HARARE - Retired Dutch farmer, organic specialist and PUM expert Coen De Berg was on a consulting visit to farmers in Rusitu and Chipinge last week.

De Berg, who landed in Zimbabwe because of a ZimTrade-PUM partnership, holds more than 40 years’ experience in organic dairy farming and horticulture production for the European market.

Small scale farmers working plots as tiny as half a hectare in Rusitu and Chipinge tapped his expertise as part of their ongoing journey to organic certification.

It is a tricky but necessary hurdle to clear as they strive to reach the lucrative European markets where organic foods are in high demand, and fetch a premium price.

The retired farmer followed farmers through the hills around Rusitu Valley to evaluate their crops and methods. A persistent drizzle typical of the region failed to dampen the mood.

Even through the mist, the beauty and fertility of the area was plain to see. Maize, pineapple, millet and potato fields are lined with citrus, mango, banana and macadamia nut trees, all heavy with fruit.

Arriving at the first plot high above the valley, proud farmer Langton Siyekaya (21) presents his fields to de Berg for assessment. He has worked extremely hard planting neat rows of pineapple suckers on less than one hectare of steep hillside.

Siyekaya and de Berg huddle together over the first soil sample of the day. de Berg is smiling.

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“When you see me looking at soil, you will see me getting excited. Organic farming is about having a living soil, and this looks to me like a typical, healthy, organic soil. It’s beautiful,” he declares. He asks permission to dig closer to one of the plants, and his sample comes up with a fine lattice of roots clinging to the deep red earth.

“Look at these roots,” says de Berg, “They are well-spread, and are the reason these plants are healthy. Keep mulching as you have been, but spread your plants more for better yields.” Siyekaya is delighted and is smiling with his chest puffed out when he and de Berg later pose for photos in front of his house.

In his early assessments, de Berg is confident that the transition to organic will be possible for Siyekaya, and the other 1 500 Rusitu farmers that constitute the Rusitu Valley Fruit Growers Marketing Trust.

The Trust, in conjunction with export promotion body ZimTrade, are working hard to capacitate the farmers to export organic pineapples, hopefully within months.  de Berg says that their existing practices will help make the transition a smooth one.

“When we made the move to organic in The Netherlands, it was a complete change from a very chemical intensive approach. The use of chemicals here (Rusitu) is much lower, and so the transition can happen more quickly,” he said.

Tsitsi Mutandwa, market analyst at ZimTrade, says that ZimTrade research points to organic pineapples as being a lucrative and quick-win product for the European market.

“The EU consumes 46 percent of the world’s pineapples. Trade Map (an online research tool used by ZimTrade) indicates that the EU consumed 1,3 million tonnes of pineapples in 2016, 21 percent of which went to The Netherlands. We are also excited by the growth of demand from $210 million in 2012 to $235 million worth of pineapples in 2016 — a trend driven by supermarket sales of the fresh fruit,” said Mutandwa.

Additional data provided by ZimTrade indicates that organic fresh produce can fetch as much as 30 percent more than conventionally farmed produce available on Europe’s supermarket shelves. The growing appetite for organic is a great opportunity for small scale farmers in Zimbabwe.

Dudzayi Ndiyadzo, administrator for the Rusitu Fruit Growers Trust who are coordinating the farmers on the ground as they head towards certification, says that although the demand is there, there are still obstacles in getting their produce to market.

“We struggle with the roads. They are very bad, and our transporters can get stuck moving our produce, especially when it rains. Currently we are sending two trucks of bananas a week to Bulawayo, but because of the logistics, returns can be low,” he says.

De Berg is confident that market dynamics will eventually resolve this.

“If the farmers can provide a high quality organic pineapple, the road issue will eventually be addressed,” he says.

Other options to reduce the risks associated with fresh fruit logistics include the equipping of what is currently a factory shell in the heart of the valley to can or dry the fruit, though the current aim is to sell Rusitu pineapples fresh.

The PUM expert continued his visits through the week, affirming the work of many of the farmers, and directing those with room for improvement towards best practice for organic pineapple production.

He jets out of Zimbabwe next week after a debrief and knowledge sharing session in Harare with the ZimTrade team who will continue working with the Rusitu Fruit Growers Marketing Trust to get Zimbabwean pineapples overseas.

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HARARE - The Zimbabwe Energy Council says foreign investors shied away from the country’s energy sector last year despite injecting close to $3 billion in the region due to high political risk.

The council’s chairperson Amiel Matindike said 2017 was a difficult year in terms of funding of projects — both small and big.

“The risk level for Zimbabwe as a destination for cost-effective money was very high. No significant inflows of foreign direct investment was recorded. Sadc region received close to $3 billion in 2016-2017 in form of private sector investment in the energy sector.

“Regrettably, the country did not receive any form of traceable private sector investment in the sector,” he said.

He noted that many of Zec members, who are independent power producers (IPPs), bear testimony that it has been very difficult to convince funders on the various licensed projects.

“It has been surprising that even the Chinese investors, whom we thought were our all-weather friends have been wary to invest in the country. We are confident that with the new economic order, a new lease of life will be breathed into the sector,” he said in a market update.

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“I call upon our members to take advantage of various business meetings to participate in crafting new strategies and plans to resuscitate the funding opportunities,” Matindike added.

The latest development comes at a time when the country is experiencing acute power shortages due to lack of investment in the energy sector.

Zimbabwe, which requires close to 2200 megawatts (mm) of power daily but generates slightly above 1000MW, relies on archaic electricity generating equipment dating back to the Rhodesian era.

On its part, the government has been working with Chinese firms to upgrade the existing infrastructure as a way of boosting power generation.

Energy minister Simon Khaya Moyo recently said power generation at Hwange Thermal Power Station has increased to 661 megawatts following the completion of refurbishment works at one of its units which had been inactive for years.

Moyo said Hwange’s unit six, which had been under refurbishment, was now up and running.

“It has been years since we last had such an output (661MW),” Moyo said

Hwange is Zimbabwe’s biggest power plant by design capacity and is made up of six generating units which at intervals require overhaul to maintain its efficiency.

The plant was first constructed in 1973 and was generating about 500MW against its installed capacity of 920MW due to technical issues and its advanced age. — The Financial Gazette

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HARARE - Celia Rukato, 27, was born in Zimbabwe but raised in South Africa. Her first career path was in finance and economics but her passion for fashion saw her relocating back to her country of birth in 2016 to start her brand Chjaa Enterprises.

From uniquely printed fabrics to custom clothes, Celia can make anything from fabric. Currently the soft-spoken woman is the brains behind the most popular fashion accessory at the moment the “Zim Rocks” scarves which the Zimbabwean delegation to Davos were wearing. Daily News reporter Helen Kadirire sat down with Rukato and discussed her business.

Q: Who is Celia?

A: I was born in Zimbabwe but moved to South Africa when I was four years after my father got a job there. I did my primary and high school there. My dad had actually suggested that I do actuarial science but I later went to University of Cape Town where I studied Finance Economics and graduated in 2012.

My mother did a lot of work travelling around the world so I was exposed to a lot of cultures and experiences. After university I did an internship in Nigeria at an asset management firm where I was a research analyst.

While there the fashion bug kept on picking at me and one day my boss told me about fashion courses that were being conducted at the weekends. I was always interested in fashion but was afraid to pursue it because of the traditional connotations associated with not being in a formal job.

