Government will on Friday convene a meeting here to help cover damages suffered by business in Bulawayo during the fuel price hike riots, with the destruction caused by protesters described as a catastrophe for the economy.

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After surveying the damage in the second city last month, the inter-ministerial committee pledged a US$20 million relief fund for the resuscitation of the affected businesses in the second capital.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa set up the inter-ministerial committee that was led by Industry and Commerce minister

Mangaliso Ndlovu to come up with a proposal on how government can assist the business community that was affected by the recent violent protests. After holding briefings at Mhlahlandlela government offices last month, the committee proceeded to tour affected businesses mainly in the western suburbs of the city.

An estimated $20 million potential revenue was lost as a result of the shutdown. Total preliminary property loss was $19,5 million, with Entumbane worst hit at $4 million loss, Lobengula next with $3,5 million loss, with over 150 shops affected. Vendors were also adversely affected.

Ncube said yesterday only businesses that tendered genuine submissions during the assessment of the damage are set to benefit from the emergency relief loans to be availed by government.
The minister told the Daily News that logistics for the disbursement of the funds are set to be finalised by the end of this week.

“This is still pending; details will be finalised by the end of the week. A breakfast meeting where the relief loans will be the main topic of discussion is going to be held at the ZITF on Friday (tomorrow),” he said. “Funding will only be made available for those individuals that made their submissions during the assessments by the inter-ministerial committee. 

“They are the ones we believe presented a genuine picture. 
“It is likely that some might just want to benefit upon realising that there are funds available. "The MDC has largely been blamed by government and Zanu PF for instigating the violent protests that destroyed a bulk of businesses in Bulawayo’s western suburbs.

During last month’s tour by the inter-ministerial committee which was led by Finance minister Mthuli Ncube in the city, Zanu PF politburo member Absolom Sikhosana said it was unfair for government to be expected to channel funds towards the resuscitation of the destroyed businesses, noting that the orchestrators of the violence should pay.

Yesterday, Ndlovu said the loans would be disbursed in a non-partisan fashion. “I don’t think there is any member of a political party that is benefiting from this funding but businesses that genuinely lost property during the violent protests,” he said.

Mnangagwa’s announcement of a more than 100 percent fuel price hike in January saw violent protests erupting in Bulawayo.
A damage cost of $19,5 million was recorded from the 181 shops and other business entities that were visited by the inter-ministerial committee, and that figure is reportedly inclusive of stock lost, equipment and property damaged.

Industrialists estimate that the economy could have lost business amounting to $300 million over the three-day forced shut-down.
Companies and individuals who lost their property due to the protests suffered financial challenges as insurance firms do not compensate destruction incurred from riots.

Ordinary businesses were largely targeted by the violent mobs, resulting in the loss of goods, income, jobs and shops that were vandalised. Thousands of police, military security and firefighters responded to the violent protests in a nearly one-to-one ratio with the thousands of protesters that rallied on the streets in Bulawayo and cities across Zimbabwe.

Hundreds of shops and public facilities were prevented from opening, with several shops looted, some set on fire. In his presentation before the committee last month, town clerk Christopher Dube said the city’s infrastructure was damaged while service delivery was adversely disrupted during the three-day protests.

Dube said the protests were the primary cause of the 48-hour water-shedding regime that the local authority had since implemented, due to the destruction of critical water pumping equipment. He said the city council was affected through damage to road furniture, traffic signs, traffic lights, City Hall benches, and kerbings.

There was also damage to road markings while the damage to road pavements included burning of carriageway surfacing or road tarmac and damage to surfacing resulting from the removal of kerbing.
There was damage to schools and health facilities experienced in some areas.Looted Byo businesses to get loans.

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ZANU PF bigwigs in Mashonaland West province are planning a clampdown on errant members of the youth league who have been accused of  abusing social media to attack the party leadership.

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This comes as fresh divisions have emerged in former president Robert Mugabe’s province — raising fears among senior party officials that factionalism reminiscent to the days of the vanquished Generation 40 (G 40) — is being revived by ambitious heavyweights.

Mashonaland West provincial youth chairperson Vengai Musengi has summoned WhatsApp groups administrators in the province to a meeting in Chinhoyi on Saturday, to flush out members circulating “harmful” messages against their seniors in the province.

“We have noted with concern the rampant and gross social media abuse in Mashonaland West Zanu PF structures where party members are disrespecting and vilifying leaders through politics of patronage. “Disciplinary measures will be taken against those found on the wrong side of the law,” Musengi warned in his letter.

However, he did not specify the incidents although the Daily News understands that two weeks ago the provincial executive was left stunned by “false” messages which claimed First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa was going to be booed during her visit in the province.

Sources that time said the executive members suspected a former provincial chairperson to have been behind the WhatsApp group which circulated messages denigrating the first lady — and at the same time accusing some of the provincial executives — of funding people propagating the attacks.

Mashonaland West province is currently dogged by serious infighting which has seen the Provincial Affairs minister and Hurungwe West MP — Mary Mliswa-Chikoka — facing the sack. The Zanu PF national leadership last weekend directed the regional structure to follow proper procedures as opposed to passing a vote of no confidence.

A vote of no confidence had been passed against Mliswa-Chikoka by the province last month over allegations of corruption and abuse of office and creating parallel structures in her Hurungwe West constituency, among a litany of other charges.

But provincial chairperson Ziyambi Ziyambi early this week told the Daily News the ruling party’s national disciplinary committee had directed that the executive desists from using votes of no confidence to discipline errant officials.

A number of Zanu PF officials now face an uncertain future over unproven charges that border on corruption and disloyalty to President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Zanu PF has experienced a number of ugly factional, tribal and succession wars over the past few years — including a mini-split following its acrimonious 2014 congress, as well as the chilling poisoning of Mnangagwa by his internal rivals during a youth interface rally in Gwanda in 2017.

During this difficult period, Mugabe had, until  the  military coup ended his ruinous rule, studiously refused to name his successor — amid claims that he was preparing his erratic wife Grace to succeed him.

