Levi Mukarati in Gweru
Midlands bears historical significance. This is where nationalist leaders were detained by Ian Smith’s colonial regime and from whence plans were crafted to further the armed struggle.

This is where Smith himself found domicile until his last days. And this is where Zanu held that grand much-talked-about first National People’s Congress.

So, for the historically-conscious and President Mugabe, the seventh Presidential Youth Interface Rally in Gweru last Friday evoked much reflection.

With quick wit and sharpness, the President said as much as he revealed the special abode the Midlands has in his heart. Some nationalists have told of how President Mugabe was a unifying factor in detention. And that same unifying spirit is what he brought to the interface.

He bade party leaders in the province to unite the people, and to walk in step with the rest of the party. His message was clear: Unity. “You must be united, think alike, act alike,” he said. “Be in step with each other, in step with the march. Kwete kuti VaChipanga vachikuti left-right, left-right, iwe uri kuti right-left, right-left. Aiwa, hazviite.

“Zvinoratidza kuti unenge usingazive gwara. Vamwe vakatarira kumabvazuva, ah, iwe wakatarira kumadokero; pavanotarira kumadokero, iwe ndipo powotarira kumabvazuva, aiwa, hatidaro.

“. . . Imi hamusimi munganzi Midlands inodzidziswa nemamwe maprovince, not Midlands, no! Asika vatungamiriri venyu vana (Zanu-PF Midlands Chairperson Daniel) Mackenzie (Ncube), vose vana (Minister of State for Midlands Provincial Affairs Jason) Machaya vose nevari shure vanaJuly Moyo, be in step; mova vanhu vane experience-wo yekuti, ahh, kwatakabva kure.

“Kwatakabva kure nevatungamiriri ava, kwete kufurirwa kuti, ahh, mungabva matituka, kutitukirira. Eh, tenge tichiti ko, zvava zviiwo izvi? Kwatakabva kure, takabatana tose nevakomana vamurikuona ava. Vana (Vice-President Phelekezela) Mphoko navana (Vice-President) Emmerson (Mnangagwa) vari papa ava, takabatana.”

President Mugabe said Zanu-PF’s principles should be followed religiously, adding that those against them were free to leave the party.

“Vanenge vakanganisa maprinciples iwayo, negwara iroro, vatsausa, havatsvagirwe mushonga, aiwa. Mushonga uripo tongovaranga muparty — garai pasi, chii chamurikuita? Tichiri tose here kana hatichiri tose?

“Kana wava nedzimwe pfungwa wobva mubato redu reZanu-PF, redu rine gwara, rine hunhu huripo, rukudzo ruripo. Asi kana waakuita zvanaTsvangirai, buda muno, hatikude. Hausisiri wedu.”

President Mugabe said leaders should be guided by ideology. “. . . Ndomaitiro edu nekuti musangano hausi waleader, aiwa. Musangano ndewe vanhu. Mutungamiriri, leader, is a leader of the people. Kwete kuti iye pfungwa dzake oga, oga, oga zvake ndodzotungamirira musangano — hatidaro muZanu-PF.

“No! Pfungwa dzako iwewe inzwawo vamwe kuti vanotii padziri; topanana mazano ipapo and then we move forward; that’s how we have done it.”

Added President Mugabe: “Vakabuda-ka vakanga varasa gwara. Chionai zvavarikungoita sezvi taunha. Munozviziva zvitaunha? Vanotsauka vachienda kwakati, vabvarurana ipo pakati.

“Pavanenge vati taita chedu ichi chakadai, mozonzwa kuti, ah ah, ah, vatobvarurana pakati: uyu wakwake uyu wakwake. Ndozvazvinoita kana vanhu vasina gwara.

“Imi hamudaro nokuti makasungana, munoziva kwamakabva, kufirwa kwamakaitwa nevazhinji. Wha Wha iripanoka; Wha Wha paseri apa. Ndopataizaridzana ipapa apa, tichitutirwa ipapa navavengi. Zvavaiita vavengi izvi, kwaive kusimbaradza musangano kuti tive nesimba.

“Ivo vakanga vasingazive kuti zvavarikuita izvi zvinotovapa simba kuti varambe vachirwira nyika yavo. Vaifunga kuti, ahh, tirikupanichwa. Haa, vakaenda kuWha Wha vanochema.”

He said the Second Chimurenga was about taking back land from colonialists.

“. . . Raive gwara rataitara, asi 1979 takazokurukura nemaBritish ivowo vaona kuti hapana kwavachaenda, ndokubva vati aiwa nyika yenyu tabvuma kuti muchitora.

“Taive nezvinangwa zvakasimba – ivhu redu ngaridzoke, hatibhadhare kana kobiri nekuti harina kumbotengwa. Hapana chakambopiwa vakuru vedu saka hatingaritengi patsva. Takamira takadaro nanaVaNkomo.

“Ikoko chionai, we were the two leaders leading delegations, Zapu and Zanu, but takazenge tabatana tavaPatriotic Front. Kuno kumusha vakanga vaita yainzi People’s Movement; takavadaidza kuti vave padhuze tichiconsulta navo vese vanaBanana, VananaMarere, vose vananaJ.Z Moyo. “Saka taitova ehuge huge group, asi vaienda kumeeting vari vashoma vachitungamirirwa nesu vaviri.”

Black South Africans were still marginalised in terms of land ownership, he said. “Ndaive kuSouth Africa two weeks ago, ndichiti, ko, imi makamboitasei? Ndaitaura naMinister anoshanda muOffice yaVaZuma anonzi Radebe (Minister in the Presidency, Jeff Radebe) kuti seiko panyaya yevhu iyi, sei makasiya mabhunu akangobata kwese kwese?

“Akati iye nechirungu, ask your friend Mandela, as if Mandela is still present. Zvakanzi ask your friend Mandela. Handina kuzoenderera mberi nekuti ndakanga ndanzwa kuti pavakaita matalks avo nemabhunu nevamwe, vanaMandela vabuda, iye Mandela akati, aiwa, ini ndine ruzivo rwakakwana.

“Mose hapana zvamungandibatsire, sarai ndinono negotiator ndiri ndoga. Saka aka negotiator ari oga, bhururu wangu Mandela. Zvino ruzivo rwake honai ndozvo zvarwakabudisa izvi.”

The President was not done with his theme of unity. “Sekutaura kwandakamboita kune mumwe musangano kuti izvi zvamurikuita, zvamaita kuma provinces ose manomwe aya kareko, aiwa, hatina kumbozvifunga maitirwo azvo.

“Hongu taiita marally ataiti tikuenda kurally yekuMidlands, rally yekuMasvingo, rally yekuBulawayo, kwaMutare ari marally. Asi zvekuti timboti ngatiitei misangano yakasimba yekukokorodza munhu wese vadhirike province-by-province, ah ah. . .

“Hongu taiita macompaigns nemarallies akadaro, asi aive simple rallies and simple election campaigns, saka rambai makadaro. Ndoda kukutendai, kukutendai mese youth province nekuuya kwamaita.

“Continue to work together. Continue to work neleadership yenyu vanaMcKenzie vanaMachaya nevamwe vose. Don’t get disunited, aiwa unity, unity, unity. “So, as I say all the time in remembrance of John Nkomo: ‘Peace begins with me, Peace begins with you, Peace begins with all of us.”

First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe also spoke on the need for unity and adhering to party principles. Amai Mugabe was pleased with the Youth League’s mobilisation prowess. She said: “Ndizvo zvatinofanira kuita isu, Youth League neWomen’s League, kufamba tichi mobiliser vanhu, kuti vanhu, sekutaura kwandakaita, kuti vanhu vasanzwe sevakanganikwa.

“Ndezvechokwadi VaChipanga zvamataura kuti kune mumwe munhu anoda kuvhoterwa, akangovhoterwa, that’s it, ozowonekwa panext election. Vanhu vakadaro pasi navo!”

She went on: “Unity, unity tinoida pakushanda kwatinoita. President vambotaura kwanga kuchivhurwa Community Information Centre mutown vakati izvo VaMachaya, mataura imi kuti muri loyal kuna President. Chairman wemuprovince vakataura zvimwechete kuti President tinokudai.

“President vakataura kuti zvamataura ndazvinzwa kuti muri loyal kwandiri, asi ndinoda kuti zvamataura izvi zvisave zvekutaura ndiripo. I hope zvinoramba zvichienderera mberi ndisipo, zvekuti muri loyal kunaPresident wenyu. Ini ndakambozvitaurawo kuti zvatinoita nekuti President varipo tichida kuvafadza ndozvatinofanira kuita kunyangwe vasipo.”

On succession, Amai Mugabe said: “Mumwe nemumwe ane chipo chake. Mwari vachirikuda kuti VaMugabe vatitungamirire. Kana nguva yakwana, ivo VaMugabe vachinzwa kuti nyama hadzichagoni . . . Vachataura kuti chisumukayi, chitsvagai; ini ndaakuda kuzorora.

“Izvi zvemhirizhonga, zvefactionalism kuti ahh, taakuda kupinda, pasi nazvo. Varikuzviita, you stop it, forthwith! Tinoda unity of purpose.

“Kuno kuMidlands mataura kuti takabatana kune unity, hakuna factionalism. Kana kusina factionalism asi zvaazvimwe. Asi mashoko atinonzwa tirikure haafadzi, achizobva kuno kuMidlands nekuMasvingo ekutukirira mukuru wenyinka, kutukirira mukadzi wake, kutukirira vana vake . . .”

She also said: “Handifunge kuti nhasi mungandiite convince pane unity of purpose. Unless you are telling me that from today, from this hour zvachinja; maita realise kuti kwete factionalsim haishande nekuti kushanda pamwechete zvakanaka ndozvinoshanda. Saka, ndiri kukumbirawo kuti ngatirege kutukana.

“Inga wani makaremekedzwa, Vice-President vanobva kuno. Munoda kuti President vave nekunzwa moyo kuti ah imhosva here kutora mumwe wavo kuti ndishande naye? Hatidi kuita zvinokanganisa magariro edu pamusoro.

“Imi vese varikuita izvozvo, ny’any’a dzirikutaura zvefactionalism, vachitaura zvakashata, you stop it! Hazviendese musangano mberi nekuti musangano iye zvino tinotaura kuti takasimba.

“Ngatitaureyi nezvemastrength atinawo nemaopportunities and weaknesses, but iko zvino we can actually talk mostly of strength pasina zvefactionalism.

“Saka mundinzwewo ini Mai venyu; ndirikuraira kuti vana vadiki vanomukira kutuka VaMugabe hauwane kukomborerwa pamhuri yako. Hauwane kukomborerwa muMidlands. Ngatityei Mwari nokuti maleaders anobva kuna Mwari; nekuti Iye kana asati afunga kuti VaMugabe must go, vacharamba varipo.”

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COMRADE Kenny Constantine Mabuya whose Chimurenga name was Cde Kenny Ridzai (born 1952 in Filabusi) up to this day speaks Shona with that Ndebele accent but in 1969, when he joined the liberation struggle from Lusaka, Zambia, he chose to join Zanu. He says during that time he could not even utter one Shona word, but he chose to join Zanu even though it seemed a given that Ndebele people belonged to Zapu.

Cde Kenny went for military training at Intumbi in Tanzania and was deployed to the war front at the beginning of 1972. In this interview with our team comprising Munyaradzi Huni and Tendai Manzvanzvike, Cde Kenny narrates the journey from Lusaka, Intumbi, until his deployment to the war front. He speaks about how he was received by his Shona-speaking comrades dispelling the myth that Zanu was for Shona people only.

SM: Cde Kenny, thank you so much for your time. Can you briefly tell us how you join the liberation struggle and why?

Cde Kenny: My parents moved from Filabusi to Zambia, Lusaka, in 1954. They had bought a farm in Zambia. I did my primary and secondary education in Zambia. I, however, didn’t finish my secondary education. I joined the liberation struggle when I was in Form 2. That was in 1969. I joined the liberation struggle from Lusaka. My parents used to talk a lot about the colonial regime and how blacks were being ill-treated by whites in Rhodesia. Also I got interested to join the liberation struggle because my big brother, Shame Mabuya, the second born in our family, in 1964 had joined Zapu. So this brother of mine after joining the liberation struggle and going for training, used to come to my parents’ farm in Zambia and talk a lot about politics. He would come with other comrades from Zapu and they would be given maize and so on to feed the comrades. Sometimes they would come during functions and give lessons on political orientation targeting mainly the youths. They would always tell us “vapfana munofanirwa to join the liberation struggle so that you can free Zimbabwe”.

So I got hooked to politics and in 1969, during the third term of my Form 2, I decided to join the liberation struggle. Also, we were living in Zambia and I could see that it was not good living in a foreign country. On September 15, 1969 that’s when I decided to join the liberation struggle.

Like I told you, my big brother was in Zapu and when I decided to join the struggle, I went to Zanu. As you may know, I am Ndebele and during those days there was this thinking that Zapu is only for Ndebele and Zanu was for Shona people. I chose not to join Zapu because I knew that my big brother would say to me “go back to school”.

During that time I couldn’t speak any Shona. At first I questioned myself whether the Zanu comrades would not chase me away because I was Ndebele. I later decided to go and see things for myself. I went to the Zanu offices in Lusaka and was welcomed by Cde Felix Rice Santana and Bernard Mutumwa. Ndivo vakanga vari mashef at the offices at that time. They asked me why I wanted to join the liberation struggle and I told them that I wanted to fight for my country.

These comrades later took me to some house in Lusaka, we used to call this house number 93. I stayed at this house for two months with Cde Tongogara, Bernard Mutumwa and Santana. At the beginning of December in 1969, I was taken to Tanzania for training. We travelled the whole night until we got to Mbeya, which is in Tanzania. From Mbeya we went to Intumbi Training Camp. Around January 1970, the training started.

SM: Who were your instructors at Intumbi?

Cde Kenny: We were being trained by Chinese instructors. There was also Cde Kashiri and Cde Chimedza but the Chinese were the ones responsible for our training. Our training involved kuteya zvimbambaira, how to mobilise the masses so that they could support the liberation struggle and how to use different weapons. We received training until 1971.

SM: This is almost two years undergoing training?

Cde Kenny: Yes, almost two years. I think our leaders vaida kuti titange tawanda. During those days, four or five people would join the struggle then pomboita time pasina anyone who has joined. Maiti mukaenda to join the struggle muri about eight maitonzi haaa kwauya vanhu vakawanda. People were not willing to join the struggle during this time. At Intumbi we were almost 110 or something. So we had to spend almost two years so that the numbers at the camp could grow.

SM: You said you could not even speak Shona but you joined Zanu. How were you received?

Cde Kenny: I didn’t even feel that there was Ndebele or Shona. I am not even sure whether I used to speak good Shona or what but I managed to communicate with my fellow comrades. Everything seemed normal to me.

SM: Some of the Shona comrades didn’t laugh at you or mock you?

Cde Kenny: Haaa, not even. Sometimes they would correct my Shona but it was never done to mock me. I remember instead of saying “nguva” meaning time, I used to say “guva.” Of course, some comrades would laugh but they would correct me in good faith and I would tell them “don’t worry soon I will learn”.

SM: You spoke about the element that some people thought Zapu was for Ndebele people and Zanu for Shona people. Where did this thinking come from?

Cde Kenny: This thinking was very prevalent in Zambia. You also need to remember that during that time, waiti ukataura Ndebele you would be abducted and made to join Zapu and ukataura Shona you would be abducted and made to join Zanu. You know during this time, it was even difficult for a Ndebele person to marry a Shona person? This tribal element was always there but I brushed it aside and joined Zanu.

SM: Let’s go back to your training.

Cde Kenny: Ohh, ok. First, we were taught why we were fighting the liberation struggle. Fighting for what and who were we fighting? We were fighting to free Zimbabwe, but Zimbabwe yacho iri nyika yaani? What exactly did we mean by hundzvanyiriri? This was political orientation. After this that’s when we were taught how to use the different types of weapons. The instructors always told us that pfuti haibatwi nemunhu asinganzwisisi kuti ari kurwirei. The instructors would tell us that without proper political orientation you would either run away from the struggle or do wrong things at the war front.

After political orientation, we were taught how to use small arms like AK47 and bazookas. Since this was guerilla warfare, we didn’t receive training in heavy arms, those ones dzinodhonzwa nemota. We didn’t have vehicles and so our training was on small arms. We were taught how to use landmines and how to ambush the enemy. We were taught war tactics.

During training we received lots of support from the Tanzanian government through the OAU. They supplied us with almost everything. You know almost every day we would eat meat?

SM: Where did you go after the almost two years of training?

Cde Kenny: Towards the end of 1971, we started preparing to be deployed at the war front. Also at that time, Intumbi camp was being closed. Another new camp, Mgagao, was now being opened still in Tanzania. I didn’t go to Mgagao because we had finished our training. I think by this time at Intumbi we were around 215. From Intumbi we were taken to a transit camp called Kongwa still in Tanzania. Like I told you, we were getting ready to be deployed to the war front. We were at Kongwa for about three to four months. While at Kongwa, one day mota dzakauya zvikanzi get in tava kuenda kuhondo manje.

SM: You had gone for training for almost two years and now you were told you were going to be deployed to the war front. How did you feel?

Cde Kenny: I can’t express the happiness. We jumped around with joy. We had been waiting for too long and we were excited. Pakaita morari, kuita pungwe tichiimba.

SM: But Cde Kenny, you were going to war and during war people die?

Cde Kenny: We had been taught to be ready for all that. We knew that hondo is about kutsvaga munhu iye achikutsvagawo. Iwe with a gun iyewo with a gun.

SM: And also, the Smith regime was armed to the teeth?

