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“Mnangagwa’s spokesperson a pathological liar”

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“Mnangagwa’s spokesperson a pathological liar”

The Zimbabwe Daily – Staff Reporter

Harare, Zimbabwe – The MDC Alliance’s national Youth league has labelled President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s spokesperson, George Charamba, a pathological liar.

“Baseless allegations by Emmerson Mnangagwa’s mouth piece, George Charamba that MDC Alliance is the root cause of the current economic woes stalking our country must never go unchallenged.

Like the proverbial bad carpenter, Charamba blames the opposition for the country’s economic misfortunes while at the same time absolving Mnangagwa and the looting cabal.

In a blanket of mind boggling rants making rounds in the media, Charamba exhibits pathological lies typical of ZANU PF supporters.

Contrary to what he terms implosive MDC politics, there is no implosion in the MDC Alliance led by president Nelson Chamisa.

The only political party implosions we are witnessing at the moment are happening in Mnangagwa’s ZANU PF.

It is in ZANU PF where manifestations of implosion have led to the expulsion and suspension of Killer Zivhu and Energy Mutodi respectively.

Is it not common sense that a party whose Health Minister is in courts over corruption scandals signifies implosion of greatest magnitude?

When a whole Minister of Defence holds a presser just to dismiss coup rumours then it speaks volumes of the trouble in paradise.

It is in ZANU PF where the centre no longer holds and that has ripple effects on the economy.

The stinking levels of corruption by ZANU PF officials and wanton disregard of basic human rights breeds lack of confidence from investors.

Charamba must stop behaving like a village drunkard who after imbibing in kachasu would go around blaming everyone in the neighborhood for his family troubles.

Is it not a public secret that corruption and all the socio-economic ills we are facing are just symptoms of illegitimacy and leadership failure by Charamba’s boss?

It is very unfortunate that direct beneficiaries of a corrupt system like Charamba will never tell Mnangagwa the truth that he has failed and must resign,” said Stephen Chuma, MDC Alliance’s national Youth spokesperson.

Tanzania reopens schools

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Tanzania reopens schools

Daniel Itai – The Zimbabwe Daily

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – Despite having more than 500 COVID-19 confirmed cases and 21 deaths, Tanzanian schools yesterday welcomed back learners after schools were suspended for three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tanzania is one of the very few countries in Africa that never imposed a nationwide lockdown but rather insisted on having COVID-19 restrictions.

“The government has instructed schools to install hand-washing facilities and arrange running water and also educate school children about safety measures like wearing of masks in school assembly and classrooms, except for students with underlying health problems, such as diabetes, sickle cell, asthma, all students should wear face masks most of the time,” said Gerald Chama, the Ministry of Health’s spokesperson.

However, the reopening of schools has been received with mixed feelings among parents and teachers, with some teachers citing that they are very happy to be back at work, emphasising that students were very much affected psychologically for missing classes.

There were however others, who said the decision of reopening schools was premature in the wake of the continuous threat of a pandemic pointing out that it was inappropriate to decide to send children back to school while the masses don’t know clearly whether there’s still a high threat of people being infected, citing that the decision to reopen schools is political and therefore might have dire consequences since the COVID-19 guidelines recommend by the World Health Organization are not being strictly followed.

Mozambique still wary of COVID-19

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Daniel Itai – The Zimbabwe Daily

Maputo, Mozambique – Mozambicans will have to brace themselves for another month of a nationwide lockdown.

The extension will commence today, “we decided to maintain the level three and adjust some measures that have an impact on the country, in a phased manner, to allow certain sectors to resume activities.

The process of relaxing restrictive measures will be gradual, and could be reversed depending on the evolution of the pandemic. Everything we have done has resulted in delaying the peak of the disease,” said President Filipe Nyusi.

The virus has now reached all the 11 provinces of the country, claiming five lives and infecting more than 800 with Cabo Delgado, Nampula and Maputo being the hardest-hit. 

Prior to COVID-19, multiple disease outbreaks including cholera and malaria were already stretching Mozambique’s healthcare system.

Critical services such as sexual and reproductive health care, immunization activities and continuity of care for HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and cholera are expected to be disrupted as resources shift to the COVID-19 response, potentially increasing maternal and infant deaths.

Access to clean water and appropriate sanitation is a major challenge in the country, where 80 percent of urban dwellers live in informal settlements. 

Mixed reactions over reopening of schools in Zimbabwe

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Mixed reactions over reopening of schools in Zimbabwe

By Daniel Itai – The Zimbabwe Daily

Harare, Zimbabwe -Various stakeholders across the southern African country have expressed mixed feelings over the reopening of schools on the 28th of July this year.

Prior to the reopening of schools, the government is supposed to test over 136 000 teachers and ensure that schools comply to the 1:20 teacher, pupil ratio as per the World Health Organization (WHO) regulations.

With over 4.6 million learners expected to go back to school, the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has said there is no urgency to reopen schools.

