HARARE - The race for the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) secretary-general post is not yet over, Tourism minister Walter Mzembi (pictured) said yesterday.

Mzembi insists there is still a small window of opportunity for him to reclaim the post from Georgia’s Zurab Pololikashvili.

“It’s not over yet,” he told a news conference in Harare yesterday.

This comes as the UNWTO general assembly is set to vote on the candidacy of Pololikashvili, who controversially beat Mzembi at the recently concluded executive council elections in Madrid, Spain.

Mzembi polled 15 votes against 18 votes garnered by the Georgian in the second round of voting after the first round failed to secure a clear winner.

The UNWTO general council is now set to ratify Pololikashvili during the upcoming 22nd assembly.

This comes amid allegations of unethical deal cutting by foreign ministries and heads of State, with Georgia unrelated to travel and tourism in exchange for Pololikashvili votes. It also includes possible upcoming lawsuits against executive council decisions and procedures and allegations of unfair access and bribery. Mzembi is hoping Pololikashvili’s nomination will be thrown out.

“…we are still the dark horse going forward to September 11-16 when the UNWTO shall convene for the general assembly in China,” he said.

Pololikashvili’s nomination has to be confirmed by the general assembly in Chengdu, by a two-third majority.

“….it means he will be required to master 102 member country endorsements by voting in order to be appointed the new secretary-general, so we will be there to make sure that we are correctly and strategically positioned to take advantage of any outcome,” Mzembi said.

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HARARE - Outspoken secretary-general of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), Raymond Majongwe, has urged opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to dump the mooted grand coalition — saying many of his would-be partners do not add any value to his bid to oust President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF from power in next year’s national elections.

This comes as Tsvangirai has hailed the progress that has been made by the opposition this far, towards the finalisation of talks to form the planned electoral alliance ahead of 2018.

The MDC president has already signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with former vice president Joice Mujuru and his once secretary-general, Welshman Ncube.

“Tsvangirai must know that these one-man political parties that are calling for a coalition with him are not only insincere, as the majority of them are Zanu PF projects, but will also not add any value because they have no supporters.

“The mooted coalition must not be like a bowl of salads in which all vegetables have a place.

"The MDC must realise that its strength is in the people and they must concentrate on mobilising their people and all the groups that have been with them since their formation, and identify with them, not some structures which they did not form,” Majongwe told the Daily News.

“There are some hard lessons for the MDC to learn, especially after the (Pearson) Mbalekwa fiasco where he suddenly turned up for Zanu PF primary elections when he has been Tsvangirai’s chief security aide.

“The party must listen to people who tell them the truth because they are genuine. However, you will find that they will label me Zanu PF because they want me to tell them that even if you do nothing you will win against Zanu PF.

"No, I will not say that because I mean what I say and I am genuine,” he added.

Majongwe has recently been criticised in the pro-democracy movement after he warned that Mugabe would win next year’s elections if the opposition did not put its house in order.

But analysts believe that only a grand coalition stands a better chance to beat Mugabe come next year.

Oxford scholar, Phillan Zamchiya, said yesterday that the political indicators on the ground justified the need for an alliance.

“First, Tsvangirai’s vote has been constant in the past three presidential elections. He has been getting around a million votes in all the three elections.

"In 2002, 2008 and 2013 Tsvangirai had 1 258 401, 1 195 562 and 1 172 349 votes respectively. This signifies the need to think outside the box in order to grow the vote.

“The MDC also has some political deficiencies which require other actors to augment. For example, it lacks liberation war credentials and is viewed as a party without a history by its opponents,” Zamchiya said in a Facebook post.

Tsvangirai has for the past few months been working feverishly behind the scenes with Mujuru and other smaller opposition leaders to finalise the grand coalition.

Analysts have also repeatedly said Mujuru, whose liberation struggle nom de guerre was Teurai Ropa (Spill Blood), and whose husband Solomon was the first black post-independence army commander, could provide the much-needed bridge that opposition parties have been missing to ensure the smooth transfer of power if they win elections again.

They have also warned that without a broad coalition involving all the major opposition players, Zanu PF would use “its usual thuggish and foul methods” to retain power in 2018.

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HARARE - Primary and Secondary Education minister Lazarus Dokora escaped death by a whisker last week after he was involved in a horrific hit and run car accident — amid fears that Zanu PF’s worsening tribal, factional and succession wars may have been at the heart of the calamity.

Well-placed sources who spoke to the Daily News yesterday said although Dokora miraculously escaped the accident with minor bruises, his car suffered extensive damages which officials said could see it being written off or requiring tens of thousands of dollars to repair.

They said Dokora’s luxurious official Mercedes Benz vehicle was hit by a car “whose driver somehow contrived to overtake him on the left side” as he approached the intersection of Lomagundi and Harare Drive roads in the capital — heading north towards Westgate.

“The terrible accident occurred at around midnight and the minister was alone in the vehicle when he was suddenly side-swiped by a speeding vehicle whose driver somehow contrived to overtake him on the left side.

“The fact that the car was trying to overtake him on his left side and that the driver never stopped has caused a lot of panic within the minister's circles, as they now suspect that it is the work of his political rivals.

“What makes the whole thing even more suspicious to them is the fact that State security officials decided that the car be taken straight to CMED (the government-run Central Mechanical Engineering Department) before a police report could be made.

“Now the vehicle has since been taken to Zimoco for assessment and repairs without police inspection, and it will require quite a substantial amount of money because it was extensively damaged,” one of the sources familiar with the accident told the Daily News yesterday.

Police spokesperson Charity Charamba said as far as she knew the matter had not been reported to law enforcement agencies, although it was possible that her colleagues could have attended the accident scene.

“I have always said that if the accident is not as serious as to have resulted in death, it is not necessarily reported to me. So, I am only hearing it from you,” Charamba said.

Dokora could not be reached for comment last night as he was said to have left for Kenya on government business after apparently being given the medical green light to travel.

