Peter Makwanya

AS the discourse of climate change continues to unfold, taking new twists and dimensions, at various international gatherings, it’s the political voices and views that are shaping the nature of discussions as opposed to purely environmental concerns.

While issues of climate change, from the environmentalists and climate change experts’ points of view, are sufficiently clear and empowering thereby needing no introductions nor amplifications, it is the political climate change that has overtaken everything including voices of reason, while the climate change experts and knowledge brokers are controlled in the background. These are the new power games that are charting the new climate impetus and championing the nature of climate funding around the world.

The contestation of climate change ideas has become too prescriptive and partially inclusive, according to who pays the piper plays the tune. The ideas are people friendly on paper while in practical terms they are highly political and less environmental centred. As nations continue to gather annually at prescribed venues, be it in Chile or Spain, that won’t stop or slow down the amount of carbon emissions that are released into the atmosphere every time.

Even if delegates from around the world are to meet under water, nothing much is going to change, until and unless the one who pays the piper is satisfied or got things done their own way. In this regard, one would wonder if the climate change discourse is seen through human friendly lenses, exaggerated or rather politically massaged.

Furthermore, many delegates who travel to these international climate gatherings such as the conference of parties, are not necessarily environmentalists, but connected politicians in government, going there to get their palms greased. These politicians out number scientists and other useful climate change experts, with potential to deliver.

Of course, it would be naïve to say that they are no efforts taking place, but they are not much, as the targeted situations would anticipate. These are peace-meal and lip-service gestures meant to calm nations that have not even contributed any significant carbon footprints into the atmosphere.

The billions of dollars that have been raked in by multinational companies from their fossil fuel businesses cannot be compared to what is given to poor nations around the world for adaptation purposes. Those small amounts which trickle into the coffers of developing nations, for adaptation purposes are received with great joy by host politicians and few of it may never reach the intended beneficiaries. As such, this becomes a political valueless chain of a bottomless pit.

The continued nursing of the climate change impacts around the world, has a potential and hallmark of becoming national security threats hence politicians need to take care. In principle, politicians appear to be concerned about climate change issues yet they are pre-occupied with their personal and political interests, not the environment. In this regard, the existential nature of climate change issues should make everyone concerned unsettled, including the politicians themselves, before the situation turns terribly wrong.

As political climate change interests continue to cloud the thinking and world-views of political actors around the world, not even scientific break-throughs, grim events of climate disasters unfolding around the world have done much to shake the standpoints of political actors.

There is lack of political will or action to confront the climate change phenomena, ranging from carbon emissions, wetland destructions, deforestations, land degradations and burning forests, among others. These are currently taking place in the name of development, in many developing countries, as political actors continue to mortgage the environment as if there is no tomorrow. Political climate change has been characterised by double-speak, half-truths, misinformation and communication massaging.

Failure to punish polluters or carbon emitters is not only an environmental sin, but a highly charged political sin as well. A closer analysis would reveal that all these carbon footprints unfolding before everyone’s eyes are in the interest of political actors who are not accountable to anyone. For this reason, it would be difficult for ordinary people and lay-persons alike to trust politicians even if they do something good.

It is also this lack of trust in political actors that would derail adaptation programmes, as politicians will always be in the forefront of trying to spearhead these programmes. In this regard, it would be difficult, for these politicians to deliver people from climate change impacts into climate paradise. Furthermore, they lack collective and integrative efforts to do so.

One of the most problematic aspect, especially in developing countries is that, politicians, ordinary citizens and laypersons, all lack climate change competence or a firm grasp of climate change issues. This lack of climate change literacy tends to affect the majority of people when issues of climate change adaptation are introduced. Of course, politicians being politicians will pretend to know these things yet they also need climate education, training and awareness as well.

The Paris Agreement is a brainchild of political manoeuvres aimed at pampering polluters around the world to pollute more, check how much they can regulate themselves, that is if they wish to do so. Then how can these polluting nations remove themselves from the polluting business, which has given them so much money by choosing to pollute less? Polluting benchmarks were set, which no one would adhere to because they are in business and not to please anyone.

