BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA

Zimbabwe is facing a stadia crisis after the Confederation of African Football (Caf) condemned the National Sports Stadium and others, warning that national teams and clubs playing in continental competitions may be forced to host their home matches in neighbouring countries if the situation is not addressed as soon as possible.

The continental soccer controlling body sent its inspection team soon after Zimbabwe’s 2021 African Cup of Nations qualifier against Botswana last month and raised several areas of concern.

The Caf inspection team was frank in its assessment of Zimbabwean stadia with only Barbourfields (BF) in Bulawayo provisionally approved and is set to host the Caf Champions League match between FC Platinum and Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia on Saturday.

The National Sports Stadium (NSS), Mandava and Rufaro were all condemned for failure to meet minimum requirements to host international matches.

Of major concern to the Caf inspecting team was the state of the playing surface at the National Sports Stadium which they said was poor. The dressing rooms were also condemned as substandard.

Another major concern raised was the non-existence of fully-equipped medical room and a media tribune.

According to the inspecting committee, the Press conference room does not meet modern standards. They also raised a red flag over the entrance gates which they said were in poor state and recommended that football authorities use automated gates.

Zifa were also advised to use modern camera stands.

Zifa spokesperson Xolisani Gwesela said they were warned the issue of stadia was so critical that should they fail to make some refurbishments, they risked playing home games outside the country.

“Following Caf stadium inspections last month, Mandava Stadium and NSS failed to meet minimum requirements to host Caf matches. Consequently, they have been removed from the list of homologated stadiums. Caf have also exceptionally authorised BF to host Caf matches,” he said.

While Caf was condemning their main home ground, the Warriors were being hosted in a state-of-the-art Heroes Stadium in Lusaka, Zambia, a few days after the Botswana match.

Several stadia have been condemned as unfit to host Premier Soccer League matches, only for politicians to negotiate for their use.

In the past few years, there have been stadia crisis at the start of the season with some failing to meet required standards.

Since the National Sports Stadium was built ahead of the 1995 All-Africa Games, Zimbabwe has not seen any investment in infrastructure development in that regard.

BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA

FORMER Caps United striker Nyasha Mushekwi is hoping the gesture he has shown in donating a state-of-the-art bus to the Green Machine will further boost the team’s spirit to deliver the championship this term.

The Zimbabwe international, who plays football for China League One club Zhejiang Greentown, believes his former team have the capacity to repeat the feat of 2016 and win the league title.

His speech read on his behalf by his sister Nyari at the unveiling ceremony of the bus, Mushekwi urged Caps to fight to win the league title, saying he religiously follows his former team’s progress from his base in China.

The Harare giants lead the league table with 58 points, two ahead of closest challengers FC Platinum, while Chicken Inn are in third place with 53 points with only two rounds of matches left in the campaign.

The big striker, who has now retired from international football after the Warriors failed their 2019 African Cup of Nations bid, has maintained a strong relationship with Caps president Farai Jere, who introduced him to former Caps coach Moses Chunga who then poached him from basketball.

Jere said Mushekwi’s gesture was unprecedented and described him as an exemplary and visionary player who lit the torch for others.

“It has never happened before in our football. We are proud as Caps family that we have one player who has remembered us,” he said. “Very few players can do this and we are excited and appreciate what he has done for us. He has lifted us from poverty. We now have the best team bus in the league. It has everything, ablution facilities and makes players feel comfortable. He did this not because he has a lot of money. For him to spare that kind of money and put his club on the map, it should be really appreciated. To me he is like my son.
I remember he approached me while he was playing basketball and I introduced him to Chunga who went on to nurture him and give him the platform to launch his football career. We are humbled by this gesture. Others should learn from this,” Jere said.

The Caps boss said his side needed to win their two remaining matches against Ngezi Platinum and FC Platinum and the gesture by Mushekwi should spur them to win the championship.

SOUNDTRACK: Winstone Antonio

IT is that time of the year when artistes will be honoured for their creativity and the work they would have put in during the course of the year — be it for excellence shown in albums or singles, videos and collaborations as well as music promoters who would have contributed positively to the sector.

