BY RUTENDO MATANHIKE

PARLIAMENTARY Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education chairperson, Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga has commended government for setting aside $200 million for procurement of sanitary ware for underprivileged women and girls across Zimbabwe.

She told NewsDay yesterday that while money being directed towards the cause could never be enough, she was happy that government had acknowledged the challenges faced by females particularly from less-privileged homes in accessing sanitary wear.

“No money can ever be enough in the provision of adequate sexual reproductive health care in the form of sanitary ware for women and girls, but for me the excitement is really about government finally acknowledging the problem women and young girls have been facing for a long time. This has been a war and I am glad has finally gotten the recognition it deserves,” she said.

Misihairabwi-Mushonga lobbied for the removal of import duty and value added tax (VAT) on sanitary ware which has proved expensive for many ordinary women with some resorting to unsafe alternative methods such as cow dung.

School going girls in rural areas are reported to be missing lessons during menstruation due to lack of proper sanitary ware.

The proportional representation legislator said the procurement process, as well engagements with the Finance ministry in finding sustainable sanitary ware, were underway.

“One of the conversations we have had with the Finance ministry is that we should not invest in buying disposable sanitary pads, but rather invest in sanitary pants for girls which have a life span of two years and also menstrual cups for women in order to promote sustainability, Misihairabwi-Mushonga said.

“We are already looking into the procurement process as we anticipate the approval of the budget at the end of November so that by the time we get into next year, distribution will be our (preoccupation). Some producers of these products have already indicated their plans in providing us with the sanitary ware we require.”

Plans are being made to distribute the products through independent channels to avoid corruption which may result in products not reaching intended beneficiaries, she revealed.

“We are thinking of not using government distribution channels to avoid cases of corruption which have been a major concern. We want the products getting to the people who really need them,” she said.

Responding to NewsDay on whether or not the hyperinflationary environment was a concern, Misihairabwi-Mushonga said early procurement of the products was important particularly considering sanitary ware was a non-perishable product.

A CROSS-BORDER bus belonging to City Bus was reduced to a shell when it went up in flames yesterday near the Gweru-Bulawayo Zinara tollgate.

By Brenna Matendere

On board were about 40 passengers who all escaped unhurt, but goods worth thousands of dollars was destroyed.

The bus was on its way from Botswana to Harare.

Passengers told NewsDay at the scene that the incident happened just after midday and members of the military who were travelling behind the bus saved some goods.

“The driver applied emergency brakes and we noticed some flames emerging from the bus. We all then disembarked in a scramble fearing for our lives. Some soldiers who were driving in the same direction stopped and braved the fire to rescue some goods that were in the trailer, but most of the items could not be saved,” a passenger, Patience Moyo said.

City Bus operations manager, Juliet Bokosha confirmed the incident.

“No one died and all people escaped unhurt. I can, however, confirm that our bus caught fire near Gweru and it was consumed by the fire. I am currently travelling and so I may not be able to give you more details at this stage,” she said.

Another passenger, Tsunga Nyoni, said: “Before the driver stopped the bus, the left rear wheel was showing signs that it was binding. But just as the bus stopped, fire started and we all disembarked. We watched helplessly as the bus and our goods were consumed by the fire.”

Midlands police spokesperson Inspector Joel Goko was not reachable for comment last
night.

MDC youths used the national soccer team’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) match against Botswana to protest against President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government.

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

With police banning opposition protests and rallies, the youths waved Red card ED out and ED is a dictator and Chamisa for president placards at the National Sports Stadium on Friday.

Youth leader, Obey Sithole said the party will continue to look for ways to democratically and freely express their displeasure at the ruling Zanu PF regime.

“As the youths supported the Warriors, they took the opportunity to express their displeasure against Emmerson Mnangagwa and Zanu PF’s failures. They have been prohibiting marches, but surely they can’t prohibit soccer matches,” he said.

The youths said the sporadic protests were meant to galvanise the nation around a massive demonstration on what the MDC has said is a national crisis anchored on Mnangagwa’s illegitimacy.

