende: Yeah, I just want one name of a com-
say it cost me accommodation $39 a laptop, we no transaction. how then . . . I don’t know do you understand pany that you used.
will then ask is that reasonable? Can that happen? where I am coming from? Okay zvandiri kuedza Muchenje: That I used here?
Where did it happen? Because it’s not only you Mliswa: So which other organisation have you kutaura ndeizvi, handizvo here, honourable mem- Hwende: That you used to get the average
whom we are dealing with. You saw another team supplied? bers? Let me ask, makahwinha matender four, price in Dubai, because when you are searching
that got out, there is another team and another mahwinha matender mukabvuma kuti munowana for a price you are also worried about the suppli-
team, there are a lot of people who are affected by Muchenje: Parastatals and government depart- mari kubva kuauction, handizvo here? (What I am ers, so you search like, for instance now, I have
this thing. It’s not a very small thing, I just want ments, private NGOs, everything. I am a busi- saying, is you won four tenders and after winning just searched in South Africa, I know I am doing
you to take your time, explain. You don’t need to nessperson. From January to September we did the tenders, did you get forex from the auction?) a random search, but the name of the company
go toe-to-toe with a member. Simply calm down, 94 tenders, out of the 94 tenders we managed to is there, Frist Shop. A computer, latest one, with
explain what you want to explain and that is it. get four. Sir, we do business I am in business. I am Muchenje: Yes. more specs than yours, 4 000 rands. So, that is
very serious. Madzimure: Honourable Hwende what I am asking, just one.
Masoka: Chairman through you, let me help Hwende: You said your profit per laptop was Muchenje: On this one, I have to go back to
you, Ms Muchenje, what the honourable mem- Nduna: Which companies are those? going to be $2 109, am I correct? the (office) because I do not do the tender, but I
ber is asking: On your costing, you said per lap- Muchenje: I can provide the companies if you Muchenje: Uhm I have to (check), it was 35% can supply you as soon as I can.
top, I think you broke it down, you absorbed it, want, there is a breakdown. so if it’s coming up to $2 000 then . . . Hwende: But do you normally buy there, from
to $39.19 so that means per laptop, right? So, Nduna: Only for the four. Hwende: But, this is a figure that you have the supplier in Dubai?
what we are simply doing here is we are saying Muchenje: For the four? Okay. mentioned before. Muchenje: Yes sir.
$39.19 by 174 laptops it comes to $6 819, that is Mliswa: What we are worried with is that from Muchenje: It’s 35% mark-up sir, because I do Hwende: So you know them?
your hotel cost and he asked how many batches 94 you got three and so forth or four were wanted not have the paper with me . Muchenje: Because of the issue of availability,
were you going to bring in, you said three, so we and you used the official exchange rate, so do you Hwende: But, you have . . . we could not just pinpoint one client because of
divide that by three. It means every visit or every get paid or you go to the auction and apply for Muchenje: But you have the paper. availability so let me check how they did it and
hotel stay that you are going to go and bring 60 money because you have money already and then Hwende: Where is the paper? come back to you on that one, but we actually
laptops or so you were going to be charged $2 when this payment comes, it does cover? How do Raidza: Here. have suppliers. We have about five suppliers out-
263.02. We are saying is that feasible? you mitigate inflation for the auction rate and so Hwende: So what is the point of asking her, if side so I will still come back to you.
forth, how do you stay afloat as a business? she is going to refer everything to us? Madzimure: So are you going to give us the
Muchenje: Yes, it’s feasible. Do you know how Muchenje: I didn’t get that one. Muchenje: It's 35%. names of the suppliers?
much it is, the air ticket? Mliswa: What I am trying to say to you, of the Hwende: It's coming to 35% the $2 109, the Muchenje: Yes.
four companies that you were awarded tenders reasonable profit for a laptop in US dollars. Madzimure: When can we expect them?
Nduna: That’s fine. you already supplied? Muchenje: I’m lost now, this is US dollars pay- Muchenje: Today, I can give you today.
Masoka: That is fine. Muchenje: Yes. able in RTGS. Nduna: Honourable chair, you have made the
Hwende: Haangatiudze zvema air ticket pana- Mliswa: So, were you paid in advance or after Hwende: I did a search on Google for the job very easy for me. You have already supplied
pa (She cannot tell us about air tickets here). supply? specifications that you mentioned. The last time three entities already, government institutions,
Raidza: On a point of order, chair. My point Muchenje: After supply. that we had a meeting here, it was coming to you have?
of order is for us not to deliberate. I think we just Mliswa: So, you got the foreign currency from US$1 300 and I have just confirmed, the same Muchenje: Yes.
need to get whatever that she is saying then we the auction? laptop in South Africa is $1 300, but yours was Nduna: How quickly can we have the infor-
make a finding as a committee.. Muchenje: Yes? already $5 000. Initially I thought most of the mation for the supply of those four entities?
Hwende: No, no, no, she must answer. Mliswa: for the four companies that you sup- money was on the accessories, but you can see Muchenje: But, it’s not laptops sir. I think it’s
Raidza: Whether what she is saying, she is ly- plied? even the accessories themselves. It’s just $1 600, not about laptops.
ing, whether what she is saying is correct, then Muchenje: No, I will have to confirm that, I that question you do not need to answer. Then Nduna: Say that again.
we make a finding as a committee to say she was will check, but, we get money from the Reserve also the reason why you had to split the procure- Madzimure: She said it’s not laptops. Whatev-
telling us the truth or she was lying. So that at Bank. That’s very true, we get money from the ment, was it because you did not have the enough er business you have done.
least we can progress because I do not think she Reserve Bank. capital to procure once because procuring once Muchenje: Yes, I will give you.
is here to tell us what we want to hear, she is here Mliswa: What I want to establish is that you was going to save a lot of money on the taxpay- Nduna: When can we have this information?
to give us evidence and whatever she is here to get money from the Reserve Bank. ers. What was the reason for splitting the order Muchenje: Later today.
tell us we have to make a finding as a committee Muchenje: I didn’t bring that information in three and do you really have to go back every Nduna: Later today? Take your time.
whether she was lying to us or telling us the truth. about the others. time as if you are going to bring them in your Muchenje: Tomorrow.
All the numbers were unjustified. I think that is Hwende: But this kind of behaviour . . . she handbag to come here or it’s enough to just go at Nduna: I need to find out the issues of the im-
why we are saying she must give us a breakdown, must answer. the first meeting and you check and confirm your portation, so that we find the duty that has been
then after she gives us a breakdown we interro- Mliswa: What I am trying to say to you, I want supplier and you agree the price, then the supplier paid, if there is duty, surtax duty. So that we get
gate, then after that we make a finding, that’s my you to be calm. will deliver in batches? He can still send while you to the end part, after going to the companies, the
submission. Muchenje: I am very calm, it’s just that I am are here. mark-up and such like in particular where govern-
Mliswa: Chairman, if I could just. . . loud, naturally I am loud. Hwende: Where did you get the laptops? ment payments are concerned.
Madzimure: Honourable member, you heard Madzimure: Honourable Mliswa you speak Muchenje: In Dubai sir. Madzimure: Thank you very much.
what honourable Raidza said. According to our through the chair, one, two, let's just put our Muchenje: Let’s say tomorrow, because, this is
standing rules, we are there to get the informa- questions straight. 1(pm).
tion and we will then sit and deliberate on the Mliswa: Chair I am putting the question and Nduna: Is it not too early?
information, so let’s concentrate on questions and she is not understanding, so I am being forced to Muchenje: I don’t know sir, it’s up to you sir.
we get the answers. Yes, honourable Masoka has I think let’s just do it and finish, yeah tomorrow
broken it down, he has divided by three trips and is okay.
accommodation is coming to two thousand and Madzimure: Okay, just one minute.
something [US dollars]. It is up to us to say, yes Masoka: I want to supplement that, coupled
accommodation and ticket, it is now up to us to with the auction rate bids or applications or what-
say to those who are accepted the bid, was this ever.
reasonable or not? Madzimure: Honourable Bushu.
Mliswa: I think what is critical for me is not Bushu: I just wanted to find out, when you
saying whether she stays in a star hotel or not. It's were advised about the cancellation of your order?
neither here nor there, but because it's taxpayers’ Muchenje: The date?
money can you show us the receipt, honourable Bushu: You remember the date?
chair and of the air tickets. Muchenje: Yes sir.
Muchenje: Yes, sir. Bushu: When was that?
Hwende: And how much was it? Madzimure: If we can have that letter yecan-
Mliswa: The reason we are doing that is that cellation, because we already have that one ye
it is taxpayers' money. Secondly you spoke about award.
official prevailing rate and you access money from Muchenje: It was on 22 September.
the auction, would you provide us with informa- Bushu: 22 September? Okay, that’s all I want-
tion, especially so you bought these computers? ed to know.
Muchenje: Sorry, point of correction. I didn’t Madzimure: Thank you very much.
buy, I didn’t buy them. Raidza: The last one before she leaves, (George)
Mliswa: No I am asking you questions and the Guvamatanga said you had to be blacklisted.
questions that I am asking are critical. Muchenje: I don’t know about that.
Muchenje: Yes. Raidza: You don’t know about that?
Mliswa: . . . in us looking for value for money, Muchenje: Remember I said sir, I can’t talk
you have asked for this money in RTGS, were you about hearsay, I am waiting for the official (com-
already paid? munication), and chair may I ask, is it possible for
Muchenje: No. me to see the list of bidders who were above us.
Mliswa: No. I need to get somewhere, so you I just want to know how much they charged and
spoke about accessing money from the forex auc- see how they arrived at their cost.
tion, so how then could you access money from
the auction before being paid?
Muchenje: I think sir, you didn’t get me right.

NewsHawks News Page 9

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

OWEN GAGARE Govt’s energy rescue options
based on tricky assumptions
WHILE government officials are touting the
coming on board of Hwange Thermal Power Sta- Zesa executive chairperson Sydney Gata said projects were failing to take off due to policy mis-steps and lack of bankable feasibility studies.
tion unit 7, as well as power imports as immediate
solutions to the electricity crisis gripping the coun- until January 2023, after Zimbabwe exhausted its bility studies. “We have a number of projects that building with engineering and financial support
try, energy experts say the hopes are anchored on allocation of water. Zimbabwe was later allowed to have been reported in the media, but they have from China Gezhouba Group Company, and
uncertain deliverables. produce at a reduced capacity. not proceeded because I believe as a nation, we PER Lusulu Power’s proposed 2 100MW power
still have to learn a lot about what is called country plant in the north-western district of Binga.
The 300 megawatt (MW) unit is part of two The ZRA revealed that the Kariba South Bank risk,” Gata told editors.
generators making up the Hwange unit 7 and 8 Power Station (KSBPS) had utilised 23.89 billion While Zimbabwe has coal — the major re-
expansion project being undertaken by Chinese cubic metres (BCM) of water, accounting for 1.39 “Quite a number of these (projects) were white source — it has been starved of funding to develop
firm Sinohydro under facility from China Exim- BCM (or 6.16%) above the 2022 water allocation elephants at birth. They were born deformed. If thermal power stations on its own.
bank. Unit 7 is a component of the US$1.4 billion of 22.50 BCM. The KSBPS, Zimbabwe’s largest we are developing a project such as in Hwange
Hwange expansion project expected to add a com- power plant, has been producing less than a third here, there are phases that are mandatory to be fol- During the editors’ tour, Gata said while a
bined 600MW into the national grid. of its total generation capacity of 1 050MW. lowed and to be appreciated for their importance migration to renewable energy was necessary, re-
in the project development programme.” sources like solar and wind have a premium of
The government says the coming on board of Zimbabwe’s power stations, namely Hwange, cost adaptation as they require storage, which is
unit 7 is imminent, while unit 8 is expected to be Kariba, Munyati, Harare and Bulawayo, are ham- Gata added: “Here is a list of projects that costly. Gata said a regional power strategy should
connected to the national grid in March next year, strung and were producing a combined 669MW went ahead without bankable feasibility studies: be pursued to improve electricity availability and
adding another 300MW, which will significantly on Thursday, against a demand of 2 200MW. Batoka Hydro; Mutare Peaking, which has been access in Sadc.
ease the country’s power crisis. cancelled; Gwanda Solar, which is in difficulties;
Hwange was producing 438MW while Kariba Dema, which has been cancelled; then we also “Development of the massive hydro potential
Engineers however say the successful synchro- was producing 231MW. have project start-ups without policy support. on the Kafue and Zambezi basins, and operation
nisation of unit 7, which is seen as one of the most of the power plants on a collaborative, conjunctive
viable immediate solutions, will be key given that Harare, Bulawayo and Munyati power stations “We have over 100 IPP projects that have been basis is the most viable strategy for the Sadc re-
if it is hurried, it can result in severe setbacks. were not producing anything. licensed that are paralysed because policy does not gion. The resources will be operated on the catch-
carry them. In the normal progression of what I ment rule, as opposed to the current reservoir rule
Hwange unit 8 is only expected to come on According to an educational video produced by call the development phase, before the joint devel- model,” he said.
board in March or April next year. the ZPC, the water intakes for power generation opment agreements, you are syndicating the equi-
at Lake Kariba are designed at 13 metres below ty and bringing investors in the process. “Conjunctive dispatch guarantees that more
Chinese engineers are in the country to oversee maximum water levels, in order to avoid mud energy is harvested from the same resources than
the synchronisation. Synchronisation is the pro- which would clog the power generation facilities. “In the projects that I listed, what killed them, if operated as single reservoirs. The reservoirs also
cess of matching the frequency of a generator or those that were killed, is lack of market due dili- serve as a large storage battery intermittent solar
other source to a running network. An alternating This means that only a certain amount of water gence. We have a list of projects that the banks, all energy resources, whereby PV (photovoltaic) solar
current generator cannot deliver power to an elec- is accessible for power generation, which is also these big banks, are not coming to the party be- and wind turbines will be operated during day-
trical grid unless it is running at the same frequen- known as live water. cause they say how can we lend to ZETDC which time, with hydro power deployed to smoothen out
cy as the network. is selling electricity at a loss? When you come to the intermittency and at night as illustrated below:
Independent power producers currency risk, the lender will say ‘how can I lend It seems imperative that, both for the country and
A direct current generator can be connected to The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority in US dollars if you are collecting RTGS to repay region, we should urgently transition to a green
a power network by adjusting its open-circuit ter- (Zera) has in the past five years licensed about the loan?’.” economy. The model of migration which is an-
minal voltage to match the network voltage, by 100 small IPP projects with a capacity to pro- chored on collaborative regional development of
either adjusting its speed or its field excitation. duce around 1 300MW, but most of them remain Coal and solar the massive hydro resources on the Zambezi-Kaf-
non-operational. Zimbabwe has also been banking on coal as a ue basin, and the setting up of CARE (Central
There are five conditions that must be met be- Gata revealed during a tour of Hwange Power long-term power solution, which has been greatly Africa Renewable Energy) as the operating entity,
fore the synchronisation process takes place. The Station by editors last year that the projects were affected by China’s announcement last year that it will ensure that the other more desirable sources of
source (generator or sub-network) must have failing to take off due to country and currency was halting coal projects outside its mainland, in renewable energy such as solar and wind can de-
equal line voltage, frequency, phase sequence, risks, policy mis-steps and lack of bankable fea- order to reduce carbon emissions. velop faster, as they will be supported by massive
phase angle and waveform to that of the system to sibility studies. For example, in September 2020 This has worsened Zimbabwe’s power crisis. For hydro storage as a natural battery.
which it is being synchronised. Zesa abandoned its Mutare Peaking Power Station instance, Zimbabwe Zhongxin Electrical Energy, a
project, which was supposed to be completed in joint venture with the Zimbabwe Defence Forces “We therefore offer to transition from a fossil
Several tests are mandatory before this is done. 2022. Zesa said it abandoned the project, which (ZDF), was building a 50MW power plant with fuel to a green economy so that we can run our
If not done properly or if hurried, it can result was envisaged to contribute as much as 120 mega- plans to expand that to 430MW. Dinson Colliery, farming, industry, mining and also transition from
in explosions, which often result in severe setbacks. watts to the national grid, because using diesel to the coal-mining subsidiary of steelmaker Tsing- petrol and diesel traction to electric cars and rail-
In South Africa, for example, unit 4 of Medupi generate electricity was costly. shan Holding Group, was working on a US$300 way locomotives to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Power Station, a dry-cooled coal-fired power sta- The 100MW Dema Emergency Power Plant, million coking plant, while Jinan Corporation was We call for support from the global players to re-
tion built by Eskom near Lephalale in Limpopo powered by diesel and built in 2016 by Sakunda planning a 600MW plant. alise green energy economies for our collaborat-
province, exploded in 2021 shortly after being Holdings, has also been abandoned. Another major project that has been directly ing states, and support of the global economies to
connected to the grid. It caused extensive damage Gata said the failure of several other power affected is the US$3 billion 2 800MW thermal fund this initiative through export of their tech-
to the generator while also tripping unit 5. generation projects to take off was not surprising power plant in Gokwe that RioZim Energy was nologies,” Gata said.
Acting manager at Medupi Zweli Witbooi in mainly because they were either not bankable or
May said the incident “seems to indicate proce- were undertaken without due diligence and feasi-
dural non-compliance and management failures”.
The explosion is expected to take another two
years to rectify and has serious financial implica-
tions. It is expected to cost about R2.5-billion.

Electricity imports
The government is also hoping to increase elec-
tricity imports, but that is dependent on availabil-
ity given that there is a power crisis in the region.
The ability to pay is also a factor. Zimbabwe has
a reputation for failing to pay on time.
In April, President Emmerson Mnangagwa vis-
ited Mozambique, where he toured a gas-powered
station accompanied by Zesa executive chairper-
son Sydney Gata, as Harare sought additional
power imports.
Mozambique state-owned national power util-
ity Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) chair-
person Marcelino Alberto expressed his institu-
tion’s willingness to increase the amount of energy
it exports to Zimbabwe despite being owed.
“Last year, Zimbabwe made a titanic effort
to pay down its debt to Mozambique, which
stood at US$45 million, and a good part of that
amount — US$35 million — was paid last year.
At the moment, the amount outstanding stands at
US$10 million,” the EDM chair explained.
Energy minister Soda Zhemu on Thursday told
Parliament that Zimbabwe is looking to increase
imports from Mozambique and the region to
500MW.

Kariba Power Station
The Kariba Hydro-Power Station is likely to
continue producing limited electricity until Feb-
ruary next year when the water level at Lake Kari-
ba is expected to rise.
Load-shedding has been persistent country-
wide, with some residential areas experiencing
rolling power cuts of up to 18 hours, following
the reduction of electricity generation at the Kari-
ba Hydro-Power Station.
The Zambezi River Authority (ZRA), a bi-na-
tional organisation overseen by Zambia and Zim-
babwe, on 28 November ordered suspension of
power generation at Kariba Hydro-Power Station,

Page 10 News NewsHawks

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

Biti dismisses minister's power plans

RUVIMBO MUCHENJE ings to the drop in Lake Kariba's water level, water resource, communicates from time to Former Finance minister Tendai Biti
Zhemu said the government was aware but time with Zesco and Zesa. We knew about winter cropping season. This was known in
FORMER Finance minister Tendai Biti has they had winter crop that needed power and this situation on the fast receding water lev- terms of the water levels but our hope was
dismissed Energy minister Soda Zhemu's they could not scale down operations. els at Kariba Dam but we were advised at a the coming in of unit 7 (in Hwange) which
claims that he will import 500 megawatts time when we could not stop some of the was supposed to coincide with the reduction
(MW) from the region to alleviate power “Again, honourable Nduna asked wheth- units for purposes of water conservation, of power generation at Kariba at a time when
shortages, saying the region is also reeling er the board did not know about this risk of especially that we were in winter. We had a this unit 7 was supposed to be connected to
from supply deficits. low water supply that would arise at Kariba crop that needed to be protected in terms of the grid, bringing in that difference. It was
Power Station. I would say ZRA (Zambezi adequate moisture that was required during the coincidence that we hoped for, which did
Zhemu told Parliament this week that River Authority), as the managers of the not happen.”
government plans to import 500MW from
its neighbours to contain prolonged power
outages.

He also said Zimbabwe plans to improve
power supply by increasing imports from
Mozambique and the region to 500 mega-
watts (MW).

He further said power generation was con-
tinuing at Kariba Hydro-Power Station be-
cause Zambia had allowed the country to use
its allocation of water.

Zhemu made promises while delivering a
ministerial statement on the energy situation
in Zimbabwe.

“We intend to increase by an additional
500MW which we are targeting to get from
Mozambique and from the Southern African
Power Pool. Discussions are currently under-
way for an additional capacity of 150MW
from Mozambique, particularly from EDM
power utility. We will also get another 50MW
from the participation of Zesa at the South-
ern African Power Pool electricity market to
give us an additional 200MW over and above
the 300MW which we are currently import-
ing,” said Zhemu.

Zimbabwe has been struggling to meet de-
mand due to reduced production of electrici-
ty at Kariba Dam due to a decline in the water
level in recent months. The Zambezi River
Authority has advised the Zimbabwe Power
Company to halt production but, Zimbabwe
has negotiated for reduced production.

Zhemu told Parliament that stopping op-
erations would have cut off 70% of the coun-
try’s electricity supply.

“The shutdown of the power plant would
have had the following impacts: about 70% of
the country’s power supply would have been
lost as a result of shutting down the power
station. The network stabilisation would also
have been disturbed which ordinarily would
be done through Kariba Power Station,” he
said.

Zimbabwe now generates power from
Zambia’s allocation at Kariba North Hy-
dro-electric Power Station.

“The ministry engaged its counterparts in
Zambia through meetings which were held at
board level and also there was a recommenda-
tion from the board to allow the two utilities
to engage. It was through those engagements
that the council of ministers had an extraor-
dinary meeting to allow ZPC to continue
generating from Kariba Power Station but
this time at a reduced capacity of between
250 to 300 megawatts. This effectively result-
ed in loss of about 300 megawatts capacity on
our grid, increasing our power deficit to over
500 megawatts,” said Zhemu.

“As we speak, to be very honest, we are
actually using their (Zambia) allocation of
water to generate the 300MW that we are
obtaining from Kariba Power Station.”

However Biti dismissed Zhemu’s submis-
sion, saying the whole region is grappling
with an energy crisis.

“We had the minister of Energy yesterday,
the esteemed honourable Zhemu Soda. We
have a crisis, Mr Speaker. If you listen to him
carefully, his only answer is ‘I hope to import
more’. He is hoping to import 500 mega-
watts from EDM in Mozambique and from
the Sadc power pool, but there is a deficit in
the entire region. Eskom, South Africa has a
blackout — welcome to Zimbabwe, Zambia
— same thing. There is a regional deficit. If
the strategy of the minister is to import when
everyone is in a net deficit position, it is a di-
saster but this economy cannot move without
addressing the issue of power,” said Biti.

Asked whether there were no prior warn-

NewsHawks News Page 11

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

BRENNA MATENDERE Mnangagwa turns to private
firms as power crisis deepens
THE Zimbabwean government is increasingly
turning to wealthy private companies to rescue Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa
the country from a deepening electricity shortage
by granting them licences to directly import their Zimbabwe has been experiencing 18-hour power outages following the depletion of water levels at the Lake Kariba hydro-electric plant.
own power.
work is such that the industry retains 60% of its als extracted in Zimbabwe. babwe dollar at the prevailing official exchange
Of late, the country has experienced 18-hour foreign currency earnings from exports of miner- The remaining 40% is paid through the Zim- rate.
rolling power outages following the depletion
of water levels at the Lake Kariba hydro-electric
plant, resulting in a drastic reduction in power
production.

The situation is a major setback for President
Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is desperate to proj-
ect himself as a competent hands-on leader. There
is a flurry of behind-the-scenes negotiations be-
tween the government and private companies for
the firms to chip in with their money and enter
into power deals.

The NewsHawks has gathered that the govern-
ment is increasingly turning to companies in the
broader extractive sector to enter into power deals
which will see them import their own electricity
because the state has lost the capacity to play that
strategic role.

On Tuesday, sources said the power crisis was
extensively discussed in cabinet, with Mnangag-
wa openly expressing signs that he is shaken by
the worsening crisis even though the authorities
have been hard-pressed to create an impression
that they are on top of the situation.

Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa
told journalists at Tuesday’s post-cabinet briefing
that the government had entered into an electric-
ity deal with Bikita Minerals.

Mutsvangwa said a partnership between the
Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distri-
bution Company (ZETDC) and Bikita Minerals
would result in the mining company financing
the construction of a 113-kilometres-long 132 ki-
lo-Volt (kV) power line from the existing Tokwe
sub-station to its proposed plant in Masvingo.

Secondly, Bikita Minerals will use its own
money in the construction of a new 132Kv
sub-station.

The mining giant, as part of the deal, will also
use its own money to finance the installation of
sub-station ancillary services, protection equip-
ment, metering equipment, power network con-
trol, and telecommunication system.

There will also be reconfiguration of the new
sub-station so that it supplies power to other
ZETDC clients in areas such as Gonye, Nyika,
Chivake and Bikita villages at large.

“Bikita Minerals will recoup its investment
through usage of power to be supplied by
ZETDC over a 5-year period, and the electrici-
ty infrastructure will be handed over to ZETDC
upon completion of the construction works,” said
Mutsvangwa.

She added:“A feasibility study of the project
submitted to ZIDA [Zimbabwe Investment and
Development Agency] confirms that the project is
financially viable. Benefits of the project include
the following: (i) the power lines and substations
will allow Bikita Minerals and other ZETDC cli-
ents to access power; (ii)increased revenue inflows
to the country as Bikita Minerals will increase
output of its products; (iii) employment creation
as 400 more people will be employed at the Biki-
ta Minerals plant during construction and opera-
tion of the expanded plant; and (iv) unlocking of
economic benefits to

Bikita Minerals’ value chain industries as the
company works with them during construction
and operation of the expanded mine.”

In 2019, Implats, which owns Zimplats, se-
cured power from Mozambique and entered into
a deal to use Zimbabwe’s transmission network
to deliver it.

Zimplats, which produced at that time about
66 495 ounces of platinum in that year’s first
quarter, announced that power supply was among
major risks for low production.

Other big mines at that time like Unki Mines
and How Mine also expressed willingness to im-
port power if deals could be entered into with the
government.

In June this year, the country’s mining industry
proposed a fresh power import plan to avert the
closure of mines as state-run power utility Zesa
Holdings Limited proved that it was struggling to
meet electricity demand.

The Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe (CoMZ)
at that time said it wanted funding for power im-
ports to be deducted before the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe (RBZ) takes 40% of their earnings.

The current foreign currency retention frame-

Page 12 News NewsHawks

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

Zhemu hypes up net metering benefits

PRISCA THSUMA Energy and Power Development minister Soda Zhemu

ENERGY and Power Development minis- She said the commission would utilise the is currently taking place in only eight coun- recent years.
ter Soda Zhemu says net metering will help lithium in the country to make lithium bat- tries, with 85% of the global supply coming The government has barred miners from ex-
solve the energy crisis, while greening the grid, teries and partner with a foreign entity to pro- from Australia, Chile and China.
which will help store excess power from cus- duce the solar ancillaries. porting raw minerals so that they process it to
tomers with solar systems. Zimbabwe is the world’s fifth largest lithi- add value to the mineral before exporting for
Lithium is a rare mineral whose production um producer, with its output rising steadily in the country to benefit more.
Zhemu was responding to parliamentarians
grilling him on the power crisis on Thursday,
which has seen residential areas going for over
18 hours without electricity.

Zimbabwe depleted its allocated water at
Lake Kariba and has been grappling under a
serious power crisis after being forced to limit
electricity production to 300MW by the Zam-
bezi River Authority. Initially, the ZRA had
told the Zimbabwe Power Company to cease
production all together.

Zhemu said the net metering facility would
allow customers with excess capacity from their
generators like solar systems to be connected
to the grid and use it as storage facilities.

“You are aware that a normal solar system
should be having some storage facilities but
through this facility, you only need to have
your solar panels and you will use the grid to
bank your electricity which you will be with-
drawing during times when you are out of pro-
duction,” said Zhemu.

However, only five megawatts (MW) have
been connected to the grid while there is a tar-
get of an additional 7MW.

“Zesa is working flat out to ensure that these
customers with excess capacity of 7MW are
immediately connected to the grid,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Public Service Commission
has installed a 5-kilovolt (kVA) solar system at
a cost of US$14 000 each for 100 elites who
include ministers, senior government officials,
commissioners and army generals.

He said the PSC will assist civil servants in
the installation of solar systems.

PSC secretary Tsitsi Choruma said the solar
project would benefit civil servants from ev-
ery grade as a non-monetary benefit package
as agreed during a National Joint Negotiat-
ing Council meeting held in Victoria Falls in
2020.

She said the project would accrue to civil
servants from every grade as a non-monetary
benefit package.

Choruma said the government wanted to
implement the project with haste and was
seized with finding an implementation part-
ner.

Zimbabwe depleted its allocated water at Lake Kariba.

NewsHawks News Page 13

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

National Assembly passes PVO Bill

RUVIMBO MUCHENJE Norton MP Temba Mliswa says the passing of PVO Bill is regrettable as most Zimbabweans benefit from NGOs.

THE National Assembly on Friday passed the US$647.8 million, of which US$401.9 mil- The growth and expansion of NGOs across “There are laws, if it's money laundering
controversial Private Voluntary Organisations lion was from bilateral partners and US$245.9 the globe is testament to their increasingly which could be used to arrest those who are
(PVO) Bill, which observers say will arm the million from multilateral partners. important role in the development process. It breaking the law and who are money launder-
government to stifle the operations of civil notes effective partnerships between govern- ing, or any other crime which could be com-
society organisations ahead of the 2023 elec- “A further US$202.4 million in develop- ments and NGOs are recognised as being cru- mitted, the country has enough laws to be able
tions. ment assistance is projected during the fourth cial in accelerating sustainable development. arrest those people, not to go and the change
quarter of 2021, giving cumulative receipts the PVO Bill,” he said.
It will also worsen the plight of vulnerable of US$850.2 million for the year. “In 2022, Analyst Pedzisai Ruhanya said the Bill only
communities that survive on humanitarian support from the development partners is entrenches authoritarianism, as it targets more “It’s a bit of a sad ending to this sitting, es-
aid. projected at US$761.5 million, broken down of democracy and governance organisations pecially as we go towards Christmas and New
as US$274.3 million and US$487.2 million and less the developmental organisations. Year, there was supposed to be some good
If passed into law, which is now very likely, from multilateral and bilateral partners, re- news for the people, but unfortunately that’s
the Bill will see foreign currency inflows de- spectively. Importantly, a lot of the gains that Outspoken independent candidate for Nor- bad news for the people because employment
clining. have been registered in key health and social ton constituency Temba Mliswa said the pass- itself, it will affect a lot of people who are em-
indicators have been on account of the part- ing of the Bill is regrettable as most Zimba- ployed by these NGOs,” he added.
Opposition CCC legislator Edwin Mush- nership between the government and NGOs.” bweans benefit from NGOs.
oriwa of Dzivaresekwa single-handedly tried “Zimbabwe is on a re-engagement, engage-
to stop Zanu PF from having the third reading The PVO Amendment Bill was gazetted in “Those NGOs have assisted us in many ment process as well, so what does this say
of the Bill, but he was outnumbered. November 2021 and seeks to amend the PVO ways, (even) Parliament itself from a capaci- about engagement and re-engagement process
Act to impose new restrictions, but civil so- ty building point of view, in terms of a num- when we are coming up with such punitive
Legislators Tendai Biti, Chalton Hwende, ciety organisations have warned the proposed ber of issues which have been highlighted as laws which certainly are not what we expect in
Sichelesile Mahlangu and Anele Ndebele amendments will constrain their work and vi- some of the issues which we need to meet the this modern day,”
walked out of the House when the motion olate human rights, while negatively affecting SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals]. We
was introduced by Justice minister and lead- communities who depend on their activities. also need to understand that without us doing Harare East MP Tendai Biti took to Twitter
er of government business Ziyambi Ziyambi. things to meet the SDGs it becomes a problem. to express regret over the third reading of the
Other opposition legislators were not in the They also said the measures will hit the al- Most of the members are hypocritical in sup- Bill. “Black Day for Zimbabwe. We spent the
House. ready struggling economy which relies on de- porting it that I am very clear about because entire day in parliament fighting and debating
velopment partners to bridge yawning funding they have benefitted from the arrangements of the Budget. There was a give and take atmo-
Most opposition members from the MDC gaps due to the country’s inadequate budget the NGOs and so forth,” said Mliswa. sphere and much progress was made. After the
were out preparing for their congress that is and resources. The report says NGOs are play- budget and against the prevailing spirit Zanu
set for 18 December 2022, while other CCC ing an increasingly important role as agents of He added that there are various laws to deal railroaded the PVO Bill which sadly was read a
members were reportedly meeting their party development. with rogue elements within civil society with- third time despite our efforts,” he said.
president at the time the motion was intro- out the PVO Billl.
duced.

