THE two-day Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) conference kicks off today at the Rainbow Hotel with President Emmerson Mnangagwa and First Lady Auxillia expected to officiate at the event.

BY SHARON SIBINDI

The indaba, which will be held under the theme, Leveraging Arts, Culture and Heritage for Enhanced Productivity, Job Creation and Economic Growth, is a follow-up to a stakeholders consultation workshop held in Harare last month under the auspices of the Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation ministry.

The conference is also meant to enable participants to explore themes of culture-led urban regeneration, intellectual property rights and expansion of market linkages.

A letter from one of the organisers, Saimon Mambazo Phiri seen by NewsDay Life & Style, states that the conference seeks to export opportunities of Zimbabwean art content, regionally and internationally.

“One of the expected outcomes of the conference is the creation of a time-bound matrix that informs ministries, departments, agencies and other stakeholders to deliver on specific action points in a time-bound manner,” read part of the letter.

Recently, one of the organisers, Sarah Mpofu-Sibanda, said the conference theme was aligned with the 2020 national budget theme and their hope was that interacting with the President would have a positive impact on the industry.

Another indaba to come up with comprehensive solutions to the challenges faced by the creatives will be held in Harare next year.

South African rap star Nasty C said he felt appreciated and embraced during his three-day motivational tour of local schools as part of efforts to promote his Ivyson tour set for December 21 at Pabloz VIP car park in Harare.

BY WINSTONE ANTONIO

The Mzansi singer who left the country yesterday had a glamorous farewell at Pabloz VIP Lounge on Wednesday night after the success of the tour.

The 22-year-old singer was in the country since last week Sunday at the invitation of his local “brother in music” rapper King 98, with whom he will share the stage at the concert.

In his address to the media before his departure, the elated Nasty C saluted his local fans whom he described as loving and caring.

“The feedback (of visiting schools) was crazy and dope something that I did not expect to get, such a reception in another country. It was dope I really appreciate,” he said.

As a word of advice to local up-and-coming artistes, Nasty C said; “They (artistes) must keep working hard and making good music, stay tuned to what you love and don’t let people change your minds, stay true to yourself do what you love most.”

Nasty C said his forthcoming album, Zulu Man With Some Power, will be a follow up to Strings and Bling and was a creative production that will include some personal songs adding that the album will be of African sound.”

As part of his familiarisation tour, Nasty C alongside King 98 and Enzo Ishall visited a number of schools such as Roosevelt Girls High, Conway College, Gateway School, St John’s High School, Heritage School, Dominican Convent, Prince Edward, Vainona High School and George Stuck in Mbare.

The third edition of the Ivyson tour that kicked off at The River Club, Cape Town, South Africa on September 20 saw King 98, among other top stars sharing the stage with Nasty C in different countries across the continent.

In Harare, Nasty C will share the stage with King 98, Malawi-born singer Gemini Major and Tellerman, Rowlene, Stunner, Takura, Shashl, Union 5, DJ Silence Dosh and T Gonzi.

Proceeds from the concert will be channelled towards charity with Alfred Dondo Foundation being the beneficiary.

As Zimbabwe remembers the second anniversary of the ”resignation” of long-time dictator Robert Gabriel Mugabe on November 21, 2017 — marking the end of his 37-year reign of terror — it is shocking how easily and quickly history has been distorted in order to fit a deceptive narrative that seeks to portray events that captured the entire world for those two weeks.

What a blatant lie!

The events of November 2017 in Zimbabwe were nothing in the mould of the so-called ”Arab Spring” wave that swept through north Africa and parts of the Middle East in 2011 — since these were certainly people-driven revolutions, that led to the removal of iron-fisted despots, which is in stark contrast to the military coup d’etat that was witnessed in the southern African country.

History is a critical and pivotal part of any person, family, society, tribe, race, religion, and nation — and as such, is a foundation that should never be tampered with, or altered, to serve a narrow and myopic self-serving agenda. Thus, any history’s authenticity should be guided jealously. This should also apply to the events that shook the nation of Zimbabwe — and the world — in November 2017, as these were a far cry from the bastardised narrative being peddled by mostly regime agents and, unfortunately, some amongst the ordinary people.