Despite their desire to effect emission targets, many countries have been failing to do so. Only some European countries have managed to do so as well as introducing new green products and services designed to make climate change impacts manageable. The reason behind this is that these countries take climate change seriously than others.
Many developing countries take climate change issues as one of those distant aspects, not the real problem, denying it the urgency and seriousness it deserves. Even when climate change is reported in many developing countries, the focus would be on the political leader not the climate change problem.

In this regard, climate change is a problem, first and foremost, and it should be treated as such, so that results, solutions and resilience can be realised. It is also important for these countries to make peace with the environment in order to manage their greed through reciprocal relationship with their environments for the sustainable future that the future generations always yearns for.

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By Elinera Manyonga

CBZ Holdings Limited last week held a two-day young entrepreneurs mentoring programme to capacitate youths with skills to sustain and grow globally competitive businesses.

Speaking at the fourth edition of the CBZ youth entrepreneurship programme workshop, group marketing executive Matilda Nyati said the initiative created a platform for youths to network.

“I am glad that this programme has provided a fertile ground for youths to meet and enrich their entrepreneurship skills. “This initiative is designed to offer training services to entrepreneurs with the capacity to sustain and grow them locally and globally.

“The two-day training workshops, will basically be a learning and bonding journey for participants and an ultimate winner will be announced at the end, but I would say every participant is a winner and will gain knowledge from this workshop,” she said.

Empowered Life Trust director Jonah Mungoshi said: “It is a practical and results-based initiative to produce growth-oriented and profitable businesses that are run professionally by youths from all the country’s 10 provinces.”

Since 2016, 3 000 young people have been trained under the programme and 400 business have been started.“Many young Zimbabweans graduating from universities, colleges and high schools have no option, but to become entrepreneurs due to lack of employment. The programme seeks to improve Zimbabwean youths, including those who are in the rural areas, through offering business opportunities which will in turn create employment opportunities,” Mungoshi said.

The programme started in 2016 as CBZ’s strategy to nurture economic and social development by increasing fiscal space for previously marginalised key players.These groups included smallholder farmers, women and youth, together with small-to-medium scale enterprises in the formal banking sector.

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BY STEPHEN CHADENGA

GWERU town clerk Elizabeth Gwatipedza’s bid to challenge her suspension has hit a snag after an independent tribunal, led by Melusi Moyo of Dube-Banda Nzarayapenga legal practitioners, dismissed the application, Southern Eye has established.

Mayor Josiah Makombe yesterday confirmed the dismissal of the application and said disciplinary hearings against Gwatipedza will continue tomorrow.“Yes, she (Gwatipedza) had challenged the validity of her suspension, but it was dismissed,” he said.

“The disciplinary hearings continue on Tuesday (tomorrow). The lawyers for both parties have commitments on Monday hence the pushing of proceedings to Tuesday.”

Gwatipedza, who appeared before the independent tribunal last week, through her lawyer Valentine Mutatu challenged the suspension, arguing that Moyo’s appointment was not done procedurally.

The defence legal team argued that the presiding officer’s appointment was not done by a duly constituted special council meeting.They also argued that Makombe did not append his signature on the suspension letter and that a councillor signed on his behalf, which they said was not procedural.

Gwatipedza was suspended three weeks ago on allegations of dereliction of duty, incompetence, mismanagement of council affairs and corruption, among others.
Chamber secretary Vakai Chikwekwe is currently the acting town clerk.

Meanwhile, the Mayor’s Christmas Cheer Fund, launched on Friday last week, was snubbed by the corporate world.Makombe said this year’s target was $500 000 and appealed to well-wishers to donate towards helping the less-privileged.

He said the fund-raising team has so far managed to get $74 000 through a golf tournament.

