Price

US$1

Friday 23 July 2021

NEWS BUSINESS SPORT

WHAT’S INSIDE

Zanu PF’s  Ipec commends Zimbabwe in

corrupt election  life assurance rare win to
funding exposed firms amid level T20 series
Covid-19 turmoil
Story on Page 7 Story on Page 20 Story on Page 40

Covid-19 dead 
bodies pile up
amid St Anne’s 
Hospital battle

ALSO INSIDE ZNA Chief-of-Staff Major-General Sigauke front-runner

Page 2
Covid-19 dead bodies pile up
amid St Anne’s Hospital fight
OWEN GAGARE
AS the Covid-19 pandem-
ic third wave becomes more
virulent and fatal – with the
month of July being the dead-
liest since March last year – St
Anne’s Hospital in Harare,
a private health institution
which is one of the treatment
centres in the country, is en-
gulfed in a fierce ownership
wrangle among rival parties.
This comes as a medical ex-
pert at St Anne’s, Dr Tinashe
Gede – a specialist physician
working in the Covid-19 unit
red zone – this week provided
horrifying insight into what is
happening at the hospital and
on the frontline, especially be-
hind the scenes.
In an interview with The
NewsHawks last night, Gede –
who on Tuesday raised alarm,
citing “death upon death” at St
Anne’s in a chilling video mes-
sage which went viral – said
most people are currently go-
ing to hospital to die.  Zimbabwe is officially al-
He described the situation
as “high stakes”, “crisis” and
“absolute catastrophe”.
The Zimbabwe and Unit-
ed States-trained doctor said
people were vulnerable as they
arrive at hospital sick without
vaccination, having been on
wrong medication and with
their immune systems ravaged
by the coronavirus.
“The Covid-19 third wave is
far more virulent and transmis-
sible than the first and second.
Hospitals are full; only inten-
sive care unit (ICU) beds are
becoming increasingly avail-
able because of deaths rather
than recoveries. We don’t have
surge capacity at hospitals as
our facilities have been chron-
ically under-funded for a long
time,” he said.  brings together the police, in-
“Chances of people going
into ICU and coming out alive
are very slim. Research shows
in ICU settings in African
countries, mortality rates are
very high.”  Mutanda has raised fears
On Friday, there were 91
deaths and 2 265 new cases.
On Saturday, there were 89
deaths and 1 591 new cases.
Zimbabwe has cumulatively
recorded 97 277 cases and 3
050 deaths since Covid-19 be-
gan. There have been 64 628
recoveries.  commanders at CIO head-
However, experts say offi-
cial statistics do not reflect the
broader reality on the ground
at all levels; far more people
have been affected by the pan-
demic than officially recorded.
While bodies pile up, St
Anne’s is at the centre of a
fierce raging ownership wran-
gle.
The battle for the control
of the 164-bed hospital lo-
cated on King George Road
in Harare’s Avondale suburb,
pits the government, Little
Company of Mary (LCM) of
the Roman Catholic Church,
Caps Holdings and local busi-
nessman Frederick Mutanda,
locked in a blazing wrangle
over a disputed sale of the
pharmaceutical company.  Gono, among other people, I
The issue has sucked in the
Office of the President and
Cabinet, Joint Operations
Command (Joc) – which
telligence service and the army
– and the Central Intelligence
Organisation (CIO). The issue
is before the courts and cur-
rently in arbitration.  in US dollars. I have rejected
of being killed, saying he had
already been abducted and
threatened with elimination,
apart from what he says is co-
ercive dispossession.  Now they want to kill me for
“This dispute has been go-
ing on for a long time. In
August 2007, I met with Joc
quarters, Chaminuka Build-
ing, in Harare, to discuss the
issue of Caps Holdings which
government bought in the
1980s from its Jewish own-
ers, then sold to management
and workers, before I bought
shares on the Zimbabwe Stock
Exchange and from Interfin
Holdings,” Mutanbda told The
NewsHawks.  seek arbitration with Caps
“At the meeting, which was
chaired by the then State Se-
curity minister Didymus Mu-
tasa and attended by high-pro-
file Joc members, including
Vice-President Constantino
Chiwenga, then Zimbabwe
Defence Forces commander,
News
and former Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe governor Gideon
was basically told that govern-
ment was to buy Caps Hold-
ings and I must sell to them.
It took years because they were
reneging on their obligations
and, when we finally did the
deal, they moved goalposts
and wanted to pay me in lo-
cal currency when the deal was
the money they have sent to
me and will send back more of
that money when the Treasury
Bills they gave me mature.
It’s my company, not theirs.
that. How can you do that in
2021?”
As reported by The New-
sHawks last December, the
CIO has been investigating
the explosive commercial dis-
pute between the government
and interim trustees of Caps
Pharmaceutical Trust involv-
ing a US$45 million deal. Mu-
tanda is also involved.
This came as the High
Court earlier that month ruled
that the government should
Pharmaceutical Trust to ascer-
tain the shareholding struc-
ture that emerged after the
purported sale of Caps Hold-
ings, the parent company, by
Mutanda to the state. The ar-
bitration should also establish
whether money was paid in
St. Annes Hospital in Avondale, Harare.
the disputed sale.
The government says in
2015 it acquired majority
68% shareholding in Caps
Holdings Ltd and all its sub-
sidiaries. The deal, which was
bankrolled through Treasury
Bills (TBs), was approved
by cabinet on 19 November
2015.
A week later – on 27 No-
vember 2015 – cabinet also
approved payment of US$45
million for the equity stake.
Mutanda says he has ap-
proached many senior govern-
ment officials to resolve the
issue amicably, but so far in
vain.
Further, Mutanda adds he
has rejected the whole deal be-
cause the government is now
paying in worthless local cur-
rency when the arrangement
was US dollar-denominated.
While the government
insists it has brought Caps,
hence it owns St Anne’s which
was part of its assets, Mutanda
says that is fraudulent.  ciated with St Anne’s Hospi-
The LCM, run by the Cath-
olic nuns, says it has taken
back the hospital from Mutan-
da who says he paid the com-
pany in Ireland.
Just before the coup, the
hospital was also entangled
in another controversy as it
was in the process of being
transferred to former first lady
Grace Mugabe. The coup dis-
rupted the deal. Now a new
further controversy has arisen
after the Solidarity Trust of
Zimbabwe, which Mutanda
says includes President
Emmerson Mnangagwa’s
son-in-law Gerald Mlotshwa
and his wife Farai and prom-
inent local businesspeople,
entered into a joint-venture
with LCM on 1 April 2020 to
establish a Covid-19 response
centre at St Anne’s.  Mutanda
says that was an “illegal ar-
rangement”.
At another level, Mutanda
is also challenging Caps Man-
ufacturing’s debt-to-equity
swap takeover  by the Zimba-
bwe Asset Management Cor-
poration (Zamco), arguing
that the government has an
obligation to settle the debt
since it owes Caps US$7 mil-
lion.
The Solidarity Trust has
now been virtually booted out
of the messy arrangement.
While the ownership row
is intensifying, doctors asso-
tal – re-opened by Chiwenga
last month after five years of
closure – say only part of the
facility’s full capacity is oper-
ating despite receiving signif-
icant donations for refurbish-
ment and equipment to make
it a suitable Covid-19 treat-
ment centre.  “stakes are too high” for people
Those complaining say
while there are at least 100
beds at St Anne’s, only half
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
the capacity is being utilised,
raising questions on what hap-
pened to the donations.
The protestors say public
funding was secured to re-
vamp the hospital, buy equip-
ment and pay salaries for full
capacity, but the nuns, for
reasons best known to them-
selves, have not hired the nurs-
es and doctors. This has led to
charges that they want to keep
the money and the renovated
hospital while people die.
While disputes in this con-
voluted and complex issue
rage on, people are dying and
Dr Gede brought this to pub-
lic attention as he sought to
encourage people to get vac-
cinated, seek urgent medical
intervention and avoid using
concoctions which are not sci-
entific and recommended as
that only further complicates
the situation.
A lot of Zimbabweans are
now turning to ivermectin in a
bid to combat Covid-19. 
lowing the use of ivermectin
to treat Covid-19 as the third
wave of infections sets in.
Preliminary research find-
ings in the United Kingdom
from a small pilot study on the
drug, which is used to treat
parasitic infections, show that
administering it early to
Covid-19 patients could re-
duce viral load levels.
Through a government
notice, the Medicines Con-
trol Authority of Zimbabwe
(MCAZ) has said: “The secre-
tary for health and child care
has authorised the MCAZ
to authorise the importation
and use of ivermectin for
Covid-19.”
Prior to the interview with
The NewsHawks, Dr Gede had
raised alarm on Tuesday in a
recorded video message, which
went viral, saying St Anne’s
was full and overwhelmed by
people arriving while in the
jaws of death. 
He spoke of “death upon
death”.
The medical doctor empha-
sised that the current situation
was a “crisis” and “an absolute
catastrophe”. He added: “We
are facing on the clinical side
an absolute catastrophe.”
“Today has been a very dif-
ficult day; literally since morn-
ing there had been death upon
death…,” he said. “There sim-
ply isn’t any further capacity to
admit more patients. The pa-
tients who are in are very ill, a
good number of them may not
survive, some of them will take
long to recover; we are in the
middle of a very, very serious
crisis.”
The doctor said the com-
mon denominator among the
casualties was: no vaccination,
wrong treatment and delays in
going to hospital. He said the
not to vaccinate, take wrong
therapy and delay in going to
hospital.
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
News Page 3

Chief-of-Staff Major-General Sigauke front-runner...

BERNARD MPOFU

THE battle for the top-

Battle for topmost army post

most position of Zimba-
bwe National Army (ZNA)
commander is intensify-
ing following the recent
death of Lieutenant-Gen-

escalates ahead of 2023 polls

eral Edzai Chimonyo,
as Major-General  David
Sigauke, currently Chief-
of-Staff (General Staff) in
the army, emerges as the
favourite for President
Emmerson Mnangagwa
in front of retired Lieu-
tenant-General Engelbert
Rugeje — Vice-President
Constantino Chiwenga’s
political ally — ahead of
the 2023 elections.
Military sources say even
though Sigauke is not well,
Mnangagwa wants him
ahead of Rujege. Politics
looks certain to trump pro-
fessional military consider-
ations in the process in this
case.
Zimbabwe’s past critical
elections were always ma-
nipulated by the military,
interfering with the pro-
cess behind the scenes or
directly with boots on the
ground to bring force to
bear on the outcome. So
whoever becomes the ZNA
commander will have a
serious impact on Zimba-
bwe’s politics and the 2023
elections outcome — es-
sentially on the power ma-
trix.
Military sources told
The NewsHawks — the
country’s leading investi-
gative journalism network
– that whereas Rugeje is
the overwhelming favou-
rite for Chiwenga to take
over as ZNA commander,
Sigauke is the first choice
for Mnangagwa.
“Given that this is a crit-
ical position in both mili-
tary and political strategic Zimbabwe Defence House in Harare.
terms in the Zimbabwean Mnangagwa and Chi- on subtly ethnic and xe- ing the security forces, if upon retirement, from ac- tary source said. 
context, two names stand wenga are on a renewed nophobic grounds; Dube you go deep down into the tive service. These included “The President took a bit
out among others: Rugeje collision course over the won’t make it on ethnic political gutter — it’s trag- Godfrey Chanakira, Than- of time searching among
who is supposed to take appointment, with Ruge- considerations, but also ic, but real.” do Madzvamuse, Evaris- the serving and retired se-
over all things being equal je — who played a critical because he is former Zpra. The other candidates — to Dzihwema, Chanceller nior commanders for the
given his qualifications and role in Mnangagwa’s coup Already, the Air Force of unlikely as they are — in- Diye, Gerald Gwinji and most suitable candidate;
experience, and Sigauke, ascendancy in November Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe clude Major-General John Sango.  Later, he purged Sigauke is his choice, while
the well-positioned Pres- 2017 — at the centre of Defence Forces command- Chris Mupande, a Chi- Major-Generals Chedon- Chiwenga is dead set on
ident’s man,” a military the row and the attendant ers, Elson Moyo and Philip wenga ally, retired Lieu- do, Douglas Nyikayaram- ensuring Rugeje gets the
source said.  power struggle. Military Valerio Sibanda respective- tenant-General Martin ba, Anselem Sanyatwe and job. Although it is the
“Politics aside, Rugeje sources said some of those ly, are Zipra, but ethni- Chedondo, currently am- Air Vice-Marshal Shebba commander-in-chief who
is supposed to be the next well-positioned to occupy cally they are actually the bassador to China, and Ma- Shumbayaonda. The re- has the final say, the pro-
ZNA commander, but the ZNA top post which President’s tribesmen. This jor-General Thomas Moyo, moved commanders were cess is consultative, hence
Mnangagwa doesn’t like fell vacant following the distortion serves Mnangag- Military Intelligence De- made ambassadors or sent clashing designs and ma-
him because he is Chiwen- death of Chimonyo on 8 wa’s political and ethnic partment commander. His home. noeuvres. 
ga’s political ally. Mnan- July if things were profes- designs, but I don’t think predecessor Major-Gener- Military sources told The “The new commander is
gagwa prefers Sigauke — sionally managed, include we should still have that al Mike Nicholas Sango, NewsHawks this week that supposed to have been ap-
and well Sigauke is most Major-Generals Paul Chi- sort of thing in this coun- ambassador to Russia, has the issue of the appoint- pointed by the time Zim-
likely to take over – in fact ma and Hlanganani Dube.  try. But then again, partly been mentioned. ment of the next ZNA babwe commemorates He-
he will take over barring “Chima and Dube because of that the new After taking over in commander is looming roes and Defences Forces
eleventh hour changes. It’s should have had a chance, ZNA commander will be 2017, Mnangagwa purged large in the corridors of holidays on 9 August and
already decided. If the late but you know these Zim- Zanla. The bigger picture the police, intelligence and power amid resurgent in- 10 August respectively. It’s
Major-General Trust Mu- babwean things when it is power retention and army ranks in a sweeping fighting between the two raising tensions between
goba was alive; remember comes to power and posi- consolidation. These are move to clear and control leaders. them because it is a critical
he died while on an African tions of influence, they are the underlying currents — the security forces. Soon “This is a big issue be- appointment with implica-
Union mission, he would always mostly unprofes- meritocracy is always sac- after the coup in 2017, cause the President and his tions for power dynamics
as their peer take over.” sional and ugly,” a military rificed in the process — in Mnangagwa removed six deputy have different polit- and how the unresolved
Given their ongoing source said.  our rotten body politic and Brigadier-Generals, who ical agendas on who should leadership issue between
political brinkmanship, “Chima will be excluded state institutions, includ- became Major-Generals replace Chimonyo,” a mili- them will be settled.”
Page 4
OWEN GAGARE
A TEAM of whistle-blow-
ers led by a tenacious Ha-
rare corporate tax evasion
informant are locked in a
dispute with the tax-collec-
tor over whether the Cen-
tral African Building Soci-
ety (CABS) – the country’s
largest building society and
a subsidiary of Old Mutu-
al Zimbabwe which offers a
wide range of financial ser-
vices – has been paying tax.
Documents obtained by
The NewsHawks show whis-
tle-blowers, led by Harare
tax evasion informant Nor-
man Nyabadza, reported
CABS to the Zimbabwe
Revenue Authority (Zim-
ra) on 28 October 2015,
claiming that the bank was
not paying its tax obliga-
tions on various financial
products and services it of-
fers outside its mortgaging
core business.
The whistle-blowers said
as a registered building so-
ciety, CABS was exempt
from paying income tax on
its core activities related to
mortgaging business, but
not on various other finan-
cial products and services
on which it rakes in mil-
lions.
The NewsHawks has re-
ported weeks on end that
Zimra officials are corrupt-
ly manipulating tax eva-
sion cases for self-enrich-
ment, especially by looting
millions from the whis-
tle-blowers funds.
Last week, we report-
ed that corruption skele-
tons involving a series of
multi-billion-dollar tax
evasion scandals are tum-
bling out of the Zimra
cupboard amid new revela-
tions involving Chinese di-
amond miner Jinan Mining
(Pvt) Ltd’s dodgy US$585
million financial transfers
across various jurisdictions,
including Zimbabwe, with-
out paying tax.
Documents show cor-
ruption by Zimra execu-
tives who have been loot-
ing the whistle-blower’s
multi-million-dollar fund
through corrupt networks
involving its management
and informants, particular-
ly one whistle-blower Evans
Kujinga who has over 300
cases and has been paid
millions, while compromis-
ing the tax collector’s man-
agement and workers.
The NewsHawks also re-
cently reported a storm
at Zimra over a US$680
million tax evasion inves-
tigation involving Ban-
cABC-linked  Second
Nominees (Pvt) Ltd.
Whistle-blowers tackle Zimra
over CABS tax controversy
The CABS issue is still
bothering the whistle-blow-
ers. CABS was formed in
September 1954 and is a
wholly owned subsidiary
of Old Mutual Zimbabwe,
in turn controlled by Old
Mutual PLC.  as the investigations unit
Whistle-blowers said ZB
Building Society, one of the
oldest mortgage financial
institutions in the coun-
try owned by Intermarket
Holdings Limited, held the
same licence as CABS, but
was paying tax on income
from activities other than
mortgage facilities.
After Nyabadza’s report,
Zimra allocated the CABS
case for investigation in
January 2017 amid com-
plaints by whistle-blowers
that Zimra officials were
delaying or blocking tax
evasion cases reported in
terms of section 34B (2)
of the Revenue Authority
Act (Chapter 23:11) either
because of incompetence,
bribery and corruption, or
a combination of all that.
In a letter dated 5 De-
cember 2017, Zimra for-
mer commissioner investi-
News
gations boss Charles Jaure
wrote to Nyabadza, saying
the case had been investi-
gated and closed.  dollars,” the letter said.
Jaure, who had become
commissioner revenue as-
surance and special projects
later became known as, re-
signed in March 2019 after
a rollercoaster in the eye of
a storm over corruption is-
sues.
“I refer to the case cited
above which was reported
on 28 October 2015,” Jaure
said. “Please be advised that
the case was audited and fi-
nalised, and it did not re-
sult in any discrepancies.
Accordingly, I wish to ad-
vise that your section 34B
case has been closed.”
On 5 January 2017,
Nyabadza wrote to former
Zimra commissioner-gen-
eral Gershem Pasi enquir-
ing on the issue.
“I have noted that CABS
has for a very long time
been operating as a com-
mercial bank outside its
core business of mortgage
financing, but not remit-
ting income tax to Zimra
realised from other business
apart from mortgage which
runs into several million
“The building society
is in diversified business
activities, so it’s common
sense that it should pay tax
on income that it is making
besides its mortgage financ-
ing facilities.”
In another letter to Pasi,
dated 24 January 2017,
Nyabadza said CABS fi-
nancials showed that it
had made a net income of
US$20.5 million compared
BancABC, for instance,
which had made a US$200
000 profit.  Pasi resigned
amid corruption charges
in May 2017 with massive
fraud, poor corporate gov-
ernance and tax evasion
scandals engulfing Zimra,
including revelations that
the revenue collector had
been prejudiced of more
than US$20 million.  said when he reported the
Nyabadza said Zimra’s
excuse that it would not
collect tax from CABS due
to archaic legislation while
it was happily levying tax
obligations on ZB and oth-
er building societies was
untenable and unsustain-
able.
Zimra had said CABS
was not paying tax because
in terms of the law, build-
ing societies do not pay, but
whistle-blowers brought
evidence that others were
paying.  Nyabadza said after
So the informants were
questioning discrepancies
in the application of the
law.
On September 2018,
Nyabadza wrote to Zimra
saying their responses were
contradictory and raising
suspicions.
The whistle-blower said
Zimra was all over the
place: first it said the case
was “audited” and there
were no discrepancies in
its 5 December 2017 letter
and then on 21 May 2018
it said the case was already
under investigation. He
case it was said it would be
referred to the Zimra tech-
nical department and the
Finance ministry to check
on whether building soci-
eties should pay tax or not,
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
with reference to the law
and policy. The case was
later referred to Zimra act-
ing head of investigations
at the time Jephat Muruju.
After a series of back-
and-forth exchanges, Ny-
abadza wrote to Zimra
board chairperson Callis-
to Jokonya on 26 August
2019 complaining the tax
collector was protecting
CABS.
“Subsequent to my letter
dated April 2019 in which
I expressed disgruntlement
over the manner in which
CABS tax issues are being
handled at Zimra, I now
reveal to you and the board
the intricate influence and
pressure the bank was ex-
erting on Zimra top man-
agement over the case,” the
letter said.
“You will recall that in
the same letter, I voiced my
concerns over two conflict-
ing positions of Zimra after
its purported investigation
which states that there were
no discrepancies found on
the one hand, whilst on
the other hand it said the
case was already under in-
vestigation when the whis-
tle-blower reported.”
The whistle-blower said
it was interesting to note
that many other tax cases
that had either being swept
under the carpet or hi-
jacked by Zimra executives
for self-aggrandisement
reasons were handled the
same under a cloud of cor-
ruption.
checking why Zimra was
not acting, he discovered
that one of the reasons was
that Jonasi Mushosho, who
was Old Mutual CEO, was
also at that time a Zimra
board member chairing the
audit and risk management
committee, presenting a se-
rious conflict of interest for
him on the issue. Old Mu-
tual owns CABS.
“With Mushosho in
powerful positions both at
Old Mutual, which owns
CABS, and at Zimra, it is
doubtful that Zimra’s find-
ings could pass the test of
conflict of interest, scruti-
ny, accountability, trans-
parency and fairness,” Ny-
abadza said in his letter.
Efforts to get a comment
from CABS and Zimra
failed as it is a weekend.
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
Mohadi still enjoying lavish
taxpayer-funded privileges
BERNARD MPOFU
DESPITE resigning in
March as state vice-presi-
dent amid a string of sen-
sational sex scandals, Kem-
bo Mohadi – who remains
Zanu PF co-deputy leader
with Vice-President Con-
stantino Chiwenga – is still
enjoying the trappings of
his old office and privileges
of power.
Mohadi continues to
have VVIP privileges, in-
cluding  a motorcade and
beefed-up residential secu-
rity at his upmarket Glen
Lorne home in Harare at
taxpayers’ expense, several
months after he was forced
to resign in ignominy. 
Information gathered by
The NewsHawks shows Mo-
hadi is enjoying services of
a motorcade, complete with
a police car and two motor-
cycle outriders. Sources said
he has security from the
Central Intelligence Organ-
isation, Presidential Guard
and Police Protection Unit.
“Mohadi may no longer
be vice-president, but he
remains a VIP. Because of
that, he continues to en-
joy such privileges as there
are risks associated with his
previous office and his cur-
rent position in the ruling
party,” a source said.
“Such arrangements have
been done before. If you
may recall, although at
lower level, during the late
former president Robert
Mugabe’s final days, for-
mer youth leader Kudzanai
Chipanga, who at the time
was strongly opposing Pres-
ident Emmerson Mnan-
gagwa’s bid for power, at
one time had PPU (Police
Protection Unit) officers
deployed at his home. In
fact, on the day of the coup
when he was seized from
his home, a police officer
was grilled why he was de-
ployed to guard someone
who shouldn’t enjoy VVIP
privileges,” the source said. 
Unlike the other past
vice-presidents, Joice
Mujuru and Phelekezela
Mphoko, who left govern-
ment after Mugabe’s fall
with thin security arrange-
ments, Mohadi retains vast
privileges as he remains
Zanu PF co-deputy leader,
a reminder of how the rul-
ing party corruptly siphons
public resources for its ben-
efit and to sustain its stay in
power.
President Emmerson
Mnangagwa has not yet
replaced Mohadi as state
vice-president. Sources say
Mnangagwa is waiting for
the Zanu PF congress next
News Page 5
year to replace him. This “I am here to learn from Speaking at the same
has given Mohadi an op- the challenges that our par- occasion, Zanu PF depu-
portunity to rehabilitate ty is facing in Mashonaland ty national political com-
himself and bounce back if East and possibly discuss missar Omega Hungwe
Mnangagwa retains his po- interventions that might be urged district coordinating
sition as party leader.  required to avert the chal- committee chairpersons to
Mnangagwa and Chi- lenges.” speed up the preparation of
wenga are locked in a war Mohadi said Mnangag- cells, which she said were
of attrition over Zanu PF’s wa wanted the party to be the party’s voters’ roll.
unresolved succession and united ahead of the polls. “I heard that the prov-
leadership question that “His Excellency (Mnan- ince has 10 000 cells and
followed Mugabe’s remov- gagwa) wants us to foster some of you are not yet
al in a coup in November unity among our people. starting to register people
2017. He wants us to engage in in cells. We want that data
In a clear demonstration programmes that improve as we want to achieve five
of the excesses of party-state the livelihood of the gener- million votes in the 2023
conflation in Zimbabwe, ality of our people,” he said. elections,” Hungwe said. Former vice-president Kembo Mohadi.
Mohadi has in the past few
weeks been traversing the
length and breadth of the
country doing Zanu PF po-
litical and electoral duties
PRESS STATEMENT
with security personnel on
the public service payroll in
tow. 
Mohadi has found new
relevance and traction in
Zanu PF and might regain
his lost political ground
there.
He is currently leading
Zanu PF’s “five million
votes” campaign for the
2023 general elections, It has come to our attention that Zimeye Online
which the party desperate-
ly needs to win following Publication and News Pindula Publication
Mnangagwa’s unconvinc-
ing wafer-thin victory in
published stories on the 13th July 2021 wherein
the 2018 polls against main they commented that Jah Prayzah and KVG had
opposition MDC Alliance
leader Nelson Chamisa. received stands or properties from us on an
Mohadi is on a country-
wide tour — partly using
outdated leasehold title. We hereby refute such
state resources — to as- malicious and untrue allegations. We categorically
sess Zanu PF structures in
preparation for the 2023 state that both Jah Prayzah and KVG purchased
general elections at a time
the government has banned their properties on freehold title and their title
inter-city travel and pub- deeds will be transferred to them in due course.
lic gatherings to stem a
rising third-wave surge in The article is thus misleading to our valued
Covid-19 infections and
deaths. In the process, in- customers and is meant to tarnish our brand. We
siders say Mohadi has ef-
fectively emerged as the de
reassure our customers and all other stakeholders
facto national commissar of that their interests remain our priority and they
the ruling party. 
Zanu PF currently does should check the facts with ourselves before
not have a substantive com-
missar after Victor Mate-
making any assumptions or decisions.
matanda was removed and
posted to Mozambique as
ambassador. Matematanda Be accordingly advised.
had replaced retired Lieu-
tenant-General Engelbert
Rugeje as commissioner,
who had taken over the po-
BY THIS ORDER OF THE BOARD
sition after the coup.  WEST PROPERTY COMPANY (PRIVATE) LIMITED
In recent remarks at
Zanu PF’s provincial offices
in Mashonaland East, Mo-
hadi said he had visited so
that he could hear the chal-
lenges faced by the party
and find solutions.
“This is my first leg of
provincial tours to familia-
rise with the affairs of the
party at grassroots since my
assumption of duty at the
party on 1 June 2021,” Mo-
hadi said.
Page 6
Zanu PF’s
corrupt
election
funding
exposed
DUMISANI NYONI
THE ruling Zanu PF mort-
gaged the country’s natural re-
sources in lieu of US$100 mil-
lion in financial support ahead
of the country’s 2013 general
elections, a new report by a lo-
cal watchdog has shown.
Party-state conflation has
partly helped Zanu PF main-
tain its stronghold on national
politics.
The explosive report, titled
Mortgaging the Future in Return
for Power: Zimbabwe’s Natural
Resources and the 2018 Election
by the Centre for Natural Re-
source Governance (CNRG),
a Zimbabwean civil society or-
ganisation, shows Zanu PF is
using natural resources to retain
power.
CNRG said official docu-
ments gleaned by the natural
resources watchdog covering
the 31 July 2013 elections pro-
vide a glimpse into how Zanu
PF election funding is sourced
and the individuals or compa-
nies responsible for underwrit-
ing its huge election expenses.
For instance, a Joint Op-
erations Command (Joc)
“Election Brief Meeting” re-
port dated 3 June 2013 and
referenced “JOC/RG/SS”, re-
veals that Zanu PF contracted
Nikuv International Projects
which worked with the Chi-
nese Communist Party (CPC)
to strategise on Zanu PF’s 2013
election campaign.
Nikuv drew up a US$3 bil-
lion budget for the 2013 elec-
tions, the report says.
According to the report, a
great part of the budget, 67%,
which amounted to US$2.01
billion, went towards “the
presidential campaign”, while
US$990 million went towards
“regional diplomacy” to drum
up “support for poll credibility
before, during and after elec-
tions.”
“The so-called ‘regional di-
plomacy’ is nothing but a eu-
phemism for bribes paid to the
Sadc chairperson and liberation
movements in the Sadc region
to proclaim legitimacy to the
elections whose credibility
Zanu PF anticipated was going
to be questioned,” the report
says.
The same Joc meeting report
revealed that part of the US$3
billion came in the form of
“US$800 million from Mba-
da Diamonds and Anjin (Pvt)
Ltd”, US$85 million from then
President of the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) Jo-
seph Kabila, while Equatorial
Guinea chipped in with US$92
million.  Appropriate Government ap-
Other individuals, Mo-
hamed Mussa (late Harare
businessman) and British-born
property mogul Nick Van
Hoogstraten donated US$2
million and US$3 million, re-
spectively.
The other chunk, the report
shows, was covered in kind
through donations from Si-
no-Zimbabwe’s then chairper-
son Sam Pa, Meikles and the
CPC. Pa pledged two million
T-shirts and a corresponding
number of caps and bandanas
while Meikles and the CPC do-
nated 500 trucks.
“The balance, as shown by
another report from the CIO
director-general’s office, was
raised through shady sales of
Marange diamonds to mainly
‘Mr Sam Pa’ and ‘China-So-
nangol’,” the report reads.
“The internal document
from the CIO director-gen-
eral’s office, ‘Ref/23/13/1432’
dated 23 May 2013, shows that
a total of  16 000  carats were
shipped out of Zimbabwe to
Angola and Hong Kong be-
tween 04 April 2013 and 10
May 2013, and a total US$58
million was realised from the
illicit sale of the gems. A fur-
ther 20 000 carats were shipped
out of Zimbabwe to Angola be-
tween 11 and 16 May 2013 for
an undisclosed fee,” it said.
“The same internal CIO
document clearly states that the
money raised was for ‘Special
Interest Projects’ (elections) and
part of the shipment was taken
to Number 88 Queensway,
Hong Kong, on behalf of the
Special Interest Projects by “Air
Vice-Marshal H(enry) Muche-
na,” who, according to another
security document, headed the
Zanu PF commissariat together
with retired director of count-
er-intelligence, Sydney Nya-
nungo. The two, according to
the report, also presided over
a violent quasi-military oper-
ation code-named ‘Operation
Return to Zanu PF’.”
Nyanungo was not CIO di-
rector counter-intelligence as
the report says, but CIO direc-
tor internal.
According to the Joc inter-
nal document, the operation
led by Muchena and Nyanun-
go was funded to the tune of
US$800 million from Mbada
Diamonds and Anjin (Pvt) Ltd.
“The 2013 funding mod-
News
el was not a flash in the fry-
ing pan as Zanu PF also used
mineral resources and external
donors to fund its 2008 and
2018 elections. In the run-
up to the 2008 Presidential
run-off election, on 10 April
2008, while President Robert
Mugabe, backed by the army,
was still refusing to release elec-
tion results and preparing for
a bloody presidential election
run-off on June 27 2008, Zanu
PF received a US$100 million
electoral lifeline from a dubi-
ous deal orchestrated by one
businessman with interests in
farming, the fuel industry and
mining,” it says.
“An informant privy to the
deal alleged that the money
was paid by this businessman
to Zanu PF through a ‘loan’
from a company called Lefever
Finance Limited (BVi) which
had a joint venture operation
with ZMDC called Todal Min-
ing (Pvt) Limited which owned
Bokai mine,” the report says.
Lefever Finance Limited
had 60% shares in Todal Min-
ing (pvt) Limited, while the
ZMDC owned the other 40%.
According to the Zanu PF
informant as stated by the re-
port, the money was used to
finance the campaign by the
army to subvert the March 29
2008 election result in favour of
Zanu PF through the June  27
2008  presidential election
run-off from which MDC’s
late founding leader Morgan
Tsvangirai pulled out, citing
the murder of more than 200
of his supporters by the army.
The Zanu PF informant
revealed that the Bokai Mine
(Todal Mining (Pvt) Limited)
deal points to the fact that the
mine was “sold” for US$175
million to the Central Afri-
can Mining and Exploration
Company (Camec) through
an intricate web of shelf com-
panies registered in the British
British tycoon Nicholas van Hoogstraten.
Virgin Islands (BVi). volute and obfuscate the deal in
“Zanu PF, through ZMDC, clear attempts aimed at hiding
benefitted from a quick fire of the real beneficiaries, who were
US$100 million from the sale not the people of Zimbabwe,
which they used for the bloody but the Zanu PF party which
June 27 2008 presidential elec- was in need of money to over-
tion run-off. turn an electoral loss through a
“The same source revealed 27 June 2008 presidential elec-
that Billy Rautenbach, through tion run-off.
Meryweather Investments Lim- As former US ambassador to
ited (BVi), got US$75 million Zimbabwe James McGee not-
from CAMEC in addition to ed, these “shadowy deals” with
coking coal mining rights in investors “with no experience”
Hwange Western Area that he and “away from public tender”
was given by the government and “scrutiny”, are a preferred
of Zimbabwe for arranging the modus operandi by the Zanu
deal,” it says. PF government and its accom-
“Within a month of the plice, the ZMDC, when there
sale of Bokai mine to Camec, is a need to fund the party for
Camec valued the same mine at elections.
US$1 billion. This means that The figure of US$100 mil-
the government of Zimbabwe lion constantly pops up in these
was prejudiced of US$825 mil- “shadowy deals” as shown in
lion because of the illegal and the Marange diamond deal, the
desperate sale of the mine.” report say.
According to Henricus Fun- While Zanu PF sold Bokai
nekotter’s International Mon- Mine to Camec for US$100
etary Fund letter, government million to fund the bloody 27
and its Zanu PF functionaries June 2008 presidential run-off,
who were behind the sale of the the report notes that a similar
mine did not care much about arrangement with The New
its actual value. Reclamation Group (Pvt) Lim-
This was because the govern- ited (Reclam), a company “not
ment had fraudulently acquired involved in mining” and with-
it through arm-twisting mining out “diamond mining as part of
giant Anglo American to cede their vision,” was entered into
30% of its platinum claims on by the ZMDC to exploit the
the Great Dyke to the govern- diamond reserves in Marange.
ment in an agreement signed This was reflected in the
on 23 March 2008, days before minutes of the ZMDC board
the presidential election. select committee on the due
In return, Funnekotter says diligence investigation exercise
Anglo American was to receive on the approved strategic in-
a special mining lease that al- vestors for Marange diamond
lowed it to hold offshore for- fields conducted in South Afri-
eign exchange earnings from its ca on the 4th and 6th of August
Unki platinum mine and pro- 2009.
tection from any future indi- Reclam, which was not a
genisation requirements on top mining company, got the nod
of the release of its funds that to partner the ZMDC’s Ma-
were being held by the Reserve range Resources to form Mba-
Bank of Zimbabwe. da Diamonds which proceeded
Funnekotter also reveals that to mine the Marange gems in
a series of offshore companies Manicaland.
registered in the British Virgin “Part of the deal involved
Islands (BVi) were used to con- Reclam, the investor, to ‘capi-
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
talise the Joint Venture Com-
pany (Mbada Diamonds) to
the tune of USD100 000 000,
until such amount is exhaust-
ed’. New Reclam went on to
register a shelf company in
Mauritius, Grandwell Hold-
ings, which then entered into
a JV (joint venture) with Ma-
range Resources to form Mba-
da Diamonds,” it says.
According to a 2016 lawsuit
by Grandwell Holdings, the
cabinet of Zimbabwe endorsed
the deal and wrote to Grandwell
on 10 February 2010.
“This is to confirm that the
Government of Zimbabwe has
approved and therefore fully
supports the joint venture proj-
ect between Grandwell Hold-
ings Ltd, a company registered
in Mauritius and Marange
Resources (Pvt) Ltd a ZMDC
investment vehicle, currently
carrying on the business of di-
amond mining under the name
Mbada Diamonds (Pvt) Ltd.
proval was duly obtained both
for the identification of inves-
tor and the subsequent joint
venture agreement,” the letter
reads.
According to minutes of the
ZMDC board select committee
cited in the report, the US$100
million was not supposed to
“be used to finance the opera-
tions” of the joint venture and
that the “amounts used to capi-
talise the Joint Venture Compa-
ny must not be deducted from
cash flow of the company.”
“The informant explained
that part of this US$100 mil-
lion was availed to Zanu PF
in 2010 in preparation for the
2013 elections,” the report says.
A Zanu PF insider quot-
ed in the report said Mbada
funded most of the activities of
the party in the run-up to the
2013 elections and most of the
money came from the US$100
million that Robert Mhlanga
sourced for the party and the il-
legal sale of diamonds to Hong
Kong.
“What is clear from doc-
uments is that the Mbada
Diamonds deal, just like the
Bokai mine deal that funded
the 2008 presidential run-off,
was structured in a way that in-
volved a lot of shelf companies
registered in the British Virgin
Islands to obfuscate the owner-
ship structures in a way to sug-
gest there were a lot of things
that ZMDC, the government
of Zimbabwe and Zanu PF
wanted to conceal,” it says.
“In the same way ZMDC,
Zanu-PF and the government
of Zimbabwe did with Bokai
mine, which was sold to Camec
through Lefever owned by Billy
Rautenbach’s Meryweather, 50
percent of Marange Resources
diamond claims were sold for
US$100 million to Reclam
which had no mining experi-
ence.
“Reclam, because it was not
a mining company, immedi-
ately transferred its 50% stake
in Mbada Diamonds to its
subsidiary, Gradwell Holdings
Limited registered in Mau-
ritius which also transferred
part of its stake to a battery of
shelf companies like Transfron-
tier Mining Company (Hong
Kong), Metha Nominees
(Hong Kong), Vibury Nomi-
nees (Hong Kong), Connetty
Nominees (Hong Kong), Ex-
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
press Agents (British Virgin Is-
lands) and Leisure Star (British
Virgin Islands).
“The eventual ownership
structure of Mbada became so
intricate, but very convenient,
for the Zanu PF government to
move millions of United States
dollars, undetected, or at least
concealed, in order to illegally
fund its operations leading to-
wards the 2013 elections.”  Chinese company, Beifa Invest-
The report notes that after
each election, Zanu PF usually
gets down to working out strat-
egies to identify corporate bod-
ies and individuals to fund the
next elections.
“According to an interviewee
involved in the deals, barely six
months after the 31 July 2013
elections, in December 2013,
Zanu PF, through a proxy who
runs most Zanu PF companies,
entered into a joint venture
operation with Gamstar Hold-
ings, Hannam & Partners and
Meikles Group to fund Zanu
PF operations in exchange for
a raw chrome export licence
which was the only one of its
kind since the export of raw
chrome was banned at the
time,” it says.
“The joint venture company
Carzle Investments was formed
and immediately issued with a
raw chrome export licence.
“According to the informant
involved in the deal, Carzle
Investments shareholders are
Meikles Centar Mining (Pvt)
Limited 75 %, Cougan Matan-
hire 12.5%, and Mnangagwa
& Sekeramayi Syndicate (M &
S) 12.5%.”
Meikles Centar Mining
(Pvt) Limited is a Zimbabwe-
an-registered company owned
by Meikles Group (51%) and
Hannam & Partners (49%).
Hannam and Partners is owned
by Polish billionaire Ian Han-
nam and Jan Kulczyk.
Hannam and Partners is
represented by Chris Show-
alter, while Meikles Group is
represented by its group finan-
cial director Thempson Muz-
vagwandoga. Zanu PF, using
M&S Syndicate, is represented
by Sekai Chikwava.
The report shows that, ac-
cording to the source who was
part of the deal, Meikles Cen-
tar Mining (Pvt) Limited paid
US$2 million to Zanu PF and
Matanhire before the Carzle
Investments deal could even
materialise.
“The source added that
US$150 million was then mo-
bilised for actual operations
which involved the building
of a chrome smelting plant.
The source also revealed that
the US$2 million was payment
for Zanu-PF’s ‘influence’ and
Matanhire’s claims,” it says.
“The US$2 million was re-
portedly paid in through two
US$1 million installments. The
first installment was paid in
cash on 09 December 2013 and
distributed as follows: US$450
000 cash paid into a Zanu PF
CBZ account on 12 December
2013,  while US$200 000  was
shared among a trio of Didy-
mus Mutasa, then Acting Min-
ister of Mines, Webster Shamu,
Zanu PF National Political
Commissar and Sekai Chikwa-
va, the Zanu PF representative
in Carzle. The Joint Venture
Company was then issued with
the only licence to export raw
chrome in the country at that
particular time.”
The source, according to the
report, added that the other
US$1 million was paid in on
9 January 2014, but it could
not be established how it was
distributed. In return for the
US$2 million, the source re-
vealed, Mutasa, who was acting
Minister of Mines, issued Car-
zle Investments with a chrome
export licence, although the
country had banned the export
of raw chrome at the time.
“The source revealed that the
export licence was, however,
later cancelled by then Minister
of Mines, Walter Chidhakwa in
February 2014 at the height of
Zanu PF internal fights but was
re-issued on 18 October 2019
after the 2018 elections,” the
report says.
“The question arises as to
what had happened to warrant
the re-issuing of the licence?
How much did Carzle share-
holders, Hannam & Partners
and the Meikles Group contrib-
ute towards the 2018 elections
which warranted the reissuing
of the licence that had been
cancelled five years earlier?”
The report says of note was
the written instruction in a let-
ter from President Emmerson
Mnangagwa to the then Zanu
PF secretary of finance Patrick
Chinamasa, dated 13 June
2019, shown to the researcher
by the interviewee on this mat-
ter, imploring the minister “to
assist Mr Matanhire with his
licence”.
“The question that begs for
an answer is what had hap-
News
pened? How much was put
into Mnangagwa’s election
campaign which warranted his
direct interest in the re-issuance
of the raw chrome export li-
cence?,” it says.
“While the researcher could
not establish the figures that
Zanu PF got from its 2018
election dealings with Carzle
Investments, a senior Zanu PF
official availed figures in the
arrangement that Zanu PF en-
tered with businessmen Enock
Kamushinda, Ozias Bvute
and Rodreck Mlauzi, who the
source says provided a total of
US$12 million for the Zanu
PF 2018 election campaign
in exchange for government
contracts, key government po-
sitions and protection from
prosecution.
“The source added that the
three businessmen’s US$12
million was used, among other
things, to pay for all the cam-
paign billboards for Mnangag-
wa that were dotted around the
country and T-shirts (US$7
million) that were bought from
India.”
The report also reveals
Mnangagwa was not aware
of this huge donation by the
three businessmen which went
through Local Government
minister July Moyo.
The informant revealed that
Mnangagwa only got to know
about the donation when Bvute
and Kamushinda were taken to
meet him by a State Residenc-
es employee only named as
Maburutse.
The report says the business-
Zanu PF headquarters, in Harare.
men then explained to Mnan-
gagwa how they had funded his
campaign and how they expect-
ed Bvute to be appointed dep-
uty minister of Finance and to
be protected from prosecution
in the ongoing National Social
Security Authority corruption
saga.
Mnangagwa is then report-
ed to have promised the busi-
nessmen land and government
partnership in a “command
housing scheme in preparation
for the 2023 election cam-
paign”.
“According to another se-
nior official, Zanu PF also used
the  quid pro quo  strategy to
raise funds for the purchase of
60 of the 210 double-cab ve-
hicles that the party procured
for its parliamentary candidates
in return for the opportunity
to front the party in the Great
Dyke Investments (GDI) plati-
num project with Afromet JSC
of Russia.
“The source alleged that Ku-
dakwashe Tagwirei bought the
60 cars and was rewarded with
an opportunity to buy into the
GDI platinum project through
his Landela Mining Ventures
which now controls 50% of the
platinum venture.
“He added that the other
150 of the 210 double cab ve-
hicles were bought by Zunaid
Moti with Zanu PF using the
same approach of fundraising
using the country’s mineral re-
sources, this time, chrome min-
ing fields, that the party availed
to Moti in return for the supply
of the cars, among other finan-
cial donations,” it said.
The recent fallout between
Mnangagwa and Moti, report-
ed by online publication  Zim-
Live on 23 September 2019,
has provided a window to un-
derstanding the extent to which
Zanu PF sold vast chrome
mining concessions to fund its
2018 election campaign.
“Equally, the fall-out be-
tween Moti and Mnangagwa
has led to both parties letting
out details on the deal that saw
Moti getting around 300 hect-
ares of chrome fields in an area
between Shurugwi and Zvisha-
bane, in return for buying the
150 election campaign vehicles
for Zanu PF.”
The report also says dona-
tions from extractive industries
were an integral part of Zanu
PF’s election funding architec-
ture.
“Because most extractive in-
dustries acquire mining rights
through Zanu PF, they are
required to pay back in cash
towards party functions and
activities. Fundraising dinners
are frequently held by the par-
ty where extractive industries
are ‘invited’ to donate. They
are also expected to provide
transport and food for rallies,”
it says.
“One CEO of a mining
company complained that at
times they are forced to build
classroom blocks far away from
their areas of operation because
a provincial political heavy-
weight is campaigning in that
constituency.”
The CEO added that ex-
Page 7
tractive industries find it un-
necessary to pay their tax ob-
ligations to the government as
they would have already paid
substantial amounts of money
to Zanu PF.
A strong patron-client rela-
tionship exists between all ex-
tractive industries and the rul-
ing Zanu PF, the report adds.
Recently, the report says, a
ments, set out to explore for
coal in Dinde communal lands
in Hwange district. The com-
pany was resisted by the locals
who argued that the project un-
dermines their environmental,
cultural, economic and social
rights.
Beifa Investments wrote a
letter to Zanu PF Hwange Dis-
trict, not the government of
Zimbabwe, complaining that
a Zanu PF faction, allegedly
linked to the Speaker of Parlia-
ment Jacob Mudenda, was in-
citing the community to resist
their activity.
Equally perplexing is the
case of Anjin Investments. 
In 2016, the late former
president Robert Mugabe ac-
cused diamond mining firms,
including Anjin Investments,
of robbing Zimbabwe of an es-
timated US$15 billion.
Mugabe said of a possible
US$15 billion, only US$2 bil-
lion had been realised.
However, Mugabe later told
journalists the figure was just a
guestimate without evidence.
He said he had been told by
officials.
To cure that haemorrhage,
Mugabe formed the Zimbabwe
Consolidated Diamond Com-
pany (ZCDC) and unsuccess-
fully tried to force the mining
companies to merge.
When they refused, Mugabe
forced them out of Marange,
claiming that they had “robbed
us”.
Mugabe’s claims were barely
surprising, given that it was a
public secret that Zimbabwe’s
diamond revenues were not
flowing to Treasury.
Global Witness, a British
not-for-profit natural resourc-
es watchdog, reported in 2012
that Zimbabwe’s diamonds
were funding a parallel Zanu
PF government to undermine
the work of the Inclusive Gov-
ernment.
Former Finance minister
Tendai Biti has repeatedly stat-
ed that Anjin Investments was
not remitting anything to Trea-
sury during his tenure in the
Government of National Unity. 
However, barely a year after
he ascended to the presidency,
Mnangagwa reinstated Anjin
Investments in Marange.
“Anjin has been secretly
mining and has not declared
any statistics or production or
revenues generated. It is equally
unknown where Anjin sells its
diamonds and account to,” the
report says.
From the information gath-
ered, the report says it can be
concluded that funding for
Zanu PF election and political
activities chiefly comes from
state companies and corpora-
tions, private companies, es-
pecially in the extractive sector
and organisations linked to
Zanu PF, wealthy individuals
and private entities operating
in Zimbabwe, the region and
further afield.
Page 8 News NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021

