Up until May 6 2015, arguably the most embarrassing episode in world football history was that last-gasp miss by Wilfred Mugeyi on January 25 2004 at Zimbabwe’s first appearance at the African Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals in Tunisia.

Not only did it immortalise the scantily talented dread-locked chap in the Hall of Infamy, but it also moved some disappointed fanatical yobs to pelt his family home with a hail of stones.

Bishop Lazi would have sworn that it only takes the most outlandish of Mexican pointy boots to hit a goal-bound shot from about 10-centimetres out only for it to somehow miraculously zoom over the bar, leaving the goalkeeper in a stupefied state of bafflement and wonder.

That feat takes a weird and twisted sort of talent.

Well, Mugeyi being Mugeyi, you wouldn’t expect anything different — the dude was unfailingly a serial villain.

But this all changed on that fine evening on May 6 2015 when the human scaffolding of Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng came crashing down after his mechanical frame failed to keep up with the slaloming run and magical feet of that scandalously talented football wizard called Lionel Messi.

After a taxing day of pastoral work, Bishop Lazi was chillaxing for the match with his fellow 81-year-old colleague, Bishop Taps, who obstinately believes that George Shaya — the former Dynamos maestro — was the best thing to happen to world football — yes, world football.

If only circumstances were different, Bishop Taps says, Shaya would have been up there with his contemporaries such as Gerd Muller, Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer and Kevin Keegan.

But nothing ever prepared him for that Boateng moment.

There is something surreal about how tall men fall.

It’s almost as if they fall in digital frames; in slow motion.

And when they eventually hit the turf, the thud always seems exaggerated.

The whole episode was hilarious to Bishop Taps: the old-timer let rip an explosion of near-fatal guffawing laughter as he almost swallowed his dentures, only to violently spit them out.

This is the challenge when competing against supremely talented or well-organised beings.

You never know whether they will nutmeg you, sell you a shimmy, do the run-around or use the flummoxing step-overs.

Either way, they will run rings around you.

A Hearty Laugh

The Boateng syndrome affects the MDC, including its iteration (the MDC-Alliance), before every election.

Quite clearly, they come out of every plebiscite more befuddled than the last one.

Forgive Bishop Lazi for the language, but the opposition party’s knickers are currently in a twist, especially after the humbling defeat in Cowdray Park (ward 28), Bulawayo — its fortress — a fortnight ago week.

The Bishop wouldn’t mind being a fly on the wall at their post-mortem meetings, which, I suppose, should be religiously routine considering the regularity and magnitude of their electoral defeats.

Who would want to miss “nuggets of wisdom” from Chamisa’s nosy spokesperson “Dr” Nkululeko Sibanda, or, better still, Chalton Hwende’s “towering intellect”?

Oh, wait! You add a scatterbrain such as Jacob Mafume and the rhyming Chamisa and you have quite an interesting meeting right there. Kikikiki.

Just to give you a sample of what must be the quality of those inquisitions, I will simply reproduce what Chamisa’s spokesperson told social media about the Cowdray Park calamity.

“Look, we blinked and the rigging took advantage. This is primarily because the president (read Nelson Chamisa) focussed on the Cyclone and humanitarian situation. Be rest assured, president will look into this,” he said.

Argh! Yah! Iwe neni tine basa sure.

For the avoidance of doubt, dear reader, focussing on the cyclone, in MDC’s parlance, means a photo on a donkey-drawn scotch cart at Birchenough Bridge, which is exactly 111-kilometres from Rusitu, where a gargantuan human catastrophe was unfolding.

It also means shovelling teaspoon-sized debris from a barely scathed road in order to accentuate the pretence of doing something useful.

Well, the white man has an apt word to describe this charade; he calls it boondoggle — which means work of little or no value done merely to look busy.

But, hey, once in a while, particularly in moments of tragedy, we really can do with some moments of comic relief.

And again, the white man calls this tragi-comedy.

Bishop’s Vision

Since last year’s electoral defeat, the MDC has been spinning so much yarn that they risk being fatally entangled in it.

In their political estimation, they think that sustaining the myth of rigging or chicanery would add gravitas to their future electoral prospects.

Obviously, self-delusion and contrived myths usually lead to wrong diagnosis and fatal prescriptions.

Luke 14:28-34 counsels that: “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.”

Proverbs 15:22 is also emphatic.

It says “plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed”.

And our people say a fly that doesn’t have an advisor will follow the corpse into the grave.

Well, since the MDC are so desperate for political office that they would rather have the next election as soon as yesterday, Bishop Lazi will give them advise, and for free — please, get real!

The 2023 election might be the most daunting you will face in your lifetime.

Maybe by now you should have noticed the massive and unrelenting roadworks in the countryside, where some communities are seeing tarred roads in their backyards for the first time since independence.

Maybe by now you should have seen the horizon-less pieces of land that are being opened up for agricultural production, including the dams that are being primed for irrigation projects.

Also, maybe by now you should have seen the multiple reform legislation that is set to reset the country’s governance architecture and culture.

Well, if you don’t see these things and more, then you are beyond salvation.

There are a lot of pieces that are being moved imperceptibly from every corner imaginable.

You see, it’s like an inchoate giant jigsaw puzzle that only becomes apparent when the final pieces are put together.

Of course, it is always taxing, but doable.

And the momentum is expected to be continue.

The MDC should do what they should have done after the demise of Tsvangirai on Valentines’ Day last year, which is to reinvent the party into a thoroughly Zimbabwean outfit that is tethered on the national interest.

It should also pivot its structure on ordinary Zimbabweans rather than depend on foreign powers for political capital.

Its overly contrarian brand of politics — where upending the current Government at all costs at the expense of nation-building has become a fetish — can only lead it to perdition.

But with over 1 500 days to the next election, there is still time for them to change tack.

If they don’t, it will definitely be another embarrassing Boateng moment.

Bishop out!

Writing Back
Ranga Mataire

The recent European Union announcement of $5,5 million funding for non-governmental organisations (NGO) calls for serious conversations regarding the role of non-state entities in Zimbabwe.

In a statement released last Tuesday, the EU said the fund is meant to capacitate civil society organisations to contribute meaningfully towards good governance and accountability.

The EU’s top diplomat in Zimbabwe, Timo Olkkonen, said the fund was meant to “strengthen civil society organisations and local authorities in partner countries with the aim of fostering an enabling environment for citizen participation and civil society action and co-operation.”

While one bears no rancour for the EU’s largesse in feeding the insatiable NGO sector, it is telling that such generosity comes after USAID terminated its contract with some civil society organisations operating in the country over greed.

The groups that had their contracts terminated include the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights), the Counselling Services Unit (CSU) and the Election Resource Centre.

The US embassy’s acting public relations officer at the time, John Taylor, said: “We can confirm allegations of misuse of US funding by local Zimbabwean partners. Attempts to divert US funds from their intended use are unacceptable under any circumstances.”

The embarrassing admission of possible fraud in some NGOs by the US calls for a conversation among citizens; why is the EU still pouring huge sums of money into some of the same truant organisations?

To what extent are the huge sums of money poured into these NGOs improving the livelihoods of the people they claim to serve? How much have the NGOs expanded the “democratic space”? Where is the evidence?

In an article in The Making of the Africa-State, Professor Mammo Muchie observes: “Since the 1980s, a global neo-liberal agenda has dominated the world’s intellectual, political, moral space and vision. One of the consequences of this unalloyed and untrammelled liberal hegemony is the double and simultaneous global construction of the ‘failed state’ and the assumption of ‘success’ in favour of non-governmental organisations and the ‘vibrant’ civil society.”

This explains the sudden proliferation of NGOs following land reform. The State was viewed as ‘failed’ and the civil society as the ‘saint’, a narrative that reveals more the benefactor’s ideological preference than reality.

Far from being “saints”, NGOs’ main agenda is to manufacture a new political economy in which the State and the civil society are perpetually engaged in tension and conflict, rather cohesion and development.

The phenomenon of NGO-dom has created space for making a living, marked by a lavish lifestyle far removed from any social cause. Civil society is no longer about service to the vulnerable and keeping government in check. It is about personal benefits.

This is why fights for power in the NGO sector are just as pronounced, if not more so, than in politics. At Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, a bitter row a few years back led to the resignation of directors. An audit by Baker Tilly Gwatidzo found unremitted taxes and pensions. Last year, Job Sikhala, an MDC MP, publicly thanked Dewa Mavhinga of Human Rights Watch for being one of his major campaign donors.

The sheer duplicity of some of the leaders of the NGOs could not escape veteran journalist Faith Zaba. In July last year, she wrote: “The lifestyle of some of the people who work in NGOs, characterised by posh mansions and cars, raises eyebrows, earning them the description ‘champagne revolutionaries’.”

Zimbabweans need to start questioning what drives civil society and state relations. We must challenge the discourse that place civil society on a pedastal where they are beyond reproach.

External funders are welcome. What is needed is a reconstituted relationship based on shared values, locally rooted and informed by competent institutional arrangements that build self-reliance. Colonialism was propelled by the discourse of the ‘civilising mission’ and the ‘white man’s burden’. In the post-colonial State, the discourse has just been remodelled into a narrative of ‘development’ and ‘democracy’.

It is not surprising that Ernest Geller called civil society a “dusty term, drawn from antiquated political theory, belonging to long, obscure and just forgotten debates.”

In the final analysis, the shock therapy modus operandi of most NGOs is premised on;

make the State fail by sponsoring civil and violent disobedience and blame the State for failing

make the State look like an uncaring monster and encourage all those ‘interested’ in Africa’s development to look to the civil society for pliable partners

The US, in its revised Africa policy announced last year by John Bolton, Donald Trump’s security advisor, admits that the billions it has poured in to these “governance” projects have not yielded any results. With the US cutting aid to NGOs, the scramble for the little funding still available will get even more vicious and desperate, and our government needs to be alert. NGOs will pull stunts to draw our government and security services into needless battles where they can play victim. Caution is needed.

We must not outlaw civic society organisations. Instead, we must set appropriate parameters for those that adhere to their mandate. NGOs can no longer define and assign the country’s priority needs without including the input of the local populace.

We seem to have more NGOs registering than companies. We must deal with the situation where it is easier to start an NGO than a business. Our skilled workforce need to contribute in the revival of the economy, and not be lured by unproductive monies being poured to fund hedonistic lifestyles.

For feedback contact ranga.mataire@gmail.com or lovemore.mataire@zimpapers.co.zw

The devastation from Cyclone Idai was a national disaster, although largely localised to a handful of eastern districts, and the people of Zimbabwe responded nationally, putting together their hundreds of thousands of gifts to make up convoys of relief supplies.

Politics never intruded. No one asked those who lost everything what party they belonged to, or how they voted at the last elections. No one knew, or cared, about the political beliefs of the vast numbers who showed compassion and fed the hungry and clothed the naked. On the ground rescue teams and overworked administrators battling to move in equipment and relief supplies methodically went about their grim work, putting in effort well beyond the call of duty and not only treating all equally but showing that they had not even considered the possibility of unequal treatment.

The Government reacted swiftly, deploying army engineers and others who could clear roads so emergency aid could reach the afflicted swiftly and President ED Mnangagwa, correctly realising that the head of the Government needed to be at home, cut short his important economic and diplomatic visit to the United Arab Emirates.

He visited the worst hit areas and pressed everyone to keep up their sterling efforts for as long as was needed while promising to mobilise more State resources, a promise he kept as the Treasury started some emergency budget juggling to produce $100 million, as a start.

Of course by this stage politics were starting to intrude. The paranoid types of social media, seeing a conspiracy everywhere, started circulating pictures of Zanu-PF pick-ups carrying supplies and accusing the Government of favouritism. That startled both the drivers of the vehicles and those running the relief efforts.

Everyone in the area who had a suitable vehicle had been asked to volunteer, and most did, although driving along badly damaged roads and over damaged bridges was not going to do their vehicles very much good. It was a pity that opposition parties did not have suitable vehicles, otherwise they would also have been conscripted and probably found themselves in the same convoys.

Those leading the relief efforts were totally uninterested in anything except getting the aid in. And many of those who did respond with their vehicles possibly had voted for the opposition last year, although no one bothered asking and they never bothered telling. In this sort of emergency political affiliation is a trivial matter.

For his follow up visit the President decided to go all out to show that the relief effort was national, not a party political matter. He invited all who had stood against him in last year’s election to come along and see for themselves and see how they could pitch in and help. President Mnangagwa promised a great deal more transparency in his administration than we have had in the past and there is nothing quite as transparent as inviting your major political opponents to join you, talk to whom they like and look around.

So the gesture was important, in stressing the national nature of the emergency and stressing the need for everyone to pull together.

But it also had practical purposes. Manicaland is the most politically mixed province in Zimbabwe. Most Parliamentarians and local authority councillors won with very modest margins and many Parliamentary and council seats can be described as marginal. Seeing the full political leadership of Zimbabwe walking around together would reassure those on the ground that whether afflicted or whether battling to get everything working again party politics are not going to be a factor.

That will become more important as, in what will we hope will be a just a handful of people, envy overtakes gratitude. Why was their bridge repaired before ours? Why did that school get a new roof so soon? And even why did she get a nicer dress than me? A united political front means that the sensible people will work out the answers. That first bridge was needed so the cement trucks could reach the second. That roof could be fixed fast because the trusses and sheets could be salvaged. And the dress was just pure luck as to who was next in line when it came out of the bag.

One job of a President is to be able to make it clear when he is President of Zimbabwe and when he is leader of the largest political party. President Mnangagwa prefers the national role in any case and in an emergency he dumps the party role, to the benefit of everyone. And rightly so, that is his job after all.

