editorial comment

DEFENCE deputy minister Victor Matemadanda has emphatically put paid to any possible hope of political tolerance ever visiting the troubled land of Zimbabwe after he promised fire and brimstone to anyone who attempts to protest against Zanu PF’s continued misrule and political dictatorship. It is very sad to hear a whole minister, in a government which purports to be reforming and abhors discrimination of any sort, to threaten innocent citizens with instant and swift death via the bullet at a time many Zimbabweans are dying of hunger and preventable illnesses in the midst of millions of hectares of fertile land and hundreds of well-built health institutions.

Matemadanda’s frame of mind, in this day and age, is more that shocking. It is heartrending that in this 21st century someone unequivocally tells us: “Soldiers are not trained to beat up demonstrators, but to kill …. last time the police were called first, but failed to contain the situation because they are not ruthless enough, but soldiers are trained to kill.

People should not dice with death to the extent of dancing in front of army tankers (sic). Politics is not a hugging and kissing game. People should not fool themselves by dancing in front of army tankers (sic), they will meet their fate.”

If indeed, the world over, politics was practiced in the manner Matemadanda is lecturing us on, then there would not be any real nation to talk of.

There would be complete anarchy and chaos as people fought each other to gain political power because those in power would perpetually be fighting tooth and nail to stay in power using tanks and guns.

We are hearing it for the first time that the police are trained to beat up citizens who express their concerns when government errs; and that soldiers are trained to kill the country’s citizens if they ever decide to speak truth to power.

So is Matemadanda, indeed, now confessing that the soldiers, who shot and killed dozens of unarmed and fleeing citizens in August last year and in January this year, were actually given specific orders to conduct those heinous act?

Surely how can a country prosper when the people are ruled by the gun and living under constant fear that if they protest, tanks will be rolled on the streets to blast them into pieces? The idea of using violence to force people into submitting to a certain viewpoint or agenda should be condemned.

Politics of violence should never be given a chance in our society because it breeds intolerance. It must be condemned and resisted. Only two year ago, Matemadanda cringed when he was bashed by the Augustine Chihuri led police force. One wonders, is this the Matemadanda (pronounced Matemedhanda) who accused late former President Robert Mugabe of dictatorship forcing him to briefly find succour in the opposition MDC at the height of divisive Zanu PF politics? Time will tell!

BY NQOBANI NDLOVU

ZANU PF Bulawayo province is holding a fundraising event in the city tomorrow as it races against time to raise funds for the party’s annual people’s conference in Goromonzi next week.

Southern Eye has established that Zanu PF’s fundraising committee in the city is having sleepless nights as the party’s usual targets, private companies, have declared incapacitation to fund them.

Each province is expected to raise at least $500 000 to mainly feed Zanu PF delegates attending the conference.

Last week, chairperson of the Bulawayo fundraising committee Charles Chiponda claimed that the province had raised as much as 30% to 40% of their required budget.

But spokesperson of the fundraising committee Khumbulani Mpofu in an interview yesterday said the going has been tough for them with targeted traditional donors only making unfulfilled promises.

“We have traditional donors who we are targeting, but we are racing against time. As at present, they are just giving us promises since, as you know, the situation is difficult for many companies. It’s tough, but we are positive that some traditional donors will come through even at the last minute and assist,” Mpofu said.

In the past, the ruling party was accused of coercing some private companies to donate towards its conferences and other activities.

There have also been reports of some party activists taking advantage of the fundraising drive to divert donations for personal use.

In 2015, Zanu PF youth district chairpersons ousted their provincial executive – then led by Mpofu who is the current fundraising committee chairperson – on charges of corruption and using the party name to extort struggling companies of monies, groceries and fuel, which they later shared among themselves.

guest column:Lawrence Kamwi

Namibia went to the polls last Wednesday. A potential 717 809 women and 640 659 men were expected to vote. The run-up to the elections once more showed the immensity of the task of running a poll.

Using results of a mini-survey in August this year, Ofer Berenstein of the University of Calgary, spent time looking at how people should be encouraged to vote. He notes that, despite a cumulative increase of nearly 10% in voter turnout in Canadian federal elections between 2008 and 2015, it is possible that “governments are being formed with the support of a minority of the population.”

“One possible way to increase turnout is non-partisan campaigns to encourage people to vote,” he says.

He also says the group of people he calls non-habitual voters will only react positively to the invitation to vote if they are given “open-ended questions that invite them to think and discuss matters on their own terms.”