Cde Kenny: We knew all that, that’s why we had been trained in guerilla warfare. Guerilla warfare tactic is to hit and run. This running away was not out of fear but it was because we didn’t have enough weapons and our weapons were inferior to the ones that the Smith regime had. After hitting the enemy, the tactic was to run away after maximum impact. You retreat to go and find mamwe mabara. We used to call it strategic retreat. We were supposed to hit and run because after hitting them, the Rhodesian forces would call for reinforcements. They would call for airpower and so on. So we had to hit and run. As you know taiita zvombo zvekuviga musango so after retreating totsvaga pane zvimwe zvombo since we could not carry lots of ammunition.

SM: As you were singing getting ready to get deployed, who were some of the comrades you were with?

Cde Kenny: There were many. I remember Cde Mhembwe, Museve, Danny Murimo, Charakupa, Cde Vhuu and others. Some of these comrades are still alive. So we were taken to Lusaka then Mozambique the next day. When we got to Mozambique, there were some comrades there already. These comrades had negotiated with Frelimo our passage from Mozambique into Rhodesia. I remember there was Cde Mayor Urimbo, Cde Chauke, Cde Tongogara, Cde Chinamaropa, Cde Chimurenga and others.

This was now around January-February 1972. The leaders chose this time because during this time, the terrain was favourable for guerilla warfare due to the green vegetation. We first went to Chifombo which was like a transit camp which was close to the border between Mozambique and Zambia. Cde Tongogara, Cde Rex Nhongo, Cde Tungamirai, Cde Dauramanzi were some of our commanders. At Chifombo that’s when we were put into groups. We were put into three groups. From Chifombo to Zambezi River we could walk for almost three to four days. Povho yekuMozambique would use zvimwadiya to help us cross Zambezi River. After crossing Zambezi River we would walk for another two days to get to the border between Zimbabwe and Mozambique. So it was almost a week from Chifombo up to the border between Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

SM: This was clearly a long distance and you were carrying weapons. How did you motivate each other?

Cde Kenny: We had comrades from the commissariat who would give us morari. They would urge us saying “handei macomrades, tisanete. Tinonetereyi, tichanoguta kumusha.” As you know, during this time in 1972, Mozambique was not yet free so it was tough because we now had two enemies – the Portuguese in Mozambique and the Rhodesian forces.

As we were walking in Mozambique, we met Portuguese soldiers and pfuti dzotorira ipapo. We were being accompanied by some Frelimo soldiers and so when we met the Portuguese, we would fight supporting our Frelimo comrades. During these fights we would make sure tarova the Portuguese because tikapedza mabara it meant going back to Chifombo again kunotora mamwe.

SM: By this time were you now able to speak Shona?

Cde Kenny: Ahhh, zvaingofambirana ikoko. Do you know if someone is to come here, let’s say a Chinese commander, if he comes here talking tough you will quickly understand what he will be talking about. I could speak some Shona but people could hear from my accent that I was not Shona.

After crossing into Rhodesia, we carried materiel to Mavhuradonha Mountain with assistance from povho. The Rhodesian forces knew that some guerillas were sneaking into Rhodesia so they mounted patrols along the border but we still managed to get into Rhodesia.

The Rhodesian forces were alerted by their Portuguese counterparts in Mozambique about our coming. During our battles with the Portuguese in Mozambique, the Portuguese soldiers could easily feel that these were not Frelimo soldiers. Tairidza pfuti zvakasiyana.

SM: We have heard from many comrades that Zanla comrades were better fighters than Frelimo comrades. Tell us more about this.

Cde Kenny: The differences started from our training. Our training was tough and intense. Mozambique had already started its war and so the Portuguese knew how the Frelimo soldiers fought. As Zanla forces, our motto was once we start a battle with the Portuguese, hatidzokeri kumashure. Hatitizi. So the Portuguese would see that these were not Frelimo comrades.

SM: Tell us briefly about mass mobilisation. Why was it important?

Cde Kenny: You see, before we crossed into Rhodesia, there was a lot of propaganda. The Rhodesians went around saying magandanda vanhu vakaipa, tuvanhu tupfupi tunowuraya vanhu. They told people that magandanga achakutorerai vakadzi venyu nezvipfuwo zvenyu. They spread lots of lies and propaganda. So through mass mobilisation our duty was to explain to povho that tiri vana vemuno we have come to liberate the country. The people could also see that during the mass mobilisation exercise, there were no tribal divisions like saying this was in Ndebele, Karanga, Zezuru or what. We were all united to free Zimbabwe. But the first thing we would ask was where the enemy was before doing anything.

SM: These were the early years of the Second Chimurenga and many people feared white people. How difficult was it to convince people to support the struggle?

Cde Kenny: The people in the rural areas were not that difficult to convince. Once we explained to them kuti tiri vana venyu tawuya kuzosunungura nyika. Varungu havasivo varidzi venyika what what. We would base all this to the words of Mbuya Nehanda and many people knew about Mbuya Nehanda. We told them kuti Mbuya Nehanda vakati mapfupa angu achamuka, tisu mapfupa acho.

Our biggest challenge was in the farming areas. Most blacks in the farming areas would say “you want to kill our bhasa?” Maibva manetsana ipapa. Most of these farm workers were not Zimbabweans. So it was a big challenge but they eventually understood what we were telling them. But still they asked kuti shuwa mungasunungure nyika netupfuti twenyu itwotwu? And munogara musango? Some would laugh at us saying asi munopenga? But once we saw that this was the attitude, we would then make sure that we hit whites in the area so hard to convince these workers that we were serious. Tairova varungu such that vanopfuura nepamba pemaworkers avo vachitiza so that the workers could see that we could defeat these whites. They would then say, haaa, these people vanorova hondo because ndakaona bhasa achitiza.

SM: Where you a traditionalist or a Christian?

Cde Kenny: Uko taitoita zvemudzimu, masvikiro. We went around with spirit mediums. We had been taught that when you arrive in an area, you don’t just start operating. You start by informing the chief. The chief would then tell us kuti svikiro in that area ndiani. This svikiro would tell us where to stay and how to go about our operations. And zvataurwa nesvikiro would always come true.

Do you really think Zimbabwe would be free today tichirwa tega? That was not possible. Without the spirit mediums? That was not possible. Anyone who tells you that it was possible to win the liberation struggle without the spirit mediums would be lying to you. The spirit mediums would tell us where to go and how to go there. They would warn us of impending danger and tell us how to escape.

So once we got to an area, we would go to see the chief who will direct us to the spirit medium. You know sometimes, the spirit medium would tell us that mudunhu mangu handidi ropa? Before tasvika pamasvikiro, we would leave a weapons and watches some distance away. We would walk kusvikiro barefooted. Tosvika towombera introducing ourselves. Tisu vana venyu tauya. Ndimi makatituma kuenda kunze. Tadzoka. Tawuyawo munzvimbo yenyu, tiratidzei kuti tinofamba sei and tinogara sei. Svikiro raibva rakupai mhiko. The dos and don’ts in that area. The spirit medium would tell us that zvombo zvamakatakura hazvisi zvekufara saka tevedzai what I am telling you. After this totora fodya yemumhuno towombera.

SM: You said some chiefs would say “handidi ropa in my area?”

Cde Kenny: Yes, some chiefs told us that. But we used to tell such chiefs that kana musingadi ropa in your area, make sure we don’t meet mabhunu in your area because if we meet them, we will kill them.

Next week Cde Kenny speaks about the several battles at the warfront and how he survived. It’s the kind of stuff that sounds stranger than fiction, but this was real.

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Persistence Gwanyanya
As the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has reaffirmed its position on the continued use of the multiple currency system, one is naturally tempted to reflect on whether the key economic participants are doing enough to sustain this currency regime.

Being a key channel in the transmission of any monetary policy, the role of banks in sustaining the multiple currency regime is undebatable.

It’s therefore unsurprising that measures by the RBZ to sustain the multiple currency regime are centred on the banking system.

Regrettably, however, there seems to be very little traction in the implementation of these measures by the banks, which calls for RBZ’s urgent intervention.

Needless to mention that while these measures are necessary, they are not a permanent solution to the cash crunch in Zimbabwe.

There is, therefore, need to rebalance the economy through increasing production, whilst simultaneously reducing consumption.

When the RBZ announced the measures deal with cash shortages on May 5, 2016, it stressed the need to sustain the multiple currency system through reducing the inordinate exposure to the US dollar.

At that time, the US dollar was making up 95 percent of all transactions in the country.

This skewedness towards the US dollar increased preference of the same over time as the market shunned other currencies in the multiple currency basket, mainly the rand, which used to constitute 49 percent of currencies in circulation at dollarisation.

Clearly, the multiple currency system was dysfunctional and needed restoration. As such, the Central Bank highlighted its plans to reconfigure the RTGS system into multiple currency to enable other currencies in the basket of multiple currencies to be transacted on this platform by June 13, 2016.

A similar reconfiguration was supposed to be done on the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) to enable them to dispense other currencies in the basket. Regrettably, this has remained a pipe dream, which calls for urgent review of progress by the RBZ.

The dominance of the USD could be a result of bias by banks towards US dollar accounts as well as credit facilities.

As such, there would be need for banks to market accounts denominated in other currencies in the multiple currency basket such as the rand, pound, pula, euro, Chinese yuan, Japanese yen and Indian rupee depending on the level trade conducted with the respective countries.

Clearly, as repository of client information, banks can capitalise on their analytics capacities to achieve this. It’s surprising that despite the high level of trade between South Africa and China, there are still very few rand and yuan- denominated accounts in the banking system.

Equally worrying is that the lines of credit are mainly in US dollars, despite huge imports from countries such South Africa and China.

Clearly, the measures to increase availability and usage of other currencies in the multiple currency basket would are important to reduce the exchange rate risk arising from the need to convert all invoice into or from the US dollar each time one receives or make a foreign payment.

It would make sense for tobacco merchants to start exploring the possibility of invoicing tobacco to China (which buys 60 percent of our tobacco) in yuan, which would be used to meet the country’s import requirements from China.

This proposition would make sense to China as it tries to promote usage of its currency after it was added to the IMF basket of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) in October 2016.

The banks can use this as a basis for negotiating for lines of credit with favourable terms.

The recent move by the RBZ to reduce the registration fees for bureaux de change is plausible as most licensed money changers that shut down when Zimbabwe dollarised in 2009, resulting in most currency trade taking place in the informal market. However, it seems there is more that needs to be done to increase participation in the formal trade of currencies, given the dominance of the informal sector in Zimbabwe.

This could be achieved through an incentive system, which is comparable to the benefits of formalisation.

It is advisable for banks and the RBZ to increase their import of other currencies to meet the cash demand. It is reported that the RBZ imports about US$15 million weekly, mainly in US dollars, to meet the country’s cash requirements.

In some cases, beneficiaries of this amounts would immediately need to convert it into a preferred currency to make foreign payments, mainly the rand.

It therefore makes sense for the Central Bank to strike a proper balance between the US dollar cash imports and other currencies.

While it is desirable for the country to increase utilisation levels of other currencies under the multiple currency regime, there are other important considerations for shunning other currencies that should be considered.

When the rand was trading at around US$1:ZAR7 at dollarisation it constituted about 49 percent of currency usage.

This ratio has since fallen to around 5 percent following the depreciation of the rand to a low of US$1: ZAR15.

Again, this underscores the need for intensive promotion of other currencies in the multiple currency basket as well as an incentive system to promote the usage of especially volatile currencies such as the rand, to reduce the inordinate exposure to the US dollar.

Persistence Gwanyanya is the founder and futurist of Percycon Advisory Services. For feedback email percygwa@gmail.com <mailto:percygwa@gmail.com> or WhatsApp +263 773 030 691.

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Taurai Changwa
Untrained employees can cause many of the mistakes that are mentioned above, and those mistakes and inefficiencies can result in your business losing customers.

The human and machine conflict is playing out more in the developed countries, where workers fear that the rise of artificial intelligence will ultimately lead to huge job losses.

But not in developing countries where the workforce is integral to business operations.

Business is, however, constantly evolving, requiring different and new competencies depending on the field of specialty that it is invested in.

This means workers have to constantly upgrade their skills to become relevant, efficient and effective. Staff training therefore becomes a critical component of business. Experts often say apart from requiring new workers to undertake instruction in a new system, training that develops employees toward long-term career goals can also promote greater job satisfaction.

A more satisfied employee is likely to stay longer and be more productive, while a dissatisfied one cannot be expected to be as productive as it ought to be.

In some cases, such workers are even a threat to the business since – in extreme cases – they are capable of sabotaging it.

Sometimes employees become under-qualified due to changing technology or the development of new business processes.

Technology is changing at a faster pace and the more businesses are resistant to change, the more they are likely to stay behind. While the private and public sector must embrace technology, there is need for complementary investments to upgrade employees so that they become compatible to the expectations of new business world.

Recently, Standard Chartered Bank Zimbabwe announced that it will be migrating to a paperless system, which naturally implies that its workers have since been trained to transition to the new system.

It is all about adapting.

Again, it highlights the importance of training.

The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority also recently introduced Value Added Tax agents who withhold two-thirds of output tax, which means companies with complex accounting systems will need to be trained with efficiency on how this move will impact on their accounting system. Training presents a prime opportunity to expand the knowledge base of all employees, but many employers consider this as an extra unwanted cost to doing business, which is quite unfortunate.

However, despite potential drawbacks, training and development provides both the company and individual employees with benefits that make the cost and time a worthwhile investment.

Employees with no knowledge of what they are doing can be a huge cost to a company.

It is often said some organisations can view training as a waste of time for various reasons.

Businesses often neglect to train employees because of past training experiences.

Sometimes the training was done poorly, or the topics just didn’t help.

That could happen for several reasons. Unfortunately, failed training comes at a high cost, and businesses often don’t want to take that risk.

Human resource experts say employees who feel inadequate, underachieving or unsupported are likely to be unhappy.

They may not be satisfied in their work, which will cause them to underperform, make mistakes, and not care about their work product.

That has a monetary cost to business in terms of lost time and money. It is also unsurprising that these employees not productive.

It is bad to assume that an employee with so much education can be competent at work.

With so much education, practical training is important as this minimises risks of making costly mistakes to the business.

Untrained employees are an expense as it takes more time to fix the mistake, more materials cost in paper and ink, and more time rechecking the work.

If it were done correctly the first time, these costs wouldn’t be there.

Untrained employees can cause many of the mistakes that are mentioned above, and those mistakes and inefficiencies can result in your business losing customers.

Although this is the worst possible scenario, it can happen.

Training and costs have an easily measured upfront cost in terms of time and money, which makes them unattractive to businesses, many of which are struggling to sustain operations, especially in the current difficult operating environment.

But there is an even added cost that often results from poorly trained staff, and this cost is difficult to quantity and measure.

Quite clearly, having a trained workforce means workers are learning new skills that can improve production, cut time spent in creation of goods and services, reduce production costs, reduce mistakes, build confidence in the workforce and create a better working environment.

Learning and upgrading employee skills makes business sense.

Although it may take some time to see a return on your investment, the long-term gains associated with such an investment can surely make a difference.

Further, such an investment gives rise to a competent workforce that it capable of driving the company forward.

Training employees make life easier for the employer. It will free up time for the employer to focus on expanding the business and rather taking much time performing tasks which the employees are ordinarily expected to do.

Taurai Changwa is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe and an Estate Administrator. He has vast experience in tax, accounting, audit and corporate covernance issues. He is a director of Umar & Tach Advisory. He writes in his personal capacity and can be contacted at tauraichangwa1@gmail.com <mailto:tauraichangwa1@gmail.com> or or WhatsApp on 0772374784.

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The following is President Mugabe’s address at the opening of the Third Education Conference and Expo in Harare last week. 

I wish to extend a warm welcome to you all, our esteemed delegates from within and beyond our borders, who are participating in this Third Education Conference and Expo.

Guided by the theme, “Education and Innovation for Sustainable Socio-­Economic Development”, the conference has brought together educationists, most of whom are heads and senior teachers from our 9 000 schools, to further interrogate issues of the new curriculum.

Without pre-empting your discussions and presentations, I wish to observe that Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a distinctive form of holistic education, which focuses on adopting an educative approach to issues of sustainability.

This speaks to our new curriculum’s thrust of developing a well-rounded individual, with numerous exit skills. These exit skills are abilities that promote positive behaviour which enables individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of life.

The issue of sustainability is embedded in the new curriculum which fosters entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship education and training is meant to inculcate abilities for learners, at all levels, with knowledge, values of unhu/ubuntu, skills and appropriate motivation, and to encourage entrepreneurial success in a variety of settings.

We want to produce people who can do things for themselves and for others; not education to make you just employees vanoda kushandiswa chete.

Vanotsvaga mabasa kwete.

Tinoda vachaita mabasa acho.

Vachidawo kuti vamwe vafunde kwavari. Tinoda education yekuzviitira; kwete education yekuti uitirwe.

Such education is important because learners will be able to transform innovative ideas into economic goods and services.

Upon leaving school at the different exit points, the learners must have various fundamental skills.

Wabva pachikoro; chii chaunokwanisa kuita?

Such skills encompass problem-solving skills, critical thinking skills, leadership skills, communication and teamwork skills, as well as technological skills.

The new curriculum also aims to inculcate national identity values, producing citizens who are proud of their nation, and the trajectory that their nation has travelled.

Rwendo rwatakafamba senyika kuti tisvike patava. The trajectory, the history. Then you know what you are. If you don’t know that journey, if you don’t know your history, then you don’t know who you are.

Our learners must indeed be committed to the values of discipline, honesty and the dignity of hard work. I must point out that today’s environmental problems pose a challenge to today’s education, hence the need to find ways of making education sustainable, the need to teach differently to address today’s problems, and the need to transform schools and teachers for 21st century learning.

The new curriculum also aims to transform the education system from a content-based and examination-driven curriculum to a competency and skills-based curriculum that is grounded on both continuous assessment and public examinations.

Further, the curriculum has a values-oriented system where learning areas that instil national values such as self-reliance, business culture, responsible citizenship, critical global awareness, environmental stewardship, inclusiveness and tolerance, among others, have been adopted.

You are being educated to come into an environment now, which does not only have you as an individual, not just your family, village, but an environment which is multi-cultured, multi-nationed.