Vehicle accidents involving senior Zanu PF officials and Cabinet ministers have previously drawn lots of suspicion both within the brawling ruling party and among ordinary Zimbabweans.

Zanu PF is currently divided right through the middle, with the camp which is rabidly opposed to Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa succeeding President Robert Mugabe, the Generation 40 (G40) faction, involved in a life-and-death tussle with the VP's backers, Team Lacoste.

The level of animosity between the two camps was laid bare last week when rival supporters bludgeoned each other in mindless bloodletting which forced the planned Bulawayo provincial coordinating committee (PCC) meeting to be aborted.

The growing fissures within Zanu PF have also seen a number of Mugabe's Cabinet ministers, including his nephew Patrick Zhuwao, receiving death threats.

In April, Mashonaland Central provincial affairs minister Martin Dinha claimed he had received death threats while he was in Dubai.

“A female and a male called me and said usadakufira mahara (don’t die for nothing) using private numbers. They said 'you have a family, be careful what you say',” Dinha claimed then.

That was not the first time that Dinha had had threats made against his life.

In 2015, Dinha also received an AK47 bullet and a threatening message telling him to step down or risk suffering the same fatal fate that befell the late Zanu PF political commissar, Elliot Manyika — who died in a suspicious car accident in 2008.

The "parcel" with the bullet and threatening message was delivered to the minister’s office just after midnight — forcing the lawyer-turned-politician, a lightweight in Zanu PF, to go into hiding”.

Dinha has also previously survived several other attempts to oust him from his ministerial post.

Sports minister Makhosini Hlongwane also found a bullet in his hotel room in Harare last year. The bullet had been placed on a headboard in the room.

This happened at a time when Zanu PF had ordered its Midlands province to conduct hearings against provincial leaders who stood accused then of threatening Hlongwane and two other ministers.

Zhuwao received death threats related to his public criticism of Mnangagwa and his supporters in the run-up to Zanu PF’s annual conference which was held in Masvingo late last year.

Observers have also previously said Mugabe’s failure to resolve Zanu PF's succession riddle is fuelling the party's deadly infighting.

The 93-year-old has studiously refused to name a successor, insisting that the party’s congress has that mandate: to choose a person of their own choice.

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HARARE - Dendera music star Suluman Chimbetu, who turned 35 on Saturday, could not have asked for a better birthday present than gracing the Miombo Magic Music Festival where he gave a scintillating performance.

The Sean Timba singer, who was making a maiden appearance at the annual two-day festival held annually in Christon Bank on the outskirts of Harare, delivered an inspired performance that kept the bumper multi-racial crowd spellbound.

Suluman’s playlist included his own hits and that of his late legendary father Simon “Chopper” Chimbetu. Some of the songs that made the dance floor a hive of activity were Sean Timba, One Way, Comma, Dzandipedza Mafuta and Alice Mbewe.

With Suluman’s Orchestra Dendera Kings at its best, the upmarket audience could not just get enough of the harmonious dendera beat.

Orchestra Dendera Kings publicist, Joe Nyamungoma, could not hide his joy after the concert.

“We have to admit that we were pleasantly surprised by such a positive and encouraging reaction from a different crowd from the one we usually play for.

“The concert also made us as a band realise that music knows no boundaries; it’s universal and that was the reason why fans at Miombo were excited to see Sulu perform,” Nyamungoma said.

Suluman shared the stage with artistes from diverse genres who included Ammara Brown, Hope Masike, Tehn Diamond, Josh Meck, Soul Bone, Tribes Afro, Black Mamba Man, Fiddelicious, Gemma Griffiths, Transit Crew, Flying Bantu, Djembe Monks, Mackay Brothers, Rob Burrell and Cello Culture.

Sadly, despite Tawonga Mafundikwa — a member of the Miombo Magic Music Festival organising team — declaring that this year’s edition was the best ever, the event will be taking a break next year.

Miombo Magic Music Festival director, Gus Le Breton, told the Daily News before the event that economic circumstances had forced them to postpone next year’s event.

“We don’t have corporate sponsors, we have tried this year but we were not successful as it was tough … we have no sponsors... we encourage people to buy tickets so that the festival will continue running.

“As of now, we are happy with the response from music fans as we are only targeting 1 000 people. Next year we are taking a break and the festival will resume in 2019,” he said.

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HARARE - Guests glammed-up for a black tie event at the Borrowdale Brooke Golf Course on Saturday to raise money for a Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF)-linked charity fighting cancer.

Invited guests from regional defence forces and top guns in Zimbabwe’s corporate world turned out for the annual extravaganza organised by the ZDF in conjunction with Musha Mukadzi, a Zimbabwe armed forces foundation, and helped to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to help cancer patients struggling with paying for prescription medications.

First, there was a black-tie invitational annual golf tournament, supported and endorsed by ZDF at Borrowdale Brooke in the afternoon, also  dedicated to raising millions of dollars for non-profit organisation — Musha Mukadzi  — which works towards long-term protection against non communicable diseases such as cancer and other diseases and infections.

Led by ZDF commander general Constantino Chiwenga’s supermodel wife, Marry, the Musha Mukadzi charity — whose primary partner is the ZDF — supports children, teens, men and women in need throughout the Zimbabwean community.

The charity fundraising initiative was running under the theme, “Championing Pro-active and Re-active Approaches in Fighting against Cancer.”

Borrowdale was a great venue befitting of a great event.

Bringing glitz and glamour, the golf tournament was a roaring success, attended by Chief of the South African National Defence Force, general Solly Shoke and Malawi deputy commander lieutenant general Clement Namangale, who both hailed the initiative. Shoke said the fundraiser “reflected the important role of the defence forces in giving back to the community.”

At night, guests enjoyed one of the premier social events of the year, presided over by Chiwenga himself. Guests began the evening enjoying cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. And every table had a bottle of single malt whiskey.