Mugabe eventually fell from power when the country’s increasingly disaffected military launched Operation Restore Legacy, which saw him being put under house arrest — before the nonagenarian resigned dramatically moments before Parliament started damaging impeachment proceedings against him

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HARARE - Sweeping proposals seeking to reform the prison system have sailed through Cabinet, in a legislative victory that could boost prisoner rehabilitation efforts. 

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This comes as the country’s 46 prisons are plagued with congestion and shortages of everything from food to uniforms, with prison authorities struggling to feed almost 20 000 inmates due to lack of funding from the government.

The mooted new Prisons Act, whose principles sailed through the executive arm of government on Tuesday, attracted support from virtually all members. President Emmerson Mnangagwa was also said to have supported the iteration of the principles, thereby triggering the process of drafting the Bill.

After its drafting, the Bill will be sent to Parliament for debate, where it is expected to pass, before it reaches Mnangagwa’s desk for a signature. “Cabinet considered a submission on principles for the repeal and subsequent enactment of the new Prisons Act by the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary affairs,” Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services minister Monica Mutsvangwa told a news conference after the Cabinet sitting. 

Prison reform advocates are poised to hail the Cabinet passage of the reforms as a watershed moment for Zimbabwe’s criminal justice, which could positively impact the lives of thousands of prisoners.

The sweeping principles of the bill address concerns around the inadequacies of the existing legislation through incorporating international norms and standards relating to prisons administration as well as to align the domestic law to the Constitution.

The sweeping legislation passed on Tuesday proposes modernising the prisons legislation with a view to ensuring that it accords with international norms and standards regarding the administration and treatment of prisoners and providing a prison system that caters for the needs of vulnerable groups, such as pregnant women, juvenile offenders as well as the disabled and other special categories of society with special needs.

Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said adopting international prison standards will remove stigma associated with inmates, easing rehabilitation of convicts into the society. “We will … create correctional community centres which are basically open prisons where some of our offenders will be allowed to stay in some of these open prisons where they get life skills, where they are rehabilitated and prepared to be integrated back into society.

“And these open prisons we want them to be interactive so that members of the community can also interact with these prisoners so that we remove the stigma that is associated with being a prisoner,” he said. The open prisons offer a more relaxed environment for convicts, permitting them to take up employment and education opportunities inside the prison.

By law, prisoners are not to forfeit their right to education and work by virtue of their imprisonment.
However, in Zimbabwe not all prisoners and juveniles have been allowed access to educational programmes and learning, violating detainees’ right to education and employment.

The Bill, expected to easily clear the Zanu PF-controlled bi-cameral Parliament, and moves the needle in a significant way in broadening the scope of the parole system so as to accommodate all categories of prisoners.

Ziyambi said: “We will now focus more on restorative justice, we want the rehabilitation of offenders to be the major focus. “We take the offender from society, we rehabilitate, we prepare them to be released back into society so the correctional aspect of our prison service will be emphasised.

“The other major change is the parole system that focuses on those that have a longer term and we are saying we want to broaden it to say that we want everyone to qualify for parole and this is one of the changes that will come.”

The reforms also seek to promote community involvement in prisons’ correctional services in order to ensure that inmates do not face difficulties and hostilities upon reintegration into society.

The Bill also proposes the establishment of correctional community centres throughout the country; and enabling prisoners to consult with a medical practitioner of their choice at their own expense.
Under the new Act, convicts will also be accorded the freedom to choose their personal medical health within new Correctional Community Centres.

The centres are to be set up throughout the country and convicts will also be able to interact with members of the society.
The prison reforms come as Zimbabwe is in the midst of a mass incarceration crisis, with government moving the principles of the bill closer to the finish line.

“By May you will see the Bill already in Parliament. So, it is one of our priority areas to ensure that we complete this exercise,” Ziyambi explained.

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Miffed ruling Zanu PF bigwigs yesterday told off the United States of America (USA) after its president Donald Trump extended sanctions on Zimbabwe by another year on Monday.

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In extending the sanctions, Trump accused President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF government of not instituting broad political, economic and rights reforms to necessitate the removal of the punitive restrictions.

Speaking to journalists in Harare yesterday, after his party’s politburo meeting, Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo said the USA’s actions were as good as attempting to overthrow a legitimate government.

“We are not a colony of anybody, we are a sovereign State. We can’t give conditions to America itself. Will they like that?
“To tell Trump now that we are giving you the following conditions, do you think he will say thank you? Describe us in another language, but we cannot be given conditions.

“To start with, we never had any problem with the American government or administration. This is a historical problem between us and Britain in terms of the land issue. That’s where it started,” Khaya Moyo said. “America never colonised us. Why should they now be giving us conditions and say now also it affects their foreign policy. What does that mean?

“It just means that they want to overthrow the elected government, the legitimately-elected government and we cannot go by that. We are a sovereign State and we shall remain sovereign,” he added.
This comes after Trump raised hopes last year that his government could finally end nearly two decades of frosty relations between the US and Zimbabwe, after he sent a powerful delegation to Harare to engage with Mnangagwa ahead of the country’s elections.

However, on Monday he extended the sanctions after citing little progress in the implementation of broad reforms which his administration had hoped would have been completed by the time Zimbabwe held the historic July 30, 2018 elections.

“On March 6, 2003, by Executive Order 13288, the president declared a national emergency and blocked the property of certain persons, pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706), to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States constituted by the actions and policies of certain members of the government of Zimbabwe and other persons to undermine … democratic processes or institutions.

“These actions and policies had contributed to the deliberate breakdown in the rule of law in Zimbabwe, to politically motivated violence and intimidation in that country, and to political and economic instability in the southern African region.
“The actions and policies of these persons continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United States.

“For this reason, the national emergency declared on March 6, 2003, and the measures adopted on that date, on November 22, 2005, and on July 25, 2008, to deal with that emergency, must continue in effect beyond March 6, 2019.

“Therefore … I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13288,” Trump said on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Zanu PF politburo yesterday dissolved its Harare and Bulawayo party structures.

