BY FORTUNE MBELE

ZPC KARIBA . . . . .. 0
HIGHLANDERS . . . (1) 1

PRINCE Dube produced another priceless performance to help Highlanders boot ZPC Kariba out of the Chibuku Cup in a semi-final match played at Barbourfields Stadium in Bulawayo yesterday.

Dube came back to haunt ZPC Kariba after he was shown the red card in a league game two weeks ago at Nyamhunga Stadium in a match involving the same teams.

He scored a beauty in the 35th minute against the run of play after receiving the ball on the far right before cutting in-field and curling the ball past goalkeeper Takabva Mawaya.

The Highlanders’ gunman has scored in every match that Bosso have played in this competition so far this year.

He scored when the Bulawayo giants booted out Dynamos in the first round, as well as when they beat FC Platinum 3-0 in the quarter-final and his third in yesterday’s semi-final clash.

But it was a game that ZPC Kariba could have won in the first 20 minutes after they pressed Highlanders and got three free-kicks in good positions, but Munyaradzi Kunyarimwe failed to convert.

ZPC congested their midfield with only Tawanda Nyamandwe upfront and did not allow Highlanders to play their passing game but their movement to the final third was poor.

They, however, ended the game with 10 men after defender Ian Nekati was shown the red card eight minutes before the final whistle after elbowing substitute Godfrey Makaruse.

ZPC Kariba players protested the red card and referee of the day Hardley Ndazi tried to explain his decision to coach Godfrey Tamirepi.

Highlanders coach Hendrikus Pieter de Jongh was happy they are through to the final for the first time since the return of the tournament in 2014.

“I am happy we are going to the final. It’s not important how you play in a semi-final; what is important is getting to the final. I am happy for the club and the players. We deserved to go to the final after beating Dynamos, FC Platinum and today ZPC Kariba,” De Jongh said.

His counterpart Tamirepi felt said they were treated unfairly at BF yesterday.

“In all fairness I would say we gave a very good account of ourselves in the well-contested match and without any reservations I could say from the onset things did not favour us, but when it comes to play my boys did well,” Tamirepi said.

He added: “There was a lot of intimidation from the fans when we were attacking and they were throwing missiles which slowed down the rhythm and frustrated us. I am not happy with the way we were treated here.”

Teams

ZPC Kariba: T Mawaya, I Nekati (red card 82′), M Kunyarimwe, B Mutukure, J Marufu, B Juru (T Chiunye 72′), D Chakupe (T Ranthokoane 61′), C Muleya, T Nyamandwe, J Gwara (K Nasama 61′), T Chamboko

Highlanders: A Sibanda, M Phiri, M Ndlovu, A Mbeba, P Muduhwa, N Masuku, T Makanda (B Sibanda 90+1′), B Banda, P Dube, A Silla, D Khumalo (G Makaruse 80′)

Unidentified merrymakers get grilled meat at the Braai Fest at Old Hararians Sports Club in Harare on Saturday

BY WINSTONE ANTONIO

MEAT and beer lovers were in for a treat when the popular Castle Lager National Braai Fest returned on Friday and Saturday at its ceremonial home, Old Hararians Sports Club in Harare.

The popular and strictly no-under-18 fest funded by Delta Beverages through their Castle Lager brand was cancelled last year, following an outbreak of cholera.

Making its return over two days, the fest had a false start on Friday with the really heavy, but very welcome rains forcing the cancellation of performances by dancehall chanter Killer T, urban groover Ex-Q and some wheel spinners.

But there were smiles all around on Saturday as the skies cleared and the partying went into full swing.

Thousands turned out on the final day, with entertainment galore from the dancehall president Winky D, Freeman, urban groover Ex-Q and Hip- hop sensation Takura adding to the fireworks.

Winky D showed why he remains the reference point among local artistes before sound glitches cut short his performance in the middle of his MuGarden hit song, a duet with local pop sensation Gemma Griffiths.

This drew angry protests from the fans unhappy with the sound engineers and bringing the show to a premature end.