Guests received a complimentary drink on arrival, before enjoying a three-course meal and being entertained with live music from South African R&B and House singer, Bucie, whose 2014 hit song  Easy To Love rocked music charts.

Emmanuel Manyika was compère for the evening.

He conducted bidding on extraordinary silent auction items, including a portrait of Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa which was sold for a cool $50 000.

The auction was conducted as guests enjoyed a superb dinner, with the ongoing excitement of the live auction adding to the festivities, with fabulous one-of-a-kind items and more, going to the highest bidders.

It was a memorable black-tie evening beamed live on State TV.

Guests partied like rock stars at a musical experience like no other. The very private, intimate concert also featured Tendai Dembo and Goodwill Malinga, better known by his stage name Dr Malinga, a South African record producer and musician. The akulaleki hitmaker brought the house down.

Tuxedo dinner suits and ladies in chic evening gown attires made it a night everyone enjoyed in their own superb style.

“Zimbabweans must support this noble cause being advanced by Musha Mukadzi charity organisation. I pledge to mobilise the South African corporate sector to support the initiative,”  Shoke said.

Mnangagwa, who was looking resplendent at the black-tie event, implored captains of industry and business people to pool their resources together to bankroll Musha Mukadzi.

Organisers said they were proud to have raised funds for such a worthy cause and thanked all the kind-hearted people.

Marry said Musha Mukadzi has created a wellness centre in Harare which will offer various cancer services and has already helped several young cancer patients. Sadly, three of them have since succumbed to the disease, she said ruefully.

HARARE - Big Polokwane City goalkeeper — George Chigova was rewarded for his stellar season with Rise and Shine — when he was called for the upcoming 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier against Liberia when it appeared he had missed out again.

Chigova, the rangy former Gunners and Dynamos goalminder had a memorable season with the Polokwane side where he kept 10 clean sheets in a barnstorming season that saw his team finishing sixth - ahead of  giants such as Orlando Pirates who ended their campaign outside the top eight for the first time in the PSL era.

Last week, Chigova had appeared resigned to missing out again on the chance to represent the Warriors when caretaker coach Norman Mapeza overlooked him when the provisional squad was announced.

Chigova’s last dance with the national team was when the Warriors reached the semifinals of the 2014 African Nations Championships (Chan) before being replaced by Tatenda Mkuruva after Kalisto Pasuwa took over as national team coach from Ian Gorowa.

Mapeza had initially settled for CAPS United number one Edmore Sibanda, FC Platinum’s Petros Mhari and Ariel Sibanda of Highlanders.

And last night Warriors interim team manager Wellington Mpandare told the Daily News that they have decided to include Chigova to create more competition.

“We have decided to include him (Chigova) in the squad so that it creates a lot of competition,” said Mpandare.

“Remember, this is just a provisional squad and we will be in camp for almost two weeks so a lot is going to happen during that period and it’s good to assess more players.”

The Warriors were scheduled to get into camp last night and are expected to hold their first training session this morning. The team will be camped at Yadah Hotel in Waterfalls.

Mpandare said most of the foreign-based contingent like Marvelous Nakamba, Kuda Mahachi, Thabani Kamusoko, Ovidy Karuru, Danny Phiri among others would arrive this morning in time for the team’s first training session.

Mpandare said Belgium-based Knowledge Musona is only expected on June 3 while Supersport United defender Onismor Bhasera and Mamelodi Sundowns forward Khama Billiat are now expected at the weekend after their team’s assignments in the African safari.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Edmore Sibanda (CAPS United), Ariel Sibanda (Highlanders), Petros Mhari (FC Platinum) George Chigova (Polokwane City)

Defenders: Dennis Dauda (CAPS United), Partson Jaure (Ngezi Platinum Stars), Qadr Amini (Ngezi Platinum Stars), Onismo Bhasera (Supersport United), Teenage Hadebe (Chicken Inn), Jameson Mukombwe (Black Rhinos), Eric Chipeta (Ajax Capetown), Sydney Linyama (Black Rhinos)

Midfielders: Thabani Kamusoko (Young Africans), Devon Chafa (CAPS United), Simon Shoko (FC Platinum), Kudakwashe Mahachi Golden Arrows), Khama Billiat (Mamelodi Sundowns), Marvelous Nakamba (Vitesse Arnhem), Danny Phiri Golden Arrows), Liberty Chakoroma (Ngezi Platinum Stars), Ovidy Karuru (Amazulu), Ronald Chitiyo (CAPS United)

Strikers: Tendai Ndoro (Orlando Pirates), Evans Rusike (Maritzburg United), Knowledge Musona (KV Oostende), Prince Dube (Highlanders)

HARARE - Asifuni Bumbulu (we don’t want nonsense) is a phrase that is fast gaining traction among soccer fans, especially Highlanders’ followers in the aftermath of the recently abandoned Bosso and Dynamos match in Bulawayo.

So popular is the phrase becoming that some Highlanders fans have even printed T-shirts emblazoned with the catchy expression.

Unfortunately, and very sadly for Zimbabwean football, Asifuni Bumbulu is also being used by a few Highlanders fans to demonstrate misguided defiance against the sport’s administrators, at a time that the country’s second biggest club after Dynamos stands accused of bringing the world’s most beautiful game into disrepute through violent, deviant behaviour.

And so it was again this past Sunday that, without any sense of shame and responsibility, some Highlanders fans needlessly caused the abandonment of their club’s high profile league match against FC Platinum at Mandava Stadium in Zvishavane, after the hosts had equalised via a disputed penalty at the death.

This was despite the ominous fact that Bosso has already been dragged before a disciplinary hearing to answer charges relating to the unacceptable behaviour of its fans which led to the abandonment of the game against Dynamos.

Which brings me to the nub of this opinion. It is disconcerting that there is a group among Bosso’s fans which believes that if results or decisions do not go their team’s way, then violent or loutish behaviour  is the way to get their grievances addressed.

