BY VENERANDA LANGA

PUBLIC Accounts Committee (PAC) chairperson Tendai Biti yesterday said the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) must be removed from being under the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), alleging that the central bank itself was a “rogue” institution which needs investigation by the unit.

Biti said this during debate in the National Assembly on the second reading stage of the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Bill.

The same issue was raised by the chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Finance, Felix Mhona, during public hearings on the Bill.

Members of the public also suggested that the FIU must be removed from the RBZ so that it becomes an independent institution.

“Two weeks ago, I presented on behalf of the PAC a report on the omissions of the RBZ. We made a recommendation that the footprints of the RBZ were too much in the economy because they are responsible for distribution of foreign currency, export requirements, subsidies and issuance of Treasury Bills, lending and borrowing,” Biti said.

“PAC recommended that section 6 of the RBZ Act should be amended so that their functions are issuance of foreign currency, management of the monetary policy statement, management of the payment system and a banker of last resort.

“The issue of housing the FIU in the RBZ is a problem because they (RBZ) are a player in corruption and they need to be investigated. So, the RBZ is a rogue institution and it cannot house the FIU to investigate its rogueness.”

Biti said, for example, the RBZ released new $5 and $2 notes which were then distributed to the parallel market.

He said the central bank tried to deny its involvement and pin two banks for the shenanigans, but the fact that there were hundreds of thousands of notes disbursed to the streets showed that the RBZ was somehow involved.

“There is a problem in that the RBZ issues banking licences and regulates, which is a contradiction. You cannot regulate and be an overseer. In other countries, there is a financial oversight unit. We need to take out the FIU from RBZ and create a big financial oversight unit and combine it with the Securities Commission so that they look at issues of money-laundering,” Biti said.

African Parliamentarians Network Against Corruption chairperson Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga said there was need for the Bill to ensure there was declaration of assets for all public officials.

“Some MPs walk into this House without ever having been to work, but five years later, you hear they own industries. They need to tell us how they got the money. Before anyone says they want to be president, they need to first declare their assets,” she said.

“We also need a Whistleblowers Act because I met someone at the airport, who said there was a lot of corruption and people from Dubai are entering with goods and getting bags of gold. He said he met many ministers doing that, but nothing is done to them.

“When I asked him if I can take him to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission to report, he said that he could lose his job. So there is need for a Whistleblowers Act.”

Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi concurred with Misihairabwi-Mushonga, saying the Anti-Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Bill is a necessary law due to rampant corruption in the country.

“If you drive around Harare, you will not believe the wealth in this country. There is a mismatch between the kind of wealth and people’s salaries,” Ziyambi said.

“You find a clerk earning $1 000, but has three or four mansions. All that we are trying to say is explain your wealth. We need legislation to give us ammunition to fight corruption.”

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

LAWYERS yesterday held a peaceful demonstration against police brutality before handing a petition to Home Affairs minister Kazembe Kazembe and Police Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga.

Incensed by what they called an increase in State-sponsored violence and police impunity against accused persons, ordinary citizens and lawyers, close to 50 lawyers, led by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), took to the streets clad in their robes and jabots to express displeasure.

Handing over the petition to national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi, who was standing in for Matanga, Grace Wagoneka demanded that police stop wanton brutality.

“We are demanding an end in police brutality, it’s unconstitutional and it cannot be entertained,” she said.

“We want it to end now. We are also demanding that police stop being an obstacle to us as legal practitioners when we are doing our work. When we visit our clients, who will be in police cells sometimes we are denied access to our clients. We want an end to that.”

Another lawyer, Mutsa Chinhamo, said police lacked basic understanding of the law and, therefore, were not enforcing the law, but just basically standing as agents of impunity.

“It’s an issue of ignorance of the law by the police. The police are not enforcing the law, they are just being brutal,” Chinhamo said.

“They are just showing impunity and do not care. They are abusing their powers and not upholding the Constitution. The Constitution should be a document that holds the country together.”

The lawyers in their petition want Kazembe to investigate all reports of police brutality, including the latest attack on Doug Coltart, who was allegedly beaten up by six police officers in full riot gear at Harare Central Police Station.

They are also demanding that an independent complaints commission against the police and army be set up in line with sections of the Constitution.

Lawyers sang and danced on the streets of Harare carrying banners denouncing the police.

IN the past two weeks, Zanu PF MPs have adopted a new tactic: Disrupt any parliamentary business or refuse to engage in any dealings with the opposition and, if possible, kick them out of parliamentary committees unless they legitimise President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

This raises a serious question: Why is Mnangagwa and his party so desperate for Nelson Chamisa and his MDC Alliance’s endorsement? Their desperation is such that they have turned the once respectable National Assembly into a circus and a very dangerous place for the opposition.