Q: How did Chjaa come about?

A: We initially tried to do the fashion thing while also in our full-time jobs with my mother but noticed that it was not working, because we would get back home tired from work while that was the time we would have to start the business.

While I was working for Discovery in South Africa that is when I tried juggling my full-time job and the fashion back here but it wasn’t working well for me. I took the plunge to pursue my passion for fashion in 2016 when I moved back to Zimbabwe full-time. We do fabric printing and custom-made clothes. My idea was to look for a Zimbabwe dress or fabric…something that people would identify as authentically Zimbabwean. Currently, we have what we call the Chevron design which features small Zimbabwe bird designs on the fabric.

Q: How was it like entering into the fashion industry in Zimbabwe?

A: The industry can be a bit lonely because it was always about the need to compete with others. I didn’t have anyone guiding me on what to do. I accidentally stumbled upon Sylvia De’ Mode, who is the head of Zimbabwe Fashion Network.

She heard that we were experimenting with a Zimbabwean fabric and added us to their social media platform. In the last two years we have been learning how to overcome situations such as power cuts which have taught us to get a generator or even relocate some machines home so that we meet our deadlines. Sometimes it is unbelievable how we have managed to finish stock. At times we work throughout the night to meet deadlines, so the business can be very demanding.

Q: How receptive has the industry been for a company as young as Chjaa?

CR: We have had our challenges but we soldiered on. At least we have a dedicated staff compliment of seven, that is, two tailors, four printers and the factory supervisor who keeps things in check when I am meeting clients and cannot be around.

However, we have had an issue with the cash crisis like everyone else. Because of the cash shortage prices of fabrics cost four times more by December last year.

We have been really pushing towards local fabrics and get most of our materials from Kadoma Textiles, however, when the cash crisis started to hit and they were experiencing problems with some dyes, we just started getting whatever was available.

We are trying to be resourceful with whatever is available. Since we source locally we do not throw away our off-cuts, we use them as accents on our designs so that everything is utilised. We are not only into clothes but we also do accessories such as clutches.

The idea for a Zimbabwean dress is not set in stone as people prefer different things. The idea is still open for debate

Q: What inspired you to create the scarf?

A: My mother and I come up with the designs and we take them to graphic designers to bring life to the idea. We started that after noticing the South African cricket team always had something that would identify them with their country other than the blazer and kit.

The scarf was an experiment to see what would make people identify that someone is from Zimbabwe. It has been around since 2014 and was mostly at the departure shop at the airport.

We placed it there mostly because the shopkeeper said tourists wanted something that would remind them of Zimbabwe at the last minute.

We have different models of the scarf and the one the President was wearing was actually created some two years ago. The build-up to Davos was all over the news and we decided to use the opportunity.

We sent a couple of scarves to the ministry of Foreign Affairs and said they can give them out as souvenirs or whatever while there. We did not expect to have the whole delegation wearing the scarf.

Since the president wore the scarf, demand for it has been very high. Currently, they are all sold out. The scarves are for everyone, they are not high end or for the rich. We want to make them as accessible to people as possible.

Q: What is the future like for Chjaa?

A: We would love to even work with the sports teams of the country and even have ideas of how to re-work their kits. It would be really great if our teams wore some of our products. We have made some golf skirts and they were well received.

People may not appreciate fabric when it has not been turned into something but they will soon see how nice it is after it had been turned into a skirt, shirt or pair of trousers. We want to make something that has a meaning — something that tells a story. I have made a lot of sacrifices for this business but I do not regret being in the industry. People just need to understand that I come with the work.

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HARARE - Zimbabwe has failed to ratify a Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (Bippa) it signed with Italy 19 years ago, a situation that has resulted in low trade between the two countries.

Italian ambassador Enrico De Agostini said the southern African country was not sincere on its quest to do business with the international community as it was failing to keep its promises it made to the European nation about two decades ago.

“Zimbabwe and Italy signed a memorandum of understanding in 1999, but it’s yet to be ratified,” the envoy said at the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries symposium in the capital last week.

“I raised the issue with the previous administration in September 2015 and the government promised to ratify the treaty by 2016 but up to now, nothing has been done. When are you going to ratify the agreement?” Agostini asked central bank governor John Mangudya who was present at the meeting.

Several Italian companies from different sectors including energy, construction, mining, agricultural machinery, motoring and foodstuffs have expressed interest to invest in Zimbabwe over the past few years.

These include Salini Costruttori, Spodale Investments, Afrisun Marketing, Silica Mining Consumables & Agricultural Equipment, Associated Tyres and Tarrys among others.

Italian brands are internationally-renowned for quality engineering and superior technology.

The country offers a wide range of business and commercial opportunities and contributes more than 13 percent of the European Union’s Gross Domestic Product.

An important link for land, sea and air routes that provide a gateway to Europe, Italy is ranked sixth among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries and fourth among European countries in terms of GDP.

Agostini said the ratification of the 19-year-old bilateral relations agreement will open doors for more foreign direct investment to flow into Zimbabwe.

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“It’s not a major thing, but it will send the right signals to the international community that Zimbabwe is now ready for foreign direct investment,” he said.

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Mangudya said the new government headed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa was moving with speed to re-engage with the international community.

“We are taking all the Bippas seriously and those which are yet to be ratified will be completed soon. The government is ready to finalise all unfinished business.

“The minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade is currently seized with the matter,” he said.

Mnangagwa, who recently took over form former president Robert Mugabe, said government was committed to protecting property rights and ratify the Bippas, adding his administration would embrace new friends, including hostile countries, as well as maintaining good relations with friendly nations.

“Fortunately, we are receiving positive signals across the world in the western countries from the United Kingdom, German, France, India, China and Brazil, among others.

“We are receiving positive signals for co-operation. So, on the issue of international engagement, it’s a moment where we are receiving goodwill and we must ride on this goodwill as a country,” he said while officiating at a summit organised by the Zimbabwe Business Club.

Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe was ready for business, promising investors that they would be able to repatriate their profits to their countries.

“With regards to the repatriation of your profits, your earning, you are guaranteed that you will be able to take out your money subject, of cause, to approvals by the minister of Finance and Reserve Bank governor.

“But at the end of the day, you will take out your money, with respect to the fact that anybody goes in business to make money,” he said.  — The Financial Gazette

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HARARE - Sable Chemicals — Zimbabwe’s sole manufacture of Ammonium Nitrate (AN) fertilizer — is crying out for serious investment to be able to hit full production capacity.

The company is a key institution in providing the country’s nitrogenous fertilizer needs.

Sable Chemicals’ chief executive officer (CEO) Bothwell Nyajeka told the Daily News that the company had the capacity to meet national demand of between 160 000 and 180 000 tonnes of AN per year when running at full throttle.

At full capacity, Sable produces 240 000 tonnes of AN per year, which means if capacitated can meet local demand and produce more for export.

However, it is currently managing just 36 000, which means it is operating at 25 percent capacity.

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Nyajeka disclosed that they suffer frequent shortages of inputs at their production plant in Kwekwe, and often resort to shutting down the plant and run heavy losses in the process.

He, however, feels that with adequate capital injection, Sable can produce enough AN for the country, with excess going towards the export market.

“We need substantial capital in order to actualise our plans to increase out plant utilisation capacity within the next three or four years.