“Mr Speaker Sir, the last time if you check
in the Hansard when Hon Advocate Muden-
da was on the Chair, when we adjourned the
debate, we were debating on the Third Read-
ing, there is no provision that says that Third
Reading you cannot debate, we do have to de-
bate and we have got quite a number of issues,
there is no way that you can try to hijack. The
best thing is let the honourable Speaker come
on board. What is there in the Standing Rules
that says you cannot debate Third Reading?
Honourable Speaker, there is no quorum, that
is the first thing,” he said.

Quorum was however constituted, when
several Zanu PF legislators walked in, result-
ing in the required 70 legislators being sur-
passed, and the reading sailed through the
lower House. It will be going to Senate at next
Tuesday’s sitting.

The PVO Bill had an immediate and dra-
matic effect on government projections, with
Finance minister Mthuli Ncube estimating
that grants will decrease from US$776 million
this year to US$352.8 million next year, a vari-
ance of US$423.2 million, although these are
conservative figures.

Researchers however believe Zimbabwe will
lose a lot more than what was projected by
Ncube in his 2023 National Budget statement.

Between January and September this year,
Zimbabwe received US$683.3 million, which
is way more than what the country is projected
to receive the whole of next year.

The decline in development funding is like-
ly to have devastating social and economic
consequences for the country next year.

The health sector was the biggest beneficiary
in grant disbursements done between January
and September after receiving US$408.3 mil-
lion followed by agriculture at US$100.1 mil-
lion and governance at US$42.6 million.

A report titled Punching Holes To A Fragile
Economy?, compiled by Prosper Chitamba-
ra, Clinton Musonza and Phillan Zamchiya,
which was released in March, says the pro-
posed law will have a far-reaching negative
impact and implications not just for civil so-
ciety organisations, but also for government
development programmes and the poor who
rely on aid for survival and access to critical
social services.

“NGOs have also played a critical role in
bridging the huge financing gap in the critical
sectors of the economy such as social protec-
tion, education, health, water and sanitation
among others,” the report says.

“For instance, according to the 2022 na-
tional budget statement, during the period
January to September 2021, the country re-
ceived development assistance amounting to

Page 14 News NewsHawks

IMF demands key Issue 112, 16 December 2022
reforms, a stop to
quasi-fiscal exploits, Zimbabwe owes the World Bank US$1.5 billion and AfDB (below) US$700 million.
gold coins removal

BERNARD MPOFU sures to strengthen procurement regulations.
Uncertainty remains high, however, and the
THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has economic outlook will depend on the imple-
demanded that the Zimbabwean government mentation of key policies and the evolution of
introduce more economic reforms, stop qua- external shocks.
si-fiscal activities and phase out gold coins de-
signed to provide a store of value alternative in “Fiscal policy should aim at containing the
the market, while mopping up excess liquidity deficit in line with available non-inflationary
to contain exchange rate volatility and infla- financing and creating fiscal space for critical
tion. spending. This can be achieved by mobilising
additional revenues, based on tax policy re-
In its latest statement on Zimbabwe after its forms, and by scaling back non-priority out-
recent visit to Harare, the IMF also demanded lays, while strengthening public finance man-
fiscal policy measures and structural reforms to agement.”
ensure macro-economic stability and econom-
ic recovery. The IMF added: “The financial oversight of
the state-owned enterprise (SOEs) by the Trea-
Said the IMF: “A near-term policy impera- sury should be further strengthened in order to
tive is to sustainably anchor macro-economic minimise fiscal risks. In the context of a tight
stability. In this context, Fund staff recom- monetary policy, enhanced regulatory over-
mend accelerating the liberalisation of the FX sight is required to ensure financial sector re-
[foreign exchange] market, including through silience. Addressing the remaining Anti-Mon-
the removal of restrictions on the exchange rate ey Laundering/Combating the Financing of
at which banks, authorised dealers, and busi- Terrorism (AML/CFT) weaknesses would
nesses transact; addressing the Reserve Bank of strengthen banks’ resilience and effectiveness.
Zimbabwe’s quasi-fiscal operations to mitigate Reforms to economic institutions and the
liquidity pressures; maintaining an appropri- governance and anti-corruption frameworks
ately tight monetary policy stance to durably are critical for strengthening the foundations
restore macro-economic stability and ensure for private sector development and inclusive
social stability; restoring the effectiveness of growth.
monetary policy, including through the use
of appropriate interest-bearing instruments to “Ensuring durable macro-economic stabil-
mop up liquidity and winding down the use of ity and revitalising structural reforms would
gold coins; and maintaining a prudent fiscal support Zimbabwe’s development objectives
stance.” as embodied in the country’s National Devel-
opment Strategy 1 (2021-2025).”
An IMF staff team led by Dhaneshwar Ghu-
ra was in Harare from 1-15 December prior to The IMF also raised the issue of Zimbabwe’s
its 2023 Article IV Consultation mission. international isolation and the need for re-en-
gagement to resolve the country’s debt crisis.
At the conclusion of the visit, Ghura said:
“The government provided a swift response to “International re-engagement remains crit-
the Covid-19 pandemic, supporting business- ical for debt resolution and access to exter-
es, livelihoods, and the health sector, resulting nal financial support. In a bid to advance the
in real output growth of 8.5% in 2021, un- re-engagement process, the authorities have
derscoring the economy’s resilience. Renewed adopted an Arrears Clearance, Debt Relief and
domestic and external shocks (inflation surge, Restructuring strategy; continued token pay-
erratic rainfall, electricity shortages, and Rus- ments to external creditors; and launched a
sia’s war in Ukraine) are, however, adversely Dialogue Platform to foster discussions among
affecting economic and social conditions. the various stakeholders,” it said.

“Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) “Zimbabwe has been a Fund member in
growth is thus expected to decline to about good standing since it cleared its outstanding
3.5% in 2022. These multiple shocks will con- arrears to the IMF in late 2016. The Fund pro-
tinue to weigh on Zimbabwe’s growth pros- vides extensive technical assistance in the areas
pects. Currency and price pressures, which of revenue mobilisation, expenditure control,
emerged earlier this year largely owing to a monetary and exchange rate policy, banking
spike in broad money growth and an official sector, debt management, governance, and
exchange rate misaligned with market funda- macro-economic statistics,” it said.
mentals, are subsiding.”
Even though Zimbabwe has paid the IMF
The IMF said the government’s tight fiscal its US$110 million in arrears, it still owes the
and monetary policy measures have slowed World Bank US$1.5 billion and African De-
down macro-economic deterioration. velopment Bank US$700 million.

“Annual inflation, which had increased to This leaves the IMF “precluded from provid-
285% in August, has been decelerating since, ing financial support to Zimbabwe due to of-
a trend which if sustained by appropriate pol- ficial external arrears and unsustainable debt”.
icies, would go a long way in anchoring infla-
tion expectations,” it said. “A Fund financial arrangement would re-
quire a clear path to comprehensive restructur-
“The IMF mission notes the authorities’ ing of Zimbabwe’s external debt, including the
efforts to stabilise the local foreign exchange clearance of arrears; and a reform plan that is
market and lower inflation. In this regard, the consistent with durably restoring macro-eco-
swift tightening of monetary policy along with nomic stability, enhancing inclusive growth,
greater official exchange rate flexibility and a lowering poverty, and strengthening economic
prudent fiscal stance are policies in the right governance,” it said.
direction and have contributed to a narrowing
of the premia in the parallel foreign exchange The IMF staff held meetings with Finance
market. minister Mthuli Ncube, his permanent secre-
tary George Guvamatanga, Reserve Bank of
“In addition, the authorities have identi- Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya, Deputy
fied large payments to suppliers, the result of Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet
over-invoicing, as a source of pressures on the Willard Manungo, other senior government
parallel market and in response have launched and RBZ officials, representatives of the pri-
value-for-money audits and introduced mea- vate sector, civil society, and Zimbabwe’s de-
velopment partners.

NewsHawks News Page 15

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

BRENNA MATENDERE Ivory trade ban: Zim consults
amid threats of Cites pullout
THE Zimbabwean government is currently mak-
ing consultations on how to deal with a ban on its Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu
sale of ivory by the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), amid fears The proposal on establishing a Rural Com- terbuck, buffalo, hippopotamus, wild dog, leop- Sebhakwe Black Rhino Trust have made signifi-
the country may decide to pull out of the wildlife munities Committee received no consensus from ard, cheetah, brown and spotted hyena are found cant donations to the conservancy to build it into
bloc. members and an inter-sessional working group in the MBRC as a whole, but the wildlife is at what it is, but the illegal settlements could see the
was set up to consider the issue and make recom- great risk due to the invasion of the conservancy investments going down the drain.
The development follows failure by Harare to mendations to Cites. which has reduced habitat land and increased cas-
lobby for the lifting of the ban at the 19th Cites es of poaching. The Parks and Wildlife Act (Chapter 20:14)
conference held in Panama City from 14 to 25 Zimbabwe, in conjunction with Botswana, prohibits human settlements or agricultural activ-
November 2022 after concerted efforts to seek Namibia, Cambodia and Eswatini submitted a Millions of dollars invested in the wildlife con- ities in conservancies, unless with the express au-
support from foreign nations early this year. proposal to include consideration of livelihoods servation in the past 35 years at the sanctuary are thorisation of an Act of Parliament. At present, no
and food security, but this was also rejected. likely to be lost as a direct result of the actions such law has been promulgated to legalise the set-
Zimbabwe went into the conference expecting of the bigwigs. Save Foundation of Australia and tlements, not even a fleeting statutory instrument.
to push for measures that would result in interna- Foreign Affairs minister Frederick Shava this
tional support for permission to sell its stockpile week also tried to push for the lifting of the ban
of ivory amounting to over US$600 million after on Zimbabwe’s ivory trade at the just-ended Unit-
the country was banned in 1989 from trading by ed States-Africa Summit, but his pleas again failed
Cites, the global body that monitors endangered to elicit support.
species.
Sources this week maintained in interviews
The Cites ban was meant to stop the wanton with The NewsHawks that the needless destruc-
slaughter of endangered species like elephants and tion of prime wildlife habitat for endangered spe-
rhinos mostly by criminal syndicates with govern- cies by top government officials and their cronies
ment connections. The ban, according to Cites, has largely haunted Zimbabwe in its bid to lobby
was supposed to result in an increase in the pop- Cites.
ulation of the endangered species, especially the
African elephant. There is currently chaos in the Sebakwe Basin
near Kwekwe where prominent citizens with state
In May this year, officials from the Zimba- collusion have invaded the Midlands Black Rhino
bwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authori- Conservancy (MBRC) and the nearby Sebhakwe
ty showed ambassadors from European Union Recreational Park.
countries the stockpile of ivory tusks they claimed
had been seized from poachers and collected from MBRC has eight black rhinos, with an un-
elephants that died. known number of animals also coming in to
browse from adjoining game parks in the vicinity.
The Zimbabwean officials appealed to Europe-
an and other countries to support the campaign at Twin Springs Farm, which forms part of the
the Cites conference for the sale of the ivory, but MBRC, is now occupied by President Emmerson
the plan went up in smoke. Mnangagwa’s brother Patrick and businessman
Douglas Kwande whose wheat farming activities
At that time, the Zimbabwean authorities are threatening the existence of wildlife species in-
claimed the country had 130 tonnes of ivory and cluding sable, wildebeest, zebra and giraffe.
between six and seven tonnes of rhino horns, but
it was largely believed that the figures were in fact The black rhinos are also now in danger. In pre-
understated. vious interviews, the two defended their invasion
and said it is for the good of the nation as they
Envoys from the Netherlands, Germany, will be able to boost wheat production and avert
France, Britain, Switzerland, Canada and the national hunger.
United States viewed the ivory tusks in heavily
guarded vaults in Harare. On the other hand, more eminent people have
invaded Chinyika range which forms part of the
However, Information minister Monica MBRC and they include Finance minister Mthuli
Mutsvangwa, while briefing journalists on a re- Ncube, Zimbabwe’s ambassador to South Africa
port presented to cabinet by Environment, Cli- David Douglas Hamadziripi, and permanent rep-
mate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry minister resentative to the United Nations Chitsaka Chi-
Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu last week, said all paziwa, among others.
proposals made by Zimbabwe at the Cites confer-
ence were rejected. Elephant, kudu, eland, impala, bushbuck, wa-

In an exclusive interview, Minister Ndlovu told
The NewsHawks the government was now seized
with consulting stakeholders on the way forward.

“The decision regarding how to deal with the
continued ban for trade of our ivory is yet to be
made. We are still consulting on the way forward,
but at the end of the day it must be known that
we are really worried by the ban.”

“The animals that have the ivory are ours and
we must ordinarily be making choices over what
we get from them, but with the current ban we
cannot do anything,” he said.

Asked whether the government could arrive at
a decision that can see the country pulling out of
Cites, Ndlovu said:

“Answering that question directly will be tan-
tamount to pre-empting what is being discussed
at the moment. What I can just say is that we are
still making consultations on our future in Cites
and sale of the stockpiles of ivory that we have,”
he said.

Ndlovu confirmed that Cites was the premier
wildlife organisation that could impose serious
sanctions on Zimbabwe if it pulled out such as
isolating the country, but he insisted that consul-
tations were still being made on how to deal with
the current moratorium on ivory trade.

“We need to sell our ivory so that we use the
money to help us in our wildlife conservation
programmes, but like I said the ban is affecting us
and there is need for a decision to be made after
wideranging consultations,” said Ndlovu.

At last month’s Cites conference, Zimbabwe
proposed an amendment to the voting procedure
to assign several votes per representative propor-
tionate to the population size of the species under
discussion or whose status is subject to voting.

Some countries supported the proposal which
was however rejected overally following a vote.

Harare also proposed to remove the require-
ment that Zimbabwe’s elephants listed on Appen-
dix II can only be traded to "acceptable" destina-
tions.

The proposal had 15 members in favour, 83
against and 17 abstained.

Page 16 News NewsHawks

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

Chiadzwa locals demand diamond share

NATHAN GUMA

TENSIONS are still rising in the Chiadzwa di- man Rights. They also maintained their position “When there is extractive activity, there should through the Zimbabwe Mineral Development
amond-rich fields, with community members through the ministry of Home Affairs (ZRP). be evidence of some development, be it infra- Corporation (ZMDC) also knows how much is
and civil society demanding transparency in the structural, educational, health and so forth. The being realised from the diamonds, which should
disbursement of royalties by the government and “They said that since Chiadzwa is a protect- development should be visible. It is not like we be going to the communities.
mining companies to the local community. ed area, they cannot allow the demonstration,” want our roads to be tarred only, but can people
said Cosmas Sunguro, the Zimbabwe Diamond stand and say there is employment which can “Some of the money should also go to the
According to the Zimbabwe Diamond Policy Workers' Union president. sustain their families? local authorities. If council would be given the
(ZDC), which governs the extraction of the pre- money, they will then know where the money
cious mineral, companies in the extractive indus- Sunguro says the companies have not been “So, when people are crying, it is not like they should be allocated,” he said.
try are supposed to give 5% of their profits to the transparently declaring their diamond earnings, are crying foul for nothing. What are we benefit-
community for developmental purposes. which is making it difficult for community ting? Do we have things that we can point at?” A Chiadzwa community member, Lloyd
members to benefit from the 5% retention fund. Sunguro said. Banda, said the government and the companies
State-owned Zimbabwe Consolidated Dia- have been insincere in ensuring development in
mond Company (ZCDC) and Chinese compa- “They are not supposed to pay villagers, but it Sunguro said the government has not been Chiadzwa.
ny Anjin have been operating in the area. is like a royalty that is determined by the produc- transparent in disclosing information pertaining
tion that would have been done. to earnings, which has brewed more problems for “There is not much development in Chiadz-
The government, through the army, also has the villagers. wa. That I can testify. In terms of education, they
shares in Anjin. “When the companies sell, they should also are sending students to school. In some instanc-
come out clean and declare their profit dividends. “It is not always about companies. It is about es, they pay tuition for one or two students up
The ZCDC has previously been mired in scan- The problem is that the information is not read- the state failing to release money from the com- to tertiary to tertiary education, but that is not
dal, raising questions about issyes of transparency ily available. We have to find the information via panies. Anjin is not wholly owned by the state, what the people will be expecting at all. It is like a
and accountability. other institutions. So, we will not be knowing but the state still has some shares. Government, cosmetic corporate social responsibility,” he said.
how much has been produced and so forth.
The company failed to account for the use of
money exceeding US$400 million, and could
not properly account for 352 583.11 carats of
diamonds worth US$146 million that were in
stock, according to the 2019 Auditor-General’s
report.

Civil society has been pushing for the govern-
ment to facilitate the disbursement of mining
royalties, without success, which they say is stall-
ing development in the area.

In November, civil society organisations asked
a Zimbabwean court to overturn a ban on their
protest against the failure by diamond mining
companies to share proceeds from the exploita-
tion of diamonds in their area.

The demonstration was on two occasions
banned by police officer commanding Mutare
Rural, a heavyhanded move which has continued
to rile villagers.

“When they refused us permission to demon-
strate, we went on to the courts seeking permis-
sion to exercise our rights as citizens. Then, we
were helped by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Hu-

NewsHawks News Page 17

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

About 1 500 families in Manicaland were displaced in Chiadzwa villages to pave way for diamond mining and resettled in Arda Transau.

BRENNA MATENDERE Civil society petitions President
over plight of displaced citizens
CIVIL society organisations (CSOs) operating
in areas where citizens have been internally dis- Kaseke and Chindenga in Mutoko district are displaced communities- or people caught up in rights violations before during and after dis-
placed to pave way for controversial projects have being threatened with displacement by a black situations of displacement and urgently provide placements.”
petitioned President Emmerson Mnangagwa to granite mining firm. humanitarian needs and protection, including
urgently address the abject living conditions in emergency shelter, food, water, sanitation and “Government, investors and communities of
resettlement areas, among other demands. The community in Chinyamukwakwa in medical services. places threatened with development-induced
Chipinge is being displaced to pave way for sug- displacements negotiate and sign legally binding
Across the country, thousands of people have arcane agribusiness while villagers in Muzaraba- “We call on the Government of Zimbabwe to relocation and compensation agreements. There
over the years been forced to relocate to pave ni face the same fate for oil prospecting, drilling durably address internal displacements in Zim- must be clear guidelines for fair assessment valu-
way for projects the government deemed to be and mining. Perturbed by these disturbances, babwe by expediting the enactment of a com- ation and compensation for affected households,
in the national interest. seven CSOs working in the affected areas have pensation and relocation framework as mandat- including emotional and psychological harm
petitioned Mnangagwa demanding redress of ed by Chapter 66 of the Zimbabwe National losses of social and economic infrastructure such
About 1 500 families in Manicaland were dis- the situation. Human Settlements Policy (ZNHSP).” as roads, schools clinics, cultural sites such as
placed in Chiadzwa villages to pave way for di- shrines and graveyards,” the CSOs further wrote
amond mining in their ancestral lands and were The CSOs are ARDA Transau Relocation The CSOs also highlighted that the envis- in the petition.
resettled in Arda Transau without restitution. Development Trust; Manyame Social Solidarity aged compensation and relocation framework
They are living in dire conditions. (MASOSO) Public Information Rights Forum will institutionalise engagement between dis- In addition as part of their demands, the
(PIRF); Mazowe Evant Farm Community Trust; placement-threatened communities, investors CSOs want the government to reform the ga-
The remaining 4 000 families in Chiadzwa's Centre for Research and Development (CRD); and government based on several human-rights zetted Lands (Consequential Provisions) Act
security-protected diamond area are living like Masvingo Centre for Research and Develop- based principles which are the cornerstones of (Chapter 20:28) to include protections against
stateless citizens as they are not allowed to con- ment (MACRAD), as well as the Community both the UNGPID and Kampala Convention." arbitrary evictions and a stop to criminalisation
struct permanent buildings, embark on business Alliance for Human Settlements in Zimbabwe of continued occupation of gazetted land before
ventures in the area or farm in the places they are (CAHSZ). The conventions include those which ad- remedial actions by affected people are exhaust-
living since there is a high possibility they will vocate for free consent prior to relocation; fair ed.
again be displaced. Part of the petition seen by The NewsHawks compensation and respect of basic human rights
reads: “We call on the government of Zimba- prior, during and after displacement. “The jailing of people who continue in oc-
An estimated 12 000 ethnic Shangani com- bwe, as a member of the family of United Na- cupation of Gazetted land after the expiry of
munity members in Chilonga and Masivamele tions to respect international legal frameworks “We urge government to establish a dedicat- 3-month notice period is tyrannical and has
in Chiredzi district are facing displacement to guiding internal displacements and domesticate ed government agency to manage displacements racist parentage. Government must prioritise
pave way for a dairy project approved by gov- the United Nations Guiding Principles on In- and internally displaced people and provide the protection of the land rights of indigenous
ernment. ternal Displacements and the African Union's effective grievance redress and feedback mech- minority ethnic groups and fast-tract land allo-
Kampala Convention of 2009. anisms that facilitate engagement between the cations for agricultural purposes with target of
The Lubimbi community is being threat- central government officials/institutions, local reducing the national land allocation list for ag-
ened with displacement to pave way for Lake “We call on the government to take urgent government, capital/investors and the targeted ricultural land from 260 000 to 100 000 in the
Gwayi-Shangani while villagers in Dinde are measures to assess the vulnerability of internally communities in cases of disputes and human
again at risk of displacement for a coal-mining
project by Chinese companies.

In addition, 300 families in Chegutu East are
being threatened with displacement to make
way for platinum mining.

About 40 families from Buhera district were
displaced by a Chinese lithium mining company
without a negotiated compensation and reloca-
tion agreement while dozens of families from

Page 18 News NewsHawks

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

Zimbabwe is projected to continue to be affected by the food security crisis in 2023.

BRENNA MATENDERE Six million face hunger

ZIMBABWE is experiencing one of its worst traught villagers told The NewsHawks that the “When we say rains have come, they are government plans and frameworks in building
food insecurity seasons, with an estimated 5.6 situation had gone out of hand because in the usually in the form of hailstorms, which does the resilience of the most impoverished com-
million people trapped in hunger following past three-and-a-half years, they have not had not help the farmers because that is not ideal munities.
rolling years of drought spells in several dis- a single bumper harvest. for farming. We have 18 wards in the district,
tricts in a development that has prompted the but not a single one is food secure. The rainfall “The programme will target 850 households
international humanitarian organisation, Red “Our barns are empty. The fields are dry patterns have continued to be on low levels. in three wards in Mwenezi district. The eli-
Cross, to take action and save lives. with wilting crops which were destroyed by the The people do not have sound income and rely gible will be mostly vulnerable people in the
scotching sun at germination stage. The ma- on farming which has led to this current crisis. communities which include the elderly peo-
According to the ZimVac 2022 report, Zim- jority of villagers in this area are now surviving There is need for interventions,” he said. ple, children in child-headed families, people
babwe is experiencing food insecurity, with 5.6 from selling off their livestock but at very low living with disabilities, pregnant and lactating
out of 16.6 million people (33%) having in- prices due to desperation,” said Future Chi- As a way of helping out, the Zimbabwe Red mothers, people with chronic illness, malnour-
sufficient food. pepa, an elderly female villager in Mwenezi’s Cross Society (ZRCS) in partnership with the ished children in Red Zone,” he said.
village 9 of ward 14. International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC)
A projected 38% of rural households are has since launched a project called ZERO The project will entail direct cash assistance
likely to be cereal insecure at the peak of the “This year I planted twice after failure of the HUNGER in Mwenezi which started last through a money transfer agency every month
lean season between October and December first attempt in October, but my field is still month with initial stage of identifying worst on a transfer value of US$13 per person for up
2022. resembling a plain ground yet we hear of lush affected villagers who will get support. to five family members at each of the selected
green crops having already shot up in other 850 households.
The factors driving food insecurity in Zim- parts of the country.” Stambuli Kim, the ZRCS spokesperson, ex-
babwe are multifaceted and compounded by a plained to The NewsHawks how the project A single family will therefore get an average
combination of climate shocks and the impact Another villager, Josphat Jeke, said while in will be rolled out. transfer of US$65 every month if it has five
of the Covid-19 pandemic, which is exacerbat- the past three seasons the community has been family members.
ing existing vulnerabilities affecting the poor. trying to switch to the farming of small grains, “The ZERO HUNGER programme has
the plan failed. three major pillars, which are Food Security Under the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
In 2023, Zimbabwe is projected to continue and Livelihoods, Health and Nutrition, Water, arm of the project, there shall be repairing and
to be affected by the food security crisis. An “The heat is just too much and the small Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). The ZERO rehabilitation of 10 boreholes including solar-
increasing number of households are already grains in majority of the farms in our area are HUNGER programme is part of the IFRC isation of other boreholes.
experiencing hardships. failing to come out of the soil after planting and ZRCS’s urgent and massive action to scale
so that at least there is hope. This year the few up life-saving assistance to millions of people The Hunger Crisis Programme is anticipat-
According to the ZimVac report, the worst farms which at least got something out of the facing crisis or worse levels of acute food inse- ed to be implemented in other districts which
affected provinces are Matabeleland North soil in their farms encountered another chal- curity in Zimbabwe. include Buhera and Chiredzi.
(58%), Masvingo (41%) and Matabeleland lenge of birds which simply came and wiped
South (36%). off the crops at their tender stages,” he said. “At the same time, through longer-term Established through the Zimbabwe Red
programming, the ZRCS will address the root Cross Society Act 30 of 1981 and with over
It is projected that the situation is likely to Mwenezi’s acting district development co- causes of food insecurity whilst building upon 100 branches countrywide, ZRCS has a vision
prevail in most typical deficit-producing areas ordinator Iceben Masiiwa said he believed cli- its previous successes and work in support of of a resilient Zimbabwe, able to withstand and
through January 2023 and the peak of the lean mate change was behind the crisis in the area. quickly recover from natural and man-made
season. disasters.

The high inflation and climate shocks which
are impacting several sectors have proved to be
a burden to rural folks, as revealed by a recent
visit to Mwenezi district in Masvingo.

During the field visit to the district, dis-

NewsHawks News Page 19

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

BRENNA MATENDERE 84% workers informal: UN

THE United Nations has revealed that 84% of UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Zimbabwe Edward Kallon
Zimbabweans with skills and qualifications are
working in the informal sector, with most of
them being women, in sharp contrast to figures
released by a government agency early this year
which projected the unemployment rate at an
unrealistic 19%.

Speaking at a Business Leaders Dialogue
meeting in Harare recently at which a campaign
titled HeForShe was being celebrated, Edward
Kallon, the UN resident and humanitarian co-
ordinator, said the unemployment situation in
the country was mainly affecting women and
called upon development partners to chip in and
assist the vulnerable group.

“Economically, an estimated 84% of employ-
able Zimbabweans are in the informal economy,
of which approximately 67% are women,” he
said.

“Zimbabwe is an agrarian society with a large
population of women engaged in agriculture. It
is only right and strategic to ensure they (wom-
en) have access to financial resources and means
of production to be active and productive citi-
zens in society.”

“As members of the private sector and dip-
lomatic corps, this is where your decisive roles
in providing requisite resources and calling for
policies and legislation and access for women
and partnerships with the Government of Zim-
babwe and the UN Development System are
critical,” said the UN chief.

A cosmopolitan audience attended the event,
including European Union ambassador to Zim-
babwe Jobst von Kirchmann, vice-president of
the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries,
Mucha Mkanganwi, UN Women Representa-
tive Fatou Lo, and other dignitaries.

The 2022 First Quarter Labour Force Survey
report produced by the Zimbabwe National Sta-
tistics Agency said 19% of people aged 15 years
and above were unemployed.

Among males the rate was placed at 18%
while for females it was 21%.

The third-quarter ZimStat report raised the
figure to 47%.

On 13 July 2017, the Zimbabwean govern-
ment said that it had temporarily stopped pub-
lishing (official) inflation figures, a move that
observers said was meant to divert attention
away from runaway inflation which has come to
symbolise the country's catastrophic economic
meltdown.

Early this year another ban on statistical re-
portage was imposed by the government when
measles began killing an alarmingly large num-
ber of children in rural areas.

When the Covid-19 pandemic broke out,
there were concerns that figures of deaths and
cases were being under-reported.

Page 20 News NewsHawks

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

Sikhala’s woes mount, as speaker
chucks out opposition legislator

RUVIMBO MUCHENJE Zengeza West MP Job Sikhala
Mutare Central MP Innocent Gonese
THERE was chaos in Parliament during Thurs-
day’s National Assembly sitting after Mutare
Central MP, Ian Tinashe Gonese, referred to
legislator Job Sikhala’s incarceration as selective
application of the law.

Gonese was raising a point on how the law is
selectively applied.

“I rise on a matter of national public impor-
tance which is predicated upon the provisions of
our constitution, in particular, section 56 which
provides that no one should be treated in a dis-
criminatory manner, that persons are expected to
have equality before the law. It therefore follows
that we should not be having selective applica-
tion of the law,” said Gonese.

“I am concerned that we are increasingly see-
ing cases, situations where it appears that these
principles are not being upheld. We have the case
of honourable Job Sikhala who has been incarcer-
ated at Chikurubi Maximum Prison. The princi-
ple of our law is that we have a Harare Remand
. . .,” he added.

Gonese was chucked out of the House by
Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda after
minutes of back-and-forth exchanges of words
between him and the speaker, as well as heckling
from ruling party MPs.

Mudenda said matters before the courts are
not to be discussed in Parliament.

“Can you switch off your mic please? Honour-
able Gonese, as a learned lawyer, you are aware
that any matter that is before the courts is sub
judice and there are procedures and avenues for
raising such issues by the concerned honourable
member and that due process needs to be fol-
lowed outside this House,” said Mudenda.

“I said I ruled before. Do not approach the
chair. Can you sit down, I ruled that nobody
should approach the chair. Can you sit down.
Sergeant-at-Arms, take him out! Honourable
Gonese, can you leave the House,” he added.

Sikhala was arrested in mid-June 2022, and
has been in detention for half a year now, for
allegedly inciting public violence in Nyatsime,
where he had gone to address members of his
Citizens' Coalition for Change who had come
for a prayer meeting to honour a party mem-
ber, Moreblessing Ali, who had been gruesomely
murdered.

He also stands accused of obstruction of jus-
tice in the investigations of the murder of Ali by
allegedly making utterances that the alleged killer
is a Zanu PF member.

The embattled Sikhala, who has been in deten-
tion for half a year now, could be spending the
festive season behind bars as his latest application
to scrap the obstruction charge was dismissed.

Magistrate Marehwanazvo Gofa, who is pre-
siding over the case, said the charges were clear,
and that Sikhala had raised triable issues.

Sikhala, represented by Jeremiah Bamu, said
his client wanted the charge scrapped because it is
not consistent with the laws of the country.

“He filed an exception to the charge citing that
there is no offence on which he should stand tri-
al. The papers and the allegations that have been
levelled against him do not disclose any offence
at all in terms of the existing laws of Zimbabwe,”
said Bamu.