You have to know that environment and reach out to other people. You must derive also the knowledge of other people which we do not know and impart to them the knowledge we have; which they do not have.

Look at our environment. You are the steward. Yes, don’t cut down trees. Don’t just dig holes everywhere. Your rivers must survive to give us water.

Animals, yes, for the beauty; to give us food. For the comradeship we have even with Mr Lion. We need all those: The elephants, giraffes down to the creeping ones, the lizards, the frogs.

They are part of us. Let’s keep them. Further, the new curriculum has a value-orientated system where the learning areas instil learning areas. I have said self-reliance, relying on oneself. You must do something to look after yourself. So, we must have a business culture.

You must be a responsible citizen with good manners, good habits and a sense discipline that relates you with others with, also, good discipline. So, our environment is safe.

Obedience to the roles, obedience to the rules of social conduct; love and respect amongst us. But, above all, we must have critical global awareness to know the world of today.  Environmental awareness, inclusiveness among others. All these are part of the new curriculum.

Optimum benefits of the new curriculum can only be derived if the process is well managed. Changing a curriculum is a delicate matter and, indeed, a cooperative venture. It cannot be done by an individual. It requires us all to build the leaders of tomorrow. All key stakeholders must feel involved and consulted and, ultimately, they should feel they own it.

Success in introducing the new curriculum is guaranteed when the entire system, including learners, parents and communities sufficiently embrace it. And yet, both by nature and training, they are generally known to be conservative. They want to keep what they learnt long back; the ways of teaching that they learnt long ago.

They, especially the experienced ones, could feel threatened by innovation that comes in the form of a new curriculum.

They, therefore, need to be strongly capacitated by the provision of teaching materials of the new curriculum.

When we introduced computers at the time, I felt, single-handed, and we didn’t have much of the resources . . . but I made up my mind that every school would at least get 10 computers.

It was not a Government initiative. So, whatever money I could get, whatever money I could save when I travelled . . . I stored computers in a room for distribution.

My efforts gained support; and more and more teachers started learning using computers. But now it is all over.

That put us into a world of today.

You cannot do without it. Now, young children in schools can draw some knowledge from teachers due to the interconnectivity. So, teachers are central and key to the new curriculum.

I am glad to know there is a desire to know and improve amongst our teachers. As long as they keep open minds, they will know a lot. Your job is to know how to learn and how to teach. It is a new science of teaching.

This national conference, I believe, is a step in the right direction as it will be, subsequently, supplemented and complemented by other seminars and workshops at provincial, district and school levels.

The use of technology to innovate teaching and learning cannot be overemphasised. Large classes can be taught effectively by use of computers.

As a way forward, I am challenging the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education on the need to implement the best practices that will be learnt from this conference and expo in order to make education the tool that will generate employment creation and other life skills.

This conference must, as I hope it will, produce new inspiration on the part of teachers to learn more. Once upon a time, when we got our Independence in 1980 and the girl student suffered from inferiority complex  . . . “I cannot do science. If I do science and mathematics, I will fail. I will just do history. Physics and chemistry are for boys.”

This was the belief in many girl students. But today, we are stimulating the girls, and they are a challenge to the boys. They also outnumber the boys in our schools. We have more girls in our secondary schools.

Parents in the olden days would say, “What benefit is there in educating the girl child? You educate a girl for someone else to come and marry her? Ko changu chi- chazova chii ipapo? Achazotorwa zvake kunoita musha kumwe. Mukomana anga achifudza mombe ndiye wandichaendesa mhuri yake igogara pano. Ndiyo ichazova mhuri yangu. Ndiye achadya nhaka yangu. Ndiye wandichafundisa iyeye.”

The reasoning is quite false. It turned out the girl child sought and got recognition that the girl child was of greater help to the family. Why?

“Mukomana anongopengereka; haagarisike. Mabasa anofurira kunaanaHarare, kunaanaMbare uko. Asi mwanasikana wangu ari kumba ndiye anoita basa. Ndiye ane ruzivo. Well, let’s not have tables turned against us.”

Both children matter and both of them can be good children. Let the schools make even better children to their parents, villages and to their country.

I am talking from history and experience. I wish, on behalf of the entire education fraternity and the Government of Zimbabwe, to pay tribute to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education for organising and hosting the Third Education Conference and Expo.

However, my innermost gratitude goes to all delegates, foreign and local exhibitors, presenters and, of particular mention, the teachers and heads of schools.

Remember, I am one of your own. I went through a number of challenges during the struggle, in jail. But even in jail, we taught those comrades who had up to Standard Two.

We also had some who provided us with materials. So, we managed to produce graduates. Vamwe vakazonopamhidzira vave panze, and we were very happy.

I will never forget those days.

Even when we got out, I had small classes pamba for some of my commanders. One or two vanga vasina zvefundo mumusoro, asi vamwe vakateerera.

Some are now doctors.

The Commander veDefence Forces has a doctorate. VeIntelligence is studying very hard to get well educated. They must know the world. They must know some of the sciences and build the nation.

That is education. I, therefore, view you as the anchor points of any nation’s civilisation. As Aristotle noted, “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”

A teacher will teach someone and that someone will teach others, and generation after generation will benefit.

1,988 total views, 1,783 views today

On September 20, 2017, Zimbabwe commemorates the 14th anniversary of the death of Vice-President Simon Muzenda. In the lead-up to the day, The Sunday Mail will run a series of articles on VP Muzenda. Last week, our Chief Reporter Kuda Bwititi spoke to VP Muzenda’s daughter, Mrs Tendai Muzenda-Ngcobo, on how the national hero sacrificed his family’s interests for the greater good of the nation. We publish Mrs Ngcobo in her own words.

I’m Vice-President Simon Muzenda’s daughter; the third child in a family of eight. My father used to call me “my third-born second daughter”.

This confused many people, but the explanation was a simple one, really. The first to be born in our family were twins, making me a “second and third-born” in one.

Born in Bulawayo in 1953, I grew up in Gutu.

I schooled in Mvuma and then Goromonzi.

My earliest memories of dad are quite hazy as I never spent much of my infancy and adolescence with him.

On the few occasions that he came home, a lot of youths would be all over the house, pretending to take carpentry lessons from him.

It was only much later that I got to know that Baba’s “carpentry students” were, in fact, crafting political strategy.

Our home was an “assembly point” and was to evolve into a transit point for liberation fighters.

Baba was very kind and sacrificed the interests and welfare of his children.

At one point, I did not have a pencil, but gave pencils to other children in the community.

He always argued that those he helped were more disadvantaged than us.

Some widows lived in our neighbourhood, so he saw himself as the benefactor of an extended family.

We used to visit him during his detention at Wha Wha, normally during school breaks.

Those were precious moments, though the time we would spend with him per visit was little.

It was always heart-warming to see him enjoy his favourite home-cooked meal at that dingy detention centre.

He would tell us folk tales and cuddle my elder siblings and I.

However, the situation worsened as he was transferred to Central Prison, which we referred to as “Depo”.

There were less visiting hours there, with absolutely no physical contact.

Conversations took place through a fence. At worst, the warders put up a barrier that allowed us to only communicate via telephone.

It was painful.

“The conditions in this prison are terrible,” he would tell our mum.

My father spent about 12 years in prison.

Though I saw him sporadically, we always communicated through letters, letters full of love.

In that correspondence, he constantly explained the reason for his incarceration, telling us not to worry.

“The future is bright,” he reassured us.

That he was passionate about fighting colonial rule was evident in his writings. His determination, courage, strength and hope hardly escaped one’s attention.

This cleft my heart in twain.

One part was proud of him. The other was afraid that something terrible would befall him.

As an adolescent, it was difficult for me to understand why he could not be with us.

But my mother remained a pillar of strength, providing the tonic for us to soldier on.

We got to meet Baba’s colleagues — President Mugabe, Leopold Takawira and others — who shared his determination.

He was in good company, though in dire circumstances.

The years 1975 to 1979 were particularly painful as I never saw him after his release and subsequent sojourn to Zambia.

I was now a student at the University of Rhodesia and conversant with the struggle.

Our biggest worry was that he would be killed by the colonial regime just like Zanu-PF chairman Advocate Herbert Wiltshire Chitepo. Sometimes I had sleepless nights, worried that my father would never come back alive.

Though I never got to see him then, my siblings were fortunate to visit and stay with him regularly while he was in exile.

I derived strength from reminiscing about him and the good ol’ days. Most importantly, I derived greater strength from what he was fighting for.

I realised that he was not just my father, but an entire nation’s father.

I got married in 1977 and he wasn’t around.

He only returned around February 1980 to hold countrywide rallies in the lead-up to Zimbabwe’s first multi-racial                                                           elections.

There was such a huge crowd at the provincial rally in Gweru that I nearly failed to meet him.

I watched from the terraces and could not navigate the thicket of jubilant human bodies to the main stage where he, President Mugabe and other nationalist leaders                                                                     sat.

I had not seen him in years, so longing propelled me through the crowd; shoving and pulling until I got close to the stage.

Security details got alarmed, but one leader Cde Eddison Zvobgo, who was also a close family friend, noticed me and cleared the way for me. My father leapt from his seat with joy!

He had seen his “third-born second daughter” and I suddenly found myself enveloped in a hearty embrace.

Time seemed to stand still. Tears flowed. Emotion superseded joy. My father was alive and there in the flesh!

He told me how happy he was to see me. We chatted briefly about my family and education.

He remarked how proud he was of me for having attained a university degree.

I was obviously happy to see him, but our jubilation was cut short by a security operative who came to advise my father that it was time for him to proceed with the programme. It was only after Independence that we related as father and daughter — properly.

He was loving, but always made it clear that he would treat us in the same way he would treat any other Zimbabwean who required his help.

My father initiated a lot of projects for the people of Gutu and many other Zimbabweans.

This was a reminder to us that every Zimbabwean was our sib-      ling

1,983 total views, 1,800 views today

LET’S give it to US President Donald Trump — if he thinks anyone is his team is excess baggage and is becoming a liability, he is very swift and ruthless in showing even his good friends the exit door. Just more than a week into his presidency, Trump fired acting Attorney-General Sally Yates, then it was attorney Preet Bharara and in a few months, we have lost count on the number of officials that the US president has fired.

He has even dismissed FBI director James Comey. But the most dramatic move by Trump was the way he fired the loud-mouthed Anthony Scaramucci, as the White House director of communications just 10 days after appointing him into office. Upon his arrival, Scaramucci had threatened to fire anyone at the White House but before he had closed his mouth, he was kicked out by Trump.

But we really shouldn’t be surprised by the Trump way of doing things. Before he took over as president, Trump had made a name for himself as a reality television presenter on the programme, “The Apprentice.” At the end of each episode, Trump would send one contestant home by turning his hand into a finger gun, pointing it on the contestant and yelling, “you’re fired”.

Now Trump is doing at the White House and it looks like many will soon be told “you’re fired”. The US leader seems to be a big fan of motivational speaker Sue Augustine, who in her book, “When Your Past Is Hurting Your Present: Getting Beyond Fears That Hold You Back”, wrote that in life there comes a time to “lay that baggage down and leave behind all the struggling and striving. You can be free as you journey towards a balanced healthy and rewarding  future”.

Trump is not exactly an exemplary politician, but it looks like Vice President Mnangagwa can learn a thing or two from the US President. Following statements by President Mugabe and the First Lady Dr Grace Mugabe during the Zanu-PF Presidential Youth Interface rally in Gweru last Friday, it indeed is time for the VP to clear the deck.

It was clear from the statements by the President and the First Lady that VP Mnangagwa is not the problem with regards to reports of factionalism emanating from the Midlands province. In fact, listening closely to the statements, one got a feeling that the biggest disappointment was that the VP was being let down by some overzealous and reckless barking dogs from the province and a few misguided elements from around the country.

One writer once wrote: “You can run all you want, but the baggage you travel with will continue to hold you down until you let some of it go.” Another writer sarcastically wrote: “Pay excess baggage in airplanes, not in life. Let go!”

The time has come for VP Mnangagwa to let go some baggage that is weighing him down. Why should he continue paying excess baggage in life as if he lives in an airplane? The Energy Mutodis of this world, the Victor Matemadandas of this world and many more jokers and spoilers out there are now excess baggage for the VP.

Simply put, VP Mnangagwa should stop watering dead plants. Donald Trump may be overdoing things at the White House, but it won’t harm the VP to take a few lessons on how to clear the deck.

There are quite a number of people who have been pretending and faking support for the VP, yet their irresponsible statements and actions have done more damage to the VP. VP Mnangagwa has travelled a long and arduous road from the days of the liberation struggle up to now. He doesn’t need pretenders and cartoon characters to spoil his name.

While it has been his trademark over the years not to defend himself regularly in the media, the time may have come for him to change his communication strategy, especially in these days of the social media which doesn’t go to sleep.

For example, up until last Thursday when VP Mnangagwa issued the statement regarding events at the Gwanda Presidential Youth Interface rally that saw him being rushed to South Africa for treatment, a lot of lies were flying around.

The VP’s statement put everything into perspective and defused all the sinister theories that were being peddled by prophets of doom. We are not suggesting that VP Mnangagwa should be in the media every day and we are not suggesting that he dumps all his allies. All we are saying is; there is so much excess baggage on his deck.

It’s time for VP Mnangagwa to respect himself enough to walk away from anyone or anything that no longer serves him, that no longer grows him and that no longer makes him happy.

Gweru was quite revealing. Shrewd politicians would take Gweru as a foundation and build on it.

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Howdy folks!

As the smoke thundered in Victoria Falls a fortnight ago, leaders of local business were gathered in the resort town for the fourth edition of the Business Leaders Conference hosted by the Standards Association of Zimbabwe.

The conference was themed “Standards — A building block for a sound national and quality infrastructure”.

Standards were under the spotlight at a time it is evident that they are an integral element for growing exports.

The recent outbreaks of serious avian influenzas affecting local poultry are good examples of how standards can impact trade and how collective efforts should always be harnessed to maintain standards.

Following the outbreak, virtually every country banned poultry imports from Zimbabwe.

While the outbreak had been identified from just one poultry producer, all other poultry producers’ supplies were also banned by other export markets, in line with the World Trade Organisation’s sanitary and phytosanitary standards.

We can also cite the failure of local cattle producers to export beef to Europe; despite the country’s signing of the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union nearly a decade ago.

The agreement gives Zimbabwe duty-free and quota free access to European markets.

The country has had challenges in meeting basic standards stipulated before being allowed to resume beef exports to the lucrative European Union; which were suspended in 2001 after an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

Many people agree that Zimbabwe is a cattle country and that there is local capacity to grow exports through enhanced beef production if the right standards are met.

But between now and then, Zimbabwe will continue lose out on potential revenue it could be earning from beef exports.

The country’s export of meat has been insignificant since 2001.

In light of this, upgrading standards will therefore be instrumental in reviving the country’s export markets and reclaiming its former glory.

This is happening at a time Government is planning to launch a National Exports Policy and it is important for that policy to enshrine issues to do with quality and standards.

There has also been talk about establishing a National Quality Standards Regulatory Authority to manage the standards of local products.

Although Government has been implementing Consignment-Based Conformity Assessment in order to reduce hazardous and substandard imported products and improve customs duty collection, there are still some challenges associated with border porosity and scope of the work being done.

Bureau Veritas, appointed by the Industry and Commerce Ministry to verify and assess conformity of goods, is only doing so on a narrow range of products.

In total, about 32 classes of products from different sectors are monitored by Bureau Veritas when Zimbabwe actually imports thousands of classes of products.

The creation of a body that ensures product quality is therefore necessary and needed as soon as yesterday.

At the moment, existing organisations such as Standards Association of Zimbabwe only certify organisations that voluntarily apply.

And out of about 5 000 companies with the potential to get certified in Zimbabwe, it is reported that only 140 companies are currently certified.

The figures show the lack of commitment to issues of quality by the majority of companies.

And with the protectionist measures that have boosted the demand for local products, some local producers are just not taking issues to do with standards and quality seriously, knowing that people will still buy their products anyway.

If that mentality is allowed to take root, it will inculcate a culture of irresponsibility that can only succeed in closing doors for export market opportunities for the country.

However, the development of product standards and their widespread adoption can play an instrumental role in facilitating transactions and enhancing trade, both domestically and abroad.

Standards facilitate the interoperability of products and systems; and have the potential to actually extend and enlarge the market; which help determine the efficiency and effectiveness of the economy.

Industrialists can also agree that standards are an important vehicle for the development and diffusion of best practice technologies and can make a big contribution towards lifting productivity and promoting sustainable economic growth.

More importantly, standards also serve to give consumers greater health and safety protection.

In general, standards can have national, regional or international scope.

Standards in Zimbabwe are currently fragmented and located in various government ministries and statutory bodies and the coming in of a regulatory standards body is probably going to harmonise them.

By design, national standards can be used by everyone, but are more prominent for the local market actors.

They also take into account preferences of actors on the demand side.

Production in compliance with national standards can serve as a quality signal.

On the other hand, regional standards are published in multiple countries of one geographical or political region.

As a member of regional blocs like Comesa and Sadc, Zimbabwe has entered into a number of agreements where it is expected to meet standards.

These trading blocs have also been calling for enhanced intra-regional trade, which means that more efforts should be made towards aligning to common standards in the region if local producers are to tap into opportunities that the region’s growing population present.

Zimbabwe is also a signatory of the WTO Agreement on the Technical Barriers to Trade which commits signatories to ensure that technical regulations, standards or testing and certification schemes adopted do not create disguised or unnecessary barriers to trade.

Often times, it has been noted that product standards and related conformity assessment requirements, especially where they are mandated by government authorities, can also be a critical factor impeding trade.

The continual decline of tariffs as a result of multilateral trade negotiations and the proliferation of regional trade agreements have actually increased non-tariff barriers that often come in the name of standards.

But the bottom-line is that, in the obtaining environment whereby export targeting is being pursued, it is imperative to also ensure that local production is set in such a way that products being made surpass the dictates of both local and international standards.