“We sometimes switch off the plant and if we want to put that into proper perspective, each day we close, we lose at least 300 tonnes because we produce 300 tonnes of fertilizer per day,” said Nyajeka.

He added that the company normally runs out of ammonia gas, a key ingredient in the production of AN, without which manufacture halts.

Sable used to produce its own ammonia gas through the Haber Process, but the plant was decommissioned in 2015 after it was realised that it had become very unsustainable due to its power guzzling nature.

The Haber Process is a procedure of combining nitrogen from the air with hydrogen derived mainly from natural gas (methane) into ammonia.

However, in the case of Sable Chemicals, because there was no natural gas available, they had to first obtain hydrogen from water through a process called electrolysis, selling the by-product, oxygen to the now defunct Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company and to hospitals where it would be required for medical reasons.

The company is now importing ammonia gas from South Africa, which gets it as a by-product of coal processing.

Nyajeka said they looked forward to investing in 64 rail tankers in order to be able to move bigger quantities of ammonia gas.

Currently, the company has 107 rail tankers which move 45 000 tonnes of ammonia gas per year.

The additional 64 tankers will enable it to move 30 720 tonnes more per year.

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HARARE - The Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe (IDCZ) is inviting financial advisors to lead the sale of Chemplex Corporation Limited, one of its subsidiaries.

In a Government Gazette published on Friday last week, IDCZ sets out a range of requirements for the would be financial advisor to lead the investor search and dilution of its 100 percent shareholding in Chemplex on a success fee basis.

“The investor is expected to inject additional capital in the business, bringing in new technology and access to wider markets for the business,” the Gazette reads.

“The individual or company must have the following (i) a minimum five years’ experience in providing financial advisory services (ii) demonstrate experience in handling strategic investor search and company restructuring (iii) experience in investment valuations and capacity to provide legal services will be an added advantage.”

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The self-financing, national Development Finance Institution (DFI) added that expressions of interest should be submitted to Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe, Fifth Floor, Old Reserve Bank of Building 76 Samora Machel Avenue in Harare not later than 10am on February 13.

Chemplex Corporation is Zimbabwe’s largest fertilizer and chemicals manufacturing company.

Chemplex entered the Zimbabwean scene in 1924 when AE&CI — a South African company then owned in equal shares by De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited and Nobel Industries Limited — opened a sales and distribution office in Bulawayo to supply the mining industry with explosives, sulphuric acid, and hydrochloric acid among other products.

In those days Nobel used to make hydrochloric acid by mixing sulphuric acid with salt.

AE&CI had a solid reputation for maintaining a chemical services department, staffed by qualified and experienced industrial chemists, to provide free technical advice and assistance in connection with the chemicals sold by the company.

Chemplex has nurtured this reputation throughout the years.

In 1990, AECI sold Chemplex.

Chemplex has five main operating divisions — Dorowa Minerals, Zimbabwe Phosphate Industries Limited, Chemplex Marketing, Chemplex Animal and Public Health, and G. D. Haulage.

ZimPhos is the country’s sole producer of sulphuric acid, aluminium sulphate (used in municipal water treatment), and super phosphates (used in the manufacture of phosphatic fertilisers).

The company’s largest strategic business unit is the fertiliser industry where it is the outright market leader.

It owns 50 percent of Zimbabwe Fertiliser Company, 36 percent of Sable Chemicals, 100 percent of Zimbabwe Phosphate Industries Limited, and 100 percent of Dorowa Minerals.

Its parent company, IDCZ is a self-financing DFI, established in 1963 through an Act of Parliament, (Chapter 14:10).

It is wholly-owned by the Government of Zimbabwe and accordingly is a State enterprise.

The IDCZ, however, is unique in that it was commercialised from its inception as it is also registered in terms of the Companies Act (Section 3) of Zimbabwe.

The corporation is a limited liability.

The IDCZ’s role in the economy is to add value through industrial processes and capital formation (foreign direct investment) to create wealth, employment and industrial development in Zimbabwe.

The IDCZ Act allows the corporation to promote investment and economic co-operation across all borders.

The Act stipulates that all undertakings of the corporation be considered strictly on their economic merits.

Accordingly, the corporation is specifically prohibited from serving a purely social or benevolent function.

It is therefore required to operate on a financially self-sustaining basis, irrespective of other considerations or whatsoever.

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HARARE - The appointment of Justice Priscilla Chigumba as head of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) has been met with mixed feelings.

Pessimists are frightened by her appointment.

They are arguing that none of her predecessors was independent from the appointing authority, thus the new Zec chair is a chip off the old block incapable of delivering an uncontested electoral outcome.

It is also being argued that Chigumba is not fit for office on account of allegations that she tried to solicit for a $20 000 bribe in order to throw out a civil case that was before her in 2013.

This is not helpful.

Zimbabweans will be going to the polls soon and it was going to be inappropriate for Zec to handle such a mammoth task without a substantive head.

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Chigumba was found suitable for the job and, gleaning from her Curriculum Vitae, she has what it takes to do the job.

She has been a judge of the High Court for six years and, before that, she held the role of senior professional research assistant in the office of the Chief Justice after serving as a magistrate since 2004 when she joined the judiciary.

She did her law degree at King’s College London and her secondary school at Goromonzi and St Ignatius schools. While allegations of bribery were made against her during an interview, there is nothing to suggest that she was brought before trial or any hearing, possibly due to lack of evidence.

The doctrine of “innocent until proven guilty” puts the burden of proof on those who have issues against her without which it would be unfair to smear her name when there is no adverse verdict passed against her.

Judging by her performance on the bench, she is also a sound legal mind and a courageous one as well. Her dismissal of the State’s case against cleric Evan Mawarire in 2017 immediately comes to mind. In 2016, she also declared a government order against demonstrations illegal.

Chigumba arrives at Zec when expectations are high. Last November, Zimbabweans stood together to show their revulsion against former president Robert Mugabe’s autocratic rule. In this new era, elections that are free from elements that can deny Zimbabwe a chance to move forward as a democratic State are a prerequisite.

Chigumba is well aware of these issues and she has pledged to rise up to the challenge.

Instead of undermining her, why not give her the opportunity to prove her worth?

After all, don’t we all deserve a chance?

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HARARE - Rifts have widened in the MDC after the party’s acting president Elias Mudzuri refused to play second fiddle to his co-deputy Nelson Chamisa who was slotted as the main speaker at yesterday’s Chitungwiza rally.

Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC Alliance presidential candidate, has chosen Chamisa to stand in for him and to handle all the party business within the Alliance — as the former prime minister battles cancer of the colon. He is undergoing chemotherapy in South Africa where he is said to be suffering from severe treatment side effects.

Things came to a head yesterday when Mudzuri — who Tsvangirai has appointed as the acting MDC president — was asked to give a speech at the MDC Alliance rally before Chamisa.

Mudzuri refused to take to the podium, insisting that he should speak last. His remonstrations fell on deaf eras.

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Speaking to the Daily News soon after Chamisa’s address, MDC Alliance spokesperson Welshman Ncube confirmed that Mudzuri had insisted on speaking before Chamisa despite the fact that Tsvangirai had told his fellow principals that he would be represented by the Kuwadzana East legislator.

