On June 2, China issued a White Paper titled

“China’s Position on the China-US Economic and Trade Consultations.”

It offers a complete and accurate account of the whole process of consultations and presents the facts and truth.

As it clearly and responsibly states, the US side was flip-flopping and breaking commitments throughout the talks and led to every setback of the consultations.

The White Paper clarifies all kinds of false accusations made by the US against China.

I suggest that Zimbabwean friends spend some time reading this White Paper.

What I want to emphasise in particular is that first, it is the US that provoked the trade disputes, not China. It is the US that fired the first shot in raising tariffs, not China. It is the US that repeatedly resorted to maximum pressuring, not China.

It is never China that backtracks and breaks commitments.

Second, some of the excessive demands of the US side have already involved China’s sovereignty affairs, which is absolutely unacceptable to any country.

Following numerous rounds of consultations, the two countries had agreed on most of the issues.

Regarding the remaining issues, the Chinese government required mutual understanding and compromise for solutions to be found.

But the more the US government is offered, the more it wants.

Resorting to intimidation and coercion, it persisted with exorbitant demands, maintained the additional tariffs imposed since the friction began, and even insisted on including mandatory requirements concerning China’s sovereign affairs in the deal, which only served to delay the resolution of remaining differences.

Third, it is disgraceful and unjustifiable for the US to use its state power to suppress other countries’ enterprises.

The cases of the PRISM programme and Alstom vividly tell the world that even similar ideologies do not prevent the US from taking unjustifiable measures against its allies. Presuming other’s behaviour by one’s own pattern, the US has been smearing and suppressing foreign companies in an attempt to gain an unfair competitive advantage. But it has failed to produce any solid evidence.

Fourth, concerning their differences and frictions on the economic and trade front, China is willing to work together with the US to find solutions, and to reach a mutually beneficial and win-win agreement.

However, co-operation has to be based on principles.

There are bottom lines in consultations.

China will not compromise on major issues of principle.

China does not want a trade war, but it is not afraid of one and it will fight one if necessary.

China’s position on this has never changed.

However, some people in the US seemed to have misjudged the current situation and underestimated China’s determination and will to defend its rights and interests.

They were still muddying the waters and making impossible demands.

It was only natural for China to oppose and resist that.

Fifth, trade protectionist measures of the US side will have some impact on our economy, but we can totally overcome it.

China has the confidence and capability to guard against any external risks and impacts.

In the first quarter this year, China’s GDP grew by 6,4 percent year-on-year, which is more than expected.

In particular, domestic demand has become the main driver for growth.

Last year, consumption contributed 76,2 percent of our economic growth.

In the meantime, we have a strong ability of scientific and technological innovation.

In 2017, total R&D (research and development) investment in China reached RMB1,76 trillion, ranking second in the world.

The number of patent applications reached 1,382 million, ranking number one in the world for the seventh consecutive year.

The number of invention patents granted reached 327 000, up by 8,2 percent year-on-year.

China ranks third in the world in terms of valid invention patents held.

Historical records confirm that China’s achievements in scientific and technological innovation are not something we stole or forcibly took from others. They were earned through self-reliance and hard work.

With trade partners all around the world, China is turning more rapidly into a strong trading nation.

Many countries would like to share China’s development dividends.

If some country does not want to do business with China, others will soon fill in the vacancy.

Zimbabwe may be familiar with the bullying practices of the US through the sanctions imposed by the US for nearly 20 years.

The US has maintained its theory that the sanctions are “targeted” at 141 entities and individuals in Zimbabwe, and the sanctions are not directed against the people of Zimbabwe.

But the truth is the real effects of the sanctions have been to cut off Zimbabwe from the global banking system.

They are broad-based and are squeezing the heart of Zimbabwe’s economy — the financial services sector.

They are damaging the local financial services and payment systems, affecting anyone and everyone associated with Zimbabwe.

The result of the sanctions is that the ordinary people of Zimbabwe are suffering more than the so-called targeted individuals.

Dialogue and consultation holds the key to the settlement of trade frictions.

A win-win agreement based on mutual respect, equality and good faith serves not only the interests of China and the US, but also the common aspiration of the world. Additional tariffs will not make America “great again”.

On the contrary, the US will only get hurt.

China has the resolve and capability to defend its own legitimate rights and interests. We hope the US can grasp the situation, return to the right track and meet China halfway as soon as possible.

Ambassador Gou Shaochun is China’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe. He wrote this article for The Sunday Mail.

Allan Majuru

Trade agreements between Zimbabwe and countries in the region provide opportunities to accelerate economic development through smooth movement of goods and services.

Some of the challenges that hinder the development of Zimbabwe’s export capacity include restrictive customs requirements and “closed borders” of countries that have potential markets.

For example, duty and import-related taxes sometimes constitute a large percentage of the final price for cross-border transactions, thus making products expensive.

To address these challenges, Zimbabwe has signed several trade agreements, which are meant to stimulate and encourage bilateral and multilateral trade, reduce and eventually eliminate barriers to trade.

Currently, Zimbabwe is signatory to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa Free Trade Area (Comesa FTA), established in 2000 to deepen integration through removal of trade barriers such as huge export and import fees.

Comesa is a 21-member state regional bloc established to promote regional integration through trade. It is meant to develop natural and human resources for the benefit of the countries.

The regional trading bloc has put in place policies, systems, regulations and procedures which are conducive, transparent and facilitate an environment for conducting trade across the region.

Under the Comesa FTA, no tariffs are levied on goods made in other member states, whilst each member state applies its own regime of tariffs to goods imported from outside the region.

This means that preferential tariffs are granted to goods that wholly originate within the Comesa region.

To enable the small trader to benefit from the preferential rates enjoyed by commercial traders when importing or exporting goods within the trading bloc, Comesa is implementing a simplified trade regime (STR), currently operational between Zimbabwe and Zambia, and Zimbabwe and Malawi.

The Simplified Trade Regime is a customs clearance procedure used by small-scale cross-border traders importing or exporting goods from one Comesa member state to the other.

STR is used when the small-scale cross-border trader is exporting goods valued at US$1 000 or less per consignment. However, the goods should be listed on the Comesa STR Common List — goods that have been grown or wholly produced in the Comesa region — and should be for re-sale or use in the business.

By becoming a signatory to the Comesa FTA, Zimbabwe has access to a huge regional market with a population of more than 540 million people and a fair share of global trade in goods and services worth US$235 billion.

In addition, when competing with other exporters from outside the Comesa region, Zimbabwean exporters have a substantial advantage of fewer customs requirements and reduced duty.

Given the vast opportunities in the Comesa FTA, Zimbabwe is, however, not harnessing the full potential presented by this trading arrangement.

According to Trade Map, (which provides on-line access to the world’s largest trade data-base), there has been limited trade between Zimbabwe and other Comesa member states, with the country exporting goods valued around US$97 million against an import bill of US$464 million in 2018.

To realise benefits of this Comesa FTA, there is, therefore, a need for Zimbabwean exporters to work closely with national institutions to ensure they have adequate knowledge on how to use the agreement and boost their export value.

Using the trade agreement will lead to lower Government spending – that is, after the trade agreement to remove subsidies, funds can be put to better economic use.

Working closely with national institutions will further ensure that exporters have the capacity to produce high-end products for export competitiveness within the regional market, both in terms of quality and branding.

ZimTrade, the country’s trade development and promotion organisation, has been assisting local companies to enhance productivity and export competitiveness through factory floor interventions.

ZimTrade interventions have resulted in local companies boosting their production and export capacity through investment in newer and more sustainable technologies.

The organisation has also been working with Senior Experten Service (SES), a German volunteer organisation for retired experts and executives, to provide assistance to the manufacturing value chain, which include processes design, factory-floor layout, production technologies, material-handling and product design, amongst others.

In 2018 alone, 42 missions were completed by ZimTrade and SES covering areas such as engineering, organic farming, education, clothing and textiles and processed foods, among others.

The intervention has been evolving and has taken a sector-based approach with the aim of creating strong value chains and increasing competitiveness for local companies to take advantage of the Comesa FTA agreement.

Allan Majuru is ZimTrade’s CEO.

Vision 2030
Allen Choruma

Parastatals play a pivotal role in the development of our country and currently account for 25 percent (at peak 40 percent) of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Infrastructure development and service provision is dominated and often monopolised by parastatals in areas such as roads, aviation, rail, water and sanitation, power generation and distribution, health, tourism, telecommunications, agriculture, education, financial services and so on.

The operation of parastatals is a matter of public policy and concerns all citizens of Zimbabwe.

Although Government is the shareholder in these public entities, it does so at the pleasure of citizens — the taxpayers.

The risks and losses in parastatals are not borne by Government, they are passed to ordinary citizens who bear the responsibility of paying taxes. These fund the operations of parastatals. During times of need, the funds are also used to bail out the parastatals through Treasury.

Corruption

The Auditor-General has on numerous occasions highlighted governance concerns at public entities, which are so serious as to threaten their viability and the country’s economic development prospects.

The governance weaknesses, which manifests through weak internal control environment, open up public entities to corruption, fraud and misuse of public resources, among other malfeasance. It impacts negatively on economic development and service delivery, especially to the vulnerable and poor.

A few months ago we witnessed the dismissal of Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority’s CEO.

The dismissed CEO, together with the suspended CEOs for the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) and the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ), recently appeared in court on allegations of abuse of office.

The CEO for Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (Zinara) have also been in the mainstream media, embroiled in allegations of corruption and abuse of office.

National Social Security Authority (NSSA) still does not have a substantive CEO following the departure of its former CEO in 2018 under unclear circumstances.

New brooms

Parastatal transformation and improved operational performance and efficiency cannot be achieved without human capital restructuring.

This calls for deployment of skilled people who prioritise national interests ahead of personal gain, people who are capable of steering the country towards sustainable growth and development in line with Vision 2030.

The recent wave of corporate scandals and poor performance in strategic parastatals clearly shows that it’s high time we have “new brooms” to head our parastatals at board and executive management levels.

It is said “new brooms” sweep the cleanest.

It is also a widely held public view that boards, CEOs and management in public entities tend to overstay.

This causes general stagnation and deterioration of these entities due to attrition, lack of innovation and leadership renewal, hence the need to deploy “new brooms” at both board and senior management levels to sweep the debris and turn around these entities.

Boards

Boards of directors play a very pivotal role in the governance of public entities.

The new Minister of Energy and Power Development, Advocate Fortune Chasi, has taken an aggressive but informed stance in dealing with the corporate governance issues of the parastatals he superintends.

He has set the right corporate governance tone from the top as evidenced by the recent dismissal of the entire Zesa board.

It sends a clear message of his intent.

We need a complete overhaul of parastatal boards and ensure that whoever is appointed on these boards has the requisite skills, experience, competencies and, above all, commitment to public service.

Appointments to parastatal boards have often been questionable, leaving people to wonder if the selection process was transparent, fair and based on merit.

Rotating directors from one parastatal to the other often presents problems as this may lead to recycling incompetent directors.

We also need gender balance on public entities’ boards. Most boards are male-dominated and this should be addressed. A report by Zimstat (Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency), “Understanding Gender Equality in Zimbabwe: Women and Men Report, 2016”, shows that out of the 100 State-owned enterprises (SOEs) surveyed, there were 23 women CEOs (23 percent) and 77 men CEOs (77 percent).

Out of the 100 SOE boards, there were 29 percent women directors and 71 percent men directors.

There is overwhelming empirical evidence linking increased participation of women on boards and senior management to performance.

The Corporate Governance Unit (CGU) within the Office of President and Cabinet (OPC) has been working tirelessly to create a directors’ database for public entities.

The OPC issued advertisements in the mainstream media calling Zimbabweans with requisite experience and skills to register with it for consideration for appointment on public entities’ boards.

It is hoped that this exercise will bear fruit and that the directors’ database will be used fruitfully.

CEOs

All responsible line ministers should conduct a thorough audit of parastatals under their portfolio and ensure that all poor-performing CEOs are replaced with competent, skilled, dedicated and experienced personnel.

It is common to find parastatal CEOs who have overstayed in office to the extent that they are no longer innovative and productive.

We need to blend age and experience in our public entities.

Younger CEOs with energy, zeal and innovation are needed to run our strategic public entities.

Recycling the “old horses” has diminishing returns considering how technology has advanced over the years and also the dynamics in the regional and global financial and trading landscape.

Public entity CEOs should be men and women of distinguishable attributes with strong work ethics and proven track records. They should be disciplined and dedicated to serve the nation.

Those keen on lining their pockets and making quick money should not assume positions of leadership in parastatals.

It should also be noted, lest we forget, that at times parastatal CEOs often fail to deliver because the environment they find themselves operating in is not conducive and supportive, not because they are incompetent.

Government responsibility

In pursuit of Vision 2030, Government should ensure that parastatals serve their statutory objectives for advancing political, social and long-term economic growth, while at the same time operating viably and efficiently without exerting burden on State coffers and taxpayers.

Ministers should give policy and strategic guidance  to parastatal boards and CEOs in line with Vision 2030 goals.

Ministers should ensure that parastatals under their ambit receive adequate support from Government, making it possible for them to play a pivotal role in the attainment of Vision 2030.

The recently promulgated Public Entities Corporate Governance Act (Chapter 10:31) is a governance framework that should be put into use by Government to promote good corporate governance in parastatals.

Political will is needed to ensure that the provisions of this Act are applied in spirit and intent to ensure that parastatal boards and management stick to their mandate and ensure that the institutions they head fulfil national objectives and goals.

To allow parastatal boards and CEOs to operate efficiently without undue interference and bureaucracy, there should be a clear separation of powers and responsibilities.

Government, through line ministers, should not be involved in the day-to-day management.

The administration of parastatals should be left to boards and management, except in exceptional circumstances.