In a country struggling for positives and any sought of relief, the braai fest brought some joy to thousands of merrymakers.

But going forward, the few glitches need to be ironed out, such as the long queues which resulted in commotion and disorder as revellers got impatient.

It also appears that bouncers who have become a menace at several live concerts, were facilitating entry to anyone who would pay them in cash.

They attempted the swindle on this reporter before whisking him in after one of them recognised him.

At the inaugural braaifest, over 12 000kg of meat were consumed in one day, while a staggering 15 000kg was gobbled in 2017. 2019 is likely to set a new record, with proceeds being channelled towards charity.

SINCE August this year 105 people have died in machete wars, while hundreds others were injured by Zanu PF-linked terror groups that have terrorised the country’s gold-rich sites committing heinous crimes claiming immunity because of their government and ruling party links, NewsDay has learnt.

By Brenna Matendere

In its October report titled Who will protect citizens from their ‘supposed’ protectors? the Zimbabwe Peace Project said the majority of the machete hit squads, infamously known as MaShurugwi and the Al-Shabaab, come from President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s home province of Midlands.

The latter is based in Kwekwe while the former originates from Wonderer Mine in Shurugwi.

“Artisanal mining terror groups continued wreaking havoc in Mashonaland West province, especially in Kadoma with machete attacks being reported almost every day.”

The report revealed that 105 murder cases were caused by the machete shock troops while over 200 people were butchered and left nursing wounds.

“Mining gangs are fighting a brutal war against each other and citizens are often caught in the crossfire or in some instances targeted by these gangs. Between the months of August and October a total of 105 murder cases have been recorded in mining areas surrounding Kadoma while 221 cases of assault have been recorded,” says the report.

Senior government officials have been implicated as behind the machete violence menace with Mnangagwa’s top lieutenant and State Security minister Owen Ncube being fingered in the bloody wars.

Ncube is famous in the artisanal mining circles and at the just-ended Zimbabwe Miners Federation annual conference in Gweru, Ncube was received with a thunderous ovation by the small-scale miners when he entered the venue at Gweru Convention Centre. Director of ceremonies, Joseph Nhara, had a torrid time trying to bring the miners to order as they shouted Ncube’s nicknames – “Third Bomber,” “Mudha” and “Touch Bomba”.

ZPP bemoaned that artisanal miners who are involved in machete wars are never arrested as they are reportedly protected by their god-fathers.

“These figures (of murder cases and injuries from the machete wars) indicate that there is a marked increase in lawlessness in the area (Mashonaland West) and innocent citizens are also suffering at the hands of mining gangs. This is further exacerbated by the fact that the gangs seem to be enjoying impunity as most of them continue without being arrested,” reads the ZPP report.

At the ZMF conference, Mnangagwa pledged to end the machete wars, saying they were soiling his administration’s image.

MOST Zimbabweans feel the new currency which will start circulating today will not change anything as long as government has not implemented economic and political reforms to generate market confidence.

BY EVERSON MUSHAVA

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is today introducing $5 and $2 notes, as well as the $2 bond coin as part of measures to ease cash shortages and bring back the local currency, which was scrapped in 2009 and replaced by a multi-currency regime.

The new notes look exactly the same as the old bond notes with added security features, while the $2 bond coin looks like the $1 bond coin already in circulation.

But Garikai Mbudaya, a Warren Park resident, said although the new notes would increase liquidity, it would likely increase inflation like it used to happen during the hyperinflationary era under former RBZ governor Gideon Gono.

“This will not change anything much because as long as there is no confidence in the government, there will be hardly any change in the market,” Mbudaya said.

“The biggest losers will, however, be the EcoCash agents who had been selling money at a premium. The new currency will push the premium down a bit, but not for long.”

Commenting on the similarity of the new notes to the bond notes already in circulation, Mbudaya said that was the manifestation of the confusion in President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government.

He said whether by design or accident, the similarities on the new and old currency would not help inspire confidence, describing the new money as a packet of hot air to replace a bottle of the same.