As the awards season is upon us, several hip-hop artistes and other relevant stakeholders will be honoured at this year’s edition of the flip-flop Awards set for Wood Sensation located at LongCheng Plaza in Belvedere, Harare.

Hopefully the awards will reclaim their integrity both to the winners and fans so as to bring value not only to the artiste but the sector as a whole.

While in other countries music awards have been hailed, rewarding music creativity locally has been a subject of intense debate such that many have lost interest in the awards after claiming favouritism landed undeserving cases at the top.

Marred with a lot of controversy, many of the local music awards such as the Zimdancehall and the hip hop awards are considered not to be a true reflection of what would have transpired throughout the year.

Concerns over bias and vote rigging have always taken centre stage at most of the music awards. The controversy has always been drawn on both the awards were artistes are required to submit their works or where winners are determined through public votes.

During awards won through votes, some claim there is always a secret hand manipulating the votes. They probably ignore that not popularity on the streets, social media or even the amount of airplay they receive on radio would determine the winner, but the votes.

The annual Radio Zimbabwe Coca-Cola 2017 Top 50 and the ZBC-TV Coke Top 50 videos competitions held on New Year’s Eve meant to reward local musicians as well as provide them with avenues to exhibit their talent are among the platforms that have also stirred heated debate.

Some music lovers and artistes’ managers who are ignorant about how the competition’s selection criterion is structured have always cried foul over the results feeling their artistes would have been robbed.

My conversation with some of the prominent arts critics such as Plot Mhako and Benjamin Nyandoro at different intervals points to the need of a paradigm shift in organising the awards.

Music critic Mhako said most local awards platforms lack integrity and transparency.

“It seems there is an appetite by organisers to self-award, award friends or simply ignore due processes in the nomination adjudication process. Some of the anomalies are too glaring to ignore. It must be known who are the people involved in the processes, their credentials and the awards criteria must be well written down to allay any doubt,” he said.

“I think this has been the major reason, but also artistes and the general public don’t take any result other than their preferred win as legit. It’s a culture that also needs to shift.”

Former National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) director Elvas Mari said lack of proper structures from the awarding organisers might contribute to the controversy over the acceptance of the awards by the public.

“For a public activity there must be a prosper structure of the awarding board or organisers that helps in connecting the artistes from the lower structure to the higher structures.
This makes things to happen and helps in bringing confidence to the public about the acceptance of the awards,” he said.

“The information on who to award should come from a lower sector that is well connected to the other top structures such that whether they is or no mistake it will be a result of a collective effort of a well-structured awarding board.”

Arts critic Fred Zindi said the issue of awards is a complex one as it is clouded with politics.

“Diversity in recognition awards should demonstrate the organisers or even the society’s commitment to equity. Most selection committees strive for fairness when selecting award winners however, unconscious associations or assumptions – the phenomenon known as implicit bias – can unintentionally influence judgment,” he said.

“There is a difference between being a good musician or song and a popular one. Judges must choose the criteria on which their judgment is based.”

Let the best be recognised for their creativity.

BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE

THE Anti-Corruption Trust of Southern Africa (ACT-SA) has petitioned the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) to investigate alleged corruption and maladministration at Gokwe Town Council.

The petition was copied to the police, Local Government minister July Moyo, Midlands Provincial Affairs minister Larry Mavima, Office of the President and Cabinet, Auditor-General Mildred Chiri’s office and the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe.

ACT-SA claimed that several employees, who disclosed the corrupt activities, have since been fired or silenced by top council officials.

In its second petition last week, the independent anti-corruption body expressed concern over Zacc’s failure to act on an earlier report submitted three months ago.

“The Anti-Corruption Trust of Southern Africa is counting 91 days of inaction against the alleged corruption by the Gokwe Town Council. The allegations report has been served to Zacc, ZRP, Office of the President, Local Government ministry, Auditor-General’s Office and Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe and nothing has been heard, but the corrupt tendencies at the Gokwe Town Council continued unabated,” the petition read.