Trial began on 5 December 2022, and, on that
day they filed the exception. The magistrate ruled
that she would dispose of the exception first be-
fore proceeding to try the matter.

Sikhala's other case in which he stands co-ac-
cused with Chitungwiza North MP Godfrey
Sithole of inciting public violence in Nyatsime,
will be back in court on 11 January 2023 pend-
ing a High Court review of Magistrate Miti’s de-
nial to recuse herself from the trial of the duo.

Meanwhile, his wife, Ellen Sikhala, who was
arrested in September 2022 for driving against
traffic while rushing to see her husband at Chi-
kurubi Maximum Prison, was convicted of the
offence on Wednesday and ordered to pay a fine.

NewsHawks News Page 21

Issue 112, 16 December 2022 New national parks entry

NATHAN GUMA fees spark public outrage

THE Zimbabwe National Parks and Entry fees for locals have been hiked from US$7 to US$10 at the ordinary rainforest (below) gate starting on 1 January 2023.
Wildlife Authority (ZimParks) has hiked
entry fees into Zambezi and Victoria Falls
national parks, with international guests
expected to pay US$50 for access via the
ordinary rainforest gate and US$150 at
the VIP gate, sparking public outcry, as no
stakeholder consultation was made.

Entry fees for locals have also been
hiked from US$7 to US$10 at the ordi-
nary rainforest gate and US$30 at the VIP
gate starting on 1 January 2023.

The new price regime will see visitors
from the Sadc region paying US$30 from
the old charge of US$20 at the same entry
point, while paying US$75 at the VIP gate
into the Victoria Falls rainforest.

A tourism player from the resort town
said the fee hike was unfair on tourists and
players, given that the destination was al-
ready sold for the year.

ZimParks confirmed the fee hike to The
NewsHawks.

The Hospitality Association of Zimba-
bwe (HAZ), a trade association represent-
ing the interests of hotel, clubs and restau-
rant owners and operators, confirmed
seeing a document showing the increases
but declined to comment, arguing the or-
ganisation had not verified its authenticity.

“Good day, we have not verified or
got confirmation from Parks authorities
if there is indeed a document from them
as there is no stamp or signature for us
to comment yet,” said Farai Chimba, the
HAZ president.

ZimParks spokesperson Tinashe Fara-
wo defended the hike, citing sustainability
issues, which he says have been dogging
wildlife management.

“Yes, we have increased the fees for en-
trance into Victoria Falls. It is always im-
portant, if you want to compare (with oth-
er countries are charging, because Victoria
Falls is our premium destination. We can
give an example. A visit to parks in East
Africa, locals they are charged US$30,”
Farawo said.

“If you go to Kruger National Park,
South African citizens pay about US 8-9
dollars, which is about R150. That is what
they are charged. And, internationals. If
you go to Rwanda today for gorilla view-
ing, it ranges from US$750 to US$1 500.”

Farawo also said the hike is important as
the country’s key parks have been charging
low fees.

“What we are saying is that viewing
Victoria Falls is the cheapest thing that
any tourist can get. Accommodation rang-
es from US$80-300, and for a visit to the
falls, it is just US$7 and yet it is the main
thing, and the main attraction.

“So, we are doing this so we can also
raise money to sustainably manage our
wildlife, because wildlife management
is an important business which needs
funding. We all know that we do not get
funding from the government. Of course,
people have been complaining, but we
have explained these prices in time so that
people can prepare as we are expecting to
effect these on the first of January,” Farawo
said.

In 2022, Zimparks collected US$3 mil-
lion from January to April, and incurred
losses of about US$826,000 putting the
company in a tight financial spot.

The new price hike has also been ex-
tended to vehicles entering the two na-
tional parks.

Vehicles fees have also been reviewed
with saloon vehicles, pickup and four-
wheel drive entry fees have been pegged
at US$5 for locally registered day visitors,
US$2 for locally registered accommodated
visitors and US$10 for foreign day visitors.

Trailers and caravans will pay US$5,
US$2, US$10 and US$3 for locally reg-
istered visitors, locally registered accom-
modated visitors and foreign registered
accommodated visitors, respectively.

School buses and trucks will pay slightly
lower than regular buses and trucks, with
mining trucks for foreign registered day
visitors prohibited.

Page 22 News NewsHawks

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

Leadership needed for education reform

SOUTH AFRICA’S University of professional staff; and developing pro-
Pretoria Vice-Chancellor and Principal grammes to develop our current and
Professor Tawana Kupe — a Zimba- future leaders in higher education.
bwean academic — says transforma-
tional leadership, good governance and "These programmes could be joint
reform are urgently needed to change initiatives across our institutions, where
African universities and education in we co-design approaches, share resourc-
the post-Covid-19 era to tackle con- es and learn from each other."
temporary problems.
Kupe, who was educated at the
Addressing delegates at the Regional University of Zimbabwe and Univer-
Universities Forum (RuForum)'s 18 An- sity of Oslo before teaching at Rhodes
nual General Meeting at the University University and the University of Wit-
Zimbabwe on Thursday, Kupe said there watersrand in South Africa, said lead-
is an urgent need for transformational ership and action are required to ensure
leadership and action to reform and universities adapt to the new environ-
change education in Africa. ment post-Covid-19 and play a leading
role to seizing new opportunities and
"Leadership is well recognised as a tackling contemporary challenges fac-
prerequisite to success. In our context ing societies, countries and the world.
though, this is not any form of leader-
ship. African universities and our con- "In conclusion, colleagues and
tinent require transformational change, friends, the quest to reposition African
and this calls for African transforma- universities is both timely and neces-
tional leadership across our institu- sary. It is needed for the development of
tions," Kupe said. our continent, for meaningful existence
of its people, and for our very survival
"Such leadership is values-based, sets as institutions of higher learning," he
the institutional direction and tone, said.
and shapes our university cultures in
ways that create the conditions for all "It is clearly a task that requires us to
to thrive and reach their full potential. work together, and as individuals and a
It is also future literate, in touch with collective, we must demonstrate trans-
society with its dynamic and evolving formational leadership and a predispo-
needs. sition for action.

"Transformational leadership sets the "I am optimistic that we will take up
scene for agency, where our institutions the challenge with assurance, and when
are filled with change agents who drive we look back many years from now, we
and amplify transformation through will confidently say that the RuForum
the work that they do in teaching, Annual General meeting was a seminal
learning, research and engagement." point in our journey towards reposi-
tioning African universities, and trans-
Kupe added: "To strengthen our forming our continent, i.e. achieving
transformational leadership, we must the strategic intentionality that trans-
be intentional — within our individu- forms us from legacies of colonialism to
al institutions and as a collective. This institutions — of and for — a future
includes becoming clearer and develop- African that has ridden itself of past and
ing a common language on the leader- current challenges."
ship attributes of the African transfor-
mational leader; identifying potential — STAFF WRITER.
leaders across the university commu-
nity, from students to academics and ... SEE KEYNOTE ADDRESS ON PAGE 47

These pictures were taken at the Regional Universities Forum (RuForum)'s 18 Annual General Meeting at the University Zim-
babwe (UZ) in Harare on Thursday. The keynote address at the event was delivered by South Africa’s University of Pretoria
Vice-Chancellor and Principal Professor Tawana Kupe — a Zimbabwean academic. Around the same event there were also related
activities at Rainbow Towers Hotel and launch of the UZ’s Innovation Hub.

NewsHawks News Page 23

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

PROPERTY mogul Frank Buyanga, cur- Buyanga languishes in jail
rently locked up in a South African pris- as bail ruling is reserved
on, will continue languishing in custody
after his latest bail bid determination was Frank Buyanga
pushed to next Tuesday.

The multimillionaire was jailed early last
month on allegations of kidnapping his
minor son, among other charges.

It was recently reported that he was at-
tacked while in jail and was seeking to be
transferred as his life was in danger.

Controversial developments have un-
folded following his arrest, further derail-
ing his freedom bid.

Buyanga was initially denied bail by a
South African magistrate.

He was later granted R150 000 bail,
but his joy was short-lived after he was hit
with fresh criminal allegations of fraud,
contravention of the Immigration Act and
defeating the ends of justice by the South
African government.

Buyanga launched his bail application
on Tuesday this week, but judgement was
reserved.

“The matter is being handled by magis-
trate Davies. His (Buyanga) judgement has
been reserved to Tuesday next week,” said
his lawyer Advocate Davies.

This comes at a time the businessman
has made an application challenging his
extradition to Zimbabwe.

The matter is yet to be finalised.
At the same time, drama has been un-
folding back in Zimbabwe.
Through his lawyers Admire Rubaya of
Rubaya and Chatambudza Legal Practice,
Buyanga successfully challenged the issu-
ance of an arrest warrant used to lock him
up.
The process was initiated by his ex-girl-
friend, Chantelle Muteswa, whom he is
fighting over the custody of their eight-
year-old son.
Harare magistrate Judith Taruvinga ini-
tially issued the arrest warrant, but later
cancelled it, ruling that she had erroneous-
ly issued it.
Unhappy with the move, the National
Prosecuting Authority appealed Taruvin-
ga’s decision.
The appeal automatically blocked Buy-
anga’s release.
Before the review application could be
heard, Kwenda allegedly threw himself
into the proceedings at the lower court,
stating that he "had read in the newspa-
pers" that the arrest warrant against Buy-
anga had been cancelled.
The judge said after perusing the record
at the lower court he established that the
magistrate had erroneously reached the de-
cision to cancel the warrant.
Kwenda’s case stole the limelight, over-
taking the state’s appeal that was before
him.
This prompted Buyanga to seek the
judge's recusal.
Kwenda refused to step down and the
millionaire appealed at the Supreme Court.
Kwenda however controversially set
aside the magistrate’s ruling, blocking Buy-
anga’s freedom.
This was despite the fact that Buyanga
had sought his recusal with an appeal hear-
ing pending at the Supreme Court.
Buyanga has filed another appeal chal-
lenging the setting aside of the magistrate’s
ruling. The matter is yet to be finalised.
Buyanga has been fighting over the cus-
tody of his minor son with ex-girlfriend
Muteswa for years.
In 2020, Buyanga staged a movie-style
"kidnap" of his minor son from the hands
of the mother in yet another dramatic ep-
isode to a raging child custody wrangle he
has been locked in with his former lover.
This was after he was granted custody by
the Supreme Court in a landmark ruling
that gave equal access to unmarried cou-
ples.
Buyanga was allegedly being accompa-
nied by two men armed with guns when
he staged the "heist" outside a supermarket
in Harare’s Waterfalls suburb.
He was later listed on Interpol’s Red
Notice, only to be arrested last month.

— STAFF WRITER.

Page 24 International Investigative Stories NewsHawks

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

InInvteesrtniagtaiotinvaelStories

Kazakhstan's president vowed to crack
down on asset theft. What’s the reality?

PRESIDENT Tokayev has vowed to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was sworn in as president of Kazakhstan on November 26, 2022. (Photo: Xinhua/Alamy Live News) President Tokayev’s new decree on asset
clamp down on the theft of state as- recovery called for a transparent pro-
sets, and billions of dollars have already agencies to choose their targets sparing- with interests spanning gas and railways “These agreements can always be cess, the authorities have been tight-
been recovered. But experts fear that ly, without any broader reform cam- to retail and soccer. challenged, saying that [the donation] lipped about their operations.
the president’s backroom decisions are paign that could “destabilize the elites” was made under pressure,” said Bahyt
leaving the public in the dark — and — and the new president’s own regime. Now in custody, the former presi- Tukulov, a lawyer whose firm focuses In the case of Nazarbayev’s nephew
serving primarily his own interests. dent’s relatives began to cough up their on commercial disputes, bankruptcy, Satybaldy, law enforcement has at least
“The first blow will be directed at assets. and international arbitrage. released some information about what
The Palace of Independence in As- Nazarbayev's relatives and his inner was recovered: over $230 million in
tana, Kazakhstan’s capital, was erected circle, to deprive them of their power Satybaldy “donated” his 29-percent In addition, though striking deals jewelry and another half-a-billion dol-
during the 30-year reign of former pres- and prevent potential clashes between stake in the national telecommunica- with wealthy suspects may be quicker lars from “unlawfully acquired assets
ident Nursultan Nazarbayev. But on the elites,” Satpayev said. “[Tokayev] tions operator, Kazakhtelecom, back and easier than criminal cases and court and funds.”
this November day, as the leading lights will try to negotiate with the rest of the to the state. It was never revealed how trials, the tactic can call the legitimacy
of the country’s political and business [business] people, and they will return a man who spent most of his career of an entire asset recovery campaign But for the most part, authorities
elite gathered in the futuristic building, the money quietly.” in government had earned enough to into question. have failed to keep the public adequate-
his name went unspoken. acquire this stake worth hundreds of ly informed.
So far, the public has been offered millions of dollars, which he controlled The authorities did begin to create
His successor, President Kassym- only occasional scraps of information through an offshore company in Lux- a new administrative infrastructure to In the spring, the authorities opened
Jomart Tokayev, was looking to the about regular arrests of wealthy suspects embourg. He also gave up railway and fight corruption, with Tokayev’s gov- several cases against a company con-
future. In his second inauguration and the seizures of enormous assets. logistics companies that enjoyed exclu- ernment announcing a “demonopoli- trolled by the former president’s young-
speech, one of his few references to the This lack of transparency, and the top- sive rights in those sectors. zation” commission and the Prosecutor est daughter, Aliya Nazarbayeva. Her
one-time ‘Leader of the Nation’ was a down control of the process, give the General's Office forming its own spe- firm had been set up to collect so-called
clear rebuke: “We must restore justice new president ample opportunity to Boranbayev, meanwhile, handed cial commission on asset recovery. “ecological payments” for the govern-
and return to Kazakhstan all the assets hijack the public’s demand for reforms over two companies that controlled ment — money the state took from
taken from the country,” he said. in his own interests. paid parking in Almaty, the largest city But in reality, all decisions related to people who imported used cars. But
in the country. The directors of both anti-corruption, de-monopolization, or though the company’s managers were
The president made asset recovery When the authorities first struck in companies were arrested and charged asset recovery are made at the top, in arrested, it’s unclear if Nazarbayeva her-
one of his policy pillars in reaction to mid-March 2022, it was against the with embezzlement. complete dependance on Tokayev’s po- self was ever questioned.
a wave of unrest early this year. In what extended family of the former presi- litical will. Since the beginning of this
became known as “Bloody January,” dent that they made their first move, The government’s moves have been year, the main target hasn't changed: In that case, at least the company in
thousands took to the streets to protest arresting his nephew Kairat Satybaldy welcomed by some of Kazakhstan’s people connected to the former ruling question is known. For the most part,
rising fuel prices and, increasingly, the and his grandson’s father-in-law Kairat western partners, but experts have ques- family. But only some of them. however, the authorities have identi-
corruption that had flourished under Boranbayev. Both had become fantasti- tioned whether extracting “donations” fied targeted companies only by sector,
Nazarbayev. cally wealthy under Nazarbayev’s reign, from oligarchs or businessmen in cus- The problem is compounded by a without naming them.
tody is the way to go. lack of public information. Though
After resigning in 2019, the former In September, the Prosecutor Gen-
leader had continued to exert his influ- eral’s Office announced that a special
ence. Until this year, Astana was even commission had recovered assets worth
renamed Nur Sultan in his honor. His $1.2 billion, including $173 million
power had brought him and his family “from foreign jurisdictions.” Exact-
huge wealth: Even as Kazakhs protest- ly what these assets were, who owned
ed, OCCRP and its local partner, Vlast, them, and how they were recovered
published an investigation showing remain unknown. Though the author-
that he controlled at least US$8 billion ities announced the creation of a “spe-
in assets — including hotels, banks, cial website” for the assets commission,
and a US$100 million private jet — the site is still blank more than two
through charitable foundations with months later.
opaque corporate structures.
“Despite the fact that some members
Now, the citizens were demanding of the Nazarbayev family are under in-
answers — and though the uprising vestigation and have already lost some
was quelled, Tokayev felt he had to be of their assets and property, this process
seen to act. At a rally following the un- cannot be called transparent, and the
rest, he said the government and pros- information coming from officials is
ecutor’s office should work together to not reliable,” said Dimash Alzhanov, a
reclaim what had been stolen. And on Kazakh political analyst.
the very day of his second inaugura-
tion, he ordered the drafting of a law President Tokayev’s inordinate influ-
designed to do just that. These assets, ence over the whole process may end
once recovered, would then be placed up compromising it, Alzhanov said.
in a fund for social and economic devel-
opment. But experts fear that the real “Given the full control of President
goal of Tokayev’s campaign is to secure Tokayev, both over the activities of the
his own power amid a challenging tran- commission and over the investigating
sition from the old guard. authorities, the campaign for the return
of assets will be used for the political
Dosym Satpayev, director of Kazakh and economic interests of the presi-
analytical center Group of Risk Assess- dent,” Alzhanov told OCCRP.
ment, said he expects law enforcement
— Organised Crime and
Corruption Reporting Project.

NewsHawks International Investigative Stories Page 25

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

Pacific Gambit:
Inside Chinese

Communist
Party and triad
push into Palau

THE tiny Pacific nation of Palau is a and China’s ruling party, OCCRP has prospective businesses have ranged during the three raids on suspected Tian Hang and Ngirai Tmetuchl.
key hotspot in the growing rivalry be- found. from a blockchain-based insurance online gambling operations on New which he was part owner.
tween China and the West. Organized scheme to a real-world casino and a Year’s Eve 2019, and another in mid-
criminals with links to the Chinese At stake is influence over a small special economic zone. 2020. Through brief interviews with Tian has also been involved in
Communist Party are trying to find a but strategic Western ally in the Pa- some detainees and informants, of- apparent CCP influence efforts in
way in — and many in the local elite cific, a region where China has been These plans have so far most- ficers managed to gain insight into the country. According to Chinese
have welcomed them. trying to greatly expand its geopolit- ly failed to bear fruit, thanks to the how the criminal gangs operated. media reports, he headed the Palau
ical reach in recent years. Palau is a skepticism of local law enforcement But a thorough investigation never Overseas Chinese Federation, a body
The tiny Pacific nation of Palau is a former U.S.-administered territory, and regulators, and pressure from took place since most detainees were aimed at organizing Chinese expatri-
place where newcomers tend to stick and has maintained a formal asso- Western countries. But they continue quickly deported. ates in the Pacific nation under the
out. So locals noticed when scores of ciation with the United States since nonetheless, aided at times by mem- CCP umbrella. Tian even attended a
young, mostly Chinese citizens started gaining independence in 1994. The bers of the local elite who have built Typically, workers used phones, September 2019 event for Chinese di-
arriving in 2018 and 2019 and seques- U.S. provides some state services and close relationships with these busi- laptops, and pre-programmed flash aspora leaders in Beijing’s Great Hall
tered themselves in rundown buildings unrestricted entry to the citizens of ness figures. Some have even part- drives to administer gambling sites of the People to celebrate 70 years of
in and around the country’s main city, Palau, while the country uses U.S. nered in the ventures. targeting users in China, police chief Communist Party rule.
Koror. dollars and regularly hosts American Aguon said. The rank-and-file work-
military forces. Among these prominent Palauans ers appeared to have little idea who Aguon said that Tian is not facing
Unlike the planeloads of tourists have been two former presidents — they were working for, and were kept any charges in connection to the ille-
that visit the country for its famed Palau is also one of just 14 nations Johnson Toribiong and Tommy Re- in line by beatings and fear of the gal online gambling operations, be-
limestone islands and unspoilt reefs, worldwide that diplomatically rec- mengesau Jr. — as well as state gov- outside world. Sex workers were also cause authorities were forced to limit
the new arrivals didn’t see the sights. ognize Taiwan; it does not have full ernors, a minister, and the country’s brought on site as an inducement for their efforts to arresting and deport-
Instead, they stayed inside all day, their diplomatic relations with mainland former postmaster general. the men to stay. ing people who were working in the
needs met by regular deliveries of food China, which is ruled by the Chinese country illegally.
and sex workers. Communist Party (CCP). In recent What is happening in Palau is part “They were told a lot of stories
years, Beijing has used aid and di- of a growing trend seen across the Pa- just trying to keep them fearful so However, Palau’s government ear-
Police investigators soon worked plomacy to convince Kiribati and the cific Islands and Southeast Asia over they cannot mingle with the locals lier this year added Tian to its list
out what was going on: They were low- Solomon Islands to switch their alle- the past decade, according to Jason and stay where they’re supposed to of 230 “undesirable aliens,” most of
paid workers who had been brought giance to China, leaving Taiwan with Tower, an expert on China’s over- be, getting paid very minimal cash,” whom are Chinese citizens. He re-
in to staff illegal online gambling op- relations with just four Pacific Island seas criminal networks at the United Aguon said. mains in the country and is currently
erations, targeting customers back in nations. States Institute for Peace. fighting his designation, which would
China. Palauan police recorded testimo- bar him from re-entering Palau if he
While Palau’s government has Chinese organized crime groups ny that at least some workers had leaves.
Law enforcement came to believe remained steadfastly pro-West and are moving into countries with weak been held in debt bondage. Police
the operations were connected to pro-Taiwan, a group of business fig- governance in order to build illicit records also show that some entered Tian did not respond to questions
Chinese gangsters who in the previ- ures has in recent years begun push- business empires and launder money, the country via Cambodia, a country sent by OCCRP.
ous years had become an increasingly ing Beijing’s interests in Palau. Some often through businesses similar to that has become a hotspot for human
menacing presence on the country’s have openly proclaimed they are those popping up in Palau, like ca- trafficking by Chinese crime groups Property records show that the
streets. Brusque men with visible tat- promoting the CCP’s foreign policy sinos and cryptocurrency schemes, running online scam operations. building Tian’s company leased was
toos would “just cut right to the [front goals, while others have furthered he said. By offshoring their criminal owned by Ngirai Tmetuchl, Palau’s
of ] the line and drive down the streets Chinese influence by setting up new activities, they avoid Beijing’s ire and Palauan law enforcement say they minister for human resources, cul-
like they own it,” said the country’s po- business ventures and cultivating show their usefulness to the CCP have not been able to fully unravel ture, tourism, and development.
lice chief, Ismael Aguon. “These guys close relationships with Palau’s elite. through corrupting local elites. who is behind the online gambling
were up and in your face.” operations, although Aguon said they “I’m confident that [Tian] was not
Semdiu Decherong, the former “They’re also recognizing that in appear to be linked to large interna- involved with those [online gam-
On New Year’s Eve 2019, they de- head of the country’s financial reg- order to protect themselves from law tional criminal networks. bling] people,” Tmetuchl told OC-
cided to act. ulator, said that these businesspeo- enforcement and from political cam- CRP.
ple and organized crime figures paigns in China, they also need to A key player appears to have been
In coordinated raids on three build- — including a senior triad member maintain close relationships with po- Tian Hang, also known as Hunter Another associate of Tian is
ings, officers arrested 165 people found known as “Broken Tooth” — appear litical actors in China, and ultimately, Tian, a 53-year-old Chinese hotelier Tmetuchl’s cousin, Johnson Torib-
in rooms fitted out with laptops, mo- to be operating with the knowledge of to do their bidding,” Tower told OC- who lives in Palau and enjoys links iong, a lawyer who served as Palau’s
bile phones, bunk beds, and stashes of the Chinese state. CRP. to some of its most powerful citizens. president from 2009 to 2013. In an in-
instant noodles and soft drinks. Property registry documents show terview with OCCRP, he called Tian
“From my understanding… Palauan Politicians and ‘Undesir- that one of the buildings housing a “good friend.” Toribiong recounted
The number of people arrested was they’re all very interconnected,” he able Aliens’ the online gambling operations was a 2017 trip that Tian had organized
more than double the usual popula- said. “There is no way that Broken leased by a company Tian ran and of for him and other notable Palauans
tion of the country’s single jail, Aguon Tooth was going to come to Palau Palauan law enforcement detained to China that involved meetings with
said. The police chief said he had no without the communist government over 200 mostly Chinese workers senior CCP officials.
choice but to give the detainees a cita- knowing about it. And either they are
tion for working illegally and deport turning a blind eye or actually behind “We went to the Great Wall of
them back home. The force was so the scenes supporting.”
overwhelmed that a proper investiga-
tion and extensive questioning would OCCRP reporters conducted in-
be impossible. terviews and examined hundreds of
pages of company records and files
“Where was I going to put these from law enforcement investigations
people?” he asked. to better understand the Chinese
push into Palau.
But Palauan law enforcement had
come across something far bigger Along with the illegal online gam-
than a few isolated criminal outfits. bling operations, they discovered that
The online gambling operations were this interlinked group of business
in fact the latest step in an attempted people has proposed a series of some-
push into the Pacific nation of just times improbable projects across
18,000 people by a loosely-connected the country since at least 2016. The
network of Chinese businesspeople,
some with ties to triad crime groups

Page 26 International Investigative Stories NewsHawks

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

China, the palace, and the Forbidden Johnson Toribiong (sixth from right), Tian Hang (fifth from right), and Ngirai Tmetuchl (far right) at a groundbreaking ical circles. Through his GT Group,
City,” Toribiong recalled. “I gave a ceremony for one of Tian's businesses. Zhang said he wanted to launch busi-
speech everywhere I went.” nesses including a $1 billion “smart
build “vast networks both with Chi- China. been listed as a “guest of the govern- city,” a blockchain-based insurance
“The whole thing was paid by nese business actors and elites across Wan’s attempted push into Palau ment” when he visited in 2018. The scheme, and a bank.
somebody. I was invited to join as the region, co-opting them into its former president said Wang had only
ex-president,” he added. various schemes.” was facilitated by senior officials. Im- briefly introduced him to the triad Zhang and Wan are part of the
migration records show that during figure and that he had posed for a same business circles in Southeast
Since 2017, Toribiong’s law firm “Meanwhile it parrots the narra- his second visit, starting in late 2018, photo. But he insisted, “That is the Asia and the Pacific, but the exact
and a company owned by Tian have tives of the PRC [People’s Republic he was listed as a “guest of [the] gov- only time I sat down with him.” nature of their relationship is unclear,
also been partners in a Palau “Chi- of China] government on a range of ernment.” Two state officials were in- organized crime expert Tower said.
nese Economic Trade Promotion politically sensitive issues, helping it volved in setting up his local Hong- On Angaur island, the prospec-
Association,” which is registered as a to build influence in favor of key PRC men Association. tive casino site, Wan was assisted in The two men have appeared in
company in Hong Kong. interests,” he said. his attempt to lease some land by the public together at property develop-
Company records show Palau’s island’s then-governor, Kennosuke ment and blockchain events in the re-
Toribiong said he could not recall By 2018, Wan had set his sights on then-postmaster general, Timothy Suzuky.. gion, including a 2018 conference or-
signing documents to form the asso- Palau. Immigration records obtained Sinsak, and the then-governor of the ganized by Zhang’s GT Group in the
ciation, but added: “I want to bring by OCCRP show that Wan made state of Airai, Tmewang Rengulbai, “He was dealing with me directly,” Philippines at which Wan was a guest.
investment to Palau.” two trips from Macau to the Pacific both signed on as directors of Wan’s Suzuky told OCCRP, adding that he Wan took to the stage with Zhang and
island nation late that year and early association when it was first regis- did not know that Wan was a senior others at the event and raised wine
The association was also founded the next. He also set up a branch of tered in early 2019. organized crime figure until later, glasses for the cameras.
in partnership with Overseas Chi- his Hongmen Association in Palau, when “I Googled his name.”
nese Big Data Group, a conglomerate nearly nine months after establish- Sinsak and Rengulbai did not re- Zhang’s plans for Palau were ini-
that develops data technology with ing the association’s headquarters in spond to requests for comment. “We didn’t know who he was,” tially facilitated by former presidents
the Zhengzhou Xinda Advanced Cambodia. agreed Jackson Henry, a local prop- Toribiong and Remengesau. Compa-
Research Institute, which is affiliated Wan even met with Palau’s erty broker who helped Wan look ny documents show that Toribiong
with a provincial government and a Soon after his second visit, Wan then-President Tommy Remengesau, for real estate on the main island of acted as local legal counsel for Zhang’s
military university. told a Hong Kong media outlet that Jr., and his immediate predecessor, Babeldaob. Palauans only became GT Group, and helped set up four Pa-
the Hongmen Association would Toribiong. aware of Wan’s organized crime ties lauan companies on his behalf.
One of Overseas Chinese Big Da- be used to build and run a Hong- when he started publicizing his casi-
ta’s subsidiaries describes the research men-themed resort in Palau that Remengesau told OCCRP he was no plans, Henry said. Meanwhile, Remengesau rolled
institute as following “the principle of would include a casino and Hong- introduced to the triad figure by out the welcome mat. During one
leading the people through the army, men-branded alcohol and cigarettes. Wang Guodan, another longtime “These guys are not here to do 2016 visit to Palau, the president ap-
and promoting civilian-military in- Payments would be handled using a Chinese expatriate in Palau. Also anything bad. They’re not convicted, pointed Zhang an honorary overseas
tegration.” The conglomerate did not cryptocurrency called “Hong Coin.” known as Rose Wang, she worked except for Broken Tooth,” Henry add- representative of Palau on “economy,
respond to written questions. A white paper about the currency with Tian as the vice chairman of his ed. “But it’s really bad about society, trade and tourism.” Remengesau also
written by one of Wan’s companies Palau Overseas Chinese Federation, where you go to jail, you pay your later made Zhang’s son, at the time
Broken Tooth Takes a Bite specifically mentioned its usefulness according to Chinese media reports. dues to society. When you get out… a 10-year-old child singer, a tourism
Because Palauan police never car- in online gambling. She also attended the CCP’s 70-year you can’t do anything.” ambassador for the country.
ried out a deep investigation of the il- celebration with him in Beijing in
legal casino operations they busted in “I envision this to be a special eco- 2019, and was added alongside him Remengesau, for his part, said he Zhang repaid the hospitality.
2019 and 2020, the criminal networks nomic zone like Macau, and I will to the Palauan government’s “unde- turned firmly against Wan once he During Remengesau’s successful
behind them remain a mystery. But have the final say in overseeing the sirable aliens” list earlier this year. became aware of his background. By 2016 re-election bid, Zhang’s compa-
police chief Aguon said he believes development of customs, ports, and April 2019, he announced that he was ny supplied 125 mobile phones that
the online gambling operations are an airport,” he boasted of the planned In a brief phone interview, Wang opposed to the project, after being were handed out as gifts at campaign
connected to the entry into Palau of Palau casino. denied any connection to Wan, Tian’s informed by Taiwan’s government of events, the former president acknowl-
the triad figure Broken Tooth and his association, or any CCP-related activ- Wan’s criminal background. The Pa- edged in an interview. Zhang and his
associates. Wan did not respond to questions ities. She did not respond to written lau Hongmen Association applied to family later attended Remengesau’s
The country is simply just “too sent to a public contact for his Hong- follow-up questions. be voluntarily dissolved shortly there- inauguration, where they had their
small to have different factions” men Association. after. own marquee tent.
linked to Chinese organized crime, Remengesau’s predecessor as pres- ‘They Know It’s a Scam’
he said. The zone’s proposed location was ident, Toribiong, said he believed While Wan is not known to have Remengesau said there was noth-
Rising to prominence in the on the lightly populated southern “Broken Tooth” and his associates arrived in Palau until 2018, another ing improper about his relationship
1990s as the head of the 14K triad island of Angaur, the site of a World were guests of Remengesau in Palau. figure connected to him had already with Zhang.
in Macau, Broken Tooth — whose War II-era airstrip. The island has pitched big plans for the small coun-
real name is Wan Kuok Koi — was since assumed greater strategic value, “When Broken Tooth came they try. “The good thing about me is, when
imprisoned there for more than a after the U.S. military made plans to were like VIPs, they had a lot of meet- I meet these people, I don’t do any
decade on charges including loan use it to base part of a sophisticated ings,” Toribiong said, adding that he Zhang Bauluo, a Singapore-based business deals… or benefit from it,”
sharking, weapons possession, and high-powered radar system –– cost- too had met the triad figure. businessman, showed up in 2016 and he said.
membership in an organized crime ing between $100 million and $250 made the rounds in prominent polit-
group. Since his release in 2012, he million –– that is aimed at countering Remengesau, who stepped down But as with Broken Tooth, Zhang’s
has rebranded himself as a CCP loy- last year, denied he had invited Wan plans were eventually either blocked
alist — without forswearing his triad to the country, and told OCCRP he by local authorities or failed to reach
affiliations. was unaware how the triad figure had fruition. He also appears to have
According to the U.S. Treasury, evaporated from the regional busi-
which sanctioned Wan in 2020, he ness scene.
remains both an organized crime
boss and a member of the Chinese The GT Group’s websites and so-
People’s Political Consultative Con- cial media accounts have largely gone
ference (CPPCC), a top-level political dark since the first half of 2021, after
advisory body that forms part of the a GT Group executive was charged in
CCP’s “United Front” foreign influ- Malaysia over an alleged cryptocur-
ence efforts. rency fraud.
China’s government has strongly
denied that Wan is a CPPCC mem- Zhang did not respond to ques-
ber. Wan has also denied it, describ- tions sent via email and Facebook.
ing the U.S. accusations as a “smear
campaign.” While Palau has remained steadi-
Wan has taken a leading role in ly pro-Western, it remains a strategic
setting up overseas branches of his prize in an increasingly contested re-
Cambodia-based World Hongmen gion. And, in the absence of formal
History and Culture Association, diplomatic connections between the
which the U.S. sanctioned along with country and mainland China, unoffi-
him in 2020. The association takes its cial proxies remain a powerful tool of
name from Hongmen, also known attempted influence.
as the Heaven and Earth Society, a
centuries-old secret society that the Decherong, Palau’s former finan-
U.S. Treasury and experts say is now cial regulator, said there remains a
a barely disguised front for triads. steady flow of questionable Chinese
(Wan has said his World Hongmen business people interested in Palau.
Association has always abided by the
law.) “They think if they come in with a
According to Tower, the Chinese fancy name, they put up some stupid
organized crime expert, the goal of nicely done graphics on the Internet,
Wan’s Hongmen Association is to all of us stupid islanders are gonna
believe it,” Decherong said.