It has not helped matters that a few lost souls within and outside the club (both Ndebele and Shona) have foolishly tried to ascribe ethnic and political undertones to this thuggish sporting behaviour.

The fact is, violence should have no place whatsoever in football, no matter how aggrieved fans may feel by both on-field and off-field decisions that will have gone against their favourite team.

As it is, Sunday’s mayhem in Zvishavane, for which some Bosso fans were solely responsible, resulted in police firing teargas at fans, a situation that could have resulted in a fatal stampede.

Another fact that is worth bearing in all this nonsense is that Highlanders are not the only team locally or internationally to have been at the receiving end of bad decisions by match officials.

Recently, to give a few examples, Barcelona were given a penalty after Jordi Alba conned match officials in an embarrassing act worthy of a Bollywood Emmy award.

In this year’s Uefa Champions League quarter-final return leg at the Santiago Bernabéu, Real Madrid scored two goals from clear offside positions, and also benefited from having Bayern Munich midfielder Arturo Vidal being wrongly sent off.

Before that, Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro, who was on a yellow card, escaped a second yellow card that would have seen him sent off after he was perplexingly allowed to remain on the pitch when the referee did not book him. Madrid went on to win the match 4-2, with Bayern Munich crashing out 3-6 on aggregate.

And only this past Saturday, Arsenal profited from a handball by Alexis Sanchez during the FA Cup final match against Chelsea.

In all these cases, there was no storming of the pitch by irate fans or an abandonment of the match. The clubs which were on the receiving end of the self-evident bad decisions took it on the chin and moved on with life, understanding that they too had sometimes benefited from poor officiating.

Which is why mature football players, fans and pundits talk of the “rub of the green”, as that is the way football goes.

Which is why what we are witnessing with some Highlanders fans lately, the “Zanufication of sorts” of the beautiful game, must be condemned unreservedly by all soccer-loving followers and peace-loving Zimbabweans.

It is also the reason why the Premier Soccer League (PSL) must act decisively against Highlanders and its fans if football is not to suffer irreparable harm, including fans and sponsors running away from the game.

Ultimately, this is not about Highlanders, it’s about the local game and its future.

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HARARE - Zimbabwe's small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) have been urged to enhance online presence as a growth strategy.

This comes as research has shown that an online presence is important for outbound marketing because it reinforces your brand and what companies offer to their target market.

Social media strategist Marshall Malaba told delegates attending a  Building Customers for Life seminar in Bulawayo last week that most small businesses operating in the country do not have websites.

“80 to 88 percent of brands found online have high chances of their customers coming back for their brand, thus if customers look for you online and social media and you are not there, they will definitely switch to other brands that exist online,” he said.

Malaba noted that an online presence can maximise resources of a business, increasing sales and the marketing with very little expense.

Another marketing guru James Chapfiwa added that online platforms (Websites) are a reference point for new customers on verifying the legit business from the fly by night and build on customer confidence.

“Social media is the market place for online platforms to share the great products they have and may lead to new business deals,” he said.

Chapfiwa added that digital marketing helps small businesses look big.

“It allows them to scale, expand their reach and have access to new countries, new clients and markets. It also allows firms to be very efficient in terms of targeting customers,” he said.

Customer Care Association of Zimbabwe (CCAZ) southern region spokesperson Benson Mukandiwa agreed with Chapfiwa and said it was a well-known fact that in the 21st Century online presence boosts brand awareness.

“How you introduce your image online in this technological age is equivalent of your first meeting with a customer.  In the aggressive age we live in, in order for your brand to succeed online, it must be highly recognisable, reliable, and authentic — consequently separating itself from the competition.

“High visibility of your brand increases credibility and customers will be more willing to retain your products,” he said.

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HARARE - Zimbabwe's gold earnings were up 3,4 percent in the first quarter to $275 million, after realising a 4,8-tonne output, official figures show.

Data from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) attributed the earnings improvement to firming international prices.

“Gold prices, however, recorded a marginal gain as the Fed later indicated a dovish approach in raising interest rates going forward.

“Resultantly, the yellow metal’s price firmed by a marginal 0,07 percent to $1 234,04/ounce in March 2017, from an average of $1 233,16/ounce recorded in the previous month,” the apex bank said.

Zimbabwe — which has set a 28-tonne output target for 2017 — has been promoting gold production by the small-scale gold miners as they have been accounting for over 40 percent of the total output since 2015 when government decriminalised artisanal mining.

Gold deliveries from the small-scale sector stood at 7 532 kg in 2015 up from 3 938 kg in 2014, representing 40 percent of national gold deliveries. In 2016, gold deliveries from small-scale producers surged to 9 680kg.

Miners have also been benefiting from a five percent export incentive scheme, which has helped boost production according to the RBZ.

Meanwhile, the country is also planning to remove royalties in the gold sector as a way of boosting production of the yellow metal, according to Mines minister Walter Chidakwa.

The minister said he has consulted with his counterparts in government to be allowed to introduce the reforms and make the country one of the biggest gold producers in Africa, on the condition that the sector achieves a 28-tonne output this year.

Last year, the country produced 23 tonnes of the yellow metal and earned over $914 million in export receipts after missing its 24-tonne gold output projection on the back of cash and payment glitches experienced in September 2016 by artisanal miners.

RBZ subsidiary, Fidelity Printers and Refiners has also increased the number of registered gold buyers to 344 agents, as the apex bank moves to help the country achieve its 28-tonne projection.

In the first quarter alone, the RBZ had allocated over $5 million in cash for the sole purpose of buying gold.

However, international mining forecasters say gold will be on the retreat in 2017 on rosier global economic growth and tighter policy from the Federal Reserve, which will hike rates twice, according to the most accurate bullion forecaster tracked by Bloomberg in the third quarter.

