NewsHawks 29 April 2022

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US$1

WHAT’S INSIDE Friday 29 April 2022 NMEnWanSgagwa’s HSPoOwRZTifa
anti-corruption executives
BNrEoWkeS Zim crusade fizzles swindled FA of
government out deplorably nearly US$1mln
desperate
for bailout Story on Page 6 Story on Page 50

Story on Page 4

Zim govt
mortgages
minerals to
settle debt

ALSO INSIDE Red flag over murky vehicle deals

Page 2 News NewsHawks

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

Zim mortgages minerals
to settle Trafigura debt

FELIX NJINI/ ANTONY SGUAZZIN

TRAFIGURA GROUP and Zimbabwe’s gov- Finance Minister
ernment have discussed a deal that will give the Mthuli Ncube.
commodities trader control over output from
some of the nation’s biggest mines as repayment central bank governor John Mangudya acknowl- text messages and emails and did not answer his any of the parties involved in the agreement from
for debts, documents seen by Bloomberg show. edged requests for comment on the arrangement, mobile phone when contacted by Bloomberg. entering into “any transactions with any person
but did not respond to questions. Kuvimba chief which is a sanctioned person”.
Under the agreement, Trafigura will be paid executive officer Simba Chinyemba did not an- The government has not disclosed how it came
US$225.6 million by nickel- and gold-mining swer calls or reply to emails. to own 65% of Kuvimba or who holds the 35% Trafigura said such language was “common
subsidiaries of state-run Kuvimba Mining House private stake. Trafigura did not answer a question and prudent business practice” in commercial ar-
Ltd. for fuel bills Zimbabwe owes Trafigura on Kuvimba’s assets were previously listed as be- on whether the private shareholders had assented rangements. The Kuvimba subsidiaries involved
contracts dating back to 2016, the documents ing owned by Sotic International Ltd., in which to the agreement. in the deal are also not allowed to change their
show. Zimbabwe’s government was represented Tagwirei had a stake. Tagwirei did not respond to shareholding. — BLOOMBERG
by the Finance ministry in the agreement. The agreement includes clauses prohibiting

Trafigura is one of the world’s biggest oil and The Zimbabwe-Trafigura deal says Kuvimba pays Trafigura US$6 million a month and retain 40% of payments to the Freda Rebecca and Shamva gold
metals traders, with a history of deals in Africa mines, as well as the nickel mines owned by Bindura Nickel Corp., in so-called collection accounts.
that have drawn scrutiny from authorities, includ-
ing in South Sudan and South Africa. Zimbabwe,
which has clocked up more than US$10 billion
in external debt that it is struggling to service, has
been heavily dependent on Trafigura for fuel sup-
plies.

Bloomberg has previously reported on Kuvim-
ba’s apparent links to Kudakwashe Tagwirei, a
Zimbabwean tycoon who has been sanctioned
by the United States and United Kingdom over
corruption allegations, and who was part-owner
of many of the mining assets that are now part
of Kuvimba. Zimbabwe has not explained how
it obtained the assets, and says that Tagwirei has
no role in Kuvimba. Tagwirei is also an adviser to
President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

In response to detailed questions from
Bloomberg, the Singapore-based trading house
confirmed a deal in which it will be repaid by
Zimbabwe for credit it extended for imports of
fuel products. It said it ended a previous fuel-trad-
ing business relationship it had with Tagwirei in
2019, before he was sanctioned.

“Trafigura Zimbabwe has provided credit on
petroleum product deliveries into Zimbabwe and
is scheduled to receive payments,” the company
said.

“Trafigura operates a robust compliance pro-
gramme, aligned with international standards. In
accordance with this programme, Kuvimba has
undergone and satisfied our strict KYC require-
ments,” it said, referring to so-called “know your
customer” policies meant to prevent engagement
with people involved in money laundering or oth-
er financial crimes.

The arrangement seen by Bloomberg shows that
the unpaid bills, incurred by the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe, would be transferred to the Finance
ministry, which has control over Kuvimba.

It is unclear when the agreement was put into
effect, but a person familiar with the situation said
a deal has been reached matching the terms of the
documents seen by Bloomberg. It was drawn up
by the London branch of law firm Reed Smith
LLP and gives Trafigura exclusive access to a large
portion of two of Zimbabwe’s biggest exports.

According to the deal, Kuvimba would pay
Trafigura US$6 million a month and retain 40%
of payments to the Freda Rebecca and Shamva
gold mines, as well as the nickel mines owned by
Bindura Nickel Corporation, in so-called collec-
tion accounts. Freda Rebecca, Shamva and Bin-
dura Nickel are subsidiaries of Kuvimba.

Trafigura would also have the right to ap-
prove buyers of the metal selected by Bindura
and would have right of first refusal on the met-
al, the documents show. It would also have the
right to buy the gold produced by Freda Rebecca
and Shamva. Trafigura did not respond to queries
about those arrangements. The payments will not
be subject to tax and the transaction documents
will not need to be lodged with any authority in
Zimbabwe, the agreement says. Reed Smith did
not respond to requests for comment.

Private shareholders
Finance ministry officials in Zimbabwe and

NewsHawks News Page 3

Issue 78, 29 April 2022 BAT Zim replaces CEO
under corruption cloud

CIGARETTE giant British American Tobacco Retired Brigadier-General Asher solutely no knowledge or association with the van Rensburg sent urgent questions to FSS about
(BAT) Zimbabwe recently announced the resig- Walter Tapfumaneyi events, circumstances, persona which you claim Zimbabwe, including “investigating the Pros and
nation of its managing director Kimesh Naidoo, to have uncovered, except Zanu PF. The rest of Cons of Donation to the party and joint business
who has been replaced by Sivenasen Moodley un- meeting with the brigadier. your story, I am hearing from you for the first venture as discussed”.
der a cloud of corruption first published through “I had to make it clear that they’re going to time”.
a joint investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Charges were officially withdrawn against the
Journalism, BBC Panorama and the University of expect a nice thick envelope of notes,” he said. Three sources have confirmed that BAT was arrested directors on 13 March 2013. FSS’s oper-
Bath in the United Kingdom, in which The New- “I would be given a lump sum of money as aware of the deal on the table, and documents ations for BAT in Zimbabwe resumed that same
sHawks participated. show that company money paid for the initial month. The agent who had brokered the meeting
an operational budget and out of that I would payment to secure the meeting. A paper trail claims it would be “fantasy land” to suggest FSS
BAT last month announced that Naidoo had always give a handshake and a nice wodge of cash shows a BAT employee signed off on payments was able to continue its operations in Zimbabwe
been removed as managing director effective 22 to the principles just to warm them to the idea.” for an FSS operation codenamed “SOS Zim”. without paying a bribe to Mugabe.
March “due to the staff promotions which have
occurred within the business”. A leaked document claims that during that The arrested agents were released in early Jan- He told the Bureau and Panorama: “Robert
meeting, between the FSS boss Stephen Botha uary 2013 immediately after Tapfumaneyi pro- Mugabe killed 30 000 Zimbabweans in a geno-
Naidoo has been the MD since 22 October and Tapfumaneyi, the brigadier said that “with posed their release as a “goodwill gesture” prior cide. Absolutely beaten, destroyed, the soul of a
2019. He was replaced by Moodley with effect the upcoming elections” a donation to Mugabe’s to any bribe being paid. In mid-January 2013, nation ripped from itself. How on earth would
from 22 March. political party “would pave the way for negotia- emails reveal that a BAT employee named Johann you even consider doing business there and why
tions to continue”. would you not rather, ethically, withdraw and
The management changes came after a corrup- make a statement to that?”
tion story which shook the global tobacco giant’s This would “open the doors to continue this
Zimbabwean operations. project in the near future”. The Bureau has not obtained any evidence that
the proposed payment in return for the releas-
A joint investigation by the Bureau of Investiga- Tapfumaneyi told the Bureau: “I have ab- es from prison was ever actually made. Mugabe
tive Journalism, BBC Panorama and the University went on to win a crucial majority in the elections
of Bath — in which The NewsHawks participated in July 2013 and ruled for another four years.
— had revealed that BAT was linked to a conspir-
acy to pay a bribe of between US$300 000 and Dumisani Muleya, editor of Zimbabwean in-
US$500 000 to the late former president Robert vestigative outlet The NewsHawks, said: “The con-
Mugabe to get certain people released from jail. text of this donation is the problem because BAT
was seeking some favours from the government.
Leaked documents suggested there were dis- I would call it bribery, corruption and hush mon-
cussions about paying a bribe to Mugabe’s politi- ey. He said that any donation of that kind would
cal party Zanu PF to ensure that happened. have been a ‘material issue because it would have
helped Zanu PF to change the capacity of its elec-
At the time BAT was paying FSS, a South Af- toral machinery. It would have also influenced
rican private security contractor, to conduct a se- the outcome of the election’.”
cret operation to hamper rival tobacco businesses
in Zimbabwe. BAT did not deny the proposed payment to
Mugabe when asked. The company said: “Our
FSS had fallen foul of Mugabe’s regime after efforts in combating illicit trade have been aimed
agents were accused of spying on its behalf on at helping law enforcement agencies in the fight
Savanna Tobacco (now Pacific Cigarette Compa- against the criminal trade in tobacco products. In
ny), which was run by Adam Molai, the husband 2016 BAT made public that it was investigating
of Mugabe’s niece. It was forced to rely on a local allegations of misconduct and was liaising with
security company to do its dirty work. the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO). BAT fully
cooperated with the SFO’s subsequent investiga-
But in late 2012 three directors of that compa- tion, which included allegations relating to South
ny were arrested and charged with conspiracy to Africa.”
commit robbery. The documents show that a plan
was hatched with BAT’s knowledge to get the di- The SFO concluded its official three-year in-
rectors off the hook and protect BAT’s name. vestigation into BAT’s activities in Africa in Jan-
uary 2021, stating there was insufficient evidence
The bribe was proposed by retired Briga- for a prosecution. The investigation cost the UK
dier-General Asher Walter Tapfumaneyi, current- taxpayer more than £2.3m (US$3.1m).
ly the co-deputy Director-General of Zimbabwe’s
feared Central Intelligence Organisation spy net- BAT Zimbabwe attributed the management
work. At the time he was director at the ministry changes to “staff promotions which have oc-
of State of Presidential Affairs. curred within the business” in a statement issued
earlier this month. —STAFF WRITER
The man who brokered the deal has told the
Bureau and BBC’s Panorama he had already
bribed Zimbabwean officials to get an initial

Page 4 News NewsHawks

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

Broke Zim govt desperate for bailout

BERNARD MPOFU Finance minister Mthuli Ncube (right) with IMF board member for Italy, Portugal, Greece, Malta, Albania and San Marino Domenico Fanizza recently.

Zimbabwe has taken its begging bowl to the out as the elephant in the room for the author- In 2015, government launched a joint ex- for disaster as this would worsen the debt trap.
international community as it desperately ities in Harare. ercise with preferred creditors — the World Last month, the IMF said Zimbabwe’s re-en-
seeks financial sponsors to help pay off near- Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and
ly US$2.5 billion in external arrears owed to “One area that actually cuts across all those the African Development Bank (AfDB) — to gagement with creditors has lost steam despite
the World Bank and the African Development meetings is arrears clearance which we dis- explore options to clear US$1.8 billion in ar- ongoing efforts by Harare to normalise relations
Bank (AfDB). cussed with the WorldBank, the IMF and also rears. with multilateral creditors before extricating it-
with those organs of the US government and self from a huge debt overhang.
Finance minister Mthuli Ncube was in New also with the French board member at the IMF This plan was presented in Lima, Peru, and
York last week, where he had a series of meet- who are also very supportive of Zimbabwe,” was amended in May 2016 to include repay- “International re-engagement has lagged as
ings with the multilateral creditors and United Ncube recently told a Press briefing. ment of IMF arrears (US$120 million) using stakeholders seek political and economic re-
States government officials, among other in- Zimbabwe’s Special Drawing Rights; repay- forms. The 2019 Staff-Monitored Programme
terested parties, as the government desperately “So we discussed the roadmap for arrears ment of International Bank for Reconstruction experienced significant policy slippages and
seeks to extricate the economy from a huge debt clearance, basically saying that what we would and Development (IBRD) arrears (US$896 elapsed without a review,” the IMF says.
overhang. need is to look for sponsors who could sponsor million) using a term facility syndicated by the
Zimbabwe and that would require a Staff-Mon- African Export and Import Bank and Lazard “Directors encouraged the authorities to ad-
The World Bank is traditionally run by an itored Programme to be put in place and ex- Frères; and repayment of IDA and AfDB ar- vance reforms, noting that a new Staff-Moni-
American while the International Monetary ecuted successfully and then we would then rears (US$260 and US$601 million respective- tored Programme could help establish a track
Fund (IMF) has been headed by a European. approach appropriate potential sponsors who ly) with a bridging facility from Afreximbank record of sound policies and provide further
Ncube’s charm offensive on the US and the could then provide us with bridge financing to to be financed from future IDA development impetus to their re-engagement efforts.”
French was a calculated effort to strike conjure clear arrears with the World Bank and African policy operation and AfDB’s transitional sup-
some chemistry with multilateral creditors. Development Bank. port facility. Political interference and policy reversals
have often been cited as some of the reasons
Ncube, a Cambridge-trained economist and “So we have those discussions on the road- The plan was however thwarted due to unnerving potential investors from injecting
former AfDB vice-president, hopes to break map then we will continue to push forward. mounting local and international pressure capital into the debt-ridden southern African
the jinx which his predecessors failed to unlock The African Development Bank president has against the country’s ambitious arrears clear- nation. The IMF said while Zimbabwe has been
due to the overarching political dynamics in the offered to be a champion for the arrears road- ance strategy. Critics cited usurious interest pursuing a reform agenda in its quest to stabi-
country. Zimbabwe fell into arrears with three map and is due to arrive in Zimbabwe next rates from the financial sponsors as a cocktail lise the economy and normalise relations with
multinational financial institutions — the IMF, month.” creditors, mixed signals on policy remained a
World Bank and AfDB — at the turn of the source of worry.
millennium and, since then, the southern Afri-
can nation has been ineligible to access conces-
sionary funding from creditors.

The three creditors enjoy what is termed
“preferred creditor status”, which means they
have to be paid ahead of other lenders such the
Paris and non-Paris club.

In 2016, Zimbabwe paid off 15 years’ worth
of arrears to the IMF using its Special Drawings
Rights holdings from the creditor. The coun-
try, which had been in arrears with the IMF
since 2001, settled its obligations amounting
to US$107,9 million to the IMF’s Poverty Re-
duction and Growth Trust. However, it is still
years behind on payments to the World Bank
and African Development Bank, hampering its
ability to tap development financing from the
two. The country’s arrears with the two cred-
itors, which in 2016 stood at US$1.8 billion,
has continued to balloon over the years due to
non-payment.

Harare has been making token payments to
some of its creditors as a goodwill gesture, but
that is not enough to break the debt cycle.

Ncube said Zimbabwe will soon adopt an-
other IMF Staff-Monitired Programme (SMP),
an informal agreement between country au-
thorities and the Bretton Woods institution's
staff to monitor the implementation of the
authorities’ economic programme as part of its
arrears clearance plan. SMPs do not entail fi-
nancial assistance or endorsement by the IMF
executive board.

Interestingly, despite showing optimism on
the debt outlook, the country’s past Finance
ministers — Patrick Chinamasa, Tendai Biti
and most recently Ncube — have all overseen
IMF SMPs but failed to settle the long-standing
arrears issue. Chinamasa at one time hosted a
cocktail at a local hotel and subtly told dele-
gates that he deserved a pat on the back after
the IMF said he ticked most boxes on his SMP
to-do list. Here we are.

Economic policies under the SMP empha-
size the restoration of macro-economic and
financial sector stability through: implement-
ing a large fiscal adjustment, the elimination
of central bank financing of the fiscal deficit,
and adoption of reforms to allow the effective
functioning of market-based foreign exchange
and debt markets.

Structural reforms include steps to reform
and privatise state-owned enterprises, enhance
governance, including in procurement and rev-
enue administration, and to improve the busi-
ness environment. The SMP also includes im-
portant safeguards to protect the country’s most
vulnerable people.

Past IMF reports have shown that while the
country has in the past made some baby steps
on economic reforms, it has been found want-
ing in overhauling its political environment. As
such, political reforms have over the years stood

NewsHawks News Page 5

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

Red flag over murky vehicle deals

l It’s non of our business: Zacc l Car dealer blames forex system

MOSES MATENGA

THE Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission Solutions Motors is allegedly a perennial failure in owning up to contractual obligations with several other government departments and local authorities.
(Zacc) says it will not investigate various cases in
which the government, local authorities and para- ota has a serious backlog in terms of production, “technical challenges” faced by suppliers. “The ministry should always pay as per the con-
statals have been prejudiced through the non-de- which has disrupted the vehicle supply chain.” “Unfortunately, it was beyond the ministry’s tractual requirements so as to ensure effective use
livery of motor vehicles worth millions of United of public funds.”
States dollars, long after they were paid for. “We look forward to start our deliveries some- control although negotiation and persuasion ap-
time at the end of May with two vehicles per proaches were used to have the vehicles delivered. Owing to the failure by Solutions Motors to
The government is losing millions of dollars in month till we finish the outstanding order,” Si- Communication between the ministry and sup- fulfill contractual obligations, questions are now
dubious deals through which several ministries, yawamwaya said. pliers is going on frequently,” said the ministry in being raised as to why the company continues to
parastatals and local authorities have paid for ve- response to Chiri’s findings. be awarded contracts from the government, local
hicles that dodgy car dealers have failed to deliver. He would not be drawn into commenting on authorities and parastatals almost every year.
Some of the dealers are alleged to be linked to big whether he had advised his clients accordingly “Ministry is finally expecting delivery of some
political players. before accepting payment for the vehicles he has vehicles after the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority Investigations have revealed that Solutions Mo-
since failed to deliver. inspection is complete.” tors has issues with, among others, Chiredzi Rural
But while calls have been made for an investi- District Council, Mwenezi Rural District Council
gation into possible cases of fraud and the flouting “We are also working with our bankers for allo- In the same report, the Auditor-General also and the Department of Irrigation for alleged fail-
of tender procedures, Zacc has poured cold water cation of foreign currency from the RBZ.” noted price variations on the purchase of vehicles ure to deliver on contractual obligations.
on any prospects of an investigation. with a risk of wasteful expenditure or even fraud.
According to Auditor-General Mildred Chiri in The company was summoned to Parliament in
Responding to questions submitted by The her audit for the financial year ended 31 Decem- “According to General Conditions of Contract 2019 after failing to satisfy a US$518 850 contract
NewsHawks as part of an investigation into how ber 2020 on Appropriation Accounts, Finance 29.1 of the contract of sale signed between the from the Department of Irrigation after it sup-
the government loses millions of dollars through and Revenue Statements and Fund Accounts, the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broad- plied only six out of 10 trucks purchased in 2017.
continuing to engage the very same companies ministry went into a contract with car dealers, in- casting Services and four vehicle suppliers during The other four, it emerged, are still outstanding.
that have a track record of failing to deliver on cluding Solutions Motors, for the acquisition of 2020, ‘the price for each vehicle acquired shall be
their contractual obligations, Zacc said the matter 29 vehicles. fixed for 60 days from the tender closing date.” Siyawamwaya was also summoned by the Na-
is civil rather than criminal, therefore there is really tional Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee
no need for a probe. The vehicles were supposed to be delivered by “The price adjustments will only be allowed (PAC) then chaired by former Finance minister
23 October 2020 in terms of the contract but, to after 60 days and the increase shall not exceed Tendai Biti where he was taken to task over anoth-
“Failure to fulfill a contractual obligation is a date, no deliveries have been made. 20 percent. Any variation contrary to the above er US$958 000 tender to supply water bowsers,
civil matter and does not constitute corruption or that may be as a result of changes in statutory re- excavators and compactors in 2017 that were also
criminal offence to be investigated by Zacc,” the “According to the General Conditions of Con- quirements changes in the macro-economic envi- not delivered to the Department of Irrigation.
anti-corruption body’s spokesperson, Commis- tract (GCC) 19.1 of the contract of sale entered ronment or a shift in government policies will be
sioner John Makamure, explained. into between the ministry and vehicle suppliers agreed by both parties through an addendum to During the hearing, PAC members drew atten-
during 2020, the date for completion of the de- the contract.” tion to the fact that Siyawamwaya was allegedly
“The aggrieved party can directly approach the livery of vehicles or the period within which the close to Sakunda Holdings boss
courts.” delivery was expected to be done was four weeks Said Chiri in the report: “I noted that the min-
from the date of issue of the purchase order,” Chiri istry paid $28 334 774 (149 percent) above the Kudakwashe Tagwirei. His sister, the PAC was
Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa’s said in her report. contract value of $19 044 519 for the supply of 12 informed, was married to the Tagwireis.
ministry paid for 29 vehicles from Solutions Mo- vehicles. The ministry paid a further amount of
tors and other car dealers back in 2020, but has so “Audit noted that on June 3, 2021, the minis- $26 047 176 (82 percent) above the contract value The company was last year blacklisted by the
far not received any. She dodged questions when try had not yet taken delivery of a total of 24 out of $31 573 531 for the supply of 17 vehicles. Both Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe
The NewsHawks asked her about the delivery sta- of 29 vehicles paid for to Solutions Motors and payments were made on September 25, 2020 after (PRAZ) as one of the three vehicle dealers that
tus of the vehicles. Motor City despite that the dates for completion the lapse of 60 days. failed to deliver after winning tenders to supply
of delivery of vehicle agreed in the contract of sale vehicles to government departments and councils.
“You can call me later,” she said on Tuesday. with both suppliers lapsed on October 23, 2020.” “There was no evidence availed to audit in the
“I am rushing to meet someone who has been form of addendum to the contract with details to The company failed to deliver refuse trucks or-
waiting for a while now and from there I am trav- Chiri raised fears that the vehicles purchased justify the increases in excess of 20 percent allowed dered in 2017 by Karoi Town Council, leading to
elling for the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair may be concealed if delivery is unduly delayed. in the contract.” a protracted legal battle.
(ZITF).” She advised the affected parties to take the legal
The Trade Fair is held in Bulawayo. route on the matter. Chiri said the risk and implications of such were Karoi council was yet to take delivery of a
In the investigation into how the ministry of “the likelihood of wasteful expenditure or fraud 20-tonne refuse collection truck it ordered in
Information paid for vehicles which have not been “If the suppliers are facing challenges, the min- being committed if suppliers are paid amounts 2017 through Solutions Motors.
delivered, it has been established that Solutions istry should seek legal recourse for the breach of more than what is in the contract of sale without
Motors, one of the companies involved, is owned contract of sale by the suppliers who are not de- an adjustment by way of an addendum.” Siyawamwaya is on record as saying that his
by businessman Patrick Siyawamwaya. livering the vehicles so as to avoid further delays,” company was assisting government departments,
Company documents identify him as the man- Chiri advised. The Auditor-General recommended that the companies and individuals trying to avoid restric-
aging director. Solution Motors is allegedly a pe- ministry recover the excess payments and adhere tions by the United States’ Office of Foreign Assets
rennial failure in owning up to contractual obliga- According to the ministry’s response on the to the contractual agreement. Control (Ofac) after the imposition of sanctions
tions not only with the ministry of Information, matter, the delay in vehicle delivery was due to and travel restrictions on Zimbabwe’s ruling elite.
but with several other government departments
and local authorities.
Siyawamwaya was recently appointed the na-
tional director of transport and logistics for Action
for Empowerment Zimbabwe, an organisation
that displays pictures of its leadership posing with
President
Emmerson Mnangagwa at State House as its
cover photo. He defended his company’s perfor-
mance in failing to deliver vehicles paid for by cli-
ents. He said the failure was the result of a number
of challenges.
“We haven’t yet managed to deliver the out-
standing seven vehicles due to a number of chal-
lenges,” Siyawamwaya said on Tuesday.
“The tender was awarded sometime in May
2020 and we signed the contract in July 2020.
Payment was only made in October 2020, five
months after contract signing. We delivered five
vehicles, remaining with a balance of seven.”
He blamed the backlog on the government’s
foreign currency system, which he said resulted in
the central bank failing to allocate currency tim-
eously.
“Unfortunately there is a serious backlog in
terms of foreign currency release from the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Auction System, which
is our number one challenge,” Siyawamwaya said.
He said Toyota was also affected by the Covid-
19-induced lockdowns and has failed to produce
enough to meet demand hence the problems in
delivering the cars.
“Due to the Covid-19-induced lockdown, Toy-

Page 6 News NewsHawks

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

HIGH-PROFILE corruption cases from as far Mnangagwa’s anti-corruption
back as 2017 are yet to be finalised, almost five crusade fizzles out deplorably
years after President Emmerson Mnangagwa
promised to decisively tackle graft. President Emmerson Mnangagwa

The development also dents the image of the to smuggle to Dubai. In the case of Rushwaya, she was never seen In April 2020, Maxwell Ndokanga (39) of
National Prosecuting Authority. The case involved Central Intelligence Or- coming to court in a prison van during the du- Maganga Village under Chief Banga in Shurug-
ration of her stay in remand prison when she wi, was sentenced to 16 years for stealing cop-
An investigation by The NewsHawks revealed ganisation operative Raphios Mufandauya, fought to get bail. Her release from remand per cables worth more than $78 000 at Unki
that most of the cases involve former top gov- a worker at ZMF Steve Tserayi and Pakistani prison was never captured by media photog- Mine.
ernment officials. businessman mogul Ali Mohamad. raphers as it happened outside the public eye
unlike in cases of other inmates. The case took two months to be wrapped up
In November 2017, soon after Mnangagwa Initially the state prosecutor consented to as prosecutor Talent Tadenyika put up a strong
rose to power on the back of a military a coup, bail for Rushwaya, but this was dismissed by Political analyst Ibbo Mandaza acknowl- case before Gweru regional magistrate Phathek-
former Finance minister Ignatius Chombo was the magistrate. In the layman’s understanding, edged that there has been a pattern where the ile Msipa.
taken into custody by soldiers. He was then the fact that the gold was withheld as evidence powerful figures arrested due to corruption had
handed over to the police who charged him meant the case should have been speedily final- their cases dragging on at the courts yet ordi- Mandaza said the independence of the judi-
with three counts of criminal abuse of office ised. But it has not, four months later. nary citizens nabbed over smaller crimes were cial system is now at stake due to lengthy delays
that had happened when he was Local Govern- speedily tried. He asserted that the high-profile in the finalisation of high-profile corruption
ment minister. The ex-minister was also charged Former African Parliamentarians Network cases which drag on at the courts end up fiz- cases.
with attempting to defraud the Reserve Bank. Against Corruption (APNAC) Zimbabwe chap- zling away, a situation that has left citizens very
ter chairperson Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushon- cynical. “The whole question about the independence
The following month, December 2017, ga, said the trend of the delayed cases is denting of the judiciary ever since the elections of 2018
Chombo was re-arrested over a charge of ille- the confidence of ordinary citizens in the justice “This is exacerbated in a contrasting situa- in particular and given what has been happen-
gally settling people on a piece of land that did system. tion between low-profile cases which are given ing under the coup, not to mention literally
not belong to him in Harare. high-profile attention by the judiciary almost how the coup was ruled to be a legal transition,
“We are disappointed (in the delays) and like a pattern. It's now almost predictable that right through to the present day’s allegations of
On 19 December 2017, former Mines minis- it buttresses public perception that this (the those in high positions or those close to power, judicial incompetence and bias or sheer pan-
ter Walter Chidhakwa was arrested and accused arrests) are just about catch-and-release. The nothing happens to them after arrest. One ex- dering to the authorities makes the situation a
of using his influence to unlawfully grant a tax high-profile corruption cases must be finalised,” ample is of this lady, Henrietta Rushwaya. Peo- mess. There is also talk of state security agents
exemption to a mining firm which then made a she said. ple are beginning to speculate that nothing will determining what magistrates must do. It’s ac-
huge payment to an organisation linked to him. happen to her,” Mandaza said. tually a mess,” Mandaza said.
Cases of top local authority officials arrested
He was detained at Rhodsville Police Station for alleged corruption have also dragged on at While cases of high-profile corruption by po- He said judicial reforms which happened in
in Harare and the case sparked public interest. the courts without finalisation. litically exposed persons drag on for years, by Kenya in 2002 after ex-President Daniel Arap
contrast smaller matters involving non-power- Moi was succeeded by Mwai Kibaki must be
However, the case is yet to be concluded at In January 2020, Gokwe town secretary Mel- ful citizens are speedily wrapped up. implemented in Zimbabwe.
the courts. lania Mandeya was arrested on allegations in-
volving criminal abuse of office, flouting tender Three organisers of the illegal 31 December “Many judges were dismissed (in Kenya). I
Valentine Maponga, spokesperson for legal procedures and inflating figures when paying 2020 New Year’s Eve music gig held in Mbare, think it is inevitable that such a thing must be
think-tank Veritas, said the delays in finalisa- council debts. Harare were arrested on 3 January for violat- done here. It also gives confidence to those ju-
tion of the high-profile corruption cases had a ing Covid-19 national lockdown regulations. dicial officers who are doing their job properly
negative effect on the justice system. Harare town clerk Hosiah Chisango was ar- Their case was wrapped up in three days. Hara- but are now lumped together with the bad ap-
rested in October 2020 over allegations of par- re provincial magistrate Vongai Guwuriro jailed ples. I have no doubt that there are very good
“Witnesses may die (during the prolonged celling out land in a corrupt way. for six months Simbarashe Chanachimwe, Ar- judges in the system… but there are things that
delays of the cases) and the state’s case becomes nold Kamudyariwa (DJ Fantan) and Tafadzwa have damaged the reputation of the judiciary
weak. This gives a chance for the accused people Both cases are, again, yet to be wrapped up Kadzimwe (DJ Levelz) over the crime. right to the top where we have the Chief justice
to be acquitted,” he said. and the accused persons are out on bail. (Luke Malaba) himself,” Mandaza said.
In January 2020, a Bulawayo man, Prosper
In July 2019, former Public service minister There was a trend where all the above power- Tshuma (26), was arrested for stealing copper The Anti-Corruption Trust of Southern Af-
Prisca Mupfumira was arrested over a corrup- ful figures received preferential treatment from cables. The case was concluded in eight weeks rica (ACT-SA) tracked some of the high-pro-
tion charge over the alleged embezzlement of the Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Ser- and he was sentenced to 45 years in prison. file corruption cases that occurred in Gokwe, a
US$95 million from the National Social Se- vices. They would come to court from remand town located 228 kilometres away from Harare.
curity Authority (Nssa) pension fund. She was prison wearing their own neat clothes but arrive
also charged with criminal abuse of office in a in court aboard a van full of inmates donning
case she was accused of using state funds to buy prison garb.
air tickets and pay for the upkeep of her aides
to attend her daughter’s wedding in South Af-
rica. At the time of her arrest, Mupfumira sat
in President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s cabinet as
Tourism minister. She became the first minister
in the Mnangagwa cabinet to be arrested over
corruption. She was subsequently sacked two
weeks after the arrest.

To date, her case is still dragging amid indi-
cations the state adduced weak evidence.Joram
Gumbo, the current

Presidential Affairs minister responsible for
monitoring and implementation of government
programmes, was arrested in November 2019
over allegations of defrauding the state of US$1
million in an illegal Zimbabwe Airways deal.

The charges were that Gumbo hand-picked
the house of his sister, Mavis Gumbo, and
turned it into the office of the airline during
the time he was Transport minister. He then al-
legedly caused payment of US$1 million, from
the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe which held the
airline’s account, to his sister’s daughter called
Clara Rachel Mudzami as rentals for the prop-
erty. The case was marked as criminal abuse of
office.

When Gumbo pitched up at the Harare
magistrate’s court, prosecutors did not take
him into the court room for initial remand be-
fore a magistrate. Instead, he went back home
without being formally charged and up to now
nothing more has happened on the case.

The first health minister in President Em-
merson Mnangagwa’s government, Obadiah
Moyo, was arrested in June 2020 over a corrup-
tion case of abusing US$60 million in a murky
deal involving the procurement of personal pro-
tective equipment and Covid-19 test kits.

The case also involved businessman Dellish
Nguwaya who once posed for photographs with
the First Family amid reports he is its runner.
He was arrested but later freed after the pros-
ecutors failed to present a strong case against
him.

Moyo is on bail and his case has now dragged
on for a long time.

Former Zimbabwe Football Association
(Zifa) and Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation
(ZMF) president Henrietta Rushwaya was ar-
rested in October 2020 at the Robert Gabriel
Mugabe International Airport in Harare with
six kilogrammes of gold she allegedly attempted

NewsHawks News Page 7

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

Former Finance minister Ignatius Chombo Former Mines minister Walter Chidhakwa

The organisation concluded that the Nation- Chombo’s case, Madhuku said: “The matter is charges involving the illegal sale of land and Former Public Service minister Prisca Mupfumira
al Prosecuting Authority did not do a good job now at the Supreme Court where we are chal- abuse of US$400 000 belonging to Nssa.
since the matters are yet to be concluded, three lenging certain things. It will therefore be con- prison authorities which are more comfortable.
years later, yet it seemed there was overwhelm- temptuous of the Supreme Court for anyone to In contrast, other inmates would be brought Job Sikhala, a member of Parliament for Ze-
ing evidence against the accused office bearers. say we have been making frivolous applications to court in prison garb and sometimes in leg
to delay the case. The fact that the Supreme irons. ngeza, told this publication that government
“In 2020, Melania Mandeya (Gokwe town Court has been seized with our matter for a year critics are particularly maltreated when in re-
clerk) and Jokonia Nyoni (Gokwe council fi- now means it’s an important case.” An inmate, who said he shared a remand mand prison. He said he was personally subject-
nance director) were arrested in Gokwe, but the prison cell with Rushwaya’s male co-accused ed to “grave maltreatment” during his stay at
cases appear to have been forgotten. Similarly, Hodzi also claimed that the Covid-19 pan- persons in the gold smuggling case, posted on Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison charged
Hon. Goden Chanda (Zanu PF MP for Gokwe demic, which only broke out in March 2020, social media plartform Twitter that the three with undermining police this year in January,
Sesame) and a local authority official were also had slowed down the pace at which cases can received preferential treatment which became 2021.
arrested on or about 2019/2020 after they al- move at the courts because of regulations pro- known as Borrowdale Style. The guy alleged
legedly diverted food aid but their cases appear mulgated by the government to deal with it like Tserayi, Mufandauya and Mohamad would be “I was kept in solitary confinement in a cell
to have been forgotten,” ACT-SA said. the national lockdowns. allowed to bring alcohol inside the cell and at where people on death roll are detained. I was
times got the privilege to sleep in offices of the just opposite the gallows. I don’t know what
Mandeya and Nyoni were arrested for al- He pointed out that the other factor show- statement they wanted to send to me,” he said.
legedly flouting tender procedures and criminal ing his office’s determination in prosecuting
abuse of office. Both are out of custody on bail. high-profile corruption cases is the move to ex- — STAFF WRITER
tradite former ministers Walter Mzembi, Jona-
ACT-SA said these examples show a lack of than Moyo and Saviour Kasukuwere who went
genuine interest, commitment and the political into exile in 2017 but are wanted over alleged
will to expeditiously prosecute corruption. corruption.