“The reality of the situation is that, like I said when I addressed, Tsvangirai gave us Chamisa to work with and instructed that he is the one who attends the Alliance’s strategic meetings, speaks on his behalf at rallies and so forth,”  Ncube said.

In his electrifying address, Chamisa said he had been tasked by Tsvangirai to ensure that the Alliance becomes a reality and that he should ensure that founding members of the party including Ncube, Tendai Biti and Job Sikhala, among others who had broken ranks with the opposition party, rejoin the party. Admitting that there are problems regarding the Alliance, Chamisa said he would soon engage all party leaders who had issues with the coalition to resolve the differences.

“I was given a job to see to it that this Alliance works and if there are issues that need to be resolved, we are going to be engaging those affected constituency-by-constituency  to address the challenges although we are not going to go back regarding the vision of our leader that we must unite. Kana uchida chigaro mu Alliance hausi wemo asi kana uchida ugaro (If you are after positions you have no place unless you are in pursuit of a better life for the people), then we are together,” Chamisa said.

He advised party leaders with reservations about the Alliance to play along first and then complain later saying “the Alliance programme is an idea whose time has come.”

“The Alliance is a moving elephant and you cannot stop it. You cannot stand on its way,  you risk being trampled. There is a formula to all this and remember Tsvangirai applied his mind before he came up with the idea. He wants to the party go back to where it was when we formed in  1999,” he said calling on Biti, Ncube and Sikhala to join him on the podium.

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HARARE - A dispute over land, in Harare’s high density suburb of Budiriro 4, has degenerated into a nasty battle between apostolic sect members, leading to one being dragged to court over rape.

Herbert Senda, 34, was involved in a land dispute with Clifford Chimusoro, Muchineripi Utete, Blesssing Chimbadzo, Wellington Kadzutu and Taurai Munyika all of Budiriro 4.

The land originally belonged to Johanne Masowe YeChishanu Nyenyedzi Nomwe Housing Cooperative led by Senda, aka Madzibaba Enock.

It is alleged Chimusoro, Utete, Chimbadzo, Kadzutu and Munyika connived and sold the land without Madzibaba Enock’s knowledge.

Madzibaba Enock wrote a letter of complaint to the police — which is in the possession of the Daily News — on December 21, 2017 alleging that the four were selling land unlawfully.

As the conflict ensued, Madzibaba Enock alleges, Chimusoro “hatched a plan to fix me. They went and paid Alice Mupoperi to level rape charges against me. As a result, Mupoperi reported rape charges against me at Budiriro 2 Police Station, leading to my arrest. What is shocking is that a mobile money transaction record shows that Chimusoro paid Mupoperi and her mother $200 on December 22, 2017.”

“It appears the rape allegations, filed on December 22, were generated as a counter move to the letter I had wrote to the police a day earlier,” Madzibaba Enock added.

Madzibaba Enock’s attorney, who can not be named for professional reasons claims that following his client’s arrest, the prosecutor who is now handling the case also allegedly received $40 through a mobile money transaction, whose record is in our possession.

The attorney says, ordinarily, the prosecutor (name supplied but withheld) should have recused himself from the case given the relationship between him and Chimusoro.

He added that they obtained a court order to enable them to get Chimusoro’s mobile money statement printout after suspecting that the complainant had been paid by Chimusoro.

In the case that is already before the courts, the State alleges that Madzibaba Enock, on some date in August 2016, had sexual intercourse with Mupoperi, of Buhera, without her consent on two occasions.

Mupoperi, the State alleges, had visited the accused’s shrine in Budiriro 4 to be prayed for. It is alleged the accused, while praying for the complainant, started caressing her stomach and ended up raping her.

The State also alleges that the accused threatened the complainant saying “his angels would be able to see it instantly and would kill her instantly” if she told anybody about the alleged rape.

Madzibaba Enock is out of custody on $50 bail.

The case is continuing today when the complainant is being recalled to answer to the questions arising from mobile money transfers Chimusoro made to her.

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HARARE - Police have nabbed another suspected robber who teamed up with his gang and robbed a Harare businessman of $91 000, after storming his premises.

Onismo Matuke’s arrest comes a month after his accomplices were apprehended and brought to court in December last year.

He reportedly led detectives to the recovery of a Toyota Mark X that he purchased using spoils of the armed robbery.

Matuke was remanded in custody to February 15, and advised to apply for bail at the High Court when he appeared before Harare magistrate Rumbidzayi Mugwagwa.

His accomplices Fortune Sibanda, Elvis Machinga, Vengai Shoko and Gift Chimuka are already in custody.

Prosecutor Linda Gadzikwa alleged that on November 28, this year, Sibanda in the company of Elvis Machinga, Vengai Shoko, Gift Chimuka, Banga, Matuke, Ranga and others whose names are not yet known to the police hatched a plan to rob the complainant.

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The court heard Sibanda and his accomplices drove to 108 West Road, Avondale West, Harare in a white van and confronted the security guard who manned the offices pretending to members of the Zimbabwe National Army military police looking for accommodation.

It was alleged that the gang suddenly produced pistols and ordered the security guard to surrender gate keys.

After gaining entry into the premises, Sibanda lied that they were on a State sanctioned operation and wanted to interview the complainant but later left after failing to locate him.

The court heard that when Sibanda returned to the premises on November 29 he reportedly stormed into complainant’s office and accused him of dealing with former ministers Ignatius Chombo and Saviour Kasukuwere.

They claimed that the complainant had been sponsoring a Zanu PF Generation 40 faction in a conspiracy to assassinate President Emmerson Mnangagwa, money laundering and hoarding of cash among other allegations.

The complainant and his secretary Louise Smith were put under arrest and subdued.

Sibanda and his accomplices ransacked the premises and took $15 200, 410 Singapore dollars, 3 050 Dirhams, 16 000 Thai Bhat and 4 000 Hong Kong dollars.

Smith and her boss were dragged into a blue Hyundai Sonata before being driven to Rainbow Towers car park and further to the conference centre.

Five more accused persons emerged and threatened to detain the complainant and his secretary before forcibly taking $6 000 from his wallet.

They continued threatening to subject the complainant to thorough beating on his bottom if he refused to disclose where he kept more money.

The complainant succumbed to the pressure and revealed that he was keeping money at his Gift Investments Company number 9 Hood Road, Southerton in Harare.

Sibanda then ordered the complainant to summon his wife who had keys to that premises and one of the accused persons took control of her car and drove to Gift Investments.

The gang ransacked the premises and stole $70 000 from a safe before proceeding to his house 15 Grasmere lane, Borrowdale, Harare and searched the place for more loot.

The court heard that Sibanda and his accomplices held the complainant, receptionist and his wife hostage while they went around town before giving him $4 500 and ordering him to leave the country immediately.

The victims were dropped off at an open space near Harare Showgrounds before Sibanda and his accomplices went away with the loot.

A total of USD$90 832, 3 050 Dirhams, 16 000 Thai Bhat and 4 000 Hong Kong dollars was recovered.

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HARARE - Struggling national flag carrier, Air Zimbabwe (AirZim) is locked in a bitter wrangle with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAAZ) over a three-year arrangement involving air ticket charges and passenger service fees, it has emerged.

The two parastatals had buried the hatchet when CAAZ climbed down from the forced arrangement whereby AirZim passengers were paying the fees directly to the authority before departure as opposed to the normal procedure whereby they are composited on the air tickets.