In the report, ACT-SA said violations of the Procurement Act, fraud and maladministration had paralysed the local authority.

“In February 2011, the local authority paid US$23 000 for a brand new Nissan Hardbody NP 300 vehicle, but to date, it has not been delivered. Town secretary Melania Mandeya was allegedly paid a salary and allowance for December 2014 when she only started work on January 5, 2015. Protests at the council level did not help to stop her from enriching herself and there is proof of the payments made,” the allegations read.

“There is rampant corruption on awarding of tenders. The tender for the supply of curtains for the new Gokwe Town House did not only violate tender regulations, but was awarded to a relative who was staying in the same house with the town secretary, Mandeya, at the time of award.”

It is alleged that in May this year, a tender for catering services was awarded to district development co-ordinator Steward Gwatiringa using another person’s name and part of the payment for the tender was used to pay for a residential stand for Gwatiringa, raising suspicion that the catering tender was given to his relative.

The local authority allegedly bought an accident damaged Chevrolet vehicle for the town secretary for US$58 000 against a council resolution proposed by former Zanu PF councillor, Davison Masvisvi, and seconded by five councillors to use other bidders, who charged US$51 000, for a brand new Chevrolet, thereby saving US$7 000.

The report also alleges that senior managers at the local authority are violating council internal policies.

For instance, finance director Jockonia Nyoni allegedly gave his son a council Foton Tunland twin-cab vehicle with which he later got involved in an accident, but councillors’ demands for a report were ignored.

Council reportedly paid for vehicle repairs.

It is alleged the councillors have also been failing to bring Mandeya to book over donated grants from the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and Zimbabwe Revenue Authority.

It is further alleged that the local authority paid US$23 000 to a suspicious person for a Volvo firefighting truck, which had been donated by one Mr Lobels.

Town secretary Mandeya is alleged to have resisted a forensic audit since 2015 following a recommendation by the council finance committee led by Zanu PF councillor Davis Taruvinga.

Zacc spokesperson John Makamure said: “Our Gweru office is handling the investigations and we are waiting for a brief from Gweru on the current position of their investigations. We received that report from ACT-SA on September 11 this year and the next day, the Gweru office wrote a memo to the Harare office seeking a resolution and on October 10, the Harare investigations manager ordered the opening of the report.

“On October 21, we invited the Gokwe Ratepayers Association chairman and his deputy, Nephas Mhangami and Bertha Sibanda, respectively, for interviews and on November 4, we drafted a letter to permanent secretary for Local Government seeking a forensic audit. We have also invited ACT-SA director Obert Chinhamo and programme adviser Munyaradzi Bidi for interviews and they are now waiting for a journey to Kwekwe and Gokwe for investigations.”

BY RICHARD MUPONDE

HARARE medical doctor, Christine Peta recently won a protracted legal wrangle with city businessman Shepherd Katurudza who grabbed her double-storey Borrowdale house, but the latter has taken the matter to the Supreme Court on appeal.

Katurudza, according to court papers, had been leasing the house from Peta for US$2 000 per month since 2013 before she went to South Africa to further her medical studies.

During her absence, the businessman fraudulently took over ownership of the house under the guise that they had entered into a rent-to-buy agreement.

When Peta returned to settle in the country last year, Katurudza refused to vacate her property, arguing that she had sold it to him.

The matter then spilled into the High Court where Justice David Mangota ruled in Peta’s favour.

“Whereupon, after reading documents filed on record, and hearing counsel; it is ordered that eviction of the respondent and all those claiming occupation through him from Stand No 152 Port Glen Road, Ryelands, Borrowdale, Harare. Payment of $4 000 as arrears for the month of April 2019 and May 2019. Payment of $3 250 being arrear rates and water bills. Holding over damages $2 000 per month from June 2019 to the date the respondent is evicted. The respondent be and is hereby ordered to pay costs on an attorney and client basis,” Mangota ordered.