I still found his essay tame when compared to the bombast language associated with American elections. I have heard phrases like ‘prosecutorial passion,’ the ‘manic idealisation of party positions,’ the ‘casserole of deceit, and stew of mendacity,’ and ‘election-year excavations of character.’

But I digress. I wanted to write about crystal balls and other fortune-telling paraphernalia; obviously, old-time, esoteric subjects. A friend suggested instead that I should look at more contemporary methods of prediction.

Apparently, management and leadership publications are today’s crystal balls. Both local and external bulletins have eagle-eye and consistent focus on political, economic, social, and other seismic events, that can help in spotting or predicting long-term trends.

The chief scientist and vice-president of the Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Research (CABER) Evan Sinar recently dedicated his time to studying 50 years of publishing by one of the world’s leading business journals.

His study looked at over 8 000 article titles written between January 1967 and June 2018.

While Sinar briefly looks back at terms from the past half-century of business topic trends, his final push is to “identify and discuss the terms with the strongest upward trajectory into and through the present day.”

He divides his study into ‘declining-focus terms,’ ‘increasing-focus terms,’ and ‘nuanced/stable-focus terms.’ He describes the nuanced/stable-focus group as “three terms showing either consistent interest or a relationship that doesn’t uniformly trend up or down, in some cases due to varying conceptualisations of the terms over time.”

At the simple level, one can think of consult, which can mean either to offer advice or to receive it. Garnish can relate to decorating or embellishing food. But it can alternatively give notice for the purpose of legally seizing money belonging to a debtor or defendant. Finally, depending on the speaker’s perspective, sanction denotes both approval or boycott.

Michael Brackett writes that “information technology in general, and data resource management in particular, have a major lexical challenge. Words and terms are created, often used interchangeably, misused, abused, corrupted and discarded without regard to the real meaning or any impact on the business. As a result, the data management profession today is lexically weak.”

Brackett gives his readers a rude awakening. “The promoter of a business said that their business operated 24-7-365. I thought about that for a minute and wondered if he really meant their business would be around for seven years. I’m sure he really meant either 24-365 or 24-7-52.”

One of the noticeable declining-focus terms is management. Sinar suggests that “one possible reason is a broader perspective on sources of business value than solely a company’s management structure. In particular, ‘leadership’ and ‘innovation’ became at the start of the 2000s and beyond the much more prominent article topics alongside the decline of management.”

The other unmissable decline is the use of ‘product.’ Sinar believes this is reflective of a “reorientation to customer-in rather than product and services-out views of a company’s market presence.”

Author and entrepreneur Seth Godin famously states that “this is marketing done right. Marketing where the marketer changes the product, not the ads.”

The seven terms that have “increased substantially across the 50-year period” include leadership and innovation – as already highlighted — team, women, customer, data and CEO.

“How to Pre-empt Team Conflict” has become one of the most-read articles over the years. Customers may “reflect stronger awareness of the external forces shaping a company’s success in generating market value, and the costly consequences of neglecting customer and end-user views.”

The article finally tackles the “steeply-increasing business terms through 2018.” CEO, which has been used to refer to country leaders as well, is on the ascendancy. Sinar says the other words to watch out for are problems, culture, growth, diversity, risk, agile and digital.

“As business risks – often stemming from political, social and technological forces – escalate, high-profile examples of missteps and mitigation strategies gain new heights of visibility. This in turn generates fear, awareness, and prioritisation for risk management as a corporate imperative.”

guest column:Blessing Machiva

Few weeks ago, there was a heated debate on the causes of poverty in Zimbabwe. Many, especially the ruling elite, have blamed the USA economic sanctions against our country. This is a naive argument since the effect of sanctions is insignificant in explaining our current state of poverty. Zimbabwe started failing economically in 1983 but many couldn’t notice until 1987 when the government started drafting some economic blue prints which they never implemented, anyway. When this country got independence in 1980, the liberators were too emotional from suppression and when they got power to rule, they thought what the country possessed was theirs per se; hence they enjoyed the returns without re-investing. There is nothing much that was done by this current administration in terms of capital investment, besides human capital which we all praise the former President for. That’s why we see that all companies that were operational in early 1980s are either limping or no longer functional today. We can mention them, NRZ, Air Zimbabwe, Ziscosteel, CSC, Zesa, African Distillers just to mention a few. Zimbabwe’s economic woes are a result of political corruption!