BIG
Promotion

Promotion runs from 1 July to 31 July 2021 at all ZINARA

Offices and ALM Machines, selected tollgates, refueling
stations or visit any ZINARA agents.

Comply and drive freely.

Terms and conditions apply!

ZINARA, Driven to make you drive well…

Zimbabwe National Road Administration pr@zinara.co.zw zinaraZW www.zinara.co.zw
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
LIZWE SEBATA
CENTRAL Intelligence Or-
ganisation (CIO) co-depu-
ty director-general Gatsha
Mazithulela has for the first
time been publicly accused by
three local farmers of laying a
sustained siege on Esidakeni
Farm in Nyamandlovu, Mata-
beleland North province, out
of riotous envy and brazen
abuse of office, court papers
say.
Mazithulela, a distin-
guished scientist, was also
accused of trying to squeeze
himself into the Esidakeni
Farm horticultural project
and intimidating its owners
with arrest or seizure if they
did not accommodate him to
offer them political protec-
tion. The farm owners also
say they hold Mazithulela ac-
countable for the disappear-
ance of some of their docu-
ments at the provincial land
offices in Bulawayo as at one
time he communicated in the
middle of the night with one
of them while in possession of
those missing documents.
These details emerged af-
ter shareholders of Kershel-
mar Farms (Private) Limited,
which owns the farm, ap-
proached the High Court this
week seeking an order to stop
the government from seizing
their land for redistribution
and barring Mazithulela and
others from illegally interfer-
ing with their business.
Kershelmar is co-owned by
businessman Charles Moyo,
Zephaniah Dhlamini, a sci-
entist working at the Nation-
al University of Science and
Technology (Nust), and Si-
phosami Malunga, the Open
Society Initiative for South-
ern Africa executive director
and son of the late nationalist
Sydney Malunga.
The court action is a cul-
mination of a series of recent
events that characterised the
battle over the farm.
The court action by
Malunga and partners comes
after they were issued a 14-
day notice to vacate a portion
of Kershelmar, a productive
farm that has purported-
ly been allocated to, among
other beneficiaries, Dumisani
ADVERT SPACE
CIO boss lays sustained siege 
on coveted productive farm
Madzivanyathi, a Bulawayo
businessman who is also a lec-
turer at Nust where Mazith-
ulela was partly educated and
worked as pro-vice-chancel-
lor.
Mazithulela, who has a
colourful curriculum vitae,
graduated with a PhD in ge-
netic engineering at the age of
27, and worked in the Unit-
ed Kingdom, United States
and South Africa in scientif-
ic, biotechnology and nuclear
facilities. He also previously
worked in the government.
The applicants are Dhlami-
ni, Moyo and Malunga, as well
as their company Kershelmar,
while the respondents include
Lands and Agriculture min-
ister Anxious Masuka, Ma-
tabeleland North chief lands
officer, registrar of deeds,
Mazithulela, Madzivanyathi,
CIO officer Reason Mpofu
and minister of State for Ma-
tabeleland North province
Richard Moyo – who is spear-
heading the farm seizure.
Reason Mpofu, who has
also been allocated a piece
of land on the farm, is Zanu
PF administration secretary
Obert Mpofu’s nephew. Ob-
ert Mpofu, a former minister,
visited the farm in March.
The farm owners say
Mazithulela, Richard Moyo
and Obert Mpofu are the
prime movers behind the at-
tempted property seizure.
They also say the three misled
the minister, Masuka, into
gazetting the farm through
falsehoods, including that the
property had previously been
acquired by the state when it
was not and that it was being
underutilised when it is high-
ly productive.
Malunga, Dhlamini and
Charles Moyo say they
bought the farm from its pre-
vious owner and own it, hence
they are heavily invested in it.
After buying the farm, they
invested in infrastructure, re-
The NewsHawks
News
habilitating boreholes, main
water reservoir, irrigation sys-
tem and homestead.
To do this, the farmers
obtained two loans of about
US$230 000 for their hor-
ticultural project. Due to
their productivity, they have
already repaid US$110 000.
They started working on
five hectares, but quickly in-
creased that to 30ha and this
year they are going up to
55ha. The total irrigable part
of the 530ha farm is 85ha,
TheNewsHawksLive www.thenewshawks.com
CIO co-Deputy Director-General Gatsha Mazithulela.
which they intend to utilise as
their business grows.
Apart from horticultural
activities, Malunga, Dhlami-
ni and Charles Moyo have a
commercial beef herd of 150
cattle, 50 goats and 4 000 free
range Sasso chickens. They
are planning to increase those
numbers significantly.
The farm employs 45 per-
manent workers and 250 sea-
sonal employees.  pro-vice-chancellor at Nust,
The farmers have invested
over US$100 000 this year
join@thenewshawks.com
alone and planted eight hect-
ares of onions, six hectares of
butternut, six hectares of to-
matoes (150 000 plants).
“Ever since we took occu-
pation, we have managed to
turn the farm into the envy
of many. It therefore did
not surprise me that some-
time in December 2019, the
fourth respondent, Gatsha
Mazithulela, who was then
and work colleague, ap-
proached me and asked to be
Page 9
included in Esidakeni Farm
project. I must point out that
he is known to the second
(Malunga) and third (Charles
Moyo) respondents as well,”
Dhlamini says in court pa-
pers.
“The untenable request
that he made still required
that I run it by my fellow
shareholders and directors. I
did and they took the posi-
tion that there was no room
for additional shareholders.
Gatsha was however awk-
wardly insistent.”
After a series of meetings,
exchanges and events mark-
ing the intensification of the
battle over the farm, Dhlami-
ni says: “On 24 December
2020, I received a call from
Gatsha who advised me that
our farm had been acquired
by the state. I was obviously
concerned about the levels
of Gatsha’s interest in mat-
ters that pertain to the farm.
I was particularly perplexed
that Gatsha seemed to know
more about the farm than us
the owners.”
Malunga also made it clear
in a no-holds-barred account
that Mazithulela is behind the
attempted farm seizure.
The farm owners say it
is clear beyond reasonable
doubt that Mazithulela is
acting out of self-interest and
malice, while abusing his top
CIO office to grab private
property using government
departments to facilitate
the unlawful seizure of land
from local indigenous people,
which in itself is illegal.
In a letter to Masuka – who
has distanced himself from
the farm seizure, dated 14
June, contesting the property
grab, Malunga, Dhlamini and
Charles Moyo said they stand
to lose over ZW$60 million
in potential revenue from
their horticultural project if
the greedy and malicious dis-
ruptions do not stop.
Page 10
BERNARD MPOFU
A DRAMATIC rise in prices of
basic goods has thrown more
Zimbabweans into extreme lev-
els of poverty over the past few
years, a report jointly released
by the Zimbabwe National Sta-
tistics Agency (Zimstats), the
country’s statistical agency, and
the World Bank says.
Zimbabwe economy, which
is buffeted by high inflation and
price volatility, contracted be-
tween 2019 and 2020 at a time
the country experienced one
of its worst droughts in living
memory.
The situation has further de-
teriorated in 2021. Salaries and
wages for civil servants and av-
erage workers have collapsed to
a fraction of what they were in
2017 at the time of the survey.
Zimbabweans are now far
poorer under President Emmer-
son Mnangagwa’s government
than they were at the time when
he removed through a Novem-
ber 2017 coup the late former
president Robert Mugabe – a
disastrous failure himself.
According to an updated
Zimbabwe Poverty Report,
which was released on yesterday,
the number of extremely poor
people rose from 4.5 million in
2017 to 6 million during April–
May 2019, but the number of
poor people measured by the
lower-bound poverty line rose
from 8 million to 8.9 million
during the same period.
Furthermore, whereas the
number of extremely poor peo-
ple in urban areas increased by
about 327 000, it rose by 1.1
OWEN GAGARE
SOUTH African acting min-
ister in the presidency Khum-
budzo Ntshavheni says Preto-
ria has put security measures
to ensure infrastructure and
trade routes linking the coun-
try’s main ports and the region
are secured following the re-
cent unrest.
Countries in the region, in-
cluding Zimbabwe, depend on
trade and imports from and
through South Africa. Zim-
babwe imports about 50% of
its needs from South Africa,
while it exports 40% of its
products to its powerful south-
ern neighbour.
In a media briefing during
the week, Ntshavheni said
normalcy has been largely
restored and trade corridors
were now open as South Af-
rican security forces continue
to get on top of the situation
which threatened to spiral out
of control and morph into an
anti-government uprising.
“Since the unrest of the last
two weeks, concerns have also
been raised about food secu-
rity in the (Southern African
Development Community)
region as a number of our
neighbouring countries also
rely on the South African ports
for their imports of food and
critical supplies,” Ntshaveni
said.   ment was restoring order and
“We want to reassure the
region of SADC that law en-
forcement agencies have post-
ed extra security personnel
Nine million Zimbabweans
reel from grinding poverty
million in rural areas.
“The increase in poverty rates
and the number of extremely
poor and poor people during
the period under review can be
attributed to high inflation cou-
pled with the contraction of the
economy and a poor 2018/19
rainfall season. These negative
changes in the economy are
likely to have stressed the live-
lihoods of many Zimbabweans,
thereby affecting households
in urban areas more in relative
terms compared to households
in rural areas,” the report says.
Simulations show that the
rapid price increases that affect-
ed Zimbabwe between April
and May 2019 and December
2019 may have increased ex-
treme poverty from 38% to
52%. The study shows that the
price increases of maize, bread,
and cereals had the largest im-
pact on poverty.
According to the Poverty
Income Consumption and Ex-
penditure Survey (Pices) 2017
data, the share of maize meal in
total household consumption
is three times higher in urban
areas (1.8%) than in rural areas
(0.3%).
Maize meal subsidies thus
benefit urban households more
than rural ones. It was also
Sadc trade routes now safe
after South African turmoil
along the major routes to en-
sure the secure passage of the
long-haul logistics trucks and
the rail network.  We were in-
formed by the South African
National Road Agency Lim-
ited that over nine thousand
trucks were moving on the N3
per day without any incidents
against logistic trucks.
“In addition, we have re-
ported on the full operation
of the two ports of Durban
and Richards Bay – and the
other ports were never affects
by the unrests. All activities
at the port of Durban, specif-
ically agricultural ones, have
normalised and were in entire
operation since the start of this
week. The only delays at the
ports are due to the backlogs
that were caused by the clo-
sure during the period of the
unrests.
“Furthermore, our border
posts are also working around
the clock to process the logis-
tics trucks so that they reach
their destination safely and on
time.”
Ntshavheni said her govern-
calm across the country.
“We want to reassure all
South Africans, the Sadc re-
gion and the international
News
One of the poorest townships in Zimbabwe, Mbare high density suburb in Harare.
noted that within urban areas,
maize meal subsidies were more
likely to benefit the middle
groups than the poorest groups.
This report presents updated
South African Acting Presidency minister Khumbudzo Ntshaveni, who is also Small Businesses Development minister.
community in general that the
situation in our country is now
stable and economic activities
have returned to normal. We
want to thank the Sadc com-
poverty estimates for Zimbabwe
for April– May 2019. Zimstats
conducted the Pices in 2017,
and poverty estimates for that
year were published in the Zim-
munity and the international
community in general for sup-
porting South Africa through
this difficult time,” she said.
“Regarding additional mea-
babwe Poverty Report 2017.
“However, due to the rap-
id economic changes that oc-
curred in the Zimbabwean
economy from 2017 to 2019,
sures which we put in place to
address the concerns of food
security in KwaZulu-Natal
and Gauteng, Government
has engaged food processors
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
a poverty update was needed.
Zimstats achieved this by con-
ducting a household survey,
the Mini-PICES 2019, from
April  15 to May  23, 2019.
The survey was supported by
funding from the Zimbabwe
Reconstruction Fund (Zimref)
and technical support from the
World Bank. Sampled house-
holds were a subsample of the
Pices 2017 households covered
in February–June 2017,” the
report says.
The general poverty rate
based on the lower-bound
poverty line remained high.
It changed marginally for the
rural population, but in urban
areas it rose sharply, from 16%
to 24% during the same period.
“Consumption expenditure
fell for all welfare groups ex-
cept the richest 10%, or decile.
The welfare groups in the lower
end of the income distribution
(lower deciles) had the largest
proportional declines in con-
sumption expenditure. Conse-
quently, inequality rose as the
Gini index increased from 44.7
in 2017 to 50.4 in 2019. The
increase in inequality was driv-
en by a rise in inequality within
urban and within rural areas
rather than between urban and
rural areas,” the report says.
and suppliers, farmers, and
Agri-businesses to ensure the
stability of the food supply
chain.  Importantly, gov-
ernment and social partners
secured the logistics centres
where communities can easily
access food. As I speak today,
the security of food supplies
has been normalised mainly
across the affected provinces:
“All the shopping malls,
supermarkets and spaza shops
that have not been affected by
unrests were operational since
Saturday 17th of July 2021.
Bakeries have also been oper-
ational and bread which was
in short supply in KZN has
been on the shelves since the
weekend.
“Milk supplies are now
available, and depots have
been collecting from farmers.
Sugar Mills has been oper-
ational since Saturday 17th
of July 2021, and the farmers
have been able to move their
cane to the Mills.
“In KZN, where damage
to retail infrastructure is most
severe, municipalities have
been working together with
their business communities to
ensure that food availability is
maintained.
“Where necessary, munici-
palities have made their facil-
ities part of the value chain.
Other shop owners in certain
rural towns have converted ad-
ditional facilities to ensure that
these are made grocery shops
to address the food availabili-
ty.”
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
News Page 11

