World News Page 51 PINELOPI KOUJIANOU GOLDBERG AS the World Bank undergoes a change in leadership and prepares to adapt its mission to address global warming, it should focus on what it does best. In addition to financial resources, its greatest strength lies in its ability to generate evidence-based solutions and bring them to policymakers’ attention. FEW institutions have shown as much versatility and adaptability as the World Bank. Initially founded to address global capital-market imperfections after World War II, the institution’s primary mission evolved over time to focus on fighting extreme poverty. But now that the World Bank is welcoming a new president this July, it should adapt again, this time to address climate crisis. Poverty reduction, of course, should remain a high priority, considering that the Covid-19 pandemic has left many low-income countries in dire straits. But climate change has emerged as an equally important threat to these countries’ futures — as well as to the entire planet. Poverty reduction therefore must go hand in hand with the goal of addressing climate change. But grounding these efforts in evidence-based research is easier said than done. One often hears that low-income countries should focus on climate change because they have the most to lose from its consequences (natural disasters, soil degradation, water shortages, and so forth). That conclusion may be right; but the argument is flawed, because it is based on a spurious comparison. Policymakers in poor countries do not care whether they have more to lose compared to richer countries. Rather, their focus is on weighing policies that promote growth but harm the environment against green policies that may imply slower or even no growth. To paraphrase what one such official once told me when I questioned the wisdom of his government’s strategy to encourage oil and natural-gas extraction: “Who cares what the long-term trend is? We can do this for ten years, grow rich, and then move on to other activities while using the proceeds to clean up.” The wastefulness of this approach is self-evident, as are the large negative externalities it entails for the rest of the world. But the tradeoff for many lowand lower-middle income countries is real, especially when, like India and Indonesia, they are rich in coal deposits or, as in Nigeria, oil reserves. Giving up on growth in return for a cleaner, greener future is not something that many policymakers in such countries find acceptable. Still, there is scope for considerable improvement, and the World Bank has the financial resources, credibility, and convening power to make a substantial contribution. To do so, it must ensure that decisions are based on the best available evidence, rather than on untested claims or first principles. Policymakers and advisers should study the experiences of countries that have successfully reduced greenhouse-gas emissions, as well as absorbing the emerging body of academic research focused on developing countries. For example, the US experience shows that emissions reductions were the result of stricter environmental regulation, not the outsourcing of “dirty” production activities to developing countries (the so-called pollution-haven hypothesis). This implies that carbon border adjustment taxes — often justified on a notional “leakage” hypothesis — will do little to improve emissions in advanced economies. Worse, they may deal a severe blow to some low-income countries’ exports. The lesson from the United States, then, is that a path to a greener planet should start with stricter environmental regulation. Recent research by the Nobel laureate economist Esther Duflo and co-authors offers a second, related lesson, based on data from one of the biggest polluters in the world: India. Contrary to what many may think, India has some of the strictest environmental regulations in the world. What it lacks is the ability to enforce them. Weak state capacity — reflecting inadequate institutions, unreliable contract enforcement, or outright corruption — can nullify the effectiveness of environmental regulations. Duflo’s team shows how devising proper mechanisms to address these constraints can significantly improve emission outcomes. It is precisely here, in the design and implementation of policies to address institutional shortcomings, that the World Bank could add enormous value. Another recent paper reports on a bold, decade-long effort by a team of researchers, in cooperation with the Indian state of Gujarat, to introduce India’s first cap-and-trade program (it also happens to be the world’s first market-based program to regulate particulate emissions). Remarkably, they find that the program functioned smoothly and produced significant emissions reductions as well as cost savings (relative to an alternative, command-and-control-based regulation). Such results are extremely promising. Interventions to create “markets” for emissions have proven successful in the US and Europe. If such programs can take root in developing countries, a truly global solution to climate change will be