MDC deputy organising secretary Happymore Chidziva said the party was mobilising its structures to confront Mnangagwa and his government, including taking over public spaces to demonstrate their displeasure.

“We know that Mnangagwa was not elected by the people; he is illegitimate. The party is mobilising and readying its people to occupy democratic spaces to ensure that the voice of the people is heard. We will prevail even under the abuse of the gun, police brutality and oppression; our voices will be heard,” he said.

Zanu PF deputy youth secretary Lewis Matutu was quick to dismiss the protests by the MDC as an attempt to cover for glaring inability to mobilise and hijacking soccer matches.

“It’s an unfortunate thing because every Zimbabwean had the responsibility to support our Warriors during the Afcon match. I would want to assume that the only reason why the so-called demonstration was meant to take advantage of people coming to the soccer match since MDC no longer has the capacity to mobilise people anymore,” Matutu said.

“Our challenges as a country are not about an individual or any organisation, it’s about the mentality of the people and our lack of productivity as a nation. Every Zimbabwean has the responsibility to progressively contribute to the economic development of our country. President Mnangagwa is restlessly working for the country, he needs everyone’s support for the good of our country. Demonstrations will never produce economic results.”

Information permanent secretary Ndavaningi Mangwana said government will not lose sleep over a handful of protesters trying to gain relevance by hijacking platforms that have nothing to do with them.

“Government is not worried by a few choreographed placards being brandished in the stadium. We are in Harare, an opposition stronghold where their supporters try to hijack anything to gain relevance. We have seen them trying to hijack and contaminate the civil servants. As a government, we are not in the habit of being bothered when owls sing their disharmony at night,” he said.

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government spent over US$10 billion in unbudgeted public finds, and now wants Parliament to okay the unexplained expenditure, raising the ire of opposition members of Parliament.

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

Government last Thursday published the Financial Adjustment Bill HB19 of 2019 in which it seeks to offload US$10,6 billion onto taxpayers the borrowings which were made without consent from Parliament.

“If a government ministry or department spends money in any financial year in excess of the amount appropriated, or for a purpose for which nothing was appropriated, the Minister of Finance is required, in terms of section 3017 of the Constitution, to cause a Bill condoning the unauthorised
expenditure … In line with the above, we seek condonation for unauthorised expenditures incurred by line ministries,” reads the Bill.

Public Accounts Committee, chairperson and former Finance minister Tendai Biti said the Bill was an attempt to legalise theft of public funds by the ruling elite.

“They stole US$10 billion which they are now asking Parliament to accept and forgive! Most of that money, US$8 billion was stolen in the two years of Emmerson’s reign,” he tweeted yesterday.

According to the Bill, the money was borrowed as follows: 2015, US$25 305 741; 2016, US$1 530 890 050; 2017, US$4 562 064 122 and 2018, US$3 560 343 130, leaving the unauthorised government debt at US$10 679 603 044.

Biti said the Financial Adjustments Bill was poorly crafted and did not even tell Parliament exactly how the money was used and by which particular ministry, raising fears that it could be a grand cover up of looting.

“The Bill is poorly crafted, a reflection of party State conflation. It has no tables disaggregating the expenditure, a deliberate attempt to hide and deceive. Contrary to the Constitution it doesn’t give a breakdown of what the amounts were used for to justify condonation. The breakdown of the rapid rise extraction and theft under Emmerson is self-evident,”Biti told NewsDay yesterday.

Mabvuku legislator James Chidhakwa said the Bill will be scrutinised and the Executive will be asked to account for money he alleges could have been looted for political party campaigns.
“How does a government blow $8 billion in just two years and preach austerity at the same time. It’s time we demand answers from a government that blames everyone else for our problems except themselves. These guys were and are still looting this country clean, then they blame sanctions,” he said.

Economist Godfrey Kanyenze, gave PAC a thumbs up saying: “This was discussed by the PAC and now government is coming out clean and trying to sanitise themselves. This shows that the fiscal indiscipline continued way after (the late former President Robert) Mugabe and still continues today.”

