BY STEPHEN CHADENGA

A 35-YEAR-OLD Gweru man was last week acquitted on charges of illegally dealing in foreign currency.

Paradzanai Hamanu of Mkoba 11 appeared before magistrate Edwin Marecha facing a charge of illegally dealing in foreign currency.

Allegations were that Hamanu was seen by detectives holding wads of bond notes, United States dollars and South African rand which he was reportedly trading on the streets.

Through his lawyer, Nomore Hlabano, Hamanu denied the charge and said police officers forcibly took the money from his vehicle, which (money) he intended to pay the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority for the house he had bought and that part of the money was paid after his car had been hired.

He told the court that he had CCTV footage which showed the police randomly searching his car before taking the money.

Marecha ruled that the State had failed to prove its case before acquitting Hamanu.

The State’s case was that on August 20 this year at around 3pm, detectives, who were on patrol, saw Hamanu holding a bunch of currencies and saying in vernacular, “tinochinja mari pano (we exchange money)” to passersby.

Police approached and arrested him and recovered $2 000, R5 680, US$161 on his person and a further $2 880 from a satchel stashed in his car.

editorial comment

IT comes as a seriously embarrassing affront to the Zimbabwe nation State that we are condemning hundreds, if not thousands, of fellow brothers and sisters to Statelessness simply because one or both their parents are unknown to them, which makes it impossible for them to obtain identity documents (IDs) under the country’s very strange laws that unashamedly trample on basic human rights. Having an ID is one of the most basic human rights that should not be so complicated and made to appear to be so sacred that a whole nation conspires to deny fellow citizens the right to belong somewhere.

Inquiries by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) have so far revealed that there are thousands of Zimbabwean citizens out there with neither birth certificates nor any other form of ID, with some of these hapless souls now being condemned to rot in jail simply because they cannot be pardoned since they have never obtained a birth certificate. The failure by fellow citizens to get IDs is exposing the southern African nation’s appalling human rights record. Little wonder Zimbabwe is struggling to understand why the community of nations has kept its doors slammed shut on it. Our human rights conditions are simply dreadful! And it is such basic things like failure to access IDs that are contributing to our outrageous human rights record. Indeed, everyone of us have to be very ashamed of ourselves for being part of a people nurturing such awful human rights conditions which have seen us not being bothered to treat fellow human beings with the dignity they deserve regardless of their unfortunate circumstances.

A Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services chief correction officer, Gilbert Munemo last week exposed the atrocious level of the country’s human rights record when he appeared before the ZHRC saying: “According to a recent survey we conducted in Mashonaland West, it was observed that many inmates do not have birth certificates and national identity documents.”

Munemo further told us that since these prisoners are termed “Stateless” they have no right to Presidential amnesty because their ages cannot be determined. They also are said to have no right to sit for educational or professional examinations. Simply put, they don’t exist just because they don’t know any relative who can help them get an ID.

“Presidential pardons come with certain specific conditions such as age, hence due to the fact that some inmates do not have birth certificates and identity cards, they do not qualify,” Munemo told us. It is astounding that in this day and age – when science is now so advanced that humankind is now able to do amazing things such as penetrating space into the yonder galaxies millions of lights years away — the State cannot or is not interested in establishing those inmates’ ages.

Munemo makes it sound as if it is virtually impossible to determine someone’s age from scratch when science has become so cutting-edge that such disciplines as carbon dating are now stuff for kindergarten learners who now know that age can simply be determined by one’s teeth, bone structure and sexual characteristics. We hope that by the time the ZHRC is complete with its inquiries, the country will treat this matter with the seriousness it deserves for the sake of saving our degraded dignity as a people.

BY CHELSEA MUSAFARE

RISING gospel artiste Emmah Mtisi is on Thursday this week set to release a new nine-track album, Mwari Vanonzwa, which largely encourages the nation to be prayerful in the face of challenges facing the country.

Speaking to NewsDay Life & Style recently, Mtisi said her music was inspired by the Holy Spirit and the word of God.

Mtisi, who will be launching the new album at Hevoi FM in Masvingo, said she opted to use radio as it reached a wider audience.

“People do not have to travel to attend the launch, but can listen in the comfort of their homes and workplaces. Also considering the economic situation, it has less costs than launching at a specific venue, which would need the whole band, MCs and refreshments,” she said.

The musician said her new offering was produced and recorded by Blessing Masanga at Bishy Music in Harare and Olin Anderson at Kunashe Studios in Mutare. She said her music was designed to inspire people to press on in faith because every problem had an expiry date.

