BY CHARLES LAITON

VICE-PRESIDENT Kembo Mohadi’s estranged wife, Tambudzani, has vowed to attach her former husband’s property to enable her to get an equal share of the couple’s matrimonial property following the dissolution of their marriage in March last year.

This came after Mohadi approached the High Court in November last year seeking an order to nullify the two writs of execution obtained by his ex-wife against his movable and immovable properties.

But Tambudzani has challenged the application on the basis that it is fatally defective, wrong and bad at law.

“This application for review of a writ and draft order is fatally defective. Only a decision or proceedings of the court may be reviewed. A writ of execution is compiled by the register pursuant to a decision of the court and therefore the writ cannot be reviewed. The application as a whole is wrong and bad at law. The application is seeking to review a document, which is neither a decision nor proceedings,” Tambudzani said in her opposing affidavit.

She claimed Mohadi had failed to comply with a consent paper agreement which he signed and was registered as a court order by High Court judge Justice David Mangota on March 1, 2019.

But Mohadi accused Tambudzani of misinterpreting the terms of the consent paper.

He said the two writs of execution issued by the Registrar of the High Court on October 14, 2019 were grossly irregular, misleading and misrepresented the facts of the matter.

However, in her opposing affidavit, Tambudzani dismissed Mohadi’s claims, saying: “The parties have not failed to reach a consensus on how the consent paper should be interpreted and enforced.

The applicant (Mohadi) has failed to adhere to the terms of the consent paper which he willingly signed. The first respondent (Tambudzani) is proceeding to enforce the consent paper via the execution process provided by law. The writs issued are neither misleading nor a misrepresentation, but are in accordance with the consent paper.

“The first respondent conceded to this error and it has subsequently withdrawn the incorrect writ and the first respondent has issued out a new one as per the consent paper.”
The matter is pending.

BY FIDELITY MHLANGA

ZIMBABWE’s top foreign currency earner, tobacco, has been hit hard by the extremely hot weather conditions, which are likely to significantly reduce yields, especially where there are no irrigation facilities.

The dry spell, which has not spared other crops and livestock, has wilted the non-irrigated tobacco crop amid fears this could scupper this year’s crop sales. Zimbabwe earns an estimated US$1 billion annually from tobacco exports.

“The rainfall pattern has been very variable and most dryland crops have not grown sufficiently to get beyond the vegetative stage. If adequate rainfall is received within the next seven days or so the crops would be able to recover significantly. Irrigated crops are being reaped and cured,” Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) chief executive Andrew Matibiri said.

Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ Union president Shadreck Makombe bemoaned the effects of the prevailing heatwave.

“The situation on the ground is bad. It is very dry for both irrigated and dry land crops and there is no water in dams giving rise to high false ripening,” Makombe said.

Latest data from TIMB shows that as of December 20 last year, total hectarage under tobacco marginally grew by 2,8% to 81 977 against 79 708 hectares planted during same period last year.

A paltry 13 083 hectares are under irrigation with the rest relying on rain-fed water. Moreso, the number of farmers who registered to grow tobacco tumbled 15% to 143 568 from 168 735 prior year.

Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union president Paul Zakariya painted a bleak outlook about the state of the tobacco crop.

“The situation is quite stressful. The crop is heat stressed and in urgent need for moisture. Farmers can only hope that the anticipated rains this week will bring relief,” Zakariya said.

Asked if the dry spell will affect overall 2020 crop output Zakariya said: “That’s a very difficult question to answer … The output depends very much on circumstances that are well beyond our control. Rainfall anytime now can be a huge game-changer! No definite statistics can be given at this stage.”

Unlike in previous seasons when farmers made rich pickings due to getting paid in hard currency, the just-ended season saw the central bank paying farmers just 50% of their earnings per sale in foreign currency. The rest was paid in the devaluing local currency.

Consequently, most farmers said they failed to recoup their investments as the local currency eroded their earnings as a result of its loss in value.