Kanyenze said the US$10,6 billion debt also shows that while government was preaching austerity, those in power continued to siphon money while the ordinary person was hit hard in the pocket.

“Austerity is hitting the ordinary person, while those with power are dipping from government coffers. There is clearly a culture of looting and failure to respect the laws in the manner of transparency, especially by the ministry of Finance,” he said.

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) immediately demanded an independent audit of the debt saying citizens should know how the money was used first before being asked to condone the debt.

“Fundamentally there must be a debt audit not only for this particular debt, but for many others to establish what the money was used for. No doubt the money was used for nefarious activities, especially the factional fights in Zanu PF from 2015. No doubt some of it could have been pocketed by individuals. This is the right time for Parliament to state its authority and demand an audit of these debts,” ZCTU president Peter Mutasa said.

Social Commentator, Rashweat Mukundu called for an urgent review of laws to help entrench accountability and transparency, particularly on how public funds are used.

“The whole thing essentially shows how the ministry of Finance and government departments are subverting the laws and the Constitution to abuse the public purse and now coming to seek to legalise their actions. This points to lack of transparency and the need to review laws,” he said.

THE animosity between the two political adversaries, the ruling Zanu PF party and the opposition MDC, who have perpetually been trading barbs in Parliament, has now degenerated into a farce and turned both the august House and the so called Second Republic into one big circus.

NewsDay Comment

The MDC is steadfastly refusing to recognise Emmerson Mnangawa as the country’s President owing to the disputed July 2018 general elections results. Despite the opposition having lost at the Constitutional Court the challenge on Mnangagwa’s rule, they keep insisting on not recognising his authority by boycotting his addresses to Parliament.

Zanu PF has been fighting back through the Speaker of Parliament, who has suspended for five months the opposition MPs’ allowances and has also denied them the right to ask ministers any questions since the opposition MPs do not recognise the person who appointed the ministers. And most recently Zanu PF MPs boycotted Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee sitting chaired by MDC vice president Tendai Biti.

It allows Zanu PF to escape accountability at a time when its greed, corruption and thievery needs to be laid bare. The stakes are high, but not at the cost of accounting for hard-earned public funds.

While the Zanu PF MPs have the democratic right to retaliate in this manner in support of their leader, the political conflict between the two antagonists is reducing Parliament business into a waste of time and resources.

It means the issue of the US$3 billion which was spent on Command Agriculture without Parliament’s approval might as well be dead in the water, to the detriment of the southern African nation’s economy and all its future prospects of becoming middle income by 2030. What has all this ruckus to do with the people? What is it in for the general long-suffering Zimbabweans? Absolutely nothing; except to brew more misery for them.

As people of old once advised: “An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind,” this is increasingly becoming true for Zimbabwe where the MPs from both parties are more than ready to poke each other in the eye at every opportune moment.

This could probably be the saddest period of Zimbabwe’s political life this decade as the politicians remain determined to score cheap political scores at the expense of the well-being of the nation at large. The tomfoolery in the ninth Parliament is reducing the Second Republic into one very big circus. This whole useless drama is worsening our socio-economic situation as a country.

It’s a worthless sideshow that will condemn its citizens to unending penury and hatred for each other along political lines because there is no solution at all to the two parties’ relentless and spirited acrimonies.

To borrow from the famous novel Cry the beloved country: “I have one great fear in my heart, that one day when they are turned to loving, they will find we are turned to hating.”

Judging from the current and previous climate trends, Zimbabwe and the southern African region appears to be vulnerable to extreme weather events and climate related impacts. These may appear in the form of floods, cyclones, violent winds, droughts or storms, including heat waves or extreme cold events.

These various climate-related impacts and weather driven scenarios have undesirable effects not only on the people’s livelihoods but also on the environment and the economic prospects. The events outlined above are not the only ones that require the information services of early warning systems (EWS).
There are also community-based telling signs which serve to communicate the coming of drought or enough rains. These can be highlighted through studying the behaviour of birds, insects, plants, trees or the atmosphere.