Timely disruption?

This all started a fortnight ago when Zanu PF legislators led by Chegutu West MP Dexter Nduna disrupted the sitting of the Tendai Biti-led Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which was looking at a very serious issue of graft in the Command Agriculture programme.

It was informative that the first disruption was made to prevent Sakunda Holdings executives from presenting evidence to the PAC over the unaccounted for US$3 billion in public funds the firm received for government’s much-vaunted Command Agriculture programme.

If the PAC wants answers about the money, the MDC must recognise Mnangagwa as a legitimately elected president, the Zanu PF MPs charged.

So Parliament and the public remain in the dark about how their money was used for a failed programme. That is how Zanu PF likes it, apparently, and the criminals and their beneficiaries get away scot-free.

Last week, Zanu PF MPs then started disrupting the sitting of more committees chaired by MDC legislators.

These include the Environment Committee, the Health Committee, the Media Committee, the Energy Committee, and the HIV/Aids thematic committee made up of senators and chaired by the MDC.

The MDC MPs and senators must first recognise Mnangagwa’s presidency if they want to carry out Parliament business, was the Zanu PF chorus.

Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has since taken the issue further, refusing to take any questions from MDC legislators because they do not recognise Mnangagwa’s presidency.

The case for disruption

After decades of enduring long-time leader Robert Mugabe’s virtual dictatorship, the southern African nation hoped his removal from power via a coup in November 2017 would shake off its divided past, but Mnangagwa’s disputed victory only deepened political rifts.

After the election, Charles Laurie, head of country risk for Verisk Maplecroft, told Reuters news agency that: “There is a bleak pall over Mnangagwa’s win.”

So Mnangagwa’s bid to be seen as a legitimate, stable and trustworthy leader was gone, and with it his chances of ending Zimbabwe’s international pariah status and fixing an economy afflicted by high unemployment and foreign currency shortages among the many challenges.

Chamisa refused to bite when Mnangagwa offered him a position in Parliament as Leader of Opposition, perks and all, and insisted that the election had been stolen. By many indications, it is a view many in the diplomatic circles subscribe to.

So Mnangagwa has resorted to his default mode, force the opposition into submission, by any means necessary. The post-election killings of six civilians were not an aberration or a temporary lapse in judgment as in January this year, security forces killed another 17 during protests over a 150% fuel price hike. His administration has banned opposition gatherings or protests at every turn while police have beaten to a pulp those who attempted to meet.

The end-game?

Everywhere Mnangagwa looks, there is a signpost — talk to the opposition. There is a qualification too: Not the fake opposition under your Political Actors Dialogue, but the real one — read MDC.

So Mnangagwa, never much of a diplomat, twists the knife some more and goes after the opposition in the only institution they have some sway — Parliament.

First, it is a less risky way of trying to coerce and arm-twist the MDC. Mnangagwa wants opposition MPs in his corner: they are the flower of democracy for him to posture to the world that there is democracy in the country.

He has been selling himself as a democrat, an opposite of Mugabe and the opposition MPs will be useful in projecting that image, hence he wants them to recognise him for that objective to be achieved.

Second, Zanu PF wants a breakdown of government, a government shutdown; they have the leverage of two-thirds in Parliament so that they continue as they please.

PAC was the only avenue of exposing Mnangagwa’s corruption and obviously, it exposes Zanu PF because the ministers are its appointees. Boycotting PAC is the corner they have curved and they can use that to block the MDC from exposing high-level corruption.

Thirdly, Zanu PF is resorting to coercive tactics that ED hardliners are known for. They know that recognition by MDC will unlock the economic gridlock and make the way easy for another Zanu PF re-election in 2023. Zanu PF knows the economic problems are caused by political instability.

Efforts to mediate by churches and anyone else have failed because, as South Africa’s
International Relations minister Naledi Pandor noted two weeks ago, there is a “deep antipathy” between Zimbabwe’s rival political leaders.

Zimbabwe, she said, was facing “one of the most challenging” economic situations in the region.

But the circus is set to run and run.

 Alfonce Mbizwo is NewsDay Assistant Editor. Everson Mushava is NewsDay Chief Reporter. Veneranda Langa contributed to this article. They write in their personal capacities.

BY BLESSED MHLANGA/REX MPHISA

STRIKING junior and senior doctors have turned down offers by government to return to work within two days and to be paid $5 000 monthly by Econet Wireless founder, Strive Masiyiwa and his wife, Tsitsi, through their Higher Life Foundation (HLF), extending Zimbabwe’s health crisis.

The doctors went on strike on September 3 to protest against poor wages, in some cases less than US$100 a month.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government, which responded to the job boycott by firing 448 doctors and pursuing disciplinary action against more than 1 000 others, on Thursday offered to reinstate them if they returned to work within 48 hours.

