NewsHawks Africa News Page 51 Issue 146, 1 September 2023 THE No forensic audit Despite legislators’ repeated calls for a forensic audit, there has been no detailed evaluation and examination of Command Agriculture’s financial transactions. This is a tragic failure of governance. It means criminal behaviour such as fraud or embezzlement of public funds may never be fully uncovered. But even in the absence of a forensic audit, the work done by the Public Accounts Committee ought to provide a prima facie basis for a corruption investigation. In an exclusive interview, Biti, who chaired the committee, argued that in future a judicial commission of inquiry must be instituted to get to the bottom of Command Agriculture. “The Public Accounts Committee did two things: it forensically identified money that came from Treasury through Treasury Bills that went to the central bank. It [the committee] located and followed one of those Treasury Bills. It located and identified payments that were ofiered— in other words, money that was given to Kuda [Tagwirei] or to FSG [Fertiliser. Seed. Grain Ltd] but doesn’t have a supporting letter from the ministry of Finance. The most shocking thing about Parliament’s work was that we were clear that money went to X, Y, Z in terms of millions and millions of dollars, but we did not get the single shred of evidence on the demand side. So, it’s a one-way street, you can see money going to Sakunda, money going to FSG, but you can’t see, in turn, what they are delivering. We [legislators] called GMB [Grain Marketing Board] before us and GMB said ‘we were just a storage facility, we never even took records of what came into our facilities’. Which is fiction, but that’s the evidence that they gave before the committee. So, in my view, in future Command Agriculture needs a judicial commission of inquiry.” Agricultural financing There is no denying the fact Zimbabwean farmers face diffculties in accessing agricultural financing and this poses serious threats to the attainment of sustainable food security. Up to 60% of food crop producers depend on self-financing. Like any serious business, farming needs funding. However, it is patently unjust for the government to burden taxpayers with the debts contracted by individual farmers and companies. Veritas Zimbabwe, a parliamentary watchdog and legal think-tank, says Command Agriculture was “a debt sinkhole”. “Private debt by farmers is being guaranteed by the state, and if farmers default, as most of them do, the public has to pay their debts. In simple terms, some people (farmers) are using public finances for personal profit.” This investigation by The NewsHawks can reveal that Command Agriculture may have changed name to Neaps, but the risks to the taxpayer remain. before us and GMB said ‘we were just a storage facility, we never even took records of what came into our facilities’. Which is fiction, but that’s the evidence that they gave before the committee. So, in my view, in future Command Agriculture needs a judicial commission of inquiry.”
Page 52 World News NewsHawks Issue 146, 1 September 2023 THE Command Agriculture was a crime scene. Legislators have demanded a forensic audit, but their calls have been ignored. Mildred Chiri—the Auditor-General who first raised the red flag on Command Agriculture and was widely saluted as Zimbabwe’s best-performing public sector oficial for decades—has since retired in May 2023 after serving her two terms. Prospects of an audit now appear dim. In the absence of a forensic audit, a judicial commission of inquiry may be the only way of getting to the bottom of one of the biggest scandals since Independence in 1980. An unsettling pattern has taken root in Zimbabwean agriculture: individuals and companies contract debt, but when they default, the government places the burden on the shoulders of taxpayers. We witnessed it in: the US$200 million Farm Mechanisation Programme; endemic financial scandals in the state-run Grain Marketing Board; the US$3.5 billion compensation under the Fast-Track Land Reform Programme; the US$36 million International Court of Justice settlement to Dutch farmers; and the Mike Campbell white farmers’ judgment which led to the disbandment of the Sadc Tribunal. The lack of political will to tackle corruption in the agricultural sector can be attributed to the grim reality that political elites are the ultimate beneficiaries of shady dealings. They have deliberately cultivated a culture of secrecy in public affairs, enabling them and their cronies to dump their debts on the shoulders of taxpayers. In the national interest, the government must create a computerised, secure database of all Command Agriculture beneficiaries and all the inputs that were distributed under the controversial scheme. Parliament must play its oversight role and citizens should exercise agency in governance issues by holding accountable the bureaucrats and elected politicians who run public affairs. This work was conceived and created by Brezh Malaba, Bertha Foundation Fellow 2023, with the support of the Bertha Foundation and produced by The NewsHawks, Pictures by Brezh Malaba, Design by Tapiwa Nyakabau
JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA IF you were hooked onto Zimbabwean music in the 1990s, you will sure remember this period fondly as a golden era that marked the emergence of really talented vocalists, singers who could serenade you with both voice and lyrics deep in meaning. Prince Tendai, Fortune Muparutsa, Mateo – you name them. Their music was popular among the youth as it fused local pop styles and also RnB, just like what was happening in the United States. It was a phenomenon. One of the most popular songs to be released those days was the classic hit, Ndiri Pano, composed by Mateo and featuring Willom Tight. It is a love gem that extols patience in relationships, with an addictive soothing rhythm and hard-to-ignore piano flair. And, according to Mateo, Ndiri Pano was very experimental as he wanted to try out something new, fusing ragga to his soulful sound. And at the time Willom Tight had come up as the likely collaborator since he had that reggae-dancehall feel. And after its release, Ndiri Pano became a staple on the then Radio 3, an urban radio station at the time. And because of its ballard style, it used to be on the playlist for morning shows aptly hosted by the two beauties, Eunice Goto and Tsitsi Mawarire. As one fan wrote: “I'm 18 again. Listening to Eunice Goto, Tsitsi Mawarire playing this song during the morning shows on Radio 3. Such pure hopes, dreams and love captured by this song. Thank you for uploading it. This song will never grow old or out of style for me. On loop DAILY!” Another social media user commented: “I love this song, back then someone sent me this song to let me know they were waiting for me but unfortunately for them, there was someone who wasn't waiting but chasing me across the world, the rest is history.” Indeed, the song brings a lot of fond memories to those who were in love, and not in love. That is how good the song is. And now Roki and Willom Tight are revamping the song to give it a new lease of life. “Well, we recently met at a gala with my brother Willom Tight who by the way is hugely talented. So, we sat down and decided that we should revamp the song and give it a new feel just like what’s happening these days,” Roki told The NewsHawks. “It has been good working with Willom Tight because he is well travelled and his experience in music is boundless.” Besides lacing his vocals, Roki will also be featured on the production side of things among a diverse line-up of producers. “We want the song to have this Afrobeat style and also appeal to a wider audience because it is a great song,” he said. The new version is due out before year-end! STYLE TRAVEL BOOKS ARTS MOTORING Porsche just got angrier Being a Fashion Model Life&Style Page 53 Issue 146, 1 September 2023 Willom Tight, Roki in rendition of Mateo’s yesteryear classic hit Willom Tight
Page 54 People & Places Sport Heath Streak succumbed to cancer NewsHawks Issue 146, 1 September 2023
ALMOST exactly 200 years ago, a 25-year-old English poet, John Keats, wrote that autumn is a season of mists and mellow fruits. Not so in 2023. We have instead September and October overflowing with a rugby World Cup, a tennis US Open and a golf spectacular Ryder Cup clash. In Keats's day they had no such things. September 1 sees the third tennis round at Flushing Meadows leading to latter stages, and building to a final a week later, with the sensational young Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz defending. September 9 sees the world's best 20 rugby nations vying for the Webb Ellis Trophy through 48 matches and seven weeks, all in France. The autumn period closes on October 28 until monthend featuring raw golf nationalism in matching up the USA against Europe, to be played in front of noisy crowds on a new course, Marco Simone, Rome, Italy. Twenty rugby-playing nations are scrumming down for the World Cup in four pool groups. They are there through rankings or a series of gruelling qualifying matches that have featured around the world. Unfortunately, Zimbabwe is not one of them and Africa will have only two representatives – South Africa and Namibia. The South Africans are holders of the Webb Ellis Trophy, having beaten England in the 2019 final in Japan. The entire event will be held in France with the final to be staged naturally in Paris. Early betting made New Zealand favourites. But in a late warm-up match the All Blacks, having performed their “haka” with full-blown confidence, were severely mauled by the South Africans, who scored an almost unheard of five tries against the All Blacks in a 35-7 score. However, the New Zealanders had one player sent off and two others had 10 minutes in the sin bin. Predicting the championship winner is therefore a fascinating exercise. It is really wide open, with New Zealand quoted by bookmakers at 5-2, followed closely by France (3-1), South Africa (7-2), Ireland (9-2) Australia (11-1), England (12-1) although on present form it is hard to see a case for the latter