BY LIFE & STYLE REPORTER

EMERGING author Ruth Shoriwa-Shumbayaonda says she was overwhelmed on Saturday night when her friend and business colleague purchased a copy of her debut publication — Chandisatindaona — for
$24 000 during an auction held during the book launch.

Besides the $24 000 paid by Latoya Duke, other bidders got the book for between $1 000 and $12 000.

Musician and author Kireni Zulu, who was the guest of honour at the launch, saluted Shoriwa-Shumbayaonda for her resilience and focus.

“Writing publishable stuff is not for everyone although many can write. It takes a lot of character, dedication and focus,” he said.

“I really salute Ruth for this feat given the long nights and hours we would spend giving direction to her manuscripts. I am happy she has made it and I encourage all aspiring authors to take a leaf from her achievement.”

Speaking to NewsDay Life & Style on the sidelines of the highly-subscribed book launch, Shoriwa-Shumbayaonda said she was overwhelmed by the support she received.

“Writing is a passion that I have always had since childhood and I am really blown away by the support from family, friends and book lovers in general,” she said.

“Launching the book was just to celebrate this milestone given that publishing is a dream I harboured for long, but having the book bought at such encouraging amounts really humbled me.”

The launch, which was organised by Esteem Communications, also saw dendera crooner Tryson Chimbetu mesmerising the close to 200 people at the gathering.

Esteem Communications spokesperson Florence Mapindu said they were happy with their publishing programmes to date.

“We find joy in helping our clients achieve their milestones and we are happy that Ruth has published her first book in style,” she said.

guest column:Emmanuel Zvada

It is not concealed that wherever the employees and employers go to the table to negotiate salaries, there is a vital logical point that gets raised nearly all the time by the employees and the question will be, “What about cost of living?”

The difference between “cost of living” and “cost of labour” is an absolutely critical one, particularly when it comes to compensation philosophy and compensation in organisations.

There is an increasingly significant disconnect between what Zimbabwean workers expect from their employers and what corporations are reasonably able to provide in a challenging economic environment.

What is cost of living and cost of labour
Cost of living refers to the amount of money required to maintain a standard of living, accounting for basics like housing, food, clothing, utilities, taxes and healthcare.

Increases or decreases in the price of these necessities affect the cost of maintaining your lifestyle, and this, in turn, shapes how well your income will support you and your dependants.

In other ways, the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living is what we call cost of living.

When the wages you pay keep up with living expenses, employees are not forced to look elsewhere for higher paying work.

Cost of labour reflects what a particular geographic market offers as compensation for a specific type of work. This in usually termed salary.

In some instances, “Cost of labour” refers to the difference in pay or labour market for a job from one location to another.

The difference between the cost of labour and cost of living can mean many different things to many people.

In total rewards, it is important to address how cost of labour and cost of living are applied in our profession and business.

The current situation

According to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat), the poverty datum line represents the cost of a given standard of living that must be attained if a person is deemed not to be poor’.

The poverty line is obtained by specifying a consumption bundle considered adequate for basic consumption needs and then estimate the cost of these basic needs.

The poverty line may, therefore, be defined of as the minimum expenditure required by an individual to fulfil his or her basic food and non-food needs.

Runaway inflation has driven the majority of Zimbabweans below the PDL as many of those formally employed are earning less than $1 500 per month.

The total consumption poverty line (TCPL) for an average of five persons stood at $3 159,52 in October 2019.

This means that an average household required that much to purchase both food and non-food items for them not to be deemed poor, of which they cannot afford.

Inflation causes cost of living expenses to regularly increase. As the price of everyday items such as food, housing, gas, clothing, and utilities rises, your employees spend more.

To remain in a consistent financial situation, employee wages must go up as living expenses go up.

Cost of labour overtaken by the minimum cost of living

The current situation is dire and everyone knows that most employees and some employers as well are severely incapacitated and we are facing an existential crisis, a real crisis of existence.

It is very crucial to highlight that currently the cost of labour seems to be unfair as it is lagging behind the cost of living.

In actual fact, when normal cost of living has overtaken the cost of labour, employees are affected more as they will be left incapacitated.

Expectations vs reality

There is a widening gap between employee expectations and the reality of what organisations can reasonably offer them, which could prove toxic to companies if left unaddressed.