History is usually based on irrefutable facts, and those who deliberately seek to misrepresent such facts are those with a dubious and sinister motive — mostly for self-serving and perverted causes.
Such perfectly applies to Zimbabwean authorities who have over the past two years sought to disguise an unquestionable military coup d’etat as a popular revolution — possibly in an effort to attain both local and international acceptance for something that is generally frowned upon.
For a more precise and logical understanding of what truly transpired in 2017, there is no better and clearer evidence that a timeline of events of those critical two weeks of November.

As is now common knowledge, there had been openly vicious, bruising and even brutal factional fighting within the ruling Zanu PF party for several years (all vying to replace the ailing and nonagenarian leader) before the coup d’etat — that witnessed the unceremonious sacking of vice president Joice Teurai Ropa Mujuru on 9 December 2014 (as well as her Gamatox faction allies), just before the crucial December party congress, which led to the ascendency of Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa as her successor — at the instigation of the then First Lady Grace.

Then Grace upped the ante, turning against her former ally, Mnangagwa, culminating in the concerted purging of the vice president’s Lacoste faction allies (who were generally of the Karanga tribe, as well as veterans of the liberation struggle) — the most brazenly crushing events occurring in August 2017, with clashes between the police (believed to be aligned to Grace and her G40 faction) and soldiers (aligned to Mnangagwa) in the capital Harare.

On the 12th of the same month, Mnangagwa was allegedly poisoned during a Zanu PF Presidential Youth Interface Rally in Gwanda, widely suspected to have been the result of the factional fighting — although the whole poisoning claim was later reportedly disproved by a senior intelligence official, who claimed that it had been faked.

Nonetheless, these events only served to intensify the acrimonious relationship between the two factions — characterised by frequent openly-traded insults, albeit, being mainly one-sided (Grace being the perpetrator) — the climax being the popular booing of the former First Lady at another rally at Bulawayo’s White City Stadium on November 4 — something that thoroughly enraged Mugabe leading him to sack his deputy, and long-time protégé, two days later. Henceforth, this is where the timeline of events has to be unequivocally comprehended and appreciated — as this is where those who have sought to distort history have trampled the facts.

On November 8, the sacked Mnangagwa fled the country into South Africa, after which a statement, allegedly penned by him, was issued to the effect that he would soon return to take over the reigns of power.

A few days later, on November 13, of the then commander of the Zimbabawe Defence Forces (ZDF) Constatino Guveya Chiwenga — flanked by other military generals — appeared in international media (as the local State broadcaster, true to its nature, serving only those currently in power, had ignored the press briefing) — warning Mugabe to end purges in the ruling Zanu PF, saying that the military could intervene to stop all those bent on hijacking the revolution and causing instability in the party.

At this juncture, it is most important to note that this statement was very telling of the true intentions of the impeding coup d’etat — it had everything to do with Zanu PF internal politics, and absolutely nothing to do with the welfare and wellbeing of the ordinary people of Zimbabwe.
Only 24 hours after issuing that grave statement, on 14 November military tanks were reportedly spotted rolling into the capital Harare — a strangely unusual occurrence, that swiftly raised suspicions that, true to the generals’ warning, a military coup d’etat was underway.

Indeed, this suspicion was confirmed early the following morning, when Zimbabweans, and the world, woke up only to be greeted by images on the State broadcaster under the control of the military — repeatedly beaming a statement to the effect that the military had decided to intervene by “targeting criminals around the then president who were committing crimes that were causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice”.
The military broadcast also sought to assure viewers that the “head of State, and commander-in-chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, President Mugabe and his family were safe”.

Of course, the tone of the military intervention had strangely suddenly changed from only 48 hours earlier, when the stated aim of a possible military intevention had been purely as a result of ‘purging, and instability’ within Zanu PF, by forces ‘bent on hijacking the revolution’ – as witnessed by previous months’ mass sacking of mostly veterans of the liberation struggle.