According to the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA), the last wage offer by the government would see the doctors earning a total package, including allowances, of
$3 900 (about US$240) per month.

“Sadly, the moratorium has come without a new offer on the table having been communicated to us,” ZHDA said, explaining its rejection of the offer.

The doctors also declined to accept an offer by Masiyiwa’s foundation to pay them $5 000 a month for six months.

Under the $100 million scholarship fund, HLF had offered to pay the senior and junior doctors $5 000, provide three Vaya rides to work every day and smart phones.

The ZHDA and Zimbabwe Senior Hospital Doctors Association (ZSHDA) said they met with a representative from HLF and deliberated on their offer of financial assistance to government doctors.

“As such, it was concluded that, inasmuch as the support from HFL is welcome, it does not address completely the demands of doctors for a salary value which is preserved despite soaring inflation, as well as provision of appropriate tools of trade,” the doctors said in the statement.

“It was posited that the offer from HLF may be reconsidered once the standoff between ZHDA and its employer has been resolved. This recognises the sincerity of the donor and its desire not to interfere with the negotiating process.”

The doctors said the appreciated efforts by the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference to resolve the impasse with government, but the bishops’ intervention lacked a representation of their voice.

“We appreciate the role played by the Catholic bishops which resulted in doctors being issued a moratorium, valid for the next 48 hours. Sadly, it came without a new offer on the table being communicated to us. Should this moratorium lapse without the formal communication of an offer that is reasonable, it would stand as yet another gracious privilege that is lost,” ZHDA
said.

They pleaded with the bishops to, in future, seek the voice of the other side before speaking on their behalf.

“We would appreciate it more if the bishops talk to doctors’ representatives first so that they are in an informed position to represent the doctors’ real interests,” ZHDA said.

According to reports, the junior doctors want the government to pay them a US$1 500 per month or its equivalent at the going inter-market rate.

Consultants, otherwise called senior doctors, expect a similar arrangement on a US$5 000 salary scale following which they will resume work, NewsDay Weekender understands.

ZHDA acting secretary general, Tawanda Zvakada on Thursday said a number of doctors were at the moment considering leaving the country if the situation does not change.

He said a number of doctors were trying to raise money to fulfil the conversion requirements for the different countries that might recruit them.

Britain, Australia, New Zealand were reportedly willing to capitalise on Zimbabwe’s situation.

“Some doctors are struggling to raise the funds for those conversions. As you might be aware, our salaries were stopped in September,” Zvakada said. — Additional reporting by Reuters

Editorial Comment

ANYONE who has bothered to follow the Zimbabwean story is bound to be very weary by now, given the roller coaster dramatic political and economic twist and turns.

For two decades now, the country has hardly known peace. Since 2000, it has all been doom and gloom, and the major reason for all this miserable state of affairs has been nothing, but politics.

It has all been politics of hate, politics of violence, politics of patronage, politics of corruption, politics of expediency, politics of denial and politics of looting the country’s resources by a few powerful individuals. Little wonder the main opposition MDC is now exasperated to near frustration.

Those who have read the history of the birth of this country may well know that it was such a hard slog to wrest control of the southern African nation from rabid colonial and racist rule.

But little did anyone back then ever imagine that someday, the very kith and kin, who once united to fight for their freedom, would turn their swords on each other.

No one would have ever imagined that a day would come when the swords, which were supposed to be turned into ploughshares soon after the liberation war ended, would, instead, be sharpened to strike dead a blood brother and sister.

Under this dark cloud, the MDC has, understandably, decided to bite the bullet and resist, through protests, the tyranny that is being directed at it by the ruling Zanu PF party simply because those in the opposition have chosen to point out the wrongs of their fellow country folk, who have had the sole honour and privilege to lead this country since independence in 1980.

Outsiders continue to stare in perturbed incredulity at a people that never seem to see eye-to-eye despite all of them knowing where exactly they want to go.

Many out there are amazed at the amount of energy the ruling party expends just to accuse the opposition of being agents of regime change, ostensibly to bring back colonial rule, as if Zimbabwe is the only country in this universe that was ever colonised.

Zanu PF’s paranoia of some other party ruling this country, other than itself, is perplexing beyond belief. But after all has been said and done, all this political heckling and squabbling is destroying the Zimbabwe nation State and will definitely get us nowhere.

Surely, for how long will we live a life of confrontation? For how long will the ruling Zanu PF party refuse to be cautioned when it errs? Did those in Zanu PF ever learn anything from the 2009 to 2013 Government of National Unity, which was the only moment in the country’s sad history when we nearly got it right?