Zimbabwean employers need to make the connection between actions, outcomes and rewards clear in the context of business performance.

Organisations must put their communication strategies around pay to ensure they are having the desired impact.

It is important that employees are rewarded for their hard work and loyalty.

Restructure the wage system

A cost-of-living raise is an increase in pay that is intended to keep the buying power of an employee’s salary the same during a period of inflation.

Without a cost-of-living raise, the declining value of the dollar would leave workers with less real money in their pockets.

Employee remuneration has been eroded. It is known that at this stage most employees are struggling to make ends meet given the devaluation of their salaries and rising inflation.

The increase in inflation has impacted on how employers structure their remuneration.

To tackle cost of living pressures and maintain sustainability of remuneration, it may be necessary to look at the following options.

Linking wages to productivity

By directly linking wages with productivity, the employee is continuously rewarded for hard work, which drives him to produce more profits for the business.

The relationship between productivity and wages is a central issue for fair distribution between labour and capital.

Productivity can be defined as the amount of goods and services (output) produced in the economy for every unit of labour.

For example, output per worker and output per hour of work are both productivity measures.

When output per worker increases, workers’ contributions to the firm’s revenue increases causing demand for workers to increase also.

NEC pay structures to be continuously reviewed

The institutional wage negotiation setting in the private sector (NECs) through overall good, their role has been relegated to once-off wage negotiations.

It is critical that the role of the NECs be realigned so that they also consider their main role of representing the workers.

Key business decisions may occasionally require consideration of both cost of labour and cost of living in the analysis.

If companies haven’t effectively realigned employee expectations around compensation, workers will harbour bad feelings about how they are recognised and rewarded.

They may simply choose to “quit in seat”.

When they decide to quit in seat it means they will be coming to work, but disengaged and that has a great danger of compromising the performance of the organisation.

guest column:Learnmore Zuze

THE term rogue State is largely a curious one in political science, with grave connotations on how a country is perceived by other progressive nations. There is no State that formalises and prides itself in being termed a rogue State, but this term is earned through conduct.

The ideal governance of a country should stress political tolerance and place the interests of a nation first. To the contrary, the hallmark of a rogue State is repression and intolerance of political dissent. It is against this backdrop that it should be emphasised boldly that the needless State security heavy-handedness against the opposition MDC each time it congregates is a massive dent on Zimbabwe, a country so desperately in need of being embraced by the progressive world.

Could it be that no one is realising the palpable irony in expending thousands of scarce United States dollars in air travel in engagement efforts while our country reeks with an acrid smell of an abhorrent human rights record?

If there is one common sad feature that has stood head and shoulder above others on the downside of human rights this year, it has been the glaring State intolerance of opposition political gatherings.

Very few of any MDC gatherings have taken place with the smoothness expected in democratic States. It has been constantly a cat and mouse game.

One certain thing is that the opposition will continue getting some imaginary excuses from authorities should they want to have political gatherings. The clashes have always ended up violent and it is quite revealing that the same cannot be said of ruling party gatherings where the police have often been seen beefing up security ensuring no skirmishes break out.

However, an MDC political gathering has always ended up with maimed and teargassed people. The new low is the reported weekend shooting by alleged police at MDC leader Nelson Chamisa in Marondera at a tree planting event.

A plethora of theories have emerged in light of this incident given that it defeats all logic that an assassination attempt would be done in such a brazen manner.

The rational question to ask is; what would be achieved by shooting Chamisa except more chaos and more alienation of the country? Of course, there have been persistent denials by authorities each time such incidents occur.

Imaginary forces have been singled out for carrying out savage acts against critics of the government. Even going by the Marondera police narrative that the gathering was illegal, the question still bounces back at the nature of force used. Legally, the police are well within the confines of the law to use what is described as “proportional force”.

But, as it were, one can try to dig into all the infamous clashes between police and MDC this year and one thing sticks out. The force being used by the police in quelling MDC protests and gatherings is clearly disproportionate.

There is no point in firing teargas into a crowd standing still, which is not threatening any property or human interest. Violence is only unleashed where a crowd gets violent and is attempting to commit a physical crime.

