South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, pictured, is expected in the country next week on Monday for the third session of the Zimbabwe-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC), which will among other things enhance business relations between the two countries.

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Deputy Information minister Energy Mutodi confirmed to the Daily News yesterday that Ramaphosa will be in the country on Monday next week. “The South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected in the country 11 March 2019 and will be on a two-day working visit. The two heads of State and government are scheduled to discuss bilateral issues agreed earlier on during the inaugural BNC meeting and the subsequent meetings.

“President Emmerson Mnangagwa is geared to revive the economy through enforcing regional and international cooperation following many years of isolation. South Africa is our biggest trading partner in Africa and we expect discussions to focus around how the two countries can improve their trade ties and grow their economies,” Mutodi said.

According to the Foreign Affairs and International Trade ministry, a team of senior government officials from South Africa will be in the country this week ahead of Ramaphosa’s visit.

“The Third Session of the Zimbabwe-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC) will be held on 12 March 2019 at Meikles Hotel in Harare. The meeting will be headed by the two countries’ heads of State and Government…Mnangagwa, and his South African counterpart…Ramaphosa.

“The BNC is the highest bilateral framework of cooperation between Zimbabwe and South Africa. It will be preceded by a Ministerial Meeting on 11 March 2019, and a Senior Officials meeting on 7 and 8 March 2019,” the ministry said.

South Africa has been a crucial business partner to Zimbabwe following years of economic meltdown. Millions of Zimbabweans fleeing the economic pressures at home are living in South Africa where they are working in various sectors of that country’s economy.
World leaders have been pressuring South Africa, which is Africa’s second largest economy, to assist Zimbabwe politically and economically.

Calls for such intervention increased in January following protests that led to the death of at least 17 people at the hands of alleged State security agents. There are claims the opposition leader Nelson Chamisa will likely use Ramaphosa’s visit to approach him over the country’s political environment, which has immensely affected economic growth and the country’s efforts to engage with other countries around the globe.

Chamisa, who challenged Mnangagwa’s last year presidential win, recently rejected the Zanu PF leader’s call for a meeting to discuss the framework for possible dialogue among political actors in the country. He, however, set conditions for that dialogue, which include the release of activists arrested following deadly protests in January and the need for a neutral convener.

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NATIONAL Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) is not capable of addressing the Gukurahundi question, Mthawakazi Republic Party (MRP) has said.

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In a statement, MRP president Mqondisi Moyo said if the NPRC was credible, it could have been engaged in probing the violence that occurred in Harare on August 1, in the aftermath of last year’s July harmonised elections.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa instead appointed a seven-member commission of inquiry that included foreigners and was chaired by former South African president, Kgalema Motlanthe.
During its visit to Bulawayo last October, the Motlanthe Commission, however, came face to face with angry elements in the region who demanded answers about the silence on the Gukurahundi genocide which saw the death of over 20 000 civilians in the 1980s.

The NPRC recently announced its intentions to begin compiling information on the actual occurrences during the Gukurahundi era.
The MRP leader, however, warned that attempts by the NPRC to delve into the Gukurahundi genocide before dealing with institutional tribalism in the country would be fiercely resisted by all progressive Matabeleland forces.

Moyo said the findings of the highly-hyped Chihambakwe and Dumbutshena commissions on the Gukurahundi genocide during the former president Robert Mugabe’s reign had remained concealed; hence there was a need for an independent commission involving foreigners.

“We continue to demand a neutral international Commission of Inquiry into Gukurahundi Genocide because there was a foreign element in the commission of this crime against humanity. 
“Such a Commission must be able to unpack the involvement or lack of it, of the British government under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher,” said Moyo.

Last month, one of the NPRC commissioners, Leslie Ncube told the Daily News the NPRC would from this month start to gather as much information about the Gukurahundi disturbances as part of the building blocks towards national healing.

He encouraged affected communities to engage truthfully and to co-operate fully with the commission.

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Zimbabwe’s elephant population has declined by 10 percent over the last eight years, the Zambezi Elephant Fund (Zef) has said.
In a statement released last week to mark World Wildlife Day, Zef, which was formed in 2015 to actively address poaching in the Zambezi Valley, said elephants were now under increased threat.

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“Zimbabwe is home to the world’s second largest population of African Elephant, and yet overall Zimbabwe’s elephant population has declined by 10 percent since the 2011 Great Elephant Census. 
In the Zambezi Valley, African Elephants, amongst other species are under serious threat from poaching and over the past 13 years, 60 percent of the elephants in the Zambezi Valley have been lost,” read part of the statement. 

Zef, which works collaboratively with the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority, NGOs and the private sector in the fight against elephant poaching, added that it remained committed to collaborating with other anti-poaching organisations.

“We at Zef reaffirm our commitment to working with the local authorities, as well as a collaborative group of implementing partners, to ensure the long-term protection and preservation of the Zambezi Valley, its habitats and its wildlife. 

“Given their significance — not only as a keystone species to the survival and biodiversity of Africa’s ecosystems, but also as a major tourism attraction, it is vital that we as a nation step forward to ensure the protection of these intelligent creatures,” said Zef.

Though Zef is happy with what it has accomplished since it was established, it called on all those committed wild life preservation to partner with it in the fight against poachers. “In just three years Zef has made a real difference, supporting the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and reinforcing the efforts of several on the ground implementing partner organisations.

“Zef has, in collaboration with our partners, built an anti-poaching reaction ranger base, conducted multiple aerial surveys, supplied equipment and rations, trained rangers and held collaborative workshops.