Government’s oversight role should be within the legal (Acts of Parliament) and governance framework of parastatals.

Undue Government interference in running of parastatals often drives boards, CEOs and management to failure as they are not given enough room for decision-making as well as formulating and implementing turn around strategies.

Government should also provide resources to enable boards and management to execute their statutory mandates.

Many strategic parastatals are hamstrung by lack of skilled manpower, resources, debt overhang, poor debt recovery strategies, lack of access to credit lines, low capacity utilisation, antiquated equipment and undeveloped infrastructure, among other problems.

Parastatals such as Air Zimbabwe and Cold Storage Commission (CSC) are reported to be in a debt trap.

Air Zimbabwe has a huge debt overhang of around US$300 million, while the CSC and TelOne debts stand at around US$100 million and US$383 million, respectively.

Entities such as CSC are technically insolvent, which means they cannot service the legacy debt and meet contractual obligations such as payment of salaries.

The balance sheets of most parastatals are unsustainable and need to be restructured to open doors for these entities to access funding through either domestic or foreign credit lines, or to court strategic equity partners.

Reliance on Government bail-outs and subsidies exert pressure on the Treasury and taxpayers.

Unless parastatals are completely restructured and reoriented, the new brooms being advocated for to turn-around these entities will find the going an uphill task. This will inevitably compromise economic development and service delivery, including the attainment of Vision 2030.

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

Wendy Nyakurerwa-Matinde
Assistant Editor

In his inaugural speech in November 2017, President Emmerson Mnangagwa pledged to cure the nation’s cancer of corruption. That was our first step towards a corruption-free Zimbabwe.

He went on to establish institutions tasked with dealing with the scourge and to give oomph to the waning ones. That was our second step.

However, despite the President’s exploits, Zimbabwe is miles away from kissing the insidious creature goodbye. Here is why.

Corruption is a deep-rooted culture and the President is not under the illusion that it can be wished away overnight. In addition, the public sector in Zimbabwe is characterised by many ethical violations, lack of accountability, abuses of public office, and incompetence in completing the most basic jobs.

However, despite the malfeasance that has seen most State-owned enterprises and parastatals going down on their knees, the number of officials that have resigned from their posts for any of the aforementioned reasons can be counted on one hand.

In essence, the implicated individuals have no remorse over the alleged crimes. If given another chance, they will do it over and over again.

Therefore, this instalment seeks to question what pushes an individual to maintain a public office against multiple failures and scandals as well as the dishonour that accompanies their work.

Well, both career and appointed officials in Zimbabwe are yet to embrace resigning as a moral act. Accepting responsibility after erring and owning up to it is the crucial missing link in resuscitating the ailing SOEs and parastatals.

When an official is embroiled in abuse of office or corruption scandals for instance, or they are incompetent and dismally fails to achieve the company’s objectives, they need to step aside with grace. That move, which is a basic moral decision for individuals of integrity, can be considered as a remorseful apology.

Zimbabwe has lost huge resources through various public sector scandals. Recent cases include the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority, Hwange Colliery Company, Zimbabwe National Road Administration and Cottco scandals, among others.

Yet in all these cases, the officials stayed put, continuing to drag the organisations down with them.

Following damning allegations of corruption and criminal abuse of office, all the hullabaloo was not sufficient reason for the former Zesa chief executive officer, Engineer Joshua Chifamba, to offer his resignation. He had to wait for the board to push him out.

The former First Lady’s doctorate raised a lot of dust, with abuse of office allegations levelled against the University of Zimbabwe Vice-Chancellor Professor Levi Nyagura. Again, the good Professor had to wait for a suspension first before offering his resignation.

In a democratic system of government, accountability is multi-dimensional and a public office is limited by laws and ethical codes.

But while scandals have been awash in the public sector, the private sector has not been any different. There is actually a great possibility that private sector officials are equally, if not more corrupt, than their public sector counterparts considering that they are not obliged to make their financial statements available to the public, except for listed firms.

In the NGO sector, a recent audit unearthed serious mismanagement and fraud involving millions of United States dollars at Amnesty International Zimbabwe, leading to its suspension from its mother body.

Implicated in the forensic report were country director Mr Cousin Zilala and chairperson Mr Takesure Musiyiwa. Mr Zilala did the noble thing and resigned while Mr Musiyiwa held on and waited to be suspended.

Therefore, the carefree attitude has been the same in both the public and private sector.

Public officials implicated in scandals have clung on to their offices, with President Mnangagwa’s administration having to dismiss those who unwittingly fail to resign before getting fired.

Officials should have the capacity to take a reflective stance towards their roles and actions, and make sense of how they cohere. Their moral status of holding those offices is their promise to live up to the obligations of office. The moral relationship between a person and an office is the obligation to live up to the office’s responsibilities.

Once these integrity-related capacities erode and the corrupt executives have violated their integrity and the norms of office as well as their effectiveness in carrying out the obligations of their offices, it is time to resign. At least this will buttress their moral responsibility.

Contrary to many beliefs, resigning is not an act of weakness. Rather, it is an ethical action in response to inglorious events that happen while governing.

In Britain, for example, Prime Minister Mrs Theresa May had to resign last month over her failure to deliver the Brexit deal and losing the support of her own MPs. Mrs May wanted her legacy to be that of taking Britain out of the European Union, but her plan was defeated three times in the House of Commons as she tried to push through the Withdrawal Agreement Bill.

And prior to her departure, Mrs May faced a number of front bench resignations over the Brexit discord. Perhaps the opposition MPs who are so opposed to every policy being implemented by government should take a leaf out of the British treatise.

Sadly, most of the local chiefs are so rooted in their offices. They will not resign under any circumstances.

Even the embarrassment that comes with media coverage does not move them. Yet personal disgrace or dishonour undercuts the credibility of the persons to uphold the legitimacy dimensions of an office.

Disgrace is good grounds for resigning, even when the dishonour is not related to the office itself. In 1967, American finance official Mr John Fedders had to resign and leave a successful career in finance behind after the media had revealed that he had physically abused his wife.

However, on our shores, dishonour does not seem to count. Many continue to hold office although they have been implicated in a myriad of scandals and accused of abuse of office.

In our House of Assembly, there are plenty of Members of Parliament who have been embroiled in corruption scandals. They continue to walk with their heads high in our Parliament, without a grain of remorse. Given the chance, they will do it over and over again.

Most think of living out their term in office and will wait for the sack when things get really tough.

Yet these are not their only choices. Incompetent and corrupt officials can choose to resign to salvage whatever is left of their integrity. Perhaps financial security is one of the main reasons pushing public servants to fight with all means to maintain their posts.

Today, more than ever, we need public servants with character.

The door is wide open for all the dishonourable ones.

We continue chronicling the political life of Cde Norman Makotsi, whose nom de guerre was Cde Lecture. This week, the liberation fighter narrates to our Deputy News Editor Levi Mukarati events leading to his decision to cross to Mozambique for military training.

Q: The white lady workmate, unknowingly, exposed you for having beaten her. What was the direct action, from the bosses, against you?

A: The other white employees were not amused by the news and the incident. Our manager got to know about it and did not take it lightly.

At work, it was known that I was close to Douglas Mahiya. The manager, Herbert Nissina, summoned Mahiya to his office since I was in the rural areas after taking days off from work. It was Mahiya who was told that I had been fired in absentia. He was then tasked to relay the message to me. Mahiya tried to phone me. Those days, we did not have telephones in most homes, so Mahiya phoned at the nearby school, St Peters Tokoyo, and asked if I could be called the next day at midday to receive his phone call. The message reached me and I went to the school the following day.

When Mahiya phoned, he just said, “Kuno hakuna kumira zvakanaka sahwira. Nyaya iya yako naCathy yabuda pachena. Ndanzi ndikuudze kuti hauchisina basa pahotera.”

He then advised me to travel to Kwekwe and see the managers at the hotel.

I went to Kwekwe the following day and Nissina just asked for my identity document before asking the pay clerk to calculate what the company owed me for the hours I had worked. Nissina had previously warned me and Mahiya for our political activities and he was not in good books with his assistant, Ernest Bauer. In fact, Bauer supported our political activities to an extent that he was ordered to leave Zimbabwe by the Smith regime. It is myself and Mahiya who took Bauer to our ANC secretary general Gordon Chavhunduka, in Highfield.

There, papers were organised for Bauer to leave the country for Zambia.

So, after getting my dues at Hotel Redcliff, that was the end of my job there. At that same time, my uncle Peter Makotsi, who worked at Rhodesia Railways, had returned from Zambia and was based in Gweru.

He was a leading foreman. I went to see babamunini Peter and told him what had transpired at work.

He understood my plight and the following day we drove, in his vehicle, to Bulawayo where he wanted to do some errands in the city.

We slept at his house in Bulawayo before returning to Gweru the following day. It was a Sunday. In the morning, Babaminini Peter asked me to accompany him to work. He had assured me of a job at Rhodesia Railways. I should say my uncle was powerful at Rhodesia Railways. When we got to the company, we went straight to the personnel department.

There, he instructed the personnel officers that I was to start work as a signals assistant to one white guy, Mike. I was later introduced to Mike, who was one of the seniors in charge of railway signals. That was in 1973 and it was a Monday. The following day, Mike organised a lorry so that we could drive to Kwekwe to collect my belongings in Redcliff.

Mike drove the vehicle which also had two other assistants. I collected my belongings and those of Mahiya before returning to Gweru.

A feel of importance

Q: You collected Mahiya’s belongings? Can you explain why? And how you were received at Hotel Redcliff?

A: When we got to Hotel Redcliff, my former boss angrily demanded to know why I had returned, to which I replied that I wanted to get my property.

Nissina then politely turned to Mike, seeking to establish our relationship. Mike told him that he was with me and helping to collect my property.

I had been fired on a Friday and returned the following Tuesday accompanied by a white man to get my property.

I felt powerful and I could see that the few black workers, including Douglas Mahiya, who had gathered to witness the drama unfold, envied me. When I got keys to the quarters that I had been living in, Mahiya also demanded keys to his quarters.

He came along with me and said he had decided to quit his job.

Mahiya changed into his clothes, asked me to help him load his property into our vehicle before going to surrender his uniform to the hotel manager. We had bought a vehicle, a Vauxhall Velox, together with Mahiya. Whilst I went to Gweru, Mahiya drove off to Mutare in the vehicle. In Mutare, Mahiya was quick to secure employment at Wise Owl Motel while I had been allocated accommodation in the Rhodesia Railways staff quarters in Gweru.

Most weekends I would accompany my uncle to Bulawayo, as he usually had some work issues to attend to at our Bulawayo company office.

It was also a time when the Rhodesia Special Branch had increased surveillance activities and raids of houses of people suspected to be holding secret political meetings.

During one of our visits to Bulawayo, special branch members came to our house and one of them climbed to the roof through a mango tree that overlapped the house.

He wanted to listen to the conversations inside the house. However, Uncle Peter heard strange noises from the roof and immediately got out of the house.

Outside, he saw two males standing under the mango tree and upon inquiring on their mission, they produced their work identity cards. The one who was on the roof immediately climbed down. The Rhodesian agents then told my uncle that they had information I was using the house for secret political meetings against the government.

They then demanded to see me and were led into the house, where they interrogated me. But there was no meeting going on, as such, they just apologised for the inconvenience and left.

That incident, in the late 1974, left me worried as I had not used the house for any political meeting.

My uncle also began to fear for my life. It was a time when many people were being imprisoned or disappearing for any involvement in African politics. Uncle Peter saw the visit by the Rhodesian agents as a clear sign that they had been on my trail for a long time. He advised it would be wise for me to left the country through Zambia. My uncle was well aware of my political activities.

Q: Which party did you belong to during this period?

A: I was under UANC (United African National Council) led by Abel Muzorewa. At that time many Zapu or Zanu people conducted their activities under UANC. Let me explain on this part. In 1971, the British government made a deal with Ian Smith, that it would remove sanctions on Rhodesia if the leader agreed on a transition to majority rule. On the other hand, Muzorewa and Reverend Canaan Banana came together to form the UANC, driven by the demand of no independence before majority rule.

As such, there was a proposed referendum which was withdrawn and Muzorewa found himself being the international personality of UANC with Zapu and Zanu placing themselves under UANC. However, Zapu and Zanu were to later cast some doubts in the agreement when Muzorewa became ambitious to turn UANC into a fully-fledged political party.

So at the time I joined politics, I found myself conducting political activities under UANC, although I had an inclination to Zanu.

Q: Back to the warnings from your uncle, did you take heed? What did you do next?

A: I took heed on the part that I should plan my exit from the country, but I did not choose Zambia. I phoned my friend, Mahiya, and he asked me to travel to Mutare and join him. Within two weeks I had secured a job at Rhodesia Forestry Commission.

But there was something that was fast turning me into a trouble maker or it seems as if I had become accustomed to attracting trouble. I continued with my political activities and was gathering information on how I could cross into Mozambique to join the liberation fighters.

Information was easy to get because Manicaland was one of the last gateways to Mozambique.

There was a white worker at Rhodesia Forestry Commission, Mr Swanapoel. From the time I got employed, he had openly shown his dislike for me through making negative comments about me.  He used to criticise my work ethic, type of dressing, general approach to work and even told me that I looked like one of the terrorists.

The whites used to call freedom fighters terrorists. Then one Friday in 1976, we were told to return at 2pm to collect our wages. We had finished work at 10am.

I then decided to go home and return the following day to collect my dues. Little did I know that that decision would change my life. In the morning, I went to the pay clerk and while I was there, Mr Swanapoel came through. He then asked why I was not at my work station and busy processing my wage during working hours.

Mr Swanapoel had already got wind of my political activities. He then began shouting at me, calling me ‘lazy for nothing’. I told him I would not go back to work until I had been given my money.