A recent case in point would be what the world witnessed as Chamisa tried to present his Hope of the Nation Address (Hona) just some two weeks ago at Morgan Tsvangirai House. The police descended ruthlessly on every human being, whether a vendor or passerby with diabolical gusto. It must be fully understood that the brutality on the opposition and the shutting of all democratic space means more alienation for Zimbabwe. The crushing of dissent and brutal tactics can only mean more hunger and de-recognition of Zimbabwe as a country.

It is now a widely-held perception that probably there are some people bent on painting the Emmerson Mnangagwa-led government as an unrepentant fascist State. It is not difficult to understand why this theory has somewhat gained currency.

It is pure lack of rationale and the absurd manner with which the opposition is being targeted for attack. What makes the case worse is the unintelligible denial of things which take place in the full glare of the public.

Zimbabwe will remain ostracised from countries with good governance as long as brutal ways of addressing the opposition are employed.

The police reaction to the MDC is now very predictable; it is as if to say the MDC must not exist as a party. The MDC has, in a way, been “illegalised” to the extent that it cannot freely carry out business in Zimbabwe.

Even during the time of the late ex-President Robert Mugabe, the level of repression was not as brazen as we witness today. At the end of it all, it must be noted that the greatest losers as a result of such suppressive acts are the people of Zimbabwe.

The country will continue to deteriorate economically and skills flight and hunger will persist. The image of the country is being soiled.

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

MAIN opposition MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has failed God by not accepting the 2018 presidential election results and the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) ruling, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said yesterday.

Mnangagwa lampooned Chamisa for refusing to accept the 2018 presidential results, saying God was a God of order and, therefore, the refusal by the MDC and its leadership to accept the results, which were reaffirmed by the ConCourt, was a clear act of defiance against God.

The Zanu PF leader, whose victory in the July 30, 2018 poll has been disputed by the MDC, was addressing leaders of local Christian denominations at State House, at a meeting meant to find a home-grown solution to the
country’s deteriorating political and economic crises.

“For structures to work, those of us who put them should respect them, especially when they pass a ruling. I am now going to politics: We had our elections, after those elections, you don’t tell yourself that you have won. Other people are the ones who name the winner. If you enter a race … and you run the race and you get to the finish line, you don’t go there and say it’s me who won, there are other people who announce the winner … these are the institutions that regulate how people live in the country. Now when you can’t listen to the institutions, you will have disobeyed God, because he is a God of order,” Mnangagwa said.

Chamisa has refused to recognise Mnangagwa’s presidency, with his party legislators also walking out on the Zanu PF leader each time he enters Parliament Building.

The youthful opposition leader claims his victory was stolen by Mnangagwa in connivance with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) and the ConCourt.

The MDC has insisted that Mnangagwa’s illegitimacy was behind the country’s political and economic mess, saying only genuine dialogue between Chamisa and the Zanu PF leader would unlock the current political logjam.

Several church groups have offered to broker talks between the two protagonists, but the Indigenous Interdenominational Council of Churches, led by Andrew Wutaunashe, have shot down the efforts and warned Mnangagwa against entering into negotiations centred around his legitimacy.

“We seek a dialogue that begins from the recognition that our State, our nation of Zimbabwe, and all its institutions must be preserved and they must be respected. To this end, we, as the indigenous church leaders, are also saying there cannot be real genuine dialogue based on trying to determine whether or not you are the President of Zimbabwe. You are the President of Zimbabwe,” Wutaunashe said.

“You are the President, not because it’s an opinion of Emmerson Mnangagwa alone, but it’s the opinion of the voters and when it was disputed, it was taken to the most important institution that gave a determination. When the ConCourt gave a ruling that you were duly elected, it would be foolhardy to start any dialogue on the basis that we are discussing whether or not you are the President because if we do so, what we are doing is we are destroying our own institutions.”

Wutaunashe then called on Chamisa to publicly accept the ConCourt verdict and begin to treat Mnangagwa as his President.

“We are not being guided as this nation by the opinion of Emmerson Mnangagwa or that of Nelson Chamisa, we are being guided as a nation by the author and law that comes from our institutions … We also call upon the opposition, particularly the MDC … we call upon Nelson Chamisa to recognise the Presidency, to accept the findings of the court as a respect of our courts and our institutions,” he said.