Chiredzi people denied

right to national IDs
MORRIS BISHI
MORE than half of the peo-
ple in Chiredzi South are
finding it difficult to partic-
ipate in economic develop-
ment programmes due to lack
of national identity cards and
birth certificates, resulting in
youths from the area crossing
illegally into South Africa to
look for menial jobs.  village including the village
The constituency, located
in the middle of the Limpo-
po, Runde, Sengwe and Bubi
rivers, borders Mozambique
and South Africa. More than
80% of the people come
from the Shangani commu-
nity.
for menial jobs. Government
should quickly embark on a
mobile exercise and relax the
requirements to allow my
people to get identification
particulars.”  kombedzi, Malipati and Sen-
“You can count four gen-
erations within a family who
do not have IDs. There is a
village in Limpopo Valley
called Madzanga, the whole
head does not have IDs and
this was worsened by officials
from the registry depart-
ment who were demanding
bribes from the people,” said
Gwanetsa.
Chiredzi district develop-
ment coordinator Lovemore
access these services,” said
Mtombeni.
The NewsHawks estab-
lished that most people in
areas like Chilonga, Chi-
gwe who survive mainly on
sorgum farming are unable
to supply their produce to
the Grain Marketing Board
(GMB) due to a lack of IDs
which are needed for one to
open a bank account. This is
forcing farmers to sell their
grain to unregistered dealers
who are buying a tonne of
sorghum at US$200 instead
of RTGS$38 000 being paid
by the GMB.
A traditional leader from
Malipati area told The News-
Hawks that the requirements
for acquiring national identi-
ty documents that are stipu-
lated by the registry office are
alienating locals.
When locals travel 200
kilometres to Chiredzi, it
becomes difficult for them
to travel again after failing
to acquire an ID on the first
attempt. Chiredzi South MP Kallisto Gwanetsa.

CONFERENCE
The Shangani have been Chisema told The News-
under-represented in Zim- Hawks that it is true that
babwe as a minority group most locals do not have iden-

inhabiting the remotest parts
of the south-east lowveld
with their culture and val-
ues having been criticised as
backward and conservative.
The area neither has prop-
er roads nor mobile network
coverage and locals are re-
lying on Mozambican and
South African telecommuni-
cations service providers. Lo-
cal radio and television trans-
mission also not accessible.
Chiredzi South legislator
Kallisto Gwanetsa told The
NewsHawks that half of the
people in his constituency
do not have identity cards,
depriving them of econom-
ic opportunities while many
children are failing to write
examinations.
“I have been raising this is-
sue for many years, but there
is no improvement. Half of
the people in my constitu-
ency do not have identity
cards and birth certificates.
They are unable to access
government programmes
like social grants and school
children are unable to write
examinations and many of
them end up illegally cross-
ing to South Africa to look
ROOM
tity documents, but he was
not sure of the numbers. He
however said the government
is working to reduce the
number.
“The issue is not affecting
Chiredzi South only, but the
AVAILABLE
whole district. I am not sure
of the actual figures of people
who are yet to get the iden-
Executive Conference Room for
tity cards, but government is
-Private Meetings Package Includes
working to reduce that num-
ber,” said Chisema. -Investment Meetings -Wi-Fi
-Workshops
Masvingo Centre for
Research and Develop- -Product Launches -Projector
ment (MACRAD) director -Media or Financial Briengs -Flip Chart/Whiteboard
Ephraim Mtombeni told The Training
NewsHawks that his organi- Strategic Planning -Stationery (Pen & Notepad
sation is concerned about the
high number of people with-
out proper documentation,
particularly national identity
cards and birth certificates,
saying it is an infringement
of constitutional rights. 
“We noted that issue
during meetings in the
Chilonga area of Chiredzi,
there are many people who
do not have identification
particulars. It is an infringe-
ment of the people’s con-
stitutional rights. Our gov-
ernment should make sure
that all its people are able to

BOOK NOW!!!
Visit us at CONTACT DETAILS
The NewsHawks Charmaine 0735 666 122
Ruth 0784 674 193
#100 Nelson Mandela Avenue Landline: 0242 721 044/5
Beverly Court or E-mail
marketing@thenewshwaks.com

The NewsHawks TheNewsHawksLive www.thenewshawks.com join@thenewshawks.com

Page 12
BRIDGET MANANAVIRE
MDC Alliance activist Tun-
gamirai Madzokere, who was
recently freed after 10 years
of wrongful incarceration, has
been clashing with his ex-wife’s
family over access to his chil-
dren, who are in the care of
their aunt.
Madzokere was released
from prison in early June only
to find that his wife had left
their home in November 2020
and had awarded her young
sister custody of the two chil-
dren, after moving in with an-
other man.
According to Madzokere,
his former wife’s younger sister,
Precious Silizani, is now giv-
ing him a hard time when he
wants to see the children.
“I am only allowed to see
my children on Saturdays, but
even on those Saturdays, my
ex’s sister can just say it is no
longer possible because the
mother has plans with them,
or they just give me a hard time
telling me not to bother them
when I try and make plans to
visit my children,” Madzokere
told The NewsHawks.
He showed The NewsHawks
unpleasant exchanges between
the two, where Silizani would
threaten to block him and oc-
casions where she would stop
him from seeing the children.
The former councillor said
he had not taken any legal
route as he first wants to find
an amicable solution in dealing
with the matter, for the sake of
the children.
“I do not talk to my ex, I
talk to her young sister and she
Madzokere cries foul
over access to children
acts as a go-between, and she
is the one who deals with any-
thing to do with the children,”
he said.
Silizani told The NewsHawks
that she only does what she
would have been told by the
mother of the children. She
said in view of Madzokere’s ac-
tions, they will deal with him
decisively.
“I cannot talk to you about
this because I am only a go-be-
tween. But if this is the route
that he (Madzokere) has de-
cided to take, we are going
to show him. Call me tomor-
row  topedza masports acho
(we will deal with him).”
Follow-up calls to Silizani
were however not answered.
Madzokere and his col-
league Last Maengahama were
freed early June after spending
10 years in both remand prison
and serving their sentence at
Chikurubi Maximum Security
Prison.
The two were part of a
group of 29 mainly MDC
members, dubbed The Glen
View 29, arrested in connec-
tion with policeman Petros
Mutedza’s death in May 2011.
The rest were released while
Madzokere, Maengahama and
Yvonne Musarurwa (released
News
in 2018 through Presidential
amnesty) were sentenced to 20
years.
Madzokere said he is un-
happy with the environment
in which his children live, al-
leging that there is a shebeen
MDC Alliance activist Tungamirai Madzokere.
at the house. He said he was had to go back. I do not want
trying to talk to the in-laws any conflict, so I am working
so that they address any issues on something amicable. I need
that might be involved in him to meet with the in-laws, be-
getting the children full time. cause I understand they are
“There are still issues that the ones who came to take
need to be discussed so they them from the house, seeing I
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
had stayed in prison for a long
time,” Madzokere said.
Together with Maenga-
hama, Madzokere is con-
templating on how to get
compensation for wrongful
incarceration.
He also said he would be
engaging human rights lawyers
to get people in prison to enjoy
their conjugal rights so as to
protect their relationships and
marriages.
The two will undergo coun-
selling to help them deal with
the trauma of their wrongful
incarceration.
Madzokere does not blame
his wife for leaving as he says
they were in love but blames
the system which leaves part-
ners and families of those in-
carcerated as victims.
“It’s something that I have
accepted that it happens and
my wife was very young. I have
reflected on the issue and I
want to engage human rights
lawyers for an application for
conjugal rights for inmates.
Because these are consequenc-
es of the system,” Madzokere
said.
“It is good to reflect, and
my wife was very young and
she had waited for a very long
time. So for me the problem
is the system. Other countries
now have conjugal rights in
prison because if someone has
been arrested, the partner and
the family become victims.
When I look at it, I must strike
a balance. With my wife we
were in love for a long time.
We really understood each
other, but I guess something
happened.”
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
News Page 13

Gweru residents fume over

STEPHEN CHADENGA

A 2019 report by Auditor-Gen-

eral Mildred Chiri which un-
earthed malpractices in the sale

$1.7 million stands scam

of stands at Gweru City Coun-
cil has caused chaos in the
Midlands capital with residents
demanding that those involved
in the illicit deals be brought
to justice, The Newshawks can
report.
According to Chiri’s report,
stands valued at over ZW$1.7
million were sold but the lo-
cal authority failed to provide
supporting documents for all
stands sold, the beneficiaries
and receipts of the transactions.
Chiri also revealed that some
councillors whose term of of-
fice has since expired were yet
to pay for stands sold at con-
cessionary rates on the under-
standing that they should pay
up in full before the expiry of
their term of office.
“I was not availed with sup-
porting documents to show
that the council has a record
of all stands sold, their pur-
chase price, the beneficiaries,
amounts paid to date and
outstanding balance on each
stand,” Chiri said in her report.
“During the current year
the listing provided to audit
showed that stands worth $1
714 784 were sold, however the
amount could not be traced to
the financial reports.
“Councillors did not fill in
stop order forms neither did
they make any payment ar-
rangement towards the pur-
chase of stands allocated to
them.”
The local residents’ associa-
tion this week said it was not
“amused” by the “lackadaisical
approach” taken by council in
dealing with those involved in
the murky land sales.
Gweru Residents and Rate-
payers Development Associ-
ation Trust executive director
David Chikore said there is
a need to employ a more “ag-
gressive approach” in bringing
to book those involved in the
corrupt land deals.
“There is need to engage an-
ti-corruption agencies so that
they follow the paper trail in
those ‘sub-rosa’ transactions
with a view of identifying the
persons involved,” Chikore
told The Newshawks.
“The paper trail will lead
council to the culprits so that
Town House recovers fair value
for the stands, if not the stands
themselves.
“Council should also furnish
the number of councillors fin-
gered in the report.”
Chikore added: “The in-
formation is critical in that it
reveals the level of either com-
pliance or impunity in those
we entrust with the affairs of
our city.”
He said it was unfortunate
that councillors who advocated
the prosecution of defaulting
ratepayers were themselves “de-
faulting kingpins who take up
office solely for looting.”
City of Gweru.
Another civic group, the
Gweru Residents and Ratepay-
ers Association, said the cul-
prits must be prosecuted.
The association’s director,
Cornelia Selipiwe, said the Au-
ditor-General’s report exposed
bad governance practices in the
local authority.
“These challenges highlight-
ed by the report point to lack of
proper governance at council.
We don’t have proper systems
in place and this obviously
erodes the confidence residents
have in the local authority,”
said Selipiwe.
He said it was surprising that
the same councillors who were
refusing to reduce rates for the
struggling residents were the
same people who were failing
to pay for their stands.
“Whoever did not pay
during their term of office
should have stands repossessed
and sold to those who can pay
so that our city can go for-
ward,” he said.
Mayor Josiah Makombe ac-
knowledged the existence of
dodgy land deals at council,
but distanced his current crop
of councillors from the rot.
He said his council invited
central government to institute
a forensic land audit after not-
ing anomalies in the way land
was parcelled out by previous
councils.
“That is why some of our
managers have been suspended
and are going through disci-
plinary action for that,” he said.
“As for the issue of stands, we
have said those former coun-
cillors who have not paid will
have the stands repossessed.
We acknowledge there were a
lot of leakages, especially in the
finance department.”
He added: “As Gweru City
Council, we are trying our best
to make sure that all the issues
raised by the Auditor-General
are responded to. We want to
make sure that when the next
audit comes most of the is-
sues highlighted by the Audi-
tor-General would have been
addressed.”
Makombe said corruption
in the local authority was one
of the key reasons the devel-
opment of the new Mkoba 21
residential stands had failed to
take off.
He said the money for the
sold stands should have been
used to service the area, a re-
sponsibility he said the previous
council failed to discharge. But
speaking last week at a Zim-
babwe Coalition on Debt and
Development virtual indaba
on public finance management
and governance, Gweru Urban
legislator Brian Dube said there
was a need for council to assert
its role in ensuring accountabil-
ity in the local authority.
“There should be no sacred
cows, we bank on you (the
mayor and his councillors) that
the anomalies in the allocation
of stands are addressed. We call
upon the acting town clerk and
his management to cooperate
with councillors in addressing
these issues,” Dube said.
A 2019 land audit commis-
sioned by central government
revealed that from 2009 to
2019, council disposed of com-
mercial, residential, institution-
al and industrial stands with
an estimated value of ZW$21
million. According to the re-
port, council only received half
the value of the land due to
dodgy deals by corrupt council
officials.

SUBSCRIBING
MEANS MORE
Your subscription to The Newshawks brings you
MORE news and information, MORE value and
MORE access than ever before!

Register now for a FREE

Trial Subscription.
To receive a free copy of
SUBSCRIBE TheNewshawks E-paper
SUBSCRIBE (PDF), send your Full Name,
SUBSCRIBE Phone Number and E-mail
Address to
join@thenewhawks.com
Landline no:0242 721 044/5
The NewsHawks @NewsHawksLive www.thenewshawks.com join@thenewshawks.com
Page 14
Zimbabwean
automotive
entrepreneur
makes history
RUVIMBO MUSKWE
GROWING up in Hara-
re’s high-density suburb of
Warren Park, young Tatenda
Mungofa would see oil leaks,
engines and car fumes daily.
His father was a respected
mechanic and, as fate would
have it, Mungofa (32) devel-
oped a passion for the auto-
motive industry.
His is a story of an ordi-
nary Zimbabwean who de-
fied all odds and dared to be-
lieve in his dreams. Mungofa
founded Mureza, a car-man-
ufacturing company whose
first model, the Prim8, has
just been launched.
The journey has been
bumpy.
The South African-based
Zimbabwean’s company has
become Africa’s  first black-
owned car manufacturer af-
ter overcoming challenges
in securing a manufacturing
licence as well as in gaining
acceptance from sceptical
people.  five-model line-up”.
Mureza Auto Co has rolled
out its first 100 vehicles into
the market with a pre-order
facility available for buyers in
South Africa and Zimbabwe,
starting this week.
Mungofa hit the headlines
in November 2020 when he
promised to launch the first
car in two months. However,
the company has rolled out
its first car on 14 July due to
challenges in clinching the
licence.
“At the time of that an-
nouncement, there was hope
that the process would be
swift.
The reality however
showed us that we needed to
re-adjust our timelines and
focus on the process to en-
sure success. This meant we
had to re-do a lot of things to
align to the safety and quali-
ty standards that come with
licensing,” Mungofa said.
Besides the licensing hic-
cup, Mungofa said he also
faced resistance from car sup-
pliers and other local people
who had trouble accepting a
car brand from one of their
own.
“Acceptance is the major
challenge which we deal with
on a regular basis. When we
create a design for a car and
approach component suppli-
ers to make for us, they usu-
ally just look the other way
and think we are not serious.
Another group that has trou-
ble accepting what we are
working to achieve with our
vision is some of our local
people. It has taken time for
them to warm up to us as a
brand,’’ he said.
“People have doubts and
problems accepting that
something big can come out
from scratch and worse com-
ing from someone they don’t
expect because there are usu-
ally comparisons with other
companies that have done
well and usually non-African
companies.”  Tatenda Mungofa’s Mureza Auto Co has rolled out its first 100 vehicles into the market.
“On the other hand, the
benchmark has been set high
and we are usually compared
with other brands that have
been in existence for over
100 years. The expectation
from officials processing pa-
perwork, a fund manager
you are lobbying for invest-
ment or a potential client
– they mostly think Mureza
should start with a high pro-
duction capacity and have a
Nyasha Kaseke, an inde-
pendent economist, said the
reason why people are of-
ten reluctant to accept local
products is due to percep-
tions and uncertainties over
back-up and quality.
“People prefer to have
brands that are actually more
common for issues to do
with spare parts and reputa-
tion,” Kaseke said.
Mungofa also said
Covid-19 has also played its
part because most govern-
ment departments are under
lockdown, making physical
inspections, for instance, dif-
ficult. However, this has not
stopped him from fulfilling
his dream.
“It is the nature of an en-
trepreneur to face the likes
of Covid-19 with a positive
attitude. While the environ-
ment is very unpredictable
and there is great risk and
delays owing to the lock-
downs, we decided to look at
a long-term strategy of get-
ting ourselves through this
period one day at a time and
we managed to coordinate
with our major suppliers and
partners to get our business
moving,” Mungofa said.
He had to reduce pace in
entering the market in order
to conserve energy and re-
sources and also to focus on
other aspects of the business
to generate income.
Feature
“A lot of design work is
being done by the team for
other entities as well as of-
fering consultancy services
while production was idle,”
he added.
Mungofa said he ventured
into the motoring industry
due to passion and the idea
of problem solving.  with all the modern-day
“The only continent with-
out a commercially success-
ful brand of vehicles is Africa
because it mostly serves as
a market for raw materials
and a human resource sup-
plier for most global OEMs
(original equipment man-
ufacturers). We saw an op-
portunity to be the flagship
of the automotive industry
in Africa, hence the name
Mureza (which means flag in
Shona),” he said.   from abroad. One example is
Mungofa he said  the
Mureza Prim8 is the com-
pany’s entry model at an ap-
pealing retail price of US$13
500 in Zimbabwe and R196
000 in South Africa.
“The vehicle is equipped
tech like Bluetooth, adaptive
cruise control, satellite navi-
gation, reverse camera, steer-
ing controls and dual airbags.
There is a choice of either au-
tomatic or manual transmis-
sion and two engine choices
(1.5 litre and 1.3 litre) and
an electric version (EV) is in
the pipeline”, he said.
Many Zimbabweans have
resorted to taking their inno-
Tatenda Mungofa
vations and launching them
Takwana Tyaranini, a Zim-
babwean based in the Unit-
ed Kingdom who launched a
digital money transfer plat-
form called Sendtoo. Send-
too was launched in March
2016 as an airtime transfer
network comprising about
400 mobile operators with a
reach of 4.5 billion prepaid
phone users in more than
140 countries with 40 of
those in Africa.
Confederation of Zim-
babwe Industries president
Henry Ruzvidzo said the
problem is usually lack of
capital. The market for big
projects is relatively small as
well. “People tend to go where
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
capital is accessible and also
the market. If you are going
to go into manufacturing, it
would make sense to do it in
a place where there is a large
domestic market before you
even look at export. So those
are some of the limitations of
our environment where our
market is relatively small,”
said Ruzvidzo. He added
that our financial service sec-
tor has been unable to offer
long-term financing and this
affects green field projects.
Mungofa said that it was
difficult for the locals to em-
brace the idea of a locally
made car due to the fact that
there was comparison with
big foreign companies in the
automotive industry.
However, Ruzvidzo said
it is not only a Zimbabwean
problem but human nature
for people to think some-
thing that comes from be-
yong the borders is always
better. “It’s not necessarily
true, but what is needed
is for our local companies
to market and profile their
products better so that peo-
ple understand that they are
as good, if not better, than
imported products.”
Economics professor Gift
Mugano said the Zimbabwe-
an environment is toxic for
business.
“If you go into a business
in Zimbabwe, you are com-
mitting suicide because you
lose money due to the poor
policy framework. How do
you do business when there
is no policy clarity, poli-
cy predictability and policy
consistency?” Mugano asked.
Mureza says it seeks to
solve transport problems on
the continent and is posi-
tioning itself as a flag bearer
of Africa’s promising auto-
motive industry.
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
Long walk to female participation in govt
WILLIAM MILASI
IT is a case of so near yet so far
when it comes to the participa-
tion of women in the country’s
governance system.
Gender experts in the coun-
try have said while the govern-
ment has made strides to address
matters of gender equity, the
participation of women in gov-
ernance remains a thorny issue
in Zimbabwe’s highly patriar-
chal society. Female participa-
tion in governance is generally
not being actively prioritised
notwithstanding the fact that a
progressive Bill on the consti-
tutional amendment has since
sailed through the National As-
sembly and the Senate.
According to Zimbabwe
Gender Commission (ZGC)
chief executive officer Virginia
Muwanigwa, the country has
come of age in terms of gender
equality, although more still
needs to be done.
“As a country we have done
very well in terms of our legis-
lative framework or in terms of
ensuring that our constitution is
very clear on the need for gen-
der equality and non-discrimi-
nation. We have also done very
well in terms of setting up what
is referred to as the gender ma-
chinery, basically meaning that
we have set up some institutions
to ensure what our constitution
says on gender equality and
non-discrimination become a
reality.  We have a Zimbabwe
Gender Commission and the
Anti-Domestic Violence Coun-
cil, Ministry of Women’s Affairs
and the Zimbabwe Microfi-
nance Bank. There are so many
other institutions that have been
set up whose role is to address
the gender equality issues,” Mu-
wanigwa said.
However, the road to reform
is still arduous.
“Our biggest challenge re-
mains that in practice among
the citizens of Zimbabwe gender
equality still remains a thorny
issue with men believing that
when we talk about gender
equality we want to fight men,
yet basically what gender equal-
ity says is that we need a society
that is inclusive. And when we
have structure in the society, the
structures need to be inclusive,”
she said.
In terms of governance is-
sues, women in politics are still
dogged by traditional problems,
with no respite in sight.
A councillor in Redcliff,
Makanyara Piki, one of the two
female councillors in the town,
says although the government is
in support of gender equality the
situation on the ground is not
reflective of this official posture.
“We have to applaud gov-
ernment for supporting gender
equality issues. However, the
situation on the ground remains
a challenge for women in gov-
ernance. The major challenge
that we face as women is lack
of funding or enough financial
support for those with political
ambitions as opposed to our
male counterparts. This is not-
withstanding the fact that gov-
ernment supports the participa-
tion of women in politics,” she
said.
There is a need for mindset
change, according to the coun-
try director of the Women’s In-
ternational League for Peace and
Freedom, Edwick Madzimure.
“On our part, we educate
both the local men and wom-
en through awareness raising
on the need for gender equality.  under-representation of wom-
First, men must do away with
the patriarchal system which re-
served the place of women to the
kitchen and child bearing. Sec-
ondly, on women and girls we
educate them that they need to
start stepping up for leadership
positions and they also need to
start supporting fellow women
in governance,” she said.
Madzimure added that wom-
en also have a critical role to play
towards the promotion of peace
in governance.
“As women, the first role is
participation. Let’s participate
in all peace processes. For in-
stance, the UN Security Coun-
cil Resolution 1325 calls for
the meaningful participation of
women in peace and security.
We must make our voices heard
and the only way to do that is
if we participate, politically and
economically because the oth-
er challenge limiting women’s
participation in politics is lack
of financial resources, hence if
there’s economic empowerment
women can participate in pol-
itics hence they can speak with
Feature Page 15
policies and laws,” Sheila Fashu,
a lawyer with the Legal Resourc-
es Foundation in Gweru, said.
The ZGC boss said women
can play an important role in
governance.
“By women participating
equally within our governance
sector, it means that we have a
shared vision of what is required
in our country. We will also be
able to address problems specifi-
cally felt by women and will also
be informed by the lived realities
of not just the men and boys but
women and girls. It is important
that women participate in gov-
ernance starting not just from
party political governance but
even the local governance. We
have traditional situations where
currently the traditional decision
makers are men. In elections
we have low participation as
not more than 14% of women
participate and there is need for
an increase in that figure. The
low participation of women in
governance arises from the gov-
ernance system, particularly par-
ty-political system which tends
to have some violence and wom-
en will shy away from participat-
ing because they want to avoid
becoming targeted. In addition,
women don’t have resources
Zimbabwe Gender Commission chief executive officer Virginia Muwanigwa.
which are required by our kind
amplified voices,” she said. that affect women are better the magnitude of the problem of politics. It can also be noted
The Midlands provincial understood by fellow women. will never be the same. Having that our society has not prepared
chairperson for the Women Although we may explain to women in decision making po- women to be leaders, and there
in Local Governance Forum men that a woman in her pe- sitions therefore helps amplify are also issues of responsibilities
(WILGF), councillor Idiraishe riods needs adequate water to issues affecting women which, at household level,” Muwanigwa
Dongo, said the challenge is bath, the level of understanding in turn, helps us get favourable said.
the lack of political will to cre-
ate an enabling environment for
women in governance, especially
those in grassroots structures.
“In December 2020, we en-
gaged the President of the Re-
public of Zimbabwe, ED Mnan-
gagwa, at the Great Women
Councillors Indaba, the first if its
kind, in Victoria Falls, over the
en at local level both in the law
makers and implementors. And
I am glad to inform you that,
the listening President heard
our concerns and awarded us a
30% quota system at local au-
thority. And to us women, that’s
a plus and if we add the 10%
we have, it may accumulate to
40% women’s representation at
local level. To me the challenge
is more about the political will
to have women in positions of
influence and implementation
of the legal frameworks because
the constitution of Zimbabwe
provides for it,” Dongo said.
Although the road to gender
reform seems long, a legal expert
said the participation of women
in issues of governance cannot
be understated.
“Women constitute more
than 50% of the population
of Zimbabwe and the impor-
tance of their participation in
governance and peace cannot
be over-emphasised. Women in
leadership influence other pol-
icymakers to view things from
a gender perspective. Issues
Page 16 Feature NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021