“There is, however, more that we are doing, and still so much more we can do and for this we need your help,” said the elephant protection group whose coordinator is Richard Maasdorp.

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MDC MP for Harare West Joana Mamombe who was arrested on Saturday after attending to Parliament business in Nyanga, yesterday appeared before the Harare Magistrates’ Courts where she was formally charged with treason.

Mamombe yesterday challenged her placement on remand arguing that the police had breached the 48-hour provision, which is the time between a suspect’s arrest and the time s/he is brought before a court of law.

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She said before her arrest, her mother was put under house arrest by unidentified security agents who demanded to know her whereabouts. “I had gone for a Media and Parliamentary Workshop in Nyanga and around midnight of February 25, my mother called saying she was in trouble because six men were at the house looking for me.

The second call was from one of the men who was at my mother’s house and he told me that I was in hot soup,” she said.
Mamombe told the court that she then contacted her lawyer Obey Shava to find out if she was wanted by the police and was advised that the six men at her mother’s residence were not under police sanction.

She was later arrested on Saturday before being brought to court yesterday. Her lawyer argued that the 48-hour provision had been breached. Shava also claimed that one of the arresting details Dennis Muroyiwa was a bogus cop who had been sent by the army to execute Mamombe’s arrest. Muroyiwa claimed to be a member of CID Law and order but failed to name his superiors or appreciate basic police procedures.

“You do not know anything about police structures; you do not even know your previous boss or the department where you are supposedly based. Who is making you masquerade as an officer and when are you going to return to the barracks?” Shava queried.
Allegations against Mamombe emerged on January 14, 2019, when she held a presser at Civic Centre, Marlbrough in Harare in her capacity as MDC MP.

The court heard Mamombe together with members of her constituency planned to join hands with other trade unions to coerce and invite them to overthrow President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government.

It is further alleged the 25-year-old legislator urged members of her constituency to resort to civil disobedience and demonstrations to shut down Zimbabwe in response to public outcry over fuel price hikes, shortages and high cost of living.

The court heard that between January 14 and 16, 2019 and in response to Mamombe’s presser,  members of the opposition, various trade unionists, pressure groups, youth forums and members of the public engaged in violent protests across the country.

As a result property was destroyed, lives were lost, several police officers and members of the public were also injured.
Ruling of her bail hearing has been set for today.

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A 57-YEAR-old Harare man is in hot soup after he allegedly crashed into the lead car of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s motorcade. 

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Dennis Chiwawa, 57, is being charged for contravening Section 52 (2) of the Road Traffic Act for negligent driving. He is undergoing trial while on bail.   In his defence Chiwawa told the court he is a driver at Transport 24 and a holder of a valid driver’s licence. On November 23, last year, Chiwawa was driving a Toyota Corolla along Samora Machel Avenue due West.

The court heard that Pepukai Chimire an employee at the President’s office was driving a Toyota Hilux due south along Glenara Road, leading Chiwenga’s motorcade.The court heard at the intersection of Samora Machel Avenue and Glennara, the traffic light was in favour of Chimire, who was heading south.

It is alleged that the traffic light was showing red sign for vehicles along Samora Machel where Chiwawa was driving towards.
The court heard Chiwawa did not exercise caution and stop while facing the red traffic light but proceeded.

He crashed into Chiwenga’s lead car on the front passenger seat side. The car sustained a dent on the rear door.
According to the State, Chiwawa was negligent by failing to keep a proper lookout of the road ahead, driving through red traffic lights and travelling at excessive speed in the circumstances.

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MUTARE - Firebrand political activist Lynette Mudehwe has filed a court application demanding the incarceration of Home Affairs minister Cain Mathema and Commissioner-General of Police Godwin Matanga for failing to comply with a court order to pay her $6 000 in compensation.

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Mudehwe was granted compensation after she was brutally assaulted by the police as she was protesting the year-long stay in an upmarket hotel by former Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko.
In a court application that has been set down for hearing on March 13, Mudehwe is suing the duo in both their official and individual capacities. 

She also cited Finance minister Mthuli Ncube as one of the respondents, although she is not demanding his incarceration over the issue.

According to the application, Mudehwe, who is represented by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights lawyer Fiona Lliff, is seeking to have the pair found guilty of contempt of court for “wilfully disregarding” a court order handed down on December 3, last year.

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ZANU PF youth league has escalated its  attacks on former leader Robert Mugabe, pictured, whom it now wants stripped of all honours bestowed on him during his disastrous 37 years at the helm of the country.

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This follows Mugabe’s withering criticism of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s style of governance, particularly his government’s vicious crackdown against protesters in the January riots.
Last week, the youth league warned their former darling that he had crossed the line and agitated for harsher treatment by Mnangagwa who has, to his credit, so far remained unmoved by Mugabe’s attacks.

Zanu PF youth league leader Pupurai Togarepi has warned Mugabe that he could be stripped of his domestic honours because of his continued brawling with Mnangagwa and his government.
“As I reflected on events of the past month, itself a month of love, I thought about our former leader, a man whose birthday on February 21 is now a public holiday where youths from across the political divide take a breather and reflect, but do we really need to honour such a person? “Yes then but I am now confused.

“Can we keep our international airport named after a bitter man?  Can we walk on roads named after a person who destroyed the dreams and aspirations of a generation, these are questions that we need to discuss and debate.
“Least I am regarded as a revisionist, no I am not, I am only a Zanu PF son who loves his nation,” Togarepi said in a Facebook post.