This also explains the operational name given to the military intervention – ‘Operation Restore Legacy – since the main objective was to resist the purging the veterans of the liberation struggle, and the ‘danger’ of their legacy being wiped away.

As such, in stark contrast to the statement issued on 15 November on the state broadcaster – which suddenly sought to broaden the intevention as a national cause – the real motivate for the coup d’etat was purely internal Zanu PF factional fighting.

On this same day, international media said that the then South African president Jacob Zuma had spoken to Mugabe, who confirmed that he was under house arrest.

Here, another key note needs to be highlighted – the ordinary people of Zimbabwe were not involved at all. They were merely spectators – watching, with uncertainty, mainly via international news, as there was a virtual blackout of these unfolding events in all local state media.

In other words, as the coup d’etat was effectively now well underway, Zimbabwean citizenry had played absolutely no role.

The subsequent events – most notably, the 18 November liberation war veterans’ call for mass marches in Harare to demand for Mugabe’s resignation, had no significant impact on events, as the then president was clearly already under siege, and his future squarely in the military’s hands – despite people heeding the call, and turning out in their thousands.

These mass marches were clearly formulated by those behind the coup d’etat to deceive the international community into believing that the military intervention was solely an answer to the people’s demands – however, the chronology had been thoroughly messed up, as events were now well ahead of the purported ‘voice of the people’.

It was most shameful and unfortunate that so many people – including the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) – agreed to be part of this charade, and manipulated for a Zanu PF factional fighting cause.

Similarly, in spite of a 19 November Zanu PF emergency meeting to discuss demands for Mugabe to resign or face impeachment, this was also merely windowdressing – again, portraying a facade of democratic processes at work – yet, his fate was already as good as sealed, considering that he was in the hands of the military.

Additionally, Mugabe’s 17 November officiating at the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) graduation ceremony was designed for the same purpose of attempting at give an impression that he was a free man, and under no military duress, whatsoever, to step down.

Nonetheless, the coup de gràce came on 21 November, when Mugabe’s resignation was announced to conveniently coincide with a special sitting of the Parliament of Zimbabwe, at the Harare Conference Centre, to impeach him – again, as a portrayal of democratic processes in the works.

No matter what truly transpired behind closed doors between the military and Mugabe, leading to his resignation, the facts still remain that ordinary Zimbabweans’ mass marches on 18 November – five days after military generals issued their warning to him, four days after the military took over the nation and placed him under house arrest, and three days after the military announced their intervention on state media – one thing is unequivocally clear – ordinary Zimbabweans played no role whatsoever in the removal of Mugabe.

Whether people had gone onto the streets en masse, or not – that would have not changed anything, as Mugabe’s fate had already been sealed.

History is stubborn and can never be distorted, as any such malicious attempts will sooner or later be exposed.

This was not, by any stretch of the imagination, ‘the voice of the people’, nor was it a ‘people’s revolution’ – but, purely, unreservedly, and unquestionably a military coup d’etat – that had absolutely nothing to with ordinary Zimbabweans, but power politics within the ruling Zanu PF party.

No one, in both the local and international community should ever be deceived.

Is it then any wonder that the welfare and wellbeing of the people of Zimbabwe has never changed for the better, but has, in fact, drastically deteriorated?

● Please feel free to WhatsApp/call: +263733399640, or + 263715667700, or calls only: +263782283975, or email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com.

 Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice activist, writer, author, and speaker. He can be contacted mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com.

FORMER Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and the South Africa-based Oppenheimer family yesterday met President Emmerson Mnangagwa, amid growing concern over political instability which is threatening investment in the country.

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

The Nigerian statesman, who is also a close friend of MDC vice-president Tendai Biti, said his meeting with Mnangagwa discussed issues to do with political stability and predictability, which was central and key to investment.

“Of course, as you know, political stability and security and predictability are the conditions for healthy economic development and investment, both foreign and domestic,” he said.