Zim children
cars to earn a living.
‘‘My parents are not
working, they cannot af-
ford the online education,

plunged into
and there us no money for
learning materials. The
pandemic which forced
learners to stay at home

untold misery
NYARADZO MUSHANYUKI
MEMORY Dauka (12)
is clad in a grey top and
white skirt and on her
back she carries her young
sister after many hours of
washing people’s cars in
Harare’s central business
district.
Despite the difficulties
associated with entering
the city centre every morn-
ing owing to Covid-19 re-
strictions, she never gives
up.
The orphaned young
girl, from Epworth near
Harare, has become the
bread winner in her fami-
ly. She cannot afford a pair
of shoes, so moves around
barefoot.
Her plight typifies that
of millions of Zimbabwe-
ans who are trying to eke
out a living as the econ-
omy wobbles. According
to the World Bank, nearly
half of all Zimbabweans
are wallowing in extreme
poverty.
“I came here in town
at 9am to wash people’s
cars in the streets so that
l get money for food and
school fees. I stay with my
grandmother. She is now
90, suffering from hyper-
tension and, because of
her age, she can no longer
work.
“I’m the one who is now
taking care of her and my
young sister. I earn ZW$10
for each car l wash, some-
times l don’t earn any-
thing. It’s very hard for
me to get enough money
to buy food or even to pay
for school. Sometimes we
spend days without eating
and during school days the
situation becomes worse
because l have to balance
the school work and work
for the family for us to
survive,’’ Dauka told The
NewsHawks.
Sociologists often re-
mark that children who
spend too much time in
the streets are at risk of
losing a sense of childhood
that can never be regained.
They miss out on edu-
cation, playtime and oth-
er childhood activities,
and this has far-reaching
effects on their develop-
ment.
Samuel Chamunorwa
(10) stays with his grand-
mother who is blind. He
washes cars in the streets
to fend for her.
“My mother died when
l was six and l don’t know
where my father is. I stay
with my grandmother in
Epworth so l came here
in town looking for help
from people. Whilst she
is looking for help from
people, l wash cars in the
streets so that we get food.
I am no longer going to
school, we don’t have
money for school fees. The
money l get from washing
cars is for buying food.
On normal days l earn
ZW$400 per day, which
is not enough to buy food
and to cater for transport
to come here in town and
go back home,’’ Chamu-
norwa said.
The legal working age in
Zimbabwe is 16, but chil-
dren as young as 10 and
12 years old are seen sell-
ing goods on the streets of
Harare and cleaning cars
for survival.
Faith Maigwei (9) looks
after her mother who has
been suffering from a
heart ailment for several
years. She is now the fam-
ily’s breadwinner at a ten-
der age.
“My mother is no longer
able to work due to heart
problems. I am the one
who came here to wash
cars in the streets so that
l get money to buy food
and pay my school fees.
“During this lockdown
some children are learning
online and I’ve been left
behind, but I cannot learn
online due to economic
hardships. I cannot buy a
cellphone or a laptop and
also money to buy bun-
dles. The major objective
is to source food with the
little money l get,’’ Maig-
wei told The NewsHawks.
These children are stuck
between a rock and a hard
place.
They also narrated
frightening encounters
with older street children
who come threatening
them, sometimes snatch-
ing away the money they
would have earned from
washing cars.
Shantel Murwira (11),
an orphan, looks after her
two young sisters who also
spend hours in town. She
washes cars in the streets
to earn a living.
‘‘Every day l come to
wash cars and also look
for help from people in
the streets so that l get
money to take care of my
two young sisters. They
are still young so I am the
one who is looking after
them, the other one is five
and the last one is eight.
We stay in Epworth. My
parents died, and I am
now the breadwinner of
my young sisters. We are
not going to school due to
economic hardships. l get
ZW$500 per day which is
not enough for me to look
after my young sisters,’’
Murwira said.
In a normal society,
young boys and girls
would not be scrounging
in the streets for surviv-
al, but these are not nor-
mal times. Even before
the Covid-19 pandemic,
the economy was far from
normal.
Even those children
whose parents are some-
how managing to pay
school fees are stranded
during the lockdown. On-
line learning is impossible
for them.
They need gadgets, elec-
tricity, internet connectiv-
ity and money for data.
This is widening inequal-
ity, with education now a
preserve of the well off.
Tadiwa Tapfuma (12)
said she is also struggling
to attend online lessons
and spends most of her
time in the streets washing
for long. It has worsened
the crisis. I’m now coming
here to town to wash cars.
If l stay at home, the sit-
uation remains the same,
as l may not get money,’’
Tapfuma told The News-
Hawks.
Education experts are
yet to fully unpack the
long-term impact of pro-
longed lockdowns and too
much idle time on chil-
dren. However, teen preg-
nancy is on the rise and
thousands of girls under
18 are being married off.
According to the Zim-
babwe Vulnerable Assess-
ment Committee Rural
Livelihoods Assessment
Report 2021, children
aged between six to 13
are at risk. Those between
four to six years were out
of school mainly they are
considered too young and
aged 14 to 17 years were
out of school due to preg-
nancy.
The coronavirus pan-
demic, which has forced
learners to stay at home
for long periods, has wors-
ened the crisis as learners
engaged in sexual activity,
leading to teen pregnancy
and early marriage.
Children are not being
adequately protected from
child labour and the risks
they face, including ex-
ploitation and abuse.
The phenomenon of
child vendors has been
topical for some time but
there is no solution in
sight.
The Covid-19 pandemic
and worsening economic
hardships have had dev-
astating consequences for
children.
Young people are vul-
nerable to abuse, poor nu-
trition and exploitation.

DESIGN PRINT BRANDING

Specializes in Printing Flyers, Stickers, Business cards
T-shirts, Caps, Banners, Calendars, PVC, Vinyl,
Lightboxes, In & Outdoor Signs, Vehicle Branding
No. 9 ARRES HOUSE, CORNER G. SILUNDIKA & INEZ TERRACE, HARARE
+263 777 729 130 | +263 778 270 328 | +263 773 017 158
brandjoyadvertising@gmail.com
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
Special Covid-19
PANDEMIC coverage
GOVERNMENT is scal-
ing up bed capacity at the
country’s hospitals in an-
ticipation of an increase in
Covid-19 admissions, as
the third wave continues
to hit Zimbabwe.
Some health facilities
including Parirenyatwa
Group of Hospitals have
stopped accepting elective
surgery patients and are
discharging people at the
earliest possible time so
as to increase bed capacity
for Covid-19 admissions.
Parirenyatwa has capaci-
ty for more than 400 beds.
As at 21 July, there were
882 hospitalised cases,
with 112 being new ad-
missions. Of these, 71
were severe and 30 in in-
tensive care.
Cabinet did not specify
how much bed capacity
would be created but said
the move was part of the
third wave containment
plan.
“Increasing the bed ca-
pacity at Mpilo and Sally
Mugabe central hospitals;
designation of Beatrice
Road Infectious Diseas-
es Hospital and Ekusileni
Hospital as Covid-19 dis-
trict hospitals for Harare
and Bulawayo, respective-
ly;” this week’s cabinet
STAY IF YOU SUSPECT EYE CANCER
ALERT! VISIT YOUR CLINIC TODAY
News
Govt seeks to scale up
hospital bed capacity
Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals.
briefing revealed. tor participation, improv- operationalising virtual
The plan also includes ing conditions of service hospitals in which every
strengthening private sec- for health workers and district will have a rapid
EARLY
DETECTION
IS THE
IS THE BEST
BEST PROTECTION!
PROTECTION!
response team to attend
to cases of acute Covid-19
clinical distress. Covid-19
There
Z I M B
CHILDREN’S
Page 17
risk allowances will be re-
viewed.
Cumulatively, Zimba-
bwe had 93 421 cases and
2870 deaths as at 22 July.
Cabinet also announced
that it had approved the
decongesting of both
public and private sec-
tor workplaces in light
of the continued rise in
Covid-19 cases
“Government has fur-
ther reduced its workforce
to 25%, on a two-week ro-
tational interval. Priority
will be given to the vacci-
nated personnel,” cabinet
said.
“That the Courts of
Law be opened only for
remand and urgent cas-
es; that all civil servants
should be vaccinated and
those that fall ill, without
having been vaccinated
will not be entitled to the
COVID-19 insurance.”
“That all civil servants
should be tested for
COVID-19 at the com-
mencement and end of the
two week rotational inter-
val; that a locum-based
Covid-19 risk allowance
payment model will be
adopted for the health
personnel in the red zone
as part of the incentive
schemes.” –STAFF WRITER.
is a future.
A B W E
CANCER RELIEF
Page 18
CHIPA GONDITII
GENERATORS hum-
ming, people’s low in-
audible voices and un-
characteristically toned
down speakers playing
Zimdancehall. These are
the three sounds that
characterise Kuwadza-
na 2 shopping centre in
Harare at 8pm.
The 6.30pm curfew
which was announced
by the authorities to
slow down the spread
of Covid-19 has necessi-
tated the volume on the
usually loud speakers to
be lowered to normal
levels.
However, lockdown or
no lockdown, Kuwadza-
na 2 shopping centre,
popularly known as K2,
as well as at bottle stores
around Taita Shopping
Centre (Unit O, Seke),
Pasi Bottle Store in Unit
A, popularly known
as Pamaruza, PaNyota
Bottle Store in Unit F,
Humba Bottle Store also
in Unit F, among oth-
ers in Chitungwiza, still
draw huge crowds.
People still flock to
these drinking holes as
if an unseen force with
a serious disregard for
Covid-19 regulations is
drawing them towards
alcohol.
Everyone who arrives
at these places is quick-
ly met with eyeballs of
suspicion; those who
run the show will feign
friendliness so that it be-
comes easier for them to
quickly vet all newcom-
ers.
Once they are satis-
fied, the newcomer is
then escorted to the bar
through a backdoor by
someone who specifical-
ly serves this purpose.
Inside the pub, the
scene shocks the senses:
there are plenty of im-
bibers, beer bottles in
hand, not observing any
social distancing.
Minus the music
speakers, this just looks
like a normal day at
these places. The News-
Hawks caught up with
one owner of K2 bar,
who chose anonymity,
who said bottle store
owners were left with
no option but to oper-
ate clandestinely so as to
make ends meet.
“Yes, we know that
there is Covid-19 out
there and people think
that it only affects peo-
ple who are going to
work every day, but the
reality is it affects us also
News NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
Money-chasing bottle
are taken aside, as hap-
pened, it means that
they were bribed and
they go away. They usu-
store operators risk lives
ally come back after a
couple of days for their
‘patrol’ so that is why
here at Chillaz we do
not have frequent police
raids,” he said.
Chikwanha, a popu-
lar Chitungwiza enter-
tainment joint, has also
joined the bandwagon
of pubs that are selling
alcohol during curfew.
However, here the sale
of beer is tactfully con-
cealed. During the day,
alcohol is sold as usual
in line with the regula-
tions, but at night beer
is sold discreetly from a
dilapidated window.
The bar was selling
beer through a broken
window patched up us-
ing a cardboard box.
To be served, one has
to stand by the broken
window and call for at-
tention.
A reveller who fre-
quents the spot told
The NewsHawks that at
Chikwanha it was usual-
ly the small bottle stores
that were remaininh
open until late as the
as business owners,” he bigger establishments
said. feared retaliation from
“For us to make a the police.
profit, we have no op- “Here at Chikwanha
tion but to operate in it is usually the small
secret as we are doing bottle stores that open at
because for us our cus- night, the bigger estab-
tomers usually frequent lishments will be closed
our bars at night so we because they are afraid
are compelled to sell to that people will start
them so as to make ends taking pictures and cir-
meet. culating them on social
“So it is not that media,” said the imbib-
we do not care about er.
Covid-19, we know it is He also revealed that
killing people out there, some of the larger es-
but if we do not do what tablishments were sup-
we are doing now we will plying the small bottle
die of hunger,” he said. stores with beer so that
Zimbabwe is currently they could sell on their
experiencing a vicious behalf.
third wave of Covid-19 “What the big estab-
infections resulting in Beerhalls and nightclubs not even bother creating ers; they were never seen lishments do here is that
high fatalities. will remain closed whilst the “backroom chan- again. Less than 10 min- they supply their beer to
The authorities say the bottle stores will operate nel” to facilitate secret utes later, people were smaller establishments
deaths have been spurred from 10am to 4pm,” he drinking like their coun- seen trickling back into who then proceed to sell
on by the Delta variant said. terparts in Kuwadzana the joint. the beer for them. The
of the coronavirus first According to World and Chitungwiza. At the A reveller who iden- smaller bottle stores are
detected in India. Health Organisation weekend, people could tified himself as a regu- then paid for their effort
Announcing the new (WHO) regulations, be seen drinking open- lar at Chillaz explained by the bigger establish-
lockdown measures last people are advised to ly with the majority not what was happening. ments,” the reveller said.
month, Vice-President maintain a distance of even wearing face masks. “This usually hap- July 2021 is already
Constantino Chiwen- at least one metre be- However, the fun was pens here. When the Zimbabwe’s deadliest
ga, who also doubles as tween each other so as to spoilt by the arrival of a police come, if they are month since the begin-
Health minister, said reduce the risk of infec- two-man police patrol on foot, then we know ning of the pandemic
bottle stores could only tion when they cough, that left people scurry- that ‘something will be in March last year, with
open during the day and sneeze or speak. ing for cover, but some done’ to ensure that we well over 1 000 people
that social distancing Also at Chillaz com- hardened imbibers re- carry on drinking, but dead this month alone.
must be maintained. plex, which is Rugare’s fused to part ways with if they come by car then There were a cumula-
“They should also unofficial leisure centre, their beer in the face of we know we must run tive  88 415  confirmed
ensure that they limit there is always entertain- the cops. away because when they cases and 2 747 deaths as
the number of clients ment galore. However, The officers were come by car they will be of 21 July 2021 with 58
in their shops to main- minus the speakers, bot- quickly shunted aside serious. 155 having recovered so
tain physical distancing. tle store owners here do by one of the store own- “So when the officers far.
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
Editorial & Opinion Page 19

CARTOON

Zim economy is
totally captured
FINANCE minister Mthuli Ncube is scheduled to pres-
ent the 2021 mid-term budget and economic review on
29 July, but most Zimbabweans will not be holding their
breath.
Inequality has worsened, with the gap between the
haves and the have-nots widening to dangerous levels.
As former Finance minister Tendai Biti has correctly ob-
served, the cartelisation of the economy is now posing an
existential threat to the very survival of the republic.
The World Bank says 7.9 million citizens are living in
extreme poverty, surviving on less than US$1.90 per day.
This tragic state of affairs is happening in a country where
corruption-induced economic hardships have spiralled
out of control, creating filthy-rich oligarchs and cartels.
Only a few politically connected individuals and their
privileged cronies are enjoying the fat of the land while
Poverty sign of governance failure
the overwhelming majority is wallowing in deprivation. WHEN government and its political sion and absence of implementation lucky that the opposition is as inert and
It stinks to high heaven. leadership fails to do its job properly, matrices beyond rhetoric and transla- unimaginative as they also are. Other-
You do not have to be a forensic auditor to realise that deliver and fulfill its electoral man- tion of vision into policies and pro- wise, they will be doomed, well which
political elites and their surrogates have captured the date, that inevitably has devastating grammes. they are anyway, through self-destruc-
Zimbabwean state. As a direct consequence, the econo- consequences on the ordinary people. That also suggestss lack of capacity tion via corruption and incompetence.
my is serving the narrow interests of those who exploit Most of the times people often for- at political, administrative and tech- Evidence of failure is there for all to
their proximity to power to the exclusion of the masses. get to or can’t directly link leadership, nical levels to implement programmes see.
It is scandalous that Zimbabwe, 41 years after Indepen- governance and policy failures to their that can change people’s lives. A dramatic rise in prices of basic
dence, is now a fully fledged authoritarian kleptocracy. social conditions, especially poverty. As a corollary of these failures, gov- goods has thrown more Zimbabweans
Although the origins and dynamics ernments have surrendered ownership into extreme levels of poverty over the
Instead of building an inclusive economy that gives every
of poverty are complex, its prevalence and direction of national policy agen- past few years, a report jointly released
citizen a fair opportunity at attaining prosperity, Zanu and persistence, particularly in coun- das in the field of poverty to interna- by the Zimbabwe National Statistics
PF has presided over an extractive mafia-like polity that tries like Zimbabwe, is less due to lack tional donors, Non-Government Or- Agency, the country’s statistical agency,
serves the interests of political elites and their cronies. of resources for alleviation than gover- ganisations and civil society – which and the World Bank says.
The ordinary citizen’s existence has become a nev- nance failures. they love to hate when it suits them. Zimbabwe’s economy, buffeted by
er-ending struggle against the man-made calamities di- Zimbabwe has vast mineral resourc- Furthermore, different areas of pol- high inflation and price volatility, con-
rectly caused by bad governance. es, human capital and basic infrastruc- icy-making have been appropriated by tracted between 2019 and 2020 at a
What is urgently needed is a public-focused socio-eco- ture to succeed, but it is practically a time the country experienced one of
nomic order anchored on constitutional democracy. Re-
building public trust in politics will take a herculean ef-
failed state. To call Zanu PF leaders
and their government serious stewards Hawk Eye its worst droughts in living memory.
The situation has further deteriorat-
fort. People are not only seeing the rot every day but also of the country is not just a travesty, ed in 2021. Salaries and wages for civil
suffering the consequences. but entirely ridiculous. servants and average workers have col-
For they can’t do the basics: feed the Dumisani lapsed to a fraction of what they were
The threat posed by systematic corruption and state
capture goes beyond President Emmerson Mnangagwa
nation and provide social services. Any Muleya in 2017 at the time of the survey.
serious and respectable government Zimbabweans are now far more
as a politician. Although it has been amplified by his glar- and leadership anywhere in the world poorer under Mnangagwa’s govern-
ing leadership deficiencies, it is also the logical outcome knows that its first responsibility is to ment than they were at the time when
of Zanu PF’s decline as a serious political organisation. provide its people with basics: food, special interest groups pursuing sec- he removed through a November 2017
The party of Herbert Wiltshire Pfumaindini Chitepo and shelter, water, health and security. tarian concerns. This has led to state coup the late former president Robert
Eddison Jonasi Mudadirwa Zvobgo has regressed from At a higher level: the Maslow’s hier- capture in Zimbabwe which enriches Mugabe – a disastrous failure himself.
a glorious liberation movement to a refuge of latter-day archy of needs states that five categories a small greedy circle, but impoverishes According to an updated Zimbabwe
scoundrels defined by corruption, economic failure and of human needs dictate an individual’s the majority. Poverty Report, which was released on
national vandalism. behaviour. These include physiological While Mnangagwa and his cronies yesterday, the number of extremely
Today, there is no big defining idea at the heart of a needs, safety, love and belonging, es- are thriving, literally making lots of poor people rose from 4.5 million in
party that has been reduced to an empty shell which only teem, and self-actualisation. money without working beyond just 2017 to six million during April–May
survives on account of brute force, intimidation and fear. Government doesn’t have to babysit corruptly manipulating the system and 2019, but the number of poor people
citizens, that is give them free food, seizing low-hanging fruits, the majori- measured by the lower-bound poverty
The end result is a country that is now sharply divided
housing, water, health and other ser- ty are sinking into poverty. line rose from eight million to 8.9 mil-
between the impoverished majority and the self-serving vices, but create an enabling environ- Politicians may not care about peo- lion during the same period.
elites. A clueless Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF minions ment for them to work and fend for ple’s complaints, but in the end people Furthermore, whereas the number
have squandered an opportunity to address corrup- themselves – provide equal opportuni- always win. of extremely poor people in urban ar-
tion-induced poverty. The Finance minister’s mid-term ty and safety nets in other words. Evidence that Mnangagwa’s regime eas increased by about 327 000, it rose
budget and economic review next week is not expected Bad governance implies lack of lead- has been a disastrous failure in a short by 1.1 million in rural areas.
to depart from that script. ership, shortsighted developmental vi- space of time abounds. They are just Need we say more?

Reaffirming the fundamental impor-
tance of freedom of expression and me-
dia freedom as the cornerstone of de-
mocracy and as a means of upholding
human rights and liberties in the con-
stitution; our mission is to hold power
in its various forms and manifestations
to account by exposing abuse of power
and office, betrayals of public trust and
corruption to ensure good governance
and accountability in the public inter-
est.
The NewsHawks is published on different
content platforms by the NewsHawks Digital
Media which is owned by Centre for Public
Interest Journalism
No. 100 Nelson Mandela Avenue
Beverly Court, 6th floor
Harare, Zimbabwe
Trustees/Directors:
Beatrice Mtetwa, Raphael Khumalo,
Professor Wallace Chuma, Teldah Mawarire,
Doug Coltart
EDITORIAL STAFF:
Managing Editor: Dumisani Muleya
Assistant Editor: Brezh Malaba
News Editor: Owen Gagare
Digital Editor: Bernard Mpofu
Reporters:
Bridget Mananavire, Nyasha Chingono, Enoch Muchinjo
Email: newsdesk@thenewshawks.com
Marketing Officer:
Charmaine Phiri
Cell: +263 735666122
cphiri@thenewshawks.com
marketing@thenewshawks.com
Subscriptions & Distribution:
+263 735666122
Voluntary Media
Council of Zimbabwe
The NewsHawks newspaper subscribes to the
Code of Conduct that promotes truthful, accurate,
fair and balanced news reporting. If we do not
meet these standards, register your complaint
with the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe
at No.: 34, Colenbrander Rd, Milton Park, Harare.
Telephone: 024-2778096 or 024-2778006,
24Hr Complaints Line: 0772 125 659
Email: director@vmcz.co.zw or info@vmcz.co.zw
WhatsApp: 0772 125 658, Twitter: @vmcz
Website: www.vmcz.co.zw, Facebook: vmcz Zimbabwe
 Business
NewsHawks
MATTERS
CURRENCIES LAST CHANGE %CHANGE COMMODITIES LAST CHANGE %CHANGE
MARKETS

USD/JPY 109.29 +0.38 +0.35 *OIL 63.47 -1.54 -2.37

GBP/USD 1.38 -0.014 -0.997 *GOLD 1,769.5
+1.2 +0.068
USD/CAD 1.229 +0.001 +0.07 *SILVER 25.94 -0.145 -0.56
USD/CHF 0.913 +0.005 +0.53 *PLATINUM 1,201.6 +4 +0.33
AUD/USD 0.771 -0.006 -0.76 *COPPER 4.458 -0.029 -0.65

Ipec commends life assurance

firms amid Covid-19 turmoil
DUMISANI NYONI
THE Insurance and Pen-
sions Commission (Ipec)
has commended funeral
and life assurance compa-
nies for managing to meet
policyholders’ claims de-
spite constrained resources
caused by Covid-19-related
deaths.
Zimbabwe, which is in
the grip of the third wave
of infections driven by the
spread of the Delta and
Beta variants of the vi-
rus, suffered significantly
during the second wave
of the pandemic which
wreaked havoc, increasing
Covid-19 fatalities.
As of 19 July, Zim-
babwe has recorded  85
732  Covid-19 cases,  55
714  recoveries and 2 697
deaths, according to official
figures.
The pandemic has
brought about many chal-
lenges that resulted in busi-
nesses being challenged to
revamp their operations
and adapt to the new nor-
mal.
In its latest consumer
education newsletter, Ipec
applauded assurers for
managing to meet policy-
holders’ claims under diffi-
cult circumstances.
“While the Covid-19-re-
lated deaths stretched the
resources of funeral and life
assurance companies, it is
gratifying to note that the
sector weathered the storm
as assurers managed to meet
policyholders’ claims,” Ipec
commissioner Grace Mu-
radzikwa said.
During the first quarter
of 2021, the funeral assur-
ance sector’s inflation-ad-
justed gross written pre-
mium (GWP) increased
by 158.28% to ZW$56.90
million.
In nominal terms, new
business accounted for the
major increase in GWP
increasing by 349% to
ZW$4.3m.
The increase in GWP
was also on account of pre-
mium increases as funer-
al assurers sought to align
both the premiums and
policyholder benefits to the
dynamic macro-economic
environment in response to
inflation trends.
All the players recorded
significant growth of above
100% in GWP and none of
the players recorded nega-
tive growth.
The sector, according to
Ipec, continues to face in-
tense pressure and competi-
tion from life assurers writ-
ing funeral business.
For the quarter under
review, life assurers wrote
inflation-adjusted funeral
assurance business worth
ZW$852.56m which was
14 times more than the
ZW$56.9m written by the
dedicated funeral players.
Driven by the need to en-
sure that the industry con-
tinues to settle claims and
pay benefits even during
the Covid-19-induced
lockdown, Muradzikwa
said they issued “circular
one” of 2021 in January
calling on industry players
to activate business conti-
Ipec commissioner Grace Muradzikwa.
nuity plans in response to funds to ensure fair treat-
the lockdown measures. ment of customers.
“The regulator also facili- “The commission noted
tated that the insurance and an increase in the num-
pensions industry be ac- ber of suspended pension-
corded the essential service ers since the onset of the
status by the government. Covid-19 pandemic be-
To entrench consumer pro- cause of their failure to sub-
tection in the insurance and mit certificates of existence
pensions industry, the com- to prove that they are still
mission continued to issue alive,” she said.
instruments to insurance One reason could be
companies and pension that pensioners were un-
funds,” she said. able to travel due to the
In particular, the com- Covid-19-related regula-
mission issued a “treating tions, Muradzikwa said.
customers fairly” frame- She said they were also
work, which provides key implementing various
principles and outcomes to projects that are meant to
be observed by all insurance enhance consumer protec-
companies and pension tion.
One of the key projects
included the asset sepa-
ration exercise, which is
aimed at ensuring that
assets belonging to poli-
cyholders are not unfairly
transferred to shareholders.
“Together with key
stakeholders in the insur-
ance and pensions industry,
the commission is spear-
heading the development
of relevant and appropriate
mortality tables for Zimba-
bwe. The tables will help in
accurate and fair pricing of
life and pension products.
You can read more on this,
in the article in this edi-
tion,” she said.
She said the commission
was also seized with imple-
mentation of the revalua-
tion guideline for the Insur-
ance and Pensions Industry
on adjusting insurance and
pension values in response
to the 2019 currency re-
forms.
“Whilst regulated enti-
ties are at various stages of
compliance, I am happy to
advise that in compliance
with the requirements of
the Revaluation Guidance,
some pension funds have
declared bonuses that are as
high as 800%,” Muradzik-
wa said.
She said Ipec is working
closely with key stakehold-
ers on securing compensa-
tion for policyholders and
pension scheme members
whose policies lost value
following the 2009 adop-
tion of the multi-currency
regime.
“A compensation road-
map is being developed and
is expected to be imple-
mented this year. The com-
mission fully understands
the anxiety from stakehold-
ers, particularly pensioners
who have been patient for
too long,” she said.
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
Companies & Markets Page 21

Debt-ridden govt seeks

BERNARD MPOFU financial institutions is af-
fecting its ability to access
THE debt-ridden Zimba- more from a multi-bil-
bwean government is now lion-dollar facility organ-

fresh talks with creditors

pushing for fresh negotia-
tions with its creditors to
reduce interest on debt as
Treasury seeks to extricate
the country from the debt
burden which has become
an albatross.
Following several failed
attempts to settle arrears
with international finan-
cial institutions such as
the World Bank, Inter-
national Monetary Fund
and the African Devel-
opment Bank, which all
enjoy preferred creditor
status, Zimbabwe, which
has been struggling to ac-
cess long-term concession-
al capital, is considering a
change in tack.   said.  in its update.
Official figures show
that as at December, Zim-
babwe’s total public and
publicly guaranteed (PPG)
debt stood at US$10.7
billion. This represents
72.6% of the country’s
gross domestic product.
PPG external debt owed
to the multilateral credi-
tors, as at the end Decem-
ber 2020, amounted to
US$2.68 billion, of which
US$1.53 billion is owed
to the World Bank Group,
US$729 million to the
African Development
Bank, US$356 million to
the  European Investment
Bank and US$68 million
to other multilateral cred-
itors.  bilateral creditors main-
On the other hand, bi-
lateral PPG external debt
amounted to US$5.75
billion, with US$3.79 bil-
Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa.
lion owed to Paris Club
ly comprising Germany
(US$1.02 billion),  France
(US$724 million), Japan
(US$435 million), UK
(US$416 million) and
USA (US$285  million).
The Non-Paris Club cred-
itors are owed US$1.67
billion, which comprise
mainly  China (US$1.57
billion) and India (US$70
million). Information
minister Monica Mutsvan-
gwa this week said the
government will be chang-
ing its policy on debt in
the coming year.
“In the 2022 National
Budget, government will
prioritise to sustain mac-
ro-economic stability, to
create a conducive envi-
ronment for business in-
vestment and to improve
the living standards of the
majority,” Mutsvangwa
“As such, the priority ar-
eas of 2022 are the follow-
ing: effective institution
building and governance;
and engagement and
re-engagement and debt
restructuring.”
Previously, the country
has tried pursuing several
paths such as the Zimba-
bwe Accelerated Arrears
and Debt Strategy and the
Lima Plan of 2015. De-
spite making token pay-
ments to creditors, arrears
have continued to balloon.
Last month, the World
Bank said Zimbabwe’s
failure to settle debt ar-
rears with international
ised by multilateral cred-
itors to help developing
countries to deal with the
socio-economic impact of
the Covid-19.
Zimbabwe defaulted on
arrears payments at the
turn of the century, re-
sulting in it failing to ac-
cess long-term funding for
multilateral lenders such
as the World Bank and
International Monetary
Fund (IMF).
“The government’s abil-
ity to respond to the pan-
demic is constrained by
limited access to conces-
sional sources of financ-
ing,” the World Bank said
“External debt arrears
that reached 78% of ex-
ternal public debt in 2020
have prevented Zimbabwe
from benefitting from
international financial
institutions (IFIs) and
global initiatives, such
as the global Debt Ser-
vice Suspension Initiative
(DSSI).  The DSSI is in-
tended to suspend debt
payments from the poor-
est countries to official
bilateral creditors based
on countries’ requests for
forbearance, with a view
to providing immediate li-
quidity to tackle challeng-
es posed by Covid-19”.