With regard to EWS in Zimbabwe and the southern African region, that is where the comprehensive knowledge of the meteorological personnel, climate change experts and community-based enforcers become handy. This is in terms of disseminating the most needed and relevant weather and climate information, predictions, forecasting and meteorological data. In this regard, local communities need to have knowledge of the above, in order to sufficiently prepare themselves for the worst scenarios or better fortunes.

It is important for the fragile and volatile southern African region to empower its vulnerable communities with context specific vital EWS information, so that they become literate and competent in these life-saving matters.

The aim is for these communities, as important stakeholders, first and foremost, to be able to prepare themselves from the unpredictable and destructive natural disasters.

This also includes local farmers who are expected to use EWS to plan and prepare for each approaching farming seasons and enhance their livelihoods.

In Zimbabwe and the whole of southern African region, as communities approach the rainy season, farmers, meteorologists, climate change experts, policy makers and enforcers should have enough, relevant and useful telling signs, climate information and services that enhance their state of preparedness. Although local communities can benefit a lot from the early warning systems, they can also not afford the significance, power and relevance of the role of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) in these whole equation.

The value of knowledge in interpreting community telling signs, weather and climate phenomena promote and enhance resilience as well as strengthen their livelihoods. Although the local communities’ state of preparedness is very much premised in weather and climate scenarios, these should be integrated with crop situations, household scenarios, economic and environmental shocks, in order to realise resilience. Particular responses, whether short or long term, are overally designed to save lives, reduce vulnerabilities and achieve food security.

As communities and target situations study and observe the behaviours of plants, birds, animals, trees and insects, they would be harnessing comprehensive and sustainable networks of IKS, sometimes referred to as the community knowledge of knowing. People would be empowered to have sustainable knowledge of what is in store for them in terms of the approaching agricultural season. There are migratory birds which are strongly associated with abundant rains and they travel from as far as Europe to southern Africa, some are known as the Black and White-Storks or Mashuramurove/Amangabuzane in Vernacular. Some birds are indigenous to southern Africa like Haya (Cackoo) and if it cries continuously then rains will be imminent. Swallows/Nyenga-Nyenga/ Izinkonjane, the fast, swift and deceptive small birds are witnessed in large numbers before the onset of the rain season or during the rainy season and they are believed to feed as they fly.

There are also insects which are in the forecasting frame of things like Cicadas/Nyenze, which make lots of noise during the sweltering heat of October/November just before the onset of the rains in southern Africa. Ants are also believed to participate in the rain forecasting discourse, especially if there are seen building anthills just before the onset of the rainy season. This would signify the coming of lots of rains. There are also tree trends associated with the coming of rains or drought.

Mango tree bearing lots of Mangoes, would mean that there will be a drought and also if a Mushamba/Gan’acha/Lannea discolour tree bears lots of fruits, then that year will be a drought. Local communities can also be trained to study the moon as an early warning systems to signify whether there are rains or not. If the moon, especially at night, is circled by a white ring cloud then it would be signifying the coming of lots of rains.

In this regard, early warning systems should come early as the name suggests, and they are vital tools to disaster risk reductions. The indigenous knowledge systems in this regard, are localised, collaborative and transferrable, but as the local communities do so, they should always try also to be knowledgeable about climate change phenomena. Local communities have relied on commercial channels of weather predictions like radio, television and the print media for quite a long time and the results have not been that favourable. The reason behind this is that the local knowledge of knowing indicators or IKS have been the missing links hence they need to be integrated. It is also significant that, before local communities gather expertise in EWS, they have to make use of their knowledge of IKS as entry points.

Although weather forecasts have been educative for generations, they have not comprehensively managed to empower local communities in order for them to be in a position to come up with correct responses to the future climate scenarios. Despite scientific early warning systems’ inherent drawbacks, they remain fundamental information disseminators, since they are designed to combine both technology and IKS, which make them human friendly, people centred and effective. Early warning systems also contribute to the enhancement of effective communication networks across sectors, including their abilities to communicate risks, warnings, and desired responsive indicators.