The party also nullified the vote of no confidence on its youth leaders — Pupurai Togarepi, Lewis Matutu, Tendai Chirau, Admire Mahachi and Mercy Mugomo. The leaders were accused of allegedly failing to defend Mnangagwa.

Lovemore Matuke has now been tasked with investigating the origins of the vote of no confidence petition, as well as identifying the signatories — and to present a report to the party at the next politburo meeting.

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HARARE - Influential Americans have expressed disappointment with President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his government for failing to live up to their promises that were made when the country’s former leader, Robert Mugabe, was ousted from power through a military coup in November 2017.

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This comes as President Donald Trump has just extended sanctions against Zimbabwe by another year — after noting that there has not been significant reforms since Mnangagwa took office.
Mnangagwa, who was feted like a king by millions of long-suffering Zimbabweans when he took power, has increasingly battled to provide life to the country’s near comatose economy.
This has recently resulted in the country witnessing deadly riots, which were sparked by Mnangagwa’s announcement of steep fuel price increases.

Reflecting on the performances of the Zanu PF leader and his government since taking power in 2017, former United States ambassador to Zimbabwe, Bruce Wharton — together with fellow diplomat Linda Thomas-Greenfield — said in a recent opinion that the country had missed a great opportunity to move forward following the dramatic coup.

“Early euphoria has translated to high levels of frustration by a disaffected and marginalised youth population affected by high unemployment, shortages of major staples and scarcity of foreign currency.

“Hopes that Zimbabwe, through Mnangagwa, would be one of those rare examples of a military coup that restores democracy are slowly and methodically being dashed by a military not willing to allow change. Until recent unrest in response to the rise in petroleum prices and high inflation, most Zimbabweans still hoped for reform of the country’s governance and economic systems and some were still willing to give … Mnangagwa time to show that he is the reformer he has promised to be.

“However, recent splits within Zanu PF and a clear lack of control of the military by Mnangagwa … show that the marriage of convenience between Mnangagwa and the military is unravelling,” the diplomats said in their analysis.

Mnangagwa swept to power in November 2017 when the military intervened in the country’s governance, ending Mugabe’s ruinous rule of nearly four decades. This saw Mugabe being put under house arrest — before the nonagenarian resigned dramatically moments before Parliament started damaging impeachment proceedings against him.

The euphoria which followed Mugabe’s fall led to hopes that Mnangagwa, who was Mugabe’s long-time aide, would chart a different course. Britain and the US were among the countries which dispatched emissaries to Zimbabwe as part of their efforts to strengthen ties which had broken down during Mugabe’s era.

In April last year, Trump sent to Harare members of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including influential US Senators Jeff Flake and Chris Coons — who met with Mnangagwa moments after he had returned from a week-long State visit to China — amid indications then that Washington was ready to consider ending nearly 20 years of Zimbabwe’s isolation by the international community if it held free and fair elections.

Both Flake and Coons had introduced a new Bill to amend the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (Zidera), which meted out punitive sanctions against Mugabe personally, as well as against many of his senior officials and some State entities.
The new Bill, the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Amendment Act of 2018, contained conditions which were specific to Mnangagwa’s administration — which Trump said on Monday had mostly not been met thus far.

As a result, Trump extended America’s sanctions against Zimbabwe by another year. Political analysts told the Daily News yesterday that the door was still open for Mnangagwa and his government to show the world that they were different from the Mugabe regime.

“In the context of current US political dynamics and the recent violent repression evident in the Zimbabwean State, it would have been difficult to prevent these measures (sanctions) not being rolled over.
“Certainly, the government could be more proactive in engaging the US on these issues and their removal must follow available protocol and navigate existing political realities. 

“Much more important at this juncture, however, is for the Zimbabwean government to secure greater clarity on stipulated Zidera reform issues and how it is already or must meet reform criteria to prevent the invocation of … provisions that could seriously stymie efforts to access preferential credit options from international financial institutions,” Piers Pigou, a senior consultant at the International Crisis Group, said.

Namibia-based academic, Admire Mare, said Mnangagwa needed to deliver on all promised reforms to prove his sincerity in upholding a new human rights culture in the country.
“More needs to be done beyond aligning controversial laws with the Constitution. Issues like the rule of law, constitutionalism and ensuring press freedom and freedom of assembly are key.

“Reforms are a complicated cup of tea because of the resistance from within, and the attempt to balance off competing interests within the body politic. However, political will often triumphs over such resistance,” Mare said. Another political analayst, Rashweat Mukundu, said Mnangagwa and his government still had time to mend their relations with the US, but everything depended on whether they had the appetite to address issues that had continually exasperated America.

“The good thing about US sanctions on Zimbabwe is that they are on an annual basis, giving the Zimbabwean government the rest of 2019 to address the issues stated in the sanctions law of the Americans.
“It is up to government to study that law carefully and address the issues therein. My understanding is that America has always kept its doors open for dialogue with the government on how these matters can be addressed.

“But more critically, the ball is in Mnangagwa’s court to remove media and anti-democratic laws that restrict not only political freedom, but freedom of expression and to stop the repression that we are seeing.
“So, these are the things that Mnangagwa can address if he is committed to that.

“The sanctions are continuing more as informed by the actions of the Zanu PF government and not necessarily what people may see to be some hidden agenda of the Americans,” Mukundu said.

Analysts have previously said the post-July 30, 2018 election shootings — which left at least six civilians dead when the military used live ammunition to quell a demonstration in Harare — as well as the dozens of deaths during this year’s fuel riots, and the subsequent vicious clampdown of dissenting voices — have dented Mnangagwa’s international image significantly, in addition to harming his chances of getting financial support from Western countries.

In January this year, police and soldiers were engaged in running battles with protesters who flooded the streets of Harare, Bulawayo and other towns — to protest the steep fuel price hikes which were announced by Mnangagwa ahead of his tour of Eastern Europe.

