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.

By HARRIET CHIKANDIWA

Harare magistrate Hosea Mujaya yesterday dismissed an application by former Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko to have his trial transferred from Harare to Bulawayo.

Mphoko’s lawyer, Advocate Tawanda Zhuwarara made the application yesterday when the former VP’s trial was supposed to start, arguing that his client resided in Bulawayo and did not have a house in Harare.

“My client was arrested in Bulawayo. His reporting conditions are in accordance with his residence in Bulawayo and the circumstances are causing undue hardships,” Zhuwarara submitted.
“Having the trial in Harare impairs his ability to co-ordinate his defence since the preparation of the defence is carried out three or four days before he appears in court.”

The court heard that Mphoko’s initial lawyer Zibusiso Ncube is in Bulawayo, therefore, the logistics will be difficult and expensive if the trial takes place in Harare.

He also said Mphoko’s family is primarily in Bulawayo and he had to keep his family together, adding that the resources required to co-ordinate his defence were in Bulawayo as well as his business enterprise.

Zhuwarara said Mphoko would be forced to use road transport which may result in breakdowns like what happened before or accidents.

After Mujaya dismissed the application, Zhuwarara indicated that he would on Friday make an application for referral of the matter to the Constitutional Court as Mphoko felt his constitutional rights were being trampled upon.

Mphoko is facing charges of criminal abuse of office after he allegedly instructed police officers at Avondale Police Station in Harare to release two Zinara officials from holding cells without following procedure while he was Acting President on July 14, 2016.

By SIMBARASHE SITHOLE

Pembi Bridge in Mvurwi has divided Zanu PF in Mashonaland Central province with supporters fighting over who should take credit for its completion between Mashonaland Central Provincial Affairs minister Monica Mavhunga and her predecessor, Martin Dinha.

The bridge, just before Mvurwi town, was completed last month and replaced the narrow and now-dilapidated bridge constructed in 1977 which had become a black spot for motorists.

However, reports are that its official opening was being delayed due to factionalism in Zanu PF.

“We are not happy with some politicians who want to claim credit for other people’s projects. This project was initiated by the former Mazowe North legislator and ex-Minister of State Dinha who made sure the funds were made available for the project,” claimed Brian Chipara from ward 29.

“We hear Mavhunga is claiming credit under the new dispensation. That is very bad. Let us give credit to those who deserve it.”

But other Zanu PF activists said credit should be given to Mavhunga for ensuring that the bridge was completed before the end of the year.

“What is clear is that the bridge was completed by Mavhunga soon after her appointment. Dinha had no time to concentrate on his constituency as he was busy working with white farmers during his tenure,” Sekai Mutero from ward 26, said.

Daniel Makamba of ward 28 said Dinha and Mavhunga as well as the current MP, Campion Mugweni and Zanu Mashonaland Central chairperson Kazembe Kazembe should not “pontificate” over the bridge.

“The truth of the matter is that the bridge is linked to the First Family interests in Kanyemba, so the success should be accorded to the Ministry of Transport,” Makamba said.

Kazembe refused to comment on the matter, saying he was attending a workshop and had not responded to questions sent to him.

Mavhunga was also not picking calls.

Contacted for comment, Dinha said he delivered on his promise to construct the bridge and did not care who claimed the credit.

“Many governors came and left it undone and I came with promises which I fulfilled,” he said.

“I left as MP and provincial minister when the bridge was almost complete. I proceeded to lobby for support for its completion while out of office. I do not care or mind what people say or claim on who gets credit. All I want is development in Zimbabwe,” Dinha said.

The bridge took three years to complete. It was initiated in July 2016 in the run-up to the Mazowe North by-election to replace the late Edgar Chidavaenzi. Dinha won the election after promising to refurbish the bridge.

BY PHILLIP CHIDAVAENZI

DURING the 2020 national budget presentation in Parliament last month, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube held up a note of the new Zimbabwe dollar and proudly announced that it was tough and resilient.

He said the quality of paper used was stronger compared to that on the bond note that had been in circulation since November 2016.