During his reign, the ruling Zanu PF government honoured Mugabe by naming at one road in every city and town after the former strongman who ironically had the Harare International Airport named after him just months away from the stunning military coup which swept him from power.

The nonagenarian, who was ousted from power via a stunning military coup in November 2017, chose the occasion of his 95th birthday celebrations last month to once again stick the boot into Mnangagwa — whom he described as “cruel and rogue”.
Mugabe’s rant against Mnangagwa caught many by surprise as he was lately seen to be now tolerant of the country’s ‘new dispensation’ — even going to the extent, at some point, of praising his successor for “helping” his family.

Reacting to Mugabe’s latest attacks on Mnangagwa and his government, senior Zanu PF officials called for tough action against the frail nonagenarian this week, while also bemoaning the fact that he was being treated like a “little god” by his successor.

The officials from the ruling party’s youth and women’s leagues said as Mugabe was “unrepentant”, he did not deserve “the respect” that he was being accorded by Mnangagwa and the government.

Mugabe chose his 95th birthday celebrations at his palatial Borrowdale home — which is commonly referred to as the Blue Roof — to renew his feud with his once longtime aide, Mnangagwa, following his fall from power after nearly four decades at the helm of the country.

“You want to shower yourself with praises despite being at the top? You are not God ED. Today you are at the top, tomorrow you will be at the bottom. Keep that in mind. “God has his own way of punishing rogues and cruel people.

“He who is obsessed with seeing corpses everyday will soon realise that people would clamour too to see his corpse one day. I say to soldiers ‘stop killing people’. “What you are doing (killing people) is going to catch up with you very, very soon. Just tomorrow, it would have caught up with you,” the bitter Mugabe warned ominously in reports relayed to the outside world via his associates.

The nonagenarian was believed to be referring to the recent riots in which up to 20 people were killed when angry protesters clashed with security forces during a stayaway called by labour unions.
Pro-democracy and rights groups alleged that some rogue soldiers had also raped women during night raids, although the military has denied the allegations — saying this had been done by armed robbers and members who had deserted the security forces.

The January riots were sparked by steep fuel price hikes which were announced by Mnangagwa ahead of his trip to Eastern Europe.
“People should love their army ... they should not fear the army. We can’t continue with people being bashed on the head.

“So, I say to you, ‘get your lessons correct’. Let’s create an environment where our people are happy, not what’s happening now.
“We will not shy away or be afraid to talk. No! Let’s be frank with each other,” Mugabe said further during his birthday celebrations.

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THE MDC’s national standing committee (NSC) meets in the capital city tomorrow to finalise congress preparations amid serious jostling for positions among party bigwigs. Slated to run from May 24 to 26, the elective congress is the first to be held following the death of the party’s founding leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, in February last year.

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Tsvangirai, who succumbed to cancer of the colon, was replaced by 41-year-old Nelson Chamisa who has been leading the MDC since then. Chamisa’s legitimacy as the MDC leader has always been questioned by detractors who argue that he “grabbed” power when Tsvangirai was on his death bed. 

This led to one of Tsvangirai’s three deputies jumping ship to form her own MDC—T outfit. Elias Mudzuri — one of the three deputies — was also left disgruntled as he felt side-lined by the youthful MDC leader while secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora now believes that it is about time he assumes leadership of the party.

With congress dates now set, MDC insiders told the Daily News that emotions were running high ahead of the gathering.
Tomorrow’s NSC meeting comes as three antagonistic camps have emerged — one rallying behind Chamisa to remain at the helm of the MDC, the other gunning for Mudzuri while another is behind Mwonzora.

So bad have the relations become in the party that its deputy national chairperson Tendai Biti reacted angrily to recent suggestions by Zanu PF deputy youth secretary, Lewis Matutu that Mwonzora will upstage Chamisa. Biti viewed the suggestion as Zanu PF’s way of endorsing Mwonzora and vowed that the MDC would resist anyone seconded to the party by their political nemesis.

Mwonzora did not take lightly the fact that Biti had called him names when he described him as a Zanu PF-linked “nincompoop”.
The MDC secretary-general has made it clear that he will raise the matter in tomorrow’s crunch meeting. “We are working well together (with Chamisa), but some senior leaders in the MDC are resorting to hate language. I am going to raise it in the NSC we are holding this weekend,” Mwonzora was quoted saying at the weekend.

Mwonzora who had previously been keeping his cards close to his chest has expressed his desire to challenge Chamisa in a contest that could make or break his political career. Already, the incumbent Chamisa has received endorsements from several party structures including provincial wings, with the youth league going as far as declaring war on anyone who would dare challenge the youthful opposition leader.

Several party heavyweights have also thrown their weight behind Chamisa with those who are seen as potential challengers likely to face a hostile reception in the run-up to the congress and at the elective indaba itself.

MDC vice president Morgen Komichi said it is difficult to predict what will happen at the meeting. “We cannot judge what will happen before the matter is brought up for discussion but what I can tell you is that the party encourages dialogue first because you may realise that the issue is not as serious as you think,” Komichi said.

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HARARE - The MDC led by Nelson Chamisa has merged Harare province with Chitungwiza while Midlands North and South have been collapsed into one as part of preparations for its elective congress slated for May.

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MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume told the Daily News that the party was merely implementing a 2014 congress resolution whose implementation had been delayed owing to “circumstances beyond our control”.