Last week, Mnangagwa met with Catholic bishops, who wanted to discuss the imploding socio-economic crisis in the country, among other issues, but Wutaunashe said it was the local churches who were the real voices of Zimbabweans.

“Patriotic churches, that hold the voice of the churches which actually have their roots in this country and represent overwhelmingly the voice of the majority of the people of this nation, have actually been in a way made voiceless. Statements are being made left, right and centre and being attributed to the church and yet not of these whom you see before you at least have been invited or told of the statements,” he said.

The Zimbabwe Council of Churches, which has been pushing for a lasting dialogue between Mnangagwa and Chamisa, came under attack, with Zion Christian Church leader Nehemiah Mutendi accusing them of trying to disrespect the Constitution.

“They came and said let us put aside elections for seven years. They want us to disrespect the Constitution, to disrespect our laws, yet the Bible tells us to obey the law,” he said.

By SIMBARASHE SITHOLE

ZIMDANCEHALL chanter Emmanuel “Guspy Warrior” Manyeruke (pictured) says he has been busy raising funds and goods to give the elderly at Bumudzo Old People’s Home in Chitungwiza some cheer during this year’s festive season.

Guspy Warrior, who was raised in Chitungwiza as a Salvation Army congregant, said he believed it was time for him to give back to the community.

“This festive season, I am remembering the elderly at Bumudzo in my hood, Chitungwiza, where I grew up and being a member of the Salvation Army, I believe it is high time that I should be seen ploughing back into the community,” he
said.

“I am appealing to fellow Zimbabweans willing to chip in with donations to do so by contacting me through my digital platforms so that we contribute meaningfully to our elderly this festive season.”

Meanwhile, the musician, who released his latest double album, Undisputed, with Dhadza D on October 31 at Aquatic Complex in Chitungwiza, said he usually pushed his music from October in preparation for year-end parties.

Guspy has been frequenting Bindura this year and has since promised to give his fans there a free show in January as a bonus for their overwhelming support.

“I have frequented Bindura because my fans (there) are very welcoming and I have never flopped in that city, so I am actually planning to give them a free show in January as most of us know that in January, people will be broke,” he said.

The son to the legendary gospel musician, Mechanic Manyeruke, will wrap up his Bindura shows this year on Saturday, where he will share the stage with Tocky Vibes.

LORRAINE MUROMO/TAFADZWA MHLANGA

THE Dutch embassy has urged government to ensure transparency and policy consistency, especially on land to encourage more local small-scale farmers to venture into horticulture farming.

Speaking at a media briefing in the capital yesterday, Dutch ambassador to Zimbabwe, Barbara Van Hellemond said government should introduce more security on 99-year land leases.

“We will keep pushing the Zimbabwean government for progress on the 99-year bankable leases, a new land governance policy and respect of property rights in all of Zimbabwe.”

Hellemond encouraged the government to create a politically and economically conducive environment to fully revive the agricultural sector to its fullest potential.

She added that the fair practice of transparent making and execution of these policies will attract Dutch investors in the future.

In a joint statement, Zimtrade and PUM also said the horticulture project will be replicated all over the country.

“The role of the Zimbabwean government is to assure consistent policymaking and transparency execution of policies so that the initiative will come to life. It is important that government supports and makes sure that the farmers will know that they own the land.”

“The project, which will be replicated in other provinces across the country is designed to improve market access for small-scale farmers to grow their contribution towards export earnings,”

‘‘The MoU will cover collaboration on infrastructure, improvement on identified farms, technical skills development, logistics management and market development,” the statement read.

It will also cover the diversification of horticulture export products. The Netherlands government will spearhead and finance the project.

The two companies said under the four-year pilot project, three model farms will be capacitated to onboard small-scale farmers as their out-growers.

Netherlands is highly dependent on horticulture and has reduced the use of water by 90% and it has almost stopped the use of pesticides in its greenhouses.

Despite the country being 10% the size of Zimbabwe, Netherlands is the second biggest exporter after United States and it exports 65 billion Euros worth of vegetables, fruits, flowers, meat and dairy products each year.

It is estimated that 10% of its GDP is generated from agriculture.

Dutch organisation, PUM has organised business linkages for local and Dutch farmers in a bid to increase exports from Zimbabwe to the Netherlands.