Passengers have been paying passenger service fees of $15 for local departures and $50 for international departures.

CAAZ had said in a statement the move was taken to ensure the smooth flow of passengers and facilitate the ease of doing business.

However, when the date of commencement arrived, many passengers were shocked when they were being asked to pay the fees separately to CAAZ.

Following the incident, CAAZ later issued a small notice informing passengers that it has not been possible to effect the change because AirZim “had misrepresented some facts to the International Air Travel Association (IATA)” and therefore the deal between the two companies had been suspended until further notice.

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But AirZim management strongly hit back, telling the Daily News that it was in fact CAAZ which had bungled by prematurely announcing the deal.

“CAAZ prematurely announced the commencement date before they had ensured IATA gives codes to Air Zimbabwe.

“Now they are trying to say AirZim is not ready yet it’s CAAZ which has not reinstated the codes they had blocked,” said AirZim corporate affairs and communications manager, Tafadzwa Mazonde.

“AirZim does not have and did not make any communication with IATA on this issue. It is therefore false to say we made a misrepresentation.

“The only communication between AirZim and IATA on this issue was when AirZim made a follow up as to why IATA had not yet provided the codes ahead of February 1.

“It then only turned out that the letter by CAAZ was not delivered to IATA and this is the only reason why things have not moved,” said Mazonde.

CAAZ public relations and communications manager Annajulia Hungwe refuted Mazonde’s claims saying once they penned the letter, what happened subsequently was none of their business.

“CAAZ wrote in notification to IATA in support of Air Zimbabwe’s application where it was requesting IATA to reinstate the codes for passenger service charge and airport infrastructure development fund on their tickets.

“Thereafter, it was Air Zimbabwe’s prerogative to follow up with IATA and conclude all the reapplication process,” she said.

The fee in contention is ordinarily paid to CAAZ for purposes of airport maintenance. It is in-built in the ticket and every airline must then remit that tax amount to CAAZ.

However, in 2014, AirZim was not remitting, resulting in CAAZ resorting to collecting the money from passengers at the airport.

The two parties had negotiated and agreed to allow AirZim to collect that tax on the ticket as is the norm.

The move was envisaged to bring convenience to passengers as there would not be any extra costs to be paid at the airport over and above the ticket price as is currently prevailing

AirZim is currently struggling to go back to viability following years of collapse which at one point saw all its planes getting grounded.

It is saddled with a crippling debt of up to $300 million and has failed to attract partners to turn around its fortunes due to its high level of indebtedness which, according to Transport and Infrastructure Development minister Joram Gumbo, scares off potential investors.

Gumbo recently disclosed that the national airline was making a loss of $2 million every month and was relying on daily government bailouts.

AirZim has also been grappling with declining load factors with passenger numbers having plummeted to about 230 000 per annum in the past few years, from a peak of one million in 1996, as travellers opt for other airlines, even on the four domestic destinations it services.

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HARARE - Parliament has summoned the directors of Sakunda Holdings to appear before the Mines and Energy portfolio committee and give oral evidence on the stalled Dema Emergency Diesel Peaking Power Plant project.

The $250 million Dema Power Plant — set up in 2016 to provide emergency power in the wake of electricity shortages caused by the low water levels in Kariba Dam — has since last year been mothballed on the back of fuel challenges.

In a schedule issued by the assistant clerk of Parliament Johane Gandiwa for the current week, the directors of Sakunda Holdings will today appear before the Mines and Energy Portfolio Committee chaired by Norton Member of Parliament Temba Mliswa to explain the operations of the Dema plant.

The meeting, which will be open to members of the public and the media, will be held in the Senate Chamber.

A short-term initiative implemented to alleviate the country’s power shortages, the diesel plant was spearheaded by the Kuda Tagwirei-led Sakunda Holdings — a major local fuel supplier.

It was meant to supply about 100 Megawatts (MW) per hour into the national grid at $0,15c/MW.

Since the Daily News visited the site in July last year, the plant has not been operational.

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Initially awarded National Project Status when it was initiated, the project saw Sakunda being exempted from paying duty on fuel imported for the project.

There have been allegations that part of the fuel was being sold on the black market, although there was no evidence to corroborate this.

Nonetheless, sources say the allegations led to government withdrawing the privilege although other sources say Sakunda decided to halt operations at the site — which has about 225 generators — as it was realising losses of between $800 000 and $1,3 million from the plant monthly.

When the Daily News visited last year, ex-workers who spoke to the crew said the plant had been offline save for an occasional maintenance exercise which would see one of the generators being switched on in-between periods.

The plant is located less than 500 metres from Murape Secondary School and about two-and-a-half kilometres from the tollgate, which leads to Hwedza, and reportedly produced toxic carbon monoxide from the burning of 460 000 litres of diesel daily.

Reportedly erected without the mandatory environmental impact assessment, the plant is less than 350 metres away from Chitate Village, exposing scores of people to polluted air daily.

With a local demand of about 1 400MW, the country — which has been struggling to pay regional power suppliers that include South Africa’s Eskom and Mozambique’s Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa — Zimbabwe has a supply of just over 1 000MW and relies on imports to plug the deficit.

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MUTARE - The mountainous city of Mutare is abuzz with the story of a 57-year-old shebeen queen who is cohabiting with her former tenant — 28 years younger.

Popularly known as Mbuya Sauti, Sophie Masikuka of Chineta in Sakubva is madly in love with her live-in boyfriend, Wellington Mabhiza, aged 29.

The lovebirds have become the talk of the town, with the affair causing ripples on social media and within the border city’s oldest high density suburb.

Opinion is sharply divided between liberals and conservatives, who claim the relationship is not consistent with norms and values applicable to a Christian society.

Undeterred by the criticism, last week the soulmates organised a symbolic wedding ceremony where they took their “marriage vows”.

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No marriage officers were invited to preside over the “ceremony” and give it legal effect.

Nonetheless, food and drinks were served to invited guests.

Hundreds of curious people turned up to witness the “couple” exchange their “marriage vows”, with social media and the rumour going into a frenzy.

By and large, the “wedding ceremony” has triggered condemnation.

Not so much because of jealousy at an elderly woman finding love, but because of the nature of the relationship.

Mbuya Sauti said she will allow her husband to sire children with other women because she is past the child-bearing age.

“I told his mother that he is free to have a baby with another woman since I cannot bear a child with him,” she said after their “union” last weekend.

Mbuya Sauti’s attachment to Wellington is also being questioned after she revealed that some rituals needed to be performed on her Ben 10 before she could be intimate with him.

“We are now living under the same roof although we have not yet started having sex. We need to work on something before we do that,” she said.

The lovebirds have been seeing each other for two years.

Theirs is a relationship which started as a fling between a land lady and her tenant but it later grew stronger in the same manner Cleopatra and Mark Antony’s affair evolved.

Those who have been following the relationship blossoming claim charms could have been used to captivate the 29-year-old who is madly in love with a woman old enough to be her mother.

Mbuya Sauti does not recant these suspicions.

In fact, she suggested his attraction to her may as well be a result of supernatural powers.

“I have a spirit of a mermaid that attracts younger men,” she said.

It is said of women possessed with the spirit of a mermaid that their love is not possessive and neither is it furthered by controlling someone else’s life.

In general, they do not get sad, feel sorrow, or experience loss; or if they do, the experience is not prolonged.