Property worth hundreds of thousands of dollars was also destroyed and looted in the mayhem which ensued, after thousands of workers heeded a three-day strike call by labour unions.

At the same time, security forces unleashed a brutal crackdown against the protesters, the opposition and civil society leaders, in a move which received wide condemnation in the country and around the world.
 

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An outstanding Zimbabweans robotics major in Sweden is afraid to come back home to use his knowledge for the development of his motherland fearing persecution because of his links to the under-fire opposition MDC.

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Cornelius Sagandira, an MDC activist who is nephew to the party’s
Makoni Central constituency top official Patrick Sagandira, told the
Daily News that he is fearful for his life in Zimbabwe.

“I was very young at the time when my family was heavily involved in
the opposition politics and naturally I would join other youths but I
unfortunately became a target of the Zanu PF youths as they attempted
to burn us alive in our home,” Cornelius said.

“I would love to come back home and work for my country but the mere
thought of it sends a chill down my spine because of what I
experienced. I had hoped that now (former president Robert) Mugabe is
gone, it should be safe but what I am seeing in the media regarding
the human rights situation there is not good,” said the Jönköping
University student.

“Only recently I heard that some party officials who supported my
uncle in the last elections before he lost the primary elections were
also kidnapped by unknown people and it is sad.

“On the 7th of March 2017 I went back to Zimbabwe to attend my
grandmother’s funeral in Nyanga and I had planned to stay in Zimbabwe
for three weeks but on the 10th of March when I was on my way to
Mutoko, I was attacked by Zanu PF youths.

“I was stabbed with a knife at the right-side armpit. Fortunately, I
managed to get in the car and left. I had to book a ticket to go back
to Sweden on the 12th of March because I was afraid of being killed.”

MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume warned that it will be foolhardy for
Sagandira to come back hoping to see change.

“The situation is still as dire as the boy left and it would be unwise
for him to think that because Mugabe is gone then there is change
because it has become worse, restrictions are continuing,” Mafume
said.

Following Mugabe’s ouster in the November 2017 soft coup that saw the
ascendancy of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, most European countries
began to prepare to deport Zimbabweans on the assumption that things
had changed back home.

But Amnesty International, the International Crisis Group and the
Zimbabwe Restoration of Human Rights Organisation (ROHR)’s recent
reports show that authorities have maintained a brutal crackdown in
the wake of protests over fuel prices, with dozens of killings,
reports of rape by military personnel and widespread arbitrary arrests
and torture among other serious human rights violations.

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Psychotherapist Viktor Frankl emerged from the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps to found a new dogma of existential analysis which he named logotherapy and explained in his seminal book. 

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He survived two of the worst Nazi death camps, Auschwitz and Dachau, spending his time trying to establish what made a person survive.
The optimists, he found, would inexorably be worn down in their lived hell, while the pessimists would suffer the same fate — unable to make sense of the horror. The tragic optimists, though, would survive. These were people who believed that in spite of everything around them, all evidence to the contrary, life was worth living.
A tragic optimist is almost a counterpoint to the dramatic thinkers that we all seem to be.
The dramatic thinkers place themselves in the very groups that Frankl identified — the hopeless optimists and pessimists, neither of whom survive.
We want our leaders to be heroes, we want them to be perfect. The truth is, they are none of these; they’re human, tainted, vulnerable — some are even corrupt. Some might have weaponised theft into State Capture, others might steal a little, but create more value for the rest in the process.
The bottom line is that our leaders are just like us, but we refuse to accept their ordinariness. It’s abject proof of our lived level of despair that we create these icons and clutch to them — and then pin almost impossible expectations upon them, increasing our despair when they fail or are shown up.
It comes back to the old question famously asked by that great South African-grown captain of industry Norman Adami. Do we want a world of dreams or do we want to make reality our friend? When we refuse to accept the inherent humanity of our leaders and their associated imperfection, we dissuade ourselves from ever stepping up to the challenge of becoming leaders ourselves, because we are scared of being found out.
We need to accept our imperfections and overcome them, just like other leaders do. The best leaders, the great statesmen of the world, understand that leadership is a role that they take on to achieve the purpose at hand and are able to shed that mantle when the purpose is achieved and go back to being ordinary human beings once more.
They just allow themselves to take on the attributes of leadership while they need to. The best leaders are not just great characters, they have great character.
We can all become better, even great leaders; the first step is holding our leaders to account, which we don’t do. We should see our leaders as performance objects and treat them as such, rewarding them when they do perform and sanctioning them when they underperform, by replacing them if need be. We can only do this through a free and wholly transparent media, holding them to task without fear, favour, or agenda. But also by supporting and recognising good performance.
We also need to start preparing our leaders for the roles they take on, as they do in China. If you’re an aspirant politician, you start off by being entrusted with the running of a large village or a small town, by their standards — such as Welkom in the Free State. If you excel, you are given a bigger town to administer, such as Johannesburg.
It’s the same in corporate life, where it is humbling to see young managers taking on and running massive corporate projects. 
Through all of this, they are learning deep skills in management and administration and they’re being tested and forged, hearing from their stakeholders — whether voters or shareholders — all the time, learning accountability.
Leaders are no different from us; they’re just trained differently and they have a vastly different approach and understanding of scale which allows them to master large projects and deliver them.
We can be like them. There’s nothing stopping us — we just need to ditch the dramatic thinking, own our frailties and hold very tightly to our sense of purpose that makes everything worthwhile, and keeps us on track to achieve what we set out to do. And commit to relentless, never-ending learning. 
— DM

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The Mutare City Council forensic land audit report covering 2007 to March 2018 has exposed rampant corruption in the valuation of stands in the local authority with low density stands selling for as little as 60 cents per square metre.

Those who seemed to have benefitted were sitting councillors and other council officials who bought or sold these stands to their close allies. So revealing in the report are allegations that even after “selling” themselves the stands for so little, most of the councillors whose terms expired went away without settling the little they had charged themselves.