“In such instances (of delayed cases) evidence “The fight against corruption is too serious
is likely to be tampered with or get lost. The to reduce it to a partisan score marking game.
same will happen to the witnesses who might It should be a national effort, given the fact that
relocate or die, thereby resulting in the miscar- corruption can become an existential threat to
riage of the trials, leading to the acquittal of the the nation,” Hodzi said.
accused persons over time,” ACT-SA said.
He also claimed that his office has appointed
Zimbabwe Peace Project director Jestina Mu- taskforces to help in speeding up and conclud-
koko said by not holding to account corrupt ing high-profile corruption cases in future and
people, the government is promoting a culture bring to book other culprits yet to be arrested.
of unaccountability and abuse of state resourc-
es, citing the US$60 million the government Prosecutor Michael Reza, who is handling
was duped of in the Drax International pro- the gold smuggling case involving Rushwaya,
curement deal. defended his office despite public anger that he
had not been effective on the matter.
Contacted for comment, former Prosecu-
tor-General Kumbirai Hodzi, who has since Reza said the matter was not taken to early
retired, said it is incorrect that his office stalled trial because it was discovered she was working
high-profile corruption cases. with several other people hence the need for
further investigations.
He cited convictions of former Midlands
minister of state for provincial affairs Jason He also stated that the state had initially con-
Machaya, ex-Energy minister Samuel Undenge sented to bail before making a u-turn because
and former state residences director Douglas “at the time of her arrest and being brought to
Tapfuma as examples of how competent the court, there was no evidence given to the state
National Prosecuting Authority has been. that she was working with anybody else”.

“In all the high-profile corruption cases, the Added Reza: “The current position (on Rush-
PG’s office together with all the other state waya case) is that investigations are at their tail-
agencies have acted with exemplary diligence end. As soon as the lockdown ends, we will set
and speed,” Hodzi said. the matter for trial. As the state, we are done
with listing who is to be jointly charged with
He pointed out that cases of ex-ministers who and who is to be charged alone.”
Chombo, Mupfumira and Chidhakwa were
delayed because their lawyers made several All the former government officials including
“frivolous and vexacious” Supreme Court appli- Rushwaya, who were arrested over high-profile
cations challenging the processes at the magis- corruption cases, received preferential treat-
trates’ court. ment from the Zimbabwe Prison and Correc-
tional Services (ZPCS). For instance, they were
However, constitutional law expert Love- exempted from wearing prison garb and would
more Madhuku, who is representing former pitch up immaculately dressed in casual wear.
minister Chombo on cases he was arrested over
in 2017, said there is nothing wrong in matters The latest example is that of former labour
dragging for years at the courts. He said it is and social welfare minister Petronela Kagonye
normal in the legal fraternity. who pitched up at the Harare magistrates’ court
in February 2021 donning designer clothes af-
Responding to a question as to whether he ter having been arrested over corruption-related
has not been deliberately causing delays in

Page 8 News NewsHawks

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

MOSES MATENGA Provide criminal evidence to
back PVOs Bill, minister told
JUSTICE minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has been
challenged to provide evidence on political inter- welfare assistance, legal aid and animal welfare. US$647.78 million in 2020 to US$975.16 mil- Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi
ference by non-governmental organisations and According to the 2022 monetary policy state- lion in 2021. sively, the report warns.
that some charities are conduits for sponsoring
terrorism and other criminal activities as claimed ment, NGOs are the third-biggest earners of Foreign currency is critical in sustaining the Ziyambi said the government “looks with ex-
by the regime in justifying its push to shut down foreign currency in the country after export pro- forex auction system. Any disruptions in the ac- treme disfavour upon PVOs that abuse their
private voluntary organisations (PVOs). ceeds and diaspora remittances. Total foreign cur- tivities of NGOs through legal and/or non-legal resources by acting in a partisan manner, for in-
rency receipts from NGOs rose by 50.5% from means could result in the country losing out mas- stance by favouring communities on the basis of
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s govern- their supposed or expected political affiliation”.
ment has been threatening PVOs, claiming that
they are pushing for illegal regime change in the Zanu PF insists on the need to keep in check NGOs.
country and sponsoring the opposition, while also
dabbling in other activities outside their mandate.

While the move to enact a law banning NGOs
has triggered an international outcry and is widely
seen as an affront to democracy, Zanu PF has in-
sisted on the need for it to keep the organisations
in check despite warnings that the ill-conceived
PVOs Amendment Bill could cost Zimbabwe
close to US$800 million in development funding
this year.

In a report on the PVOs Amendment Bill by
Veritas, a legal think-tank, Ziyambi told members
of Parliament that the Bill does not speak to those
law-abiding PVOs, but to the few who may be
tempted to use the guise of charity to carry out
“undesirable, harmful and even criminal activi-
ties.”

Veritas said in his justification of the Bill, Zi-
yambi claimed communication had been received
from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) that
some charities are being used to channel terrorist
funding and other criminal activities.

The Justice minister, Veritas said, also claimed
that some charitable organisations were being mis-
used to launder the proceeds of criminal activities
by “for instance buying up properties in Zimba-
bwe and other countries”.

Ziyambi also claimed that the government was
aware that “some so-called charities act in a po-
litically partisan manner by directing money to
favoured political parties or candidates at the ex-
pense of other political parties or candidates”.

But Veritas challenged Ziyambi to prove the
government’s controversial allegations, noting that
there was no record of any FATF’s report raising
the issue.

“None of the FATF’s published reports have
mentioned this activity by Zimbabwean PVOs. If
any such report has, indeed, been received by the
government, the minister should in the interests
of transparency make this available to Parliament,”
Veritas challenged Ziyambi.

Only last month, Zimbabwe was removed from
the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force
(FATF), having satisfied the taskforce during a
visit that it is fully compliant in implementing
required global anti-money laundering banking
standards and that its banks cannot be used by
those financing terrorism.

According to a report titled Punching Holes to
a Fragile Economy, compiled by Prosper Chitam-
bara, Clinton Musonza and Phillan Zamchiya,
the proposed law will have a far-reaching negative
impact and implications not just for civil society
organisations, but also for government develop-
ment programmes and the poor who rely on aid
for survival and access to critical social services.

The report stated that according to the 2022
national budget statement, during the period
f4om January to September 2021, the country
received development assistance amounting to
US$647.8 million, of which US$401.9 million
was from bilateral partners and US$245.9 million
from multilateral partners.

In 2022, support from the development part-
ners is projected at US$761.5 million, broken
down as US$274.3 million and US$487.2 mil-
lion from multilateral and bilateral partners, re-
spectively.

The PVO Amendment Bill was gazetted in No-
vember 2021 and seeks to amend the PVO Act to
impose new restrictions, but civil society organisa-
tions have warned the proposed amendments will
constrain their work and violate human rights,
while negatively affecting communities who de-
pend on their activities.

They also said the measures will hit the already
struggling economy which relies on development
partners to bridge yawning funding gaps due to
the country’s inadequate budget and resources.

The Bill also prohibits trusts that are registered
with the High Court, but are not registered PVOs,
from collecting contributions from the public or
from outside Zimbabwe for any of the purposes
specified in the definition of “private voluntary
organisation”, that is charitable purposes, social

NewsHawks News Page 9

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

Without donors, Zim is doomed

MOSES MATENGA

WITHOUT Non-Governmental Organisations According to the national budget statement, al disbursements for the period January-Septem- HIV prevalence among TB patients declined
(NGOs) — the third biggest foreign currency in during the period January to September 2021, ber 2021 and 2022 projections by development from 68% in 2014 to 62% in 2018. Zimba-
Zimbabwe after export earnings and diaspora re- the country received development assistance partner. bwe benefitted from the five-year US$25 mil-
mittances — the country will plunge deeper into amounting to US$647.6 million, of which lion-Challenge Tuberculosis grant which came to
a forex crunch, further reeling from worsening US$401.7 million was from bilateral partners “Importantly, a lot of the gains that have been an end at the end of 2019.
economic instability characterised by exchange and US$245.9 million from multilateral part- registered key development indicators have been
rate volatility and resurging annual inflation scal- ners. on account of the partnership between the gov- The Challenge TB was funded under Usaid’s
ing 96.4%. ernment and NGOs. For instance, the country TB strategy. The country registered commend-
A further US$202.4 million in development has made some progress in terms of reducing able strides in the fight against TB. The Chal-
A report, titled Punching Holes to Fragile Econ- assistance is projected during the fourth quarter mortality.” lenge TB supported 46 one-stop-shop high
omy?, done by Prosper Chitambara, Clinton of 2021. volume facilities across the country, to offer inte-
Musonza and Phillan Zamchiya, and sponsored According to the 2019 Multiple Indicator grated TB-HIV services.
by Southern African Human Rights Defenders, Social protection coverage in the country re- Cluster Survey, the maternal mortality ratio de-
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum and Ac- mains very low. Social protection was allocated clined from 651 in 2015 to 525 in 2017 and According to the Unaids 2019 Annual Report,
countabilityLab Zimbabwe, says the economic about ZWL$20.5 billion (2.8% of Gross Do- then 462 in 2019. The under-five mortality rate Zimbabwe recorded a decrease in new HIV in-
impact of the Private Voluntary Organisations mestic Product) in 2022 up from 0.8% in 2021. on the other hand decreased from 72.4 per 1000 fections from 45 000 in 2015 to 38 000 in 2018,
Amendment Bill gazetted in November last year This is a huge improvement but it is still below live births in 2017 to 65 per 1000 live births in a development that should lead to a decline in
will be devastating in many areas, including forex the Social Policy for Africa (2008) benchmark of 2019. The proportion of women of reproductive prevalence.
inflows. at least 4.5% of GDP. age who have their need for family planning sat-
isfied with modern methods has increased from The incidence of HIV has reduced from 3.9
“NGOs are the third biggest earners of foreign Water and sanitation on the other hand, re- 86% in 2016 to 89% in 2019. There has been per thousand uninfected population in 2015 to
currency in the country after export proceeds and ceived an allocation which constitutes about an improvement in childhood vaccinations from 2.8 per thousand in 2019. Zimbabwe has also
diaspora remittances. Total foreign currency re- 1.2% of GDP, up from 0.2% of GDP in 2021. 76% in 2015 to 84.5% in 2019. managed to halve the number of Aids-related
ceipts (US$ million) from NGOs rose by 50.5% Providing water and sanitation in schools is key deaths from 54,000 in 2010 to 22,000 in 2018.
from US$647.78 million in 2020 to US$975.16 to keeping girls and children in school. Poor The 2020 Zimbabwe Progress Report on
million in 2021,” the report says. and inadequate water and sanitation is a lead- SDGs says progress has been made with regards The Global Fund has allocated US$500 mil-
ing cause of poverty, morbidity and mortality. to HIV infection, with the number of new HIV lion to Zimbabwe for HIV and Aids, TB as well
“Foreign currency receipts from the NGOs Donors contributed quite significantly towards infections reducing from 3.9 per 1000 uninfect- as Malaria programmes that will run between
constituted about 10% of total foreign curren- social protection, health, education, and food ed population in 2015 to 2.8 per 1 000 in 2019. 2020 and 2023. The US President’s Emergency
cy receipts and more than 10 times what came security. Plan for AIDS Relief has approved US$230 mil-
in through foreign investment. Foreign currency The malaria incidence per 1 000 population lion to Zimbabwe for HIV and Aids for the one-
receipts from NGOs have gone a long way in im- “Owing to the huge financing gap in most sec- has progressively declined from 29 in 2014; to year period beginning on 1 October 2020 and
proving foreign currency supply in the economy. tors of the economy, the country has had to rely 14 in 2016; 10 in 2017; and only five in 2018. ending on 30 September 2021.
on donor financing from international NGOs
“Capacity utilisation in industry has improved and development partners,” the report says. The country in partnership with development NGOs have also played a critical developmen-
significantly from 34% in 2020 to an estimat- partners has come up with policy frameworks to tal role in enhancing food security and promot-
ed 60% in 2021 (2022 National Budget State- “For instance, according to the 2022 Nation- deal with malaria including: the National Malar- ing the right to food.
ment), on account of improved foreign currency al Budget statement, during the period January ia Control Programme (2001); the National Ma-
availability, among others. Any disruptions in to September 2021,the country received de- laria Prevention and Control Policy (2010); Na- According to the United Nations Common
NGOs’ activities and financing is likely to desta- velopment assistance amounting to US$647.8 tional Malaria Strategic Plan (2016-2020); the Country Analysis Zimbabwe 2021 report, the
bilise the foreign exchange markets.” million, of which US$401.9 million was from Malaria Communication Strategy (2016-2020); country is a beneficiary of several strategic co-
bilateral partners and US$245.9 million from and the Insecticide Resistance Monitoring and operation and partnership with a number of
A survey carried out with a number of NGOs multilateral partners. Management Plan for Malaria Vectors in Zimba- bilateral and multilateral agricultural develop-
during the research revealed that the contribu- bwe (2016-2020). ment programmes, including, among others, the
tion by NGOs to tax revenues ranged from “A further US$202.4 million in development Zimbabwe Agricultural Growth Programme, the
US$4000 to US$35 000 per month depending assistance is projected during the fourth quarter The estimated TB treatment coverage now Zimbabwe Livelihoods and Food Security Pro-
on the size of the NGO. of 2021, giving cumulative receipts of US$850.2 stands at 83%, up from 70% in 2014. TB in- gramme, the Feed the Future, Smallholder Irri-
million for the year. In 2022, support from the cidence has climbed down to 210 per 100,000 gation Programme and the Zimbabwe Resilience
Moreover, according to the African Sun Lim- Development Partners is projected at US$761.5 population in 2018, from 278 per 100,000 pop- Building Fund.
ited 2020 Integrated Annual Report, conferencing million, broken down as, US$274.3 million and ulation in 2014. The incidence and mortality rate
business from NGOs have consistently anchored US$487.2 million from multilateral and bilateral among TB patients declined by 25% and 49% “These efforts have gone a long way in improv-
their city and country hotels segment. This seg- partners, respectively. Illustrations show the actu- respectively in 2018 from the 2014 baseline. ing resilience and productivity in the target com-
ment was their cash cow in 2020 as the impact munities,” the report reads.
of the Covid-19 on the hotels and tourism sector
saw other segments, particularly the resort hotels
and leisure division, plummeting in sales.

International room nights declined by 78%,
while local room nights decreased by only 28%
from 2019 as NGOs, government and qua-
si-governmental organisations continued to op-
erate albeit under restricted conditions.

“Zimbabwe has a huge financing gap which
has been partly filled through development as-
sistance. Public investments in productivity-en-
hancing and poverty-reducing sectors of the
economy remain grossly inadequate to sustain-
able development. There is a huge financing gap
in public financing of critical sectors of the econ-
omy,” the report says.

“While there has been improved spending and
allocation towards critical sectors of the econo-
my such as health care and infrastructure, these
improvements are still below regional and inter-
national benchmarks.”

The report looks at the sectoral spending
performance of Zimbabwe based on the 2019,
2020, 2021 and 2022.

“In terms of vote allocations, primary and sec-
ondary education was allocated the highest share
at 14.9% up from 13.1% in 2021, closely fol-
lowed by agriculture. The allocations on health
and basic education are below the Abuja Decla-
ration (2001) and the Education for All Initia-
tive (2000) targets/benchmarks of 15% and 20%
respectively.

“The per capita health allocation is
ZWL$7 761.47, which is about US$74 up from
about US$40 in 2021. According to the WHO,
global spending on health averages US$1 080
per capita. Countries that invest a lot on health
do better economically than countries that in-
vest little. Public investments in health help to
enhance the productivity and welfare of the citi-
zens. The country continues to overly rely on ex-
ternal funding to finance our healthcare.”

Page 10 News NewsHawks

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

NON-GOVERNMENTAL Organisations NGOs Bill will disrupt the
(NGOs) are critical to Zimbabwe’s social and economy, deepen poverty
economic development processes given the
role they play in filling in gaps in public pro- African Sun Limited says conferencing business from NGOs has consistently anchored their city and country hotels segment.
grammes and service delivery, a report by local
researchers says. US$647.78 million in 2020 to US$975.16 and tourism sector saw other segments, par- to US$647.8 million, of which US$401.9 mil-
million in 2021. Disruptions in the operations ticularly the resort hotels and leisure division, lion was from bilateral partners and US$245.9
The report, titled Punching Holes to Fragile of the NGOs will affect foreign currency in- plummeting in sales. million from multilateral partners,” the report
Economy?, done by Prosper Chitambara, Clin- flows into the country which will have an ad- says.
ton Musonza and Phillan Zamchiya, and spon- verse effect on the stability and sustainability International room nights declined by 78%,
sored by the Southern African Human Rights economy.” while local room nights decreased by only 28% “A further US$202.4 million in develop-
Defenders, Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO from 2019 as NGOs, government and qua- ment assistance is projected during the fourth
Forum and AccountabilityLab Zimbabwe, A survey of a number of NGOs revealed that si-governmental organisations continued to quarter of 2021, giving cumulative receipts of
looks at the economic impact of the Private their contribution to tax revenues ranged from operate albeit under restricted conditions. US$850.2 million for the year. In 2022, sup-
Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Amendment US$4 000 to US$35 000 per month depend- port from the Development Partners is pro-
Bill gazetted in November last year. ing on the size of the NGO. “NGOs have also played a critical role in jected at US$761.5 million, broken down as,
bridging the huge financing gap in the critical US$274.3 million and US$487.2 million from
It says any disruptions of NGO activities, Moreover, according to the African Sun sectors of the economy such as social protec- multilateral and bilateral partners, respectively.
funding and development are likely to hit the Limited 2020 Integrated Annual Report, con- tion, education, health, water and sanitation Importantly, a lot of the gains that have been
poor harder and worsen poverty, while taking ferencing business from NGOs has consistent- among others. For instance, according to the registered key health and social indicators have
Zimbabwe, which has no incidences of financ- ly anchored their city and country hotels seg- 2022 National Budget statement, during the been on account of the partnership between
ing of terrorist groups through these entities, ment. This segment was their cash cow in 2020 period January to September 2021, the coun- the government and NGOs.” — STAFF WRITER
years backwards. as the impact of the Covid-19 on the hotels try received development assistance amounting

Over the past few decades there has been
a significant increase in the involvement of
NGOs in the development process. The role
of NGOs as agents of development, providers
of services including humanitarian assistance,
and advocates for vulnerable groups has been
recognised and heralded.

In many countries, NGOs are filling the
gaps in public programmes and services that
states have failed to perform or provide owing
to limited fiscal space among others. There is
consensus that a successful NGO community
is essential for effective and efficient civil soci-
ety that organises local participation which is
essential for sustainable development .

“Creating an enabling environment for
NGOs to operate is recognised as being critical
for the attainment of the Agenda 2030 on Sus-
tainable Development Goals and the African
Union Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want.

Importantly, effective partnerships between
governments and NGOs are crucial in acceler-
ating global development. The role of NGOs is
even more important in low-income countries
where the fiscal space is limited. This report
analyses the economic contribution of NGOs
and the potential impact of the Private Vol-
untary Organisations Amendment Bill which
was gazetted on 5 November 2021,” the report
says.

“In the case of Zimbabwe, NGOs have been
important drivers of sustainable development
through a number of channels. For instance,
NGOs have contributed towards employment
creation, tax revenues, foreign currency gener-
ation and stability, provision of social protec-
tion, growth in the local tourism sector and
overall economic growth.

“Owing to the huge financing gap in pro-
ductivity-enhancing and poverty-reducing sec-
tors of the economy such as health, education,
social protection, and water and sanitation, the
country has had to rely on donor financing
from international NGOs and development
partners. Strong partnerships with NGOs and
other not-for-profit organisations such as trade
unions will strengthen the implementation of
the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS
1), as well as the attainment of the country’s
Vision 2030: Towards a Prosperous and Em-
powered Upper Middle-Income Society by
2030.”

On the contribution by the NGOs to em-
ployment creation, according to the 2019
Labour Force and Child Labour Survey from
the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, the
NGOs sector employed 1.2% of the total em-
ployed which translates to an aggregate figure
of 17 643 formal jobs.

This is quite significant, considering the
huge employment-related challenges the coun-
try has been facing for a long time. NGOs have
also played an important role in developing the
country’s human resource base through carry-
ing out a number of capacity building activities
and programmes.

“Any disruptions in the activities of NGOs
could threaten these jobs as well as thousands
of livelihoods. NGOs also contribute signifi-
cantly towards foreign currency receipts in
the country. According to the 2022 Monetary
Policy Statement, NGOs are the third biggest
earners of foreign currency in the country after
export proceeds and diaspora remittances,” the
report says.

“Total foreign currency receipts (US$
million) from NGOs rose by 50.5% from

NewsHawks News Page 11

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

THE Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Repressive Bill stifles freedom,
Amendment Bill gazetted last November will have civil liberties and democracy
a chilling effect of political freedoms and civil lib-
erties, as well as democracy and human rights, a The Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Amendment Bill prohibits trusts that are registered with the High Court, but are not registered PVOs, from collecting
research has established. contributions from the public or from outside Zimbabwe.

Political tensions between the government from collecting contributions from the public or es heavy civil penalties for certain contraventions gages in political activities.
and civic organisations, especially trade unions, from outside Zimbabwe for any of the purposes of the PVO Act,” the research says. “However, it is almost impossible to determine
NGOs, the independent media, and churches, es- specified in the definition of ‘private voluntary or-
calated before and after the 2000 general election. ganisation’ (that is, charitable purposes, social wel- “No appeal is allowed against a civil penalty or- what political activities will trigger cancellation.
fare assistance, legal aid and animal welfare). der, except to the person who imposed it and the The Clause can therefore deter PVOs from ex-
Government accused NGOs of launching op- officers of a defaulting PVO can be rendered liable pressing any form of support for any political par-
position political activity and threatened to clamp “If the Bill is enacted, it will stifle not only de- to pay a civil penalty, regardless of their individual ty, supporting particular policies put forward by
down on those which did not comply with the mocracy, but also economic development because fault. a political party and engaging in civic education,
Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Act. After it has provisions that prohibit fund raising by election observation or similar activities.”
the 2002 presidential election, the United States trusts, ban political lobbying by PVOs and impos- “Clause 5 has a provision that permits the PVO
and the European Union imposed targeted sanc- board to cancel the registration of a PVO if it en- — STAFF WRITER
tions against Zimbabwe and all major Western
bilateral donors stopped government-to- govern-
ment assistance, opting instead to channel their
aid directly through NGOs.

On 20 August 2004, Zimbabwe gazetted the
NGO Bill. The NGO Bill sought “to provide for
an enabling environment for the operations, mon-
itoring, and regulation of all non-governmental
organisations”.

The main difference between the NGO Bill and
the PVO Act was that the NGO Bill tightened the
surveillance and control mechanisms of the gov-
ernment on NGOs over and above the already
substantial authorities’ powers of control in the
PVO Act.

The definition of NGOs was broadened than
in the PVO Act, and the NGO Bill eliminated ex-
emptions from registration in the PVO Act. There
were new prohibitions against the registration of
foreign NGOs and access to foreign funding of lo-
cal NGOs engaged in “issues of governance”.

The Bill increased the imbalance in the compo-
sition of the NGO Council in favour of govern-
ment versus NGO representatives, augmented the
Council’s and the minister’s powers to regulate the
internal affairs of associations, and imposed new
requirements on NGOs.

Following widespread and sustained criticism of
the NGO Bill, the late former president Robert
Mugabe never assented to it and therefore it was
not enacted.

The PVO Amendment Bill was published in
the government gazette on 5 November 2021. The
Bill seeks to amend the PVO Act (Chapter 17:05)
motivated by the following reasons:
l In order to comply with the Financial Action
Task Force (FATF) recommendations, in particu-
lar Recommendation 8. FATF Recommendation
8 requires that the laws and regulations that govern
non-profit organisations be reviewed so that these
organisations cannot be abused for the financing
of terrorism. The FATF has established best prac-
tices, aimed at preventing misuse of Non-Profit
Organisations (NPOs) for the financing of terror-
ism while, at the same time, respecting legitimate
actions of NPOs;
l To streamline administrative procedures for
PVO to ensure efficient regulation and registra-
tion. The Bill provides for the Registrar of PVO to
collect fees for the registration of PVO; and
l To ensure that PVOs do not undertake political
lobbying. The Bill makes it an offence for a PVO is
involved in supporting or opposing a political par-
ty or candidate in relation to the offence created in
the Political Party (Financing) Act.

The Bill also prohibits trusts that are registered
with the High Court, but are not registered PVOs,

THE Private Voluntary Organisations What’s the PVO Amendment Bill?
Amendment Bill which was gazetted by the able development,” a report, titled Punching perity, investment, competitiveness and sus- existing legislation and/or other measures are
government in November last year has three Holes to Fragile Economy?, says. tainable development. Any disruptions in the sufficient to mitigate risks.”
purposes: to comply with recommendations activities of NGOs will affect confidence in
made by the Financial Action Task Force; “A lot of NGOs will go underground, and the economy which will adversely affect cap- In a number of countries such as Kenya and
streamline administrative procedures and al- the country will lose out in terms of loss of ital and investment inflows into the country,” Ethiopia, they are adopting more liberal laws
low for the efficient regulation and adminis- employment, tax revenues, foreign currency the report says. allowing NGOs more scope for activities.
tration of PVOs; and to prevent PVOs from receipts, and investments in critical sectors of
undertaking political lobbying. the economy. “Any disruptions in the activities and financ- Adding more regulations to the sector will
ing of NGOs through legal and/or non-legal cause a number of NGOs to go underground
The Bill also prohibits trusts that are reg- “By restricting the activities of NGOs, the means will likely worsen the poverty situation which will increase the risk of fraud and mon-
istered with the High Court, but are not reg- Amendment Bill will restrict economic and and threaten/undo the development gains that ey laundering that government is trying to
istered PVOs from collecting contributions political freedom in the country. The country have already been registered. deal with. The country’s current regulations
from the public or from outside Zimbabwe for already faces challenges in terms of its perfor- and laws are robust enough to deal with any
any of the purposes specified in the definition mance on the major economic and political “Importantly, in Zimbabwe there has been threat of fraud or money laundering by NGOs,
of “private voluntary organisation” (that is, freedom indices.” no instance of terrorist financing in the NGO which threat remains very insignificant.
charitable purposes, social welfare assistance, sector. In line with regional and international
legal aid and animal welfare). The PVO Amendment Bill has triggered a best practices, any anti-money laundering and Zimbabwe has a number of NGOs involved
storm of protest by citizens and civil society counter-terrorism financing measures should in humanitarian work, human rights issues
“In line with evidence from a number of groups involved in humanitarian and human be designed and implemented on the basis of and civil society activities that seek to protect
countries, the enactment of the PVO Amend- rights work in the country. a national NGO sector risk assessment. No and promote freedoms and liberties, as well
ment Bill will most likely also result in a de- additional regulations should be applied if social and economic programmes.
cline in foreign funding for Non-Governmen- “Importantly, economic and political free-
tal Organisations (NGOs) which will affect dom are the foundations for economic pros- — STAFF WRITER.
the capacity of the country to achieve sustain-

Page 12 News NewsHawks

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

MOSES MATENGA July Moyo greatest threat to
service delivery — Chamisa
LOCAL Government minister July Moyo’s
interference in the governance of local au- CCC leader Nelson Chamisa Local Government minister July Moyo
thorities has infuriated Citizens’ Coalition
for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa Zanu PF plots to centre its 2023 election campaign on promises of service delivery, while castigating the opposition for alleged failure to deliver.
who has called the Zanu PF politburo mem-
ber to order, describing him as the greatest
threat to service delivery in the country.

This comes as Zanu PF plots to centre
its 2023 election campaign on promises of
service delivery, while castigating the opposi-
tion for alleged failure to deliver.

Moyo has consistently frustrated the
CCC’s efforts to run local authorities.

The Zanu PF minister is deliberately po-
sitioning MDC-T councillors to take charge
amid suspicions he is shielding murky deals
with the acquiescence of compromised
Douglas Mwonzora-aligned councillors.

“July Moyo is the single greatest threat
to service delivery, stability and wellbeing
of cities, towns and rural district councils,”
Chamisa told The NewsHawks this week.

“He is the self-appointed prefect and tak-
ing councils as classrooms. Stop behaving
like that and acting like a prefect on those
who were elected.”

“Who elected you? You even have a dis-
puted appointing authority and all, fighting
those given a mandate by the citizens,” Cha-
misa fumed as Moyo continues in his quest
to silence recently elected CCC councillors.

Moyo lost in his bid to represent Redcliff
in Parliament in the 2018 elections and was
only appointed minister as part of the five
that the President can appoint to cabinet
without parliamentary seats.

Zimbabwe’s main opposition leader said
Moyo’s action targeting CCC councillors
was meant to frustrate them and pave way
for facilitation of murky commercial deals
and in pursuit of a suspicious Zanu PF agen-
da.

“This behaviour is all meant to facilitate
sinister deals. Interference is a form of cor-
ruption. That must stop, this is a scandal.”

“Corruption is at the centre of it all,” Cha-
misa said.

The NewsHawks has on several occasions
exposed Moyo’s questionable interests at
Town House, where he has set base, while
eyeing multi-million-dollar deals.

The Zanu PF secretary for transport and
welfare is accused of working with MDC-T
councillors who recently approved a
US$136 000 budget for the Zimbabwe In-
ternational Trade Fair (ZITF) trip in Bula-
wayo at a time service delivery in the capital
city is at an all-time low.

Moyo is accused by CCC councillors of
personally facilitating and superintending
over a dodgy US$400 million Pomona Waste
Management facility that involves a Nether-
lands-based firm.

The Netherlands company is represented
in Zimbabwe by controversial businessman
and friend of the First Family Delish Ngu-
waya who was also embroiled in a Covid-19
multi-million-dollar scandal.

Moyo personally attended the signing cer-
emony at Town House in Harare and made
sure the suspicious deal was signed.

He is locked in a war of attrition with
CCC councillors elected in the 26 March
2022 by-elections amid fears the new office
bearers could reverse his deals.

Last week, Moyo reversed a lawful move
by CCC councillors to dissolve committees
mainly led by MDC-T councillors, saying
the move was unconstitutional.

In what is clear confirmation that Moyo
is conniving with MDC-T councillors in a
plot to block the CCC from Town House,
the opposition party’s secretary for local
government, Faith Musarurwa, accused the
Chamisa-led party of being “foolish” by try-
ing to come up with new leaders for council
committees.

“They want to replace them with their
members who were recently elected. We find
their actions clearly malicious, childish, un-
lawful and foolish,” Musarurwa said.

Moyo has insisted that despite the election
of Enock Mupamaonde as acting mayor in
place of Jacob Mafume, who still has issues
before the courts, the minister’s preferred
choice, Stewart Mutizwa, remains in charge.

NewsHawks News Page 13

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

MOSES MATENGA Congress: Chamisa warned
of sinister Zanu PF antics
THE opposition Citizens’ Coalition for Change
(CCC) must not succumb to suspicious calls for preme Court ruling have taught them to be on CCC leader tary-general, forcing Chamisa to retreat before
an elective party congress, but instead, focus on high alert. Nelson Chamisa announcing a new party, CCC, in February this
its mobilisation strategy ahead of the 2023 gen- deputies was a nullity and the ruling’s practical year.
eral elections as calls mainly from outsiders were The Supreme Court ruled that the late for- effect was a dramatic return to the party’s 2014
indicative of desperation and a desire to fan divi- mer MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s ap- structures. With the aid of the Zanu PF government,
sion in its cockpit, analysts have warned. pointment of Chamisa and Elias Mudzuri as his Consequently, Thokozani Khupe was made the MDC-T wrested everything from Chami-
acting president and Mwonzora became secre- sa, including the MDC-Alliance banner, party
CCC leader Nelson Chamisa has kept his headquarters and colours and forced the recall
foes guessing over his next move on congress of at least 28 members of Parliament and over
following the formation of the new outfit af- 80 councillors.
ter surrendering the MDC-Alliance to Douglas
Mwonzora. Chamisa’s party won 19 of the 28 vacant par-
liamentary seats while Zanu PF won nine with
There has been pressure for CCC to con- the MDC-T getting zero.
vene an elective congress amid public calls and
hushed talks inside the party to elect leaders In February, Chamisa told The NewsHawks
ahead of elections, but Chamisa has remained that the party will not announce a congress date
adamant that there will be no congress before as it is aware of the machinations of Zanu PF
elections, with his aides insisting such a move and other forces.
would be divisive and pave way for infiltration.
“We are a new, fresh, modern and radically
The curious interest has come mainly from different citizens’ project, not a rebranded or re-
exiled former Zanu PF politburo member Jona- packaged toxic old one,” Chamisa said then.
than Moyo and some ruling party acolytes who
have ratcheted up a social media campaign to “We do not advise our opponents on our next
pressure Chamisa. steps, but the citizens know because they drive
the process.
Chamisa refused to comment on the matter
this week, saying the party is focusing on mo- “Nothing teaches better than history and
bilisation. nothing educates better than experience. We
have learnt that we have infiltrators and we
However, he took to microblogging site Twit- cannot always whisper strategies into the ear of
ter, saying his party approach was “a total shift” those who stand opposed to us. The citizens are
on everything and divorced from the past. driving the processes.”