The metal continues to be one of the key minerals in Zimbabwe accounting for 47 percent of mineral exports in 2016, up from 40 percent in 2015, employing in excess of 25 percent of formal employment and over 300 000 involved in artisanal gold mining.

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HARARE - Zimbabwe's largest sugar producer, Tongaat Hulett (Tongaat), is banking on the newly-completed Tokwe-Mukorsi Dam to increase production.

“The recent completion in Zimbabwe of the Tokwe-Mukorsi Dam….will diversify the water catchment area and provide increased stability in future water supply,” the company said.

The $300 million dam — with a capacity to hold 1,8 billion cubic meters of water — was early this month commissioned by President Robert Mugabe.

Tokwe-Mukorsi Dam, Zimbabwe’s largest inland water body, is also expected to create thousands of jobs in upstream and downstream of the agriculture sector.

Meanwhile, Tongaat’s profit from local operations increased to $38 million in the full year to March 2017 compared to $692 307 registered in the prior comparable period.

In the period under review, the group’s sugar production in Zimbabwe jumped 10 percent from 412 000 tonnes in 2016 to 454 000 tonnes this year.

“Local market sales volumes and mix improved due to there being lower imports into the market. Exports increased on the back of higher production prices realised into the European Union and regional markets were some 20 percent above the previous year,” Tongaat said.

The South Africa-headquartered firm further indicated that it made upward adjustments to the milling portion with the commensurate recovery for sugar milling.

“There is a positive outlook for the full year with earnings’ growth expected to continue and the cash-flow momentum expected to be maintained,” the company said.

Tongaat, which operates in six African countries including South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, reported a 39,8 percent boost in operating profits to R2,3 billion for the year to March.

The company said this reflected an improvement in sugar revenue and operating profits under difficult conditions.

The company also swung to R1,27 billion in operating profits from a R15 million loss in the previous year.

“This is reflective of more effective import protection dynamics, improved local market prices and higher prices realised for exports, especially into regional African markets and the European Union,” the company said.

The group’s sugar production rose marginally with 1,05 million tonnes produced — up from 1,02 million tonnes last year.

Tongaat said the production volumes were impacted by low cane yields due to the KwaZulu-Natal drought and poor growing conditions, with low rainfall and restricted irrigation in Mozambique and Zimbabwe, as a result of low dam levels.

It said starch operations had been negatively impacted by maize costs that traded at import parity levels, as a result of the past season’s drought.

In terms of starch and glucose, operations recorded an operating profit of R510 million — down from R658 million in 2016.

“Margins were negatively impacted in the second half of the year by maize costs, which were at import parity levels following the drought of the past season and by lower co-product revenues,” the company said.

In its South African sugar operations, including various downstream activities, produced operating profits of R390 million compared to a loss of R85 million in 2016.

It said South African sugar production started to recover and amounted to 353 000 tonnes from 323 000 tonnes last year.

The company noted that in Mozambique sugar operating profits also surged to a R308 million from a R25 million loss last year.

Sugar production had declined to 198 000 tonnes from 232 000 tonnes last year.

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HARARE - The Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) has disowned Rushmore Nyamutata who was convicted of stealing four chickens.

Nyamutata was sentenced to 10 days or to pay a $50 fine at Mutare Magistrate’s Court on May 24.

“...Nyamutata ceased to be a member of the ZNA in 2014, having been discharged on disciplinary grounds,” army public relations director lieutenant colonel Alphios Makotore said.

Nyamutata — who was serving under 1 Mechanised Battalion at Inkomo Barracks — was discharged from the ZNA on May 19, 2014 for contravening paragraph 15 (2)(a) of the first schedule to the Defence Act (Chapter 11:02), Makotore said.

He said Nyamutata absented himself without official leave for 116 days and was tried by the General Court Martial, which sentenced him to three months’ imprisonment and discharged him from the ZNA.

In stories carried by the Daily News, Nyamutata was referred to as a member of the ZNA.

“...this is no longer the case as...,” Makotore said.

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HARARE - Nurses have called off demonstrations as union leaders and government open talks over bitterly-disputed contracts.

This comes as the dispute between government and nurses — newly engaged and those with up to 10 years of experience — has escalated in the past days.

Last week, nurses walked off the job for a day in protest of government refusal to review their salaries and the grading system that places all nurses, regardless of seniority or qualifications, under the lowest grade.

The nurses also want the current Health Services Board (HSB) secretariat to be removed as they claim it was oblivious of the operations of health workers after it failed to improve their conditions of service.

“We have given them until next week to respond to the issues we raised. If they fail to respond, we will continue with the demonstrations next week,” Zimbabwe Nurses Association secretary general Enock Dongo said.

HSB chairperson Lovemore Mbengeramwa told the Daily News that they had already responded by setting up a team to review the grading system for the nurses.

“We responded to the issues they raised and the nurses are part of the team that are investigating or verifying the grading system. The team has been given up to June the 10th to come up with a report, so the exercise would be complete by the 10th,” Mbengeranwa said.

“And concerning the secretariat they were complaining about, we have a grievance procedure, there are procedures that should be taken.”

The nurses said the HSB secretariat was incompetent and in 11 years has failed to improve conditions of service as well as implement issues agreed upon.

The nurses are earning around $285 a month, according to Dongo.

Nurses demonstrated against the secretariat last week as they denounced the HSB human resources manager Norah Zhou.

“Even when you have been working as a nurse for 10 years, you get the lowest salary of about $285, when you are considered to be senior. It’s because your grade doesn’t change, they remain grade D1 instead of D3,” Dongo told the Daily News.

“We feel the HSB does not understand us and how we operate. We have been raising this issue since 2010 and up to now  they have not yet addressed those issues. The purpose was to dress the conditions of service for health workers but it is not happening.  We are now under other civil servants,” Dongo said.