After winning the matter at the High Court, Peta sought the services of the Sheriff of the High Court to evict Katurudza who was served with notices of seizure and ejectment dated November 19.

Katurudza then appealed against the ruling at the Supreme Court through his lawyers, Farai Nyamayaro Law Chambers under case number SC620/19 and the matter is still to be set down for hearing.

BY SINDISO DUBE

AFTER trying his hand in Qgom, Kwaito and hip-hop, Bulawayo musician Shane “Sugar Shane” has once again shown his versatility in a new dancehall track dubbed Ndidongorere, featuring talented vocalist The Dawg.

Speaking to NewsDay Life & Style on his recent shift of sound, the artiste said it was a natural move.

“Dancehall is now an integral part of popular Zimbabwean culture. Venturing into dancehall is a natural move since I am quite versatile in my style of delivery and it’s a genre I enjoy listening to,” he said.

“One of my favourite producers sent me the beat and I was blown away by the vibe. So I started writing and out came the song. It’s not a complete change in sound because I didn’t try to sound like a Zimdancehall artiste. I just added a Bulawayo feel to the track. I’m probably the most versatile artiste from Bulawayo. As a songwriter, my pen is quite prolific and I easily move between sounds.”

Ndidongorere has a high dancehall tempo, with The Dawg on the chorus with his Shona dancehall chants. Sugar Shane complements the efforts with Ndebele rhymes in two verses in a dancehall delivery fused with kwaito.

“The song will definitely help me reach wider audiences, particularly in Harare. Hopefully it will be the bridge for my music and wider audiences around Zimbabwe,” Sugar Shane said.

“A lot of people were not expecting this type of music from me, but I have been told I did the song justice and hopefully the rest of Zimbabwe will feel the same way.”

Sugar Shane made waves with the Qgom Life album which he delivered with his group, Black Diamond, before releasing his solo EP, Two Teaspoons, which carries tracks such as Mavuso and Majaivana.

Guest Column: Tinashe Farawo

THE Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) is a successor to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management.

ZimParks falls under the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Tourism and Hospitality Industry.

The authority was established under the Parks and Wildlife Act of 1996 (Chapter 20:14) as amended by Act Number 19 of 2001 which came into operation on June 1, 2002 through Statutory Instrument 144C of 2002.

The rationale behind the establishment of the authority was to allow ZimParks to retain revenue generated for the purpose of funding operations (self-funding mechanism) and thereby reduce its dependence on central government.

This entailed the introduction of a strategic commercial function for supporting conservation and putting in place strategic revenue generation and financial management systems.

This was based on the premise that conservation business could make a significant contribution towards paying for itself, hence the call to say elephants for example must pay for their upkeep.

Prior to this enactment, the cost of managing parks and protected areas in Zimbabwe was borne by the State and donor funding.

The authority now undertakes a number of commercial activities from which it generates funds for conservation.

Since the coming in of Fulton Mangwanya as the director general of ZimParks in August 2017, the authority crafted a five-year strategy to adopt adaptive management in wildlife conservation.

One of the avenues to achieve this is partnering with other conservation organisations to learn new methods and to build technical and financial capacity in an effort to protect the country’s wildlife for the benefit of current and future generations.

Over the last few months, the authority signed agreements with various organisations including African Parks and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

The agreements are meant to co-operate in conservation, management, combating wildlife crime and human wildlife conflict, which has claimed dozens of lives over the last few years.

Most of the organisations assisting the authority in wildlife management and conservation have proven track records of successful adaptive conservation management practices.

The agreement between African Parks and ZimParks is to jointly seek funding for the management and development of Matusadonha National Park.

Provision of socio-economic benefits to local communities through job creation, infrastructure development, construction of schools and clinics.

The agreements were signed in line with the Joint Venture Act Chapter 22:22.

Needless to say that the agreement was signed after an approval from the Finance ministry through the joint venture unit.

The agreement was submitted to the Finance ministry’s joint venture unit that conducted a comprehensive due diligence exercise whose outcome led to a request to Cabinet for approval for ZimParks to enter into a co-management agreement with African Parks.

