BETWEEN THE LINES:Phillip Chidavaenzi

Title: Life Will Humble You
Author: Audrey N. Chirenje
Publisher: Royalty Books (2019)
ISBN: 978-1-77929-724-2

AUDREY CHIRENJE is an emerging novelist whose debut literary offering, Life Will Humble You, opens the lid into the private lives of the powerful and wealthy Kondwani family that runs a growing and influential Pentecostal church whose activities attract extensive public interest.

The adage that never judge a book by its cover (not literally) comes out strongly as what people see outside is not always what happens inside. One may argue that the Kondwani family is scandal-ridden — especially as the media is constantly pursuing the dreadlocked son, Riko, whose past life is at variance with what his family represents — but this is indicative of the fact that a ministerial calling does not necessarily place the individual beyond the reach of mortal failings.

With a cast of colourful and diverse characters that are comfortable and at home in their own skins, Chirenje tells a moving story of how Ronda, a young public relations and marketing consultant with McNeil & Sheanesu, is swept off her feet by Riko, an agent for a well-known “bad boy” musician, setting the stage for an enthralling romance that would drag in Riko’s powerful family and some baggage from Ronda’s past.

With his dreadlocks, association with secular musicians, “drama-queen” ex-wife, a hot temper and a child from a past marriage that shattered on the rocks, Riko does not, at first, fit the bill for Ronda’s ideal life partner, especially in the wake of her divorce from a no-good husband who sulked over her perceived inability to give him a child.

Following one encounter with his father, Riko reveals how those who convert to Christianity after a particularly unflattering record of life always struggle to fit in because people connect them to their past and previous misdeeds.

He says: “When was the strife in my life going to end? That discussion with Pops just confirmed that I would always be labelled the prodigal son who went and blew away his father’s fortune before returning dead broke.” (pp77).

The encounter with Riko sets Ronda on a collision course with her belief systems and forces her to reconsider many of her ideals as her love for Riko — “warts” and all — puts her in a place where she commits to work with him on perfecting his character, now that he is a Christian after a long inglorious history of life in the murky waters of the secular world.

Riko is not only a poser to Ronda, but his family as well. The black sheep of an otherwise white flock, Riko’s father, Victor Kondwani, the founder of the mega church, V&V Ministries, has to keep him close and ensure that he continues to tread the straight and narrow path, because just a single misstep will attract the interest of the hawkish Press. It is no mean feat.

Soon enough, matters come to a head when Riko’s ex-wife Nitrah appears on The Grace Talk television show, where she spews falsehoods against Riko and his family.

Riko and his father, however, refuse to take that lying down and demand an opportunity to tell their side of the story. Nitrah is forced to climb down as the powerful Kondwanis set the record straight.

Riko is not perfect, but Chirenje portrays his character in such a way that we love him, and we are dying for Ronda just to accept his ministration, even as his attentions often attract the refrain, “Be gone, Satan!” from Ronda.

That humans do not change overnight is an enduring lesson in the text, and that failure to handle baggage from the past can shipwreck or derail current relationships.

When Nitrah resurfaces in Riko’s life following her return from America, the fact that she wants her daughter to reconnect with her father becomes a ruse to get closer to Riko again.
And all this has to happen under Ronda’s eye.

Written in largely informal language likely to present a challenge to linguists, Chirenje’s writing style violates many formal writing rules, but in a beautiful way, and quickly reminds one of Roderick Simba Mazoyo’s novel, Hupenyu Hauna Formula.

Chirenje writes in a contemporary, innovative style that reflects how we speak and interact in everyday life.

She uses multiple voices and, sometimes, the stream of consciousness to allow different characters to share their views and perspectives on the events unfolding in the story.

Her style confirms the dynamism of language, which continues to evolve with time and place, with otherwise informal words and expressions slowly creeping into official language discourses and staking a claim. That makes this new novel a little more chic and user-friendly for a younger generation of readers.
This is indeed a worthy read!

BY SIMBARSHE SITHOLE

CHINYAVADA Sounds frontman Gulf Makina (pictured), who has been silent for over 12 years, has announced his return with the release of a seven-track album titled Ikupera Yabiwa.

Makina disappeared from the music scene in 2007 following the release of his second album, Yakaba, which had the hit tracks Tomato and Yuna, which were popular with sungura music fans.
The singer said he had fallen on hard times, with financial challenges hampering his efforts in music.

“I was hit hard by financial constraints and had to temporarily quit music for years because it was no longer paying well, but I bounced back late last year with this new album,” he said.

“We are currently working on the videos.”

The album carries the tracks Hama Yangu, Chimamuna, Sahwira, Jungula, Sikiniza, Arimo Chete and John Shamwari .