With government working to devolve power to the provinces by putting in place provincial administrations throughout the country as provided for in the Constitution, Mafume said it became necessary for Zimbabwe’s biggest opposition party to align its structures with the national architecture of 10 provinces.

“Going into this congress, we will have 10 provincial executives after merging Harare and Chitungwiza as well as the two Midlands structures because they are not supposed to be existent if the 2014 congress had been implemented,” Mafume said, adding:

“Districts that will be affected by the development will be merged into the provinces they belong to in the national architecture. For example, Goromonzi will go back to Mashonaland East while Norton and Mhondoro will be under Mashonaland West province.”

According to a senior MDC official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the development means that some officials from Norton, Mhondoro and Goromonzi who might have wanted to contest for positions in their provinces, will be affected.

“While it is true that this was a 2014 congress resolution, some of us had invested in Chitungwiza province but now it means I have to work with structures that I have no relationship with in Mashonaland East where I now belong. At least we should have been told early,” the official complained.

But Mafume said the issue of aspiring office holders being disadvantaged “does not arise because it is not a new issue that suddenly came out ahead of this congress.
“We cannot go into a new congress without having affected the resolutions of a previous one. If there are any issues, and reservations, they have to come at the May congress but there we will be dealing with 10 provinces as that is what is constitutional,” he said.

Unlike the ruling Zanu PF party whose provinces reflect the country’s 10 provinces, the MDC structure has always had 12 provincial executives since its formation in 1999. The party — then led by its founding president, the late Morgan Tsvangirai — split its Midlands province into two as well as adding Chitungwiza and some parts of Mashonaland West such as Mhondoro and Norton as an independent provincial executive.

However, since Chamisa took over the party’s leadership following Tsvangirai’s death in February last year, the party has been undergoing a radical metamorphosis. The development comes as the party is also considering coming up with a war veterans’ wing at its next congress.

Meanwhile, party national organising secretary Amos Chibaya told the Daily News yesterday that congress preparations were now at an advanced stage with the lower structures expected to commence their congresses soon.

This comes as jostling for positions has intensified with party bigwigs likely to take each other head-on as they battle for supremacy in the 19-year-old opposition outfit. It’s already a dog-eat-dog affair in the MDC with those aspiring to contest for positions openly canvassing for support within party structures.

At the top, Chamisa is likely to be challenged by either his deputy Elias Mudzuri or secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora, or both.
Another battle of titanic proportions is in the offing for the position of deputy president. The MDC has three deputy presidents.

While Welshman Ncube’s position appears to be safe as he has support from all the Matabeleland provinces, the same cannot be said of the other two deputy presidents — Morgen Komichi and Mudzuri. Komichi might have to battle it out with deputy national chairperson Tendai Biti and secretary for elections Murisi Zwizwai.

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Fuel queues are getting even longer in the second city as government bureaucrats struggle to find a lasting solution to the crisis. Motorists are once again spending long hours in queues at pump stations dotted across the city, waiting to fuel their vehicles.
Supplies have been erratic, with only a few service stations getting deliveries.

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Of the few, some are selling in foreign currency — which most motorists are unable to access. For those selling in hard currency, petrol is fetching US$1,27 or R25 per litre. Diesel is being sold at US$1,20 or R20 per litre.  Forecourts in the second city mainly get their supplies by road from the Msasa gantry in Harare.
In the past when the National Railways of Zimbabwe used to operate an efficient service, rail was their preferred mode of transport.

Contacted for comment yesterday, Energy and Power Development minister Joram Gumbo said petroleum companies were withholding supplies as they are still digesting the impact of the Monetary Policy Statement announced by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya about a fortnight ago.

“The announcement of (floating) exchange rates in the monetary policy resulted in a wait-and-see attitude amongst most companies, and the fuel sector was not spared, and this has created some gaps. This explains the shortages being experienced,” said Gumbo.
The Energy minister also blamed fake news being peddled on social media for contributing to the shortages.
This followed social media posts to the effect that fuel prices were due to go up soon.

“Reports of fuel price hikes to $5,50 per litre that were being churned on social media last week also resulted in panic buying among the public and created these unnecessary shortages; queues started forming again,” he said.

Gumbo said while his ministry has done its part in availing fuel in the country, a number of impediments were making it difficult for motorists to access diesel and petrol.

“We are causing problems for ourselves by spreading the wrong information. Zimbabwe is not dry, there is enough fuel. The ministry of Energy and Power Development has made all necessary arrangements to provide fuel for the country.

The problems that are there are only logistical and the issue of forex (foreign currency). As for foreign currency, it is known that the country’s economy is not performing well – everything is being imported. The RBZ has therefore had to allocate forex on priority basis,” he said.

“If you look around the country there are many cars (on the road) and some of them are unproductive. I do not lie; I report truthfully, I give a weekly report and there is enough fuel supply in the country.”
Owing to the fuel shortages, government is working on a new set of regulations to allow holders of free funds to import fuel in a bid to boost current supplies.

In 2015, government amended Statutory Instrument (SI) 171 to allow members of the public to import up to 2 000 litres of fuel per month for personal use but the legal instrument was repealed two years later through SI 122 of 2017, which stipulated that only companies licensed in terms of Section 29 of the Petroleum Act are allowed to import fuel.

Meanwhile, the second city will run dry for three days this week due to repair works at the Ncema Water Works. Bongiwe Ngwenya, council’s spokesperson, confirmed the development, saying council had been working on the pipeline at Ncema for a while.