within reach. Moreover, if just a couple of research teams can make so much progress, imagine what the World Bank could achieve with all its resources, expertise, and access to top policymakers. Perhaps the most encouraging message from recent research is that interventions that meaningfully improve environmental outcomes in developing countries need not be excessively expensive. Another recent paper examines why India, with its generally warm climate and plentiful sunshine, has been slow to deploy solar panels. It turns out that local governments’ inability credibly to commit to the contracts they sign with producers impedes investment. Once investments in a solar plant are made, state governments have a strong incentive to renegotiate. Because solar suppliers anticipate this, investment in green energy ultimately falls short of where it could be. Intermediation by the federal government could help, resulting in much higher solar adoption. Such examples show that substantive progress toward decarbonisation in lowand middle-income economies is feasible without bankrupting the country or halting growth. But success requires knowledge, perhaps even more so than money. Hitting poorer countries with punitive carbon taxes — which even advanced economies like the US have been reluctant to adopt — should be a non-starter. Encouraging the green-energy transition with policies tailored to the institutional constraints prevalent in low-income settings is much more promising. The World Bank has always prided itself on being not just another “bank,” but rather a “knowledge bank.” As it develops its climate agenda, it must remain true to that credo by adhering to the lessons of rigorous research and evidence. — Project Syndicate. *About the writer: Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg, a former World Bank Group chief economist and editor-in-chief of the American Economic Review, is professor of economics at Yale University in the United States. What World Bank can do about climate crisis World Bank headquarters in Washington DC. NewsHawks Issue 124, 24 March 2023
JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA IN 1982, two years into the new nation of Zimbabwe, Linus Kadzere was a temporary teacher in Harare. The very artistic educationist — then young, creative and versatile — spent his first pay cheque on the recording of a song. It was a single, titled Pfumvu Paruzevha, by his favourite artiste and friend Thomas Mapfumo. He was not the original composer, the Chimurenga maestro Mapfumo was. As for Kadzere, he was only 17 years old, at least according to his wife Priscilla. Kadzere had a strong understanding of local and international music. He then moved to the United Kingodm with his family in 1991. He would always host parties and braais for family and friends and had a knack for lavish gatherings. And when he turned 40, Priscilla threw him a surprise birthday bash. Guess what she did? Well, she flew Thomas Mapfumo to England from the United States! Mapfumo was to perform at the event with The Blacks Unlimited for a good six hours, non-stop. The crowd was largely made up of Kadzere’s family members and friends, all based in the UK as well as some relatives who had come from Zimbabwe specially for the big occasion. Oh what a night it turned out to be for those who attended! Lee, as he was popularly known, also recounted the time he was able to afford his first copy of Mapfumo’s hit record and how his younger self could only have dreamed of the then present moment. According to his daughter Kirsty Kadzere, also based in the UK, Lee was “an opportunist as well as a genius businessman, his innovativeness and mastermind enabled this”. Prior to his surprise birthday concert, Mapfumo had not been booked to perform in the United Kingdom for three years. Kadzere saw a great business opportunity to promote Mukanya for the first time and introduce the "British Zimbabwean" community to a new home ground for promoters and Zimbabwean talent, Athena Events Venue, in Leicester. “This formed a friendship between Kadzere and Mukanya,” Kirsty told The NewsHawks. “Lee was nothing short of a pioneer and there was nothing he couldn’t do.” After much convincing, The Athena agreed to Kadzere’s proposal and re-opened as a multi-discipline events venue, with Thomas Mapfumo being first to take the stage at the venues re-opening. The Athena Events Venue continues operating today and fully booked. “It was a great venue for me as it allowed more people to attend,” said Mapfumo. “I was happy that the show was being organised by a Zimbabwean.” Mapfumo remembers Kadzere as one of his long-serving promoters he had much respect for and a great friend. The Athena was originally an Odeon Cinema in 1936 which closed for most of the 1990s and remained vacant up until 2005, when Lee convinced the owners to re-open for his promotional tour and guaranteed them business after the event. Born in Nyanga in 1965, Lee migrated to the United Kingdom in 1991 and established businesses which wife and children are still successfully operating today. Sadly, Lee passed