Makina said he had since relocated from Mutorashanga to Kadoma where he is conducting live shows targeting artisanal miners in the vast gold-mining area.

“I have since relocated to Kadoma in a bid to catch a wider audience due to a big number of artisanal miners there. We are currently conducting shows around the place and the turnout is pleasing since people in and around Mutorashanga were failing to attend some of our shows,” he said.

Makina, however, said he was not under pressure to embark on a national tour to announce his return, but would only do so once promoters started dashing for his signature.

by Richard Muponde

TWELVE Chipinge machete-wielding villagers allegedly attacked a messenger of court and his crew, leaving one of them critically injured.

The villagers were being evicted after illegally settling at a private commercial farm.

This came to light during the initial appearance of Shadreck Simango (28) and 11 others before Chipinge magistrate, Joshua Nembaware facing charges of public violence or alternatively contempt of court in contravention of section 72 (a) of the Magistrates Court Act.

They were remanded to January 20 for trial.

Prosecutor, Chipo Nyasha told the court that on November 6 last year, messenger of court Gibson Maeka served Jervas Musiya and 31 other illegal settlers with an eviction order from Smithfield Farm which they had illegally occupied.

The order had been granted at Chipinge Magistrates Court.

Evictions were provisionally set for November 19 and the following day Maeka and officials from his office failed to carry out the evictions after they arrived at the farm and found the illegal settlers absent.

A week later he sought police escort to go to the farm.

While executing his duties together with hired employees from his office, the 12, acting in common purpose with others who are still at large, allegedly confronted them armed with an assortment of weapons including machetes.

They surrounded Maeka and his team together with the police, stopping them from carrying out the evictions. They incited and encouraged each other to attack Maeka and the situation became riotous.

Simango, who was armed with a knobkerrie allegedly charged towards the team telling his colleagues that police do not shoot at citizens.

This resulted in Christopher Chipadze allegedly hitting a messenger of court employee, Zachariah Mafuta, with a pestle once on the head and he became unconscious.

He was rushed to Chipinge District Hospital where he was admitted in critical condition.

The 12 were arrested, but their accomplices managed to escape and they are still at large.

Zimbabwe’s largest bank CBZ has launched two bond issues, seeking to raise US$80,6 million to finance maize and soyabean farming, as the country faces another drought that could worsen an already dire economic situation.

The United Nations warned last week that the southern African nation faced a second successive poor harvest this year because of patchy rains, compounding problems for millions of people already grappling with last year’s drought and the worst economic crisis in a decade.

CBZ said in a notice it wanted to raise US$30,6 million to purchase seeds, fertiliser and chemicals for maize and soybean production.

The bond has a tenor of 270 days and an interest rate of between 15% and 18%.

A second dollar-denominated bond worth US$50 million with the same tenor seeks to raise money to import farming chemicals and fertilisers that are not available locally, CBZ said. The bank will pay 9,5% interest.

Despite the current drought, agriculture remains the country’s major economic driver and is projected to expand by 5% this year on the back of projected improved rainfall trends.

But the current dry spell experienced throughout the country cast doubts of a better summer cropping season.

The country requires at least 1,8 million metric tonnes of grain for both human and livestock consumption and yet local farmers only produced just under 800 000 tonnes of grain last season.

Zimbabwe needs about 220 000 metric tonnes of soya bean annually for food, feed and industrial needs but has been failing to meet the demand, making up for the deficit with imports.

With inflation pushing the costs of inputs beyond the reach of many, self-agriculture financing remains a nightmare. Treasury allotted $1,9 billion towards agriculture this season.

Maize is the country’s staple crop, while soybeans are used in the production of cooking oil and animal feed.

Under a new government-backed programme to ensure food security, CBZ buys farm products and issues farmers with vouchers to purchase them. The bank will then recoup its money from farmers who surrender part of their harvest. The bonds are guaranteed by the government.

Zimbabwe is nearly halfway through its summer crop season, but the rains have been poor, raising concerns that the government may not meet its growth target of 3,1% this year.

Agriculture accounts for 17% of the country’s gross domestic product.

The poor rains will likely prolong the 18-hour daily power cuts as dam water levels for the biggest hydro electricity plant remain precariously low. Up to 8 million people, half Zimbabwe’s population, will require food aid this year after last year’s maize harvest fell by half, according to the United Nations. — Reuters/Fidelity Mhlanga

BY STEPHEN TSOROTI

MUDZI — The sound of diesel-powered chainsaws pierced the air, trees fell in quick succession and shabbily dressed men got busy with sawmills, grinding the fallen logs into planks.
Truckloads soon head for Harare where the planks will be prepared for export, with bits of the fallen trees, logs and twigs strewn all over the place in Mudzi remaining a monument of greed.