BY MOSES MATENGA/RICHARD MUPONDE/NQOBANI NDLOVU

THE opposition MDC is ganging up with citizens, civic society, churches and labour to launch a spirited campaign to remove President Emmerson Mnangagwa from power through an initiative they say will be driven by Zimbabweans hard-pressed by the economic and political crisis in the country, it has emerged.

Impeccable sources said the campaign has gathered momentum and the MDC has dropped its dialogue calls with Zanu PF to end the economic and political logjam and were now going for a push led by citizens.

In separate briefings by the opposition, labour and civic society over the weekend, meetings have since been rolled out and the next action to happen will be coming from the people.

“You will not hear us talking about dialogue. That time is over and we now want to takeover,” a source close to the developments said.

“We are for the convergence platform, a citizen-based initiative with the MDC also part of that because they remain the biggest opposition political party in Zimbabwe and have the people.

“The initiative is by the people and it should belong to the citizens, the churches, labour and everyone. It’s about citizen issues. There are citizens in Zanu PF affected by the current situation, there are citizens everywhere affected by this and this kind of platform is needed.”

Another source said the platform would soon be rolled out and would include prayer sessions across the country, civil disobedience, peaceful protests in Mnangagwa’s presence and solid engagement with the international community.

“This is no longer an MDC struggle. It is now the people’s struggle. No one has not been affected by this dictatorship, the traditional leadership, journalists, comedians,” the source said.

MDC national chairperson Thabitha Khumalo yesterday said citizens in Zimbabwe and Africa had reached a point of saying “enough is enough”.

“If you look at the trend, citizens, global citizens or African citizens, have reached a stage where they have said to themselves if we don’t do anything we die, we do something we die,” she said.

“So they have taken it upon themselves to demand democracy from governments that are ruling them. So Sadc and the African Union sooner or later, the countries that are members of these institutions, their citizens will reach a stage where they will stand up and say no.

“It’s a matter of time, let’s give it time. Things are going to change and these regional and international statutory bodies where our governments are members will smell the coffee.

This time around, it will not be from individual opposition parties, but it will be from African citizens and their own citizens in their own countries.”

Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo dismissed Khumalo as a dreamer who was unfit to lead the country.

“As a party, we believe in the rule of law, not lawlessness and anarchy. If that’s what she is encouraging, she can as well leave politics to those who mean well to the people of this country. We are not going to be led by a dreamer,” he said.

Information deputy minister Energy Mutodi said government would deal with “anarchists” and those working to destabilise the country through whatever means.

“A civic movement or a civic society demonstration must have roots in the whole population of Zimbabwe. If it is being originated or sponsored or promoted by certain power-hungry people who are calling themselves presidents when they are not presidents, who have unbridled ambitions without grassroot support, it remains a futile exercise, it remains a non-event, and it remains a nullity,” he said.

“We need to realise that government is not a child play. If anyone wants to take the law into their own hands, and engage in violent activities to disturb government, the law will take its course. Even if they are leaders of political parties or whatever, the law will be applied. My only advice is this is the last warning and we are working tirelessly to ensure government is not disturbed throughout its five-year mandate.”

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said they had not heard any plot to that effect and, therefore, could not comment.

Political analyst Ibbo Mandaza said Zimbabwe was crying out loud for change.

“It is back to the drawing board. That is why we are talking about a national dialogue and my position has always been about a national transitional authority,” he said.

“The current establishment has no capacity to turn things around. The last election was invalid and there is need for a return to constitutionality and political, electoral and economic reforms before the next elections.”

Mandaza said the proposed National Convergence Platform (NCP) would be launched on December 13 in Harare.

Zimbabwe Council of Churches programmes manager Tinashe Gumbo said they were consulting stakeholders in Chinhoyi, Marondera, Bindura and Harare ahead of the NCP signing ceremony.

BY MOSES MATENGA

THE ruling Zanu PF party is one of City of Harare’s biggest debtors and owes the MDC-dominated local authority more than $1,2 million in unpaid rates, NewsDay has learnt.

Other debtors who owe the local authority huge amounts are the Walter Magaya-led Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries Church, which is yet to pay close to $400 million, the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport ($101 250 000), the National Social Security Authority (NSSA), Norton Town Council, Chitungwiza Urban Council and the National Railways of Zimbabwe — whose total debt adds up to more than $2 million.