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HARARE - Former Vice President Joice Mujuru has once again said she was on the verge of taking over from President Robert Mugabe, only to be stopped in her tracks by a band of male “chauvinists” and women against her ascendency.

The newly-formed opposition National People’s Party (NPP) leader said this last week in her presentation at the International Sheroes Forum in Ghana, in which she claimed had it not been for resistance by “comrades” within Zanu PF, she could have become Zimbabwe’s first female president.

“When I was almost getting the presidency, as vice president of the Republic of Zimbabwe, the world of male chauvinists could not have any of that. They went on to break their own laws just to get rid of me and sadly, they found willing women accomplices to complete their task,” Mujuru said, without mentioning First Lady Grace Mugabe who led a brutal purge against her.

Mujuru, who was Mugabe’s deputy for a decade and touted as the shoo-in successor to the 93-year-old ruler, was fired from the ruling Zanu PF party and government in December 2014 on charges that she led a “treacherous cabal” to oust Mugabe from power.

At the Zanu PF dump squib congress, Grace compared herself to a football referee who blew the whistle on an offside Mujuru.

Grace used nationwide rallies to slam Mujuru and her sympathisers.

She employed a bitter mix of threats, vitriol and caustic diatribes at rivals in the then VP’s camp.

The NPP leader bemoaned Zimbabwe’s continuing economic implosion and profligacy of its elected officials.

“Our motherland is showing signs of total decay, nothing is working any longer,” Mujuru said.

She added that “leaders that we elected have turned against the people and they would rather buy $1 million rings to wear on the finger instead of medicine for dying children in our hospitals”, in apparent reference to Grace who reportedly splurged $1,4 million on a diamond ring.

Formerly a guerrilla in the liberation war that ushered in Zimbabwe’s black majority rule in 1980, 61-year-old Mujuru is the widow of the late war hero — Solomon Mujuru.

She told her audience drawn across the globe in Ghana that she is working on correcting her past mistakes.

“I have seen a lot, I have made my contributions, I have made mistakes, I have had my lessons,” Mujuru said.

Crucially for her, she still enjoys support from some who hold senior positions in the military, according to her close aides. 

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HARARE - South Africa (SA)’s Higher Education minister Blade Nzimande has slammed President Robert Mugabe’s long-ruling Zanu PF, labelling it a “rural party”.

The general secretary of South African Communist Party (SACP) - an ally of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) - told a Cosatu meeting in Pretoria on Monday that Zanu PF had lost the largely black urban base after embarking on a controversial land repossession programme that brought the once prosperous southern African economy to its knees.

He said 93-year-old Mugabe seized white-owned commercial farms to resettle landless blacks, who had little or no experience in agriculture.

“Because iZanu PF essentially has lost the urban working class, has lost the middle classes, has lost the professionals, has lost many urban-based organisations, it’s become a rural party because of the mistakes they are making. Now ama comrades are denying that there is a problem,” he said.

The rural vote is the mainstay of support for Mugabe and Zanu PF, which liberated Zimbabwe from white minority rule in 1980 after fighting a guerrilla war.

Nzimande said urbanites — dominated by academics and professionals — have largely become “enemies” of Zanu PF.  

“When we went to Zimbabwe around 2000, i(the) SACP sent a delegation on a fact-finding mission when we were engaged with our Zanu PF comrades.

“Everybody was the enemy. I ZCTU (the largest labour federation Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions) was the enemy, ama professionals, ama academics, everybody.

“And then we said, how come comrades all these forces you say are enemies today were part of the victorious forces led by Zanu PF on the victory of your struggle in 1980? What has changed?” Nzimande said.

Mugabe says the land seizures were part of an ambitious black empowerment drive and sought to correct colonial injustices that left 70 percent of the best farmland in the hands of whites.

The long-time ruler — raring to stand in Zimbabwe’s 2018 election when he turns 94 — blames Zimbabwe’s economic woes on Western-imposed sanctions.

Nzimande warned that “i (the) danger (is) once ama liberation movements begin to lose power or sense that they are beginning to lose power, they start doing a lot of funny things. Yes”.

“The first thing, they start coming up with radical concepts esingazazi ukuthi zivela ngaphi (which we have no idea where they are coming from),” he said.

His remarks come amid a push in SA to amend its laws to allow expropriation of land without compensation for owners, as it tries to speed up the redistribution of land to its black majority.

“UMugabe lost i referendum and started radical land reform. Wathathi umhlaba (He seized land) anyhow. And the next thing, if they don’t succeed, they unleash the security forces on the population. And we must not think that we are immune to that,” Nzimande said.

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HARARE - Zanu PF factional fights in the volatile Masvingo Province are far from over after deputy chairperson Amasi Nenjana yesterday accused the faction rallying behind Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa of trying to form their own politburo.

Nenjana, who is strongly linked to the rival Generation 40 (G40) faction, accused senior party members of recognising recently appointed chairperson Ezra Chadzamira, arguing he was “unconstitutionally” elected.

This comes as the G40 Zanu PF faction, which is rabidly opposed to Mnangagwa succeeding President Robert Mugabe, is fighting to have the result of the party’s Masvingo leadership election nullified, after its candidate boycotted the poll.

G40-linked Mutero Masanganise — who quit the poll at the last minute — has taken the matter up with the party’s legal department, with a view to having the election invalidated.

In the hotly-disputed poll, Masanganise was crushed by alleged Team Lacoste kingpin, Chadzamira, who polled 29 543 votes against his measly 1 080 votes.

Nenjana complained that “they are moving around the districts introducing Chadzamira as the chairperson of the province but those elections were unconstitutional and the politburo is yet to make a decision on the matter”.

“I am still the acting chairperson,” he insisted.

“We have some senior politburo members here who are now forming their own politburo where they make decisions on behalf of the party. This is high level of indiscipline from senior members of the party. They are destroying the party. To me, there is no chairperson in the province.”