“We cannot be talking of development and progress without talking about all the things that must do with the political stability, security, predictability and all the aspects of fundamental basic things that must be the conditions of investment and thriving economy.”

In 2005, the government moved to seize vast tracts of land owned by the Oppenheimers, a wealthy family which, among their portfolios, is the famous diamond company, De Beers.

The roping in of Obasanjo, who arrived in the Oppenheimers’ private jet yesterday morning, raised speculation that he was brooking a safety net and protection of their business interests in the country, among them ranches.

Obasanjo, however, said the Oppenheimers were not really concerned over their investments, but instead, were looking for new investment opportunities.

“And then I also have along with me some people who have interest in investment here in Zimbabwe and that is also part of what we have come for, because you cannot talk of development of a country without investment, domestic investment and foreign investment,” he said.

Former De Beers chairperson, Nick Oppenheimer, could not immediately commit to new investments in the country, preferring to say the future would tell.

“It’s too early, the future will tell, but I would like to make an investment in Zimbabwe, I am a good friend of Zimbabwe,” he said.

Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare minister Paul Mavima yesterday said inequalities faced by persons living with disabilities (PLWDs) are set to be addressed through the national disability policy to be formulated soon.

By Ruvimbo Muchenje

Speaking during the launch of national consultations for the draft national disability policy in Harare, Mavima said government was of the view that issues affecting PLWDs were best told by them.

“We do not believe in hearing about the needs and concerns of persons with disability through hearsay or through third parties, but we seek to create platforms upon which the direct voice of persons with disabilities can be heard, hence the consultations,” he said.

The consultations will run throughout the country from December to mid-February next year.

Mavima said the consultations were informed by the constant exclusion of this marginalised group and this was an opportunity for them to have a policy that speaks to their needs.

“Our target is to consult primarily with persons with disabilities who are key to the two documents. This is a way of upholding the mantra of nothing about us without us,” he said.
The drafts have already been sent out to constituencies and stakeholders are awaiting their respective consultation dates to contribute to the policy.

This is the first time Zimbabwe has sought to have a policy on disability which will nullify outdated statutes.

Unicef country representative, Laylee Moshiri, said: “From the onset, as Unicef and the wider United Nations family, we feel honoured to have been invited to support the government to formulate a national disability policy for Zimbabwe, which is a first for Zimbabwe.”

GOVERNMENT has reversed its decision to fire 445 doctors and also froze all pending disciplinary cases against both junior and senior doctors if they agree to return to work within two days following a deal brokered by Catholic bishops.

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

However, the bishops failed to end the impasse between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and MDC leader, Nelson Chamisa, over talks to resolve the political and economic crisis in the country.

Roman Catholic Church Archbishop of Harare, Robert Christopher Ndlovu, after a two-hour-long meeting with Mnangagwa and his two deputies, Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi, said the issue of the striking doctors topped the agenda.

“We discussed a lot about the issue of doctors, the striking doctors and what we managed to extract from the government was that they agreed that they can give a moratorium of two days for doctors to report back to work without having to reapply. At least they gave them two days and don’t need to re-apply as had been decided by Cabinet,” he said.

But government and the doctors have not yet reached an agreement, which led the health workers to down tools in the first place.

Bishops also engaged Mnangagwa on the economy and tried to nudge him to dialogue with Chamisa.
Ndlovu said the meeting could not yield any change because Mnangagwa has maintained his stance.
“I don’t think there has been any change. I think, of course, the President is still committed to dialogue. He says what is important is that they all come together. It’s not a question of him and them or Zanu PF and MDC, but all the political players,” the cleric said.

“He says he is still open to that, that is what he said. He said he is still open to dialogue with anyone, including the leader of the MDC. It’s an engagement and we committed to say in future, we shall continue to talk to each other. I think it’s a process.”

The MDC has refused to join the Mnangagwa-initiated Political Actors Dialogue, saying it is a choir of people agreeing with each other and had no capacity to deliver real change.

Chamisa wants Zanu PF and the MDC to meet separately and discuss legitimacy issues arising from the contested 2018 presidential elections.