We saw this last year with a potential disaster. Harare was hit by cholera. The previous epidemic killed thousands. This one a handful. The serious big difference was that last year the city and the Government worked hand-in-hand at full throttle from the start, despite the President being of one party and Mayor Herbert Gomba being of another. While his party was fooling around with walkouts in Parliament the mayor personally hosted the Presidential visit to the centre of the epidemic and to his municipal hospital and that relationship is still highly functional, although we suspect a little formal (Mr President — Mr Mayor).

Disasters are not welcome. But in what can be an over-polarised political environment they do remind all of us that however important politics might be, our common humanity is infinitely more important. The people of Zimbabwe, and the political and national leadership have shown they realise this.

Farmer’s Diary
Sheuneni Kurasha

Welcome dear reader to our column where we explore all things farming.

Last week, I examined how farmers determine the best breed or crossbreeds for their farming enterprises and the importance of selecting quality bucks and does to ensure genetics superiority and hybrid vigour.

This week, I am focusing on caring and management of does and bucks in a breeding programme.

One of the most critical aspects of goat production is the care of the does and bucks to make sure they are always kept in good body condition.

Caring for your herd entails putting in place a comprehensive system and a calendar for administering vaccinations and dosages, supplementary feeding, selection of breeding stock, kid rearing and weaning.

It requires varying levels of special care depending on time; that is, whether they are pregnant, parturition or dry.

When deciding when to breed young does, it is recommended that farmers consider weight and physical development rather than age.

Young does should not be bred before they reach 65 percent of the average weight of the older does in the herd.

This is usually when they are between one year and one-and-half years old.

Farmers should remember that good nutrition ensures that animals grow faster and become ready for mating much earlier.

Adequate and balanced nutrition also increases fertility, litter size and multiple births.

If does are mated when they are too young, they risk becoming stunted for the rest of their lives, which negatively affects their reproductive performance.

In addition, smaller does may not be physically big enough to handle kids in their bellies, leading to obstructed labour (dystocia) as the kid gets stuck on its way out.

If a farmer is crossbreeding indigenous does with a highly improved buck or a pure-bred one, it is recommended to use big does that have previously given birth as they can carry relatively bigger progeny in their bellies.

Generally, a well-managed doe can produce kids for about seven years.

Does only mate when they are on heat and their estrous cycle is 21 days.

The heat period for does lasts between 24 to 26 hours and during this time bucks must be served on the does.

It is also important to note that the presence of the buck in the flock triggers heat. After mating, does get pregnancy for five months (about 150 days).

Getting on heat is also dependent on the nutrition and the condition of the doe. There are various signs for heat detection, including shaking of the tail, virginal mucous discharge, continuous bleating and mounting of other goats.

To ensure close monitoring, expecting does should always be separated from the main flock for about eight weeks before kidding.

During this period, supplementary feeding should be served on the pregnant does to enhance feed reserves in their bodies, thereby guaranteeing adequate milk and colostrum at birth, which are vital for the health of the kid.

For bucks, male goats typically reach puberty earlier than females and for that reason, bucks should be raised separately from females to avoid unplanned mating. Bucks with horns should be used in breeding in order to avoid the risk of hermaphroditism or bisexualism, which is sometimes experienced in instances where hornless or polled bucks are used.

Bucks can be selected at an early age using physical examination and focusing on weight, growth rate and multiple births, among other determinants. The choice must be on those bucks with good muscling, sturdy feet and legs, big scrotal circumference and good conformation in terms of how they are put together, skeletally and muscularly.

Apart from physical examination of the buck, the veterinary can also conduct a breeding soundness test through examination of semen for sperm count and motility, which gives an idea about a buck’s fertility.

Bucks should be kept in good body condition and well-fed and nourished at all times.

During mating, often bucks have to chase after does for hours on end without eating.

For the buck to keep pace with the does, there is need to trim its hooves to avoid foot rot.

There should be a fine balance in the condition of the buck.

A fat buck may have too much fat in the scrotum, which can insulate the testicles, causing sperm damage from heat, while an overly thin buck will also not have the energy needed to maintain breeding throughout the breeding season.

In terms of “buck power”, which is the number of does a buck can service during the breeding season, at one year of age, the buck should service no more than 10 does at a time; that is, in one month.

When two-years-old, it should be able to service about 30 does at a time.

“Paswera badza hapanyepi” (results of a noble effort always speak for themselves).

Till next week.

Sheuneni Kurasha is a farmer specialising in stud breeding in boran cattle, boer goats and damara sheep, as well as dairy farming. For feedback, kindly get in touch on email: kurashas@gmail.com or WhatsApp: +263 772 874 523.

Cde Chris Mutsvangwa

On 10 April 1980, Rufaro Stadium in Harare witnessed a momentous occasion as Zimbabwe’s green-gold-black-and-white flag was raised up to the reverberating sounds of “Zimbabwe”, the iconic freedom chant of the reggae prophet, Bob Marley of Jamaica.

The hoisting flag was met halfway by the lowering ‘Union Jack’ flag of the colonising power, Britain.

Nine decades of imperial occupation and racist settler and predatory corporate governance came to a close.

The final 15 years were marked by a heroic and bitter guerrilla “people’s war” of the African black majority population.

They sacrificed all and everything, including their precious lives, to the quest for freedom and independence.

The finest of Zimbabwean youth – inspired by the great Samora Machel – decided to abandon all that a normal life offered.

Instead, they skipped the border and proceeded to seek arms and military training from a supportive Africa, as well as from the solidarity of the progressive humanity the world over.

These youths had that determination to master modern warfare as a riposte to the military advantage long enjoyed by the cruel racist settler minority regimes of Southern Africa.

The odds were daunting.

The imperial West, under the ambit of the military pace of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), military did all it could to give succour to their kith and kin in the subregion.

The West were not ready to forego the remnants of the 1884 Berlin Conference that had partitioned Africa into varied imperial possessions.

They felt the subregion had to remain the preserve of the West.

After all, the fertile soils, the treasure trove of minerals, as well as the hospitable climate of the southern tip of Africa, had invited a sizable European settler outpost that tenaciously held on to the gains of erstwhile military conquest and land plunder.

This defiance stood in the way of the African nationalistic resurgence of post- World War II.

Kwame Nkrumah’s Ghana of 1957 had ushered in the wave of African Independence as one nation after another unshackled themselves out of the clutch of metropolitan European imperial powers.

The march to freedom faced a redoubtable challenge in Southern Africa. Imperial Portugal, racist Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa banded together to preserve a rapacious white minority hegemony.

They counted on the military technological edge of the advanced industrial powers of the West, with the USA as the core.

Africa correctly assessed its strategic advantage. After all, this was its home territory.

Continental unity became the weapon of choice as Africa opted to answer the military challenge accordingly.

Furthermore, the global geo-political dynamics had shifted from unchallenged military hegemony.

Soviet Russia was the first to break rank with the exclusive gun cartel of the European powers. It went on to aid populous China to shirk off Japanese and West European imperial predatory occupation.

The two rising global powers – Russia and China – became the core of the alternative source of military gear for the freedom-loving Africans on the southern tip of the mother continent.

Tanzania and Zambia offered their territory as the rear base of an unfolding military encounter.

By 1974, the Portuguese imperial domino had fallen.

A gingered Africa, thus, added Mozambique and Angola as military rear bases.

The stage was set for widespread guerrilla warfare to gnaw at the last outposts of the racist and apartheid regimes ensconced in Salisbury and Pretoria.

On the Western front of Angola and Namibia, a beleaguered apartheid South Africa opted for naked aggression against Angola in 1975 as it sought to install its UNITA surrogates as rulers in Luanda in the wake of the defeat of imperial Portugal.

This led to the entry of Soviet and Cuban forces into a conventional war.

The endgame was the 1987-8 epic Battle of Cuito Cunavale that so bloodied the apartheid aggressors.

Thereafter, the West had no option but to let go of its apartheid South Africa military outpost.

The eastern Mozambique front had already taken another victorious turn between 1975-9.

The influx of Zimbabwe youths eager to take up arms foreclosed any need of outside military assistance beyond arms and training.

The Frontline States of Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia felt confident enough of the capabilities of the Zanla and Zipra forces of the Zimbabwe Patriotic Front. They opted to stay clear of the geopolitical vagaries of the Cold War between Washington and Moscow.

They had a palpable assurance that the guerrilla forces of the Zimbabwe Patriotic Front could deliver victory against Ian Smith’s racist Rhodesian army.

Zanla and Zipra did not disappoint.

There was the smouldering guerrilla war that had been implanted in the north-east front of the then Rhodesia by chairperson Hebert Chitepo and General Josiah Magama Tongogara between 1969-74 with the assistance of Frelimo allies.

With the Frelimo victory in 1974 and Mozambique independence in 1975, the war took both a quantitative and qualitative dimension.

The 1000km porous border was thrown wide open to guerrilla infiltration as Maputo declared war against Salisbury.

There was no more need to contend with the roaring waters of the crocodile-infested mighty Zambezi River.

Instead, there were the camouflaging mountains of the Eastern Highlands.

The most remarkable aspect was how the youthful guerrillas quickly closed the gap in military strategy and tactics against the Rhodesian army that relied on centuries of seasoned British and NATO superiority.

The Mozambique front opened in late 1975.

By 1976, the British and their NATO allies had called for Geneva peace talks. Ian Smith and his generals baulked at the steep political price of surrendering to African majority rule.

They foolishly fought for victory on the battlefield.

This gave yet another opportunity for Zanla-Zipra guerrilla to upscale the war effort.

Even larger numbers went for more advanced military training.

The Zimbabwe Diaspora of eager recruits scoured the progressive and supporting world of Soviet Russia, China, Cuba, North Korea, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola, Ethiopia and the Warsaw Pact nations.

They lost no time in mastering the art and science of modern warfare.

These trained thousands of freedom fighters returned to be deployed to the Mozambique and Zambia warfronts.

They blended their exposure of the acquired technique to the battlefield experiences of seasoned comrades confronting the racist Rhodesian army. The military learning curve was astoundingly steep.

Even more potent was the politicisation of the populace, especially in the countryside.

The bounty of military intelligence harvested saw the enemy engage in a blind warfare.

The advantageous kill ratio once accruing from the enemy took a negative twist.

The warfront was thrust deep into the interior, stretching the weak population base of the white minority.

The fighting rapidly diminished as their superior weaponry, highly mobile terrain and aerial transport, as well as modern communications weaponry, found a match in the form of the scientific people’s war.

A conscious majority, thoroughly politicised and organised, became too hostile a battlefield terrain.

Fearful and increasingly cowed, the ranks of the minority white Rhodesian population started to rapidly thin out.

Gaping to other white nations became the order of the day.

In no time, the writing was on the wall.

The sequel was the Lancaster House Peace Conference and the armistice of 1979. The talks swung in the favour of the Patriotic Front, courtesy of the blunting of the Rhodesia army attack at the Battle of Mavonde/Monte Casino in Manicaland in November 1979.

Other aerial Rhodesian units were routed in the southern front in Gaza Province.

Thus ended the military history of Rhodesia.

The Patriotic Front election victory in February 1980 sealed the fate of the racist state of Rhodesia.

This epic victory was a story of horrendous massacres within and without Zimbabwe.

There were painful battlefield sacrifices. Hunger and disease took their toll in the refugee camps.

There was the heinous biological and chemical warfare as they indiscriminately targeted the populace.

All this belies a tale of patriotic fervour and heroic sacrifice in a war that claimed over 70 000 souls in a population of 6 million.

The “Open for Business” mantra of President Mnangagwa is a harbinger to the rapid economic development of Zimbabwe.

It opens all the avenues of productive urbanisation as the major force of national modernisation.

Enterprising capital is being offered profitable opportunities to engage an educated, competent, disciplined and hardworking human resource base. Zimbabwe is poised to produce world-class goods and services destined for the discerning global marketplace of 6 billion consumers.

Vision 2030 and the goal of upper middle-income status is now within the national grasp.

Zimbabwe is destined to become Africa’s economic miracle.

The President is revisiting the national development agenda that had become mired in a rustic village outlook.

Mugabeist G40s were so myopic as they exhibited a negative and hateful attitude to business interests both local and global.

They had an atrocious appreciation of capital and urbanisation as the driving force of modernisation.

Factories and industries did not feature in their Government philosophy.

All they focused on were pieces of land parceled out to the jobless in urban areas. They jousted for roles as urban barons jousting for the meagre incomes of an essentially indigent occupants of shanty dwellings.

It was thus not surprising that urban amenities deteriorated whilst new townships were denied the essential infrastructure of water and sewage, garbage collection electricity, roads and other urban services.

The Second Republic is correcting that gross oversight and colossal negligence. Open for Business is actually an agenda of large-scale urbanisation.

It is wholly in line with global trends of national development.

The nurturing of an urban industrial base sees a wholesale population shift from rural to urban centres.

The labour force is attracted to more rewarding urban jobs offered by profit-making factories.

President Mnangagwa is flying out and reaching out to those countries that have a surfeit of capital.

He is courting global entrepreneurs to invest in Zimbabwe.

He is offering all sorts of incentives as he jettisons hostile statutes like indigenisation.

International best practices and case studies of business acumen are being studied, copied and adapted to national circumstances.

Zimbabwe is striving to be second to none in offering an optimally conducive environment for business.

The tangible results is the availability of employment to the teeming youthful populace.

All are well-educated and ready for assimilation onto the global labour market.

They readily and easily acquire skills much in demand by profit-seeking entrepreneurs.

The Zimbabwe Diaspora continues to exhibit their capabilities in the various foreign host countries.