The Finance ministry officials visited some of the parks managed by African Parks as part of the due diligence process before approving the agreement.

African Parks shall identify and promote commercial investment opportunities for tourism purposes and is set to inject US$11,5 million in five years, which shall see improved access by road to the park, improved resource allocation and enhanced anti-poaching activities.

Over the next five years, the partnership is set to reintroduce black rhinos in the park among other animals.

According to section 12 of the Parks and Wildlife Act concerning funds of the authority there is therefore need for the organisation to venture into business activities and also source funding from like-minded stakeholders and partners.

ZimParks has signed several memorandums of agreement/understanding with other organisations such as wildlife NGOs, Civil society and universities.

There is no doubt that before an agreement is signed it goes through a rigorous process that involves internal staff, directorate, board of directors and the responsible ministry.

The vision of the organisation is to promote sustainable conservation thus due diligence is taken before any new conservation partnerships are signed.

Most of the organisations ZimParks is working with have already successfully implemented projects under similar partnerships that saw protected areas that were facing financial related challenges, being managed better with the availability of resources.

ZPWMA has core-management agreements for example in Gonarezhou National Park and Umfurudzi Recreational Park, which are currently being run under partnerships and they have proved to be successful in park management, law enforcement, and tourism and community engagement.

The authority has been supported by various NGOs over the years and these include Peace Parks, which has supported the establishment of transfrontier conservation areas within Sadc over the last 20 years.

Some of these partnerships will result in resources being availed for conservation, translocation of wildlife to boost wildlife populations and improved accessibility to the area.

The protected areas in Zimbabwe are designed such that the national parks are source areas for the Safari areas where hunting occurs.

Therefore, having partnerships to better manage national parks actually supports the consumptive tourism industry by providing the much needed trophy wildlife.

The organisation is only co-operating with partners in areas where we share common goals for example, curbing poaching, and illegal wildlife trade and infrastructure development.

In addition, during the tenure of the agreement both partners will be engaging and agreeing on methodology and operating procedures such that the vision and mandate of the organisation is not ignored or the country’s position of sustainable utilisation.

Since the coming in of the new dispensation in November 2017, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been preaching re-engagement with the international community.

Therefore, ZimParks is playing its part to engage and re-engage with the international community through conservation and wildlife management.

The authority is eternally grateful to both local and international conservation partners who are working on the conservation and management of the country’s wildlife for the benefit of current and future generations despite differences in conservation policy and ideology.

 Tinashe Farawo is the Head of Communications at Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority.

Guest Column: Gibson Nyikadzino

SINCE the beginning of the year, Zimbabwe’s government has been confronted by restive workers and their leadership from different labour unions, either threatening industrial action or alleging incapacitation, citing the high cost of living and a currency that cannot stand economic vagaries.

Zimbabwe’s doctors have since January demanded their salaries be paid in United States dollars or have them pegged at the inter-bank rate to which the government said it does not have the resources.

Government responses to the demands by workers have been cold.

In January, protests ensued after President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced fuel price hikes. To quell the protests, soldiers were deployed to restore order, peace, stability and security, in the end, there were a dozen deaths recorded.

In some instances, the disputes have spilled to the courts on the lawfulness of threats to strike, or notice to strike and the alleged incapacitation.

Unions have on the other hand accused the courts of being directed, manipulated and open to handholding by the government. Government also accuses labour of dabbling in politics, raising the levels of suspicions and mistrust.

The relationship between labour movements and governments in different epochs has not been a smooth sail, and in Zimbabwe this year alone it has been tense despite the final
establishment of the Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF) through an Act signed by the President on June 5.

The TNF seeks to provide a platform for regular and binding dialogue that hopefully would deter industrial actions like strikes and protests by workers before exhausting other avenues.

Before its enactment on June 5, the TNF was established in 1998 and had remained a voluntary and unlegislated chamber in which socio-economic matters were discussed, explained or negotiated by the tripartite partners, comprising government, business and labour.