Bulawayo has been experiencing erratic water supplies for the past weeks which saw the municipality introducing a 48-hour water shedding regime. This was necessitated by outstanding repair works at the booster stations, located at the dams.

Last month, the city council informed residents that water consumption had remained very high despite the shedding programme. A message circulating on social media is calling on residents to fill up their containers as there would be no water supplies between today and Friday.

According to the message, the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) would only be able to supply some parts of the city.
“Please be advised that there will be a three-day shutdown of water supply from Bulawayo Council Ncema Water Works as from 05/03/19 to 08/03/19. You are urged to fill in your reservoir containers, although we will be having some supply from Zinwa reservoir but is not enough to supply the whole town,” reads part of the message.

Ngwenya has distanced the city from the message saying council has no such arrangement with Zinwa.

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HARARE - Members of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday took Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya to task over the rising public debt and the activities of a vehicle established by the apex bank in 2014 to manage non-performing loans (NPLs).

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At yesterday’s PAC hearing that had to be adjourned to a later date, the PAC felt that the way the burgeoning national debt was accrued over the years violated the law. For the past three decades, Zimbabwe has incurred a huge debt that now weighs heavily on the country’s economy.

Much of it, according to critics, went into funding government’s insatiable appetite for consumptive spending. Statistics put the national debt at US$16,9 billion, of which the domestic debt accounts for US$9,5 billion while US$7,4 billion is foreign debt.

In the last two years alone, a significant portion of the domestic debt was incurred through Treasury Bills (TBs) which critics allege were issued outside the RBZ’s precincts. Yesterday, Mangudya was hauled over the coals for continuing to issue the Bills.

The PAC was also not amused by the fact that the RBZ and its parent ministry of Finance did not consult Parliament before assuming external debts that included US$641 million from the Cairo-based Africa Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank); US$152 million from PTA Bank and US$25 million from Bank of Mozambique, among others.

“We, as a committee, are concerned with the issue of compliance and we would like to establish — as a matter of fact — that there was non-compliance which is why we want a breakdown of each year…,” thundered the committee chair, Tendai Biti.

“Our problem is there has been so much non-compliance with the Constitution, people not bothering to come to Parliament thus disrespecting this Parliament…,” he added.
In response, Mangudya said the RBZ Act gives the central bank relief from consulting Parliament.

The committee had also queried why the central bank had allowed government to borrow from it beyond the 20 percent statutory requirement through its overdraft facility. While Mangudya acknowledged the anomaly, amid pledges by the Finance minister Mthuli Ncube to keep the borrowings below five percent, he also took the fight to the PAC by questioning Parliament’s logic in approving a national budget which cannot be funded from the existing revenues.

“Where would Members of Parliament and Senators think the money would come from…I’m just asking because we are all to blame for this,” he said. Mangudya had to clear the air over allegations that the central bank was using the public’s deposits to finance government expenditure, saying this was not the case.

“We used the investments in the bank and not deposits from people. These are service bonds which amount to $2,9 billion. 
“The RBZ can borrow funds the way it sees fit and request the minister of Finance, that’s according to the current RBZ Act.

So all the loans that we have acquired from Afreximbank, PTA Bank have all ministerial consent and legal opinion from the Attorney General’s Office ...,” he said, adding that the loans were “well-structured facilities”. The committee also claimed that the bond notes introduced by the RBZ in 2016 as an export incentive had failed dismally, daring Mangudya to resign since he had indicated that he would quit if the surrogate currency fails.

Mangudya insisted that the bond notes were a success.
“For starters, people always want to put words into my mouth and I (want to) say this under oath; if the bond notes (as an export incentive scheme) fail to promote exports in this country I will resign,” he said.

He also revealed that Zimbabwe currently sits on US$500 million in foreign currency, enough to take the country for the next three to four weeks. The hearing essentially became a fishing expedition by the senior MDC official, Biti, who presided over the national purse between 2009 and 2013 when the unity government was liquidated,

While Mangudya rose to the occasion in fielding questions from the PAC, Biti, who has been using every forum presented to him to talk down Mangudya and government’s policies, was in a warring mood yesterday. He also grilled Mangudya over the Zimbabwe Asset Management Company (Zamco).

Zamco was set up in July 2014 as part of measures to deal with NPLs. Modelled along similar asset management companies in South Korea, Nigeria, Indonesia and Malaysia, the central bank had to give life to Zamco to prevent moral hazards in the banking sector where systemic vulnerabilities were quite rampant.

These NPLs were to be funded through long-term debt instruments approved by government. PAC members alleged, however, that Zamco was subjective in its acquisition of NPLs, and tended to favour political heavyweights. To the contrary, Mangudya said the vehicle mitigated a disaster that could have plunged the entire banking system and the country’s economy at large into chaos.

At the time, he argued that most companies had found themselves unable to service their loans due to a punitive interest rates regime that obtained when the country dollarised in 2009. “Zamco’s intervention was to make sure that companies become viable, secure and create employment, increase production,” he argued.

Thanks to the RBZ’s efforts, Mangudya revealed that NPLs have come down from a peak of 20 percent to eight percent.
Zamco has so far acquired 1 160 NPLs from banks valued at US$1,13 billion in the form of Treasury Bonds (Bonds), thus adding to the $6,3 domestic debt.