Their romantic love involves bonding with one other person for a real mermaid’s love is not possessive in this way. Love is a property of water.

The ecstasy and bliss that water contains are not derived from a connection to one person. Love is in the rivers, the lakes, and the seas. This love encompasses the planet.

Love, then, is independent of relationships.

Consequently, those possessed by this spirit do not comprehend the idea of romantic attachment. They are definitely not co-dependent.

For Mbuya Sauti, her relationship to Wellington is not the first although she wants it to last.

The common thread in all her previous relationships is that she has a liking for younger men.

She fell in love with Mabhiza just after moving out of another relationship with a 35-year-old man.

While many are condemning her latest find on social media, accusing her of being a gold digger, she said she would buy her new husband a car to make him happy and reward him for his “hard work”.

Residents in Chineta who witnessed the ceremony claim the union was a taboo in the absence of the payment of lobola to her parents.

Mbuya Sauti has been in the news for all the wrong reasons altogether.

She is suspected of running a brothel in Chineta as well as another whorehouse near N Richards shop in Nyakamete heavy industrial area.

An official of a child rights organisation that once pushed for a police investigation into her business without success told the Daily News that they were horrified when police did not take any action against her, suggesting her charms shielded her from prosecution.

“We were interested in verifying allegations that were being raised by children we were working with but nothing fruitful came out of it.

“She had some sort of immunity that we never understood,” the official who declined to be named said.

The organisation had been losing girls that it has been trying to rescue from the streets in the eastern border city to child sex exploitation rings.

School dropouts and street children are easy targets for child sexual exploitation.

According to a report titled Young Women in Commercial Sexual Exploitation produced by the Zimbabwe National Council for Welfare of Children, 66,7 percent of girls that are sexually exploited are school dropouts.

It is alleged that brothels parade the vulnerable teenage girls to unscrupulous paedophiles who cherry pick the ones they want to have sex with and pay the brothel queens for quenching their sexual appetites.

It was in line with such suspicions that the local non-governmental organisation sought to have all brothels, including Mbuya Sauti’s investigated.

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HARARE - Retired police commissioner-general Augustine Chihuri along with his wife, Isabel, face arrest over theft claims that have been made to the police by a local businessman.

Bigboy Pachirera who alleges that Chihuri impounded five of his motor vehicles and fraudulently changed ownership into his name, reported the allegations at Marlborough Police Station on Saturday.

Also included in the police report are senior officers in the Zimbabwe Republic Police namely Godfrey Manyonga, Lovemore Nxumalo, Alexander Jachi and Superintendent Marodza.

The case has been opened under RRB 3448738 and CR21/02/18 with Chihuri and his former subordinates being charged with criminal abuse of office and theft.

Isabel only faces theft charges as Pachirera alleges she was instrumental in ordering police in taking over his properties, especially his Highfield house valued at $50 000.

“I can confirm that my client has filed a report against Chihuri and other police officials over a spiral of charges ranging from theft to abuse of office. We now await the day when these matters are brought before the courts for justice to prevail,” Pachirera’s lawyer Rungano Mahuni said.

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Pachirera’s wife has also opened a separate case against Chihuri, and detectives Joseph Nemaisa, Jachi and Nxumalo on allegations of kidnapping, robbery and theft.

The couple has a pending civil suit at the High Court against the former police boss claiming $2 968 000 for property that he lost and business losses incurred at the hands of Chihuri.

According to Mahuni, Chihuri has offered to compensate some of the property but the parties seemingly failed to reach an agreement.

Chihuri has claimed that Pachirera surrendered the property to him willingly as compensations for a spiral of thefts that he committed after running a parallel company to the former police boss’s Kidsdale Enterprises during his tenure as transport manager.

He claims that Pachirera would divert funds and contracts awarded to Kidsdale Enterprises to his company, Chelnpac Investments (Private) Limited – which was allegedly registered without declaring his interest.

However, Pachirera gave harrowing experiences of how he and his family were subjected to endless torture by members of the police Homicide department after becoming Chihuri’s “target” in 2013.

“At first, I was accused of theft and put into police custody where I was held for seven days before being brought before a court. They would come (police) holding guns at me and force me into signing affidavits one if which gave Chihuri powers to take my Highfield house valued $50 000,” Pachirera alleges.

“When I finally appeared in court I was released because police had over-detained me but they did not stop hunting for me.”

According to Pachirera, in 2014 Chihuri then allegedly formulated theft of motor vehicle charges and held the businessman’s wife hostage to induce to release some of his cars.

“All the cars that they claimed to have been stolen had personally bought them from Zimoco here in Zimbabwe. They all had records my Mercedes Benz ML 350 Formatic and Jeep Cherokee and the three trucks I used in my road construction business.”

In a letter dated December 5, 2017 delivered to Chihuri’s Shawasha residence and private business offices in Alex Park, Harare, Pachirera’s lawyers Mahuni Gidiri Law Chambers demanded damages and that the property must be returned.

“On or about December 22, 2013 you caused the unlawful arrest of our client on allegations of theft. At all material times you knew very well that our client had not committed any offence against you…after his release from custody you ordered the police to harass our client and his family and engaged services of CID Frauds and Homicide to rob and steal our client’s property,” reads part of the letter.

“You ordered that our client’s several motor vehicles be taken to the Vehicle Theft Squad section for verification of whether or not they had been stolen. You and the police caused the change of name on all the motor vehicles into your name(s) and Kidsdale Enterprises a company owned by you.”

Pachirera claims that he lost business after heavy duty trucks that he used to earn a living were also held and transferred into Chihuri’s ownership.

“Since the time you unlawfully despoiled our client of his property, he has lost business and income in excess of $1, 4 million and also suffered personality infringement in the sum of $1 million.

“The value of the property that you deprived our client amounts $470 000 and $50 000 for the Highfield home…he was earning $1000 in rentals from that property and has lost income of $48 000.”

The businessman told Daily News that he could speak openly about the issue fearing for his life because of threats that he received from the police over the issue.

“My residence was kept under police surveillance, each time I went out police would follow me. I got to a point where two armed police officers displaying guns roamed about 100 metres from my residence. I think it is because of the God’s grace that I am alive today,” Pachirera said.

He said whenever they attempted to engage the police Mahuni would be told to comply with any directive that came his way because “the matter was complicated since it involved the boss”.

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HARARE - The move by toppled despot Robert Mugabe to join hands with his former deputy Joice Mujuru to mount a presidential electoral challenge against President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF has stirred strong emotions and widened fissures along regional lines, the Daily News can report.

Mugabe’s electoral alliance with Mujuru, consummated last Tuesday, is being seen as strong enough to rock the Zanu PF ship, now dominated by security sector interests and the Team Lacoste faction, loyal to the new president.

Zimbabwe’s military ousted Mugabe late last year, nearly four decades after he took power.

This culminated in the elevation of Mnangagwa, once one of Mugabe’s most erstwhile trusted lieutenants, to the helm.

Analysts told the Daily News yesterday that Mugabe could be using primitive tribal politics to play Mujuru against Mnangagwa, saying if proven to be true, this could be retrogressive.

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They said the strange bedfellows who fell out in 2014 could be out to use the strength of the Mashonaland West, Mashonaland East and Central provinces – dominated by the Zezurus – to increase their leverage in torpedoing Mnangagwa’s presidential bid.