The President is determined to provide the same employment opportunity at home as that which entices Zimbabwe to migrate to foreign lands

The road to modernisation through urbanisation has been charted by successful nations of the developed and newly emergent economies.

With the establishment of Special Economic Zones and other incentives to attract enterprising capital, President Mnangagwa is on the highway to catch the grasp of prosperity.

He has spelled that out in his Vision 2030 and goal of an upper middle-income economy.

In short, the Open for Business mantra is an agenda of modernisation through productive urbanisation.

Young people can look forward to quality jobs producing world-class goods and services.

Zimbabwe will carve out its own niche in the global market place of 6 billion consumers.

Finally, its about time Zanu-PF has a recipe for that urban political appeal that can win it urban voters.

The protest voting that the rival MDC had failed to assuage with trappings of urban prosperity is hungry for a new political home.

No wonder a terrified Chamisa has opted for the nihilistic narcissism that is Kudira Jecha.

The bell of President Mnangagwa is tolling.

With the Open for Business mantra, the urban electorate is the target of Zanu-PF politics and its national Second Republic.

By so doing, the aspirations to prosperity by the Chimurenga II heroes and heroines is finally being fulfilled.

All the more reason to celebrate 18 April National Independence Day in a spirit of hope and joy.

Dr Tawanda Zinyama

Devolution is one of the fundamental values of the new Constitution of Zimbabwe.

Section 264(2) explains the objectives of devolution of Governmental powers and responsibilities to provincial and metropolitan councils and local authorities.

Consequently, provincial and metropolitan councils are expected to initiate development programmes for their respective provinces, consistent with Section 264 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

In line with the dictates of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 20) Act of 2013, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has underscored the need for the country to fully embrace devolution as a strategy to facilitate rapid economic growth.

Government seeks to achieve upper middle-income economy status by 2030.

The major question confronting Zimbabwe is the legal and institutional design of a multi-level system of Government.

In particular, given that devolution is a constitutional issue, what powers and functions should be exercised by devolved units and how should resources be shared by governments placed at various levels?

Devolution is not an end in itself but a means to an end; that is, sustainable and equitable socio-economic-political development of Zimbabwe.

The spirit behind devolution is democratic participation by the citizens in governance and development initiatives that affect their communities.

This promotes equitable and just distribution and sharing of opportunities and resources by all.

It also ensures accountability and transparency in political, economic and governance issues.

Provincial and metropolitan councils that are weak and centrally controlled do not aid resolution of these governance weaknesses.

Public and fiscal sector reform implications of a devolved governance system appear not to have been properly thought-through, or if done, yet to be publicised.

There is no baseline clarity and actionable understanding of devolution, as envisioned in the Constitution, to inform policy and law reforms.

The legislative framework has a role to articulate, define and clarify the powers, functions, roles and relations among the various governance structures.

The arguments for local-level decision-making are strengthened if economic development is regarded as a function of the local bodies.

Local-level planning then becomes necessary not only to respond to the preferences of the people, but also to efficiently utilise the natural resources of the areas encompassed within each local body.

Planning, thereby, becomes a multi-level process.

Each level of Government has functions that are optimally taken up at its level.

Land and water management and locally specific services are best planned at the local level.

By contrast, centralisation inevitably leads to narrow departmentalism, causing duplication and lack of complementarity among the programmes at the ground level.

Democratic decentralisation contributes to improvements in the efficiency of implementation, particularly if the development process is made participatory and transparent.

This helps prevent misuse of resources and allows for better monitoring of programmes. Participation helps in tapping dormant local resources in the form of monetary donations, material contributions and voluntary labour.

In labour-surplus communities with disguised unemployment, community participation mobilises significant contributions of human resources to create social and physical infrastructure.

What is to be done?

Devolution requires a number of changes in administrative structure, allocation of functions, powers and control of resources.

The preconditions for successful devolution have to be put in place sequentially and with a clear demarcation of functions among the various levels of Government.

Administrative support structures have to be created by effecting institutional changes, generating an information base, training personnel and establishing horizontal linkages among various agencies and departments.

Awareness creation is also imperative.

Planning is a technical process that involves assessment of needs and resources, fixing of priorities, preparation of projects and formulation of plans.

Planning should be used as an instrument for social mobilisation in support of devolution.

This will ensure that correct decisions are made at the local level and to bring about certain attitudinal changes among participants.

Capacity to govern should be considered.

Local capacity to govern may be at its infancy in some provincial councils, and increasing the layers of decision-making without the checks and balances only increases the opacity of Government and taps into the already weak resource base.

Devolution can result in the loss of economies of scale and control over scarce financial resources by central Government.

Weak administrative or technical capacity at local levels may result in services being delivered less efficiently and effectively in some areas of the country.

Administrative responsibilities may be transferred to local levels without adequate financial resources and make equitable distribution or provision of services more difficult.

Devolution can sometimes make coordination of national policies more complex and may allow functions to be captured by local elites.

Also, distrust between public and private sectors may undermine cooperation at the local level.

Devolution of financial resources is limited by the absorption capacity of the nascent institutions.

It is almost a case of cutting the coat according to the cloth.

The ultimate argument for devolution over centralisation of Government is its informational supremacy in order to enhance the quality of life of citizens in those matters that can be delegated to lower tiers of Government.

However, this alleged supremacy of devolution over centralised Government hinges on two crucial assumptions:

• There must be a clear definition of what can be delegated at lower tiers of Government. On the inconclusive view, there is no clear delimitation on technical grounds what kind of service delivery of local public goods can be produced at what level of devolution. For example, refuse collection and roads construction may need different levels of decision-making and organisation.
• Most importantly, this supremacy of devolved Government is only guaranteed if the executive and legislative levels of the devolved units are considered legitimate or democratically controlled and accountable. This might not be the case.

Devolution should not jeopardise other functions of Government intervention; for example, the stabilisation and redistributive function of the State. On the redistributive side, in a country like Zimbabwe with regional differences in endowment, fiscal autonomy could lead to an under-investment and under-development in the poorer regions of the country.

Provincial and metropolitan councils’ activities must be geared towards supporting and enhancing the following economic parameters:

• productivity of small and informal industries;
• beneficiation of primary products;
• creation of new markets;
• creation of new ‘non-farm’ industries within rural economies;
• promoting business start-ups;
• investment promotion;
• fostering innovation;
• promoting new technologies; and
• infrastructural development.

When designing a multi-level system of Government, it is vital to ensure that there are specific rules, mechanisms and institutions to provide the accountability of various governments to the citizens.

Such mechanisms may include independent oversight committees, reporting systems, timeous and easy access to information.

Furthermore, the mechanisms include approval of resolutions of provincial and metropolitan councils, monitoring visits, performance barometer/checklists; for example, service delivery, budgets, compliance, corporate governance and capacity to generate and utilise revenue.

There is need to have comprehensive financial monitoring and reporting.

Section 298(1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe requires clear fiscal reporting at all levels of Government.

In terms of Section 35(7) of the Public Finance Management Act, within 120 days of the end of the financial year, every provincial council, metropolitan and local authority must submit to the Minister:

1. a) an annual report;
2. b) audited financial statements; and
3. c) the audit report.

Training therefore becomes a critical component in upgrading competencies and skills of both staff and members.

Before bankrolling the devolution process, more needs to be done, including in the areas of legislation, policies and institutions and in building capacities and skills with which to drive such broad-based and devolved economic activity.

Dr Tawanda Zinyama holds a PHD in Public Administration and lectures at the University of Zimbabwe

Vision 2030
Allen Choruma

Zimbabwe is currently hamstrung by debt to an extent that if a robust debt-management strategy, buttressed by fiscal discipline, is not adopted to manage both the foreign and domestic debt, this may affect our pursuit of Vision 2030.

Transparency and accountability is required to ensure that the country not only maintains sustainable debt levels, but the debt is contracted for the public good.

There is also need to ensure that Government does not borrow beyond its means or outside the legal parameters.

Debate on the national debt is common in Zimbabwe.

However, it is important to look at the legal framework, quantum of public debt (domestic and foreign), why governments borrow, including implications of borrowing on the national economy.

It is also important to examine the pros and cons of public debt, the role of Parliament in national debt control and management, and the need to put in place a robust and transparent framework for the national debt strategy.

Legal Framework

The legal framework that governs national debt is outlined in the following legal instruments:

• The Constitution of Zimbabwe (Amendment No.20).
• Public Debt Management Act: 22:21.
• Public Finance Management Act: 22:19.
• The Reserve Bank Act: 22:15.

Borrowing Limits

Government does not have a blank cheque when it comes to borrowing.

There are procedures and statutory limits to be followed.

The Public Debt Management Act provides for the management of public debt.

Once debt is assumed, it has to be managed in accordance with provisions of the Public Finance Management Act.

Section 300 of the Constitution prescribes limits to State borrowing as stipulated by Acts of Parliament.

In other words, the Constitution, as the supreme law of the land, gives Parliament, and not Government, powers to set out limits and conditions for public debt through legislation.

Neither the President nor the Minister of Finance can set thresholds or limits for national debt, as Parliament has the duty to do so.

The Public Debt Management Act, under Section 11 (2), provides that public debt may not exceed 70 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) at current market prices at the end of any fiscal year.

Government can only exceed the limit after a resolution is passed by Parliament, which, however, can be granted under special conditions such as occurrence of natural disasters and other emergencies.

Rebasing of Economy

The rebasing (revaluation) of the economy during the last quarter of 2018 has implications on statutory limits on national debt and sustainable debt ratios.

Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube felt the local economy was understated since there was burgeoning activity in the informal sector.

Before the rebasing, the GDP stood at US$16,6 billion.

This means the US$17,7 billion national debt — outlined in the 2019 National Budget — accounted for 106 percent of GDP.

This was clearly in excess of the statutory borrowing limit of 70 percent of GDP.

However, considering that the GDP was rebased to US$20,5 billion, the national debt will therefore account for 86,1 percent of GDP, which is 14,2 percent outside the 70 percent statutory limit.

Rebasing the economy naturally impacts on the public debt-to-GDP ratios.

Debt Burden

According to the 2019 National Budget, the country’s total debt presently stands at US$17,7 billion, which is split into US$9,6 billion domestic debt (54 percent) and US$7,7 billion foreign debt (46 percent).

Some economists, however, believe the figure could be inaccurate as it does not include debts owned by parastatals and other public entities.

Government has since assumed debts from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Asset Management Company (Zamco) and State-owned enterprises such as Air Zimbabwe, Ziscosteel, among others.

It will also soon take over TelOne’s US$383 million debt.

Overall, the debt, therefore, has to be audited.

Domestic Debt

Presently, the national debt stands at US$9,6 billion and was accrued through financing civil servants’ salaries — which consumed 92 of revenues in 2018 — public infrastructure projects, social services and so on.

Since most of the debt, acquired through issuance of Treasury Bills (TBs) and the RBZ overdraft, was used to finance recurrent expenditure, few resources were channelled towards infrastructure projects and social services.

Budget deficits create a vicious circle through which Treasury borrows to finance the budget deficit.

By the end of 2018, the fiscal deficit was forecast to widen to US$2,8 billion, or 11,7 percent of GDP.

Statistics from the 2019 Budget show that by the end of last year, TBs and the RBZ overdraft had soared to US$1,3 billion and US$2,5 billion, respectively, which is a reflection of fiscal indiscipline.

When Government overborrows from the market, it crowds out the private sector, which ordinarily drives economic development.

Foreign Debt

Further, the US$7,7 billion foreign debt represents 46 percent of the total national debt.

The debt is made up of bilateral creditors (Paris Club) US$4,7 billion, multilateral creditors (World Bank, AfDB) US$2,6 billion and others US$72 million.

The RBZ has assumed foreign debts amounting to US$343 million.

According to the a report titled “Zimbabwe Strategies for Clearing External Debt Arrears and Supportive Economic Reform Measures” that was presented by RBZ Governor Dr John Mangudya in Lima, Peru, on October 8 2015, Zimbabwe’s foreign debt at the time stood at US$10,8 billion, of which US$5,6 billion was in arrears.

Since foreign debt is denominated in foreign currency, it is serviced from export proceeds.

Again this puts a strain on the country’s limited foreign currency resources, which are needed to import critical raw materials and stabilise the exchange rate.

Why Borrow?

Most importantly, Government’s borrowings are governed by the Public Debt Management Act.

Section 12 of this his Act allows Government to borrow for the following purposes:

• To finance priority infrastructure projects;
• To maintain credit balance in Treasury;
• To provide loans to local authorities;
• To hour obligations under Government guarantees;
• To refinance outstanding debt;
• To mitigate effects caused by climate change and natural disasters;
• To replenish its reserves;
• To meet requests from central bank to support monetary policy objectives; and
• To fulfil any purposes as directed by Parliament.

All proceeds from borrowings go into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).

The CRF is administered by Treasury under the legal framework of the Public Finance Management Act.

Borrowings, therefore, should be within statutory limits.

Debt levels should also be sustainable, which means Government should have the capacity to service debts without defaulting.

In addition to transparency, some, if not most, of the resources raised through debts should be used to financial capital projects and productive sectors of the economy.

To be continued next week

Allen Choruma can be contacted on e mail: hoziadvisory2018@gmail.com 

Ranga Mberi

Government has taken a bold step to tackle the emotive issue of compensation for developments on farms taken over under the fast-track land reform exercise.

In a notice jointly released last weekend, the Ministers of Lands and Finance announced that Government had begun negotiations with white farmers on steps to be taken towards compensation for improvements on the resettled farms.

Predictably, debate around the issue has taken a life of its own.