Zimbabwe has industries, mineral resources, good climatic conditions and soils for agriculture, good human brains to push investment and production, yet we are the poorest on the continent, with the majority surviving on less than US$0,35 per day. Botswana has nothing except diamonds and beef, yet for the past five decades, it has emerged as a growth miracle country with a GDP per capita of US$8 031,01 in 2018 and from 1965 to date it grew at an average rate of 7,7% (Acemoglu et al, 2001). Zimbabwe, during the same period, is becoming poorer by day, with a GDP per capita of US$1 322,34 in 2018, which is six times less than that of Botswana, and it grew at an average rate of 0,74% annually.

Economists have attributed the economic success of Botswana, with a highest growth rate than any country in the world, to orthodox economic policies and how the country managed to implement such policies is a puzzle because in Africa, good economics is bad politics. Botswana implemented inclusive institutions that support growth and development. Zimbabwe is failing today because of extractive institutions that don’t allow mass participation in the production process. Good economics in Zimbabwe is bad politics; suggesting good policies are seen as a ‘regime change agenda’ and the person becomes the enemy of the State. Why?

Corruption and bad economic systems benefit a few, especially the elite and those who are in power at the expense of the majority. Why those in power do not want to implement good systems and policies is because good systems will reduce their economic rents. An efficient bureaucratic system, rule of law, voice and accountability will expose corruption and make it difficult to practise it. No wonder why even if you see that the economic systems and policies being implemented are not working, those in power would continue to push them forward, they have personal interests to protect. So many years after independence, we have one TV station, State-controlled, why? Zimbabwe has gold, diamond and other precious minerals, who is benefiting from them remains a mystery and why good systems can’t be put in place to make sure that everyone benefits from such minerals, the revenue passing through Treasury is a puzzle. The country survives on a supermarket budget of US$4 billion when we have vast resources that are capable of bringing good revenue to our coffers, it’s so embarrassing.

Why we can’t revive NRZ so that we reduce the demand for fuel, damage to our roads, congestion and accidents requires deep investigation into the owners of haulage trucks, public transport like buses and service stations. Why we are underutilising our pipeline to transport fuel from Mozambique to Harare and prefer to use road is unknown. I remember two months ago when the EcoCash cash-out facility was suspended and later restored with a maximum limit of $100 per transaction, only a day after to see money changers cashing out thousands again and why the maximum limit was removed if it was believed to be worsening the economic situation is unknown. Recently, RBZ issued new bank notes and coins in order to allow depositors to access cash from their banks, only to see these new notes flooding the streets, someone in possession of more than $20 000 when the maximum withdrawal limit is $300 per week. How those involved got so much cash in a space of a day is unknown, then we have the audacity to blame sanctions, no its corruption.

I saw masses of Zimbabweans pinning their hopes on the 2020 budget that was announced by the Minister of Finance a few weeks ago but then analysing the paper work closely, you see a doomed Zimbabwe.

There are so many projects that have been allocated funds in previous budgets and continue to be allocated more funds even today, what happened to the money that was allocated to such projects before is unknown, the progress of such is unknown as well. How can one see hope in a supermarket budget of US$4 billion that has allocated more funds to defence and home affairs instead to industry, health and education? Many economists argue that many poor countries allocate more funds to security because how the money will be used is difficult to assess because of the secrecy involved, hence that money can be expropriated easily than the money allocated towards health and education.

If the current leadership was serious about economic recovery, they should target industry more, opening and reviving few big companies like Zisco steel, NRZ and Air Zimbabwe would make a huge impact in a very short space of time than the basket weaving and informal brick moulding activities that the camera and screen-loving politicians are targeting. After independence, Zimbabwe had very few big companies (with NRZ being the second largest employer of 20 000 workers) but with an unemployment rate of less that 5% of the total labour force but today we have more SMEs and informal business operating, with their head offices and branches encroaching residential areas near the city centre, but the unemployment rate stood at more than 90%. These informal businesses that the politicians are vying for in order to cover up for their failures destroy the economy worse than their marginal contribution. This country is becoming ungovernable because of such informal activities.

From the study of corruption I carried out in Africa, I discovered that a 1% decrease in corruption would increase per capita incomes by nearly US$9.60 across time, isn’t that a good improvement? Knack and Keefer (1995) argued that security of property rights, good policies and management of the public sector are significant determinants of economic growth.

Tanzi and Davoodi (1997) are worried by huge public investment with ribbon cutting ceremonies as these are vehicles for corruption and are done at the expense of operations and maintenance.

No wonder why we concentrate of constructing new power generators when we have many thermal power stations at Hwange and Harare; hydro-power stations in Kariba not functional or operating below capacity.