“It’s a total shift on everything,” Chamisa However, analyst Alexander Rusero said the
wrote. failure by the CCC to hold a congress may be
problematic for the opposition party in future.
“We are not our past. A total shift in leader-
ship culture, manners and values. A total shift in “CCC is anchored on democratic ethos, a
structure. A total shift in strategy. A total shift democratic struggle all of them have been com-
in politics, policies and programmes. Let’s go.” mitted to wage since 1999 when MDC was
formed, which has now evolved into CCC,” Ru-
Asked by his supporters about the congress on sero said.
the social media platform on why there was no
congress, Chamisa curtly said: “The citizens are “It is not true that calls for congress are com-
the masters and are clear.” ing from Zanu PF, it’s big propaganda. Congress
calls are a silent but clear call from the insiders
As if to allay reports of growing tension with- who are afraid the oncoming 2023 elections will
in CCC over the internal election issue, one of be dodged by appointments and parachuting of
the interim deputy presidents, Tendai Biti, pub- candidates as opposed to primary elections.”
lished a picture depicting him alongside party
leader Chamisa. Biti’s picture was accompanied “Whatever way you look at it, the denial of
by a caption that read: “Good afternoon citi- the need for a congress or whatever they decide
zens. Your movement is alive and kicking and to call it, is not only anti-democratic but very
they are panicking.” hypocritical and cunning. It lays a seedbed for a
break-up post-2023 should Chamisa lose. Con-
Political analyst and Crisis in Zimbabwe Coa- gress creates a clear-cut line of command and
lition director Blessing Vava said the opposition line of authority. Not having it creates internal
party already has functional structures as elected contradictions that are unnecessary,” Rusero
at the 2018 Gweru congress and calls for a CCC said.
congress are inconsequential.
CCC supporters
“I think the CCC already has functional
structures that were a product of the MDC-Al-
liance congress held in Gweru in 2018. I think
those structures are still there and already work-
ing as an interim and there’s surely no vacuum,”
Vava said.

Vava added that the opposition party only
needs to be clear on mobilisation and ideologi-
cal standing, both of which are key ahead of the
2023 general elections.

“What is key, however, are the policy direc-
tion, symbols, values and principles, which the
party needs to be clear about as we head for the
elections in 2023,” he said.

“Remember the Economic Freedom Fighters
(EFF) in South Africa was formed in July 2013,
participated in its first election in May 2014 and
held its first congress in December 2014. But it
was quite clear what the party stood for, even
before the congress.”

“However, the CCC just needs to be clear-
er on who they are, their ideological clarity and
character needs to be clear,” Vava added.

Another analyst Rashweat Mukundu said the
CCC must ignore calls by outsiders for congress
as it was a way for Zanu PF and the Zimbabwe-
an intelligence system to cause mayhem and di-
visions ahead of the 2023 general elections.

“Any pressure on the CCC to hold any ad-
ministrative or organisational issue which is
coming from outside is a trap and part of the
propaganda to divide the party and divert it
from its mobilisation strategy and preparation
for elections,” Mukundu said.

“The CCC must run away as far as possible
from any demands or actions instigated from
outside, but instigated by Zanu PF and the in-
telligence and rather focus on mobilisation and
building the movement.”

There are fears that Zanu PF is an interest-
ed party in the CCC's internal dynamics with
a view to causing divisions but opposition party
officials said events since the March 2020 Su-

Page 14 News NewsHawks

Hackers snatch Issue 78, 29 April 2022
US$100 000
from NatPharm

RUVIMBO MUCHENJE The matter was subsequently sent for arbitra- Auditor-General Mildred Chiri
tion and the claimant abandoned the larger
THE National Pharmaceutical Company portion of its claim, but was awarded a sum
of Zimbabwe (NatPharm) lost more than of US$2 733 480 in respect of medicines and
US$100 000 to hackers when its computer sundries already supplied. Management insists
system was attacked, Auditor-General Mildred on not providing for the arbitration award on
Chiri has revealed. the basis that it was the ministry of Health and
Child Care (MoHCC) that entered into con-
In her report for the year ended 31 Decem- tract with the supplier in question in the first
ber 2020, Chiri reported that NatPharm’s server place, as such, it is the MoHCC who should
was reportedly down during the period under honour the arbitration award,” reported Chiri.
review.
NatPharm also acquired masks without sup-
An employee used their private email to com- porting requisition forms, this was in breach of
municate with a supplier, leaving the computer internal control mechanisms which could also
system vulnerable, hence the attack. lead to financial loss.

“The company lost funds amounting to “The procurement of face masks at a cost
US$104 760. Upon enquiry, management in- of ZW$54 600 on May 19 2020 from Sacred
dicated that their information technology sys- Heart Pharmaceuticals was done without rais-
tem was hacked and the hackers diverted funds ing a purchase requisition. Thereafter the deliv-
which were meant to pay a certain supplier. ery notes and confirmation of receipt of goods
Management further advised that the email was done by the same person. There was no seg-
server at National Pharmaceutical Company regation of duties and minimum procurement
was down at the time and a clerk used his per- controls were not applied,” reported Chiri.
sonal account to communicate with the suppli-
er,” read the report. The masks were not delivered to NatPharm,
but were instead sold to the Zimbabwe
Chiri warned that the company risks un-
precedented financial loss if crucial data is not Medical Association without an invoice or
protected and recommended that NatPharm quotation, contrary to the set down control
ensure that official business is conducted via measures.
company email servers.
“In addition, these goods were not delivered
“Management should ensure all business at the warehouse as is the normal practice at Nat
communication is done via the company’s email Pharm. These face masks were instead sold and
servers and minimise use of personal email ac- delivered to Zimbabwe Medical Association for
counts,” she said. ZW$68 000 and no quotation or invoice was
raised by the Strategic Business Unit which is
The company also has an outstating arbitra- responsible for the company’s retail functions,”
tion award of US$2.7 million that it is refusing reported Chiri.
to honour, arguing that the burden should be
carried by the ministry of Health and Child She fears the likelihood of financial loss as
Care. This is despite evidence that the contract management seems to be overriding set internal
was violated by NatPharm. controls.

“The company did not provide for an “Those charged with governance should dis-
amount of US$2 733 480 arising from an arbi- courage management from overriding internal
tration award made in favour of a supplier. This controls. Compensatory controls will need to
unfavourable award arose after National Phar- be put in place where management find it nec-
maceutical Company had terminated a US$20 essary to divert from normal procedures,” she
million contract with the supplier for illegality. urged.

NewsHawks News Page 15

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

AUDITOR-GENERAL Mildred Chiri fears Loans: Women’s bank risks
the Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinance Bank sinking into financial mess
(ZWMB) might fail to recover close to a million
dollars disbursed in loans for castor bean produc- “The impression was that it did not require a chain partner who was also the supplier of all the at a quarter of the required capital for a microfi-
tion. lot of attention and limited water which turned castor bean inputs. All the significant activities nance institution.
out to be incorrect. For farmers who have looked leading to the harvest of the crop and off-taking
In her report on State Enterprises and Para- after the crop, they have managed to harvest. The of the crop were part of the partner’s responsibil- “I noted that the bank was operating below
statals for the year ended December 2020, Chiri yield gradually increases with time,” manage- ities, with the bank only monitoring the projects. the minimum capital requirement in terms of
noted that the expected time of recovery of loans ment said. regulations from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
had passed. However, the Auditor-General observed that (RBZ). RBZ regulations empowered by the
“The value chain has a lot of potential and the partner did not fulfil its obligations as farmers
Of the total ZW$935 948 disbursed, only pays very well. There is need for monitoring at failed to transport their produce. Micro-finance Act [Chapter 24:29] require
ZW$1 740 was recovered as shown in the table all stages since it is a new crop with most farmers that Deposit taking microfinance institution
above. and practice good farming standards like with all “This is indicative of the fact that the bank did shall have and maintain on an ongoing basis a
other crops.” not obtain sufficient evidence on the abilities of minimum paid up share capital of ZW$ equiv-
The loan amounts were set to be recovered af- the value chain partner before venturing into an alent to US$5 000 000 or as may be prescribed
ter the first harvest of the funded crop. However, The bank in 2018 entered into an agreement agreement as evidenced by the value chain part- effective December 31, 2020. The bank had a
the majority of the loans remained unserviced at with Life Brand Agric Services, (the value chain ner not performing their end of the contract i.e total of ZW$111 436 359 as at December 31,
year-end. partner) to offer funding aimed at empowering to train framers and to assure a market of the har- 2020 as total paid up share capital which was just
farmers interested in growing castor beans for vested produce,” Chiri said. 26.53% of the required minimum share capital,”
Management is, however, adamant that this export. The funding was used to pay the value Chiri said. — STAFF WRITER
was just a setback and that they will recover their Chiri also noted that the bank was operating
money in due course.

“There is still room to recover the castor bean
debts. The crop was new in the market and
farmers had limited experience in growing it,”
responded management to the auditor’s findings.

Management admitted that they were not
thorough in their assessment before rolling out
loans to first-time farmers of the crop.

Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinance Bank recovered only ZW$1 740 of the total ZW$935 948 disbursed.

Page 16 News NewsHawks

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) Zec abandons polling station at
will no longer be using a polling station in Zanu PF’s Kwekwe torture base
Kwekwe situated in an area where there is a
traditional Zanu PF torture base manned by Mbizo MP Settlement Chikwinya
the party’s violent terror squad known as Al-
Shabaab.

Kwekwe chief elections officer Assan Mk-
wananzi confirmed the development in an in-
terview with The NewsHawks, saying the poll-
ing station, located in ward 12, Mbizo 9, in
the vicinity of Black Wadada shopping centre,
could no longer be useable going forward.

The polling station has been in existence
since 2008 when Zanu PF launched a murder-
ous rampage after the inconclusive first round
of the general elections won by MDC found-
ing leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

Mkwananzi was diplomatic in stating the
reasons for the abandonment of the polling
station.

“Among other reasons, the space to pitch
tents is limited. If anything, security logis-
tics are difficult to implement. Elections
should not affect economic activity as closure
of shops is imminent on election day. The
300-metre polling area demarcation cannot be
met, which in itself is violation of the electoral
law,” he said.

He added: “We measure 300 metres from
the polling station/room or tent. Within a ra-
dius of 300 metres, there should be no other
activity except that of polling business. That
is why I am saying in real terms all shops at
Black Wadada will be legally affected and cease
to function once the polling station is set up
not only on polling day but even five days be-
fore.”

However, Mbizo MP Settlement Chikwin-
ya (Citizens’ Coalition for Change) confirmed
that the underlying reason for abandoning the
polling station was that it was located at the
nerve centre of a Zanu PF torture base which
made security of the vote impossible.

“To start off with, Zanu PF terror youths
known as Al-Shabaab use the centre as the
launch pad for all terror activities in Mbizo.
Any election in Mbizo is accompanied with
violence easily traceable to Al-Shabaab and
this made voters at Black Wadada fear to come
out and express themselves freely (on voting
days)” said MP Chikwinya.

In the 2013 election, Chikwinya’s campaign
team was violently attacked at Black Wadada
shopping centre, where the polling station
that is now being abandoned is located.

He revealed that the abandonment of the
polling station was long overdue even at law
due to the set up that is densely populated
with pubs as close as 10 metres away from the
Zec polling booths.

“Black Wadada is predominantly a shop-
ping centre and the growing number of small-
scale grocery shops and bottle stores has now
made it difficult for Zec to comply with poll-
ing station regulations without interfering
with established businesses.

“Some bottle stores were less than 10 me-
tres away from the Zec tents (in previous elec-
tions) and owners of these bottle stores were
forced by Zanu PF youths to play Zanu PF
jingles during polling days and this interfered
with the free expression of the voter,” said
Chikwinya.

During the 26 March by-elections which
pitted Chikwinya and Zanu PF’s Vongai Mu-
pereri who is President Emmerson Mnangag-
wa’s nephew, riot police deployed at 6pm at
the polling station to thwart plans by Zanu
PF’s Al-Shabaab militia to snatch away ballot
boxes under the cover of darkness.

During the March by-elections, the ma-
rauding thugs quickly realised that Zanu PF's
defeat was imminent. Chikwinya confirmed
the occurrence.

“The youths had gathered in bottle stores
and ZRP intelligence officers picked that,” he
said.

In the 2 000, 2008, 2013 and 2018 elec-
tions, the Al-Shabaab group would abduct
opposition supporters and torture them at the
centre.

Contacted for comment, Midlands provin-
cial police spokesperson inspector Emmanuel
Mahoko said he was unable to give useful in-
formation because he is away from the prov-
ince attending the Zimbabwe International
Trade Fair in Bulawayo. — STAFF WRITER

NewsHawks News Page 17

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

Reduced to paupers: Zim workers’ agony

The dignity of workers in Zimbabwe has over the years been considerably diminished.

NYASHA CHINGONO/NATHAN GUMA Kazingizi repeats the process until 12am. Former ZCTU president Peter Mutasa day as most workers fail to put food on the table.
Sleepy, exhausted and barely able to stand, Ka- money,” he said. Once a noble and well-respected profession in
WHEN his family retires to bed, Timothy Kazin-
gizi (43) of Sunningdale suburb in Harare begins zingizi leaves the bricks to dry under the watch- “The bricks sell for US$1 for three units and Zimbabwe, teaching has become one of the most
his shift. ful eye of his nephew, who also helps him in the the others US$1 for 2.” ridiculed careers. Teachers have been at logger-
business. heads with the government over salaries, but the
For Kazingizi, watching his favourite pro- “I used to have people who would come and authorities have been headstrong, maintaining
gramme on television is a luxury. He has to eke “I have an order for 1 000 bricks so I have to help, but they all left due to the intensity of the that the country cannot return to the pre-2018
out a living for his family. work twice as hard. I am glad that it is a holiday work. Some time ago, I had another worker, but salaries of US$540.
so I can at least devote my time to making extra he left again,” he says.
He is a school teacher by day and a brickmaker Earlier this year the government threatened to
by night. Zimbabwe celebrates Workers’ Day on Mon- fire teachers who refused to report for duty in a
bid to force the ministry of Primary and Second-
Trading his suit and shiny polished shoes for ary Education to review salaries upwards.
overalls was not easy for the father of four.
Workers in post-1980 Zimbabwe have been
Seeing that his ZW$19 850 salary, excluding reduced to paupers.
allowances, is not enough to put food on the ta-
ble, Kazingizi turned to brickmaking. The salary While their counterparts from other countries
translates to US$124.57 using the official ex- lead decent lives, with some able to buy or build
change rate of ZW$159.34. houses, in Zimbabwe it is just but a pipe dream.

“My family would have suffered if I did not do The dignity of a worker has over the years been
something about our situation. The money that I considerably diminished, with workers like Ka-
get every month is not enough to take care of our zingizi failing to eke a living.
daily needs. It broke my heart to see my children
out of school sometimes, yet I am a teacher,” Ka- “In a functional economy, I should be making
zingizi told The NewsHawks. enough to cater for my family, but I am strug-
gling,” Kazingizi said.
With each passing day, his salary is eroded by
inflation. By the end of the month, his family Former Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union
goes hungry as the cost of living continues rising. (ZCTU) president Peter Mutasa said despite un-
relenting economic challenges, Workers’ Day was
According to the Zimbabwe National Statis- worth commemorating.
tical Agency (ZimStat), a family of six now re-
quires a total of ZW$68 178 (US$427.89) to However, he said the ruling oligarchs were not
meet basic needs per month as inflation contin- concerned by workers’ welfare.
ues to surge.
“We are fast turning into a mafia state. The
In the dead of night, Kazingizi sweats the brow ruling elites and government officials have no
as he mixes cement and sand to make bricks. appetite for human development, including ad-
dressing workers’ issues. They are greedy and fo-
Due to the darkness that covers the area, Ka- cused on enriching themselves and their cronies
zingizi has installed light bulbs to illuminate his at the expense of the majority. Workers’ welfare
workspace. The space outside his wall is sur- is least on their individualistic priorities,” Mutasa
rounded by thorn-tree branches to keep away said.
thieves who prowl the area.
“Workers of Zimbabwe must appreciate that
With a limp, he carries a bucket of water to under the current government they will never
mix the concrete and cement. have a reprieve. It is therefore important for all
workers to unite and mobilise for collective ac-
As he toils through the night, music reverber- tion. It is also extremely important for all workers
ates from a nearby pub, keeping him company. to unite and encourage each other to register to
vote and vote out this government in the next
“This place can be lonely so that music keeps elections. We cannot afford another five years of
me going. I forget about my troubles and focus misery, suffering, erosion of wages and pensions
on the work at hand. I am glad my nephew is and brutal dictatorship. Workers have no other
here to help me,” the soft-spoken Kazingizi said choice.”
while pouring masonry concrete into a mould.

As he impatiently waits for the mould to dry,

Page 18 News NewsHawks

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

NATHAN GUMA Dejection and restlessness
ahead of schools reopening
IT is 7am and inside a poorly lit room close
to Matapi Flats in Harare’s Mbare suburb Shy- (TCPL) for one person stood at ZW$11 363 Also, the issue of incapacitation is still real, government on the matter have continually hit
leen Moyo and her two colleagues have already (US$71.31) in April 2022. considering the recent increase in prices of ba- a brick wall.
commenced work in the Shawasha textile area sic commodities,” Rob Chere, secretary-gener-
as they wait for clients. Teacher unions predict a bumpy school al of Artuz, says. “We have written to the ministry of Finance
opening. several times asking for fees payment and Min-
Sewing machines are whirring and clanking, He said there is a need for safety monitoring ister Mthuli Ncube responded citing that they
while the hissing of hot industrial irons can be According to the Amalgamated Rural Teach- in schools before the second term begins, to are looking into the issue. Monday 25 April
heard from the door. ers’ Union of Zimbabwe (Artuz), the opening curb the spread of Covid-19. we wrote further communication asking for
of schools should have been delayed. a meeting on the payment modalities since
Their legs are doing most of the work, Another issue is that the government has not schools are about to open, and we are still look-
stomping furiously on the foot pedals. “Most teachers are occupied by the census yet fulfilled its promise to pay the fees of teach- ing forward to the meeting,” Chere says.
and there was a need to have a week for work ers’ children. Chere says efforts to engage the
Moyo’s colleagues, a teenage boy and anoth- planning after the census so that they prepare.
er middle-aged lady complete her staff, work-
ing in the tiny room.

Hordes of school uniform material are piled
by the side. More orders for uniforms will
come in the following days.

Moyo and her team are part of dozens of
small-scale uniform manufacturers within the
area spending long hours toiling in preparation
for the opening of the second school term.

Here they manufacture cheap uniforms for
low-income earners.

“It is just the three of us,” she says. “This
makes it difficult to cater to bigger orders. On
a normal day, we produce between 20 and 25
uniforms. Now we have had to increase the
number from that number to between 30 and
35 per day,” Moyo says.

Many clients flock to Mbare for cheap uni-
forms and stationery, among other goods.

Even street vendors flock to the small-scale
manufacturers like her, buying goods for resale.

“I make hats and uniforms for both sexes
which are cheaper than those in established
shops in town. A full set uniforms costs US$4,
for both boys and girls,” she says.

In town, established shops which retail
school uniforms are selling shirts for US$8 and
the same amount for trousers.

The cheap uniforms sewn by Moyo and oth-
er backyard tailors have attracted lots of buyers
hunting for a bargain in these tough times.

In the space behind Rufaro Stadium in
Mbare, makeshift vending stalls have been set
up where traders sell school uniforms.

For Mavis Karonga, a mother of three,
school opening has come too soon.

Her youngest child is wrapped in a shawl
and strapped on her back whilst the other two,
aged nine and eleven years old, keep by her
side. She has brought them with her to try on
the new uniforms.

“I can never stop buying school uniforms as
the cycle is always ongoing,”

“It is either the shirt gets smaller, or it gets
torn in a tug,” she says.

“The expenses come back to me. Worse still,
I need new pairs of winter uniforms for both.”

For both, she has to fork out US$14 and
US$20 for shoes. Prices have been shooting up
as the Zimbabwe dollar spirals on a freefall.

“Everything has just become so difficult,”
she says. For government workers, particularly
teachers, the going has been tough.

Whilst teachers get an average monthly sala-
ry of ZW$19 850, the money is easily dwarfed
by commodities needed in the back-to-school
rush.

A teacher with three children would need
ZW$22 797 to buy shoes from a Bata Com-
pany outlet in Harare. Inflation has not been
merciful in mauling their earnings.

Bata is selling shoes at ZW$7 599 and ZW$6
999 for secondary and primary school students
respectively, which translates to US$47.69 and
US$43.92 using the official Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe rate.

Month-on-month inflation in April 2022
rose by 9.2% to 15.5% against a March 2022
rate of 6.3%, according to the Zimbabwe Sta-
tistics Agency (ZimStat).

In addition, the Consumer Price Index
(CPI) stood at 5 507.11 compared to 4 766.10
in March 2022 and 2 803.57 in April 2021.

(CPI) is a measure of the average change
over time in the prices paid by urban consum-
ers for a market basket of consumer goods and
services.

Recently, urban consumers have had to pay
more for goods and services, making it difficult
for them to access basic commodities.

The Food Poverty Datum Line (FPL) for one
person in April 2022 was ZW$8 366.00. This
translates to US$52.50 using the official RBZ
exchange rate.

The Total Consumption Poverty Line

NewsHawks News Page 19

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

AYESHA CHIDEMBO Epic clash beckons as civil
servants demand living wage
UNIONS representing civil servants are on a
collision course with the government after the termined by the situation on the ground, says pay rent, food, school fees, medicals and trans- cil, has written to government and up until now
workers renewed their demand for better salaries Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (Zimta) acting port. So whether or not schools will open is nei- they have not called us for a meeting. What do
as the cost of living continues rising. secretary-general Godwill Taderera . ther here or there but the government as a way they expect us to do? This is where now we say
forward must make sure that they give us what ‘Pane kambudzi karikunhuwa iro riri bere raku-
The unions this week intensified their de- “Whether or not schools will open, it’s not is commensurate with the effort that the teach- da kungodya vana varo’ (When a hyena wants to
mands for better pay as prices spiral out of con- about unions but it is about the reality that is ers are doing or making. The confederation of eat its own cubs it accuses them of smelling like
trol. on the ground. It’s about the situation that is public sector unions, formerly the Apex Coun- goats),” Taderera said.
obtaining, it is about a teacher who is unable to
Year-on-year inflation for the month of April
rose to 96.4% from 72.7% in March. Teachers want the government to increase the lowest salary to the pre-October 2018 level of US$540.

At the start of the year, nurses and other
health professionals also amplified their calls for
a living wage.

Teachers want the government to increase the
lowest salary to the pre-October 2018 level of
US$540.

As inflation shoots through the roof, teacher
unions have warned that the opening of schools
for the second term may be disrupted.

Progressive Teachers’ Union Zimbabwe
(PTUZ) president Takavafira Zhou warned that
teachers may fail to report for duty when the
second term commences next Tuesday.

“PTUZ believes that unless government gives
teachers an urgent rescue package, they will not
be able to report for work when schools open for
the second term soon,” he said.

Zhou urged the government to pay teachers
a rescue package that will enable them to travel.
A local commuter fare to and fro the workplace
costs a combined ZW$700 or US$2.

“Urgently pay teachers a rescue package that
can enable them to travel to their respective
work stations when schools open for the second
term, restoring the purchasing power parity of
teachers’ salaries to US$540 as of pre-October
2018,’’ he added.

As the Zimbabwe dollar continues losing value
against major currencies such as the greenback,
many retailers around the country have now
ditched the local currency for transactions. The
Zimdollar is officially trading at ZW$158:US$1
while street traders are demanding ZW$350 for
a dollar.

A teacher in Zimbabwe typically earns around
ZW$27 000, which is less than US$100 on the
parallel market. The amount is not enough to
meet monthly costs such as accommodation,
food and transport which are being charged in
US dollars.

Recently, 2kg of sugar in Zimbabwe has
been priced at ZW$739; two litres of cook-
ing oil ZW$1 349; two kilogrammes of rice at
ZW$779; 2.5kg of flour at ZW$1 199; tea bags
at ZW$359 while 10 kg of refined maize-meal
is US$5.50, which is ZW$2 200 on the parallel
market.

Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zim-
babwe president Obert Masaraure said schools
will not open until teachers, parents and schools
are no longer incapacitated.

“The material conditions which were obtain-
ing when the first term was aborted recently are
still obtaining to date. It is only those who are
ahistorical who can imagine that schools will
go on to smoothly open for the second term.
Teachers remain incapacitated, parents are inca-
pacitated, they cannot buy learning materials,
they cannot pay the school fees of their own
children, they cannot pay for the logistical sup-
port which is needed for learners to get back to
school,’’ he said.

“Even the Covid-19 situation, with the an-
ticipation of the 5th wave, we haven’t instituted
safety measures. So the second term again is go-
ing to be aborted. Why? Because teachers and
learners cannot make it to the classroom and
schools are not safe. Schools are also battling to
recover from the shocks of Covid-19, they are
battling to clear debts, arrears that were accrued
during the long school closures which were in-
duced by Covid-19.

“So going forward schools are not going to
open, not that anyone is boycotting but because
it’s impossible for teachers to be in schools. Our
position has been informed by the living reality
of teachers. No teachers will be in school come
opening day. At the end of the day, we are call-
ing upon the government to call all stakehold-
ers' dialogue for the education players so that we
engage, we dialogue around solutions and move
forward as a nation and provide the education to
our children who desperately need it; they have
been denied this right for a long time and we
need to find solutions now,’’ Masaraure said.

Whether teachers will report for duty or not
is not a question for the unions, but will be de-

Page 20 News NewsHawks

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

Chilonga villagers protest land grab threat

MORRIS BISHI

HUNDREDS of villagers in the Chilonga area of Chilonga villagers have no desire to leave their place.
Chiredzi district held a demonstration at Chief
Chilonga’s homestead on Sunday, protesting the the meeting at Chief Chilonga’s homestead. He meetings are ongoing, but l am not aware of the a village head nor a chief. People are suspect-
government’s continue manoeuvres to proceed said consultative meetings are ongoing, but is exact dates when we will meet the community ing that this guy approved a place where a pilot
with the setting up of a lucerne grass-farming not aware of when they will be held. leaders or villagers,” he said. project will be undertaken at Chambuta irriga-
project by a private company, Dendairy. tion scheme and they are not happy with his in-
“I was not aware of the meeting in Chilonga, A villager said: “The biggest issue is that a volvement and his interests in this matter. The
The villagers, who came in seven trucks, but what l know is that traditional leaders were person named July Gevele was used as a point community is now suspecting anyone involved
wanted their voices heard by the authorities on attending a meeting in Masvingo. We are still person by government and Dendairy and this in this issue.”
the day the chief was scheduled to meet commu- seized with the Chilonga issue and consultative angered the community since Gevele is neither
nity leaders and government officials to discuss
the project.

The chief was, however, attending other meet-
ings in Masvingo on the day, forcing the post-
ponement of the meeting.

Villagers later force marched the chief ’s aide
to the shops where they forced him to address
the gathering over the issue. But the gathering
nearly degenerated into chaos as the angry vil-
lagers showed no desire to accept the project
which is set to leave them homeless.

Chief Chilonga, born John Ben, confirmed
toThe NewsHawks that there was a demonstra-
tion.

However, he said there is a need for members
of the community to get all information about
the project before people can turn down or ac-
cept the proposed scheme.

He said the first people who came to the area
gave the community unfriendly information,
which is making it difficult for the locals to ac-
cept the information coming to them now.

“I was not home on the day, but l was sup-
posed to meet community leaders and govern-
ment officials to discuss the issue of lucerne in
our area. Unfortunately, l was invited to attend
a meeting in Masvingo, but information about
the postponement of the meeting was not prop-
erly circulated in my area and villagers came in
numbers. I heard that they held a demonstration
at my place against this Dendairy programme.
The issue is people are bitter. They want infor-
mation about this programme, they are relying
on old information which talked about their re-
location,” Chief Chilonga said.

A villager in Makhosiya area told The News-
Hawks that the community is sticking to its po-
sition and is not prepared to budge.

He said the biggest challenge is that the com-
munity is not being told of places which will
be affected first, making it difficult for them to
trust anyone, including community leaders who
are involved in the talks.

Chiredzi district development coordinator
Lovemore Chisema told The NewsHawks that
traditional leaders were attending a meeting in
Masvingo last weekend and he was not aware of

MORRIS BISHI Gutu South rejects Zanu PF since 2006

VILLAGERS in ward 27 of Gutu South have during a visit to the area last week said they leader he always consults his people on all devel- “Tangemhare is the Citizens’ Coalition
defied the common myth in Zimbabwe's pol- attend all Zanu PF meetings, but during elec- opment issues. He said the local legislator and for Change chairperson for Gutu South. He
itics which says Zanu PF is dominant in rural tions they vote for the opposition and they will ruling party activists are always throwing span- has been the councillor for that area since
areas by voting for an opposition councillor not change. They added that despite threats of ners in all his programmes including blocking 2007, making him the longest-serving oppo-
since the year 2006 despite being sidelined from violence, they are determined to challenge any a scheme by World Vision aimed at assisting sition councillor in Masvingo with other serv-
many public programmes by the Zanu PF gov- ruling party candidate fielded in their area. school children in his area. ing councillors in Zaka and Bikita coming in
ernment. 2008,’’ Charamba said.
“We’ve voted for the opposition since 2006 “There is a donor, World Vision, who came
Jeffrey Tangemhare, who was first elected in and l am happy to tell you that from that year to my area with the intention to assist school The MP for Gutu South, Togarepi, told The
2006 on a Movement for Democratic Change up to now, we have a single councillor and we children and the issue was at an advanced stage NewsHawks that it is not true that he is sabo-
ticket, is now an alderman after being re-elected are still confident of his leadership qualities. of implementation when state security agents taging Tangemhare, but the issue of a donor
in 2008, 2013 and 2018. We are a rural ward, but we are not afraid of and ruling party activists visited my home at coming to ward 27 was not unusual since peo-
anything. They tried to intimidate us on several night with the intention of abducting me, but ple wanted to steal money from the commu-
He recently informed villagers that he had occasions, but we are not moved. It is our hope luckily l was not at home. They then tried to nity by asking them to pay money to join the
run his course and will no longer be available that in 2023 more rural wards will emulate stop the programme which was supposed to programme. He said as a legislator his role does
to contest in any election, but villagers in his what we are doing here and vote for change,” a benefit thousands of pupils in seven schools in not allow him to interfere with a councillor's
area turned down his request and asked him to community leader said. our ward. I have been the councillor for ward business.
contest in 2023. 27 since 2006, but l am not allowed to lead the
“This area was neglected by ruling party pol- Presidential Input Scheme and social welfare “Those people are not telling you the truth,
As is the case in other areas led by opposition iticians since 1980 and the situation was wors- programmes and these programmes are imple- but what l can tell you is l have never heard of a
councillors, Tangemhare is sidelined from many ened by the late legislator Shuvai Mahofa and mented by a Zanu PF shadow councillor who is donor who demands money from people before
government programmes like the Presidential from that time we agreed as the community that abusing these programmes,” Tangemhare said. giving them assistance. Those people wanted to
Inputs Scheme and social welfare aid distribu- we should find an alternative solution, which is steal money from our people as they asked them
tion. Recently, a programme funded by a well- voting for a proper leader. Our area is behind in Citizens’ Coalition for Change spokesperson to pay money before getting assistance. We
known donor was cancelled by ruling party of- terms of development, if you look at our local for Masvingo province Derick Charamba told work with many organisations and l can tell you
ficials despite the programme being designed to township, Muvunde, you can see that we do not The NewsHawks that Tangemhare wanted to that our relationship with World Vision is good
benefit school children in his area. have electricity and proper toilets despite having step down as a councillor in 2023, but the party and we have nothing against it; our only worry
a power line nearby,” a local businessman said. consulted ward 27 people, who said they still is when people are asked to pay money before
Ward 27 under Chief Makore is also the need him. being assisted,” Togarepi said.
home of member of Parliament for Gutu South Tangemhare told The NewsHawks that as a
Pupurai Togarepi but villagers continue to vote
for the opposition in the area despite his pres-
ence.

Villagers who spoke to The NewsHawks

NewsHawks News Page 21

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

A nurse aid recruitment craze has hit the country.