Despite the term “farm improvements” appearing at least four times in the statement by Ministers Shiri and Ncube, there have been screams that President Emmerson Mnangagwa is “selling out” by “compensating farmers for land they stole”.

The facts, for those that are interested in them, are clear.

Firstly, Zimbabwe is not paying white farmers for the land.

Compensation parameters are enshrined in the Constitution, a charter agreed on by a cross section of Zimbabwean political parties and overwhelmingly voted for by citizens in the 2013 referendum.

If Government takes over a farm owned by an “indigenous Zimbabwean”, it must pay for the land and other assets. Likewise, if it takes over land protected under a Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (Bippas), it must also pay for the land.

However, for land taken from white farmers, the Constitution is clear: white farmers are only “entitled to compensation from the State only for improvements that were on the land when it was acquired”.

This is what is being implemented. It is the law. A President is not a “sell out” because he is upholding his country’s Constitution. He is, in fact, doing what he swore to do. Secondly, Zimbabwe will not spend taxpayer money to fund the improvements compensation bill, which has been set provisionally by the farmers at around US$10 billion. The statement by the ministers leaves no doubt as to this, saying: “Consultations on sustainable options for mobilising the requisite compensation resources are being explored in conjunction with the international financial institutions and other stakeholders.”

In essence, the spirit of Lancaster House prevails. Thirdly, this is a debate that sadly has been subordinated to our narrow politics.  Listening to members of the opposition bash the President for following the Constitution on compensation for improvements, one would think their own leadership have a wildly superior plan.

They most certainly do not.

In an interview with the SABC ahead of the July 30 elections last year, Nelson Chamisa told Sophie Mokoena that he would, in fact, compensate farmers not just for improvements, as the Government is doing, but for the land itself.

“The compensation of the former white farmers (sic) is an issue that has always come in the context of property rights, in the context of the rule of law, in the context of good governance. So we need to do it, as an obligation, as a necessity.”

A reading of the MDC’s manifesto reveals talks of title deeds and returning commercial value to property. We know what this really means. In this world of duplicity, however, one would not think that it is ED that is following the law, while the opposition that is accusing him of selling out are the ones that want to break it.

When including land, farmers want US$30 billion as compensation.

Not even their friend (Donald)Trump has that kind of money.

Again, Government is not compensating white farmers for the land. It was never a consideration. It is not now.

As the farmers themselves said in a statement released simultaneously with that of Government, this move “came after years of inaction on the compensation front”.

Instead of cheap politics, this is a time for hard realities and practical decisions.

This is a Government that respects property rights.  But it is also one that is unshaken in its views on the bloody history of our struggle for land, and the need for restitution. These two realisations need not be in conflict, as ED is proving.

The outcome of these two realities is what we have now: compensation for land improvements as demanded by our Constitution, paid for by innovative structures that do not punish our people.

Nothing more.

We continue narrating the political life of Cde Fani Chikomba whose nom de guerre was Cde Sorry Zivanayi. This week, the liberation fighter chronicles to our Deputy News Editor Levi Mukarati, the events leading to his military training in Mozambique and subsequent deployment to the front in Rhodesia.

Question: After gunning down the small plane, how did the Rhodesia security services react?

Answer: That incident was to be followed by a series of surprise attacks from the Rhodesians.

They had intensified their operations in the area, Zindi Detachment.

So, after gunning down the small plane, we moved to Chaza area. We had to be mobile, which was a characteristic of the guerrilla war. By the time we got to Chaza area, it was already dark and we were served food by our war collaborators. We had a quarter master, who first ate the food and we would wait for some minutes to be sure it is not poisoned, before we start eating.

But our arrival in the area became known by Ian Smith’s soldiers. I had secured my posto with another comrade and as we began to eat, a bright light suddenly illuminated the area.

The Rhodesian soldiers had lit a search light and immediately started firing at us.

It was a surprise attack, but we managed to fire back and later got out of the area without any casualties. That was my first time to be fired at. To be honest, I couldn’t sleep that night.

Ndainzwa kunge pfuti dzichiri kurira. Any sound in the forest yaindivhundutsa ndichifunga kuti masoja aSmith adzoka.

Ndaiti ndikatsinzinya maziso, ndaiwona moto wemabara. I was scared, but I kept on motivating myself deep inside ndichiti ndapotswa nemasoja, saka varikutitadza. We kept on operating within the Zindi Detachment and after about three months, that was November 1976, we had a team coming from Mozambique to reinforce us.

At that time I was selected leader of security in our section which was headed by Cde Tororo or Gorerino Hapana Chakanaka.

Our political commissar was Cde Chaka, we also had comrades Day Chibhakira, Lance Muchabaiwa, Rugare, Jean and Powerman.

Together with Cde Jean and other comrades, we were tasked to cross into Mozambique to collect a machine gun, the one mounted on wheels. We did that with ease since we were in control of the Mozambican side.

When we returned with the gun to Honde Valley, Cde Chaka had left our group to lead another section.

He had chosen Cde Jean to his section as leader of security. But that was after myself and Jean had buried the machine gun in headman Chikomba’s area. The purpose of the gun was to attack Ruda Base Camp, which was the biggest base for Rhodesian soldiers in Honde valley. I also became close to Cde Hammer the Crusher, who was in our section and had specialised in making explosive. He taught me how to make the devices and at one time I blew up electricity lines to Katiyo Tea Estates. I felt proud of myself.

A sad sight of Cde Jean

Question: I want to go back to the machine gun, did it achieve its mission to destroy Ruda Base Camp?

Answer: No, the machine gun was to be deployed elsewhere after I had gone for training in Mozambique.

But I should mention that when we returned with it, Cde Chaka and the guys in his section went to see one of the spirit mediums in the area, Sekuru Mabota. We were planning a big attack at Ruda, so we used to consult spirit mediums. But the consultation did not take place because when the Cdes got to Sekuru Mabota’s homestead, he was quick to tell them that the whites were in the area.

In the midst of the warning, the Rhodesian soldiers arrived and opened fire.

Cde Chifafa Chibwe who was leaning against the wall of one of Sekuru Mabota’s huts was the first to be shot at and died. An exchange of gunfire ensued and Cde Jean was shot in the stomach. There was a girl, a chimbwido called Florence, who then helped Cde Jean and tried to hide him in an area where there were some gardens. But the whites followed and captured Cde Jean after Florence had ran away.

I knew the capture of Cde Jean would result in his torture and probably him divulging information on our operations particularly the machine gun.

I was tasked to lead a team to extract the machine gun. We managed to retrieve and hid it in the bush.  We remained in the area certain that the Rhodesian soldiers would come looking for the gun and we would ambush them.

In less than an hour, the white soldiers arrived at the location we had initially buried the gun.

They were too many and it was impossible for us to launch an attack.

The Rhodesian security forces were carrying Cde Jean on a stretcher and it was sad there was no help we could give him. That was the last time I saw Cde Jean. I should mention that the war at Sekuru Mabota’s homestead had occurred after we had tried to bomb Machiri Bridge along Pungwe River, but it was just damaged and did not collapse.

There were some District Development Fund (DDF) guys who were tasked by the Smith government to rehabilitate the damaged bridge. We were not happy about Cde Jean and we wanted to revenge. The DDF guys became our target.

Taiziva kuti, after work, vakomana ve DDF vainwira hwahwa paRambanayi bottle store. So we went and captured them.

In that process, we heard the sound of a vehicle, a landrover, driving towards the bottle store and we knew it was the DDF area supervisor. He was white. We ordered everyone out of the store and hid in the nearby bushes.

The white supervisor then got to the store, disembarked and went straight inside.

He did not see anyone; as he came out and before getting to his vehicle we opened fire at him. He died on the spot. It was around six in the evening.

We released the DDF black workers and immediately moved out of the area.

Horrors of Gunyana battle

Then in December 1976, our commanders got instructions from the leaders in Mozambique that we need to intensify our operations. We had to increase sabotage acts in tea estates and force workers back home.

We moved in to loot the shops at the tea estates and workers feared to go to work.

This happened up to March 1977. Because of the volatile situation, the Rhodesian government then decided to establish more Keeps in the area. In March 1977, we met as three sections at Gunyanja to strategise our operations in the wake of the Keeps. It was our section, led by Cde Tororo, then the other led by Dzokerai Mabunu and the another headed by Cde Powerman.

We agreed, at detachment level, that we now had so many youths moving with us who were waiting to go for training. The youths were now over 100 in the detachment.

At Gunyanja there was an elderly man called Dongo, he had come from Masvingo and managed to get a rural home there.

The senior comrades asked Dongo to go and buy them some tobacco at the nearest shops.

I suspect Dongo sold us out to the white soldiers because he did not return. I don’t know why we didn’t question Dongo’s failure to return as we dispersed to find places to sleep.

Our section moved out about three kilometres and set base in the next village, kwa Chaza.

The other two sections remained in Gunyanja and secured places for the youths to sleep with the villagers. I remember it was raining and I was sleeping at my posto when I heard gun shots around 4am.

The unfortunate thing was that the Rhodesian soldiers had come from an opposite direction from the comrades and the villagers were caught in between. After the opening of fire, the youths who were in the houses panicked and got out running in different directions. It was a sad situation because they were caught in crossfire.

Others tried to escape to come to us, but we lost 13 youth and two comrades.

About 18 youths reached us with various degrees of gunshot wounds while others were unhurt. But there was something that happened during the exchange of fire which I failed to understand.

It had been raining the whole night, but when the confrontation started, the rains increased and I think this is what reduced the intensity of the attack. Again the rains hindered the soldiers from pursuing us as we led the youths into Mozambique, Tangwena base.

From there, we then organised transport for the wounded to be taken to hospitals in Vila de Manica,Mozambique. After ensuring the youths had left for treatment, we returned to Rhodesia through Chavhanga area.

The Rhodesians had created many Keeps and it was now difficult to get into villages to get food. As such, we helped ourselves to bananas and madhumbe from the villagers’ gardens. We even caught stray chicken for relish.

When we got to Chavhanga, Chimbo area, we camped and addressed the villagers.

But again, the white soldiers somehow got information we were in the area and, like the Gunyanja war, they launched a surprise attack early in the morning

In our posto, I was with Cde Powerman who had a bazooka RPG7 and I had an AK47 assault rifle. I remember hearing a voice saying; “bloody terrorists! Stand up and surrender or I will shoot you.” I had not seen where this person was and what came to my mind was maybe the person or persons had already taken aim at me.

As I was on the ground, I tried to roll and immediately heard gun shots. Powerman had been targeted, but the bullet that got to him went on to hit a magazine that was strapped to his stomach. The magazine exploded and injured his stomach, but it wasn’t serious.

He managed to launch his bazooka in the direction the shots were coming from.

The explosion seemed to have taken the Rhodesian soldiers aback as they stopped firing.

But I had been hit by a bullet on my left foot.

I had fired back, but soon ran out of bullets.

I managed to crawl out of the firing line with blood oozing from the foot. As I crawled, my gun was caught by some shrubs and had to leave it because I could see the enemy was drawing closer.

I was unarmed and feared for my life because I no longer had any weapon to defend myself.

But like I said earlier, we were operating near the border with Mozambique. So each time there was a surprise attack on us, we would retreat and regroup on the other side of the border, where there were reinforcement.

Military training in Mozambique

I managed to cross Rwera River and got to the other comrades. My foot was bandaged and it was arranged that I be taken to a hospital in Manica, Mozambique. That was April 1977.

I didn’t stay in hospital for long because the wound healed quickly.

Upon discharge, I went to Chimoio, New Takawira Camp. There, I met Mukoma Japhet, there was also Paul Santana who was a musician, Pepsi Kombo and Zanla Mbada Chirenje. That was also the time I saw Cde Josiah Tongogara after he had been released from Jail in Zambia.

He came to New Takawira and I saw him once.

Then there was a group of manoeuvres that came to New Takawira from Dondo. They were destined for Tembue. I stayed at the camp for a month after which the team from Dondo was given clearance to proceed to Tembue.

I was told to join them and that was now May 1977 when I went for training at Tembue.

My training was interesting because I had already been in the front and had waged some wars, so it was more of military drills.

During training I was in Battalion H and our Battalion Commander was Cde Handei Pamwe.

I was political commissar of our company.

There was also Battalion I, led by Cde Johnny Walker and Battalion G commandeered by Cde Ronny. We went through a six month training and towards the end of the exercise I specialised with the M90 rocket launcher, anti-personal and anti-tank launchers.

I also did field engineering with the likes of Cde Cuba and at that time our trainer was Cde Chapewa. As for individual tactics, we used to go to a place we called kamunda kaTito named after Cde Tito who was responsible for training comrades there.

We were taken through survival tactics by Cde Tito, that is when to advance, craw, retreat and fire our weapons during a war. When I finished training in November 1977 there was an attack at Tembue and Chimoio.

I am not sure if it targeted us who had finished training so that we fail to go to the front or it was just a coincidence.

When Chimio was bombed from 23 to 25 November, we had left about four days earlier taenda kwainzi kwa Chari, where we awaited deployment. After attack we had to move further up tikaenda kwainzi kwaZuze near Malawi where a new camp had been established.

That new camp was in a marshy area and vehicles would get stuck in the mud.

Near Zuze was Maroro base where the comrades stayed.

So I was tasked to be company commander of more than 100 comrades at Maroro base.

Our task became that of making roads passable. We would cut trees and place them in areas that were muddy for passage of vehicles transporting various supplies to the camp.

Ndapedza ipapo ndakanzi ndiende kwa Ben kwaive naCde Mvenge nanaMike Hip Level Karakadzai. When I got there, I was selected together with 49 other comrades on an advance mission to Rhodesia near Salisbury.