“Schools must not reopen now, it’s still winter time. The academic year can simply be forwarded to next year,” said Nation Muzvidziwa, ARTUZ’s spokesperson.

Dr. Takavafira Zhou, president of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) also pointed out that the reopening of schools was not feasible.

“Schools can only open on the 28th of July subject to Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education meeting WHO standards in their entirety, but to assume that the government which has tested only 65 000 people since March can test 4.6 million students, 136 000 teachers and 50 000 ancillary staff in 26 days is to hope for a miracle to happen and it’s impossible.

Worse still, government that is supposed to employ an additional 50 000 teachers and improve infrastructure in schools in order to guarantee social distancing and teacher-pupil ratio of 1:20 has not done anything so far.

Moreover, we are witnessing a quantum leap of COVID-19 cases in Zimbabwe and it would be suicidal and genocidal to open schools without COVID-19 abatement equipment such as testing kits, thermometers, sanitizers, PPEs, let alone training of teachers on how best to respond to the pandemic and health officials stationed in schools, as well as cleaning and disinfection of schools currently used as COVID-19 quarantine centres for returnees,” said the leader of PTUZ.

Dr. Zhou further highlighted that their members will not be going back to work if government fails to meet WHO COVID-19 guidelines.

“Teachers can never be willing to go back when their health, safety and welfare are not prioritised. Other than threats over their health and safety, teachers have a dispute of right which the employer is failing to address. Their salary was unilaterally and callously culled by the employer from US$550 to US$26. Teachers therefore, want the employer to restore their salary’s purchasing power parity, let alone pay a reasonable risk allowance of US$150,” said Dr.Zhou.

However, James Maiden the chief of communications at the country’s United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) said schools should go ahead and reopen provided they meet the COVID-19 regulations.

“Children and schools are not the main drivers of the epidemic across countries, and there is no known evidence of the correlation between the rate of disease transmission and whether or not schools remain open or closed. Evidence on the negative impacts of school closures is overwhelming, with long-term implications for children’s learning, safety, health and wellbeing.

We know that the longer children stay out of school, the more exposed they are to dangers. This is especially true for children who are already vulnerable. We are calling for schools to be among the first services to open when the appropriate safety measures are put into place,” said Maiden.

Tensions simmer in DRC over Justice Bill

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By Daniel Itai – The Zimbabwe Daily

Kinshasa, DRC – Tensions between the Common Front for Congo (FCC) and the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) are mounting as days progress over a proposed amendment of the Justice Bill.

Although the FCC and the UDPS are currently in a coalition government, the proposed amendment to the Justice Bill has caused members of the two political parties to clash.

The FCC, which is former President Joseph Kabila’s political party brought up the proposed Justice Bill amendments.

Célestin Tunda ya Kasende, the Minister of Justice was on Saturday arrested and later on released after  he clashed with President Félix Tshisekedi over the contested legal changes.

The FCC proposes to have the office of the prosecution answer to the Ministry of Justice, a situation which is being opposed by the UDPS, other political parties and the National Union of Magistrates.

According to President Tshisekedi’s UDPS, the FCC is aiming to protect criminals and encourage impunity at all costs, “the proposed amendments won’t resolve any difficulty related to the functioning of the judiciary, but aims to undermine justice for the benefit of the Ministry of Justice.”

Seychelles still open for business despite COVID-19 pandemic

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By Daniel Itai – The Zimbabwe Daily

Victoria, Seychelles – Seychelles is amongst the very few countries in the world that is still depicting a level of normalcy when it comes to basic livelihood.

Most countries are on a nationwide or partial lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The southern African country has now 69 confirmed COVID-19 cases but despite that, business is still going as usual.

On Saturday, ten non-Seychellois people tested positive for COVID-19. The country’s Public Health Commissioner, Jude Gedeon said that one of the COVID-19 patients who tested positive is a French woman who has been on vacation in Seychelles since March.

“We have already started to trace people who may have come into contact with her, as this may be a possible community transmission case, as we cannot yet pinpoint where she may have been infected,” said Gideon.

In light of the new cases, the local health authorities have renewed appeals for adherence to health safety guidelines, urging the population to better protect themselves by practising social distancing, maintaining good hygiene at all times and wearing masks.

‘Another coup in Africa’

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By Daniel Itai – The Zimbabwe Daily

Harare, Zimbabwe – Opposition parties in Zimbabwe have shared mixed feelings over the just ended Presidential elections in Malawi.

On Saturday, the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) declared Dr. Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) that ultimate winner after he secured 59.34 percent of the national votes against the outgoing President, Prof. Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) who managed to gunner only 39.92 percent of the national vote.

However, LEAD president, Linda Masarira said there was nothing to really celebrate about as the results were due to a sophisticated coup.

“The judiciary and the armed forces played a pivotal role in bringing back the revolutionary party into power.

It was a sophisticated coup there isn’t really much to celebrate or emulate, there is no new dawn for the opposition it’s actually a rebirth of the revolutionary party,” said Masarira.