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And to conceal most of these corrupt practices, the audit report says council had never carried out an audit for the past five years. It is shocking!
The report which we cover in the paper fingers the City Valuation Officer as being involved in stands deals as council disposed stands for commercial, institutional and industrial activities without going to tender, hence promoting underhand dealings.
Current Mutare Mayor Blessing Tandi is also reportedly one of the councillors who benefited from the corruption as he is among those sold      52 undervalued stands prejudicing council of over $80 000.
It is sad that both MDC and Zanu PF councillors are involved in the scandal with 31 of the stands still to be paid for.
Startling revelations also point to political bigwigs being involved as the report implicates land development company Mushamukadzi Housing Project owned by a Zanu PF bigwig  which “might not have paid for land to council” on which it developed and sold 187 stands in Hobhouse area.
The audit says there was “no proof of payment in the council record made by Mushamukadzi Land Developer towards the land sale” which is valued at $176 000 despite claims that it had paid $53 000.
Sadly, the report accuses council of allocating land to land developers whose financial capacity they would not have assessed.
Mutare City Council is also guilty of violating the Urban Council’s Act for failing to timeously audit its finances having last done so five years ago.
“Financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2015 were still at draft stage and not audited,” the report noted.
While this was illegal it also compromised the quality of decisions the local authority’s management and policy makers were making
It recommended that the local authority recruits a substantive finance director and his deputy among “other key posts in the department as to ensure that final accounts are consolidated and made ready for statutory audits timeously.”

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Zimbabwean politics has for long been like reading a wrong syllabus for an examination and I see no end to this as we are already in the 2023 electioneering mode.

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I have concluded that the definition of Zimbabwean politics is ensuring the citizenry are confined to economic suffering, hold them captives of patronage, limit their horizon of thinking, give them some crumbles for relief, feel the pain and hunger on their behalf, give them endless promises make them believe only politicians have got total control of answers and solutions to the suffering majority’s expectations, dreams and hope. Whilst the politicians and the privileged few are enjoying life now, the suffering majority followers are being promised better life not tomorrow but in the future! The situation which Zimbabwe has endured is testimony to a country that has lost hope, now looking up for divine intervention and an oasis of hope from our politicians’ conscience. — MK.

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It is sad to note that more and more people are not able to afford healthcare facilities in this country.

The situation is worse for women and children and the elderly are also finding themselves without much-needed healthcare, forcing them to flock to government institutions.

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The fact that people are forced to seek free healthcare services shows that things are not well in the country.
Recent reports that Harare Central Hospital was struggling to cope with a surging number of women seeking free maternal health services — creating bed shortages in the process at one of the country’s major referral centres is an indication that all is not well. It is sad that these women who are performing a national duty have to seek free medical attention to bring the future leaders of this country just because they cannot afford maternity fees.
According to press reports, the situation at Harare Hospital was worsened by the fact that some council-run polyclinics are still charging maternity fees, eight months after government policy to scrap them.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government scrapped maternity fees and ordered free treatment of children under the age of five, as well as people above 65 years as part of its 100-day action plan.
Even though the government has scrapped maternity fees most of these families are unemployed hence they cannot afford better healthcare. The fact that these government institutions are overstretched shows that the government needs to address the economic challenges that the country is facing as a matter of urgency. Government should enforce that private institutions reduce maternity fees so that women can access healthcare services without challenges. 
As long as the economy is in shambles free healthcare  services will continue to be overstretched affecting the quality of service delivery. 
Government has to make healthcare affordable so that people have a choice and can utilise free services when need arises. Nomatter.

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Austerity measures announced by the authorities ostensibly to stabilise or resuscitate the comatose economy, are in reality an act of removing a life jacket to a situation that had drifted to the deep end.

That Zimbabwe’s economy has ground to a halt is a painful truth hard to accept and believe. So much effort has or is being put to get the economy moving but all the effort is being overpowered by the force and weight of the economic challenges Zimbabwe has endured since the late 90s.

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The plain truth is government is overwhelmed by situations needing its attention as much as they may want to portray a sense of courage and bravery their efforts are not yielding much for the suffering majority to appreciate and ailing businesses to acknowledge.
The government has to move with speed and sincerity to ensure the few businesses still operational having fought hard to keep their heads above the water are rescued from collapsing as a result of imminent or already increased rentals for leased business premises, stagnant sales volumes and ever increasing input costs.
There has been so much confusion on the rental pricing structure as a result of the announced RTGS dollar and the FCA accounts. 
Government has to clarify. 
The reality of record business closures this year is as sure as the sun sets in the west.
It is unfortunate that politics has emerged as the queen mother of determining the functionality of our nation at the expense of citizens determining and working toward a harmonious nation where every citizen feels proud to belong, take collective responsibility and effort to preserve.
After all there are so many institutions where there is convergence of citizens irrespective of different political inclination.
Now is the time for all citizens of this great country to unite in another push to revive our ailing economy.
 

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BULAWAYO - It seems there is no end in sight to Highlanders’ pre-season woes as players vowed to continue with their strike until their grievances are fully addressed by the team’s leadership.

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The Bulawayo giants have had a shaky pre-season training that has been characterised by player revolts due to non-payment of salaries and signing on fees. The strike has left the Bosso technical team led by Madinda Ndlovu in a quandary as they cannot properly plan for the 2019 Castle Lager Premiership season which commences on March 30.

As things stands the ZNA Charity Cup scheduled for Sunday between Highlanders and Chicken Inn now hangs in the balance with reports last night indicating the match had been cancelled. 
Players, who spoke to the Daily News on condition of anonymity blamed the team’s leadership for not being sincere and truthful to their plight.

“Imagine the chairperson (Kenneth Mhlophe) addressed us on Tuesday and told us that we will get our dues before end of day that same day. He even begged us to train as we were going to get our monies that very same day,” said one seemingly frustrated senior player.

“Up to now (yesterday) nothing has come. Some of the players are already being evicted from where they rent. It is unfortunate the executive has failed to keep their word so many times, they keep shifting goal posts. Imagine the club chairperson lying to the players, who are we going to trust now?”