By that time, I could see Swanapoel had turned pale. He was burning with anger and he suddenly unleashed a slap to my face. That action triggered a fist fight and I left him bloodied.

After being restrained by other workers, the pay clerk paid what was due to me. From that office, I went to my work station, took my daily share of a pint of milk and half loaf of bread and then gave it to a co-black worker.

I was angry with the treatment I was getting from these white people.

The incident was the final nail to the coffin for me to say it’s over, I cannot reconcile with these white people. Enough was enough and I was destined to skip the country for military training.

I went to Mahiya’s place and told him what had transpired at work and that I had been subject to similar victimisations at the hands of the whites and the next time I was to deal with a white person, it would be in a free Zimbabwe.

Mahiya then told me that he knew someone, Muzonda, who was helping people cross the border for military training in Mozambique.

Mahiya actually worked with Muzonda at Wise Owl Motel and the Muzondas had their homestead near the border with Mozambique.

I went to see Muzonda in Mutare and told him of my planned mission.

After a lengthy talk, akazonditi ukasvika kumusha kwedu kwaMuzonda unobatsirwa naamai vangu kuyambuka kuenda kuMozambique kuBase remakamaradha eFrelimo.

The following day I took a bus to Honde Valley and when I got to Ruda, paGreen, I asked for directions to Muzonda’s homestead and was assisted to get there.

I was welcomed by Mai Muzonda. Ndakavatsanangurira kuti ndabva nekunaMuzonda uye ndaida kuyambuka mhiri.

Ivo vakambotora chinguva vachindibvunza asi vakaona kuti ndaive pachokwadi.

She then said she would assist me, but laughed at my dressing.

I was wearing a suit and she said it would definitely scare the comrades. They would think I was an infiltrator or member of the Rhodesia secret agency.

I remember wachinditi, “Zvino nhai mwana, unoda kunorwa wakapfeka kunge headmaster kudai?”

Mai Muzonda gave me a place to sleep and assured me that the following day she would assist me cross the river into Mozambique.

From the homestead, she pointed across the river where there was a pole and grass structure. Mai Muzonda said it was occupied by Frelimo soldiers and she would assist me get there. The next morning at around 4am, Mai Muzonda wakamuka ndokutora jeko rekuchekesa huswa wakati ndiwatewere.

She said if we were to meet any inquisitive people, I should say I am her visiting nephew who works in Mutare and since its early morning I am accompanying her to cut some thatching grass.

That was 4 August 1976 when I crossed into Mozambique. I did not face any difficulties crossing into Mozambique. I still have a clear memory of Mai Muzonda waving good bye to me. It was an emotional wave of a mother full with love and blessings as if to say: “Don’t worry son, you will travel well in your journey and we will definitely meet again.”

To be continued next week

Again, dear reader, if ever you are in doubt, if ever you are confused, if ever you need a moral compass, or whenever you find yourself agreeing with Jonathan Moyo, you should know that you are close to losing it.

A village is the basest component of a community and society.

It is an unabashed representation of both societal ills and virtues.

Human interaction at village level seemingly breaks down a complex world into a liveable and discernible reality.

And clearly there is nothing as complex and unfathomable as a human being.

In a typical village setting, one gets to understand the inner workings of a human brain, including, by extension, the collective psyche of communities and or societies.

So in Bishop Lazarus’ village there was this chap, Sinyoro, who was famed for his ant-like work ethic.

Sinyoro was neither his totem nor his name, but it was his village-ordained nom de guirre that had been proprietorially earned through indefatigable volunteerism, which always left the whole village in awe.

Whenever and wherever he showed up, he would always make daily exertions easier; hence the name.

No job was too big or too small for him.

Whether a fellow villager wanted his football-sized field cleared for the next summer cropping season, or wanted his granary fixed, Sinyoro — who invariably wore his sagging, faded green jacket and ashen, frayed cap — was always the go-to guy.

This pint-sized village Hercules would make light work of hacking the stubborn mupfuti and musasa trees to prepare virgin fields.

He would also substitute mighty oxen to roll extraordinarily heavy and bulbous granite boulders to be used as stilts for an expectant villagers’ granary.

For his services, which ordinarily would have warranted a king’s ransom payment, Sinyoro only demanded a chicken or a goat, depending on his palate.

Indeed, meat was his favourite.

But it was at funerals where his services were most appreciated.

At these events, he would be all over the place, burrowing gorges where anthills previously stood in order to prepare the final resting place for the dearly departed, killing and skinning fatted cows for funeral meals, and dislodging women at the hearth in order to pound pap frenetically into a palatable molten paste for the grieving.

“Sadza raSinyoro,” grief-stricken mourners would often say while admiring the soft morsels of pap.

Unhappy Ending

But as Proverbs 12:22 says: “The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy”. Time always reveals a man’s true colours.

Every dog has its day, and for Sinyoro, his day ironically came in the form of a doggedly inquisitive dog, Tiger, at one of these solemn village events.

After the tiring back-breaking chores, Sinyoro asked to be excused a bit as he wanted to go home and change his clothes as they now were unsightly, being stained by blood sputter from processing the cow for the day’s meal.

Just as he was making his way home, Tiger animatedly and excitedly started to hover around his sagging jacket, which was now even saggier.

Sinyoro tried to shoo the dog away by a backhand slap, which made the dog even more animated, attracting the prying eyes of previously inattentive mourners.

A panicky Sinyoro tried to trot away, but his stride was broken by Tiger’s leaping forepaws.

The man fell violently, forcing the disloyal jacket to unfurl an elongated roll of pilfered tripe from the cow, among a plethora of other stolen paraphernalia.

After a search party was sent to his home, it was discovered that whenever this seemingly helpful fellow did his chores, he would pilfer prized possessions: a pair of trousers and blankets here and a haul of kitchen utensils there — in fact, anything he could lay his hands on and which his jacket could manageably carry.

Rather than risk losing their scant earthly belongings, no sane villager ever took his chances with Sinyoro again.

But ever since that incident, villagers faced a huge moral conundrum of how exactly to judge the disgraced Sinyoro: was he a good person or a bad one?

The sulking cabal

As the Bishop always counsels, if ever you are in doubt, if ever you are confused and if ever you need a moral compass, you have to read the Holy Book.

Luke 6: 34-35 tells us that you cannot expect something good from something patently bad.

“For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil . . .”

For the uninitiated, this Biblical passage presupposes a dualistic view of the world, which assumes that all forms of life are governed by two equally competing and opposing forces: God and Satan, light and darkness, morality and immorality, and Dynamos and Highlanders.

But this view is largely conflictual.

It is a misbegotten premise that seems to blind local opposition parties and comrades on the other side of the media divide.

To them, opposing entails frenziedly flogging the opposed and rabidly attacking opposing viewpoints.

This is exactly the same reason why we continue to see clichéd jaw-dropping doomsday headlines from our militant scribes in the supposedly independent press.

“Zimbabwe economy dies,” screamed one such outlandish headline from a local daily.

Argh! Kikikiki.

Not surprisingly, most diplomats, even the most ill-willed, are now increasingly befuddled as to why the local media is hell-bent — kamikaze-like — on destroying the country’s fledgling economic prospects through manufacturing gratuitously negative headlines.

In economics, there is something that is called “headline risk”, which essentially is the possibility that a news story will likely have an adverse effect on a stock, company or economy.

But again you would realise that these doomsday headlines are the handiwork of the sulking former press corps of Professor Jonathan Moyo, the ex-Zanu-PF self-anointed crown prince who fortunately or unfortunately later turned out to be a clown prince after November 2017.

Before the 2017 political transition, they wittingly did his bidding in the hope of plum jobs post the ill-fated successionist plot, but now they do the self-banished Professor’s bidding unwittingly through railing against ED’s administration.

Again, dear reader, if ever you are in doubt, if ever you are confused, if ever you need a moral compass, or whenever you find yourself agreeing with Jonathan Moyo, you should know that you are close to losing it.

So these scribes remain hostage to a failed political enterprise.

The Bishop would like to warn these comrades that cognitive bias often leads to a distorted world-view that is often heedless of the many shades of reality.

While they scream above hilltops that the sky is falling, silently ED works.

As Bishop Lazi said in the beginning, village life breaks down the world into a liveable and discernible reality.

In essence, life is experiential.

In different corners of the country today, they are children who are seeing tar being laid for the first time in their lives; they are thrilled at recently rehired farm hands recovering Arda Estates; and there are promising prospects at CSC, Arcadia Lithium Mine and Karo Resources, which will in the medium term begin to be felt.

Unfortunately, this cannot be readily apparent in view of the current evanescent and transitory pressures in the economy; but fortunately, it is a marathon and not a sprint.

But it will be naïve to think that these sulking scribes in the private press will lay off ED a bit; they will continue to attack him because his success is a threat to the quintessential value and identity of today’s private/independent.

It is the same duel between Trump and CNN. To put this into context, in the book “Fire and Fury” by Michael Wolff, Trump’s former strategist and adviser — the controversial Steve Bannon — is quoted predicting why he thought attacks on the wannabe President would likely increase.

“It’s (media coverage) not only going to get better, it’s going to get worse everyday, and here is why — corporatist, global media that are adamantly opposed, adamantly opposed, to an economic nationalist agenda like Donald Trump has. And here is why it is going to get worse: because he is going to continue to press his agenda. And as economic conditions continue to get better, they are going to continue to fight . . . Every day it is going to be a fight,” said Bannon.

Well, like the 18th century French thinker and philosopher, Voltaire, who once said “I disapprove of what you say, but will defend to death your right to say it”, Bishop Lazi equally believes in a free press, lest he be labelled as an enemy of press freedom.

Equally, he also believes in the Frenchman’s famously powerful statement: “I would rather be ruled by a fine lion (Shumba), much stronger than myself, than by two hundred rats of my species.”

ED was elected to make the tough decisions, and he is making them.

Bishop out!

Writing Back
Ranga Mataire

While some were mourning the tragic passing of Honourable Vimbai Tsvangirai-Java and that of the wife of the grandiloquent Talent Chiwenga and other church colleagues, something remarkable also took place in Zimbabwe last week.

A man called Randolph Simms, better known as Cde Coltrane Chimurenga, made a huge statement albeit in death.

Cde Chimurenga silently made his final RETURN to motherland accompanied by fellow freedom fighters and close family members. The man whose life pragmatically personified African brotherhood joined the ancestors on May 13, 2019 in the United States.

A leader of the Brooklyn-based December 12 Movement, Field Marshal Chimurenga devoted the better part of his adult life to the freedom of black people in America, the Diaspora and beyond.

Born in California, Cde Chimurenga had numerous run-ins with the US establishment as he led numerous civil disobedience demonstrations against the continued racial discrimination and injustice meted against black people.

It was during the formative years of Zimbabwe’s nationalist struggles in the early 1960s that Cde Chimurenga organised the “College Struggles” in Oakland, California and also met the Cde Tirivafi Kangai who was to Christian him Chimurenga — a name that was to replace Randolph Simms.

It was during his revolutionary interaction with Cde Kangai that the African-American political activist broadened his struggle scope and developed a practical and lifelong affinity to the native land of Zimbabwe, which until his death remained his HOME.

It therefore came as no surprise that he confided with close family relatives and struggle colleagues that he be buried in Zimbabwe.

In a way, Cde Chimurenga became one of the true African-brothers to successfully follow through Marcus Garvey’s call for repatriation under the “Back to Africa” movement.

Cde Chimurenga’s life epitomised the practicality of “Writing Back” to Empire.

Living in ‘belly of the beat’ never at any time intimidated Cde Chimurenga from defiantly pursuing the struggle for black people and proved beyond doubt that it was possible to effectively “Write Back to Empire” and change certain ingrained perceptions about black people.

In response to the increased murders and attacks on black people across New York State, Cde Chimurenga together with Cdes Viola Plummer, Sonny Abubadika Carson and Father Lawrence Lucas formed the December 12 Movement.

Under his stewardship, the December 12 Movement organised “Days of Outrage” which brought to the fore the brutal discrimination of the security forces against the black people.

New York was brought to a standstill and that brought awareness to law makers for action.

And in pursuit of Malcom X’s call for collective action of the black race and place the American struggle in the world arena, the December 12 Movement formed an international secretariat with Cde Chimurenga being the general secretary.

The man understood the entire essence of the black struggle world-wide.

He understood, as Malcom X did, that for long black people have been deprived of being a collective mass and were deprived of not only their “civil human rights but also their dignity.”

Indeed, of all the prominent Afro-American activists that I have come across like Louis Farrakhan, Jessie Jackson and even Cornel West, Cde Chimurenga’s impact world-wide looms large particularly his passionate love for Africa in general and Zimbabwe in particular.

He was a giant of a man — physically and spiritually. But his was not a religious inspired struggle. His foundational motivation for black freedom came from his direct experience as a downtrodden black kid in the ‘belly of the beast.’

And as an adult, he made a commitment to ‘Write Back’ to Empire through his actions which sought to give a different narrative of the black people’s existential value.

Those who have followed Cde Chimurenga’s life were not surprised that he refused to be buried in the citadel of the Empire. He decided to go back to Africa for good where his soul reunited with his ancestors.

Paying tribute to a fellow freedom fighter, President Mnangagwa described Cde Chimurenga as a dedicated Pan-Africanist and son of the soil whose love for Zimbabwe will remain etched in the annals of Zimbabwe’s history.

“He steadfastly stood by Zimbabwe during colonialism and after independence as we fought the illegal sanctions regime,” the President said.

Surely, there could be no better person to understand how Empire operated than Cde Chimurenga who had lived all his life in the ‘belly of the beast.’

His dedication and love for Zimbabwe was the motivation behind him adopting his surname in solidarity with Zimbabwe’s war of liberation from colonialism.

Although their worlds were divergently different, Cde Chimurenga was what Flora Veit-Wild said of Marechera — someone who remained till the end a “Black Insider” who was nakedly conscious of the “predicament of exile and the black identity” and examining living conditions under the fear of the Bomb.