“The Palauans that get involved
in it are not stupid. They know it’s a
scam, but they just play along to see
how much cash they can get from
these people.”

— Organised Crime and
Corruption Reporting Project.

NewsHawks International Investigative Stories Page 27

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

As US-style corporate leniency deals
for bribery and corruption go global,

repeat offenders are on the rise

SWITZERLAND’S Novartis AG, This year, the bank admitted that it and regulators in 30 countries have ne- “The proliferation of U.S.-style cor- tlements.
which touts breakthrough treatments had failed to report new allegations of gotiated corporate settlements to resolve porate settlements is quite alarming,” Defenders of deferred prosecution and
for cancers and rare diseases, has be- wrongdoing to the Justice Department bribery and other corruption allegations said Peter Reilly, a law professor at Texas
come the most profitable drug company in a timely manner, another breach. against at least 265 companies, reaping A&M University. “Rule of law is being other negotiated settlements say they save
on the planet. Profits at Italy’s Eni SpA, The punishment? Prosecutors extend- $34.9 billion in fines and other pay- undermined, and governments are fail- governments the time and expense of collect-
one of the world’s seven largest oil com- ed oversight by a corporate compliance ments, the ICIJ review found. ing to protect the very people they are ing evidence needed to take rich companies
panies, have quintupled this year, as gas monitor by nearly one year. charged with protecting — something to trial, while still holding them accountable
prices soared. And Germany’s Deutsche Settlement payments have soared. that both undermines basic fairness and for their misdeeds. The deals also reflect a re-
Bank, well-connected to politicians, Implicated in this spree of corporate In 2000, the highest was $844,000. In ultimately weakens a democracy.” ality of the justice system: that government
royals and oligarchs, recently notched recidivism is a U.S.-contrived enforce- 2020, it was $2.5 billion, according to lawyers are often outgunned by their corpo-
its ninth successive quarterly profit, ment strategy with a dismal record of data reviewed by ICIJ. For corporate offenders, Reilly said, rate counterparts, who are richly compensat-
marking a huge turnaround after years deterring corporate crime. U.S. author- “it’s like getting out of a legal jam by ed and have vast resources at their disposal.
of losses. ities routinely offer companies accused Critics of the settlements say they fail paying a speeding ticket.”
of corruption-related offenses a deal: pay to prevent — and may even tacitly en- Negotiated agreements can protect com-
Deutsche Bank, Eni and Novartis a fine, accept a regulatory sanction, or courage — the worst sorts of corporate ICIJ identified 34 companies, 21 of panies from bad publicity and safeguard
share another distinction besides power both; adopt reforms and promise to be abuses, including the bribing of public them listed on the Global Fortune 500, their access to public contracts, their sup-
and profit. They were all embroiled in a good corporate citizen going forward. officials in foreign countries, which un- that settled cases for alleged bribery or porters say. “A practical incentive is that the
bribery schemes or otherwise accused of dermines the rule of law and weakens fraud in the last two decades and then case is solved fast and without lengthy and
making payments to public officials and The settlements, to resolve both crim- democracy. violated the law again, often within a expensive trial and publicity that can be the
others to win lucrative business. In the inal and civil charges, have faced with- few years. result of such proceedings,” the Norwegian
past dozen years, each promised to re- ering criticism from academics, federal ICIJ’s investigation found that short- government told the Organization for Eco-
form and not to offend again, and each judges and other advocates of reform. comings in the U.S. system are emerg- In February, ICIJ and media part- nomic Cooperation and Development,
paid to settle its case under the threat of But U.S.-inspired leniency deals are ing in other countries that have adopted ners revealed that the Swedish telecom according to a 2019 report on non-trial res-
further legal action if they didn’t live up spreading around the world, according negotiated settlements. These defects in- company Ericsson had conducted an olutions.
to those pledges. to an investigation by the International clude: fines and other payments with no internal investigation into years of cor-
Consortium of Investigative Journalists real deterrent effect; individuals not held rupt practices in Iraq — including pos- Peter Solmssen, a corporate lawyer who
But the deals didn’t mark the end of and media partners in 11 countries. to account; misbehaving companies that sible payoffs to Islamic State terrorists. helped write international guidelines for ne-
legal action against any of the compa- continue to win public contracts; and That review was in progress in 2019, gotiated agreements, said that when it comes
nies. U.S. authorities accused them of In criminal cases, negotiated settle- firms with deep pockets that violate the as the company negotiated a $1 billion to huge multinationals, “old-fashioned law
engaging in bribery schemes or making ments, known in the U.S. as deferred law over and over. agreement with the U.S. government to enforcement” doesn’t work.
improper payments again, sometimes prosecution and non-prosecution agree- resolve bribery allegations in six other
within just a few years. ments, are far easier and far less costly In early December, ABB Ltd., a Swiss countries. “What outcome do we want?” said Sol-
than a trial. They have led to a surge power-technology company, settled mssen, a former general counsel at Siemens
Eni settled a second case; Novartis a of settlements and financial sanctions bribery allegations related to contracts Within days of publication of ICIJ’s AG. “If we want corporations to pursue cor-
third and then a fourth. Deutsche Bank that prosecutors and regulators tout as for work at a South Africa power plant. Ericsson List investigation, the United ruption actively, to stop corruption when
escaped prosecution four times — on evidence of their success in combating The $327 million settlement, between States told the company that it had vi- they find it and to turn the corrupt over to
bribery, tax fraud and antitrust charges global corruption. ABB and U.S., Swiss and South Afri- olated the agreement again, the second the police, then the only mechanisms that
— and settled a fifth case with the U.S. can authorities, makes the Zurich-based breach in less than six months. will work are non-trial resolutions with ef-
Securities and Exchange Commission. In the past two decades, prosecutors firm the first three-time anti-bribery vi- fective incentives.”
olator in the U.S., experts say. It was this pattern of recidivism that
prompted ICIJ’s review of corporate set- And, proponents insist, negotiated settle-
ments are better than no enforcement at all.
A recent report by Transparency Internation-
al says that many countries, including major
powers like China, Japan and India, conduct

Page 28 International Investigative Stories NewsHawks

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

limited or no foreign bribery enforcement at should have been consulted. They want the 2008 and 2022 – including a lucrative job ed a “public interest judicial agreement” un- restitution.
all. agreement thrown out, and Boeing and its from the Justice Department. der a law named for former Finance Minister Glencore pleaded guilty in May and
high-ranking executives held accountable at Michel Sapin.
Dylan Phillips, a lawyer who specializes a public trial. The globalization of corporate lenien- agreed to pay more than $1.1 billion to re-
in civil litigation and has worked on cor- cy deals took off in 2008 when Germany, In an interview with ICIJ partner Le solve the investigations. Still the company in-
porate-compliance matters, said companies “My first reaction was, people were staggering under a cascade of corruption Monde, Sapin said the new policy was need- sisted that it was entitled to a 15% discount
often view leniency agreements as a cost of bought off,” said Chris Moore, whose scandals, teamed up with the U.S. Justice ed to give France a chance to prosecute more on its U.S. fine, noting that it had handed
doing business. “If you pay the government, 24-year-old daughter, Danielle, was killed Department to settle bribery charges with corporate corruption cases. “It is true that so- over more than a million documents, named
you often won’t get prosecuted,” he said. “In when a 737 Max bound for Nairobi, Kenya, Siemens AG. Prosecutors accused the Ger- called transactional justice is not the French “numerous” culpable individuals “without
my mind, it sounds awfully like the very crashed after takeoff in Addis Ababa, Ethio- man engineering giant of using slush funds way [but] … we were … in this incredible regard to their seniority,” and made detailed
bribes the law prohibits.” pia, in March 2019. and shell companies to hide 4,000 bribes, situation,” he said. “Our companies were presentations of misconduct, according to a
totaling $1.4 billion, to win contracts on five [getting] convicted elsewhere and paid their WilmerHale memo to the court.
‘Obliged to swallow the pill’ “The crash that killed my daughter was continents. fines elsewhere.”
In Brazil, these corporate settlements are the biggest engineering failure of the cen- In many cases, pitched negotiations last
called accordos de leniencia, or leniency tury — textbook don’t-do-this-ever,” said Siemens and subsidiaries in Bangladesh, Now, Sapin said, they can be held ac- years — once up to seven years— with com-
agreements. In Switzerland, they are sum- Moore, who works for the Toronto school Argentina and Venezuela agreed to pay $800 countable efficiently. pany representatives “heavily editing” the
mary penalty orders. In Italy, they are pat- board. “And Boeing walked away with an million to the U.S. and $813 million to Ger- final documents into “an incomplete and
teggiamento, or plea bargaining. In Canada, assembly-line type secret agreement and a man prosecutors, according to U.N. data. France has levied $4.2 billion in sanctions much negotiated script,” John C. Coffee Jr.,
they are remediation agreements. In Britain minimal fine.” Siemens also agreed to pay $421 million to in the six years since the law took effect, re- a Columbia University law professor, has
and Singapore, they are called deferred pros- four other countries — Italy, Switzerland, cords show. written.
ecution agreements. From juvenile justice to corporate crime Nigeria and Greece — and $100 million to
The deals differ in the specifics, but all Deferred prosecution agreements had a the World Bank, the U.N. data show. According to ICIJ’s analysis of U.N. data, So frequently do companies hire former
refer to settlements reached in closed-door start in Brooklyn in the 1930s as a way to the highest settlement in a country that of- prosecutors or politically connected insiders
negotiations between corporations and pros- give juvenile offenders a second chance. If The company vowed to commit “no fers corporate leniency deals was $2.5 billion to conduct the talks that critics have come
ecutors rather than the outcomes of trials in the young person successfully completed further crimes” and to rehabilitate itself. In in 2020 — ten times as much as the highest to describe them collectively as “FCPA Inc.,”
open court. a rehab program, prosecutors dropped the return, prosecutors agreed not to use infor- settlement payment seven years earlier. after the anti-bribery Foreign Corrupt Prac-
A growing number of academics, judg- charges. mation collected in the investigation in a tices Act. Notable names in the enterprise
es and politicians in the United States have In the 1970s, prosecutors sought to ramp criminal case. In recent years, House and Senate com- include Cheryl Scarboro, the former head of
lashed out at the Justice Department for up enforcement actions against multination- mittees in Congress have questioned ne- the Securities and Exchange Commission’s
allowing guilty major companies and their al corporations as part of a wave of post-Wa- Solmssen, the American lawyer who sup- gotiated corporate agreements and asked anti-bribery unit, who went on to represent
executives to buy their way out of account- tergate reforms. In 1977, Congress passed ports negotiated settlements, led Siemens whether Justice Department officials failed Ericsson in its corruption case; the late John
ability. the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, through the corruption scandal as its gener- to pursue criminal charges against big com- Ashcroft, a former U.S. attorney general who
In 2018, U.S. District Judge Lewis Ka- which outlawed bribes paid to foreign offi- al counsel from 2007 to 2013. He said the panies because they were deemed “too big to was paid $52 million as a private monitor for
plan said that he was troubled by deferred cials, and enforcement began in earnest after firm’s primary objective was to avoid “debar- jail.” Government auditors found that judg- the medical device firm Zimmer Holdings;
prosecution agreements but that he had lim- an international treaty against foreign brib- ment,” or getting barred from U.S. or Eu- es simply rubber-stamped the deals, showing Louis Freeh, the former FBI director, who
ited authority to challenge them. ery was signed in Paris in 1997. ropean government contracts. “It worked.” that judicial oversight was ineffective. served as a monitor for Daimler AG and
“Both the interests of deterrence and the After the savings-and-loan crisis of the Walmart and performed internal inquiries
interests of just punishment are better served 1980s, hundreds of bankers were convicted Siemens won $14 billion in U.S. and Eu- Critics suggest that the U.S. government for Ericsson; David Gold, a member of the
in all or most cases by prosecution of the of fraud and sent to prison. Similarly, after ropean government contracts after the 2008 views deferred prosecution agreements as a British House of Lords, who served as a cor-
individuals responsible,” said Kaplan, who the Enron, WorldCom and Tyco scandals agreements, records show. gold mine, and doesn’t want to endanger porate monitor of BAE Systems, the U.K.
was overseeing efforts by U.S. Bancorp, a in the early 2000s, their chief executives that revenue stream. Other beneficiaries, defense contractor; Noëlle Lenoir, a former
financial services holding company, to avoid (among others) were paraded before news Solmssen said Siemens and its subsidiaries they note, include corporate defense lawyers, French junior minister for European affairs,
prosecution on money laundering charges. cameras in so-called perp walks and ulti- spent hundreds of millions of dollars to clean investigators and court-appointed monitors who reviewed an Airbus compliance pro-
But, he said, “I am obliged to swallow the mately sentenced to lengthy prison terms. up their leadership culture and went on to who supervise companies during probation, gram; and Theo Waigel, a former German
pill, whether l like it or not.” The get-tough approach to corporate improve profitability and gain market share collecting millions of dollars in fees for their finance minister, who served as a monitor for
Acknowledging a decline in the number crime began to soften in 2002 after account- as a result. He added that Siemens’s top ri- work. Siemens.
of corporate criminal prosecutions, a top Jus- ing giant Arthur Andersen was indicted on val, GE, claimed it had suffered because of
tice Department official recently announced federal charges for its role in the Enron scan- Siemens’s bribery. A GE senior vice president Walmart, for example, reported spending And then there is Robert Khuzami, who
policies aimed at cracking down on repeat dal. News media at the time called the in- lamented to Solmssen shortly after the set- more than $900 million on internal inves- introduced a civil form of deferred prosecu-
offenders and holding culpable executives dictment, which sent customers fleeing, “the tlement: “You guys got away with murder.” tigations, compliance and “organizational tion agreement to the SEC while director of
and other individuals accountable. death penalty, ” and by the time the Supreme enhancements” to settle a massive bribery its enforcement division. Early in his career,
“We need to do more and move faster,” Court, in 2005, overturned Andersen’s con- Hailed as a landmark, the Siemens case case in 2019 — three times what it spent on he worked for a U.S. attorney’s office in New
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said viction, the firm was long gone. also revealed a weakness of deferred prosecu- penalties and other payouts. York before joining Deutsche Bank as its
in a speech at New York University in Sep- Andersen’s collapse — following its tion agreements as a deterrent to corporate general counsel. Then he went to the SEC
tember. “If any corporation still thinks crim- conviction and exclusion from bidding on crime. The company has said the money poured as head of enforcement, moved to a big law
inal resolutions can be priced in as the cost public contracts — set off a political uproar into ethics and compliance reflects Walmart’s firm with corporate clients and returned to
of doing business, we have a message: Times over what critics denounced as prosecutorial ICIJ partner Süddeutsche Zeitung lat- commitment “to doing business the right the U.S. attorney’s office. He now works for
have changed.” overreach. As a result of the so-called “Ander- er revealed that prosecutors in China had way.” an investment firm.
The record so far, however, suggests that sen effect,” a chastened Justice Department brought dozens of bribery prosecutions
corporations had ample reason to believe adopted a less aggressive approach to corpo- against distributors of Siemens medical de- The biggest winners, critics note, are the Tony West, a former U.S. associate attor-
that they could still buy their way out of rate crime. A tool originally designed to help vices between 2004 and 2014, while the companies themselves. Walmart was at the ney general, in July signed a non-prosecution
trouble. disadvantaged youngsters in Brooklyn was company was negotiating its agreements, top of the Fortune 500 list when it entered agreement on behalf of Uber Technologies as
Data compiled by the U.N. Office on applied to multinational corporations. and in the years after, while the company into a non-prosecution agreement with U.S. its chief legal officer. Uber paid $148 million
Drugs and Crime, and analyzed by ICIJ, From 2002 to 2022, the Justice Depart- was under the supervision of a monitor. The authorities for paying bribes to win store to settle allegations that it deceived investiga-
show that since 2000 the United States has ment entered into more than 440 deferred newspaper reported on backdoor deals, in- permits and licenses in Mexico, India, Brazil tors about a 2016 data breach affecting 57
settled the highest number of cases, 360, prosecution and non-prosecution agree- cluding with Chinese hospitals that bought and China. Walmart’s payout was 4% of its million passengers and drivers.
yielding $17.2 billion in fines and other ments for bribery and other corruption-re- equipment at inflated prices, paid dealers 2019 profit.
agreed payments. Brazil, the Netherlands, lated offenses. In the previous two decades, through offshore companies and received Uber and the U.S. announced the agree-
the United Kingdom and France have col- there had been less than a dozen, according bribes for contracts. Justice in the shadows ment 12 days after ICIJ and media partners
lectively harvested more than $13.5 billion to the Corporate Prosecution Registry, an Negotiations over alleged corporate published the the Uber Files, an investiga-
in agreed payments. online database created by Duke University’s Siemens rejected allegations in the Ger- wrongdoing feature teams of prosecutors tion that showed how the tech giant won ac-
The proliferation of such settlements has Brandon Garrett and the University of Vir- man newspaper about improper business and defense attorneys privately thrashing out cess to world leaders, deceived investigators
encouraged increased secrecy. A review of ginia’s Jon Ashley. practices in China. the details of fines, charges – even the word- and exploited violence against drivers during
agreements, audit reports and an Interna- Under deferred prosecution agreements, ing of news releases. its chaotic climb to global prominence.
tional Bar Association study from more than prosecutors typically charge the offending In an email, company spokesman Florian This is where the “sausage is being made”
40 countries showed that most nations don’t company with a crime but agree to drop the Martini said that Siemens has a comprehen- for corporate justice, as the WilmerHale law An Uber spokesman said chief legal offi-
disclose the texts of these agreements, which charges in exchange for the payment of fines, sive compliance program “subject to contin- firm put it in a briefing paper for clients. cer West “never negotiated with or reached
are invariably negotiated behind closed cooperation and corporate reforms. Some- uous improvement” but that even the best A German lawyer likened the process to a out to the DOJ” about the ride-hailing com-
doors. times a subsidiary is allowed to plead guilty, system can’t prevent every violation. “Turkish bazaar.” pany’s non-prosecution agreement. Other
The World Bank Institute estimates the allowing the parent company to escape the Typically, the settlement is worked out by former government officials and insiders
total amount of corporate bribes paid per stigma of a felony conviction. Prosecutors and government authori- like-minded professionals, prosecutors and didn’t respond to requests for comment.
year, worldwide, is about $1 trillion. Bribes, In a non-prosecution agreement, or NPA, ties in several jurisdictions are continuing lawyers for the company, who often used to
anti-corruption experts say, are the single prosecutors agree not to charge a company at to investigate Siemens and current and be prosecutors. Officials in Britain, Canada and France
greatest impediment to developing countries all in exchange for financial penalties and co- former employees, Martini said. None of In negotiations, prosecutors might offer argue that their versions of leniency agree-
struggling to pay for roads, schools, health operation. Typically such agreements aren’t these probes, he said, involve allegations “carrots” to encourage companies to volun- ments require more court oversight and,
care and other public services. filed in court. that would lead to a breach of the compa- tarily disclose misdeeds; companies, through thus, offer more transparency than those of
And bribery and other forms of corrup- The Andersen effect – the new reluctance ny’s 2008 settlements. “Siemens AG takes all their lawyers, might respond by offering to the U.S.
tion damage trust in government, the experts of prosecutors to seek indictments and take these allegations, investigations and proceed- fund expensive internal investigations and
say. corporations to trial – became evident grad- ings very seriously,” Martini said. creating PowerPoint presentations about “The great fear linked to these transac-
After crashes of two Boeing 737 Max air- ually. In 2005, KPMG, one of the remaining kickback schemes. A breakdown in talks tions is that they give rise to discussions con-
liners killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019, big accounting firms, admitted to making ‘Transactional justice’ might require a late-night crisis-manage- ducted in the shadows,” Sapin, the former
federal investigators tried to piece together possible at least $2.5 billion in evaded tax- In the wake of the 2008 Siemens deal, ment meeting. French finance minister, told Le Monde. But
why the aircraft fell from the sky in near es. Prosecutors called it the largest criminal other countries began to adopt U.S.-style Most deals include a monetary settlement he added that France requires a public hear-
nosedives. They were stonewalled by Boeing tax case ever, but they still granted KPMG corporate settlements as law enforcement’s — which could be in the form of fines, char- ing and a judge’s approval of the agreement.
employees, who concealed design flaws, in- a deferred prosecution agreement, requiring fight against corruption intensified across itable contributions, the payment of back
vestigators concluded. the firm to pay $456 million in fines, restitu- industries and borders. Not only were settle- taxes or the return of profits from corrupt Critics counter that even those countries
In January 2021, prosecutors allowed the tion and other penalties and a promise not to ments a way to lower costs of prosecution, schemes. that handle such agreements more openly
aerospace giant to end a criminal probe of break the law again. but they also headed off what other nations Recently, WilmerHale disclosed details don’t disclose much information about the
fraud and coverups with a deferred prosecu- Over the next decade and a half, KPMG saw as possible U.S. prosecution of non-U.S. of behind-the-scenes negotiations between a facts of a case and less about behind-the-
tion agreement and a settlement payment of was sanctioned and reprimanded by at least companies. Plus, other nations could now client, commodities giant Glencore Interna- scenes negotiations that led to the settlement.
$2.5 billion – including a $ 243.6 million five countries. In one case, KPMG paid get a piece of the financial settlements. tional AG, and prosecutors from the U.S.,
fine, compensation payments to Boeing’s $9.65 million to Dutch authorities to settle ICIJ’s review found that the number of U.K. and Brazil investigating a staggering ICIJ’s review found that agreements are
737 MAX airline customers of $1.77 billion, charges that it helped a Dutch construction leniency agreements surged globally over the campaign of bribery across the African con- often made public with just barebones facts,
and a $500 million crash-victim compensa- company disguise suspicious payments. last 20 years — from just 19 companies pay- tinent and in Brazil and Venezuela. without naming bribe-payers or bribe-tak-
tion fund. Other allegations ranged from altering au- ing $57 million to four countries between In one case, in the Democratic Republic ers. In some countries, the agreements are
Enraged families of victims, when dits to “grave professional misconduct” to 2001 and 2005, to 106 companies paying of Congo, Glencore bribed a judge to make not made public at all.
made aware of the leniency deal, said they improperly auditing companies under inves- $25.2 billion to 21 countries between 2016 a $16 million lawsuit disappear. A doctor
tigation for bribery. and 2020. and his wife who provided health care to Auditors for the Organization for Eco-
All the while, KPMG continued to win Negotiated corporate settlements gained miners and their families had brought the nomic Cooperation and Development who
public work in the United States, landing at traction in Europe first, then in South Amer- lawsuit after a Glencore affiliate canceled its monitor countries’ enforcement activities
least $3 billion in federal contracts between ica and Asia. A Japanese version came into contracts with their company. found scant information on how some pros-
effect in 2018. Policymakers in Australia and “We have patiently waited for over a de- ecutors calculate penalties. In Chile, where
tiny Jersey, an island in the English Channel, cade for justice to be served and to be made prosecutors increasingly settle corruption
are now considering adopting deferred pros- whole,” Dr. Ian Hagen said in a victim-im- cases through “conditional suspensions” and
ecution agreements. In Argentina and Brazil, pact statement filed in U.S. District Court “abbreviated procedures,” public documents
prosecutors may now suspend a corporate for the Southern District of New York, reveal little about the cases.
prosecution in return for a fine. where he and his wife Laurethé are seeking
Even France, which long frowned on German officials provided no informa-
what officials call “negotiated justice,” creat- tion on bribery cases resolved through set-
tlements by “discontinuation” and without
a trial. And OECD monitors concluded