Continued next week

But the leaders there, ana Cde Hip Level and Mvenge vaitya kuti tinogona kupanduka tapedyo ne Salisbury tikabatana nemadzakutsaku.

As such, we went through an intensive two week programme called special classes in politics.

We were oriented with in-depth lectures on why we were in the war, why we were special, the benefits that awaited blacks if we won the war and how we would be regarded by the future generation for bringing independence.

After the course, I felt complete, motivated and destined to free my country.

Dai ari nhasi, ndingati ndaizviona kunge Rambo, kunzwa manyukunyuku kuti nyika iyi yakamirira ini kuti ndiyisunungure.

That is how serious the political doctrine was.

That is why when we speak, those who did not go through the war furnace, think we are mad. We are not, we are a determined lot.

Anyway, after the course we were briefed that some comrades in Musana, Chikwaka area near Salisbury had revolted.

They were led by James Mapurani Swerakuyenda Mukwasha we Zuva and they were working nemadzakutsaku (Auxiliary Forces).

We were tasked to go and capture them and wait further instructions.

With that mission at hand, the 50 of us, armed with our AK47’s and myself with an additional rocket launcher trooped back to Rhodesia.

Little did I know our mission would witness so many deaths.

Hon July Moyo

In four days’ time, Zimbabwe turns 39. However, this year’s commemorations are particularly unique as they mark a historical epoch where, for the first time since independence, real power will be handed over from central Government to communities to enable them to implement developmental projects.

 Devolution, which has gained traction under President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration, not only targets to decentralise power to districts and provinces, but it is also designed to promote inclusive national development.

 Not surprisingly, the theme for this year’s independence is “Zimbabwe at 39: Embracing Devolution for Vision 2030.”

 Our Chief Reporter Kuda Bwititi spoke to Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister July Moyo to explore the significance of this year’s Uhuru celebrations, as well as get an update on preparations for the grand event.

*****

The theme for this year’s celebrations is “Zimbabwe at 39: Embracing Devolution for Vision 2030.” This theme has been carefully chosen in line with the developmental trajectory of the Second Republic.

President Mnangagwa has made devolution a top priority of his governance architecture so that the ordinary people in all parts of Zimbabwe can have tangible evidence of progress under the Second Republic.

Government wants to ensure that they will be big celebrations throughout the country in line with the devolution agenda.

It is in that vein that we are encouraging all Members of Parliament (MPs) and Senators to celebrate the event in their respective provinces so that devolution makes sense.

The exception can be for ministers and other senior party officials who may need to be at the main venue for purposes of protocol.

It is very important to emphasise the issue of devolution because this is the running theme and the President wants this to cascade to the people. The outstanding significance of this celebration is that this is the first time that Government has directly allocated resources to provinces for them to undertake various projects. All the 10 provinces have been allocated money from central Government.

This is the significance of devolution.

It should be also noted that we are doing devolution at provincial and local level.

All 92 local authorities have been allocated funds. This is the first time that this has happened since the Constitution was passed in 2013, hence the theme.

Now we are saying this independence is deepening the participation of Zimbabweans through the control of their own natural resources and also through the transfer of national funds so that they can be used at the local level. Also, we strongly feel that devolution is the best strategy for us to achieve Vision 2030: for an upper middle-income economy.

We are not going to leave any part of Zimbabwe behind and that is why, in this year’s budget, monies have been transferred to all local authorities and provincial councils to deal with the issue of marginalisation.

Those who are marginalised in education infrastructure, health infrastructure, water, sewage, and energy-related infrastructure, as well as in roads infrastructure, have been given more money than those that are not marginalised.

Furthermore, we are cognisant that the country held elections last year and devolution was one of the main campaign messages.

The President promised the people that he would deliver devolution to their door steps, so implementing this programme is fulfilling the big promise that we made.

The President’s words have come to pass and we are proud that $310 million was allocated in the national budget for devolution programmes.

Disbursement of these funds is dependent on the actual programmes which the respective provinces and districts will submit in relation to the economic potential in their areas.

Most of the local authorities are submitting their programmes for approval and they are excited about the prospects that this programme brings.

The framework for disbursing is there and the law is there.

The framework for disbursing is the Finance Act, which has been approved.

The Local Authorities Act, the Provincial Councils and Administration Act is also there. It needs to be amended to align it with the Constitution, but it is there.

The programme is also well articulated in the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP), and we are clear on who is getting what.

Unity of Purpose

Devolution must, therefore, give us an opportunity to unite in celebration as a peaceful people.

Despite the tragic Cyclone Idai disaster that we have had, Zimbabweans have shown immense ability to show love, to fight the disaster and uplift those that are vulnerable.

The response to the disaster epitomises the same unity of purpose that characterised the fight for Independence.

Our President has also shown unity of purpose after he led 17 other political leaders to spend two days in Chimanimani to distribute the much-needed food items, oversee repair of damaged infrastructure and also console Zimbabweans who have lost property, who have lost their loved ones or who were injured.

This disaster is another reason why Zimbabweans must celebrate together.

It is the President’s wish that all political leaders should come to the National Sports Stadium (NSS) because this is a national day.

Invitations have been sent to all opposition parties and they will be treated with decorum, regardless of which party they represent.

I, therefore, want to emphasise that on this day, issues of political affiliation should be set aside. We need to unite as a people and celebrate this day as one people. This is one of the most important days for Zimbabwe on its calendar and it is significant to show that despite our differences, we are one people.

                                Logistics

Our preparations for this year’s Independence Day are in good order. The overall logistics are coordinated by us in the Ministry because the venue in Harare is the National Sports Stadium (NSS), for which we are the managers.

We also have specific duties being undertaken by different ministries, so it is a united effort in Government because this is one of the most important days on our calendar.

Government always mobilises resources for these celebrations.

At district and provincial levels, there is a lot of fundraising that goes on because this is a national event.

We are responsible for arranging and making sure that the venue is spruced up, and that has already been done.

As we speak, we are printing all the invitation cards and torch bearers have been identified and are preparing for the big day.

Harare City Council is attending to the roads to make sure that road surfaces and the surrounding environs are in excellent condition. In terms of the tents, the tendering process has been opened and we know that they will be ready, with the winner to be announced next week in time for the big day.

Pertaining to entertainment, a number of artists will perform and these include Alick Macheso and the Mahendere Brothers.

In terms of sport, the teams that will be playing are Highlanders and Dynamos for the Independence Trophy.

The independence flame is ready and serviced.

All rehearsals are currently being done, sitting arrangements are being organised, including banding, decorations and banners. We are happy about everything so far.

The Ministry of Information (Publicity and Broadcasting Services) will also issue a more detailed statement on all logistics such as transport that will be offered to the people to go the main venue.

Throughout the history of mankind, there can only be one thing that is incredibly expensive that everyone can afford but a few are prepared to pay for — freedom.

This is hardly surprising, for freedom is bought with one currency, and one currency only: blood.

But blood, unlike money or any unit of exchange, is a sacred currency.

In both the earthly and spiritual realms, blood is the ultimate currency.

However, currencies inherently have different weightings.

You have animal blood on one side of the scale and human blood on the other.

To put it in a way you can easily understand, Bishop Lazi would say animal blood is like the RTGS dollar, while human blood is the US dollar.

There is no greater sacrifice than laying down one’s life for an ideal or belief, and this is precisely the reason why this week is solemnly sacred, particularly for Zimbabweans, because not only will they be reflecting on God’s ultimate sacrifice to let Himself be killed in the most humiliating way imaginable in order to save humanity, but they will also take time to savour the moment when men and women gave their all — including their lives — for freedom.

Hallelujah!

So rare has Independence Day prefaced Easter holidays in lock-step that the last time this happened was in 1984.

Of course there have been occasions where Independence Day celebrations have been sandwiched between Easter celebrations.

In fact, this happened four times — in 1981, 1992, 2003 and 2014.

When Man Killed God

You see, every Sunday or every time Bishop Lazarus stands before lipstick-embalmed and designer suit clad congregates, he always asks himself if they have so much as a mustard seed-sized idea of the gory end of Christian pioneers.

Well, God, through his Son, had to sacrifice Himself, to save humanity.

He was insulted, bludgeoned, stripped naked and nailed to the cross by his own creations.

Imagine, man killing God.

But this is the reason why He calls Himself the good shepherd in John 10:11-18.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me — just as the Father knows me and I know the Father — and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

His promise came to pass and that is why we will be having a four-day Easter holiday beginning on Friday.

What many do not know, however, is that His disciples also met the same fate.

It is a ghastly story.

John the Baptist was beheaded by Herod and his head was handed on a silver platter — literally — to the Rome tetrarch (sub-king)’s daughter-in-law, Salome.

James, the son of Zebedee, was executed by Herod.

Peter and Paul were reportedly martyred in Rome 60 years after Jesus was crucified.

In fact, Paul was beheaded and Peter — thought to be the first pope — was crucified upside down at his request.

Kutosarudza hake kuti anoda kufa sei.

Andrew, who went as far as the present-day Russia, Turkey and Greece, was also not so lucky.

He, too, was crucified.

Philip was cruelly put to death for trying to spread the gospel in North Africa.

So, too, was Matthew, the tax collector, and Bartholomew.

Researchers also say James — the son of Alpheus, who preached in Syria — was stoned and clubbed to death.

Need I also mention Simon, or Matthias, who was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot?

Matthias was actually burned to death.

It is only John, who was tasked to look after Jesus’ mother, Mary, who died a natural death.

You either have to be plain stupid or raving mad — or both — to volunteer for such a hazardous, unpaying quest.

Well, they say there is a wafer-thin line between bravery and stupidity.

But this is the unavoidable price to pay for freedom.

A Struggle Betrayed . . . But Restored

The Bishop is proud to share the same blood with this supposedly stupid and mad ilk, who — knowing full well of the grave and unimaginable danger stacked against them — decided to lay down their lives for freedom.

And all this for no pay.

Argh! This is not possible in this capitalist world that Bishop Lazi has come to know.

Nowadays, everything and anything has a price.

You want vegetables, you pay; you want water, you pay; you want shelter, you pay; you want mopani worms (madora/matshimbi), you pay; you want to escape justice, you pay; you want love, you pay;  and you want nothing, you pay.

Pay. Pay. Pay. Pay. Pay. Argh! Capitalism bakithi.

And somewhere along the journey some of our comrades were lost in the dog-eat-dog politics of capitalism.

It became so absurd and embarrassing that the cadres — won over by the glitz and razzmatazz of capitalism’s obscene and ostentatious lifestyles — would have made even American rapper, 50 cent — or “Fiddy”, or whatever he calls himself nowadays — swoon with envy.

Even the nutty Dambudzo Marechera, in his work Mindblast, compiled in 1984, presciently observed as much.

“I was discovering that there are many shades of black but the only true one is that of the have-nots. Don’t mean to sound bitter — yes, I do mean to sound bitter, but it seems to me for all the ideals our independence is supposed to represent, it’s still the same old ox-wagon of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. There’s even an attempt to make poverty a holy and acceptable condition. You say you’re hungry, and the shef peers over his three chins down at you and says, ‘Comrade, you’re the backbone of the revolution’, as if your life’s ambition is to be thin and lean as a mosquito’s backbone. And you try to say, “Shef, I don’t want to be the backbone, I want to be the big belly of the struggle against neo-colonialism like the one you got there under that Castro beard”.

And then came November 2017, which sought to recover and restore the same sacred ideals in order to make them so attractive that they can be worth to die for again.

Of course, the taxing journey is still on; basa richigere kupera, but the most valuable thing we have been able to recover is hope — hope that we can shape the future that we want and deserve.

As we take a break to reflect on the Independence and Easter holidays this week and next week, it might be worth reflecting on what Giuseppe Mazzini — one of the Italian revolutionaries instrumental in the unification of Italy in 1871 — said about price of liberty, freedom and peace.

“The tree of liberty grows sturdier when watered by the blood of the martyrs.”

But even in peace, we must always be wary, for the same Mazzini cautioned: “The dagger of the assassin grows more deadly when sharpened on the tombstone of martyrs.”

Bishop is out!

Writing Back
Ranga Mataire

It’s two weeks since this column was launched and the feedback has been prodigious. The feedback has been two-fold. One section of readers felt that ‘Writing Back’ is a noble project that should never be extinguished while the other was utterly flummoxed by the whole conceptual framework and what it ought to achieve.

The blame lies squarely with this writer for failure to give an inaugural explanatory note about the whole idea behind ‘Writing Back’ as a concept and a guiding post in the post-colonial period.

It is thus important that we dichotomise the essence of ‘Writing Back’ as both a conceptual literary framework and as an adaptive mode of existence for former colonials in reaction to the ‘negative othering’ that continue to inform the narratives from the West.

While ‘Writing Back’ has a long history dating back to Chinua Achebe’s seminal work; “Things Falls Apart” (1958) and later Salman Rushdie’s 1982 article “The Empire Writes Back with a Vengeance”, much of its contemporary conceptual weaponry is derived from “The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Post-Colonial Literature”, a 1989 non-fiction text on post-colonialism authored by Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin.

Besides being a pun on the film ‘Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back’, the phrase refers to the ways post-colonial voices respond to the literary canon of the colonial centre.

The book by Ashcroft and others is regarded as one of the most significant works published in the field of post-colonial existence.

The writers debate about the relationships within post-colonial works including studying the forces acting on words in the post-colonial text, and establish proof of how these texts constitute a radical critique of Eurocentric notions of language and literature.

Ashcroft, Griffiths and Tiffin reinforce the idea that post-colonial rewritings are not just concerned with merely inverting the hierarchical order but cross-examining and questing truth-seeking statements on which that order is based. It is some kind of post-colonial re-writing of canonical text which can be understood as some form of counter discourse.