That Zanu PF decided to go it alone since that historic unity only serves to expose the political selfishness that has effectively thrown the country into the present filthy rut.

The political situation in Zimbabwe appears complex, but in essence, its solution is very simple if only the ruling party humbled itself, a position that will never erase the fact that it was instrumental in liberating this country.

If anything, by so doing, it would have demonstrated maturity and it will gain more respect than it will ever hope to gain by perpetually fighting the opposition MDC. If only the ruling party would come to understand that pride comes before a fall.

BY FORTUNE MBELE

AFTER 13 years on the local football scene, Soccer Star finalist and Highlanders goalkeeper, Ariel Sibanda, hopes for a Chibuku Cup triumph against Ngezi Platinum Stars at Barbourfields Stadium today for a ticket to participate in the Caf Confederations Cup, which could set him on the path to unlock the elusive move to a league outside the country.

The 30-year-old shot stopper was named among the 11 Castle Lager Soccer Stars of the Year for 2019 this week for the second year running and for the third time in his career.

Sibanda, who goes by the moniker “Mangoye” (The Cat), said he wished Highlanders won the Chibuku Super Cup and the Bulawayo giants represent Zimbabwe in the Caf Confederation Cup to provide him with a platform to showcase his ability on the continental stage.

“Remember, in 2013 when we won the Mbada Diamonds Cup and qualified to represent the country in the African Safari, we were still under a Caf ban. It is my hope that we win the Chibuku Super Cup and we play in the Caf Confederation Cup and I can make a move outside the country,” Sibanda said in interview with Newsday Weekender Sport.

“I am very confident that I can do it and I think I still have a chance to make it outside. I am not even thinking about retiring. As long as I can still play, it’s game on.”

Sibanda, prolific in taking penalties and saving them, was surprised to make it among the country’s best 11 footballers from the current season.

“I was not expecting to make it into the final 11 this year. As Highlanders, we started very badly this year and I am overwhelmed,” he said.

“This is just great. I feel very honoured because there are a number of talented and good goalkeepers in the country.”

This afternoon, Sibanda will be hoping that the door to his ambitions can be opened by winning the competition that would take Bosso to Africa.

But in Bosso’s way are a formidable Ngezi Platinum and a shrewd tactician in gaffer Rodwell Dhlakama.

Dhlakama has already said he would look to exploit the pressure that Bosso will be under as they play in front of their multitudes of supporters at their home ground.

Since the arrival of Dutchman Pieter de Jongh, Highlanders have gone unbeated and have soared on the league table while enjoying success in the cup competition and that has created an air of expectation.

The fans will demand that the team wins the cup.

“The fact that we are in the final means we have to win it. We prevailed in the early stages and we deserve it. Our objective is to win. We play entertaining football and we don’t want to disappoint the fans that will throng Barbourfields Stadium, the ceremonial home of football. We just don’t want to put our players under pressure and we hope the match official will also not disappoint and the fans will support without any uproar,” Dhlakama said.

“We know Highlanders will be under pressure and we are looking to use that to our favour. It is good that this match is being played at Barbourfields, it suits us very well.”

Bosso coach De Jongh knows that his side face an uphill task against a strong Ngezi side.

“A cup game is totally different from a league game because in a cup game, there will be an outright winner come Saturday (today) after 90 minutes or the penalties. Ngezi are a good team, there is no dispute about that. They have very good players with a lot of speed,” he said.

“This is their second time in the Chibuku final, so they have the experience. It’s our first time in the final, but we have players with good age and we are in high spirits. I believe we will come out with a good result. We have respect for the opponents (Ngezi) because they are a
good team. Hopefully, it comes to our side, but it’s going to be a tough game.”

Prince Dube, who has scored in each of the stages of the tournament with three goals to his name, will be the man to watch and he will be partnering Tinashe Makanda upfront.

The workaholic Ray Lunga should form a solid midfield with Adrian Silla and Nqobizitha Masuku, while Peter Muduhwa marshals the defence.

Devine Mhindirira has returned after a long lay-off due to injury.

Ngezi will be looking to the talent of forwards Donald Teguru and James Nguluve for penetration upfront.

They have good experience in Qadir Amin and Gerald Takwara in midfield so much that the midfield battle against Bosso’s lot could be key in this match.

INTERVIEW: Everson Mushava

Vice-President Costantino Chiwenga returned home last week from China where he was receiving treatment. He arrived aboard a Chinese plane and the Chinese deputy ambassador to Zimbabwe, Zhao Baogang, led the delegates, who included Chiwenga’s brother and son, minus top government officials who welcomed him at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport. NewsDay chief reporter Everson Mushava (ND) caught up with self-exiled former Higher Education minister Jonathan Moyo (JM), who described Chiwenga’s return on Twitter as bizarre and a reflection of disunity in Zanu PF. Below are excerpts of the interview.