Nurse aid certificate the new gold

LIZWE SEBATHA sis are flocking to different institutions that have first aid training in the country,” Hwenga said. “Government should continue engaging
sprouted offering the nurse aid training certif- He said there were many organisations pur- healthcare workers for improved conditions of
FOR 35-year-old Lorraine Siziba, attaining a icates. service. This will help curtail massive brain drain
nurse aid’s certificate is nudging her closer to porting to be working with the ZRCS in the currently tormenting the health sector. All em-
achieving her goals. A survey showed that registered institutions training of nurse aides. ployees need reasonable remuneration, better
such as Angel Care Home, Ocean Bird Nurse working conditions, incentives in order to keep
Siziba has never been formally employed since Aide Training Centre, and One Africa Trust are “As an organisation we are looking into the them motivated. Car loans, housing loans are of
completing a Bachelor’s degree five years ago. charging between US$100 and US$200 for the matter and we are doing investigations to get to great importance to our dedicated and diligent
qualification. the bottom of the story with regards to these bo- health personnel,” Marisa said.
She completed her studies in land surveying gus agencies,” Hwenga said.
with flying colours, but finding a job has been Scammers have also sprouted, milking unsus- In March, the government increased fees
an uphill task as companies downsize or close pecting citizens their hard-earned cash. The rush for the nurse aid certificates comes for nurses’ confirmation letters and certificates
shop altogether due to the harsh economic cli- at a time when the government is struggling to needed when seeking employment abroad from
mate. Zimbabwe Red Cross (ZRCS) secretary-gen- stem the mass exodus of health professionals in US$50 to $300.
eral Elias Hwenga said there was a need to tight- search of better pay and working conditions.
Frustrated by shrinking opportunities in en the noose on institutions and agencies that Critics said the move was an attempt to frus-
Zimbabwe, Siziba has now enrolled at a local in- offer bogus nurse aid and first aid qualifications. Johannes Marisa, president of the Medical trate them into abandoning their trips.
stitution for a first aid certificate so that she can and Dental Private Practitioners’ Association of
leave the country. “Lately, we have witnessed an increase in the Zimbabwe, says the staff exodus is detrimental The letters confirm that the holder of the cer-
number of bogus agencies offering nurse aid or to the well-being of the country. tificate has qualified as a nurse after training.
“I have given up. I can’t spend my whole life
holed up here, hoping that one day things will There are no exact statistics on the number
change. Years are passing by and soon I will be of health professionals that left the country in
past my prime. I have already made arrange- 2021, but the Zimbabwe Nurses’ Association
ments that when I get the certificate, I am going (Zina) put the figure at just over 2 000.
to the United Kingdom,” Siziba said.
Last year, the government announced plans
Siziba’s case is just a tip of the iceberg. A nurse to ban doctors and nurses from embarking on
aid recruitment craze has hit the country, with strike for more than three days under new pro-
many nationals scrambling to get the certificate posed amendments to the Health Services Act.
in the hope of making it to the United Kingdom
in search of a better life. The Health Services Act was enacted in Feb-
ruary 2005 to provide for the establishment of
The UK, which recently advertised vacancies the Health Services Board (HSB) and the trans-
in the health sector, is one of the countries pay- fer of persons engaged in public health service
ing nurse assistants lucratively. delivery from the Public Service Commission
(PSC) to the HSB.
The UK says its health system needs to fill
110 192 posts left vacant after the death of Under the Health Services Amendment Bill,
frontline health workers during the Covid-19 worker representatives who face charges of in-
pandemic. citing nurses and doctors to embark on a strike
action deemed illegal could be jailed for three
The shortages include 39 652 nurses and 8 years in what authorities argue is necessary to
158 medical doctors, according to the latest ostensibly “instil discipline” in the health sector.
quarterly data for vacancies published by the
National Health Service (NHS). But Marisa said this is a violation of labour
rights.
Nursing assistants in the UK earn an average
of £20 000 per annum (US$26 000), which “There is a general feeling that the Bill (if
translates to about US$2 100 per month. enacted) will see the government forcing its
employees to work against their will. There are
Nurse aide certificates have become a prized times when health workers become genuinely
possession in the country. incapacitated. Sections 54 and 55 of the consti-
tution outlaw slavery, servitude, forced or com
Desperate Zimbabweans seeking to escape
the country’s never-ending socio-economic cri-

Page 22 Editorial & Opinion NewsHawks

CARTOON Issue 78, 29 April 2022

Zim desperately
deserves better
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa is threatening to re-
voke the operating licences of banks and private companies NGOs Bill damages economy
accused of manipulating currency.
THE more one reads, analyses and inter- that states have failed to perform or provide atively affecting communities who depend
Even his minions are cranking up talk of “economic sab- prets the ill-conceived Private Voluntary Or- owing to limited fiscal space among others. on their activities.
oteurs”. The more things change, the more they remain the ganisations Amendment Bill, which could There is consensus that a successful NGO NGOs are playing an increasingly im-
same. You can almost hear a collective sigh of exasperation as cost Zimbabwe close to US$800 million in community is essential for effective and ef- portant role as agents of development. The
the citizens fail to come to terms with the deflating realisation development funding this year — with dev- ficient civil society that organises local par- growth and expansion of NGOs across the
that Zimbabwe is trapped in a time warp. astating social and economic consequences ticipation which is essential for sustainable globe is testament to their increasingly im-
— if the government persists with its repres- development. portant role in the development process.
People used to accuse Robert Mugabe of lacking basic eco- sive legislative agenda, the more one appre- NGOs have also played a critical role in It notes effective partnerships between
nomic common sense — an interesting observation, consid- ciates its impact, damage and ramifications. bridging the huge financing gap in import- governments and NGOs are recognised as
ering that he had studied economics up to master’s degree. Non-governmental organisations ant sectors of the economy such as social being crucial in accelerating sustainable de-
Those are the same folks who used to say “anyone is better (NGOs) are critical to Zimbabwe’s social protection, education, health, water and velopment. The role of NGOs is even more
than Mugabe”. Today the joke is on them. and economic development processes given sanitation, among others. important in low-income countries where
the role they play in filling in gaps in public For instance, according to the 2022 Na- the fiscal space is limited.
Mnangagwa claims to be a trained lawyer. One would ex- programmes and service delivery. tional Budget statement, during the period Humanitarian organisations offer a broad
pect him to show better appreciation of the law. Instead, what They are the third-largest source of for- January to September 2021, the country range of services that include: health, educa-
do we have? An increasingly paranoid political figurehead eign currency for Zimbabwe after export received development assistance amounting tion, social protection, humanitarian assis-
who is quick to lash out at the private sector for the short- proceeds and diaspora remittances. If the to US$647.8 million, of which US$401.9 tance, livelihood interventions, emergency
comings of his own clueless government. NGOs are restricted, the country will sink million was from bilateral partners and response, conflict resolution, democracy
deeper into a forex crunch amid currency US$245.9 mil- building, environ-
For starters, his government is the biggest culprit fuelling volatility and resurging inflation now scal- lion from multi- mental management,
the foreign currency parallel market rate. To gain a better un- ing 96.4%. lateral partners. and policy analysis
derstanding of this reality, you must look at the economic A report, titled Punching Holes to Fragile A further Hawk Eye and advocacy.
system in its entirety. As we say in journalism, “follow the Economy?, done by Prosper Chitambara, US$202.4 mil- NGOs across the
money” and all shall be revealed. Clinton Musonza and Phillan Zamchiya, lion in develop- world help to ampli-
and sponsored by Southern African Hu- ment assistance is Dumisani fy the voice as well
The government is rolling out infrastructure development man Rights Defenders, Zimbabwe Human projected during as enable inclusion of
projects. At face value, there is really nothing wrong with this. Rights NGO Forum and AccountabilityL- the fourth quar- Muleya marginalised groups,
A modern economy needs solid infrastructure to enhance ef- ab Zimbabwe, dissects the economic im- ter of 2021, including women,
ficient supply chains and the movement of goods. pact of the Private Voluntary Organisations giving cumula- persons with disabili-
Amendment Bill gazetted in November last tive receipts of ties and minority eth-
The problem we are facing, though, is that the money paid year. US$850.2 million for the year. nic groups so that no one is left behind.
to contractors for roads, dams and agricultural schemes is It is clear any disruptions of NGO activi- In 2022, support from the development In Zimbabwe, NGOs have been im-
flooding the parallel market. The government is funding these ties, funding and development are likely hit partners is projected at US$761.5 million, portant drivers of sustainable development
projects through short-term financing and that, on its own, is the poor harder and worsen poverty, while broken down as US$274.3 million and through a number of channels which in-
problematic. taking Zimbabwe, which has no incidenc- US$487.2 million from multilateral and clude: employment creation, contribution
es of financing of terrorist groups through bilateral partners, respectively. Importantly, to tax revenues, foreign currency receipts,
It is not very difficult to figure out what is going on in this these entities, years backwards. a lot of the gains that have been registered provision of social protection and humani-
troubled economy. As the prominent economist Professor Over the past few decades there has been in key health and social indicators have been tarian assistance, growth in the local tourism
Gift Mugano correctly observes, although a significant increase in the involvement of on account of the partnerships between the sector and overall economic growth and de-
NGOs in the development process. The role government and NGOs. velopment.
there is nothing wrong with infrastructure development, of NGOs as agents of development, provid- The PVO Amendment Bill was gazetted That Bill should be rejected and aban-
there is everything wrong with the short-term financing mod- ers of services including humanitarian assis- in November 2021 and seeks to amend the doned. It is a liability to the economy and
el used to fund those projects. The fat cats — also known as tance, and advocates for vulnerable groups PVO Act to impose new restrictions, but the people, especially those who survive
oligarchs — are ruling the roost. has been recognised and heralded. civil society organisations have warned the on medicines, food aid, income-generating
In many countries, NGOs are filling the proposed amendments will constrain their projects and access to social services provid-
So instead of rushing to point the finger at imaginary ene- gaps in public programmes and services work and violate human rights, while neg- ed by the NGOs.
mies of the state, Mnangagwa should resist the knee-jerk im-
pulse and do what any rational leader would do: Summon his

Finance minister and central bank chief and instruct them
to stop it pronto.

In a normal country, this would be standard fare. Zimba-
bwe is far from normal and we all know who is pocketing
millions of dollars from those projects. Merchants of chaos are
in charge. Since Independence in 1980, Zimbabwe's greatest
weakness has been dismal leadership.

The calibre of leaders is the weakest link. All the other in-
gredients critical for the transformation of this country from
a poverty-stricken authoritarian kleptocracy to a democratic
polity that avails its citizens fair opportunities for economic,
social and political progress are available in abundance. What
is lacking is leadership.

Look at the objective facts.
Year-on-year inflation has just shot up from 72% to 96.4%.
Citizens are surviving on donated medicines. School dropouts
are at an all-time high. Jobless youths are drinking pamper
juice. Half the country’s population lives in extreme poverty.
But what are the authorities focusing on? Intimidating the
private sector, spooking investors and crushing dissenters.
These discredited tactics have failed for 42 years. Zimba-
bwe deserves better.

Reaffirming the fundamental impor- The NewsHawks is published on different EDITORIAL STAFF: Marketing Officer: Voluntary Media
tance of freedom of expression and me- content platforms by the NewsHawks Digital Managing Editor: Dumisani Muleya Charmaine Phiri Council of Zimbabwe
dia freedom as the cornerstone of de- Media which is owned by Centre for Public Cell: +263 735666122
mocracy and as a means of upholding Interest Journalism Assistant Editor: Brezh Malaba [email protected] The NewsHawks newspaper subscribes to the
human rights and liberties in the con- No. 100 Nelson Mandela Avenue [email protected] Code of Conduct that promotes truthful, accurate,
stitution; our mission is to hold power Beverly Court, 6th floor News Editor: Owen Gagare
in its various forms and manifestations Harare, Zimbabwe Subscriptions & Distribution: fair and balanced news reporting. If we do not
to account by exposing abuse of power Digital Editor: Bernard Mpofu +263 735666122 meet these standards, register your complaint
and office, betrayals of public trust and Trustees/Directors: with the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe
corruption to ensure good governance Beatrice Mtetwa, Raphael Khumalo, Reporters: at No.: 34, Colenbrander Rd, Milton Park, Harare.
and accountability in the public inter- Professor Wallace Chuma, Teldah Mawarire, Nyasha Chingono, Enoch Muchinjo, Moses Matenga,
est. Doug Coltart Jonathan Mbiriyamveka Telephone: 024-2778096 or 024-2778006,
Email: [email protected] 24Hr Complaints Line: 0772 125 659

Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
WhatsApp: 0772 125 658, Twitter: @vmcz

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

NewsHawks News Page 23

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

Companies & Markets NewsHawks

Issue 76, 15 April 2022
BusinessPage26
MATTERSNewsHawks

MARKETS CURRENCIES LAST CHANGE %CHANGE COMMODITIES LAST CHANGE %CHANGE

USD/JPY 109.29 +0.38 +0.35 *OIL 63.47 -1.54 -2.37

GBP/USD 1.38 -0.014 -0.997 *GOLD 1,769.5 +1.2 +0.068

USD/CAD 1.229 +0.001 +0.07 *SILVER 25.94 -0.145 -0.56

USD/CHF 0.913 +0.005 +0.53 *PLATINUM 1,201.6 +4 +0.33

AUD/USD 0.771 -0.006 -0.76 *COPPER 4.458 -0.029 -0.65

Zimra surpassees revenue target

ZIMBABWE’S tax agency has surpassed its itive note in terms of revenue collections, with Zimbabwe’s local currency is constantly weakening against the US dollar
revenue targets for the first quarter of the year, the authority surpassing both gross and net
buoyed by inflationary pressures haunting the revenue targets.
floundering economy as businesses tracked for-
eign currency movements. “All revenue heads grew positively in Q1
2022 compared to the same period last year,
According to the Zimbabwe Revenue Au- though some revenue heads missed their cur-
thority (Zimra) performance report for the first rent year targets. The growth in revenue has
quarter ended 31 March, gross revenue collec- been mostly attributed to inflationary pressures
tions for the period under review amounted to affecting pricing models of goods and services
ZW$178.77 billion compared to a target of in the economy.”
ZW$165.41 billion and against the backdrop
of rising inflation. The authority says it paid Turning to value-added tax, Zimra said per-
refunds amounting to ZW$4.84 billion during formance of the revenue head improved on ac-
the quarter under review. count of rising disposable income from salary
increments and high compliance levels, the re-
“The general economic environment weak- port shows.
ened marginally in the first quarter of 2020
with year-on-year inflation increasing by 11.96 “Imports have been increasing as business
percentage points from 60.74% to close at continues to complement their operations with
72.7% by the end of March 2022,” Regina imported goods and services. The partial liber-
Chinamasa, Zimra’s acting chairperson, said in alisation of the exchange rate is expected to as-
a statement accompanying the revenue perfor- sist most businesses to import as forex availabil-
mance report. ity is going to improve for those who require
it thereby enhancing revenue collections,” the
“The local currency further weakened report further states.
against the US dollar during the quarter from
ZW$108.67 at the end of December 2021 to Customs duty and excise duty, Zimra said,
ZW$142.42 at the end of March 2022. How- performed below target because of the govern-
ever, the first quarter of 2022 ended on a pos- ment’s measures aimed at slowing down the
spread of Covid-19. — STAFF WRITER

NewsHawks Companies & Markets Page 25
The Reserve Bank
Issue 78, 29 April 2022
of Zimbabwe
RBZ gives Access
Forex greenlight
on cash transfers

THE country’s fastest-growing domestic and rency transfer transactions to Exchange Con- ER
international money transfer platform, Access trol through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s
Forex, is back in the business of local remit- Bureaux de Change Transaction Reporting
tances after a few days of suspension due to System. Please refer to Annexture 1 for guid-
pending Exchange Control regulatory approv- ance on reporting all these transactions.
als.
Speaking to journalists in Bulawayo, Access
This comes after the Reserve Bank of Zim- Forex marketing officer Shingai Koti said the
babwe gave the company the green light to company is happy that it has now met Ex-
resume domestic foreign currency remittance change Control regulatory requirements and
activities after processing its licensing renewal got the approval to go back to the market to
application. resume business. “We are excited that we are
now back online are a few days of suspension
In official communication yesterday seen by due to pending regulatory approval processes,”
journalists after Access Forex’s public notice to Koti said.
its clients, the RBZ said the company has now
fulfilled exchange control compliance issues “Our platforms are secure, simple and reli-
and can now go back to the market to trade able. We deliver through our growing network,
freely. which includes partners Zimpost, the Spar
group, Quest Financial Services, Edgars/Jet
“We write to acknowledge receipt of your Stores, Friserve Investments, Professor, Farm-
letter dated 22 February wherein Access Forex vet, Elizabeth Florist and Access Finance itself.
is seeking exchange control authority to engage We are bringing remittances to your doorstep;
in domestic foreign currency money transfer offering people a chance to send and receive
business (city to city). We also make reference money city to city, and from those in the dias-
to our letter of suspending this product until pora and vice-versa.
regularisation of the same with Exchange Con-
trol,” the RBZ letter says. “This is really good news, not just for us, but
also for our clients who rely on us for sending
“Having evaluated your submission, we ad- and receiving money locally and international-
vise that Exchange Control has no objection ly on a daily basis. This means we are now run-
to Access Forex registered under Licence num- ning full throttle, with both the domestic and
ber ADLA1/11/00/2022, engaging in domes- the international services working smoothly;
tic foreign currency money transfer business. clients can now send and receive money in
This is over and above the international money forex locally, and internationally to and from
transfer business that the institution is already South Africa and the United We think of our-
undertaking as a registered Money Transfer selves as an important link between people,
Agent (MTA). families and friends, and indeed businesses
and organisations.”
“The approved domestic money transfer ac-
tivities must be done in line with the domestic This comes as cabinet last week urged Zim-
foreign currency transfer framework issued babweans in diaspora to participate in the
by Exchange Control and in full observance country's investment and development oppor-
of the Financial Intelligence AML/CFT Direc- tunities.
tive PFIU 02/05/21 (attached) which provides
guidance for the requisite AML/CFT measures Cabinet received a presentation from For-
and transactions limits for this product. eign Affairs and International Trade minister
Frederick Shava on proposed strategies to en-
“You are therefore required to fully acquaint gage Zimbabweans in the diaspora on the issue
yourself with the provisions of this important to harness their access to capital and develop-
directive to avoid any regulatory breaches. ment finance to invest back home.

“Administratively and in order to foster an Diaspora remittances have been one of the
orderly and transparent domestic foreign cur- key sources of foreign currency for Zimbabwe,
rency transfers and for monitoring and trans- which receives about US$2 billion annually
parency purposes, the institution, shall report, from people outside the country. — STAFF WRIT-
on a real time basis, all domestic foreign cur-

Access Forex showcases cash transfer services at ZITF

THE country’s fastest growing domestic and group, Quest Financial Services, Edgars/Jet with both the domestic and the international think of ourselves as an important link between
international money transfer platform, Access Stores, Friserve Investments, Professor, Farmvet, services working smoothly; clients can send and people, families and friends so we really wanted
Forex, is for the first time showcasing its unique Elizabeth Florist and Access Finance itself. We receive money in forex locally, and internation- to be part of this year’s trade-expo to create con-
products at the Zimbabwe are bringing remittances to your doorstep; offer- ally to and from South Africa and the United venience and a unique experience for our clients
ing people a chance to send and receive money Kingdom.” by coming here as an exhibitor to market our
International Trade Fair (ZITF) which from those in the diaspora.” services directly to the people.
opened in Bulawayo on Tuesday. A total of 514 direct exhibitors, 71 of them
Access Forex, exhibiting at the 62nd edition being first-time participants, booked to attend “We are excited that our domestic remittance
The ZITF runs from 26 April to 30 April at of the ZITF for the first time amid a growing the ZITF. service is now back on stream after successfully
the event’s famous grounds on the southwestern remittance business network, currently operates working with regulatory authorities to ensure
edge of Zimbabwe’s second largest city. along two international corridors, the United Countries which are expected to exhibit that licensing issues are resolved.”
Kingdom and South Africa. include Angola; Botswana; Ethiopia; Kenya;
It was officially opened today by President Malawi; Mozambique; Namibia; South Africa; Access Forex’s ZITF exhibition came as cabi-
Emmerson Mnangagwa after Kenyan President “People must come and experience our ser- Tanzania; Zambia; Belarus; Britain; Indonesia net last week urged Zimbabweans in the diaspo-
Uhuru Kenyatta dropped out of the programme vices in practice. They will be able to send and and Japan. ra to participate in the country’s investment and
due to the death of his predecessor Mwai Ki- receive US dollar cash locally, and to and from development opportunities.
baki. these countries at our Access Forex stand in Hall There were other activities around the ZITF
4. International Business Conference and the Cabinet received a presentation from the
Speaking to journalists in Bulawayo this Connect Africa Symposium which was officially Foreign Affairs and International Trade minis-
week, Access Forex marketing officer Shingai “The good news is that our domestic remit- opened by Vice-President Constantino Chiwen- ter Frederick Shava on proposed strategies to
Koti said the company is exhibiting at ZITF as tance service which was suspended last week ga on Wednesday and yesterday respectively. engage
part of its plan to expand its footprint and mar- some pending regulatory approvals or updates
ket its products, while finding new customers. as we announced to the market is now back on- There was the ZITF Diplomats Forum yes- Zimbabweans in the diaspora on the issue to
line. terday, while a youth entrepreneurship and in- harness their access to capital and development
“We are attending the ZITF for the first time novation conference was hosted by the ministry finance to invest back home.
to exhibit our remittance platforms for local and “This week the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe of Foreign Affairs.
international clients,” Koti said. wrote to us, saying we are free to resume domes- Diaspora remittances have been one of the
tic remittances and related activities. Koti said: “ZITF has always been a symbol key sources of foreign currency for Zimbabwe
“Our platforms are secure, simple and reli- of unity and integration, bringing together peo- which receives about US$2 billion annually
able. We deliver through our growing network, “This means we are now running full throttle, ple from all over the world and innovation. We from people outside the country. — STAFF WRITER
which includes partners Zimpost, the Spar

Page 26 Companies & Markets NewsHawks

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

Mine workers demand pay hike

WORKERS in the mining sector who are cur- ments reached at NEC, where a portion is paid sHawks could not get through. While focus is put on platinum and gold, a lot
rently paid in local currency are demanding a in US dollars and the other in Zimbabwe dol- A spokesperson for Mimosa which mines plat- of workers in the diamond sector are not reaping
pay hike denominated in United States dollars lars,” she said. enough from their toil despite producing signif-
and other incentives, saying most of the minerals inum, John Brian Chikombero, and Zimplats icant earnings for their employers, a situation
they extract are earning foreign currency yet em- Unki mines spokesperson Evelyn Mawimba public relations officer Sibusisiwe Chindove did which the NMWUZ likened to slavery.
ployees are paid a pittance. referred questions to a mobile number whose not respond to questions while efforts to reach
owner she did not disclose, but calls by The New- them via mobile phone for did not succeed. —STAFF WRITER
Currently, the lowest-paid mine worker oc-
cupying grade 1 earns ZW$30 000 while those
with the highest grade13 have salaries of about
ZW$71 000. The mining companies also offer
various percentages of the basic salaries in US
dollars.

The battle for forex salaries has dragged on for
long, investigations by The NewsHawks revealed.

In a letter dated 24 February 2022, the Na-
tional Employment Council for Mining Work-
ers (NECMW) ordered mining companies to
increase wages by 46%, bringing the earnings of
the lowest-paid worker to ZW$45 000 and the
highest ZW$103 000.

However, the National Mine Workers’ Union
of Zimbabwe president, Kurebwa Nomboka,
said the increase was not in tandem with the pre-
vailing economic climate.

“The 46% increase is insignificant because the
poverty datum line is already at US$600. There
is need for solid remuneration for mine workers.
Our minerals are sold in foreign currency. There
are risks associated with working in the mines
and the contracting of diseases due to inhalation
of dust and dangerous gases and all these should
be taken into account,” he said.

The NMWUZ president also indicated that
the other reason mine workers must be remuner-
ated better than the current trend was that “there
is lower life expectancy caused by work-related
deaths either through sickness or unforeseen ac-
cidents.”

“In light of the above, the current rates of sala-
ries fall far short of addressing the workers' needs
insofar as remuneration and allowances is con-
cerned. Employees are not happy.”

Nomboka added that home ownership
schemes must be introduced for mine workers as
part of aiding their remuneration.

Mining is a key sector in the country’s econo-
my and contributes significantly to gross domes-
tic product (GDP).

Mineral exports account for about 60% of
Zimbabwe’s export earnings and the mining sec-
tor contributes around 16% of national GDP.

Among the biggest players in mining are plat-
inum giants Zimplats and Unki. Zimasco domi-
nates the ferrichrome sector.

Clara Sadomba, the Zimasco spokesperson,
said the company pays its workers according to
what is stipulated by the National Employment
Council (NEC) of mine workers. The NEC rates
are the ones the mine workers are saying must be
reviewed upwards.

“Zimasco has been paying in line with agree-

DUMISANI NYONI VFEX hopeful amid uptick in trading

THE Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) is month of March having a record high number of on the VFEX were successfully settled. In terms of price movement and total return,
working to deepen the market and establish a trades of 231,” the bourse said. For Bindura, a total of US$4.6 million was set- Padenga Holdings went up by 0.24% during
commodities exchange after registering an uptick the quarter to end at US$0.2105 while Bindu-
in first-quarter trading. Since the date of launch, all the trades with a tled, Padenga (US$752 084), Seed Co (US$501 ra Nickel Corporation lost 9.09% to finish at
total value of US$$5 904 164 that were executed 205) and Caledonia (US$20 839). US$0.050. Caledonia Mining and Seed Co In-
Launched in October 2020, VFEX is a wholly ternational Limited remained flat at US$13 and
owned subsidiary of the Zimbabwe Stock Ex- US$0.2805 respectively.
change (ZSE) formed to help raise capital and to
stimulate foreign direct investment inflows. The newsletter shows that the total turnover
recorded on the VFEX since the date of launch
It was also formed to help reduce foreign cur- stood at US$5.9 million as at 31 March 2022.
rency and settlement risks facing the economy.
In its first quarter economic brief, Old Mutual
Currently, four companies are listed on the Investment Group said VFEX registered a signif-
bourse and these are Seed Co International, Cale- icant growth in trades of 4 496.72% in the first
donia Mining Corporation, Padenga Holdings quarter of this year compared to the same period
and Bindura Nickel Corporation. last year.

“The VFEX is working to deepen the mar- Trades in the period under review amounted to
ket and to establish the commodities exchange. US$5.27 million compared to US$114 544.74.
VFEX is working hard to increase the listings.
There is a strong pipeline in the mining sector, However, market capitalisation declined in the
financial services and related government institu- quarter by 2.35% to US$253.65 million suggest-
tions,” VFEX said in its first quarter newsletter. ing revaluation following listing. Overall, an up-
tick in trades suggests increased dollarisation in
The forex-denominated bourse recorded 351 the economy, Old Mutual said.
trades for the first quarter of this year compared
to two trades for the same period in 2021.

“During the first quarter of 2022, the bourse
saw an increased number of activities with the

NewsHawks Companies & Markets Page 27

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

BERNARD MPOFU Industrialists raise alarm
as Zim economy implodes
ZIMBABWE’S manufacturing sector says the
domestic economy is now on a slippery slope Zimbabwe’s largest banknote cannot buy a loaf of bread.
and urgent measures are required to reverse the
trend. Prices of goods in the country are soaring as the local currency weakens.

But the cause of the economic implosion is al- currencies mainly dominated by the greenback. The World Bank and the International Mon- the globe. Malpass warned that rises in food
ready exposing the growing wedge between busi- As they say, the rest is history. etary Fund, whose financial support Zimbabwe prices would push hundreds of millions people
ness and the government. badly needs, says low-income countries like Zim- into poverty and lower nutrition, if the crisis
Mnangagwa’s command style approach in babwe will catch a cough as the war rages. continues.
The domestic currency, which at Indepen- dealing with this economic issue has also laid
dence in 1980 traded at par with the United bare inconsistencies within his administration. In most parts of the world, especially grain Since then, the price of fuel has gone up and
States dollar, is depreciating and now the Zim- and fuel importers, the impact of the Ukraine prices in Zimbabwe are soaring as the local cur-
babwe’s largest banknote cannot buy a loaf of Barely a month ago, his Finance minister war has been felt through sharp increases in pric- rency weakens. On the streets of Harare, one
bread. Mthuli Ncube sang from a different hymn book. es. needs ZW$350 to buy a US$1. On the offi-
Responding to questions during a post-cabinet cial market, where the dollar is elusive as seen
Predictably, prices are shooting through the Press briefing, Ncube attributed the new wave of David Malpass, the World Bank president, re- by delays in settlements, the exchange rate is
roof each passing day and the authorities appear price increases to imported inflation triggered by cently said a “human catastrophe” triggered by ZW$155: US$1.
to be in panic mode. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is looming across

There is a strong sense of déjà vu. Many down-
trodden Zimbabweans have in the past experi-
enced the impact of the topsy-turvy economy.
The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries
(CZI) says confidence in the local currency has
waned and any knee-jerk reaction to this situa-
tion may be catastrophic.

But while this is happening, President Em-
merson Mnangagwa’s government sees the works
of an invisible hand and has issued a chilling
warning to those accused of currency manipu-
lation.

With the next general elections now on the
horizon, this position will soon sound like a bro-
ken record. Industry, on the other hand, says the
government should look at the man in the mir-
ror and push for dialogue not the stick.

The CZI argues that the official foreign ex-
change market has been ineffective. The industri-
al lobby group attributed the settlement bottle-
necks to structural issues such as overvaluing the
domestic currency and bad policy. As the gov-
ernment maintains that there are no prospects of
full dollarisation, memories of yesteryear's com-
mand-economy tendencies have been evoked.

“Foreign currency accounts should not be
raided as has happened before with serious con-
sequences of loss of value at all levels of business
and society,” the CZI said.

“CZI believes what we are witnessing on the
Zimbabwe dollar (Z$) is tantamount to a bank
run on the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) . .
. We are at a point where what to do is just as im-
portant as what should not be done. Mono-cur-
rency Zimbabwe dollar without international
reserves should not be done as the economy is
not ready for mono-currency. Foreign currency
accounts should not be raided as has happened
before with serious consequences of loss of value
at all levels of business and society.”

Mnangagwa, who has unofficially rolled out
his election campaign ahead of the 2023 polls,
says he is ready to crack the whip.

He appears to have borrowed a leaf from his
predecessor Robert Mugabe’s misgovernance
handbook. At the height of inflation in 2007,
Mugabe ordered his government to arrest a
handful of business executives for merely trying
to survive under unprecedented economic con-
ditions.

Ironically, Mugabe made this decision a year
before the 2008 elections which he lost to his
nemesis, the late Morgan Tsvangirai, then leader
of the main opposition party, MDC. Tsvangirai
however did not garner enough votes to form the
next government and a runoff was held.

Zanu PF murdered countless opposition sup-
porters during the runoff campaign and the poll
was denounced by the international community
as a sham.

While making frantic efforts to appeal to Zanu
PF supporters in Epworth recently, Mnangagwa
told some of the poorest citizens in the country
that he would turn the tide and better days are
coming. The economy is telling a different story
though.

“We are catching some companies doing this,”
he said.

“They are not doing this by themselves but
are sent by outside countries. We are coming up
with ways. We are closing some banks doing that.
We will be dealing with big companies, who are
working with outsiders that are manipulating the
exchange rate to bring suffering to our people .
. . They are fighting us in an effort to induce an
uprising against us.”

Cornered by the regional and international
communities, Mugabe formed a power-sharing
government with the opposition and one of the
first steps taken by that administration was to
ditch the local currency for a basket of foreign

Page 28 Companies & Markets NewsHawks

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

BERNARD MPOFU Bard Santner targets to tap
diaspora investment capital
BARD Santner Markets Inc, a new Hara-
re-based international banking and finance This will boost transparency and trust in our Bard Santner Markets director Tatenda Hungwe industrial shells and land for the construction
advisory firm, has come up with a plan to tap capital markets thus improve the country’s risk Cabinet last week received a presentation of hospitals and industrial parks. This will also
into diaspora investment capital seeking new profile. from the Foreign Affairs and International apply to other sectors of the economy.
opportunities in promising markets like Zim- Trade minister Frederick Shava on proposed
babwe. “Diasporans already understand country strategies to engage Zimbabweans in the dias- To facilitate this, cabinet formed an in-
risk and we see them as providing essential cap- pora so that they can remit and invest more ter-ministerial committee chaired by Shava and
Bard will help Zimbabweans unlock value ital on which other foreign investors can then money back home. deputised by Finance minister Mthuli Ncube.
in their assets, most of them constituting dead add on to.” The government said diasporas would get The committee is mandated to review the 2016
capital outside the country and access new National Diaspora Policy.
lines of credit.
Zimbabwe’s National Diaspora Policy pro-
The dead capital is mainly tied in immov- vides a framework to formally mainstream the
able properties like houses and buildings which
Zimbabweans own outside the country, but are diaspora into national development plans
not leveraging to raise capital to invest there and processes. It aims to develop measures to
and back home. enhance protection of Zimbabweans abroad,
and establish mechanisms for the transfer and
The new lines of credit the advisory firm has repatriation of terminal, pension, and social
arranged are the in the form of offshore trans- security benefits for retired returnees through
action-based funding which does not need in- conclusion of bilateral labour agreements with
dividuals or companies to be clients of finan- host countries.
cial institutions providing the money. Bard will
arrange transaction-based deals and associated The action plan comprises of eight priority
funding. areas that relate to policies and legislation, the
intra-governmental-diaspora relationship, in-
The Harare-based company is led by a lo- stitutional engagement, diaspora investment,
cal business consortium which includes Sen- remittances, national socio-economic devel-
ziwani Sikhosana, Tatenda Hungwe, Alfred opment, knowing the diaspora and diaspora’s
Mthimkhulu and international finance expert rights.
Vinod Bussawah from Mauritius.
It recognises that beyond the remittances
It has already started trading and work at its from abroad, the diaspora presents social, eco-
new offices in Harare’s central business district. nomic, intellectual and political capital, a pool
of knowledge and expertise which must be har-
Sikhosana and Bussawah worked for various nessed for the benefit of the country.
banks in Zimbabwe and Mauritius respectively,
while Hungwe and Mthimkhulu are experts in Hungwe said government’s diaspora policy
wealth management and economic issues. presents a huge opportunity for his company
and Zimbabwean individuals and corporates.
Hungwe, Bard executive director, said secu-
ritising internationally-held assets is critical as Cabinet said last week the creation of a di-
it would allow capital-seeking individuals and aspora-friendly environment, comprehensive
corporates to borrow offshore in markets where policy and strategies will unlock and promote
the macro-economic fundamentals, especially investments by diasporas, knowledge and skills
interest rates, are stable and repayment terms transfer; direct investment; and development.
favourable.
The cabinet inter-ministerial committee will
In a media briefing today, Hungwe said his have sector-specific sub-committees to deal
company will capitalise on Zimbabwe’s diaspo- with particular matters relating to different
ra policy and cabinet’s resolution last week to spheres of the economy, policy and investment
energetically mobilise offshore investment cap- issues.
ital and pursue different models of utilising the
huge pool of funds Zimbabweans outside the “As Bard, we want to be part of these gov-
country are sitting on. ernment processes and policy initiatives so that
we can help Zimbabweans in diaspora, work-
Zimbabwe’s diaspora remittances jumped ing with those at home, to unlock value and
from about US$1 billion in 2020 to US$1.4 maximise benefits from their remittances, sav-
billion last year as the country reached a record ings and investment capital. We need to create
high foreign currency inflow of US$9.7 billion. the right frameworks and models to leverage
the diaspora pool of funds for investment and
“The diaspora market and remittances are development purposes. There is a great oppor-
huge and need to be leveraged. Last year remit- tunity for everyone.”
tances reached US$1.4 billion, up from US$1
billion. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe indi-
cated that for the first time in over 10 years,
our foreign currency earnings totalled US$9.7
billion in 2021, up from US$6.3 billion in
2020,” Hungwe said.

“So we had 53% increase in our foreign
currency inflows. Out of the US$9.7bn,
US$6.2bn came from exports; US$1.4bn from
remittances. This means our foreign currency
inflows are around US$10bn.