Cde Chimurenga was not a banal political activist.

He combined the brute pragmatism of a foot soldier and the strategic thinking of a transcendentalist.

He was a man who epitomised the idea that intelligence rules the world while ignorance carries the burden.

He was a man who also believed that great principles and ideas know no nationality.

Marcus Garvey’s words ring louder when he says, “If I die in Atlanta, my work shall then only begin, but I shall live, in the physical or spiritual to see the day of Africa’s glory.”

Unlike Garvey who was not unfortunate to set foot on the African soil, Cde Chimurenga fulfilled his long held wish.

Long live freedom fighter! Long live Cde Chimurenga! Your fight was Never in vain.

We acknowledge traits of servant leadership in modern day leaders like President Emmerson Mnangagwa who, since his inauguration, has shown that leadership is not just about having a noble vision but also being at the service of the people.

Nowhere was this mark of servant leadership on display than at his inaugural radio interview with Capitalk Radio 100.4FM on Friday.

The Head of State and Government was so at ease in articulating the pertinent national issues ― the economy, corruption, democracy and the prices of basic necessities.

Very few leaders in the world would dare go live on radio, openly interact and share views on  issues affecting the citizenry.

Not only has the President lived to his billing as a “listening President” but he has also shown that he is a modern President who has embraced all new forms of communication ― social media, new media and interactive radio programmes.

Love him or hate him, the man affectionately known by his people as ED, has never shied from any public engagements.

And his underlining message, which he said has always inspired him since his days as a youth, has been the need for reform.

Outlining his own guiding lifelong philosophy, President Mnangagwa said: “In my youth as a soldier, I had a clear mission. To establish an independent Zimbabwe. I fought for this mission. No less important, to reform Zimbabwe so that we build a country in which all have the opportunity to prosper. I will fight for this goal with all my heart and all my soul, whatever it takes.”

Conscious of the arduousness of the journey, President Mnangagwa assured his countrymen of a brighter future anchored on his unshakeable belief in the reform agenda.

Reform of institutions. Reform of the country’s legislation and reform of our mindset.

We have no doubt that in the President, we have a man endowed with an inimitable pragmatism born out of the odds he endured before and after the liberation struggle, where at one stage, he faced the gallows only to be saved by a technicality of being under age.

And the President’s servant leadership code is not without a conceptual framework.

Its conceptual progenitor is one by the name Robert K. Greenleaf (1904-190) who was born in Terre Haute, Indiana in 1904.

According to Greenleaf’s seminal essay, “Essential of Servant Leadership”, the philosophy had its roots from a fictional work in 1958, whose idea of the “servant as a leader came out of reading Hermann Hesse’s “Journey to the East”.

The central figure in a journey of a band of men is Leo, who accompanies the party as the servant and does all sorts of menial chores but also sustains the group with his spirit and song.

Leo is a man of extra ordinary presence and when he disappears all men scatter in confusion and it is at that point that one man who later discovers Leo realised that the man he had known as a servant was in fact the titular head of the order, its guiding spirit, a great and noble leader.

Greenleaf’s essay continues to inspire millions throughout the world.

The conceptual traits of servant leadership as epitomised by President Mnangagwa include listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people and building strong developmental foundations for communities.

That ED is committed in fulfilling his vision is never in doubt.

He needs the collective confidence and support from every well-meaning citizen.

In his own words, “We will reform Zimbabwe together.”

Allen Choruma
Vision 2030

An adequate and dependable power supply is essential for the development of the Zimbabwean economy and we must ensure that Zesa can supply theis requirement

Zimbabwe is experiencing huge power deficits, resulting in the public power utility Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) resorting to frequent load shedding.

This has severely crippled activiy in all economic sectors.

Unless the issue of dependable power supply is urgently addressed, the attainment of economic development milestones under Vision 2030 will be seriously crippled.

Reliable and dependable power supply is critical to economic development.

Empirical evidence shows that there is a positive correlation between power supply and economic development.

The disruption in power supply has caused serious inconveniences to domestic, commercial, health, industrial, mining and farming sectors.

Incessant power cuts have drastically affected the conduct of business nationwide to an extent that some operations that require uninterrupted power supplies have shut down or limited the scale of operations.

Other business players have resorted to expensive and unsustainable alternative power sources such as diesel power generation. The health sector has not been spared either.

New energy minister’s task

The newly appointed Minister of Energy and Power Development Advocate Fortune Chasi faces a mammoth task in fixing the crippling energy and power shortages.

Urgent interventions are needed to address these challenges.

What compounds the problem is that all sources of energy and power supplies in Zimbabwe are scarce; be it the supply of diesel, petrol, paraffin and liquefied gas or electricity.

What is perhaps encouraging is that the newly appointed Energy and Power Development Minister Chasi “has the energy in him” and has hit the ground running as he appears to be fully aware of the problems affecting the energy and power sector.

He needs all the support from Government to ensure that the challenges being faced in the energy and power sectors are urgently addressed.

But time is precariously running out.

Minister Chasi will need to restore public confidence that he can sort out the mess in the energy and power sectors.

A comprehensive strategy framework needs to come out in the public domain soon, which clearly shows how the minister intends to tackle the energy and power crisis in Zimbabwe.

We await, with interest, minister Chasi’s issuance of an energy and power blueprint, which should address issues around power generation and tariffs.

Currently, Zimbabwe’s electricity tariffs at 10 cents per kWh are sub-economic, unsustainable and the lowest in the region.

Electricity in Zimbabwe has become so cheap that alternative sources of lighting, for example candles, are way more expensive than electricity.

Minister Chasi has already recognised this anomaly, but he needs to quickly address it to ensure that we have economic tariffs that can sustain the ZESA operations.

Electricity

Turning my attention to electricity, the challenges facing ZESA are mammoth.

Some of these challenges include aged and obsolete equipment, poor state of infrastructure (frequent equipment breakdowns), poor billing and collection of revenue systems, uneconomic low tariffs, operational challenges (under capitalisation compounded by debt ridden financial positions, inadequate specialised skills and tools required for planning and forecasting energy needs) and theft and vandalism of infrastructure by criminals.

Despite the completion of the Kariba South Power Station Project in 2018, which added 300MW to the power plant bringing the total installed capacity generation for Kariba to 1,050 MW, the station is currently the biggest contributor of power in Zimbabwe contributing 65 percent of total electricity.

Kariba is, however, operating below capacity due to low water levels in the dam.

According to Zimbabwe Power Corporation (ZPC), in the first quarter of 2019, the Zambezi Water Authority (ZWA) has reduced water allocation to Kariba station from 19 billion cubic metres to 17 billion cubic meters translating to an average monthly capacity generation of 358 MW.

Hwange Thermal Power Station, the second biggest power supply with an installed capacity of 920 MW is also facing challenges due to antiquated equipment and erratic coal supplies.

The current expansion project being undertaken at Hwange will increase generation by 600 MW to 1 520 MW.

Electricity generation levels

The electricity generation statistics (excluding small private power producers), as at June 18 2019, posted on ZPC website are as follows: Zimbabwe’s power demand stands at around 2 500 MW at peak. Kariba has the biggest generation capacity currently at 1 050 MW following completion of the extension project which added 300 MW to existing 750 MW.

With industry operating at between 25 and 40 percent capacity, our requirement for energy is estimated at 2 500 MW.

Assuming that industry grows its capacity to between 70 and 100 percent in the next five years and that mining and agriculture continue to grow at current paces, the demand for energy in Zimbabwe could double to 5 000 MW.

Power deficit

Zimbabwe requires about 2500 MW of power to meet the current demand.

ZPC electricity generation capacity as of last week was an average 1 200 MW against a demand of around 2 500 MW.

This results in a deficit of 995 MW or 45 percent.

Hwange with an installed capacity of 920 MW is only producing 476 MW, which is 39 percent of national power output as highlighted in the table above.

At times, Hwange produces much lower power due to frequent equipment breakdowns and ZPC statistics shows that Hwange contributes an average 33 percent to the national grid.

With the current expansion projects, which commenced in the last quarter of 2018, Hwange is expected in the next three years to add another 600 MW to the national grid increasing its installed capacity from 920 MW to 1 520 MW.

At the moment, Zimbabwe has to rely on Kariba which, according to ZPC, is contributing 65 percent of power requirements, even at a moment its generation capacity has been severely curtailed by water shortages.

The beauty with Kariba is that it provides clean sustainable energy. If the Batoka Gorge comes on line, in future, Zimbabwe’s bulk power supply will come from water, a sustainable source of energy.

Planning

Our power requirements as we drive towards Vision 20130 need to be addressed urgently through planning and investing more in power generation and distribution.

ZESA needs to be transformed into an efficient and profitable power generation, distribution and billing institution. Alternative sources of energy should also be considered for Zimbabwe.

Unless if ZESA is transformed, restructured and the Government itself invests in the power sector, we may be faced with the same problems that Eskom has created for the South African economy.

Eskom provides 95 percent of South Africa’s power.

It produces about 46 776 MW and its revenue turnover is ZAR 177 billion (US $12 billion).

Eskom’s inefficiencies, coupled with a huge debt, expected to peak at ZAR 500 billion (US$34 billion) in 2019, or 10 percent of South Africa’s GDP of US $349 billion, has been described by international financial analysts like Goldman Sachs, as the biggest threat to the South African economy.

Zimbabwe should learn from the South Africa’s experience with Eskom and put in place measures to arrest that from happening to ZESA.

ZESA generates 98 percent of Zimbabwe’s power requirements and thus plays a very pivotal role to economic stability and growth.

The Minister of Energy and Power Development should show strong political will to transform the energy and power sectors as the country drives towards Vision 20130.

Incapacity to meet current and anticipated future national energy and power requirements will cripple our economic recovery efforts.

Continued next week

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

Trade in services is becoming more important and Zimbabwe can capitalise on this.

The global development trajectory is now moving towards striking a balance between diversification, innovation and less reliance on imports, with trade in service becoming common practice.

As such, Zimbabwe stands to capitalise on an opportunity to boost foreign currency revenues through export of services.

Over the years, there has been a shift from economies that are primarily based on agriculture and extractive sectors such as mining, timber, gas and oil to economic expansion fronted by development of service sectors.

The services sector is made up of companies that earn revenue through providing intangible products such as retail, banking, insurance, education, computer services, communications, recreation, transport and logistics among others.

Today, major economies such as Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong are driven by a growing services sector.

According to the Trademap, the global trade in services was US$5,8 trillion in 2018, which is 61 percent increase from the 2009 statistics.

The International Trade Centre reveals that services constitute the largest sector in the global economy, accounting for 70 percent of Global Gross Domestic Product, 60 percent of total global employment and 46 percent of global exports measured in value-added terms.

These figures show that the world is experiencing a radical shift towards trading of services, with countries such as India and Sri Lanka breaking the conventional trajectory by heading straight to services without developing a significant manufacturing sector at all.

In this global shift towards service sectors, Zimbabwe has not been left alone. The services sector in has been growing in both scope and scale over the years.

Statistics from Trademap indicate that in 2018, Zimbabwe’s trade in services amounted to US$502 million which is a sharp increase of 104 percent compared to the 2009 figure of US$245 million.

The figures may be higher, because, the nature of some services might not have been accounted for statistically.

The country has also been witnessing an increase in export of services, especially to countries in the southern African region.

For example, in 2016 when the Namibian Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture advertised teaching posts to citizens of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Zimbabwe was presented with a window to export trained professionals to assist in developing the education sector of the country and generate foreign currency through remittances arising from these diaspora professionals.

This followed a proposal presented to Cabinet in 2012 by the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare seeking to formalise the export of nurses to other countries such as Swaziland, Lesotho and Trinidad and Tobago.

The proposal by the Ministry of Health and Child Care spelt out how the country will earn much needed foreign currency through taxes and remittances by these health professionals.

These are only a few cases showing the potential available in export of these essential services.

Given these developments, Zimbabwe has potential to earn more through export of services.

According to Trademap, Zimbabwe’s service exports in 2017 were 47 percent commercial services, 21 percent transport, 19 percent travel, 6 percent Government services and 2 percent ICTs with the remaining 5 percent split among other services.

There is, however, scope to grow the country’s service exports through creating an enabling environment for transfer of, for example, labour, and its smooth movement across borders.

The facilitation of local service provider companies from Zimbabwe, to participate in tenders of service provision within the SADC and COMESA region countries is one way to explore, in driving trading of services across borders.

Due to the nature of some of the activities in the service sectors such as banking, media and communication, there is need to develop supportive infrastructure, particularly information and communication technologies which would make it easy for Zimbabweans to provide services to other countries whilst seated in their local offices.

In addition, Zimbabwe has a decent pool of qualified civil engineers, architects, surveyors and construction experts that can provide construction and civil engineering services to other countries in the region and beyond.

Current opportunities for Zimbabweans in the construction and engineering include the Kenya Konza Technology Smart City where of US$14,5 Billion will be invested in developing infrastructure of the planned city.

This means that Zimbabwean construction and engineering consulting firms should start developing and positioning themselves to be subcontracted for parts of such projects.

To assist local companies, tap into other markets such as the Kenya Konza Technology Smart City, ZimTrade, the country’s trade development and promotion organization, is working with German-based Senior Experten Service to prepare the construction and engineering sector players for international competitiveness.

Other opportunities for the sector exist in Sadc States such as DRC, Mozambique, Angola and Zambia, where Zimbabwe already enjoys free trade under the bloc’s trade protocols.

The education sector offers further opportunities for increasing Zimbabwe’s trade in services, with easy wins such as exports in study materials and online learning targeting foreign students.

This can benchmark and model around existing frameworks used by leading online institutions such as University of South Africa which services over 130 countries globally.