To worsen matters, when receiving the local currency component of their earnings, transaction delays occurred.

In the past season, the average price of the golden leaf was deplorably low at $2 per kg, down from $2,92 registered in the prior season, decimating farmers’ earnings. Despite recording poor prices, total output grew to 259 million kg in the 2019 season from 253 million kg the previous year.

By Desmond Chingarande

THE Apex Council yesterday resolved that civil servants would not report for work if the government fails to adjust their salaries when the parties meet on Friday.

Addressing journalists after a meeting in Harare, Apex Council vice-secretary Gibson Mushangu said their strategy would be determined by the outcome of their meeting with government.

“We have resolved that no pay increase, no work. Our members have remained incapacitated and the government is not doing anything in terms of our demands,” he said.

“We had requested a cushion in December for our members to have something on Christmas and New Year holidays, but the government gave us cold shoulders.”

“We cannot pre-empt the strategy we are going to take and the outcome of that Friday meeting will determine the way forward. Prices have been surging everyday, but our salary remained stagnant. We cannot go back to work as most of our members are still on holiday,” the Apex Council member said.

“We have been negotiating with the government for the better part of last year and this is one of the items we are discussing on Friday. We do not need to knock at government’s door every time. We need a solution and that solution is to rate our salaries to the US dollar we used to get against the equivalent rate.”

The government has been pushing forward dates for civil servants’ salary negotiations. Teachers unions have been accusing the Apex Council of going to bed with the government, saying they were not representing civil servants, but serving the interests of the employer.

Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe spokesperson Takavafira Zhou said they had no faith in Apex’s firefighting methods, saying it “pacifies and dupes” civil servants.

“We have no faith in (its) methods. We are, however, ready to work with progressive affiliates of Apex. We will never accept leadership of an industrial action led by Apex because they are sponsored by the government and we know it’s part of their continuous romance with government,” he said.

Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe president Obert Masaraure concurred with Zhou, saying the Apex Council ceased to represent the suffering workers, but were now representing the government.

“The Apex Council is an illegal entity which was also fraudulently constituted. The grouping has traditionally chosen to go to bed with the employer,” he said.

“We have faith in some individuals at the Council. We hope they will be able to push for progressive resolutions.”

Teachers have already resolved not to report for work on the schools opening day next Tuesday.

BY CHARLES LAITON

BUSINESSMAN, Shingirai Albert Munyeza and his co-director Watenga Wilmer Munyeza, in a company called Ringsilver Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd, have lost two Harare properties over US$122 000 in outstanding levies owed to the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA).

High Court judge Justice Christopher Dube-Banda issued the order on December 4, 2019 following an application by the ZTA for the lifting and piercing of the corporate veil in respect of Ringsilver Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd.

In his founding affidavit, ZTA’s head of finance William Stima, submitted that the Munyezas and their firm had failed to meet their obligations in terms of submitting levies to the tourism authority.

“This is an application for an order lifting and piercing the corporate veil of the first respondent (Ringsilver Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd) and for a declaratour that any property in the names of or in which the second and third respondents (Shingirai Albert Munyeza, Watenga Wilmer Munyeza) hold shareholding, rights, interest or title be declared executable to the extent of their shareholding or ownership, to meet outstanding debts due and payable to the applicant (ZTA) incurred by the first respondent,” Stima said.

Shingirai, who is an adviser to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, had opposed the application saying he had always remitted levies but, due to viability issues stemming from a challenging operating environment and tough franchise conditions, his firm had failed to continue operating.

However, his submissions did not find favour with Justice Dube-Banda, who ruled against him and his company.

“The application for the lifting and piercing of the corporate veil in respect of Ringsilver Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd be and is hereby granted.

“The second and third respondents be and are hereby held jointly and severally liable to pay the judgment debt and interest in case number HC7708/18 due and payable to the applicant,” Justice Dube-Banda said.