The ruling party has always been a cauldron of ethnic politics, with Zanu PF deeply divided along clan lines, mainly between Zezuru and the Karanga, the two largest clans of the wider Shona tribal grouping.

The erstwhile Zezuru dominance was a consequence of the 1980 division of Zimbabwe into 10 provinces.

Mashonaland (Zezuru) was cut up into four provinces: West, East, Central and Harare; and Masvingo (Karanga) into only two – Masvingo and Midlands (Mnangagwa’s home province); while Manicaland (Manyika) remained undivided and Matabeleland (Ndebele) into three: North, South and Bulawayo.

Members of the Ndebele – related to South Africa’s Zulus, and Zimbabwe’s second largest tribe after the Shona – are also grumbling over long-standing marginalisation which they assert persists under Mnangagwa.

Ndebeles dominated Zapu, until the party was swallowed up by Zanu PF in 1987, in a deal that followed an army assault on Zapu supporters in western Zimbabwe, costing 20 000 lives.

Analysts said Mugabe could be attempting to re-assert Zezuru dominance by giving the Mujuru camp an edge in the forthcoming elections, a move seen as exacerbating clan tensions that risk erupting into conflict at the national level in the post-Mugabe era.

Pedzisai Ruhanya, a post doctoral research fellow with the University of Johannesburg, told the Daily News there are tribal undercurrents over the Mugabe-Mujuru alliance.

Mujuru, the opposition National People’s Party (NPP) president, has told the media that during their meeting at his ‘‘Blue Roof’’ mansion in the leafy suburb of Borrowdale, Harare, on Tuesday last week - the first  since they broke ranks in December 2014 - Mugabe told her “ he is not happy with what happened to him which he said is not constitutional.”

Ruhanya, a media and democracy scholar, said: “Although Mugabe’s meeting with Mujuru and his purported support appears to be largely a poisoned chalice, it should worry Zanu PF and president Mnangagwa because of the ethnic fault-line that the party has been refusing to address for a long time where the Zezuru group thinks they are destined to rule Zimbabwe forever.

“This is a coming together of an ethnic group that knows that Mashonaland provinces are the citadel of Zanu PF social base. They want to use that to torpedo Mnangagwa.

“However, we have to take note of the presence of critical Zanu PF players from Mashonaland provinces who can douse this ethnic conspiracy by Mugabe and such characters like (Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement minister Perrance) Shiri, (Vice President Constantino) Chiwenga will play a significant role.

“The other thing is that if Mugabe and Mujuru are framed as ethnic politicians who want to promote Zezuru hegemony on the State, that could backfire, especially given the control of the propaganda and coercive force that Zanu PF has. Most significantly, the military will be the decisive factor in the fight.”

Ruhanya said Mujuru “should know that Mugabe is now virtually a political cadaver whose physical and mental mortality suggest that he is no longer fit for purpose and whose national sentimental value has been washed away by 37 years of misrule and economic plunder.”

Stephen Chan, a professor of world politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, said there was always going to be a series of complex realignments after the change in presidency.

“Mugabe and Mujuru worked closely once, and (ailing opposition leader Morgan) Tsvangirai cannot bring himself to work fully with Mujuru. The so-called alliance is not therefore surprising. I do not see it being more than a temporary measure,” Chan said.

“It cannot gain electoral weight in a short time, and the nation does seem to have moved on from Mugabe. Sentimentalists, and those who missed out in the new alignments around Mnangagwa are jostling for platforms on which to stand.”

Political analyst Maxwell Saungweme said the Mugabe-Mujuru alliance discredits Zanu PF’s Team Lacoste faction and questions Mnangagwa’s legitimacy.

“Other Zanu PF members who were just hanging on to Lacoste due to lack of options will find a home and this weakens Lacoste further. This development also makes people start comparing between Mugabe’s police state and Mnangagwa’s military junta. I am sure people can choose what is better but a comparison between a police and military state is revealing,” he said. Saungweme said Mugabe still has some followers.

“This alliance, if anything, is good news to the opposition. Now the opposition has to be organised under one coalition and take a shaken Lacoste military regime head-on,” he said.

Piers Pigou, senior consultant at the International Crisis Group said, unsurprisingly, the reports of this Mugabe-Mujuru meeting have raised more questions than answers.

“Whilst Mugabe may be uncomfortable now he is experiencing being politically out in the cold, it seems highly unlikely that he would risk jeopardizing the handsome golden parachute he has been given by teaming up with Joice Mujuru who remains politically untested,” he said.

Asked if he got a sense that this all tribal and identity politics by Mugabe playing Mujuru against ED, Pigou said: “I think there are serious unresolved issues relating to ED consolidation in many parts of the country. Ethnic, tribal issues may well be in play.”

Australia-based Zanu PF propagandist and controversial correspondent with the State-run Herald Reason Wafawarova, who fiercely backs Mnangagwa, rejected suggestions that the ruling party was running scared of the Mugabe-Mujuru alliance.

“If there is any panic, the panic is over the possibility of tribal sentiment and rhetoric as a way of trying to mobilise a regionalistic vote for both the NPP and NPF,” Wafawarova said, referring a new party called New Patriotic Front (NPF) believed to be led by former Zanu PF members who were expelled when the military intervened leading to Mugabe’s ouster.

The NPF, linked to the Generation 40 faction, has petitioned the African Union (AU) and Sadc protesting the manner the veteran leader was toppled, and seeking to de-legitimise Mnangagwa’s  government and asking the key African blocs to cancel all diplomatic ties with Zimbabwe.

“I do not think this will get any more traction than Zim People First did before it broke into even more irrelevant two tiny little parties,” Wafawarova said, adding: “I do not think those in Zanu PF leadership think Mujuru can bring any form of rejuvenation to G40, let alone to Robert Mugabe. The general perception is that Mugabe is now endorsed as part of our history, domestically and internationally.”

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HARARE - MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai is battling for his life in a South African hospital after his condition deteriorated rapidly yesterday.

Read full story in today's paper.

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HARARE - When it comes to winning back lost investor confidence and trust, it seems deposed president Robert Mugabe’s successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has a long way to go.

Fed up of policy inconsistencies and lack of respect for property rights during the greater part of Mugabe’s 37-year rule, most investors withdrew from Zimbabwe, with many adopting a wait-and-see approach.

And many still maintain that stance.

Of course, Zimbabwe remains an attractive and competitive investment destination on the continent — in terms of opportunity and strategic positioning — but it seems it still comes with a lot of baggage.

Most of it from 93-year-old Mugabe’s era.

And latest developments on Zimbabwe’s Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (Bippas) — contractual agreements, which Mugabe’s administration committed to or entered into in order to protect investors, but violated at the demise of the country’s foreign direct investment inflows — speak to that.  Loudly!

According to latest reportage by this paper, Zimbabwe has failed to ratify a Bippa it signed with Italy 19 years ago, a situation that has resulted in low trade between us and the European country.

Italian ambassador Enrico De Agostini said the country was not sincere on its quest to do business with the international community as it was failing to keep the promises it made to the European nation about two decades ago.

“Zimbabwe and Italy signed a memorandum of understanding in 1999, but it’s yet to be ratified,” the envoy said at the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries symposium in the capital last week.