two. Australia have recently beaten the All Blacks in their regional Bledisloe Cup but suffered a return loss. In the last warm-up match of the summer series, they lost heavily to championship hosts France 41-17, What about England, who come to the event following dismal results? There has been in their recent repertoire a win and a loss against Wales, who were later slaughtered by South Africa with a score in the 50s, though it has to be said that Wales were missing nine players with injuries. England went down badly to Ireland and then in the final warm-up match played a spirited Fiji, ninth in world rankings. That resulted in a 30-22 triumph for the Fijians, astonishing everybody including the Pacific islanders themselves and was described afterwards by them as the greatest day in their rugby history. Venues for the Championship proper are Paris, Marseille, Lille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Nantes and Nice. The winners of each pool will play quarter-final matches against runners-up from a different pool, those successful forming the quartet of semi-finalists. The final is at Paris. *Guest columnist and Portsmouth-based veteran journalist and author John Kelley, who regularly contributes to The NewsHawks, worked in Rhodesia and Zimbabwe for nearly five decades. Sport Page 55 A season of soft mists and mellow fruits? Not this year. Autumn has rugby, golf and tennis to savour NewsHawks Issue 146, 1 September 2023 South Africa and New Zealand are two of the favourites to clinch the World Cup. From Page 56 We have some tremendous talent in our schoolboys. It’s just unfortunate that we can’t seem to hold on to them, with the economy being as it is in Zimbabwe. The youngsters are looking further afield to secure a reasonable job, or salary, or life. So it’s incredibly sad for me because the talent is definitely here. We field very strong Under-18 sides, very strong Under-20 sides and with the right coaching we could definitely do something at a World Cup.” Rusape-born Ferreira captained Zimbabwe for four years and accumulated slightly over 50 caps. Primarily a halfback, he was fielded in a different position in the backline at the 1987 World Cup. “I played the first World Cup at fullback, not through my choice, it was through injury,” he said. “So I ended up there, which is fine, a brand new experience for me. I had never played fullback before. The first time was at Eden Park, against Romania. So I was a bit nervous but we got through that game alright. And then I played scrumhalf for the second World Cup and most of my games for Zimbabwe were at scrumhalf and you know, I captained the side for four years and most of my caps were at scrumhalf. I definitely preferred scrumhalf, its closer to the action, you have more control and have more of the ball, which was what I liked.” One of the five survivors from the 87 World Cup in Zimbabwe’s 1991 squad was the World Rugby Hall of Famer Richard Tsimba, who was posthumously inducted in 2012 following his tragic death in a car crash in 2000. The prodigious Tsimba — Zimbabwe’s first black rugby international – scored two breath-taking tries in the Sables’ agonising one-point defeat to Romania 36 years ago. Ferreira remembers a top-class player with a wide range of skills. “Richard Tsimba, not only was he a very good friend of mine, we played club rugby together and we developed a very close relationship,” Ferreira said. “He was an outstanding centre, absolutely outstanding centre. At the 87 World Cup, people were raving about him. His eye for the gap, and his speed, coupled with his defence, was unbelievable. So he had an incredibly good World Cup, and I know that Richard would have done very well going forward and would have been an icon for this country. Sadly, as you know, it’s the late Richard now.” Ferreira predicts France 2023 to be an unforgettable World Cup, given the red-hot form of some of the favoured teams. “It’s going to be one of the most exciting we have had, simply because there are four possible teams that could win the World Cup,” he said. “You’ve got South Africa looking very good at the moment, they’ve just beat the All Blacks quite convincingly. You’ve got the All Blacks, and France the host nation. It’s always nice to play at home, and have home advantage. And then Ireland. Ireland is seeded (number) one in the world and for a very good reason. They’ve been one for a little bit. So there is four there that could win the World Cup and for me, simply because some of our ex-Zim players have played for the Springboks – Adrian Garvey, (Gary) Teichmann and all those guys, my heart is with South Africa. So I would like to see them pull off another World Cup. That would be amazing.” Two-time World Cup star rues another Zim absence John Kelley HawkZone