On Saturday, the outgoing Malawian President said that this year’s Presidential elections were the worst he had ever seen since Malawi attained its independence more than four decades ago, “some of our members were beaten and assaulted, this is the worst election I have ever witnessed.”

However, for ZimFirst leader, Dr. Maxwell Rusike Shumba, the Malawian Presidential polls proved that coalitions are the way forward for the opposition in Africa.

“Every African country is unique depending on how the ruling party is entrenched in the socioeconomic aspect.

One thing that the opposition can derive from the Malawian Presidential elections is that the opposition needs to unite.

Unity builds and there is victory in unity. That’s the key message, the winner in Malawi was able to do so because he was able to build a coalition. There is nothing that happened in Malawi that will require extraordinary capital, astuteness won the day and it is possible,” said the ZimFirst leader.

Zimbabwe’s former Economic Minister slams government

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Daniel Itai – The Zimbabwe Daily

Harare, Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe’s former Minister of Economic Planning and Investment Promotion, Dr. Tapiwa Mashakada has slammed at the country’s recent foreign currency auction.

On Tuesday, the government launched a foreign currency auction in a bid to find the appropriate exchange rate of the local currency against the United States dollar which is now pegged at US$1:ZW$57.

The auction yielded a weighted average weekly exchange rate of US$1:ZW$57 which will prevail until Tuesday the 30th of June 2020. The highest bid was US$1:ZW$100 and the lowest was  US$1:ZW$25 and about US$10 million was alloted against total bids of US$11 million.

“Soon after the announcement of results, retail prices jumped upwards in sympathy with the hike in parallel market rates that were pushed by the new official exchange rate. The auction created new macro-economic shocks which have stoked a new round of inflation and parallel market rates.

The system is porous as bidders may collect forex at a lower official rate and off load at the new parallel market rates of US$1:ZW$100. This is a vicious cycle.

The country is not going anywhere. Fears have been raised about insider trading and information assymmetry. The results show that the amounts allocated to the fuel sector and import of medicines is very low compared to raw materials and machinery.

This is surprising given the current COVID-19 pandemic which requires the importation of sanitizers, masks and related equipment. The country is reeling from food shortages yet not much was alloted to food imports.

The foreign currency auction system has destabilized the market and pushed up parallel market rates and inflation. It is a zero sum game.

However, government must accept full responsibility for policy missteps. The best thing to do is to take the route of complete redollarization accompanied by a post COVID-19 economic stimulus package that will address productivity, export capacity and investment facilitation.

Finally, the RBZ must be sanctioned forthwith from further announcing or issuing new monetary policy measures as they create destabilizing macroeconomic shocks in the economy.

Moreso, unless the RBZ is checked and its wings cut, the economic implosion is going to ignite a revolution, but most importantly, government must implement political and economic reforms to stop the economic free fall. What is happening is just but a deficit of confidence,” said Dr. Mashakada.

Zambia’s stimulus package to aid economic recoveryaft

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Zambia’s stimulus package to aid economic recoveryaft

Daniel Itai – The Zimbabwe Daily

Lusaka, Zambia – Zambia’s US$438 million COVID-19 stimulus package is set to aid the country’s ailing economy.

COVID-19 has really caused some economic turmoils especially to the SMEs and the informal sector.

Zambia, Africa’s second largest copper producer, has been wrestling with growing public debt even before the Coronavirus outbreak which forced lockdowns across the globe, crimping international demand for raw materials.

“Cabinet resolved that it is necessary to provide an economic stimulus through the issuance of the COVID-19 bond in order to improve liquidity levels in the economy

The proceeds from the bond will go towards needy areas, including payment of retirees, contractors and suppliers, which have been hit by reduced liquidity due to COVID-19,” said the Presidency in a statement.

The economy is experiencing challenges such as low growth, high fiscal deficits, rising inflation and debt service obligations. The closure of businesses and restrictions which have been exacerbated by the pandemic have adversely affected the economy.

Moreover, the Central Bank projected in May that the country’s GDP would shrink by 2.6 percent in 2020, its first economic contraction in more than 20 years.

WHO declares DRC Ebola free amid insurgency

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Daniel Itai – The Zimbabwe Daily

Kinshasa, DRC – Yesterday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ebola free after two years of fighting the deadly pandemic.

Close to three thousand people succumbed to the virus. Although, the virus was contained in the central African country, insurgencies contributed in the Ebola virus taking time to be fully extinguished.

Rebel group, Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) has been destabilizing and killing civilians in the regions of Beni, Kivu, and Ituri.

Last weekend, close to 20 people were killed by the ADF, “the victims were five men, three women and two children, some were killed with machetes and others with firearms,” said Raphael Bon Benogo, a civil rights activist.

The ADF has been blamed for killing about 500 people since last year in retaliation for an army crackdown on their bases in the forests around the Beni region.

Dozens of armed groups operate in eastern DRC, last year, the DRC army launched a campaign against the ADF.

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