He has also demanded that the talks be chaired by an independent mediator.

Mnangagwa confirmed that government was going to allow doctors to come back to work despite firing them over the past few weeks.

“We found it fruitful, the contribution by the bishops council who came to meet us. Then they requested for a moratorium on the question of doctors for two days. That, we can offer, a moratorium for two days for the doctors who have been dismissed to come back and join without application. Just come back to work and we have granted the request,” he said, adding that the Catholic Bishops Conference had requested the meeting to discuss the economy, but did not delve into detail.

“The Bishops sent us a pastoral letter of issues they were raising across the board and asking to meet as the leadership,” Mnangagwa said.

“We acceded to their request and we have discussed. I think the major areas which we covered was the area of the health sector and national health delivery, economic situation and social conditions of the people in the country, political situation and the role and relations of political parties and national dialogue and last government, churches civil society interaction.

So we covered all those areas.”

DYNAMOS right back Emmanuel Jalayi must be gazing covetously as he goes through the list of the selected 2019 Soccer Stars of the Year announced yesterday.

BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA

He must be wondering at domestic football’s adulation of the 11 who were picked as the most outstanding players of this campaign for this year’s Soccer Stars of the Year calendar.

The 20-year-old will feel disappointed not to be part of this exclusive group given the public relations fiesta this process will bring when the soccer stars gather at a special banquet on December 6 in Harare.

A panel of football writers, team captains and club coaches from all the clubs in the top-flight league selected the finest players they believe were outstanding in the current campaign.
While, naturally the selectors can’t include everyone on the calendar, the omission of Jalayi was one of the major talking points soon after the exercise was completed yesterday.

There is a general feeling that he deserved to be part of this exclusive club.

The Black Aces Youth Academy player who is on loan to Dynamos has been one of the key drivers of the Harare giants’ revival under coach Tonderai Ndiraya.

After a disappointing start to the campaign which saw the team struggle in the murky waters of relegation earlier in the season, Jalayi’s contribution helped the team rise to contest for a top four finish.

Without his power and influence, Dynamos often struggled.

Apart from Jalayi, there are several others who probably deserved to be on the Soccer Stars of the Year calendar. FC Platinum’s Kelvin Madzongwe, Ngezi Platinum Star’s Donald Teguru, Harare City’s Ishmael Wadi, Tichaona Chipunza of Chicken Inn, Manica Diamonds’ Patson Jaure and Chapungu attacking midfielder Denver Mukamba also missed out despite their influence for their respective clubs.

Mukamba was instrumental at Chapungu after also joining during mid – season just like TelOne forward King Nadolo who is one of the players who made it on the calendar on account of his impressive performance in the second half of the season.

The former Dynamos midfielder scored five goals that helped the Gweru-based side steer away from relegation and that his contribution was not recognised has been another topical issue under discussion since the winners were announced yesterday.

The selectors also overlooked all of FC Platinum’s defence including goalkeeper Petros Mhari.
The Zvishavane-based side are two points behind log leaders Caps United with only two matches left before the end of the campaign.

The defending champions’ championship bid has been backed by their defensive solidity which has seen them concede just 15 goals in the campaign thus far to emerge the meanest defence in the domestic league this season.

How then the selectors failed to recognise any of FC Platinum’s defenders such as vice-captain Gift Bello, Madzongwe or Mhari for their contribution which has seen them fight for the championship with Caps United, defies logic.

Should FC Platinum go on to win the championship, it will be largely on account of a rock solid defence that has earned a pristine record of conceding the least number of goals in the PSL and not to reward a single member of this defence will be a mockery of the men who have a good chance of defending the biggest prize in domestic football.

Only one defender, Ian Nekati of ZPC Kariba made it into the list of the 11 finest players.

The 2020 national budget statement announced by Finance and Economic Development minister Mthuli Ncube a fortnight ago was telling in more ways than one. The professor had no qualms to nail his government’s colours to the mast that Zimbabwe was taking a new neo-liberal route.