Mauro (1995) reiterates that an inefficient government acts as an obstacle to investment, entrepreneurship and innovation.

guest column:Robert Musundire & Anneli Sundin

There is a wealth of indigenous knowledge about capturing and eating insects in sub-Saharan Africa. But the development of edible insects as a food industry has been very slow, despite its many potential benefits.

Sustainability is one. Insects have a small carbon and water footprint. Studies show that insect farming emits less carbon and methane gas than large livestock like cattle and pigs.

Much less water is needed to produce the same amount of protein. Insects use feed more efficiently than other sources of animal protein. Farming them could be a new source of jobs and income.

There should be more awareness and promotion of insects as food for humans and as feed for animals, especially at the policy, legislative and business level. In most African nations, edible insects are still viewed as an insignificant source of food and even, in some instances, as food for the poor. There are very few success stories of large-scale insect farming and industrial use in Africa.

We have been involved in a project to promote the integrated use of insects as food in urban areas in Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Our project works on the edible insect value chain and discovered that the seasonal supply of insects and poor hygiene standards made the market unstable and unattractive to consumers. Traders sold insects in an informal setting and had little interaction with farmers.

We carried out training among farmers, traders, municipalities and others with an interest in this emerging industry. The training included how to handle and process insects after they were harvested, food safety along the value chain and farming crickets (Acheta domesticus and Gryllus bumaculatus).

The trainees have learnt how to rear and sell insects better and have become more aware of what a sustainable value chain should look like. For example, market facilities have to be clean and there must be a steady supply of insects. The training also created awareness of the need to farm insects rather than catching them in the wild. Catching insects can reduce insect populations dramatically when consumption increases. And there are no food safety standards for wild insects.

Together with the urban council in the town of Chinhoyi in Zimbabwe we built a model market structure where traders are selling their insects. Traders are selling some of the most popular edible insects; wild harvested mopane worms (Gonimbrasia belina), termites (Macrotermes natalensis) and wild harvested crickets. Farmers are still building stocks of farmed crickets, but the plan is to sell farmed crickets in the near future. It is still too early to see the impact but one notable improvement is hygiene. The market has also helped women traders, who are the main group selling insects there. They have become more organised about their business.

We hope this will lead to an increase in consumer willingness to buy edible insects, and demonstrate best practice to other regions of Zimbabwe and beyond. Through our project, we have also helped insect traders and farmers to form industry associations.

Why insects are valuable

Insects are highly nutritious and contain protein, fat and energy in proportions similar to grains, vegetables and seeds. They are rich in macro minerals like calcium, sodium and magnesium and micro minerals like zinc, manganese, iron and copper, all of which should be part of a healthy diet. In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, these minerals come from fruits and vegetables, most of which are farmed seasonally. Edible insects could supply these minerals during seasons where there is less fruit and vegetable production.

They contain essential amino acids such as threonine, cysteine, valine, methionine and isoleucine. The recommended daily minimum intake of amino acids can be consumed by eating just 100 grams of the edible stink bug (Encosternum delegorguei), for example.

Earlier this year, parts of eastern and southern Africa were ravaged by Cyclone Idai. The cyclone destroyed crops and livestock, causing severe food shortages. We believe that in disaster-struck areas, edible insects can build resilience by being a food resource in recovery programmes and an alternative to traditional smallholder farming. There is an excellent example of that in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where orphanages have started insect farms to grow their own protein. The farms have helped decrease hunger and improve health among the orphans.

What needs to happen?

We were involved in setting up an international conference in Zimbabwe to discuss ways to foster the edible insects industry.

Research is required so that policy makers and those involved in the sector — farmers, processes, marketers and consumers — can make evidence-based decisions. This must happen across disciplines. Researchers should work with farmers and people in business to foster skills, innovation and enterprise. For example, they could develop business cases and scenarios.

Policy makers must understand that the sector is unique. Edible insects have not been categorised under any agricultural sub-sector such as crop or animal farming. On the African continent, they have not previously been farmed and treated as a commodity. That is why it would be helpful to establish and coordinate platforms such as meetings, workshops, exhibitions, magazines and websites.

Policy should also allow innovation and investment to happen at national, regional and international levels. Industry participants will need access to markets and credit.

Farmers, food and feed processors, traders and marketers must seize opportunities to invest and enter niche markets. They can also contribute to policy development and share knowledge about traditional ways of producing and eating insects.

There is momentum generated by several research and business initiatives that have been ignited in sub-Saharan Africa. And there is growing enthusiasm for using edible insects as alternative sources of protein and to build resilience against climatic shocks. It’s an essential step towards improving food security in the region.