“We are still waiting for the politburo. I haven’t received any formal communication that I am no longer the acting chairperson. Some people are advancing their personal interests. There is someone who is sending them to destroy the party.”

Efforts to get Chadzamira’s comment were fruitless as his mobile phone was unreachable, but recently, he told the Daily News that the election issue was now water under the bridge and those who were still disputing it were “dreaming”.

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HARARE - Dendera musician Suluman Chimbetu was yesterday dragged to court for the second time by ex-wife Marygold Mutemasango after he allegedly defaulted on $800 maintenance for their two children.

The 35-year-old — popularly known as Sulu — was represented by Cornwell Mutevhe when he appeared before Harare magistrate Annia Ndiraya.

He denied charges of contravening Section 23 of the Maintenance Act.

Chimbetu was released on $50 bail and ordered not to interfere with witnesses as part of his bail conditions.

His attorney gave notice to make an application for referral of the matter to the Constitutional Court for determination on the basis that the Section under which Chimbetu is being charged is vague and in breach of his right to a fair trial.

Chimbetu was subsequently remanded to June 8, for continuation of the matter.

The complainant is Mutemasango, 27, of New Ridgeview, Belvedere in Harare.

Prosecutor Devoted Nyagano alleged that on December 19 last year at Harare Civil Court, Chimbetu was ordered to pay $800 every month towards the upkeep of his two children.

According to the order, Chimbetu was required to deposit the money into Mutemasango’s bank account with effect from December 31, 2016.

However, Chimbetu allegedly defaulted paying the maintenance last month (April) and has arrears amounting to $800.

This will be his second appearance over defaulting charges.

He appeared before the same court in March this year over $1 600 arrears.

The case was later withdrawn after Chimbetu and Mutemasango had agreed in an out-of-court settlement.

In December last year, Mutemasango caused a stir at Chimbetu’s wedding with Linda Samuriwo after she stormed Zimbali Gardens in Greendale where the artiste was tying the knot.

Mutemasango, who is mother to Suluman’s two children, stunned guests at the classy event when she insisted that she was still legally married to the music star under customary law.

Her efforts to stop the wedding ceremony were thwarted by suspected plain-clothed policemen who whisked her away from the wedding.

As a result of the fracas, the wedding ceremony, which was scheduled to start at 11am, only got underway three hours later.

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BULAWAYO - The Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC has ordered the council here to immediately put on sale one of the two recently purchased mayoral vehicles, with the proceeds to be channelled towards service delivery.

The city’s mayor Martin Moyo recently took delivery of a $118 000 Mercedes Benz GLE 250, hardly three months after the local authority had bought him a $63 000 Chevrolet Trailblazer.

Following public outcry, the council summoned the mayor and his councillors to a May 25 meeting in which provincial spokesperson Felix Mafa yesterday said as a party, they were forced to come up with the resolution regarding the contentious matter.

“Because there was an outcry of two expensive mayoral cars, the MDC provincial executive committee came up with a resolution that the council must let the mayor use the Benz as part of his working conditions but park the Trailblazer forthwith so that it can be sold and its proceeds used for service provision,” Mafa said.

“It was thought to be very expensive for the poor council to spend $118 000 on  the Benz GLE 250 and the $63 000 for the Trailblazer. If need be, the town clerk must use the BT50 model until his car of choice is delivered by September 2017,” he said.

According to Mafa, council was forced to acquire the Trailblazer after a delay in delivery of the Benz, which had been ordered from Germany.

The provincial spokesperson said living a luxurious life at the expense of the suffering masses was not part of the MDC’s DNA.

“We therefore decided that therefore we are social democratic party which should not live luxuriously and exuberantly at the expense of the residents.

“As a result, we have ordered our councillors to go and make a resolution that will see the Trailblazer be parked immediately and advertised for resale so that the proceeds go and alleviate service delivery to the people of Bulawayo,” he said.

In an earlier interview with the Daily News, Moyo saw no problem with the acquisition of expensive vehicles.

“Council buys tens of cars in any year. The mayoral Benz is just one car in a large fleet of cars. At $118 000, that is what it cost. It is in fact in the lower range. The car is not Martin Moyo’s. I’ll leave it behind for my successor in 12 months,” Moyo said.

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HARARE - President Robert Mugabe yesterday conferred national hero status to the late war veteran and nationalist Naison Khutshwekhaya Ndlovu who died Monday.

Ndlovu, 86, was Bulawayo’s first black mayor in post-independent Zimbabwe and former deputy president of the Senate. 

He died in Bulawayo in the early hours of Monday after a long battle with prostate cancer.

A veteran member of PF-Zapu, Ndlovu was the liberation movement’s representative at the 1979 all-party Rhodesia conference at Lancaster House in London after escalation of the independence war, helping to broker a peace agreement and constitution for an independent Zimbabwe.

He has been described as a “revered politician” and a “humble man.”

Zanu PF secretary for administration Ignatius Chombo told State media that Mugabe saw it fit to confer Ndlovu with the highest honour of the land.

Chombo said Ndlovu was a consistent cadre who remained committed to the ruling party for years.

“Ndlovu has been declared national hero by...Mugabe. Burial arrangements will be announced in due course,” Chombo said.

It is not clear when Ndlovu will be buried given Mugabe’s tight itinerary. On Friday he had scheduled a youth rally in Marondera before flying out to New York for a UN summit by Saturday.

Zanu PF central committee member Richard Ndlovu described the late Ndlovu as a veteran nationalist who gave his all for the freedom of the country.

“Ndlovu has a long rich political history, he went through the white minority cruelty but he remained steadfast. He held several positions in the party and he never looked back.

“He is a real national hero,” he said.

Ndlovu held several influential positions in government.

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HARARE - With all eyes on President Robert Mugabe’s mega rally in Marondera on Friday, Zanu PF insiders say the nonagenarian will not only be launching his 2018 election campaign in earnest, but will also once again use this gathering and others to follow to “crush” the ambitions of his lieutenants aspiring to succeed him.