The former African Development Bank chief, who is a disciple of neoliberalism, is of the belief that capital and markets would haul Zimbabwe out of the rut. The budget was anchored on the theme of spurring production.

Ncube announced a $63,6 billion budget, which is more or less austerity-themed, thanks to his continued war against subsidies. His decision to end subsidies on maize and wheat has sent shivers down the spines of consumers, especially the majority of Zimbabweans who are generally regarded as poor.

“The current subsidy policy, whereby government funds the procurement of grain at market price and sell this to registered grain millers at subsidised price, has been open to abuse and placed a huge burden on the fiscus. At times, the intended beneficiaries do not enjoy the benefits of the subsidy from government,” Ncube said in his budget statement.

“To address these distortions, government, will, with effect from January 2020 remove the existing grain marketing subsidies for maize and wheat that were being provided to grain millers through the Grain Marketing Board (GMB). The intervention will see GMB selling wheat and maize at market prices, with grain millers having an option to either import or purchase grain from GMB.”

Since time immemorial, these grain subsidies have managed to keep a tight lid on the prices of commodities such as mealie-meal, flour and bread, but Ncube opines that this policy was not sustainable. Maize price has a domino effect on all prices as it is a bigger commodity to the national economic matrix. The removal of subsidy will, in turn, have unintended consequences.
Without serious consideration, the removal of subsidies on grain will leave millions of already hard-pressed Zimbabweans queueing for food hand-outs from donor agencies, as their incomes will not be enough to buy basic commodities. Even though there is need to tame inflation, the removal of subsidies will push Zimbabwe to the brink.

With weather foresters painting a gloomy picture, coupled with poor preparation for the 2019/20 farming season, the situation is predictably going to be tough for the majority of Zimbabweans.

Before the ink on the budget statement had dried, the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe announced a jump in mealie-meal price from $55 to $101,66 for a 10kg roller meal at a time the lowest paid employee is earning virtually peanuts. Such a jump in price will trigger inflation and poverty for the majority. Attention should be brought to fiscal authorities that since food contributes 30% to the national inflation basket, hyperinflation will rear its ugly head and will soon catch up with us.

Government should have all its hands on the deck, making sure it delivers on its constitutional mandate to provide food for citizens. Food is a right, especially staple food. Section 15 of the Constitution mandates the government to ensure food security for everyone despite their social status. The European Union, through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), provides subsidies which cover sectors such as farming, environmental measures and rural development and this can be attributed to low commodity prices in the bloc.

That the European Union allocates 40% of its annual budget to subsidies speaks volume of how our colleagues in Western countries value those safety nets. But Ncube, with his wisdom and lack of it, decided to throw the poor person in the countryside under the bus. Our northern neighbours, Zambia have managed to register success in agriculture thanks to subsidies. For a couple of years, Zambia has consistently cultivated more maize — their national staple — than what is consumed domestically.

Much of this achievement can be attributed to a government-led subsidy programme.
The removal of subsidies, particularly in fuel and electricity might give short-term relief to the government as it will help in containing its budget overrun, but will have a negative effect in the long run. It is a fact that the biggest cost driver in production is power. The removal of subsidies has resulted in the prices of fuel being adjusted every Monday and this means that costs of production also increase. Local products have literally lost competitiveness on the international market thanks to Ncube’s cut and paste economic policies.

Subsidies are prone to abuse, Ncube argued as he motivated for the discontinuation of subsidies. The big question is: Abuse by who? The politically-connected; obviously. Since its inception, farmers have been abusing farming inputs they get from the presidential input scheme, but was the programme discontinued? No! Last year, the government blew US$3 billion on the command agriculture programme only for the country to reap food insecurity. Despite evidence that the command agriculture programme had failed the nation, the government this year applied lipstick to a frog, remodelling it to smart agriculture. Ncube should have discontinued the command agriculture programme because it has become a burden to the fiscus and the intended beneficiaries are not enjoying the benefits of such government interventions.