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BY MTHANDAZO NYONI

ZIMBABWE’S pork value chain is facing multiple challenges including poor nutrition and husbandry skills, lack of good quality breeds among others, that needed to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

In its latest update, Livestock and Meat Advisory Council (Lmac) said that the local value chain was facing viability challenges that should be addressed to make it vibrant.

“The pork value chain is facing a multitude of challenges including poor nutrition and husbandry skills, lack of good quality breeds, disease and poor access to lucrative markets,” Lmac said.

In a bid to address these challenges, the Zimbabwe Agricultural Growth Programme (ZAGP) has since launched a US$45 million pig and goat production project aimed at boosting household food, nutrition and income of smallholder farmers. The programme is spearheaded by Action Aid under ZAGP’s Value Chain Alliance for Livestock Upgrading and Empowerment (Value) programme.

“Value seeks to build the capacity of smallholder farmers to improve their goat and pig breeds and access viable markets in partnership with private sector players,” the council said.
Recently, the Pig Producers Association of Zimbabwe held its annual symposium to discuss the challenges faced by farmers.

PIB director Andrew Shoniwa reportedly provided an update on pig production in the smallholder sector and noted that 40 000 sows are owned by smallholder farmers out of the national herd of 57 000.

Producers also discussed about pig nutrition and alternative food sources, at a time the cost of stockfeed continues to increase. Pig diseases and African Swine Fever (ASF) were also under the spotlight and all participants were reminded about the regulations governing ASF and mandatory fencing requirements.

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Tapiwa Gomo

By definition, democracy is a form of a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections. It also presumes that the people have the authority to choose their governing legislation. Some cornerstones of democracy include freedom of assembly and speech, inclusiveness and equality, membership, voting, right to life and minority rights.

Democracy places power on the people than the elected leadership. And the leadership that arises from democratic leadership is supposed to be servant leadership, which answers to the wills of the electorate.

It is a concept that rose to challenge many centuries of unchecked autocratic leadership which was based on either ascribed leadership of the monarchies or religious institutions of governance. The problem with this mode of governance was in its lack of guarantee that progenies or heirs apparent of these institutions would produce people capable of effectively running the affairs of a nation. Because of this astrictive nature, it meant that competition or alternative ideas towards national development were not allowed space.

While democracy has a much longer history, it gained momentum during the second industrial revolution when labour movements, academics and industrialists protested calling for the introduction of a people-driven democratic system of governance independent from traditional institutions of governance. Traditional government systems were seen as barriers to emerging capitalism, technological revolution and competition of ideas.

Modernisation, an offshoot of industrialisation, has become a pillar of social change and economic development. Once industrialisation is allowed to flourish, it triggers a penetration into all aspects of life of a society, creating social, economic and political opportunities, which together transform and improve the standards of life of a society. And these together result in self-reinforcing processes that transform social life and political institutions, empowering the masses to participates on issues to do with their lives – thus growing democracy.

In Africa, since independence, there has never been a time when the people’s political will has been respected and allowed to dictate the course of a country without powerful politicians meddling in the electoral processes. In fact, politicians have exercised more power over the people than the other way round. If political power retention delivered economic growth, perhaps, there would be less qualms, but most if not all the time, it delivers poverty and destitution.

In most cases, where people’s will be at logger heads with the powerful politicians, there has tended to be impasses which have held most countries’ progress hostage for no other reason than political power.

People argue, through the voice of the opposition parties, that they have disapproved the status quo through vote casting. They often appeal to the regional and international community to intervene and rescue their stolen wishes from the autocrats who wield the means of political power.

Once this happens, all doors to escape the political impasses shut as the sitting and yet unpopular governments claim interference by external forces in its domestic affairs and that becomes an excuse for adopting an arrogant attitude, human rights violations, plunder of national resources and a deliberate disregard for national development. Political opposition in Africa is the biggest excuse for plunder and abuse of national resources.