Riding on Zimbabwe’s reputation as producer of leading African scholars and its highly educated population, ZimTrade has embarked on a partnership with local universities on various areas of collaboration including linking with foreign learning institutions to strengthen their curricular and making them competitive on the global knowledge market.

In addition, with internet becoming faster, marketing and communication services such as operating a remote Regional Call Center for global giants is another potential service that Zimbabwean companies should consider.

Local companies can operate an independent call center, outsourcing the handling of large customer-bases for telemarketing, research, and offering customer support and handling queries.

Zimbabwe has a ready pool of professionals from various disciplines, with the available skills in unemployed graduates, which are synonymous with call center jobs

Allan Majuru is ZimTrade’s CEO.

Commisoner Geoffrey Chada

THE mandate of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) is broad and is, in fact, the broadest of all the Chapter 12 independent commissions.

It is actually divided into three areas: to deal with the past, with the present, and with future conflicts.

This mandate is embodied through the functions which were constitutionally designed for us. These are: to ensure post-conflict justice, healing and reconciliation; to develop and implement programmes to promote national healing and cohesion; to bring about national reconciliation by encouraging people to tell the truth about the past and facilitating the making of our laws and provision of justice.

Furthermore, our mandate is to develop procedures and institutions at national level to facilitate dialogue among both political parties and communities.

The commission is also there to develop programmes to ensure that persons subjected to persecution, torture and other forms of abuse receive rehabilitation, treatment and support.

The commission also receives and considers complaints from the public, develop mechanisms for early detection of areas of potential conflicts and anything incidental that threatens the peace that we have.

In short, we are the sahwira (all-weather friend) of Zimbabwe.

Independence and gender balance

The independence of the commission was constitutionally conferred upon it by the constitution.

We are probably the first institution which has observed the 50/50 (gender) balance.

We have four female commissioners and four male commissioners, while the chairperson of the commission is an appointee of the President.

NPRC’s recent outreach programme

One of the things that we became quite aware of was of people who were claiming that they do not know about our commission, its functions and how to approach us.

So we came up with an outreach programme to all 10 provinces to promote meaningful engagement with the citizens and also raise awareness of the commission’s work.

Also, the outreach programme was was meant to boost public confidence in our mandate.

Our message was that: “You are our customers; we want you to understand us and we also want to understand you”.

We went to the provinces to share and make people aware of the mechanisms and approaches that we use when we are promoting peace and how we handle issues of national healing and reconciliation.

So within those 21 days, we were busy, province by province, explaining these things.

We gathered as many people, as many stakeholders as possible to explain our duties.

We also went out there to roll out our strategic plan, the five-year strategic plan.

Launch of provincial peace committees

The launch of the provincial peace committees was actually what we promised the people during the outreach.

After the provincial peace committees, we are going to establish district peace committees, ward committees, village committees and finally a national committee comprising delegates or representatives from the ten provinces.

The idea of the provincial peace committees is to promote peace within the province and facilitate dialogue.

This is a dialogue infrastructure.

There is no issue at provincial level which is going to be secret, anyone can bring any issue to be discussed by the province.

We are establishing the provincial peace committees to get down to the people so that they can give us ideas and facilitate peace and the chances of dialogue.

Another objective is to engage in confidence and trust building activities between groups and communities within the province.

We also want to promote tolerance building, provide strategic advice and early warnings on potential threats to the peace and stability of those particular communities.

Additionally, our objective is to respond to the issues identified within the province and emanating from the work of the district peace committees, which we will be able to establish at a later stage.

Moreover, we want to carry out any other activity necessary for the prevention of violence and promotion of peace within the provinces.

The provincial peace committee will be chaired by the commissioner that has been made responsible for that province.

They will be deputised by someone who will be chosen by all the 30 members, but the composition of the provincial peace committee will be like this: the Minister of State of that province or his or her delegate/designate, the officer commanding police in the province, the provincial administrator, representatives from relevant Government departments, (and) representatives from the traditional leaders, and) the chiefs in that province.

There is also going to be representatives from the church and faith-based organisations, two representatives from the civil society, two representatives from the business community, two representatives from the academia and two representatives from the political parties in Parliament.

Additionally, there will be two representatives from each of the political parties, two representatives from the youth, two representatives from women’s organisations, two representatives from people with disabilities, two representatives from war veterans, (and) two representatives from each of the districts from that province.

Last but not least, there will be two representatives from the media, one from the private media and another from the public media.

Legality of peace committees

Section 21, sub paragraph 8, of the NPRC Act states that the commission can set up  committees that will be able to do the work of the commission from wherever they are.

For instance, for the provincial peace committee, we have already established these in three provinces.

Whatever is going to be decided for by the provincial peace committee is as legal and is as binding as anything that the commission will be doing.

Peace is the foundation of the eloquent; without peace there can never be any development.

Peace can bring us together to dialogue, to finding solutions to our problems.

Dialogue is the art of thinking together to solve problems.

We cannot dialogue unless we have peace.

Peace guarantees free political participation in public affairs and development.

If you are denied peace, you are denied a human right, and it is your right.

Peace is your right.

* Commissioner Geoffrey Chada was speaking to The Sunday Mail Chief Reporter Kuda Bwititi. NPRC is currently on a countrywide outreach programme.

Deputy Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs, Cde Victor Matemadanda was recently appointed Zanu-PF national political commissar following an extraordinary Politburo meeting. The governing party is currently undergoing a restructuring exercise to ably meet the demands of contemporary politics. Our Chief Reporter, Kuda Bwititi spoke to Cde Matemadanda to get a lowdown of the plans he has in his new assignment.

Q: What are your thoughts on the new appointment?

A: It is obviously the greatest honour of my career in Zanu-PF so far. I am very excited, but at the same time I feel challenged.

This is a challenge that demands a lot of hard work and contribution. I believe in myself and I have the passion to work for my party.

I am going to be doing something that I love and this gives me great satisfaction.

I am going to give complete commitment and vigour to this role. It is a huge honour.

It is also a demonstration by the President (Emmerson Mnangagwa) of his wish to see the reinvigoration of the party.

I have a huge obligation to repay this trust and confidence that the President has placed upon me.

Q: What are the immediate major tasks that you will embark on?

A: The immediate task is simple. We need to strengthen Zanu-PF as a people’s party. The party should be in the hands of the people.

The wishes and desires of the people are what should drive the foundations of the party.

In the past we had a situation where the leadership had captured the party from the people.

They dominated everything, leaving the people to play second fiddle. They concentrated on their own power, cementing their power while the people played second fiddle. That is why we had talk on the one centre of power.

Since the dawn of the new dispensation, the President has made it clear that he abides by the principle of servant leadership.

This means that we have to take the party away from the leaders and put it back in the hands of the people.

Zanu-PF is a people’s party, it is safe when it is in the people’s hands.

Q: What then is the strategy to take the party back to the people?

A: We want to inculcate the principle of democratic centralism, where every level of the party is involved in decision-making.

This system allows every member of the party, regardless of rank, colour or creed, to have a say on matters of the party.

Zanu-PF is a people’s party and every person you can think of — for example the artisanal miners, the bus conductors or hwindis, the vendors — must all be involved in positively contributing to the party.

You involve them by engaging them and listening to their problems. These people actually know the solution to the challenges they face and we have to help them as their leaders to get to where they want to be.

We are not going to sideline anyone. We need to have more and more meetings so that we are in touch and in sync with our people.

Soon after my appointment, people representing different races phoned me saying they also want to be part of our party programmes. This is what we want.

Zanu-PF is big enough to accommodate anyone regardless of race, colour or creed.

So we should have a standing policy to understand the people’s problems, hear them out and constantly engage them on what they see as the solutions.

And as the ruling party, we then need to push the people’s agenda and send the message strongly to Government.

Government should also help us by adopting policies that are pro-people.

Q: In that regard, do you think enough is being done in terms of the party holding the Government to account?

A: I think that the party, being the mother of Government, should take a leading role in holding Government to account. This is exactly what we should be doing. That is why in my role as commissar, I am going to go down to the people and get the views of the people. The people will tell us what they want from Government and we will deliver the message loud and clear.

We should reach a position where we can be able to tell Government officials that the people are saying do this and that, shape up or ship out.

The President has also made it very clear that Government programmes should be in sync with the party’s manifesto.

So that is definitely something we should have oversight on. We need to have oversight on our manifesto to see if it is being implemented because it is the manifesto that won us the elections. It is the manifesto that gave us the five-year mandate to govern.

By voting for Zanu-PF, the people approved our manifesto and our programme of action.

It is this programme that every Government worker should understand so that there are no conflicts.

If some Government officials think they have better ideas, they should tell us before they fight this manifesto.

The Government should strive to fulfil what the manifesto said.

Q: Do you not feel that you are going to face challenges in mobilising people to support the party during the current economic challenges that have brought hardships to the people?

A: What is important to note is that austerity does not last forever, it is a necessary phase that will end next year in line with the Transitional Stabilisation Programme.

The pain that we are feeling now will be rewarded.

If we say austerity, it should be for everyone. Austerity should not just be for the ordinary people, but for the elites as well.

I am going to facilitate people’s understanding of the reforms that are taking place in our economy.

It should not only be Government or the Finance Minister, it should be the people’s programme.

The people need to be well informed and properly schooled on what the Government is doing.

These programmes have to have people’s buy-in.

Austerity measures did not start with Zimbabwe. Rwanda underwent austerity, America, German and several other countries have undergone austerity.

The challenge we have is that the proper understanding of what austerity entails is lacking.

We want to make sure that people understand the remaining phase of the austerity measures.

I believe we should have booklets that package the economic programme.

As the commissariat, my intention is to have such booklets that are distributed to all our party members, starting at the cell level.

We need to hold meetings and discuss such issues and package the programmes.

I strongly feel that decisions being made at the highest level of Government are not cascading down to the people.

Even some people who represent the masses do not have a full understanding of matters that are taking centre stage in the economy.

They need to know what Government is doing. The councillors, the Members of Parliament, members of the branch and cell should be able to have a deep understanding of these measures so that the people are familiar with what is taking place.

Q: What is your strategy on restructuring the party, in light of measures currently underway, which have seen the overhaul of provincial executives for Harare and Bulawayo?

A: What is important to note is that restructuring is prescribed in the party constitution.

The constitution is clear on who should occupy what and at what level. So we are going to be guided by the party’s laws.

Timelines set out in the constitution state that cells should be restructured every year, the branch is restructured every two years, districts are restructured every three years; provinces, every four years and the central committee every five years.

Harare and Bulawayo had developed some problems, hence the dissolution of the executives. We are going to restructure them.

I will be moving around all the provinces and will recommend to the Politburo on the action that we will take.

Q: Are there any timelines to achieve this?

A: I will be able to do that once I finish visiting all the provinces.

Q: What is the ideology that you will seek to champion as political commissar?

A: We should shun toxic politics and promote developmental politics.

Politics should not be always about differences or insulting each other at rallies.

The developmental agenda should override differences.

Every party should maintain its political ideology, but we should shun petty fights. Competition in politics should be about ideas.

We should convince the electorate through our ideas so that the voters can judge who has the best concepts.

We must speak the language of development despite our differences.

Elections only come once in every five years. That means we have a lot of time to focus on developmental issues.

Even the opposition should contribute through positive ideas. That is why the President is engaging in political dialogue with the opposition.

I am very much against negative statements such as “kudira jecha” (sabotage). It divides the people, it divides the nation. Imagine if Zanu-PF was also to say that it wants “kudira jecha” on those who do not support it.

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

In last week’s sermon, the Bishop went to great length to explain how inscrutable a human mind is.

Throughout the ages, sorcerers, soothsayers, scientists, spies and politicians have spectacularly failed to unlock the age-old secrets of the human mind.

What is, however, scrutable is how fickle human beings are.

This is precisely the reason why success often has brawling fathers claiming paternity, while failure is – like Oliver Twist – a dirt-poor orphan.

This is precisely the reason why it is not uncommon nowadays to see people who hunt with the hounds and run with the hares.

And definitely this is also precisely the reason why the same crowd that cheers you during your coronation is most likely the same crowd that would jeer you during your persecution or execution.

Do you still remember the ‘gedye-gedye’ brigade?

Yes, the one that was passionately and spiritedly led by that learned bae who once stained our social media with a yellow-themed campaign for political office that we were told was supposedly sophisticated.

Although the greenhorn politician was ably egged on by a full complement of social media ‘imbongis’ and gawking social media perverts, the stilts of her outlandish campaign came crashing down in spectacular fashion during the elections and her barely-begun political career was shattered into smithereens.

The praise singers quickly retreated to their shadowy corners from whence they had come from, but not before the bruised young politician questioned what those patronising tweets, retreats and puffery that preceded the elections had amounted to.

They definitely didn’t tally with the vote count.

Overnight, we all watched in wonder as the praise singers mutated into unforgiving cynics who contrived jibes at the grieving politician’s expense.

Well, they say Karma is a nocturnal creature that pleasures lustful men during the night only to torment them for her dues during the afternoon in the full glare of disbelieving family and friends.

But the Bishop now hears that the young lady – like Humpty Dumpty – now wants to pick up her broken political career by becoming a political stowaway on the MDC flight to nowhere.

We wish her good luck, but we, as we will always do, can only caution her: Politics is not a beauty pageant, but beastly business. Good luck. You will need it.

Well, for those who do not know the ‘gedye-gedye’ campaign, it was a derisive reference to the central bank’s decision to maintain parity between the US dollar and the RTGS/ bonds.

It was a subtle advocacy for the liberalisation of the exchange rate.

The suggestion, though reasonable to an extent, was delivered with contempt and shocking derision.

And then in October last year – bam! – RBZ Governor John Mangudya obliged, not because he was told to do so, but because it was time.

Predictably, the exchange rate began to move, and with it prices of goods that were indexed to the US dollar.