Otherwise, it will be pointless to increase industrial capacity to 100 percent when the goods will not have takers.

Later folks!

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Dr Samuel Chindaro
The arrival of the first batch of Biometric Voter Registration kits is a landmark occasion and significant to the voter registration process in Zimbabwe.

It officially marks the shift to a technology-based voter registration system for the first time in Zimbabwe.

Credit should go to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and Government for embracing biometrics technology to enhance the registration and voting process.

Handled in the right way, this technology will go a long way towards eliminating one of the major causes of controversy that has accompanied previous elections.

To carry out a credible election, we have to start with credible voter registration.

Issues surrounding the state of the voters’ roll have been at the heart of most election disputes in Zimbabwe.

The main benefit that will be derived from the use of biometrics for voter registration will be the production of a new, clean voters’ roll, which contains unique individual information based on physical characteristics (facial image and fingerprints).

It is important to emphasise this point as there have been a lot of misconceptions regarding the use of biometrics in upcoming elections.

In the planned BVR process, a voter’s details (name date of birth, address, etc) will be digitally captured and stored alongside their biometric features (face and fingerprints).

This is very similar to the process we go through when we apply for national IDs and passports.

These will then be input into a single database where software will be used to clean up the voters’ roll by eliminating voters who would have registered multiple times.

This is because the software will not only compare names but will also match fingerprints. So a person who registers multiple times under different names will be picked out by the system.

The second part of the process, if it was to be implemented, would be biometrics-based voter verification or authentication on voting day.

This is whereby a person appears on voting day, presents an ID or provides a name.

The person’s biometrics face and/or fingerprints are then captured and compared to those in the database.

If there is a match, the person would be verified, gets a ballot paper and votes.

The person’s details are then digitally marked as having voted and cannot be used for repeat voting. This is not electronic or biometric voting, but manual voting as we are used to.

However, it is important to emphasise that Zec has clearly indicated that biometrics are going to be used for voter registration only.

It is, therefore, important to recognise that biometrics are not going to be used on polling day and identification documents will remain critical for identifying voters.

On polling day, voters will still be required to present identification documents which will then be cross-checked manually with information in the system before one is allowed to vote.

Therefore, the current exercise by the Registrar-General’s Office of issuing IDs should be viewed and judged in this perspective.

The availability of BVR kits means registration can now start.

However, there are a number of issues that Zec should diligently look into to ensure this process is a success.

It is essential that Zec ensures staff who are going to be handling these kits are adequately trained.

It is unfortunate that the training of the “BVR Master Trainers and Technicians” could not be started earlier; the five days allocated for the training may be inadequate.

Technology is only as good as the way it is deployed. To identify multiple registration, which is the main benefit of the system, clean data must be submitted.

Fingerprints and photographs must be clearly captured in the right way, which requires trained and capable staff.

Essential skills for staff operating BVR kits include basic computer skills, with an emphasis on data capturing, processing and administration; on top of planning and logistical skills.

Staff should also be trained to repair and maintain the equipment, so that they do not rely solely on the supplier for maintenance and support issues.

Timelines are tight and preparedness of registration teams is crucial to success.

Since election technology has the potential to directly affect political processes, it is important to engender a sense of ownership in users.

To achieve this, Zec should provide sufficient information to the public to enable them to feel included in the process.

In addition, accessibility, versatility and equality considerations have to be taken into account when deploying these kits to ensure people with special needs (the old, and disabled for example) are included.

Challenges that may occur during data capture include unreadable prints of injured people and software bugs.

Contingency measures should be in place to ensure that no one is disenfranchised.

There are a number of technical issues associated with the use of BVR which Zec must be aware of and mitigate against.

The use of technology has associated data security risks which occur as data is transmitted between registration centres and the central registry.

Safeguards should be in place to prevent corruption or manipulation of data.

Corrupted data may result in “false rejection” of valid voters. It is, therefore, important that data security gaps are eliminated from this process.

Zec has to put measures in place for biometric data to be securely transmitted and/or transported.

There must be mitigating control measures to protect the mobile registration kits and data storage devices from theft, manipulation or destruction during storage and transportation from registration centres.

Zec must also clarify the issue of the Data Centre (Central Server) which will host the AFIS software (de-duplication software), the centralised biometric data and related systems.

There have been conflicting reports emerging from Zec which ranged from a separate tender process for the central system, provision from existing facilities and recently UN sponsored upgrading of an existing system.

Such conflicting statements are unhelpful. It should be noted that the Central Server will only be required once all the data from the various registration centres has been gathered. So Zec has time to resolve this issue.

Once the Central Server is in place, adequate security measures must be there, with defined data access privileges (who has permission to access and make amendments to the database?), recovery and back-up procedures.

The processes to identify any security breaches and audits to track any changes to the database to the satisfaction of all stakeholders should be outlined.

These security issues are crucial and must be addressed in a transparent manner to avoid post-registration or post-election disputes.

The challenges to Zec are not restricted to technology and procurement.

Advanced technology alone cannot guarantee the integrity of elections without corresponding legal and administrative mechanisms.

It is therefore important for Zec to ensure that the legal framework is compatible with the introduction and use of BVR technology.

With all due respect to the legal expertise of Zec chairperson Justice Rita Makarau, the recent Kenyan election highlights that failure to adhere to legal requirements can result in challenges.

Associated with acquisition of biometric data is the issue of data protection and the right to privacy.

While there is a need for electoral data to be in the public domain, the balance between the reasonable demands for transparency in electoral processes and the right to privacy is delicate and requires careful handling.

In spite of all the challenges, the introduction of biometrics in the compilation of voter registers should improve the accuracy of the voter registers and provide the foundation for clean, violence-free, fair and credible elections.

The biggest benefit of BVR as has already been stated, is the production of a clean, credible and reliable voters’ register which is at the heart of conducting a fair and credible election.

The integrity of the voters’ roll is one of the basic principles on which the legitimacy of an election is founded; and BVR implemented in the right way is a giant step forward.

◆ Dr Samuel Chindaro is an electronics engineer, biometrics expert and researcher, trained at the National University of Science and Technology (Zimbabwe), the universities of Birmingham and Kent (UK). At Kent, he was the leader of a specialist research group on biometrics technology. Feedback: S.Chindaro@gmail.com

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Teddie Bepete
Last month four diamond panners died in Chiadzwa in an incident that has attracted various theories.

One of the deceased, Collen, was a close relative, apart from being the son of an accomplished liberation war fighter.

Though an ordinary being in an ordinary story, his excruciating ordeal with those who succumbed with him is a reflection of how Chiadzwa is not delivering on the promise it holds in its earthy grasp.

The intention of this article is not simply to give the real story of how Collen and his compatriots died, or to simply correct the fallacies propounded by some media outlets who said he drowned in a dam of slime after a chase by ZCDC guards.

Rather, it is a window into what Chiadzwa is and what it could be.

Of course, there is no glory in trespassing into diamond fields and dying such a death. But there is honour in those of us who remain exploring the truth that is embedded in Chiadzwa.

There is need to understand if our diamonds are an economic, political or moral issue, or a combination of all three.

President Mugabe has lamented the country’s losses in Chiadzwa to private companies that never lived up to fulfilling their obligations.

There is serious concern that the mineral is being depleted without Zimbabwe ever really realising its benefits.

President Mugabe said: “We have not received much from the diamond industry at all. Not much by way of earnings. I don’t think we have exceeded US$2 billion . . . So where have our gold and carats been going?”

The surrounding community has up to this day nothing to show for the expropriation of its natural endowment.

To talk of poverty in a diamond-rich country is an oxymoron; it casts a shadow over the economic empowerment agenda.

Abayomi Azikiwe has commented that: “The Marange diamond fields are said to be one of the most lucrative in the world, yet people living in the vicinity are suffering from food shortages and other economic problems. This situation is further aggravated by reports that the gems are being rapidly depleted.”

When the Zimunya-Marange Community Share-Ownership Trust was commissioned by the President in 2012, the five diamond companies operating in Chiadzwa then pledged US$10 million each to support the locals over the coming five years.

Four years on, they had deposited US$400 000.

Can we divorce this from the curse of corruption that is now being taken as normal by many in our midst?

Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company boss Dr Morris Mpofu has promised to bring sanity to the fields.

“We have tightened our security because we want to safeguard that national resource and ensure it benefits the country and not individuals,” he says.

But where is the source of power of the people who are running their own parallel diamond mining operations in Chiadzwa? How do they get so many panners into the fields? Where will the security be? Where do they get the greenbacks to oil their activities even as we queue for days to get US$50 from the bank?

Is the death of our kinsmen the price we must pay for their selfish enrichment?

The recent establishment by the State of the ZCDC as an antidote to the haemorrhaging of our diamond wealth is expected to give a new lease of life to the real owners of this wealth – the people of Zimbabwe; you and me.

And now we hear that there is a growth in the market for synthetic diamonds. Are we as a country going to benefit from our natural diamonds before they are overtaken by laboratory-made gems? Should we waste away our natural wealth while thalidomide rises? For Norbert Chaguma, one of the four who survived the incident that claimed four other lives, it all comes down to empowerment.

He sees the diamonds. He sees how a few people are getting rich of them. And he will not stand for that.

Not in an independent Zimbabwe.

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Persistence Gwanyanya
No one can dispute the necessity of unlocking the value in Zimbabwe’s iron ore and coking coal reserves, whether through revival of Zisco or through greenfield investment(s).
The revelation that a Chinese firm recently signed an agreement with Government to revive Ziscosteel is a major boost to Zimbabwe’s industrialisation drive.

Hopefully, this time both parties are serious and honest enough to see the deal go through. This is, of course, after the US$750 million debacle of a transaction involving Essar Africa Holdings Limited a few years ago.

Quite comforting is the fact that the investor, R&F of China, is wealthy and credible enough to deliver on its promises.

No one can dispute the necessity of unlocking the value in Zimbabwe’s iron ore and coking coal reserves, whether through revival of Zisco or through greenfield  investment(s).

Following the failure of the Essar deal to take off, Zisco incurred operating expenses of more than US$400 million, mainly in wages.

It is also reported that the company’s debt levels ballooned due to interest and penalties on outstanding debts.

This makes the balance sheet of what was once Southern Africa’s biggest steelmaker quite unappealing at face value.

A significant amount of the US$2 billion from R&F Company will be chewed by debts before the plant starts running in the next 18 months.

But Zisco’s role in Zimbabwe’s industrialisation and economic turnaround cannot be contested. The giant sits at the heart of the country’s industrialisation ecosystem.

Its revival will have a significant impact on upstream and downstream industries. The construction, real estate, engineering, mining and manufacturing sectors are set to benefit significantly from Zisco.

Importantly, benefits from Zisco would be more visible in preservation and generation of the foreign currency and employment creation.

For too long, the country has been importing steel to meet local industry requirements, which puts pressure on scarce foreign currency resources.

At its peak in the 1990s, Zisco employed more than 5 000 people, and its revival will bring relief to residents of the nearby municipalities of Redcliff and Kwekwe.

More importantly, the revival of Zisco dovetails with the mooted US$400 million investment in the National Railways of Zimbabwe by the Diaspora Infrastructure Development Group/Transnet.

The investment in electricity, with the construction of Kariba South, Batoka and Hwange projects by Sino Hydro, as well as several renewable energy projects – all expected to add about 2 000MW to the national grid – would support the power intensive venture of reviving Zisco.

The void left by Zisco’s demise was also felt keenly by chrome and coal miners.

Due to volatile global economic conditions and softening of commodity prices, chrome producers, notably Zimasco, experienced viability challenges.

Small-scale producers were similarly affected as they are getting unviable prices from Applebridge, which was set up by Government to buy the product from them.

This group of miners is pushing for a price of US$120 per tonne instead of US$85 per tonne they are getting from the off-taker. Buyers from the Far East are offering even less, paying between US$40 and US$70 per tonne.

As such, the return of Ziscosteel would be important for the off-take of chrome at reasonable prices locally for manufacturing of stainless steel.

Hwange Colliery, which is reeling under a US$352 million debt, will benefit from supply of coking coal – a major input in the manufacture of steel – to Zisco.

It is important to note that the revival of Zisco comes at a time the steel market is firming, alongside a pick-up in global economic activity.

Metal prices will be supported by an increase in construction, engineering and infrastructure development, all of which are key issues not only for Zimbabwe and Southern Africa, but for the world at large.

Clearly, the investment in the steel industry has broad macro-economic benefits for any country that has the right mix of resources.

This then is a call for the involvement of all Government officials to ensure that the R&F deal goes through in the quickest possible time.

A repeat of what happened with the Essar transaction cannot be tolerated.

Persistence Gwanyanya is the founder and futurist of Percycon Advisory Services. Feedback: WhatsApp +263773030691 and percygwa@gmail.com

181 total views, 23 views today

Taurai Changwa
THE Zimbabwe Revenue Authority’s resolve to fight corruption is never in doubt as it continues to double down on efforts to rid the organisation of rotten apples.Corruption is evidently deep-seated in many, if not most, public entities. An oversight role by authorities is clearly needed.

But, as the saying goes, power is nothing without control: power has to be exercised responsibly.

Zimra’s often heavy-handed approach sometimes scares industry players to the extent that it stifles progress.

This is also made all the more difficult by the straitjacket approach by most of the authority’s officials, most of whom cannot even use their discretion to serve clients.

Many companies are undeniably heavily indebted to Zimra, but their issues need to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, and this can obviously be to the discretion of officials.

In circumstances where Zimra officers are not empowered to make independent decisions, which is understandable considering the window that this opens to corruption, it is ordinary, desperate companies that are bound to suffer.

This is especially true for distressed companies that fail to meet their obligations to Zimra due to factors that are beyond their control, but critically need the tax clearance certificate in order to continue operating.

While a valid reason can be presented to Zimra on why the company is the position that it finds itself, it can take inordinately long in some cases for the matter to be favourably settled.

Although there is a law that allows companies to withhold 10 percent (withholding tax) for companies that do not have a valid tax clearance certificate, it is noteworthy that this is not applicable when one intends to participate in public tenders.

Failure to produce a valid tax clearance certificate to the State Procurement Board often results in automatic disqualification.

Zimra also allows a payment plan as a back-up to issue the tax clearance certificate, but at times the circumstances may not even allow for this to happen.

For instance, imagine a company owes Zimra US$10 million but is currently only generating US$50 000 per month.

A huge chunk of the obligations owed to the statutory body might be as a result of defaulting customers, including penalties and interests also imposed by                                                                           Zimra.

Depending on the circumstances, some companies might need a reprieve in order to sort out their mess and put the business back on track, and this is the time when Zimra needs to be responsive and supportive the most.

They are also other legal grey areas that might make it difficult for companies.

For example, it might be difficult to determine whether one needs to pay Value Added Tax on a discount or a token of appreciation?

In most cases, of your supplier rewards you with US$100 as a token of appreciation for doing business together, Zimra expects US$40 on this amount, 25 percent income tax and 15 percent VAT.

Well, while income tax should be paid, VAT on such transactions is questionable. This is unfair as it adds to the tax                    burden.

What is disconcerting is the fac t that in some cases there is a disconnect between the information that is provided on the Zimra’s website and what some officials tell clients.

It is quite an onerous burden that Zimra cases, particularly at times like these when the economy is hugely challenged.

The authority must, however, be fair, and its website has to be unambiguous.

On the other hand, tax should not be painful to pay and clients should simply pay what they rightfully owe.

As Zimra clamps down on corrupt staff, some of its officers must not be overly cautious.

They should remain as professional before and discharge their duties in the best way they know how.

Fear often clouds professional judgment.

Staffers at times should not fear defending clients in circumstances where the law favours them.

It needs to be re-emphasised that professional judgment is needed at times and failure to do this can even result in company closures.

Again, there is need for Zimra to evaluate matters on a case-by-case basis.

We need our taxes in order to run our country and at the same time we need our companies to provide employment and also continue to contribute to the                       fiscus.

In short, trying to hold on to your job can make you do some shortsighted things. Corruption should stop in Zimbabwe, however, let not fear cloud good judgment as this is affecting clients.

Taurai Changwa is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe and an estate administrator with vast experience in tax, accounting, audit and corporate governance issues. He is a Director of Umar & Tach Advisory and writes in his personal capacity. Feedback: tauraichangwa1@gmail.com and WhatsApp +263772374784

426 total views, 221 views today

Senator Tsitsi Muzenda
On September 20, 2017, Zimbabwe commemorates the 14th anniversary of the death of Vice-President Simon Muzenda. In the lead-up to the day, The Sunday Mail is running a series of articles on the national hero fondly remembered as the Soul of the Nation. Last week, our Chief Reporter Kuda Bwititi spoke to Deputy Minister of Energy and Power Development Senator Tsitsi Muzenda, daughter to the late VP Muzenda, on life with the national hero. We publish Sen Muzenda in her own words.

***

He was a father not only to us his biological children but to anyone who came to him to seek assistance.

Growing up, I was a typical daddy’s girl, as I was always at my father’s side.

What I remember the most about my father is that he was a people’s person. He loved to be with the people; be it family, friends or colleagues.

I believe that it was this characteristic that made it easy for him to become a leader because he identified with the people, he was always willing to listen and empathise with the people.

My father was a kind-hearted man. He encouraged us to invite our friends to our home for meals. He was always ready to assist the less fortunate.

My father also prioritised education.

Back in those days, books were not easily available but he went out of his way to make sure that books were readily available at our house. He set up a library at our home, which was full of books and he referred to this library as Logic, and he constantly encouraged us to read widely.

So in a way, my father was am educationist in his own right because he made sure all of us received good education for us to advance in our lives.

During his time in restriction at Whawha, he was keen to see us focus on our studies. He would dedicate his time to helping us with our school work.

He was also a carpenter par excellence who carved outstanding works of carpentry like sofas, chairs and tables.

I always asked him how he had mastered the art of carpentry and he always responded by sharing his experiences from Marian Hill College in South Africa.