away on 6 August 2021, after his business trip back home. His death was a great loss to the British-Zimbabwean diaspora community as well as those who knew him well. Lee’s legacy continues to be celebrated today through Kirsty Kadzere (25), who founded an entertainment company based in the United Kingdom, The Greatest Shumba Entertainment Limited, in memory of her late father. The name of the company is derived from the Kadzeres' ancestral totem — the lion. Already, Kirsty continues her father’s legacy of entrepreneurship with her first big upcoming event being the memorial concert. “As Mapfumo is preparing for his retirement, the family has decided to open this lavish memorial concert to the public to witness Mapfumo’s legacy as he headlines one of his last shows ever with a three-hour set, in memory of his late friend, Lee Kadzere,” Kirsty said. Dubbed the “#Linus’LegacyofLove Memorial Concert”, it is scheduled to take place on 6 August 2023 starting at 2.30 pm at the Athena Events Venue, Leicester, United Kingdom. The night will kick off with a twohour performance by one of Zimbabwe’s gospel artistes, Mathias Mhere and The Saints of God. “Mhere and Lee became family after their first encounter. Mhere’s hit single Matables was the song that made Lee a huge fan of the artiste and the two saw one another as father and son. “Mhere went on to perform at Lee’s funeral and first anniversary in 2022,” Kirsty told The NewsHawks. She said two more highly anticipated Zimbabwean artistes, who will soon be announced, will also be on the line-up with two-hour sets each. She added: “Lee had a love for music and alcohol, particularly whiskey. He was a whiskey connoisseur, and The Greatest Shumba Entertainment is giving their guests a chance to gamble on themselves! “Don’t miss out on a chance to win a bottle of Kadzere’s favourite whisky, a limited-edition Ghost and Rare Johnnie Walker Blue Label 70cl, with a RRP of £260 for only £8 per raffle ticket! Keep your eyes peeled on their social media for further details and future announcements. You don’t want to miss out on this night to remember,” she said. According to Kirsty, The Greatest Shumba Entertainment is planning on bringing its events to Zimbabwe as well as the United Kingdom, with global acts in the foreseeable future. “We look forward to seeing this vision come to life,” she said. STYLE TRAVEL BOOKS ARTS MOTORING Porsche just got angrier Being a Fashion Model Life&Style Page 52 Issue 124, 24 March 2023 How young Harare teacher turned London centre into an iconic hub
Poetry Corner Title: The Last Stand Poet: Gift Sakirai At two I knew not what they taught Daily, I stayed indoors \doggedly pursuing mother to a fault. Snotty-nosed and recalcitrant, I threw tantrums to my mother's consternation. At five, I left the comfort that home guaranteed and found my personage in the midst of people unknown. Fear thus a friend of mine became in that class of peers unforgiving. I learned mostly from a curriculum unofficial, kicks and fists thus my friends became and homeward I took nosebleeds like homework daily. At fifteen I loved my first love, a gem of a girl whose smile was the envy of many a teenager. I mumbled in her presence daily for words would fail me always. This it was for a whole year until like a bird in flight she flew out of my life. At twenty I stumbled into university, having scrapped by my studies. Therein all hell broke loose for what mother had taught was useless thus rendered. I partook in pomp and fanfare. By chance it was that I finished my studies, only to be accosted by a job market unforgiving. At thirty-five I decided to take the plunge after years of a hesitation acute and hitched myself to a woman who had thus been a decade patient. Therefrom, I second guessed myself into fatherhood, and bumbled along in a world where I was a stranger unwelcome. At sixty-four with hair turned grey I'm still waiting to exhale and for once have a momentary relief from a life vengeful a year before I'm put out to pasture like a heifer overworked. I know not what the twilight years will my way bring a mystery it was in childhood, a mystery it still is in old age. A hustle death will have in taking me to the world beyond though. Having been short changed many times over in life, I swear my fall won't be as easy as that. This time, I won't go down without a fight. Death, beware! ***************************************************** Title: A Farmer's Return Poet: Farai Chinaa Mlambo Fed with toil, Having dedicated his entire life to tilling the soil, At last, the farmer returns to his wife. Several seasons away, in far off arable lands, Leaving everything in the logical will of the rainmaker, And in God's able hands – Himself, the ultimate peace and Love maker. Like one fresh from detention He arrives home with determination. And the first thing to grab his attention is her pregnancy. The wife, now bulging with expectancy, Hurries to embrace her dear husband Under her own oppressive load. Her thoughts race faster than her feet. And her heart skips a bit, overcome with fits. But she quickly calms