“A certain piece of land situate in the district of Salisbury called stand 12567 Salisbury Township of stand 11227A Salisbury Township measuring 1573 square metres held under deed of transfer 4962/1997 be and hereby declared executable in satisfaction of the court order in HC7708/18 and an undivided 2,982% share being share No 5 in certain piece of land situate in the district of Salisbury measuring 2 379 square metres called stand 1773 Salisbury Township held under deed of transfer 3145/1998 be and hereby declared executable in satisfaction of the court order in HC7708/18.”

Tadiwanashe Nyangani (right) was named Man of the Match after Zim Under-19 stunned giants South Africa by 31 runs at the on-going quadrangular series in Durban, yesterday

BY MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE

THE Zimbabwe Under-19 cricket made a huge statement yesterday ahead of the World Cup after stunning giants South Africa by 31 runs at the on-going quadrangular series in Durban.

It was the Zimbabwe team’s only victory of the competition after they lost to New Zealand in a close contest as well as another defeat to India.

The big win saw Prosper Utseya’s boys finish the group in third place behind winners India and South Africa, with whom they are tied on two points, while New Zealand anchor the group with the same number of points.

Zimbabwe will now play New Zealand in the third place play-off tomorrow, while India and South Africa battle it out for the championship.

Young leg spinner Tadiwanashe Nyangani claimed five wickets for 45 runs to help Zimbabwe defend a competitive 269 run target and successfully derail the hosts’ run chase.

Earlier, captain Dion Myers had starred with the bat scoring his second half century of the competition with a valiant 70 runs with inform all-rounder Wesley Madhevere also reaching the 50 run mark for the second time after he was dismissed for 55.

Madhevere put together a 100 run third wicket partnership with Milton Shumba that helped Zimbabwe post a challenging total in the final group game.

South Africa had won the toss and sent Zimbabwe in to bat first.

South Africa looked like they were going to comfortably chase down 269 for their second win of the competition posting 50 runs in just 8.3 overs, opener Bryce Parsons leading from the front.

The hosts struggled for runs after Parson was removed for 65 by Nkosilathi Nungu, becoming the third scalp for Zimbabwe with the team on 104.

Nyangani then snared three wickets in quick succession as South Africa found themselves reeling on 151 for 7.

But an eighth wicket 50-run partnership between Merrick Brett (37) and Tiaan van Vuuren (48) pulled the hosts back into contention before Nyangani bowled out Brett.

Myers delivered victory for Zimbabwe grabbing the final wicket with the second ball of the 47th over.

The quadrangular series has given Zimbabwe a good platform to prepare for the World Cup which runs from January 17 – February 9 in South Africa.

Zimbabwe have a score to settle with New Zealand in the third place play-off of the four-team tournament after they lost the previous encounter from a winning position.

Another victory for Zimbabwe against another cricket giant will boost their confidence ahead of the World Cup.

BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA

HARARE football giants Caps United are set to dump “bad apples” in a major reshuffle ahead of the new season with several senior players, among them midfielder Dominic Mukandi, goalkeeper Prosper Chigumba and Valentine Musarurwa, targeted as victims.

Caps captain Hardlife Zvirekwi, defender Godwin Goriyati and striker Dominic Chungwa are also among several players reported to be on their way out.

The players who the club wants out were identified as the trouble causers towards the end of last term which led to the squad striking ahead of the penultimate match against Ngezi Platinum Stars to press for payment of their dues.

Caps went on to lose the match 3-2, surrendering the top spot to FC Platinum who also went on to win against the Green Machine in the last match of the season to retain the league title.

With four matches to go in the campaign, Caps seemed to have a firm grip of the league title, but they collapsed in spectacular fashion. Ahead of the match against Ngezi, Caps missed two days of training due to players’ industrial action.

For 2020, the Green Machine have decided not to offer contracts to some of the “ring leaders” in the strike, while those also identified as trouble causers but still with running contracts such as Goriati, will also be shipped out.