Highlanders’ one-year sponsorship deal with telecommunications giant NetOne expired at the end of last year and they are believed to be negotiating for the extension of the deal. The delay in agreeing terms has, however, impacted heavily on the Bulawayo giants’ preparations ahead of the new season.

The team has hardly prepared this pre-season as players are not willing to train without receiving their salaries. Another player who also chose not to be named for fear of victimisation said: “The players are willing to train and love the team so much.

“Instead of the executive dealing with the problem at hand they prefer to play hide and seek after making false promises.
“Instead of addressing the problems, some players are victimised instead in what I think is witch-hunting. The issue is getting out of hand because it looks like no one really cares about our welfare and our families who depend on us.”

Another senior player added: “All they want is for us to train, how are we expected to focus when we are being evicted from where we stay and have since become a laughing stock in the community?
“Worse when it’s news all over that a Bosso player is failing to feed his family, pay rent and children have not paid school fees three months into the year.

“It doesn’t give a good picture of the team as a whole and even the sponsor that we desperately need. Remember, we are brand ambassadors for Highlanders and the sponsors.” And while players admit to be on strike, club chief executive Nhlanhla Dube has been spreading a different gospel saying the players are not on strike but were given time off after a vigorous training session, in what appears to confirm what the players are saying on the insincerity of their leadership.

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Top Zimbabwean female bodybuilder Regina Jonga emerged the overall winner of the Tera Inter-Continental 2019 WFF Pro Am Championship in Shangai, China yesterday and subsequently waved goodbye to amateur bodybuilding.

Jonga overcame stiff challenge in a six-member line-up in the women extreme category to be crowned champion.
Following her victory early yesterday morning, she was presented with a gold medal, trophy and a pro-card.

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A pro-card is a professional card which means the athlete is now regarded as a professional by the respective federation.
She joins an illustrious list of other top local women bodybuilders with pro-card such as Carla King (WBFF), Tarryn Heather (WBFF) and Mitchelle Fortman IFBB Elite League.
“I’m excited, this was my first time competing at this level and I’m very grateful to Iron Lion Nutrition and Supplements for coming on board providing me with the air ticket, accommodation and registration fees for me to be able to stand head and shoulders above the rest on a global stage. It is a dream come true,” Jonga told the Daily News from China yesterday.
“This is a victory for local bodybuilding, victory for Zimbabwe and my fellow sisters and above all victory for Africa, if ever this is a dream, I wouldn’t really want to wake up honestly. It was a tough competition, bodybuilders here gave me a good run for my money but through God’s grace I managed to come out tops.”
National Federation of Zimbabwe Bodybuilding and Fitness secretary-general Quiet Shangai said it is victory for the fitness industry.
“It’s good for the industry. It will definitely attract more women into the sport. It will take a very long time to have another Regina Jonga. She has won almost everything from Novice Zimbabwe to Arnolds Classic and now another international trophy. We are humbled to be part of her development,” said Shangai.
Jonga’s story would not have been complete without the intervention of local company Iron Lion Nutrition and Supplements who came to her aid at the last hour. 
She was badly in need of air ticket and accommodation which the company through their managing director Cornlius Rudziva gladly obliged to cover all the costs as well as registration fees and her up-keep while in China.
“As you may have known, one of the major pursuits we had over her was the issue of having a pro-card and I’m happy that she’s now a licensed professional bodybuilder in Zimbabwe and bear in mind that she’s the first ever black woman to attain a professional bodybuilding licence,” Rudziva said.
“The athlete will spend additional nights in China after she was invited to participate in tomorrow’s pro bodybuilders contest.
“They have seen that whatever she is, she is good enough…she came first overall and then they have asked her to come and compete on Saturday against the pros…within 24 hours of getting a pro-card and she is ready to fight for the next level,” added Rudziva.
Jonga is excited about competing in her debut pro event tomorrow.
“I’m very happy that I’m competing with pros, this is a new level altogether, way different from amateur bodybuilding but I’m ready and I’m certain of crossing the bridge when I get there,” she said.

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Today is Women’s Day and musicians have given the gents opportunity to spoil their women in commemoration of the day with a number of showcases. Ladies enjoy yourselves by attending any event of your choice.

Macheso, Baba Harare share stage
Sungura giant Alick Macheso will tonight be in action at one of his favourite hunting grounds Pamuzinda along Bulawayo road.
He will share the stage with popular jiti musician Baba Harare. After this outing, tomorrow they will be together again at Tanza Centre in Chitungwiza.

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Ricky Fire, Guspy in Marondera
Dancehall singers Ricky Fire and Guspy Warrior will tomorrow showcase their chanting prowess at Club Werras in Marondera. 
Boss Werras said all is in place for the veterans’ show. 
Club Werras has become a home of entertainment in the Mash East town hosting several entertainers.

Mukanya at Pakare Paye
Veteran Chimurenga musician Thomas “Mukanya” Mapfumo will tonight perform at Nyamakwere Garden in Mutoko. 
Tomorrow, he honours the late superstar Oliver Mtukudzi with a gig at Pakare Paye Arts Centre in Norton. 
He completes the weekend with a family show at Zebra Village in Mbare. He will be with Progress Chipfumo at all the gigs.

Sulu back at Long Cheng Plaza
Dendera musician Suluman Chimbetu will tonight return to his favourite hunting ground Long Cheng Plaza in Belvedere with a performance at Food Nest.

Young Igwe in Ruwa
Peter Moyo will tomorrow stage a special gig at Prime in Ruwa. 
“We have one gig this weekend at Prime Ruwa. This is a must-attend as we showcase some new styles,” he said.

 Jah Prayzah at Jongwe Corner
CoNtemporary musician Jah Prayzah returns to the capital with a massive family show on Sunday at Jongwe Corner in Hatfield. He will be supported by Mbeu.

 Green Lion in town
Renowned American sound system Green Lion Crew is in town for a special gig at the Harare Gardens tomorrow. 
They will be supported by locals Judgment Yard, Godfather Templeman and several others.  