Taking from Rushdie’s pun on ‘The Empire Strikes Back’— the famous American TV show, the empire is the sum total of the colonies of the British Empire, which Britain lost when independence came in the 1960s to states in Africa to Sri Lanka and the Caribbean.

“The Centre” is Britain and the idea of “writing back” is thus crucial in understanding the various strategies of decolonisation that Britain’s former colonies have used to set the record straight. The fact that a large number of people in the erstwhile British colonies are now living and even writing in Britain, gives credence to the fact that they are also writing back to the Centre from within the belly of the beast- from the Centre of the Centre.

It must, however, be noted that the notion of the “centre” does not imply the same to everyone. Students of literature acutely remember the Irish writer W.B. Yeats writing in “The Second Coming (1919)” that: “Things Fall Apart”; the centre cannot hold; /Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world”. Yeats had in mind, Man losing touch with the Judeo-Christian God but also its consequence; the advent of a strange, savage God and the death of God announced by Nietzsche and since they were in 1919, the end of Tsarism in Russian and the aftermath of the October revolution.

It is from Yeats that Achebe was to appropriate the title of his book, “Things Fall Apart”.

But what was falling apart was the pre-colonial coherence of Eastern Nigeria or the Igbo society and in a wider reference, the African existence due to the impact of Christianity which was the instigator of the disorder.

The notion of the “centre” as applied to Britain goes back to the sixteenth century, an age of colonial expansion but the conjoining of England as the centre goes back to the 19th century, when English began to be studies as an academic subject and became linked to the spread of colonial education for the “natives”.

The teaching of English came with other concepts such as ‘humanity’, ‘civilisation’ which contrariwise established ‘savagery’, ‘native’, ‘primitive’; a dichotomy strengthened by racial theories of “inequality of human races”.

No one doubts the resultant impact of colonialism in three quarters of the world today have had their lives shaped by it. Around the 1960s then Britain stepped into the post-imperial phase as it ceased being an Empire or rather became an Empire in decline.

As laughable as it sounds, Britain is indeed at present the last colony of the British Empire. So why should Africans continue to ‘write back to empire’ when the empire has long ceased to exist? Why should Africans continue to take this initiative as a lifelong commitment when the colonials have long since left the continent?

Writing back is as relevant as it is today as it was when Achebe penned “Things Fall Apart’ in that the misrepresentations about Africa and Zimbabwe in particular— that are informed by colonial stereotypes that continue to be peddled in various discourses on various platforms.

In “Writing Back” to empire, Achebe and other African authors, intellectuals and journalists, are informed by the fact that Europeans who first came into contact with Africa embraced a condescending attitude couched in assumed superiority which fuelled the justification of colonialism and denigration of everything African.

Journalists, writers and African intellectuals are duty bound to respond to the disgraceful fictional narratives of Europeans by reconstructing the image of Africa’s past to the rest of the world away from the “blind truths” contained in Joseph Conrad’s “The Heart of Darkness”.

This is the reason why Achebe writes back to empire in an attempt to discredit the “blind truths” surrounding time, language, and the indigenous societies of Africa and goes so far as to say that Western influence helped to cause the blind perspective on Africa. While “The Heart of Darkness” portrays Africa as underdeveloped and primitive, “Things Fall Apart” depicts Africa as having complex societies by showing us the complex ways of life of the Igbo people in Nigeria.

Writing back offers, therefore, not only possibilities for the former colonised but also the former colonisers, new meanings and counter discourses that come into play in the shared language.

Colonialism was presented as “extension of civilisation”, which ideologically justified the self-ascribed superiority of the European Western world over the non-Western world over the non-Western world.

As journalists, intellectuals, writers and even political players we need to continuously write back to empire to demystify and dispel misrepresentations about us as a people that have continued to inform the Western world in the post-colonial period.

This is the essence of “Writing Back” as a column. In the age of social media and information technology, there is always need to put everything in perspective and dispel falsehoods that shape the opinions of humanity. We must never get fatigued in disseminating an anti-conquest narrative that analyses and transcends the personal and societal experiences of imperial subjugation of having endured the imposed identity of a colonial project.

It is this kind of narrative that replies to the mother country’s misrepresentation of Africa’s humanity peddled by their own writers, journalists and intellectuals including their local proxies.

For Feedback contact ranga.mataire@gmail.com or lovemore.mataire@zimpapers.co.zw

Shoppers have noticed over the last couple of months a large and growing spread of prices between brands of  identical or near identical products plus a tendency by some monopoly Zimbabwean manufacturers to price their goods at the same level as equivalent imports.

As a result brand loyalty is dropping fast, as many do not think the high premiums charged for particular brands of near identical products are worth the extra money. Instead consumers are ensuring their declining purchasing power is giving them maximum value by flowing into the pockets of the manufacturers who treat them more fairly. Such consumer power needs to be exercised more and more. Even when a shopper is loyal to a brand they might feel that the owner of that brand needs to show equivalent loyalty to customers, instead of treating them like sheep to be regularly shorn. And one way of getting the message across that loyalty is  to switch to the manufacturers who cost fairly and treat their customers like human beings.

The gaps between identical or near identical products are already large and growing. It is quite possible now to find the cheaper brand half the price of the more expensive and common to find the cheaper two thirds or three quarters of the price of the most expensive. Supermarket owners and managers have noted the gaps and the decisive switch in market shares. Sometimes they get the manufacturers of the more expensive brands to try promotion pricing; but at other times they just have to assign someone to start dusting the packets and tins taking up shelf space without ever falling into trolleys.

With some honourable exceptions, the more expensive brands tend to be the older and more established.

Perhaps complacency about brand loyalty plays a part; perhaps the brand owner has become top heavy with overheads; perhaps they feel they have a monopoly or near monopoly position and do not have to worry.

It is strongly suspected by many, including President ED Mnangagwa, that these makers of the expensive brands are not costing with actual costs but instead are thinking in US dollars and converting at the prevailing parallel exchange rate, or even the interbank rate, despite the fact that many, and often most, of their costs are in local currency and while rising are rising more slowly than exchange rate swings.

Since some of these outfits quite shamelessly advertise some products in US dollars, with an RTGS price as a small aside, the suspicion is more than justified.

It is also obvious that the growing number of newcomers entering the markets are using actual costs.

Their prices can fluctuate, but do so both up and down as costs vary and as they drive greater productivity out of their overheads. If you are breaking into a market and increasing market share your staff can be paid the same as your competitor but since you sell everything you can make in a shift, your shift is working flat out and you get more goods for each man hour you are paying for. So your costs fall and your goods are even more competitive.

There are suggestions for Government intervention, but price controls have already been ruled out and attempts to get general agreement on costing models might well produce little more than promises to think about the issue, perhaps tomorrow.

What might well be required is the Government doing what it does do best. Monopolies and cartels are dangerous, but they can be broken up or forbidden to form. Only a strong regulator can do that.

Consumers faced with a growing number of alternatives at a widening range of prices need information to be able to make informed choices. Zimbabwe has labelling requirements and many manufacturers go further. We need to enforce international best practice so that a consumer knows exactly what they are getting for their money and can decide.

Consumer education will help consumers understand some of the conventions and requirements and so allow them to make their informed choice.

The progress made in our ease of doing business needs to continue and preferably be accelerated. The easiest way to whip a cartel or monopoly is to make it very easy for the newcomer to break into the market.

And we have smart, bright young Zimbabweans going into business and taking on the giants and winning.

Some of our giants perhaps need to think back more than 30 years when they were young, smart workaholics dreaming of empire and shudder.

There are no guarantees in business. In the end the person who can produce the best quality at the lowest price will always win.

This is particularly so in Zimbabwe right now as many people have incomes that are static or are growing at rates below inflation. Brand premiums on standard prices may just be sustainable when incomes are growing in real terms; when they are declining then the innovative newcomer becomes the consumer’s best friend.

Market forces are already making changes. One major seller of consumer goods with a highish imported content has cut prices by up to half. It was obvious that the old prices were stupidly based on a prediction of rising hyperinflation and a crashing exchange rate.

Zero customers has forced through a rethink and an examination of real costs and real trends. So the dinosaurs can do U-turns and need to if they are to be nimble enough to survive.

Vision 2030 Allen Choruma
(Continued from last week)

Last week, we noted that Zimbabwe is hamstrung by debt to such an extent that if a robust debt management strategy — buttressed by fiscal discipline — is not adopted to manage both foreign and domestic debt, this may affect the country’s pursuit of Vision 2030.

Fiscal Discipline

Fiscal indiscipline has in the past been blamed for the country’s huge domestic and foreign debt, which has often resulted in the accumulation of arrears, interest and penalties. Most borrowings were driven by unbudgeted Government expenditure.

By the end of last year, Treasury Bills (TBs) stood at US$1,27 billion, while the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) overdraft was US$2,5 billion, which implies Government was spending beyond its means and borrowing excessively from the domestic market to finance expenditure.  The previous administration’s penchant for unrestrained borrowing has been progressively feeding the fiscal deficit to such an extent that by the end of 2018, the fiscal deficit stood at US$2,8 billion or 11,7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Official statistics indicate that by November last year, the country’s overall debt stood at US$17,7 billion, of which US$9,6 billion (54 percent) was domestic debt and US$7,6 billion (46 percent) was foreign debt.

Of the US$7,6 billion in foreign debt, US$5,6 billion is in arrears, interest and penalties.

Foreign debt is denominated in US dollars, which means that its impact on the economy is huge. It is, therefore, unsurprising that fiscal discipline is the hallmark of the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) and the 2019 National Budget.

Encouragingly, there are already signs that Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube is balancing the budget through fiscal consolidation. Political will in support of fiscal austerity measures is critical to ensure that Treasury’s efforts are sustained and fruitful.

Rule of law

In the past, Government’s domestic borrowings failed to abide by laws such as the Public Debt Management Act (Chapter: 22:21), Public Finance Management Act (Chapter: 22:19) and the Reserve Bank Act (Chapter: 22:15) that govern debt. Section 11(2) of the Public Debt Management Act stipulates that public debt may not exceed 70 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) at current market prices at the end of any fiscal year.

After the economy was rebased to US$20,5 billion, the national debt now stands at 86,2 percent of GDP and is 14,2 percent outside the 70 percent statutory limit.

Section 11(1) of the Reserve Bank Act provides that Government borrowing will not exceed 20 percent of the previous year’s revenues. Noticeably, Government’s overdraft facility with the RBZ stood at US$2,5 billion by September 2018, representing 65 percent of the 2017 revenues of US$3,9 billion.

The new administration has, however, made a commitment to observe laws that govern public debt going forward.

It is hoped that Minister Ncube will walk the talk.

Role of Parliament

Parliament’s role in managing public debt is clearly outlined in the Constitution, Public Debt Management Act, and Public Finance Management Act.

It delegates its oversight through the Public Accounts Committee.

Section 300 of the Constitution allows Parliament to limit State borrowings, public debt and State guarantees.

In essence, the limits for public debt cannot be exceeded without approval from Parliament. But Parliament can only grant that approval under special conditions such as in cases of natural disasters and other emergencies, or, in some instances, where there is an urgent public investment project that has to be implemented.

To enable Parliament to exercise its oversight functions effectively, Section 300 (4) of the Constitution provides that the Minister of Finance must report to Parliament at least twice a year on the performance of public loans raised by the State.

Worryingly, notwithstanding the provisions of the law, Government has in the past violated public debt provisions with impunity and borrowed excessively without authority of Parliament and beyond the sustainable limits prescribed by law. Parliament clearly slept on the job. Going forward, Parliament will assume its oversight role effectively and ensure that Government borrowing activities are done in line with the law and that there is appropriate disclosure and accountability on public debt issues.

Independent Debt Audit

There is still need to interrogate the country’s national debt levels as some economists believe that the US$17,7 billion could be understated, especially when debts owed by parastatals and other public institutions are taken into account. Government has taken over debt from institutions such as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), Zimbabwe Asset Management Company (Zamco), Air Zimbabwe and Ziscosteel, among others.

It also recently announced that it will soon complete the assumption of TelOne’s debt, which stands at US$383 million. Government has also been talking about compensating white former commercial farmers for improvements on land which was compulsorily acquired by the State under the fast-track land reform programme. This liability will also form part of Government’s debt. This is why there are calls for a comprehensive, independent and transparent national debt audit to ensure that public debt is verified.

Debt Strategy

Zimbabwe has sufficient legal instruments to manage public debt, but what has been lacking in the past is fiscal discipline to borrow sustainably and ensure that Government spends within its means and that expenditure is not incurred arbitrarily. Going forward, a national debt strategy is needed to ensure that Zimbabwe manages its public debt effectively and in a transparent manner.

Allen Choruma can be contacted on: hoziadvisory2018@gmail.com

Jesus has risen from the dead!

Hallelujah. . . But wait . . . why was he killed in the first place?

You see, over time, societies evolve into hierarchical and stratified communities that pit the powerful against the powerless; the haves against the have-nots; the bourgeoisie against the proletariat; and the masters against servants.

Relations between and among the various social groups is often exploitative, with the powerful appropriating power from the powerless and the haves subsisting off the have-nots.

As Bishop Lazi always tell his followers, the powerful cannot exist without the powerless, nor will the bourgeoisie survive without the proletariat.

Also, there cannot be a master without a servant.

By their very nature, human beings, including men of the cloth, crave superiority and lofty titles.

“Shefism” – itself an irresistible urge to lead and massage egos through the notional and material gains that come with it – is an age-old societal plague.