A debtors’ list seen by NewsDay shows that Zanu PF’s holding company M&S Syndicate (Pvt) Limited, owed the local authority $1 189 768,30 in unpaid water bills at the 15-storey building located in the capital.

Zanu PF national secretary for administration Obert Mpofu said just like any other utility, the party was bound to have debts and urged council to “remind the party” of its obligations.

“They should approach the party. Like any other utility, we have to meet our obligations, but if we are not reminded about that, it is difficult to do anything. We are just users of their services like any other utility and if they want to be paid, they should approach us,” he said.

Ironically, Zanu PF has been at the forefront of accusing the local authority of failing to provide services that include potable water, quality roads and refuse collection, among others.

Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga recently castigated the MDC-dominated council of failure, saying it had done nothing for the people since coming into office.

His comments last week drew the ire of the MDC, who accused the Vice-President of being out of touch with reality.

Among the 500 debtors is Chitungwiza Town Council, which owes the local authority $414 292 856,77, with Norton Town Council coming third, owing the local authority close to $4 million.
Government entities which include NSSA and NRZ and Telecel are also owing the city millions of dollars.

Other firms that owe the local authority include Zupco, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, Crest Breeders, Irvine’s Day-Old Chicks, Simon Muzenda Housing Co-operative and Caps (Pvt) Ltd.

The District Development Fund is also part of the debtors, together with the Forestry Commission, Amalgamated Motor Corporation, TN Harlequin Luxaire t/a TN Bank Mall Nelson Mandela.

Harare is owed more than $1 billion by business, government and residents and has been battling to deliver services in the city due to the ballooning debt.

Ahead of the 2013 harmonised elections and as part Zanu PF’s political campaign strategy, the then President, the late Robert Mugabe, instructed then Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo to write off millions of dollars in debt owed to local authorities.

The move was widely viewed as populist and crippled the country’s local authorities, which have since failed to recover from that heavy knock.

editorial comment

Indications by Zanu PF secretary for administration Obert Mpofu that the party was considering tampering with the national Constitution to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s tenure beyond the stipulated two five-year terms is a clear demonstration that there is no appetite within the ruling party to break from its dark past.

The ruling party should actually be pushing for a culture of leadership renewal rather than use the governance charter to serve individual interests at the expense of the good of the nation. This is similar to what we witnessed with the late former President Robert Mugabe who eventually had to be forced out through the barrel of the gun after 37 years in power. This seems to be a vicious cycle that Zanu PF is too keen to repeat. The party needs to discard its culture of turning leaders into demi-gods and ensure that presidents come and go regularly as happens in other normal democracies.

The fact that Zanu PF has got a two-thirds majority in Parliament should not be used to tamper with the Constitution at their whim because that is akin to abusing their majority in Parliament. Doing so is a demonstration that they clearly have no regard for the people who voted for that Constitution during the referendum. In fact, this defeats that democratic process through which governance charters are crafted.

While everyone appreciates that Zanu PF can use its parliamentary majority to change the Constitution, doing so at their whim will only portray them as a dictatorial party that has no interests of the population at heart, but is just there to serve its parochial interests of hanging on to power at all costs, regardless of their gross failure to fulfil promises which they made during the last elections.

Quite clearly, some in Zanu PF have a nauseating sense of self-entitlement that makes them behave and act as if Zimbabwe is their party property. This kind of behaviour does not make them appeal even to neutrals who may consider voting for them in future. All it does is portray them as a power-mongering party lacking a democratic culture through which new leaders are raised and given the opportunity to lead.

Mnangagwa once he has done his two terms if voted back in 2023, he should feel obliged to make way for a new leader. This is the only way he can prove to the nation that he has indeed broken away from Mugabeism. But as of now, all the signs are there that he was raised in Mugabe’s shadow, and has just continued from where his late predecessor left. There is nothing new. In fact, many Zimbabweans are of the belief that they are now worse off than they ever were under Mugabe. Make no mistake, Mugabe destroyed the country due to his prolonged and aimless stay in power and this could result in any new government taking longer to reverse the late former President’s effects of misrule. Therefore, Mnangagwa must be smarter if he is to turnaround the economic fortunes of the country by embracing and entrenching democratic tenets in all spheres including in his Zanu PF party.