The illegal logging of trees in Nyakadecha Timber Salvage Concession in Mukota village, ward 17 in Mudzi district is now at its worst and threatening to turn the area into a desert.

A Chinese company, Blue Trade, aided by Mudzi Rural District Council, has been cited as responsible for cutting down the musau tree species (Ziziphus Mauritiana) for export to China.

The tree species, which provide locals and wildlife with the sweet soury fruit, have become the latest victims of the insatiable Chinese appetite for tropical trees.

A villager from Mukota, who identified himself as Killian, said he was miffed by the developments.

“Who gave the permission to do this massive logging?” he quipped. “There has been no consultation with the villagers. All we saw were the heavy tree-utting equipment, a council tractor and trucks without registration numbers combing the forest and then the insane cutting down of trees began. We suspect someone has or is getting paid.”

The indiscriminate cutting down of trees has heightened tensions between the villagers and council officials whom they accuse of conniving with the Chinese company to exploit this finite resource.

“The illicit chopping down of these trees is another wanton exploitation of our resources, which is not benefiting the community,” said another villager, Mirosi Saize, who points to the exploitation of the black granite stones as another resource drain that has been going on for years in the districts of Mudzi and Mutoko, with little benefit to the locals.

Investigations by NewsDay revealed that Blue Trade is headquartered at a Chinese complex along Enterprise Road in Highlands, Harare.

Following queries about the indiscriminate cutting of trees, a consultative meeting which comprised the Forestry Commission, Blue Trade and the local community was held to iron out issues surrounding the concession.

According to ward 17 councillor Kennedy Makarutse, the consultative meeting was to whip the company into line since it was cutting trees not in accordance with the provisions of the memorandum of understanding (MoU).

The tree-cutting deal is said to have been brokered by Mudzi District Council to the tune of $20 000 and the company would get tree logs in exchange for building bridges, roofing schools and providing furniture to a number of schools in wards 1, 2 and 17.

“Since the deal was brokered, only 600 bags of cement have been delivered,” said Makarutse.

The project is going to take five years. Following investigations by this publication earlier in the year, the project was temporarily stopped. It resumed recently, loads of timber were seen off in Who Hao Enterprises-imprinted trucks destined for Harare.

The land surrounding Nyakadecha has been described as arid and too fragile to withstand heavy tree-felling. Indigenous trees are said to grow slowly, taking up to 300 years to mature in some cases. The area may soon be prone to soil erosion and gullies if heavy rains fall. Investigations indicate that in the particular case of Nyakadecha forest, politicians and council leaders have been singled out as the culprits in the destruction of priceless indigenous forests by approving flawed foreign concessions.

“The project is not going to be sustainable if the company does not stick to the MoU entered into between them and the district council,” Makarutse said.

“This is the reason why it was initially stopped because the company breached the MoU and went on to cut different diameters of trees not mentioned in the MoU, and other tree species.”

According to the Forestry Commission of Zimbabwe (FCZ) the consumption of forestry products is usually sanctioned by the Communal Lands Forestry Produce Act. This Act allows inhabitants in mostly rural areas to consume forestry products for fruit gathering, fire making and building projects which are not commercial.

In terms of commercial consumption the rural district councils (RDCs) are allowed to harvest trees sustainably in certain designated areas.

“It’s a concession that has been badly executed,” the FCZ told this paper.

“In terms of Statutory Instrument No 9 of 1989, RDCs are allowed to enter into timber harvesting concessions but with the guidance of the FCZ,” FCZ operations manager Stephen Zingwena.

In relation to the Nyakadecha fiasco, Zingwena says following reports of massive indiscriminate felling of trees, a team from FCZ was dispatched to the area and it discovered suspected irregularities.

“The FCZ promised to stop operations to give way to investigations,” he said.

The commission has helped the country in particular RDCs to introduce controls and measures of good governance in its forestry industry with limited success. This approach has produced significant results and the idea of eco-forestry is gaining ground, but not enough to counteract the devastating impact of international trade in tropical wood where greater efforts towards sustainability need to be made.

Zimbabwe loses at least 50 million trees each year to rampant felling, while external factors are proving the greatest threat to tropical forests of southern Africa with the majority of the logging companies in Sadc being foreign based. A local non-governmental organisation, the Centre for Natural Resources and Governance (CNRG) has deplored RDCs for signing concessions with private players while ill-informed.

The CNRG said that left the RDCs vulnerable to investors who can easily take advantage of their ignorance and make false promises while reaping millions and paying very little to the RDCs.