Modelling night at Red Café  
Red Café Harare will tonight play host to models to a special Modelling Night. On Saturday DJ Dee Knife will entertain patrons at this joint.

Mbeu dates PaHuku
Budding crooner Mbeu and his Mhodzi Tribe ensemble will tonight entertain followers at Club Vicious PaHuku in Hillside.

Tariro neGitare at Alliance
SONGSTRESS Tariro neGitare will tonight entertain patrons at Alliance Francaise in the capital. 
She will be supported by Zinarayah, a new female outfit and Amy and the Calamities. 
According to Tariro, this is a show not-to-miss as they celebrate Women’s Day in style. 

Mookomba in double concert
Musical group Mokoomba will tomorrow stage a double concert at Alliance Francaise Harare.   The first concert starts at 4pm and the other at 8pm.

Maestro Saturday entertainment
Harare’s upmarket Maestro Restaurant Lounge and Bar will tomorrow provide entertainment to their patrons with DJs on rotation. DJ Naida, King Her and House of Killian will take care of patrons.

So Profound @ Reps Theatre
Music and poetry lovers are in for a treat today at Reps Theatre with a performance by So Profound, courtesy of Speak Soul.

Hustler’s Market @ Moto Republik
Moto Republik will tomorrow present the Hustler’s Market and according to organisers it is good vibes only.

Jam Tree Friday entertainment
Jam Tree will tonight host Fiddelicious Final Performance. They will be followed by Tinashe Makura and DJ Rob Macson taking patrons late into the night. It is free entry.

Pablo’z Royal Fridays
Tonight is the Pablo’z Royal Fridays at Pabloz Club and VIP in Borrowdale. 
Tonight is the Free Resurrection Shots night. 
Free entry and dress code is just smart casual.

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SIMBISA Brands (Simbisa) recorded a 108 percent increase in profit to $16,514 million during the half year ended December 31, 2018 compared to $7,990 million achieved in prior period attributed to increased customer counts.

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Revenue was up 44 percent to $143,242 million compared to $99,368 million achieved in the previous comparable period. Addington Chinake, the Simbisa chairperson, yesterday said capex of $7,39 million was outlaid during the review period as the firm rolled out new counters to close the period with 201 counters.
“Through increased customer counts and average spend, revenue increased 55 percent year on year across existing stores with a further contribution from eight new counters opened during the period to bring total revenue during the six month period to $108,65 million, up 60 percent in prior year,” he said.
Simbisa said existing stores contributed 40 percent to the growth in revenue, with the remaining growth coming from 20 new stores opened during the review period.

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HARARE - President Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday hosted leaders of a variety of major Zimbabwean corporations, entrepreneurs, business executives and intellectuals who have joined his administration’s advisory board on economic issues.
The panel held its first meeting yesterday afternoon at the State House complex. 

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Mnangagwa and his deputies Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi attended the session, with the Presidential Advisory Council (Pac) meeting lasting over an hour. “Today, we held the inaugural meeting of the Presidential Advisory Council, a broad collection of minds and skills from the private sector brought in to contribute to policy discourse and governance,” Mnangagwa said in a notice on his Facebook page. 

“Their skills, knowledge, expertise and networks will help the new Zimbabwe grasp the great opportunities that lie before us. 
“It is through a collective, patriotic approach that we can together build the Zimbabwe we all want.”

This comes after Mnangagwa announced the formation of a Pac to advise him in formulating key economic policies and strategies that advance his so-called Vision 2030. The council will be chaired by Joe Mutizwa — a renowned Zimbabwean business executive who was at the helm of Delta Corporation Limited Zimbabwe — which is one of the top quoted companies on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange — for 10 years.

It was not immediately clear how frequently the forum would meet.
According to chief secretary to the President and Cabinet Misheck Sibanda, the advisory council will advise Mnangagwa and the government on a wide range of sectoral issues.

The Pac will serve as the president’s sounding board on key economic reforms, issues and initiatives in line with the president’s Zimbabwe is Open for Business and dialogue mantra and also within the policy framework of the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP).

Sibanda said Mnangagwa selected the members based on experience, expertise, leadership, contacts and standing in society.
Members of the council include Mtizwa, Divine Ndhlukula; newspaper publisher Trevor Ncube; African Development Bank vice president Thomas Zondo Sakala; Busisa Moyo; Lewis Maxwell Musasike;  Nobert Mugwagwa; Godfrey Sikipa; Remigius Makumbe; Simbarashe Mangwengwende;  Lindiwe Sibanda; Aenias Chuma; Edwin Manikai; Sam Malaba; Professor Kuzvinetsa Nzvimbo; Natalie Jabangwe; Janah Ncube; Shingi Munyeza; Simon Hammond; Richard Wilde; Kudakwashe Tagwirei; Professor Robson Mafoti; Mfaro Moyo; Elisa Ravengai and Herbert Nkala.

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BULAWAYO - The trial of five minors arrested together with a gang of looters during the January fuel price hike riots in Bulawayo’s Emakhandeni suburb failed to kick off again yesterday.

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The minors aged between six and 13 years appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Joseph Mabeza facing theft charges.
Caroline Matanga, representing the State, postponed the matter to March 16, highlighting that the probation officer’s report was still pending.

The defence submitted that the matter was taking too long to finalise and further made indications that it would apply for the matter to be placed off remand. It is the State’s case that on January 15 at around midday, the minors were part of a mob which went to Apollo Shopping Centre in Emakhandeni.

They allegedly participated in violent skirmishes with the law enforcers who were trying to maintain law and order during the violent protests. After outnumbering the police officers, the accused persons reportedly broke into the shops and looted groceries and 129 pool tokens.

The suspects were arrested after police received a tip off from members of the public leading to the recovery of some of the stolen items.

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MUTARE - The late MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai’s estate executors have taken over a $50 000 lawsuit in the High Court in which a Harare man is demanding that principal amount from the late former trade unionist.