The Bishop always grapples with it even in church, where supposedly chaste madzimai eruwadzaro are often locked in ferocious, uncivil and heathen-like fights for superior positions within their guilds.

The unending stories of sleaze and skulduggery in burial societies always make me cringe.

I also often ask myself why elections for church parish councils’ and guilds degenerate into Stone Age existential battles, where the primate that can wield the biggest stick or stone becomes the most dominant specie of the group.

Well, of course, it is because of that craving to be served, and not to serve.

This is the same disease that affected the “all-knowing” noble clergy that called themselves the Pharisees.

They were sticklers of the law; in fact, laws, rules and regulations were their fetish.

In essence, they served the law, and not God.

If you read Matthew 23 verses 1-39, you will get the extent to which God was thoroughly displeased by the hypocritical and haughty clergy that were obsessed with nothing but their social standing.

“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.”

He added: “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries[a] wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honour at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.” (Matthew 23: 1-7)

Dear reader, these were powerful people that Jesus was berating.

But he was not finished.

To add salt and paprika to injury, he called them “snakes” and a “brood of vipers” who were like “whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.”

Kikiki.

Upheaval

Jesus preached about an ideal that was disruptive to the status quo.

History has proven, and continues to prove, that any attempt to reshape or re-arrange any social order often results in upheaval.

Inferences about reforming the status quo – and with it the various leeches that fed off it – which was the centre of Jesus’ message, naturally attracted the wrath of the leeches – from the Roman Empire, the Pharisees and petty criminals who had found a lucrative way around the system.

So Jesus had to die. Jesus died. And — thank God! – Jesus resurrected.

But much more importantly, ideals never die.

They are like a seed.

This is why the world now boasts of Bishop Lazi and 2,1 billion other Christians.

Cleaning the Augean Stables

The Greeks – borrowing from their mythology – equate any difficult task to cleaning the Augean stables.

Well, according to Greek forklore, Hercules – a character that we can describe today to be similar to the Hollywood versions of Hulk and Superman – was tasked to clean King Augeas’s stable, which reportedly had more than 3000 oxen and had remained unattended for more than 30 years.

Legend has it that the wily Hercules accomplished the seemingly onerous task by diverting a river through them.

The Bishop also thinks that our stables have been gathering dirt since the turn of the millennium, and cleaning them will not be an easy task.

There is a whole generation that has grown up in the filth and created an ecosystem around it.

What used to be abnormal has now become normal.

Corruption, misgovernance, nepotism, incompetence, maladministration had seemingly become a normal staircase to success.

It is a mess.

If it were practical, Bishop Lazi would propose that we evacuate the whole country and invite applications for all those willing to return, a process that would necessarily involve strict vetting.

We will have to invite the Pope if need be.

For those gremlins who don’t qualify – well, tough luck! – we will have to ship them to Siberia, or any other remote isle where they don’t have any prospect of returning.

What is worse is that these gremlins are embedded deep within our own system, which makes for a huge problem.

You see, returning the country to normalcy, where the dignity of hard work is valued and meritocracy is the only gateway to aristocracy, would mean upending the status quo and pulling the rug from beneath the feat of tenderprenuers, influence peddlers and other miscreants within the system.

It is daring the devil.

It is, therefore, unsurprising that this self-serving clique is militating against efforts to put the country on an even keel.

Of course, they will tirelessly work to scupper any well-meaning reforms that work against their interests.

The enemy always lives within.

This is why ED concedes that corruption is deep-rooted in most State institutions.

And this is why I always say the journey to success will not be easy.

It is now a monumental fight between good and evil; an epic finale, where the collective will of the people is now pitted against the interests of a greedy few.

But bit-by-bit — from the police, who used to cream off motorists at roadblocks, the prosecutors and judges who used to hawk justice, and civil servants who used to slothful serve the people to induce bribes — the taps are being closed, albeit gradually.

A grandmaster who is skilled in Statecraft knows how and when to move the pieces.

Like a crocodile, he knows that patience is a virtue.

Rome, as they say, was not built in a day.

It was built brick by brick.

The skeletal foundations of any building are not easy to the eye, but only after the building takes shapes can the aesthetics be fully appreciated.

But it will all be revealed in good time.

You just have to be patient.

Bishop is out!

Farmer’s Diary Sheuneni Kurasha
Welcome, dear reader, to our column where we explore all things farming. Last week, I focused on how to care and manage does and bucks in a goat-breeding programme.

This week, we continue with goat farming, focusing on biosecurity and health management in goat breeding.

Animal health management is one of the most crucial aspects in goat farming.

As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure.

Farmers must, therefore, thrive to keep their goats healthy and free from diseases at all times.

While goats are generally tough and energetic animals, there are some health problems that the farmer needs to give attention to, particularly parasites.

Thus, goat breeders have to always observe their farming environment and implement strict biosecurity measures to prevent and minimise exposure of their herd to infectious pathogens that cause diseases.

Healthy goats are productive goats, while sick ones will not only affect the farmer’s production targets, but may also result in financial losses for the business.

Accordingly, farmers should give proper care to the various categories of goats, in particular bucks, pregnant does and newly born kids.

The critical issues that must not escape a goat farmer’s attention include parasite control, vaccine management, environment management and proper record-keeping.

By instituting biosecurity measures at their farms, which minimise exposure of their herds to potential sources of diseases, farmers will reduce the mortality rate of newly born kids.

A robust biosecurity system also helps to build workers’ knowledge, skills and practice on how to prevent and control common infectious goat diseases.

It is, however, important to note that no matter how effective an animal health management system one has in place, it is inevitable that animals will fall sick from time to time due to various internal and external factors.

Once an animal falls sick, the farmer should be quick to buy and administer the appropriate veterinary medicine.

In order to ensure early treatment, early detection of sick animals is very critical.

This takes us to the question of how to recognise ailing goats in the herd.

Goats that are sick exhibit different symptoms depending on the nature of diseases.

Some of the most commons symptoms of a sick goat include fatigue with poor or no appetite, isolation from the rest of the herd, hair that is standing hunch, coarse and dull skin, heavy breathing, variant temperature than usual, faeces mixed with blood or mucus, dark yellow urine, retarded physical growth rate, red eye or runny and watery eyes, high palpitations which can be felt by touching interior side of hind thigh and floating saliva from mouth.

As indicated earlier, it is important to put in place biosecurity measures to keep your goats healthy and eliminate the costs and losses that come with having to treating a sick animal.

One of the ways to ensure that your goats are healthy is by providing them with adequate and quality feeds along with clean water.

In addition, it is crucial for the farmer and the workers that handle goats to have knowledge on major goats’ diseases such as foot rot, bloating, orf, pneumonia and blue tongue, among others.

It will be even better if the farmer is aware of the vaccinations used to prevent these diseases.

As part of the disease control programme, farmers should also be knowledgeable about the various internal and external parasites that affect goats in their area and the remedies that are available to prevent sickness.

They should also be able to administer treatment in the event of infection.

Another vital animal husbandry practice is to separate or quarantine a sick animal from the healthy ones.

Quarantine should also be done to new goats that are being brought into the herd from outside the farm.

This will give the farmer an opportunity to observe, record and treat the animal in the event of sickness, before it is allowing to join the heard. Local veterinary office is always helpful in providing guidelines for quarantining animals in different situations.

Goat farmers should also construct walled, roofed and well-ventilated kraals to protect the animals from bad weather such as rain, cold, sun and wind.

Goat kraals will also make goat handling easier during treatment, ear-tagging or hoof trimming, thereby reducing stress on the animals.

In addition, solid kraals with a roof also help to reduce mortality among both kids and adults.

It is also important to make sure that the kraals have adequate space in order to avoid overcrowding, bearing in mind that each adult goat requires about one-and-half square metres.

“Paswera badza hapanyepi” (results of a noble effort always speak for themselves).

Till next week.

Sheuneni Kurasha is a farmer specialising in stud breeding in boran cattle, boer goats and damara sheep, as well as dairy farming. For feedback, kindly get in touch on email: kurashas@gmail.com or WhatsApp: +263 772 874 523.

The Zimbabwe Association of Funeral Assurers (Zafa) has authorised members to review their premiums upwards in a move that will see people folk out more for funeral services. We spoke to the biggest player in the sector NYARADZO Group founder and chief executive officer Philip Mataranyika on his thoughts about the developments. This also coincides with the funeral assurer’s 18th anniversary so he also takes us through the 18-year-long journey and what lies ahead for the group. Here are the excerpts of the interview

*****

Q: The Zimbabwe Association of Funeral Assurers (ZAFA) indicated last month that it has consented to an increase in premiums. What gave rise to the decision?

A: We applaud the Zafa executive for coming up with the premium increase position, which, in our view, will help member organisations preserve service value given to clients in cases of bereavement. What Zafa did is to announce an industry position. It is now up to individual members to establish quantum. As Nyaradzo, we are now closely reviewing our premiums and assessing by how much we can adjust our premiums.

Q: But as the biggest player in the industry and give the current state of affairs economically, do you agree with submissions by Zafa?

A: As highlighted by Zafa, there is a compelling and urgent need to preserve the value of funeral policies and to maintain the quality of service delivery to clients. For us, that is what is most important as funerals, by their nature, are difficult for the bereaved, let alone having to worry about the logistics and coordination of resources. We, therefore, need to ensure that we can offer our clients an uncompromised dignified send-off.

This is why the association consented to a request by members for premium reviews that have been necessitated by the current macro-economic instability, which has seen premiums being devalued at the expense of clients.

Q: To what extent has Nyaradzo, as a significant industry player, been affected by the current economic challenges?

A: As experienced by most businesses, our expenses have been going up across the board, putting pressure on margins. Look at the cost of fuel, for example, it has increased by over 150 percent in a period of two months.

For those of us with a fleet of buses and hearses, you can imagine the impact on overheads; more so, if you add the cost of spares, service and tyres et cetera. In addition to this, the devaluation of the local unit on both the official and alternative market has put unbearable pressure on imported items such as mortuary equipment, spares, and chemicals et cetera, which we need for our day-to-day operations.

Q: Are we, therefore, likely to see the full cost being passed on to the policyholder?

A: That would be inconsistent with our values. We are aware of the difficult situation that our clients find themselves in, hence, we have been considering and implementing other strategies to absorb the cost increases without passing on the full impact to our valued clients, without whom we would not be in existence.

We have been improving on operating efficiencies, cutting costs and diversifying our business portfolio to broaden our income streams and spread the cost base. But having done all this, it is unavoidable that the client must also come to the party by carrying part of the cost burden.

Q: Will the business survive if it doesn’t pass the full cost to the client?

A: Our biggest advantage is scale. Yes, the operating environment has had an adverse impact on the business, but not as severe as it would have been if we were still of the size we were in 2001. Because of economies of scale, it is in our DNA to do everything practically possible to make life easier for our clients. As a business, we strongly believe in respecting contracts and remain mindful of the fact that companies are created to exist into perpetuity while individuals live only for a limited time.

A loss to an individual is real and final while that to an organisation or company, real or imagined, can be recovered with time. For this reason, even as we shall be reviewing our premiums, the margin will not reflect the full extent of the cost impact we are incurring so as to achieve a balanced outcome, whereby the quality of service will be maintained without overburdening both the business and the client.

Q: When are the premiums being reviewed?

A: We are looking at the end of May paying for June.

Q: You have been in the news lately, conducting the burial of legendary musician Oliver Mtukudzi yourself. Why was it necessary for you to take that odd step? Some say it was a marketing gimmick. Do you agree?

A: Funny how with social media things can be so easily misconstrued. Honestly speaking, it really wasn’t the first time that I performed the role of an undertaker. I have been performing undertaking duties from when we started.

Secondly, once in a while, I also chip in to help my undertaker colleagues at Nyaradzo Funeral Services, as can be attested by those who attended the late Paul Chingoka’s funeral last year. Coming back to Mukoma Tuku’s funeral, he was a cherished friend who mentored us as young boys through the pain and comforts of life as we grew up in Highfield, hence, I felt I needed to stand by him right through to the moment when we laid him to rest at his rural home in Madziva.

Q: Nyaradzo recently turned 18, what does that milestone mean to you?

A: Age 18 is significant. Worldwide, it is considered as the legal age of majority and gives one the right to vote. For us at Nyaradzo, it is a reminder of an exciting journey that our clients, the organisation and all its stakeholders have travelled. It was on 1 March 2001 that we opened our doors to the public as Nyaradzo Funeral Assurance Company (NFACO).

Looking back at the years gone by, it has been a thrilling journey so far, filled with as many highs as there have been lows, all of which have helped shape us to be the organisation that we are today. We are eternally grateful to our customers as they have faithfully supported us through it all.

Q: Looking back, what would you say of the journey?

A: It has been memorable. Having started with NFACO, we reached another landmark in 2003 when we added Eureka Insurance Brokers to the business. Today, the group boasts of several other units, among them Nyaradzo Life Assurance, Calundike Exports and Sahwira Events.

We have grown into a sizeable organisation with a staff complement of over 1 500 employees and more than 42 service centres and branches countrywide, many of which we built from the ground up. We now also have a regional presence in Randburg, South Africa, and soon we will have a global presence with a branch in England.

Q: It’s a remarkable growth considering our difficult operating environment. What underpinned that growth?

A: Our growth and diversification have been fuelled by two key brand-building pillars that have remained constant. One has been our drive to meet our customers’ needs with relevant and cost-effective solutions, the other is our vibrant and dynamic team.

We are blessed to have a bunch of young, talented, hardworking and caring people with a heart for service that has grown over the years to become a family in many ways, standing together through the good and bad seasons.

Q: Any regrets?