In essence, social dialogue is a mechanism to solve problems by providing an opportunity to achieve democratic participation, social equity and economic efficiency, at least in the labour market and the economy at large in which different actors are involved. It requires strong parties acting independently for a common good.

Recently, government’s decision to fire over 440 doctors has been interpreted as a determined and calculated attempt to shut space for negotiation. In this respect effective social dialogue cannot be sustained.

Moreso, President Mnangagwa offered a two-day moratorium to have fired doctors return to work without reapplying, an offer the doctors are turning down. Reports are that the decision to offer doctors a “reprieve” came after a deal brokered by church leaders.

The TNF is the platform to make negotiations, concessions and agreements. It is a platform for the workers, employers and government. It certainly does not reserve a seat for the clergy!

Continued strikes and demonstrations by workers have now been interpreted by government as attempts to undermine the State’s “ability to solve economic problems”.

Not so long ago, Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga unilaterally directed the termination of contracts for nurses who had been absent from work, claiming erosion of wages and poor working conditions.

Zimbabwe needs to address fundamentals in its labour market. There is need to depoliticise the social dialogue process and have it managed professionally without resorting to use of power and force by the stakeholders involved.

The country also needs to address the massive trust deficit and come up with a shared socio-economic vision that will lead to a social contract. The social contract will in the short-term manage expectations and set responsibilities of tripartite partners.

Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) president Peter Mutasa has urged the government to look at the TNF as an inclusive platform that promotes social justice, fairness and equity.

While the TNF Act is a positive development, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) supervisory bodies have highlighted that there are still infringements of workers’ rights to strike and demonstrate, intimidation and harassment of unions, their members and leadership.

Zimbabwe, like many other developing countries, is faced with a number of social, economic and political challenges which have resulted in the slowing down of economic growth and in some cases the reversal of some of the gains made since independence.

The South African economy is counted among the best in the region, which is attributed to a well-functioning social dialogue system. In the face of all these, it remains to seen whether social dialogue is sustainable in Zimbabwe’s obtaining environment.

 Gibson Nyikadzino is a media and development analyst. He writes In his personal capacity.

BY BUSINESS REPORTER

Insurance firm, Zimnat has launched its own bureau de change, ZFS Bureau de Change, as it seeks to improve its foreign currency stocks.

The new outfit, which will be trading as ZFX Bureau de Change, is a registered tier two bureau de change, which is able to provide both foreign exchange and money transfer services.

As at September, there were 45 licenced bureau de changes in the country.

In a statement yesterday, Zimnat group chief executive Mustafa Sachak said the bureau de change would combine customer-tailored financial services and technology to bring convenience to its customers.

“As a business that is guided by a purpose of making life better, we are driven to always come up with financial solutions that empower all our stakeholders to reach their full potential. The idea of coming up with ZFX was born out of the need to ensure we provide a holistic financial service for our customers,” Sachak said.

“In that vein, we have also partnered with World Remit to ensure that our customers can also receive money from their benefactors in the diaspora and be able to change it under one roof.”

Zimnat hopes that ZFX would strengthen foreign currency availability on the interbank market by providing competitive exchange rates.

The new bureau de change will allow customers to convert their foreign currencies, including United States dollars, British pounds, South African rands and Botswana pula, at competitive market rates.

“This bureau de change has also been born out of the need to provide a safe, legal and convenient place for changing one’s money and leveraging on our widespread distribution network. We hope to provide this convenience in all four corners of the country,” Sachak said.

Following the promulgation of Exchange Control (Amendment) Regulations, 2017, Statutory Instrument 122A of 2017, several people have been arrested for offences related to dealing in currency without a licence or through unauthorised persons.

Zimnat is a diversified financial services group made up of four business units, namely Zimnat General Insurance, Zimnat Life Assurance, Zimnat Microfinance and Zimnat Asset Management.

South African firm, Sanlam, which is the largest non-banking financial services group on the continent, has a significant shareholding in Zimnat.