Transparency International, in a January 2016 report, “Assessing REDD+ and Corruption Risks for Africa’s Forests covering Cameroon, Ghana, Zambia and Zimbabwe” berated the Communal Lands Forestry Produce Act of Zimbabwe for only granting user rights to communities but excluding them from negotiating directly with private investors.

“The lack of any clear policy and regulatory protection in relation to forest tenure and carbon rights exposes communities to corruption risks such as land grabbing and embezzlement of funds accrued from the sale of forestry resources,” said the report.

According to Global Forestry Watch, an international watchdog on trade in timber products, Africa loses about US$17 billion to illegal logging activities with the demand for timber now at an all-time high, worsened by an international smuggling racket with China at the heart of this trade. China is number one importer of timber globally to satisfy demand for luxury furniture among its middle class. Antique-style furniture manufactured in China also finds its way to Europe and North America.

In 1998, China introduced a new forestry law banning logging in its remaining natural forests in the northern provinces. China is now looking to Africa to fill the huge gap created domestically.

BY FIDELITY MHLANGA

At a time Zimbabwe is anticipating a 3% economic growth, the United Kindgdom-domiciled global business intelligence entity, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has predicted the economy to shrink by a monstrous 13% this year.

Zimbabwe features among the worst performers, coming second to Venezuela whose economy is envisaged to contract by 20,5%. Zimbabwe’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth is expected to contract -12,9%, the EIU said in its latest report.

Labour and Economic Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe economist Prosper Chitambara highlighted that indications on the ground suggest the economy, which is already wallowing in the throes of runway inflation, severe drought and currency devaluation, was slowly contracting.

“Well, I think there is going to be a contraction. The situation on the ground shows there is going to be drought that will affect the GDP growth. Also globally, there are economic headwinds that will also have a bearing on our economy. The economy will contract this year. However it’s too early to come up with an actual percentage,” said Chitambara.

According to the International Monetary Fund, Zimbabwe’s economy contracted 7% in 2019. Treasury, which has predicted a 3% economic growth this year said the 2020 budget was centred on ramping up productivity in the agriculture, manufacturing, mining and services sectors to create jobs and reduce imports.

Zimbabwe is currently experiencing one of its worst economic challenges in a decade with about eight million people facing starvation. June last year, government made a surprise announcement of the return of the Zimbabwe dollar as the sole legal tender, albeit with inadequate foreign currency and mineral backing causing the currency to lose value within a short period of its introduction.

Salaries have not kept pace with the depreciation of the Zimbabwe dollar, civil servants have only be awarded a 100% increase which has left many of them failing to sustain themselves amid rising prices which are estimated to have increased by more than 1 800% compared to 2016.

According to the EIU, Guyana is expected to register the best performance with its GDP expected to grow by a huge 35%. Rwanda is expected to come second with a growth of 8,1%.

BY TERRY MADYAUTA

NEW FC Platinum gaffer Pieter de Jongh wants to improve the club’s performance in the Caf Champions League where they have been struggling to make a mark.

The Dutchman was unveiled yesterday at Mandava Stadium together with goalkeepers’ coach Tembo Chuma, who replaces Daniel Khumalo who was sacked last week.

Lizwe Sweswe, who has been holding fort at the club since the departure of Norman Mapeza last year, reverts to his post as assistant coach.

The Premier Soccer League champions have been reduced to a punching bag in the continental premier club competition, particularly in the group stages.

In the current campaign, FC Platinum have lost all three matches that they have played in the group stages and face Al Ahly of Egypt this weekend in Bulawayo.

In the previous edition, FC Platinum managed just one point in the group stages under Mapeza.

De Jongh believes the club has enough resources to do better in the club competition.

His first test will be against eight-time club African champions Al Ahly on Saturday at Babourfield
s, where he will be hoping to end their dry spell.

They are the only winless side in Group B, having lost, 2-1 against Al Hilal of Sudan before they were pummelled 3-0 at home by Tunisia’s Etoile du Sahel while in their last match against Al Ahly they lost 2-0 in Egypt.

Addressing a Press conference at his unveiling ceremony yesterday, the former Highlanders gaffer pledged that he would bring more glory to the Zvishavane side.

“I am happy with the welcome here. This club is an emblem of co-operation. I am here to bring more success,” he said.

“I don’t look at short-term goals, I am focusing on long-term goals which is to bring more exciting football, more possession and attacking football to this club.

“The previous coach did a very good job at the club, he was a very good Zimbabwean player.

“So I hope to deliver more for the club and keep the growing history of this club. I hope to use my qualities to help the team move to the next level and with good co-operation, I believe all this can be possible.”

De Jongh, however, refuted claims that he was angling for the Warriors job, saying he is committed to serve FC Platinum.

Despite winning the league title, Sweswe failed the Champions League audition after presiding over three defeats in the competition.