As a young girl, I was so fascinated by his skills that I imagined I would grow up to become a good a carpenter like him.

Nehanda Nyakasikana

I will never forget the incident when my father was arrested by the colonial regime’s for reciting the famous poem, “Nehanda Nyakasikana”.

I vividly remember that day, it was in 1962 and I was an 11-year-old girl.

We had attended a rally which dad was addressing.

When he started reciting the poem, you could sense that the crowd had been instantly captivated.

Even at my young age, I could sense the revolutionary spirit from the poem.

The poem generated a deluge of excitement from the crowd, as it symbolically reincarnated Mbuya Nehanda

However, the euphoria created by the poem incensed the Rhodesian police. They responded swiftly to disperse the meeting.

In no time, they surrounded the stadium to make sure that no one escaped.

They immediately went after my father, arrested and bundled him into a truck.

As the truck was about to leave, I ran as fast as I could, pleading with the policemen to let go of my father.

The police had dogs ready to attack, but I was oblivious of the threat posed by the hounds because all I wanted was for them to let my father go.

I shouted as loudly as I could, “Let my father go, please let him go!”

Apparently, because of my childhood naïveté, I had assumed that somehow I would be able to save my father.

My father heard my cries and he shouted back to me, “Tsitsi go back. Do not worry about me my child, I will be OK.”

After his arrest, we spent a number of weeks without seeing him, as he received punishment from the Rhodesian goons.

I later went to live in Zambia with my father in Zambia in 1975.

I had completed Secretarial Studies as well as a teaching course so Lusaka was a good option for me to further my education.

Another incident that I vividly recall was in 1970 when I went with my mother to pay him a visit at Harare Remand Prison.

We were not allowed to have any contact with him but could talk to him through the glass barriers through the phone.

My mother brought a new jacket for him and handed it to him through the prison officers.

Dad then gave back the jacket to mum after putting a letter which contained sensitive information.

Unfortunately, the letter was intercepted and its contents caused commotion among Ian Smith’s goons.

In the letter, Dad had written a long narrative of how Leopold Takawira had died.

Prison wardens did not want this information to be made public because they had neglected Takawira.

Takawira was diabetic and the prison authorities did not allow him to get his medication and he died as a result of this mistreatment.

After that incident, my mother and I were placed under arrest. We were detained at Central Prison for a number of days while undergoing interrogation.

It was a horrendous experience and at one time the police officers threatened to kill us.

They accused us of smuggling letters into the prison, an offence which they wanted to elevate to treason.

Our time in detention was very difficult for us. My mum took it particularly hard.

After spending a number of days in custody, we were eventually released but slapped with a punishment of prohibited immigrant from Salisbury.

So for some time, the two of us were not allowed to visit Salisbury.

The PI (Prohibited Immigrant)order was lifted after some months and we resumed the visits to dad.

One of the characteristics that stood out in my father was that he was a straightforward man.

How was also soft-hearted but tough.

When I see some of the things happening in the party and in Government today, I reminisce about my father because I think he would have helped in some way to resolve some of our disputes and challenges.

He steadfastly believed that in a society we should treat each other as equals.

When he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in 1980, the high office never changed him from the simple man that he always was.

He taught us to work hard and not to ride on his name.

Our father always implored us not to soil his name.

He remained a friend and colleague of the people of Gutu when he established vibrant projects such as piggery and irrigation to empower people in the area.

The rationale behind these projects was that he wanted to prove to people that even if one had a small piece of land, that small hectarage could still produce huge rewards.

He was a father not only to us his biological children but to anyone who came to him to seek assis- tance.

1,602 total views, 1,451 views today

Marshall Bwanya
In 2003, the Calendar Girls, a British blockbuster comedy, rocked the entertainment scene. The hit film’s plot centres on 11 elderly members of the Rylstone Women’s institute in Yorkshire who are inspired to create a nude calendar for charity.

The calendar featured brave women posing nude in pictures highly decorated by baked delicacies and flower arrangements. The nude calendar sold over 800 000 copies worldwide.

Unfortunately, these nudists became victims of their own success as the new found publicity took a toll on them.

The group suffered divisions as members could not contain the fame.

In modern days, social media is being used pervasively to tap into people’s behaviours and thoughts.

Social media is a global phenomenon with over two billion users worldwide on platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Twitter.

It is undeniable that social networks have made it convenient for sharing posts, pictures and comments across the globe.

Often times we find ourselves scrolling down our WhatsApp or Twitter. Our focus is usually embedded on trending posts and comments.

A day hardly goes by without someone posing half naked on social media.  The question remains as to what motivates some people to post nude pictures.

It is my humble opinion that the desperate urge to be famous is the force behind the proliferation of social media nudity.

The draft Computer Crime and Cyber Crime Bill states that “revenge porn” offenders are liable to a fine not exceeding Level 10 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years or both the fine and imprisonment.

However, the Bill turns a blind eye on those who post their nude pictures intentionally. I think there should be punitive measures against such people.

Research has proved that the bulk of nude pictures are posted by teenage girls who suffer from the ‘exhibitionist syndrome’ and low self-esteem.

A Harvard neuroscience research conducted in 2012 says some women who pose nude have a particular sex appeal.  It seems the belief that “men think with their eyes” drive these Calendar Girl copycats to draw sexual attention using social media.

Statistics prove that nude pictures, posts and explicit content in social media attract the most “Likes” on Facebook. This brings to mind the trending South African socialite Zodwa Rebecca Libram, popularly known as Zodwa Wabantu’s rise to fame through her dances without wearing underwear.

Zodwa has since climbed the entertainment ladder and reports suggest that she recently bought a decent house using proceeds from the controversial dances. To achieve this, Zodwa used social media to have her content out in the public in and around South Africa.

Recently, Zodwa and actress Anne Nhira were involved in a social media brawl.

Nhira appealed to the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality against Zodwa’s participation at the fourth edition of the Harare international Carnival. Nhira argued that Zodwa’s dances and half- naked social media pictures were not in tandem with Zimbabwean culture.  Nhira attracted serious criticism from thousands of social media users who bashed her for “trying to stand on high moral ground”.

It seems social media users are now heeding James Curran adage that “New times call for new thinking”.

Unfortunately or fortunately depending on your opinion, not everyone who emulates the Calendar Girl nude publicity stunt on social media becomes famous. In some instances, comments on social media can be nasty and insulting.

The response from social media users and consumers can be damaging but once the pictures are posted, there is no going back.

1,786 total views, 1,470 views today

Below we publish President Robert Mugabe’s address at the Mashonaland Central Presidential Youth Interface Meeting yesterday.

Ndinoda kuvamba nekukutendai, Youth League yedu, vadiki vedu nehurongwa, hurongwa hwamakaita kuti zuva ranhasi tinge tinemi tiri tose, takatarisana neInterface tichipanana mashoko.

Ndambotaura tichavamba, vachaisa information centre, kuti hatingauye kuno tichizoita meeting. Kana tine hurongwa hwakaita sei tisingayeuke kana kuyeuchidzana kuti kuno ndokwemhondoro yedu.

Ndiko kwakavamba Chimurenga chekutanga vachikokerwa navaMbuya Nehanda nanaKaguvi.

Ndokwakaiswa mweya wakanaka, watakazowanawo uripo isu takura zvichinzi Mbuya Nehanda havana kumboda kana kuti vadzorwe papfungwa dzavo kana kunzi iwe waakufa, waakuyenda kunosungwa, kunosungirirwa, chisvipa zvaunazvo zvese uchitarisa kunaMwari kuti uregererwe zvivi zvako.

Vakaramba kuva muKristo last moment vakati aiwa tanga tichida manamatiro edu, tichikumbira Mwari makumbiro edu nhasi uno handingazo chinje handidi.

Vakafa vakadaro asi vati ndinoda kutaura kuti hongu ndiri kuyenda asi mapfupa angu achamuka.

Ndokuvamba kwavakazoita Chimurenga chekutanga chakatarisana nezvakanga zvataurwa naMbuya Nehanda, vachisevenzesa Mbuya Nehanda mweya wavo, semweya wemasvikiro anenge achibvumirana nezvakanga zvataurwa naMbuya Nehanda zvenyika.

Vakomana vedu vana Mujuru ivava pavakavamba Chimurenga vava nepfuti havana kungoyenda nzvimbo nenzvimbo vasinganamate.

Vaizvipira kumweya iwoyo vachiti “tauya ndisu vana venyu tichitevedza shoko ramakataura kuti mapfupa enyu achamuka.”

Saka pavakanovhura ndima dzeChimurenga vachivamba kuAlterna Farm izvozvo zveshoko remweya waambuya zvaivaperekedza.

Kana muhondo yedu yeChimurenga hatina kuda kuti zvikanganwikwe naizvozvo imi veProvince ino mukukutendai kwandiri kuita nehurongwa hwamakaita.

Ndinenge ndichiti tichengetedze mazwi akakosha, pfungwa dzakakosha dzakabva kumweya mukuru wesvikiro raana baba nanamai rainzi ndiro svikiro guru.

Tauya kuti tikurukure tichipanana mazano. Ichokwadi kuti kuno kwakamboita bishi. Hatingadewo kufukidza zvakaitika kuno nekuti tiri kuno zuva ranhasi, ayehwa.

Nekunoo kwakaita bishi, tinozviziva izvozvo. Nekunoowo kwaitova nevamwewo vairamba kuti ayehwa maakuzadza province yedu nevamwe vanobva kune dzimwe ndima, vanobva kuMasvingo nokumwe.

Tikazviramba izvozvo.

Zvikanzi resettlement tatorerwa nzvimbo dzakawanda nevamwe vanobva kunzvimbo idzodzo. Haisi factionalism iyoyo, itribalism yatanga tisingade. Yanga irikoo nekunouku kwete kuMasvingo nekuMidlands chete.

Naikokowo hongu province dzose dzaidawo kuti dzione kuti vanhu vadzo ndovarikuwana nzvimbo dzekurima. Vamwe vanobva kunze vasati vadzipihwa.

Inyaya dzakawanda dzatakatonga kuno navaMuzenda, saka First Lady vangoita emphasise Masvingo neMidlands; ose maProvince ese anga aine tribalism, tribal approach.

Vaida vanhu vavo kuti vave ndivo vanotungamirira vanopihwa ndima, hongu zvakanga zvisina kururamawo kuti tivanze ndima minda inopihwa vokunze, vamwe vomu province vasati vapihwa.

Nanhasi uno tichiri nenyaya yacho. Minister achibva kune province imwe, anoda kutanga azadza nzvimbo dziripo nevanhu vekwake, hazvisi kunzvimbo imwe chete.

Zviri kuvanhu nevanhu, vanhu vasina discipline yakakwana, vasina neideology yakakwana.

Vanhu vanoda ivo kuti vaone kuti hurumende yakatakura vanhu vakati wandei.

Chirwere chatii nacho chatinosungirwa kupodza. Takavamba hurumende yedu tiine history yakanga yakarema.

Hondo payakarwiwa yemushure kwakatenge kwaita vapanduki vainzi ava vapanduki vekwa Nhari.

Mushure mazvo takawana isu vokuManica vose vatiza vanaMukono, vana Mataure vakanga vauraiwa kare vapandukirwa. Why?

Vana Setran Mutambanyongwa, vese vakanga vatiza kubva kuZambia. Vachitiza hanzi vari kutya kuurayiwa naanaTongogara. Why? Pamusana pekuti ivoo vakanga vakuda kuzadza dare reChimurenga nevanhu vanobvawo kuManicaland.

Ndozvakazotsamwisa vamwe ava vachiona mabatirwo avanga vachiitwa ndozvakazotisvitsa pakuti hupanduki hwaana Nhari hwaitwa control.

Ma comrades edu akanga asara, vakada kuranga vose vaibva kuManicaland asi zvimwe zvakazodzivirirwa vana Ndangana vakanga vakutongerwawo kuti vafe vakazonzi ahh chivaregerai.

Hezvo vakanga vasungwa vachinzi ndivo vakoneresa rufu rwavaChitepo. Takumbira vasunungurwe. Vakabuda vakawanda, anaMayor Urimbo, Kadungure, ananaChimurenga, naiye Tongogara akazoregerwa vese vakabuda.

Asi vabuda kudaro, vakomana vaizviita vashandi vakanga vari kuChimoio vakada kuisa mutemo wekuti hapana anopinda pano, tisina isu kumuvheneka one by one.

Vese kubva kunaana Tongogara vanosungirwa kuita apply to join. To join vashandi, to join chimurenga, asi vabuda ava vaive vashandi, vachiti tiri vashandi.

Takazobatira njere dzekuti vasungwe vaiswe mujeri muMozambique. Zvakagonesa kuti tirange vaye vanga vabva kuLusaka vari mujeri vachitorana to take up the revolution and transform it into a proper ZANU-PF revolution. So it could prosecute the struggle properly.

Ndozvatakakwanisa kuita. Asi hatina kudzima mweya nekuti takanga tisingauzive, wokuda kuchinja revolution iyoyo kuti iende mumaoko evamwe tikangodaro muna 76, patakaenda kuGeneva, tadzoka tichironga tichidaidza zvino vamwe kuti vazoti joinawo.

Vana Sekeramai, vana Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa nevamwe ndopavakauya tabva kuGeneva.

Muna 1977 and 1978 kwakaita matalks ainzi Anglo-America talks, the Labour party yekuBritain yaisungirwa kuti ichikurukura nesu nyaya yeZimbabwe yakati isu toga hatikwanise tinosungirwa kuwanawo rubatsiro runobva kuAmerica. Ndosaka yakanzi Anglo-American Talks.

Asi tichiita hurukuro idzodzo takaona uti hapana kwadzinotisvitsa. Takaenda kunana Malta, Tanzania Dar es Salaam back to Lusaka tichingodaro, pasina zvabudirira. KuMinistry of Foreign Affairs kune ainzi Owen, David Owen, ndipo patakaona ana Andrew Young vaiva akamirira aiva represantive veAmerica kuUnited States.

Ndiye atakapihwa nehurumende yeUnited States kuti akwanirane nemaBritish navaOwen vave kuita hurukuro.

Mukudaro kwedu kwaiva kune tribalism. VanaHamadziripi nanaRugare Gumbo ndipo pavakaronga kuti vaite a coup. Asi takanga takwanisa kuchinja the complexion yevatungamiri vehondo. Ushewekunze ndokubva asungwa, Dr Ushewekunze.

Tekere ndokubva asungwa, vese ndokubva vakakatwa vachinoiswa pamahombe-kombe egoronga rakanga rakadhibha zvakati kuti, vachityityidzirwa.

Ushewekunze akarohwa nebutt ye-gun kumusoro, akatsemuka, akaita fracture kumusoro wese.

Vese, Tekere vakarohwavo, vakashushwa vese vaityityidzirwa na Chigove, Chigove ndiye akange atorerwa hukuru nekuti ndiye aiva mukuru weIntelligence and security tisati tavamba the new look yehondo yedu vasiri ku Lusaka.

Zvino Tongogara akanga ati kwandiri ini, Chigova haana fundo uyu, basa iri reIntelligence and Security rakutoda munhu akati fundei.

Ndakafunga kuti wakadaro anodiwa pabasa iri anogowa munhu anoziva murawo, gweta, anogowa munhu ane fundo yepamusoro, anogowa munhu atagara naye mumusangano, anoziva gwara remusangano.

Anogowa munhuwo zvakare ane rudzidzo rwepfuti.

Ndopandakati kuna Tongogara, aaah hooo mada kuti ndisarudze iyeye here? Ndine mukomana andinoziva ataive naye kujeri anonzi Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Asi paakabuda mujeri akati vabereki variku Zambia, ndokubva aenda ku Zambia takazonzwa kuti aenda ku University akanoita law yake, ndinonzwa kuti akapedza kuita Law yake wavakushanda nanaDumbujena mufamily inotungamirirwa naDumbujena.

Dumbujena vaiva Mashonaland West, asi akanga asingadi nyaya yekuenderera mberi nekuda kuvafront runner westruggle ayewa, dzaingoda kutaura dziri shure-shure.

Saka ndakanoti ndoda Emmerson Mnangangwa, ndakanga ndisati ndanyatso muziva zvakanaka asi takanga tambogara tese mujeri kwenguva yakati, asi ndisu takanga tamuti nevamwe ngaaende kunofundira pfuti kuEgypt first, achizoendazve ku China.

Zvino akazenge asungwa nenyaya yekuputitsa chitima chavaridzi engine yechitima kuMasvingo. Ndiyo nyaya yaizenge asungirwa.

Vakamubatisa ndiyani? NdiMichael Mawema, mukoma waNelson Mahwema.

Zvakafungwa Baba iweee, nekusava neruzivo rwakadzama, kuti handivose vatinoti Zanu-PF kana kuvakuru vatinotemba navo.

Kune vakuru vanotengesa, zvino ari kumba kwaMichael Mawema, hoyooo Michael Mawema pafoni, “munhu amuri kutsvaga ari kuno, haa ndokubva wangouya ndokubatwa segurwe vari panzvimbo imwe chete.

Aaah tozonzwa kuti vasungwa and sentence yaivapo ndeye kudimurwa musoro. Kana wateya ma bomber akadaro, law yaiveko yana Smith unotongerwa kufa.

Saka akauya mujeri atongerwa rufu facing that possibility of being hanged. Ahhhh, tikati nesuwo tiri mujeri nana Muzenda, ndikati nhai vaMuzenda imi toita sei? Aaaah Kamba aisevenzera FRAME ichiriko nanhasi, asati ava Vice chancellor vekuUniversity, saka takanga tisingarambidzwe kuti tione malawyer edu.

Tomudaidza, kuti aiwa do what you can, we don’t want him to be hanged. Aaah akaedza nekwaanogona. Finally wakazowana kaburi kadi-diki kuti munhu kana asati ava nemakore anopfura, ndofunga 18 achiri under 18, haakwanise kutongerwa kufa.