She added that her forthcoming second production was different from the previous offering because it carried a new message.

“My first album Usacheme focused on problems faced by individuals, but this one Mwari Vanonzwa is focusing mainly on hope, faith and perseverance,” Mtisi said.

The singer said she has five videos from her first album and has featured Blessing Shumba on one of her songs, Chiedza, which has commanded a huge following on social media platforms.

guest column:Tendai Ruben Mbofana

This has been one of the most deluded period for the Zimbabwe government – even by its own inherently schizophrenic standards — firstly claiming that providing low salaries to workers was economically prudent as it attracted foreign direct investment (FDI), since companies preferred investing in countries with cheap labour, then later announcing that it intended inviting back foreign-based specialist doctors — yet, clearly failing to adequately care for its own local contingent of medical practitioners.

Wow! Could this get any worse? I am pretty sure we have not heard the last of these laughable pronouncements – which, however, fall far short of being comical, as ordinary Zimbabweans have for decades borne the brunt of such brazenly atrocious policies by the government.

Quite frankly, what would inspire a whole Minister of Health to be so excitable — while touring and inspecting a private health institution — to seemingly forget that his government has dismally failed to attend to the demands and needs of its own health care workers with any gravity of seriousness? As every Zimbabwean knows by now — most likely through traumatic experiences of not receiving any medical attention at public health institutions, or witnessing loved ones dying for lack of care — doctors have been incapacitated from attending to their duties, due to the inadequacy of their remunerations from government. As much as they have tried to plead their case with relevant authorities, this has, nonetheless, been greeted with the usual cruel hard-heartedness and unforgivable arrogance – whereby, instead of the government negotiating in good faith, they have resorted to threats and firing of the clearly shortchanged and aggrieved doctors.

Who is to blame here? Who has wronged who?

For a clearer understanding of the doctors — and by extension, all other civil servants, including teachers, nurses, among others, as well pensioners – let us rewind the clock to exactly a year ago, when every employee’s salary was pegged in United States dollars, as that had effectively been the currency of choice since the introduction of the multi-currency system in 2009.

Notwithstanding that people were now receiving their monies from banks in bond notes, purely as a consequence of US dollar cash shortages — as the exchange rate was at par at 1:1 — employee contracts, however, never changed, and their salaries were still legally in the greenback. Nonetheless, fast forward to 2019, enter a new phase of the government’s crazed economic policies, with the February 20 introduction of the RTGS dollar as the new local currency, and the liberisation of the interbank exchange rate — which was characterised by a steady decline of the Zimbabwe currency against the US dollar.

This was the genesis of the ”stealing” of employee salaries, as they continued to receive their monies in local currency at a rate of 1:1 against their contractually binding US dollar remuneration – despite the fact that the RTGS dollar was swiftly losing value, and as such, their payments needed to be adjusted accordingly.

Furthermore, on June 24 — through Statutory Instrument 142 of 2019 — the administration outlawed the multi-currency system, and also introduced yet another local currency in the form of the Zimbabwe dollar.

Workers continued to receive their salaries in the new local currency — with brazen disregard of prevailing interbank exchange rates, which would have maintained these at their US dollar equivalent, in line with their contracts of employment. Thus, when workers and pensioners demanded their right for salaries to be pegged at prevailing interbank exchange rates, the government treated this as some insane request for pay increments — thereby, offering them pitiful so-called ”cushioning allowances”, and ”cost of living adjustments”, under the excuse that they (government) had no money. Government had no money for what? Civil servants were not asking for anything more than what they were already entitled to in accordance with their employment contracts as of October 2018 — a salary that was in US dollars.

Therefore, what the government was supposed to do was to continue providing its workers their salaries at the same value as in October 2018 — but, as the depreciating Zimbabwe dollar had now become the only legal tender in the country, then these had to be valued at the prevailing interbank exchange rate. Simple! What does government need more money for?

If they could pay their employees a salary of, for example, US$500 in October 2018, then what civil servants are demanding is the same salary today. Yet, in order to receive the same value in Zimbabwe dollars, it needs to be at the prevailing interbank exchange rate of US$1: $15, which makes it $7 500. However, if the same employee is currently being given $1 000, then it means the employer has deprived him or her of $6 500. As such, who has stolen from who? Who has wronged who? Thus, if there is anyone who should be taken to the Labour Court for breaching a contract, should it not be the employer? So, where does the government get the audacity to conduct disciplinary hearings against its workers, whom it has clearly wronged and dispossessed of their rightful remunerations? If anyone deserves to be fired, it certainly is not the incapacitated employee — whose compromised salary is clearly not enough to report for duty, considering the ever-rising and unaffordable cost of living — but, the minister responsible for this dispossession of rightful salaries.