“In line with government’s diaspora policy
and cabinet’s resolution last week of creating a
diaspora-friendly environment, Bard has come
up with models and mechanisms of making it
easier for Zimbabweans outside to invest back
home and unlock value of assets they already
own.”

Hungwe said Bard is bringing in innovative
ways to leverage diaspora investment capital
and remittances.

“There are two key observations to make in
efforts to harness diaspora remittances and net-
works for economic development. The first is
to unlock value in assets already owned and the
second is on investing regular savings or remit-
tances,” he said.

“With regards to the first, Bard has created
international banking relationships that allow
Zimbabweans to securitise assets that they al-
ready own regionally and abroad. The interna-
tional banking networks we have created un-
lock dead capital in the form of property and
other assets for investment purposes.

“On the second option, the country has in-
deed seen a surge in diaspora remittances. This
is a good thing, but we are also aware of the fact
that there are no clear conduits for harnessing
these inflows for collective capital investment
be it locally and regionally. Leveraging on our
diversified financial market, we are coming up
with investment instruments, some of which
could be publicly traded in our capital markets.

Property
NewsHawks

Issue 78, 29 April 2022 PROPERTY INTERIORS ARCHITECTURE GARDENING Page 29

The home of prime property: [email protected]

Commercial Court building gets facelift

The Commercial Court building belonging to the Judicial Service Commission along Kwame Nkrumah Avenue in Harare. Renovation is almost complete and the new-look building is scheduled to
re-open in May. Picture: Aaron Ufumeli

Page 30 Stock Taking NewsHawks

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

Price Sheet A MEMBER OF FINSEC & THE ZIMBABWE STOCK EXCHANGE

Friday, 29 April 2022

Company Sector Bloomberg Previous Last VWAP (cents) Total Total Price Price YTD Market
Traded Traded Change Change (%) Cap
Ticker Price (cents) Traded Volume Value ($) (cents) ($m)
(%)
Price - -
2,000 27,300
AFDIS Consumer Goods AFDIS: ZH 36803.89 - 36803.89 2,000 57,520 - - 194.43 43,978.63
African Sun Consumer Services ASUN: ZH 1358.19 1390.00 1365.00 62,100 263,390 6.81 0.50 112.53 19,436.66
ART ARTD: ZH 2880.00 2880.00 2876.00 84,300 16,005,570 -4.00 -0.14 175.22 12,567.47
Ariston Industrials 407.00 440.00 424.14 17.14 4.21 13.95
Axia Consumer Services ARISTON: ZH 19902.32 18000.00 18986.44 - - -915.88 -4.60 531.83 6,902.44
BAT AXIA: ZH 368500.00 368500.00 200 52,000 15.12 104,833.69
CAFCA Consumer Goods BAT: ZH 26000.00 - 26000.00 9,500 1,587,700 - - 52.94
CBZ Consumer Goods 15528.89 26000.00 16712.63 - - 122.34 76,034.51
CFI CAFCA: ZH 20000.00 16000.00 20000.00 - - 1183.74 7.62 113.74 2,271.13
Dairibord Industrials CBZ: ZH 5198.41 5166.67 300 15,500 - - 47.62
Delta Banking CFI:ZH 45189.52 - 44220.90 203,300 89,901,100 -31.74 -0.61 172.08 87,350.48
Ecocash 16448.19 5000.00 16463.62 59,700 9,828,780 -968.62 -2.14 304.98 21,208.18
Econet Industrials DZL: ZH 32944.69 42500.00 28193.23 317,600 89,541,700 15.43 0.09 231.69 18,496.72
Edgars Consumer Goods DLTA: ZH 602.84 16400.00 601.50 200 -4751.46 -14.42 38.28 576,718.19
FBC Consumer Goods EHZL: ZH 7005.89 28000.00 7495.00 200 1,203 -1.34 -0.22 121.40 426,502.79
Fidelity ECO: ZH 2158.82 603.00 2100.00 100 14,990 489.11 6.98 33.03 730,367.28
First Capital Technology 797.03 7495.00 921.26 16,200 -58.82 -2.72 166.72
FML Telecommunications EDGR: ZH 2600.00 2100.00 2304.40 227,300 2,100 124.23 15.59 15.22 3,634.55
FMP Consumer Services FBC: ZH 1112.50 950.00 1100.00 2,700 149,244 -295.60 -11.37 41.03 50,362.65
GBH FIDL: ZH 247.15 2500.00 244.64 10,100 5,237,900 -12.50 -1.12
Getbucks Banking FCA: ZH 980.00 1100.00 975.00 200 -2.51 -1.02 6.60 2,287.39
Hippo Financial Services 45000.88 247.00 45000.00 7,800 29,700 -5.00 -0.51 62.50 19,897.51
Innscor FMHL: ZH 59284.53 1000.00 61989.38 48,200 24,709 -0.88 -0.00 60.71 15,903.66
Lafarge Banking FMP: ZH 16954.55 45000.00 17100.00 500 2704.85 4.56 281.72 13,619.73
Mash Financial Services GBH: ZH 433.57 60000.00 511.69 1,200 1,950 145.45 0.86 113.75
Masimba 8000.00 17100.00 7953.45 5,800 3,510,000 78.12 18.02 57.70 1,312.71
Medtech Real Estate GBFS: ZH 2242.50 520.00 2240.00 700 29,878,880 -46.55 -0.58 44.61 11,340.40
Medtech Class B Industrials HIPO: ZH 2750.00 8000.00 2750.00 -2.50 -0.11 -36.00 86,859.25
Meikles 27493.65 2240.00 27493.65 - 85,500 - - 10.00 353,262.88
Nampak Financial Services INN: ZH 2572.05 2570.00 - 6,140 - - 119.77 13,680.00
NatFoods Consumer Goods LACZ: ZH 220066.67 - 220000.00 200 -2.05 -0.08 130.35
NTS MASH: ZH 1200.79 - 1200.79 4,600 461,300 -66.67 -0.03 60.05 9,512.70
NMBZ Industrials MSHL: ZH 3328.77 2570.00 3430.97 - 15,680 - - 90.60 19,219.81
OK Zim Industrials MMDZ: ZH 6017.69 220000.00 6040.10 11,300 - 102.20 3.07 326.04
Proplastics Real Estate MMDZB: ZH 9088.24 - 9000.00 112,700 - 22.41 0.37 120.07 268.80
RTG Industrials MEIK: ZH 800.00 3400.00 800.00 100 5,140 -88.24 -0.97 210.36 36.91
RioZim Financial Services NPKZ: ZH 16800.00 6000.00 16800.00 1,200 - - 2.56
SeedCo Financial Services 23500.00 9000.00 23596.51 - 10,120,000 - - 320.00 69,461.63
Simbisa Industrials NTFD: ZH 32945.43 800.00 32108.13 13,600 - 96.51 0.41 123.53 19,420.16
Star Africa Industrials NTS: ZH 220.68 - 222.97 41,800 -837.30 -2.54 256.76 150,480.24
Tanganda Consumer Goods NMB: ZH 27004.46 23605.00 25051.01 165,300 387,700 2.29 1.04 92.45
Truworths Industrials 193.71 32000.00 200.88 14,900 6,807,190 -1953.45 -7.23 273.56 3,048.47
TSL OKZ: ZH 14000.00 220.25 14000.00 35,600 7.17 3.70 0.44 13,867.01
Turnall Banking PROL: ZH 749.50 24000.00 740.00 - 9,000 - - 99.51 77,668.70
Unifreight Consumer Services 3016.67 210.00 3021.39 3,400 9,600 -9.50 -1.27 80.43 22,674.21
Willdale RTG: ZH 380.02 - 379.18 3,600 4.72 0.16 0.82 19,963.96
ZB Industrials RIOZ: ZH 7560.00 740.00 8950.82 7,300 - -0.84 -0.22 22.53 20,500.95
Zeco Consumer Services SEED: ZH 3020.00 4,900 3,209,125 1390.82 18.40 16.24 58,331.20
Zimpapers 2.88 375.00 2.88 - 13,421,200 - - 500.00 180,507.02
Zimplow Basic Materials SIM: ZH 598.93 8750.00 599.96 955,200 1.03 0.17 106.17 10,513.22
ZHL Consumer Goods SACL: ZH 2474.26 - 2450.00 5,400 368,570 -24.26 -0.98 3.81 65,399.32
Consumer Goods TANG: ZH 545.00 600.00 543.31 115,900 3,732,600 -1.69 -0.31 44.47
TOTAL Consumer Goods TRUW: ZH 2450.00 2,559,200 771.51
Consumer Goods 544.00 71,513 49,994.34
Consumer Services TSL: ZH -
Consumer Goods TURN: ZH 3,648.50
UNIF: ZH 25,160 3,217.00
Industrials WILD: ZH 108,770 6,741.83
Industrials ZBFH: ZH 15,681.00
Industrials ZECO: ZH 27,680
438,590 13.34
Banking ZIMP: ZH 3,455.77
Industrials ZIMPLOW: ZH - 8,442.22
Consumer Services 5,730,826 9,878.56
Industrials ZHL: ZH 3,541,547.28
Financial Services 132,300
629,691
291,934,511

ETFs DMCS.zw 180.59 216.00 215.40 296,470 638,598 34.81 19.28 115.40 151.93
MCMS.zw 2107.61 2150.00 2133.93 3,656 78,017 26.32 1.25 113.39 2,745.79
Datvest Modified Consumer Staples ETF OMTT.zw 1182.78 1100.00 1134.85 -47.93 -4.05 157.87 1,629.93
Morgan&Co Multi-Sector ETF 56,419 640,271
Old Mutual ZSE Top 10 ETF 17,432.46

FINSEC Financial Services OMZIL 18893.56 21000.00 21000.00 24,927 5,234,670 2106.44 11.15 110.00 US$m
61.09
Old Mutual Zimbabwe 8.06

VFEX (US cents) Mining BIND:VX 4.80 4.80 4.80 - -- - -12.73 115.36
Mining CMCL:VX 1300.00 - 1300.00 - -- -- 107.19
BNC Consumer Goods - -- - 1.43
Caledonia Consumer Goods PHL:VX 21.30 21.30 21.30 - -- - 0.18 YTD %
Padenga SCIL:VX 28.10 - 28.10 +16.24
SeedCo International +57.70
+166.72
Index Close Change (%) Open YTD % Top 5 Risers Price Change % +122.34
ZSE All Share 28,391.75 -2.19 29,026.92 +162.34 ZB 8950.82c +1390.82c +18.40 +121.40
Top 10 18,786.03 -2.82 19,331.40 +175.80 Mash +18.02
Top 15 20,926.14 -2.52 21,468.17 +177.93 First Capital 511.69c +78.12c +15.59 YTD %
Small Cap -0.48 590,028.07 +45.80 CBZ 921.26c +124.23c +7.62 +231.69
Medium Cap 587,219.17 -0.23 47,081.97 +130.17 FBC 16712.63c +1183.74c +6.98 +15.22
46,972.25 7495.00c +489.11c +273.56
+531.83
Top 5 Fallers Price Change % +33.03
Econet
FML 28193.23c -4751.46c -14.42
Tanganda 2304.40c -295.60c -11.37
Axia -7.23
Fidelity 25051.01c -1953.45c -4.60
18986.44c -915.88c -2.72
-58.82c
2100.00c

SALES & TRADING: Davide Muchengi: [email protected] | Lungani Nyamazana: [email protected] | Tatenda Jasi: [email protected]
RESEARCH: Batanai Matsika: [email protected] | Precious Chagwedera: [email protected] | Tafara Mtutu: [email protected]
Tel: (+263) 08677008101-2 | Email: [email protected] | Address: 14165 Sauer Road, Gunhill, Harare

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NewsHawks News Analysis Page 31

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

Economic stewardship is govt's weak link

NYASHA CHINGONO

RECENT moves by the govern- It started off as a loyalty and re- the past week. Zimbabwe is entirely the making President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
ment to suspend the operating wards initiative by Simbisa Brands “We are putting measures to of the government of Zimbabwe
licences of banks and other com- — the franchise operator of Nan- as they try to control a commod- Mnangagwa sees the economic
panies is proof that President Em- do’s, Steers and Chicken Inn take- make sure that we deal once and ity that is in short supply. They decline as a potential threat to his
merson Mnangagwa has failed to away food chain. for all with companies that are should allow the laws of supply grip on power.
rein in the collapsing economy manipulating the local currency. and demand to determine, but
since taking office in 2017. In a joint statement, Innbucks We are going to put measures that the biggest arbitrage is by the state Analysts say he therefore feels
and Simbisa Brands said: “An im- will ensure that our currency will institution, in their bid to mop insecure and vulnerable if the
Faced with unrelenting eco- passe has occurred in respect of be sought after and that the US up foreign currency on the mar- economy continues to spiral out
nomic challenges, worsened by a which the Simbisa board is engag- dollar doesn’t dominate,” state me- ket,” political analyst Rashweat of control.
volatile currency fast losing value ing the regulator.” dia quoted Mnangagwa as saying Mukundu said.
and soaring inflation, Mnangagwa last week. Amid economic failure, with his
has resorted to threatening finan- This means that “customers It also seems the government is government groping in the dark
cial institutions, forgetting the el- shall no longer be able to depos- Mnangagwa’s rhetoric is tanta- reading from a different econom- for solutions, Mnangagwa has re-
ephant in the room. it funds into Innbucks account or mount to attempting to control ics script, part of which is deliber- sorted to blaming Western sanc-
transfer the funds” to others. the market forces of supply and ately sabotaging millions of strug- tions at every turn.
The 79-year-old leader, whose demand. gling Zimbabweans.
reign has been plagued by a legit- Rolink Finance, which operated The "blame it on sanctions"
imacy crisis, loss of public trust as a bureau de change, was fined Classical economics and propo- The government has accused game now sounds like a broken
and a failed re-engagement drive, US$120 000 for “breaches of the nents of the free market contend virtually everyone of economic record. Sanctions have since 2000
has cracked the whip on purport- Exchange Control” regulations. that the authorities should allow sabotage, except itself. been used as a scapegoat for gross
ed “errant” businesses fuelling in- the market forces to determine economic mismanagement.
flation. But is shutting down financial prices and exchange rates. Mnangagwa’s panic is also tell-
institutions the solution? ing, with observers saying he fears It was Mnangagwa himself
Zimbabwe’s year-on year-infla- But the government, which he may not retain his presidency if who said in 2018 that Zimbabwe
tion for the month of April shot Mnangagwa recently warned boasts of bright brains in Treasury the economy continues on a freef- should not continue to “whine”
up 96.4% from 72.7% in the pre- that he would put in place mea- and in the central bank, has all but all. about sanctions, but the Zimba-
vious month, stoking fears of a sures to deal with local businesses failed to respect the market forc- bwean president is not walking the
return to hyperinflation, pouring deemed as undermining the local es, through introducing regulatory With the 2023 general elections talk in this regard.
cold water on government claims unit of exchange. This came as the measures that have dismally failed. around the corner and his party’s
that the economy is on the re- rise in the street exchange rate has elective congress in the works, Self-introspection, truth telling
bound. driven a wave of price increases in “The foreign currency crisis in and the political will to change
economic fortunes is the only way
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe out of the quagmire.
last week suspended Metbank's
forex trading licence, closed a mo-
bile money service Innbucks and
halted the bureaux de change op-
erations of Rolink Finance.

Another money transfer agency,
Access Finance, was also stopped
from facilitating local transfers.

The central bank recently par-
tially liberalised Zimbabwe’s ex-
change rate regime after allowing
banks to negotiate exchange rates
on a willing-buyer, willing-seller
basis with their clients. But this
has failed to provide some respite
for the local unit of exchange and
now central bank governor John
Mangudya is tightening the screws
on the financial services sector.

The Zimdollar has further
lost value and is trading at
US$1:ZW$350 on the streets of
Harare compared to the official
rate of US$1:ZW$155.

The government accuses these
financial institutions of breaching
exchange control regulations relat-
ing to the trade in foreign curren-
cy.

They will not be permitted to
deal in foreign currency, that is
buying and selling foreign cur-
rency and processing internation-
al and domestic foreign currency
transactions.

While the government has the
prerogative to maintain order on
the market, the suspension of In-
nbucks, a mobile-based money
transfer service that allowed Zim-
babweans to send and receive hard
currency, proves the government’s
double standards.

Innbucks has been operating for
months without a licence, but the
central bank only shut it now.

Page 32 Critical Thinking NewsHawks

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

Understanding power, accountability

Alex T.
Magaisa

POWER is a complex phenom-
enon. If you are seeking power
or trying to hold those who hold
power to account, it is important
to understand the nature of power.

Many people are familiar with
the power that is held by the state
and, consequently, by those who
control the state. The system of
checks and balances built into na-
tional constitutions is often target-
ed at controlling this type of state
power.

However, less attention is paid
to power that is held by non-state
actors or private actors such as cor-
porations, religious organisations,
political parties, pressure groups,
and even non-governmental organ-
isations. In this article, I argue why
it is equally important to subject
non-state actors to accountability
mechanisms. This will ensure an
expanded and more comprehensive
form of constitutionalism whereby
both state and non-state actors are
held to account.  

Repressive power is not the only one that relies on masse  against a dictatorship, it is instruments became confident of given to everyone. There are several
It is also important to understand this type of power. Most entities or because they would have overcome their power – that they could take reasons why people grant consent
the various types of power. Many individuals in positions of power the fear of repressive power. At that the power into their own hands either explicitly or implicitly so
people are familiar with what we also make use of repressive power. point, the dictator realises that he rather than rely on the leader. Or that others can lead them, and they
may conveniently refer to as repres- It could be a boss at a company or a does not have any other power to that they could choose their own. follow. Such leaders do not have to
sive power. This is a type of power headmaster at a school. Where the control his people. Many dictators This is what happened to Mugabe command their followers to follow
that is drawn from and exercised president of a state has police to find themselves vulnerable when in 2017. The military had res- them.
through a vertical and hierarchical enforce his rules, the headteacher the military and police they would cued him in 2008 and he had be-
command and control structure. has prefects and the corporate boss have relied upon stand aside and let come dependent and beholden to Indeed, as you will discover, one
This type of power is repressive has managers and security officers. the people revolt. It is like a par- it. When he became a problem, it of the consequences of this is that
because it is usually accompanied A parent in the household may also ent or teacher who uses violence to was easy for the military to remove one does not have to be a politi-
by a penalty or sanctions for dis- use repressive power to enforce his control the kids under their con- him. This is a lesson to Mnangag- cian to wield enormous power and
obedience. Repressive power has or her leadership. The boss of a trol. There comes a point when the wa: when you rely on repressive control over other people. Most of
been the dominant type of power mafia gang also uses violence as an kids overcome the fear of violence. power, you place yourself at the the people who exercise power by
throughout human history, usual- instrument of control to ensure his At that point, with no other source risk of repressive instruments.   consent are not politicians. As we
ly with the few imposing their rule commands are obeyed. of power, the parent or teacher los- Consent-based power shall soon observe, knowing that
over the many because they have es control over the kids. The costs associated with repressive they do not have this type of pow-
superior force. There is another subtle type of power explain why it is important er, towards elections politicians, go
power that is different from re- Besides, repressive power is ex- for leaders to rely on other sourc- the extra mile to associate them-
With repressive power, the sov- pressive power. Repressive power is pensive to maintain. You must es and types of power to control selves with these individuals and
ereign commands citizens and in based on fear of disobedience and pay police officers and soldiers the population. The other types of non-state entities that wield a lot
turn, the citizens must obey. If they the threat of violence. But if people that enforce repressive power. You power are based on consent. Cit- of power by consent over commu-
disobey, they will be punished. It lose the fear of violence they are en- must maintain a system of incen- izens are not forced to agree to a nities
is the sovereign that imposes the couraged to disobey, which places tives so that they continue to obey power held by an entity of an in-
rules, with or without the consent the ruling authority in a vulnera- you. There is always a risk that dividual. They follow the entity or But identifying that power is
of the citizens. A citizen who dis- ble position. It becomes very hard they might decide to disobey you. individual because they consent to held by non-state actors also has
obeys the rules may be arrested, to control people if the only form Many leaders have paid a heavy do so out of free will. This ability important implications for the con-
tried, and jailed. This type of pow- of power that you have is coercion price for relying on repressive pow- to get people to follow you is not cept of accountability. This means
er is coercive, and it is enforced by and the people are no longer scared er. They became so dependent on just as we expect politicians and
the coercive apparatus of the state of coercion. When people revolt en instruments of coercion that those state actors to be held to account,
such as the police, military, and non-politicians and non-state ac-
prisons. The state benefits from the
monopoly that it holds over the use
of violence. This type of power is
exercised openly to deter other cit-
izens. For example, when citizens
see political activists getting arrest-
ed and jailed, they are supposed to
get scared and refrain from similar
activities. The threat of force or vi-
olence is a critical element in this
type of power.

Although the state is usually as-
sociated with repressive power, it

NewsHawks Critical Thinking Page 33

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

tors must also be held to account. Tradition and culture right. When they fail, the relation- Charisma there is always a risk that it can be
The risk of abuse of power does Sometimes consent is based on tra- ship breaks down and citizens with- Consent-based power can also be abused. That is why it is important
not diminish because the holder of dition and culture. Many societies draw their consent. People defer to derived from personal charisma. to hold those who have the power
power is a non-state actor.   that pursue the democratic path lawyers in legal matters because Citizens may choose to follow an to account. This is a key justifica-
still maintain traditional author- they trust their expertise in such individual because they are drawn tion for the principle of account-
Why do people consent to follow ities such as the monarchy, chief- areas. CSOs that specialize in spe- by their impressive personal char- ability.
others? There are no easy answers, doms, etc. How do these societies cific areas and acquire a reputation acteristics. Some characters have a
and a few theories might assist us. that place such a premium value on of expertise in those areas may also unique ability to draw others into However, we usually focus on
Rational choice leadership by consent still main- derive consent from the citizens. their orbit. The history of politics the first type of power, repressive
First, if we apply the rational choice tain institutions that are the antith- People can say we trust Amnesty is replete with charismatic figures power. When we talk about ac-
theory, the reasoning is that as ra- esis of democracy? Kings, queens, International to speak on the death who have wielded enormous pow- countability, it is often directed at
tional individuals, whenever we are chiefs, Lords, and headmen are un- penalty because this is their area of er over nations. Charisma is not the government and how it exer-
faced with a decision, we carry out elected. specialism. Or we trust Greenpeace synonymous with good leadership. cises power. This is undoubtedly
a cost-benefit analysis. We weigh when they speak on climate change Many of the charismatic leaders important because the govern-
the costs and benefits of taking a The UK House of Lords con- and the environment because that in history have used their talent ment is an important site of power
particular decision. If the benefit sists of unelected peers, but this is is what they do. to devastating effect, letting pow- and the risk of abuse of power is
of following a leader outweighs a country with some of the most er cloud their judgment, building high. We see it in the way the po-
the costs, we are likely to take that robust and enduring democratic In the Zimbabwean context, personality cults, and establishing lice or the military apply force in
choice. In a democratic society, cit- traditions. Zimbabwe’s Consti- people can say “we trust ZLHR in dictatorships. Zimbabwean has its a heavy-handed manner. We see it
izens have a choice to decide which tution reserves seats in the Senate matters of human rights” because fair share of charismatic  leaders. when the state applies the law se-
leader to follow from among sev- for chiefs. South Africa’s Consti- they specialize in defending human Both Nkomo and Mugabe in their lectively.
eral contestants. We express our tution also has a place for tradi- rights and human rights defenders. heyday were charismatic leaders.
consent by electing that individual. tional leaders. This complex mix More recently, Pachedu has gained Nelson Chamisa who was more However, as we have observed,
between the traditional systems of a stellar reputation as an elections popular than his party in 2018 is repressive power is only one among
However, where elections are not power that are based on hereditary watchdog. The way the group has widely regarded as a charismatic various types and sources of pow-
free and fair, the idea of consent is succession and modern systems of publicly critiqued and challenged leader, a quality that eludes his op- er. There are several other sites of
severely compromised. If there is power based on elections is based Zec, the elections referee, laying posite number in Zanu PF. power, including corporations,
political violence, a voter will fac- on consent. The citizens of those bare the inadequacies of the vot- civil society organizations, politi-
tor in the threat of violence as a countries have through their con- ers’ roll, has given it a great deal But it’s in the religious sector cal parties, traditional authorities,
cost of voting and make a choice stitutions consented that the un- of credibility among the citizens, where we see the most charismatic churches, expert groups, pressure
that is less likely to result in vio- elected should have a place in their especially on the opposition end. leaders. The likes of Makandiwa, groups, and charismatic individ-
lence. When people wonder why governance systems. They consent Its output has made Pachedu a Magaya, Guti, leaders of mass ap- uals. Most of the power in these
individuals continue to vote for a because it is part of their tradition powerful and trusted watchdog in ostolic sects fall in this category. sites is by consent: people willingly
party that is impoverishing them, and culture and therefore is a mat- electoral matters, but its power is They command huge followings submit themselves to the authority
it is probably because the voters ter of identity. not based on coercion. It is based which the politicians can only without force or coercion.
have considered the threat of vio- on consent because citizens trust its envy. The critical factor regarding
lence. This is a particular problem Understanding this type of pow- expertise and output. People follow these charismatic religious leaders This is a more potent type of
in rural areas that have experienced er is very important in the Zimba- Pachedu because they believe in its is that their control is not based power than repressive power which
high levels of violence in the past. bwean context where traditional expertise and activism. Pachedu’s on repression. They have managed is based on command and control.
Therefore, opposition parties have leaders occupy important spaces work has produced reactions from to gain control of the minds of the You do not have to do much when
to confront the issue of fear of vi- in rural communities. They com- Zec. Zec knows Pachedu is having people but not through violence. people follow you because they
olence because it is a cost of vot- mand respect and obedience in the an important influence on public Politicians would love to have this want to. Their following is based
ing that rural voters do take into local communities. They are part opinion on electoral matters. kind of power where they do not on faith and belief, not on fear of
account when they make political of the social fabric of rural life, have to use violence to coerce peo- punishment. This makes it easy to
choices.   and nothing happens without their Social media has become a key ple into obeying them. abuse. The people who are being
Path dependency  knowledge or authority. They are political space in recent years with abused might not even know or
Second, if we use the historical path a critical part of the social and po- individuals drawing large num- Politicians could respond to the believe that they are being abused.
dependency theory, it might be litical economy of local communi- bers of followers. Some of these power of these charismatic leaders Indeed, when the people or groups
that people take the path that they ties. Citizens in rural communities accounts are large and highly in- in one of two ways: ban them or they follow are wrong, followers re-
have taken before because they are generally submit to the authority of fluential. Just one tweet can have associate with them. Some dicta- fuse to believe that they are wrong.
familiar with it. Humans are crea- local traditional leaders. Therefore, a large impact on stock markets. torships have come down heavily If they don’t find another expla-
tures of habit. It might not be the political authorities, whether in the Their output is followed religious- on religious leaders for this very nation, they will just bite their lip
best path but because it is the path colonial or post-independence eras, ly by thousands of people who be- reason. They do not like the com- and pretend it did not happen. The
that has been taken before, the the- have associated themselves with lieve it. Their views on issues such petition that poses in the market of denial is partly because people do
ory is that citizens tend to resort to traditional authorities, and where as coronavirus vaccines attract large public affection. However, banning not like anything that suggests that
that path. We might observe this traditional authorities have been numbers of followers and debate. is also a costly exercise. Since the they are wrong.
many times in our personal lives, difficult, they have been removed Their opinions on politics and their following is faith-based, prohibi-
when faced with decisions people and replaced by pliable authorities. explanations of political events are tion will only drive the activities But all this is the more reason
tend to go for what they are famil- Expertise also followed by many people who underground, creating a black why it is important to identify
iar with rather than exploring new Power by consent can also be de- base their decisions on them. These market of religious activities. Fur- sites of power beyond the common
paths. At the workplace, a new in- rived from expertise. If people people have not forced people to ther, banning also antagonises the types of power and to hold them to
tern might suggest what they think think that the people they regard follow them. People follow them masses that follow the charismatic account. I often say to colleagues in
is a bright idea, but the older hands as experts in a field are right, they because they want to do so. It gives religious leaders. the CSO sector that accountabili-
will dismiss it saying this is how we are likely to follow them. They enormous power over these people ty is a two-way street: just as they
have always done things here. grant their consent because they and entities, sometimes referred to This is why politicians choose demand accountability from the
trust their expertise. We have seen as “influencers”. the option of tolerating and asso- state, citizens must also demand
Applying it to leadership, citi- during the coronavirus pandemic ciating with powerful charismatic accountability from CSOs. The
zens might give consent to what how scientists took on an author- This is why politicians who think religious leaders. When Mugabe or same applies to churches, tradi-
they already know not because it itative role in political and public their Twitter handles are person- Tsvangirai attended apostolic sects’ tional authorities, pressure groups,
is the best but because it is what policy decision-making over the al are grossly mistaken. Whatever gatherings it was not because they and even individuals and groups in
they have always done. Some peo- last couple of years. People gener- they tweet on their handles is as- believed in the sects’ ways. They the increasingly influential social
ple will vote for Zanu PF because ally consented to those decisions sociated with their political parties. saw potential political dividends media space.
that is what they have always done because they placed faith in the in associating with these charis-
since 1980. Likewise, some people abilities of the experts who were This is also why politicians and matic leaders. When Mnangagwa Accountability that focuses on
might vote for the opposition be- recommending them. We saw how influential figures, and groups must and Chiwenga recently attended state actors and excludes non-state
cause they have always preferred elected officials had scientific ex- tweet responsibly, taking greater Makandiwa’s Easter gathering it actors is too narrow and mislead-
the opposition. They are com- perts by their side when making caution to ensure that their output was not because they had discov- ing.
fortable with the path with which important public health policy an- is accurate. Errors are bound to ered a newfound love for Makand-
they are already familiar even with nouncements. The restrictions on happen, and politicians are prone iwa’s church. It is a recognition of Everyone who wields power
its imperfections and weaknesses. human rights were fortified and to gaffes. the power that is wielded by charis- must be held to account. Citizens
Whatever the case, political parties backed by the views of the scientif- matic religious leaders with which must also not follow blindly. It
are powerful institutions that wield ic experts.  Likewise, citizens trust That’s why in such circumstanc- politicians would like to be associ- does not matter that they are non-
control over large numbers of peo- economists and other professionals es, it is important to withdraw ated. Indeed, as if to counter that state actors. If they wield power, it
ple. At present, the two most pow- when it comes to matters of the and apologize. Some people think CCC senior leader and MP for the is important to maintain vigilance
erful political parties are the CCC economy. However, this bargain apologising is a weakness, but it’s local area Job Sikhala also attended and to hold them to account.
and Zanu PF. between citizens and experts only a strength that reassures followers. Makandiwa’s church service.
works if the experts are getting it It is particularly important to cor- Holding power to account *About the writer: Dr Alex
rect errors or misleading output Power can be put to good use but Magaisa is a law lecturer at Kent
because millions of people rely on University in the United King-
what social media influencers pro- dom and former adviser to Zim-
duce.   babwe’s late prime minister Mor-
gan Tsvangirai.