Securities depository to improve market access: ZSE

THE Zimbabwe Stock
Exchange (ZSE) has ex-
pressed optimism that
the recently incepted
Central Securities De-
pository (CSD) will go
a long way in improving
market access for retail
investors while enhanc-
ing operational efficien-
cies.
Last month, the ZSE
was  granted a licence to
operate a CSD   by the
Securities and Exchange
Commission of Zimba-
bwe in accordance with
the Securities and Ex-
change Act, (Chapter
24:25) and the Securities
(Registration, Licensing
and Corporate Gover-
nance Rules, Statutory
Instrument 100 of 2010.
A CSD is an institution
that keeps custody of fi-
nancial securities (debt,
equities, exchange-trad-
ed funds) in electronic
form and also offers oth-
er related services such
as securities clearing and
settlement, securities
transfer and pledges that
are related to securities
transactions.
Speaking to  The News-
Hawks Business this week,
ZSE chief executive offi-
cer Justin Bgoni said the
development will go a
long way to improve the
ease of doing business for
investors.  difficult when it came to
“The launch of the ZSE
Depository will make it
easier for retail investors
to access the market,
ZSE chief executive officer Justin Bgoni.
improve operational ef- participants and facilitate
ficiencies in the market, the introduction of new
reduce market costs to all products,” he said.
“The overall objective is
to improve operational
and cost efficiencies in
the market. The norm
with most exchanges is
that both trading and
settlement are handled
by the exchange - which
was not the case in our
market. The CSD was in-
dependent, had its own
operating structure and
own systems and this
meant additional costs
that had to be borne by
market participants and
investors.”
He said the previous ar-
rangement also proved
managing changes that
required system upgrades
or changes as two system
vendors had to be con-
sulted. 
Bgoni said investors who
participate on the ZSE
or Victoria Falls Stock
Exchange (VFEX) are re-
quired to have a CSD ac-
count and the securities
purchased by an investor
on an exchange are then
credited into their CSD
account which is regu-
larly updated, depending
on related transactional
activities.
“By operating both the
Depository and the trad-
ing function, the ZSE
will be able to reduce
the listing fees and offer
more flexibility to the is-
suers. For the Investors,
ZSE will reduce the set-
tlement fees,” he added.
— STAFF WRITER.

ADVERT SPACE
The NewsHawks TheNewsHawksLive www.thenewshawks.com join@thenewshawks.com
Page 22 Companies & Markets NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021

Cement makers buck economic trend

THE cement-manufacturing
sector in Zimbabwe has re-
mained resilient despite the
Covid-19-induced economic
slowdown.
Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe
and PPC Zimbabwe both re-
ported stable performance,
with demand for cement re-
maining firm as the construc-
tion sector is operational as an
essential service provider.
Overall cement sales in-
creased by between 10% and
15% for the full financial year
to 31 March 2021 as compared
to full-year 2020. Despite
Covid-19, imports remained
flat at 9% of total industry
sales while the informal sector
contributed more to foreign
currency sales although the
segment was heavily impacted
by the pandemic.  Chairperson
PPC, the country’s largest
cement manufacturer with
annual capacity of 1.4 million
metric tonnes, cement sales in
foreign currency allowed the
company to remain self-suffi-
cient.  the growth to a market shift
In an operational review,
the group, with operations in
South Africa, Botswana and
Rwanda among other coun-
tries, indicated sales volumes
in Zimbabwe went up by ap-
proximately 10% from the
prior year.  ever, cement volumes recov-
Revenue rose 251% in
Zimbabwean currency terms.
However, in rand terms, rev-
enue fell 13% while earnings
before interest, taxes, deprecia-
tion and amortisation (EBIT-
DA) went down 32%.
“The economic environ-
ment in Zimbabwe was great-
ly affected by the Covid-19
pandemic. The resulting
lockdowns increased unem-
ployment and impacted oper-
ations, negatively influencing
volumes in full-year 2021.  pletion of its three-pronged
“Nevertheless, PPC Zimba-
bwe recovered from the slow
start to trade slightly above
planned volumes for most of
the year. The 75% deprecia-
tion of the Zimbabwean dollar
against the South African rand
reduced PPC Zimbabwe’s
contribution to group profit-
ability,” said PPC.
PPC’s competitor, Lafarge,
reported earnings growth for
the year to 30 December 2020
driven by volumes growth.
Kumbirai
Katsande said revenue for
the year jumped 68.5% to
ZW$6.9 billion from ZW$4.1
billion driven by volume
growth in the dry mortars
business.  He also attributed
towards high-strength cement,
which influenced a significant
change in the cement product
mix. The business lost a full
month of April 2020 as the
country implemented strict
lockdown restrictions. How-
ered in subsequent months,
with particularly strong per-
formance in the third quarter
closing the full year cement
volume performance at 6%
below prior year.  Katsande
indicated there was strong
demand although volumes
growth was limited by capaci-
ty constraints owing to the loss
of production during the April
2020 lockdown.
However, its dry mortar
business more than doubled
sales with a 115% increase in
sales volumes compared to the
prior year. This followed the
relaunch of its SupaGrow and
SupaFix range supported by
active market sensitisation of
the products, which has led to
wider product adoption.
While the business envi-
ronment remains uncertain
for many businesses due to
Covid-19, cement makers are
upbeat about maintaining a
growth trajectory driven by
various government construc-
tion projects ranging from
transport, energy and accom-
modation infrastructure. This
is in addition to individual res-
idential projects being carried
out across the country.
For Lafarge, the firm is al-
ready forecasting to double
production following the com-
US$25 million capital ex-
pansion project with the final
phase being the installation of
a vertical cement mill. 
“The third investment
project is the installation of
the Vertical Cement Mill
(VCM), earmarked to double
cement milling capacity,” said
Katsande in a statement ac-
companying financials for the
year to 31 December 2020.
“Civil works for the VCM
have since started and expect-
ed completion date for the
project is February 2022,” he
said.
This comes as the company
also installed alternative pow-
er infrastructure in 2019 and
completion of the automated
dry mortar plant in 2021. 
Already, production capac-
ity for the dry mortar busi-
ness effectively increased by
1 300% to 100 000 tonnes
from 7 000 tonnes per annum,
making Lafarge the biggest
producer of dry mortar prod-
ucts in Zimbabwe. 
“Significant volume growth
is therefore foreseen in the dry
mortar business following the
plant commissioning in April
2021,” said Katsande.
—STAFF WRITER.

Emirates SkyCargo keeps Zim

WHILE people are largely ment,” Bahlooq said.
grounded due to the Covid-19 “Since the Covid-19 cri-
pandemic, economies have to sis began, Emirates SkyCargo
keep on running in the midst has also been a vital partner in

economy running under Covid

of the crisis – to combat the
virus there has got to be de-
liveries of personal protection
equipment (PPE), essential
medical supplies and vaccines.
In Zimbabwe, Emirates Sky-
Cargo, among other aviation
carriers, has kept the country
going. It has kept it connect-
ed to the outside world, thus
maintaining global supply
chains between Zimbabwe and
the world.
“With Covid-19-related
border closures rendering many
flights challenging, Emirates
SkyCargo has maintained crit-
ical transport links for people
and for goods – including es-
sential medical supplies. We
continue to ship cargo into and
out of Zimbabwe,” says Nass-
er Bahlooq, Emirates country
manager for Zimbabwe.
“Zimbabwe’s economy still
needs to function; mines still
need to operate and farmers
still need to export their fresh
produce. Jobs and foreign ex-
change earnings are at stake.
“It’s a commitment that we
take very seriously as we export
fresh fruit and vegetables and
bring in mining equipment
and components, as well as all
the other exports and imports
that keep our economy tick-
ing.”
Bahlooq says his airline
has provided a critical service
during difficult times.
“While isolation and so-
cial distance have become the
buzzwords of the last year, the
situation we find ourselves in
has also emphasised the im-
portance of connections and
global supply chains more than
ever,” he said.
“And while passenger move-
ments remain constrained,
particularly in markets such as
Zimbabwe, the international
movement of goods remains a
vital lifeline.
“During the initial months
of the pandemic, there was a
huge surge in the demand for
air cargo capacity for the trans-
portation of Personal Protec-
tion Equipment (PPE) such
as facemasks and gloves in ad-
dition to medical equipment
such as ventilators as well as
other pharmaceutical supplies.
“More recently, other com-
modities for industries and
manufacturing opened up
as manufacturing activity re-
turned. We also saw increased
volumes of e-commerce ship-
ments as more people shopped
online.”
Through its cargo flights to
more than 135 destinations
across six continents, Emirates
SkyCargo continues to play an
important role globally in the
transportation of pharmaceuti-
cals, medical equipment, PPE,
food and other essential goods
as well as maintaining continu-
ity of supply chains for interna-
tional trade.
Emirates’ cargo-diversified
revenue streams beyond tra-
ditional passenger-related in-
come have enabled the airline
Emirates Zimbabwe country manager Nasser Balooq.
to avoid the worst of the pan- we live and work is part of our
demic’s economic impact. For DNA. Offering strong sup-
the year to 31 March 2021, ply chain solutions during the
Emirates SkyCargo transport- Covid-19 pandemic through
ed 1.9 million tonnes of cargo Emirates SkyCargo has given
across our global network. us an opportunity to provide
As one of the world’s largest the support our customers tell
airlines, serving our customers us they need during this un-
and the communities where precedented business environ-
delivering much-needed med-
icines, medical equipment (in-
cluding spare parts and repair
components), and in keeping
global supply chains function-
ing for the most time-sensi-
tive materials. This has been
done through dedicated cargo
freighter operations, use of
cargo capacity in passenger air-
craft, and relief flights to affect-
ed areas.
“Emirates and Emirates Sky-
Cargo place the highest level of
emphasis on safety and high
quality standards in service de-
livery. This is a key differenti-
ating factor for our customers
in addition to our other value
propositions such as having a
modern all wide-body aircraft
fleet, an extensive global net-
work covering six continents
as well as state-of-the-art in-
frastructure in Dubai. We
have one of the highest levels
of “Delivered as Promised” for
cargo in the industry.”
Currently, Emirates Sky-
Cargo flies to 136 destinations
around the world and trans-
ports cargo through about
2000 flights weekly - this is a
mix of cargo transported on
passenger flights, cargo only
flights on passenger aircraft
and full freighter flights. For
Zimbabwe, Emirates SkyCar-
go offers cargo capacity on five
weekly flights to/from Harare
on our Boeing 777-300ER air-
craft. —STAFF WRITER.
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
Stock Taking Page 23

Price Sheet
Friday, 23 July 2021 A MEMBER OF FINSEC & THE ZIMBABWE STOCK EXCHANGE
Company Sector Bloomberg Previous Last VWAP (cents) Total Total Price Price YTD Market
Ticker Price (cents) Traded Traded Traded Change Change (%) Cap
Price Volume Value ($) (cents) (%) ($m)
AFDIS Consumer Goods AFDIS: ZH 6900.00 7100.00 7100.00 300 21,300.00 200.00 2.90 195.83 8,328.73
African Sun Consumer Services ASUN: ZH 815.00 815.00 820.48 3,100 25,435.00 5.48 0.67 382.64 7,070.67
ART Industrials ARTD: ZH 798.75 850.00 850.00 100 850.00 51.25 6.42 78.08 3,714.31
Ariston Consumer Services ARISTON: ZH 343.82 345.00 347.80 726,000 2,525,000.00 3.98 1.16 159.55 5,660.08
Axia Consumer Goods AXIA: ZH 2649.88 2300.00 2535.07 29,300 742,775.00 -114.81 -4.33 176.75 13,813.45
BNC Basic Materials BIND: ZH 509.70 507.00 507.00 42,400 214,967.00 -2.70 -0.53 33.42 6,336.77
BAT Consumer Goods BAT: ZH 96000.00 - 96000.00 - - - - 74.55 19,808.18
CAFCA Industrials CAFCA: ZH 17500.00 17500.00 17500.00 400 70,000.00 - - 94.66 1,528.64
Cassava Technology CSZL: ZH 1505.52 1500.00 1500.00 101,100 1,516,500.00 -5.52 -0.37 130.77 38,858.66
CBZ Banking CBZ: ZH 9500.00 9505.00 9506.43 6,300 598,905.00 6.43 0.07 11.24 65,331.20
Dairibord Consumer Goods DZL: ZH 3500.00 3300.00 3491.39 41,400 1,445,435.00 -8.61 -0.25 166.52 12,499.21
Delta Consumer Goods DLTA: ZH 8159.77 8250.00 8241.74 542,800 44,736,150.00 81.97 1.00 262.26 105,861.95
Econet Telecommunications ECO: ZH 2857.45 2900.00 2860.09 1,749,600 50,040,140.00 2.64 0.09 202.66 74,092.83
Edgars Consumer Services EDGR: ZH 450.28 450.00 450.00 13,800 62,100.00 -0.28 -0.06 275.00 1,471.46
FBC Banking FBC: ZH 3100.00 - 3100.00 - - - - 106.48 20,830.45
Fidelity Financial Services FIDL: ZH 1150.00 - 1150.00 - - - - 503.04 1,252.62
First Capital Banking FCA: ZH 300.22 300.00 300.07 270,200 810,799.00 -0.15 -0.05 172.79 6,471.67
FML Financial Services FMHL: ZH 2909.56 2800.00 2875.00 200 5,750.00 -34.56 -1.19 173.81 19,841.61
FMP Real Estate FMP: ZH 1540.00 1500.00 1500.00 3,400 51,000.00 -40.00 -2.60 362.96 18,572.36
GBH Industrials GBH: ZH 230.00 230.00 230.01 28,000 64,402.00 0.01 0.00 858.38 1,234.21
Getbucks Financial Services GBFS: ZH 697.60 560.00 580.00 1,300 7,540.00 -117.60 -16.86 4540.00 6,746.09
Hippo Consumer Goods HIPO: ZH 16400.00 - 16400.00 - - - - 82.22 31,655.37
Innscor Industrials INN: ZH 9510.87 9925.00 9900.79 18,900 1,871,250.00 389.92 4.10 167.38 55,917.33
Lafarge Industrials LACZ: ZH 9360.00 - 9360.00 - - - - 875.00 7,488.00
Mash Real Estate MASH: ZH 350.43 351.00 351.00 18,400 64,584.00 0.57 0.16 277.42 6,525.35
Masimba Industrials MSHL: ZH 4190.51 4150.00 4146.97 6,600 273,700.00 -43.54 -1.04 270.27 10,021.31
Medtech Healthcare MMDZ: ZH 38.02 35.00 35.66 1,417,400 505,390.65 -2.36 -6.21 351.39 1,083.98
Meikles Industrials MEIK: ZH 9303.04 9450.00 9445.11 45,000 4,250,300.00 142.07 1.53 329.23 23,862.70
Nampak Industrials NPKZ: ZH 1295.02 1300.00 1300.00 700 9,100.00 4.98 0.38 469.55 9,823.43
NatFoods Consumer Goods NTFD: ZH 55000.00 - 55000.00 - - - - 815.14 37,620.06
NTS Industrials NTS: ZH 1044.60 - 1044.60 - - - - 3705.46 2,651.95
NMBZ Banking NMB: ZH 1700.00 1600.00 1610.87 2,300 37,050.00 -89.13 -5.24 302.67 6,510.68
OK Zim Consumer Services OKZ: ZH 1597.13 1600.00 1600.35 605,500 9,690,100.00 3.22 0.20 77.82 19,953.37
Proplastics Industrials PROL: ZH 2790.00 2790.00 2777.10 3,100 86,090.00 -12.90 -0.46 222.55 6,996.50
RTG Consumer Services RTG: ZH 387.29 450.00 439.61 12,800 56,270.00 52.32 13.51 129.26 10,970.45
RioZim Basic Materials RIOZ: ZH 2800.00 - 2800.00 - - - - 87.27 3,416.83
SeedCo Consumer Goods SEED: ZH 6896.95 - 6896.95 - - - - 199.87 16,933.95
Simbisa Consumer Goods SIM: ZH 4153.30 4150.00 4155.40 184,600 7,670,865.00 2.10 0.05 245.77 23,361.03
Star Africa Consumer Goods SACL: ZH 278.80 265.00 276.56 765,200 2,116,217.00 -2.24 -0.80 924.30 13,040.04
Truworths Consumer Services TRUW: ZH 240.00 240.00 239.40 20,100 48,119.00 -0.60 -0.25 711.53 919.46
TSL Consumer Goods TSL: ZH 4400.00 - 4400.00 - - - - 155.07 15,712.51
Turnall Industrials TURN: ZH 410.00 - 410.00 - - - - 340.86 2,021.47
Unifreight Industrials UNIF: ZH 2992.86 3000.00 3000.00 6,100 183,000.00 7.14 0.24 16029.03 3,194.23
Willdale Industrials WILD: ZH 332.87 330.00 328.72 30,900 101,573.00 -4.15 -1.25 927.25 5,844.65
ZB Banking ZBFH: ZH 7700.00 - 7700.00 - - - - 220.83 13,489.68
Zeco Industrials ZECO: ZH 0.03 - 0.03 - - - - 50.00 0.14
Zimpapers Consumer Services ZIMP: ZH 373.89 350.00 350.00 17,200 60,200.00 -23.89 -6.39 257.14 2,016.00
Zimplow Industrials ZIMPLOW: ZH 1537.69 1540.00 1515.65 53,100 804,810.00 -22.04 -1.43 203.13 3,613.02
ZHL Financial Services ZHL: ZH 424.54 410.00 411.79 87,600 360,730.00 -12.75 -3.00 31.36 7,489.04
TOTAL 6,855,200 131,128,396.65 781,457.63

ETFs
Old Mutual ZSE Top 10 ETF OMTT.zw 195.34 195.00 194.93 1,680,182 3,275,150.00 -0.41 -0.21 94.50 155.94

FINSEC
Old Mutual Zimbabwe Financial Services OMZIL 4800.00 4800.00 5000.00 1,378 68,900.00 200.00 4.17 88.68 4,150.59

VFEX (US cents) US$m

Padenga Consumer Goods PHL:VX 19.00 18.10 18.10 9,600 1,737.60 -0.90 -0.05 -49.72 98.03
SeedCo International Consumer Goods SCIL:VX 25.20 - 25.20 - - - - 40.00 60.76

Index Close Change (%) Open YTD % Top 5 Risers Price Change % YTD %
ZSE All Share 6,618.23 +0.21 6,604.26 +151.70 RTG 439.61c +52.32c +13.51 +129.26
Top 10 3,473.03 +0.76 3,446.71 +109.91 ART 850.00c +51.25c +6.42 +78.08
Top 15 4,012.87 +0.65 3,987.07 +105.99 Innscor 9900.79c +389.92c +4.10 +167.38
Small Cap 243,963.15 -1.49 247,656.04 +1954.22 AFDIS 7100.00c +200.00c +2.90 +195.83
Medium Cap 17,581.91 -0.44 17,660.17 +215.98 Meikles 9445.11c +142.07c +1.53 +329.23

Top 5 Fallers Price Change % YTD %

Getbucks 580.00c -117.60c -16.86 +4540.00
Zimpapers 350.00c -23.89c -6.39 +257.14
Medtech 35.66c -2.36c -6.21 +351.39
NMBZ 1610.87c -89.13c -5.24 +302.67
Axia 2535.07c -114.81c -4.33 +176.75
SALES & TRADING: Davide Muchengi: davide@morganzim.com | Lungani Nyamazana: lungani@morganzim.com | Tatenda Jasi: tatenda@morganzim.com
RESEARCH: Batanai Matsika: batanai@morganzim.com | Precious Chagwedera: precious@morganzim.com | Tafara Mtutu: tafara@morganzim.com
Tel: (+263) 08677008101-2 | Email: research@morganzim.com | Address: 1st Floor, Block D, Smatsatsa Office Park, Borrowdale, Harare

MORGAN & COMPANY has issued this document for distribution to its clients. It may not be reproduced or further distributed in whole or in part for any purpose. This document is not and should not be construed
as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe to any investment. MORGAN & COMPANY has based this document on information obtained from sources it believes to be reliable but
which it has not independently verified; MORGAN & COMPANY makes no guarantee, representation or warranty and accepts no responsibility or liability as to the accuracy or completeness of its content.
Page 24
NYASHA CHINGONO
MASS looting that almost
brought South Africa to a
halt last week, subsequently
causing widespread delays in
supplies of critical raw mate-
rials for industry around the
country, is a wake-up call for
Zimbabwe to stop relying on
its neighbour, analysts have
said.
Zimbabwe, a key gateway
for South Africa’s exports to
the rest of the continent, re-
lies on the regional economic
powerhouse for throughput
after years of bad governance
disrupted supply chains.
Experts and critics concur
that it is now apparent that
when South Africa sneezes,
Zimbabwe catches a cold
and that has been proven re-
peatedly.
But the Zimbabwean au-
thorities continue to sit back
and enjoy the tag “South Af-
rica’s supermarket”.
According to industrialist
Busisa Moyo, Zimbabwe im-
ports 75% of raw materials,
finished products and fuel
from South Africa.
Last week’s riots that
rocked the country follow-
ing the arrest of former Pres-
ident Jacob Zuma exposed
Zimbabwe’s unhealthy reli-
ance on South Africa.
With Durban, which is
arguably Zimbabwe’s major
channel of portable and in-
dustrial goods, under siege
from riotous mobs who
stormed the port, the coun-
try was left with no reliable
source of imported goods.
What made the situation
worse is that the N1 and
N3 roads, which are ma-
jor routes for trucks, were
blockaded by the violent
looters. This led to panic
in the manufacturing sec-
tor as suppliers sent notices
of delay in the delivery of
raw materials. Some suppli-
ers declared force majeure,
freeing themselves from the
fulfillment of commercial
contracts.
Dozens of trucks were
stuck in South Africa with
no goods for delivery, lead-
ing to panic among their
customers in Zimbabwe.
Moyo, who is also the
chief executive officer of
Bulawayo-based cooking oil
bottler United Refineries
Limited largely dependent
on South Africa for raw ma-
terials, said while most sup-
pliers did not cancel orders,
logistics were difficult last
week.
He said the over-reliance
on South Africa as the major
supplier of critical commod-
ities was detrimental, not
only to Zimbabwe but also
other economies in southern
African. Critical supply lines
are disrupted whenever dis-
turbances rock that country.
“South Africa’s domi-
nance is a key concern to the
region, and this is a wake-up
call that we should reduce
Chaos in South Africa exposes
vulnerable Zimbabwe economy
South African people chaotically and violently expressing themselves across the country, mainly Johannesburg and Durban recently.
dependence on South Africa
for trade routes, raw material
supply and services in gener-
al as a risk management tool
to protect the resilience of
our economy. The answer is
switching to rail, establish-
ing dry ports, progressing
the port area that we have
been given for development
in Walvis Bay, re-engaging
Beira as an option, expand-
ing Forbes Border Post and
Plumtree, among other in-
frastructures solutions,”
Moyo said.
Zimbabwe spends US$3
billion annually on imports
from South Africa.
South Africa plunged into
chaos this week, with mass
looting happening in Kwa-
Zulu-Natal and Gauteng
following Zuma’s arrest.
What began as an osten-
sibly innocent campaign to
overturn the court’s decision
to jail Zuma degenerated
into chaotic scenes, with
News Analysis
thousands seen looting gro-
ceries, furniture, plunder-
ing warehouses while others
stole goods from containers
in transit at Durban port.
With South Africa already
showing signs of critical
shortages of groceries, as cit-
izens of that country joined
long queues for basic grocer-
ies, the impact on Zimbabwe
was expected to be severe.
South Africa’s economy is
the engine room of south-
ern Africa. The economies
of Lesotho, Swaziland, Na-
mibia, Zambia and Malawi
are expected to suffer from
the backlash of the riotous
looting.
Moyo said Zimbabwe’s
raw material import cover is
between one and two weeks
and any further disruptions
to supplies would have
choked an already struggling
economy, which is heavily
dependent on imports.
If the riots had continued,
Zimbabwe would have faced
critical shortages.
“Our raw material im-
port cover for critical com-
modities is about one to
two weeks, but disruptions
longer than one business
week can start to be felt
very quickly and show up
in shortages. The issue can
quickly spiral out of control
if not planned for according-
ly. The saving grace is that
we are coming off a bumper
harvest and secure of critical
basics,” Moyo said.
Economist Chenayi Mu-
tambasere said Zimbabwe
must shake off its dependen-
cy on South Africa.
“Zimbabwe needs to
put in place policies that
build local resilience. Our
domestic market is weak,
local products are more ex-
pensive than South African
products. Zimbabwe needs
to strengthen local supply
chains encouraging value
addition to raw materials
through innovation,” she
said.
She urged the authorities
to invest in innovation to
lower the cost of production.
“Innovation means cheap-
er local products and in-
creased employment,” Mu-
tambasere added.
Mutambasere said Zim-
babwe will pay a heavy eco-
nomic and social cost for
over-reliance on South Afri-
ca.   tory authorities. By easing
“My biggest concerns are
the health and social care
costs. With Zimbabwe go-
ing through the third wave
of Covid-19, with an an-
ticipated fourth wave on its
way, the biggest risks are the
mortality rate and long-term
illness. Not having access to
medicines will also result in a
prolonged lockdown period
as it becomes more difficult
to reduce infection. The so-
cio-economic impacts asso-
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
ciated with these are strains
on household income and
the national budget, they
will have the biggest cost on
the Zimbabwean economy.
To counter this, government
would do well to increase
imports of packaged medica-
ments from other partners to
counter the predicted short-
age,” Mutambasere added.
The South African cri-
sis has claimed dozens of
lives while property worth
millions of dollars was de-
stroyed, with unquanti-
fied merchandise looted by
mobs.  
Independent econo-
mist John Robertson said
the spectre of higher prices
looms large.
“The most threatening
short-term cost could be
higher prices due to scarci-
ties and uncertainties over
immediate supplies. In the
longer term, if the problems
persist in South Africa, in-
vestment inflows could dry
up for all southern African
countries. If all countries are
forced to remain backward
by being shunned by inves-
tors, every one of these coun-
tries will become dumping
grounds for cheap Chinese
products and unemploy-
ment plus poverty will deep-
en,” Robertson warned.
To end Zimbabwe’s
over-reliance on South Af-
rica, Robertson urged the
authorities to encourage in-
vestment to ensure import
substitution.
“Zimbabwe’s government
should be working hard to
remove all barriers to in-
creased investment spend-
ing on manufacturing pro-
duction. At present, many
investments are being held
up by the lengthy proce-
dures involved in getting
licences and permits, and
in getting approvals from
the many new authorities in
Zimbabwe that can demand
compliance with application
procedures. Large fees are in-
volved in many of these, and
they serve no purpose oth-
er than funding the salaries
of government inspectors
who run pointless regula-
the investment procedures,
more factories would be re-
stored or built to provide
Zimbabweans with home-
made goods that would
make imports unnecessary.
Thousands of factories that
used to supply most domes-
tic needs were forced out of
business. Government must
remove the problems that
caused these manufacturers
to lose their ability to func-
tion,” Robertson said.
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
Critical Thinking Page 25