Given this shameful background of the obvious unfair treatment of its employees by Zimbabwean authorities, the already wretched health delivery system will furthur be compromised , as there surely will be a huge upsurge in emigration of our valued medical practitioners. How do they imagine inviting back specialist doctors currently in the diaspora?

Will this government’s deranged and delusional thinking ever end? Let us not forget why these specialist doctors left the country in the first place – the same reason that our current medical practitioners will be moving to foreign lands…the ruthless and uncaring treatment, and abuse they are receiving at the hands of their employer.

An employer, whose spokespersons would rather utter uncharitable and reckless statements on both social and mainstream media to the effect that they preferred that these ’murderous doctors were fired’! Who is being ”murderous” in this regard?

Who has deprived our valued doctors the ability to attend to our ailing loved ones? Who has decided to fire these medical practitioners – whose cause it totally understandable – instead, of conducting genuine negotiations? Who is forcing these indispensable gallant men and women out of the country, to serve other people, while their fellow compatriots are left desperate? Who has effectively driven our critically sick loved ones to their deaths?

Why then would any right thinking foreign-based specialist doctor decide to return under such grave conditions? The Zimbabwe government should first sort out its own affairs at home before dreaming of any fantastical and unrealistic ambitions.

 Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice activist, writer, author, and speaker. Please feel free to contact him on — email: zimjustice@gmail.com

by business reporter

Zimbabwe is planning an enforced mass migration of wildlife away from a park in the country’s south, where thousands of animals are at risk of death due to drought-induced starvation.

At least 200 elephants have already died at two other parks due to lack of food and water, along with scores of buffalo and antelope, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) said on Monday.

“They will continue (to die) until the rains come. The biggest threat to our animals right now is loss of habitat,” ZimParks spokesman Tinashe Farawo told Reuters.

The El Nino-induced drought has also taken its toll on crops, leaving more than half of the population in need of food aid.

Farawo said Zimparks and private partners planned to move 600 elephants — as well as giraffe, lions, buffalo, antelope and spotted wild dogs – from Save Valley Conservancy in southern Zimbabwe to three other national parks.

“This is the biggest translocation of animals in the history of wildlife movement here because we are talking of distances of more than 1 000 kilometres,” Farawo said.

It will start once the summer rains come. Those are expected to start this week, which would offer major relief for the stricken animals and for farmers who are preparing for the 2019/20 planting season.

The migration will also help to save the conservancy’s ecosystem by depopulating it because the animals “are now becoming a threat to their own survival,” Farawo said.

Zimbabwe is home to some 80 000 elephants, around a fifth of Africa’s total, conservationists estimate. Overall numbers have declined sharply in recent years, mostly due to a combination of poaching, illegal hunting and drought.

Farawo said ZimParks, which does not receive government funding, requires $40 million annually for conservation efforts, but only generates half the amount.

Zimbabwe, together with South Africa, Botswana and Namibia, unsuccessfully lobbied the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species for controlled sales of their ivory stocks at a meeting in August.

Trade in ivory is banned to deter poaching. ZimParks says its ivory stockpile is worth $300 million, money it can use for wildlife conservation.

Zimbabwe has also exported nearly 100 elephants, mainly to China, earning $3 million, Zimparks statistics show. — Reuters

BY VANESSA GONYE

ORDINARY citizens whose pockets are not deep enough to afford private medical care continue to bear the brunt of the ongoing stand-off between medical doctors — who have been on industrial action for over two months now — and government.

People with various ailments are gambling with death as many have since stopped going to seek medical attention at public hospitals, where they are routinely turned away due to the unavailability of doctors.

Hope in the public health system recuperating and going back on its feet has been lost and the pain has been worst felt by chronically ill patients who rely on the doctors’ services from time to time.

Faina Guruuswa (not her real name), has suffered from anal cancer for 11 years, having been in and out of hospital since 2008, seeking services to at least ease her recurring ailment.

The growth is often cut, but it grows again at a slightly different spot. She has had to become a permanent resident at one of the country’s biggest health institutions, where she is being attended to.

