HARARE - A Zimre Park housewife was overwhelmed with joy after winning a brand-new Mercedes Benz C-Class vehicle in the Bakers Inn’s “Buy and Win” promotion.
Linda Koronariyo won the top prize at the final draw which the listed confectionary giant — Innscor Africa’s subsidiary — Bakers Inn held in the Harare Gardens on Saturday.

Cecilia Musami of Mbare also won a Merc but was unable to make it to the event to claim her prize.

Married to Augustine Maphosa, Koronariyo said she was shocked by her win which she thought was only the domain of the wealthy.

“I’m overjoyed, it feels like a dream. I think I will only be able to get back to my senses after the night falls. When I received a call informing me that I had won a Mercedes Benz, I didn’t believe it. In fact, I thought maybe there were Satanists trying to find their way to my soul,” a super-excited 25-year-old house wife and mother of one told the Daily News.

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“I phoned my sister Ellen Jackson and together we made the long trip to Harare Gardens and there it was, the dream turned to reality. This was my first year to participate in the promotion because I thought it was all hoax.

“How on earth could I win a car given the population we have of Bakers Inn consumers but I guess I was wrong. This is an honest and transparent competition. I will think about what to do with the car. I don’t have a (driver’s) licence yet, but it’s something that I’m going to work on going forward.”

To enter the promotion, one had to buy two loaves of bread and cut out the word ‘‘promotion’’ and attach it to an entry coupon which would then be dropped into the nearest Bakers Inn redemption box in store.

Instant prizes were also won during countrywide road shows where 11 Mercedes-Benz C-Class vehicles were doled out to winners.

Other prizes were state-of-the-art freezer, high-tech LED TV and many more.

The promotion ran from October 2 with the first grand draw held on December 9 then the final one on Saturday.

Bakers Inn is moving to claim the biggest chunk of the country’s million-loaves-a-day market share by the close of 2018. Bakers Inn financial director Mandla Nkosi said the promotion was targeting low income earners across the country as a corporate social responsibility move.

“We are very excited as Bakers Inn. If you look at the women, most of them are at the end of the raw deal, they are vendors in most cases and obviously Bakers Inn has naturally changed the lives of these women,” Nkosi told the Daily News after the draw.

“I think it was a very successful draw that went throughout the whole country, all the 10 provinces and it was well-attended. From a business point of view, this draw impacted positively on our sales, they grew significantly and the excitement on our brand as well it really took our brand to another level.”

HARARE - The trial of former Harare Town Clerk Tendai Mahachi, who together with seven others is accused of abusing office through awarding $32 million tenders to companies that did not participate in the bidding process, has kicked off before the High Court.

Mahachi is being charged together with Simon Takawira Muserere, Christopher Magwenzi Zvobgo, Misheck Mubvumbi, Masiye Kapare, Wilton Janjazi, Pauline Macharangwanda and Urayayi Mangwiro.

According to Chris Mutangadura of the National Prosecuting Authority, the group — acting in connivance — allegedly showed favour to Energy Resources Africa Consortium (Erac), an unregistered entity in the awarding of a tender for the rehabilitation of the Firle Sewerage Digester and Ancillary works valued at $13 816 117, without following Harare City Council tender procedures.

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The court further heard that between July 2010 to April 2011, the eight allegedly used the same trick and corruptly awarded another tender worth $18 million for the rehabilitation of Firle and Crowborough sewage works to Sidal Engineering (Private) Limited without going to tender.

The eight denied the allegations in toto when they appeared before High Court judge Emy Tsanga yesterday.

Each, through a different lawyer, said the State had the onus to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, adding that the awarding of tender to Erac, trading as Portriver (Private) Ltd and Sidal Engineering (Private) Limited for the rehabilitation of the Firle Sewage works was done above board.

“The accused will deny the allegations in toto and in particular, the following: that he ever showed any favour to the alleged entities, that he ever acted corruptly at the material time or any other time, either jointly conniving with anyone or in his personal capacity,” Mahachi said.

His colleagues also argued that the tender process employed was approved by council and was in line with the provisions of the Urban Councils’ Act.

“It is clear and self-evident that the State has lumped the accused persons together so that they can carry out a boxing tournament against each other and to potentially point a finger at one another.

“This is not fair and is not proper to either of the accused persons. Besides, the manner in which the State has lumped and drafted the charges has obviated the need and obligation on the State of clearly outlining in detail, the specific omissions by each of the accused persons.”

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JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's ruling party has called a meeting of its top body for Wednesday, amid growing pressure on President Jacob Zuma to stand down.

In a statement, the ANC said the meeting would discuss the "management of the transition" between the Zuma administration and the next one.

On Monday, senior politicians held an emergency meeting in Johannesburg to discuss Mr Zuma's future.

The president has resisted calls to quit over corruption allegations.

Mr Zuma, 75, was replaced as party leader by his deputy, Cyril Ramaphosa, 65, in December.

Mr Ramaphosa is now the front-runner to succeed him as president.

An ANC spokeswoman told Reuters news agency that the removal of President Zuma was not on the agenda at Monday's meeting.

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The president, in power since 2009, is due to make a state of the nation address on Thursday, and some in the party want Mr Zuma to leave office ahead of that speech.

On Wednesday the ANC's National Executive Committee will meet.

If the committee agrees to recall Mr Zuma, the BBC's Andrew Harding says, it would be very hard for him to resist.

He might even face a no-confidence motion in parliament the next day, our correspondent adds.

Mr Zuma, who spent time in prison for his part in the fight against apartheid, met the ANC's top six on Sunday. They are said to have failed to convince him to stand aside.

Julius Malema, an opposition leader and former ANC member, said on Twitter that Mr Zuma had refused to go early.