NewsHawks International Investigative Stories Page 27

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

that German corporate deals are sometimes A protest against Boeing outside the U.S. Consulate in Toronto. On the right, Danielle Moore, 24, who died in a 737 Max crash in Ethiopia in 2019.
conducted in an “informal” process with
“no concrete and transparent rules” for de- website. He says the spread of the U.S. an- ruptly hiring sons and daughters of officials Credit Suisse and other companies don’t cusations that it paid bribes or kickbacks to
termining corporate fines. ti-bribery model could lead to a “global fa- of foreign governments and state-owned count as recidivists because they didn’t com- doctors and hospitals at least four times.
cade of enforcement.” enterprises in 2019. The bank also agreed to mit the same crime twice – in France. “It
Transparency International describes pay $150 million for failing to monitor the is true that names appear repeatedly in cases In 2010, a Novartis subsidiary in the
corporate criminal negotiations in France as ICIJ and its media partners found prob- financial dealings of registered sex offender and that there can be a certain permanence U.S. agreed to pay more than $422 million
“covered by secrecy,” making it difficult to lems starting to surface. In Belgium, ICIJ’s Jeffrey Epstein, and then, in 2021, $130 in corruption,” Sapin said. “But this is not in criminal and civil penalties to resolve
understand the basis for fines. And the text partner De Tijd found an 11-year-old law million for concealing bribes to win business the case in France,” Sapin said, adding that charges it had illegally marketed the anti-sei-
of settlement deals provides only a “scarcely allowing plea deals in key criminal cases has in places like Saudi Arabia and Italy and for recidivists don’t qualify for leniency deals. zure medicine Trileptal and five other drugs.
readable summary” of the allegations. faced criticism for lax judicial oversight and other alleged crimes. Prosecutors also accused the company of
fueling “class justice.”’ In Italy, prosecutors Globally, governments also have reward- paying kickbacks to health care profession-
Of more than 40 countries that said they acknowledged that maximum fines for com- The first time Zurich-based ABB Ltd. ed corporations with second negotiated als to induce them to prescribe the Novartis
have negotiated settlements, very few have panies are too low to serve as a deterrent. settled a bribery case was in 2004, after U.S. agreements that are at times more lenient drugs.
released the documents to the public, ac- prosecutors accused the tech company of than the first settlement.
cording to a 2018 survey by the Internation- The United Kingdom has yet to convict improper conduct in Nigeria, Angola and “Sanctions were generally mere slaps on
al Bar Association. an individual for misconduct in connec- Kazakhstan. The second time, in 2010, was In 2020, without admitting or denying the wrist,” the Justice Department wrote in
tion with a corporate deferred prosecution in connection with the U.N. Oil for Food wrongdoing, Italian energy giant Eni agreed 2013 when it filed a new complaint against
Switzerland’s Strafbefehl, or summary deal, according to Susan Hawley, executive program in Iraq. The third settlement was to a U.S. civil order not to violate anti-brib- the company, acknowledging the earlier
punishment notices, are posted at a prosecu- director of Spotlight on Corruption, a U.K. announced this month by authorities in ery accounting rules – the same rules it had penalties didn’t stop the kickbacks. “Novartis
tor’s office for just 30 days, then are taken anti-corruption group. South Africa, the United States and Switzer- agreed not to violate a decade earlier. The continued to conduct bogus speaker pro-
down and become available only on request. land. ABB admitted that, through subsidiar- first settlement concerned bribery allegations grams that were simply vehicles for paying
In Germany, ICIJ’s partner, paper trail ies, it had bribed a high-ranking employee at in Nigeria by a then-Eni subsidiary; the kickbacks to doctors in the form of honorar-
In Denmark, a court doesn’t review, let media/Der SPIEGEL, found that prose- South Africa’s state-owned energy company second, in Algeria, occurred after another ia and expensive meals.”
alone endorse, settlements. The country’s cutors are resolving serious bribery charges to win contracts. An action is pending in Eni-controlled subsidiary entered into sham
state prosecutor for serious economic and against individuals with an enforcement tool Germany. contracts to disguise bribes as legitimate fees, Two years later the company agreed
international crime, known as SØIK, typi- called §153a StPO — originally designed to a way to help win oil contracts. to pay $390 million to settle a new case
cally publishes only the amount of the fine keep minor offenders like shoplifters out of “We have a clear zero tolerance approach brought by the Justice Department. Novartis
in a case – nothing more, according to the prison. to non-ethical behavior within our compa- “Eni is a recidivist,” the SEC said in a also agreed to extend a five-year corporate in-
OECD. The SØIK told the OECD that ny,” ABB CEO Björn Rosengren said in a press statement announcing the 2020 order. tegrity agreement that it had signed in 2010,
special agreements are less transparent by In France, “the fines are too low to serve statement. pledging again not to violate anti-kickback
design because their purpose is “to end the as a deterrent and they rarely cover the In what one legal expert called “a seem- laws. In 2020, the firm signed yet another
prosecution in a more silent way.” full damage inflicted to victims,” said Jean- Last month, in France, European aero- ingly lenient settlement,” financial regulators five-year integrity agreement in which it
Philippe Foegle, case manager of the illicit space giant Airbus SE agreed to pay $16.4 ordered Eni to pay a $24.5 million disgorge- promised not to pay kickbacks.
In the U.S., considered the gold standard financial flows program of Sherpa, an an- million to settle bribery probes in Libya and ment of ill-gotten proceeds, saying the oil
for transparency, Jon Ashley, a law librarian ti-corruption advocacy group in Paris. “The Kazakhstan – on top of a $3.9 billion deal it company had cooperated in the investiga- Novartis would go on to pay $25 mil-
at the University of Virginia, is suing the Jus- system allows economic actors to buy their signed in 2020. tion. Italian courts had earlier acquitted Eni lion in 2016 to resolve a civil case alleging
tice Department for access to at least a dozen innocence at the expense of the victim’s right and its subsidiary in the Algeria case, and the its China subsidiaries made improper pay-
non-prosecution agreements. Justice offi- to fairly assert their rights, in a sharp contrast “The company has taken significant steps company proclaimed its innocence. ments to Chinese health care providers to
cials also have withheld monitoring reports with ordinary justice where individuals rou- since 2016 to reform itself,” Airbus said in a win sales. The subsidiaries paid for, among
about companies’ compliance with settle- tinely face harsh sentences for even less seri- statement, “underpinned by an unwavering Last year, Eni struck a separate settlement other things, gifts, sightseeing trips, spa and
ment agreements. They fought, for instance, ous offenses.” commitment to integrity and continuous with Italian authorities, this time in a graft sauna sessions, “walking around” money and
against 100Reporters, a news organization improvement.” case in the Republic of Congo. Eni agreed cover charges at a strip club.
seeking the release of compliance reports in Repeat offenders to a reduced charge of “undue inducement”
the Siemens case. JPMorgan Chase is one of the world’s ICIJ’s review shows misbehaving com- and agreed to pay a small fine of $975 mil- The next year, South Korea fined the
largest public companies with assets of $2.6 panies have signed negotiated agreements, lion, plus $12.9 million confiscated as illegal drugmaker about $49 million for offering
In the Ericsson case, ICIJ filed a Freedom trillion. It is also a poster child for what crit- sometimes overlapping the same time peri- profits from bribery. In a report in October, kickbacks to doctors there.
of Information Act request a year ago seek- ics call the corporate repeat offender club, ods, with different countries, including in OECD monitors criticized the terms of the
ing access to monitor reports. The Justice having negotiated deals to settle criminal the U.S. and France. Credit Suisse, one of agreement because the bribes were valued In 2020, Novartis agreed to pay $591
Department said the request is pending. On and civil charges at least four times in the last Europe’s largest banks, agreed to pay $2.6 at $77 million while the licenses obtained million to settle Justice Department civil
average, the department said, it takes 853 eight years. Among the deals the bank inked billion in 2014 to settle charges of helping through the bribery were worth nearly $1 claims that it paid kickbacks to U.S. doctors
days to process a “complex request.” with U.S. authorities was a 2020 settlement Americans evade U.S. taxes.The bank agreed billion. to induce them to prescribe Novartis drugs.
in which it admitted to manipulating mar- to “close any and all accounts” of those resist-
A ‘facade of enforcement’ kets in its trading of metals futures — similar ing to disclose their ownership. The judge ruled the sanctions appropriate Novartis’ Greek subsidiary and a for-
Siemens isn’t the only company that paid to conduct it had admitted to five years ear- because Eni had, among other things, tight- mer affiliate agreed to pay $233 million to
to settle bribery or fraud charges and contin- lier. In all, the bank agreed to pay more than Two months ago, Bloomberg News re- ened its compliance programs. avoid U.S. prosecution on charges of bribing
ued to profit from government business. $3.4 billion to settle the cases, amounting to ported that the Justice Department was health care providers in Vietnam and Greece
ICIJ found that at least a dozen large less than 2% of the bank’s profit over that investigating a whistleblower’s claims that In an email to ICIJ, Eni spokesman Ro- to buy eye medications and artificial lenses.
firms profited from U.S. and European period of time. Credit Suisse hadn’t in fact closed all the berto Albini denied the bribery accusations. And the parent company agreed to pay $112
contracts after they paid to settle bribery or Less than a year later, while still under the accounts and that it violated its plea agree- He said the Nigeria case was about Eni’s for- million to settle civil charges that it violated
corruption-related allegations. And often the U.S. deferred prosecution agreement, JP- ment. The report came days before the bank mer subsidiary and that the company made accounting provisions of the U.S. anti-brib-
settlement payments imposed for corruption Morgan entered into a negotiated settlement agreed to pay France $234 million to avoid “no admission to bribery in Algeria.” As for ery law while doing business in South Korea,
were a fraction – less than 1% – of the profit with French authorities to resolve allegations prosecution in a separate tax fraud and mon- the Republic of Congo case, Eni agreed only Vietnam, Greece and China.
that they continued to generate. of tax fraud. ey laundering case. to a lesser non-bribery charge, Albini said.
One of those was Cardinal Health, a gi- When it comes to white-collar recidivism, The U.S. allowed the Greek subsidiary
ant pharmaceutical and medical products it’s hard to top Deutsche Bank. Among the Those troubles were preceded by an Oc- “The relatively nominal amount of the to sign a three-year deferred prosecution
company based in Dublin, Ohio. In 2020, numerous civil and criminal charges brought tober 2021 deferred prosecution agreement agreed sanction clearly explains by them- agreement and pay a fine on the lower end
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commis- against it by U.S. authorities: misleading between the bank and U.S. authorities over selves that there was no material case,” he of the sentencing guidelines, citing its “full
sion accused the company of failing to over- borrowers and investors in the run-up to the fraud charges in yet another case. And be- said, adding that the charges brought by cooperation.”
see a subsidiary that allegedly paid bribes in 2007-2008 global financial crisis, helping fore that, Credit Suisse had reached a $117 prosecutors and activist media were “clearly
China. The company settled the case for $9 clients evade taxes in 2010, manipulating million agreement with Italian authorities grossly overrated and wrong.” In turn, Novartis executives promised to
million. It has since won at least $1.3 billion its benchmark interest rate in 2015,and cor- in 2016 and agreed to pay $205 million to live up to the company’s values and make a
in U.S. federal contracts. settle in Germany in 2011 – both over alle- ICIJ’s review shows that at least 10 of the clean break from the past.
In 2019, Microsoft’s Hungarian subsid- gations it helped clients dodge taxes. world’s top drug and medical devices compa-
iary entered into a non-prosecution agree- nies are repeat offenders, having settled cor- — International Consortium of Inves-
ment with U.S. federal prosecutors to resolve Sapin, the former French minister, says ruption-related charges at least twice each. tigative Journalists.
corporate bribery allegations. The very next
year, Microsoft won more than $500 million Novartis, the Swiss drug giant, settled ac-
in U.S. public contracts.
In the two years since Boeing agreed to
pay $2.5 billion to settle the 737 Max fraud
conspiracy case, it won U.S. and European
public contracts totaling more than $39 bil-
lion.
“A billion dollar fine to a company mak-
ing $100 billion means little,” said Coffee,
the Columbia University law professor, who
is a critic of the deals.
Against the backdrop of press releas-
es hyping record settlements and tough
enforcement, financial sanctions in some
countries were set lower than the amount of
the bribes, according to audits performed by
OECD.
The U.N. data shows 177 people settled
bribery-related offenses with the Justice De-
partment and federal regulators since 2000
— but only a small number were associated
with large, publicly traded companies.
Duke University’s Garrett, author of a
book about corporate crime settlements
called “Too Big to Jail”, found in his research
that most individuals who were prosecuted
were middle managers or low-level employ-
ees.
In 2015, the Justice Department vowed
to renew its emphasis on prosecuting indi-
viduals, and recently the department repeat-
ed that pledge. Yet since 2015, the Justice
Department has charged individuals in only
25% of its 48 corporate anti-bribery enforce-
ment actions, or only one of every four cases,
according to an analysis by Mike Koehler, a
legal expert who runs the FCPA Professor

Page 30 Editorial & Opinion NewsHawks

CARTOON Issue 112, 16 December 2022

Brutal reality:
No plan at all

AS a tumultuous year comes to a close, the uppermost Morocco World Cup tour
question on people’s minds is: What does 2023 hold de force ignite debate: Is it
in store for Zimbabwe? an African or Arab nation?

For a country which has built quite a reputation for AS I watched the Qatar football World Meanwhile, Santos resigned as Portugal fended its title against the country it once
its perpetual election mode, 2023 will either mark a Cup, initially dominated by Portuguese coach five days after a quarter-final defeat occupied. Some members of one squad
miraculous re-birth or a continued plunge down the legend Cristiano Ronaldo’s controversial by Morocco. The 68-year-old brought could just as well have played for their op-
abyss. The political superlatives will gain currency, the exit from Manchester United and his desire down the curtain on an eight-year reign ponents in a clash of hyphenated identities.
flowery adjectives will be recycled and clichés will be to retire with a bang by winning the global that featured two significant highs, but end- The underdogs embraced a symbol of re-
repurposed. Watershed, make-or-break, historic — we title to seal his status as arguably the best ed on a low note at Al Thumama Stadium gional struggle as their own, even as their
will hear more of this hyperbole. player ever, I rolled with the brutal punches last Saturday. countrymen argued about whether they
of fierce soccer debates. Ronaldo left Qatar literally in tears, pos- truly belonged to that region”.
Whatever your political disposition, it is advisable sibly marking the end of an era. Yet a few The identity issue between France and
not to hold your breath. Apart from Ronaldo’s controversial exit days later, he re-emerged making head- Morocco was dramatic.
from Old Trafford, which followed his sen- lines at Real Madrid’s Valdebebas training France, a European nation, was domi-
Any sober assessment of the country’s prospects sational interview with British journalist ground in the Spanish capital through a nated by black Africans, while Morocco,
would do well to take into account William Faulkner's Piers Morgan, there was the perennial Li- special arrangement with the Santiago Ber- geographically an African country, teemed
immortal words: "The past is never dead. It's not even onel Messi-Ronaldo rivalry and the atten- nabeu authorities, resuming exercises to of Arabs, a complex identity on its own.
past." Zimbabwe is caught in a time warp — is it not? dant debate on who is the best. maintain shape and form for the second Between 1912 and 1956, Morocco was
One gets a sense that, centuries from now, economic half of the season, while searching for a new a French colony. While it is a sovereign na-
historians will curiously examine our record, amazed They are fighting to outdo each other club — a sign of his mental strength and tion today, the imprint of French colonial-
at how Africa's "most literate nation" once ridiculous- as much as they want to displace Pele and never-say-die spirit. ism can be felt in various aspects of Moroc-
ly attempted to survive on 16th century tactics in the Maradona — the real luminaries of world The guy eats, drinks, sleeps, breathes and can society, including politics.
21st century. If we are not careful, our society will football — from the top annals of history. lives football. He has a typical Tupac — The two nations continue to share a
be the equivalent of a prehistoric monument in that Makaveli — mentality: Through every dark fond, yet frictional relationship. Perhaps the
brave new world, providing humanity with valuable As soon as the World Cup got under- night, there is a bright day after that. friendship between PSG teammates Killian
case studies on "How to avoid creating a man-made way, the football world was again divided But it is the Morocco story which is the Mbappe and Achraf Hakimi, representing
disaster". between Messi and Ronaldo, whose status stuff of legend. France and Morocco respectively, illustrate
as some of the greatest of all time is unim- In the aftermath of Morocco's historic the point. They were rivals in the semis,
The Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce peachable. win against Portugal to become the first but teammates at PSG and close personal
(ZNCC) convened a captivating discussion this week country from the African continent to friends.
focusing on the 2023 economic outlook. Things got heated when Ronaldo was qualify for semi-finals, the question
benched by Portugal coach Fernando San- of African history, Arab identity and
Themed 2023 Economic Outlook. Navigating the Pol- tos in his team’s 6-1 victory over Switzer- belonging in relation to North Af- Hawk Eye
icy Spectrum, the conference brought together econo- land. Ronaldo was benched again against rica forcefully came to the fore of
mists, policy wonks and other crystal ball gurus. Morocco, but it ended in a disaster as Por- fierce global debate and still looms
tugal were defeated 1-0, as the Atlas Lions large. Global media latched on to Dumisani
Speaking at the ZNCC conference, Eddie Cross, an stormed into the semi-final, making history the story.
economist of long standing, repeated his recent revela- as the first country from Africa to reach that The Economist captured it suc- Muleya
tion that he alerted President Emmerson Mnangagwa, stage. cinctly: “The symbolism was al-
in January this year, of an impending electricity short- most too much for a single football
age. The power crisis has indeed come to pass. However, that sparked a storm of global match. A former colonial power de-
debate about whether Moroccans are Arabs
Cross is Mnangagwa’s biographer, and so his inter- or Africans, or both. A Moroccan player
actions with the head of state are naturally newswor- wittingly or unwittingly triggered the de-
thy. bate, which was always simmering with
controversy.
The startling aspect of Cross' revelation is that when
he alerted Mnangagwa to what was then a looming
national blackout, he quickly realised that "there was
no plan". The President summoned his top ministers
and Zesa's executive chairperson Sydney Gata and
asked them what their solution to the power crisis was
going to be.

For dramatic effect, Cross emphasises this point:
"There was no plan. There was no plan."

Perhaps what Cross has decided not to reveal is that
there is utterly no plan for Zimbabwe's wider econom-
ic crisis. Any citizen who has struggled to put food on
the table this year will tell you just how desperate the
livelihood crisis has become.

Today, a whole five years after Robert Mugabe was
toppled in a military coup which Zimbabweans were
told would weed out "criminals around the president",
Zimbabwe has the world's highest inflation rate. Food
inflation is particularly painful.

Bombs are raining down on countries like Ukraine,
Syria and Iraq — but all these war-torn places are of-
fering better food prices than Zimbabwe.

Can you wrap your head around that?

Reaffirming the fundamental impor- The NewsHawks is published on different EDITORIAL STAFF: Marketing Officer: Voluntary Media
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NewsHawks Editorial & Opinion Page 29

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

Their personal identities are also complex like all Muslims are Arabs by definition. The biggest partner. longing is rather fluid, although race and geneal-
the French team and Moroccan story. Muslim country in the world — Indonesia which Morocco’s identity crisis was probably best ogy are predetermined.
has about 280 million people — is not Arabic.
Mbappe’s father is of Cameroonian descent demonstrated by its application in 1987 to join But then again it gets complex when one be-
and his mother is from Algeria. Hakimi, a former The question of whether Morocco is an Afri- the European Communities (the precursor to the gins to investigate and follow racial/ethnic iden-
Real Madrid player, was born in Spain to Moroc- can country or Arab nation in Africa is obviously European Union). The application was rejected tity, hybridity, intersectionality, and post-identity
can parents. He could have played for Spain as not concerned about the geographical location of on the grounds it is not considered to be a "Euro- discourses.
he is also a citizen, but celebrated when Morocco Morocco as that reality is not debatable — it is pean country".
beat Spain 3-0 on penalties after a nil-all draw in physically in Africa. Geographically, Morocco is Back to Africa.
fulltime in the knockout stage. a littoral southwest African state. That is straight- The EU actually congratulated Morocco when The Moroccan dilemma flows from the history
forward. it re-joined the AU in 2017, as if to say that’s and dynamics of what is called North Africa.
The “frenemity” was evident in the semi-final where it belongs. What makes North Africa a region different
as France beat Morocco 2-0. During the match, That is why it is part of the African Union, al- from the rest of the continent and how is it con-
tensions boiled over, but afterwards everything though it had pulled out in 1984 over the West- White people and other non-black races on the stituted? A minimalist definition of North Africa
was hunky-dory. ern Sahara question, only to come back in 2017. continent who are descendants of colonial settlers means The Maghreb region (known by the French
or just immigrants are begrudgingly accepted as during the colonial era as Afrique du Nord) and
France face Argentina on Sunday in the final. It competes in the African Cup of Nations and Africans, even though they may regard themselves by the Arabs as the Maghrib (sunset/western); it
The sub-plot will be two PSG teammates who are participates in African issues in various ways. as such, for instance Afrikaners in South Africa. includes four countries: Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia
frenemies — Messi and Mbappe — going head- and Libya. That does not include Egypt.
to-head. The stakes are too high over records and Most importantly, it had gone to the World Afrikaners claim to be African, but that is a de- However, a maximalist definition of the same
personal rivalries. It will be explosive. Cup on an African, not Arabian, ticket. So why bate for another day. includes Egypt, which extends into southwest
was Boufal thanking the Arab world and Muslims Asia. Further expanded it includes the Canary
But the Morocco debate, not its semi-final for support, not Africa and Africans? Pan-Africanists largely see Africa through Islands, Pelagie Islands, and Moroccan claimed
spectacle, will not die down anytime soon. Kwame Nkrumah's conceptual prism and per- Spanish sovereign territories like Ceuta and Me-
This goes to the root of the debate and prob- spective: "Africa is one continent, one people, and lilla. Other territories include Western Sahara, or
As famous English football commentator Pe- lem. one nation. The notion that in order to have a na- Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, partially rec-
ter Drury put it: “They (Morocco) pushed them- tion it is necessary for there to be a common lan- ognised state.
selves to the limit; stretched beyond, but there was Africa, with its 54 nations and 1.5 billion peo- guage, a common territory and common culture Egypt connects Africa with the Middle East
one mountain they couldn’t scale — the world ple, is generally seen by most people as one con- has failed to stand the test of time or the scrutiny and has territory in both Africa and Asia through
champions were one challenge too far”. tinent, with two main races rooted in it: Africans of scientific definition of objective reality." the Sinai Peninsula.
and Arabs. Morocco is only 13km from Spain, between
The big question remains: Is Morocco an Af- Another famous Nkrumah quote, which has Point Marroqui (in Spain) and Point Cires (in
rican country, Arab country in Africa, or both; a North African countries are considered African been cited ad infinitum, probably best explains Morocco). Africa would be entirely surrounded
product of historical forces and present-day inter- by geography, but Arabian by culture. how Pan-Africanists approach this question. by water if it were not for the Sinai Peninsula in
faces between the African and Arabian worlds? Egypt.
In other words, they are schizophrenic in their "I am not African because I was born in Africa North Africa, which is now largely Arabic and
How about the influence of different histories identity. In as much as they participate in Africans but because Africa was born in me." Muslim, is also geographically distinct. It is sur-
and cultures which impacted on it over centuries? affairs, they also do so in the Arab world, like be- rounded to the south by the Sahara Desert and
Or what is it really? ing members of the Arab League or competing in Being African is a simple, yet complex issue. the Atlas Mountains to the northwest as it is by
the Arab Cup. Algeria won it in Qatar last year. For some, Africans are simply black people Mediterranean waters.
As shown by what some Moroccans, including Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco have also won it. wherever they are to be found on earth, for exam-
football players, commentators and fans, as well as ple African Americans or Jamaicans. Period. The
the world media, said, the people of this Maghreb This means one of them, for instance, can be rest is rationalisation and stories, they say.
state sometimes consider themselves as Arabs in African Champions and Arabian Champions at Yet for others Africans are now a diverse peo-
Africa, part of the broad Arabic-Muslim world, the same time. Besides, Morocco also tried to ple, not just ethnically, but also racially. Just like
not Africans per se. join The Cooperation Council for the Arab States the concept of ethnicity, the question of racial be-
of the Gulf. It was only allowed to be a strategic
French-born Moroccan player Sofiane Boufal,
who plays for Ligue 1 side Angers in France, cap-
tured that clearly when he said:

"Thanks to the Moroccans all over the world
for their support, to all Arabs and Muslims. This
win belongs to you."

Although Boufal later thanked other Africans
(as an afterthought following criticism), based
on his original mindset, in his mind — naturally
influenced by history, his socialisation and con-
sciousness — Moroccans are Arabs and Muslims
in Africa, not Africans.

This begs the question what is an African? Who
is African and who is not? What defines an Afri-
can?

When Thabo Mbeki said "I'm an African" in
his famous speech in parliament in 1996 during
the passing of the new South African constitu-
tion, what did he mean?

“On an occasion such as this, we should, per-
haps, start from the beginning. So, let me begin. I
am an African. I owe my being to the hills and the
valleys, the mountains and the glades, the rivers,
the deserts, the trees, the flowers, the seas and the
ever-changing seasons that define the face of our
native land . . .,” Mbeki said.

However, it must be quickly acknowledged
that some Arabs and Muslims in North Africa do
consider themselves Africans.

Morocco coach Walid Regragui seems to be
one of those. Regragui did not agree with Bou-
fal. He said in an interview that he hopes to fly
the flag of African soccer high. He said that after
questions on whether Morocco is playing for the
Arab world.

“I am not here to be a politician. We want to
fly Africa’s flag high just like Senegal, Ghana, and
Cameroon. We are here to represent Africa."

So are Moroccans Arabs or Africans? Or Arab
Africans? Many Moroccans identify as Arabs, and
their victory was celebrated across the region. Yet
some Moroccans are uncomfortable with the la-
bel. Many (if not a majority) are of Berber de-
scent, and to some Arabism implies a bowdlerisa-
tion of their identity.

Instead of burying the ghost of the controver-
sial history, Boufal and Regragui’s remarks only
helped to magnify the thorny issue: Was Morocco
playing for Arabs and Muslims, or Africans? Or
both?

What is the Arab World in Africa? Where does
it start and end? Is it the Maghreb region alone,
or other countries, including Mauritania, Sudan,
Somalia, Djibouti and the Comoros? Where does
the Muslim world start and end in Africa?

Perhaps the Arab League membership in Africa
give us a clue: Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt,
Libya, Mauritania, Sudan, Somalia, Tunisia and,
of course, Morocco.

Indeed, while Arabs are generally Muslims, not

Page 32 Editorial & Opinion NewsHawks

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

France (blue jerseys) beat Morocco in the World Cup semi-final.

Wedged between the coastline of the southern Rabat, the capital of Morocco The picturesque island of Zanzibar is now Nearly 200 years later, Omanis overthrew Por-
Mediterranean and Sahara, an ocean of sand, the define national identity has been significant across considered one of East Africa's tourism meccas: tuguese control and took charge of both Oman
populations of North Africa inhabit a virtual is- the region. white sandy beaches, crystal clear waters, hotels, and Zanzibar. The latter became a centre of Arab
land. It could well be a sub-continent in itself. bars and restaurants offer tourists from all over the trade in slaves, spices (particularly cloves), and
While they have been largely assimilated, the world a holiday to remember, but the archipelago ivory.
Despite their proximity to — and long history indigenous groups remain distinct and fighting has a dark past: It was the centre of the East Afri-
of interaction with — southern Europe, sub-Sa- for their separate identity and self-determination can slave trade. Many Arabs moved to the island, bringing
haran Africa and the broader Middle East, North in many respects, especially in the post-colonial with them Ibadi Islam, a very small school of Is-
African countries have been able to forge and era where there is so much Arabisation of society. Although Oman and Zanzibar are separated by lamic thought which is the main faith of Oman
maintain and identity distinct from their neigh- Language — a medium, symbol and instrument 3 600 kilometres of the Indian Ocean, they have and an important force in Zanzibar.
bours. In the past, North Africa was influenced by of culture — is one of the battlegrounds of that a long, close history.
the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Chris- fight. By the 19th century, Zanzibar had become a
tians, Vandals, and Byzantines and then finally by Different studies say from the 1st century, centre of Islamic scholarship: a contact zone be-
Arabs. North Africa changed from Amazigh (or Ber- traders from the Arabian peninsula — as well as tween Ibadi Islam and other variants of the Mus-
ber) to Arabic due to conquest. Persia and India — were in regular contact with lim faith. The height of Arab association with
In 710CE, the Arab forces took over the city of Zanzibar and the East African coast; such cultural Zanzibar occurred in 1840 when Omani ruler
Tangiers in modern-day Morocco, thus complet- And then there is the case of East Africa’s for- and trade relations increased by the 11th century. Sayyid Said bin Sultan al-Busaid moved his cap-
ing their conquest of North Africa before moving gotten Arab slave trade. Political ties between the two date from the early ital from Muscat, Oman, to Stone Town, Zan-
onto the Iberian Peninsula. 1500s when both Oman and Zanzibar came un- zibar. This meant that Stone Town, for a time,
Over several centuries, multitudes of East Afri- der Portuguese colonial rule. served as the capital of Oman.
Although Arabs invaded and settled in North cans were traded as slaves by Muslim Arabs to the
Africa, their conquest is rarely classified as colo- Middle East and other places via the Sahara desert After the death of Sayyid Said, Oman and Zan-
nialism. However, some Africans bluntly call it as and Indian Ocean. zibar were divided into separate political entities
such. (and Oman’s capital was once again Muscat);
however, both remained under the rule of the
In his three-part series discussing African his- same dynasty (albeit under different Omani lead-
torical relations with Arabs and Europeans, Nige- ers from the same family).
rian journalist Chinweizu Ibekwe unapologetical-
ly states that: “Arab colonialism is no figment of Zanzibar’s Arab community continued its
the imagination. And it persists today in different dominance of the island’s administration until
guises. Unlike European colonialism, it is not the British took over Zanzibar in the 1890s. Even
even in nominal retreat. The Arabs in Africa are then, many Omanis continued to migrate there,
colonialists”. fleeing instability in their home country. Omani
expatriates in Zanzibar — such as poet, scholar,
Chinweizu draws comparisons between the mystic, and judge Nasir al-Rawwahi – played an
well-documented European colonialism and the important role in the island’s culture.
often-forgotten Arab colonialism to reinforce his
argument. As a result of successive waves of conquests,
East Africa, like North Africa, has many commu-
One of the biggest reminders of colonialism nalities, such as dialects, music, and cuisine.
is land occupation and its cultural vestiges like
language: French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, In other words, while they are now defined by
Dutch and, of course, Arabic. Arab and Muslim heritage, those regions are also
diverse and multicultural, hence not easy to just
Following the Arab invasions of North Africa dismiss it as merely Arabic and Muslim.
in the 7th century, native languages were chal-
lenged by the introduction of Arabic by the in- Against his background, is Morocco an Afri-
vaders. This is a battle that has continued to do can country beyond geography (which is a major
this day. source of cultural rooting and identity), and was
it representing Africa or, as its French-born play-
For decades, giving children Amazigh names er Boufal said, the Arab and Muslim world? Or
was forbidden in Morocco. Furthermore, there both?
has been great suppression of the Nubian lan-
guage, native to the Nilo-Saharan Nubian people, There is no simple answer to this complex story
in both Egypt and Sudan. characterised by centuries of intertwined history
and interactions, then and now.
Berbers, who are originally not Arabs and Mus-
lims, are still fighting that war. It is far more complicated than guessing who
will win the Qatar World Cup on Sunday be-
The rise of Nubian and Amazigh rights groups tween France and Argentina!
from Sudan going north, and their attempts to re-

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

IMF projects Zim GDP decline

NATHAN GUMA The IMF team says with economic uncertainty
remaining high, the economic outlook will
THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has largely depend on the implementation of key
projected Zimbabwe’s real GDP growth rate to policies and the evolution of external shocks.
decline to about 3.5% in 2022, owing to in-
ternal and external shocks, electricity shortages port Zimbabwe’s development objectives as em- itors; and launched a dialogue platform to foster exchange rate.
and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. bodied in the country’s National Development discussions among the various stakeholders. “In this regard, the swift tightening of mon-
Strategy 1 (2021-2025),” reads the statement.
In November, Finance minister Mthuli Ncu- The IMF however says the financial arrange- etary policy along with greater official exchange
be announced a 4% economic growth rate, With Zimbabwe wallowing in debt distress, ment would require a clear path to comprehen- rate flexibility and a prudent fiscal stance are
downgraded from the 4.6% he had projected in the IMF said international re-engagement re- sive restructuring of Zimbabwe’s external debt, policies in the right direction and have contrib-
the mid-year budget. mains critical for debt resolution, and access to including the clearance of arrears; and a reform uted to a narrowing of the premia in the parallel
external financial support. plan that is consistent with durably restoring foreign exchange market.
The GDP growth of the Sadc region is pro- macro-economic stability, enhancing inclusive
jected to decelerate to 2.5% in 2022, from a The IMF has been prohibited from providing growth, lowering poverty, and strengthening “In addition, the authorities have identi-
recovery of 4.2% recorded in 2021, according financial support to Zimbabwe due to official economic governance. fied large payments to suppliers, the result of
to the IMF. external arrears and unsustainable debt. over-invoicing, as a source of pressures on the
On inflation, the IMF commended the cen- parallel market and in response have launched
These multiple shocks would continue to In a bid to advance the re-engagement pro- tral bank for the swift tightening of monetary value-for-money audits and introduced mea-
weigh on Zimbabwe’s growth prospects, accord- cess, the authorities have adopted an Arrears policy along with exchange rate flexibility and a sures to strengthen procurement regulations,”
ing to an IMF staff delegation led by Dhanesh- Clearance, Debt Relief and Restructuring Strat- fiscal stance that has seen a deceleration of the read the statement.
war Ghura, which was in Zimbabwe from De- egy; continued token payments to external cred-
cember 1-15 conducting an Article IV mission.

“Currency and price pressures, which
emerged earlier this year largely owing to a spike
in broad money growth and an official exchange
rate misaligned with market fundamentals, are
subsiding,” read the statement.

The IMF team said with economic uncertain-
ty remaining high, the economic outlook will
largely depend on the implementation of key
policies and the evolution of external shocks.

“A near-term policy imperative is to sustain-
ably anchor macro-economic stability. In this
context, fund staff recommend accelerating the
liberalisation of the FX [foreign exchange] mar-
ket, including through the removal of restric-
tions on the exchange rate at which banks, au-
thorised dealers, and businesses transact,” reads
the IMF statement.

The IMF also recommended that the central
bank's direct fiscal policy should contain the
deficit in line with available non-inflationary
financing, and creating fiscal space for critical
spending.

“This can be achieved by mobilising addi-
tional revenues, based on tax policy reforms,
and by scaling back non-priority outlays, while
strengthening public finance management.

“The financial oversight of the state-owned
enterprise (SOEs) by the Treasury should be
further strengthened in order to minimise fiscal
risks. In the context of a tight monetary pol-
icy, enhanced regulatory oversight is required
to ensure financial sector resilience,” reads the
statement.

As part of recommendations, IMF urged
Treasury to strengthen financial oversight of the
state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to minimise fis-
cal risks.

“Addressing the remaining Anti-Money
Laundering/Combating the Financing of Ter-
rorism (AML/CFT) weaknesses would strength-
en banks’ resilience and effectiveness.

“Reforms to economic institutions and the
governance and anti-corruption frameworks
are critical for strengthening the foundations
for private sector development and inclusive
growth.

“Ensuring durable macro-economic stability
and revitalising structural reforms would sup-

Page 34 Companies & Markets NewsHawks

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

Blackouts to cripple production: Implats

NATHAN GUMA Almost 50% of Zimplats operations are powered by renewable hydro-electric power,.

POWER outages are likely to cause a continual power, projected to provide enough power for for suspension of power generation at Zimba- “In March, 2022 Impala Platinum an-
drop in platinum group metals (PGMs) pro- its US$521 million smelter expansion project bwe’s Kariba South Power Station, due to un- nounced that it will commit approximately
duction performance for South African holding and R496 million base metals refinery project. sustainable water levels. R50 billion to its capital investment pro-
company, Impala Platinum (Implats), which gramme over the next five years. The invest-
runs Zimplats and other subsidiaries, indica- The company has been relying on power On the South African side, Eskom has been ment programme will focus on the company's
tions by a research firm have revealed. from Mozambique’s HCB, but is installing a equally strangled, with a report by the Council mining and refinery sites, spread across opera-
solar plant to ensure reliable supply. for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) tional projects and new project developments.
A report by Fitch Solutions has shown a revealing no quick solution to the country’s
slump in production levels at Implats subsidiar- Zimbabwe has been plunged into a dire power crisis. “R9 billion will be invested in the company's
ies, caused by power outages and supply chain power crisis, with Lake Kariba, the country’s Southern African and Zimbabwean smelting
issues, among other factors. major renewable hydro-power generating sta- As a result, Eskom load shedding has been and refining sites to boost production output,
tion, recording very low water levels. predicted to threaten output in the production reduce the environmental impact of operations,
Overall, Implats recorded a 6% drop in re- of platinum group metals in South Africa, go- and provide a boost to the region's employment
fined platinum production to 1,426koz from The station, originally built with a genera- ing into 2023, as frequent power cuts are neces- levels,” Fitch says.
1,516koz recorded in the 2021 financial year tion capacity of 1 050 megawatts (MW), has sitating energy infrastructure breakdowns.
ending 30 June 2022. been operating below installed capacity, gener- The company has also invested R4.3 billion
ating 213MW on Tuesday this week, according Fitch says Implats will witness a slight bal- in employing renewable energy at each opera-
Production of chemicals like palladium and to the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC). ance sheet improvement in the 2023 financial tional site to make a move towards the com-
rhodium also fell by 4.5% and 6.6% respective- year, due to favourable commodity price out- pany's de-carbonisation target and improve
ly from 1,121koz to 1,071koz, while rhodium The Zambezi River Authority (ZRA), a look for PGMs, and its fiver-year R50 billion energy security.
production fell by 6.6% from 2021’s 193.4koz bi-nation organisation run by the Zimbabwe investment programme.
to 180.7koz. and Zambian governments, this month called

Nickel production recorded a positive, rising
by 7% from 14.3kt recorded in the 2022 finan-
cial year to 16.5kt.