One major undoing of EWS is their inability to reach out and penetrate vulnerable communities and target situations. These are communities who are always affected by extreme impacts of weather. As such communities in the peripheries are sadly locked out.

Even if local communities are to be conversant of weather or climate-related impacts, and they happen to raise warnings or alarm to the relevant authorities, responses and rescue efforts usually come late or never. Responsible authorities are not as prompt, expeditious and decisive as expected of them.

Early Warning Systems’ overall aim is to treat those targeted, as important stakeholders by giving them enough information to avoid disasters. Above all, information collected from early warning systems activities should strategically feed into weather phenomena, climate change adaptation as well as knowledge of physical features and local socio-cultural institutions, for strategic networking.

 Peter Makwanya is a climate change communicator. He writes in his personal capacity and can be contacted on: petrovmoyt@gmail.com

Yadah FC……(2)2
Caps United…(2)2

CAPS United squandered a golden opportunity to open a four-point lead at the top of the log standings after allowing Yadah to come from two goals down to force a draw in a Castle Lager Premiership tie at the National Sports Stadium yesterday.

BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA

This was all down to poor game management by the log leaders. With nearest challengers Chicken Inn and FC Platinum having stuttered to draws earlier on Saturday, Caps United went into the match seeking to widen the gap.

They had started off brightly, carving out good chances that earned them two fabulous goals inside 21 minutes. John Zhuwawo thrust them into the lead after seven minutes, capitalising on poor clearance by Lennox Mucheto to chip the ball over goalkeeper Ali Issah.

After taking an early lead, they had a penalty appeal waved away by the referee after Phineas Bhamusi was brought down in the penalty box as he charged towards goal on the quarter hour.

However, Ronald Chitiyo doubled the lead on the 21st minute after getting to the end of a cross by Kelvin Ndebele, killed the ball instantly before rolling it into the nets with his left foot.
When many were expecting Caps to cruise to a comfortable victory, they failed to maintain their shape and the injury of goalkeeper Tonderai Mateyaunga did not help matters. He was replaced by Prosper Chigumba.

The second choice goalkeeper had a nightmare just a moment after coming on with Nkosi Mhlanga’s effort crashing against the upright post on 32 minutes before he hit the back of the nets three minutes later with a stunning free kick from about 40 meters out.

Buoyed by the goal, Yadah became increasingly assertive and at the stroke of the first half, Paddington Nyamakura beat an off side trap to score the leveller.

In the second half, Caps United appeared determined to regain their lead, but spurned chances on several occasions.

It was Yadah, who, however, could have ran out winners in this contest after Mhlanga scored with a diving header on 85 minutes, but the effort was ruled out for offside.

Despite the draw Caps still maintain pole position on the league table by two points.

Caps coach Darlington Dodo looked dejected and down cast at the end of the match.

“Surrendering a 2-0 lead, with the quality we have I don’t know what to say. Those goals we conceded were give aways. It’s very embarrassing how we gave away those goals. We had a grip on the match and decided to give it away. It’s sad. I was angry at them at the break and they were also angry at each other and that is why you saw there was a big improvement in the way we managed the game in the second half. There are individuals who didn’t do their job, the injury to Mateyaunga affected us,” he said.

His counterpart Genesis Mangombe hit out at the match officials. “We tried our best, but at times you feel the match officials must be fair when handling matches. I thought the disallowed goal was a genuine goal according to the rules of the game. We played well and showed great character to come back from two goals down and draw against a team like Caps who are fighting for the championship. Mathematically, I think we still have a chance to survive relegation,” he said.

Teams

Yadah: A Issah, M Musiyakwi, S Linyama, L Mucheto, J Chitereki, G Mangani, (T Mkahlera 69’), E Karembo (W Nyamudyariwa 90’), N Mhlanga, P Nyamakura (I Sadiki 81’), R Matema, L Mavhunga
Caps: T Mateyaunga, (P Chigumba 29’), J Jangano, G Goriyati (L Zvasiya 90’), V Ndaba, D Mukandi, J Ngodzo, P Bhamusi, K Ndebele, J Zhuwawo, R Chitiyo (D Chungwa 69’)