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HARARE - There was drama at Mbare Magistrates’ Court yesterday as a group of youths demonstrated against detective Joseph Nemaisa who had appeared there on assault charges.

They held placards inscribed “No to police brutality” and charged towards Nemaisa, with some calling him a murderer.

Nemaisa was summoned to appear before Mbare magistrate Sharon Rakafa for allegedly assaulting a Central Intelligence Organisation informer Delish Nguwaya in August last year.

Nguwa reportedly sustained a fractured arm after being dragged from the third floor of the Rotten Row Mangistrates’ Court to the ground while cuffed, in full view of the public.

When the charge was read out to Nemaisa, he was hesitant to enter a plea and denied any knowledge of the court proceedings, claiming he was hearing about the matter for the first time.

Prosecutor Tafara Chirambira interjected and demanded that Nemaisa gives his position on whether or not he was admitting to the charge.

“…either they are going to enter a plea or not or the accused person makes it clear if they are refusing to plead so that we proceed accordingly,” Chirambira said.
Nemaisa denied the assault charges and claimed he was unlawfully before the court because he was never arrested or charged for the alleged offence.

“The accused person was not arrested but only received summons which caused him to appear in court today. The procedure entitled to every accused person has not been followed.”

“The Constitution requires that an accused person be informed promptly of the charge in sufficient detail to be able to answer to it.”

Nguwaya has been at the centre of a corruption storm involving CIO operatives and senior police officers, in which he claimed he had been tricked by police to volunteer incriminating information as a witness before tables were turned against him after he “implicated” their bosses.

On the day of the attack, Nemaisa and his team dragged Nguvaya on the floor — forcing people to rush out of courtrooms to witness the spectacle — a rarity in the functions of both police and Office of the President who share mutual respect for each other’s roles in combating crime.
Nemaisa had pinned Nguwaya to the ground while summoning more manpower to try and subdue the CIO informer who was resisting arrest.

The detectives appeared not bothered by the swelling crowds and howls of disapproval from the public as they dragged Nguwaya down the staircase with his head perilously bumping against the staircase.

Nguwaya was bundled into a waiting truck and taken away to a police station where he was allegedly threatened with a gun before the High Court ordered his release from Nemaisa’s custody.

HARARE - The City of Harare (HCC) has failed to pay $400 000 to the Higher and Tertiary Education ministry in training levies, in a matter that is now before the High Court.

According to the court papers, the ministry is the applicant, while the City of Harare is cited as the respondent.

“In terms of Section 54 (1) of the Manpower Planning and Development Act (Chapter 28:02) as read with Section 3 of the Manpower Planning and Development (Levy) Notice published in Statutory Instrument 74 of 1999, defendant (City of Harare) is liable to remit one percent of its total monthly wage bill as training levy to the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund (Zimdef) on the first day of each month.

“In contravention of the said Section 54 (1) of the Manpower Planning and Development Act ..., defendant did not remit the prescribed training levy consistently on the first day of each month from January 2014 to the 31st of July 2017,” the court heard.

According to court papers, the HCC owed $418 707,48 by end of July last year and has failed, neglected and or refused to pay the money, despite several demands.

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“Defendant has without just cause, refused to pay the training levy due from it thereby necessitating these proceedings and resulting in plaintiff being unduly put out of pocket.

“Such conduct on defendant’s part justifies an award of costs on a legal practitioner-client scale,” the court was told.

The HCC on the other hand has denied owing the ministry the claimed amount, making a counter claim instead.

“In terms of Section 279 of the Urban Councils Act (Chapter 29:15), plaintiff being either an owner or occupier of properties under defendant’s jurisdiction namely Harare Institute of Technology situated at Ganges Road, Belvedere, the Harare Polytechnic situated at Herbert Chitepo West, Harare and Morgan Zintec College of 1 Alamein Road, Arcadia, Braeside, Harare has a legal obligation to pay rates, water, sewer and other levies to the plaintiff.

“The plaintiff has accumulated a bill of $30 145,11 in respect of the property situated at Ganges Road, $384 999,38 in respect of the property situated at Herbert Chitepo West and $126 657,71 in respect of the property situated at number 1 Alamein Road, Arcadia, Braeside. The total arrears in respect of rates amount to
$541 802,20. Despite demand, the plaintiff has failed and refused to pay the debt which remains due and payable,” the court heard.

The HCC said as a result of the ministry’s failure to meet its obligations, it had suffered prejudice by continuing to provide services which are not paid for.

Responding to the counter-claim, the ministry denied being owners of the mentioned properties in its capacity as the trustee of the Zimdef.

The matter is yet to be finalised before the High Court.

HARARE - Norton Independent Member of Parliament (MP) Temba Mliswa has declared war on President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s advisor Christopher Mutsvangwa.

The two are set to face off in a titanic contest for the Norton National Assembly seat in the forthcoming elections.

The pair set the stage for what could be a bruising contest when they were involved in a near fist-fight at an anti-cholera event in Norton on Saturday over who should have given the vote of thanks.

It had to take the intervention of police to restrain Mliswa as he lunged at Mutsvangwa, accusing him of hijacking the occasion to announce his parliamentary bid for the Norton seat.

Mutsvangwa, a former MP for the constituency, dismissed Mliswa as a non-entity and referred to his Norton constituency as a “borrowed seat”.

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Reached for comment yesterday, Mutsvangwa said “ah . . . mipengo inonetsa (crazy people are a problem).” He did not comment any further.

Mliswa and the presidential advisor’s short-lived friendship blossomed last year as the Mutsvangwa-led Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans’ Association (ZNLWVA) campaigned for  Mliswa’s ascendency in the Norton by-elections.

The seat had fallen vacant following the expulsion of Mutsvangwa from Zanu PF.