The drop in production has been credited to
supply chain issues and power outages, accord-
ing to the report by Fitch.

“Tonnes milled dropped 4% year-on-year
(y-o-y) to 22.36mnt from 23.21mnt in the
2021 financial year. Impala Platinum states that
lower output volumes at Rustenburg site and
Impala Canada offset a rise in output at Marula
and Zimplats,” according to the report.

The group recorded a 9% fall in revenue,
from R129.6 billion in the 2021 financial year
to R118.3 billion, as a result of sales volumes
being hit by lower production volumes.

Earnings before interest, taxes and depre-
ciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped
from R61.4 billion to R53.4 billion, causing
a slight decline in the EBITDA margin from
47% in the 2021 financial year to 45%.

Close to 50% of Zimplats operations are
powered by renewable hydro-electric power,
with the company expecting completion of its
first solar project in 2024.

In March this year, the company was grant-
ed a licence to generate 185 megawatts of solar

High interest rates throttle Truworths

BERNARD MPOFU Going forward, Truworths says, the environ- dit for the year ended 10 July 2022, which was sults by no later than 15 January 2023. This pe-
ment remains uncertain, in particular the sustain- targeted for completion in November 2022, is riod will provide sufficient time to complete all
ZIMBABWE Stock Exchange-listed apparels re- ability of the bank policy rate of 200% and tight still in progress. The company applied for and audit review processes and conclusions thereof.
tailer Truworths says the high interest regime has Zimdollar liquidity. was granted a further extension by the Zimbabwe The Company regrets any inconvenience this may
weighed down on its revenue as the group proj- Stock Exchange to publish the annual audited re- cause to its valued stakeholders.”
ects a gloomy economic picture. “We also advise our stakeholders that the au-

Early this year monetary and fiscal authorities
announced a raft of stringent measures to tame
rising inflation and defend a weakening domes-
tic currency. Experts say while inflation is easing,
business growth has been stifled.

“The trading environment has remained com-
plex and uncertain. The increase of the Bank Poli-
cy Rate to 200% with effect from 1 July 2022 re-
sulted in the business suspending all ZWL Credit
Sales with a consequent reduction in units sold,”
Truworths says in its trading update for the quar-
ter ending 9 October.

“ZWL Cash Sales were negatively affected by
the severe shortage of ZWL as a result of the tight
monetary policy. Borrowings in ZWL at 9 Oc-
tober 2022 amounted to ZWL56,35 million at
a cost of 205% per annum. There were no USD
borrowings as at 9 October 2022 and there were
no USD debtors.”

Sales and profitability, Truworths says, contin-
ues to be adversely affected by the restrictive pric-
ing laws, which negatively affect competitiveness
against the unregulated sectors.

“In addition to US dollar cash sales, the busi-
ness is selling in US dollars on a lay bye basis.
US dollar credit is considered on a selective basis
where there is assurance that the US dollar earn-
ings are guaranteed and not an allowance,” the
company says.

NewsHawks Companies & Markets Page 33

Issue 112, 16 December 2022 70% SMEs likely evading tax

BERNARD MPOFU Zimbabwe’s informal sector is largely resulting in tax avoidance or evasion.

ZIMBABWE could be losing millions The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe says at least US$2 billion is circulating outside the country’s formal banking system.
of United States dollars in tax revenue
after it emerged that 70% of micro,
small and medium enterprises (MS-
MEs) do no keep accounting records,
a new study has shown.

Despite having one of the biggest
informal sectors in the region, Zimba-
bwe’s informal sector is largely result-
ing in tax avoidance or evasion which
has prejudiced Treasury of funds to fi-
nance capital projects and social spend-
ing.

The central bank says at least US$2
billion is circulating outside the coun-
try’s formal banking system, as yester-
year memories of hyperinflation con-
tinue to haunt depositors, more than
a decade after the central bank raided
foreign currency accounts at the height
of economic implosion.

According to the Finscope Survey on
MSMEs, while informal businesses are
recognised as a significant contributor
to economic growth and development
and mass employment, more reforms
are required to improve transparency
of the sector.

This survey was financed by the
Zimbabwe Reconstruction Fund
(Zimref) which is administered by the
World Bank. Zimref’s development
partners include Canada, the European
Union, Foreign Commonwealth and
Development Office (UK), Norway,
Sweden, Switzerland and the World
Bank’s State and Peacebuilding Fund.

The FinScope MSME Survey Zim-
babwe 2022 was conducted with a
sample of 3 265 adult business owners
who were selected at the enumeration
area level across the country.

“About 71% of small businesses do
not keep business documents such as
accounting records, business plans
among others,” the survey shows.

“The proportion of start-ups has de-
creased in 2022 as we see a higher pro-
portion of MSMEs in the mature phase
of the business lifecycle. The businesses
in the growth and established phases re-
main stable between 2012 and 2022.”

Using geospatial modelling, the dis-
tribution of MSMEs is concentrated in
the central business districts in towns,
mainly Harare, Bulawayo and Mutare.
Other areas indicate commercial activ-
ity close to border posts, or along the
Great Dyke.

The survey shows that 3 344 261
people work in the sector (this number
includes 1 334 200 individual entre-
preneurs and 305 607 other business
owners with 1 704 454 employees).
The proportion of female business
owners, the survey revealed, tend to de-
cline as the firm grows in the business
lifecycle, indicating that there are more
female owners in start-up phase, 69%
versus 56% in the mature phase.

“Looking at gender, a higher propor-
tion of female business owners reside in
rural areas (72%) compared to males
(69%). With the exception of the mid-
lands province (45%), most provinces
have a higher female proportion of 2
females to one male, on average,” the
survey shows.

“Business size by province reveals
that Matabeleland North (94%),
Mashonaland Central (89%), Harare
(87%) and Mashonaland West (86%)
have the highest proportion of individ-
ual entrepreneurs while Matabeleland
South (63%) has the lowest proportion
of individual entrepreneurs.”

The survey also shows that agricul-
ture/farming sector has the highest
proportion of its businesses in the ma-
ture phase.

“This may explain the high profit
margins as experience helps in develop-
ing skills, creating stable value chains
and building cost efficiencies,” reads
the survey.

Page 36 Companies & Markets NewsHawks

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

Seed Co to defend leading position

PRISCA TSHUMA

THE African seed company, Seed Co Limited, did in prior year given the liquidity crunch in the characterised with the intake of seed from growers ity and in East Africa due to drought.
says it will defend its leading market position in economy,” said Chatiza. as well as processing. Meanwhile, the research and development
the African region through exploiting regional ex-
port opportunities and harnessing hard currency Chatiza attributed the increased carrying value “The increase is also due to inflation-induced department remained the key pillar of the com-
local sales. of debtors to credit sales of winter cereal and the increase in working capital requirements as well petitive advantage for the business. The business
revaluation of grower debts that were advanced as the need to fund delayed settlement of Govern- progressed
This comes after the group registered 88% vol- denominated in USD. ment related debtors,” he said.
ume growth for the half year ended 30 September in crop diversification on rice and potato seeds.
2022, on the export front satisfying the shortage “Nearly half of the debtors’ book related to The group absorbed a loss from associates “Various innovative research projects are un-
in the market caused by drought in the prior year, grower advances whose balances are being recov- mainly contributed by Seed Co International derway to produce seed solutions in both existing
particularly in East Africa. ered with the delivery of raw seed,” he said whose first-half performance was subdued with product portfolio and new crops that are adapt-
notable early sales reduction in Malawi and drop able to the constantly evolving climate and dis-
“The Group has optimal varietal mix of seed As a result, short-term borrowings increased in revenue in Nigeria due to product unavailabil- ease regiment,” said the group secretary.
to match the mixed rainfall forecasts with most in line with the borrowing cycle of the business,
parts of Southern Africa expecting normal to
above normal rains and East Africa anticipating
normal to below normal rains,” said the company
in a statement.

The business stocked 15 500 metric tonnes
(mt) of maize seed across all varieties by the end
of the first half, which will be available for this
summer selling season.

“The business has adequate seed and is pre-
pared for the main summer selling season which
is now underway,” the group said.

Group secretary Tineyi Chatiza said the re-
gional business was well-prepared for the season
on the back of adequate stocks out of Zambia
also serving the East African markets, improving
economic environment in Zambia, stability in
Tanzania and continued business growth in Mo-
zambique.

On the local market, turnover was 5% higher
than last year due to the regularly adjusted selling
prices because of the inflationary pressures and
exchange rate movements in the country.

During the first half, local winter and barley
sales achieved a growth of 30% to 6 320mt from
prior year, and 2 000mt of wheat was exported to
Nigeria last year.

However, overheads of the company signifi-
cantly increased because of the inflation and ex-
change rate movements.

Overall, winter sales were 8% lower in the ab-
sence of repeat export sales and maize sales vol-
umes declined by 45% from same previous year
period due to the delayed rollout of government
programmes this year.

“On the other hand, maize seed sales began on
a lower note as farmers did not pre-stock as they

Karo Mining raises US$3.8m in note offering

PRISCA TSHUMA which is dually listed on the Johannesburg and The company chief executive officer, Phoevos the first ore expected in the processing mill by July
London stock exchanges. Pouroulis, said this interest stemmed from Thari- 2024.
KARO Mining Holdings (KMH), a Zimbabwe sa’s firm record of accomplishment in developing
platinum group metals (PGMs) miner, has raised Tharisa confirmed in October that it was join- projects on time and on budget as well as the out- Zimbabwe has the world’s second-largest
US$31.8 million via private placement of fixed ing the foreign exchange bourse through listing its standing fundamentals of Karo Platinum Project. known Platinum deposits after South Africa,
income notes, exceeding the minimum require- subsidiary Karo Mining Holdings in December KMH would be the third active PGMs producers
ment of US$25 million. this year. KMH would be the third mining com- The US$4.2 billion Karo Mining Project in along Zimplats, Mimosa Mining Company and
pany listed on VFEX. Mhondoro commenced operations last week with Unik Mine.
KMH received applications to subscribe for
private placement of the fixed income notes as
well as being advised of credit committee approv-
al, subject to completing administrative processes
and confirmation of listing by way of introduction
on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX).

“The proceeds from the bond will be applied
to part fund the Karo Platinum Project - a de-
velopment stage, low-cost, open-pit PGM asset,
located on the Great Dyke in the Republic of
Zimbabwe,” said the company in a statement.

The mining company said interest on the is-
sued notes would accrue from the date of issue.
The issued notes would be listed on the VFEX on
16 December 2022 and, where issued subsequent
to this date, on the business day following issue.

“As such, applications have been granted in full
and the notes will be issued to applicants in terms
of the timetable where the subscription proceeds
have been received, or on receipt of the subscrip-
tion proceeds where the funds are still to flow,”
said the company.

Karo Mining Holdings plc is a subsidiary of
Tharisa, the PGMs and chrome co-producer

NewsHawks Stock Taking Page 37

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

Price Sheet A MEMBER OF FINSEC & THE ZIMBABWE STOCK EXCHANGE

Friday, 16 December 2022

Company Sector Bloomberg Previous Last VWAP Total Total Price Price YTD Market
Price Traded (cents) Traded Traded
AFDIS Consumer Goods Ticker (cents) 26025.00 Volume Value ($) Change Change (%) Cap
African Sun Consumer Services Price 2444.31
ART AFDIS: ZH 26020.00 26025.00 1133.33 1,000 260,250 (cents) (%) ($m)
Ariston Industrials ASUN: ZH 2416.22 2400.00 381.50 10,100 246,875
Axia Consumer Services ARTD: ZH 1310.05 1135.00 9957.00 5.00 0.02 108.20 31,098.45
BAT 340.00 390.25 280000.00 1,500 17,000 28.09 1.16 280.58 36,124.49
Bridgefort Capital Consumer Goods ARISTON: ZH 8661.74 9960.00 800.00 146,000 556,984 -176.72 -13.49
Bridgefort Class B Consumer Goods AXIA: ZH 287500.00 280000.00 2600.00 5,914,460 41.50 12.21 8.45 4,952.40
CAFCA BAT: ZH 800.00 20005.00 59,400 1,960,000 1295.26 14.95 2.50 6,208.51
CBZ Industrials BFCA: ZH 2600.00 - 12402.32 700 -7500.00 -2.61 231.35 55,253.42
CFI Financial Services BFCB: ZH 20005.00 - 35800.00 - - -12.53 57,773.85
Dairibord 12400.00 - 3145.00 - - - - -77.14
Delta Industrials CAFCA: ZH 35800.00 12400.00 26535.78 - - - - 4.00 96.00
Ecocash Banking CBZ: ZH 3145.00 - 3593.91 2,939,350 - - 17.68 34.89
Econet CFI:ZH 25177.09 - 7500.38 23,700 - 2.32 0.02 64.99 1,747.46
Edgars Industrials 3545.75 27005.00 909.52 - - - - 282.60 64,822.15
FBC Consumer Goods DZL: ZH 7548.77 3610.00 6251.71 - 82,526,280 - - -10.14 37,962.63
Fidelity Consumer Goods DLTA: ZH 900.00 7500.00 2265.00 643,310 1358.69 5.40 63.27 11,259.13
First Capital EHZL: ZH 6251.71 900.00 1036.28 311,000 147,509,900 48.16 1.36 -11.60 346,517.38
FML Technology ECO: ZH 2265.00 - 2400.00 17,900 169,170 -48.39 -0.64 -11.76 93,103.01
FMP Telecommunications 1092.88 2265.00 1150.00 - 9.52 1.06 109.09 194,303.11
GBH Consumer Services EDGR: ZH 2400.00 1000.00 170.25 1,966,700 2,265 - - 84.67 5,495.75
Getbucks FBC: ZH 1000.00 - 2180.00 18,600 1,840,430 - - 43.49 42,008.36
Hippo Banking FIDL: ZH 170.25 1150.00 17005.16 - - -56.60 -5.18 200.02 2,467.11
Innscor Financial Services FCA: ZH 2180.00 - 36381.86 100 34,500 - - 20.00 22,382.77
Lafarge 17005.00 - 14375.00 - 150.00 15.00 47.44 16,563.43
Mash Banking FMHL: ZH 35346.93 17005.00 1700.00 177,600 - - - -25.82 14,238.81
Masimba Financial Services FMP: ZH 14375.00 37000.00 7500.00 - 20,219,140 - - 263.33 913.54
Meikles GBH: ZH 1700.00 - 10200.00 8,586,120 0.16 0.00 -39.27 25,355.98
Nampak Real Estate 7500.00 - 800.00 3,000 - 1034.93 2.93 124.03 32,823.46
NTS Industrials GBFS: ZH 10200.00 7500.00 1020.00 - - - - 79.69 207,331.65
NMBZ HIPO: ZH 800.00 - 3337.24 - 7,500 - - 423.93 11,500.00
OK Zim Financial Services 1020.00 800.00 3000.58 - - - 36.36 28,688.93
Proplastics Consumer Goods INN: ZH 3000.00 - 2500.00 118,900 4,800 - - -18.47 18,124.03
RTG LACZ: ZH 2797.57 3345.00 771.00 23,600 - - - -28.30 26,127.38
RioZim Industrials MASH: ZH 2500.00 3000.00 14005.00 - 96,780 - - 61.90 6,045.18
SeedCo Industrials MSHL: ZH 771.00 2500.00 6910.93 - 19,167,680 337.24 11.24 314.40 2,589.50
Star Africa Real Estate MEIK: ZH 14000.00 - 140.87 100 9,830,000 203.01 7.26 9.33 13,488.18
Tanganda Industrials NPKZ: ZH 7210.00 14005.00 8700.00 - - - - -13.79 38,896.87
Truworths Industrials NTS: ZH 145.06 6630.00 275.00 600 14,005 - - -1.15 6,298.39
TSL Industrials NMB: ZH 8524.24 141.00 4245.00 - 1,935,060 5.00 0.04 250.13 19,240.27
Turnall Industrials 275.00 8700.00 394.75 2,900 438,942 -299.07 -4.15 -34.53 17,090.23
Unifreight OKZ: ZH 4245.09 - 5165.00 922,200 -4.19 -2.89 21.59 17,234.04
Willdale Banking PROL: ZH 394.75 4245.00 166.00 638,800 - 175.76 2.06 29.73 6,642.14
ZB Consumer Services 5155.00 - 11295.00 393,200 479,685 - - 37.50 22,712.62
Zeco RTG: ZH 166.00 5165.00 - -0.09 -0.00 -39.51 1,056.19
Zimpapers Industrials RIOZ: ZH 11295.00 - 3.31 - 10,330 - - -3.75 15,200.37
Zimplow Consumer Services SEED: ZH - 241.29 100 - 10.00 0.19 72.36 1,946.28
ZHL 3.31 - 1600.00 28,000 - - - -46.36 5,499.39
TOTAL Basic Materials SACL: ZH 241.29 - 400.00 311,600 - - - 46.69 2,951.48
Consumer Goods TANG: ZH 1650.67 1600.00 10,600 - - - 589.58 19,787.78
Consumer Goods TRUW: ZH 400.00 400.00 178.00 38,400 - - -17.08 15.34
Consumer Goods 160.00 - 29,600 -50.67 -3.07 -32.20 1,389.83
Consumer Services TSL: ZH 178.00 118.68 11,300 306,401,016 - - 6.36 5,513.29
Consumer Goods TURN: ZH 160.00 2395.00 7,272.88
UNIF: ZH 545.27 - 1,606,148.31
Industrials WILD: ZH - 13000.00 200
Industrials ZBFH: ZH 2395.00
Industrials ZECO: ZH 545.00 2.30 -
1300.00 -
Banking ZIMP: ZH - 1150.00 -
Industrials ZIMPLOW: ZH -
Consumer Services - 22.60 2,400
Industrials ZHL: ZH - 29.90 7,400
Financial Services - 31.01 4,287,000
-
ETFs CSAG.zw 180.00 29.90 10,600 18,868 -2.00 -1.11 78.00 64.43
DMCS.zw 160.00 31.00 34,315 54,904 - - 60.00 112.86
Cass Saddle Agriculture ETF 118.68 - - 18.68 2,837.65
Datvest Modified Consumer Staples ETF MIZ.zw 2400.00 - - 139.50 3,081.72
Morgan&Co Made in Zimbabwe ETF MCMS.zw 544.05 3,700 88,615 -5.00 -0.21 23.90 783.15
Morgan&Co Multi-Sector ETF OMTT.zw 10,261 55,950 1.22 0.22
Old Mutual ZSE Top 10 ETF
-
FINSEC Financial Services OMZIL 13000.00 -- - 30.00 10,791.52
Old Mutual Zimbabwe - - -58.18
- -
VFEX (US cents) - - - US$m
- - -13.27
BNC Mining BIND:VX 2.30 9,915 - - -9.12 7.62 29.27
Caledonia Mining CMCL:VX 1300.00 800 - - 0.03 6.60 8.06
Nedbank Financial Services 1150.00 - - -62.56 1.84
Padenga Consumer Goods NED:VX - -
SeedCo International Consumer Goods PHL:VX 22.60 2,965 -3.00 122.40
Simbisa Brands Consumer Goods SCIL:VX 32.90 248 0.01 114.05
SIM: VX 31.00 174.33

REITs TIG.zw 3400.00 3400.00 3400.00 1,000 34,000 - - 21.43 43,272.91
Tigere REIT
Close Change (%) Open YTD % Top 5 Risers Price Change % YTD %
Index 15,342.97 +2.16 15,018.41 +41.77 1150.00c +150.00c +15.00 +47.44
ZSE All Share 8,964.41 +2.39 +31.61 FMP 9957.00c +14.95 +231.35
Top 10 10,101.91 +2.69 8,755.35 +34.17 Axia +1295.26c +12.21 +2.50
Top 15 - 9,836.84 +9.05 Ariston 381.50c +41.50c +11.24 +314.40
Small Cap 439,214.75 +2.12 439,214.75 +69.58 NMBZ 3337.24c +7.26 +9.33
Medium Cap 34,606.61 33,887.76 OK Zim 3000.58c +337.24c
+203.01c % YTD %
Top 5 Fallers Price -13.49 +8.45
ART 1133.33c Change -5.18 +200.02
First Capital 1036.28c -176.72c -4.15 -34.53
SeedCo 6910.93c -56.60c -3.07 -32.20
Zimplow 1600.00c -299.07c -2.89 +21.59
Star Africa -50.67c
140.87c -4.19c

SALES & TRADING: Davide Muchengi: [email protected] | Lungani Nyamazana: [email protected] | Precious Chagwedera: [email protected]
RESEARCH: Batanai Matsika: [email protected] | Tafara Mtutu: [email protected] | Gabriel Manjonjo: [email protected]

Tel: (+263) 08677008101-2 | Email: [email protected] | Address: 14165 Sauer Road, Gunhill, Harare

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Page 38 News Analysis NewsHawks

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

NATHAN GUMA President Mnangagwa foreign
policy stuck in a time warp
  come up with a roadmap that gives
ZIMBABWE’S foreign policy and citizens, civil society leverage in deal-
international re-engagement drive ing with their government to say: This
has not shifted from the Mugabe era, is a roadmap to ending sanctions,
as shown by the imposition of fresh what are you doing about it?
sanctions on individuals, analysts have
said. “What we need is to see improved
relations based on reforms by the
President Joe Biden’s government Zimbabwean government that are
slapped sanctions on Zimbabwean clearly agreed by the American gov-
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s ernment. We need a blueprint that
son Emmerson Jr, and business ty- shows what steps Zimbabwe should
coon Kudakwashe Tagwirei’s wife take as citizens in order to end the
Sandra Mpunga, Nqobile Magwizi, sanctions, then we will be empowered
Obey Chimuka and Fossil Contract- to hold our government to account,”
ing Agro ahead of the US-Africa Sum- Mukundu said.
mit which began this week.
Effect on re-engagement pro- the 2017 and 2022 Zanu PF elective President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Closing the civic space
The individuals were placed on the gramme congresses – in a re-engagement drive While civil society has been demand-
reviewed list for their links to Tag- The move has been viewed as the that has been bogged down by human happening now is what we saw hap- ing transparency, the government has
wirei, who was sanctioned in 2020 latest setback or confirmation of the rights abuses and failure to implement pening under Mugabe. been accused of making attempts to
on accusations of using his wealth to failure of government’s re-engagement key reforms. close civic space.
cultivate relationships with high-level programme. No reforms “These targeted sanctions were put
government officials while receiving Political analyst Pedzisai Ruhanya says under the regime of Mugabe and his The Mnangagwa administration
state contracts and access to hard cur- Forty-nine African heads of state the new sanctions show that Zim- allies, and we see it happening against ranked worse than the Mugabe ad-
rency in exchange for luxury items. and the African Union were invited babwe has done little to implement Mnangagwa and people around him, ministration over human rights abus-
to the summit, where Zimbabwe was reforms, synonymous with the late so there have not been policy shifts es in a 2022 report by an independent
“The Zimbabwe sanctions pro- represented by Foreign minister Fred- former president Mugabe. and meeting of the minds between think-tank, the Zimbabwe Democra-
gramme targets human rights abusers rick Shava, with Mnangagwa barred the United States and the government cy Institute (ZDI).
and those who undermine democratic by travel restrictions over his human “It means that the dialogue between of Zimbabwe,” Ruhanya said.
processes or facilitate corruption. rights record. the government of Zimbabwe and the According to the report, Mnangag-
United States post Mugabe has not Whilst Harare says sanctions have wa has been maintaining a hard stance
US sanctions do not target the US national security adviser Jake changed its policies. Its international been hampering economic develop- in a bid to retain power, according to
Zimbabwean people, the country of Sullivan says the US will commit relations and diplomatic thrust has ment, the US has been maintaining the ZDI report titleD Civic Space
Zimbabwe, or Zimbabwe’s banking US$55 billion to buttress ties with failed. What it means is that the re- that bad governance and corruption Contestation Ahead of 2023.
sector,” says the report. African states in the next three years. forms that the Mnangagwa govern- in Zimbabwe have been responsible
ment promised after the removal of for the country’s decline. Among other reforms aimed at
“We urge the Zimbabwean gov- Mnangagwa, who was catapulted Robert Mugabe have not materialised. Empower citizens consolidating power, Mnangagwa has
ernment to take meaningful steps to- to power by a 2017 military coup that Political analyst Rashweat Mukundu been using lawfare against opponents,
wards creating a peaceful, prosperous, ousted long-time ruler Robert Mug- “It is basically a failure of for- says there is a need for the US govern- whilst making political appointments
and politically vibrant Zimbabwe, abe, has been making frantic efforts eign policy, and failure to basically ment to empower citizens so they can and programmes that intensify milita-
and to address the root causes of many to reconcile with the West. change the foreign policy projections hold their government accountable. risation of Zanu PF to bolster his stay
of Zimbabwe’s ills: corrupt elites and post-Mugabe. Because what we see in power, according to the report.
their abuse of the country’s institu- Since coming to power, Mnan- “Elites may use the sanctions as a
tions for their personal benefit. The gagwa made over 47 trips – between scapegoat for their non-performance. ZDI also made an analysis of the
goal of sanctions is behaviour change. civic space between 2014 and 2021,
Today’s actions demonstrate our sup- There is need for the Americans to by contrasting Mugabe’s last four
port for a transparent and prosperous years in power against Mnangag-
Zimbabwe,” read a Press statement by wa’s initial four years, whose findings
the US Treasury. showed continual tightening of dem-
ocratic space.
The new restrictions will immedi-
ately clampdown on the targeted indi- 2019 saw a 13% decline in state
viduals linked to Tagwirei’s company. freedom from 44% in 2014 under
Mugabe to 31% under Mnangag-
“As a result of today’s designations, wa. Zimbabwe has been roping in
all property and interests in property other government heads to solve a
of the designated persons located in long-standing impasse with creditors
the United States or in the possession and the international community.
or control of US persons are blocked
and must be reported to the Office of This month, Harare engaged the
Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). In services of former Mozambican presi-
addition, any entities that are owned, dent Joachim Chissano to head a dele-
directly or indirectly, 50% or more in gation that would seek to extricate the
the aggregate by one or more of such country from the debt crisis.
persons are also blocked.
In September, Rwandan President
“All transactions by US persons Paul Kagame advised Mnangagwa to
or within (or transiting) the Unit- start convincing Zimbabweans that
ed States that involve any property things were finebefore he convinces
or interests in property of blocked the international community. Kag-
or designated persons are prohibit- ame was speaking on the sidelines of
ed, unless authorized by a general or the Africa Green Revolution Forum
specific license issued by OFAC, or (AGRF) held in Kigali, Rwanda.
otherwise exempt. These prohibitions
include the making of any contribu-
tion or provision of funds, goods, or
services by, to, or for the benefit of any
blocked person and the receipt of any
contribution or provision of funds,
goods, or services from any such per-
son,” read the statement.

NewsHawks The Big Debate Page 39

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

The most consequential battles
for power in Zanu-PF are end-
lessly played out in dark spaces
where brass-knuckle tactics such
as bribes, death threats, murder
by poisoning and grenade attacks
are deployed by military hit
squads to override the rudiments
of electoral party politics.

SIMUKAI TINHU Zanu PF Headquarters in Harare.

IN October, Zimbabwe’s ruling party, the The Byzantine netherworld of
Zimbabwe African National Union-Pa- inner-circle Zanu PF politics
triotic Front (Zanu PF), held its elective A powerful Chiwenga who thinks his be read as quiet acceptance that Mnan- year, he would have struggled to mount stepping down in the face of an ambitious
congress. time to take over is soon is the type of a gagwa’s second term is likely to be short- support within the party to campaign for vice-president.
vice-president that any leader would rath- lived, but indeed, as the first inklings of him, and also that of voters, ahead of the
Delegates unanimously endorsed the er not have. the complicated process of power transfer 2023 elections. Thus, retaining Mnan- In the last days of Mugabe’s rulership,
country’s president, Emmerson Mnan- at party and government levels. gagwa as president for now should be seen Grace Mugabe never lost an opportunity
gagwa, as the party leader for the next five What also makes the outcome of the as cover for his inability to devise a better to tell supporters and the world at po-
years. This means the 80-year-old will be congress a victory for Chiwenga is that According to Chiwenga’s team, the winning election strategy. litical rallies that the then vice-president
the ruling party’s representative to contest since he became president, Mnangagwa vice-president’s strategy to ascend to pow- Mnangagwa and Chiwenga were organ-
Nelson Chamisa, the leader of the op- has been attempting to do away with his er is anchored by the agreement the two However, Mnangagwa is unlikely to ising a coup. Mugabe would later be re-
position Citizens Coalition for Change domineering deputy. In search of this end, leaders made around 2014 when Mnan- give up the presidency easily. With fears moved from power through a coup led by
(CCC), in the presidential elections he tooled up with a two-pronged strategy gagwa became vice-president and Chi- of what could happen to him when out Chiwenga.
scheduled for mid-2023. with its main aspect characterised by dra- wenga was still head of the armed forces; of power, he does not trust that Chiwenga
matic constitutional changes, the most that the then army commander would will protect him. In particular, he worries Similarly, in 2018, in an unhinged rant
Analysts were quick to interpret important being an amendment that aid Mnangagwa’s rise to the presidency, about Chiwenga’s intentions of bringing at a senior military commander – by ex-
Mnangagwa’s endorsement as not only a removes the presidential running-mate and in return, Mnangagwa would step in as vice-president, Saviour Kasukuwere, tension, the national army – in a leaked
victory, but also  successful future-proof- clause, giving Mnangagwa authority to down after one term, paving the way for the leader of Generation 40, a faction that audio tape, the current first lady, Auxilia
ing against  an inevitable challenge by appoint and fire his two deputies at gov- Chiwenga. fronted Mugabe’s struggle against Mnan- Mnangagwa, broke down as she accused
Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga. ernment level. Until 2021, the president gagwa between 2015 and 2017 — and the army of planning to assassinate her
A popular local online watcher of Zim- and vice-president were jointly elected, If claims by his allies are anything to also egged on to stay by his allies who husband, apparently, in a bid to remove
babwean politics,The NewsHawks, took making it difficult for Mnangagwa to re- go by, Chiwenga’s schedule is well within have become wealthy because of state him from power.
an extreme version of this thinking, de- move his deputy. timescales. The plan is to take over some- patronage, there is a real temptation to
scribing the development as the burying time after the elections. The logic behind undermine the agreement to step down The point that I seek to make here is
of Chiwenga’s ambitions. The second aspect was an aggressive taking over after elections is that Chiwen- after one term. that in the dark politics of Zimbabwe,
shake-up of the military leadership, with ga removed Robert Mugabe through a where paranoid first ladies run parallel
Disquieted, Chiwenga’s supporters, Chiwenga’s allies  in the army either re- coup — a salvatory intervention that still If that were to happen, Mnangagwa security and intelligence structures —
who had fantasised about a bloody ses- tired, or reassigned to the country’s dip- gives him an upper hand in the two’s rela- should not assume that a man who or- Auxilia Mnangagwa was an intelligence
sion at the congress, also  pilloried the lomatic missions. tions — and the momentum gathered by chestrated the 2008 hecatomb that killed officer herself — those clues matter. They
vice-president, apparently for not doing Chiwenga’s removal of Mugabe secured 300 opposition supporters after Mugabe illuminate better than seasoned political
enough to prevent what they viewed as This operation was aimed at weaken- Mnangagwa’s electoral victory in 2018. had lost in the first round of presidential observers the trajectory of Zimbabwe’s
their candidate’s public humiliation. ing Chiwenga’s hand in Zanu PF politics, elections, and lately the 2017 coup, will succession politics.
culminating in his ouster as vice-president It is now Mnangagwa’s turn to secure continue to suppress his dark instincts
But, a quick perusal of Zanu-PF’s at, or in the run-up to the congress. Chiwenga’s first term through the 2023 and play rationale actor. *About the writer: Simukai Tinhu is
history tells us that congresses are not a elections and step down. In other words, a scholar and writer on Zimbabwe’s for-
serious affair in the ruling party’s politics. But the shake-up of the constitution the 2022 congress was never the time and But how would the vice-president eign policy. He has recently completed a
Even ordinary Zimbabweans have come and the military wasn’t enough to gener- vehicle through which power was to be go about overcoming the stalling of his PhD in Politics from Edinburgh Uni-
to understand that congresses are nothing ate sufficient political capital, and Mnan- transferred. ambitions? In Zimbabwe, it seems very versity, and holds master’s degrees from
more than a ripple on the surface of the gagwa had no choice but retain Chiwenga few can foretell better than the wives of the London School of Economics in In-
liberation movement’s often brutal suc- as his deputy. Chiwenga is also aware that taking incumbent presidents what might hap- ternational Relations, and from Oxford
cession contests. over at congress might have been a bit of pen to their husbands, should they resist and Cambridge in African Studies.
Consequently,  the reaffirmation of a scramble. With elections in less than a
Rather, the most consequential battles Chiwenga as his deputy should not only
for power have tended to be endlessly
played out in much darker spaces – be-
hind the concrete walls of the ruling par-
ty’s headquarters, in military cantonments
and spies’ bunkers – where brass-knuckle
tactics such as bribes, death threats, mur-
der by poisoning and grenade attacks are
deployed by military hit squads to over-
ride the rudiments of electoral party pol-
itics.