The removal of subsidies is a disservice to consumers, especially the poor. For years, subsidies had managed to reduce the levels of poverty among the majority of citizens. While it must be admitted that there are a few bad apples who have been abusing subsidies, this should serve as a wake-up call to authorities to plug loopholes and provide safety nets to vulnerable members of society.

Now the poor are at the mercy of the rich in a skewed system, where survival of the fittest mantra is being entrenched. The Finance minister is literally burning his house to smoke out a rat. The dream of becoming an upper-middle class economy by 2030 will remain a mirage if the government continues to engage in anti-poor policies.
Musician Hosiah Chipanga captured the Zimbabwean situation better when he sang that vatadza kupedza hurombo, vakuda kupedza varombo vacho (they have failed to eradicate poverty; they now want to wipe away the poor).

The poor will surely sink deeper into poverty, while the rich will grow big bellies at the instigation of Ncube. Removing subsidies on maize and wheat is tantamount to throwing away the baby with bath water. Food for thought!

 Cliff Chiduku is a journalist. He writes here in his personal capacity

CHAOS continued yesterday in Parliament after the Portfolio Committee on Information and Media chaired by Binga North legislator Prince Dubeko Sibanda (MDC Alliance) was disrupted by Zanu PF legislators, who said it will not sit until the opposition recognised President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s legitimacy.

BY VENERANDA LANGA

The impasse between Zanu PF and the MDC is now threatening to cripple the work of Parliamentary Portfolio Committees, whose main task is oversight over government ministries and departments.

Gabuza Joel Gabbuza, whose committee was yesterday gathering oral evidence from the Zimbabwe Energy regulatory Authority and independent power producers on the capacity to generate electricity, failed to preside over the Energy committee. It was then chaired by a Zanu PF MP after Gabbuza was told the meeting would not continue with him presiding.

In the House, the impasse resulted in Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi refusing to entertain any contributions from MDC legislators until they recognised the President.

This has severely affected scrutiny of Bills, and will affect debate on budget Bills if the MDC are not allowed to contribute.

The Information and Media Committee had invited the former Zimbabwe Media Commission commissioners to give oral evidence on the ZMC Bill currently before Parliament.

The witnesses turned up, but Zanu PF MPs Tendai Nyabani (Rushinga), Kindness Paradza (Makonde), Webster Shamhu (Chegutu West) and Alum Mpofu (Mberengwa South) said the committee would not sit until the MDC legislators recognised Mnangagwa.

Some of the witnesses, like Matthew Takaona, had come all the way from Masvingo, but were turned back because of the impasse.

“We were meant to receive oral evidence from former commissioners of the Zimbabwe Media Commission, but the Zanu PF MPs then declared that there was no meeting going to take place until the MDC recognises the President,” Sibanda said.

“I have decided that the committee should no longer meet until Parliament leadership deals with the problem, because I don’t subscribe to resolving matters physically and so as chairperson, I decided to call off the meeting.”

Gabbuza added that Zanu PF legislator Elias Musakwa (Bikita West) had to chair the Energy committee after the ruling party MPs told him that they were under pressure from their party to oust the MDC chairpersons.

Due to the political impasse between Zanu PF and MDC legislators in Parliament, Norton MP Temba Mliswa on Tuesday threatened to mobilise Zimbabweans to beat up MPs for politicking and wasting taxpayers’ money when the masses were suffering.

Later during the National Assembly sitting, Mbizo MP Settlement Chikwinya (MDC Alliance) raised a matter of privilege with the Speaker of the National Assembly, Jacob Mudenda over the continued disruptions of MDC-led committees

“In the past two weeks, committee business has been disrupted by Zanu PF MPs and today, the Media committee only sat for five minutes before it was disrupted. All committees led by the MDC are being disturbed from doing business and, therefore, it is my humble submission that a Privileges Committee be set up to investigate these MPs disrupting committees,” Chikwinya said.

Mudenda responded: “I hear you, but the events are symptomatic of a bigger problem which the Standing Rules and Orders Committee is seized with and will look into it in detail.”