When NewsDay visited her, she was fearful that speaking to the media would attract severe backlash from hospital authorities.

Sometime in September soon after the doctors downed their tools, she had to go for an incomplete chemotherapy treatment.

Chemotherapy treatment may be a single drug or a combination of drugs. The drugs may all be given on a single day, several consecutive days, or continuously.

Guruuswa was given three doses, instead of five, and was told it was just a favour being accorded her since doctors were on strike.

Such is the case for many in her situation. Scheduled treatment is no longer guaranteed, further worsening their situation as cancers are bound to spread rapidly.

Guruuswa said she was now living in uncertainty over how long she would be stuck at the hospital awaiting services in the face of the doctors’ prolonged strike.

“My condition started in 2008 soon after I started anti-retroviral treatment. I developed small pimples in my anal area and I sought treatment which was not entirely successful,” she said.

Five years down the line, she said it started growing again and she received medical attention, but it recurred again in 2015 and she had to go to Karoi General Hospital to have it removed.

“The growth started again and in 2016, I went to a bigger provincial hospital for another operation, but the growth wasn’t completely healed and I was in excruciating pain. I have had to live on painkillers until now. I am on morphine to help ease the pain,” she said, barely being able to conceal the pain gnawing at her as she narrated her ordeal.

She came to Harare in winter this year because she felt she was now being a burden to her sister, who had accommodated her in Chiredzi, but was also struggling.

Things turned for the worst when the doctors’ strike began and her dream of ever getting better have been shattered.

“Things have changed. Before this, we did not have problems getting treated. It was timely and straight-forward,” she recalled.

Guruuswa has had to endure the harsh economic conditions and is living off the hospital after authorities availed a shelter for those in her situation at the Annex Psychiatric Unit.

She, however, keeps holding on to the last straw of hope that the doctors will return to work and she gets her scheduled treatment before things turn for the worst.

A visit to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals on Thursday evening last week proved that things were far from normal.

As the NewsDay crew sat in the casualty area trying to figure out how people were being served in the wake of the ongoing doctors’ strike, one of the senior doctors finally came after close to two hours of waiting.

“Doctors are on strike, but I am here to assist you with your next step,” the doctor said.

He told one woman who had brought a young man who had drunk poison, to take him back home and force him to drink lots of water because there was no doctor to deal with his condition.

Two women who had a baby with an ulcer on the thumb were told to rush to a private practice as their case was an emergency, which, under normal circumstances, would have been quickly dealt with at the hospital.

Several others were told to go back home.

Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association spokesperson Masimba Ndoro told NewsDay that while they drew no pleasure in seeing their patients suffering, the onus was on government to ensure that the basic right to health was upheld.

“We really want to be with our patients. We don’t draw any pleasure from their suffering. It is quite sad that people are being deprived of their right to health as a result of the impasse.

“It is the government’s responsibility to make sure that people are accorded quality health. The government should quickly come to terms with regards to accepting that we have a problem,” he said.

Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) executive director Itai Rusike said the ongoing impasse between government and the doctors was taking its toll on patients and there was need to resolve the crisis urgently.

“CWGH is greatly worried by the incapacitation crisis and prolonged impasse between the doctors and their employer, which has resulted in untold suffering of patients and even deaths that could have been avoided under normal circumstances,” he said.

“While we acknowledge the genuine grievances of the doctors and the financial position of government, we would like to urge the two parties to put patients first and at the centre of their dialogue to save lives and stop the suffering.”

The doctors have remained adamant and have vowed not to return to work until government offered a meaningful remuneration, among other things.

Government has already fired 211 striking doctors after conducting disciplinary hearings, albeit boycotted by the medical practitioners.

At least 516 doctors face the axe as the disciplinary hearings continue.

Meanwhile, Guruuswa’s life, and that of other patients in critical conditions, remain in the balance.

Between the Lines:Phillip Chidavaenzi

Title: Pursuit of Purpose (Aphorisms)

Author: Ralph Kadurira

Publisher: Mind Blower Publishers (2018)

ISBN: 978-0-7974-9678-1

MULTI-GIFTED youth leader and leadership trainer Ralph Jonathan Kadurira’s 2018 publication, Pursuit of Purpose (Aphorisms) is a compendium of 109 insights into individual human purpose and how it can be identified and religiously pursued for personal fulfilment and the benefit of humanity. In the book under review, Kadurira — who last year published a gripping novella on sexual exploitation titled Short Time — shares deep insights into purpose. This makes the book a handy tool, not only for those still groping for their purpose, but also for those seeking ways to add a sharper sting to their pursuit of purpose.