Racism cannot be defeated

NIC CHEESEMAN

IT has been a depressing

month to be English. The de-
feat to Italy in the final of the

without decolonisation
UEFA European Champion-
ship was the latest in a string
of famous losses.
Worse still, three black En-
glish players who missed pen-
alties in the decisive shoot-out
suffered  racist abuse.  Almost
as soon as the final whistle
was blown, pride at what the
players had accomplished
– not just in reaching the fi-
nal, but also by  taking the
knee and building a team that
anti-racist citizens of all back-
grounds could believe in – was
combined with sadness, anger
and, for many people I know,
a deep sense of shame.
Shame that people in our
community hold such ab-
horrent views. Shame at the
offence caused to our friends,
not just in the UK, but also in
Africa, and around the world.
In the past, I have tend-
ed not to write about racism
myself and instead to share
the work of colleagues such
as Simukai Chigudu who have
greater knowledge and deeper
insights. As a straight white
man, I have not experienced
prejudice and it felt more ap-
propriate to support the analy-
sis of those who have.
I changed my mind when a
Twitter follower asked why I
had not written about English
racism when so many of my
readers are black Africans. His
question made me realise that
such an approach could all too
easily be interpreted as indif-
ference.
My anonymous correspon-
dent also offered a suggestion Photo by Joel Goodman/LNP/Shutterstock
of what to write about: “Why
don’t you tell us why your peo- was quickly covered by hun- that  only 67% of white re- the UK at a greater danger of failings) of white people. In turn, these subconscious
ple are still racist in 2021?” dreds of messages of love and spondents  would be “happy sexual attack. When we went to university, expectations can distort how
This was good advice, I solidarity.  This response was if people from another race Racism is also fostered in the eminent figures honoured we interpret the news and the
decided. The one thing I can something to be proud of, and moved in next door”. much less obvious ways. A through statues, paintings and behaviour of others – even for
claim to have some insight into something to build on moving In the same study, only white school friend of mine buildings were all white. those who think they are not
is the  thoughts and beliefs of forwards. 46% of white respondents said once wrote an essay on preju- Meanwhile, a  2011 report prejudiced  – creating a fertile
white English men.  And that But the defacing of mu- they would marry or have a dice that began with the sen- found that the “dominant ground for the emergence of
experience suggests that  Al- rals and the sending of racist relationship with someone of tence “I may be subtly racist discourse surrounding black racist beliefs.
cinda Honwana  is completely messages on social media is a different race. Things have but I wish not to be”. young men and boys in the As  Kehinde Andrews  has
right to argue that we cannot only the tip of the iceberg. changed for the better since What he meant was that news media links them with argued, defeating racism re-
successfully combat racism These are high profile actions then. although his parents were violent crime”. quires a multipronged ap-
without taking seriously the that come with a risk of be- An Ipsos-MORI poll  in avowedly anti-racist, the cul- The notion of white supe- proach over many years.
need for decolonisation. ing caught and prosecuted. To 2020 found that “the British tural environment in which riority was reinforced from Changing the misleading way
use Instagram messages and public have become avowedly we grew up  actively fostered multiple directions. Charity in which we currently depict
It’s not just a tiny minority the defacing of murals as a way more open-minded in their at- racist assumptions,  and this fundraising and British gov- the world is only one element
to measure English racism is titudes towards race”. process was especially perni- ernment  aid to countries in of this fight but is nonetheless
Let’s get one thing straight to overlook the everyday expe- Yet despite this improve- cious because it was often sub- Africa,  while well-meaning, a crucial one. It is therefore
from the start. rience of non-white members ment, 7% did not disagree that conscious. were shot through with im- vitally important to continue
As much as it may comfort of our community. “to be truly British you have White people were the he- ages that emphasised the dis- the work that has been done in
celebrities to think so, the What about the people who to be white”. Just to put that roes in movies, saving the parity between white wealth recent years to challenge racial
problem isn’t a  “tiny minori- suffered racist comments from in context, 7% of the British world. White people dominat- and black poverty. In doing so assumptions and bias in our
ty”.  Framing things in this strangers during the Brexit adult population is 3,775,134 ed the front pages of newspa- they played into false imagi- media,  education  system, and
way is problematic because it referendum, when police re- people. That is a minority, but pers, running the planet. naries of the achievements and entertainment.
plays into the hands of  right- ported a  fivefold increase  in it is far from a tiny one. According to most of legacy  of the British empire Understood in this way,
wing commentators who want hate crimes? What about the the “best of ” lists of the that elide both  human rights decolonisation is not a form
to downplay the issue and sportspeople who regular- The need for decolonisation time, white people had written abuses  and the  achievements of  anti-white discrimina-
encourage everyone to simply ly receive  racist abuse  from The persistence of racist views pretty much all of the most of other civilizations. Through tion,  as  sensationalist tab-
“move on”. the crowd while doing their should not be surprising. important books and directed this process, colonial myths loids  would have it. Rather,
You cannot overcome a jobs? What about the teenag- Homa Khaleeli has document- the “must-see” movies. are not left in the past but con- it is a process of undoing the
problem if you routinely un- ers who  experience racism at ed how some political leaders Our school and its bril- stantly brought life for new harm that centuries of misrep-
derestimate how big it is. It is school from both other pupils played on popular fears of mi- liant teachers did a great job generations. resenting ourselves and others
true that the number of racist and teachers? gration to advance their own of encouraging us to question The cumulative effect of has done to society.
messages sent to English play- The reality is that there are careers while rallying support who wrote history, and what these mutually reinforcing —The Africa Report.
ers was dwarfed by the positive still a lot of white English for Brexit. In 2016, Nigel viewpoint they did so from. messages, together with sus- *About the writer: Nic
messages sent in the days that men and women who hold Farage – whose party was at But most of what my gener- tained  economic inequali- Cheeseman is professor of de-
followed. And it is true that racist beliefs and assump- one point supported by 9% of ation was taught was written ties  between ethnic groups, is mocracy at the University of
the graffiti defacing a mural tions. A survey conducted for the British people – suggested by white people about the to foster the assumption that Birmingham and Author of
celebrating Marcus Rashford the BBC back in 2002 found that migrants put women in achievements (and sometimes non-white people are inferior. “How to Rig an Election”.
Page 26
After Chidyausiku’s succession battle
Chief Justice Luke Malaba takes over
Tererai
Mafukidze
ON 27 March 2017, a month
after the late chief justice God-
frey Chidyausiku retired, the
late former president Robert
Mugabe appointed Luke Mal-
aba as Zimbabwe’s new chief
justice.  cial for Mnangagwa’s legitimacy
Later during the year, in No-
vember 2017, Mugabe was to be
removed from power through a
military coup.  er issues concerning judicial in-
On 24 November 2017,
President Emmerson Mnangag-
wa took over as the new leader
following his two-week exile in
South Africa following dismissal
by Mugabe as vice-president of
the country and co-second sec-
retary of the ruling Zanu PF.
So when he took over, Mnan-
gagwa now had a man he re-
portedly did not want to be
chief justice at the helm of the
judiciary. At the time, media
reports indicated that the mil-
itarised Mnangagwa faction
in Zanu PF battling for power
wanted the then Judge Presi-
dent George Chiweshe, a retired
army commander and former
elections chief.  – should remain in the office of
The constitutional amend-
ment that Mnangagwa had ear-
lier mooted dealing with judi-
cial issues, including  give power
to the President to choose the
chief justice without any inter-
views, was passed after Malaba
had taken office.  Malaba and Chiweshe. If these
However, the amendment
was declared unlawfully passed
as it did not have a two-thirds
majority in Senate. After the
Constitutional Court had de-
clared the law null and avoid,
Senate was given two chances to
rectify the problem, which it has
now done.
But there is a problem that
after the Senate legislative pro-
cess, the President did not sign
Constitutional Amendment Bill
(No.1) into law as it was deemed
to have already been assented to
by Mugabe, which is a problem-
atic legal proposition.
Malaba entered office with-
out much support from the
new government as it reportedly
wanted Chiweshe. This lack of
support naturally would both-
er the new chief justice. It was
unexpected on his appointment
in 2017 that Malaba would be
supported by Mnangagwa in the
quest to move the retirement
age of the chief justice and other
senior judges from 70 years to
75 years.   gagwa on 24 November 2017.   er Of Defence Forces of Zimba-
So what did Malaba do to
earn this?  fault on the date of the hear-
Two crucial cases stand out
for him. The first was his con-
troversial court judgement that
Mugabe had resigned voluntari-
ly. The second was the decision
in Mnangagwa’s favour on the
Having meticulously traced the history of the Rhodesian judiciary, focusing on the
chief justices, South African-based Zimbabwean lawyer Advocate Tererai Mafukidze
this week covers the rise of Chief Justice Luke Malaba whose succession is also now a
messy affair as he desperately seeks to extend his tenure beyond 70 years.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa (left) with Chief Justice Luke Malaba who is currently battling to
extend his tenure by five years.
presidential election petition in
August 2018 following the dis-
puted presidential election the
month before.  Mugabe had resigned of his free
The essence of the first case
brought by applicants was that
Mugabe’s resignation on 21 No-
vember 2017 had not been free
and voluntary. They alleged that
it was a direct result of the mil-
itary action of 14-15 Novem-
ber 2017 and the “presence of
military vehicles in the streets
of Harare between 14 and 21
November 2017.”  They also
alleged that the impeachment
proceedings were “intended to
aid and abet takeover of pow-
er by the military.” They also
challenged the lawfulness of the
assumption of power by Mnan-
The applicants were in de-
ing. No one appeared on their
behalf.  In order for the chief
justice to decide whether direct
access should be granted, he had
to consider the applicants’ pros-
pects of success before the Con-
The Big Debate
stitutional Court.  It is in the
course of this consideration that
the chief justice concluded that
will.  He held that the resigna-
tion of Mugabe was voluntary as
evidenced by the letter of resig-
nation and the communication
with the Speaker of Parliament
on the day.   at the behest of the military, the
The chief justice decided the
legality of the military action
relying on the court order is-
sued without reasons by Chi-
weshe, Judge President of the
High Court, in the case Joseph
Evurath Sibanda and Leonard
Chikomba v President of The
Republic of Zimbabwe, Robert
Gabriel Mugabe N.O. and Min-
ister of Defence and Command-
bwe and Attorney-General of
Zimbabwe (HC 10820/2017)
on 24 November 2017.   law in recognising a High Court
Malaba came to the conclu-
sion that: “The question of the
lawfulness of the military action
of 14 and 15 November 2017
was determined by the High
Court…The applicants can-
not seek to have the question
of the constitutionality of the
military action enquired into
by the court whilst the order of
the High Court determining the
same issue is extant.”  al Court.  sition MDC leader Jacob Sikha-
On the question whether the
impeachment proceedings were
chief justice narrates in detail
the events at the sitting of par-
liament. He makes no specific
reference to the military in dis-
missing this allegation.  cannot be extant.  The order in
On the question whether
assumption of office by Mnan-
gagwa was constitutional, the
chief justice states that it was as
the President assumed power re-
placing a Zanu PF person who
had voluntarily resigned.   constitutional role to his wife
However, the chief justice
made a fundamental error of
judgment in Sibanda’s case that
has no legal effect.   The order effectively meant
Firstly, the High Court
had no jurisdiction as the case
brought by Sibanda could only
be decided by the Constitution-
al Court. Alternatively, if the
High Court had jurisdiction,
the court order of the Judge
President had no effect unless
confirmed by the Constitution-
However, the decision must
have found favour with the
powers-that-be.
The order of the Judge Pres-
ident was not confirmed by the
Constitutional Court. A court
order which is not confirmed
Sibanda was neither made by
the Constitutional Court nor
confirmed by it.  vember last year, which recom-
At the heart of the Sibanda
application was the allegation
that Mugabe had abdicated his
Grace Mugabe and the G40
Zanu PF faction. That alleged
conduct resulted in the order
made by Chiweshe.  practice areas at the Bar are:
that Mugabe had either failed
to fulfil his constitutional obli-
gations as President or had be-
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
haved unconstitutionally. The
court order in Sibanda’s case is
therefore not effective unless the
Constitutional Court had deter-
mined the issue. The chief jus-
tice committed an error of law
by recognising the High Court
order. 
The second case is the con-
tested presidential petition.
Malaba and his colleagues con-
firmed that Mnangagwa had
been duly elected president
during the 2018 election. 
Both these matters were cru-
and political survival. 
Malaba has come under the
spotlight in relation to two oth-
dependence. One of those issues
is his memorandum on handing
down judgments which threat-
ened the independence of the
individual judges. After com-
plaints by the profession and
other judges, Malaba relented
and amended his memoran-
dum.  
The second issue concerned
alleged interference in matters
pending before another judge.
The Judicial Service Commis-
sion recommended to Mnan-
gagwa that he appoint a tribunal
in terms of the constitution to
inquire into whether or not Jus-
tice Erica Ndewere – who has
been found guilty and dismissed
High Court judge. 
Ndewere then approached
the High Court to challenge
this recommendation and the
decision of the President to in-
stitute the tribunal. She made
very serious allegations against
allegations are true, both the
chief justice and the judge pres-
ident would face removal from
office for committing some of
the most egregious of judicial
offences — interference with
the impartiality and indepen-
dence of courts and the fair trial
rights of accused persons.  
Ndewere alleged that Malaba
and Chiweshe issued instruc-
tions on how she should decide
the bail cases of ex-minister Pri-
sca Mupfumira and main oppo-
la.  The two cases would have
the interest of the political lead-
ership. If the tribunal had found
Ndewere’s claims credible, this
would have had to result in an
inquiry into the conduct of the
two senior judges. 
Ndewere was found guilty on
two counts of misconduct by
the tribunal, appointed in No-
mended her removal as a judge.
*About the writer: Advo-
cate Tererai Mafukidze is a
member of the Johannesburg
Bar. He practises with Group
One Sandown Chambers in
Sandton, Johannesburg. His
general commercial law, com-
petition law, human rights,
administrative and constitu-
tional law.
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
The Big Debate Page 27

What is to be done?: Mr President, this

is the moment to rebuild South Africa
And now, Mr President,
it falls on your shoulders
to lead with courage and
inspiration. We cannot
any longer allow the
factionalism of the Af-
rican National Congress
(ANC) to take priority
over the interests of our
country, its citizens and
the constitution, writes
Jay Naidoo, former an-
ti-apartheid activist,
ex-minister and senior
ANC official.
JAY NAIDOO
MR President,
I write this letter with a heavy
heart. Along with the majori-
ty of my fellow citizens, I have
been shocked and traumatised
by the turmoil that rocked
our country in the past weeks.
What have we missed, I ask
myself? Where have we gone
wrong? What is to be done?  consensus that represented the
The chaos and violence
struck at the heart of our de-
mocracy in the midst of us cel-
ebrating 27 years of freedom
and the international celebra-
tion of the unifying values of
social justice and human dig-
nity that our founding father,
Tata Nelson Mandela, sacri-
ficed 27 years of his life for.  emy behind the barrel of a gun.
The seeds of this crisis did
not come overnight. They have
been incubating for decades.
And even before the Covid-19
pandemic, our economy was
in recession with a frighten-
ing rate of joblessness, hunger
and poverty. Tragically, it was
spawned out of the belly of the
once-principled president of
the liberation movement that
you now lead and that holds
the reins of political power. It’s
a shocking betrayal of what
you, I and millions from suc-
cessive generations of South
Africans fought for and for
which many paid the ultimate
sacrifice. We cannot any lon-
ger gold-coat this reality with
money spent on spin doctors.  describe as an attack on our
The lived experience of the
vast majority creates a ground-
swell of discontent and legit-
imate grievances which the
haters, opportunists and dem-
agogues used to fuel the rise of
a spectre of racial and ethnic
conflict, toxic nationalism and
narrow tribalism. We have the
pariah recognition as the most
unequal society in the world.
Toxic patriarchy wages a war
against women and children
in all segments of our socie-
tal strata. The vast majority of
youth are alienated and disillu-
sioned with a governance and
leadership that continues to
exclude them. They ask, right-
ly, where is the democratic
dividend that we promised our
people in 1994?  signals would have informed
And now, Mr President, it
falls on your shoulders to lead
with courage and inspiration.
From left to right, the late popular South African Communist Party leader and MK commander Chris Hani, prominent trade unionist and
ex-minister Jay Naidoo and Cyril Ramaphosa, former trade union leader and now South African President, during a march in 1992.
We cannot any longer allow
the factionalism of the African
National Congress to take pri-
ority over the interests of our
country, its citizens and the
Constitution.  law and the lockdown restric-
There are many questions
that I, like many other citizens,
have about the events of the
past two weeks. Why were we
so unprepared for what you
democracy? Why were our in-
telligence agencies missing in
action? Why were the securi-
ty forces so overwhelmed and
under-resourced?  South Africa is at a cross-
It was this vacuum that led
to citizens taking the law into
their own hands and stoking
even greater violence.  self-destruction and warlord-
This is not the first time we
faced violent threats against
our people. We know, from as
early as the 1980s, where the
flashpoints are and where the
orchestration of violence is fo-
mented. Why the delayed reac-
tion in mobilising the SANDF
to support the SAPS in the
moment of greatest threat our
democracy ever faced?  Africans refuse to be held
Even a cursory reading of the
us – what the media was re-
porting, what activists on the
ground were saying, or noting
the vitriolic hate-driven calls
for violence on social media by
known actors; even the blatant
mobilisation of paramilitary
forces to criminally break the
tions you announced just days
before. We cannot paper over
these omissions. They led to
massive destruction and its
dire consequences for an eco-
nomic recovery, a damaged
investor sentiment and the full
obliteration of whatever confi-
dence our people had left for
their government.  the precipice of our burning
roads, Mr President. One path
is leading us to a failed state
that muddles along the track of
ism in Congolese style. Anoth-
er path is towards a reassertion
of what it means to be South
African and what we need to
do to heal the wounds of our
past and build a  nation  of in-
clusive and shared prosperity.  ership. But the country calls on
Almost everyone, especially
you Mr President, wants the
latter. The majority of South
hostage to demagogic and an-
ti-democratic forces whose
continued plundering of pub-
lic resources necessitates a dys-
functional state.  less of who they are. No one is
The clearest leadership we
have seen in the country in
the past two weeks has not
come from the South African
government and its millions
of employees we pay to help
us, but from the ground and
largely outside the purview of
the state or even civil society.
Millions of citizens mobilised
to defend their communities,
to stop the haters and looters
and prevented this becoming
a national conflagration that
would have taken us back to
past. They proclaimed with
great courage: NOT IN MY
NAME. This is the moment to
rebuild our country from the
bottom up and support this
grassroots activism that de-
fended our democracy better
than anyone.  must also take decisive action
I know that you face chal-
lenges on all sides that are
aimed at battering your lead-
inspiring leadership from you,
Mr President, and your gov-
ernment. We need decisive ac-
tion to arrest those hateful in-
stigators, who used the digital
media and streets of our bru-
talised communities, and hold
them fully to account, regard-
above the law, especially those
who are in public service.  in the civil service, in our se-
There must be zero toler-
ance.  who strive to embrace  Batho
More importantly, we need
an unambiguous endorse-
ment of the rule of law and
unconditional support for the
Zondo Commission, followed
by full legal action. We need
those who have been com-
plicit in looting the astronom-
ical amount of R57-billion,
through State Capture that
brought our economy to its
knees, to be prosecuted and
held to account without delay.  Let us heal our differences by
The impunity at the highest
levels of state and broader soci-
ety can no longer be tolerated.
Not just the foot soldiers, but
also, no,  especially  those who
orchestrated this thuggery. We
against those in the highest
positions of the public and
private sector who facilitated
the looting orgy, even includ-
ing the CEOs of multinational
companies like KPMG, Bain &
Company, McKinsey, SAP and
all others involved.   Yours
Simultaneously we need
a refresh of what  binds us  as
a nation and how do we co-cre-
ate a vibrant ecological econo-
my that puts our People and
Planet at the centre, especially
the economically disenfran-
chised youth. Demands have
been growing for a universal
basic income grant that prior-
itises skills training and social
entrepreneurship, which I fully
support. We need to pierce the
glass ceiling that prevents the
economic transformation of
our country and to combine
efforts at land reform that cre-
ates opportunities for young
people to become successful
smallholder farmers, creates
livelihoods and addresses
hunger and food security at a
household level.  
These issues cannot be post-
poned any longer. We need
calm heads and steady hands
at the tiller of state and society.
We need a unity of purpose not
just derived from corporatist
deals at the top between gov-
ernment, labour and business,
but also an acceptance of grass-
roots leadership as a co-creator
of our way forward. We have
in the past convened broad-
based efforts to reach a social
will of the people. We need that
urgently today. 
And above all, we need a
servant leadership and ethical
governance.
Now.  Mr President, I have
stood alongside you in the
past. We never flinched as we
stared down the face of the en-
Once again, we stand in front
of the enemy of South African
people – and yet again we can-
not afford to flinch. 
We, the overwhelming ma-
jority of people, are exhausted
by the broken promises and
broken leadership we face day
to day. There are many out-
standing leaders and workers
curity forces and our citizenry
Pele  ( Public Service Code of
Conduct) and serve the Con-
stitution and country. They
also cry out for leadership so
that they can do their work
with pride, unhampered by
the sinister agendas of vested
interests above them which de-
molished the rules of humani-
ty, ethics and good governance. 
Let us reunite around a
new chapter in our country.
acknowledging our wound-
ed past and reach out to each
other with acts of kindness
and reparation, so that we may
bequeath a legacy of a nation
working on its healing in a way
that delivers that better life we
promised our people in 1994. 
As our founding father, Tata
Mandela, once sagely said, “It
always seems impossible, until
it is done.” 
We cannot fail now.
 