Zvirekwi has, however, not hidden his loyalty to the club and told NewsDay Sport last week that he still wants to play for at least two more years.

The Green Machine are set to kick-off preparations for the new season on January 20 and reports suggest that they could start the campaign with a virtually new-look squad.

Some of the targeted senior players still have running contracts, but the club hierarchy is understood to be unhappy with the conduct of some senior players, especially in the dying moments of the championship race last term where they disrupted training, demanding outstanding payments.

Informed sources said the events leading up to the Ngezi match, in particular, did not go down well with the club management, who have decided to ship out players who were fingered to have influenced others into boycotting training.

The conduct of these players is seen as one of the contributing factors for their failure to win the championship last term.

Efforts to get a comment from Caps management were fruitless yesterday.

Caps have been very active in the transfer market after coach Darlington Dodo was asked to push the refresh button.

The Harare giants have so far signed Leeroy Mavhunga from Yadah FC and Harare City forward Tatenda Tumba and are also reportedly still very active on the market targeting several stars as they prepare for the new season.

Caps will, however, find it difficult to fill the void left by Soccer Star of the Year Joel Ngodzo who departed for Zambia to join Buildcon following the expiry of his contract on December 31.

SOUNDTRACK: Phillip Chidavaenzi

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s ‘Second Republic’ dream seems to have collapsed in spectacular fashion, with ordinary citizens’ lives increasingly getting harder under his reign since the ouster of the late former President Robert Mugabe on the strength of a military coup in 2017.

With the promise of a “Canaan” having collapsed like a deck of cards, some of the country’s young musicians have taken to song to question the trajectory the nation has taken, expressing the pains and frustrations of their generation in the face of increased joblessness, shrinking economic opportunities, hunger and currency crisis.

The state of the nation has been aptly captured in the music that has been released since the end of last year.

Since the liberation war, music has always played a crucial role in expressing people’s emotions, with musicians including Thomas “Mukanya” Mapfumo, Zexie Manatsa and the late Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi and Tinei Chikupo, singing about the war and rallying the liberation war fighters in their own different ways.

Musicians such as Winky D, Sanii Makhalima, Celscius, Tocky Vibes and Guspy Warrior, all belong to a generation that was born after the protracted 1970s liberation war. They also constitute a coterie of young artistes that have suffered at the hands of the very political players rallied by the likes of Mukanya in the past.

Zimdancehall chanter, Celscius, released the song Nyika Yedu, a reflection of the pain he felt as he watched his country of birth being reduced to a wasteland in which nothing works. He sings of unrewarding labour as workers slave for a pittance while salaries are no more than chicken feed against skyrocketing prices of basic commodities.

“Kana kumabasa kwedu, tenzi haakwane macents…” (the money we are getting at our workplaces is not enough), he sings. In many ways, the song is an appeal for divine intervention to save Zimbabwe, which is sliding down a steep slope.

Celscius echoes the sentiments of many nationals as the frustrated persona in the song questions how long it is going to take to set Zimbabwe right again. Having seen Mugabe’s back in November 2017, many Zimbabweans believed they were probably just one step away from “Canaan”, only to realise that the change of guard was not accompanied by the change of system. Thus the overbearing shadow of Egypt has continued to loom over Canaan.

In his latest album — Njema (Handcuffs) — Winky D, who launched the new offering on New Year’s eve while donning a jersey similar to the ones worn in Zimbabwe’s prisons, sings about the pains of Egypt in the song, Ijipita.

This particular song went viral after it was leaked on social media before the album launch, leading to reports that government had banned the album launch — reports that were later refuted.

Winky D is known for politically-charged songs in which he takes no prisoners, and that seems to have made him a thorn in the government’s side. In December 2018, he was forced to cancel yet another New Year’s eve gig at The Odyssey in Kadoma after violence had broken out earlier during a December 25 show at Golden Mile in Kwekwe as machete-wielding hit squads invaded the venue in protest over the politically-charged track, Kasong Kecheja.