NEWS $60 Covid tariff for visitors & tourists CULTURE Community radio regulations under review @NewsHawksLive TheNewsHawks www.thenewshawks.com Thursday 1 October 2020 WHAT’S INSIDE ALSO INSIDE Finance Ministy wipes out $3.2 Billion depositors funds Zim's latest land cStory on Page 3 Story on Page 8 Chamisa reacout to Khupe Unofficial president calls for emergeFriday 1 September 2023 A season of soft mists and mellow fruits? ALSO INSIDE Sports Brought together by the power of sport, and a family affair ENOCK MUCHINJO TO PLAY in two World Cups in a demanding sport like rugby would make anybody absolutely chuffed in their career. It matters little that you are from New Zealand, the standard-bearers of the game on the planet, or from Zimbabwe, who haven’t returned to the World Cup in 32 two years. Former Zimbabwe captain Andy Ferreira belongs to a special small group of five players who featured for their African homeland in the first two editions of the Rugby World Cup, in 1987 and 1991. The legendary ex-Sables scrumhalf is joined on that list by Richard Tsimba, Alex Nichols, Michael Martin and Craig Brown. Zimbabwe was one of nine countries specially invited to the inaugural edition in 1987 in New Zealand to join seven full members of the then International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) for a 16-team tournament. With South Africa excluded due to apartheid, Zimbabwe was the only African nation in the two early World Cups. “It was an incredible experience, obviously privileged to go,” Ferreira told The NewsHawks this week. “We were seeded 16th in the world at that point. I know there was some dispute with Russia (then part of the Soviet Union), they thought they were 16th and they should go. And that’s why they were waiting for us in Harare on our return from the World Cup to play a one-off Test at the Police Grounds. Luckily enough, that game we won 18-9 so our place in that first World Cup was justified.” The Soviet Union had, in fact, been invited to that 1987 World Cup but declined the offer in protest over South Africa’s continued IRFB membership. Still, such third-tier nations of world rugby as them somehow believed they were superior to Zimbabwe but Ferreira maintains that the Sables were better those days. On their World Cup debut on 23 May 1987 at the famous Eden Park, where the All Blacks hoisted the maiden title later on 20 June, Brian Murphy’s young Zimbabwean side lost narrowly 21-20 to Romania in Pool 4 in a match that group of trailblazing Sables will reminisce for a lifetime as one they should have won. “It was a very good side, just not enough international exposure and experience,” commented Ferreira of the Zimbabwe squad. “We aimed to try and beat Romania because they were seeded around 10 in the world and we came so close, we lost in the last minute of the game. But yes, lots of experienced gained, good for Zimbabwe, it did put us on the map. 91 (World Cup, in Britain and France), we also had a very good side, (but) again not just enough experience. We lacked international experience and good quality opposition. So I guess that didn’t play in our favour. But going to our very first World Cup, which the All Blacks won, was a privilege to be there because New Zealand have a rugby culture which is lost these days, certainly in Zimbabwe. Their culture…every single person eats, lives, sleeps rugby. Whether you go to a pizzeria, people behind the counter will recognise you, even as the Zimbabwean team. They’d say to us, ‘you guys are playing Scotland next, you need to ruck the ball. Don’t maul it, they are too big for you’, et cetera. So it was just so nice to be in that environment.” Zimbabwe went on to lose quite heavily to France and Scotland in the other group matches, but the smallest team in the tournament in terms of numbers and experience did made a good impression on spectators in a three rubbers. Following the invitation of 1987, Zimbabwe was back for the next tournament in 1991 after winning a threeteam African qualification competition also involving Morocco and Côte d'Ivoire. And then after the Ivorians surprised everybody to clinch Africa’s sole qualification slot for the historic 1995 event in South Africa, it has been Namibia all the way ever since. Again, as the 2023 World Cup bursts into life in France next Friday, Zimbabwe will again be reduced to bystanders. “It is incredibly sad,” remarked 62-year-old Ferreira. “It makes me feel very sad that we have since 1991 not qualified for the World Cup, which is heart-breaking for us. We’ve come very, very close often. A lot of time, effort and money have gone into trying to get Zimbabwe back into a World Cup. I know that (Zimbabwe’s coach) Brendan Dawson has put his life on hold and has coached the side to the best of his ability. And we’ve come so, so close and obviously as ex-national team players we are so behind the drive to get Zimbabwe to the World Cup. So yes it’s very, very sad that we haven’t quite clear that hurdle. The talent is there, there’s no doubt. I’m fortunate enough to coach at Peterhouse College and before that I coached St John’s College. To Page 55 Zimbabwe's scrumhalf Andy Ferreira moves the ball with a dive-pass against Ireland at Lansdowne Road during the 1991 World Cup, watched by Sables teammate Brendan Dawson. ‘It is incredibly sad’: Two-time World Cup star rues another Zim absence