A: Our only regret is that we have not been aggressive enough to export our services to more countries in Africa. We believe our model is a relevant solution for Africans everywhere and that we must take it to their shores and doorsteps. Sadly, the economic environment has not been very helpful in that regard, but we take it as ammunition to strive that much harder for global expansion.

Q: What were the highlights?

A: What stands out the most for me when I look back at our history are the principles, values and traditions we have upheld as an organisation. What was fundamental and will remain so as we look ahead to another 18 years plus of service is our focus on customer needs. Being able to provide a service that serves a need and is relevant truly makes all the difference.

It is in this regard that we will continue to dedicate our best efforts to deliver exceptional service that is in line with our culture and African traditions. In other words, ‘Maringe ne tsika dzedu’ Iye Sahwira oramba ari mukuru. As an organisation, we have made it our business to listen to our customers, sought to understand them and in turn, adapt our service delivery to best suit their varied tastes. If there was any holy grail in business, this has been it. It is what kept us going when the chips were down, when everything looked bleak and doors were shut right in our faces.

Q: What does the future look like for the Nyaradzo Group?

A: I wouldn’t want to pre-empt new products and services that my team is working tirelessly and quietly on. But as I have already hinted that we are establishing beyond borders and locally we are in the process of finalising our outdoor camping beds and tents package.

Soon, our clients will be able to add these to their policies, enabling friends and relatives to experience comfortable sleeping arrangements at big family gatherings. More is in the offing…watch this space!

Paidamoyo Jekanyika
I never understood what it means to be an orphan until it actually happened.

My mother died on January 29 after a short battle with a brain tumour and stroke.

My mother was in her 70s and very active.

She loved gardening and she did everything on her own.

When she got sick, it was gradual and painful. She could no longer walk, her speech was impaired and she had toilet incontinence. I had to take care of her and it was hard for me.

With school work and taking care of her, life was not easy, but my consolation was that we were together and that is all that mattered.

When she died, I had seen her the day before and she was doing okay.

What had gone wrong?

I was numb, I do not remember her funeral much or anything else.

This is a woman I had lived with since the day she gave birth to me and she was gone, never to come back.

It was a nightmare one can never wake up from.

After she was buried, I wanted to be alone.

I wanted to think of her and cry as much as I wanted.

Grief is nothing new and we all grieve in different ways. Some want to drown it in alcohol and some seek solace in God.

I just wanted to look at her pictures and remember her.

My one problem was that everyone had their own ideas of what “proper” grieving should be.

Stay with relatives. Be around people and not to cry. I wanted to cry rivers and be alone.

A relative shouted at me one day and told me I was not the first person to lose a parent, she even went on to ask me what was so special about my mother that I had to cry like a mad person every day.

This was a time when I needed to be consoled.

I vowed there and then to grieve in my own way.

As soon as the time was right, I asked to go back home.

I was bullied, threatened and pulled in all directions until I rebelled and put my foot down.

I stood my ground and a lot of hurtful things were said and eventually everyone gave up and told me I was on my own.

The first few days were really difficult.

Coming home to an empty house and remembering all the things we did in that house was hard.

It has been two months without her. I had my first birthday without her this year and it was the worst day of my life.

I locked myself in the house and looked at pictures, laughed and cried and did my best not to grieve about it too much.

It is not getting any easier, but I am at peace knowing she is no longer in pain and is in a better place.

I do gardening when I can and sometimes I cry when I do.

I look at her pictures and laugh and cry.

I am learning to stay away from people who tell me I’m lucky to have lost my mother when I was older. They tell me to imagine losing her when I was younger. As if being an orphan at any age is easy.

My mother was well in her 70s but she cried every time she thought of her parents who died many years ago.

I am now an orphan and life is different.

My pillar of strength is gone and I have to learn to be on my own and it is not easy, but each day is a new day to start afresh.

I am not allowing anyone to tell me how to grieve and how to remember my mother.

No one is going to tell me how to feel.

I am doing it in my own way. My own time. At my own pace.

I have chosen my own path. My older siblings think I am being disobedient.

Curve balls have been thrown my way but instead of hiding in a cocoon, I am living for now because life has to go on.

I am in university and I have to make sure I stand on my own and get back on my feet.

I am grateful for the support I have been given by my family, but above all, I am grateful for the time I shared with a wonderful and amazing woman who was my mother.

To anyone who has gone through the same experience, do not lose faith.

It will not be easy and dark times are plenty but there is always hope and light at the end of the tunnel.

I cannot waste time dwelling on things I cannot change.

I can only live as best as I can and do right.

Paidamoyo Jekanyika is an undergraduate at the University of Zimbabwe. She is currently studying for a Bachelor of Applied Arts degree.

Joshua Oigara
It was a historic occasion. One year ago, the African Union (AU) held an Extraordinary Summit in which the signing of the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA) was concluded.

With Gambia’s recent ratification of the agreement (on April 2), the threshold for it to come into effect across the continent has been met and the agreement will be in force in 30 days.

Gambia’s decision has brought to life the most important free trade agreement since the founding of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The trade agreement pools one billion people together and up to US$3 trillion of cumulative Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

That this agreement is important was evident at the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, last month, where hundreds of African Heads of State, government officials, top corporate executives and investors met.

There was agreement at the forum that such an agreement is needed to unlock the potential of the existing continental treaties for business and economic growth.

With Africa struggling to return to sustained growth, and foreign direct investment flagging, the ideal of a common market offers the private sector a unique opportunity.

Whichever way you look at it, business must now weigh in on the ongoing discussions in order to determine the real priorities for economic integration and achieve much-needed changes.

Fostering intra-Africa trade today is fundamental to the continent’s future economic wellbeing.

The words by the president of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, on the need for Africa to integrate ring true today as they did in 2016 when he told the World Economic Forum on Africa: “We have got to be so impatient with moving Africa forward relentlessly, we have no choice.”

African governments must be deliberate in crafting national policies geared towards pushing individual nations towards the objectives of the umbrella trade agreement.

The private sector, too, needs to play its part in agenda setting to help spur economic activity under the auspices of government agencies and policy frameworks.

The economic dividends are evident for integration and the trade benefits it holds.

Unfortunately, organic and inorganic challenges have hindered progress.

Regional integration and its economic benefits have over time become a valuable tool for the facilitation of trade the world over.

Regional markets are a useful tool for attaining development goals and spreading economic dividends beyond geopolitical borders.

Unfortunately, the AU and the sub-regional bloc’s initiatives have faced many challenges along the path to true integration.

The post-independence difficulties that have dogged African nations for more than half a century — namely wars, poverty, corruption and mismanagement — have made almost any realisation of successful regional and continental integration and trade an impossibility.

Trade remains a powerful catalyst for poverty reduction and economic growth.

Africa has yet to capture the vast economic growth-enhancing benefits of regional trade.

The continent’s share of global GDP still averages a paltry 3 percent.

Africa also misses out on multiple growth and development opportunities because one of the essential vehicles of trade — trade financing — is inadequate.

The current shortfall is significant and worrying.

Commercial banks finance one-third of Africa’s commerce, but the finance gap still stands at US$90 billion annually.

This gap must be adequately addressed for the potential of the continent to be reached.

It is estimated that for every dollar spent on trade facilitation via commercial banks, there is a return of up to US$70 in economic benefits.

Banks supporting cross-border trade can, therefore, be one of the most important vehicles available to deliver the potential of regional trade.

The banking industry can, therefore, play a critical role in the growth of trade from the micro to the macro level.

Commercial banks are best placed to provide comprehensive, accurate and current information for both the buyers and sellers aligned under the new intra-government framework.

Financing, management of risk and settlement of trade transactions can be done under one roof through banks.

As KCB Group (a Kenyan financial institution), we are alive to the importance of regional integration, access to credit and trade.

Financial institutions, through strategic partnerships, have been able to develop regional models to better capitalise on the opportunities along trade corridors.

There is need to continually facilitate local and cross-border activities to finance operations and liquidity, as well as mitigate risks inherent in trade.

At the core of African integration, the African Economic Outlook (AOE) 2018 suggests that “a borderless Africa” is one of the key foundations of a competitive continental market that could serve as a global business centre.

AfCFTA, therefore, offers substantial gains for all African countries.

The private sector has its role to play in propelling regional financial integration in the East African region and the continent at large.

A guiding hand in actualising sustainable, equitable growth and development for countries and regions alike.

We will continue to be at the forefront in offering financial services that are aimed at facilitating cross-border trade.

Now, again “the winds of change” have once again swept across our land.

With a solid base formed under the economic benefits of integration, African nations will have more bargaining power as regional blocs.

The economic dividends will be felt for the mid- and long-term, and Africa will take its rightful place on the global stage.

Banking can be used toward the realisation of the “African Renaissance”, the theme of the recently concluded Africa Union meeting.

As a great African scholar once said: “The African renaissance is about building new pyramids.”

The time to finance and actualise that dream is now.

 Joshua Oigara is CEO of KCB Group, which is a Kenyan-based financial group. It is the parent of KCB Bank, which is the East African country’s biggest commercial bank.

Writing Back Ranga Mataire
Writing in our sister paper The Herald, Acting Editor Tichaona Zindonga made an interesting observation following President Mnangagwa’s interview with scribes at State House ahead of Independence Day.

Zindoga observed that for a long time, “it seemed Zimbabwe would not be able to open up and address the issue of Gukurahundi, the code-word for disturbances that took place during the early years of Zimbabwe’s independence that resulted in deaths and tribal and regional tensions.”

Indeed, like Zindoga said, the closest that the issue came to be addressed in the First Republic was when the then President Mugabe said the period of disturbances “was a moment of madness”.

But in less than two years as the leader of the Second Republic, President Mnangagwa has begun confronting that ugly past head-on. One of the first major steps he took, early in his Presidency, was to sign into law the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) Bill.

The NPRC had been established in 2016, but there had been delays in making it operational.

The signing meant the NPRC could now start doing its work.

Speaking in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2018, the President said: “Wherever any community has suffered any injury, if it is that injury that has to be repaired, we do it.”

He is keeping to his word to repair injury.

Recently, President Mnangagwa met the Matabeleland Collective, a grouping of 65 non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

This no-holds-barred meeting alone showed a clear break from the past.

Why?

A perusal of the members shows the grouping is packed with the President’s strongest critics.

Few leaders would have sat down with groups such as Ibhetshu Likazulu, who have made personal attacks on him. However, President Mnangagwa sat with them, and listened.

Soon after meeting the group, the President took their advice and immediately initiated a process leading to the implementation matrix to address that ignoble past.

President Mnangagwa made his intentions clear, telling ZBC’s Robson Mhandu: “The question of Gukurahundi, personally, I don’t see anything wrong in debating it on television and in newspapers.”

Where debate was criminalised in the past, it is now opened, as per the Constitution.

President Mnangagwa expressed concern that some of the issues raised at the Matabeleland Collective meeting could have been resolved a long time back.

He believes that there are no issues that cannot be discussed.

Predictably, those that had profited, built houses and fattened their wallets from Gukuruhundi are panicking and throwing tantrums.

The late national hero Cde Callistus Ndlovu had a name for them: the “Gukurahundi Enterprise”.

Cde Callistus Ndlovu

They gained personally from the lack of action on confronting the issue.

The latest steps threaten their livelihoods.

Dialogue scares them.

Seeing Zimbabwe finally moving to speak openly on Gukurahundi, careerists have gone on a crescendo of stoking tribal tensions in the vain hope of scuttling President Mnangagwa’s initiatives.

Leading the pack is self-exiled former Cabinet Minister Jonathan Moyo, who went on a tirade on twitter.

Jonathan Moyo

Of course, in any democratic society, anyone has the freedom to express their mind. But this is disingenuous coming from an idle politician who was part of the previous Government, and who at one time crafted a bill specifically on the issue. Maybe he thinks all of us are unaware of how he profusely thanked then Clerk of Parliament Ian Zvoma for keeping the Bill under wraps.

Had it found its way to Parliament, Moyo reasoned to Zvoma, he would not have been admitted back to Zanu-PF by former President Mugabe.

We will not labour our readers in cataloguing Moyo’s duplicitous political life. It’s well documented.

Zimbabweans, in all their shades, want a future devoid of ethnic and tribal animosity.

In essence, most Zimbabweans are aware of our oneness bound together by our shared history and geographical boundary.

They want the past to be addressed fully. They don’t want to be haunted by it, let alone profit from it.

The good thing is that it’s only the minority fringe that seems obsessed with stoking ethnic tensions.

Most Zimbabweans are conscious of history and how frequent historical movements and migrations have today attracted considerable historiographical work.

Everyone is conscious that intra- and inter-state conflicts have littered the African landscape, particularly in the post-colonial period.

Most of these conflicts have been sparked by ethnic or religious intolerance.

It is not a scenario anyone wants for Zimbabwe.

As the country celebrated its 39th Independence last week, it was befitting for President Mnangagwa to speak about the country’s dark past.

Genuine sentiment of marginalisation, both politically and economically, that over the years sowed seeds of intolerance is to be addressed.

Remedial action must be implemented.

However, attempts by some greedy elements to exploit these grievances and stoke tribal tensions must be challenged. The late Father Zimbabwe, Dr Joshua Nkomo, remains an inspirational figure and an enduring symbol of selflessness and a unique breed of nationalists.

The challenge confronting Zimbabwe today is exactly what the Government of President Mnangagwa is addressing.

It is the creation of a political framework that can accommodate the existence of multiple layers of identities, the ethnic and national, the local and the general. Neither the tribe nor the ‘nation’ has to die. What must surely die is the concept of a ‘monolithic nation’, which is an anti-thesis of multiculturalism and building of a formidable nation-state.

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