A diverse range of themes including the interconnection between vision and purpose, time and purpose, lack of decisiveness, passion, success, identity, provision and life assignment are dissected with the precision of a surgeon to help the reader comprehend ways in which purpose can be realised and fulfilled. Reading the book, one gets the impression that failure to master and connect these concepts like the various dots in a single line will make it possible for an individual to realise their potential and fulfil their purpose.

Although negative personal experiences, including racism or low self-esteem associated with one’s physical looks can hinder their ability to function in their purpose, Kadurira contends that one is always fit for their purpose regardless of how they look or their racial or ethnic background. Even physical handicaps cannot be an excuse. The author employs biblical allusion by using Moses, the larger-than-life biblical character assigned to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt to their land of promise and confronting Pharaoh, regardless of his stammer. This demonstrates that nothing should hinder anyone from fulfilling their assignment.

Kadurira demonstrates how false ideas connected to one’s identity can also be a major stumbling block in the realisation of purpose. He says “we tend to be trapped in people’s opinions of who we are, who we can become and who we ought to be and what we should do or not do” (pp21). He said against such a backdrop, the desire to fit in has led many to shipwreck their purposes as they ended up pursuing things they were never called to chase.

It takes more than knowing one’s purpose to be able to pursue it to its finality and therein lies the danger. The implication here is that one may indeed have their purpose on their fingertips and still fail to concretise it in real terms because this demands high levels of faithfulness, commitment and hard work. Kadurira helps us understand that we have to put in the works and get our hands dirty. He writes: “Know this truth, until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.” (pp28). One of the major drawbacks in the pursuit of purpose is gossip. Reading through Pursuit of Purposes, one realises that, indeed, a lot of people who expend their energies on gossip miss opportunities to engage in worthwhile and fruitful pursuits. The one consumed in purpose has no time for anything else, because they are so absorbed in their assignment, and everything they do is a step taken towards that dream. Kadurira — who is also the man behind a social enterprise called Mind Blower Children’s Fund set up to mitigate social and educational hardships among adolescents — contends that purpose pursuit also stirs the individual to consider other ways of adding value to what they do. Using the fund as a model enterprise, he demonstrates how the pursuit of purposes will always attract cheerleaders.

One reason why someone’s chase of purpose can run out of steam along the way is failure to anticipate the hurdles likely to pop up along the way. In light of this, it becomes a necessity — almost like a rite of passage — to “take calculated and unpopular risks” (pp31). Kadurira is of the view that those who ride against the tides, disregarding popular opinion along the way, often break the glass ceiling and find themselves at the top.

The world is unforgiving to jacks of all trades, and these never shine like the stars of the galaxy as they are hardly masters of anything. As demonstrated in this literary offering, an individual who understands their purpose never seeks to chase many things at the same time. They understand their specific area, learn the ropes and master their assignments.

Consequently, they become authorities in their specific area. Kadurira reflects that another significant mistake people often make is that of thinking that motion is a reflection of progress. The dividing line is so thin it is almost invisible. This is an important, non-negotiable fact of life. Many people are engaged in a lot of activities, but without production.

This is a book that any person desiring to grow or move to the next level in their life needs to have in their library. It is an inspirational offering worth the paper it is written on.

Kadurira is a training and development consultant and director of Springtide Morphoos as well as the founder and convener of The Mesh ZW with three other publications — Mind Blower; The Beginning (co-authored with Kudzai Portia Gurure), Fighting Ignorance and Destiny Sagacity (multi-authored).

BY PRAISEMORE SITHOLE

A BULAWAYO man, who was sentenced to four years in jail for looting during the January protests, has approached the High Court appealing both his conviction and sentencing.

Future Banda was arrested on January 25 at the instigation of Mlungu Supermarket owner, Prayford Sibanda, who alleged that Banda was part of the protesters that looted his shop on January 15.

Banda was convicted of stealing a pig carcass and 6×2 litre containers of Chibuku beer.

The court ordered him to pay restitution of $18 000.

During trial, Banda insisted that he was not part of the looters as he was attending a funeral on the day in question, with witnesses testifying to that effect.

Banda was sentenced to four years at Khami Prison. Six months were suspended on condition of good behaviour, while another six months were suspended on condition he restitutes his victim.