The international and regional community may be tempted to react by imposing sanctions on the sitting government as a means to force behaviour change, while funding civil society organisations to sabotage the sitting government into submission. Both sanctions and internal protests have had the effect of disrupting the normal functioning of a nation, but most importantly, they create a situation of insecurity which dissuades investment and economic growth.

A government whose power is sustained by plundered national resources is now pitted in a long standing battle with donor-funded opposition parties and civil society organisations. The tendency of investors has been to either wait until this battle or impasse is over, or fund one of the sides to access free natural resources. Again, the biggest loser is national development.

There are several examples of these impasses across Africa which perpetually block progress. In South Sudan, the major political problems oscillate between President Salva Kirr and his former vice-president Riek Machar. They often drag their tribes into what looks like personal differences to give it national significance. This has led some analysts to argue that South Sudan can only have a new and promising beginning if both leaders left the political arena. Zimbabwe is in a similar situation where the opposition, civil society organisations and the West are pitted against Zanu PF and the African leadership. And again, it can also be argued that if Zanu PF and the MDC vacate the political arena, Zimbabwe will see better days.

The challenge with these arguments is that vacation from political office must, in most cases, occurs through an electoral process which is managed by the same people who need to vacate political office. Democracy favours outcomes from its processes. It is these processes that African leaders have mastered and are manipulating to retain power. In the absence of an alternative mode of changing power, most African countries will remain in the throes of destitution because democracy is unable to rescue them from these impasses.

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BY FIDELITY MHLANGA

A HUGE chunk of Zimbabwe’s insurance firms do not have software to analyse and debunk risks associated with their business, a survey conducted by African Actuarial Consultants has revealed.

The survey conducted under the Zimbabwe Integrated Capital and Risk Project (Zicarp), spearhead by the Insurance and Pension Commission (Ipec), seeks to bring about transition from capital threshold compliance to a more integrated framework that looks at credit, strategic, operational and insurance risks associated with Insurance companies.

The new framework is expected to improve the regulator’s oversight of the industry will focus on compliance based on risks associated with insurance firms.

“At least 62% do not have a software for analysing risks in their business. There is need for investment in technology resources in order to ensure adequate preparedness in the new regulatory regime,” said African Actuarial Consultants researcher, Tinashe Mashoko.

Mashoko was presenting preliminary results for the Zicarp study undertaken on local short term, life, funeral and reinsurance firms.

Zicarp was launched in March this year by Ipec and contracted African Actuarial Consultants to carry out a broad-based study among local insurance firms.

According to Mashoko, the study discovered that insurance firms board members were willing to embrace Enterprise Risk Management and cooperate with Zicarp when it comes in place.

While 96% of insurance staff members considered risks in their day to day operations, the study revealed that more training was required to capacitate employees.

“Sixty percent of insurance firms said they hold training, but the positive risk culture needs to be underpinned by regular training, not only at board level, but across all members.

Forty percent of firms who do not undertake regular training is too much a number. All organisations will need to invest in training to make Zicarp a success,” said Mashoko.

Nearly half of funeral assurers did not have risk committees at board and management levels, highlighting the need for the funeral sector to push for a robust risk governance.

Only 54% firms had documented policies and procedure manuals for managing material risk and 42% partially had, suggesting that the industry had challenges in implementing good corporate governance.

The research also unearthed that certain entities did not have documented framework for managing underwriting risk.Ipec director of pensions Josphat Kakwere urged insurers to give as much information as possible for the programme to succeed.

“Let’s do our best so that we develop the final template. By end of November we expect you to have completed,” said Kakwere.The entire framework is envisaged to be complete by February, 2020.

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BY WINSTONE ANTONIO

JAZZ crooner and Green ambassador Dereck Mpofu’s decision to engage the services of raunchy dancer and singer Beverly “Bev” Sibanda on his latest song Chimbozvizunza and its accompanying video have been met with mixed reactions from his fans.

In the video, which also features musician Baba Harare, Bev is seen doing her sexually charged dances.In response to some of the criticism on social media, where the video has been circulating, Mpofu hit back at his critics, saying the song was a dance track for club consumption and should be seen in that context.