Ndiro buri raakabuda naro mukomana uyu, nhasi uno, tainge tichiti aaaaaah. Musi wemaheroes totii apa Emmerson Mnangagwa ndipo paakarara, rest in peace. Saka ndipoo patakamuyamura napo, ndokuzopihwa makore aya ndofunga aiva gumi nemaviri, kana apfuura ipapo.

Apedza hoyo takazonzwa kuti ava kuprison yekuMatebeleland, ariku detention, ndokuzochinjwa ouya kudetention yokuHarare.

Ndopatakazonzwa achikurukura, ndokwaazoburitsirwa ikoko. Aitoti haa ini vabereki vangu vari kunze kweZimbabwe zvikanzi okay go we don’t want to see the face of you again muno munyika nemabhunu, ndokupona kwaakaita akatisiysa tiri mujeri.

Ndopaakazoenda kuUniversity yeku Zambia kunopedzisa Law, ndisati ndamudana ini.

Patakazenge tavakuita revise party yedu patakange tavakunzi rebuilding it and reshaping it ndopandakanzi naTongogara Chiguwo will not do he is not educated chitipai imi.

Ndaive Secretary General chief weparty mukuru wedu weparty, chitipai zita remunhu watingazive. Ndopandakamudaidza ndakati huya akati haya ndingauye zvangu asi tine tsaona yakandiwira baba wangu vakashaya chimbondipai just one month to wind up affairs.

Takati after one month akauya akati tuturutu and joined up to today.

Sekeramayi zvimwe chetezvo akange atandwa paGoromonzi vaenda kunze uku vamboenda kuCzechoslovakia paita split paye Zanu ichivambwa vakange vaendeswa neZapu veZapu vaive in charge yemascholarship vakati vakomana ava havasisiri vedu vakave vekuZapu hurumende ye Czechkoslavakia yakavatanda vari vaviri naJohn someone.

VekuZambia vaive President Rupiya Banda waive President not long ago akakurira kuno vaiorganiser mastudents ekuZambia kuti aende kuSweden akati haa rega tikuise mune vakomana vedu vari kuenda kuSweden tongoti muri vanhu vamwe chete kumaSwedish.

Ndokuenda kwavakaita kuSweden vakanofunda chiSwedish ikoko.

Vakaita Medicine ndokwavakaitira medicine ikoko.

Apedza kudaro akauya ndakanzwa kuti ari kuZambia kuLusaka ndakati aa madzoka huyai kuzotijoina kunoda vanachiremba kuno zvikanzi aihwa tichambopedzisa zvatiri kuita tichauya.

Ndokuuya kwavakaitawo vanaSekeramayi.

Ava anaHushehwekunze vakazouyawo nembiri vachibva nekuno vakauya nePeople’s Movement takati musangano wedu zvino wava necomplexion, tribal complexion national complexion yataida.

Hapana angati zvino vakomana vemusangano vanobva kudivi rimwe chete vanobva kwakasiyana siyana. Kubvunza kuti iwe unobva kupi yakange iri mhosva iyoyo wakabvunza marecruits ar ikupinda manyowani kuti muri vekupe aihwa takange tisingadeba.

Vakauya nemazita ehondo iwayo and that’s how we prosecuted our struggle, that’s how we went on even as we formed the Patriotic Front tabatana zvino zvaingova zvimwe chete.

Hongu paivawo nanaMutinhiri vakange vabva kuZipra vane chichemo chavaivewo nacho ikoko vatobatana zvino nevakomana vekuChimoi ndoomarwiro atakaita nyika ndeyedu tose.

Asi zvinoitika pakati apa dzimwe nguva maambitions dzimwe nguva vanhu vanenge vachikusesekedza kuti pfungwa dzimbofunga.

Masvingo yataurwa namhamha ndakaita meeting navaMahofa vachiri vapenyu mbiri tanzi navaMzembi vakomana vekuMasvingo maMPs vakumbira kuti vakuonei ndakagara navo kuState House vakati tirikunyunyuta nevanhu vaviri vaHungwe navaMahofa.

Tibisirei ava vaviri ndovanyonganisa province yedu ndovanoda kuti tifunge kuti whole province ine factionalism, haasi mafactions itribalism.

Vaviri ava vakanganisa zvakati zvakati ndakati aiwa ndazvinzwa vaMzembi vakatipawo pfungwa dzavo asi pameeting iyoyo havana kutaura.

Vakati ngatisanganei zvekare nekuti kune nyaya yeTongaat Huleet iripo yekuti vamwe vari kuda kupihwa ndima dzakarimwa kare dzine nzimbe asi veSouth Africa vakange vachema nesu vakange vati makutorera vanhu vedu minda yavakange vakarima kare.

Ini yangu pfungwa yakange isiri yekuti vapihwe kwakarimwa asi vapihwe kusina kurimwa vogorimawo tichivabatsira, takange tisina kunzwisisana ipapo.

Musangano uyu takati toupamhidza saka takazoenda kuChiredzi takaupamhidza zvekare ava vakomana ava maMPs vainditi tanetswa nevaviri ava dai matigonera vaviri ava province yedu yaimira zvakanaka zvekuti munzwe zveG40 izvi neLacoste hazvisirizvo.

Chiriko ndechekuti matongerwo eprovince ndiwo ari kuunza gakava vamwe vari kuti aihwa vamwe vari kuti vanaHungwe kudivi ravo risingade maMPs akawanda.

Saka takange tisati tanyatsopedza hurongwa uhu, neniwo ndakange ndichinyatsozvitarisa ndakati okay tichaita reshuffle tigadzirise.

Handina kumboita pfungwa yekuti it’s a question of Lacoste neG40, ndiyo nyaya iriko kuMasvingo iyoyo nanhasi.

Ndakataura pane meeting yapfuura iyo kuti vaMuzenda vakange vari kuMidlands for a long time vakazoti ndakuda kuenda kuMasvingo ndatandwa kuMidlands nevakomana ivo anaEmmerson ava nanaHove.

Hatingambozvirambe izvozvo handidi kunyepa vakazvitaura pachena ivo vana nhingi vachiramba ivo anaEmmerson vachiti hazvisirizvo vachiti ndatandwa.

Ko dai vakange vakafanana vaigoda iyo Lacoste zvakange zvisati zvauya izvo munguva yavaMuzenda.

KuMasvingo ikoko vakaonawo Zvobgo akati tanana akamirawo achiti ndini mukuru kuno achiti mavingei kuno, uyo akange ari tribalist akange asingarambe.

Akanzi navaMusika ari Minister weLocal Governance ko Zvobgo zvauri kungozadza nevanhu vekuMasvingo kwese kwese akati Vice President ndiwo unonzi mudya nehama.

VaMusika vakangozunza musoro vakati aaa anotobvuma zvake saka chaaiseka kuti ndiZvobgo uyo mukoma wavaVice Chancellor veMasvingo — he is a very very nice person.

Ndozvaaitaura Zvobgo akange asingavanzeka yaa ndozvaaitaura it’s tribalism not factionalism but of course tribalism can lead into factionalism as well.

Saka zviri kwese kwese. Mangwana aitaura musi uno, he is a lawyer, aive wekuMash West kuconstituency yake ndokwandakavamba kupa macomputer, iwe handei kuconstituency yako irimberi.

Ndozonzwa akuti akuda kuenda kuMasvingo, ndakaramba ini ndakati I don’t go, zvakanzi vanana Chikoore vari kuti ibva kuno, ndakati that’s the more reason why you must stay there, I will support you hapana angazvirambe.

Aaaa ndakuenda kuMasvingo uko ndikuenda kwaChivi kumadzisekuru angu mazviona.

Kumadzisekuru angu vari kunditi huya kuno ndokubva ndazonzwa kuti aenda ndakati aaaa aaa waenda he had a good constituency kuMash West.

Hamheno kuti nyaya yaaita allege yakanga yakakura here zvekuti aitadza kuiita oppose but oenda kumadzisekuru ake kwaChivi.

Handifunge kuti akazopinda muParliament.

Nanhasi, vachimuramba. Mzukuru ka. Ko ungauye kuno uchiti ndoenda kumadzisekuru? Kunogara nhaka yemadzisekuru? Kune zvakowo vamwe variko vanoti ah ungabve kunze uchida kuti torera basa redu. So the opposition is tough for him but vaicomplainer netribalism kuMash West.

So chirwere chatiinacho, hameno vakazobhabhatidzwa vachinzi iyi iLacoste iyi iG40 papi. VaHungwe naVaKasukuwere mudare redu rePolitburo vakambomutsana.

VaHungwe vachiti mkomana uyu ari kuda kuzvivaka, kuchirehwa Kasukuwere kuti agozotora masimba awane masimba ekuzo succeder President. Saka ari kufamba achiti machairman aripo ibva achida kuisa wake, ndozvaari kuita kwese kwese.

Takazviongororao tikaona uti kana zvirizvo zvaaida kuita, anga asati azviita kwese kwese.

Zvino ipapo, vakanga vasingataure nezve Lacoste neG40.

VeG40 iyi vakazviparira ivo vana Kasukuwere, ndivo vakazvipa zita iroro. Zvakauya sei?

Obama akahwina kuUnited States. A young man ari muma 40s. Tikanzwa kut ana Kasukuwere vakuti ah hurumende yakuda vari muma 40s vadiki ndokwabva G40, vana Obama saka vakambonzi vana Obama ivo vadiki ivavava nekuti Obama ndo age group yake yeforty something ndokwazvakabva.

Havana kupihwa nemumwe izvozvo ayewa vakazvipa izvozvo vachirova matundundu kuti haa tinoda kuti tizopindawo isu yah, vadiki zvino ndivo vakuita take over like vana Obama ah ndakangotarisa ndichiseka zvangu kuti ah.

Ko Obama is in the United States, iwe Kasukuwere uri kungokunguruka zvako uri muno. Uri muno, nyika ine history yayo, kwatakabva ukuku kunotariswa kuti history yako yakamira sei. Muparty imomo wakamira sei.

Ah ndonzwa vamwe vari kuenda kun’anga vana Joice Mujuru ah ah vanoti vakaenda eh kumutumwa kuvapostori vambouya vachienda kun’anga ane tunonzi twui eh utwu tuya tunomhanya maningi mudziva tunenge nyengeredzi yah ndakanganwa zita racho.

Taitutarira tichiti tunogona kushambira zvakakomba.

Zvino aive netuviri twaigara mugate rine mvura tuchi mhanya, aida kuti azoona kuti kanokurira mumwe ndekapi, kamwe kaive iye kamwe kainzi Mugabe.

Zvatinoona! Ndiri kukuudza. Zviri kuvakuru hazvisi kubva kuvadiki izvozvo. Zvino hatuna kumborumana twunhu twacho.

Twakangoramba tuchitoita hukama tuchibhugucha zvakakomba, swimming fast this way swimming fast, ndakatotuonawo. Vakaenda kuna vamutumwa vechipostori vakati ahh, ngatiurayei twunhu twacho hatuna basa. Tunokukonzerai mbiri isina kunaka, hameno kune mamwe machurch kana kune dzimwe n’anga zvaiitwawo ikoko. Vanhu vedu, hameno kuti chiKristu hachina kupinda here zvakakwana. Kana kun’anga ikoko vanozaridzana. Dai vachienda kunotsvaga kurapwawo chimwe chirwere taizvinzwa. Kunotsvaga kuti uve nesimba ringakusvitse paposition yakati kuti. Zvinoitwa izvozvo.

Uyu anonzi Professor Jonathan Moyo, hameno kuti vakasiyana papi nana Comrade Munangagwa. Pane Tsholotsho. Vakamboita Tsholothso vari pamwe chete.

Vaivako kanana Gushungo ari kubhora uyu, Chiyangwa, ndokwavakavamba ikoko zvichinzi machairman ose ngaauye asangane kwaZvimba kumba kwaChiyangwa. Havo murikitira machairperson vonosangana ikoko. Ndokwavaironga ikoko kuti haa VaMugabe vanozoitwa replace here? Tosupporta ani? Tosupporta Mnangagwa? VaMnangagwa vakanga vasiko ikoko. Asi vana Chiyangwa nana Jonathan vaiveko. Hezvo, zvozobva ipapo hanzi ah ngatichinopedzesa nyaya dzedu kuTsholotsho kwana Jonathan. Uyo wainzi ka ndiye mukomborerwi, waiitirwa izvozvo, kana akanzi huya ikoko, akatadza kuenda, iye anoti haa ndakanga ndakabatikana nezvimwe achitaura kwandiri inini.

Asi vakanosungana kuTsholothso ikoko, isu ndobva tazvidimbura. Tikati ah hoo, ndivanani vaiva kuTsholotsho? Ndobva tavaranga zviye vamwe takava suspenda, zvakati kuti.

Naiye Jonathan zvimwe chetezvo we suspended him. But anoti it is at that point yaakaita differ naVaMnangagwa because Mnangagwa did not come out to support them. Wakangoramba akahwanda ari distant from them.

Havo vosuspendwa asi wavanga vachirwira haana kubatwa nenyaya yacho nekuti haana kana kuenda kwaChiyangwa haana kuenda kuTsholotsho eh iroya (lawyer) ka kuti kana nyaya dzacho dzazobuda ndakanga ndisipo.

And chokwadi ndozvakaitikawo, akati handizvizive ndivo vaive nepfungwa dzacho kwete ini.

Zvino ungazomuti newewo waive nepfungwa idzodzo. Anoti ayewa prove it. Wati wosuspendwa kudaro and takamuita advise naMai Mujuru, Jonathan tikati ah don’t do anything just accept. Don’t try to stand as an independent don’t don’t don’t.

Iye akaenda akanoitawo pfungwa dzake he stood as an independent and won ikoko paye. Fine, but after some time you can’t be out of the party wambenge uri nhengo yeparty for so long and say and believe that you can stand alone as an independent.

Akazouya achiti ah kunze uku its too cold. Yah saka patakazobvuma paye kuti ah no let us get vekuTsholotsho back into the fold iye akazotiwo ndakudzokera kuparty. Asi akazoti akataurira Politburo kuti ehh vaMnangagwa, I will never never support you again, never! Hapo ka, kana paripo pakabuda zvino zvondo I don’t know.

Ndokubva azotsvaga dzimwe cases dzaakatipa, mutorododo wakadai wezviito zvavaMnangagwa. Haa zvimwe zvisina kunaka. Vakakonzera uyu mkomana aiva chirema anonzani, vasangana kuimba yemusikana Majonga yah.

Vasangana ipapo Majonga ndiye aidanana nemusikana uyu akanzi iwe kana uchada hupenyu you make a choice wogara pachitofu ichi chiri kupisa or you jump out through the window hameno kuti kana akapihwa those two choices I suppose munhu ipapo unenge usisina pfungwa yakatwasanuka.

Akaona as just one of the two. No ko dai akangoti resist, do what you can I will not do either of the them asi akangovhunduka akava nervous ndokubva asarudza kuzvidonhedza, ndozvatinonzwa kuti akajamba nekuwindow, kujamba nepawindow means storeys down.

Akatyokawoka, zvino angova chirema but he still has his brains, arikuma disabled uko, hameno kana zvirizvo vaMnangagwa vanoti havamboziva nyaya iyoyo.

Ndoimwe yakanyorwawo iyoyo yanezvimwe zvakati kuti, zvino vaMnangagwa vakati, fine ndichamupindura. Vakandiudza musi uno kuti vakapedza.

He had some 65 pages of reply but nehurwere hwavainahwo he can only stand achitaura perhaps 15 or so minutes but kana asimba he will reply to him.

Ndidzo nyaya dzimwe dzinotivhiringa muparty, personal differences, attacks and ambitions — zvatinoda kuti zvipere.

Ko, we never have had our Presidential system, procedures, unguided by the rules of the party hatina kumbofa tazviita isu kuti mumwe anoti, seni I am President now, ndoti ndoda kusiya ngana, ndoda kusiya mai Mugabe ndoda kusiya Emmerson ndoda kusiya Mphoko as my successor.

It’s contrary to the Constitution I cannot do it, it’s not allowed.

Constitution inoti munhu anosarudzwa kuCongress, ini ndingava ndine candidate ehe, but anosungirwa kunge achikwikwidzana nemamwe macandidates kuCongress and I follow, I am a lawyer also, I follow the law, I follow the regulations very strictly, handidi kuzonzi ndinzi ndakasiya mukadzi wangu aaaah ayewa.

Zvinoitwa nevamwe vari kuma French countries, hatidaro muZanu-PF, tine history yakasvonaka yeparty yedu, tinoda kuti tiitevedzere iyoyo zvakanaka.

Ava vakomana ava vari kupengereka hameno kuti chavari kupengerekera chii, kana achinzi ma supporters ava Mnangagwa vaasingazivi kuti Constitution yedu yakamira sei.

Vanofanira kudzidziswa, it’s a pity kuti they have decided to go that way but we shouldn’t support them and it is right and only right that we should never entertain them. They are wrong and they have been punished by the party and we should not entertain them.Kana vave kuda kudzoka vanoziva gwara, vanoziva kwokuenda to place their pleas, kuti haaa takaona zvakati hatingarambe tiri kunze tava kuda kudzoka kuparty but hatingavadaidzi isu kuti come and be associated with us. No , its completely wrong saka I hope vaMnangagwa you take that advise into account, give them the languish if they want to languish in the dark were they chose to be, we don’t pay them to come back.

Zvinopa appearance of support kuvanhu, vanhu voti aaa ko zvamuri imi vakuru makuva supporter zvakare muchivadaidza kumapurazi muchivadaidza kudzimba. What does that mean?

Ndiyo issue iyoyo iripo, iyo. Iyi Lacoste iyi ndakati ko yakabva nekupi, iye ari kungoti chokwadi handizive kwayakabva nako asi ndakangoyerekana ndapihwa, hameno kuti chaive chibhodhoro here kana kuti chaive chii chakanga chakanyorwa kuti Lacoste. Hanzi ndokubva ndangochibatawo in an innocent way. Chainzi chakanyorwa kuti “I am the boss”, hanzi icup. Aaaaah ehe.