Page 34 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

Taona T. CCC congress: To hold or congress before the 2023 elections. This
Denhere not to hold is the question is largely due to the fact that so far there
has been neither constitutional docu-
FORMER Soviet Union ideologue and CCC leader Nelson Chamisa. ment, founding document, charter nor
demagogue Vladimir Lenin once rhe- roadmap that could potentially provide
torically said: “If the congress was a my letter to the editors of the new Iskra, Over the past few days, Zimbabwe- gistics challenges facing the party. That useful information and signposts regard-
struggle between the Iskra-ist and the I gave prime place to an analysis of the ans, mainly through the local media, is, any decision on holding the congress ing how, when and where the CCC can
anti-Iskra-ist elements, were there no various groupings. My opponents of the have been debating and a crescendo of must not be a knee-jerk reaction, but a or should hold a congress.
intermediate, unstable elements who "minority" (headed by Martov) utterly dissenting voices among a certain vocal clearly thought out and sound approach
vacillated between the two? Anyone at failed to grasp the substance of the ques- group of Zimbabweans advocating for undergirded by the party constitution This is coupled with the fact that nei-
all familiar with our party and with the tion. At the League Congress they con- the newly-formed  Citizens' Coalition and balanced against the impending ther the Zimbabwean constitution nor
picture generally presented by the con- fined themselves to corrections of detail, for Change (CCC) to convene an in- 2023 general elections and the autocrat- the Electoral Act has express nor implied
gresses of every kind will be inclined to trying to "vindicate" themselves from augural elective congress by any means ic nature of our political landscape. provisions that demand political parties
answer the question in the  affirmative.” the charge of having swung towards necessary has been witnessed. to hold congress. This also further ex-
opportunism, but not even attempting The CCC was formed on 24 Janu- plains why there has been no floodgate
In the paper, One Step Forward, Two to counter my picture of the groupings Conversely, there has also been con- ary 2022; it is a political party that was of litigation opened against the CCC
Steps Back (The Crisis in Our Party): Sig- at the congress by drawing any different siderable pushback from other sections formed from the ashes of the now virtu- over its reluctance to expeditiously hold
nificance of the Various Groupings at the one. Now Martov tries in Iskra (No. 56) of Zimbabwean society against the idea ally defunct MDC-Alliance once led by a congress.
Congress, Lenin added: to represent every attempt clearly to of  frog-marching and commandeering Nelson Chamisa. Therefore, it is  quint-
delimit the various political groups at the CCC to plunge headlong into a con- essentially a three-month-old political Thus, the usual proverbial tortoise
“What was the principal task of the the congress as mere "circle politics". gress. party, that is politically and electorally perched on the lamppost have been
congress? To create a real party on the Strong language, Comrade Martov! But teething. Thus, it is a political move- conspicuous by its absence. According-
basis of the principles and organisation- the strong language of the new Iskra has This controversial and divisive issue ment that is learning to crawl notwith- ly, political parties by their very nature
al ideas that had been advanced and this peculiar quality: one has only to re- of congress has unwittingly created two standing the fact that some of its senior are voluntary organisations and qua-
elaborated by Iskra (In December 1900, produce all the stages of our divergence, deeply polarised  and diametrically op- functionaries and lieutenants have been si-private organisations, and as such it
at the age of 30, Lenin established Iskra, from the congress onwards, for all this posed camps, that is the  pro-congress in opposition trenches for a consider- is the prerogative of the members and
one of the most important projects of strong language to turn  completely and faction and the  anti-congress group. able period of time under the MDC. the leadership how they would want
his political life.  Iskra  laid the ground- primarily  against the present editorial Thus, senior political figures across the to organise, constitute and legitimise
work for a centralised organisation of board. Take a look at yourselves, you so- political spectrum such as the exiled However, the political profile and themselves.
Russian Marxism which, until then, was called party editors who talk about circle former government ministers Jonathan electoral clout of the CCC were tested
fragmented into small isolated groups politics!” Moyo and Walter Mzembi, together and boosted by its robust and sound Hence, other fly-by-night or briefcase
across Russia and in exile in Europe. with CCC senior leaders like Gift Ostal- performance in the 26 March 2022 political parties such as the National
The first issue of  Iskra  (The Spark) was Under the leadership of Lenin,  Isk- los Siziba, Chalton Hwende and Fadzai by-elections in which it managed to win Constitutional Assembly led by Love-
published in December 1900. Its mot- ra  was key in the political struggle Mahere, among others, have also been 19 parliamentary seats out of 28 and more Madhuku (a constitutional law
to was "a single spark can start a prairie against the economist opposition within drawn into this explosive and divisive is- claimed 61% of the vote in the urban expert) and  APA of Dr Nkosana Moyo
fire".  Iskra  helped organise and train a Russian social democracy – the so-called sue, offering  competing, contradictory and rural local government by-elections. have never held a congress nor a class-
new generation of worker and intellec- “legal Marxists.”  and polarising  perspectives and opin- room-size elective leadership workshop,
tual cadres that would go on to form the ions on the matter. Consequently, it was this impressive yet they have never been held to account
vanguard of the Russian Social Demo- The  Iskra  experience provided the electoral performance that has recast for the pro-congress campaigners.
cratic Labour Party. basis of the party newspaper that Lenin This issue needs to be deconstructed the spotlight on the CCC from its sup-
had in mind, guided by the idea crys- to contextualise congress within our po- porters and the opponents alike. This, Furthermore, Siziba poured cold wa-
The initial editorial board of  Isk- tallised in this excerpt from  What is to litical and electoral politics and also con- subsequently,  has unwittingly made the ter on the smouldering smoke of con-
ra was composed of six members: Vlad- Be Done?: duct a comparative analysis deploying CCC, the centre of huge stormy focus, gress by unequivocally arguing that they
imir Lenin, Georgi Plekhanov, Pavel domestic and regional examples of inau- despite the fact that Zanu PF has a long do not wish to organise and institution-
Axelrod, Vera Zasulich, Aleksandr Po- The mission of the newspaper is gural Iskra congresses. That is, analysing overdue impending elective congresses alise their leadership selection and elec-
tresov and Julius Martov. In practice, not limited, however, to disseminating the timing, context and circumstances as mandated by their party constitu- tion procedure through the mechanisms
Lenin was the director of the newspaper. ideas, providing political training and under which the inaugural  congresses tions. of a congress. Therefore, the matter of
He worked relentlessly writing letters to attracting political allies. The newspaper were held.  In as much as the congress holding a congress is purely an academic
editors, making criticisms, and suggest- is not only a collective propagandist and and any other elective system might be The irony of it is that the pro-congress matter for the CCC.
ing ideas for new articles. a collective agitator, but also a collective necessary for the CCC, a pragmatic and camp which has been forcefully arguing
organiser. realistic approach needs to be adopted its case has no compelling justification It is also quite instructive to take a
“That this was the direction in which which must take into consideration the for the CCC to hold congress as a mat- historical detour and conduct a compar-
the congress had to work was prede- Iskra debated the role of congress timing, financial constraints and the lo- ter of urgency, or that the CCC is legal- ative analysis on the matters of holding
termined by the three years’ activities among the social democrats on Russia. ly and constitutionally bound to hold a of the congresses by the other former
of  Iskra  and by the recognition of the newly-established local and regional 
latter by the majority of the committees.  political parties vis-à-vis the CCC con-
gress or lack thereof.
Iskra’s programme and trend were to
become the programme and trend of the Zanu PF was formed in August
party;  Iskra’s organisational plans were 1963 and held its inaugural congress
to be embodied in the rules of organi- 10 months later in Gweru on 24 May
sation of the party. But it goes without 1964. If the pro-congress campaigners
saying that this could not be achieved were to apply this same yardstick to the
without a struggle: since the congress CCC, it means it still has seven more
was so highly representative, the par- months to plan for congress.
ticipants included organisations which
had vigorously fought  Iskra  (the Bund However, it then took Zanu PF an-
and Rabocheye Dyelo ) and organisations other 13 years before it could hold
which, while verbally recognising  Isk- another congress in 1977 in Chimoio,
ra as the leading organ, actually pursued Mozambique, despite the fact that there
plans of their own and were unstable in were internal party contradictions and
matters of principle (the  Yuzhny Rabo- contestations that would have required
chy  group and delegates from some of the party to hold an elective congress.
the committees who were closely asso- Some of the internal contradictions and
ciated with it). contestations manifested themselves
in the form of the Nhari rebellion of
“Under these circumstances, the con- November 1974, coupled with the in-
gress could not but become an arena of tra-party factional and tribal conflict
struggle for the victory of the ‘Iskra’ trend. that led to the assassination of Herbert
That it did become such an arena will Chitepo in March 1975.
at once be apparent to all who peruse
its minutes with any degree of atten- This was in addition to the Vashandi
tion. Our task now is to trace in detail rebellion of November 1976.  Needless
the principal groupings revealed at the to say the Chimoio congress came about
congress on various issues and to recon- as a result of accident rather than by
struct, on the basis of the precise data of design. It was necessitated after an in-
the minutes, the political complexion of tra-party coup against the leadership of
each of the main groups. What precise- the Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole in jail.
ly were these groups, trends and shades In post-independent  Zimbabwe, Zanu
which, at the congress, were to unite PF held its first congress in 1984, a good
under the guidance of  Iskra  into a sin- four years after Independence and seven
gle party? — that is what we must show years after the Chimoio congress.
by analysing the debates and the voting.
The elucidation of this is of cardinal im- Of course, the context, time and cir-
portance both for a study of what our cumstances of the liberation struggle
Social Democrats really are and for an matter in the period before Indepen-
understanding of the causes of the diver- dence.
gence among them. That is why, in my
speech at the League Congress and in The pro-congress faction has further
argued that it would be unprecedented,
foolhardy and politically senseless for
the CCC to contest the 2023 general
elections without holding a congress.

However, ironically it is the same
political constituency that has never
missed the slightest chance to compare
the CCC and Chamisa with the Eco-
nomic Freedom Fighters led by Julius
Malema in South Africa.

...To next page

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 35

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

Africa faces hard knocks as rich countries
take manufacturing back home

JONATHAN MUNEMO integrate into parts of a global value chain tures, and finally promoting the pick-up er to home. flect the geopolitical significance of cut-
even when they lack the competitive ad- of industrialisation. In the US, Stanley Black & Decker has ting-edge chips, which are vital for current
THE global economic crisis triggered vantage to produce an entire product do- and future technological advancement.
by  the outbreak of the Covid-19 pan- mestically. Over time, these positive economic expanded  its tool making operations in The US and Europe chip investments are
demic  in 2020 and Russia’s  invasion of outcomes will substantially reduce pov- North America. The aim is to support also motivated by competition with Chi-
Ukraine in February this year has intensi- In addition, greater participation in erty in Africa. This will be reminiscent regional development of its supply chains na and a desire to reduce reliance on Tai-
fied the risk of declining trade integration global value chains provides African firms of the impact of the second wave of and enable shorter time leads. wan and South Korea as major suppliers,
between countries. with better access to capital, technology globalisation which rapidly accelerated as they can be vulnerable to supply shocks
and other inputs needed to upgrade prod- after 1990. This helped some Asian and Apparel companies in the US also see and geopolitical conflicts in the region.
This process is referred to as the de-glo- ucts and become more diversified. This is emerging economies lift millions out of supply-chain woes as an opportunity to
balisation of trade. important to point out, given that Afri- poverty by supporting their integration reconsider bringing their supply chains In addition to growing geopolitical ri-
can firms face significantly higher costs into global value chains and narrowed the home. valry and tensions between China and the
The pandemic sent shocks through that reduce their capacity to compete in income inequality gap between advanced West, the rise of nationalism in the West
supply chains across the world. As a result, regional and international markets. These economies and the developing world. Governments in advanced economies after the financial crisis of 2008/9 has also
companies in some advanced economies costs are particularly crippling for small The shift are also reinforcing moves to re-shore dampened enthusiasm for accelerating
have started to prioritise bringing pro- and medium enterprises (SMEs), the A range of companies are relocating their production, mainly for geopolitical rea- global trade integration.
duction that was previously outsourced to backbone of many African economies. manufacturing plants. sons. The EU now aims to boost its chip
Asia back home – or closer to home. The production. It has promised to back chip In the US, for example, former pres-
expectation is that this will avert ongoing Entry into global value chains is there- Among them are the motorbike and manufacturers such as Intel Corp with ident Donald Trump’s “Make America
– and future – supply-chain disruptions, fore crucial for a number of reasons. electric bicyle manufacturer Pierer Mo- subsidies worth billions of dollars. The Great Again” agenda was anti-global eco-
ensuring a steady and reliable supply of Firstly to boost the growth of African bility. It is building a plant in Bulgaria so US is also planning to invest billions of nomic integration in nature and specifi-
goods. SMEs, secondly to support the African that it’s closer to its main customers in dollars  to bolster domestic chip pro- cally promoted protectionist policies fo-
Continental Free Trade Area in advanc- Europe. The German suit maker Hugo duction. And Japan is  allocating huge cused on reducing trade between China
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has exac- ing regional trade integration, thirdly in Boss has also moved manufacturing clos- funds  to develop its semiconductor in- and the US.
erbated global supply shortages after the diversifying production and export struc- dustry.
pandemic. It is also further fuelling ex- Similar nationalist and anti-global
pectations of major reduced reliance on These substantial expenditures re- moves were also happening across Eu-
global supply chains by businesses. This is rope, and were a major factor behind
particularly true of companies in Europe UK’s departure from the EU in 2020.
and the US.
What now?
This trend risks adding addition- Globalisation is a powerful engine of
al strain to economies in Africa on top global value chain integration that is
of the current economic pain from soar- important for Africa’s growth and de-
ing food and fuel price inflation imposed velopment. African economies suffered
by the war in Ukraine. A deglobalising greater scarring from the pandemic. The
world poses serious risks for Africa. This divergent recoveries between advanced
has been confirmed by findings in a re- and developing economies in Africa and
cent World Bank report. It shows that re- other regions threaten to reverse gains in
versing globalisation through reshoring of poverty reduction.
value chains has the potential to push an
additional 52 million people into extreme Absent of any decisive action, reshor-
poverty. ing of production implies that trade will
be dominated by a few powerful regional
Those living in Sub-Saharan Africa blocks in the future.
would be the hardest hit. It would make
Africa a poorer place. Global trade inte- These would likely include an Asian
gration (trade’s share of global GDP) sped block dominated by China, an Ameri-
up after 1990, and then slowed down can-led block in North America, and an
after reaching a peak in 2008 when the EU block.
financial crisis caused an economic down-
turn. The remarkable rise in global trade If this happens, decades-long progress
integration during the 1990s and 2000s in global poverty reduction would be
is intimately tied to the rapid growth in at high risk of being further derailed. It
global value chain trade. would make the world a poorer place and
Why being connected matters Africa would be the hardest hit by being
Connecting to the global economy is vital severed from global value chains.
for spurring growth and development on
the continent. This is because it creates — The Conversation.
opportunities for firms to specialise in
specific tasks. In turn, this allows them to *About the writer: Jonathan Mune-
mo is Jonathan Munemo is professor
of economics at Salisbury University in
the United States.

CCC congress: To hold or not to hold is the question

From previous page from its constitutional missteps and pit- 12 months. He argued that a congress interests in the convening of the con- political and electoral landscape for
Yet they ignore the fact that the EFF falls of the past which allowed devious will require a minimum of US$3 mil- gress by the CCC before the 2023 polls nearly three months, it has come under
was formed on 26 July 2013. It then characters and political opportunists to lion to prepare and host. This was rather and would try to exploit divisions in severe scrutiny from both its detractors
participated in the South African gen- exploit those constitutional problems to an honest admission by Hwende about the party, factionalise and fracture the and supporters, with each respective
eral elections on 7 May 2014 where it the overall detriment of the democratic the financial woes of the party, which movement. Consequently, it would be constituency placing various demands
garnered 25 seats, but then held its in- movement. presently relies on kind donations and strategic and prudent for CCC to chan- and expectations on its leadership.
augural congress on 14 December 2014, fundraising activities from its ordinary nel its attention and mobilise its over-
a good 16 months after its formation. It must have clear constitutional pro- members. stretched human, financial and material Consequently, the issue of the con-
These examples illustrate the fact that visions accommodating three vice-pres- resources towards building a robust war gress has widened the fault lines between
there is no one-size-fits-all political for- idents if they decide to keep the present Needless to say that political par- chest for the elections and not waste its two opposing camps. The leadership of
mula and prescription as to the circum- structure. Additionally, they must set ties in Zimbabwe are deeply factional, meagre resources on congress. the CCC will have to walk a tightrope
stances and conditions a political party out clear and unambiguous provisions hence there is a history of splits and and make strategic decisions as it charts
should hold its congress. regarding the structure and leadership counter-splits within the opposition. While the leadership and its mem- its new political and electoral course
The CCC, as a three-month-old po- succession mechanisms they want to Therefore, a rushed, poorly thought out bers are preoccupied with the institu- ahead of the 2023 elections.
litical baby, needs to choose its battles adopt and institutionalise since their and a knee-jerk approach to convening tion-building of the party through craft-
wisely. It has to get its priorities right deputy spokesperson has signalled that a congress 12 months before the 2023 ing and designing a constitution and As Lenin said, the purpose of con-
in light of the last two years of political they will not be using a congress struc- elections may not be the best political organisation structures, in the mean- gress must be to create a real party on
and parliamentary developments that ture currently being used by Zanu PF approach for a fledgling political party time they need to design and craft ei- the basis of principles and organisation-
facilitated the demise of its predecessor and the practically defunct MDC-T. like the CCC that ironically was born ther a skeletal interim constitution or a al ideas that had been advanced and
the MDC-Alliance.  At this early stage, out of the ashes of state and Zanu PF founding charter or roadmap of the par- elaborated by the people, not to become
the CCC needs to devote its attention The secretary-general of the CCC, Machiavellian counter-intelligence in- ty. This will remove any room for spec- a theatre for factional struggles.
to crafting and developing a watertight Hwende, tweeted on 26 April 2022 that filtration and dirty tactics in the former ulation and ambiguities, thus enable the
and progressive party constitution that the party is financially crippled and does MDC-Alliance and MDC-T. party and its members to be on the same *About the writer: Taona Denhere
must reflect and show that it has learnt not have a huge war chest to simulta- wavelength. is a human rights and international
neously hold a congress and then  con- The state counter-intelligence  ma- development lawyer based in the Unit-
test the 2023 general elections within chinery would have considerable vested Although the CCC has been on the ed Kingdom.

Page 36 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

African cities can do more to protect
children from climate change impact

RONGEDZAYI FAMBASAYI

SIX in 10 people will be living in A resident of Glen View 3, a suburb southwest of Harare, picks up plastic from a makeshift dump site. Pic: Global Press Journal
cities by 2030. This is concerning.
mate action? climate crisis. its. Yet it was ground-breaking in sporting and fun activities, forums
Cities are responsible for  over The Climate Change Act (2016) of Despite these obligations of city making it clear that children are and other opportunities for chil-
70%  of global greenhouse gas Kenya is very clear on the obliga- key actors in climate change ac- dren to be engaged on the climate
emissions. Yet cities can also do a tions of institutions at the city level authorities over climate action on tion, deserving a seat at the table discourse at community level.
lot to mitigate climate change and in relation to climate governance. one hand, and children on the of decision-making.
help people adapt to its impacts. It empowers county governments other hand, in reality the chal- • Invest technical and financial
Cities can use renewable energy to enact laws and policies that pro- lenges of children do not always The acceptance of children as resources to ensure that children
sources, promote greener trans- mote city-level climate governance get attention in plans, budgets key co-decision makers in climate have access to updated climate
port, and get industries to cut and to take robust climate action. and interventions at the city level. governance is evident in their par- change educational material in
pollution and adopt cleaner pro- Also, it obligates cities to make cli- This is a reality in many other cit- ticipation in global forums such child-friendly versions, and in lan-
duction techniques. Also, they can mate change responses an import- ies in Africa, apart from the cities as the 2021 climate conference guages that they understand.
form or use existing networks and ant part of their plans. in Kenya and South Africa. –  COP26. This is commend-
partnerships to strengthen these The gains of child-led climate able. But, without robust action • Support child-led initiatives
efforts. The South African Climate action and engagement of children at and campaigns. This could include
Change  Bill  empowers munici- In 2019, for the first time, chil- the local sphere of government, capacity building, resource mobil-
Almost  1 billion children  — palities to adopt climate change dren filed a  legal complaint  to a the commitments become empty isation, and guidance for children
nearly half of the world’s chil- response plans at the local level. UN human rights treaty body – noise. Considering the trends in to contribute to climate action.
dren — live in countries that are In particular, municipalities must the  Committee  on the Rights of urbanisation, child urban pop-
at extremely high risk of climate coordinate climate action within the Child – about the failure of ulation, and the climate crisis, I • Up-scale leadership and coor-
change impacts. Climate change their jurisdiction, including main- their governments to take firm cli- would urge cities to: dination of action and responses in
has direct and indirect impacts on stream climate change responses mate action. The children pointed a child-responsive and child-sen-
children’s rights to health, life, dig- in their development plans. out that they lived in cities such • Expressly provide for the rights sitive approach, including in cli-
nity and education. Also, climate as Cape Town (South Africa), La- of children in climate action, par- mate-induced disasters. The best
change increases the risk of expo- The constitutions of Kenya and gos (Nigeria) and Tabarka (Tuni- ticularly in law, policy and strat- interests of children should be the
sure to violence against children. South Africa have explicit provi- sia) where the impacts of climate egies. This acts as a strong legal guiding principle.
Climate-induced disasters dis- sions dedicated to children’s rights. change are on the rise. tool to ensure the protection and
places people, and limits access to Although these constitutional participation of children in cities. — The Conversation.
schools, adequate water and nutri- children’s rights do not speak to The communication was con-
tion. Unicef has drawn attention climate change directly, the spec- sidered  inadmissible, meaning it • Open or expand institutional *About the writer: Rongedzayi
to the fact that “the climate crisis trum of rights guarantees children could not be heard on the mer- spaces for children to participate Fambasayi is a doctoral re-
is a child rights crisis”. protection from the impacts of the and contribute to climate action at searcher in the Faculty of Law at
the city level. This could include North-West University in South
Recently children have taken Africa.
the lead in global campaigns like
School Strike for Climate and Fri-
days for Future in over 7 500 cit-
ies. Children are calling on polit-
ical leaders to see the crisis from
their perspective and take action.

Central governments are of-
ten criticised as too distant and
detached from everyday realities.
Whereas, city governments are
closer to, and in a better position
to deal with local challenges, needs
and priorities.  Cities are empow-
ered by national and local laws to
govern on issues concerning chil-
dren and in climate-related areas.
Thus, they can plan and deliver
what is needed to address local cli-
mate challenges.

In a recent study, I explored how
city-level climate law and policy
protects children in the context
of climate change. The study used
Kenya and South Africa as key ex-
amples. In many countries, and
in these two countries specifically,
I observed that city governments
have the constitutional and legis-
lative autonomy and obligations
in climate-related functional ar-
eas such as water and sanitation.
These laws and policies do not
always specifically mention chil-
dren, which means the concerns
of children could escape attention.
I argue that cities can do more to
protect children from the impacts
of climate change.
Are children at the centre of cli-

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 37

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

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Page 38 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

Countries are cutting Austerity is not the answer to
billions in spending Africa’s colliding challenges
at a time when they
should be investing
massively in public
services and decent
jobs.

ANTHONY KAMANDE

IN a continent where 1.1 billion A farmer in Harare about to start tilling his land in preparation for the rainy season. Columbus Mavhunga / VOA
people live under US$5.50 a day, a
slew of connected, damaging events stepped up financial support to the public services has been hit as gov- In East and West Africa, 48 million tinental effort to fight inequality,
– climate change, ballooning exter- continent, this has been inadequate ernments prioritise debt repayment. people are experiencing a severe the African Union should develop a
nal debt, a sharp spike in food and compared with the magnitude of the Debt servicing for African nations hunger crisis, with 18 million more joint continental action plan to set
commodity prices – are making pandemic. (The World Bank  com- is now an extraordinary six times on the verge of extreme hunger in clear targets and accelerate measures
things worse, accelerating inequali- mitted US$39 billion  while the spending in healthcare, and accounts the next few months. In Kenya, 2.8 to reduce inequality and poverty.
ty and vulnerability. At a time when IMF has provided close to US$38 for 51% of all tax revenue. And as million people are facing starvation. The recent AU protocol to the Afri-
governments should be tackling this billion through loans, US$710 mil- local currencies depreciate against Across the world, food prices could can Charter on Human and People’s
extraordinary combination of cri- lion through debt cancellation and major currencies because of higher also  push about 40 million  more Rights on the Rights of Citizens to
ses, a  new report  launched on 19 US$33 billion worth of Special inflation rates and hiking of interest people into extreme poverty. Most of Social Protection and Social Security
April  by Oxfam and Development Drawing Rights.) rates by central banks in wealthier them can be expected to come from agreed to at the last AU summit is a
Finance International (DFI) tells a Covid versus low healthcare in- countries, debt servicing is becom- Africa, especially in Sub-Saharan Af- good starting point and will require
story of inaction. The few govern- vestment ing even costlier.  rica where 40% of income is spent member states ratifying and imple-
ments who are doing a little better The impact of the pandemic and on food.  menting it at national level. 
at  fighting poverty and inequality multiple crises has been made much To reduce the fiscal deficit and So what can be done? Start by build-
are still grossly under-performing in worse by the fact that most health address the debt burden, African ing resilience and vaccinations The international community also
comparison with the global top per- care systems across the continent governments are introducing auster- So what can governments and the in- has a crucial role. First, they should
formers.   are poorly funded. Spending on es- ity measures, some with the encour- ternational community do? Well, an help address the debt crisis in the
sential services like health and so- agement of the IMF. Our estimate urgent priority must be to build re- region, including through debt can-
The new report,  Africa’s extreme cial protection has historically been shows that 43 Africa countries will silience and strong societies that can cellation and restructuring and in-
inequality crisis: building back fair- dismal, with less than a half of the cut expenditure by US$183 billion withstand future shocks. That means creased aid to the continent to build
er after Covid-19,  is a continental population having primary health- cumulatively for the next five years overturning the planned austerity in- back better. Second, they should
briefing that draws on insights from care coverage. Only a third of the to 2026. During the first year of the vesting in quality, affordable and ac- mandate the IMF and World Bank
the  Commitment to Reducing In- elderly people have access to old age pandemic, the Fund encouraged 33 cessible universal health, education, to ensure that all AU country strat-
equality (CRI) Index  developed by pension. Tax collection is wanting, African countries to pursue austerity and social protection, and scaling egies, programmes and policy advice
Oxfam and Development Finance averaging 29% of what could be col- policies. We see the impact of aus- up investment in small-scale agricul- focus on reducing inequality, and
International (DFI). The index lected in each country. terity in our everyday lives across ture, while raising domestic revenue contain specific measures to achieve
scores and ranks 158 global govern- the continent, for example in Ken- through progressive taxation. this. Such debt cancellation can help
ments on three areas – public ser- Before the pandemic, about 67% ya: cooking gas prices have doubled African nations reject the policies of
vices, tax and labour rights – that are of workers were in precarious em- after the IMF agreed on US$2.3 bil- Another top priority is vaccine austerity that can only increase the
pivotal to reducing inequality. It sets ployment, meaning that they were lion loan in 2021, which has led to inequality. There is an urgent need misery, poverty and hunger of mil-
out a comprehensive plan for Afri- not enjoying the existing labour taxes on cooking gas.  to fight the pandemic by vaccinat- lions. It’s time to reverse course and
can governments, the African Union rights. Food insecurity  ing 70% of the region’s population instead invest massively for an inclu-
and the international community, The burden of debt and looming Food insecurity is on the rise due to by June 2022. This would prevent sive recovery and a fairer future for
including the EU, to significantly austerity the worst droughts in 40 years trig- another collapse of the economies people across the continent.
reduce inequality, eradicate poverty, Such inadequate support amid a fis- gered by climate change. On top of as a result of lockdowns and reduced
accelerate growth, and reduce inse- cal squeeze from the pandemic has this, the war inUkraine  has disrupt- mobility and crumbling of the — African Arguments.
curity throughout Africa. exacerbated the debt situation in ed food supply chains and led to a healthcare system if a more virulent
The economic impact of the pan- the continent. Spending on essential spike in commodity and food prices, virus like omicron were to emerge.  *About the writer: Anthony Ka-
demic worsening the situation. mande is the inequality research
While Africa has largely avoided se- To enhance comprehensive con- coordinator at Oxfam Internation-
vere Covid-19 deaths and infections al.
recorded in other parts of the world,
it has not avoided economic costs.
African governments – like others
around the world – found themselves
in a tight fiscal spot in responding to
the pandemic as revenue dwindled
while pandemic related expenditure
ballooned.

The pandemic pushed close to
40 million people in Africa into ex-
treme poverty  as millions lost jobs
and income reduced. Weak social
safety nets in most countries wors-
ened the situation. Inequality, which
was already at an extreme level
pre-pandemic, has increased, too.
The richest 1% of the African popu-
lation now owns 33% of the African
wealth, while just six richest African
billionaires own more wealth than
the bottom 50%, some 650 million
people. Gender, racial and spatial in-
equality persist. 

Overall, low-income countries in
the continent spent 3.1% of gross
domestic product on Covid-19 re-
lated fiscal measures while develop-
ing countries spent 5.3%, largely on
increased health spending and social
safety nets. Most of this spending
has been clawed back by African
countries. 

Although the International Mon-
etary Fund and the World Bank

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 39

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

Deal to send asylum-seekers in the UK
to Rwanda sets a concerning precedent

AIMÉE-NOËL MBIYOZO

ON 14 April, United Kingdom A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, by the RNLI, following a small boat incident in the Channel.
(UK) Home secretary Priti Patel
and Rwanda Foreign Affairs minis- It has received 900 people since rope.  mal" deals shrouded in secrecy, but Their rights to enter a country are
ter Vincent Biruta signed a  Rwan- it was established in 2019. Two- A minority of migrant arrivals to Australia is the only signatory to the protected by international law, re-
da-UK deal to send asylum seek- thirds of them have been resettled 1951 Refugee Convention known to gardless of how they arrive or what
ers from the UK to Rwanda for case to third countries. This arrangement the UK are African. The most sig- forcefully send asylum seekers off- documents they hold.
processing.  is fundamentally different and re- nificant proportion is Iranian. It shore as official policy. The country
lies on cooperation and funding is unclear if the UK plans to send has transferred 4,000 asylum seek- For the UK, the goal of the
Details of the agreement have yet from UNHCR and third countries all nationalities to Rwanda, and if ers deemed “illegal maritime arriv- Rwanda deal is to deter future arriv-
to be revealed, but UK Prime Min- — elements not included in the it transfers Africans only, that will als” to centres in Nauru and Papua als. This sets a concerning precedent
ister Boris Johnson says up to “tens UK-Rwanda deal.  raise a new set of ethical questions. New Guinea since 2012. Over 200 and degrades an already beleaguered
of thousands” of asylum seekers will A debate has already been ignit- remain in offshore detention.  refugee system. Denmark is moving
be escorted to Rwanda. Successful Rwanda previously partnered on ed regarding how some countries forward with a similar agreement. 
applicants will receive protection vi- a secretive deal with Israel to accept have disproportionately welcomed The system has cost at least A$1
sas to spend at least five years in the African asylum seekers who agreed Ukrainian refugees compared to billion (US$721m) annually since Denmark and the UK were
east-central African country.  to ‘voluntary’ transfer. Details of the other nationalities. 2012 and has failed to achieve all its among the first 11 countries to
arrangement are scarce, and Rwan- objectives, including stopping peo- sign the 1951 Refugee Convention,
The five-year trial will include da has obfuscated and  denied  its Another question is whether ple smuggling. Restrictions do not but both countries are now chang-
a £120 million (US$152m) in- existence. Between 2014 and 2017, Rwanda can manage more refugees. stop people from fleeing war or per- ing domestic laws to make sending
vestment in Rwanda’s economic thousands of African asylum seekers It is the most densely populated secution in search of a better future. asylum seekers offshore legal. If
development. The deal has been were promised travel documents, country on the continent and al- Instead, they drive people towards deemed legal, it opens the door for
widely criticised as inhumane,  ex- cash, and visas if they agreed to leave ready  hosts  almost 130,000 refu- irregular means. other states to do the same. Nothing
pensive for the UK, unworkable and Israel for Rwanda. Israel eventually gees. This intervention is chronical- stops Rwanda, for example, from
contrary to international law. John- scrapped the deal. ly underfunded, and refugees have The UK and Rwanda have wil- outsourcing asylum seekers to other
son’s claim that Rwanda is “one of staged protests against food ration fully blurred distinctions between countries.
the safest countries in the world” has Reports  show  that people were cuts that resulted in police violence. migrants, asylum seekers and refu-
also been challenged. As recently as denied documentation, blocked Transferring thousands of asylum gees. They have used language such — Daily Maverick.
2021, the UK raised concerns about from claiming asylum and coerced seekers from the UK in this context as "illegal" and "unauthorised" to
Rwanda’s failure to investigate hu- into leaving the country. Most are is highly questionable. criminalise movement and make re- *About the writer: Aimée-Noël
man rights abuses. believed to be living irregularly strictions more palatable to the pub- Mbiyozo is a senior research con-
throughout East Africa. Many have There are no good precedents for lic. Seeking asylum is legal, whether sultant on migration at the Insti-
European countries have been moved onward via Libya into Eu- outsourcing asylum processes. Ru- people travel by boat or by foot. tute for Security Studies in Preto-
targeting Africa for border exter- mours have circulated about "infor- ria, South Africa.
nalisation measures since migration
pressures increased in 2015. These
have included ‘hotspot’ camps, ‘dis-
embarkation  centres’ and returns
and readmissions  agreements. Afri-
can countries and the African Union
(AU) have been relatively unified
in rejecting them. In 2021, the
AU blasted reports of a similar deal
with Denmark as “xenophobic and
completely unacceptable.” Ghana
has repeatedly countered rumours
that it considered its own UK agree-
ment.

Restrictive measures that hinder
free movement are against Africa’s
priorities and have negatively im-
pacted countries on the continent.
African leaders who cooperate with
Europe to block migrants and asy-
lum seekers could pay for doing so
at the polls. But Rwanda president
Paul Kagame is in his 22nd  year
at the helm and is unlikely to be
concerned about election pressure.
However, he must still consider dip-
lomatic relations and the long-term
impacts of this deal. 

Rwanda’s acquiescence to the
UK’s request is part of the African
country’s decades-long campaign to
be viewed as forward-thinking with
sophisticated solutions to complex
issues. Kagame  claims  that the UK
approached Rwanda because of its
strong refugee record and historical
willingness to help. “We are not a
rich country, we’re not a big coun-
try, but there are solutions. We can
always help,” Kagame says.

He refers to the Emergency Tran-
sit Mechanism centre that Rwanda
hosts in partnership with the UN
Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the
AU, with funding from the Euro-
pean Union and member countries.
The centre evacuates vulnerable
would-be asylum seekers from dan-
gerous situations in Libya.