Joseph Mlambo, a Bikita resident, said the currency being introduced today would hardly change anything as far as the country’s economic situation is concerned.

“The new currency, which will not have market confidence, is not what the economy needs, therefore, it cannot be a solution,” the 23-year-old Mlambo said.

“Since the currency will be almost identical to the bonds that are already in circulation, it won’t induce a mental difference to the currency users. So this implies that the currency will as well suffer from the ongoing wave of inflation.”

A resident of Harare’s Epworth satellite town, Vivian Mwayera, said she does not care whether the country introduces new money today or tomorrow, she only wants Mnangagwa to fix the economy.

“We are suffering. We will not eat the new money. We want the President to address the economy first and then introduce the new money. We were good under the US dollar regime than now,” Mwayera said.

Political analyst Ernest Mudzengi said Zimbabwe does not need a new currency, but economic and political reforms to boost confidence.

“We need the economy to produce, agriculture and manufacturing sectors must produce so that we can export. Printing of money will not help, it is not a panacea, and we need economic and political reforms and address the issue of confidence. Things like the land issue of land should be addressed once and for all,” he said.

Mudzengi said the similarities and differences of the new money would be inconsequential.

An economist, who refused to be named because his company does not allow him to speak to the media, said: “The new currency will not survive simply because it is not backed by anything, apart from policies from an untrusted government. It will not survive. The denomination is too small for the prices in the country. The biggest note is $5 and yet bread costs $15.”

Last week, speakers at the Institute of Chartered Accountants summer school held in Harare, accused government of fuelling economic instability through inconsistent currency reforms and too many regulations that do not inspire confidence.

Tafadzwa Bandama, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries chief economist, said the plethora of legislation rolled out by the government was causing confusion in the economy.

MMC Capital executive director Itai Chirume weighed in, saying money creation by the government poisoned the investment environment in the country.

In 2016, the RBZ introduced bond notes whose value was at par with the US dollar until October last year when the currency reforms started.

Since then, the government has issued a number of statutory instruments as it navigates the transition from a multi-currency system to the mono-currency regime.

These new policies have, however, failed to take the country out of the economic woods.

TECHNOLOGY is fuelling child sexual abuse because most of the violence against children is being committed online, a Judicial Services Commission (JSC) official said on Friday.

By Harriet Chikandiwa

Speaking at the launch of the multi-sectorial management of sexual abuse and violence in Harare, JSC secretary Walter Chikwana said benefits derived from technological advancement tend to be outweighed by negative vices such as online sexual abuse.

“Benefits generated by technological advancement tend to be blighted by abuse of that technology in promoting sexual abuse and violence. Numerous cases of sexual and gender-based violence particularly against children are committed online. This realisation again prompted us to include online safety issues in the revised protocol,” Chikwana said.

He paid tribute to donor organisations, among them the European Union, United Nations Population Fund, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, United Nations Children’s Fund and Irish Aid which are helping in the fight against child sexual abuse and gender-based violence (GBV).

Chikwana lamented underfunding of the JSC which was affecting the justice delivery system.
“The budget allocated for the operation aimed at alleviating the plight of survivors and the prosecution and trial of sexual abuse and violence offenders remains inadequate in our view,” he said.

“Stakeholders should prioritise the core mandate aspects and consider allocating more resources to key operators such as renovation of the Victim Friendly Courts equipment such as television monitors, recording machines and anatomically correct dolls.”

Chikwana further said sexual abuse and GBV remained a threat, not only in Zimbabwe, but worldwide and there was need to have more victim-friendly courts.

Acting Chief Magistrate and chairperson of the victim friendly system, Munamato Mutevedzi advised men to visit the victim-friendly units because a significant number of them were suffering in silence after being sexually abused at home by their spouses.

“The number of male adults who have been assisted under the victim-friendly system remains negligible yet this facility is also available to us in situations where we are subject to gender-based violence,” he said.