The garrulous Mliswa yesterday said Mutsvangwa’s return to Zanu PF did not give him an automatic ticket for the Norton seat.

“Mutsvangwa is advised to enter the Norton political arena on his own merit and not rely on his proximity to the president to gain him any measure of political capital.

“The bullying through job title, perceived powers and usurping of positions needs to be nipped in the bud before resurfacing of the violence tag often associated with Zanu PF is allowed to rear its ugly head,” Mliswa said.

“On Saturday, Mashonaland West war vets met to discuss their welfare. Chair Mutsvangwa was to attend but he snubbed his meeting preferring to cause havoc in Norton.

“But then again what contribution would he have made as far removed from their needs as he is?

“Welfare is not top of his agenda. Leaders like Mutsvangwa, who only think of their members when they need to use them but unceremoniously discard them when in a stable position, are treacherous and a discredit to the war veterans.

“It’s time war vets introspected as to the qualities of their leader.

“Well, Mutsvangwa, it’s shots fired and you caught me unaware, well done.

“However, take note, the minority will have their say but the majority will always have their way.

“It is only a matter of time and may the best man win and I hope you will be able to congratulate me when that happens.”

HARARE - Visiting Pan-African Parliament (Pap) president Roger Nkodo Dang has urged President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s new government to ratify a protocol that seeks to create a unified African Court of Justice and Human Rights, to try war crimes and crimes against humanity, trade and coups d‘etat.

Mnangagwa came to power through a soft coup, after ousting his deeply unpopular predecessor Robert Mugabe, the southern African nation’s ruler of 37 years.

With only eight of the 52 African Union (AU) states ratifying the 2014 Malabo Protocol that seeks to establish the ACJHR, that court does not yet exist. 

“Zimbabwe is one of the founding members of PAP but Zimbabwe has not yet signed and ratified the new protocol. We need 28 signatures. Up to date, we have 15 signatures and more than eight ratifications, so it’s important for Zimbabwe to sign and ratify the Malabo protocol.”

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HARARE - The Department of Immigration has moved offices from Linquenda House to its new headquarters at the corner of Leopold Takawira and Herbert Chitepo in Harare.

“The department’s operational times for all town offices excluding border posts remain unchanged, 0800hours to 1600 hours, Monday to Friday. Clients who may require any form of immigration service are encouraged to engage the department directly,” the department said in a notice.

The department also gave a warning for people to desist from using middlemen when trying to engage them.

“This criminal behaviour not only tarnishes the image of the department but also that of the country as it undermines and frustrates government effort in making doing business easy.

“Clients are discouraged from entertaining any persons claiming to act for or on behalf of the department and deal directly with the office. We therefore urge our clients to shun and refrain from dealing with such persons and to report them to authorities,” the department said.

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HARARE - Chitungwiza Town Council plans to tear down at least 110 houses that it considers illegal structures.

The homes have been earmarked for demolition since last year, with the municipality giving the families repeated notices between March 12, and December 21, to remove their illegal structures.

The occupants have defied the orders.  Chitungwiza acting town clerk Charity Maunga yesterday said they have been left with no choice but to move in and raze down the homes.

“Council has given the persons further and final notice to vacate council property and remove their illegal structures by not later than 11 February 2018, failing which council shall summarily evict the illegal occupants and destroy their illegal structures,” Maunga said. 

Maunga said section 18 (2) and (3) of urban councils by-laws of 1979, enjoins council to  serve notice on illegal users or occupants to vacate the land on not less than 48 hours failing which steps will be taken to evict them summarily.

Previous such evictions have sparked unusually direct criticism for municipalities, who are accused of unfairly targeting the vulnerable underclass. 

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HARARE - An Air Zimbabwe (AirZim) plane failed to travel from the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg after it ruptured its two rear tyres on Friday morning.

The flight, Boeing 767, which was being flown by Captain Merna Cremer — wife to Zimbabwe cricket team captain Graeme Cremer — only managed to leave  the airport the following morning.

Cremer tweeted that the extended delay was “a result of uneven brake heating” in response to a question by a passenger that follows her on the micro-blogging site.

AirZim corporate affairs and communications manager Tafadzwa Mazonde confirmed the developments in an interview with the Daily News yesterday.

Mazonde said the beleaguered airline had to book its affected passengers into hotels around Johannesburg where they spent the night on Friday.

“The plane could not travel due to a tyre incident but it finally came on Saturday morning. The passengers were given hotel accommodation on Friday night,” he said.

Although Mazonde could not give further details on the cause and effect of the incident, the Daily News has gathered information from its reliable sources in the aviation industry that the incident could have been a result of poor fleet maintenance.

“I understand that investigations are going on to establish the actual cause of the accident but preliminary investigations are that it could have been a result of poor maintenance on the part of Air Zimbabwe.

“Double punctures are extremely rare and that’s why it is pointing to poor maintenance,” said a highly placed aviation source.

It also emerged that the plane had just one spare wheel and had to wait for another plane to travel from Harare to Johannesburg with the spare wheel, which could only be installed on Saturday morning.

“They had gone with just one spare wheel and had to look for another flight from Harare to bring the other one.

“Unfortunately, for the passengers, that other spare wheel was only delivered around 7pm in the evening on Friday and could not be fixed on time for the flight to take off, so they had to wait till the following morning,” the source said.

The incident is the latest manifestation of the rot at AirZim, whose recovery prospects were recently declared to be dead in the waters by Transport and Infrastructural Development minister Joram Gumbo.

In May last year, AirZim planes flights were barred from European Union countries after it failed to meet minimum safety expectations set out by the International Air Travel Association (Iata).

Currently, the troubled airline is operating without the Iata certification and is limited to servicing local and regional routes, albeit with great difficulties.