And then our social media economic advisor began disingenuously complaining about why RTGS prices were now different from US dollar prices.

Argh!

One can never win with this eternally pessimistic lot.

In Revelations 3:15-17, the Holy Book rebukes such fickle species.

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other. So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”

You see, the wily old Uncle Bob had discovered a magic wand that could solve his problems, and it was called Treasury Bills.

When he eventually decided to leave office, he left Mangudya with a $9 billion-sized headache.

However, Mangudya’s prescription to detoxify the system will necessarily involve some tumult, which is currently being felt.

Zimbabwe is a junkie that is now in rehab and the withdrawal symptoms from some quarters are now apparent – hallucination, irritation and pain.

Reform, like revolution, involves pain.

As ED said during his radio interview recently “the process of reform is not an easy one” and “brings about short-term upheaval”.

Bishop cringed when he realised ED actually mentioned the word reform 12 times in that very short speech.

But again, he remembered Mark 4:35 when Jesus had to ask the panicky disciples – who feared they would be drowned by the raging sea – why they were so unbelieving.

Though China sits pretty today, 41 after beginning its reforms, it was not that easy.

Deng Xiaoping faced the same challenges.

Reform is not about doing the right team, but it is about the determination to do the right thing.

Bishop thinks that after two decades of isolation and stagnation, people definitely have to be mentally conditioned to prepare for the painful hard work to rehabilitate the country.

Chinese journalist and publisher Wu Xiaobo – who has written extensively about the transition of China from an economic backwater to a country that is on the cusp of being a superpower – once noted that “any major change in history must be preceded by the people’s conceptual framework.”

“After a full ten years of the Cultural Revolution,” he also observed,“all normal functioning of the country had been destroyed, including the people’s ability to think creatively and clearly.”

The Bishop always tells his followers that if one wants to measure how psychologically and mentally damaged we have become over the past two decades, they have to simply look at the dross on Zimbabwean Twitter.

It is gross.

Personal biases often lead to unscientific debates and conversations that are not edifying in any conceivable way.

The lanky ex-FBI director James Comey said in his autobiography that confirmation bias is one of the most powerful and disconcerting forces in human brains.

Such a psyche works against the collective good to contribute towards societal wellbeing.

It is anti-development.

“Our brains have evolved to crave information consistent with what we already believe. We seek out and focus on facts and arguments that support our beliefs. More worrisome, when we are trapped in confirmation bias, we may not consciously perceive facts that challenge us, that are inconsistent with what we have already concluded. In a complicated, changing and integrated world, our confirmation bias makes us a very difficult people. We simply can’t change our minds,” he said.

One would expect supposedly learned people like our learned bae to know this.

Our past, as our present and future, is shared and will always be inextricably linked.

One of the lasting legacies of colonialism was to cruelly imprison us in our own minds.

So clearly, mental emancipation will, therefore, be the next frontier.

Bishop out!

Ranga Mataire
Writing Back

It’s quite oxymoronic, isn’t it? Many had hoped that the emergence of populist leaders or political rank outsiders in the United States and Europe would usher in a new wave of liberal pluralistic politics.

Sadly, instead of broadening a futuristic modern democratic system, Western democracies appear  to have taken a regressive slide where mendacity is becoming the norm.

It must be saddening to think that the West, which is supposed to be the paragon of virtue, is rescinding into a politically pugnacious state. Things that were once regarded as obnoxiously primitive are coming back to the mainstream discourse couched in all manner of pseudo-nationalistic armour.

It now takes a special kind of cognitive dissonance to go through all international news today from the West where United States President Donald Trump is seeking re-election and the Conservative MP Boris Johnson is the frontrunner to replace British Prime Minister Theresa May.

And all the progressives who are expected to be the guardian angels of this apparent regression appear to be in hypnotic mode typical of an audience anxiously waiting for a different ending to a bamboozling motion picture.

One cannot discern policy from bluster and sadly the advent of social media has not made people more aware, more knowledgeable or more conscious of the regressive spin-along unfolding right on their nose.

Instead, the relentless ferocity at which information is peddled on social media has made millions mere zombies of mediated information as they neither have the will nor the literacy required to verify the information.

As long as any piece of information confirms their biases or confirms their anxieties, then it must be true. We have entered an era where alternative truth is entrenching itself in daily discourses.

Things that were once on the fringes of Western political discourse- overt racism, glaring misogyny, anti-intellectualism- are once again creeping to the centre.

It appears one local politician is doing a very good job of copy and paste this sort of mendacious disposition where facts don’t matter. One simply needs to appeal to the hollow and sometimes the phantasmagorical aspirations to whip people’s motions and sway them in a certain direection.

Already, President Trump has launched his campaign for re-election in 2020.

And if anyone thought his stay at the White House has refined his raucous attitude, then they stand disappointed as the man is not only trying to rekindle his divisive 2016 narrative but has already issued a vague threat to start deporting millions of undocumented migrants next week.

He has already accused Mexico of sending criminals and rapists to the US in his kick off speech. Of course, none of his allegations are empirical but his constituency believe him as this creates some siege mentality in them.

It appears that President Trump thrives on cresting crises abroad, endless scandals and personal feuds.

And across the Atlantic, another rabble-rousing politician is set to be the new Prime Minister of Britain. A former journalist and popular historian, Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson has been a Member of Parliament for Uxbridge and South Ruislip since 2015.

Mr Johnson is also a former Mayor of London and once served as Foreign Secretary between 2016 and 2018. He is one of the few Conservative Party members who has adopted a more socially liberal stance.

Just like Mr Trump, Johnson’s persona evokes both admirers and those reviled by his unconventional antics. His supporters like him for his humour and his appeal beyond traditional Conservative voters. However, a large chunk of people on the other political divide accuse him of dishonesty, racism and homophobia.

Writing for the Washington Post on December 6, 2016, “The Danger of Complacency when Liberal Democracy is in Decline,” James Scaffer warned that: “Populist and authoritarian movements might be the very trigger that is needed to reinvigorate democracy.”.

It might be too late to save the empire from a spiralling post-modern political regression sweeping across Europe.

The civilisational mantra of Europe is being shredded into smithereens by political rank-outsiders who are not ashamed to express their homophobic sensibilities couched as nationalist fervour.

What is clear is that real hope for a humane existence lies in Africa. Africa must reinvent new ways of existence and realities as there is growing awareness of political regression taking root in Europe. One gets the sense that capitalism no longer guarantees order; that nothing really exists outside of capitalism beyond a void and Mafioso feudalism that favours authoritarianism.

One really shudders to think of what will become of the West if Trump’s friend, the gaffe-prone Johnson assumes the Prime Minister’s position in Britain.

Besides the fear of Johnson, there is also Nigel Farage, the leader of the Brexit Party. Farage was the first British citizen to physically visit and congratulate Trump when he won the U.S 2016 presidential elections.

Like Johnson, Farage is known as an anti-establishment figure who masquerades as having the interests of the common man. But his critics view him as a hard-right demagogue who “flirts with racism.’

Trump, Farage and Johnson have something in common. They all don’t like the EU and we wait to see how Johnson’s leadership of the Conservative Party will pan-out.

Meanwhile, Africa is enjoying the spectacle, munching the popcorn as the debilitating drama in the West unfolds.

In the 19th century, the allure of Africa drew some fortune seeking Westerners to seize the continent. That was the first surge of foreign interest in Africa, the Scramble for Africa.

Fast forward to the 21st century and we have history repeating itself, albeit taking an interesting twist. The current bilateral surge, though more benign this time around, could stand Africa in good stead if handled properly.

Once marginalised in the community of nations, Africa is emerging as a global supplier of crucial raw materials, talk of oil, uranium, diamonds and agricultural produce, among others.

Many countries, the United States included, have already taken note of the potential in Africa’s anticipated transformation, and have decided to increase their engagement.

While plenty has already been written about China’s growing presence, there is a growing list of other countries pursuing stronger economic ties.

The recently concluded 12th edition of the US-Africa Business Summit is testament to that. Washington, through its softening foreign policy, is presently seeking a foothold in Africa, home to valuable raw materials and a huge, younger and more profitable market.

The Summit, which brought together more than ten Heads of State and Government, also put more than 1000 American and African business executives and investors under one roof.  It was an opportunity to exchange notes on how Africa and the United States can synergise in key sectors such as agribusiness, energy, health, infrastructure, among others, for the benefit of the countries involved.

Indeed, the American and African governments are moving towards strengthening diplomatic, strategic and commercial ties.

In the case of Zimbabwe, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has already opened up the country for foreign direct investment through a more accommodative indigenisation policy, which has seen the inflows of foreign direct investment jumping upwards.

Harare is also home to one of America’s largest embassies in Africa. The structural behemoth, as US Ambassador to Zimbabwe Brian Nichols acknowledged when it was opened recently, symbolises the United States’ commitment to Zimbabwe.

Therefore, although relations between Harare and Washington are perceived to be frosty, the actions on the ground are telling a different story.

The United States is alive to the fact that the best time to invest in Africa, Zimbabwe included, is now. The continent is currently the most profitable region in the world. A report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development states that Africa has the highest rate of return on inflows of FDI.

In fact, Africa’s economic growth prospects are among the world’s brightest. Six of the world’s 12 fastest-growing countries are in Africa. Further, between 2018 and 2023, Africa’s growth prospects will be among the highest in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund.

As such, Africa is now rated the second most attractive investment destination in the world after China. Indeed, the future is bright for African countries and Zimbabwe has already got the ball rolling through President Mnangagwa’s Vision 2030.

However, Doubting Thomases abound on the continent and their pessimistic tones are pungent. Only time, and a wealthier African continent, will silence them.

If the Asian Tigers managed to become rich and industrialise in a span of only three decades, nothing can slow down the emergence of the African lions.

Trade Focus
Allan Majuru

The development of strong standards and quality assurance is a crucial cog in ensuring Zimbabwe horticulture players are competitive on the global market.

Standards are a key element of the trade landscape, encompassing regulations set by either public or private bodies to ensure that products are fit for consumption and that they adhere to specific technical controls.

A growing understanding of the certification and regulation requirements will go a long way in promoting good agricultural practices that ensure safety of fruits and vegetables for the local and export markets.

With regards to standardisation, quality assurance and certification requirements, the horticulture sector has some of the strictest foreign buyers.

As such, for horticulture players in Zimbabwe to enter new export markets, there is need to embrace national and global standards, as well as certify their products according to regulations of the intended market.

Reluctance to meet international set standards is one of the non-tariff barriers that restricts exportation of local products to foreign markets.

The global trade boom, coupled with increased consumer demand, tastes and habits, has necessitated an increase in quality and safety requirements in international trade.

According to Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), more governments are realising the need to protect consumers’ health and safety by imposing regulations based on health, safety and environmental considerations.

Zimbabwe is currently a signatory of agreements such as sanitary and phytosanitary measures which allow the country to impose measures that protect human, animal and plant life or health through inspecting imports and exports of both plant and animal material.

Import inspections protect the country from unwanted pests, diseases as well as invasive species.

To assist farmers in producing products that are universally accepted, there are several certification and standardisation guidelines that countries, public and private institutions recognise as offering best practices.

For example, certification such as Global Goods and Agricultural Practices (GAP) offer the minimum export standard guidelines that are required for local players to navigate the European Union (EU) market.

Other quality standards that are important in the EU market include Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, Rain Forest Alliance, Tesco Nature Certificate and Albert Heijn Protocol.

Notable certification practices for EU markets are contained in several agreements such as the Green Alliance, Codex Alimentarius Food Hygiene, Fair Trade International, Organic Certification, Food Alliance, and Food Safety System Certification 22000.

Given Zimbabwe’s agricultural comparative and competitive advantages such as favourable climate conditions, the horticulture sector is a low-hanging fruit that can be used to penetrate new markets.

National trends regarding export values from the horticulture sector in the past years show the potential that can be used to encourage more players to strengthen their quality assurance and certification practices.

The horticulture sector recorded a significant increase in the value of exports to US$112,2 million in 2018 compared to US$51,9 million recorded in 2017, representing a 116 percent increase.

The rise was attributed to new products such as blueberries and raspberries, coupled with an increase in the production of citrus, macadamia and avocados.

There is, however, potential for horticulture players in Zimbabwe to earn more and significantly contribute to the national gross domestic product through raising awareness of certification and standardisation requirements of foreign markets.

Meeting these certification and standardisation requirements will ensure that local horticultural players have access to different international markets.

For example, the Global Goods and Agriculture Practices — which is recognised globally, with over 150 000 players in 124 countries — offers an internationally accepted set of good industry standards that, if followed by local players, will make it easy for Zimbabwean products to enter more markets.

In addition, the Tesco Nature Certification offers certification practices that local producers can use to target one of Great Britain’s largest supermarket chains, Tesco.

For Zimbabwean producers obtaining this certification, it not only improves food safety and traceability of their produce, but also generates new sales opportunities and boosts competitiveness in the food market.

Other certifications such as Ecocert relate to organic produce and will benefit Zimbabwean producers by offering European and Asian markets whose consumer base has grown significantly by double-digits every year since 1990.

In adherence with export requirements in the horticultural sector, ZimTrade, the country’s trade development and promotion organisation, joined a one-year Trade Comm II project designed to develop local value chains within the horticultural sector, to ensure they meet international standards such as Global GAP.

Recently, Trade Comm II experts undertook a baseline survey on seven horticultural value chains in Zimbabwe, namely: sweet potatoes, flowers, paprika, bananas, pineapples, avocados and macadamia.

The development of value chains within these products will ensure that they are eligible for the Global GAP certification and can be exported to EU, SADC and Asia markets.

To support farmers in the certification processes, ZimTrade also embarked on an initiative to prepare pineapple growers in Ndiyadzo and Chipinge for organic certification, as part of initiatives to export organic foods to the EU markets.

