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.

BY BRENNA MATENDERE

FOUR external auditors from the Comptroller and Auditor-General Mildred Chiri’s office, who are taking stock of the Gweru City Council’s books, have gobbled $82 000 in allowances from the cash-strapped local authority, investigations by Southern Eye have revealed.

Gweru is struggling financially and its own workers this week declared incapacitation.

Revelations show that the local authority’s books are lagging behind in terms of audits and it had taken the step to try and catch up.

Currently, the auditors are working on the 2016 financial books.

However, since the external auditors started work on October 29, they have so far gobbled $82 000 in allowances on top of having all their other expenses such as accommodation and food, paid for by the struggling local authority.

Leaked minutes of a report by the finance committee headed by councillor Martin Chivhoko, tabled before a full council meeting held on November 18, show that the city councillors and mayor Josiah Makombe were shocked by the development, as acting finance director Owen Masimba insisted that the expenditure be approved.

The councillors were particularly incensed by the fact that Masimba had already made some payments to the external auditors without the knowledge of the city fathers.

“For the audit of 2015, we actually paid $45 000 to the auditors and the reason why we had to bring the expenditure of 2016, which is $82 000 to the full council for adoption, is because we realised the figure had gone up. We have been paying the auditors the money in staggered payments every Monday since we had our first entrance meeting with them on October 29. As the finance department, we tried to reduce the costs by sending our vehicle to collect the auditors in Harare, instead of giving them money each for fuel,” Masimba said.

However, the minutes indicate that ward 11 councillor Albert Chirawu had no kind words.

“Why should we pay such a big figure to the auditors when we have catered for all the other expenses, like accommodation and food. It is also worrying that some payments have already been made without our approval as councillors and we are now required to just rubber stamp the plea from the finance department to adopt the expenditure,” Chirawu said.

Ward 15 councillor Trust Chineni, according to the minutes, sought to have the payments to the auditors frozen and the report seeking to have the expenditure adopted put on abeyance.

Ward 14 councillor Dan Ndaba revealed that as a member of the council’s audit committee, he was shocked to know of the presence of the external auditors when they had already begun the work.

“As members of the audit committee, we ought to have been informed. It raises eyebrows when we just meet strangers in the corridors and upon inquiry, we are told they are external auditors already auditing our books,” he said.

Yesterday, Makombe acknowledged the $82 000 expenditure, but insisted that it was too late for councillors to stop the expenditure since management had already brought the external auditors to Town House.

“We could not say let’s stop paying them because they had already started the work by November 18 when the matter was brought to full council,” he said.

“So what we have done is that for the 2017 audit, we need to be very clear with the auditors before they start their work in terms of costs and probably negotiate for a cut of the costs. We have so many priorities as you might be aware and we have a policy to save ratepayers’ money as much as we can.”

BY TATENDA CHITAGU

An estimated 138 239 people are living with HIV and Aids (PLWHIV) in Masvingo province, the majority being adults, according to statistics availed during the World Aids Day commemorations at Mucheke Stadium on Sunday.

There are 1 486 604 people in the province, according to the last population census.

In his welcome remarks at the event, Masvingo Provincial Affairs minister Ezra Chadzamira said Chiredzi had the highest HIV prevalence rate because of sugarcane farming.

“Recent HIV estimates show that Masvingo has an HIV prevalence of 12,4%. This gives us an estimated 138 239 people living with HIV and Aids, of which 126 703 are adults and 11 536 are children. The HIV incidence is estimated at 0,55% with Chiredzi accounting for 27% of new HIV infections,” he said.

“Masvingo province is the hub of highly mechanised sugarcane farming, some mining activities and tourist attractions. We have lots of informal sector activities especially around mining. The province also has numerous tertiary institutions.”

Of those PLWHIV, 125 051 are on antiretroviral therapy. These comprise 117 494 adults and 7 557 adults.

Chadzamira said some of the statistics could have been imported into the province from other areas since Masvingo is a transit town equidistant to many cities.

“Thousands pass through our province as we are located at the cross highways from Harare to South Africa and Mutare to Bulawayo. These circumstances, while central to the Transitional Stabilisation Programme, naturally increase the risk and exposure to HIV and Aids and in addition put a strain to service delivery, sometimes resulting in major service gaps” he said.