The well-placed sources who spoke to the Daily News last night were adamant that in addition to marking “the beginning of his 2018 push”, where the nonagenarian would be mobilising the youth vote, Mugabe would also use all his forthcoming rallies “to deal with internal dissent” — as Zanu PF’s ugly tribal, factional and succession wars burn hotter.

“There is no doubt that Friday’s rally in Marondera and the others to come, which are all being organised by the youth league, will present opportunities for the president to show that he is still very much in charge despite all the infighting and the talk of succession.

“From what we have gathered, he will once again remind ambitious senior party officials and their factions that he is going nowhere and that he will be the party’s presidential candidate in 2018,” one party bigwig said.

“The rally is meant to deal with internal dissent which has caused so much grief for His Excellency.  Whether he decides to attack one faction or both factions is up to him, but the mood in the party is such that things are getting out of hand and he has to step in and say something.

“You are likely to see him reminding everyone, including those fighting to succeed him, that he is the sole candidate for 2018 and that they must wait for their turn and time when the party will decide to deal with succession,” another consistently-reliable senior party official told the Daily News last night.

“Overall, this rally is mainly to unite the party and call to order the two factions. It is also no coincidence that the youth league is behind this rally and others to follow.

“It (the youth league) has been clear that His Excellency is the sole centre of power and that he is the party’s 2018 presidential candidate,” the second insider added.

Mugabe — who spent all of last week in Mexico, attending an obscure conference on climate change — returned home at the weekend at a time that there are growing fissures within Zanu PF, as the bigwigs fighting to succeed him escalate their mindless bloodletting.

On their part, political analysts also say it will be interesting to see how Mugabe uses Friday’s rally and others slated for weeks to come, in dealing with Zanu PF’s worsening succession brawls.

“The rallies will be a litmus test for the youth league, as it is a critical constituency in the voter registration drive for 2018.

“Will the G40 also do as it did with the million-man march in May 2016? Will negative narratives from war veterans generate a blowback for Lacoste?

“Much will depend on Mugabe’s messaging on Friday and whether he uses the rally to build and unite or expose and excoriate,” Piers Pigou, a senior consultant with the International Crisis Group, said.

However, Pigou said while Mugabe could belt his warring colleagues, he was unlikely to show the direction the succession issue was likely to take.

“It’s certainly an opportunity to engage this issue, but on past form it seems unlikely he will provide any clarity or direction on this matter

“His strength seems to wax and wane with increasing unpredictability. His strength is visibly declining, but whilst the body is weak, it appears the spirit remains strong,” he added.

Youth league secretary, Kudzanai Chipanga, told the Daily News that the nonagenarian would use the Marondera rally to launch a voter mobilisation for the youths, whose participation in elections has been very low in previous elections.

“We are also taking that opportunity to launch our campaign for a massive voter registration exercise.

“It is our constitutional mandate as the youth movement to mobilise young people to fully participate in social and economic activities of this country.

“These programmes (forthcoming rallies) fall under the political structures whereby we afford young people the opportunity to interface with the head of State. They will raise their concerns and challenges that they are facing daily with him.

“We need such interactions with the president so that we get to tell him about our issues. We need the assistance of the principal to access resources. Every province will get that opportunity to host the president,” Chipanga said.

This dovetails with what opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said last month when he launched a massive campaign urging youths to register and vote in the eagerly-awaited 2018 plebiscite.

“In our last election, only five percent of those between the age of 18 and 35 voted. I am now challenging all these young people because you are allowing us the old people to continue defining your future.

“Are you aware that you are outsourcing your future to the old, even to grandfathers like Mugabe. You are outsourcing your future to that old man. What does that mean?

“Let’s all go and register to vote. On voting day, we are not supposed to go home without casting our votes.

“And simply going to vote is also not good enough. We must also defend our vote. We must not leave this duty to only a few people,” Tsvangirai said then.

“I am making a final appeal to you. You are the game changers, as 60 percent of those below the age of 40 are the majority of the country’s population ... unfortunately, you are leaving everything in Tsvangirai’s hands.

“When Zanu PF rigs elections, many of you simply look up to me. Some of you don’t have national identity cards, others do not even make an effort to get these ID cards.

“Yet others don’t even come around on the days to register for elections. So ... you are in effect saying the old generation must define your future,” he added.

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KIGALI - There will be no spur of the moment Twitter rants by Rwanda's presidential candidates, as the election commission has ruled that it must pre-approve all of their social media updates.

"We are asking (candidates) to present us their messages, their drafts" to verify that they are not against the law," electoral commission head Kalisa Mbanda told AFP on Monday.

The measure, published in the government gazette earlier this month, will be effective as from the start of the official campaign on July 14 and concerns "messages, photographs and other campaign material" published on social networks.

Any social media messages will have to be submitted to the seven election commissioners at least 48 hours before their publication.

"If the message is not accepted it cannot be published," said Mbanda.

He said the goal was to "prevent declarations, words, acts that can lead the population to acts of insecurity that could divide the Rwandan population."

The measure has been criticised by the opposition, who fears it is a tool to prevent criticism of President Paul Kagame who is seeking re-election in August after the constitution was changed to allow him to run again.

"It is unfair because we think social media should be something spontaneous so if someone wants to control it or to approve it first it is going to make our work very difficult," said Frank Habineza, leader of the tiny opposition Democratic Green Party.

"If there is some message that is very critical to the ruling party maybe they can stop it saying it is against national security or something like that," he added.

Habineza, who is one of only four candidates who have declared their intention to run against Kagame - pending the election commission's approval - said he was considering legal action.

Since the end of the 1994 genocide in which around 800 000 mostly Tutsi people died, Rwanda has been praised for its stability and economic performance. However it often comes under fire for a lack of political freedom.

Rwanda is constitutionally a multi-party system but there is practically no opposition within the country.

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