A total of 22 farmers are participating in this project and are all potential first-time exporters.

Following the devastating effects of Cyclone Idai that hit the Ndiyadzo and Chipinge areas, the project will ensure farmers earn a significant livelihood through exporting to foreign markets.

ZimTrade also partnered with COLEACP, an organisation that supports the development of a sustainable and competitive agriculture.

Through COLEACP, farmers can access funding for the various certification under their Fit for Market Programme, a programme that focuses on capacity building for smallholder farmers and relevant entities in the horticulture value chain.

A growing understanding of the certification and regulation requirements will go a long way in promoting good agricultural practices that ensure safety of fruits and vegetables for the local and export markets.

However, a key element in increasing exports lies in horticultural players embracing quality standards to tap into the global village and increase their competitiveness.

Allan Majuru is the CEO of ZimTrade.

Cde Mike Bimha

Our Reporter Norman Muchemwa caught up with Zanu-PF Secretary for Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Cde Mike Bimha to find the direction the ruling party is taking in empowering the people. We publish Cde Bimha’s responses in his own words.

***

The general thinking is that the indigenisation and empowerment initiative has slowed down, but I wouldn’t agree to that.

The problem in our country is that people’s focus on indigenisation and economic empowerment was mainly centred on the 51/49 percent threshold.

Whenever you talk about indigenisation, or economic empowerment to locals or even investors, people were keen to talk about 51/49.  Many people might not be aware, but the new dispensation has now done away with that 51/49 threshold for the main reason that it was scaring away investors.

I have heard investors saying the moment we talk of 51 percent, it presupposes that the one with the 51 percent has full control as the major shareholder. The problem that arises is that when you bring your own money, when you bring your own technology you can’t expect someone else to take full control of the company.

So some of the investors were advocating a lesser percentage for the indigenous people and a higher percentage for the investor who is bringing in technology and financial investment.

However, the new dispensation has done away with the 51/49 percent threshold. It should be noted that indigenisation and empowerment threshold had so many facets.

I think, people would probably look at it as if indigenisation has slowed down because of the scrapping of that threshold, but its only one aspect of a much bigger programme. As a party, we have taken it upon ourselves to review not just the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, but the whole policy.

We need some things to be reviewed and it is up to Government to repeal the current Act or to amend it with our input there. But as Zanu-PF, we want to come up with a policy document that we think will be in the best interest of every Zimbabwean. In doing so, we need to consult various stakeholders, internally and externally.

Our internal stakeholders are the organs of the Party; that is the Main Wing, the Women’s League and the Youth League and other affiliate organisations representing war veterans, disabled people and other various departments of the Party should give their input.

We also have external stakeholders in terms of Government ministries, which we must consult as they are the ones who will implement some of these policies.

We also need to consult the private sector and we held a breakfast meeting recently, which was the entry point of our consultation exercise with them to hear their views on this particular important issue.

I think by end of August or beginning of September, we should be able to present our proposal on the way forward to the Politburo.

A lot of ground is being covered and our fervent hope is to come out with a proposal that will be beneficial to all Zimbabweans and, at the same time, luring investors. The major reason we are consulting is to come up with a win-win situation between investors and locals.

We talk of equity, which we consider as one form of empowerment. There are many other forms and, in my own view, we have to look at other forms rather than equity.

When we talk of equity as an empowerment, the problem that arises is that if we are a developing economy, it takes long for a shareholder to realise the dividend.

This is so because the economy is growing and it has so many other challenges.

There is no guarantee that you can get a dividend because dividends are only declared by the shareholder when it’s appropriate. A company might make profits and shareholders may decide to redirect those profits back to boost the company, so it can take long time before dividends are declared.

Therefore, some people may argue that lets look at other forms of empowerment; let’s look at empowering our people through procurement where preferential procurement is given to the indigenous companies.

We also have to look at the linkages between SMEs and established corporates so that big corporates are encouraged, by law or by persuasion, to offer services to SMEs and vice versa. There are also various forms that can link SMEs and big corporates and these can be explored. We can also look at local content as a form of empowerment and I am happy that the local content policy has been approved by Cabinet.

We were working on the issue when I was still minister and I am happy that my successor has taken it up and brought it before Cabinet. Local content is also a way of empowerment.

We can also look at training and development as an empowerment where companies, private or state enterprises are required to commit part of their investment into training, development and capacity building.

There are also sectors that have been reserved for locals. Again, we can find ways on how they can be empowered, how they can be given training and capacitate them to perform well. Training and development is critical, it is an empowering tool in itself.  Once one acquired a certain skill, it will only disappear when you die. So training development, skills development is really to me a very big empowerment tool.

In the past, a number of companies where coming up with apprentice training that was meant not only for the company itself, but also training for the Nation.  We want to look at it again and see how much it can be used for nation development.

As a department, we are also looking at the processes investors go through in order to set shop in the country.

This issue of ease of doing business might not be under my purview, but we can make recommendations. My knowledge is that there is a lot of work that has been done already.  The work is being spearheaded by the Office of the President and Cabinet.

Government is also working on the Zimbabwe Development Agency (ZIDA) Bill which is currently before Parliament.

This is an agency that will speed up the ease of doing business in the country.

So we are not lagging behind, a lot of progress has been made, a lot of ground has been covered in the quest to make Zimbabwe completely open for business.

I also understand that the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs, Industry and International Trade is currently doing the usual consultations with the public on ZIDA.

Finally, we always find ways of empowering our people, but they should have a zeal to empower themselves as well.

There is room for people to improve themselves, there are quite a lot of programmes in that regard

There are openings out there for people to improve themselves. People should continue to learn and improve their skills in their areas of interest. But also as a Party we will continue to find ways of empowering our people. Women and Youths should take advantage of the Women and Youth banks to finance their projects.

The thrust of the new dispensation is to have an empowered society.

There are also other funding initiatives for SMEs and people should also take advantage of such initiatives as well.

Gerald Porter & Jeremy Hodges

While hydro-power has become less predictable in some regions, BloombergNEF forecasts its share in the globe’s electricity mix will decline only slightly over the next three decades, from 16 percent this year to 12 percent in 2050.

The Kariba Dam has towered over one of Africa’s mightiest rivers for 60 years, forming the world’s largest reservoir and providing reliable electricity to Zambia and Zimbabwe.

But as drought grips the region, flow on the Zambezi River has dwindled to a third of what it was a year ago.

Last month, Zambia’s state-owned power utility began cutting output, unleashing daily blackouts that leave more than 17 million people in the dark.

“The Kariba Dam has been absolutely essential for that region,” said Randall Spalding-Fecher, an energy adviser whose doctoral thesis included examining how climate change may impact hydro-power on the Zambezi.

“The challenge is the future doesn’t look like the past.”

Around the globe, climate change is sapping hydro-power’s dependability as rivers that once ebbed and flowed with seasonal regularity have grown erratic.

In Brazil, record drought triggered blackouts in 2015. In California, output from dams has swung wildly from year to year.

And in Europe, Spanish utility giant Iberdrola SA’s hydro output reached a record high in 2016, then plunged 57 percent the following year.

The shift has profound implications for regions that depend on dams for power and is prompting utilities and investors to more closely scrutinise what’s long been one of the largest sources of carbon-free electricity.

“Hydro-power is going to be less effective,” said Jenny Kehl, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences.

“As the water levels decline, the capacity for hydro-power plants to generate electricity will decrease.”

Droughts are only half the problem.

As California was enduring one of its wettest winters on record in 2017, heavy rains inundated the lake supplying Oroville’s hydroelectric power northeast of San Francisco.

The pressure crippled a spillway, forcing nearly 200 000 people living downstream to evacuate.

Norway’s largest power producer, Statkraft AS, has more than doubled spending over the past decade to reinforce dams to withstand heavy rains.

It plans to spend 1,5 billion kroner (US$176 million) on hydro-power maintenance and upgrades through 2025.

“The industry has had an awakening,” said Mike Haynes, chief operating officer of Seattle City Light, which gets 90 percent of its power from hydroelectric dams.

While hydro-power has become less predictable in some regions, BloombergNEF forecasts its share in the globe’s electricity mix will decline only slightly over the next three decades, from 16 percent this year to 12 percent in 2050.

It’s also been stable overall in the US and will be increasingly important as states pursue clean-energy goals, said LeRoy Coleman, a spokesman for the National Hydro-power Association in Washington.

“From year to year, hydro-power generation will always vary depending on factors such as precipitation and timing of snowmelt,” Coleman said.

“However, through optimising efficiency, river management, forecasting and research on climate science we are working to ensure that hydro-power continues to power homes and businesses with clean, renewable electricity.”

The volatility has been enough to prompt Aquila Capital — a Hamburg, Germany-based firm that manages about US$9,4 billion for institutional investors — to make climate change central to its decision-making.  The company now commissions at least two independent studies before investing in any new dam to determine whether precipitation patterns are apt to change.

Still, Aquila remains bullish on hydro in the long term.

“We are pretty confident that although the business model might change in the next 20 years, it will still be a viable business,” said Tor Syverud, Aquila’s head of hydro-power investing.

Opportunities also remain for profits.

In regions that depend heavily on hydro-power — such as Scandinavia — power prices tend to rise during dry periods.

So while dams may produce less power when reservoir levels dip, rising prices can make up for lower sales volume.

That dynamic allowed Aquila to earn some of its biggest profits ever on a dam in Norway last year when the region suffered its driest summer in a century.

But in regions where long-term forecasts calls for an increasingly arid climate, hydro-power’s outlook is less promising.

Back in Sub-Saharan Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia are planning another dam upstream on the Zambezi to address electricity shortages.

This month, they chose General Electric and Power Construction Corp of China to build the US$4 billion project.

The river, meanwhile, is near its lowest level in half a century.

If the water level continues to fall, Zambia has warned power generation at the existing dam will be suspended entirely in September. And while droughts may come and go, the river’s future looks grim.

“Unfortunately climate models are showing decreases in rainfall,” said Spalding-Fecher, who works for a Norwegian development consultancy called Carbon Limits.

“The Zambezi is particularly at risk.”

Vision 2030
Allen Choruma

At our current national power generation capacity, it goes without saying that unless there is strong political will, coupled with significant investments in refurbishment of existing power plants and in new power generation projects, our developmental aspirations anchored on Vision 2030 may not be realised.

Energy and Power Development Minister Advocate Fortune Chasi needs to urgently come up with a strategic power development framework to address both current and future energy requirements for Zimbabwe.

Currently, our power deficit is being met by expensive and unsustainable power imports largely from Eskom (South Africa) and Hydro Cahora Bassa (Mozambique).

Reliance on expensive imported electricity — whose prices are between US$0,13 /kWh to US$0,15/kWh — also poses both security and economic risks for the country.

Scandals

While the country is gripped by debilitating power shortages, the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) has been mired in corruption scandals and wanton looting of State resources, as widely reported in the mainstream media.

In early 2019, Zesa’s CEO was dismissed under unclear circumstances, together with the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) former CEO.

They have since been arraigned before the courts on allegations of abuse of office.

Other Zesa projects such as the Dema diesel power plant (producing expensive power at around US18 cents/kWh) and the Gwanda solar project are mired in controversy, with suspected “underhand deals” being brought into the public domain.

Minister Chasi has a plateful of governance issues to address at the national power utility, Zesa, which if not attended to quickly, could derail his vision and well-intentioned efforts to address power challenges in Zimbabwe.

Projects

Zimbabwe power challenges can be resolved if Government implements all the power projects that are either at planning stage or being implemented.

Some of Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) projects currently underway or at planning stage include the following: Hwange repowering to allow the station to produce at installed capacity of 920 MW; Hwange Expansion Project — China Machinery and Energy Corporation won bid for expansion of Hwange units 6 and 7, which is expected to generate 600 MW (project commenced in 2018 and expected to cost US$1 billion); Munyati Power Station — repowering to increase capacity to 100 MW; Bulawayo Station — repowering to increase capacity to 90 MW; Kariba South Extension — Sinohydro completed (2018) expansion of Kariba South to add 300 MW at a cost of US$400 million.

Other projects at planning stage include: Batoka Gorge (US$3 billion) — a joint project between Zimbabwe and Zambia expected to produce 1 600 MW; Lupane Coal-Bed Methane (CBM) project — to produce 300 MW; ZPC solar projects — to produce 300 MW; and Gairezi Hydro(Manicaland) — to produce 30 MW.

Independent Power Projects

Government cannot satisfy all local power demand alone.

Independent Power Producers (IPPs) should be encouraged to invest in power projects.

The biggest IPP project is RioZim’s Sengwa power project in Gokwe, which is based on a coal resource of 1,3 billion tonnes capable of generating up to 2 800 MW.

RioZim will implement this project in four phases of 700 MW each.

Power China — a sister company of Sinohydro — won the tender for the power project.

RioZim’s Sengwa power plant can be duplicated elsewhere, provided Zera opens up the energy sector to IPPs and allow power tariffs to be determined by market forces.

Government power subsidies, through Zesa, can continue for strategic national projects and social projects aimed at protecting vulnerable communities.

Smaller hydro-power plants are operational in Manicaland such as Duru (2,2 MW), Pungwe A ( 2,75 MW), Nyamingwa (1,1 MW), Triangle (45 MW), Hippo (33 MW), Pungwe B (15 MW).

They all have a combined installed capacity of 100 MW.

There is also an emerging trend where big companies are turning their office and car park rooftops into solar projects to provide power for in-house office use — off-grid — reducing power demand on the national grid.

Thermal Power

Zimbabwe is endowed with enormous coal resources which are economically viable to extract.

According to geological experts, Zimbabwe’s coal reserves amount to 30 billion tonnes.

At current exploitation levels, it will take more than 100 years to exploit the coal reserves.

Thermal power accounts for 74 percent of the power generated in the SADC region.