Chadzamira said the province was scaling up HIV and Aids prevention and treatment interventions to address access and coverage challenges as well as meet the goal of combating new HIV and Aids infections by 2030.

BY Everson Mushava

GOVERNMENT has been urged to support farmers’ migration from conventional farming methods to smart agriculture in order to achieve higher yields and export quality crop.

This came out at a Zimbabwe National Farmers’ Union (ZNFU) congress held in Harare at the weekend under the theme Utilise Land, Adopt Technology and Produce for Export.

The call comes at time the private sector has taken the initiative to modernise agriculture, with government lagging behind in terms of policy development and research.

Speakers at the conference singled out Swiss-headquartered agro-chemical conglomerate, Syngenta, which has taken the initiative to invest heavily in research on better seed varieties and chemicals which can withstand droughts and pests, particularly the fall armyworm which has wreaked havoc on farms across the entire Sadc region and has been very difficult to contain.

ZNFU president Monica Chinamasa said farmers were keen to embrace smart agriculture, but lamented lack of government support.

She said for smart agriculture to be fully implemented, government should give support to the country’s farming communities.

“We have to move with technology, but in the process, we need to be supported; that is our appeal to government. Government, with its limited resources, needs to support farmers in order to produce higher yields and high quality crops suitable for export,” Chinamasa said.

“We appreciate efforts being undertaken by the private sector, particularly Syngenta which has been so helpful in terms of fostering smart agriculture, but they will also need government support if this migration to smart farming is to be a success.”

Syngenta sales and support manager Norman Chihuno said the company would continue to research and bring out new technologies to help the country’s quest for self-sustainance in food provision.

“We have several varieties of hybrid seeds. The maize hybrid seed has to be treated with seed dressers. I hope you have heard of our new product, Fortenza Duo, which is a seed dresser which prevents the crop from being affected by fall armyworm,” Chihuno said.

“We will continue researching on these technological advancements and giving solutions to emerging challenges and threats to the farmers.”

Agriculture deputy minister Peter Haritatos, who officiated at the event, said government was willing to assist farmers through research in technology.

“Companies like Syngenta are investing quite a lot of money, substantial amounts of money in research and development,” Haritatos said.

“They make our role as government easier because we look at different value chains and say how can we invest more in research and these seed houses like Syngenta are doing it alongside us but they are financing it.”

BY SIBONGINKOSI MAPHOSA

The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) is struggling to feed and provide medical attention to inmates due to shortages of food and drugs, officials have said.

This emerged at a Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) consultative meeting held in Bulawayo yesterday to assess living conditions in Zimbabwe’s prisons and mental health institutions.

ZPCS provincial commanders, Ingutsheni Psychiatric Hospital and Ngomahuru Psychiatric Hospital officials were invited to share their experiences and challenges from their respective institutions.

The ZPCS commanders indicated that all prisons shared the same challenges of food, toiletry, clothing, medicine and incapacitation, all blamed on the hyperinflationary environment prevailing in the country.

Present at the consultative meeting were commanders from Matabeleland South, Midlands and Masvingo provinces.

ZPCS deputy officer commanding Matabeleland South, Assistant Commissioner Mehlulelwa Ngwenya said prisons were facing food and medication challenges.

“We are facing serious challenges, we cannot adequately feed our inmates, neither are we able to treat them due to lack of medicine in our institutions,” Ngwenya said.

The issue of lack of a balanced diet was said to have resulted in malnutrition among inmates.

The prisons officials admitted that they had no vehicles to transport inmates to the courts.

“We are highly incapacitated. We cannot take our inmates to court on time, hence violating their rights,” Ngwenya said.

Ingutsheni psychiatric doctor, Wellington Ranga, questioned the ZPCS chiefs on how they handled inmates with mental health problems when they did not have psychiatric nurses or psychologists within the institutions, at the same time claiming to be rehabilitation centres.

Ngwenya said as ZPCS, they did not have the capacity to recruit psychiatric nurses or psychologists.

ZPCS was also challenged on how they were properly managing their soccer team, Whawha FC, which was elevated to the Premier Soccer League yet failing to employ psychiatrists.