In November last year, Gumbo told Parliament that AirZim’s planes were “old and noisy” and added that its recovery prospects were very slim given its high indebtedness.

At independence in 1980, the airline had 18 planes in its fleet, but today it is operating at less than a third of its all-time peak.

Operations at AirZim are also weighed down by a $334 million debt it is struggling to repay.

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HARARE - A meeting of the Mines and Energy portfolio committee in Parliament was cancelled yesterday after Sakunda Holdings boss Kuda Tagwirei failed to show up after being summoned over the $250 million Dema Power Plant — set up in 2016 to provide emergency power in the wake of electricity shortages.

Tagwireyi was not immediately available for comment when contacted by telephone.

The Temba Mliswa-led Mines and Energy parliamentary portfolio committee wanted to quiz Kagwirei over alleged flouting of corporate governance procedures when the power plant was consummated.

This becomes the third time that Tagwirei has failed to appear before the committee.

Last year, he did not pitch-up after being invited more than once by the committee which was then chaired by now recalled Masvingo Central Zanu PF MP Daniel Shumba.
Curiously, Parliament has not been keen on preferring contempt of charges against him.

After yesterday’s no-show, acting committee chairperson Simbaneuta Mudarikwa told journalists that his committee had resolved to summon him again.

“He did not come despite the fact that he was aware that he was supposed to appear before this committee, so we are writing to him again to say please come, we want to discuss the Dema issue,” Mudarikwa said.

“He did not communicate anything, he did not sent an apology. He just did not pitch up, so we are writing him once more because this is the first time he has done so under this new committee and this new dispensation.

The controversial project has, since last year, been mothballed on the back of fuel challenges.

A short-term initiative implemented to alleviate the country’s power shortages, the diesel plant was spearheaded by the 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.

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

Initially awarded National Project Status when it was initiated, the project saw Sakunda being exempt 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 500m 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 350m 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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HARARE - The State yesterday opposed bail against two Zanu PF youths that allegedly beat up opposition leader Joice Mujuru and her National People’s Party (NPP) supporters at a rally in Harare.

Simbarashe Mudzengerere, 31, and Paul Chitsa, 46, appeared before Mbare magistrate Stanford Mambanje charged with public violence.

Prosecutor Lawrence Gangarahwe said there was a possibility Mudzengerere and Chitsa would flee the court’s jurisdiction if released.

“We are nearing the elections period and the accused persons have exhibited a propensity to cause violence evidenced by their recent conduct.

“We want to send a message to other like-minded individuals that peace ought to be maintained in the country,” Gangarahwe said.

The ruling will be passed today.

Gangarahwe alleged that on February 1, Mudzengerere and Chitsa connived with other Zanu PF youths who are still at large and hired a commuter omnibus armed with stones and bricks to attack Mujuru’s rally.

HARARE - Some Zimbabwe food prices have fallen slightly, after government decreed fuel retailers to cut the price of petrol and diesel by up to 7,5 percent after a tax cut.

High fuel prices have caused the costs of goods in shops to stay too high, and the latest edict is part of a drive by the new government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa to slash prices that had rocketed ahead of key a general election due in four to five months.

A cross-section of basic products has begun shedding price values against prior week pronouncements to that effect by industry bodies the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) and Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC).

The prices are reported to have knocked off by an average of -4 percent since the fuel price adjustments.

The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe, which measures monthly changes for a basket of basics, said there has been a very, very small drop in prices but still remain too high than what is acceptable.

Meat prices were the biggest faller among the commodities measured, while most locally produced commodities remained stagnant or marginally pushed down.

“We found that in most supermarkets, things have started going down but they are still not at a level that we are happy with, the level they were in around May last year,” CCZ executive director Rosemary Siyachitema told State TV.

“There is still room for retailers and manufacturers to look at their costing and put real prices that are acceptable on the market,” she said, adding petroleum suppliers also took heed of the reduction in excise duty and reduced fuel prices.

Energy and Power Development minister Simon Khaya Moyo said two weeks ago the government had fixed petrol price at $1,35 per litre, down from $1,41 while a litre of diesel now retails for $1,23 from $1,33.

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The price cut came just after government had slashed the import duty on fuel by as much as 17 percent.

“I expect and trust that this important decision by the government shall be implemented by all concerned parties. I therefore expect nothing less than immediate compliance,” Moyo said in a statement.

Key industry representative bodies CZI and ZNCC responded to government’s move to lower excise duty on fuel imports by issuing a collective statement saying it shall incorporate fuel price reduction into its pricing structures, which will result in the pricing of some basic commodities falling by ranges of 1 percent to 5 percent.
It went further projecting that after this cut, the overall consumer price index will fall further from the 1,2 percent increment experienced over the 2016-17 period.

On the surface, it clearly is rational and typical for business to inform its pricing using the cost structure as a basis, thus implying that a variation in cost may result in price shifts.

Financial research firm Equity Axis said it commended the price climb-down and hope that it can only be sustained for stability purposes.

“We, however, maintain our view that the present key driver of inflation in the economy is incessant money supply growth of 2017 fuelled by open market operations, designed to aid excess budget expenditure,” Equity Axis said in a commentary.

“Although government plans to reduce its deficit this year, pressure in an election year may result in an even wider deficit which can only be funded through issuance of more government paper.

“While the deficit per se may not be the problem, the source of its funding is critical in determining macro-economic stability.

“We therefore view the gesture by industry to lower prices as being driven by a combination of factors such as subsiding lean period demand and most importantly pressure from government for industry to justify previous price hikes.

“The later is tantamount to soft price controls which cannot be relied on to sustainably stabilise the market. Current improvement in confidence in the market, however, reduces speculative behaviour which had a huge influence on stoking runaway prices.”