herself As an almighty voice commands a storm to cede its untimely and unnecessary havoc. A sweet smile of reassurance she wears And in her heart she confidently swears; "This time I'll bear him a son, for sure, I shall bring honour to him and his family. He shall be very very pleased; Isn't what he always longed for. I shall kowtow and call him Shewe. I shall forever be his heart's desire." But the farmer is functionally illiterate. He is not too good with his mathematics. He can't even count days of the calendar. So he doesn't quite remember when they last mated. He just knows it was many moons ago When there were some monsoons. That night, like one possessed, She flung herself wildly upon his being And he thrust his plough into her fallow regions Digging furrows so deep she screamed. Or could it have been a mere dream? He desperately tries to read the signs. Then he resignedly sighs. Something isn't adding up. Still, he silently shoulders the responsibility of the paternity For he fears to offend her, should he ask; He is aware of her suicidal tendencies. He might lose both the seeds of the land he impregnated And the almost ripe seed in her womb Upon the collective wrath of the ancestors Who are quick to frown at harassment of the fairer sex. ***************************************************** Title: Days like these Poet: Sir OCTAgon There are mornings that smoke weed, That roll my days into blunt truths Like this rolling stone which keeps gathering moss Dust is a sure bet! Noons are for toi toi; Negotiations for joy with this mournable body Patching leaking eyes with plastic hope from recycled faith Nights are for resolve; Myriad of dilemmas to solve Thoughts scattered about, and emotions gathered in a corner Its here they share a joint and discuss what to do with me tomorrow. ************************************************ Title: Distant shadows Poet: tchigazz silhouetted distant shadows waltz before his cold strained eyes causing odd reflections on ice of horses, beggars and wishes too. if only he were the grubby walls which the shadows were gleefully licking he wouldn’t be wishing or imagining but experiencing the feel of their tongues they attract furtive peeps of strangers, and keen puzzled peers of perplexed passers-by, cherishing the beauty of distant shadows his fingertips itch to softly caress sketching out the shadowy outline nonchalantly nodding back and forth, to a wheeze of his curious breath’s puff they appear golden-like summer sunset shades beautiful like a rainbow reflection, across the slanting, sunlit rain showers behold the beauty of distant shadows *********************************************** Title: Progress Check Poet: Patrick Hwande Day by day, towards zero hour we're itching, Bring your progress record for public scrutiny, It's time we separated men from mice, Rigmarole is an exercise in futility. Why did Dorica die of treatable disease? Why is the mass still mired in a bottomless pit of poverty? Why did Dhongi vanish for daring to flap his wings? Happiness is now a pure rarity, Are we still living? Why did you condemn us the living dead? ************************************************* Title: Drops Of Rain Poet: Andy Kahari All I ever wished for was to be rain And be in a race with mankind With every thunder starting gun Be the sprayed bullets in amorous congress with spayed not clouds Hope I had to espy on seeds of union droplets they be; To ravage in precipitation sweat drenching pores; Living I then rain in awe As to who among men has ever been able to eschew drops of rain Yet many when in torrents Will I espy on again striving to outrun dews of mist; When their days are already drenched moaning’s enduring a chew Living nothing of this torrid man's broken life shoe; Only for I to understand what they do not perceive Still to this sounding bell of time Why they all are sweaty gongs in this race they deem existence When in pluvial already the wetting uterus is dim wide for the dream running man NewsHawks Page 53 Issue 124, 24 March 2023
Page 54 People & Places Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa with businessman and gold dealer Shakemore Wellington Timburwa. Mnangagwa with a dodgy gold dealer NewsHawks Issue 124, 24 March 2023
NewsHawks People & Places Page 55 Issue 124, 24 March 2023 Ÿ Choose The NewsHawks Executive Conference Room WORKSHOPS I PRODUCT LAUNCHES I MEDIA/FINANCIAL BRIEFINGS I EVENTS Training Session? Planning a Meeting or Harare 6th Floor #100 Nelson Mandela Ave The NewsHawks Beverly Court For Bookings please contact Charmaine on 0735 666 122 Email- [email protected] Land line- (0242) 721 144/5 The NewsHawks @NewsHawksLive www.newshawks.com [email protected] For more Information visit