In these unpredictable and more per-
verse spaces, where military obsessives
lurk in the shadows, the fundamentals
of power relations in Zanu-PF have re-
mained stable. Still anchored by the Zim-
babwe National Army (ZNA), Mnan-
gagwa’s rival continues to bestride Zanu
PF and national politics, a reality which
has manifested itself in various ways; the
vice-president hectoring Mnangagwa into
increasing funding for the military,  de-
manding quotas for army officers in gov-
ernment, state parastatals and the ruling
party, and abrasively appointing  himself
as defence minister, and most recent-
ly, health minister. This is why some see
Chiwenga as president in all but title.

But, ironically, nothing demonstrates
better the dominance of Chiwenga in
the ruling party and government than re-
maining as vice-president. This assertion
might read as semantics, because it was
Mnangagwa who won the spot for the
party leadership at congress, and used the
authority bestowed by this position to ap-
point Chiwenga as his Zanu PF deputy.

How then does the outcome of the
congress make Chiwenga the winner? For
Chiwenga, being retained as vice-presi-
dent at the congress is critical because it
keeps up his profile in and outside Zanu
PF, and allows him access to state patron-
age that he parcels out to his allies in the
party and the military.

Indeed, it is failure to reorder the
praesidium through  an imposition of a
low-profile, unambitious and more mal-
leable second-in-command which makes
Mnangagwa’s victory hollow.

Page 40 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

KYLIE KIUNGUYU Issue 112, 16 December 2022

ZIMBABWE is the first Afri- Zimbabwe approves long-acting
can country and the first low to drug to advance HIV prevention
middle-income country (LMIC)
globally to approve cabotegravir barriers in low- and middle-in- able. Even given the statistics men- greatest impact.”
(CAB-LA), an effective preven- come countries, including imple- “The extended-release inject- tioned earlier, Zimbabwe’s fight The news has garnered mass
tion option for people at risk of mentation challenges and costs.” against HIV has seen related
HIV infection. Zimbabwe takes the lead able preparation is an additional deaths fall from an estimated support, with many feeling that
In July, the WHO applauded option which has the benefits of 130 000 in 2002 to 20,000 in the move was positive and would
According to UNAIDS, in the licensing agreement between reduced dosing frequency, [and] 2021. Additionally, the National likely have the desired result.
2020, around 1.5 million people ViiV Healthcare and the Med- potentially improved adherence,” Aids Council (NAC) reports that
were newly infected with HIV, icine Patent Pool that allowed said Farai Masekela, head of eval- a strategic plan to end Aids by Quoted by the global body,
and in Zimbabwe, the propor- selected generic manufacturers uations and registration at the 2030 has already reached a target Nyasha Sithole, from the De-
tion of people ages 15 to 49 years in 90 low- and middle-income Medicines Control Authority of known as 90-90-90, that is 90% velopment Agenda for Girls
old with HIV in 2021 was ap- countries, including Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe (MCAZ), which ap- of people living with HIV know- and Women in Africa Network
prox. 11.9% (1 277 600 people). to develop, manufacture and proved the drug last month (19 ing their status; 90% getting an- (DAWA) commented, “Acceler-
supply generic versions of the October). “Data from clinical tiretroviral treatment; and 90% ating HIV prevention for girls
To help turn the tide against drug, subject to required regula- trials shows that it is more effec- having the virus suppressed. and young women requires an
new HIV infections globally it is tory approvals. tive than the current approved expansion of available choices. I
essential to expand access to HIV oral options,” he added. The WHO said in a statement am excited and proud to know
prevention medicines known as Following this and in the past that regulatory approval was that my own country, Zimba-
pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). month, the Medicines Control Zimbabwe has already reached a “crucial step,” and it would bwe, has approved the use of
Right now, there are three ap- Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) a target called 90-90-90 – 90% therefore support Zimbabwe “to CAB-LA. This will contribute
proved PrEP: oral PrEP, and the announced that it has approved of people living with HIV know- design and develop programmes to our basket of HIV prevention
long-acting alternatives Dapivir- the use of the long-acting inject- ing their status, 90% getting an- so that CAB-LA can be imple- tools that work for us as girls and
ine (DPV) vaginal ring and cabo- tiretroviral treatment and 90% mented, safely and effectively, for women in Zimbabwe.”
tegravir (CAB-LA). having the virus suppressed.
— This Is Africa.
CAB-LA is an injectable form
of pre-exposure prophylaxis
(PrEP) that has been highly effec-
tive at reducing the risk of HIV
acquisition. It is patented and
produced by ViiV Healthcare,
an offshoot of pharmaceutical
corporations Pfizer, GlaxoSmith-
Kline, and Shionogi. Until now,
the drug has only received regu-
latory approval in 2 high-income
countries: the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) approved
its use for HIV prevention in
December 2021, and Australia’s
Therapeutic Goods Administra-
tion (TGA) approved it in Au-
gust 2022.

CAB-LA is given every two
months and can stay in your
body for 12 months or longer af-
ter your last injection. UNAIDS
claims it is the safest and most
effective way of preventing HIV
infection despite what seems to
be a long and potentially serious
list of side effects.

Clinical Info- that offers ac-
cess to the latest, approved HIV/
AIDS medical practice- indicates
that people taking the drug could
experience severe skin rashes and
allergic reactions, back pain,
Muscle pain, upper respiratory
infections, liver problems, de-
pression, and mood changes.

Despite that and because of
the reported effectiveness, the
World Health Organisation
(WHO) has been calling for
countries to consider adopting
the drug. However, several fac-
tors have constrained access to
this drug, threatening progress
toward global targets for HIV
prevention.

“To achieve UN prevention
goals, we must push for rap-
id, equitable access to all effec-
tive prevention tools, including
long-acting PrEP,” said Rachel
Baggaley, Lead of the Testing,
Prevention and Populations
Team at Global HIV, Hepatitis
and STI Programmes at WHO.
“That means overcoming critical

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 41

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

MATTHEW MARE The constitution, gender
mainstreaming and feminists
THE insufficiencies of the Lan-
caster House constitution result- Zimbabwean Ambassador to Sweden Priscilla
ed in tenacious calls by feminists Misihairambwi-Mushonga played a key roll in
and gender activists to substi- the constitution-making process.
tute it with a more democratic
supreme law that endeavours to resonate with article 4 (3) of the women to escape the various hu- marital status, gender and preg- 78 and 80 (3) in the constitution
protect and advance the rights of Sadc Gender Protocol, which em- man rights violation traps that nancy as grounds of prohibited has significantly improved litiga-
women (Magaisa, 2011). phasises on the need for states to come with unemployment. In ad- discrimination. tion and the protection of the girl
put in place favourable measures dition, section 65 (6-7) provides child from child marriages and
In 2008, the Government of that eliminate the barriers for the for fair and reasonable labour Relatedly, marriage rights and other harmful practices.
National Unity that was ush- expressive participation of wom- practices on all human beings. abolition of harmful practices
ered in Zimbabwe as a result of a en in all spheres of life. are constituted under Section 78 Lastly, the constitution pro-
hung parliament, amongst other Like article 4 and 7 11(a) of the of the constitution (2013, 38), vides for the right to health and
things, was mandated to come up These spheres include empow- Sadc Gender Protocol and some which sets 18 years as the mini- reproductive care services for
with a “people-driven” constitu- erment and affirmative action parts of article 11 of the Cedaw, mum marriageable age for chil- women. Section 29 (1) delegates
tion. measures whose objectives are Section 65 (6-7) guarantees the dren. the state to take all practical mea-
to break inequalities that hinder right to the same pay for women sures to ensure the provision of
This became a glorious oppor- the progression of women such and fully paid maternity leave for Further, Section 78 (2) crim- basic, accessible and adequate
tunity that gender activists and as limited access to productive re- a period of at least three months. inalises forced marriages, which health services throughout Zim-
feminists had been waiting for sources and education, abuse and are prevalent in apostolic sects. babwe”.
in order for them to contribute exploitation as well as the right to Section 17 (1) of the constitu- These provisions domesticate ar-
towards a new gender-cognisant live a decent life. tion mandates the state to fully ticle 4 (8 a, b) of the Sadc Gender In the same way, the right to re-
constitution. Notably, Women promote gender balance. And Protocol, and article 6 (a-b) of productive health services under
of Zimbabwe Arise, Zimbabwe This is expressly espoused un- section 17(b) orders the state the Maputo Protocol and Cedaw section 76 (1) of the constitution
Women Lawyers Association, der 17 (c-d), which directs the to ensure equal representation which accentuate on the need for borrows from article 16 (1) (e) of
the Women's Action Group, and State to “take practical measures between women and men in all consent in marriage. They also set Cedaw, instructing states to pro-
several other women's organi- to ensure that women have access institutions and arms of govern- 18 years as the age for one to be mote and protect men and wom-
sations seized the opportunity to resources including land on ment. married. en’s right to reproductive health.
to mobilise gender activists and the basis of equality with men”,
feminists from all walks of life and to “take positive measures to To add on, Section 17 (d) (ii) The declaration of 18 years as The addition of reproductive
and submitted papers calling for rectify gender discrimination and lobbies for women to “…consti- the age of marriage and the em- rights addresses vital women
gender equality during outreach imbalances resulting from past tute at least half the membership phasis given for consent in the challenges, and enables them to
meetings. practices and policies”. of all commissions and other Constitution, effectively ban assert their rights, reduce their
elective and appointed govern- child marriages in Zimbabwe. vulnerability to HIV and Aids,
They specifically called for in- This is also in sync with the Ma- mental bodies established by or This is supported by Section 80 and other sexually transmitted
clusion of clauses that encom- puto Protocol, particularly article under this constitution or any act (3), which states that all practices diseases (Gender Links, 2013).
passed pertinent issues that have 19 (c), which encourages states to of parliament”. and traditions harmful to wom-
been presented on the section ensure women have access to and en are deemed to be void to the *About the writer: Matthew
that dealt the with Convention control over productive resources This resonates with article 5 of extent of the infringement of the Mare is a Zimbabwean aca-
on the Elimination of All Forms including land. Sadc Gender Protocol, Article 8 constitution. demic who holds two bachelor’s
of Discrimination Against Wom- (e) of the Maputo Protocol and degrees, five master’s qualifica-
en (Cedaw). The constitution under Section article 11 of Cedaw which both This is in tandem with provi- tions and a PhD. He is also do-
14 (2) domesticates article 7 (6) encourage gender balance as a sions of Article 2 of the Maputo ing another PhD and has 12 ex-
By promulgating a new con- (a) of the Sadc Gender Protocol step towards sustainable develop- Protocol and article 2 (f ) of the ecutive certificates in different
stitution on 22 August 2013, which mandates state parties to ment and justice. Cedaw that encourage the repul- fields. Professionally, he is a civ-
Zimbabwe integrated the human create opportunities for women’s sion of all laws, traditions and il servant and also board mem-
rights-based approach and liberal employment. The constitution also speaks customs that violate the rights of ber at the National Aids Coun-
feminism, which emphasise the of non-discrimination of wom- women. cil of Zimbabwe.
legal, policy and institutional re- Thus, the inclusion of section en under section 56. Section 56
forms to strengthen equality be- 14 in the constitution affords (3) contains issues to do with sex, The inclusion of the sections
tween women and men in society.

In addition, best international
and national human rights stan-
dards were implemented in or-
der to ensure that gender equal-
ity and non-discrimination were
guaranteed.

Besides Cedaw, other protocols
that were included in the consti-
tution include the Protocol to the
African Charter on Human and
People’s Rights on the Rights of
Women in Africa (Maputo Pro-
tocol), and the Southern African
Development Community Proto-
col on Gender and Development
(Sadc Gender Protocol).

The Constitution of Zimbabwe
also includes an extended Decla-
ration of Rights under Section 80
(1), which guarantees to wom-
en, socio-economic and political
rights. Similarly, Section 51 rein-
forces the respect for the inherent
dignity and the acceptance of
women as part of human diversi-
ty and humanity.

Section 27 (2) mandates the
government to take appropriate
measures to ensure that girls are
given similar opportunities as
boys in order to facilitate them to
obtain education at all levels.

Relatedly, Section 14 and 27

Page 42 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

Political parties have huge role to play to
end violence against women in politics

MEMORY PAMELLA KADAU

ZIMBABWE’S 2023 general Zanu PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa.
elections are now around the
corner and political parties are 2000 in Bolivia, “where a long in their own parties, showing
getting ready to intensify cam- grassroots campaign culminat- weakness, receiving criticism
paigns on the ground and on- ed in legal reform in 2012.” that they are not up to the job,
line. The Bolivian case was key to or the humiliation and frustra-
later developments, in three tion of not being taken serious-
For the major parties in Par- respects: “giving a name to this ly by the police.”
liament, their candidates for phenomenon, highlighting psy-
presidential elections have al- chological alongside physical A central part of VAWP (and
ready been announced. Barring forms of abuse, and developing Vawe) is victim-blaming, “as
unforeseen circumstances, the legislation to criminalise these men and women attempt to re-
Zanu PF presidential candi- behaviours.” instate a challenged hierarchy
date will be Emmerson Mnan- of power and governance.”
gagwa, while the mainstream The  Expert Group Meet-
opposition CCC’s candidate ing held in March 2018 by UN MDC Alliance leader Douglas Mwonzora. Sexual violence and politics
will be Nelson Chamisa. The Women, the Office of the High Politics across the world and
smaller opposition MDC Alli- Commissioner on Human tional frameworks; program- and sexual violence; and its im- more so in Zimbabwe is large-
ance’s candidate will be Doug- Rights and the Special Rappor- matic aspects in the prevention pact is to discourage women ly a men's affair and is difficult
las Mwonzora. teur on violence against wom- and mitigation of the problem; from being or becoming polit- to enter for women and one of
en, its causes and consequences, and measurement and monitor- ically active.” the many barriers to entry for
These are all men and with showed that consensus is start- ing of this phenomenon. women is sexual violence.
Constitutional Amendment ing to emerge in this area. VAWP and Vawe are un-
Number Two having removed Some common understand- derreported phenomena since According to the UN, sex-
the running mate clause, it is The Expert Group Meeting’s ings in the study of VAWP were “victims may be afraid to speak ual violence against women
clear the presidential election report and recommendations summarised in the words of publicly and may face addi- comprises a host of unwanted
will be an all-man affair. provide an overview of the pre- Krook: “ [VAWP] targets wom- tional disincentives if they re- behaviours targeting a person’s
vailing situation regarding the en because of their gender; its port incidents, e.g. political sexuality and sexual characteris-
While the top is settled, in- issue. very form can be gendered, as backlash, defamation, family tics, ranging from non-consen-
ternal processes of candidate exemplified by sexist threats impacts, marginalisation with- sual physical contact to unwel-
selection for the legislature and It addresses causes and con- come verbal conduct of a sexual
local authorities in all these par- sequences of Violence Against nature.
ties are yet to start. Women in Politics (VAWP);
international, regional and na- These acts of violence can ei-
The primary election process-
es take different forms, from
voting to selection through
consensus.

Among many other prob-
lems, these processes often ex-
pose women seeking public
office within these political par-
ties to the scourge of Violence
Against Women in Elections
(Vawe) either through sexual
harassment or violence, physi-
cal and psychological attacks.

This article will specifically
look at how sexual abuse limits
women’s participation in poli-
tics by creating a toxic environ-
ment.

Vawe is a form of violence
against women intended to
impact the realisation of their
political rights in an electoral
context. This includes women’s
participation as candidates, vot-
ers, activists, party supporters,
observers, election workers, or
public officials.

According to  Mona Lena
Krook and Juliana Restrepo, ac-
tivists throughout Latin Amer-
ica contributed to define the
concept of “political violence
and political harassment against
women” (violencia política y
acoso politico hacia las mujeres),
working inductively from their
experiences and observations.

The concept first appeared in

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 43

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

ther be online, offline or both. Women's under-representa- women are hesitant to enter CCC leader Nelson Chamisa. nism so that victims can report
Whether involving a single tion mainstream politics for fear of their cases and get help. As a
incident or a pattern of be- Sexual violence is therefore part sexual violence. fences. starting point they can under-
haviour, sexual violence violates of main challenges resulting in Political parties should enact take a baseline survey on sex-
human dignity, communicating under-representation of women Even within political party ual violence in political parties
a message of domination and in elected and appointed posi- elections, women face sexual vi- enforceable anti-sexual violence to establish the facts, patterns,
disrespect. tions in Zimbabwe. olence and sextortion for them codes of conduct. forms and gaps.
to be elected to internal posi-
Employed to display, gain, or For example, in the 2018 tions. All political parties in Zim- Raising public awareness and
maintain power, sexual violence elections only 26 women were babwe should be proactive training
can also create a hostile envi- directly elected into Parliament, The effect has been fewer and enact enforceable codes of The culture of sexual violence
ronment within a political par- down from 29 in the 2013 elec- women elected to top hierar- conduct which deal with cases in politics has largely been nor-
ty, interrupting and potentially tions. chies of major political parties, of sexual violence in their po- malised in the country in part
undermining women’s contri- while families have also lim- litical parties. All office holders due to ignorance, stereotypes
butions. In local authorities, only ited their participation citing within the party must sign up and cultural practices. To chal-
15% out of the 1 958 wards the toxic nature of the political to be bound by these codes of lenge and change this, there is
Recent interventions around were occupied by women, this landscape in the country. conduct which must provide of need for civil society and the
the world, especially in the is far short of the envisaged 50- Steps to curb the scourge deterrent sanctions, including media to deliberately raise pub-
wake of the #MeToo move- 50 representation in terms of Having noted above that sexual expulsions and recall from po- lic awareness on what consti-
ment, seek to deepen emerg- section 17 of the constitution violence is a serious problem in sitions. tute sexual violence and how as
ing understandings that sexual of Zimbabwe. politics, the article proposes the politically members and general
violence is pervasive but unac- five steps which can be taken Deliberate efforts must be citizens they can help stop the
ceptable in the political realm While the quota system of by various actors to curb this made to raise awareness on the scourge. It is also important
by working to raise awareness, 60 parliamentary seats and the scourge: codes of conduct. for civil society to target elect-
pursue sanctions, and devise recent 30% of all local author- Sexual violence legislation ed political party officials and
preventative measures to expose ity wards are welcome inter- The first key step is for the leg- The Zimbabwe Electoral capacitate them to be aware of
and combat sexual violence in ventions, they do not guaran- islature to pass a comprehensive Commission (Zec) and Gen- their responsibility in providing
its various forms. tee that the internal selection law which covers various acts der Commission must devel- spaces safe from sexual violence
processes in parties are fair and that constitute sexual violence. op monitoring and reporting within their parties at all levels.
In Zimbabwe, women who women are not sexually ha- This will provide a firm legal mechanism.
participate in politics have rassed. foundation that gives recourse Empowering survivors/victims
had to deal with labels such as for women whose rights have Sexual violence affects the po- Sexual violence in politics is
“prostitutes", "home wreckers", Research by various wom- been violated by sex predators litical environment for women occurring in an environment
"loose”, among other degrad- en’s organisations and rights in politics and will act as a de- to ultimately participate in elec- where survivors have felt pow-
ing descriptions which seek to groups, like Women’s Coalition terrent to would-be offenders. tions while undermining their erless to do anything about
dehumanise and disempower of Zimbabwe, Women Acade- Perpetrators must be unapolo- fundamental rights. Therefore, their situation.
them. my for Leadership and Political getically punished for their of- Zec and the Zimbabwe Gender
Excellence (WALPE, 2019), Commission must set up a joint Victims have been reluctant
Zimbabwe’s leading political UN Women (2020) and Open mechanism to monitor and act to come forward with their cas-
parties are dominated by men Democracy (2022), shows that against sexual violence in polit- es for fear of retaliation, gender
with women sidelined to wom- ical parties. biases, stereotyping and label-
en’s wings/assemblies/leagues ing and other adverse conse-
where little decisions of signif- The commissions must also quences.
icance are made. provide for a referral mecha-
Civil society, government
Internal affairs of political agencies and political parties
parties in Zimbabwe are large- should enable an empowering
ly unregulated by law and any environment for survivors to
grievances are supposed to be tell their story, be rehabilitated
resolved internally. and be helped to continue with
their lives after experiencing the
Most of the major parties gruesome ordeal of sexual vio-
have vague constitutions and lence.
internal documents, and none
of them have a code of conduct In conclusion, sexual vio-
which proscribes sexual vio- lence remains a scourge which
lence. In addition, where disci- is adversely affecting women's
plinary committees exist, they participation in politics, delay-
are dominated by men, yet they ing gender equality on elect-
are often the ones responsible ed positions and reversing the
for sexual violence and cannot gains made in women's em-
prosecute themselves. powerment.

Oftentimes, women who re- The direct victims are dis-
port cases of sexual violence are proportionately women, but
further victimised by being dis- the whole of society ultimately
missed as “bitter losers” or hav- suffers because of this vice. As
ing been in a relationship with the nation goes towards 2023
the abuser and simply seeking general election, it is an oppor-
sympathy. tunity to reflect on this serious
challenge and provide working
This double victimisation solutions to make party candi-
silences other victims and em- dates selection and other pro-
boldens perpetrators to attack cesses sexual violence free.
more women as they are assured
of impunity. Resultantly, wom- *About the writer: Memory
en, and especially young wom- Pamela Kadau is a feminist
en, have been victims of sexual and women’s rights defend-
harrowing in major political er. She writes here in her ca-
parties with some instances be- pacity and can be contacted
ing sexual exploitation in a quid on:  [email protected],
pro quo situation where a man she tweets @memorykadau
in power demands sexual fa-
vours in exchange for signing
such documents as nomination
papers.

Page 44 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

Human rights dealt a blow by 2022
DEPROSE MUCHENA

IT has been 74 years since the adop-
tion of the  Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (UDHR) by the Unit-
ed Nations General Assembly.

This international document
is meant to guarantee the  human
rights and freedoms of all people, re-
gardless of their race, creed, gender or
nationality. It makes clear that “hu-
man rights should be protected by the
rule of law”.

While the UDHR was a progres-
sive document at the time, it was not
born in a vacuum. The UDHR was
brought to life as an attempt by world
leaders of the time to prevent a repeat
of some of the darkest days in history,
which took place during the horrors
of World War II.

Historians have estimated that
anywhere between 40-million and
60-million people were killed during
that war and yet, despite the subse-
quent adoption and introduction of
the UDHR, and the adoption of sev-
eral other human rights instruments,
new wars as well as long-standing and
unresolved conflicts continue to cause
pain and suffering to civilians around
the world.

Compounding this problem is the
ever-growing deficit in global leader-
ship to envision and reimagine a new
value-driven, rights-respecting world
order. The international system is
clearly in crisis, hardly holding togeth-
er to decisively resolve many of the
mutually reinforcing complex global
political and socio-economic challeng-
es the world faces today.

Russian war of aggression in Ukraine count for almost a third of the world’s es, their allied militias and by the Er- States Africa Command  (Africom) rights and excessive weaponisation of
On 24 February, people wheat exports with African nations itrean forces that have been fighting and the African Union Mission in So- the law as an instrument of repression,
across  Ukraine  woke up to among their largest purchasers. Ac- alongside the Ethiopian military. malia (Amisom) now replaced by the smear campaigns against activists, the
the news that their country was being cording to the  World Food Pro- African Union Transition Mission in abuse of the criminal justice system by
invaded  by  Russia’s military. In the gramme, Russia and Ukraine supply Similarly, the Tigrayan forces com- Somalia (Atmis), continues to have a means of political persecution in the
middle of the night, Russian tanks 100% of  Eritrea’s supplies and 66% mitted grave human rights violations, devastating toll on civilians. name of prosecution and the down-
rolled into the country and the mili- of Ethiopia’s wheat. With both coun- including sexual violence, against right colonial-era intimidation tactics
tary attacked from multiple directions, tries already facing humanitarian cri- women and girls in the Amhara and In Mali,  thousands of people have by an assortment of state functionaries
killing civilians and destroying public ses, due to armed conflict and drought, Afar regions. As human rights lawyer been forced to flee their homes  and and their supporting cast.
infrastructure and people’s homes. things have been worse as a result of a Brian Kagoro has opined – it has be- many civilians have been killed amid
war fought far from their shores. come “a festival of illegalities”! increased fighting between Islamic These authoritarians use a common
As the war rages on, the sheer scale Continuing wars and violations in State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) and playbook  – including the promotion
of human rights violations and crimes Africa In South Sudan, sexual violence has Malian armed forces and allied armed and harvesting of fear, undermining
under international law that are ex- In different parts of Africa, people been and continues to be a persistent groups, as the conflict in northern of institutions, blaming outsiders for
posed grows with every passing day. who are trapped in conflicts in coun- feature of the conflict  that broke out Mali escalated in June. domestic failure, exploiting religion,
Entire neighbourhoods have been tries such as  Burkina Faso,  Camer- in the country on 15 December 2013. rewriting history, dividing and con-
destroyed through disproportionate oon, the  Central African Republic, Parties to these conflicts committed quering, eroding the truth and doing
and indiscriminate attacks, with the the  Democratic Republic of Con- Perpetrators include government se- war crimes and other serious violations anything to sustain their repression
UN recording nearly eight million go  (DRC), Ethiopia,  Mali,  Mo- curity actors, non-state armed groups, of international humanitarian and hu- and get away with their crimes.
Ukrainian refugees across Europe and zambique,  Niger,  Nigeria,  Soma- militias and armed and unarmed men. man rights law. The pursuit of justice
many more people missing or forcibly lia and South Sudan have continued to Guns are used to facilitate conflict-re- for victims proved largely to be elusive. These tactics shrink the space for
transferred to Russian territory. pay the price of these protracted wars lated sexual violence with impunity by Rising authoritarianism and shrink- human rights and civil society. To
in 2022 and are experiencing full-scale security forces, who threaten women ing space highlight this problem, the  Southern
In towns such as Bucha, Andriiv- violations of their human rights. and girls to comply with their sexual A centrally discussed concern in Af- African Human Rights Defenders
ka, Zdvyzhivka and Vorzel,  Amnesty demands. rica, as indeed in other parts of the Network meeting in Lusaka in the last
International  collected evidence and Again, failed leadership by the UN world, is what author and histori- week of November, chose this as the
testimony of unlawful killings, includ- and the AU has meant war and con- In the DRC, successive multi-lay- an  Anne Applebaum  coined in her theme of their annual human rights
ing apparent extrajudicial executions. flict have become a standard bearer ered armed conflicts have devastated new book as the “seductive lure of au- summit!
Some victims had their hands tied be- of the rule of law deficit so evident in the country since the early 1990s. thoritarianism” – a drift towards toxic
hind their backs while others showed most of the war-torn parts of the con- nationalism, populism and despotic Across Africa, authorities have esca-
signs of torture. In further instances of tinent. Congolese and foreign armies as abuse of power by leaders of countries lated their crackdown on peaceful dis-
likely crimes against humanity, con- well as non-state armed groups have operating in concert with others. sent, including the detention of gov-
voys of civilians fleeing with their chil- For example, in Ethiopia, the continued to commit countless crimes ernment critics and opposition leaders
dren were fired upon. conflict in the northern region under international law throughout It is self-evident that despotic lead- for speaking out against injustice.
of  Tigray  entered its second year in 2022, including war crimes, crimes ers do not rule alone, they rely on a
The impact of Russia’s war against November 2022. Grave human rights against humanity, and other  grave system – a package of enablers, polit- Prominent Zimbabwean opposition
Ukraine is not contained within Eu- violations, including  sexual violence, human rights abuses. The long-pro- ical allies, bureaucrats and state-con- leader Job Sikhala has been languish-
rope. The economic and social rights have been a defining feature of the claimed potential of the DRC to be trolled media figures to pave the way ing in detention for more than five
of millions of people across Africa, conflict. Multiple forms of sexual vio- the final key that unlocks Africa’s to support their [mis]rule. months  without having been found
and globally, have suffered as a conse- lence — including rape, sexual slavery, development in power, energy, and guilty of any crime, after attending the
quence of Russian aggression. sexual mutilation and torture — have mineral development has sadly so far You can see the cross-border alli- funeral of a political activist. In Sep-
been perpetrated against Tigrayan remained a stillbirth. ance of this project, the copycat be- tember, author and activist Tsitsi Dan-
In Africa, the war has plunged the women and girls by government forc- haviour in the enactment of draconian garembga  and fellow protester Julie
continent into a deeper economic In Somalia, the ongoing conflict anti-NGO laws from one country to Barnes were each convicted of “incit-
crisis, which was already struggling, between Somali authorities and the the other, the curtailment of human ing violence” and handed a six-month
following the disastrous impact of armed group al- Shabaab, which also suspended sentence after they protest-
Covid-19 on people’s livelihoods. The involves allied regional and interna-
significant rise in the cost of oil, of tional forces including the  United
which Russia is the biggest supplier
globally, has driven food prices higher,
including the cost of staple food such
as bread.