Veteran economic John Robertson said he hopes this is just the start of a long list of cuts.

“With the lower excise duties in place, fuel costs in Zimbabwe are still much higher than anywhere else in the region,” he told the Daily News.
“Finished goods prices would come down further if other import duties were reduced, if interest rates were lower and the companies did not have to pay for so many permits and licences.”

The new president has promised to refocus the country more on the economics side and less on politics which may suggest a varying outlook.

Mnangagwa has engaged in continuous international re-engagement manoeuvres. In the previous week, government met with representatives from London and a re-admission into the Commonwealth is on the cards.

On January 23, the European Union (EU) informed the new Zimbabwean government that it is ready to review its ties with the country and support its re-engagement with international financial institutions on the basis that there is a clear plan for political and economic reforms.

Elections are considered an important first step in mending relations.

After defaulting on its foreign debt in 1999, sanctions were put in place and were based on alleged electoral fraud and the violent seizure of white-owned farms.

The EU has continuously increased sanctions on the ruling party, military figures and State-owned firms since 2009.

The government of Zimbabwe has not received any financial support from the EU and funding has only been directed towards charities since the imposition of sanctions.

NKC African Economics analyst Sibongiseni Nkota said the removal of sanctions can bring about positive change to the economy of Zimbabwe.

“The country can potentially attract new foreign investors into the market, which will in turn stimulate economic growth,” Nkota said.

“The removal of sanctions could also help exporters gain access to the EU market and eliminate hurdles faced by local businesses when attempting to use international financial services.

“Broader structural changes will be required to support sustained economic growth in the country, and this can be brought about by developing good economic policies — initial signs are positive regarding the latter.”

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HARARE - The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) is on the hunt for former Foreign Affairs minister Walter Mzembi and other ex-government ministers over the disappearance of over $1 million from donations that several companies made when the country hosted the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) in Victoria Falls in 2013.

Yesterday, Zacc commissioner in charge of investigations Goodson Nguni told the Daily News that they now have evidence against Mzembi. “We have been looking for him since last Friday, he said he will hand himself over today (yesterday)”.

“We are also looking for the chairperson of the Gender Commission Margaret Sangarwe (former permanent secretary in the ministry of Tourism) but she fled her home when we arrived there. We know that she is in Harare and we are still looking for her. We took the car she got during UNTWO and it is at our offices. Mzembi has also promised to bring the other car,” said Nguni.

Since Mnangagwa assumed office on November 24 last year, several former government officials, mostly from the vanquished G40 faction, have been hauled before the courts on corruption charges.

None among the current batch of ministers and those who were in the victorious Team Lacoste faction have been charged.

Recently, Nguni said while Zacc’s hands were previously tied during Mugabe’s reign, the anti-graft body was now working without interference under the new dispensation, which has declared zero tolerance to corruption.

Zacc has dominated news headlines after orchestrating several arrests of high-profile politicians and business people since last December when a new era dawned on the country.

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Sources at Zacc told the Daily News that the anti-graft body has also engaged border authorities to ensure that none of the targeted ministers — some whose cases are still pending before the courts — skip the country.

According to the Constitution, Zacc can among other things direct the commissioner-general of police to investigate cases of suspected corruption and also refer to the prosecutor-general matters for prosecution.

Sources privy to the investigations said Mzembi and Makombe, working with one Sharon Musarurwa and a Mushoriwa, received money from several companies around 2013 in the name of government but diverted it to their own use.

According to the sources, Mzembi, who is also facing charges of abuse of office also wrote a letter to several companies, including Mbada Diamonds.

Woes are mounting for Mzembi who is due to return to court later this month to answer to charges of abusing his office.

According to State papers, sometime in 2010, the ministry of Tourism and Hospitality in its bid to introduce Fan Parks for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, initiated a motion to acquire LED Public Viewing Area televisions for the public nationwide.

Allegations are that in its bid to get the screens, the ministry applied and obtained funds from Treasury for the purchase of 40 screens amounting to $2 million.

The court heard that the money was deposited into Shanghai Linso Digital Technology Company’s China account as payment for the equipment.

It is alleged that the 40 television screens were delivered and received from China by the ministry of Tourism and entered into their asset registry.

“Accused (Mzembi) criminally abused his duty by intentionally and unlawfully disposing State assets namely 16 PVA television screens by means of donating, loaning or hiring them to various institutions and church organisations without approval from the ministry of Finance.

“The PVA screens are still being possessed by the various institutions and church organisations and are valued at $800 000. Government assets are not loaned to private parties. They are not donated, hired or transferred to other entities without authority from Treasury,” read part of Mzembi’s charge.

On the other hand, former NetOne boss Reward Kangai and other top company executives are also facing charges of having defrauded the parastatal of a whooping $11 million through the selling of airtime and SIM cards.

Kangai, allegedly owned Firstel, a company that was providing services to NetOne and still owes the parastatal $11 million.

In 2016, NetOne chairperson Alex Marufu told the State-controlled media that most of the problems that the company was facing emanated from the incestuous relationship that existed between Firstel and NetOne.

“I must point out an area of concern. A large part of our debtors actually sits with one company and that company is actually owned by the previous management team in their individual capacities. I have a problem with it from a corporate governance perspective, which is why the board is coming and looking at this and saying this possibly cannot be right. The amount that we are owed is as a result of management’s ownership in a company called Firstel,” said Marufu.

Meanwhile, former vice president Joice Mujuru’s spokesperson Gift Nyandoro is also facing arrest by Zacc over yet unspecified reasons.

Nyandoro told the Daily News that he would hand himself over to authorities.

“I don’t have a case to answer and I will gladly go there. I know they want me but I have been home and haven’t fled,” said Nyandoro.