Page 56 Sport NewsHawks Issue 124, 24 March 2023 WORLD Athletics has banned trans women from international competition, Sebastian Coe has confirmed. The governing body has opted to exclude male-to-female transgender athletes and those with differences in sex development (DSD) from female competition if they have gone through male puberty. The decision comes after World Athletics consulted with member federations in January about a change to rules, insisting they would “follow the science... in order to protect the female category, maintain fairness in our competitions, and remain as inclusive as possible." And now Lord Coe, president of World Athletics, has confirmed the “difficult” decision to change its rules starting on 31 March. A statement read: "The Council has agreed to exclude male to female transgender athletes who have been through male puberty from female world ranking competitions from 31 March this year. "We cannot in all conscience leave our transgender regulations as they were at 5nmol/mol for at least one year when we were unsure about the impact of doing so across all our disciplines. "The decision that the council made is a primarily principled based decision about the over-arching need to protect the female category. This is what our sport is here to do. And I think the council has done that today. “We continue to take the view that we must maintain fairness for female athletes above all other considerations. We will be guided in this by the science around physical performance and male advantage which will inevitably develop over the coming years. “As more evidence becomes available, we will review our position, but we believe the integrity of the female category in athletics is paramount.” For DSD athletes under the new regulations, those relevant athletes must reduce their testosterone levels below a limit of 2.5 nmol/L for a minimum of 24 months to compete internationally in the female category in any event. That threshold comes up after the previous rules only required specific testosterone levels for previously restricted events from 400m to one mile, which has now been removed entirely. Those athletes who already compete in what was previously an unrestricted event - distances below 400m and above one mile, plus field events - will be required to suppress their testosterone levels below 2.5nmol/L for a minimum of six months, before they are eligible to compete again. This period matches the previuous period required for DSD athletes to compete in restricted events, although the threshold previously was higher at 5nmol/L. The interim provisions do not apply to the previously restricted events (400m to one mile) where two years of testosterone suppression will be required before the relevant athlete is eligible to compete. Transgender rights have become a major talking point as sports seek to balance inclusivity with ensuring there is no unfair advantage. With athletes such as Commonwealth Games 10,000m champion Eilish McColgan contributing to the debate and claiming a one percent advantage for trans women athletes would be “too much”. However, LGBTQI advocacy groups say excluding trans athletes amounts to discrimination. World Athletics’ move follows World Aquatics and its vote last year to restrict participation of transgender athletes in elite women’s competitions. Lord Coe had praised the move, which saw the sport create a working group to establish an "open" category. The move comes after the World Athletics Council confirmed a number of landmark decisions on future participation. The governing body also confirmed the reinstatement of the Russian Federation (RusAF) following seven years of suspension after institutional doping violations. But athletes, officials and supporting personnel from Russia and Belarus remain excluded from competition for the foreseeable future due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. – The Independent (UK). World Athletics ban transgender women from women’s competition South Africa's Caster Semenya is among the athletes that will be affected by World Athletics' ban of transgender women. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
From page After moving to South Africa to pursue coaching badges, and playing at the same time, Charumbira has now found a home in the Netherlands and is enjoying every bit of the country. “I was in South Africa, playing for the University of Cape Town for four years,” he said. “Ryan Maron (a coach who played first-class cricket for Western Province) brought me over with Tendai Chitongo, in the hope of getting us to study. Tendai ended up studying and I didn’t. Ryan was the head of the cricket school of excellence, which is based at UCT. “I then went down to Durban. Rob Clift, son of a former Zimbabwean player (Paddy Clift) said ‘I want you to play for Crusaders’. They had been champions for seven years in that area, in a row. When I joined, we won the eighth, then a ninth. In 2018 I was offered a post at a club in Netherlands, as a player-coach. Enoch Nkwe (currently South Africa’s director of cricket) was coming back to SA, and he was leaving the job vacant. They asked me to fill in, and I decided to go. I went to live in Haarlem, playing for Rood-en-Wit, one of the oldest clubs over there. Paul van Meekeren played there as a child. I only had a visa for 90 days so I had to go back to Durban.” Charumbira then headed back to South Africa, again to take up a player-coaching role. “When I returned, I was told to