On the latest album, the songs Njema, Ijipita and Murombo belong to the same discourse, themed around poverty, oppression and bondage. In Ijipita, Winky D uses biblical allusions in a comparative analysis of the Israelites’ sojourn from Egypt to the land of milk and honey. Many Zimbabweans continue to leave the country in search of better fortunes because of the economic tailspin that has continued under Mnangagwa’s watch.

In Murombo, the dancehall chanter calls out the rich and powerful — many of whom belong to the ruling elite in Zimbabwe — for presiding over the impoverishment of a promising nation, which Celscius says has been blessed with abundant mineral wealth in wisdom song, Nyika Yedu.

Another young musician, Makhalima, late last year dropped the song Vatiregerera, in which he tore into the country’s leadership for failing his generation, many of whom just loaf around the neighbourhood or end up in criminal activity because the formal employment base has shrunk.

The hard-hitting song unveils a persona despairing over the economic hardships, police brutality and high unemployment levels while the country’s leaders share the national cake among themselves.

The offering — whose visuals show police bludgeoning protesters, empty public hospital corridors and endless fuel queues — was inspired by the situation obtaining in the country.

In the song, Makhalima questions the rationale of beating up hustlers trying to earn an honest living, and longs for past glory years when young people could afford to dream of a bright future.
But the future has since been stolen from them.

In June last year, Ricky Fire released the song Zvichanaka Here?, which offers a glimpse into contemporary Zimbabwe, where ordinary people have been forced to contend with the continually skyrocketing prices of basic commodities.

He shows some yearning for the United States dollar, which somewhat stabilised the economy at the height of the Government of National Unity (GNU) birthed in September 2009 when former South African President Thabo Mbeki brokered a deal that brought Mugabe, the late MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara together.

The reintroduction of the Zimbabwe dollar under Mnangagwa has seen its value eroded significantly, leading to a spike in commodity prices, forcing Ricky Fire to sing, “Oui oui oui pachorus ndashaya mashoko ini… Maprice ezvinhu ari kungoshooter, payslip haichakwana one week…” (I don’t even know what to say. Prices continue to go up. My salary is no longer sufficient).

Things are now tough as workers have seen the value of their salaries eroded, with many having been forced to scale down on their lifestyles. Just like Celscius, Ricky Fire is forced to look up to heaven for divine rescue: “Nhai Mwari nyika yedu ichanaka rinhi? Isu vemughetto hatichazore margarine. Tii ine mukaka toinzwira Mabelreign…” (Oh, Lord, when will things get better in our nation? Those of us in poor neighbourhoods can no longer afford decent breakfast).

He sings of the power cuts and the high cost of alternative energy sources that the majority of citizens can no longer afford.

Guspy Warrior and Tocky Vibes teamed up last year again for the duet, Nhamo, a song that speaks to a broken generation that feels trapped but with no way out.

They describe their hardships as a curse — or a spell cast by a person who later died thus can no longer be reversed. It is a strong Shona metaphor: “Kufirwa neakandiroya… Amai ndavhunika. Uyu ndiwo munyama chaiwo…”

Artistes have a role to mirror society in their music, and where politics harden, economics fail and people are oppressed, they will continue to use music as an irrepressible form of expression.

Phillip Chidavaenzi is a journalist and arts critic. He can be contacted on pchidavaenzi@newsday.co.zw

BY FREEMAN MAKOPA

COMEDIENNE Tyra “Madam Boss” Chikocho, who rose to fame through her social media skits, has hinted on going global with her art — which now includes drama series — as she seeks to increase her audience beyond the country’s borders.

The socialite and actress told NewsDay Life & Style yesterday that it was high time she and her team shifted their focus to the global market after their breakthrough in the local film industry.