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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.

According to family sources, the 65-year-old opposition politician who was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2016 is plagued by exhaustion, weight loss and muscle thinning.

He has lost appetite, and is facing difficulty eating or swallowing fluids.

As of yesterday, he was said to be breathing slowly, sometimes with very long pauses between breaths.

The MDC leader left for South Africa on January 5 for routine check-up.

He is currently receiving treatment at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre (WDGMC) in Johannesburg where doctors are doing their best to fight the cancer, which has reportedly metastasized.

When a cancer has metastasized, it would have spread to other sites in the body.

Established in 2002, WDGMC is the first and only private teaching hospital in South Africa — the continent’s most advanced economy.

It was set up when the University of the Witwatersrand bought the Kenridge Hospital with a founding donation from the Donald Gordon Foundation.

It was then renamed the WDGMC.

The 190-bed facility’s main specialties are transplant surgery, oncology (paediatric and adult), gastroenterology (medical and surgical), geriatric medicine, interventional radiology ophthalmology, ear-nose and throat, urology, nephrology, cardiology, women’s health and orthopaedics.

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Acting MDC president Elias Mudzuri refused to be drawn into discussing Tsvangirai’s health yesterday, saying he could not comment on family matters.

He said: “I cannot discuss that one. I am not at luxury to discuss that. When I talk to the president, it is about the party and not his health. I cannot discuss issues that are happening in South Africa when I am in Zimbabwe”.

Repeated efforts to speak to Tsvangirai’s family spokesperson, Hebson Makuvise, were fruitless as he was not picking up his phone.

Tsvangirai has been going through chemotherapy treatment in South Africa to try and contain the spread of the cancer, which happens when tumorous growths develop in the large intestine.

It is the third most common type of cancer.

When a colorectal cancer is diagnosed, tests are performed to determine the extent of the disease.

This process is called staging — done to determines how advanced a colorectal cancer has become.

The staging for colorectal cancer ranges from stage one, the least advanced cancer, to stage four, the most advanced cancer.

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The last stage happens when the cancer has metastasized to distant organs or lymph nodes far from the original tumour.

In most cases, the best treatment at the last stage is chemotherapy, which is what Tsvangirai has been going through.

This treatment has been proven to extend life and improve the quality of life.

Survival rates for any cancer are often reported by stage, the extent of spread when the cancer is identified.

For colon and rectum cancer, around 39 percent are diagnosed at the local stage, before the cancer has spread outside the local area.

The five-year survival for these patients with localised colon and rectum cancer is 90 percent.

When the cancer has spread to the regional lymph nodes near the site of origin, the five-year survival rate is about 71 percent.

When the cancer has metastasized to distant sites in the body (stage four cancer), the five-year survival rate lowers to about 13,5 percent.

MDC insiders told the Daily News yesterday that Tsvangirai’s deteriorating health has drawn a wedge between his family and party officials with close relatives keeping him captive and cutting out his aides.

They also pleaded with Zimbabweans to pray for Tsvangirai.

Only a few people are allowed to visit the former Prime Minister in hospital amid reports that MDC sympathisers with deep pockets have also captured Tsvangirai’s relatives whom they are using to gain unfettered access to him while blocking party officials and other well-wishers who could threaten their interests.

An attempt by one of Tsvangirai’s three deputies, Nelson Chamisa, to visit him in Johannesburg last week hit a brick wall after he was told by one of the relatives that he was not welcome.

Tsvangirai’s wife, Elizabeth, is also being sidelined by close family members who could be eyeing his estate.

Following his visit to Tsvangirai’s residence in Highlands, Harare last month, President Emmerson Mnangagwa assured the MDC leader that he will work towards releasing his pension and other benefits, while also enabling him to retain his Highlands mansion acquired for him when he was Prime Minister in the inclusive government of 2009 and 2013.

Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa has since made the requisite legislative changes to enable Treasury to release the money.

MDC insiders said the pension and other featherbeddings dangled by government last month have added fuel to the discord in the 19-year-old political outfit with his deteriorating health worsening the succession fights in his party.

Chamisa and the other two MDC vice presidents, Thokozani Khupe and Mudzuri are all scheming to succeed him.

The name of the party’s secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora has also been thrown in the succession fights.

In his New Year message last month, the MDC leader hinted at retirement saying he will hand over the reins to a younger successor.

Observers opine the MDC leader could have set his eyes on Chamisa, who turned 40 last week.

When he left for South Africa last month, Tsvangirai left the reigns for the MDC Alliance — a coalition of seven political parties that he leads — in the hands of Chamisa.

Mudzuri was assigned to superintend over the party, an anomalous situation that is now threatening the country’s main opposition party.

Although sources said Tsvangirai was critical, his spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka insisted yesterday that the MDC leader was “stable”.

Tamborinyoka appeared to confirm that in his absence, wild cat fights are becoming the order of the day not only in the party he formed in 1999 but also among family members.

“There are vultures who must allow my boss to live his life and recover in peace and give due respect to him, his current predicament in his family and his life. Some of these vultures have even formed social media teams to mount ferocious attacks on his spokesperson, on his life and on veterans of the party in a dodgy race to nowhere because there is no vacancy. The social media campaign has footprints of its authors all over it. It’s a male vulture,” said Tamborinyoka.

“The vultures, especially the arrivist vultures, do not know the culture of this mammoth edifice, this behemoth called Harvest House which has a penchant of exposing charlatans and power mongers. These vultures must allow my boss to recover in peace. They must give Morgan Tsvangirai the dignity he deserves not to create artificial stonewalls around him.

“I have spoken to the president myself today (yesterday) for over 25 minutes and I know his concerns around all these issues. He is telling the charlatans to stop, he is telling the charlatans to hold their horses.