Together, Russia and Ukraine ac-

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 45

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

ed economic hardships in 2020. rights working to abolish this cruel and in- compensation for non-financial losses ing greater and more organised mobil-
In Angola, authorities tightened Human rights gains are never given on human form of punishment. if the defamatory speech forms part of isation and reclaiming of civic space
a silver platter. They are a function of “public discourse on issues of legiti- online through greater digital activism.
their grip on the rights to freedom of struggle, of organising, not agonising In Malawi, justice was served in mate public interest”. This included routine online pushback
peaceful assembly and association by and of resilience and standing up to April when a court convicted 12 men Standing up to ‘protect the protest’ on falsehoods, misinformation and
preventing civil society meetings from human rights abusers. over the 2018 killing of MacDonald From Tanzania to Uganda, Russia to manipulation by an African popula-
taking place ahead of the general elec- Masambuka, a person with albinism. Sri Lanka, France to Senegal, and Iran tion embracing digital tools and spaces
tion in August. Against this backdrop, we have to Zimbabwe, state authorities are for activism and social change.
also seen positive signs in 2022 that In another victory for human implementing an expanding array of
In the DRC, authorities have con- are encouraging for those fighting to rights, in South Africa a constitution- measures to suppress organised dis- This year, Amnesty International
tinued to use the state of siege, which promote and ensure the protection of al court ruling in November provided sent. launched a new global campaign to
is similar to a state of emergency, in human rights. The global fight against new protection for human rights de- confront states’ widening and inten-
North Kivu and Ituri provinces, as the death penalty is being won, slow- fenders and activists against  Strategic Protesters across the globe are fac- sifying efforts to erode the right to
a tool to crush dissent. Military and ly but surely. While an overwhelming Litigation against Public Participa- ing a potent mix of pushbacks, with peaceful assembly.
police authorities have used sweeping majority of countries in the region tion  (Slapp) suits designed to silence a growing number of laws and other
powers to silence individuals deemed have not yet abolished the death pen- criticism. measures to restrict the right to protest, Our “Protect the Protest” campaign
critical of the state of siege, including alty for all crimes, some including including the misuse of force; “author- will challenge attacks on peaceful pro-
members of parliament, pro-democ- Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia and The court ruled that Slapp suits tar- itarian legalism” characterised by use, test, stand with those targeted, and
racy activists and human rights work- Zimbabwe, are not carrying out any get activists, journalists, whistleblow- abuse and non-use of the law; the ex- support the causes of social movements
ers. In April, a military court in Beni executions. ers and everyday people who exercise pansion of unlawful mass and targeted pushing for human rights change.
convicted 12 activists from the citizen their constitutional rights, including surveillance; internet shutdowns and
movement Lutte pour le Changement Meanwhile, Zambia has begun the challenging injustice, masquerading as online censorship; smear campaigns; None but ourselves!
in a shameful attempt to silence criti- process of doing away with the death ordinary lawsuits. and abuse and stigmatisation. *About the writer: Deprose
cal voices. penalty through parliament after Presi- Muchena is senior director for re-
Some positive signs for human dent Hakainde Hichilema announced In the second  judgment, the con- As offline space shrinks, we are see- gional human rights impact at Am-
in May that the country would be stitutional court held that companies nesty International.
that suffer harm to their reputation as
a result of defamation may not claim

Hypertension, diabetes, stroke: They
kill more people than infectious

diseases and should get a Global Fund

KAUSHIK RAMAIYA

NON-communicable diseases such of these conditions overlap. For ex- I would argue that the case for in- The lessons learned from the The WHO’s  noncommunicable
as diabetes, hypertension and cardio- ample,  research  has shown that  co- vestment  in noncommunicable dis- Covid-19 pandemic offer opportuni- disease compact  proposes concrete
vascular conditions account for  41 morbidities  such as diabetes and eases has never been stronger. ties for strengthening emergency pre- actions. These actions need to be da-
million deaths each year. cancers are common in people living A roadmap paredness and responses beyond pan- ta-driven and supported by noncom-
with HIV. The World Health Assembly recent- demics. Emergency risk management municable disease-related indicators
That is more than 70% of all deaths Broadening healthcare provision ly approved the World Health Organ- and continuity of essential health in health systems performance and
globally. Most of these deaths (77%) Disease specific programmes isation’s roadmap for the prevention services for all hazards – addressing access to healthcare metrics.
are in low-income and middle-in- have  limitations. As public health and control of noncommunicable the foundational health system gaps
come countries – including those in practitioners we should learn from diseases covering the period 2023- – can improve health security. Monitoring systems need to be
Africa. our mistakes. We must build inte- 2030. What should be done more diverse.
grated programmes and health sys- How should Africa respond to the in-
These conditions are current- tems that address the interlinkages The roadmap recommends actions creasing burden of noncommunicable The systems should capture and
ly more prevalent than infectious dis- and co-morbidities. One example to: diseases? There needs to be a strong monitor progress made through sec-
eases. Sixty-seven percent occur be- would be to include diabetes screen- political will and buy-in from govern- tors that affect health, such as hous-
fore the age of 40. Besides being the ing in TB treatment programmes. • promote “best-buys” interven- ments, with strong multi-stakeholder ing and sanitation. Doing this would
leading causes of death worldwide, tions with a high return for every dol- participation. strengthen the monitoring of nation-
noncommunicable diseases carry In addition to integration, non- lar spent, such as smoking cessation al systems and the capacity to address
a huge cost to individuals. These also communicable diseases require in- programmes The  UN General Assembly  deci- noncommunicable diseases compre-
undermine workforce productivity creasing investments. sion on HIV and noncommunicable hensively.
and threaten economic prosperity. • strengthen health systems diseases commits governments to
The Global Fund is seeking US$18 • reduce noncommunicable disease identify and address the comorbidi- Health system strengthening and
Healthcare provision in much of billion this year. At the same time The risk factors such as tobacco use and ties of HIV and other links to press- quality of care will improve signifi-
Africa still relies on  external donors. Lancet NCD Countdown 2030 proj- unhealthy diets ing global health challenges. These cantly with additional resources for
There’s insufficient funding to help ects that interventions for noncom- • embed noncommunicable dis- include links to noncommunicable noncommunicable diseases through
low-income and middle-income municable diseases need US$18 bil- eases within primary healthcare and diseases, learning from the perspec- an entity like the Global Fund.
countries control noncommunicable lion a year. That’s what it would take universal health coverage. tives of people living with these con-
diseases. Most  development assis- to meet the UN target of reducing This roadmap needs to be followed ditions and underscoring the impor- — tithe Conversation.
tance for health funding provided by noncommunicable diseases by a third in line with the commitments to re- tance of focusing on comorbidities.
international donors is allocated for by the year 2030. duce air pollution and promote men- *About the writer: Kaushik Ra-
infectious diseases and maternal and tal health and well-being. maiya is honorary professor of med-
child health. In  2019, funding for icine and global health at the Liv-
HIV amounted to US$9.5 billion. erpool School of Tropical Medicine.
The amount allocated to noncommu-
nicable diseases was US$0.7 billion.

Evidence suggests that addressing
the noncommunicable disease pan-
demic can also mitigate other chal-
lenges like HIV, tuberculosis (TB),
maternal and child health, and uni-
versal health coverage.

The  Global Fund  to Fight Aids,
TB and Malaria is an international
partnership. The fund invests US$4
billion a year to fight these three dis-
eases.

I believe it’s now time to think of
establishing a Global Fund for non-
communicable diseases, or expand
the mandate of Global Fund beyond
Aids, TB and malaria. The epidemics

Page 46 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

CAVAN OSBORNE Issue 112, 16 December 2022

ZIMBABWE  continues to be a The peculiar case of Zimbabwe
market I struggle to understand. as an investment destination
The macro-economic reading I had reference interest rate was pushed
done, and the recent stock market to 200%. The central bank has in-
performance, painted a really des- dicated that it will not be reducing
perate picture. the rate until inflation drops below
5% per month (currently more than
The commentary from company 20% per month).
management was also very mixed.
So, on arriving in the country re- needs to be added to the price. Then, al loans – the supply of Zimbabwe remain highly regulated. Our take on current investment
cently, I was surprised by just how when contractors get paid, they im- dollars has dried up leading the of- Econet is the dominant telecom- opportunity
vibrant the capital, Harare, was. mediately hit the street to change to ficial rate to stabilise and the paral- Our fund has a single exposure to
There were a number of traffic hard currency, thereby perpetuating lel rate to strengthen. According to munications provider in the coun- Zimbabwe through its investment
jams on route to a guest house in a the supply side. zimpricecheck.com the rate official try. In 2019 it unbundled its mobile in fast food company Simbisa. The
smart suburb and all 18 rooms were rate is now at ZW$660 and parallel money business, EcoCash, listing it investment case at the entry time
booked for the week. Until April 2022, interest rates at ZW$900. This is around the nar- separately. Given the currency short- was the global trend of eating out of
A severely depreciating exchange were capped by regulations at 40%. rowest percentage gap in many years. ages, and the large inbound remit- home. Further, it has roughly half its
rate Businesses were borrowing money tance flows into Zimbabwe, I had stores in African countries outside of
The last time we visited Zimbabwe that would quickly be converted Both Delta (the local beer and expected EcoCash to be a hugely Zimbabwe. Hyper-inflation makes
was in 2019 and the local Zimbabwe into US dollars to buy raw mate- soft drink manufacturer) and Sim- successful business. But the growth assessing the performance challeng-
dollar had just been introduced (or rials and secure capital goods. This bisa (fast food company) spoke of a has been muted relative to other mo- ing – but it is positive that volume
re-introduced) following the dollar- added even more supply of the lo- change in the payment mix from 30- bile money providers on the conti- growth remains positive. For the 12
isation period. The official rate was cal currency. Borrowing was full 40% US dollars to 80-90% US dol- nent. months to June 2022, Simbisa indi-
ZW$2 to the US dollar and the par- tilt. Corporates could borrow at less lar sales since July 2022. In fact, the cated that its customers count was
allel rate was around ZW$4. Fuel than 4% per month while inflation switch has been so dramatic that it The growth has been halted by up 28% year-on-year. At its last re-
was scarce at the time and there were was running at more than 20%. The is now making servicing Zimbabwe government interference. The intro- porting date, Simbisa had 500 out-
long lines of cars parked outside fill- business would buy goods that held dollar loans and payment of taxes in duction of a 2% e-levy (electronic lets, and management is confident of
ing stations in the hope of supply value in hard currency, hoping to re- the local currency a concern. News transfer levy) discouraged its use. opening 100 new stores each year. In
arriving. sell at the inflated values and repay articles are saying parents are hav- Up until May this year only Zimba- September, the company declared a
the loans. There is speculation that ing difficulty paying school fees as bwe dollar transactions were permit- small US dollar dividend. While the
Maybe the busy feel of the place some borrowers invested in the stock schools are demanding payment in ted. When US dollar transactions company is delivering where it can,
was simply relative to previous vis- market and this added more pressure local currency. were legislated, they came with a from a return perspective this has all
its when shop shelves were bare, and to the currency. 4% e-levy. But probably the biggest been overshadowed by the 99% col-
roads were near empty. The official The government starving the mar- growth hinderance was the banning lapse in the exchange rate.
exchange rate has since moved to The sharp currency slide has upset ket of local currency is not sustain- of cash out. Mobile money develop-
above ZW$600 and the parallel rate the authorities who are now putting able – so we would expect this situa- ment in Africa starts as a cash-in/ Zimbabwe is a country with po-
is at ZW$820, after recently touch- measures in place to punish the per- tion to reverse. cash-out service. tential, but the longer the current
ing ZW$1 000 to the US dollar. To ceived perpetrators. The 15 largest situation persists the more challeng-
put that in perspective, if, when I bank lenders were investigated and With elections scheduled for ear- People earn money in the cities ing it will be to attain its potential.
last visited in 2019, I had exchanged banned from borrowing for a period. ly 2023 the expectation is that the and then use the service to transfer The lack of investment over the last
a US$100 note at the parallel rate I The borrowing rate has been pushed government will release Zimbabwe money to families in rural areas who 20 years will mean there will be a
would have received 400 “Zimdol- from 40% to 200% and from Au- dollars back into the system. Com- would cash-out using local agents. need for significant catch-up spend-
lars” in cash. Assuming I had held gust the government declared that panies and individuals have seen this Without the confidence that that ing before investors are likely to see
that in cash at home and then ex- all government payments must be in story before and seem far better pre- cash is accessible, users are reluctant cash returns.
changed it on arriving at the airport, Zimbabwe dollars. pared. to make use of the service.
I would have been given 20 US cents Government interference Econet, for instance, is reporting
today – a loss of more than 99% in The government is said to have The government continues to The Zimbabwe stock exchange spending 2% to 3% of its revenue on
three years. also stopped paying many of its con- strongly influence the operating en- has also had a rollercoaster time. capital projects, versus an industry
tractors and suppliers. So, with sup- vironment. While some industries It started the year by rising 200% norm of 12-20%. The recent figures
The depreciation of the currency pliers not flooding the market and seem to have relative freedom, others in Zimdollar terms and more than are distorted by hyperinflation, but
has been particularly severe in the the big lenders not taking addition- 100% in US dollars. But it has all they do highlight the lack of access
last six months. There are probably come tumbling down since the local to foreign currency to pay suppli-
many specific reasons for the col- ers. So, when the foreign exchange
lapse, but it usually comes down to market does open, it will likely go
supply versus demand. As the cur- through an elevated spending period
rency weakens, any person or busi- before shareholders get cash rewards.
ness wants to get rid of the "Zim-
dollars" as fast as possible. Further, if When underdeveloped countries
there is a risk of the payment being need a boost, they often turn to the
delayed then the service provider International Monetary Fund (IMF)
needs to build in expected depreci- for assistance. But IMF money has
ation into any business deal. When strings attached. For investors, loans
hyperinflation hit Zimbabwe previ- from the IMF typically provide con-
ously, prices were changing during fidence as the greater fiscal oversight
the day. We were told stories of golf- often means greater currency stabil-
ers paying for halfway drinks at the ity.
start of their round as the price may
have doubled after nine holes. Yet for Zimbabwe, the IMF has
said it will not consider lending until
A packet of Lay’s was selling for the country deals with the payment
ZW$2 479 at the Pick n Pay. At the or renegotiation of external arrears.
official rate this translates to US$4 Zimbabwe has shown no indication
and US$3 at the parallel rate. This of addressing the situation.
is three to four times more than
what the same bag of chips sells for While activity levels in Zimbabwe
in South Africa. appear to be the highest I have seen
Increased supply of local currency in the last 20 years, with no expec-
These future pricing actions lead to tation of the currency repatriation
inflation and ultimately hyper-in- situation changing, we will not be
flation. The Zimbabwean govern- considering investing fresh money
ment has been paying its construc- into the country.
tion contractors, for example, using
Zimbabwe dollars. Contractors *About the writer: Cavan Os-
were inflating prices to account for borne is portfolio manager at Old
the future cost of raw materials, for Mutual Investment Group (Mac-
instance, and potential delays in roSolutions). This article was first
payment. Therefore, with inflation published by  Old Mutual Invest-
running at 20% per month, for in- ment Group.
stance, if government delays pay-
ment by three months an extra 60%

NewsHawks Critical Thinking Page 47

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

Repositioning African universities to respond
to contemporary challenges and opportunities

This is a keynote address that was
delivered by South Africa’s Uni-
versity of Pretoria Vice-Chan-
cellor and Principal Professor
Tawana Kupe – a Zimbabwean
academic – at the Regional Uni-
versities Forum (RuForum)’s 18
Annual General Meeting at the
University Zimbabwe (UZ) in
Harare on Thursday.

During the event there were
also related activities at Rain-
bow Towers Hotel and launch of
the UZ’s Innovation Hub.

TAWANA KUPE

GOOD afternoon, and thank
you for inviting me to speak
at RuForum’s 18th Annual
General Meeting. It comes at
a time where the need for Af-
rican Universities to respond
to our continent’s contempo-
rary challenges is greater than
ever before, and we are called
to mobilise our collective tal-
ents and efforts to make a real
difference towards our shared
future.

The nature of our challenges University of Pretoria Vice-Chancellor and Principal Professor Tawana Kupe addressing delegates at a universities forum meeting at the University of Zimbabwe.
and opportunities
We are all fully aware of the For instance, forced, reluc- Examples of how this plays cess to knowledge. and contribution to the public
unprecedented complexity and tant or voluntary migration is out are myriad, and I will only Notwithstanding such chal- good.
uncertainty the world current- a frequent occurrence related highlight a few. The impact
ly faces. Shocks to already vul- to political, economic or so- of the Covid-19 pandemic lenges, our untapped oppor- But recognising potential is
nerable systems were clearly cial instability – acting either on weak economic and social tunities are profound. The not enough – we need to fully
evident during the Covid-19 in isolation or in concert. The systems sharply aggravated ex- African potential is vast. We realise it, as we seek to turn-
pandemic, and we are realis- interdependent nature of issues isting societal fault lines, and are endowed with immensely around the many dimensions
ing that disruptions of similar reflects complexity, and the drove worsening inequality. talented and resilient people, where we lag behind the rest of
magnitude are inevitable and consequences or their interac- At the same time, nationalis- and our young population has the world in higher education,
will be experienced more fre- tions adds to it. Technological tic and protectionist agendas the potential to be our great- including the performance
quently. A “new unusual” that shifts with digital transforma- from the global north inhibit- est strength. Beyond people, metrics commonly cited.
is dynamic and uncertain has tion present a paradox of pro- ed African access to preventa- our continent holds extensive
overtaken a “new normal”. found opportunities to influ- tive vaccines until much later natural resources, which in More importantly, as institu-
ence models of education and in the course of the pandemic. some circumstances are critical tions of higher education, we
In a globally connected land- access thereof, but this is coun- In another example, the threat to global agendas such as just are from Africa and for Africa.
scape, and across political, tered by high costs of technol- to global food security arising energy transitions and sustain- We exist because of, and within
economic, social, technolog- ogy and unequal access in the from the current political con- able development. our multifaceted cultures and
ical, legal and environmental digital divide. flict and war in Ukraine will be societies, and it follows that we
domains and ecosystems, we felt most keenly in Africa. Our universities are well should be functioning for the
experience and share the conse- In the African context, the placed to create spaces for di- good of society and its develop-
quences of issues and phenom- challenges are magnified, large- Similarly, the impacts of alogue where multiple voices ment. This calls for us to ensure
ena that arise locally, regionally ly driven by how globally con- climate change, driven by ac- can contribute to a better un- and increase our relevance and
or globally. nected the world has become, tors beyond the continent, are derstanding of the problems efforts towards greater societal
and the stark power imbalanc- likely to be acutely felt in Af- we face, and can also begin to impact, characterised by inclu-
Political conflict, rising es that contribute to the cur- rica. In higher education, im- create the necessary solutions. sivity and clearly evident con-
populism, and corruption are rent vulnerability of systems balances and inequalities are While, at this time, we may tributions to just inclusive and
putting democratic systems in Africa. These drivers further clearly evident in macrosys- not be fully positioned to fulfil sustainable development.
and global rule-making under constrain our ability to recover temic structures, accessibility, this role, it is essential that we
stress, aggravated by misinfor- from shocks. resourcing, capabilities and ac- recognise our potential, as we The United Nations’ Sustain-
mation, disinformation and seek to increase our influence able Development Goals, the
the rejection of science and SDGs, and our own African
facts. Worsened by a crisis of
global economic systems, the
triple scourges of poverty, in-
equality and unemployment,
and in particular high youth
unemployment, are ubiquitous
to the continent, and are more
prevalent than in many parts of
the world.

There are frequent intersec-
tions and interdependencies
between the issues, as well as
paradoxical implications.

Page 48 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

Union Agenda 2063, through laboration between and across developing programmes to de- impact in a more tangible way. receive are a means to an end,
their collaborative design and universities must change at a velop our current and future Moreover, institutional and and not an end in themselves.
aspirational outlook, collec- rapid pace. leaders in higher education. They describe our impact
tively provide us with a good These programmes could be organisational innovation is within a closed academic sys-
and accepted framework to We must seek to shift from joint initiatives across our in- needed, rather than just focus- tem, and are weak surrogates
shape our actions in a way that solely generating knowledge, stitutions, where we co-design ing on efficient management of for the impact we should be
is relevant to society. to translating that knowledge approaches, share resources dwindling resources, or pan- demonstrating at macro-soci-
into solutions which matter and learn from each other. dering to those demanding etal levels, such as addressing
So now, the question is not and make a difference. This Growing and keeping our tal- more skills training and less de- poverty and inequality, and at
whether we will achieve our requires open knowledge sys- ent mocracy-inducing education. micro-societal levels where we
ambitions, but what will we tems, and cannot be done by Critical to our future compet- enhance the lives of people and
do to achieve them? As we re- the traditional silo-driven uni- itiveness and responsiveness   the communities that they live
flect on ourselves and on our versity in isolation. is how effectively we identify, Advancing a trans-disci- in.
shared future, along with own- develop and retain talent with- plinary agenda
ing the challenges facing our Repositioning African uni- in our network of universities. Our positioning must advance Our education and research
continent, I believe that with versities compels us to be in Across African universities a trans-disciplinary agenda an- agendas and programmes
our embedded knowledge and touch with societal needs, and there is a wealth of talent, read- chored on disciplinary excel- should directly address socie-
inherent talent, we are best to master the ability to collabo- ily seen in the success of our lence as a key means to navi- tal challenges as captured in at
placed to own the solutions. rate within ourselves and across compatriots in the diaspora. gate complexity. This entails least two frameworks: the Sus-
Solutions from Africa, and for our boundaries. We must be developing the necessary at- tainable Development Goals
the world. defined by our broad, inclusive Identifying, valuing and tributes to enable transdisci- (SDGs) and African Agenda
and futuristic outlook, being nurturing this talent at home, plinary work at individual and 2063, The Africa We Want and
In this regard the new African connected to peers and other along with embedding a sense institutional levels. of course the national develop-
university must be involved in stakeholders, for mutual ben- of citizenship and commitment ment plans of each the coun-
a double act of transformation efit and mutual empowerment to the continent is a necessary Discipline-based capability tries that are part of the African
– transforming itself, and at in the interests of the public starting point. Considering with the ability to look beyond Union.
the same time transforming so- good. talent through an educational disciplinary boundaries is a
ciety. Without this double act, ecosystem lens, identifying and necessary foundation. Empa- Further work needs to be
the credibility and legitimacy Inspired and aspiring to nurturing talent begins at high thy and social skills are needed done in the area of measuring
of our universities as a trans- be in concert with others as school and undergraduate lev- to engage others and mobilise impact. I believe that a bas-
formative actors will be ques- drivers and agents of change. els, all the way to postgraduates them to achieve their own and ket of qualitative and quanti-
tioned and our impact blunt- This “next generation” of Af- and emerging academics and the institution’s objectives; to tative success indicators need
ed. Transformation parameters rican universities must also be researchers. If we see talent as a enhance collaboration; and to to be identified across social,
such as diversity, inclusion and futures literate – able to sus- shared pool across our institu- harness the multiple and di- economic and environmental
equity are therefore critically pend existing mental models tions, we are positioned to in- verse talents needed to resolve dimensions. These may be con-
important – institutionally and and paradigms of the present, tentionally established shared complex challenges. text specific, they should seek
societally alike. in order to envisage the future programmes and research ini- to reflect societal development
in different and unconstrained tiatives, with increased mobil- Openness, inclusion and di- and ecosystem renewal, and
As we explore what it will ways. Step change, with rele- ity within our immediate and versity are embraced. A socie- should include perspectives of
take, I would like to reflect on vant and truly innovative solu- extended networks. tal outlook, being in tune with partners, recipients and society
a few themes that I believe are tions, will flow from the tap- the dynamics of our operating at large.
important to our conversation ping and utilisation of talent in Strengthening relationships landscapes, and coupled with Concluding remarks
and to our journey. It is also multiplicative ways, and with and talent development initia- futures literacy ensures that In conclusion, colleagues and
a necessity that Africa must multiple streams of value. tives within extended networks the trans-disciplinary work we friends, the quest to reposi-
have sustainable universities Transformational leadership is particularly important to our undertake is relevant, addresses tion African universities is
–  well-governed and managed, Leadership is well recognised talent pool developing a global current challenges, and antici- both timely and necessary. It
well-funded and well resourced as a prerequisite to success. outlook, while not being lost pates future ones. All of this is is needed for the development
– that enjoy academic freedom In our context, though, this to our system. Pathways to de- underpinned by an urgency for of our continent, for meaning-
and inquiry as well as institu- is not any form of leadership. velopment are also multiplied, innovation, action and trans- ful existence of its people, and
tional autonomy in order to African universities and our as we tap into the different ar- formational change. for our very survival as insti-
better deliver on national and continent require transforma- eas of excellence across our net- tutions of higher learning. It
continental goals. tional change, and this calls works. Through a trans-disciplinary is clearly a task that requires
for African transformational approach, we are able to identi- us to work together, and as
Poor governance and man- leadership across our institu- Expanding access and grow- fy and address the big and con- individuals and a collective,
agement, lack of resources and tions. Such leadership is val- ing the talent pool inevitably nected issues that transcend we must demonstrate trans-
infrastructure and narrow po- ues-based, sets the institutional comes at a cost – to both in- national, regional and sectoral formational leadership and a
litical control disables African direction and tone, and shapes stitutions and participating in- boundaries. Leveraging dis- predisposition for action. I am
universities from creating high our university cultures in ways dividuals. We are all aware of ciplinary excellence from our optimistic that we will take up
quality knowledge from Afri- that create the conditions for the institutional cost, and in a broad pool of talent, and ensur- the challenge with assurance,
can perspectives that can ef- all to thrive and reach their human-centred way we must ing that we have the right voic- and when we look back many
fectively address African prob- full potential. It is also future be mindful that participants es around the table, enables us years from now, we will confi-
lems. literate, in touch with society need to survive before they can to see the challenge from dif- dently say that the RuForum
Collaborating as equal partners with its dynamic and evolving thrive. With the high levels of ferent perspectives, and to craft annual general meeting was a
Central to reimagining and needs. poverty and inequality we ex- innovative solutions. By focus- seminal point in our journey
repositioning ourselves – as perience, much of our talent is ing on the big issues, not only towards repositioning African
intentionally conscious agents Transformational leader- drawn from socially and eco- are they the most relevant to universities, and transforming
and actors in transformative ship sets the scene for agency, nomically disadvantaged com- society, they also drive systemic our continent, i.e. achieving
sustainable change in and for where our institutions are filled munities, and do not have the and transformational change, the strategic intentionality that
society — is valuing and em- with change agents who drive means to sustain the long and excite interest, and enable us to transforms us from legacies of
bracing collaboration as a part- and amplify transformation hard development journey to access substantive and sustain- colonialism to institutions —
nership of equals — as peers through the work that they do excellence. able sources of funding. of and for — a future African
and across the wider span of in teaching, learning, research Demonstrating impact is that has ridden itself of past
global networks that we partic- and engagement. Such bold aspirations for lo- critical and current challenges.
ipate in. cal capacity building with glob- As we progress on our journey,
To strengthen our transfor- al exposure requires innovative demonstrating tangible impact *About the speaker: Pro-
As a collective we are more mational leadership, we must resourcing in collaboration is critical to consolidating our fessor Tawana Kupe is the
able to leverage our strengths be intentional — within our with governments, the private positioning as a credible and University of Pretoria’s
and capabilities to address individual institutions and as sector and other funders to- transformational agent of so- Vice-Chancellor and Princi-
complexity and the “wick- a collective. This includes be- wards developing capability ciety. We will be measured on pal. He previously taught at
ed” challenges we face, and coming clearer and developing within and for the continent. our societal contribution, and the Rhodes University and
demonstrate relevance and re- a common language on the By crafting a narrative of fund- the extent to which it is felt the University of Witwa-
sponsiveness to the contexts in leadership attributes of the Af- ing as an investment critical to and experienced. tersrand in South Africa. He
which we are embedded. It is rican transformational leader; our shared future, we will need was trained at the University
the only way we can deliver so- identifying potential leaders to have a clear investment case In isolation, indicators such of Zimbabwe and University
cietal impact that creates path- across the university commu- that clarifies the value, and be- as research outputs and pro- of Oslo in Norway.
ways for successful societies in nity, from students to academ- gins to quantify returns and ductivity, the quality of the
the future. I believe that col- ics and professional staff; and journals that we publish in,
and the number of citations we

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 49

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

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Page 50 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 112, 16 December 2022

IMF mission demands reforms, a stop to
quasi-fiscal activities, gold coins removal

End-of-Mission press releases include remains high, however, and the eco- and creating fiscal space for criti- tives as embodied in the country’s Fund financial arrangement would
statements of International Monetary nomic outlook will depend on the cal spending. This can be achieved National Development Strategy 1 require a clear path to comprehen-
Fund (IMF) staff teams that convey implementation of key policies and by mobilizing additional revenues, (2021-2025). sive restructuring of Zimbabwe’s ex-
preliminary findings after a visit to a the evolution of external shocks. based on tax policy reforms, and ternal debt, including the clearance
country. The views expressed in this by scaling back non-priority out- “International reengagement re- of arrears; and a reform plan that is
statement are those of the IMF staff “A near-term policy imperative lays, while strengthening public mains critical for debt resolution consistent with durably restoring
and do not necessarily represent the is to sustainably anchor macro- finance management. The finan- and access to external financial sup- macroeconomic stability, enhanc-
views of the IMF’s Executive Board. economic stability. In this context, cial oversight of the state-owned port. In a bid to advance the reen- ing inclusive growth, lowering pov-
Based on the preliminary findings of Fund staff recommend accelerating enterprise (SOEs) by the Treasury gagement process, the authorities erty, and strengthening economic
this mission, staff will prepare a re- the liberalization of the FX market, should be further strengthened in have adopted an Arrears Clearance, governance.
port that, subject to management ap- including through the removal of order to minimize fiscal risks. In the Debt Relief and Restructuring
proval, will be presented to the IMF’s restrictions on the exchange rate at context of a tight monetary policy, strategy; continued token payments “The IMF staff held meetings
Executive Board for discussion and which banks, authorized dealers, enhanced regulatory oversight is to external creditors; and launched with Minister of Finance and Eco-
decision. and businesses transact; addressing required to ensure financial sector a Dialogue Platform to foster dis- nomic Development Honorable
the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s resilience. Addressing the remain- cussions among the various stake- Professor Mthuli Ncube, his Perma-
AN International Monetary quasi-fiscal operations to mitigate ing Anti-Money Laundering/Com- holders. nent Secretary Mr. George Guva-
Fund (IMF) staff team led by liquidity pressures; maintaining an bating the Financing of Terrorism matanga, Reserve Bank of Zimba-
Dhaneshwar Ghura conducted a appropriately tight monetary policy (AML/CFT) weaknesses would “Zimbabwe has been a Fund bwe Governor Dr. John Mangudya,
mission to Harare during Decem- stance to durably restore macroeco- strengthen banks’ resilience and member in good standing since it Deputy Chief Secretary to the Pres-
ber 1–15, 2022, in the context of nomic stability and ensure social effectiveness. Reforms to econom- cleared its outstanding arrears to the ident and Cabinet Mr. Willard Ma-
the 2023 Article IV Consultation. stability; restoring the effective- ic institutions and the governance IMF in late 2016. The Fund pro- nungo, other senior government
ness of monetary policy, including and anti-corruption frameworks are vides extensive technical assistance and RBZ officials, representatives of
At the conclusion of the IMF through the use of appropriate in- critical for strengthening the foun- in the areas of revenue mobiliza- the private sector, civil society, and
mission, Mr. Ghura issued the fol- terest-bearing instruments to mop dations for private sector develop- tion, expenditure control, monetary Zimbabwe’s development partners.
lowing statement: up liquidity and winding down the ment and inclusive growth. and exchange rate policy, banking
use of gold coins; and maintaining sector, debt management, gover- “The IMF staff would like to
“The government provided a a prudent fiscal stance. “Ensuring durable macroeco- nance, and macroeconomic statis- thank the Zimbabwean authorities
swift response to the COVID-19 nomic stability and revitalizing tics. However, the IMF is precluded and other stakeholders for con-
pandemic, supporting businesses, “Fiscal policy should aim at structural reforms would support from providing financial support to structive discussions and support
livelihoods, and the health sector, containing the deficit in line with Zimbabwe’s development objec- Zimbabwe due to official external during the 2023 Article IV consul-
resulting in real output growth of available non-inflationary financing arrears and unsustainable debt. A tation mission.”
8.5 percent in 2021, underscoring
the economy’s resilience. Renewed
domestic and external shocks (in-
flation surge, erratic rainfall, elec-
tricity shortages, and Russia’s war
in Ukraine) are, however, adversely
affecting economic and social con-
ditions.

Real GDP growth is thus expect-
ed to decline to about 3.5 percent
in 2022. These multiple shocks
will continue to weigh on Zimba-
bwe’s growth prospects. Currency
and price pressures, which emerged
earlier this year largely owing to a
spike in broad money growth and
an official exchange rate misaligned
with market fundamentals, are sub-
siding.

Annual inflation, which had in-
creased to 285 percent in August
2022, has been decelerating since, a
trend which if sustained by appro-
priate policies, would go a long way
in anchoring inflation expectations.

“The IMF mission notes the
authorities’ efforts to stabilize the
local foreign exchange market and
lower inflation. In this regard, the
swift tightening of monetary policy
along with greater official exchange
rate flexibility and a prudent fiscal
stance are policies in the right direc-
tion and have contributed to a nar-
rowing of the premia in the parallel
foreign exchange market. In addi-
tion, the authorities have identified
large payments to suppliers, the
result of over-invoicing, as a source
of pressures on the parallel mar-
ket and in response have launched
value-for-money audits and intro-
duced measures to strengthen pro-
curement regulations. Uncertainty