“We are looking forward to going international and making the brand international. We also want to have our work on DStv and have international endorsements as a way of increasing our fan base by introducing more skits, talk shows, more story lines, including subtitles to cater for the international market, feature films and the Dudzai television drama series,” she said.

“I think this will be made possible by international endorsements, which are attracted by our ever-increasing numbers in terms of following and fans from all over the world. Since we are now putting subtitles to break language barriers and for DStv it is still work in progress and we will have subtitles on our local language skits and also English language skits.”

Madam Boss said plans were also under way to launch a new drama series, Merinda, following the success of Dudzai.

“Merinda is the original Madam Boss, for her to come to the limelight it was because of Merinda, who was Madam Boss’ maid and she was abused by her boss, but she remained patient because she was a soft character. And we are considering to bring her back to the project because she really played a huge role,” she said.

Meanwhile, Madam Boss described 2019 as “a difficult year” where her rivals used social media to tarnish her image and brand.

“We had challenges with media, especially from unprofessional social media journalists who we believe were working with enemies to tarnish the ever-growing brand,” she said.

She said the negative publicity, however, worked to her advantage as she received more endorsements.

BY MTHANDAZO NYONI

ZIMBABWE’S milk production continued to register steady positive growth, registering a 10% increase for the nine months to September 2019, a new report has revealed.

In its latest report, the Livestock and Meat Advisory Council (Lmac) revealed that between January and September 2019, milk production amounted to 59,8 million litres compared to 54,3 million litres collected in the same period in 2018.

The producers had set a yearly target of 100 million litres.

“All months of the year registered growth when compared with the corresponding period in 2018, with February and October registering the largest increase of 13 and 15%, respectively,” the report read in part.

Zimbabwe is importing about 30 million litres of milk from South Africa to supplement local supplies.

Annually, the southern African nation requires at least 120 million litres of milk.

Zimbabwe Association of Dairy Farmers chairperson Kudzai Chirima recently told NewsDay that the major challenges they were facing included stockfeed shortages, high cost of drugs and chemicals.

Some of their requirements include foreign currency, vaccines, cleaning detergents, semen for artificial insemination and equipment.

Dairy farmers are also struggling to access funding from banks because of the punitive interest rates on any loans availed to them.

Due to these challenges, milk production levels have dramatically plummeted from the early 1990s peak of 260 million litres per year to 75,4 million which was achieved in 2018.

In 2017, milk production stood at 66 million litres. Government is targeting to increase milk production by between 97 million and 100 million litres per annum.

To help boost production, government, in partnership with We Effect Zimbabwe and other partners, last year launched a four-year dairy revival project worth about US$8 million.

BY SINDISO DUBE

WHILE other artistes are probably still planning on what to go for this year, rapper Mlue Jay is already one step forward as he readies for an early January release of his first single of the year dubbed Thula, featuring fellow rapper Cal_Vin.

NewsDay Life & Style had an opportunity to listen to the song which will be released on all online platforms this Friday.

The song speaks of hope in a time of discomfort, encouraging people not to give up on their goals and life in the face of adversity.

Mlue Jay, who was nominated for Best Diaspora award at the Zim Hip-Hop Awards held in December said he wanted to continue with the same energy he had last year.

“I really worked hard last year and all I want to do is to continue with the same energy and even do better. I am not looking at the calendar to say it’s another year, I should relax or change my vibe, it’s just dates and season that have changed. I am going in harder this year and that’s why I am releasing new music in January,” he said.

“This year it’s going to be bigger and better for me and my fans. I have a surprise for them, which will serve as a gesture to appreciate their support and love for me and my music in the past years.”

Mlue Jay made a name for himself when he released a house music track titled So Dangerous, which featured South African Smallz of the Money Maker fame.

The rapper, who last year released a four-track EP titled They Need Me, has been winning accolades and getting positive recognition.

He became the latest and one of the few Zimbabwean musicians to be verified on Spotify, one of the biggest online music selling platforms.