Page 40 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

The new left economics: How a network
of thinkers is transforming capitalism

After decades of right- of populism and the impending not fail, and that governments cal power is held by everyone in somehow do not apply.” 
wing dominance, a climate catastrophe. Even senior cannot step in to change how the a healthy democracy. This redis- Moreover, Guinan and O’Neill
transatlantic movement rightwing politicians sometimes economy works. tribution of power could involve
of leftwing economists concede the seriousness of the employees taking ownership of argue, making the economy more
is building a practical crisis. At last year’s Conservative A huge political space has part of every company; or local democratic will actually help to
alternative to neoliberal- conference, the chancellor, Philip opened up. In Britain and the politicians reshaping their city’s revitalise democracy: voters are
ism. Hammond, admitted that “a gap US, in many ways the most cap- economy to favour local, ethi- less likely to feel angry, or ap-
has opened up” in the west “be- italist western countries, and cal businesses over large corpo- athetic, if they are included in
ANDY BECKETT tween the theory of how a mar- the ones where its problems are rations; or national politicians economic decisions that funda-
ket economy delivers … and the starkest, an emerging network of making co-operatives a capitalist mentally affect their lives.
FOR almost half a century, reality”. He went on: “Too many thinkers, activists and politicians norm.
something vital has been missing people feel that … the system is has begun to seize this opportu- The new economists’ enor-
from leftwing politics in west- not working for them.” nity. They are trying to construct This “democratic economy” is mously ambitious project means
ern countries. Since the 1970s, a new kind of leftwing econom- not some idealistic fantasy: bits transforming the relationship
the left has changed how many There is a dawning recognition ics: one that addresses the flaws of it are already being construct- between capitalism and the state;
people think about prejudice, that a new kind of economy is of the 21st-century economy, but ed in Britain and the US. And between workers and employ-
personal identity and freedom. It needed: fairer, more inclusive, which also explains, in practical without this transformation, the ers; between the local and glob-
has exposed capitalism’s cruelties. less exploitative, less destructive ways, how future leftwing gov- new economists argue, the in- al economy; and between those
It has sometimes won elections, of society and the planet. ernments could create a better creasing inequality of economic with economic assets and those
and sometimes governed effec- one. power will soon make democracy without. “Economic power and
tively afterwards. But it has not “We’re in a time when people itself unworkable. “If we want to control must rest more equal-
been able to change fundamen- are much more open to radical Christine Berry, a young Brit- live in democratic societies, then ly,” declared a report last year by
tally how wealth and work func- economic ideas,” says Michael ish freelance academic, is one we need to … allow communities the New Economics Foundation
tion in society – or even provide Jacobs, a former prime ministe- of the network’s central figures. to shape their local economies,” (NEF), a radical London think-
a compelling vision of how that rial adviser to Gordon Brown. “We’re stripping economics back write Joe Guinan and Martin tank that has acted as an incuba-
might be done. The left, in short, “The voters have revolted against to basics,” she says. “We want O’Neill, both prolific advocates tor for many of the new move-
has not had an economic policy. neoliberalism. The internation- economics to ask: ‘Who owns of the new economics, in a recent ment’s members and ideas.
al economic institutions – the these resources? Who has power article for the Institute for Public
Instead, the right has had World Bank, the International in this company?’ Conventional Policy Research (IPPR) – a think- In the past, left-of-centre Brit-
one. Privatisation, deregulation, Monetary Fund – are recognising economic discourse obfuscates tank previously associated with ish governments have attempted
lower taxes for business and the its downsides.” Meanwhile, the these questions, to the benefit of New Labour. “It is no longer to reshape the economy by taxa-
rich, more power for employers 2008 financial crisis and the pre- those with power.” good enough to see the economy tion – usually focused on income
and shareholders, less power for viously unthinkable government as some kind of separate techno- rather than other forms of eco-
workers – these interlocking pol- interventions that halted it have The new leftwing economics cratic domain in which the cen- nomic power – and by nation-
icies have intensified capitalism, discredited two central neoliberal wants to see the redistribution tral values of a democratic society alisation, which usually meant
and made it ever more ubiqui- orthodoxies: that capitalism can- of economic power, so that it is replacing a private-sector man-
tous. There have been immense held by everyone – just as politi- agement elite with a state-ap-
efforts to make capitalism appear pointed one. Instead of such
inevitable; to depict any alterna- limited, patchily successful in-
tive as impossible. terventions, the new economists
want to see much more system-
In this increasingly hostile envi- ic and permanent change. They
ronment, the left’s economic ap- want – at the least – to change
proach has been reactive – resist- how capitalism works. But, cru-
ing these huge changes, often in cially, they want this change to be
vain – and often backward-look- only partially initiated and over-
ing, even nostalgic. For many de- seen by the state, not controlled
cades, the same two critical ana- by it.
lysts of capitalism, Karl Marx and
John Maynard Keynes, have con- They envisage a transformation
tinued to dominate the left’s eco- that happens almost organically,
nomic imagination. Marx died driven by employees and con-
in 1883, Keynes in 1946. The sumers – a sort of non-violent
last time their ideas had a signif- revolution in slow motion.
icant influence on Western gov-
ernments or voters was 40 years The result, the new economists
ago, during the turbulent final claim, will be an economy that
days of postwar social democra- suits society, rather than – as we
cy. Ever since, rightwingers and have at present – a society subor-
centrists have caricatured anyone dinated to the economy. The new
arguing that capitalism should be economics, suggests Berry, isn’t
reined in – let alone reshaped or really economics at all. It’s “a new
replaced – as wanting to take the view of the world”.
world “back to the '70s”. Altering
our economic system has been In the excitable but often in-
presented as a fantasy – no more tellectually becalmed world of
practical than time travel. British politics, the arrival of a
significant new set of ideas tends
And yet, in recent years, that to generate certain responses.
system has started to fail. Rath- Events about it are packed out.
er than sustainable and widely Ambitious young researchers
shared prosperity, it has produced gravitate towards it. Adventurous
wage stagnation, ever more work- older thinkers are intrigued by it.
ers in poverty, ever more inequali- New intellectual institutions are
ty, banking crises, the convulsions created around it. Mainstream
journalists initially dismiss it.

Over the past year, the left’s
new economics has acquired this
status. Jacobs, who is nearing 60,

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 41

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

spent the New Labour era trying, nan and O’Neill in the leftwing scrabble around, and give them the goal – is a difficult idea for tive books arguing that workers
and largely failing, to persuade journal Renewal claimed that anything we can come up with, most British politicians and jour- should manage themselves, rath-
centrist politicians that the econ- McDonnell could be planning as quickly as we can.” nalists to take on board. After er than submit to employers or
omy needed drastically reshap- nothing less than a “transforma- half a century accepting the eco- shareholders – or to the state, as
ing. “But nowadays,” he told me, tion of the British economy … a Last July, NEF published a re- nomic status quo, they associate more orthodox Labour thinkers
“I’m thinking: ‘Oh God, we fi- radical programme for disman- port advocating a sharp increase any leftwing alternatives to it envisaged. In economic life, as in
nally might be able to do it.’” tling and displacing corporate in the number of British co-oper- either with out-of-date postwar politics, Tawney argued in 1921,
and financial power in Britain”, atives. On one of its later pages, social democracy – aka “the 70s” “men should not be ruled by an
Like all the new economists I in favour of the less privileged. with almost no fanfare, the report – or with leftwing authoritarian- authority which they cannot con-
met, he talks very fast, cutting Guinan told me: “John McDon- also proposed that conventional ism, with present-day Venezuela trol”.
short sentences as if there is too nell is extremely intellectually companies be required to give or the Soviet Union.
much to explain in the time curious. I haven’t seen another their employees shares, to create This empowerment of the
available. A longstanding envi- political figure at that level of se- what NEF called an “inclusive However often McDonnell workers was intended to be the
ronmentalist, he describes the niority whose doors are so open ownership fund”. In September, says in interviews that he wants first step in a larger transforma-
emerging network of new econo- to new thinking.” with a few modifications, the to see a democratic economy, the tion. “The real aim,” wrote Cole
mists as “an ecosystem”. Like the proposal became Labour party adjective most frequently applied in 1920, should be “wresting
one that produced Thatcherism James Meadway, until recently policy. “I’ve never seen anything to him is still “Marxist”. “The bit by bit from the hands of the
in the '70s, this network may one of McDonnell’s key advis- like it, from thinktank idea to new economic thinking is almost possessing classes the economic
involve only a few dozen people, ers, is now writing a book about adoption as policy!” says Mathew like a frequency that can’t be power which they now exercise”,
whose polemics and talks and “an economy for the many”. Be- Lawrence, one of the report’s au- heard,” says Guinan. in order to ultimately “make pos-
policy papers are being followed tween 2010 and 2015, Meadway thors. This month, a version of sible an equitable distribution of
by an audience in the hundreds, worked at NEF, where his reports the policy was also adopted by But with neoliberalism ailing, the national income and a rea-
but there is an intoxicating sense and articles sketched out many of the US presidential candidate and the right bereft of other eco- sonable reorganisation of Society
of political and economic taboos the new economists’ arguments. Bernie Sanders. nomic ideas, as the Conservative as a whole”.
being broken, and of a potential Several NEF staffers told me that leadership contest is currently
new consensus being born. since McDonnell became shad- And yet, outside McDonnell’s demonstrating, the left’s new Yet Cole was vague about how
ow chancellor, the usual relation- circle and the transatlantic rad- economics may have a long fu- this overturning of the tradition-
“There are British and Amer- ship between leftwing thinktanks ical left, the new economics has ture – whether or not McDon- al order would happen. He ruled
ican websites that publish a lot and Labour had been reversed: gone largely unnoticed – or been nell and Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour out a revolution, and a general
of our stuff, like openDemoc- instead of desperately trying to casually derided. The black holes party wins power. To borrow a strike, on the grounds that work-
racy, Jacobin and Novara. There draw the party’s attention to their of Brexit and the Tory leadership line from Thatcher, there is now ers did not have the necessary ac-
are people producing stuff while proposals, they were struggling to contest are partly responsible, an alternative. cess to weapons, or the economic
freelancing for thinktanks – or keep up with Labour’s appetite sucking attention away from ev- resources to beat their employers
setting up new thinktanks. And for them. “They’re virtually ask- erything else. But so is the radi- The dream of a democratic in a protracted industrial strug-
social media means the ideas ing, ‘Have you got anything else cal nature of the new economics economy has flickered on the gle. A bold Labour government
spread, and collaborations hap- at the back of your cupboard?’” itself. margins of leftwing politics for at could, in theory, pass the neces-
pen, much faster than when left- says one delighted but slight- least a century. During the early sary legislation; but the Labour
wing economics was just about ly perplexed NEF veteran. “We Transforming or ending capi- 1920s, the British socialist the- administrations of the 1920s and
meetings and pamphlets,” Jacobs talism as we know it – the new orists GDH Cole and RH Taw- 30s were cautious, and did not
says. “It’s slightly incestuous, but economists differ as to which is ney both wrote fresh, provoca-
it’s rather thrilling.”

This ferment is beginning to
solidify into a movement. The
New Economy Organisers Net-
work (Neon), a NEF spin-off
based in London, runs work-
shops for leftwing activists, to
learn how “to build support for a
new economy” – for example, by
telling effective “stories” about it
in the mainstream media. Stir to
Action, an activist organisation
based in Bridport in Dorset, pub-
lishes a quarterly “magazine for
the new economy”, and organis-
es advice sessions in left-leaning
cities such as Bristol and Oxford:
Worker Co-ops: How to Get
Started, Community Ownership:
What If We Ran It Ourselves?

“There’s a totally new impulse
to activism about the economy
now,” says the magazine’s editor,
Jonny Gordon-Farleigh, who was
previously involved in anticapi-
talist and environmental protests.
“The movement has gone from
oppose to propose.”

Looming over this activity is
the possibility, for the first time in
decades, of a Labour government
receptive to new leftwing eco-
nomic ideas. “[The shadow chan-
cellor]  John McDonnell  seems
to get it,” says Gordon-Farleigh,
guardedly. “He has some shared
history with some of our move-
ments. He has made interesting
comments … about introducing
co-operative ownership of the
railways, for example.”

Others in the movement are
more bullish. Last autumn,
a widely circulated article by Gui-

Page 42 Reframing Issues NewsHawks

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

last long. policymaking circles for decades holding company tasked with and coffee and craft beer being let alone any kind of socialist rev-
When Labour did acquire the to come,” says Gordon-Farleigh. establishing more cooperatives in sold from converted shipping olution, the British economy will
the city. All three enterprises have containers right behind the town have moved leftwards, both in
confidence and time to recon- From Benn’s demotion in 1975 succeeded, so far. The goal of the hall. All these enterprises have the priorities it chooses and the
figure the economy, during the until Jeremy Corbyn’s election project was summed up in blunt, been facilitated by the council. interests it favours.
premierships of Clement Attlee as leader 40 years later, the La- almost populist terms by one of Less visibly, but probably more
in the 40s and Harold Wilson bour hierarchy broadly accept- the Democracy Collaborative’s importantly, the city’s large con- A few hours after meeting
in the 60s, the party chose to do ed that the economy should be co-founders, Ted Howard, in centration of other public sector Brown in Preston, I spoke to
so through Whitehall plans and based on profit, competition, 2017: “Stop the leakage of mon- bodies – a hospital, a universi- McDonnell again about the left’s
bureaucracies, such as Wilson’s and top-down management. The ey out of our community.” Yet ty, a police headquarters – have new intellectual vibrancy. “We’re
Department of Economic Affairs attempts by Benn and others on “community wealth building” been persuaded by the council to beginning to reconstruct what we
(DEA), rather than by democra- the British left during the 70s to also has a more subtle purpose: it procure goods and services local- had with Tony Benn in the 70s,”
tising the economy. The results establish what they sometimes is a concrete demonstration that ly whenever possible, becoming he said. “A range of thinking
were mixed: the DEA lasted only provocatively called “workers’ economic decisions can be based what the Democracy Collabora- groups – NEF and Class [anoth-
five years. control” were largely forgotten, on more than neoliberalism’s nar- tive calls “anchor institutions”. er leftwing economic thinktank]
or remembered as just another row criteria. They now spend almost four have been revitalised. Michael Ja-
It was not until the '70s that of a derided decade’s failed uto- times as much of their budgets in cobs is buzzing with ideas. We’re
a powerful Labour politician pias. The chance for a democratic Howard was speaking at a new Preston as they did in 2013. arguing effectively for a more
became interested in democra- economy seemed to have gone. economics conference in En- democratic economy. Doubling
tising the economy. Unusually gland, which had been organised The council leader is Mat- the number of cooperatives in
for a Westminster grandee, Tony Yet during the lean years that by McDonnell. The two men are thew Brown, an intense, angular the UK” – as NEF advocated last
Benn paid close attention to the followed for the British left, an- on first-name terms. Last year, 46-year-old who was partly in- year – “that’s relatively timid. We
decline of deference and growth other experiment in democratis- McDonnell introduced Howard spired to enter politics by seeing want to go further.”
of individualism during the de- ing the economy began – across at another Labour event, in Pres- Benn on television as a teenager.
cade. “More people want to do the Atlantic, in a country less ton: “We bring him across on a “What we’re doing in Preston He offered no more details.
more for themselves,” he wrote associated with revolts against regular basis now, to explain the is common sense, but it’s also But the “inclusive ownership
in 1970. “Technology releases capitalism. It was more local, but work that he’s done.” ideological,” Brown told me, fund” policy adopted by Labour
forces that permit and encour- also more thorough than Benn’s when we met in his sparse office. shows the potential of the new
age decentralisation … It must backing of a scattering of vulner- McDonnell has long been in- “We’re living through a systemic economic ideas. The funds are
be a prime objective of socialists able co-operatives, and it sought terested in decentralising and crisis of capitalism, and we’ve got intended to be Trojan horses:
to work for the redistribution of to mobilise the power of consum- democratising the economy. He to create alternatives.” By doing inserting into a company’s own-
power.” ers rather than producers. frequently cites Tawney, Cole so – especially at a time when lo- ership structure a group of share-
and Benn in speeches. During cal councils are supposed to have holders – its employees – who
In 1974, Wilson made Benn Gar Alperovitz is an 83-year- the 80s, McDonnell was deputy been hugely weakened by govern- are more likely to favour higher
secretary of state for industry. The old American economist and leader and effectively the chan- ment cuts – Preston is in small wages and long-term invest-
economy was struggling. Benn activist. Since the 60s, he has cellor of the Greater London but visible ways undermining the ment. “The funds are meant to
oversaw and subsidised work- doggedly promoted economic Council (GLC), which pursued authority of neoliberalism, de- tip the balance,” says Lawrence,
er-run cooperatives at three ail- innovations that put social before Benn-style experiments with pendent as it is on the insistence “towards a different kind of cor-
ing large businesses: the Scottish commercial goals. Often, he has state-backed co-operatives, with that no other economic options porate culture.” Or as the writer
Daily News, a Glasgow newspa- been a fringe figure, but inter- similarly mixed results, until it are possible. and activist Hilary Wainwright,
per; Kirkby Manufacturing and mittently he has attracted wide was abolished by Thatcher in one of the Labour left’s shrewd-
Engineering, a Liverpool maker attention. In 1983, he featured 1986. The council, Brown contin- est thinkers since the 70s, puts it:
of radiators; and Meriden, a pro- heavily in a Time magazine cov- ued proudly, was “supporting “Radical change, when it desta-
ducer of motorcycles in the West er story about the future of the Contrary to his usual portray- local small businesses rather than bilises the status quo in the right
Midlands. The challenges these economy. In 2000, at the Univer- al as a statist ogre, McDonnell big capitalists”. It was using its way, creates further opportunities
co-operatives faced – a lack of sity of Maryland, he co-founded believes there are limits to how “leverage” as a procurer to make for change.”
previous investment, and strong the Democracy Collaborative, a far the left can increase taxes and businesses behave more ethically:
foreign or domestic competitors centre for research about how to government spending. In his pay the living wage, recruit more But turning the new econom-
– were made worse by unsym- revive the political and economic view, many voters are unwilling, diverse staff. And it was aiming ics into national policies will be
pathetic, economically conser- life of declining parts of the US, or simply unable, to pay much to make the city a place where hard, even if Labour wins power.
vative civil servants in Benn’s which gradually expanded into more tax – especially when living cooperatives were mainstream Last summer, the head of NEF,
department. An  even-handed an activist body as well. standards are squeezed, as now. rather than niche: “My intention Miatta Fahnbulleh, was invited
1981 report  on the cooperatives He also believes that central gov- is to get them to 30%, 40% of to an awayday for Treasury civil
by the leftwing magazine New “Troubled American cities are ernment has lost authority: it is our economy.” servants to talk about the new
Internationalist described them in a more advanced state of decay seen as simultaneously too weak, economy. “When I got there,” she
as doomed from the start – they than their British equivalents,” short of money thanks to auster- I asked whether he had any told me, “I quickly realised that
were “crippled giants”. says Guinan, who has worked for ity; and too strong – too intru- doubts about a city with a pop- to the Treasury the new econo-
the Democracy Collaborative for sive and domineering towards ulation of less than 150,000 act- my just means tech [companies].
The Scottish Daily News co- a decade. “But American local citizens. Instead of relying on the ing as a model for reshaping the When I started talking instead
operative lasted five months. The government also has greater pow- state to create a better society, whole British economy – and about how the economy could
Kirkby cooperative did better. ers. So you have the ability to cre- one of McDonnell’s close allies by implication, economies be- operate differently, they bought
Eric Heffer, a minister working ate radical new models from the argues, leftwing governments, at yond. “No,” he said. “I’m quite my premise that the status quo
for Benn, found trade union ground up.” both the municipal and national strong-minded.” has problems – they’re the Trea-
shop stewards there “transformed level, “have to get into changing sury, they’ve got the data. They
by their experiences” of helping In 2008, the Democracy how capitalism works”. There is a confidence about the thought that the new economics
run the business. They became Collaborative began working new economists, which comes as was interesting … But only in a
“real worker-managers”. The co- in Cleveland, one of America’s In recent years, with McDon- a surprise after all the left’s de- debating society sort of way.”
operative made it through the poorest big cities, which had nell and Corbyn’s encourage- feats during the 80s and 90s. But
mid-70s recession. But soon af- been losing jobs and residents for ment, and guidance from the with capitalism less effective and Before NEF, Fahnbulleh
ter the 1979 election, Margaret decades. The activists followed an Democracy popular than it was then, the new worked for the cabinet office and
Thatcher’s incoming government Alperovitz strategy called “com- economists believe they are now the 10 Downing Street strategy
terminated the experiment by munity wealth-building”. It aims Collaborative, many of the engaged in what the political the- unit. She predicts there will be
cancelling Kirkby’s subsidies. to end struggling local economies’ principles of “the Cleveland orist Antonio Gramsci – a big Whitehall resistance to the new
Meriden survived the change of reliance on unequal relationships model”, as it is reverently known influence on them and McDon- economics: “Whitehall hates big
government, and another reces- with distant, wealth-extracting in transatlantic leftwing circles, nell – called a “war of position”: a change – every time.” Jacobs,
sion in the early 80s. But it went corporations – such as chain re- have been adopted by the La- steady accumulation of alliances, who has longer experience of
bankrupt in 1983. tailers – and to base these econo- bour-run council in the small, ideas and public credibility. Berry government, is slightly more op-
mies around local, more socially ex-industrial city of  Preston in describes this process as a “transi- timistic.
Benn himself lasted only a year conscious businesses instead. Lancashire. The regeneration has tion” that can lead to a different
in the industry department, be- been promoted as a foretaste of economy. McDonnell told me in “Some of the younger Treasury
fore he was removed by Wilson, In Cleveland, the Democracy Britain under a Corbyn govern- 2017 that he wanted “a staged people will probably be quite
who had never completely ac- Collaborative helped set up a so- ment. transformation of our economic excited by a new economic ap-
cepted his radicalism. Benn nev- lar power company, an industrial system”. If enough other Labour proach. Some of the older ones
er held such a pivotal economic laundry, and a city-centre hydro- Preston’s hilltop city centre, councils copy Preston – and quite will think it’s all wrong. And oth-
post again. Just as significantly, ponic farm growing lettuces and which had been fading for de- a few are interested – then even ers will just implement whatever
the saga “undermined the co-op- basil. All three enterprises were cades, now has a refurbished and without a Corbyn government, the government asks.”
erative option in Labour party owned by their employees, and busy covered market, new artists’
some of their profits went to a studios in former council offices, He has helped run seminars for

NewsHawks Reframing Issues Page 43

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

McDonnell and his team about help the economy adapt, says nomic culture if he becomes capitalism’s problems simultane- at what economic powers they
what to expect from Whitehall, Lawrence. “It will make it much chancellor. “En route to a social- ously, by a huge increase in gov- actually want.”
and how to respond. “My advice harder for a civil servant to say, ist society,” she says, “there might ernment support for green tech-
is, ‘If you want to do something ‘You simply can’t do that.’” be moments when a different nologies and the highly skilled, In April, after waiting for a
new, set up a new unit, and re- capitalism emerges” – ie, a more hopefully well-paid jobs needed pause in the seemingly end-
cruit. You’ll get people joining But what do the new econo- benign one. to create them. In a speech this less winter of Brexit arguments,
who want to do new things.” But mists want to come after neolib- week, McDonnell said that this Mathew Lawrence launched a
Benn’s experience at the depart- eral capitalism? In Preston, after Yet the problem for the left project needed to be Britain’s big- new economics thinktank, Com-
ment of industry suggest that Brown had spoken evangelically with settling for “a different cap- gest peacetime undertaking since mon Wealth, which aims to draw
outflanking Whitehall’s conser- to me about the virtues of “lo- italism”, however temporarily, is the Attlee government’s conver- all the strands of the movement
vatives may not be that simple. cal businesses” and “local jobs”, that it may simply enable capital- sion of the economy from war to together, with an evening event
I asked whether his council was ism to regroup, and then resume peace during the '40s. In April, in London. After an uplifting
And then there is the business actually saving capitalism in the its Darwinian progress. Arguably the shadow business secretary Re- but slightly too slick film about
establishment. Since Thatcher, it city – by making it more social- this is exactly what happened in becca Long-Bailey, a McDonnell Common Wealth’s mission had
has become accustomed to def- ly sensitive – rather than sup- Britain during the last century. protege, wrote a  Guardian arti- been shown on a big screen –
erential governments, to getting planting it. For once, he paused. After the politically explosive cle advocating a “green industrial which was similar in tone and
its own way over other interest “We’ve got to be pragmatic,” he economic slump of the 1930s revolution”, including “deep-wa- content to a recent Labour par-
groups, and to profits and share said. “We are still in a free-mar- – the precursor to today’s crisis ter turbines in the North Sea”, ty political broadcast called  Our
prices trumping other measures ket environment. And I don’t see of capitalism – during the post- which “could provide four times Town – Lawrence was introduced
of a company’s economic or so- local businesses as big capitalists, war years many business leaders Europe’s entire electricity de- to the audience by Guinan. In the
cial value. The intention of the anyway. The vast majority only seemed to accept the need for a mand” and “could be built and speech that followed, Lawrence
new economists to end these im- have one or two people working more egalitarian economy, and delivered from the UK”. It was covered so much ground that his
balances has not gone down well. for them. There’s almost no one developed close relationships quite a thrilling vision; but the voice became a mutter, too fast
“The Confederation of British to exploit. Shareholders are not with Labour politicians. But once turbines were the only potential for anyone unfamiliar with the
Industry (CBI) really  hates  in- involved.” Not everyone on the the economy and society had new technology the article men- new economics to follow. During
clusive ownership,” says one Mc- left would see small businesses been stabilised, and rightwingers tioned. this formal bit of the evening,
Donnell ally. “You can feel the – often keen supporters of right- such as Thatcher started making Common Wealth risked feeling
chill whenever we bring it up.” wing parties and austere social a seductive case for a return to Another enormous issue that like a project for insiders – just
and economic policies – in such raw capitalism, the businessmen the new economists often skirt another London thinktank, with
When I asked the CBI for their benign terms. But Brown went switched sides. is whether many of today’s work- the former Labour leader Ed
thoughts on the new economics, on: “The Labour party, national- ers really want more of a voice Miliband on its board.
there was a week-long silence, ly, is getting away from the old Another difficulty for the in their workplaces. When “in-
and then, after I chased them, a pro-business/anti-business ar- new economists and their polit- dustrial democracy” was last a Yet the rest of the launch felt
terse statement: “Labour seems gument. Creating social value is ical allies is to persuade voters popular idea on the left, in the different. The hired room was in
determined to impose rules that what matters.” – brought up with the idea that 70s, work was arguably more the East End, far from the usual
display a wilful misunderstand- profit and growth are the only fulfilling and central to people’s thinktank belt around Westmin-
ing of business.” Later I asked McDonnell, too, economic outcomes that mat- lives than it had ever been before. ster, and it was packed, and loud
whether his approach risked sav- ter – that other values should Office jobs were replacing facto- with earnest talk. Almost every-
The new economists say they ing rather than replacing cap- matter more from now on. Even ry jobs, work was a strong engine one was in their 20s or 30s, many
are not intimidated. “We in the italism. He smiled, and went saving the environment is still a of social mobility, and member- of them with scuffed Dr Martens
movement need to be absolutely into the gnomic mode he adopts hard sell. “The effect of econom- ship of powerful trade unions shoes and austere modern hair-
frank about this,” says Guinan. when talking about tricky issues. ic growth on the planet is not an had accustomed the majority of cuts – the now-familiar sight of
“A democratic and an exploit- “Who incorporates who ...” he issue that’s talked about near- British employees to being con- British millennials gathering to
ative economy are fundamentally said. “That’s the debate!” Then ly enough on the left,” admits sulted, of having some agency in discuss changing the world. Two
incompatible.  his smile turned more mischie- Berry. “As for de-growth” – the their working lives. But in 2019, hours after the start of the event,
vous. A Corbyn government, he current green term for dropping empowering experiences at work people were still arriving, and
We should mount a straight- said, would “welcome” business growth as an economic objective are less common. For more and hardly anyone had left.
forward, left-populist attack “into our warm embrace”. – “the Labour party won’t touch more people, however well-qual-
on these business interests. We it with a bargepole.” McDonnell’s ified, employment is short-term, When I did, just before 11, the
should say to them: ‘Off you go The McDonnell ally I spoke ally agreed. “De-growth,” he said, low-status, unrewarding – barely lights were still on in the near-
to Singapore!’ The left shouldn’t to said that whenever the ques- “is just appalling labelling.” Gui- part of their identity at all. by office towers of the City of
be afraid of a little creative de- tion of the economy’s long-term nan says the problem is not just London, which overshadows the
struction”, he says, cheekily bor- trajectory came up in Labour presentational: “a politics of de- Gordon-Farleigh has spent East End, and the economy of
rowing a phrase usually used by discussions, “We avoid that con- growth has not yet been invented years trying to interest people in the whole country beyond. But
free-marketeers. Jacobs agrees: versation. There is no consensus that will carry the public.” forming co-operatives, and not walking away from the buzzing
“Exploitative companies can go in the party.” Then he added: always succeeding. “Contempo- room, especially after a bottle of
to the wall.” “Personally, I’d be quite happy if Instead, Labour have recently rary capitalism has produced a the Common Wealth craft ale
Britain ended up as Denmark.” begun promoting a version of the pacified, passive workforce,” he that had been made for the oc-
That might sound like a reck- Green New Deal: an enticing but says. casion, it was possible to believe
less leftwing fantasy. But the new McDonnell often cites Ger- still largely theoretical scheme that the bankers’ best days might
economists argue convincingly many as another country where advocated by steadily more left- “A lot of people even like to be numbered, and that the new
that hugely disruptive change is capitalism is more benign. Wain- ists and environmentalists in feel a bit alienated by capitalism economics would tell us how.
coming to the British economy, wright, who has known McDon- Britain and the US over the past – to not really understand how it
anyway – thanks to Brexit, au- nell for decades, has a usefully decade. It aims to address the works. They need to be reskilled, *About the writer: Andy Beck-
tomation and the climate emer- flexible prediction about what climate emergency and some of politically. Then we have to look ett is a Guardian columnist.
gency. “Brexit alone will require might happen to Britain’s eco-
a very interventionist state” to

Page 44 Africa News NewsHawks

SHADRACK WANJALA NASONG'O Mwai Kibaki squandered Issue 78, 29 April 2022
opportunity to fix Kenya
EMILIO Stanley Mwai Kiba- Mafia that dominated the Kiba-
ki, who  has died  at the age of Former Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki. ki presidency.
90, was  born on 15 November
1931  in Othaya, Nyeri, in the 1963, he rose to full minister in number of noteworthy success- rate rose from 0.6% when he Second, and a corollary to the
central highlands of Kenya. He 1966, serving in various port- es. took over to  7% at the end of above, was the  dishonouring
spent a lifetime in public ser- folios between 1966 and 1991. The first major one was in- his first term. of the memorandum of under-
vice. These included commerce and frastructural development, Failures standing that had laid the basis
industry, finance and econom- especially road construction. But Kibaki’s presidency was also for the National Alliance Rain-
He served as president of Ken- ic planning, home affairs, and Emblematic of this was the con- tempered with a series of monu- bow Coalition and opposition
ya — the third after indepen- health. struction of the  Thika super- mental failures. unity.
dence — from 2002 to 2013, a highway.
critical period in Kenya’s tran- As early as 1974, Time mag- The 44.5km highway that He assumed the presiden- This included the promise
sition from a one-party state to azine ranked Kibaki among links Nairobi to Thika, an in- cy under circumstances which that Kenya would have a new
democracy. He also served as the the top 100 individuals around dustrial town in Kiambu Coun- could have dealt with the constitution within the first 100
fourth vice-president (1978 to the world likely to become head ty, central Kenya. scourge of negative ethnicity. days of the Kibaki administra-
1988) under President Daniel of state. Second was the introduction The National Rainbow Coali- tion. But the undertaking was
arap Moi. of  free primary school educa- tion that assured his electoral abandoned. Instead, three years
When Moi succeeded Jomo tion. victory was overseen by an  or- down the road, Kenyans were
To his friends and admirers, Kenyatta as Kenya’s president in An estimated 1 million chil- gan known as the Summit. presented with a draft constitu-
Kibaki was a gentleman who 1978, he  appointed Kibaki his dren enrolled in school who tion so mutilated and watered
survived the murky Kenyan pol- vice president. He was suddenly would otherwise not have been The membership of this Sum- down that they  rejected it in a
itics unscathed. The qualities dropped 10 years later. able to afford to do so. mit represented the country’s re- referendum in 2005.
he was respected for included Third was the introduction of gions and major ethnic groups.
being a consensus builder and a Kibaki quietly settled in his the  Constituency Development These included Mwai Kibaki Within two years the eupho-
man of integrity. demoted role as minister for Fund. Through this a slice of (Kikuyu), Moody Awori and ria that had accompanied Kiba-
health from 1988 to 1991. Fol- the national revenue is distrib- Wamalwa Kijana (Luhyia), Rai- ki’s ascension to the presidency
He was recognised for be- lowing the reintroduction of uted annually to parliamentary la Odinga (Luo), Kipruto Kirwa swiftly dissipated into gloom
ing  an efficient economist  who multiparty politics in 1991, he constituencies to fund develop- (Kalenjin), Charity Ngilu and and disenchantment. The criti-
helped steer Kenya’s economy quit the Kenya African National ment projects and programmes Kalonzo Musyoka (Kamba), cism that this triggered was that
to greater heights and, as presi- Union and his ministerial posi- determined at the constituency and Najib Balala (Mijikenda). the Kibaki regime was  bent on
dent of Kenya, had a moment in tion on Christmas eve in 1991 level. If managed well, the idea self-destruction.
history to positively change the to found the Democratic Party. has the potential to revolution- Soon after electoral victory,
country. He ran – unsuccessfully – for ise rural development. the Summit was shunted aside. The third failure was the lack
president in 1992 and 1997. Fourth, and perhaps most im- An assortment of the central of commitment to genuinely
To Kibaki’s detractors, how- portant, was the revival of the figures of the Jomo Kenyatta re- fight corruption  despite having
ever, he was a coward and inde- He was  finally elected pres- economy from decades of mis- gime — all of them Kikuyu — campaigned on a reform and an-
cisive politician who, in the face ident  in December 2002 on a management. During his first were reconstituted as Kibaki’s ticorruption platform. Instead,
of political storms, never saw a grand coalition ticket. term, the country’s GDP growth main advisers. Kibaki abetted and condoned
fence he did not want to sit on. Successes corruption by an inner circle of
He was derided as a conformist Kibaki’s leadership, especially This led to the reemergence his cabinet ministers.
and loyalist who never raised a as a two-term president, had a of the so-called  Mount Kenya
finger against the gross excesses In one case of questionable
of the political system, which he procurement contracts in the
served to the hilt. ministry of defence and calls
for the sacking of the minister
It was Kibaki, for instance, in charge, Kibaki simply trans-
who moved the motion that ferred the errant minister to an-
made Kenya a single-party state other portfolio.
by law in 1982. Similarly, at the
height of the clamour for polit- On another case wherein a
ical pluralism in 1991, Kibaki minister was accused of conflict
remarked that attempting to re- of interest and abuse of office
move the Kenya African Nation- for private gain and amid an up-
al Union (Kanu) from power roar against the minister, Kibaki
was tantamount to attempting is reported to have rhetorically
to cut a mugumo (fig) tree using asked, of no one in particular,
a razor blade. Yet a few weeks whose goat the minister had eat-
after this statement, he jumped en!
ship from the government to set
up an opposition party. He clearly didn’t see the mis-
demeanour in terms of resourc-
This aspect of his character es that had been stolen from the
earned him the sobriquet ‘Gen- Kenyan people.
eral Kiguoya’ (General Coward)
among his own Kikuyu contem- The final, and perhaps the
poraries. most ignominious legacy on
Early years the part of President Kibaki
Kibaki was educated at Makere- was the  blatant rigging of the
re University in Uganda, where 2007 presidential election.
he studied economics, history,
and political science, and at the The  violence that the sto-
London School of Economics, len election caused  pushed the
where he studied public finance. country to the brink. More than
1,300 people were killed and
Kibaki served a short stint as more than 500,000 displaced.
assistant lecturer in the depart-
ment of economics at Makerere Had the international com-
University before resigning in munity not swiftly intervened to
1961 to take up the position of facilitate a power sharing agree-
executive officer  of the Kenya ment, there is no saying what
African National Union (Kanu). might have become of Kenya.