Looking at the new Zimbabwe dollar notes, they indeed look more durable. But that is probably where the differences begin and end. Moreover, still crispy new, it is difficult to argue otherwise.

Following the introduction of the new currency, there was, however, a lot of public skepticism that it would be the solution to the cash crunch and deep-seated economic malaise afflicting the nation.

In a snap survey, members of the public who spoke to NewsDay said when government started preaching the gospel that a new currency would solve the cash crisis, they knew it was no more than a con song.

While Ncube bragged about the physical durability of the currency, this has not been reflected in its actual value, which has continued to tumble in spectacular fashion against the United States dollar.

The Zimbabwe dollar has taken a heavy knock from major currencies as public confidence in President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration continues to wane.

Despite the injection of more cash onto the market in late November, indications were that the money was still not enough, given that banks were limiting withdrawals to between $100 and $300 a day.

RBZ governor John Mangundya indicated that banks should drew more cash from the central bank after the first tranche of $30 million was exhausted in just over a week amid indications that there are 100 000 bank account holders in Zimbabwe.

“We will continue to disburse the money according to the needs of clients,” Mangundya said then.

“It means if there is a shortage, the banks should come to the RBZ to get the money for their customers.”

Analysts, however, feel that although pumping money into the market was good as it would help ease the cash crunch, the challenge was that most of the cash would not find its way back into the formal banking system, as it ended up in the hands of illegal foreign currency dealers.

Social and human development specialist Robert Mhishi said it was difficult to use a “command” system after government outlawed the use of foreign currency for domestic payments, yet curiously allowing it for some of its transactions such as payment of duty on imported cars.

“The country has a long history of command policies that violate basic economic principles, and that is why they are resisted and why they have never worked,” he said. “We saw this under (the late former President) Robert Mugabe and we continue to see it now under Mnangagwa.”

Over the long years of economic collapse, ordinary Zimbabweans have developed a knack for trading in any commodity, including cash.

“One of the biggest mistakes we made was in not creating a culture of using plastic money, even when cash was readily available. If we had done that, there would not have been such a huge appetite for cash, which is now being sold through platforms such as EcoCash, and the arbitrage we now see everywhere in the economy,” Mhishi said.

He further indicated that he did not understand government’s obsession with printing coins, whose value was on a continuous downward trajectory. Already, the 25c coin has largely been rejected by some sections of the market, especially public transport and small grocery shops in downtown Harare, where the majority of people buy their goods.

Many ordinary residents often buy goods at shops in their neighbourhoods or “tuckshops” at the outskirts of the central business district which strictly deal in cash.

One tuckshop owner, who declined to be named, confirmed that she strictly sold her merchandise in cash.

“Cash is easier to deal with because it enables me to purchase foreign currency that I would need to hoard goods from Tanzania when I want to restock,” she said.

“If I have to sell using swipe (point of sale machine) or EcoCash, I will not be able to easily access the money when I need to buy new stock. But if I was able to purchase the forex from the interbank market, then I would obviously accept other forms of payment from my customers.”

People who spoke to NewsDay expressed concern that they might not be able to access sufficient cash for use during the festive season.

“At this rate, this is going to be a very depressing Christmas,” said Cosmas Makoto of Chitungwiza. “In as much as government has assured us that money is available following the release of more cash onto the market, we are not really seeing much of a difference as of now, and it looks like this will continue into the Christmas season,” he said.

Although government has warned cash barons trading cash on the streets, it has not moved to arrest them.

There is a public perception that many of the traders — some of whom have been rounded up by the police and released — are mere fronts for mainly powerful politicians, who provide them with the cash to trade.

As the value of the local currency continues to take a severe bashing from other major currencies, businesspeople and informal traders have resorted to pricing their goods and services in United States dollars.

The Finance minister outlawed the use of the US dollar and a host of other foreign currencies in local transactions in a desperate bid to defend the country’s fledgling new currency against parallel market speculation.

Despite the enactment of Statutory Instrument (SI) 142 of 2009 on June 24 this year and SI 213 of 2019, gazetted under the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Amendment of Exchange Control Act) Regulations of 2019 in September to outlaw the pricing of goods and services in foreign currency, the practice has continued.