“I raised the issue with the previous administration in September 2015 and the government promised to ratify the treaty by 2016, but up to now, nothing has been done.
When are you going to ratify the agreement?” Agostini asked central bank governor John Mangudya who was present at the meeting.

Like most European countries, Italy is no small investor.

The country’s brands are internationally-renowned for finesse and quality craftsmanship.

It is strong in engineering and superior technology, sectors into which Zimbabwe desperately needs to attract investors.

Agostini said the ratification of the 19-year-old bilateral relations agreement will open doors for more foreign direct investment to flow into Zimbabwe.

“It’s not a major thing, but it will send the right signals to the international community that Zimbabwe is now ready for foreign direct investment,” he said.

In response, Mnangagwa said government was committed to protecting property rights and ratify the Bippas, adding his administration would embrace new friends, including hostile countries, as well as maintaining good relations with friendly nations.

“Fortunately, we are receiving positive signals across the world in the western countries from the United Kingdom, Germany, France, India, China and Brazil, among others.

“We are receiving positive signals for co-operation. So, on the issue of international engagement, it’s a moment where we are receiving goodwill and we must ride on this goodwill as a country,” he said while officiating at a summit organised by the Zimbabwe Business Club.
Mnangagwa added that Zimbabwe was ready for business.

For sure Mr President, Zimbabwe — the long-suffering people and its new leadership — are ready for business.

Actually, fed-up but patient citizens have long been yearning for re-engagement with the international community.

And today, Bippas are a key determinant to that.

In his ignorance, arrogance and politicking, Mugabe violated those agreements, causing untold suffering to his people.

Mnangagwa needs to act urgently to Agostini humble call.

Doing so resonates and bolsters your message that Zimbabwe has turned a new leaf and is willing to reengage.

Like Agostini said, “it will send the right signal to the international community”.

Let’s respect and protect investors’ rights — both local and domestic.

HARARE - President Emmerson Mnangagwa needs to act decisively on acts of violence by party thugs who appear hell-bent on continuing with their barbaric acts in the post-Robert Mugabe era.

It is a long known fact that violence is heavily-rooted in Zanu PF and that whenever the party feels threatened — physically or otherwise, it goes into its default mode — that of being violent.

There is no justification whatsoever to the barbaric scenes witnessed in Highfield and Glen Norah last week when well-known thugs long-associated with Zanu PF and Mugabe ran amok, assaulting opposition leader and former vice president Joice Mujuru and her supporters in the two suburbs.

The attacks were carried after Mujuru had met with Mugabe at his Borrowdale home. Was this a set-up?

Was this a response to the meeting of Mujuru and Mugabe by the Zanu PF led by Mnangagwa?

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This remains a subject of conjecture until the police and the courts have established what truly led to these despicable acts.

What is so disconcerting about this thuggery is that it came at a time Mnangagwa has been preaching the gospel of peace and unity among Zimbabweans and communicating to the world that the country has moved on from the Mugabe era.

But last week's orgies of violence served to remind us that it is not everyone, including those in Zanu PF, have moved from the previous administration whose supporters used mindless bloodletting and violence as the means to settle political differences.

The rioting Zanu PF youths were only last month arrested over illegal fees they were charging flea market operators at Machipisa Shopping Centre. These fees should be remitted to Harare City Council but no official is allowed to collect them.

So it is important for Mnangagwa to put his foot down on these youths and act decisively lest his messages of peace and unity among Zimbabweans are dismissed as mere politicking.

Mnangagwa knows very well how his rivals both in Zanu PF and outside have previously characterised him as a merchant of violence. And they will be among those quick to remind ordinary Zimbabweans how his failure to act on thuggish behaviour acts to underline his “reputation” of abetting and aiding violence yet this could be far from being true.

Zanu PF youth leader Pupurai Togarepi would need to review having in his team such people, especially at a time the youth league has just launched #EDhasmyvote electoral campaign.

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HARARE - One of 37 motorists arrested for disregarding traffic rules has been sentenced to seven years in jail after being convicted for reckless driving and driving without a licence, police said yesterday.

Tinashe Shane, 31, a public service vehicle driver, had initially been condemned to 13 years behind bars before six years were suspended for five years on condition he does not commit a similar offence.

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“These convictions follow the recent arrest of 37 rogue drivers in Harare for reckless driving and driving without due care and attention after they were caught on camera during the ongoing Operation Adhere to Traffic Rules and Regulations,” deputy police spokesperson Paul Nyathi said in a statement yesterday.

Nyathi said the accused persons were taken to court where they were convicted and given sentences ranging from 30 days to 18 months’ imprisonment or made to pay fines ranging from $100 to $300 or to perform a minimum of 110 hours community service.

The ZRP has been commendably making use of modern traffic policing methods such as installing CCTV at traffic lights and other places to bring offenders to book and prevent infractions since the resignation of loathed police chief Augustine Chihuri as directed by new Home Affairs minister Obert Mpofu, instead of the widely-condemned roadblocks.

The move, implemented by new police chief Godwin Matanga, has been widely hailed by the public, which does not want to see a return of numerous roadblocks.

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HARARE - The Zimbabwe Investment Authority (ZIA) says it expects to approve projects valued at $2,5 billion this year on the back of broad economic reforms being adopted by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration.

The reforms are expected to provide a condusive environment for foreigners to invest in Zimbabwe.

“Given the observed developments in the investment environment we expect approvals to increase this year and to record above $2,5 billion in 2018,” said ZIA chief executive officer Richard Mbaiwa.

This was after a total of 162 projects with a combined value of $1,519 billion were approved by the investment authority in 2017 — a decline from 164 projects valued at $2,3 billion in 2016.

Of the projects approved last year, mining accounted for $576 million proposals with the manufacturing sector recording $488 million.

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The energy, services and construction sectors recorded $162 million,$153 million and $106 million respectively.

“The tourism, agriculture and transport sectors performed poorly with under 17 million, $12 million and $300 thousand respectively,” he said.

He said the government had provided for the right traction for a Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) growth due to exhibition of a positive attitude towards business by the government.

Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe was now open for business and was willing to restore normal relationships with the international community.

“Government has shown interest to increase investment in Zimbabwe by removing investment impediments like the amendment of the indigenisation and economic empowerment regulations.

Willingness to finalise the land reform programme and focus on productivity of the land and launch of pro-business Investment Guidelines,” he said.

ZIA said FDI approvals declined by 34 percent in 2017 as compared to 2016.

“There is much room to improve Zimbabwe’s FDI performance through coordinated investment promotion efforts.

“ZIA is ready to co-operate and participate in any efforts at improving the investment climate in Zimbabwe. The overall doing business reforms now straddling across all arms of government are a welcome initiative to improve the investment environment,” Mbaiwa said. 

Going forward, Mbaiwa said besides fiscal incentives Zimbabwe should consider non-fiscal incentives in some countries.

“An individual investing at least $100 000 can receive automatic permanent residency and a quota of expatriate workers without needing to justify. There is also need for multi-media global publicity campaigns for Joint Venture Act (covering PPPs), SEZ Act, and doing business reforms,” he said.

Mbaiwa said government should consider speeding implementation of SEZ program on pilot basis to generate “demonstration effect” for roll-out in other areas.

“Public entities should aggressively market their commercialised projects, and ZIA can assist in packaging, and scouting for investors,” he said.
— The Financial Gazette

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