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The man is claiming $50 000 for the role he claimed he played in stitching up a coalition deal for the opposition president ahead of the 2013 general elections. Initially, Moreprecision Muzadzi, had cited the late Tsvangirai, his brother Richard as well as MDC vice president Morgen Komichi as the respondents.

However, the High Court has since granted an order by consent allowing the late Tsvangirai to be replaced by his estate executors Innocent Chagonda and Charles Maunga. “It is ordered by consent that: plaintiff (Muzadzi) is hereby granted leave to substitute late Morgan R. Tsvangirai with executors,” High Court judge Neville Wamambo ruled.

In his founding affidavit Muzadzi alleged that in January 2013, Tsvangirai agreed to engage him and his partner, Kisinoti Mukwazhe, to negotiate with opposition party leaders not to contest the 2013 Zimbabwe general elections, but support the now late leader’s presidential bid.

“Plaintiff and partner successfully negotiated with Simba Makoni, Dumiso Dabengwa, Margret Dongo and 15 others to support Tsvangirai’s presidential candidature,” the High Court heard.
Working hand in hand with the defendants, Muzadzi and his partner reportedly succeeded in this project which they code-named One Zimbabwe.

“On April 20, 2013, Komichi took the plaintiff and his partner to Morgan Tsvangirai’s house to submit the successful project. Tsvangirai was happy about the project and endorsed it,” the court heard. Muzadzi further told the court that the late former MDC leader then appointed his technical team to draft a memorandum of understanding with him and his partner to tie up the project and draft the bill.

“Plaintiff and his partner gave Komichi the bill which was $7 800 each and two vehicles, for services rendered to Morgan Tsvangirai,” the court was told. “Manasa Tsvangirai then proposed to give the plaintiff and partner two Nissan NP200 vehicles which he said would come from the Czech Republic Embassy. However, he eventually asked from the Australian Embassy.”

Despite demand, Muzadzi said that the defendants have refused to pay the said amount to him.
He told the High Court that when he asked for the payment, he was physically abused and now demands $50 000 as compensation.

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HARARE - A Harare magistrate reserved ruling yesterday on a request to have former Cabinet minister Supa Mandiwanzira’s graft case referred to the Constitutional Court (Con-Court). This was after Mandiwanzira’s lawyer Thembinkosi Magwaliba advised the court that an urgent chamber application had been set down for a hearing in the High Court which had a bearing on proceedings of the lower court.

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“It does not help the court to move in haste. It is prudent that we wait and get guidance from the honourable judge,” Harare regional magistrate Elijah Makomo ruled. Mandiwanzira is accused of criminal abuse of office after he allegedly engaged a South African firm,

Megawatt Company, to provide services to NetOne without going to tender. He is also accused of appointing his personal assistant, Tawanda Chinembiri to the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe board.

According to the State papers, Megawatt is jointly owned by Liu Xiadong and Blue Nightingale where Mandziwanzira is a director.
It is alleged that Mandiwanzira subsequently engaged Megawatt to review pricing made by Huawei without going to tender.

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BULAWAYO - Tax authorities in South Africa have seized a crematorium machine from Japan headed for Bulawayo in a payment dispute, according to the city council. 

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The machine is used in the disposal of a dead person’s body by burning it to ashes, typically after a funeral ceremony. 
The imported crematorium was supposed to complement the only one in the city situated at West Park Cemetery, used mainly by the Hindu community.

Bulawayo City Council chamber secretary Sikhangele Zhou said that the machine was being denied permission to leave the Durban port, the largest and busiest shipping terminal in sub-Saharan Africa.  
Council has spent thousands of dollars in a bid to settle the matter. So straining is the matter that council is contemplating dumping its “ineffective” lawyer handling the row.

The crematorium machine was impounded while on transit to Zimbabwe by South Africa’s Revenue Services (Sars) supposedly over “inadequate import documentation”.
This has left seething city fathers mulling engaging new lawyers to clear the hurdle which has since spilled into courts in the neighbouring country.

“In view of lack of clarity on the progress, the deputy mayor Tinashe Kambarami felt that council should communicate directly with Sars regarding the cremator. “He wondered if it was not prudent to engage new lawyers. “In response, the acting director of Health Services explained that the cremator was still in South Africa. The issue was being handled by lawyers. At the moment the lawyers had not given any feedback,” reads the latest council minutes.

Despite paying an initial deposit of  $97 120 some two years ago, the crematorium machine is yet to arrive in Zimbabwe’s second largest city. As some point, council resolved to raise about R120 000 to pay Sars in storage fees and secure the release of the machine but till today, there has been no progress in the matter. Chamber secretary Zhou explained how the cremator ended up being holed up in Durban.

“The cremator is in South Africa en route to Zimbabwe. Sars confiscated the cremator because of inadequate documents. The suppliers had not indicated that it was destined for Zimbabwe. This resulted in an unclear bill of landing. Council was being assisted in this matter by Majoko, a lawyer. He had assisted the suppliers to fight their case in the South African High Court.

“Majoko had been communicating with council well on this issue before he went on vacation in December, 2018. The issue of engaging new lawyers would be considered accordingly depending on progress,” Zhou said.  There has been a low uptake of cremation despite the local authority encouraging its residents to take up the idea as a substitute to conventional burial in a bid to limit the fast dwindling burial space in the city. 

Council has also been planning to introduce mandatory cremations for children under 12 years. On average, the monthly rate of cremation stands at 12, with the majority being those who culturally and religiously believe in that type of funeral.
This comes at a time when council is also struggling to account for a fleet of ambulances it purchased almost a decade ago, in another botched deal.

In 2010, the local authority awarded a Harare-based company, Tracker Engineering Private (Ltd), a tender to install a vehicle tracking system and another to Access Medical Corporation to supply four ambulances. 

According to the local authority, it lost a total of $303 000, after paying a deposit of $100 000 for the vehicle tracking system and $203 106 for the ambulances.Tax authorities in South Africa have seized a crematorium machine from Japan headed for Bulawayo in a payment dispute, according to the city council.

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