go back to Cape Town, to coach Langa Cricket Club, a black development side. So I was working for Western Province. They thought I was perfect fit. Malusi Siboto, Thami Tsolekile, Temba Bavuma all came from that club. I was chosen because of their background, with history of apartheid and stuff. So I was a neutral person, as a person of colour. If it was a white South African person, it would have been different,” commented Charumbira. “VVV Amsterdam offered me to go back to the Netherlands again in 2019 but Covid has started. I stayed with my girlfriend, who became my wife. She got pregnant and I had to stay there for the birth of our child, Tawananyasha. When Covid relaxed, I started playing again. We bought a house in Leiden, a city close to The Hague, playing for HCC. We are the defending champions.” Charumbira played lots of club and first-class cricket during his time in Zimbabwe, something he would like to see new generations being exposed to. “The structures need to be reinvented again. Where are the Under-19s, the development coaches, the Logan Cup ‘B’ league which was played over three days, the CFX Academy, all these things that made sure that cricket was played throughout the year? This is where the coaches Amos (Maungwa), Norbert (Manyande) and George (Tandi) came from. Yes there is something good taking place now, the development tour to India right now, and a lot of domestic cricket being played. But we need to go back to the domestic structure of old. The guys who are in the system now, Hamilton (Masakadza), Elton (Chigumbura), and Tino (Mawoyo), they must press on the culture of the old structures.” The Dutch way of life perfectly suits a guy like Charumbira – ambitious, hard-working and eager to leave a mark at what he does. “Economically they are much better,” commented Charumbira. “There is better security in health, jobs, and others. It’s a little expensive that side, but you might not see it because your remuneration covers that. It’s a first world country, and you’re open-minded to a lot of things. You see the whole world as it is. No one tries to force you to live their way.” Commonly known as "Chief" back home in Zimbabwe, because his family belongs to the Charumbira chieftainship, the ex-Southern Rocks and Zimbabwe ‘A’ pacer is married to Ira, who is Dutch, and they have a two-year-old daughter Tawananyasha. “We’ve changed my wife’s name to Ira Charumbira, she has royal blood in her veins, you know,” quipped Charumbira. “I’m heir to the throne!” If Charumbira secures another commentary gig for the World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe in June and July, he said the two "princesses" will accompany him here, to pay homage to the chieftainship. RICHARD Chihoro did not start last Saturday, against Hwange in Bulawayo, to sprinkle “juju” on football pitches and opposition’s goalposts around Zimbabwe’s grounds in a bid to give his club Dynamos the advantage with the powers of wizardry. Chihoro and like-minded “magicians” from different teams across the country have been performing these creepy rituals for a number of years, unashamedly so and in the full glare of the football public – most of them not showing any shock – a shock in itself. So following his suspension by the Premier Soccer League (PSL) this week for his latest theatrics at Barbourfields last weekend, poor old Chihoro would have been left wondering what all the fuss is about. “A stupid ban for something that I’ve brazenly done every week, even as a roar of cheers from the crowd echoed across from the stands to the field? What has changed now?” What has changed, uncle Rich, is that Zimbabweans are gradually getting outraged and disgusted by what any self-respecting people – any civilised citizenry – must be getting outraged and disgusted by in the 21st century. I guess there are far more important matters in Zimbabwe right now that should enrage its people more than a guy who believes that spraying some funny stuff on the goal area can determine the outcome of a football match. But, trust me, we have seen worse in Zimbabwean football. The collective condemnation of what happened at BF last week, the outpouring of disgust and contempt against the public actions of Sport Page 57 Juju nonsense: It’s never too late to say enough is enough Richard Chihoro NewsHawks Issue 124, 24 March 2023 Dutch words of wisdom from the ‘exiled chief’ Enock Muchinjo HawkZone primitivism by somebody so distinguished in our football, a veteran of the game, is a sign that the nation is no longer prepared to accept such tomfoolery as part of our footballing DNA. A whole welfare manager of the country’s most successful club, looked up to by a generation of gifted young players who should be embracing scientific methods of football, showing the middle finger to innovation and evolution of professional sport. Chihoro is the guy taking all the flak now, alone and isolated. Do not crucify him alone, though. But he is however for now a convenient person, perhaps the most fitting case, to send the clear message that certain behaviour cannot be tolerated forever.