Zvino ndochamurikufirawo ichocho. Kana chiri chi cup ah chirasei, nekuti chaenda mbiri ichochi, zvino munhu angafira chi cup chete?

So no, let us not do that, maprovinces eMidlands neMasvingo, ndokune nyatwa dzevanhu vasirikunzwanana, dzakakomba ikoko. KuMasvingo, the Midlands is different, kungavewo ne one or two but vanga vachinzwanana zvikuru.

Asi sekuru vangu vaGumbo vakangofa vachiti aah munhu ari kunyonganisa zvinhu kwedu ndiEmmerson.

Baba vaChairman weOrganisation yeCoca Cola, Charles, VaMsipa. Takagara navo vaMsipa for a long time vasati vapinda mupolitics saka ndini ndakavati ibvai kwaTodd kuCentral African Party muuye kuANC.

Kana muchishora kuti aah vanaChikerema nanaNyandoro havana kufunda imi makafundaka munenge muchivapa mazano.

Saka ndakavashumairira ndichangobva kuGhana, for a long time ndigere navo nemumwe ainzi Peter Gumbo aibva nekwa Kutama.

Saka ndakavati to join an African Party we must be Africanist. We must have African Nationalism, vakazodaro havo mamushure saka he did not have quite a history asi vakazenge vamuZapu, muZipra vaitawo quite some distance vachienda kuGonakudzingwa vachizodzoka pamaelections zviri zvimwe chetezvo.

Patakaita Patriotic Front vanga vavamo. Saka he went some distance getting some experience. Asi vakanga vasingade Emmerson zvichinzi ndiye ari kukonzera nyatwa dzekuMidlands, ukuwo uku sezvandataura ndivaHungwe namai Mahofa.

Saka the situations in these two are quite different, the more endemic one which is crying for solution is Masvingo.

KuMidlands haiwa vanozviconducter zvakanaka-naka, there are some very good performers variko.

Ok, long, long story asi tauya kuti titi nyaya dzese idzi tinodziti bvuu pachena, muzivewo imi zvimwe zvinokanganisa musangano kuti muzviregerewo.

Zvimwe zvacho zvinobva nekwamuri majournalist anonyora rubbish, absolute rubbish.

Zuva nezuva kana uchiona pepa, zuva nezuva rinofanirwa kuburitsa zita raaMugabe kana nemudzimai. Story yacho, dzinenge dzichinyorwa ipapo hadzina kodzero yekuti dzinganzi inews dzevanhu.

Asi zvazoitika ndezvekuti nekusanzwanana kwedu uku muparty medu vamwe vakava nehukama nanaDaily News nanaStandard vachiisa pfungwa dzavo dzeku criticisana nevamwe imomo.

Isu tosweroti iparty dzanaTsvangirai izvo vanaTsvangirai vakatorerwa kare kare mapepa aya nesu.

Ndisu taane influence yakati kuti, nekuti tinovabhadhara ka kupfuura vanaTsvangirai.

But when all is said and done tinoti isu zvese izvi tikazvitsanangura tikakwanisa kuzvipa mushonga wakakwana tikakwanisa kuzvisolver zvakakwana ndokuvakwa kunoitwa party.

Hainzi pamusoro pezvizvi party yafa, ah ndiwe wafa kana uchidaro. Isu tinoti ndozvinoitika mumaparty, hapana kwazvisingaitike.

Kana chiparty chidikidiki, honai Tsvangirai aaaaah atambura, mai Khupe vakuti ndakuuya kwangu ndega.

Ava vakambenge vatiza vanaBiti nanaWelshman Ncube vakuti tauya asi tauya zvino nezviparty zvedu.

Iye achiti huyai, iye achiziva strategy yake yekuti ava vakauya ndovadzvanyirira tovhara door kuti mapinda asi mototungamirirwa neni saka simba rangu rinenge rawanda.

Huyai vakomana huyai. Hachina kupusa ka, eh hachina kupusa Tsvangirai. Ari kutoti ngativhurei madoor vagorwisana vachiuya.

Asi vese vauya vanenge vakusupporter MDC, MDC pamusoro, kana toenda kuma elections tinenge tasimbarara kupfuura zvatingaite tisina vazhinji vedu ava.

Saka tiri kunanga kuma elections, ngatirambei takadai. Saka ndoda kutenda vakomana ava, zvese zvandiri kutaura vangadai vachizvizivawo. Asi vanokwanisa kuronga marallies akakura saiyoyi.

Takabva kune rimwe rekuMidlands iye zvinezvi, nemamwe ese atakamboita six of them. Iyi yava number eight. Ose anongoda kufanana, ose ane hurongwa hunoratidza kuti vanhu vanenge vapihwa discipline yakanaka. Hapana kurwa, hapana kutukana. Tinogara zvakanaka.

Vari mberi vogara pasi vari shure vomirawo, toteerera. Totererasa shoko rinenge rabva kuvatungamiri. Ndati hurongwa uhu tirambe tinahwo. Tisvike pakuzoenda kumaelections tabva tichingobva muhurongwa hwakaita seuhwou.

Macampiagns edu vakuru onai wo. Onai mufunde kubva kuvadiki vedu. Havasi vadiki ka vana. Vadiki vedu asi vava nemhuri vari kutipa chidzidzo chemberi. Asi tiri kutarisa ramangwana ka, tichikuda kurarama.

Mvura yekuzoturuka pamwedzi unouya kana muchizorimawo tovamba zvakare basa rekurima vataura vaMade vachikupai zvakaitika, vachikupai kugona kwatakaita, hurongwa hwavanahwo hwemainputs tozvichirechedza izvozvo.

Asi pachedu pamunhu woga woga ane mudzimai wake ne vana vake, vane six hectares, or ma plots akati kuti or purazi togadzirira kupinda muzvirongwa izvi, cheCommand agriculture, kwazvo kwazvo kana tiine mvura muma dhamu kwedu. KwaPresidentwo kuchapa kuyamura kune vaya vari kunze kweavo vane mvura muma inputs zvimwe chetezvo.

Tobatanidza zvinobva kwaPresident ne kuCommand kuti tive ne ruvimbo rwakakura tive zvakare negoho rwakakura. Mbiri yedu yekuva variritiri venyika dzose dzemuSadc idzoke kwatiri. We become once again the basket ye Sadc if not of the whole of Africa.

But let’s remain united, in spite of all that might, happen the party comes first. First, whatever differneces we might have, the party comes first.

It brings unity, the unity of us all in the party must be maintained. Kunzwanana pagwara iroro kuti tiri vanhu vakasungwa ne musangano kuva pamwe chete. Rinototi nharo dziri pakati penyu, kusanzwanana kuri pakati penyu chimbokandai pasi. Tirime takabatana tidhonze se madhonza takabatana.

Tidyare takabatana tigokohwa takabatana. Zvobatsira nyika, the country will prosper when individuals continue to quarrel but our country is moving ahead.

Ndozvatinoda kuona izvozvo.

Mamwe masectors ezvicherwa, gold, diamonds, copper and so on tiwachengetedze kwete kuti vamwe vasina hanya nesu vaorganizwa pachivande kuti imi mugopihwa chati tivabvumire. Aiwa.

Ndosaka ndichiti hapana anosungwirwa kupihwa ivhu redu iri, maclaim kana ari ema diamonds, echrome kana gold, tisina kubvimirana. We don’t want corruption hatidi. Zvicherwa zvevanhu izvi. Ngazviende kuvanhu.

Mai vati bvumirai makorokoza kuti varambe vachichera, hatina kumboti makorokoza ngaarege kuchera goridhe asi takati ngavarege kukanganisa nzinzi, magomba voramba vachichera pedyo nenzizi, mavhu ofushira nzizi dzotadza kuerera.

Tininge tapundutsa ani ipapo? Ari kukorokoza kagold kadiki osiya anyangadza nzizi dzedu.

The siltation kungoita makomba pese pese, aiwa zve kana wada kukorokoza idawo kunatsa makomba ako wofushira magomba ako ofushira zvakanaka-naka, kwete kungosiya. They become a danger to our animals, a danger to people themselves vanenge vofamba usiku.

Kukorokoza ngakuve netsika negwara ratinobvumirana naro kuhurumende. Zvisingatikuvadziri nyika yedu.

Kukaita makomba pese pese mumwewo anoda kukorokoza ozoona kune makomba pese pese. Hatidi zvakadaro.

Let’s do it properly. Tinoda kuti munyatso pihwa mazano akanaka, zvino imi munoda kuzvitira kumhanya nekwenyu. Ndingatangirwe. Usina kupihwa mazano.

Ministry of Mines inokupai mazano,itai makadai seenzesai zvakadai zvakadai mayeerarono nevhu ririko. Kumwe kune vhu rakaoma, kumwe kunevhu, kunotoda maimplements chaiwo chaiwo akaoma. Kumwe kune ivhu dete rinochereka. Asi tinenge tichida order ne discipline tinenge tichida kuti our environment should be protected.

Tinotenda materera.

Madzishe edu tsika ngadzichengetedzwe. Tinodzida zvikuru-kuru. Hongu tinoenda kumachurch asi machurch anotipawo nzira yekuenda kuna Mwari ne kukumbira kuna Mwari, yakauya nevarungu.

Isu tanga tine nzira dzedu ngadzichengetedzwe dzive nzira dzakanaka. Kudhakwa, upombwe pakati pedu, kusemana pakati pedu hazvidiwe.

Ndizvo zvimwe chetezvo zvakakwirirwa gomo naMoses kuti achinonyora, achizoti ndabva kutaura naMwari  zvandaudzwa naMwari zvamunofanirwa kuita. Nekuti akanga aona kuti vanhu vake vanongorwisana, havasisina tsika vakunamata zviumbwa vasisanamate Mwari.

Tinotenda mauya materera manzwa zvatataura kwete, kwete, kwete kuzoita zvondo pakati pedu hatidi.

Ndakuudzai zvimwe zvechokwadi asi hatidi kuti muzoteerana nemapfumo kuti ndozvaunenge uchinditaura izvi. Kuti ndigoitwa sei naPresident, hapana zvatinomboita.Pamusana pekuti ndinenge ndichitora step yakadai kana kuti ndozokuti hausisiri nhingi weparty.

Aiwa. Kana achichengetedza murawo weparty that’s fine tinoshanda tiri tese, takabatana.

Vese vanozviiti G40 vana Kasukuwere, Obama haasisipo.

Saka mava vanhu kwavo ve Zimbabwe. We are Zimbabweans, we have our rules, Zimbabwean rules,we have our history, our Zimbabwean history of the revolution.

We are not Americans. No. So we cannot be Obamas.

We are not British, no we cannot be Blairs. We are Africans, we Zimbabweans, let’s be proud, even where we differ. We all belong, all of us, tingave tinorwisina pakati pedu, asi Zimbabwe is ours at the end of the day, tinenge tichiti nyika ndeyangu. Tinenge tichiti nyika ndeyedu.

Kana mukarovana zvibhakera apa munongodzoka moti tiri vana venhu tarovana zvedu asi isu tose tinoda ivhu, tinoda kugarika kwakanaka.

Tinoda mhuri yedu yeZimbabwe kuti igarike let us be sons of the soil let us be people oriented. Let us be uniters of our people, isu the leaders must be united so that the people can be united.

Akafa achitaura mwana wemaNdebele uyu Joshua Nkomo achiti ‘Peace begins with me, Peace begins with You, Peace begins with all of us’.

Thank you.

1,825 total views, 1,470 views today

LOOKS like the crazy and silly season is upon us once again. So, so sad. Indeed, life is a performance and this world we are living in is but just a stage, the grand theatre where this performance is taking place.

On the other hand, the opposition press continues overestimating the power of the media. It’s as if we are still living in the 1930s, those days of the alleged Magic Bullet Theory when the media was said to be so powerful that it zombified people with its effects. The folly is just worrying in the 21st cen- tury.

Greetings vanhu vaMwari. Zvinondiwandira imi woye. But am back and uuummm, the performances going on and the machinations being planted all over the place are getting out of hand. Mumwe achachema manje, manje. Zii, zvavo Bishop for now.

So the opposition press is saying Vice President Mnangagwa is throwing some of his supporters under the bus? They said this in reference to the decision that was taken by the Zanu-PF Politburo to expel the reckless Energy Mutodi and relieve Women’s League Political Commissar Mabel Chinomona of her duties.

In its editorial last week, The Sunday Mail had called on the VP to clear his political deck of people like the suicidal Mutodi and the rabid Victor Matemadanda. Bishop Lazarus thinks the VP should not only throw people like Mutodi under the bus. He should get under the bus and crash such people personally. Kuita vekusvina kwazvo.

In fact, throwing them under the bus can be risky because such people zvinenge zvidembo. As we all know chidembo hachifi zvekumhanya. The VP should throw such people under the train where he is assured of maximum effect. These people have soiled his name for too long. Kuita kunge vakatumwa.

Anyway, those who understand political communication will tell you that the VP seems to have finally mastered the art of dealing with these spoilers. Kandai vanhu pasi petrain Cde VP.

Still with the VP. It’s his season so Bishop Lazarus hopes the VP won’t take it personal. The opposition press is on his case and if these were the days of the Magic Bullet Theory, VP Mnangagwa would be history.

Fortunately, VP Mnangagwa is not Joice Mujuru. He is still very much around despite the machinations and the relentless pressure from the opposition press.

“Mnangagwa, allies isolated,” “Grace confronts Mnangagwa,” “No deal with Mnangagwa: Tsvangirai,” “Mugabe ups attack on Mnangagwa,” “Mugabe moves in for the kill,” the headlines in the opposition press screamed over the last few days.

There are even whispers in the dark that “Ahh, Mnangagwa apera. G40 yatotora chinhu ichi.” Well, hapana chinhu chekutora because Gushungo vari tiii. Just wait and hear the accusations against the Bishop — “I have always known this Bishop is Lacoste,” others will even swear by their sorry mothers; “this Bishop has always been Lacoste.”

It’s so unfortunate some people have selective amnesia. Just check records. Bishop Lazarus was the only one who criticised VP Mnangagwa during the first days when he was appointed to that post after he held an unexplained meeting at his farm with some top Government officials. Nhasi ndoita Lacoste, imi vanhu itai mushe mhani. Ndibvirei kumhepo.

Anyway, the sermon goes on and please allow the Bishop to dig deep into some scholarly stuff because zviri kuitika izvi zvirimo mumagwaro efundo. A critical analysis of the way the opposition press is framing the VP Mnangagwa issue will help put things into perspective.

Let me quote part of what President Mugabe said on Friday while addressing the 106th Session of the Zanu-PF Central Committee. “Tinofanira kuzvirumbidza and sense of unity when insults and vilifications were thrown about — the President, First Lady have their share of these insults, several ministers and others had also these accusations, completely false, completely malicious and emanating from the same sources.

“Tinoda kuti vazvisvipe vange vachiita izvi, maprovince mazviri kubuda ndiwo atiri kukumbirisisa kuti vanatsoona kuti ndivanani? Zviri kubva papi nepapi? Zviri kuitirwei. Zviregedzwe . . .

“Our party must unite at all levels from the grassroots to the top. A united party knows how grievances within the party are corrected and how differences are resolved. We seek solutions amongst ourselves kana pane zviri kutadzwa . . .

“Kana kuchitorwa action, inotorwa vanorangwa vachirangwa. Kwete kungoshaudha. Iyoyo yakanzi social media iyoyi maiwee yakatiparira. Kutukana kuripo, kunyombana kuripo. Mazwi anotaurwa imomo!

“Tava vanhu vakaita sei? Vana vakaita sei vatiri kuzvara?

“Hatingade Zanu-PF yerudzi irworwo inotongwa from social media. Aiwa . . .” said the President.

From what the President said, reading the opposition press one is tempted to think that the President went all out attacking VP Mnangagwa. No, he didn’t. The President was preaching unity and peace in Zanu-PF.

Fortunately, the mischief by the opposition press can be explained.

Students of social science will tell you there is something called the framing theory which in very simple terms says the media focuses attention on certain events and then places them within a field of meaning.

The theory which some scholars say was propounded by Erving Goffman refers to how the media packages and presents information to the public.

According Goffman, the media highlights certain events and then places them within a particular context to encourage or discourage certain interpretations.

He says this way, the media exercises a selective influence over how people view reality.

Framing is sometimes referred to as second-level agenda setting because of its close relation to Agenda-Setting Theory, which focuses on the power of the media to set an agenda.

If we look at what the President said, he spoke about a number of important issues but because the opposition press want to encourage certain interpretations and plant certain meanings, they chose to zoom in on statements that made it appear as if the President was attacking VP Mnangagwa.

The President never mentioned VP Mnangagwa by name, but the opposition press went to town saying the President had gone after the VP.

Just as an example, the President spoke about the abuse of the social media and we all know that Professor Jonathan Moyo, Cde Saviour Kasukuwere, Cde Patrick Zhuwao among others have also used the media to comment on Zanu-PF business.

This wasn’t a story because it wasn’t fitting into the frame for the opposition press.

The Bishop is not in any way trying to tell the opposition press how to go about their business and is not saying the opposition press should have focused on the social media frame. We fully understand the political economy of the media, but we just want the opposition press to know of something called active audience theory.

This theory argues that media audiences do not just receive information passively but are actively involved, often unconsciously, in making sense of the message within their personal and social contexts.

Congregants from my church over the past few weeks have been laughing at the way the opposition press has been framing the VP Mnangagwa story. Referring to the different readings by Stuart Hall, the congregants are saying; “preferred reading has failed, negotiated reading is fast becoming difficult, leaving only oppositional reading on the table.”

According to Hall, preferred reading is when audiences respond to the product the way media producers expect them to while negotiated reading is when a member of the audience partly agrees with part of the product for example a story.

Oppositional reading is when the audience are in complete disagreement with the product’s message for example being in total disagreement with a story.