In South Africa, Eskom generates 91,2 percent, or 46 776 MW, of South African power requirements from coal.

Zimbabwe needs to invest in environmentally sustainable thermal power generation technologies that reduce carbon emissions.

Advanced technologies that capture carbon emissions and use the gas for other commercial activities have been developed.

Zimbabwe can invest in these low-carbon emission technologies at its thermal power stations to cut carbon emissions.

Renewable Energy

In order to address environmental issues, Government should also focus on alternative and sustainable renewable power resources such as water, wind and solar.

Zimbabwe is well endowed with sun, water and wind, and needs to develop or adopt technology that makes harvesting of power from renewable resources cheaper.

Renewable energy resources are sustainable as they can be used over and over without running out (depleting).

Renewable power will be produced sustainably at zero carbon emission; thus, protecting our environment and reducing global warming.

We are informed that Zera is working on a number of initiatives and a policy framework on development of power from renewable resources, which will make it mandatory in future for Zesa to purchase electricity from renewable energy sources.

Zera has also been issuing permits to IPPs to develop solar projects.

Renewable Energy Feed in Tariffs (Refits)

As a measure to promote use of renewable energy as an alternative source of power in Zimbabwe, Zera is also developing a regulatory policy framework on Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariffs (Refits).

The Refits policy framework, once approved into law, will make it mandatory for power utilities to purchase electricity from renewable energy sources.

Demand-Side Management (DSM)

Despite the huge power deficit being faced in Zimbabwe, Zesa has embarked on a number of initiatives to address some of the national power challenges and should be commended for doing so.

Under the DSM programme, Zesa is promoting use of solar water heaters (geysers) and energy-saving bulbs.

The initiative is expected to save power usage of up to 300MW.

Zesa is also encouraging consumers to use solar panels to reduce demand.

Prepaid meters, apart from improving revenue collection, have also reduced demand as consumers’ become frugal and budget for power.

Recommendations

In pursuit of Vision 2030, here is a summary of my ten power development recommendations:

1. Political Will — Strong political will, clear vision and planning needed from Government to overhaul and transform the energy sector.
2. Governance — Improve governance in Zesa and weed out corruption, incompetency and inefficiencies and safeguard national resources. Current Zesa Holdings structure — splitting Zesa into strategic units such as ZPC, ZETDC, ZENT, Powertel and REA — should be maintained for effective oversight and management of the energy sector.
3. Investment (new projects) — Investment in new power projects needed to meet power demand i.e. Batoka Gorge.
4. Completion of existing projects — Need to complete projects already approved. For example, the controversial Gwanda solar project.
5. Rehabilitation (Repowering) — Repowering of existing infrastructure such as Hwange to installed capacity and closure of old and outdated thermal stations (Harare/Bulawayo), which have outlived their design life and are costly to run.
6. Renewable Energy — Strategically prioritise investment in renewable clean energy such as hydro, solar and wind. Zera to incentivise domestic consumers to use solar energy off grid to reduce national grid power demand.
7. Tariffs — Remove tariff controls and allow Zesa and IPPs to charge economically viable tariffs (current tariff ZW$ 0.10 cents/kWh) to sustain operations and make profits.
8. Deregulation — Deregulate power sector and open it up to IPPs and allow market forces to determine tariffs. This would encourage private investments in the power sector. IPP projects like the RioZim’s 2 700 MW Sengwa project should be supported by Government.
9. Billing and Debt Recovery — Zesa billing and debt recovery systems should be streamlined and made more efficient. Debt recovery mechanisms should be strengthened to allow Zesa to recover inter-parastatal, local authority and Government debt to improve Zesa cash flows. Zesa debt needs to be restructured by Government to strengthen Zesa balance sheet and allow the public entity to access international finance to bankroll infrastructure rehabilitation and investment in new projects.
10. Zera — Zera structures need to be overhauled so that it becomes more robust and plays a more effective role on the energy market. A robust energy plan is needed from Zera on how the country’s energy requirements can be met to satisfy demand for current and future generations.

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

WE continue narrating the political journey of Cde Lecture, Norman Makotsi. This week, the liberation struggle fighter chronicles to our Deputy News Editor Levi Mukarati how he was received in Mozambique. He also talks about his selection for training in Tanzania and his subsequent deployment for direct confrontation with the enemy in Rhodesia, Makoni district.

Q: Your parting with Mai Muzonda as you embarked on the journey you were so determined to undertake sounds emotional. How were you received across the border in Mozambique?

A: Emotional it was. For the brief period I had been with Mai Muzonda, wakaratidza rudo rwamhayiyo. Ndakawatora saamai wangu wekubereka. Ndokusaka takaparadzana nenzira yekuti iwo wairatidza kurwadziwa kuti ndawakuenda.

Asi wairatidza kuti mune dzimwe pfungwa, she was a proud mother who seemed to say, “There goes my son to undertake a challenge many people would not dare”.

I then walked to the structure where the Frelimo soldiers were camped and from where they conducted border patrols.

Within a distance of 100 meters, I heard a distant voice that was clearly directed at me.

At first I couldn’t hear what the person was saying so I walked closer.

My fear was I would be shot at, so I raised both hands, as a sign that I was friendly and clear of any threat to them.

Then there were more loud voices as I approached and at that point I decided to stop. It was a distance of about 50 meters from where the voices were coming from.

The people were hiding and spoke Portuguese but I managed to make meaning of what they were saying. They, basically, were asking who I was and what I wanted.

In a broken Portuguese literal response I answered, “Eu sou Zimbabwe e procuro liberdade (Ndiri mwana weZimbabwe ndinotsvagawo rusununguko). Two soldiers came out of cover and waved for me to approach them.

I should say I was lucky on that day because a group of other fighters had left the camp the previous morning.

My welcome was not much of a hassle in terms of interrogation, as I was the first person they had dealt with since the departure of the other group.

At around 10am, a comrade, mwana wekumusha who could speak Shona, came to the camp.

Takakwazisana iye achizondibvunza kuti kwakadii kumusha. Akati, “Wauya kuhondo?” Ndikati hongu. He conducted a brief vetting exercise of where I came from, what I knew about the war, how I thought people were trained, what I wanted to do after the training as well as my experiences with the whites in Rhodesia. It was more interactive, but I later learnt that was part of the vetting exercise.

The following day, 5 August 1976, I was taken to Vila de Manica, where there was a holding facility of people waiting to go for training. When I got there, there were over 300 recruits.

Q: Do you know some of the people who were at that holding facility?

A: No, there were so many of us and besides, I was not there for long. I arrived on August 5 in the evening and I spent the following day trying to understand what was going on. Then after three days, on August 9 just after midday, takanzwa kuti dhiii, dhiii, dhiii.

The sounds were loud and strong, everyone was not sure what was going on.

There was panic in that holding facility, which was protected by Frelimo soldiers.

After about 30 minutes, information came through that Nyadzonia had been bombed.

The major blast had been the destruction of the only bridge – Pungwe – linking Nyadzonia and the nearest district of Chomoio. The Rhodesians wanted to block any relief to the victims.

My stomach cringed as I did not know what was to become of us.

I kept thinking we could also be bombed.

The question that came to my mind was how Rhodesians could bomb a camp in Mozambique?

It was even worse when the Frelimo soldiers, who were looking after us, decided that we had to leave the facility the following day.

I suspected they had sold us out.

That is when I was put in a group and transferred to Masengere.

We arrived there on 11 August 1977. At that time, people were coming from Nyadzonia. Ndopaunenge wakufunga kudzoka kumba. Nekuti unenge uchiona wamwe hawana makumbo, mawoko kana maziso. Wamwe wakazvimba zvekuti kana wawanga uinavo wanotadza kuziwa kuti uyu ndiani.

Unonyatsowona kuti hazvisi kunyatsoitaba, hondo haisi nyore. Saka macomrades iwawo waitakurwa kubva Nyadzonia kuwuya paMasengere.

From there, we then opened a camp at Doroi. I was there between September and October and the number of people had swelled.

It was even difficult to get food and life was difficult.

That is when Robert Mugabe, Ndabaningi Sithole, James Chikerema, Joshua Nkomo and Abel Muzorewa came to Doroi.

They were brought under the auspices of the OAU (Organisation of African Unity, now African Union).

I should mention that their coming to the camps was meant to help the OAU see who was popular in leading.

But the politics had been done already as we had been told that we should rally behind Robert Mugabe.

Before they came, a team that was led by Simon Muzenda, with the likes of Solomon Mujuru, had earlier paid us a visit.

Q: You imply that Robert Mugabe was not known and you were whipped into accepting him?

A: Kumahofisi maybe ndokwaaizikanwa, kuvakomana vaida kunorwa he was not popular. It took the likes of Muzenda, assisted by Tongo, to prime us into accepting Robert Mugabe. I say assisted because Muzenda wacho futi was not popular.

So, the dirty nature of our politics today is founded in the events of the past.

Politics dzedu dzagara dziri dzekuhwandirana. When ana Mugabe came, each one of them was made to do a slogan and the response from the comrades was used to show who was popular.

As such, Mugabe got loud cheers than the rest because we had been politicised already.

Every evening we would be politicised by people like Felix Taguta, Chitiyo, Dengwani, Chihombe Madhara and Mark Chimuka.

They are the ones who were responsible for telling us why we were fighting, why the enemy was bad and that we should support certain individuals, like Mugabe, to lead the country in the event that we get independence.

While at the camp, Doroi, we would receive light training such as running, a bit of war tactics like taking cover, rolling and crawling.

It wasn’t intensive and we used to laugh because we were doing mock battles using sticks or wooden guns.

Then in November I left Doroi. At that time, the OAU had called for the formation of a single force. They wanted 2 500 fighters from both Zanu and Zapu who would operate as the Zimbabwe People’s Army (ZIPA).

I was selected to be part of this contingent and in November we went to Beira and were airlifted to Tanzania for training.

ZIPRA was reluctant on this ZIPA initiative. As such, they did not provide enough comrades.

I am told ZIPRA seconded about 2 000 fighters and Zanla had to add 500 more such that in the end, Zanla had 3 500 people going for training.

In Tanzania, there were camps – Base One to Five. Each had about 1 000 trainees and there were 500 women who received medical training.

I was in Base Four with the likes of Cde Aggrey Kambeu and our commanders, included Tendai Taguta, Felix Chimurenga and Cde Bethune.

We were trained by Chinese and Tanzanian soldiers.

These are the ones that took us through the paces of war tactics, things such as setting landmines, how to disguise ourselves in the face of the enemy and handling guns.

I was to later specialise in the use of the 75mm recoilless rifle. I trained for one year, up to November 1977, and it was time to turn the training into reality by confronting the enemy.

Q: How did you come back to confront the enemy and which group were you in?

A: Before we travelled back from Tanzania, there was information that we had been sold out to the British and Americans by an Arab national, Albaya, who had stayed in Camp Five.

Our training had the blessings of the OAU, so some African countries had seconded their people to see what was going on. That is how Albaya came into the picture.

He had left a few weeks before we finished training and is highly suspected to have informed the enemy that we were ready for deployment. We were supposed to travel to Mozambique by ship but we had to change plans at the last minute after learning that the American and British marine soldiers had launched a joint operation to intercept us in the waters.

We were then ferried by a Dakota plane, provided by Nigeria, to Kilimani in Mozambique. From there, we were deployed and I went to Nasiyaya. When we got there, Cde Tongogara came and addressed us, briefing the fighters of the situation at home.

He told us of the final journey that we were about to embark on, which he was frank to say, was not going to be easy.

He told us Zimbabwe and its people were banking on our ability to continue piling the pressure on the settler Government to force the white authorities to let us rule ourselves.

At that time, we were moving from one camp to the other, creating space for those who were returning from training.

From Nasiyaya I moved to Mkuba. While there, Chimoio was attacked and we concluded that attack was meant to kill us as we had finished training in Tanzania.

They thought we were in such camps waiting for deployment into Rhodesia.

I was to be deployed with others to go to Chimoio and we had the TPDF (Tanzania People’s Defence Forces) in that deployment.

We were 260 ZIPA fighters and the TPDF were also about 260. Our mission was to mop-up the areas surrounding Chimoio.

We were with Tonderai Nyika or Paradzai Zimondi, Aggrey Chaminuka, Zhepe, but the overall commander was Cde Tongogara.

We went there and in that mop-up exercise, we did not find the enemy.

After that mission, the group was commanded to go to Mudzingadzi and wait further orders.

Takazonzi makuyambuka kuti mupinde mu Rhodesia munorova Mutare.

The targets were areas near Mutare Central Business District and that was in December 1977. We crossed and managed to set base behind the mountain that had television satellite equipment. We were not involved in any direct confrontation with the Rhodesian Forces.

Zvaiva zvekungokanda mizinga yaiva ne range ye about seven kilometres kutyisidzira chete kuti mabhunu asaite advance wachiuya kuMozambican side kwawanga wabva kurowa Chimoio.

After that mission, we were divided into groups that were to operate in the front.

Isu takanzi endai munopinda maMakoni coming into Gandanzara area.

By Christmas time in 1977, we were in Makoni as a section. Our section, at one time, had fighters like Sherekete, Charlie Brown, Zvitunha Pwititi, Franco Tavaziva, Chovha Dhuze, Weekend Togarepi, Joshua Kwenda, Cup yeHondo, China Groove, Take Dhozh, Zvikaramba Toedza Zvimwe, Dr Omolo, Mabunu Muchati Baba, Mabhunu Muchapera, Rasa Kandonde, Peri-Peri Shungu and Peri-Peri Tanganeropa.

We were to operate in the Chiduku Detachment. These fighters are the ones I had trained with in East Africa.

So we were operating here in Makoni in areas such as Zembe, Chiduku, Madibu, Tsanzaguru and Chiwetu.

To be continued next week