Banda’s lawyer Sifelani Mlambo told Southern Eye yesterday that they had approached the High Court seeking repeal.

“Yes, we have already appealed to the High Court and the case has already been filed and we are waiting for the date, which is most likely to be early next year,” he said.

Mlambo said there was proof that the convict had attended the funeral in Makokoba.

The State is being accused of having relied on two untrustworthy witnesses who gave contradicting testimonies.

“The witnesses that gave the account contradicted themselves. One of them said Banda was the ring leader in the looting and had organised it. The other one said that he (Banda) was among the group that looted in the shop,” Mlambo said.

BY TAFADZWA MHLANGA

GOVERNMENT is seeking to raise another $300 million through Treasury Bills (TBs) to finance its programmes, a month after issuing a sovereign paper with the same amount.

In a statement yesterday, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) invited financial institutions to subscribe to TBs with half-year maturity tenure.

“The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, on behalf of the government of the Republic of Zimbabwe, hereby invites commercial banks, building societies, People’s Own Savings Bank and Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe to subscribe to government Treasury Bills tender amounting to three hundred million dollars ($300 000 000),” the central bank said.

Applications must be for a minimum amount of $1m, with the number of bids per investor restricted to two.

The offer will open today.

Last month, the central bank issued another $300m TBs to finance numerous activities, but the auction was poorly subscribed.

This followed two auctions carried out in August, which were oversubscribed. The first and second TBs auctions raised $30m and $60m, respectively.

Previous auctions had been held in secrecy, with government recently introducing open market borrowing to improve transparency on its domestic debt.

Recently, RBZ governor John Mangudya refused to take responsibility for the US$3,2 billion TBs that were unlawfully issued from 2017 to 2018 mostly for the Command Agriculture programme, shifting the blame on the then Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa.

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee interrogated Mangudya over controversial TBs issued without the House’s approval, causing massive inflation which is currently affecting the country.

The resumption of the public TBs auction has also brought questions on Treasury’s capacity to generate revenue through taxes.

The country’s economy is set to contract this year due to reduced output in agriculture, unreliable power supply, combined with inflationary pressures, foreign currency shortages and restricted external financial support.

According to Treasury, the stock of outstanding TBs as at June 2018 amounts to US$6,7 billion, with a maturity value of around US$8,3 billion.

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

NEWLY-APPOINTED minister of the new Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities, Daniel Garwe, said his ministry will push to fulfil the interests and manifestos set by Zanu PF ahead of the 2018 general elections.

Speaking soon after his swearing in at State House along with Information Communications and Technologies minister Janfen Muswere, Garwe said he was ready for his new role.

“We are here to further the interests of our party Zanu PF, if Zanu PF says we are going to build houses, we are here to therefore take it up to build those houses for the people of Zimbabwe,” Garwe said.

Ahead of the polls, Zanu PF promised to build five million houses by 2023, to date no significant milestones has been made.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa in a Cabinet reshuffle whittled the powers of Local Government and Public Works minister July Moyo, who was in charge of housing, to bring in Garwe.

He also trimmed Perrance Shiri’s Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlements ministry to expand Mangaliso Ndlovu’s Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Tourism and Hospitality Industry.

The new minister said while the construction industry was dormant owing to a declining economy, he was up for the challenge.

“The construction industry right now is dormant because of the economic hardships that the country is going through,” Garwe said.

“We all know that it is a service industry, people would want money to buy food to get in the stomach first before they think of building houses. The industry is waiting for me now, it is a collective responsibility, it is not the minister’s job alone, stakeholders must be involved. It’s a key result area for government, it is a key result area for me, it is a key result area for my party Zanu PF.”

He added: “Local Government is no longer constructing houses; that responsibility has been taken to National Housing. However, this is my first day; I have to sit down with my colleagues, and see how best we can work in harmony. It is about inter-connectedness of responsibilities.”

Muswere, who is the former ICT deputy, said his immediate task would be to strike a balance between affordability of data and sustainability of service providers.

“The basis of the entire mobile network operators and the fixed network operators is to ensure that their businesses are viable but also to ensure that we protect the consumers of Zimbabwe,” he said.

Muswere said he would ensure an acceleration of connectivity and prioritise access to modern technologies.

“Generally, what we are expecting is an acceleration of a knowledge-based society, through ubiquitous connectivity,” Muswere said.

“If you are looking at the pre-budget seminar, we are covering mainly the infrastructure sectors, which is in line with the Transitional Stabilisation Programme … we are going to be more about results.”