This is the reality on the ground and if anyone doubts that opposition reading is dominating the opposition press, just a call to Zimbabwe All Media Products Survey (ZAMPS) will confirm this and many other things.

Why do you think sales of certain newspapers have plummeted to shocking levels?

Why do you think advertisers are shunning the opposition press?

People are tired of “Mnangagwa this, Mnangagwa that.” President Mugabe’s main message was “Let us work together . . . Kana takatukana, let bygones be bygones. Unity and more unity is what we need. Avoid stances, actions, insults that divide the party.”

The President was speaking to everyone in Zanu-PF, not to VP Mnangagwa alone. Unfortunately, the opposition press yakasara so expecting them to grasp this reality is asking for too much. In the meantime, let the performances continue.

Bishop is out!

2,207 total views, 1,988 views today

There is no need to outline in detail the kind of relationship that exists between Zimbabwe on one hand, and the United Kingdom and its Western allies on the other.

We all know the story of colonialism, Chimurenga, Independence, land reforms, sanctions and economic empowerment.

Throughout this narrative, a figure that looms large and ever present is President Mugabe.

He was there in just about all the critical phases in the evolution of this sometimes frosty and sometimes hot-as-war relationship.

President Mugabe was there during the early days of modern nationalist awakening during colonialism; he was at the centre of the liberation struggle; he was in the spotlight at Independence; and has led the country to land reforms and economic empowerment.

In the process, his efforts have earned the reward of illegal sanctions against not only him and his family, but also on a Zimbabwean nation that is being punished for believing in President Mugabe’s emancipation and development agenda.

In short, it would not be far off the mark to say that people rarely talk of Zimbabwe without talking about President Mugabe.

This is not about personality cults or any such narrow and self-serving politics. It is about the way President Mugabe thinks.

Britain and its Western friends long realised that President Mugabe thinks in a particular way and they have just as long tried to change that mindset. It is a mind-set that they cannot stomach an African having.

But try as they may to kill it, it is a mindset that has been planted like a seed in the hearts and consciousness of millions of Zimbabweans.

It is not going away. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever.

So what is that mindset? Well, the answer to that question comes from the very people who would rather see that way of thinking perish.

Douglas Hurd, the former Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary of the United Kingdom once reportedly remarked: “The trouble with (President) Mugabe is that he thinks like us.”

This is the same Douglas Hurd who recommended a knighthood for President Mugabe back in 1994, obviously as part of an attempt to bribe him into changing his thinking. Later, that same Douglas Hurd would claim he could not remember making that recommen- dation.

This was after the Zimbabwean leader went full steam ahead with land reforms a few years later.

President Mugabe remains the dominant force in our politics because of the way he thinks: that all men are created equal and are masters their destiny.

The British and their allies do not accept subservience. President Mugabe too does not accept it. No one should.

Still, many Africans mostly think like victims.

They consider themselves children of a lesser god and are ready to allow the rest of the world to treat them as such.

President Mugabe envisioned a Zimbabwe where the indigenous people owned their land and their economy.

The realisation of that vision is painful at both a personal and national level.

But it is a price worth paying. It is the price that comes with thinking of yourself as an equal in the comity of nations. And its reward is development.

If we envision ourselves as incapable of feeding ourselves, of providing healthcare to our people, of giving them an empowering education, of providing them with dignified accommodation; without aid and general budgetary support from the West, then we are doomed to remain with a victim mentality.

It all starts with a state of mind, and a positive state of mind is consciously nurtured and fed the very kind of self-belief that has developed the West.

And it is this state of mind that President Mugabe has been nurturing since before Independence and up to the present in general; and more specifically in his most recent public addresses.

At the Presidential Youth Interface Rallies, in remarks to mourners at the sombre ceremonies that have come too thick and fast this year at the National Heroes Acre, in engagements with leaders of business and other sectors, President Mugabe’s underlying message has been that of an empowered mindset.

As Zimbabwe enters a defining phase ahead of the 2018 harmonised elections, let us be guided by an empowering mindset.

President Mugabe has shown us that the mental shackles that have held us back for so long can be thrown off.

How we perceive ourselves of more importance than how our enemies perceive us. This is the lasting legacy that President Mugabe has bequeathed to this nation.

And it is a legacy that we must cherish and build on for the sake of our children.

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Clemence Machadu
Howdy folks! While the country is projected to record a comeback growth of 3,7 percent this year, following years of recession in the recent past, multilateral institutions, however, project a bearish medium term outlook on Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe’s growth for this year is mainly anchored by agriculture’s strong recovery, which is estimated to yield a commendable 21,6 percent growth.

However, despite Government’s plans to intensify funding to agriculture under the auspices of Command Agriculture and Presidential Inputs Support Scheme (PISS) next year, the International Monetary Fund forecasts a decline in the economy to 0,8 percent.

Government is actually targeting to expand the PISS in the 2017-18 farming season by 125 percent to target 1,8 million households and widen the scope of Command Agriculture to go beyond maize and cater for wheat, livestock, fisheries, wildlife, to be unveiled at a total cost of US$334 million.

The IMF, however, forecasts the country’s economy to continue shrinking to levels as low as -0,9 percent by 2022.

Agriculture in Zimbabwe is said to be the backbone of the economy and it is the Government’s vision to make the country attain its breadbasket status of Sadc by 2020.

But how can such subdued growth prospects be reconciled with the country’s investment commitment in the agricultural sector?

While the growth of the economy is expected to be underpinned by agriculture, plant and animal diseases continue to pose a serious threat to the production and quality of food, fibre and biofuel crops in the country, which undermines the sector’s contribution to the economy on a sustainable basis.

In the just-ended farming season, for instance, there was a serious outbreak of fall armyworm which wreaked havoc in various parts of the country.

Worse still, experts in the food and agriculture sector have already given a heads up that the fall armyworm could continue to multiply and become endemic across the African continent, meaning that in future, farmers will need to increase their budgets for fighting the worm.

Estimates show that farmers spent an extra $77 per hectare on chemicals to fight fall armyworm.

Again, Zimbabwe is currently dealing with an Avian influenza which has seen the country’s poultry exports and imports being banned, in a move that has since shaken the equilibrium of the poultry market. Of late, the country has been hit by shortages of day-old chicks and table eggs; following this bird flu outbreak which mainly affected Irvine’s, the country’s largest poultry producer with a market share of about 50 percent.

A few months ago, there was also an anthrax outbreak in Binga, which resulted in the death of one person and also infected 56 after some villagers ate meat from infected dead hippos

In light of the above, the impact of animal and plant diseases and pests to the sustainability of agriculture production in the country should not be underestimated, as it may result in a number of adverse consequences.

The most direct economic impact of such outbreaks is the reduction in the efficiency of agricultural production, which also reduces incomes of farmers.

In the case of Irvine’s, it had to cull thousands of birds and also lost some of its market share, both domestic and foreign. Also, many subsistence maize farmers realised lower yields of the cereal as they could not afford to buy the chemicals to fight the armyworm, which compromised their food security and prospects of earning more income from surplus sales.

The outbreak of diseases can also lead to price increases, as shortages would have been created, with producers using price to play a rationing function.

In the case of recent outbreaks, we have seen the inflation for animal products going up.

Taking the latest available inflation statistics for July, inflation for meat rose by 3,97 percent, fish and sea food 5,03 percent, and milk, cheese and eggs 3,87 percent.

These price increases reflect how the price of food can respond to disease outbreaks, and eat into the already diminishing incomes of the populace.

Another impact of diseases and pests outbreaks in the agriculture sector is reduction of exports.

Pests and diseases can have major implications for farmers that either produce for export or plan to export.

Countries that are free from major pests and diseases tend to protect their local agriculture by totally excluding the importation of products from areas affected by pests and diseases or by making importation conditional to a series of precautionary measures.

These trade implications can have a greater economic impact than direct production losses.

Zimbabwe is currently battling to access high-value beef export markets such as the European Union, despite the existence of protocols allowing for free trade.

The EU banned beef imports from Zimbabwe in 2001 following outbreaks of anthrax.

The continued infestations of the disease will therefore keep potential importers sceptical about the country’s agricultural products.

Food security and nutrition is another significant negative impact of plant and animal disease.

The food security impact is of paramount concern to Zimbabwe, and Zim-Asset actually has a component dedicated to that.

Disease outbreaks such as anthrax can result in loss of cattle that is used by many rural folks in farming, while reduction in production can also result in shortages of food and starvation.

The Food Atlas released by Zimstats earlier in the year showed that food poverty prevalence is still high in various party of the country, with Matabeleland North recording a prevalence rate of 43 percent, Masvingo 17,9 percent with other provinces registering a prevalence of between 21 and 28 percent.

This means that there are still many people who are unable to meet the minimum consumption necessary to ensure that each household member can consume a minimum food basket representing 2 100 calories per day, if all expenditures were devoted to food.

Against the above background, Government should have strong mechanisms in place aimed at fighting diseases and pests in agriculture in order to make the most of good agriculture seasons and also optimise the investments that are being committed towards the sector.

The annual growth in agricultural output is currently estimated at 2,5 percent, but fluctuates with weather conditions, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

In years of good rainfall the country produces enough food to feed the nation and enjoys surpluses for export, but in years of drought, the reverse is the case.

The challenge now is that more disease and pests outbreaks are being faced in good rainfall years, which affects the optimal contribution of agriculture to the economy.

It is also critical to ensure that rural folks are supported to come up with measures that help them protect their potential harvest against pests and diseases, as was the case in the just ended agricultural season, given how rural people depend on agriculture for their livelihood.

Later folks!

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Government will promulgate the proposed Local Content Regulations by year-end after the private sector petitioned President Mugabe to fast track introduction of the regulations.

The guidelines will compel manufacturers to procure the bulk of their goods and services from local suppliers.

Representatives of the private sector made the plea to the President during their recent interface at State House to exchange notes on charting an economic turn-around.

The meeting, first of its kind in over 10 years, witnessed captains of industry lobbying Government to speed up the ongoing ease and cost of doing business reforms in order to facilitate rapid industrialis-                                                                  ation.

Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Mike Bimha told The Sunday Mail that the indaba marked a clear indication of Government’s commitment towards a speedy economic recovery anchored on participation of the private players.

Fast tracking

He said the interface was an extension of President Mugabe’s thrust of fostering industrialisation which he first introduced as SADC Chairperson between 2014 and 2015.

Minister Bimha said central to demands by the private sector was the fast tracking of the ease and cost of doing business reforms as well as the promulgation of the local content policy.

He said: “The local content policy is still work in progress which is being tackled by a special taskforce from our mnistry.

“They are consulting with various stakeholders on what they may want incorporated into the final regulations and we expect to be done with all the work by year-end.

“The private sector raised that issue with the President saying that while they are grateful about SI 64 they would like to a see a robust reinforcement of the policy.

“As such, we are working flat out to ensure that the policy is ready ahead of time.”

The Local Content Regulations will set sector-specific procurement thresholds in order to promote locally produced products and incubate the local industry.

The Local Content Regulations (LCR) will form a key part of Government’s broad industrialisation initiatives through maximising the localisation of supply chains and in turn discouraging mass importation of goods that are otherwise available locally.

The new rules will, in part, enhance the impact of Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016, which was introduced to regulate importation of goods that are available locally and promote capacity utilisation by local industries.

Its enforcement has witnessed steady growth of capacity in some sectors such as food and beverages production.

Minister Bimha said the President made it clear that the private sector has a role to play in the implementation of Zim-Asset and the overall industrialisation thrust.

“Our economic blueprint Zim-Asset is very clear that it is the responsibility of the private sector to drive its implementation.

“Right now as a region — Sadc — our focus is on industrialisation, which is an issue that took off under President Mugabe’s tenure as chairperson.

“He managed to convince other regional leaders that our focus should be directed towards industrialising the region.

“We then identified the private sector as the driver of industrialisation in the region.

Agenda 2063

“This has since gone beyond just Sadc, into the African Union through Agenda 2063; the issue of industrialisation is central to our development and this can only happen when the private sector is involved.

“A couple of months ago I travelled with the President to Mauritius for the inaugural African Economic Platform which brought together representatives of governments, the private sector and academia where we discussed how we could all drive the continent towards industrialisation through the private sector.

“Last month, we also travelled with the President to Pretoria for the Sadc Summit which ran under the theme, ‘Partnering with the private sector in developing industry and regional value chains’.

“So, the interface was important as it comes only a few weeks after the region met and agreed that the private sector participate in our development.

“Also, more importantly, is the fact that we last had a meeting of this nature 10 years ago.”

Minister Bimha said the meeting came at the request of the private sector, an indication of industry’s eagerness to work closely with Government.

He said industry expressed gratitude for Statutory Instrument 64, which brought some companies back onto their feet while also attracting a lot of investors from outside.

Minister Bimha will soon present a report on the meeting to Cabinet.

“They were also happy about policies such as the introduction of Special Economic Zones as well as the stabilisation of the finance sector, among many other interventions.

“They also identified areas where as Government needs to speed up reforms, we also realised that these are areas we are already looking into. I will be giving a report in Cabinet on what the private sector wants to be done.”

A paper presented by business to President Mugabe called for robust measures to address the cost of doing business.

It reads: “Government instituted SI 64 to regulate imports, particularly of non-essentials, and this has had the effect of increasing capacity utilisation in some sectors of the economy, most notably edible the oils sub-sectors, leading to an overall increase in domestic capacity utilisation from 34,3 percent to 47,2 percent last year.

Competitiveness

“The SI contributed to the increase in capacity utilisation in sub-sectors such as foodstuffs, drinks, tobacco and beverages manufacturing; wood and furniture as well as paper, printing and packaging — with some sub-sectors now operating at 70 percent capacity utilisation levels.

It continued: “To enhance business competitiveness, it is imperative that the Doing Business Reforms be expanded to also cover the cost of doing business and interrogating the underlying causes of the above costs, with a view to aligning to the region.

“The high transport costs, the high utility charges, red tape and delays at border posts, which augment the cost build-up — there is need for a comprehensive review of every cost line that is contributing to the high costs of business in Zimbabwe.”

Business was represented by the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), Bankers’ Association of Zimbabwe, Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union (ZFU), Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce, (ZNCC), Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA)and Zimbabwe Council of Tourism.

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The Sharp Shooter
Vukani Madoda
Now President Mugabe is being criticised in some quarters for pointing out that Mandela may have had his priorities mixed up.

Make no mistake, Nelson Mandela was a great man. South Africa, too, is a great country. But that will not stop us from criticising Mandela’s flaws or South Africa’s shortcomings today.

Indeed, Mandela was a great man. Many will have read his statement at the Rivonia trial just before he was sent to life imprisonment.

His statement from the dock at the opening of the defence case in the Pretoria Supreme Court on April 20, 1964 has a conclusion that can never be forgotten: “Above all, we want equal political rights, because without them our disabilities will be permanent. I know this sounds revolutionary to the whites in this country, because the majority of voters will be Africans. This makes the white man fear democracy.

“But this fear cannot be allowed to stand in the way of the only solution which will guarantee racial harmony and freedom for all. It is not true that the enfranchisement of all will result in racial domination.

“Political division, based on colour, is entirely artificial and, when it disappears, so will the domination of one colour group by another.

“The ANC has spent half-a-century fighting against racialism. When it triumphs it will not change that policy.

“This then is what the ANC is fighting. Their struggle is a truly national one. It is a struggle of the African people, inspired by their own suffering and their own experience. It is a struggle for the right to live.

“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination.

“I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal, which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

Now President Mugabe is being criticised in some quarters for pointing out that Mandela may have had his priorities mixed up.

“What was the most important thing for (Mandela) was his release from prison and nothing else.

“He cherished that freedom more than anything else and forgot why he was put in jail,” said President Mugabe recently.

From the very beginning, Mandela was not interested in economic emancipation for black people, he was merely focused on harmony and integration rather than fairer distribution of wealth.

Whichever way one may want to look at it, that is the brutal truth.

Today, South Africa has integration (harmony is another thing) but the great divide between the white aristocrats and the black proletariats is as glaring as it is wretched.

Twenty-three years after the end of apartheid, a great percentage of the wealth in South Africa is still in the hands of white people and it seems it will be with them for foreseeable decades.

We all know that an Achilles’ heel is a weakness in spite of overall strength; therefore, while Gwede Mantashe —the ANC secretary-general — may huff and puff about Mandela’s legacy being trampled upon, he should instead borrow from the wisdom of Cde Mugabe.

It can never be in doubt that South Africa needs equitable distribution of wealth and resources.

The fact that Mandela managed to broker a peace deal to end apartheid does not exonerate him from the flaws his political approach created.

Mandela was a great man, but he was no saint.

His lack of revolutionary radicalism is the very reason why black South Africans are as poor as they are today, living in slums like Alexandra Park, Diepsloot, Nyanga, Gugulethu, Khayelitsha, Inada, Soshanguve, Umlazi, Mamelodi, Tembisa and so on.

If the truth were to be told, Mandela betrayed the revolution and he failed to carry it out to its logical conclusion. In the end, he died a free but landless man.

Mandela’s legacy remains an inheritance of integration with the enemy but not an inheritance of sharing the same dinner at the same table. The majority of South Africans are still eating from the kitchen, leftovers from the dinner table.

So instead of reacting stupidly to the wisdom of Cde Mugabe, Mantashe and like-minded comrades must remember that in Zimbabwe, in the not too distant future, we will be telling a story around the fire for our grandchildren.

We will be telling them: “Once upon a time, in the land of the land, a great many white people came and grabbed the land from the black owners and for almost a century they owned the land.

“However, through a series of Chimurengas, the black men took back their land and chased the white people away. For a few years, the black people struggled because the white people sabotaged the fruits of the Chimurenga.

“The white people stifled trade and imposed sanctions on the black people of the land.

Nevertheless, through resilience and determination the black people managed to command their agriculture and in the end they lived happily ever after!”

Yes, Mandela was a great man but Mugabe is a greater man.

Dubulaizitha!

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