ND: Last week, Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga returned home on board a Chinese plane and was welcomed by a Chinese envoy, minus government officials. In your view, what does that mean?

JM: What happened has no precedence, save perhaps in banana republics. And the fact that it happened the way it did, has certified Zimbabwe as a banana republic. You cannot have the senior vice-president, who had been away critically ill and was receiving treatment in China for some five months, returning on a special Chinese plane to be received by China’s deputy ambassador in Harare, who was head of the welcoming party with no government or ruling party officials. That’s unheard of. The inescapable impression, if not reality, is that China was demonstrating its muscles and exposing Zimbabwe as a Chinese puppet.

While it is tempting to conclude that the Chinese did not give the Zimbabwean government flight arrival details, which is not sustainable because Chiwenga’s Zimbabwean security was there in numbers, this clearly means that things have fallen apart. There’s now a shell of a government with no centre.

Zanu PF bigwigs did not expect Chiwenga to return, looking brand new, with the Chinese calling the shots and Zimbabweans playing second fiddle. Mnangagwa was offering Joice Mujuru the vice-presidency held by Chiwenga, while Zanu PF bigwigs were busy jostling for the same position and harassing Chiwenga’s allies in the military, government and in Zanu PF; and hoping that the party’s Goromonzi conference would consign Chiwenga to the dustbin of political history.

So, the return of a well-made up and well-groomed Chiwenga, with a presidential look, has turned things upside down in the corridors of power. A different power matrix is definitely loading, and the question is not whether it will materialise, but how it will do so and when.

ND: Now that Chiwenga is back, what do you think is happening in Zanu PF?

JM: I think Zanu PF is imploding. The writing is on the wall that Zanu PF has lost the army or that the army has lost interest in Zanu PF.

It is also clear that the post-2017 Zanu PF cannot survive without the army. You saw what happened when the army stayed away from Zanu PF’s so-called anti-sanctions march on October 25, 2019, it was an embarrassing disaster as Mnangagwa addressed an empty National Sports Stadium. Only the army can mobilise for Zanu PF.

Unlike Mugabe, Mnangagwa has no mobilisation capacity whatsoever. He’s not a leader. But of course, Mnangagwa wants to be a leader, apa haana vanhu (yet he has no support).

ND: Some people say there is no bad blood between Mnangagwa and Chiwenga, claiming the rift is a creation by desperate people. Why are you so convinced that things are not well between Mnangagwa and Chiwenga?

JM: Well, I don’t know that the issue is about bad blood in politics because bad blood is the stuff of politics. But in real politics, a president does not entertain a vice-president who was his kingmaker. Conversely, a kingmaker, who is a vice-president, does not entertain an ungrateful president, who unleashes his allies against his vice-president.

The problem for Mnangagwa is that he has no base: He no longer has support in Parliament, no support in Zanu PF, save for his clansmen, no support in the army and no support in the business community.

On the other hand, Chiwenga has a base in the army and he campaigned for the Zanu PF Members of Parliament. But, like Mnangagwa, Chiwenga does not have the popular support of the people.

In fact, Chiwenga is seen as the mastermind of the electoral theft of the presidential election from which Mnangagwa benefited after losing to MDC leader Nelson Chamisa.

ND: You talked of Chiwenga masterminding the electoral theft of presidential polls that benefited Mnangagwa, how did he do that? Can you clarify?

JM: It is in my forthcoming book to be published in two weeks’ time.

ND: Mnangagwa recently started attacking the G40 grouping by threatening to deal with the remnants of the faction he accused of destabilising the ruling party, what is your comment on that?

JM: For Mnangagwa, G40 is a bogeyman he uses as a scarecrow. It has nothing to do with political reality at all. What is instructive though is that Zanu PF is now a divided house standing on quicksand. The majority in the leadership and membership of Zanu PF has lost confidence in Mnangagwa, who has failed to rise to the level of their 2017 coup expectations.

The fact that Mnangagwa followed Mugabe to the throne has been a nightmare for him. He is a terrible public speaker with shrill delivery style that irritates the ear; he’s given to clan politics and his content-free policies with no ideological grounding. He has failed to rally Zanu PF into a political force.

When the chips are down, all he sees is G40. Well, to the extent that the G40 is a shorthand for his internal opposition, then yes, he has good cause to be worried because his rampant failures have vindicated the generality of the G40 members of Zanu PF, who resisted his ascendancy because they knew or saw him as unfit for the presidency.

ND: Does G40 still exist and if it does, what is its mission?

JM: G40 exists only as a powerful idea about generational renewal, but not as a group. It is absurd that Zimbabwe’s young population is being held hostage by a clueless old guard whose politics are based on an entitlement revolution that is the enemy of human rights, diversity, inclusivity, merit and democracy.