ENOCK MUCHINJO AT HARARE SPORTS CLUB NOT a lot of the hard-working folks in Dutch cricket would have been surprised had the Netherlands defeated Zimbabwe on Thursday to clinch the ODI series with a game to spare. They would probably be a bit insulted, given the huge strides and investments they have made to transform this growing sport in a country where football is number one. All the sweat and sacrifices are there to see, particularly for those within the system. Certainly for somebody like Patient Charumbira, who was doing television commentary at Harare Sports Club on Thursday as his native Zimbabwe wrapped up a thrilling one-run win over his adopted country, which has given him a home and family over the past five years. 35-year-old Charumbira, a former first-class cricketer from Masvingo, first arrived in the Netherlands in 2018 as a player-coach in the Dutch club set-up, and in his second spell now, he has permanently settled there. Cricket is now an important part of Dutch sporting culture. “It’s the same as here (in Zimbabwe), but they are more structured, and they are more organised,” Charumbira told The NewsHawks during a commentary break. “A lot of their players go to play county cricket in England and in different parts of the world whereas here it’s just (Sikandar) Raza, (Gary) Ballance and maybe (Blessing) Muzarabani. And over here in Netherlands, there is something to play for. So I’m not surprised at all. Zimbabwe hasn’t beaten Netherlands in the past four years in a series, and they (Netherlands) beat South Africa in the last T20 World Cup. They are also transparent in selection.” A lot of it is owed to the Dutch board’s lack of hesitation in hiring some of the world’s finest cricket 50c PRICE SPORT Zim Cricket launches Premier League NEWS $60 Covid tariff for visitors & tourists CULTURE Community radio regulations under review @NewsHawksLive TheNewsHawks www.thenewshawks.com [email protected] Thursday 1 October 2020 WHAT’S INSIDE ALSO INSIDE Finance Ministy wipes out $3.2 Billion depositors funds Zim's latest land controversy has left Ruwa farmer stranded Story on Page 3 Story on Page 8 Story on Page 16 Chamisa reaches out to Khupe Unofficial president calls for emergency meeting +263 772 293 486 Friday 24 March 2023 ALSO INSIDE World Athletics ban transgender women Sports World Athletics ban transgender women from competition Juju nonsense: It’s never too late to say enough is enough Dutch words of wisdom from the ‘exiled chief’ Patient Charumbira in blue jacket. brains, as recently happened with South Africans Gary Kirsten and Russell Domingo. “They have been getting a lot of good guys in the system, guys like Ryan Campbell, Russell Domingo now, and others. People who sit in the dressing room, who oversee the domestic structure, are all experienced people. Look at what happened with Dave (Houghton) when he came to join Zimbabwe, things quickly changed, and this is just one person! These (Dutch) guys bring four, five, six people.” Apart from the county championship, some of top Dutch players are also gaining recognition in franchise tournaments around the world – examples being the likes of Colin Ackermann, Max O'Dowd and Paul van Meekeren. Zimbabwe, Charumbira remarked, should also look at this as a way forward. “We need to have more of what a guy like Reggie (Chakabva) has done, going to play in Australia and face different bowlers,” he said. “Young guys like ours, the likes of (Clive) Madande, they need to go to England on their own, places like that, to discover themselves instead of having people telling them the kind of players they are.” Charumbira, a pace bowler also known for his aggressive batting, was never able to break into Zimbabwe’s national side. At 35, he reckons he might still be able to switch allegiance to the orange strip of the Netherlands. “Obviously Zimbabwe is where the heart is, you can’t change that,” he said. “I’m still playing, I’m 35. I’m one of the fittest guys around, I was one of the fittest people five years ago in Zimbabwe, ask the guys they will tell you ‘Chief’ was fit. If the opportunity to play for Zimbabwe presents itself, I’d love to play. But obviously I don’t live here anymore so that will not be possible. Maybe I could be able to play for the Netherlands, perhaps in a T20 World Cup, or even in a 50- over World Cup.” Continued on page