“At times it is acceptable that a significant number of us are exposed to gender-based violence and sexual abuse. Men generally feel ashamed to report cases of sexual abuse.”

SCORES of prisoners without birth certificates and national identity cards are languishing in jail as they are ineligible for the Presidential amnesty due to their “Statelessness”.

BY JAMES MUONWA

A Stateless person is an undocumented individual without proof of nationality and is not legally recognised as a citizen of a particular country.

Testifying before the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) panel of inquiry in Chinhoyi last week, Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) chief correction officer, Gilbert Munemo acknowleged there were many inmates who have never obtained birth certificates and national identity cards.

“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,” said Munemo. He said, according to a sampled population of inmates in Mashonaland West prisons, the majority of them failed to access personal documents as they were raised by single parents and the stringent requirements at the Registrar-General’s department had prevented them from getting registered.

Munemo gave an example of one undocumented prisoner who has failed to be registered after the RG’s office asked him to bring a maternal relative 10 years older than him who shares the same surname. The prisoner, Munemo said, could not identify the relative to facilitate his registration.
Hurungwe Prison has a total of 208 inmates of which 115 do not have either a birth certificate or identity card, Chinhoyi has 313 prisoners of which 97 do not have documents, Kadoma with a total 579 prisoners, 86 are undocumented and Karoi (306) of which 72 either do not have a birth certificate or identity card, or both.

Quizzed by commissioner Sheila Matindike what rights prisoners were being denied due to non-registration, Munemo said some inmates failed to qualify for Presidential amnesty as their ages could not be ascertained, while a significant number could not sit for examinations in order to get educational or professional qualifications.

“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,” said Munemo.

ZPCS, according to Munemo, recommends the softening of regulations at the RG’s office for one to obtain documents, reduction of registration fees and decentralisation of offices. ZHRC said accessing national documents such as birth certificates was a huge challenge countrywide.

ZHRC deputy chaiperson, commissioner Ellen Sithole said preliminary findings on access to main personal documents which people were failing to get were birth certificates, citizenships, identity cards, and to a lesser extent, passports and death certificates.

Sithole reiterated undocumented people would find it difficult to access basic human rights such as health, education, social protection, housing, travel documents and political rights.

SOME families in ward 2 Chirumanzu-Zibagwe constituency have been left homeless following a hailstorm which destroyed their houses.

BY PHYLLIS MBANJE

More than a week ago, heavy rains and a hailstorm swept through the area, causing extensive damage to homes and other property.

Councillor Rodgers Nhari said they were still collating figures for the total number of affected families.

“We have eight households in Mulala Park village that have suffered damage of property and houses from the heavy rains and hailstorm,” Nhari told NewsDay on Friday.

He said some of the houses had totally been destroyed.

In Rockville village, two more houses had their roofs blown away by heavy winds.

Zimbabwe has been experiencing hostile weather conditions that include high temperatures, with areas such as Beitbridge recording around 44,5 degrees Celsius.

According to the Zimbabwe National Climate Change Response Strategy document, the impact of climate change and variability are becoming more evident with increased incidences of droughts, floods, hailstorms and heat waves.

Climate change is one of the biggest threats facing global development, with developing countries being more vulnerable due to their low adaptive capacity.

The impacts of climate change in Zimbabwe are likely to stall the country’s development, pose a serious risk to food security and adaptation capacity.

The National Climate Change Response Strategy was among the many processes that sought to establish specific provisions for dealing with climate change issues, understanding the extent of the threat and putting in place specific actions to manage potential impacts.

Guest Column: Livison Bhebhe

The socio-economic situation in our country has once again moved to another painful level.

In the aftermath of the economic meltdown that became more pronounced in October last year, Zimbabweans have demonstrated tremendous resilience and patience in the face of an unrelenting and worsening socio-economic situation. Since then, the long suffering citizens have witnessed the situation deteriorating from one level of hardship to another, with statutory instruments and policy directives often punctuating and introducing each level. I sometimes wonder how many more levels are left to endure before we cross over to Canaan.