“The reality is mentioning that you like me on Facebook without investing back into the music, does not propel my career further, especially people who could actually support by attending shows and buying our music. In fact, it has stunted my growth,” he said in response to a Facebook user who had questioned his decision to engage Bev.

Mpofu said he has spent the better part of his career creating patriotic, nation-building music and dropping just one bum-shaking song for clubbers should not be the basis for judging his music career.

Another user described Mpofu’s move as a bubble-gum approach to music, which could be disastrous as it could push away stakeholders such as corporates.

“While some of us have been following with admiration your music, these latest developments are a clear departure for the artiste that we known.“While life is all about making choices, this road that you have decided to take will lead to nowhere fast,” he said.

Others, however, applauded Mpofu for his gamble.“I feel my opinion and that of many others is irrelevant when it comes to growing your career and making difficult decisions. Whatever happens from here, whether good or bad you will learn from and grow,” said Christine Chitongo.

“Dereck Mpofu can tap into whatever pleasantries that tickle his soul for he is his own person and he is allowed to live his life as he pleases, just like we all are.”
Samantha-Lee Barker added: “Knowing him or following his career journey does not buy you any rights to his decision making.”

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NewsDay

Yokohama — If this was the end, as The Beast (pictured) hinted it would be, then it was a perfect sign-off. Ten years after making his name by dismantling the Lions’ scrum, he repeated the feat against England to reach a glorious career peak.

His real name is Tendai Mtawarira, but South Africa’s iconic prop is known by the nickname which was entirely appropriate on Saturday. England had no answer to his formidable power.
Poor Dan Cole was subjected to a brutal ordeal, just as Phil Vickery had been in Durban in 2009. Back then, the Lions were destroyed in the set-piece battle, setting the tone for a series defeat. This time, England’s demise came about in much the same way. The Springboks’ third World Cup triumph was built in the scrum.

For Eddie Jones’ team, The Beast was tormentor-in-chief. At the age of 34, the loosehead rose to this grand occasion. It was his finest hour. When he was asked if it was the end of his Test career, he said: “I’ll probably be thinking about my future in the next few days. I’ll probably make an announcement then.”What a way to go, as the hero of this upset victory — this final mismatch.

Mtawarira was asked how he would have responded if he had been told beforehand that South Africa would win five scrum penalties before half-time. His reply was: “I would have said, ‘That’s too good to be true’.”

But it was true. He made it true. When the victors emerged from their changing room to discuss what they had done, it was The Beast who was most in demand. He was only on the field for 44 minutes, but his contribution was decisive.

“Rugby is built around the set-piece and our scrum went well tonight,” he said. It was quite some under-statement. “It’s something we’ve put a lot of focus on in the last couple of months and as a team we’ve made a lot of improvements.

“It was good to get a few good penalties up front and get the scoreboard ticking. The English have a great pack so they didn’t make it easy, but we managed to get the ascendancy we wanted.

“Our set-piece is a vital part of our game. It wins us penalties and it gives our whole team energy. Before the game, I was thinking that I wanted to scrum the best I’ve ever scrummed and give my team energy and inspire the guys around me.”

He did just that. The Beast emulated what he did in 2009. His work had the hallmarks of what Andrew Sheridan did to the Wallabies in Marseille in the 2007 quarter-final.

It is rare for scrums at Test level to produce such comprehensive outcomes. This was in that rare category. There were clues before kick-off that the Boks’ No 1 meant business.

When the South African anthem was played, the players in green belted it out with gusto. The cameras captured Mtawarira as he finished singing, eyes bulging and a look of focused intensity on his face. He was ready to wreak havoc, which is just what he did.

This was a glorious peak at the end of what has been a glittering career. He has now played 117 Tests and none will have given him more pleasure. He began his Test career just after the Boks won the 2007 World Cup, so all the years of hard graft since have been a quest to emulate that epic feat.