“These people must allow us to concentrate on the real battle of fighting this government of . . . Mnangagwa. Tsvangirai is not the issue right now, we must not focus internally.

“They must allow us to go back to the proper narrative of the clueless government of . . . Mnangagwa which has failed to grant reprieve to the despondent people of Zimbabwe,” said Tamborinyoka.

While addressing a rally in Chitungwiza on Sunday, Chamisa claimed to have met with his principal a couple of days before.

But several MDC officials who spoke to the Daily News on condition of anonymity rubbished his claims, saying Chamisa did not get to see Tsvangirai as he was barred from seeing him.

“In fact, Chamisa was stopped from seeing Tsvangirai in hospital in Johannesburg last week Thursday. Even Elizabeth has been stopped from visiting him in hospital. Tsvangirai’s family is now in charge and they are livid that some political vultures are taking advantage of him,” said a highly-placed source.

When asked by the Daily News if he had indeed met Tsvangirai, Chamisa, said he was not comfortable discussing such matters in the press.

“I don’t discuss such issues in the press,” he said, before referring questions to Tamborinyoka.

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HARARE - Following a vote of confidence from all members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Athletes’ Commission (AC), Zimbabwean Olympic swimmer Kirsty Coventry was officially appointed by the ICO president as the commission’s chair during a joint meeting between the IOC executive board and athletes’ commission in Pyeongchang.

Coventry has been a member of the IOC Athletes’ Commission since 2012, and has played a significant role in developing the Commission’s new strategy, which was presented by the current Chair, Angela Ruggiero, at the International Athletes’ Forum last November.

Talking after the meeting, Coventry, a five-time Olympian, underlined her desire to continue to build and implement the strategy, which seeks to empower athlete participation in the Olympic Movement decision-making process and support athletes’ development in their sporting and non-sporting careers.

“The main objectives I would like to focus on are the implementation of this great strategy that we have all worked so hard to bring together,” said Coventry.

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“We also need to ensure we continue to improve and be proactive with our communications. This will help us to build a stronger global athlete community that is truly reflective of the athlete representatives.”

She added: “I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Angela for the amazing work she has done. Her commitment, drive and passion to push the Athletes’ Commission forward have been outstanding. I know all of the Commission members will join me as we offer her our full support in the important work she has to do in PyeongChang over the final few weeks of her term.”

In turn, Ruggiero congratulated Coventry on her appointment and expressed confidence in her being “a tremendous leader”.

“While I am sad to depart the Athletes’ Commission, I know that it is being left in good hands, with Kirsty having already shown a lot of initiative in this Commission.”

After stepping up to Chair from Vice Chair at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Angela Ruggiero will see her term end at the close of the Olympic Winter Games on 25 February.

Also confirmed at the meeting was the appointment of Danka Bartekova as the Vice Chair of the Commission.

Bartekova has been instrumental in the delivery of Athlete365, a new overarching brand that brings together all the IOC athlete-focused communication strands.

Commenting after the meeting, Bartekova said: “It has always been my dream to represent athletes. I think it’s important we communicate better and communicate proactively.

The launch of Athlete365 is the first step in this process, but we must now push to activate the global athlete population to engage and strengthen the athlete voice.”

Current Vice Chair Tony Estanguet will continue as a member of the Commission until Tokyo 2020, but has stepped down in his role as Vice Chair to be able to focus on the delivery of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 as President of the Organising Committee.

With four more days to go until the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, the IOC Executive Board met with the IOC Athletes’ Commission this morning to discuss the Commission’s mission during the Games, and the elections currently underway for two new members, as well as important topics ranging from the protection of clean athletes and the fight against doping to the launch of a global athlete survey to feed into the collective creation of an Athlete Charter of Rights and Responsibilities, as spearheaded by the IOC Athletes’ Commission.

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HARARE - Zimbabwe's  Davis Cup top seed Benjamin Lock has praised local fans for the support they gave to the side during the Euro/Africa Group II tie against Turkey at Harare Sports Club over the weekend.

The hosts progressed to the second round after beating the Europeans 3-1 and will now meet Poland, who beat Slovenia 3-2 in their first round tie.

Lock won his match against Turkey’s second seed Altug Celikbilek 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 while Takanyi Garanganga beat Cem Ilkel 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday.

Lock and Garanganga secured the tie when they teamed up in the doubles on Sunday to beat Turkey’s pair of Tuna Altuna and Ilkel 7-5, 6-3.

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Mehluli Sibanda lost the dead rubber match to Sarp Agabigan 5-7, 6-4 but Lock and Garanganga had already taken care of business.

However, Lock was humbled by the manner in which the home crowd stayed behind the team at crucial moments during the tie.

Even when it rained, the partisan home supporters braved the chilly weather to remain at the venue and rally behind the team.

“I had so much fun out there and I’m glad we could get a win for Zimbabwe to progress to the next round,” Lock said of the victory and praised the fans for staying behind despite the rain.  

“We had a rain delay but they all came back. For me that was amazing and it showed that they really cared about supporting their teams and country.

“Our message to them is that you guys don’t understand how much of an impact you can make on a tie like this.

“We could not have done it without you so I just want to say thanks to the whole of Zimbabwe for following us this whole week. It’s been one of the best weekends of my life and it was unbelievable.”

Garanganga was pleased that the team was able to meet the fans’ demands for a home win.

“Everyone was asking us about the expectation of winning but at the end of the day we just wanted to win. I really don’t look at it like whether we won 3-0 or 3-2. We just want to win and we don’t really care how it comes about,” Garanganga said.

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HARARE - Former Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) president Cuthbert Dube has been dragged to the High Court for failing to pay prize money to the tune of $19 000 to a Division One football team, which was a losing finalist in the Sylvia Dube Memorial Tournament  in December 2014.