In 1963, he was elected mem- Arguably, therefore, his able
ber of parliament for Donholm stewardship of the economy
constituency in Nairobi (now notwithstanding, Kibaki will
Makadara). But after stiff com- be remembered as the president
petition emerged, he  moved who squandered a historic op-
his political base to his native portunity to remake Kenya and
Othaya  constituency in Nyeri ended up plunging the country
in 1974, which he represented into unmitigated chaos, all for
until his retirement in 2013. the sake of clinging onto power
following an apparent electoral
Kibaki served in various gov- loss.
ernment capacities. From as-
sistant minister for finance in — The Conversation.
*About the writer: Shadrack
Wanjala Nasong'o is profes-
sor of international studies at
Rhodes College in the United
States.

NewsHawks World News Page 45

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

BRIAN D. TAYLOR The power struggle after Putin
Russia’s Inevitable Succession Crisis enty-eight percent of them were still in
IN a speech in late March, United States place a year after a leader’s death, but
President Joe Biden veered off script and per house of Russia’s parliament would insiders. Unlike most of Putin’s closest Russian President Vladimir Putin. that number declined to just 44% after
said out loud something about Russian have two weeks to schedule an elec- cronies, he is neither a KGB veteran nor were not decided in advance. five years. In many cases, such as Syria
President Vladimir Putin that many tion. During that time, a fierce battle a native of St. Petersburg. Members of under Hafez al-Assad and North Korea
were thinking privately: “For God’s would take place behind the scenes to both elite camps may fear that he will There is also the possibility of an ex- under Kim Il Sung, power passed di-
sake, this man cannot remain in power.” determine a consensus candidate from seek to erode their power and wealth, traconstitutional bid for the presidency. rectly to a family member, helping en-
White House aides raced to walk back among the key players that make up just as Putin did to some prominent Multiple Russian agencies theoretically sure the survival of the regime. But in
the president’s ad-libbed remark, em- Team Putin. The whole point of elector- Yeltsin associates after he took over. As have the power to stage a coup — not Russia, Putin’s daughters are not being
phasizing that the US goal in Russia is al authoritarianism, after all, is to know a result, Mishustin may struggle to con- only the military but the Federal Guard groomed for rule; the media are strong-
not regime change. Intentionally or not, the winner in advance.  solidate his authority, leaving open the Service, the National Guard, and the ly discouraged from even talking about
however, Biden’s quip reinforced the possibility of electoral or even extralegal Federal Security Service. But it is hard them.
conviction of some in Washington that The world could witness a Russian challenges down the road — neither of to imagine anyone being able to rally
the simplest way to end Putin’s war of presidential election in which the results which would bode well for Russia’s sta- all those forces under a single banner, Another source of regime longevity
aggression in Ukraine is to end his grip were not decided in advance. bility. especially during wartime. Historically, is the tendency of the regime loyalists
on power. As Senator Lindsey Graham, Up to the challenge? Russian leaders have worked hard to to come together after a leader’s death
Republican of South Carolina, tweeted As the incumbent — albeit, acting Mishustin would likely have the upper avoid situations in which these forces in order to head off potential challeng-
in March, “the only way this ends is for — president, Mishustin would have a hand in any scramble to succeed Putin, might be employed to physically coun- ers and preserve their power and perks.
somebody in Russia to take this guy big advantage in this succession strug- but he is not the only candidate. Russia terbalance one another. And perhaps Members of Putin’s inner circle will be
out.”   gle. He is one of a small handful of pol- has no formalized chain of succession more important, Russian military lead- incentivised to do this after he is gone,
iticians in the second tier behind Putin beyond the prime minister — a whop- ers have long deferred to civilian elites. but without an obvious successor to
There is no reason to think Putin in terms of public trust. He has had ping legal gap. But others hoping to win It has been two centuries since the mili- unite around, they could be especially
faces an immediate risk of assassination. consistently high approval ratings, even enough allies to capture the presidency tary made a bid for power when a ruler likely to succumb to factionalism. In-
Nor does a coup or a popular revolution before the war in Ukraine caused his might try to do so from the Security died in office, and a repeat of the 1825 fighting of this sort has dominated pre-
seem to be in the offing any time soon. approval ratings to soar. In some ways, Council, a body that brings together top Decembrist Revolt — which quickly vious eras of Russian history. After Vlad-
But Putin is 69 years old and possibly he would be seeking to follow the same political and military officials. collapsed — seems highly unlikely in imir Lenin died in 1924, it took Joseph
in ill health. Russian investigative jour- path that another colorless prime min- today’s Russia. Stalin years to consolidate his position as
nalists have  alleged  that he may have ister took to the presidency. On New Although none of them is in the the undisputed leader. A similar power
had thyroid cancer. Whether he dies in Year’s Eve in 1999, Putin took over as formal line of succession, possible con- One final scenario that could reduce struggle played out after Stalin’s death in
office, is deposed, or willingly gives up acting president when Boris Yeltsin un- tenders for the top job include Ser- uncertainty is if Putin were to make a 1953, when Nikita Khrushchev had to
power, Putin’s reign over Russia will end expectedly resigned. Three months later, gei Shoigu (the minister of defense), planned departure — for health reasons, call on members of the military to arrest
one way or another. Putin was formally elected president, af- Dmitry Medvedev (a former president for example — and designate a succes- his rival, Lavrenty Beria, who controlled
ter other prominent contenders stepped and the current vice-chair of Russia’s sor. Moving a handpicked replacement the secret police and the Kremlin’s secu-
Far from a stabilising event, however, aside and most elites coalesced around Security Council), Vyacheslav Volodin into the premiership before leaving rity services.
the inevitable end of his rule will be an his candidacy. (the speaker of the Duma), and Ser- office would allow Putin to unify rival
uncertain and likely perilous moment gei Sobyanin (the mayor of Moscow). elite groups and thereby increase the Not all forms of authoritarianism are
for Russia. For the last two decades, Mishustin is a relative newcomer to Given the fractiousness of the Russian odds of an orderly succession. It would equally durable.
Putin has held on to power by weak- the heights of Russian politics. Appoint- elite and the low levels of public support also replicate his own path to the presi-
ening the country’s formal rules and ed prime minister by Putin in January most of these figures enjoy, however, it dency. Should Putin opt for this route, Succession is sometimes said to be
institutions — removing the guardrails 2020, he was previously the head of is difficult to imagine any of them out- there is little reason to think he would the Achilles’ heel of autocracies, espe-
that would ensure an orderly transfer of Russia’s Federal Tax Service. He was maneuvering Mishustin to become the anoint Mishustin, who was widely seen cially personalist ones. And indeed, a
power. As a result, the range of plausible brought in to oversee economic issues consensus candidate. More likely, all as a technocrat when he was appointed nontrivial share of them — 56%, ac-
scenarios for what would happen if he and improve government efficiency, but would conclude that a bid for power prime minister. cording to Kendall-Taylor and Frantz
dies or leaves office is much wider than he has forged ties to other key insiders was too risky and that it was better to The autocrat's Achilles heel — experience regime change within five
if a US or even a Chinese leader were and,  according to  the Russia analyst live to fight another day. Most autocracies are surprisingly dura- years of a ruler’s death. Even if Putin’s
to do the same. Although Russia’s con- Tatiana Stanovaya, “increase[d] his po- ble. Even after authoritarian leaders die regime ultimately survives intact, Russia
stitution spells out a process for electing litical weight.” His lack of political cha- Still, it is possible that one of them in office, their regimes often survive for could be in for a chaotic and even vio-
a new leader, in practice, Russia’s next risma might be seen as an asset by other might challenge Mishustin, either in years or even decades. According to the lent period of transition.
president is likely to be determined by Putin loyalists hoping to control him as the two-week period during which the political scientists Andrea Kendall-Tay-
a behind-the-scenes struggle between president, just as Putin’s relative inexpe- Kremlin’s candidate would be anointed lor and Erica Frantz, who  analyzed  all Recent Russian history provides
elites.  By building a highly personalist rience endeared him to some oligarchs or in the subsequent special election as succession events in authoritarian coun- some clues as to what it might look
autocracy, in other words, Putin has and officials who mistakenly thought an independent candidate. In this sce- tries between 1946 and 2012, 87% of like if things go off the rails. In 1993, a
made it impossible to predict what will they could control him. One thing that nario, Mishustin would have the advan- autocratic regimes were still in place one power struggle between Yeltsin and the
happen when the inevitable occurs.    might work against Mishustin, para- tage of controlling the presidential levers year after a leader’s death, and 76% were leftover Soviet parliament yielded two
By the book doxically, is his relatively youthful age of of power, including state television and still in place after five years. weeks of “dual power” in Russia that
From a legal standpoint, it is clear what 56. The old guard is in fact quite old, the Central Election Commission. But ended with tanks firing on parliament.
should happen if Putin were to leave of- and many might prefer one of their own if another Putin insider with national But not all forms of authoritarian- In 1999, the transition from Yeltsin to
fice unexpectedly: according to Russia’s to a younger and potentially ambitious standing decided to compete openly for ism are equally durable. Kendall-Taylor Putin coincided with the resumption of
constitution, if the president “is inca- president. power, the world would witness some- and Frantz found that compared with war in the breakaway region of Chechn-
pable of fulfilling his duties,” the prime thing it hasn’t since 1996: a Russian monarchies, single-party regimes, and ya and a series of mysterious bombings
minister becomes acting president for Even if Mishustin wins the post-Pu- presidential election in which the results military juntas, personalist autocracies in Moscow apartment complexes that
no longer than three months while elec- tin sweepstakes, however, there is no such as the one Putin has built are the killed hundreds. When Putin had to
tions are organized. Although Russia guarantee that he will be able to hold to- most vulnerable to regime change. Sev- temporarily step away from the presi-
is not a democracy, elections there still gether the fractious coalition of Kremlin dency in 2008 due to term limits, rival
carry formal procedural weight. The factions orchestrated the arrest of key
country has had nearly three decades figures from each other’s ranks — a
of regular elections since 1993. These form of political hostage taking aimed
votes have become progressively more at gaining leverage in the succession
bogus under Putin, but electoral rules struggle. In short, leadership transitions
still determine such questions as timing, in Russia have the potential to be very
procedures, and term lengths. They do messy.
not determine who stands for office,
however, or who gets the backing of the Someday, somehow, Putin’s rule will
Kremlin. come to an end. When that day comes,
his inner circle will be strongly incentiv-
Those things are determined behind ised to cooperate to preserve his regime.
the scenes by Putin and a small coterie As Benjamin Franklin warned in 1776,
of elites. For the last 20 years, Putin has “We must all hang together, or, most as-
kneecapped the country’s formal insti- suredly, we shall all hang separately.” But
tutions and made himself the center of sometimes, those on the losing end of
everything. He rewrote the constitution power struggles would rather fight back
twice — first to extend the length of than give in. Most often, they grasp for
presidential terms and then to “nullify” economic and political weapons, but
his previous service so that he can po- occasionally they use tanks and guns.
tentially remain in office until 2036. He And in the case of a nuclear superpow-
has also reduced the two houses of Rus- er currently waging a brutal war against
sia’s parliament and the Constitutional the second-largest country in Europe,
Court to virtual Kremlin puppets and even a modest chance of regime collapse
harassed, banned, imprisoned, or killed is cause for global concern.
any opposition candidates capable of
challenging him. — Foreign Affairs.
*About the writer: Brian D. Taylor
In the event that Putin dies or leaves is professor of political science at the
office unexpectedly, therefore, alliances Maxwell School of Citizenship and
between elites will be at least as import- Public Affairs at Syracuse University
ant as formal rules in determining who in the United States. He is the author
succeeds him. The most likely scenario of The Code of Putinism.
is that Prime Minister Mikhail Mishus-
tin would become the acting president,
as the formal rules dictate, and the up-

Porsche just got angrier Being a Fashion Model

&Life Style

STYLE TRAVEL BOOKS ARTS MOTORING

Page 46 Issue 78, 29 April 2022

JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA Little Miss Zimbabwe much
more than a pretty face
SHE has an aura about her, you can-
not miss it. I would learn Nyau dances by just bo, Edgars stores billboards and has but everyone, including her dad, is- So if Ashley goes on to become a
watching videos.” also done work for Population Ser- supportive of her passion,” she com- world-acclaimed model, people will
From the moment she took to the vices Harare. mented. know where it comes from!
stage, young Ashley Rutsvara had The Nyau costume, designed by
everyone eating out of her palms. Winnie Mashita of TinaCra Fash- With all these achievements on “She is also doing well in school. The biggest encouragement
ion, was not only colourful but her crown, Ashley wants to pursue Last term she came out with seven comes from her mother who has
She rocked the judges as well as also a gem. It resonated well with a career in runway modelling. She units. She is balancing both school had to brush off all the negativity
the audience with her well-choreo- the Nyau culture where the dancers is dreaming big and, having tasted and modelling well.” and stereotypes associated with local
graphed Nyau dances. drap themselves in ripped fabrics success so early in her career, trust modelling.
that bring out different textures and her to realise her dream. Her sisters, Alpha and Kimberly,
And the highlight of her perfor- colours. also enjoy it when Ashley brings ti- “As a family we put God first and
mance was when she removed the She is now going for the big one. tles home. also we have good support systems,”
Nyau mask, convincing everyone Obviously not new to winning, “But first, I want to win the Miss she said. “I believe the girl child
that hers was a combination of Ashley’s first attempt at modelling Zimbabwe, then Miss World and “For some reason, I am a proud needs grooming and, once that is in
beauty and talent. was when she was only four. Miss Universe because these are mother because we are now like sis- place, then it means there is noth-
some of the prestigious titles,” she ters. We have mature conversations ing wrong in supporting our chil-
The title was hers to lose, and “I remember it was in 2014 when said. with Ashely at home and the rest of dren’s dreams in modelling. We are
Ashley did not disappoint. I was at crèche and I participated in She lists the likes of Maddie the girls, especially during cooking grateful as well to the guidance of
Miss Vantal and it was mandatory to Ziegler, Gigi Hadid and Kendall time,” she said. My Image Consultants by Yuki for
The 12-year-old simply pulled the participate. I was happy to win the Jenner as her role models. identifying and nurturing the young
rug from beneath the feet of other title and in 2019 I took part in Miss Her mother Florence Karim (38), Ashley is doing Grade 7 at Pros- models. I also encourage parents to
35 contestants to land the Little Pre-Teen Zimbabwe Junior and I a nurse by profession, said Ashely’s pect Primary School where her two be supportive of their children in
Miss Zimbabwe crown held early won the crown. I also won other ti- modelling career path was taking friends, Chido Chirumunda and line with the school curriculum.”
this month at Long Cheng Mall in tles, Miss Talent and Miss Neatness, shape because of firm family support Faith Madigo, are some of her big-
Harare. in the same year,” she explained. systems. gest supporters. Asked what her motto was, Ashe-
“She’s the first child in the family ly simply said: “Believe in yourself
“I think it is just natural, although Away from the runway, Ashely of three daughters to do modelling Prospect is the former school of and don’t let anybody bring you
I know my strength is in confidence had a cameo role in Jah Prayzah’s world-famous rugby player Ten- down and education is key!”
and my smile,” she told The News- music video titled Mwana Wamam- dai “Beast” Mtawarira, the Zim-
Hawks this week. babwean-born Springbok legend.

“My aim is to purse runway mod-
elling, although I have a passion for
interior and fashion design. When
I performed as a Nyau dancer, it
made me stand out and most people
enjoyed the performance, not least
because I was confident. The ener-
gy and the costume also stood out.

NewsHawks Poetry Corner Page 47

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

Title: I have seen pain Title: Is There Something UnAfrican? Poet: Obey Chiyangwa
Poet: Mthulisi Ndlovu Poet: Ndaba Sibanda Poem: a throne gone astray.

I have seen pain It is a country on the southernmost tip in a thick forest bustling and rustling with
Scattered and sprinkled upon innocence of Africa, and it`s a proper name angry restless baboons,
I have seen blood, that has the word Africa in it. a purple sofa sits awkward and aban-
Shed and poured as whine by pain-mongering Some of that Southern African nation`s doned in the hot sun.
stooges, I have seen hurt, official languages entail: Zulu, Sotho, like a rotting throne left vacant after a long
Inflicted and enhanced for dominance Ndebele, Xhosa, Venda, Tswana and English. fought war.
I have seen power, This African nation is separated by the Limpo- the care-worn arm-rests look worse for
Turning men into mere war mongers, po River from a landlocked country in South- wear and all askew.
I have seen riches, ern Africa whose political, the awkward sofa has a backrest that
Turning hearts into rough stones with no re- historical, cultural factors influence its linguistic leans too far backward for comfort.
morse, I have seen nations, landscape. a three-legged seat tottering and shudder-
Turning into war zones for mere dimes and That both countries share historical, cultural ing in hostile weather,
that which glitters, and linguistic as angry baboons and their excited brood
I have seen multitudes, similarities is no debate, for instance, both take turns to throw mud and debris at the
Being paraded and guillotined for truth, citizens speak: strange contraption.
I have seen kings, Sotho, Ndebele, Xhosa ,Venda, Tswana and nails sharp and nails blunt stick out of the
Failing to reign with valour and mighty, English. doomed sofa like mad projectiles staring
I have seen clergymen, It is a country on the southernmost tip aghast at the unknown.
Sucking blood to fill their empty bellies, of Africa, and it`s a proper name the long drawn threat of marauding ba-
I have seen desperation, that has the word Africa in it. boons must have unsettled this sorry-
Teaching our youths to hail impatience, What is improper is the lack of respect looking edifice.
I have seen thuggery and greed, for the sanctity of life, brutality and criminality, the dirt and sewage hurled against its
Under nobility suits and parliamentary plebi- whether perpetrated by a citizen or an immi- wobbling legs do not help with matters of
scite. I have seen hunger, grant. courage.
Turning men into beasts with no mercy, African leaders have a duty to serve the inter- one particularly huge baboon looks bent
I have heard cries, ests of their nations and citizens in a total and on toppling and throwing the strange seat
Loud and clear yearning for an ear, true fashion, anything else is inexcusable, unfit asunder.
I have encountered the echoing silences, and unacceptable. he growls and grants as he exhorts his
Screaming aloud with crystal clarity. What is also inexcusable, unfit and unaccept- hesitant followers to brave it once and for
I have seen innocence, able is to slay another African citizen by virtue all,
Corrupted and diluted for gain, of that he was an undocumented immigrant. and hack and tear apart the intimidating
I have heard toxic rumours, How sad that the words Africa, African object out of their offended sight.
Peddled and spreading like veld fires, have lost their essence in a heartless pool
I have seen jealousy, of Afrophobia, Xenophobia or Anti-Africanism. ************************************
Butchering and burying conscience miles In both countries, one can find a Dube, a
under, Khumalo, a Mudau, a Ndlovu, a Nyathi and Title: Sunset
I have caressed and embraced propaganda, even a Dlamini – Poet: Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali
Out of idiocy, I termed it patriotism. does their brotherhood diminish by virtue of
By the way, borders? The sun spun like
I had a dream of peace, How sad that artificial, colonial boundaries a tossed coin.
Championed and hailed for healing, have overridden historical, cultural and linguis- It whirled on the azure sky,
In the dream, tic affinities it clattered into the horizon,
I saw love and honesty purifying souls, and humanity and haunted, blinded brothers it clicked in the slot,
I heard loud whispers too, like ghosts. and neon-lights popped
"We are tired of Wars and hatred too" Indeed there is a race for wealth, jobs, power and blinked “Time expired,”
I have visited cemeteries, and survival, as on a parking meter.
Swamped with graves of champions of hu- but what boggles me is that an undocumented
manity. non-black
On tombstones, African can live in there without hassles or
Flowers, candles glowing spewing tears of eyebrows raised.
consolation and regret, It is a country on the southernmost tip
In all this, I have learnt a lesson, of Africa, and it`s a proper name
It is never too late to embrace love and save that has the word Africa in it.
humanity. Is there something UnAfrican?
Dedicated to all the victims of war in Ukraine
and around the world.

Page 48 People & Places NewsHawks

Issue 78, 29 April 2022

Zimbabwe International
Trade Fair 2022 in pictures

President Emmerson Mnangagwa (donning scarf ) and Industry minister Sekai Nzenza (in headgear) visit exhibition President Emmerson Mnangagwa and other dignitaries pose for photographs outside a government
stands at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair in Bulawayo. pavilion at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair.

Catch them young...President Emmerson Mnangagwa chats with a boy at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair. Zimbabwe International Trade Fair Company chairperson Busisa Moyo (donning red necktie)
accompanies President Emmerson Mnangagwa on a tour of exhibition stands at the ZITF.

Show goers follow the proceedings at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair.

NewsHawks Sport Page 49

Issue 78, 29 April 2022 Lady Chevron, Lady her body well in the gym, making
Cheetah in same week her a super-fit 39-year-old. She is a
ENOCK MUCHINJO valuable member of the team, who
…Story of a precious asset for Zim not only offers experience. Being a
PRECIOUS Marange did not have former captain, her contributions
much time to celebrate the triumph Precious Marange. are golden. She has a very good un-
of the Zimbabwe women's cricket derstanding of the game, and she is a
team in a triangular series in Namib- match. Hers is a truly remarkable pretty unique feat over the two days Sevens coach, Derek Chiwara, for great mentor to the young players.”
ia on Tuesday. and inspiring story of real humble in Jemmal. two main reasons, one being life-
beginnings. style. As for the other reason, Chiwara
Whereas her Lady Chevrons team- When Marange takes to the field, can relate well, himself having pos-
mates had the night in Windhoek to The former domestic worker she will achieve the rare distinction “Precious is very much a disci- sessed bags of talent in both rugby
savour the delightful clean sweep from Harare first learnt about crick- of representing her country in in- plined individual on and off the and cricket in his day, at one point
over the hosts and third side Uganda et while watching TV during her ternational sports twice in the same field, which gives her the edge over turning out for two rival clubs in the
– knowing they would have time to household duty breaks. And then week, in two different disciplines, other athletes,” Chiwara tells The different sports at first league level.
unwind after flying back home the when she started playing, she real- across the length and breadth of NewHawks from Jemmal.
next day – Marange had to cut short ised she actually had plenty energy a big continent. Probably a world A dynamic and powerful loose-for-
the merriment to stay in top shape to utilise elsewhere. So she took to record. For Marange to command “She puts in a lot of work to get ward for Harare Sports Club in addi-
for another impending battle. the rugby field and discovered that regular places at that age in two na- herself better and she has lots of tion to being a hard-hitting batsman
she was no slouch at it either. tional teams, in different codes, does grit and fighting spirit in her. She is as well as accurate medium-pace
Immediately after recording fig- not surprise the Zimbabwe women's very careful when it comes to what bowler for Old Hararians in his
ures of 2-16 to help Zimbabwe And now she is on the verge of a she eats or drinks, and looks after pomp, his versality perhaps came
crush Namibia by seven wickets in at a price because he chose both at
Tuesday’s final, the 39-year-old was a critical chapter when he needed to
quickly shuttled back to the hotel focus fully on one to perfect his art
to pack her bags and rest before an and nudge national selectors. He was
early flight from Windhoek the next only able to make a Sables provision-
morning. Not back home, but to al squad and was never capped.
Tunisia, for another call of national
duty and, incredibly so, in a differ- Chiwara does not however har-
ent sport. bour regrets from his own playing
days. For now, he is happy to put
Multi-talented Marange also in the work in the background and
represents Zimbabwe at full inter- have the limelight focused on some-
national level in rugby, and on the body like Marange, who unlike him
same day that she was starring in has represented her country not in
the cricketers’ win in Windhoek on one, but two of the disciplines they
Tuesday, her rugby teammates were both know well.
flying out of Harare for Tunis to take
their place in the Africa Women’s “It’s a special combination,” re-
Sevens tournament. marks Chiwara. “Precious is an all-
round athlete. As a cricketer she is
So important she is to the rugby quite effective as a middle-order
team as well that special arrange- batter and has a good effective me-
ments had to be made to send her dium-pace which always gets wick-
over to Tunisia as soon as she was ets. She is robust on the rugby side.
done with her cricket. Marange, She reads the game well and she is
who previously led the rugby team a very strong ball-carrier. The two
as captain, was expected to link up sports complement each other when
with her 11 teammates and support it comes to decision-making and dis-
staff in transit in Doha, or at the fi- cipline to focus on a particular task.
nal destination, Tunis. A cricketer plans his innings well in
advance, yet you have to play what
Zimbabwe, nicknamed the Lady is in front of you. Which is equally
Cheetahs, are in Pool B with South the same expected of a rugby player.
Africa and Senegal, with the tourna- The tactical approach is very much
ment being played this Friday and similar.”
Saturday in a town called Jemmal.
It is a tactical approach that
Marange is a mother and she is worked in Windhoek. It will be
nearly 40, a very late stage in the ca- much tougher to execute in Tunis as
reer of any cricketer or rugby player, the Zimbabweans join a very strong
male or female. At that point, age field of Africa’s best female rugby
would have long started to take a toll players in the quest for a place at the
on many athletes in any sport. But global Sevens tournament in Cape
Marange is known to be a warrior Town in September.
and a workhorse, a fierce competitor.
Expect her to shake off jet lag and If not for the prestige, maybe
all to feature for Zimbabwe in every just to lend a helping hand
and, similarly, their choices. erre – the former Zimbabwe captain has warding playing days in Europe. years later, and even had a brief spell
IT is quite unfortunate that the remarks Just like Tembo, who made his name taken his first step as a senior team coach Everyone starts somewhere, some with local club Dynamos.
were attributed to an unnamed source with a gig back home in Zimbabwe at of the greatest coaches in world foot-
said to be “close” to former Zimbabwe at Zimbabwean club giants Dynamos top-flight club ball had the Both of the Dutchman’s jobs in this
defender Kaitano Tembo, who has before winding down his playing career Ngezi Plati- most modest and country were without success, in spite of
been reported in South African media with South African clubs Sevens Stars num Stars FC. bumpiest begin- his profile and previous success with a
as having dismissed the possibility of and SuperSport United. Benjani, HawkZone nings imaginable. greater footballing nation. But it should
him coaching at club level in his home- before joining Even after scal- not surprise anyone.
land following his relative success down He then had a long coaching career Ngezi, had ing the heights,
south. with SuperSport, rising from assistant been working Enock some do track That is the nature of this game, most
coach to head coach with some moder- in the academy Muchinjo back to the roots, things just do not last forever.
It is said Tembo is convinced a return ate success, but no league title in those of his former others to less-fash-
home, to coach in the league and not the years until being fired by Matsatsantsa club Ports- ionable jobs, like I do not imagine Kaitano Tembo be-
national team, would be a downgrade. I early April. So, for now, Tembo does mouth as an Clemens Wester- ing jobless for a very long time on the
would have liked to hear it straight from not see himself as Zimbabwean league assistant coach hof. South African football scene. I believe
the horse’s mouth, but that is besides material, so to speak. whilst earning his coaching badges. Westerhof, after guiding Nigeria to he has done sufficiently well to attract
the point and Tembo, were it his sen- Though it is only in the infancy of 1994 Africa Cup of Nations glory and other suitors in that country.
timents, would not be the first one and Benjani Mwaruwari however does his coaching career, I do not think that then taking the Super Eagles to the
the last to reveal contempt for the stan- not see it that way. With a more attract- Benjani considers coaching in Zimba- World Cup that year, came down to But if no offers come his way, I only
dards of the game in our country. ing record as a player – featuring for bwe as a step backwards, despite his re- coach Zimbabwe’s national team some hope that one day he thinks again about
such teams like UK Premiership sides it, perhaps even at a convenient time,
Some of us have been on record with Manchester City and Portsmouth as and comes back home to his adoring
our not-so-flattering opinion of the well as then French Ligue 1 outfit Aux- countrymen to help by sharing what he
quality of the football in our league. learnt over the years in Mzansi.
Others see otherwise, and this has ignit-
ed heated argument within Zimbabwe’s
football fraternity.

And we ought all not take it personal-
ly. For the sake of robust debate, I con-
sider different opinion as only good for
the game if it can foster positive change.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion

Sports A crippling
poverty of
leadership
at Zifa

‘Humiliated, intimidated,
degraded’ ref reports
Thursday 1 October 2020 sexual advances

Friday 29 April 2022 @NewsHawksLive TheNewsHawks www.thenewshawks.com

WHAT’S INSIDE NEWS CULTURE
EXCLUSIVE: How Zifa executives$60 Covid
tariff for
Community
radio

visitors & regulations

swindled FA of nearly US$1 milliontourists
Story on Page 3
under review

Story on Page 8

ENOCK MUCHINJO Chamisa reac
out to Khupe
FIFA funds could have been embezzled
on a large scale after the Zimbabwe Foot- Unofficial president calls for emerge
ball Association (Zifa) made highly ques-
tionable payments of nearly US$1 million Some of the confirmation of payments from Zifa to Rollertag.
to purchase sub-standard equipment from
a company owned by a senior member of Transaction records also reveal further system was abused. And in terms of the conducts that may shed light on how the that, will only happen after the comple-
the association.   payments of US$130 516, US$51 294, chairman of beach soccer benefiting so Zifa board, chaired by Kamambo, was tion of a forensic audit of Zifa’s accounts
US$48 135, and US$52 668. This totals generously from the federation, I doubt suspended last November by the Sports which, as it has turned out and reported
Documents exclusively obtained by some US$833 910, but well-placed sourc- that even any declaration of interest was and Recreation Commission (SRC), af- in this story, should include such dealings
The NewsHawks this week show that Zifa es told The NewsHawks that Rollertag done. Besides, that kit was so poorly made ter being accused, among other things, of as this controversial kit purchase.
paid some US$833 910 to a company could well have pocketed slightly over it wouldn’t have cost that much. In Mu- massive corruption. The SRC is at best a Meanwhile, the suspended Zifa boss-
called Rollertag over the past two years US$1 million from Zifa, which received tasa, for example, when donations were largely non-political body, although ap- es’ woes mounted when the association’s
for football equipment, distributed na- grants of US$6 million in grants from Fifa made, one boy kicked a new ball and it pointed by the government, through the council, also known as the Assembly, last
tionwide for grassroots development, in on a four-year cycle until the country’s ban burst, tube and leather flying all over the ministry of Sports, to regulate all sporting weekend convened an extra-ordinary gen-
a deal that has put the under-fire officials by the world governing body in February. place in opposing directions. This is one activities in the country. eral meeting in Harare and resolved to fire
of the federation back under the spotlight Meanwhile, sources within have spo- on the biggest scandals ever to hit Zifa.” Zifa’s suspension, because of SRC’s Kamambo and his deputy Machana.
on suspicion of theft by swindle as well as ken of how the equipment was in fact A Zifa employee also narrated how pay- government links, courted an interna- With the purged football leaders now
serious conflict of interest. bought in South Africa by Zifa’s ousted ments to Rollertag raised eyebrows within tional ban on Zimbabwe from world kicked out under the statutes of the game
leadership from association coffers and, staff at the association’s headquarters. football ruling body Fifa. The powerful in the country, focus has turned to the
Rollertag is owned by Zifa council- judging from the low-quality, the gear “How these Rollertag payments were Zurich-based organisation prohibits gov- SRC, to negotiate the country’s way out of
lor Marshall Jonga, who is also head of would not have cost no more than US$90 heavily prioritised, at a time when Zifa ernment-related interference in the affairs international wilderness. Fifa, though, has
beach soccer in the country. The Zifa 000. This has fueled a strong belief that workers countrywide were owed smaller of its member associations such as Zifa. insisted on the reinstatement of the same
council, which he sits on, is the supreme “Rollertag was used to siphon funds from amounts, tells you a story,” said the staff- Notwithstanding the ban, Zimbabwe fired officials as they key to Zimbabwe’s
decision-making authority of Zimbabwe’s Zifa by those elected and entrusted with ALethSr.isO“AplasIroNt,icSwuleIaDrwceEoremsphaonFcykien(dRaotnollecrnetoatgMe) twihnaastistytwhwaes qilpuasaetlisfwicoeaetukiotnin$ccol3umd.2epdeBtiitinilolnithooenfdtdrhaewenpefoxortsitorerasTdmhfeuisNnsioedwns.Hawks
football governing body. safeguarding the interests of the FA and bZeliiemve'ssthlaatteasmt ulachnd c

Curiously, Rollertag — in its company Zimbabwean football,” remarked a top the only one being paid in hard curren- Africa Cup of Nations tournament to be more detailed account of events reported
profile — states its core business as cor- source. cy. With the other creditors, money was played in the Ivory Coast. in this article might have been included in
porate wear, corporate gifts, banners, and “In one of their quotations to justify withdrawn from the bank in US dollars, The Warriors will, however, only be a dossier handed over to Fifa by the SRC,
branding, not sportswear distribution or that Rollertag was cheap, they actually changed on the black market, and paid to allowed to take part in the qualifiers if on alleged corrupt Zifa activities.
manufacturing. used a quotation from a company with the service providers at the official bank Kamambo’s executive is reinstated uncon- Whether or not the bureaucrats in Zu-
a Sunningdale address, which we believe rate in Zimbabwean dollars.” ditionally, according to Fifa. But then the rich will be swayed to give Zimbabwe a
Multiple sources told us it is interest- is owned by a friend of theirs,” said the This revelation by The NewsHawks SRC has remained unmoved, insisting lifeline, based on this and many more files
ing to note that Jonga is close to axed Zifa source, adding: “So the three-quotation could be just one of several illicit financial that reinstatement, or anything related to before them, remains speculation for now.
vice-president Philemon Machana, who
authorised all payments to Rollertag.  

Machana, in his role as Zifa’s director
in charge of finance, took responsibility of
procurement at the Zimbabwean FA and
was a key signatory of all payments from
53 Livingstone Avenue, the headquarters
of Zifa, up until being jettisoned alongside
the entire Felton Kamambo-led board last
November.

The documents reveal that Machana
and suspended Zifa CEO Joseph Mam-
utse sanctioned all the payments to Roll-
ertag, which were spread over a period of
two years.

Besides by-passing the rest of the Zifa
executive committee in the dodgy kit deal,
it has been gathered that no formal tender
procedure or disclosure to auditors were
carried out.

This publication has in its possession
confirmation of the payments to Roll-
ertag, since sometime in 2020 to around
April 2021.  The two registered directors
of Rollertag are Jonga and one Lorraine
Goddard.

The biggest payment voucher to Rol-
lertag, for US$291 400, was processed
from Zifa’s Ecobank account on 19 Au-
gust 2020. Another substantial amount
was US$259 897, which was deducted
from Zifa’s account on 2 April 2021.

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