sincerely,
Jay Naidoo,
Citizen.
– Daily Maverick.
Page 28
NASSER BALOOQ
WHILE isolation and so-
cial distance have become
the buzzwords of the last
year, the situation we find
ourselves in has also em-
phasised the importance
of connections and global
supply chains more than
ever.
And while passenger
movements remain con-
strained, particularly in
markets such as Zimba-
bwe, the international
movement of goods re-
mains a vital lifeline.
During the initial
months of the pandemic,
there was a huge surge in
the demand for air cargo
capacity for the transpor-
tation of personal pro-
tection equipment (PPE)
such as facemasks and
gloves in addition to med-
ical equipment such as
ventilators as well as other
pharmaceutical supplies.
More recently, other
commodities for indus-
tries and manufacturing
opened up as manufac-
turing activity returned.
We also saw increased
volumes of e-commerce
shipments as more people
shopped online.
Through its cargo
flights to more than 135
destinations across six
continents, Emirates Sky-
Cargo continues to play
an important role glob-
ally in the transporta-
tion of pharmaceuticals,
medical equipment, PPE,
food and other essential
goods as well as maintain-
ing continuity of supply
chains for international
trade.
Emirates’ cargo-diver-
sified revenue streams
beyond traditional pas-
senger-related income
have enabled the airline
to avoid the worst of the
pandemic’s economic im-
pact. For the year to 31
March 2021, Emirates
SkyCargo transported 1.9
million tonnes of cargo
across our global network.
As one of the world’s
largest airlines, serving
our customers and the
communities where we
live and work is part
of our DNA. Offering
strong supply chain solu-
tions during the Covid-19
pandemic through Emir-
ates SkyCargo has given
us an opportunity to pro-
vide the support our cus-
tomers tell us they need
during this unprecedent-
ed business environment.
Supporting local busi-
nesses  Cargo has also been a
With Covid-19-related
How key global supply chains are
sustaining Zimbabwe’s economy
border closures rendering
many flights challenging,
Emirates SkyCargo has
maintained critical trans-
port links for people and
for goods – including es-
sential medical supplies.
We continue to ship cargo
into and out of Zimba-
bwe.
Zimbabwe’s economy
still needs to function;
mines still need to oper-
ate and farmers still need
to export their fresh pro-
duce. Jobs and foreign
exchange earnings are at
stake. It’s a commitment
that we take very serious-
ly as we export fresh fruit
and vegetables and bring
in mining equipment and
components, as well as all
the other exports and im-
ports that keep our econ-
omy ticking.
Shipping Covid-19
supplies  tinents as well as state-of-
Since the Covid-19 cri-
sis began, Emirates Sky-
vital partner in delivering
Reframing Issues
much-needed medicines,
medical equipment (in-
cluding spare parts and
repair components), and
in keeping global supply
chains functioning for the
most time-sensitive mate-
rials. This has been done
through dedicated cargo
freighter operations, use
of cargo capacity in pas-
senger aircraft, and relief
flights to affected areas.
Importance of quality  compliance to European
Emirates and Emirates
SkyCargo place the high-
est level of emphasis on
safety and high quality
standards in service deliv-
ery. This is a key differen-
tiating factor for our cus-
tomers in addition to our
other value propositions
such as having a mod-
ern all wide-body aircraft
fleet, an extensive global
network covering six con-
the-art infrastructure in
Dubai.  We have one of
the highest levels of “De-
livered as Promised”  for
Emirates SkyCargo flight.
cargo in the industry.
Our commitment to
quality is also a result of
the fact that the cargo
that we transport in our
aircraft often have a di-
rect impact on the lives of
people across the globe.
For example, we trans-
port temperature-sensi-
tive pharmaceuticals on
our aircraft every day.
Without strict adherence
to quality standards and
Union GDP norms, there
is a risk that the quality
of the medicine can be
compromised which can
directly affect the wellbe-
ing of the person waiting
to receive it.
Size of transportation  to e-commerce in a way
Currently, Emirates Sky-
Cargo flies to 136 des-
tinations around the
world and transports car-
go through about 2000
flights weekly - this is a
mix of cargo transported
on passenger flights, cargo
only flights on passenger
aircraft and full freighter
flights. For Zimbabwe,
Emirates SkyCargo of-
fers cargo capacity on five
weekly flights to/from
Harare on our Boeing
777-300ER aircraft.
Embracing digitisation  Our
Although the Covid-19
crisis has brought a spot-
light on air cargo despite
the global lockdown, the
global pandemic has also
highlighted the urgent
need for us to accelerate
our digital and sustainable
transformation, to de-
velop collaborative busi-
ness models with various
stakeholders.
We have seen a has-
tened global transition
that is designed to bene-
fit customers, businesses
and industries as a whole.
Emirates SkyCargo has
positioned itself as a mar-
ket leader, and took ad-
vantage of this market
shift; as e-commerce vol-
umes accelerated during
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
the pandemic, freight
movement through our
Dubai hub was also
boosted.
Covid-19 vaccines hub
Emirates SkyCargo has
vast expertise in trans-
porting temperature sen-
sitive pharmaceuticals
and vaccines across our
network. Recognising the
scale of the response that
would be required to co-
ordinate the logistics of
global COVID-19 vac-
cine distribution, our fa-
cilities at Dubai Airport
are already supporting
cold chain storage and
distribution of the vac-
cine at our GDP certified
SkyPharma facility. This is
one of the world’s largest
dedicated airside hubs for
storing and distributing
Covid-19 vaccines. 
The Dubai hub’s ad-
vantageous location al-
lows us to fly in vaccines
from manufacturing sites
globally, store and prepare
shipments for regional
and global distribution.
Our dedicated
Covid-19 vaccine hub has
over 4 000 square metres
of temperature controlled
GDP certified dedicat-
ed pharma storage area
allowing for large scale
storage and distribution
of the potential Covid-19
vaccines. 
Overall, it is estimated
that the facility can hold
around 10 million vials
of vaccine at a 2-8 degrees
Celsius temperature range
at any one point of time.
state-of-the-art
infrastructure at Dubai
is also complemented by
one of the world’s largest
fleet of Cool Dollys help-
ing protect temperature
sensitive cargo during
transit between the air-
craft and cargo terminal.
Nasser Bahlooq is coun-
try manager for Emirates
in Zimbabwe. He previ-
ously managed the Dubai-
based airline’s commercial
activities in Yinchuan,
China, and most recent-
ly, Yangon, Myanmar,
where he helped support
the launch of flights to
Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Emirates flies to 157
destinations across the
world and has a fleet of
270 state-of-the-art air-
craft.
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
Rwandans
have long
been used to
Pegasus-style
surveillance
IT was a silver Black-
Berry, surprisingly heavy
in the hand, belonging
to a businessman who
had flown from Kigali to
South Africa to visit the
exiled former Rwandan
intelligence chief Patrick
Karegeya. The business-
man, Apollo Kiririsi Ga-
faranga, boasted that he
had bought it in Qatar.
“It cost me $10 000,”
a friend of Karegeya’s
remembers the business-
man telling them. “It’s
a model you can only
buy in the Middle East,
a phone you can’t be
tracked on.” Karegeya
picked it up, weighed it,
and put it back down on
the counter where it was
charging. “You’ve been
robbed,” the ex-spy chief
joked.
Looking back, Kare-
geya’s friend thinks the
phone was just one in a
series of clues that they
failed to spot. “I’ve never
seen a BlackBerry like it –
that colour, that weight,”
he recalled. “There was
something very suspi-
cious about it.” He is
convinced that the phone
was actually a recording
device to tape the con-
versations that Karegeya
– who fled Rwanda in
2007 and co-founded the
Rwanda National Con-
gress (RNC) opposition
party – was having with
fellow exiled activists
during Gafaranga’s visit.
By New Year’s Eve
in 2013, Karegeya was
dead. On another trip to
Johannesburg, Gafaran-
ga allegedly lured him
to a room in Sandton’s
five-star Michelangelo
hotel, where Karegeya
was jumped on by a four-
man team and throttled
to death. In September
2019, a South African
magistrate issued arrest
warrants for Gafaranga
and alleged fellow plot-
ter Alex Sugira, yet to be
extradited from Rwanda.
Officially, Karegeya’s for-
mer boss, President Paul
Kagame, denies involve-
ment. But his message to
a prayer breakfast soon
afterwards was nakedly
triumphalist: “You can-
not betray Rwanda and
get away with it,” he
crowed.
The revelation this
week that Carine Ka-
nimba, daughter of the
former “Hotel Rwanda”
manager Paul Rusesaba-
gina, had her phone re-
peatedly infiltrated, with
evidence found of mul-
tiple attacks using NSO
Group spyware while
campaigning for her fa-
ther’s release after he was
abducted in Dubai and
then jailed in Kigali, has
come as no surprise to
Rwanda’s exiled journal-
ists, dissidents and hu-
man rights activists.
Few African societies
are more closely moni-
tored, and critics of the
government have been
repeatedly made aware
that the arm of the state
extends well beyond its
borders – with Kagame
seemingly determined
to track down dissidents
as far afield as Australia,
Canada, the US, the UK
and mainland Europe.
If Rwanda is a client of
the NSO Group, as the
Pegasus project suggests,
it presents a frightening
picture of what a gov-
ernment determined to
hunt down “enemies of
the state” could do with
cyberweapons of this
sort. In February, the US
advocacy group Freedom
House cited Rwanda as
one of the world’s most
prolific practitioners of
“transnational repres-
sion”, ranking along-
side Saudi Arabia, Chi-
Africa News
na, Russia and Turkey.
“The commitment to
controlling Rwandans
abroad and the resourc-
es devoted to the effort
are stunning when con-
sidering that Rwanda is
a country of 13 million
people where roughly a
third of the population
lives below the poverty
line,” it said.
Information-gathering
has always been some-
thing of a Kagame spe-
ciality; modern technol-
ogy has simply extended
the range of his curiosity.
A Rwandan refugee who
had grown up in west-
ern Uganda, Kagame
was sent by Yoweri Mu-
seveni – today Uganda’s
president – to be trained
in Dar es Salaam by Tan-
zanian military intelli-
gence.
Joining Museveni’s
rebel National Resistance
Movement (NRM) in the
Luwero Triangle, his al-
lotted task was to collect
incriminating informa-
tion on fighters suspected
of failing in their duties:
falling asleep on sentry
duty, showing cowardice
on patrol.
His role in the resulting
courts martial – which
could result in execution
– won Kagame the nick-
name “Pilato”, after Pon-
Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
tius Pilate.
When the Ugandan
capital, Kampala, fell
to the NRM in 1986,
Kagame was given a job
in military intelligence
and played a key role
in the formation of the
Rwandan Patriotic Front
(RPF), a secret force
nestling within Uganda’s
armed forces. After the
RPF’s charismatic lead-
er was killed invading
Rwanda in 1990, Kag-
ame nervously took the
lead, relying on a person-
al network of informants
to double check on com-
manders whose loyalty he
doubted.
When the RPF cap-
tured Kigali after the
1994 genocide, during
which 500 000 to 1 mil-
lion people were killed
by Rwandan soldiers and
Hutu extremists, it won
control of a tiny former
monarchy where the
state’s hand always rested
heavy on its citizens. The
late president Juvénal
Habyarimana had run a
system of domestic mon-
itoring in which local of-
ficials reported back on
10-house clusters (nyum-
ba kumi), while the in-
telligence services kept
careful lists of citizens
judged either subversive
or slavishly loyal.
At home, Kagame
has maintained nyumba
kumi, run by politically
sensitised RPF cadres, as
a highly effective instru-
ment of social control.
“The entire country is a
spying machine,” David
Himbara, former eco-
nomic adviser to Kag-
ame, told me while I was
researching my book.
“The army, the police,
they come to his office
to tell him things. He
doesn’t govern, he col-
lects rumours.”
Abroad, Rwanda’s net-
work of embassies and
high commissions has
been used to track down,
intimidate and in some
cases even kill journal-
ists, human rights activ-
ists and opposition par-
ty members: challengers
increasingly emanating
not from the ranks of the
Hutu majority but from
Kagame’s own Tutsi elite.
In the past the Metro-
politan police has formal-
ly warned several RNC
activists based in London
of an “imminent threat”
to their lives from Kiga-
li; in Belgium, a former
Rwandan prime minister
was placed under armed
guard; while Australian
police have advised dis-
sidents in exile to steer
clear of Rwandan agents
Page 29
said to be operating in
Brisbane.
Officially, Rwanda de-
nies using NSO’s Peg-
asus software, but for-
mer intelligence chief
and RNC co-founder
Kayumba Nyamwasa –
who has survived repeat-
ed attempts on his life
in South Africa – notes
that the RPF has enjoyed
extremely close military
and intelligence ties with
Israel since the genocide,
and that the line between
Israel’s military and spin-
off firms selling intelli-
gence equipment is dis-
tinctly blurred.
Kayumba, who was
already notified by
WhatsApp in 2019 that
he was one of 1 400 us-
ers targeted by Pegasus,
recalls becoming aware
his phone had been com-
promised. “When I left
Rwanda I thought I was
probably being moni-
tored by Rwanda’s state
telecoms system and pri-
vate telecoms firms in
South Africa,” he told
me. “But in 2018 I was
told the details of a con-
versation someone close
to me had had with a
friend, I checked back,
those details were cor-
rect, and I sensed a high-
er system of surveillance
was involved.”
Aware they are likely
to be tracked, Rwandans
abroad try to remain un-
der the radar by chang-
ing handsets and num-
bers, using anonymous
“handles”, and migrating
from one platform to
another. WhatsApp has
been largely jettisoned
in favour of Signal and
Telegram, but many users
don’t trust either, timing
messages to automatical-
ly disappear after set pe-
riods. It’s an uphill battle,
though, activists say, as
new numbers and hand-
sets can soon be iden-
tified and locked on to
via targets’ conversations
with existing contacts.
Many Rwandans are so
intensely suspicious of all
modes of electronic com-
munication they will only
stray beyond the prosaic
and banal when sitting
face to face. In that way,
the mere knowledge of
Pegasus’s existence has
had a chilling effect on
freedom of thought in
this small but influential
central African nation.
—The Guardian
Page 30
Top army general responds to reports he feared
Trump would use military after losing election
AMERICA’S top gener-
al on Wednesday spoke
publicly for the first time
about whether he feared
then-President  Don-
ald Trump  would try
to involve the military
in the aftermath of the
2020 election, as reported
in a newly-released book.
While Joint Chiefs
chairperson Mark Milley,
at a rare Pentagon news
conference, declined to
comment on specific
claims made in the book,
he and Defence Secretary
Lloyd Austin Wednesday
were emphatic that the
military is and ought to
remain a strictly “apoliti-
cal” institution.
“I, the other members
of the Joint Chiefs, and
all of us in uniform, we
take an oath, an oath to
a document, an oath to
the Constitution of the
United States, and not
one time do we violate
that,” Milley told report-
ers asking about the book
excerpts. “The entire time,
from time of commis-
sioning to today, I can say
with certainty that every
one of us maintained our
oath of allegiance to that
document, the Consti-
tution, everything that’s
contained within it,” he
said, referring to the Joint
Chiefs.
“I want you to know,
and I want everyone to
know, I want America
to know, that the United
States military is an apo-
litical institution — we
were then, we are now -- and our
oath is to the Constitution, not to
any individual at all,” he said. “And
the military did not and will not
and should not ever get involved
in domestic politics. We don’t arbi-
trate elections. That’s the job of the
judiciary and the legislature and the
American people. It is not the job
of the US military. We stayed out of
politics, we’re an apolitical institu-
tion.” Austin went out of his way to
defend Milley.
“We fought together, we served a
couple of times in the same units,”
Austin said. “I’m not guessing at his
character — he doesn’t have politi-
cal bone in his body.”
Before the 6 January riot at the
Capitol, Milley saw ominous par-
World News
Former US president Donald Trump (left) with US army officer, General Mark Milley.
allels between the political turmoil
in the United States and the rise of
the Nazi party in Germany, accord-
ing to “I Alone Can Fix It: Donald
J. Trump’s Final Catastrophic Year,”
by Washington Post reporters Philip
Rucker and Carol Leonnig.
“He had earlier described to
aides that he kept having a stom-
ach-churning feeling that some
of the worrisome early stages of
20th-century fascism in Germa-
ny were replaying in 21st-century
America.
He saw parallels between Trump’s
rhetoric about election fraud and
Adolf Hitler’s insistence to his fol-
lowers at the Nuremberg rallies that
he was both a victim and their sav-
ior. ‘This is a Reichstag moment,’
Milley told aides. ‘The gospel of
the Führer,’” Rucker and Leonnig
wrote.
The authors say that Milley be-
lieved Trump was stoking unrest af-
ter the election, and decried what he
called “brownshirts in the streets,”
although an official told ABC News
the comment was in reference to the
radical members of the Oath Keep-
ers and so-called “boogaloo boys,”
not Trump supporters in general.
An early sign of unease between
Trump and Milley came last July
amid Black Lives Matter protests in
Washington DC when Milley apol-
ogised  for taking part in Trump’s
controversial walk from the White
House to St John’s Church, though
he peeled off before the president’s
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
notorious photo opportu-
nity.
“I should not have been
there,” Milley said in a
prerecorded video com-
mencement address to
National Defence Uni-
versity. “My presence in
that moment and in that
environment created a
perception of the military
involved in domestic pol-
itics.”
In August 2020, Mil-
ley told Congress there is
no role for the US military
in elections.
Then in January 2021,
after the Capitol riot,
Milley and the seven oth-
er members of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff signed an
internal memo to service
members saying “the vi-
olent riot in Washington
DC on January 6, 2021
was a direct assault on
the US Capitol building,
and our Constitutional
process,” warning them
that any act to disrupt the
constitutional process is
against the law.
Milley said Wednes-
day that he and the oth-
er members of the Joint
Chiefs always gave the
“best military professional
advice” to Trump and any
other president they’ve
served under.
“We always adhered
to providing best pro-
fessional military advice,
bar none. It was candid,
honest, in every single oc-
casion. We do that all the
time every time,” he said.
—ABC News.
 Porsche just got angrier
Page 31
Maskiri’s controversial hit banned!
JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA
CONTROVERSY stalks
Maskiri, but the popular
rapper seems unfazed.
He recently emerged
from hibernation with a
hit track whose lyrics have
torched yet another storm.
The song,  Mbinga from
Binga, has been deemed
inappropriate and insen-
sitive for making oblique
reference to Tapiwa Mako-
re, a young boy from Mu-
toko who was beheaded at
the behest of his uncle last
year for ritual purposes.
One of Zimbabwe’s
leading radio stations,
Power FM, has swiftly re-
acted by cutting the song
off air in a move seen by
fans as stifling creative ex-
pression.
Power FM falls under
the state-controlled Zim-
babwe Broadcasting Cor-
poration (ZBC).
The station is the first
to publicly announce a
ban on the song, which
has garnered nearly 200
000 views on YouTube.
“Power FM respects
artistic freedom and ac-
knowledges the lyrical
prowess that Maskiri has,”
Rumbie Moyo, the ZBC
head of public relations,
said.
“However, the station
cannot ignore the refer-
ence to Tapiwa Makore in
the song. We cannot use
our station to make light
of a painful event that left
a family broken hearted
and shocked the entire na-
tion.”
Seven-year-old Tapiwa
was killed in a horrific
premeditated murder for
ritual purposes in a case
that shocked the country.
The uncle who hired the
cold-blood killers is also
called Tapiwa Makore, a
brother of the deceased
boy’s father.
In the track, Maskiri
sings in Shona: “…han-
dina musoro saTapiwa
Makore! (I’m headless like
Tapiwa Makore!)” But in
defence of his song, the
ever-controversial Maskiri
has argued that his lyrics
STYLE
refer to Tapiwa Makore Sr
and not the slain boy.
In Shona idiom, being
“headless” can mean being
thoughtless or foolish.
However, so contro-
versial are the lyrics that
the song caused quite an
uproar on social media,
with some users saying
the lyrics were insensitive
while others said it was in
bad taste. Oddly enough,
while ZBC has banned the
song, it appears on the play
lists of other urban radio
stations. Meanwhile,  The
NewsHawks  understands
that while the reference to
Tapiwa was controversial,
the track was, in fact, tak-
Life Style &
TRAVEL BOOKS ARTS MOTORING
en off air by the powers- U Get There and Maskiri’s
that-be at ZBC’s Pockets version is largely inspired
Hill because Maskiri also by the Covid-19 pandemic
mentions Zanu Ndon- in almost every verse.
ga, an opposition party In one punchline, he
formed by the late veter- says he has been well-re-
an nationalist Ndabaningi ceived by both hands like
Sithole. a person using “sanitiser”
The 41-year-old Ma- while in another line he
skiri, on the other hand, says he is making a quick
insists there is nothing comeback like “lockdown”
wrong with his lyrics, since there is a “curfew”.
which he says are based on He takes aim at new
metaphor. Mbinga from rappers, saying they were
Binga, which is off Maski- discovered last year like
ri’s 10th studio album of zumbani, a fever-tree
the same title, is not the herb used by people who
first track to be banned. claim it protects against
Mbinga from Binga sam- Covid-19, but fans argued
ples Coolio’s yesteryear that he was making dis-
anthemic hit C U When paraging references to the
Being a Fashion Model
Maskiri.
likes of Ti Gonzi and Holy
Ten, two hip-hop artistes
who have been running
the game of late.
Typical of Zimbabwe-
an hip-hop where every
other rapper lays claim to
the throne, Maskiri is no
exception as he raps that
other rappers have tried in
vain to dethrone him.
Maskiri first rose to
prominence during the
urban grooves era around
2000s when the urban
grooves henee took off
largely as a result of the
75% local content drive
on radio.
He debuted on the
mainstream music scene
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
with his 2003 release Mu-
viri Wese, which topped
the charts. The song Dha-
ra Rangu was later banned
on national radio stations
for its controversial lyrics
wherein Maskiri makes
reference to God as his
homeboy.
His sophomore album –
Blue Movie – released in
2005, caused quite a stir
on the music scene and
was condemned in some
circles for its explicit sexu-
al content. However, it put
Maskiri in the spotlight,
with other contemporary
artistes gunning for his
crown as he maintained
his pole position.
While the Blue Mov-
ie album created a lot of
hype and reached com-
mercial success for Ma-
skiri, it never made it on
radio, thanks to national
galas at the time where he
performed songs on the
album.
His follow-up album
was Tapinda Tapinda,
which was a buzzword in
the streets at the time.
He came back with
Ndotaundi Yacho in 2009
and maintained his dom-
inance on the scene but
not without stirring up
controversy.
Maskiri’s love life was
messy after he was alleged-
ly involved in a scuffle over
a woman. He broke his leg
after he fell off from third
floor apartment in the Av-
enues in Harare.  He still
limps to this day.
2011 was a good year
for Maskiri after he moved
to South Africa where he
teamed up with a Zim-
babwean super producer
of the urban grooves era,
Sipho Mkhuhlani, known
as TBA. The album fea-
tured the hit song Wenera,
a collaboration with Nox
Guni.
Wenera was his first-ev-
er music video and it was
voted Video of The Year
in the 2012 edition of
the National Art Mer-
it Awards. The track also
made it to number two
on the Power FM top 100
chart the same year.
Page 32 Life & Style NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021

JONATHAN MBIRIYAMVEKA

MUSIC producer DJ Anu-

sa says Zimbabwean music
is suffering from an iden-
tity crisis largely because
musicians have not learnt
how to fuse traditional in-
struments such as mbira or
marimba.
The 34-year-old, who
produced hits for popular
musicians including Ma-
skiri,
Trevor Dongo, Car-
los Green, Juntal and Jah
Prayzah’s song Gochi Go-
chi, among others, said
three aspects come to mind
in creating a Zimbabwean
sound.
“First and foremost, we
need to accept who we are
because we are still stuck
in the past where we think
everything that’s from out-
side of Zimbabwe is best,”
he said.
“We end up sounding
like foreign artistes in Ni-
geria, Tanzania, South Afri-
ca and America because we
think they are the best.
“The only way is for us is
to fuse mbira and marimba
with modern instruments
so that we create a sound
that’s uniquely Zimbabwe-
an.
“Imagine if Jah Prayzah
had fused mbira and hosho
on his song with Davido
and if Maskiri had made
Keisha White sing to mbi- DJ Anusa.
ra. Trust me, it would’ve

Zimbabwean music suffers

sounded differently, but
DJ Anusa later joined
now Zimbabwean music is
the group Born Free Crew
currently facing an identity
where he doubled as the
crisis because we don’t have

identity crisis: DJ Anusa

producer and singer.
a sound that defines us,
In 2013, there was trou-
we’re always copying this
ble in paradise after DJ
and that, be it amapiano,
Anusa parted with his
Afro-pop and stuff.”
price of data so that the ma- they have to work with us. opened up doors for me,” was the year I sat my Or- wife with whom he had a
DJ Anusa, whose real
jority of people have access However, I appreciate that he said. dinary Level exams and I daughter named Chanelle
name is Anusa Dulana, fur-
to internet. Data is expen- money is also an issue be- His career took shape passed, but I couldn’t go Makanakaishe Dulana.
ther explained the impor-
sive so much so that people cause after making good while he was studying further because my father “So from 2013 up to
tance of creating a market
cannot go on YouTube and music we still want to mar- Form Two at Seke One could not afford to pay fees 2020 things took a nose
for Zimbabwean sound.
view music videos or listen ket the music. That said, we High in 2002 although he for A Level. dive and I wasn’t producing
“We all know mbira is
and instead they would also need good studios for was not involved in the “And in 2005 that’s when any music.
a unique instrument and
share on WhatsApp or via us to create good sound,” school choir. I got my first job as an as- “And this year, I’m back
with that instrument we
Shareit app. he said. “It was my classmates Al- sistant sound engineer and and I want to focus on mu-
can put an identity to our
“And because of that, DJ Anusa said his jour- len Nezandoyi, Ceril Tsiga producer at Intelligent Re- sic production. We have a
music. And people will
our music will not reach far ney has not been smooth and I who came together to cords, that’s where I learnt new record label called Sky
know that the sound is
because the international sailing. The hitmaker start- form a group. Ceril was the a lot about music produc- Records (Vanhu Vanorira
only found in Zimbabwe,”
market also considers You- ed out in his hometown, producer at that time since tion and sound engineering Mundege).
he added.
Tube views. Chitungwiza, before mov- he had studio equipment at from a guy called Trojan. “I’m scouting for new
“Let’s try to push songs
“But the big issue here ing to Harare’s Waterfalls home. While there, I produced talent because really there
like Goto Rinehwema by
is we don’t have our own suburb where he estab- “I used to see Ceril mak- my first hit song called Ice is nothing I can offer to
Jah Prayzah on the interna-
sound because we always lished his own studio. ing beats and recording dif- Lolo,” he explained. established musicians but I
tional market. There is no
copy from others and there “Well, I was born in a ferent artistes and I was like The song went viral be- feel like I can help out new
sound which is better than
is no way we can be better family of seven, that is six wow I would love to do this fore he established his stu- artistes and that’s why I
our own sound.
than Nigerians or South boys and one girl and I’m one day. So in 2003 when I dio in Chitungwiza where have signed a lot of new ar-
“Secondly, we do not
Africans when it comes to the only musician in the was in Form Three we used he met Jah Prayzah during tistes and in a few months
have big record labels like
their own music.” family. to bunk lessons and go to his formative years. you will get to hear them,”
Universal or Sony in Zim-
According to DJ Anu- “Convincing my family the studio to learn how to “Jah Prayzah and I come he said.
babwe. Those are big re-
sa, Zimbabwean musicians that I wanted to do music, make beats. a long way and our first re- His upcoming riddim,
cording labels that can
have to create their own especially my late dad Frank “I remember we used cord was Kidiga. That same titled Vash Riddi, is ex-
market music worldwide
unique sound. Dulana, was almost impos- to bunk the last three les- year, I met Maskiri and we pected to feature 20 artistes
and yet they are in South
“So I am saying that sible because back in the sons so that we could have did a track by Swaqizzy. I from all corners of Zimba-
Africa and Nigeria.
let’s try to create our own day music was considered a enough time to be in stu- also recorded Juntal and bwe, including Van Choga,
“Thirdly, we need to stop
sound. Anybody who pastime for non-achievers. dio. In 2004, I was focus- Carlos Green, to mention Uncle Epatan, Jah Master,
piracy and I think govern-
wants Zimbabwean music, “But I thank God he ing on school because that but a few,” he said. Ndunge Yut and Chipoko.
ment should look at the
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
Life & Style Page 33

Don’t undermine the City of Kings

Addy
Kudita

IT was Chimamanda
Ngozi Adichie who I
know first highlighted
what she calls the dan-
ger of a single narrative.
Indeed, as she puts it,
our lives are composed
of overlapping stories.
The idea she pro-
pounded in a Ted Talk
presentation of years
ago, 2009 to be ex-
act, found a certain
resonance this week
on Zimbabwe’s social
media streets concern-
ing creatives from Bu-
lawayo, the country’s
second largest city.
The matter really was
triggered by the artistes
who have been invit-
ed to perform at the
upcoming Zimfest in
the United Kingdom.
None is coming from
Bulawayo despite the
city’s billing as a cultur-
al hub. As a result, the ning. products, building ma- tion of the city and in to what went before to his disciples about
furore has been over terials, electronic prod- no small part assisted in this case; the Rozwi what people were say-
the status of the city’s The City of Kings ucts, textiles, furniture, by the beloved moniker under their Mambos. ing about him. Some
creatives; the matter The caption above is and food products. Bul- City of Kings speaks But that is the trou- say you are a prophet
about their bankability one of the loftier narra- awayo is also the hub of to lost glory, to histo- ble of history, memory and some say you are
and ability to draw the tives about Bulawayo, a Zimbabwe’s rail network ry and a lapsed epoch and politics, is it not? Elijah, retorted some
crowds. city founded as it were and the headquarters of which however remains Consensus over histor- of the disciples.
A question has been by Mzilikazi, King of the National Railways etched in the collective ical events and the way Then Jesus posed
posed indeed about the Ndebele in 1840, of Zimbabwe. imagination of a peo- they must be interpret- the question to them:
whether it actually a former Zulu king- ple and perhaps even ed is a contentious ex- What do you say that
makes business sense dom chief who ran Courtesy of Britannica denotes a desire for a ercise. It is, to use the I am? I say that you
for a promoter to go away from King Tsha- Place of slaughter return to kingdom. old adage, in the eye of are the Christ, the son
through the financial ka. He was succeeded The original site was Yes indeed, there the beholder. of the living God! The
trouble of booking by his son Lobengula the kraal (headquarters) have been those efforts But the point I make answer came from Pe-
a “Bulawayo” artiste in the 1860s till it was of Lobengula, king of to restore the kingdom with this digression ter at which Christ ac-
for shows overseas. I captured by the British the Ndebele, who fought and why not for a peo- really is that the per- knowledged the answer
propose that though South Africa Company a major battle against ple whose very exis- ception of a place or a as a correct description
numbers do not lie in in the First Matebele his rivals there; Bula- tence owes itself to a people owes much to of him. But why is
the greater scheme of War. Thus, the moni- wayo means “place of maverick adventurer of the history and per- this narrative import-
business, numbers are ker: city of kings. But slaughter.” Occupied by unusual sagacity. vasive influence of the ant? Personally, I be-
facts that can change. I there is more… the British in 1893, the There are those who storyteller and cascades lieve one of the ways in
propose that regarding settlement was moved will, of course, raise the to the manner in which which to catalyse posi-
the value of, and val- What Google says? in 1894 to its present point that Mzilikazi’s individuals are per- tive change is to have as
ue propositions about Courtesy of Wikipedia location 3 miles (5 km) kingdom was predated ceived by others from close and as factual an
creatives, we must start Historically, Bula- south and declared a by the Rozwi, under afar. understanding of social
with the very notion of wayo has been the prin- town. Changamire Dombo phenomena as possible.
how they are perceived cipal industrial centre of and that any talk of re- What I say That out of the way,
by the beholders. Let Zimbabwe; its factories The brand vival of kingdoms must It was Jesus Christ who my own objective and
us start with the begin- produce cars and car The brand or percep- have a reference point once posed a question subjective reflections
Page 34 Life & Style NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021

of the city of Bulawayo
are that it is a cosmo-
politan, multi-cultural
and multi-ethnic city.
The one city in the
country where all tribes
and races are fully rep-
resented. It is our own
rainbow nation within
a nation.  Brand Bu-
lawayo, is a place of
more than just history
and mythical evocative
stories. It is the hub of
Matabeleland which
some have referred to
as the south but which
strictly speaking lies in
the south-western part
of the country.
The people are warm,
loyal to their symbols
(Highlanders Football
Club, for example, is
a cherished one) and
proud of their history.
The people do not in
general bow easily to
the god of mammon as
I have seen others from
Bambazonke do.
You may be tempted
to think that is a sign
of their lack of ambi-
tion. No, they are not
motivated, it seems,
by the desire to pros-
trate themselves before vin, Djembe Monks,
tycoons who throw Asaph, Msizkay, Mzoe
crumbs at people in 7, Vusa Mkhaya and
return for sycophantic Awakhiwe (based in
praise. Germany). Even Oski-
do, Zwesta, Berita and
The art of the city Bekezela who are based
When it comes to in South Africa can
the creative arts of also be appropriated in
the city, the quality the reckoning of who is
is world beating. Let from Bulawayo or may
me cite groups such as constitute Brand Bula-
Nobuntu, a five-mem- wayo.
ber all-female ensem- The list goes on and
ble which is one of the when it comes to music
very few artistic prop- producers, the likes of
erties that can claim Murphy Cubic are si-
to have actually toured lently going platinum
the world rather than with their productions
merely attend a couple across the border. Per-
of gigs organised and taining literature, the
attended by Zimbos in late Yvonne Vera blazed
the Diaspora.  a path of international
The group Mokoom- glory, winning a num-
ba is also cited as a ber of awards in her il-
group from “here” al- lustrious writing career.
though strictly speak- I recall interviewing
ing they are from Vic- her for a local weekly
toria Falls. Still, they around 2001 during
are culturally more her tenure as director
closely identified with of the National Art
Brand Bulawayo. But Gallery in Bulawayo.
the music has spawned She was an elegant lady
the likes of Lovemore of towering intellect.
Majaivana, Sandra The city birthed her
Ndebele, Otis Ngwabi, and she was proud of
Novuyo Seagirl, Cal_ it with equal fervour.
Other literary lumi-
naries are the likes of
NoViolet Bulawayo,
and Sue Nyathi both
award-winning con-
temporary authors of
world-beating pedi-
gree. In showbiz, the
likes of Makho Ndlovu
grace famous stages
and hobnob with Hol-
lywood icons.
Iyasa has done its bit
in dance and music,
also traversing interna-
tional stages.
Negativity bias no
more
Now how does the im-
age of weakness and
neediness manifest and
rear its ugly head time
and again? In whose in-
terests is it to push the
single story of poverty
and lack of ambition
and success?
Unwittingly, even
some of the Bulawayo
artistes are on the re-
cord for self-criticism
and listing the plethora
of problems that be-
devil the artistes from
the city.
But I now think that
it is a hackneyed nar-
rative. The city now
needs a counter nar-
rative highlighting the
innovative spirit of the
sector and its resilience
that has seen it contin-
ue to survive beyond
the gloom of the eco-
nomic downturn and
absolute lack of fund-
ing.
Only a few have
benefitted from the
largesse of the patron-
age of the regime, one
perhaps more than all
others. She is on the
record. The rest must
fend for themselves
without so much as
corporate support for
their brands (and it is
not for a lack of talent
or artistic product.
The “numbers do
not lie” argument does
not always fly in their
case because numbers
are produced by a col-
lusion of many factors
such as historical prej-
udice, the solution to
which can be as sim-
ple as affirmative ac-
tion decisions at board
level by some of these
companies that are
headquartered in Ha-
rare but taking money
out of the community.
That would be the ra-
tionale.
It is not farfetched to
suggest that the time
has come for corpo-
rates to stop reaping
where they have not
sown and start giv-
ing back by ploughing
back into the cultural
output of a community
that has since the days
of August Musarurwa,
Dorothy Masuku and
the Cool Four been
churning out quali-
ty that captures the
world’s imagination.
Parting shot
“Stories matter. Many
stories matter. Stories
have been used to dis-
possess and to malign,
but stories can also be
used to empower and
to humanise. Stories
can break the dignity
of a people, but sto-
ries can also repair that
broken dignity.”
- Chimamanda Ngozi
Adicihie