By SIMBARASHE SITHOLE

AN ARMED member of the Presidential Guard has been arrested for committing a spate of robberies in the Masasa mining area in Mazowe last month.

The matter came to light at the Bindura Magistrates Courts yesterday where the suspect, Brighton Chizororo (30) of Chirwadzise village, Chief Ndanga in Masvingo appeared before magistrate Ethel Chichera facing robbery charges.

Chizororo pleaded not guilty to the charges and was remanded in custody to December 10 for trial.

Prosecutor Tariro Janhi alleged that on November 24, Chizororo and his accomplice only identified as Buju, who is still at large, armed themselves with an AK47 assault rifle, serial number ZA31605, loaded with 11 rounds, and a syjambok before storming Masasa Mine.

Upon arrival, the pair waylaid unsuspecting miners Chrispen Mahere (40) and Munyaradzi Masusu. Buju moved behind the miners wielding a syjambok while Chizororo pointed the rifle at them.

He cocked the rifle while ordering them to lie down and they complied.

He then allegedly demanded cash and was given $500 before ordering the miners to run from the scene.

The accused moved to another gold claim where they met Anold Chomusina (23) Maccani Mapiriyawo whom they robbed US$20 using the same modus operandi.

However, the miners teamed up after their misfortune and pursued the robbers. They caught up with Chizororo, disarmed him while his
accomplice varnished into darkness.

BY TERRY MADYAUTA

FC PLATINUM gaffer Lizwe Sweswe says he is not frightened by Tunisian giants Etoile du Sahel, who they host on Saturday in a Caf Champions League Group B encounter at Barbourfields Stadium.

The platinum miners got their campaign to a bad start after losing 2-1 at the hands of Sudanese Al Hilal last week in a match Sweswe felt they could have done better.

The 2019 Soccer Star of the Year finalist Never Tigere scored FC Platinum’s consolation goal. In a group that also includes Egyptian giants Al Ahly, the Zvishavane-based side is considered, on paper, the whipping boys.

However, Sweswe, who has been holding fort at FC Platinum since the departure of Norman Mapeza, believes they will slay one of the African big boys in the group.

The former Tsholotsho man is not reading much into Etoile du Sahel’s history, declaring that his side will be no push-overs.

“We need a win at home. They are a tough team. Looking at their past exploits, one can fear them, but we are not focusing much on their name because we risk losing focus,” Sweswe said.

“We need to approach this match high in confidence. Football is changing, any team can win and for us the message we have been telling the boys, is to remain focused. This competition is a game of points, the more points we get mean our chances of proceeding to the next stage. Winning all our home games will boost our chances to progress.”

The match is being played in Bulawayo because FC Platinum’s home ground, Mandava Stadium, does not meet Caf standards.

Etoile du Sahel are atop in Group B after beating Egyptians giants Al Ahly 1-0 courtesy of a Yassine Chikhaoui goal. FC Platinum are third following their defeat in the opening round of the campaign. Sweswe knows his boys will need to be at their penetrative best if they are to navigate their way past the North Africans who are well-known not only for their high endurance levels, but for their tact and physic.

And it will be interesting to see how Sweswe will set up his team, in particular the forward line.

In that department, he has Rodwell Chinyengetere, Gift Mbweti and Guyve Nsiala available while Lameck Nhamo and Perfect Chikwende remain out due to injury.

BY SIMBARASHE SITHOLE

ZIM Musicians Football Club captain and popular dancehall chanter Shadreck “King Shaddy” Kwarire recently said musicians had realised the power of football to break barriers and build bridges among artistes.

The musician said he teamed up with colleagues to set up a football club in May this year to cement relations among artistes.

“With football, all musicians are grouped as one and teamwork is key. That also goes for our fans who will support us as one team,” he said.

“Before, we could not be comfortable to call each other and get together even at our homes, fearing that one would dis you after visiting you, but since the formation of this football team, we are socialising a lot and helping each other in times of trouble.”

King Shaddy said the team recently played a pivotal role when Emmanuel “Guspy Warrior” Manyeruke lost his grandmother and when Lady Squanda also lost a loved one.

The Amai Huni hitmaker said that the team received overwhelming support from families that could not attend their shows at nightclubs.

“This team has also made life easier for families to interact with their favourite artistes. Imagine having Peter Moyo, Shinsoman, Knox and Sniper, among others, in one team!” King Shaddy said.

He said as a musicians’ football club, they discouraged drug abuse which is reportedly prevalent in music and football circles.