Mangudya said the beneficiaries have since repaid $360 million, leaving an outstanding amount of $770 million.
The committee pressed Zamco chief executive officer Cosmas Kanhai and Mangudya to disclose the names of individuals and companies that have benefited from the NPL relief.

Both declined saying they were bound by client confidentiality clauses not to disclose the names.
The PAC, however, insisted that Zamco was not a bank and that the borrowers housed in that vehicle no longer enjoyed the client-confidentiality clause.

The committee still wants Mangudya to disclose the names on his forthcoming appearance, including a breakdown of debts and TBs issued by government.
 

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Female dancehall singer Lipsy, pictured, is back in the limelight as she features on a gospel-themed song Ndingatyei by Tasha Kays which is accompanied by an all-female video.

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Born Tendazvaitwa Chitimbe, although the highly-gifted singer has battled chronic illness over the years, she has managed to keep afloat. “This is the beginning of the year and I’m hoping for the best. I liked working with Tasha and I hope the song will be embraced. This is not dancehall. “I can do songs in several genres, this is not the first time that I have branched away from dancehall,” said Lipsy.

Meanwhile, Tasha is a fledgling musician aiming to make a mark in the music industry.  She has so far dropped two singles, all with videos done by popular Naxo Films. One of the tracks is titled Nguva Yareba which she featured popular urban grooves singer Trevor Dongo, with a message of love which she says she specialises in.

She said she is comfortable in any genre and more music is coming from her with another track coming in a few weeks. “I’m currently releasing singles and so far two are out. I did this one with Lipsy and the other with Trevor Dongo. A third track Ndotarisa will be out in two weeks,” she said.

“My music can be described as good music not any particular genre because I’m comfortable with any style. I can do hip-hop, with Trevor it was an RnB track and this one with Lipsy is Afro type,” she added.

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National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (Nacz) has launched the People’s Choice for the 18th National Arts Merit Awards (Nama) voting platform, hence giving hope to artists like Winky D and comedienne Samantha ‘‘Gonyeti’’ Kureya who had failed to get a single nomination in this year’s edition.

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The arts mother body announced the news on their social media handles.
“Make your choice known and vote for your favourite artist in this year’s People’s Choice Award. Send a WHATSAPP message with your favourite Zimbabwean artists name to 0786286955 with the hash tag #namapeopleschoice2019. Voting closes at midnight on March 22, 2019,” reads the post.
The People’s Choice Award is a special award given to an artist or arts organisation selected by the public. The public is afforded the opportunity to vote for an artist of their own choice at every Nama.
People’s Choice Award is given to an individual/institution that would have received the most votes from members of the public through voting on the platform given above.
The public is at liberty to select an artist of their choice in any of the Nama categories of music, literary arts, dance, visual arts, film and television, theatre and spoken word.
This year’s awards are pencilled for Harare International Conference Centre on March 23.
Meanwhile, evergreen artists Winky D and Gonyeti have failed to make it on this year’s edition of National Arts Merit Awards (Nama) amid suggestions that their flirtation with politics cost them.
Jah Prayzah seemed to have also been affected as he was nominated in one category, outstanding music video with Dzamutsana, which is unusual of him.
This has seen this year’s awards being dominated by gospel music sensation Janet Manyowa who bagged three nominations in different music categories while Tamy Moyo, ExQ and Enzo Ishall have two nominations each.

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Female music promoter Wanisayi “Mahwindo” Mutandwa says there is need for the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe to consider women in the business of arts promotion.

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She believes pitting them with male promoters in one category at the Namas is unfair and casts a shadow on the good work they would have done throughout the year. “Female promoters need recognition. Nama groups all promoters in one category which resultantly will be unfair to female promoters because we do not have the financial muscle to match our male promoters but in terms of our work we are far ahead.

“They have categories for Best Male Artiste and Best Female Artiste, so why not have Best Female Promoter category? We also need that recognition and motivation,” she said. This year 2Kings Entertainment, Events Evolution and Unplugged are in the running for promoter of the year.

Mahwindo joins the likes of Mama Red Rose and Mai Jojo in the league of iron women in arts promotions with close to 15 years’ experience. Her name is familiar in music circles as evidenced by top musicians among them the late Tongai Moyo and sungura giant Alick Macheso who chant her name in their songs.

Several musicians also support her events. “Arts is my life, I have been in the game for over a decade. I have worked with several promoters in the country and several musicians. “Challenges are there and we need the assistance of Arts ministry and even National Arts Council to assist us as women in arts. We have several projects and ideas which need their support,” she said.

She has of late showed her interest in the promotion of Zimdancehall musicians. “I have worked with sungura musicians and I feel they are on a better level now and I have to go into other genres. My interests have gone into dancehall. “Recently, I saw a girl on social media singing dancehall and I called for her contacts and I can say I will be assisting her from now on. Her name is Star Girl,”

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Preparations for the 60th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) are now advanced with over 80 percent of available exhibition space having already been taken up, it has been learnt.

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The annual event — organised by the ZITF company — will take place at the Zimbabwe International Exhibition Centre in Bulawayo from April 23-27 under the theme, “Propagating Industrial Growth through Trade and Investment”. ZITF’s chairperson Ruth Ncube, yesterday, said the company was upbeat about participation as data for the comparable period last year had been surpassed by this year’s figures.

“Over 80 percent of available space has been taken up. We don’t have space and we have sealed parks and closed gate three and four to make space available for outside exhibitors,” she said at a stakeholders meeting in the capital. The ZITF boss also pointed out that the event had managed to attract quality exhibitors this year.
“In the past, we had almost become a flea market but this has changed and we have managed to attract quality exhibitors,” she said.