ND: With Chiwenga back, what do you think will be the end game in Zanu PF?

JM: I don’t think Chiwenga is or should be the yardstick here. His return is being exaggerated beyond the realm of the possible. Those who think he will pull off another military coup are joking. History does not repeat itself, except as a farce.

But Mnangagwa and Chiwenga have a common fate: They are presiding over a political party with a history, but with no future.

Meanwhile, the people have an overdue date with Zanu PF. It won’t end well. The decibels on the “I” word are rising within Zanu PF circles. But the outcome of impeachment is not a straight line.

Mnangagwa’s illegitimacy arising from the stolen 2018 presidential election will not be cured by impeachment or even a resignation.

If Chiwenga succeeds Mnangagwa, he will inherit his illegitimacy. Legitimacy cannot be acquired from illegitimacy. A nullity from the beginning is a nullity throughout, up to the end. So, the end game for Zanu PF is a dead end.

ND: If another coup is likely, are you suggesting a revolution will be the endgame in Zanu PF politics?

JM: Yes, a very popular revolution.

ND: Do you have hope the revolution will succeed considering the use of police brutality to cripple the opposition and the people?

JM: Popular revolutions are by definition unstoppable. The ground in Zimbabwe has been shifting towards a popular revolution for more than two decades now.

ND: And lastly out of interest, your G40 colleague Saviour Kasukuwere is reported to be planning to lead a Zanu PF faction to challenge Mnangagwa in 2023, are you part of that scheme?

JM: I don’t comment to insinuations.

ND: It has been two years since you left Zimbabwe, are you at liberty to tell us what life has been for you during the period?

JNM: Liberty is the essence of human existence and I cherish my liberty. But even so, I don’t know about telling you what life has been in the two years you’re referring to. That’s material for a book. However, having taken your call, I’m obliged to answer your questions.

ND: Do you miss home?

JNM: I agree that home is best. But I also know that there is more to home than geography. In any event, right now home is on fire. So, rather than missing home, I am praying for it.

ND: But even when you are away, you seem to have a nose on what is happening in Zimbabwe, looking at your tweets about developments in government and Zanu PF. Does that mean you are still working with some people in government and Zanu PF? Does that not validate claims that you had literally taken over the intelligence unit before the 2017 coup?

JNM: I get my information from primary sources, not from the so-called intelligence sources that have proven to be anything but intelligent. Politics is evidence driven and theory follows practice.

So, as a political scientist, I can only tweet about what’s happening in my area of interest and inquiry. I have considerable experience in government and Zanu PF. But I also know people not only in government and Zanu PF, but also from across the political divide and in the media, academia, churches, businesses and society at large.

Geographical displacement cannot be a barrier to continued communication with my contacts in these sectors. Only fools think that information on what’s happening in Zimbabwe, especially in government and Zanu PF comes from intelligence sources. Many of the so-called intelligence sources are unintelligent and ignorant people. Do you think there is any serious person out there who thinks Owen Mudha Ncube is intelligent and well informed? No. I don’t think so.

ND: What is your assessment of Mnangagwa’s leadership so far?

JNM: There’s no leadership to assess. Mnangagwa has never been a leader and he will never be a leader. This is because leadership is about morality. You cannot be a leader when, like Mnangagwa, you have no moral compass, you never speak to the nation on moral issues because you know you are a disaster on that score; and when you have no regard for human life; and you take pride in shortening the lives of your opponents.

A leader with a moral compass empathises with the people and their everyday struggles; understands their suffering and is committed to fulfilling their aspirations through people-centred policies, which are not declared at Press conferences, boardrooms or in meetings, but are implemented on the ground.

So, my assessment of Mnangagwa is that he has proven that he has not risen above his historical role as the Gukurahundi chief instigator and enforcer. As a leader, he is clueless. If leadership were to smack him on his face, he would not recognise it. You cannot say you are a leader, apa hauna vanhu!

ND: Surely, the two years you have been out of government and Zanu PF have given you room for introspection. What things do you have regrets about that you would wish to correct if you have another chance in a government or Zanu PF?

JNM: The way you are asking me that question is as if I was the president of Zimbabwe and Zanu PF during the time in question. But anyhow in public policy, one looks back and sees things that could or should have been done differently or done better.

From 2013, I regret that I was reshuffled from the Information ministry in 2015 before I could implement the IMPI report and before I could complete the digitisation programme in broadcasting. In higher and tertiary education, science and technology development, I regret that the November 2017 military coup derailed the STEM initiative, which was meant to run from 2016 to 2026; the transformation of tertiary institutions and teachers colleges into degree offering institutions; the transformation of universities from conventional teaching programmes into research-based teaching designed to train high-end skills to produce technological solutions to community and societal problems; and the overhaul and modernisation of the Manpower Planning and Development Act to enable the industrialisation and modernisation of Zimbabwe.