When the medals were handed out, none of the champions deserved one more.“It is amazing to be world champions,” he said.“’For my whole career, I’ve been working towards this. I’ve had a few tough lessons and great accomplishments, but every lesson I’ve had led to tonight and ultimately, I’m very proud of myself.”

On Saturday in Yokohama, The Beast was handing out the lessons and securing his greatest accomplishment. In the coming days, he is likely to announce his Test retirement. If he does, it will mean he has finished on the ultimate high.
— DailyMail

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BY CHELSEA MUSAFARE

ASPIRING designer Tadiwa Chimhowa is set to hold a solo three-day academic art exhibition on November 11-13 at Harare’s Netone headquarters under the theme: A New Dawn.

“The general definition of new is to recreate, to bring something fresh, unseen and unheard. Dawn is a day’s break which symbolises the start of a fresh day with fresh activities,” he said.

Chimhowa said she was inspired by everyday challenges, which she used to give new life to objects deemed useless.The Creative Art and Industrial Design student at Chinhoyi University of Technology said everything started with a design.

She said the exhibition, meant to usher her into the real world of design, was part of the practicals for her programme.The exhibition will bring together artworks of the different courses done since the beginning of my degree programme.

The designer said she exposed to various areas of art which helped inspire the artworks that are to be revealed in this exhibition.

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BY TAFADZWA MHLANGA

THE Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) has hit out to insurers who are not remitting insurance commission tax collected from freelance agents.In a statement published last week, Zimra said there were also insurers who are collecting commissions from unregistered short-term insurers.

“The commissioner-general of the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority has noted that some insurers are not withholding and remitting Insurance Commission Tax from freelance insurance agencies.

It has also been noted that there are insurance brokers and agents receiving commission from short-term insurers who are not registered for tax,” Zimra said.

“Freelance insurance agents are insurance agents or brokers who are not registered employees, of the insurer they transact with, for the purposes of collecting PAYE (Pay As You Earn),” Zimra clarified.

Zimra said the tax rate should be 20% of the commission collected by the insurers.“Insurers are required to withhold insurance commission tax from the commission paid to the agents or brokers. The insurance commission tax is calculated at the rate of 20%.

“For example, insurer VYT Ltd pays commission to a freelance agent Mr BD Hama of $1 000. The insurer is required to withhold 20% of $1 000 which is $200,” Zimra warned.

Zimra said the tax should then be remitted to Zimra by the 10th of the next month and that a REV5 Return from Withdrawal Taxes form must be completed and submitted to Zimra on the same date.

“A certificate should be issued to the agent or broker showing the name, address and BP Number of the insurer, commission paid and the tax withheld,” Zimra said.

Zimra also added that freelance brokers and agents were obliged to pay the commissioner general insurance commission tax in a situation whereby the insurer did not withhold or recover the tax as per request and register for tax purposes to get a business partner number.

Freelance brokers are also required by Zimra to submit income tax returns for each year of assessment by the due date advised by the commissioner in a public notice.

“Freelance brokers or agents are obliged to pay the commissioner-general insurance commission tax in instances where the insurer has not withheld or recovered the tax from him in the manner outlined under the obligations of the insurer.

“The freelance agent or broker should register for tax purposes and get a Business Partner number. He should submit the income tax returns for each year of assessment by the due date as maybe advised by the commissioner in the public notice,” Zimra said.

Zimra added that short-term insurers and life insurers who were registered in terms of the Insurance Act were exempted from Value Added Tax (VAT) on the insurance business they supply.

“Insurers registered in terms of the Insurance Act are exempt from VAT on the insurance business they supply. This applies to both the short term insurers and life insurers.

Freelance insurance brokers and agents are required to register for VAT and to charge VAT for the agency or brokerage service they render. A freelance agent or broker is required to register for vat where the value of their commission earned from short-term insurance is $60 000 or more in any period of 12 months. Once registered, the agent or broker must charge VAT on commission charged to short term insurers,” Zimra said.

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