In line with its expansion drive, the ZITF is working on several refurbishments at the park. “A VIP Lounge is on target as well as broadband throughout the exhibition centre. In terms of installing Wi-Fi in the halls and venues, we are now 80 percent complete along with air conditioning and car parks,” she said.

Foreign interest in the exhibition has been high with confirmed foreign representation coming from Malawi, Mozambique and as far as Japan. From the end of last year, she said ZITF has been engaged in a concerted foreign participation drive that includes one-on-one meetings with a total of 30 foreign heads of missions based in Zimbabwe and representing target countries from SADC, South America, Asia and previously dormant markets such as Europe and North America.

“Additionally, company representatives have also taken part in high-level trade missions such as the Intra-Africa Trade Fair held last month where they had promising meetings with Government officials and businesspeople from African countries such as Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda.

“These initiatives complement Government’s efforts where, through the Zimbabwean diplomatic missions abroad, we have been actively engaging potential investors keen to partner with us for mutually beneficial projects.

“We are hopeful for a speedy conclusion to these discussions, culminating in trade and investment delegations from the afore-mentioned countries during ZITF 2019,” said Ncube.

She also pointed out that local interest in the show has also been high particularly from enterprises who wish to use the event as a showcase for home-grown industrial and technology solutions.

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Finance minister Mthuli Ncube says government will appoint transaction advisors to spearhead the privatisation of five key State-owned enterprises (SOEs).

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The targeted five enterprises are Zimpost, NetOne, TelOne, Telecel and the Peoples’ Own Savings Bank (POSB).

“Government has targeted five public enterprises for immediate reforms and work is already underway to identify transaction advisors,” he said.
According, to the 2019 National Budget, the five key enterprises are to be privatised under joint venture agreements and were given between 12 to 18 months to conclude the privatisation deals.
The entities used to contribute 40 percent to the economy, but poor management, corruption and weak corporate governance systems ran them down. 
As a result, a total of 38 out of 93 SOE’s audited in 2016 incurred a combine loss of $270 million.
Ncube said government will realise at least $350 million from the initial process.
Meanwhile, according to the latest Treasury report, cost containment and revenue enhancement measures pronounced in the 2019 National Budget statement presented in November last year,  are now delivering positive results after a surplus of $113 million was recorded in January.
 The document shows that revenue expansion and expenditure management strategies which form part of the core reforms entailed in the economic reform programme Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) are bearing fruit as proven by a sharp decline in the monthly budget deficits from $651,2 million in August 2018 to $39,8 million in September and $242,1 million in November and preliminary indications point to a surplus of $732,7 million in December 2018.
“With regards to January 2019 preliminary figures, revenue of $508,5 million was realised against disbursements/commitments of $395,5 million, indicating a surplus of about $113mln,” read part of the document, which details government’s progress on policy reforms.
Ncube noted that government introduced a two percent tax per dollar value transacted in October last year, replacing a previous tax of 5 cents per transaction. 
As a result $52,5 million was raised in November and $103,8 million in December 2018 giving a total of $166,2 million for 2018.
“By January 2019, the Electronic Transactions Tax raised $98,5 million and it is anticipated that $600 million will be raised during 2019,” he said.
According to the policy progress document, treasury said government has struck out more than 3 000 ghost employees who have been forming part of its bloated workforce.
However, economic growth is now forecast at four percent, primarily driven by agriculture, mining and services.
Strong economic activity is, however, confined to the first nine months of the year, with challenges related to prices increases, fuel and foreign currency shortages stalling the economy to reach higher levels of growth,” he said.

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Real estate valuation and advisory firm Integrated Properties says it has extended its product offering into engineering. The move has resulted in Integrated Properties becoming the first company in the country to bridge the gap between design, construction and value.

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Mike Juru, the company’s chief executive, said Integrated Properties is seeking to consolidate its position in the market as a one-stop shop providing end-to-end sustainable service in planning.
“A lot of projects have failed because of the lack of focus on the ultimate goal of maintaining the cost to within market constraints to allow project viability,” he said.

The company, with a stronghold in the financial services sector, also provides designing, development and real estate addressing the value engineering gap in construction that has been prevalent in the market. To complement its new role, Intergrated Properties has appointed Luckson Mujati an executive director and principal engineer.

The seasoned civil engineer with over 20 years’ experience, previously worked for Stewart Scott International (SSI) in various capacities in South Africa before being promoted to become its managing director for the Zimbabwean office.

He also worked for Old Mutual, Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe and Cascade Engineering in Zimbabwe. Juru said the organisation was not new to taking the market head on, as it was the first in Zimbabwe to hold three ISO certifications in Quality, Safety Health and Environment. The company’s efforts on quality were recognised at Sadc level when they won the Company of the Year Award recently.

“Further, the fragmentation and silo effect on procurement of professional services in construction has always left some ambiguity as to who is accountable for the outcome, as such bringing the aspects together under one roof eases the coordination and ensures project success with clear responsibility and accountability being given to a single entity,” he added.

Over and above real estate valuation, Integrated Properties has been offering Safety Health and Environment, town planning, construction management, real estate structured finance and property sales and management services.

The company has demonstrated growth within the real estate supply chain satisfying the ever increasing needs of the local market in the property consultancy arena.