Young Zimbabwean writer

LIKHWA SITHOLE some socio-political frus-
trations.” Taking a glance
IT has been 24 months at his thought-provoking
treatise, he questions hu-

poised for literary award

since the release of the
masterpiece titled Ubun-
tu (The Raw Truth Un-
ravelled) was launched in
the heart of the City of
Kings.
Mthulisi Ndlovu, oth-
erwise known as Khulu-
Gatsheni or KingKG, is
living in a constant state
of euphoria after having
been shortlisted for the
Global Accolade. The
book has garnered respect
and continues to entice
acclaimed international
literary institutions. As
the great literary icon
William Shakespeare af-
firms, “Some are born
great, some achieve great-
ness in life, and some have
greatness thrust upon
them”. Ndlovu’s aptitude
is echoed in Shakespeare’s
revered sentiments.  with the qualities of an
Ndlovu, a Plumtree
native, has finally prov-
en beyond doubt that
talent, hard work and
persistence are pivotal to
reaching greater heights
after having his book
nominated to receive a
prestigious Global Af-
rican Authors Award.
osity, specifically with
regards to the source of
his inspiration, Ndlovu
emphasised that litera-
ture is the greatest yet
silent revolution that he
strongly believes will re-
store normalcy and make
this world a better place
for everyone.  Coming
from a mostly marginal-
ised community, he be-
lieves that he is a humble
leader and is the mouth-
piece through which oth-
erwise voiceless members
of society find resonance.
Another way of putting it
is that he is the leader of
the new school but gifted
old soul.  ton, in Johannesburg.
In that connection,
Ndlovu emphasised that,
Mthulisi Ndlovu.
“Writing is a divine en-
Anthea Ambursley, the will serve the phenome- of ubuntu in southern counter which is also
founding president of the nal poet Mthulisi Ndlovu Africa,” remarked Am- therapeutic in nature”.
awards, could not con- for the longest acclaimed bursley on her Facebook He added: “I write a lot
tain her overwhelming poem Ubuntu (The Raw page.   when I feel spiritually,
excitement after perusing Truth Uuravelled) as the When questioned morally or sometimes
Ndlovu’s masterpiece. “I longest poetic assertion about his work of virtu- when I am experiencing
manity with hard hitting
rhetorical questions that
leave one contemplating.
Refusing to meekly ac-
cept society’s beliefs and
ideas, he questions on
page 21 of his book: 
“What are we?
Who are we?
For whom are we for?
Where from?
Where to?
With whom from
where?”
“These enquiries, if well
answered, are enough to
unravel the true meaning
of humanity and self-val-
ue,” Ndlovu asserts.  
The sun is already shin-
ing for the lad as he is set
to receive his debut hon-
orary literary award on 31
July 2021 in the Africa’s
richest square mile, Sand-
As a man thinketh so is
he and as he continues to
think so he remains, Ndl-
ovu’s strides are the result
of his optimism and de-
termination to defy the
odds as he now sets his
sights on penetrating the
European literary market.
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
Life & Style Page 35

Poet: Sithembinkosi Ncube Poet: Aries Rage Poet: Curt Masango

Poem: The African Dream Poem: The Rabbit Hole Poem: Imposter

It is_ Incongruent be the word

The African dream is a river Soul consuming fire, Blindfolded by darkness
Like the Nile it cuts across deserts cold like a glacier lake Confusion simmering
Through rises and lows gnawing at your feeble self. Averse ahead behind
In search of the sea Nauseating slime_ gooey and icky In bold capital printed
Ever trickling waters to eternity smells like a hagfish waiting IMPOSTER, IMPOSTER
It has no choice to bore into your dying flesh Who cherish life
But to fight on the traps of regret poked by your demons, Who dishonour life
The African dream is a beating drum mocking and taunting your thoughts. Who earns in strife
Thundering in the country side It is_ Who miff with a fife
Alongside the crowing cocks A never-ending bullying session, Who bleeds the knife
Spreading the will of a people wedges to your tush, IMPOSTER, IMPOSTER
It is a promise of a destination not so far and barf in your food. Fanaticism for terrorism
An observation against chains of bondage Schizophrenic moments. Evangelism for exorcism
The African dream is a breeze Alzheimer’s_ you wish you had. The blood in the exocarp
Pushing Africa ashore Total blackout_ is just a dream The gene that became the epicarp
Ruffling and soothing that never comes; The DNA of epical farce on the wall
It is both a struggle and a dance Constant replays of nightmares IMPOSTER, IMPOSTER
Like a dog that has just got the scent and repeated rides on the terror train. Trail guns, statutory bans
It is both a sound and its echoes Closing your eyes is a free ticket to the boogie ill police, statuette policies
Rocking deep into the intricacies man’s concert. Hunched honcho on macho
Blossom my people It is_ So be the poet and his poem
Children of the hunters, herders and fishermen An obsessive lover’s grip IMPOSTER, IMPOSTER
Blossom my people holding you tight so you
Mothers of the human race, math and science don’t slip away. Light at the end of the tunnel?
Blossom my people it’s just a spark of your fairytales Poet: Homunculus
Our destination is no longer abroad but here. going up in flames; Let’s face it! Poem: Carry Me
it feeds on your tortured soul
Poet: Sydney Nyagato just like vultures Carry me my burdens,
Title: The Green-bereted Bandit feed on a wounded prey. I’ve carried you enough times
Piggyback to and fro,
Hell broke loose one gloomy day. I’ve paid the dues for my crimes
It was a fateful fall in the 80s, Poet: Andy Kahari Bulls eye on my forehead,
When the afro bandit descended, Poets: Modern Gadgets I’ve failed to grow with the times
Green-bereted and all; So carry me my burdens,
Taking chances in an Afro Windsor castle, Modern day gadgets all part of a budget. I’ll wither just fine.
Rebuking the sleeping sentries, Ceremoniously revered by all
Heckling some imaginary knights, In worship of the widget. Title: Blue collar
Marking gory puckers with indelible, violet ink, Demanding devoted submission to all Poet: Homunculus
Using some unique franking machine, Willing to endlessly fidget.
To make some 8th-day - creation of flame Hypnotizing restless wrists blindly draining the Empty drawers
tattoos. pocket. Full of silver spoons
The green-bereted bandit of Afro Windsor, The pocket and love they restlessly strangle I count my days
The envy of every nobleman in the Royal En- Bringing chaos at midnight; Watching cows jump over the moon
glish family; With an undesirable love triangle. “Soon, “ they say twill be better...
The prowess of which every Jivaro warrior Applauding a threesome; I still clean the jizz off the carpet
of Latin America might choke in the witching Forbidden in this bed. Of some young boastful tycoon...
slime, Where finger and mind perversion is all but Damn can’t you see?
Not far from Gandavaroyi and the treacherous very bad. Subjecting finger perverts to cyber My path is riddled with cryptic runes
thickets of Mwenezi.. cults. Where they finger pokes buttons How can I sing when I don’t know your
The green-bereted bandit who pulls up every And never nipple buttons. tune?
stop, All to dally and climax Instinct says to run away
Wielding those blunt weapons, In cyber frenzy ecstasy. But society sees a toony loon
Ready to decapitate every living soul deserv- To let off drained pockets and strained rela- Weaving my future on its loom
ing death in cold blood.. tionships! How can I escape my dusky doom?
Page 36 People & Places NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021

Why it seems like everyone

WHEN England played Italy in
the Euros 2020 soccer final on 11
July, the images went around the
world.
Not just of the Italian team —

hates the English abroad

who eventually won the game on
penalties — and not just of the
devastated England team. But of
the scenes at Wembley, in Lon-
don, where the game was being
held.
Some fans booed the Italian
national anthem; others broke
into the stadium. Some whiled
away the hours before the match
by getting drunk, trashing Leices-
ter Square and, in the case of
one apparently intoxicated fel-
low,  putting an ignited flare up
their butt.
The global outrage was pal-
pable — these England fans be-
haved appallingly, thank goodness
Italy won.
It’s an extreme version of the
same story that plays out wher-
ever the English go en masse on
vacation.
While the image of the “ugly
American” is known across the
world, many countries, particu-
larly in Europe, experience the
brunt of the “boozy Brit.”
The stereotypical English per-
son abroad speaks English —
slowly, loudly and deliberately
— instead of learning the local
language, searches out English
restaurants as they don’t trust
“foreign food,” and obliterates
themselves with booze by the af-
ternoon.
By the evening, their boorish
behavior is on full display.
But are they really that bad?
Or do people just love to hate the
English?
Tom Jenkins — who’s keen to
specify that he’s Welsh — thinks
it’s a bit of both.
“There is a kind of myth of the
English tourist which is out there,
and means people have a fantasy
of the perfect tourist,” says the
CEO of the  European Tourism
Organisation (ETOA), the trade
body for inbound tourism to Eu-
rope.
“The perfect [fantasy] En-
glish tourist is probably a cross
between  Frederick Hervey, the
English tourists are known for their thirst for alcohol.
fourth earl of Bristol, and David
Niven in ‘Around the World in 80
Days.” police in 2015 when, returning
What [destinations] get never from a vacation in Turkey, she got tourist.”
matches up to that ideal.” a little too merry, allegedly swig- Another annoying thing about
There’s no denying, though, ging from her own bottle of vod- the English? Brits in general don’t
that the English do get in trouble ka onboard and calling the pilot a spend as much on their vacations.
abroad. “basic bitch.” Not least because, since there are
Every summer, stories of bad Former singer and reality TV so many of them, they can com-
behavior — usually linked to star Kerry Katona was  photo- mand the best rates.
drinking, brawling and general graphed rolling around on the tar- “Are we the most desirable
licentious antics — abound. mac at Gran Canaria airport, with tourists? Obviously not, but a lot
Magaluf, on the Spanish island her trousers pulled down, in 2016 of that undesirability is a byprod-
of Mallorca, is nicknamed “Shag- — something she later blamed on uct of success,” he says.
aluf” thanks to the tendency of nerves from the flight interacting “If you’re the people bringing
young Brits to fly in for a week of with alcohol consumption, plus the highest volumes into a desti-
debauchery. “wanting to sunbathe” the mo- nation, you’re in the position to
Things can get so bad there ment she arrived. control rates and terms. So tour-
that in 2018 the local authorities Two years later, she defended ists who don’t have that spending
had to  start a campaign begging the  peculiarly English activity power are more desired than the
them not to get undressed or def- of airport drinking, early in the English.
ecate in public. morning, when Ryanair — exas- “Destinations don’t say, ‘We
Meanwhile Benidorm, on perated by the Brits’ drunken ear- want high volumes of people who
Spain’s Costa Blanca, is the heart ly-morning antics — was calling pay cheap,’ -- they say, ‘We want
of another type of English tour- for a ban on early opening hours people who pay rack rate’.”
ism. for UK airport bars.
The people who come here Even Harry Maguire, part of An industry’s silence
tend to be a little older, but they’re the squeaky clean England soc- shouted “f**k Greece,” though his but very rarely French, Italians, berfest? Northeastern Europeans
looking for a taste of home. cer team, which has been highly lawyer denied it, adding, “They Spanish or Portuguese. They don’t and Russians get drunk under the Finding people in En-
Hence the proliferation of bars praised for its new clean-cut im- love the country and are keen on seem to destroy themselves quite table.” glish-heavy holiday destinations
and restaurants offering fry-ups of age, with stars who give back to the ancient Greek culture.” so regularly.” Jenkins thinks the main issue is who will talk about how the En-
bacon, toast, egg, baked beans for the community rather than flaunt For London-based psychother- Jenkins, however, thinks the that Brits are more conspicuous. glish behave on holiday is diffi-
a traditional “full English” break- their wealth, fell foul of the En- apist Andy Cottom, much of the English get a bad rap for drunk- English is the world’s lingua cult.
fast — all day long. Oh, and good glish abroad curse in summer problem boils down to drink. enness. franca, so thugs hurling drunken The mayor of Mykonos, where
old English beer. 2020. “The English have a very un- “Everyone is perfectly capa- abuse in English are more likely to Harry Maguire had his brawl, de-
Not even celebs are immune to Maguire was found guilty of healthy relationship with alco- ble of behaving disgracefully be recognised, he says. clined to speak to CNN about the
the werewolf-like transformation aggravated assault, resisting arrest, hol,” he says. — if you’re talking about public What’s more, he claims, “the English, while the government
that seems to occur to the English and bribery attempts after a brawl “For some reason, continental drunkenness, I think go to Scan- UK is the biggest market for of the Balearic islands, home to
abroad. in Mykonos, allegedly sparked Europeans have a better under- dinavia and you’d be surprised most destinations in Europe, and hotspots like Magaluf and San
Supermodel Kate Moss was when his sister was stabbed. standing of what it can do. I’ve by what they manage to achieve. if you’re the largest group, you’re Antonio in Ibiza, agreed to take
escorted off an easyJet plane by Greek police reportedly said he seen Germans similarly drunk, Have you ever hung out at Okto- likely to be the most detested questions by email -- but then de-
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
clined to answer them.
The mayor of Benidorm did
not respond to a request for inter-
view. Neither did the Ciudadanos
Benidorm party, which has pre-
viously criticized the overbearing
English presence in the town.
Perhaps criticising the English
at a time when destinations are
desperate to recover from the eco-
nomic carnage of the pandemic is
a no-go. But hotelier Ajay Goyal,
founder of Zening Resorts in Cy-
prus, tells CNN that the English
“are hated a lot, even in countries
where there wouldn’t be any econ-
omy without them.”
He puts it down to several
factors: “Loutish drunken behav-
ior by young tourists; [the idea
that] ‘You were barbarians before
we civilized you but you are un-
changed,” by many older people;
and an overbearing superiority
complex.”
He says that older English
tourists have a nasty habit of “tell-
ing people what civility is -- obvi-
ously when not drunk.”
Even more infuriatingly for
destinations, the English “have
less money than the Germans,
Russians and Chinese, and always
use cards instead of cash unlike
those above,” says Goyal.
However, he says, they do have
redeeming features.
“They tend to be the most
friendly, humorous and charming
-- and in my experience, they are
also the least racist of the Europe-
ans.”
And as destinations struggle to
recover financially, several plac-
es are adopting Goyal’s attitude.
“I find that now everyone loves
English tourists because they are
desperate for money,” he says.
One thing that the English
are renowned for while abroad is
their “little Englanderness.”
The same urge that makes
them sit down for good old En-
glish fry-ups instead of trying the
local delicacies also, says Jenkins,
makes many of them adopt a kind
of uniform while they’re on holi-
day.
“I remember being in Orlan-
do in late September, when some
families will take their kids out of
school to access low-season rates,”
he says.
“You’d see entire families wear-
ing England football strips to go
off to the Orlando attractions, in
uniform.
“There’s a real misplacement of
pride, and it’s also very self-defen-
sive. It’s not a particularly attrac-
tive phenomenon.”
Psychotherapist Andy Cottom
says that this English pride stems
from something deeply unpleas-
ant.
“There’s this island mentality
that we seem to be very proud of
-- we’re only a little nation yet we
had a huge empire,” he says.
“This goes back to our is-
sues about shame. We’re deeply
ashamed of not being who we
used to be.”
Yes -- unconsciously, he thinks,
the English are ashamed that they
don’t have their empire anymore.
People & Places
“We haven’t really established
an identity since the loss of em-
pire. There’s confusion -- are we
European, English, British, from
the UK -- so we tend to follow a
very primitive concept of ‘split-
ting’ [where we ‘split’ off parts of
ourselves that are unbearable to
us, and imagine that others are
displaying them].
“We can’t recognize our flaws
as easily as we should. The idea
[propagated during the empire]
that we were supposed to be a
‘superior race’ is embarrassing,
and that brings us shame, which
brings bad behavior.
“When an individual can’t ac-
cept their flaws, they defend quite
viciously against that. And the
behavior we see with hooligan-
ism is almost giving themselves
permission to be an animal,” says
Cottom.
“Putting on an England shirt
seems to be a kind of protection,
or uniform, that says ‘I’m allowed
to be a hooligan, to get drunk, be-
cause I can’t really look in the mir-
ror and accept that I’m a drunken
violent, frequently racist and xe-
nophobic person..
“Rather than accept I have dif-
ficulty accepting others, I lash out
and use any receptacle to project
the bad parts of myself into.”
When the English are abroad,
that “receptacle” can too easily be-
come “foreign people.” Especially,
says Cottom, when we feel em-
barrassed that we don’t speak the
local language.
“It’s a defense against their own
inadequacies,” he says, of the peo-
ple frequenting all those English
enclaves on the Costa de Sol. “So
many Spanish can speak perfect
English but very few English can
speak Spanish.
“Unfortunately, they hide that
embarrassment by being loud and
obnoxious and drinking them-
selves into oblivion.
“But the general hatred of ‘the
foreigner’ goes back to how we
accept our own internal flaws,” he
says, comparing it to people who
crash into the back of the car in
front of them -- and call them an
idiot for stopping too quickly.
Of course, hatred of “the for-
eigner” cuts both ways -- as do
preconceptions. The England
soccer fans were reviled around
the world for booing the Italian
national anthem -- but Italian
fans had booed the Spanish na-
tional anthem in the Italy-Spain
semi-final just days before.
In the same way, Cottom talks
of attending a soccer match in
Barcelona, where “there was a lot
of aggression aimed at [English]
Chelsea fans -- it was incredibly
overpoliced, with policemen hit-
ting fans with batons and setting
dogs on them. There was a preju-
dice there, and they were obvious-
ly taking it out on England fans.”
And he says we all like to ste-
reotype -- in the same way that
we all think of Americans as loud,
and how New Yorkers refer to the
“bridge and tunnel” crowd that
comes into the city at weekends.
Jenkins, meanwhile, says that
the English aren’t the only ones
who cleave to home comforts
when abroad. And, in fact, he ar-
gues that “this is what drives the
tourism industry forward.”
“The English were the found-
ing fathers of the industry -- a
network of clean, well-run hotels
throughout Europe was estab-
lished thanks to them,” he says.
“Then, after World War II, the
Americans insisted they should be
equipped with bathrooms.
“From the Japanese we started
to understand that the interest
of the customer has to sit center
stage -- in America, the customer
is king, but in Japan, they are god.
“So the influence of people
coming in and demanding home
comforts is quite profound on the
industry.”
Although he is quick to de-
plore the football hooliganism
and the racism which has been
on ugly display since England’s
defeat, Jenkins thinks that general
English abroad behavior is differ-
ent. And he insists that the peo-
ple who are most offended by the
boorish English abroad are their
fellow English.
“Coming across your com-
patriots abroad is like hearing a
recording of your own voice -- a
deeply disturbing phenomenon.
So the people who are most of-
fended by English tourists tend to
be English tourists, and I think it’s
wrong to exaggerate,” he says.
“Not everyone looks like an
overweight person without a shirt
on, with a red cross smeared over
Page 37
their unshaven pasty face drink-
ing [English] beer. We shouldn’t
get too lost in that generalization.”
For Cottom, going right back
to England’s roots could change
tourists’ behavior.
“The history I was taught and
that Mr Johnson [the UK prime
minister] talks about was all about
British victories. He likes to pre-
tend he’s Churchill and Nelson,
he’ll be doing a Wellington im-
pression next.
“How many British people
know about the French victories
in the Hundred Years War? We
only know about Crécy, Poitiers
and Agincourt.
“We don’t know much Ger-
man history either -- we know
about two World Wars, and con-
stantly go on about them every
time we play them [in soccer].”
Learning other languages in
schools would also “help enor-
mously”, says Cottom, referring
to the “arrogance that, ‘Of course
everyone speaks English’.”
And going back to what travel
is really about could also help the
English clean up their game.
“The whole purpose of travel-
ing is to broaden the mind,” says
Cottom.
“The purpose of going abroad
and not talking to a foreigner
rather defeats the object. I believe
you travel to meet foreigners, un-
derstand them and get rid of your
prejudice.”
On that count, it’s not only the
English who could take his ad-
vice. — CNN.
 Property NewsHawks

Issue 40, 23 July 2021

PROPERTY INTERIORS ARCHITECTURE GARDENING Page 38

The home of prime property: property@newshawks.com

A steel factory is up for sale in Kwekwe for US$700 000. The workshop covers an area of 6000 square meters built on 32 000 square meters (3.2 hectares) of land. The company’s highest produc-
tivity capacity is about 500 tonnes of steel a month, but that can be increased to 1000 tonnes per month. The focus of the factory is steel fabrication and machine shop. It also does manufac-
turing and installations, as well as major construction disciplines, mechanical, civil and electrical available. Engineering designs, project management are also part of the property. Heavy metal
fabrication and structural steel erection, as well as consulting engineering services. On top of that, raw materials are obtained from a iron mining located less than 50km away from the factory.
NewsHawks
Issue 40, 23 July 2021
Zdravko Logarušić.
BOTH men come from
countries whose names
are synonymous with the
sports they coach – foot-
ball and cricket – arguably
the two biggest team codes
in the world.   
Zdravko Logarušić ar-
rived in Zimbabwe in
January 2020 to become
the under-achieving Afri-
can team’s football coach,
18 months after his own
country, Croatia, had be-
come the smallest nation-
al since 1950 to reach the
World Cup final.
While the Croat’s curric-
ulum vitae was questioned
by the more meticulous
Zimbabwean football
fans amongst us, you felt
that benefit of doubt was
generally given to Loga at
first, given his background
of hailing from a small
European nation that con-
tinually punches above
its weight in the world’s
number one sport.
It was a generous
amount of goodwill that
was thrown in the direc-
tion of a man who prob-
ably deserved deeper scru-
tiny.  old nemesis Zambia?
I’m not one to kick a
man who is down, and I
confess to have once de-
fended Loga’s record on
Lal & Loga, Siamese twins
walking a tightrope in Zim
this blog when I felt, at
the time, that he was be-
ing subjected to unfair
criticism.
I still do hope that Loga
can surprise us. Surprise
us he may.  And even if the
But you cannot say that
those early skeptics who
questioned Loga’s ap-
pointment 19 months ago
do not have good reason.  were looking for,
I have shared this here
before and, I repeat, Zifa’s
decision not to offer the
Warriors job to Joey Anti-
pas, a talented local coach,
was a total shocker.
What more did our
federation need from an
interim coach who had
collected four points from
the first two Africa Cup of
Nations qualifiers, includ-
ing a famous away win to
Of course, deci-
sion-making is not a free-
for-all process. Leaders,
who are put there spe-
Sport Page 39
Lalchand Rajput.
mat, when Zimbabwe lost
2-1 in Pakistan late 2020,
Rajput was not there after
he was barred from travel-
ing by the Indian govern-
ment.
Nonetheless, his disas-
trous record in previous
ODI series – never mind
the other two formats –
cifically for that purpose the heat on him yet. We – who reportedly earns a cannot be camouflaged. 
make decisions based on a laughed, but it was not handsome salary and perks Under Rajput, Zimba-
variety of factors. funny. Under Rajput’s – will be allowed to take bwe have never tasted an
But the decisions ought stewardship, the skill, in- the team to the peripheries ODI win against a team –
to make sense, of world cricket.   in 14 matches – that is not
should they not? At this rate, it is ex- lowly United Arab Emir-
tremely hard to see Zim- ates. It is a pathetic record
people at Zifa felt HawkZone babwe making a quick that anyone else, includ-
that Antipas or return to the World Cup, ing Rajput’s most recent
any other coach following the disaster of international employers,
was not what they 2018 which led to Ra- Afghanistan, would not
Enock jput’s appointment amidst stand.   
their gut instinct Muchinjo the wreckage of disap- Even Netherlands and
and wisdom, sure- pointment and blame. Ireland have completed
ly, would have told Rajput’s mentally dis- emphatic series white-
them that Loga- integrated team has just washes on Rajput’s watch. 
rušić was not Vincente tensity and game-level of been meekly whitewashed If this does not activate
Del Bosque. our team have continued 3-0 by Bangladesh in an visiting performance con-
We had a hearty chuckle to plunge. The players are ODI series that forms part tract clauses, we may as
last week when a colleague also to blame, the senior of the ICC Cricket World well prepare ourselves for
in the Press box suggested ones in particular, but Ra- Super League. The Super more misery as Lal and his
that Zimbabwe’s crick- jput and his inept coach- League is serving as part of boys head to Ireland next.
et coach, Lalchand Ra- ing staff do not offer any the 2023 World Cup qual- Meanwhile, Lal’s fel-
jput, must be personally direction and hope. ification process. low underfire expat across
shocked that after his ap- Stephen Mangongo It is the first time that suburban Harare – Loga
palling record in charge so and Dav Whatmore were Rajput has been in charge – will have some breath-
far – presiding over a team sacked with their staff de- of Zimbabwe under the ing space, at least for now,
that has made losing part spite having records far newly-introduced Super until his own World Cup
of its culture – us guys in better than Rajput’s. One League. The first time the qualification bid begins in
the media have not turned wonders how long Rajput team played under the for- September. 
 Sports
Friday 23 July 2021
Rower Peter Purcell-Gilpin (left) and swimmer Donata Katai were Zimbabwe’s joint flag-bearers at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olym-
pics Games on Friday. 17-year-old Katai, the first black Zimbabwean swimmer to represent the African country at the Olympics, will make
her debut on Sunday in her only event, the 100m backstroke. Male swimmer Peter Wetzlar is the other swimmer in the Zimbabwe team, which
also has golfer Scott Vincent and sprinter Ngoni Makusha.
Zim in rare win to
level T20 series
ENOCK MUCHINJO
at Harare Sports Club
OPENING batsman Wessly Madhereve
and the bowlers starred for Zimbabwe as
the hosts beat Bangladesh by 23 runs on
Friday to level the three-match T201 se-
ries 1-1 ahead of the decider on Sunday.
Zimbabwe totalled 166-6 in their 20
overs, riding on man-of-the-match Mad-
hevere’s measured innings that later took
an attacking dimension. The 20-year-old
right-hander faced 57 balls and hit five
fours and three sixes on his way to his
highest T20I score of 73. Number six
ALSO INSIDE Lal & Loga, Siamese twins walking a tightrope in Zim
Cosafa: Warriors
Debutant
misses out on
milestone as
Zim collapse
share spoils with
Thursday 1 Flames of Malawi
October 2020
@NewsHawksLive TheNewsHawks www.thenewshawks.com
Dawson sees
NEWS CULTURE
WHAT’S INSIDE $60 Covid Community
tariff for radio
visitors &
tourists
Story on Page 3
positives in
regulations
under review
Story on Page 8
easy wins
Chamisa reac ENOCK MUCHINJO
THEY turned up on the day in an unfamiliar red strip, but that
out to Khupe
was the only similarity with another Zimbabwe national team
that traditionally dons the same colours and often disappoints. 
Yes, that one that was being routinely pummelled on the
same day in another international match, two northern Harare
neighbourhoods away. 
Zimbabwe’s rugby team on Thursday shrugged off any re-
lation with their beleaguered cricket counterparts, hammering
Unofficial president calls for emerge minnows Burkina Faso 95-5 at Old Georgians in the second
of two Rugby World Cup qualifiers between the two first-time
opponents.
With both teams progressing automatically to next year’s fi-
nal phase of qualifiers, what an opportunity it was for Zimba-
bwe’s head coach Brendan Dawson – over a rare two-match Test
series – to continue working on combinations ahead of next
year’s business end of the World Cup quest. 
Before Thursday, the Sables had walloped the Burkinabe 103-
3 in the first Test last Sunday, leaving Dawson and his technical
staff searching for takeaways outside the results.
“Look, obviously any game time is good time,” Dawson said.
“The opposition wasn’t great but, on our part, we managed to
play to our structure. Guys struck to our structure, even if the
opposition was disjointed. We did it for ourselves and stuck to
our game plan. I felt sorry for them (Burkina Faso). But it’s for
us, it’s good to be able to do what we wanted to do, so we’re
very happy.”
Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that the Sables will play
Côte d’Ivoire in a quarter-final tie of the World Cup qualifiers
next year.
If they progress past this tricky tie against the unpredictable
West Africans, Zimbabwe will likely play in the semis against
old nemesis Namibia, who will have the easiest of tasks in the
last-eight against Burkina Faso.
Kenya, who are leaving no stone unturned in their bid to
qualify for their first World Cup, are favourites to set up a
blockbuster final between either Namibia or Zimbabwe for Af-
rica’s sole qualification slot to France 2023. 
batter Ryan Burl was Zimbabwe’s sec- Left-arm spinner Wellington Masakad-
ond-highest scorer with an unbeaten 34. za took a career-best 3-20 for Zimbabwe
Shoriful Islam took 3-33 for Bangla- while seaming all-rounder Luke Jongwe
desh with his left-arm seam bowling. also grabbed three wickets.
In response, Zimbabwe’s pace spear- Bangladesh were eventually bowled out
head Blessing Muzarabani gave the home for 143 in the final over, losing the last
ALSO INSIDE Finance Ministy wipes out $3.2 Billion depositors funds Zim's latest land c
side a chance in defence of a chasable wicket of Taskin Ahmed (5), but Zimba-
score, removing Bangladesh openers Mo- bwe were well set for victory.
hammad Naim for five and Soumya Sark- It is the first time that Bangladesh has
ar (8) early. lost a match on tour of the southern Af-
Wickets then fell regularly, with Afif rican country. The Tigers defeated Zim-
Hossain (24) and Shamim Hossain (29) babwe by 220 in the one-off Test before
the only other ones to put up some sort completing a 3-0 whitewash in the one-
of resistance. day series. Zimbabwe’s head coach Brendan Dawson.