I regret all this, but I know tomorrow is coming and these and related things will be done and done well. My biggest regret though is that I failed to convince President Mugabe to act to pre-empt the 2017 military coup which had been actively loading since December 2014, but whose roots were sunk in the 2008 presidential run-off election.

I believe I did everything one could do, including writing three confidential memos to President Mugabe, briefing him on several occasions and making a video presentation to the Zanu PF politburo. But President Mugabe was loyal to Mnangagwa and Chiwenga whom he gave the benefit of the doubt; never accepting or believing that either could seek to overthrow him in any way, let alone through a military coup. I really regret that I found myself with no means or way of convincing Mugabe to act. In the end, I engaged Rtd General Happyton Bonyongwe, in his capacity as the Director-General of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) around August 2017, but that too came to naught although I gave him compelling evidence, which has not been mentioned in the public domain.

When I look back, I regret that I came back to government, and I mean Cabinet, in 2013. If there’s anything I wish I could correct, that’s it.

The government and Cabinet I found in 2013 was very different from the one I served between 2000 and 2005.

In 2013, there was no longer a government. Things had fallen apart. Government business had become succession business. First, it was about Joice Mujuru, she just did not want to see me back in government. Saviour Kasukuwere took me to her office ahead of the 2013 elections and she did not want to hear about me. She was actually, palpably pissed off to see me in her office.

When I was appointed minister of Information in 2013, she could not believe it. She resisted our ministry’s efforts to reform ZBC and did not want to hear about salarygate. She attacked me in Chinhoyi, calling salarygate a CIA conspiracy to destroy Zanu PF from within. But the worst is when she got President Mugabe to call me “the devil incarnate” at Nathan Shamuyarira’s funeral in June 2014. That was hell on earth.

But my ordeal under Joice Mujuru pales into insignificance when compared to what I went through after Mnangagwa became vice-president. It was a dog eat dog affair. Like Joice Mujuru, Mnangagwa wanted me out of the Information ministry and later out of Cabinet. He used Goodson Nguni and Virginia Mabhiza to falsify corruption charges against me over ZimDef; yes, the same Mnangagwa who is behind the arrest and release fiasco of his clan boy, Jorum Gumbo, at Zacc.

Anyhow, I really regret that I went back into government in 2013. I wish I had stayed out to enjoy the life I had between 2005 and 2013 outside government. It was the best time for me and my family.

Janet Manyowa

BY FREEMAN MAKOPA

POUNDING on her computer in an office where she deals with figures as a finance manager, a few cannot understand the boss in Janet Manyowa and the humility she has as a preacher of the word through music.

In her admission to NewsDay Weekender, Manyowa can multitask and cannot afford to compromise on any of her responsibilities including being a mother who looks after her three children.

The Ernest & Young chartered accountant trained Manyowa has excelled in life. She bagged several awards in her blossoming musical career. She has continued to shine on the music scene, undoubtedly becoming the most trending female gospel musician.

“I have a day job and I work as a finance manager, I trained together with my husband-cum-manager Munyaradzi at Ernest & Young chartered accountants. Besides that, I am also a parent, a mother of three and I also take that role seriously,” she said.

The Nyasha Nengoni hitmaker said her day was usually filled with exciting events, which range from praying, piano lessons to sport.

“My day is filled up with a lot of things, but first thing, I wake up in the morning and pray then I read my bible and meditate before going to the gym. Then I have to go to work and in the evening I do music practice in which I play piano and perfect my skills with other instruments,” she said.

“On Monday evening, I usually do all my music practice, on Tuesday I do rehearsals with the band while on Thursday I attend praise and worship at church where I am the leader and on weekends I do sports such as tennis and swimming, I enjoy tennis more than any other sport.”

The musician said she loved travelling to different places, adding that Nyanga was her favourite place although she preferred visiting London and Dubai, which are her favourite shopping places.

“I find Nyanga very relaxing and I also like London and Dubai of which Dubai has my favourite shopping place and as for food, I like rice and chicken and steak also. My favourite drink is Crème Soda,” she said.

Although squabbles are found in marriages, however, she said they have found a way to deal with that and have learnt to separate business from marriage. She also noted that the Bible urged people not to spend the rest of the day angry at each other. Manyowa and husband are blessed with three children, Matipa, Waishe and Mufaro.

BY VANESSA GONYE / Garikai Tunhira

TOUTS are usually known for their confidence, foul language and naughtiness, but recently, they sobered up when one of their own died right on the streets with his hospital record card in hand, after failing to get medication at one of Harare’s hospitals.