As a youth whose social life revolves around social media especially WhatsApp, I’ve noticed that with power outages stretching for 18 hours or more and now affecting individuals both at home and at workplaces, being offline is now more likely a power than a data problem.

Also, although prices of basic commodities have risen 15-20 times when salaries have barely doubled, family heads now frown whenever they have visitors — not because they are concerned pantries and fridges may be left empty, but because perchance the guests may request to use the toilet — and there is no water! Things change.

And speaking of change, this calls to remembering how we used to complain about Econet’s EcoCash tariffs, which many considered unfairly high and amounting to daylight robbery.

Who would have imagined that a time would come when we, together with law enforcement agents would neatly queue voluntarily to buy cash at wildly punitive rates from EcoCash agents?

That is why I initially received the news that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe had effectively banned cashbacks and EcoCash with a sense of excitement and relief. But by day end the euphoria quickly dissipated as I still had to buy cash to go home, finally realising that the Apex bank had essentially thrown away the baby together with bathwater.

Thus we welcomed the Bank’s subsequent policy climb-down on EcoCash, although it seems lost on the Bank that the transacting public is back to the dreaded but inescapable square one, now buying the cash at higher rates than before.

It deeply pains the heart to surrender 50% of your hard-earned income to EcoCash agents who are basically taxing and further diminishing the already meagre portion of our disposable incomes by creating yet another leakage in the spending flow given the ongoing austerity measures.

There is therefore still an urgent need for a win-win intervention by authorities, this time waging a surgical raid targeting only the criminal elements around the EcoCash platform.

To hit this seemingly elusive target, authorities have to first acknowledge the existence of a fullfledged cash industry run by an organised syndicated system which has bestowed de facto bank status on EcoCash agents.

It is ironic that the primary suppliers of cash are the very individuals who come to buy it at huge premiums from EcoCash agents. The agents, as tertiary suppliers procure the cash from secondary suppliers, mainly vendors, public transport operators and private individuals; though it is not uncommon for a vendor to be an EcoCash agent.

Authorities must realise that the bulk of cash bought is mainly for the public’s daily commuting needs; which cash is later sold to EcoCash agents who in turn sell it to commuters.

While buying the cash, it is not uncommon for one to witness these public transport operators selling cash to EcoCash agents. One then wonders why public transport operators strictly demand cash when they enjoy the liberty of paying for their daily operational expenses like fuel through swipe or EcoCash.

Thus the most effective way to disrupt this cycle and end the unholy matrimony between EcoCash agents and bus operators is to extend the same payment liberties to the commuting public.

Platforms for electronic money should be introduced and adopted by all public transport operators, local and long distance alike; and everyone will be happy ever after. For instance, the remarkable success and the convenience that ZUPCO’s tap cards offer to commuters is testimony to the efficacy and practicality of paying commuting fares electronically.

Finally, given that the EcoCash users can move funds from their bank accounts to their EcoCash wallets, the government should simply institute a blanket ban on all agents for there is less need for cash-in. Those who should be allowed to continue are Econet shops and its flagship stores; TMs, Oks, Spars and other reputable businesses scattered across the country whose core business is not EcoCash.

These two measures, taken together might greatly relieve the suffering commuting public from the hardships associated with buying cash. Nevertheless, the headache caused by errant EcoCash agents may pale into insignificance with other broader socio-economic issues which equally demand urgent prioritisation. There is still urgent need for economic and political reforms that put the economy back on track to create meaningful employment opportunities for all.

Presently I’m just more concerned with a slew of basic things we cannot do and enjoy anymore as a direct result of the worsening socio-economic situation, which for better or for worse has gone to another level.

We can’t buy, we can’t chat on our phones, we can’t travel, we can’t visit; and worse of all, we can’t go to the toilet!

This is unbearable and abnormal and at this rate in this direction, we can’t afford to go to yet another level.

 Livison Bhebhe a political commentator and writes in his personal capacity