In its court papers filed on Tuesday last week, Gaza Gunners Football Club, claimed Dube failed to pay the prize money due to them for participating in the football tournament where he was the sponsor.

“The plaintiff (Gaza Gunners Football Club) is a football team duly affiliated to Zifa (Zimbabwe Football Association) Eastern Region Division One and was invited by the defendant (Dube) to participate in the Sylvia Dube Memorial Tournament with the finals being held at Chishamiso Stadium in Hippo Valley sometime in December 2014.

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“In terms of the agreement between the parties, the defendant was to sponsor the said tournament and was personally liable to pay the award prize money to the winning competitor and finalist of the tournament. This invitation was in order since the defendant had personally sponsored various tournaments for years,” the court heard.

The court further heard that it was agreed between the parties that the losing finalist would be paid the sum of $20 000.

“The plaintiff was a losing finalist in the said tournament hence it was liable to be paid $20 000 as it is prize money in terms of the agreement.”

Gaza Gunners said in breach of the contract between the parties, Dube has failed to pay the outstanding amount.

Dube has not yet responded to the claim.

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HARARE - Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) councillors have been urged to put the game first ahead of selfish interests as they approach this month’s crucial Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Zifa failed to hold an AGM last year which was supposed to have put in place an electoral committee to oversee polls this year.

As it now stands, the local football mother body is headed for a constitutional crisis since the mandate of the current executive led by Philip Chiyangwa comes to an end on March 29 this year.

Chiyangwa and his executive were voted into office in December 2015 to finish the term of office of the previous board led by Cuthbert Dube.

Zifa’s failure to hold the 2017 AGM has now put the entire electoral process in jeopardy since the term of office of some of the councillors in the Area Zones, Nash, Naph and regions expired.

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Chiyangwa’s executive insists they have a mandate to continue past the March 29 deadline and hold elections later this year but a grouping of stakeholders has a different view.

“There is need to have clubs write a petition to the Sports and Recreation Commission for the executive committee to do the following by the weekend: handover books of accounts to the office administrator, handover all assets in their possession to the same administrator, stop transacting any business in the name of Zifa, allow for the office administrator to work with the clubs in preparing for the new season,” reads the petition by the stakeholders.

“In terms of basic interim tariffs since no AGM has been held . . . allow the administrator and clubs to prepare for elective AGM for 2018 in line with the main Zifa constitution and electoral code.

“The executive committee must hand in the activity reports and accounts for 2017 to the administrator.

“In the absence of the above aforementioned; the clubs must obtain a spoliation order instructing the executive to stop operating as the management committee and that the administrator obtains all that was mentioned in the petition.”

Harare City FC official Hope Chizuzu, who has in recent weeks had several run-ins with the Chiyangwa executive, wants the Zifa councillors to do the honourable thing and ensure elections are held before March 29. 

For his troubles, Chizuzu has been banned by Zifa from all football activities for allegedly soliciting a $5 000 bribe from Chiyangwa in October 2015.

“Yes, Zifa councillors, you are our football parliamentarians, 58 of you, according to our constitution.

“But we have a small matter of the AGM, which you couldn’t hold the whole of 2017....it was a violation of article 26.

“Somebody slept on duty and by such omission every one of you is guilty of dereliction of duty,” Chizuzu said in an open letter to the Zifa assembly.

“The AGM is such an important item on your calendar, more so this one in which an election roadmap was a matter of life and death.

“Everyone knew, including SRC, the custodian of your statutes, that the term of office is ending and therefore everyone needs to subject themselves to fresh elections.

“I don’t want to speculate reasons for failing to call for the AGM but it created the illegitimacy that we now have for Area Zones, Provinces, Naph, Nash and Tertiary with regions, PSL and executive committee following in February and March.

“But what is clear is that come end of March, no one of you has legitimacy to represent Zimbabwe football.

“That revelation saw Zifa CEO Joseph Mamutse being forced to write to Fifa last Friday to help Zifa out of that hole caused by your ignorance of statutes.

“Fifa are in possession of the letter and were yesterday preparing for a response which is simply asking you to respect and follow your constitution.”

Chizuzu added: “Actually, SRC are keenly waiting for such information as they are aware that the term of office for Zifa is up and the constitution has no provision for an extension. Remember, your constitution is registered by SRC first before it can be operational.

“I know you’re in a quandary as to what to do after finding yourself in a self-inflicted net of difficulty, but constitutionally you can draw on safety nets available.

“Play your part to save our football from this dungeon...do not be threatened, your power is not in the banking halls, but in the constitution.”

Last week, ex-Zifa accountant Fabion Banganayi wrote to Sports minister Kazembe Kazembe and the SRC threatening to go to court if the association fails to hold elections by March 29.

“Zifa for reasons that I am not clear about, has not carried out their functions in fixing a date for the elections, even as the expiry of congress looms dangerously close. Their inaction will lead to a state where Zifa may, in fact, run unconstitutionally,” Vanganayi wrote.

“The misleading signals that have been sent by some members of the Zifa executive committee namely...Omega Sibanda and... Philemon Machana, have been the cause for great concern and may be an indication that come March 29 an elective congress will not have been called and Zifa will be hobbling along illegally, without a congress.

“No interpretation whatsoever of the constitution could ever validate the existence of a situation of the executive committee without the congress.

“Such an unprecedented situation would be a crippling negation of a fundamental tenet of our democracy which is a sine qua non (necessary condition) of our constitutional order.”

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HARARE - The surprise resignation of Rita Makarau from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) is emerging to be part of an unravelling purge that will see more officials being pushed out of the elections management body ahead of this year’s elections, the Daily News can report.

Read full story in today's paper.

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