It was on a Wednesday morning, shortly before 8am, when one tout at the illegal Machipisa route pick-up point at the corner of Robert Mugabe Road and Chinhoyi Street, only referred to as Moyo, after having started the day normally, decided to take a rest and unknown to his mates, he was to breathe his last.

He became another victim of the prolonged impasse between doctors and government that has impacted negatively on the ailing health system.

“We have been aware of Moyo’s failing health for days now. Just yesterday, he went to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, but could not get treatment and today, he came early in the morning, during the peak period to try and work so that he could finance his planned pursuit of health services at a private institution,” recalled one lady, who for fear of being identified (as she trades in forex at that spot), declined to be named.

She expressed concern over the demise of the country’s healthcare system, as many people have had their health seeking behaviour tampered with due to lack of confidence in the system, which has been described as committing a silent genocide on the citizenry.

As Moyo was resting, he is said to have shifted position from the shop entrance to a more open space, right at the corner where he decided to lie down — for good.

When NewsDay Weekender arrived at the place after an hour or so, his body was still there, covered by a blanket, his hospital card on top of his lifeless body.

A crowd stood around him, with two female police officers trying to disperse them as they waited for their colleagues to bring a coffin.

Many berated the government’s “heartlessness”, while others blamed the striking doctors and nurses, who are demanding better salaries and working conditions in the ailing economy.
‘Silent genocide’

In an interview, Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA) vice-president Masimba Ndoro said what is happening in the country’s health sector is a silent genocide, something they would never wish for their patients.

“It is sad this is going on and the relevant authorities are turning a blind eye,” he said.

Community Working Group on Health executive director Itai Rusike decried the current state of affairs in the health sector, where people are being deprived of their constitutional right to health, leading to situations where they die at home or in public spheres, including streets and buses.

“The advent of the new Constitution means that government, as the guarantor, must commit to uphold health as a human right and mobilise domestic resources to fund a health benefit fund that is accessible to all,” he said.

“It is unacceptable for residents to fail to access healthcare services and it is unfortunate that government has taken a lackadaisical approach in dealing with the situation at the health centres.

“One life lost is one too many; it is unacceptable to be in a State where people are collapsing and dying in the streets. This is a tragedy and it’s a shame and, unfortunately, the authorities are not taking this seriously.”

Rusike said what is happening in the health sector is an emergency which called for the intervention of the highest office to come and lead in the transformation of the division.

“My plea is, let us put patients at the centre of our dialogue. Just having the right to health in the Constitution is not enough, we need to see it practically,” he said.

‘No deal, no work’

While all this is happening, the striking personnel remain adamant, vowing not to return to work until they have reached a consensus with their employer.

In a recent letter, Zimbabwe Urban and Rural Council Nurses Workers’ Union president Simbarashe Tafirenyika urged responsible authorities to have mercy on the struggling council nurses and act on their pleas.

“Opening maternity areas won’t take long if you address our members’ concerns. They are willing to go to work, but they are severely incapacitated. Regard us as professionals. Remember, these nurses provide essential service to the city of Harare residents and general populace,” part of the letter from Tafirenyika read.

‘Too huge a crisis’

Zimbabwe has had strikes by health personnel, but this has been one of the worst and with downing of tools by the senior doctors bound to escalate the problem, it will be a crisis too difficult to contain.

Only time will tell the impact this has had on the people as a result of this strike, especially regarding death tolls and circumstances surrounding them.

Government recently responded by firing over 400 doctors for remaining on strike over incapacitation and poor working conditions and said they would re-advertise the posts.

Unsafe options

Health rights activists, Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) said this week ordinary citizens had been left with very limited options, including utilising unsafe and unregulated healthcare centres.

“For instance, the prolonged absence of healthcare professionals in the public sector (forces) pregnant women to deliver at home or outside the formal health delivery system. Such practices are harmful, and have immediate and long-term negative siquelae to both mothers and their babies,” ZADHR executive director Calvin Fambirai said.

The last Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey estimated maternal mortality of 651 deaths per 100 000 women.

Fambirai said failure to urgently resolve the health sector crisis is likely to further worsen this situation.

He called upon government to give priority to maternal health and other essential services through increased investment in the health sector.

“Staffing levels must be optimum, the morale and motivation of the professionals must be equally improved. ZADHR demands the reinstatement of all dismissed government doctors and the urgent attention to the incapacitated doctors’ demands,” Fambirai said.

Meanwhile, telecommunications mogul, Econet Wireless founder Strive Masiyiwa has thrown a lifeline to the doctors under a $100 million facility, which includes smartphones, diagnostic aides and transport for the doctors on top of a $5 000 salary.