According to social commentator, Alex Magaisa, a currency can only become viable if its users have trust in the issuing authority.

He said the reason why the United States dollar was the currency of choice in Zimbabwe was that locals had more trust in the US government than in the Mnangagwa administration.

Writing on his blog when the government first issued the bond note in 2016 — ostensibly to cover the gap created by the shortage of US dollar notes and coins — Magaisa said the surrogate currency was only going to work if the public embraced it.

Although people accepted the bond notes at the beginning, following government assurances that they were backed by a $500 million African Export Import Bank guarantee, the trust was lost when the Harare administration’s appetite for printing money went into overdrive and started to print more and more of the surrogate notes.

Monetary authorities had assured the nation that the official exchange rate between bond notes and US dollar would be pegged at 1:1 because of the Afreximbank guarantee.

“But I’m certain that many Zimbabweans would be happy to hear that Afreximbank has offered Zimbabwe a facility to guarantee 1:1 convertibility of RTGS balances into US dollars,” he said at the time.

The Zimbabwe dollar has depreciated by 564% to date since its introduction in February this year due to lack of market confidence and nothing to back it in terms of gold reserves and export earnings.

In February, government adopted electronic money as a local currency and called it the RTGS dollar, which operated alongside the bond note and multiple foreign currencies at a rate of US$1: ZWL$2.50.

However, this currency was later abandoned after monetary authorities decreed, in June, the Zimdollar as the sole legal tender.

The depreciation of the Zimdollar was confirmed in the United States Food Insecurity Department, FEWSNET’s October 2019 to May 2020 Food Security Outlook report released at the beginning of this month.

FEWSNET stated that as of late October, the local currency had depreciated by over 520% since February 2019, when the interbank market was introduced.

As a result, businesses started selling their goods or services at high premiums using electronic money and discounted prices for those using cash.

“Shortages of the local currency (bond notes and coins) have resulted in the notes and coins being sold at premium rates as high as 40% to 60% against mobile and electronic money transfers on the black market,” the FEWSNET report added.

As the economic chill continues to bite, many Zimbabweans have lost hope of the economy experiencing a rebound under Mnangagwa, who has continued to assure the nation that his government was on the right path and the fruits of their economic policies would soon start to blossom.

BY TATIRA ZWINOIRA

THE World Bank (WB) has ruled out a possible financial bailout to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government for now, saying Zimbabwe will only continue to benefit from technical assistance, analytical work, and emergency response support to victims of Cyclone Idai until after the country has met certain reforms demanded by international financiers.

This comes after Finance minister Mthuli Ncube recently met with WB president David Malpass, where the Zimbabwe Treasury boss claimed government had made great strides in implementing currency and economic reforms.

In emailed responses to NewsDay Business, a World Bank spokesperson said: “Our engagement with the government of Zimbabwe is currently limited to strategic dialogue, technical assistance, analytical work, and emergency support in response to Cyclone Idai”.

“The World Bank Group continues to consult with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other development partners to establish a common platform for international financial institutions to re-engage in Zimbabwe,” the WB official said.

As part of an amendment to the United States 2001 Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act last year, all US executive directors of a multilateral development bank were ordered not to allow any debt relief or further financial support to Zimbabwe.

This would only be lifted if the Zimbabwe government met certain conditions that involve resolving the 2000 land reform programme, respecting human rights, investigating and prosecuting sanctioned individuals and respecting human rights.

Government, which owes US$1 billion to the WB among other institutions, urgently needs a bailout package to fund its expenditure and stabilise the local currency.

“In the absence of international support, Zimbabwe’s macro-economic challenges may persist. With dwindling reserves, there is a high-risk of exchange rate overshooting, contributing to inflationary pressures. Climate-related risks may constrain recovery of the agriculture sector in the medium-term exacerbating food insecurity,” said the World Bank, in its October 2019 overview of Zimbabwe.

“Social and political pressures could lead to policy slippage, delay in macro-economic stabilisation and political reforms. This might jeopardise the reform agenda under the IMF Staff Monitored Programme and delay the government’s re-engagement aspirations.”