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Zimabwean Coalition on Debt and Development (Zimcodd) has implored government to decriminalise artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) to enable the sector to fully contribute to economic development, poverty alleviation and foreign currency retention.

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In a statement, Zimcodd said government should promulgate an enabling legislative and regulatory framework that decriminalises ASM which should be supported by objective, consistent, transparent and non-discriminatory regulatory mechanisms which offer easy access to mining titles and legal production channels.

This comes after a report showed that in 2018, ASMs contributed 65,5 percent of gold deliveries to Fidelity Printers and Refineries, and this year’s Monetary Policy Statement showed that gold deliveries from small- scale producers increased by 64,5 percent from 13,2 tonnes in 2017 to 21,7 tonnes in 2018.

“This amount is obviously an underestimation of their production levels considering that ASM is criminalised in Zimbabwe. The contribution made by these miners under the unfavourable conditions characterised by hide and seek operations is therefore a clear testimony that once decriminalised and supported, it can turn around the economy,” Zimcodd said.

Zimcodd added that decriminalising ASM should be a quick win for the government in terms of boosting foreign currency and export performance, because the informality of ASM does not only sabotage the potential for turning around the economy but also have negative effects on the country’s social, environmental and fiscal well-being.

“The government should use statistics highlighted in the monetary policy as a basis for incorporating ASM as a strategic component for rural development which needs both technical and financial support,” Zimcodd said. The government last month introduced the new monetary policy whereby Real Time Gross settlements (RTGS) have been formalised to RTGS dollars and the exchange rate has been officially pegged at 1: 2.5 to eradicate illegal foreign currency dealings, and promote foreign currency retention.

However, small-scale miners have withheld their gold deliveries due to lower US dollar retention barely five days after the announcement of the Monetary Policy Statement with only 20kg of gold being delivered compared to the 60kg per day on average.

Zimcodd pointed out that an attempt by the government to increase the foreign currency retention threshold for ASMs to 55 percent consistent with the bigger mining houses and proposed 30-day amortisation period for redeeming the foreign currency retention may push off the ASMs to smuggling and other alternative markets where they access 100 percent foreign currency for their proceeds.

There are approximately 500 000 artisanal and small-scale miners in Zimbabwe and over one million people are dependent on the sub-sector.

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Global biotechnology giants Abbott Laboratories have set their eyes on introducing a rapid diagnostics test in Zimbabwe that can be used in remote areas for testing an HIV patient’s viral load.

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In an interview with the Daily News yesterday, Abbott vice president Willem Pretorius said the devices could be very useful in remote areas which do not have viral load counting machines.
According to Pretorius the test which has been World Health Organisation-approved checks and releases the results in 70 minutes and helps manage workload of staff.

“We noticed that the biggest challenge in Africa is that a large population lives in the rural areas and even in urban settings it takes a lot for people to access healthcare particularly vulnerable groups of society like single mothers, the elderly and orphans.

People still have to travel long distances and for diagnostics are done in advanced laboratories which take time for results to get back to the patient.” “We find that the costs of following up are high and sometimes it is hard to trace the patient up for their results.

The point of care diagnostics take the diagnostics to those people in the remote areas instead of getting the people to come to the diagnostics. This would save a lot of money for the country and the patient as well,” he said.

Pretorius said the diagnostics are very simple to perform and even a village health worker can use the machines with ease.
He said the advantages of the devices are that they give actionable results while the patient waits and this cuts costs for both the health centre and patient.                                        

“The advantages of using the device are that once tested for viral load, the caregiver can ascertain what to do with the patient; whether they have the drug resistance form because they are not taking their medication and have to be switched from first line to second line medication, whether to manage the virus.

“The device has many benefits for both the patient and healthcare system because the sooner the viral load is detected to be too high the better because if the disease will progress and destroy the helper cells and disease will progress to instate HIV.

“If we can keep the viral load suppressed we can preserve the immune system of the patient and they will have a healthier and longer productive life,” Pretorius said.

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EDITOR — Entrepreneurship is the act of creating a business or businesses while building and scaling it to generate a profit. 
However, as a basic entrepreneurship definition, it’s a bit limiting. 
The more modern entrepreneurship definition is also about transforming the world by solving big problems.

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Like initiating social change, creating an innovative product or presenting a new life-changing solution. Do you know where you are right now, you are the solution to that community or country.
Entrepreneurs are able to take the first step into making the world a better place, for everyone in it.

Never fold your hands. Don’t let the current situation in the country block your zeal on innovation. The meaning of entrepreneurship involves an entrepreneur who takes action to make a change in the world. Whether start-up entrepreneurs solve a problem that many struggle with each day, bring people together in a way no one has before, or build something revolutionary that advances society, they all have one thing in common: action.

It’s not some idea that’s stuck in your head. Entrepreneurs take the idea and execute it. Entrepreneurship is about execution of ideas.
Being an entrepreneur is not easy, regardless of whether you are starting our or have been running your business for years. 

From cash flow issues, lack of funding, a stagnant customer base and various regulatory hurdles to personal obstacles: there will be times you’ll want to throw in the towel. I know. The greatest entrepreneurs have been there, and they feel your pain and frustration.

That said, don’t quit just yet.  Don’t give up until you have tried everything you can to make your venture work. One of the avenues you should consider (if you haven’t done so already) is connecting with fellow entrepreneurs and learn from them. 

Ask them how they solved the issues they faced. Ask them how they dealt with the obstacles that came their way and hear from them how they went from zero to hero. If they can, you can.
Enos Denhere 

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