PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s top ally and fuel mogul, Kuda Tagwireyi, is once again on the spotlight after Parliament recommended that a forensic audit should be done on the controversial Command Agriculture programme, which has been marred by reports of corruption and misuse of billions in public funds.

BY VENERANDA LANGA

This was said in Victoria Falls on Thursday by the Felix Mhona-led Budget and Finance Parliamentary Portfolio Committee during the ongoing 2020 pre-budget seminar.

The Command Agriculture programme has since 2017 enjoyed billions of dollars in public funding, which has largely not been accounted for.

Auditor-General Mildred Chiri’s audit reports revealed that in 2017, US$2,1 billion was allocated to the programme without Parliament approval and supporting documents from the Finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

In 2018, another US$1,5 billion was also allocated to the programme without Parliament approval in breach of the Public Finance Management Act.

“To restore stakeholder confidence in the Command Agriculture programme, and its credibility, the 2020 national budget must provide for a forensic audit of the programme with the aim of weeding out corrupt elements and recovering misused and abused resources,” the Budget and Finance Committee report presented during the pre-budget seminar read.

“There is need to build credibility for the Command Agriculture programme by abiding by the undertaking that selection of beneficiary farmers and suppliers will be done in a transparent manner and targets farmers with a good track record of honouring obligations,” the report said.

This year, government announced that it will splash an additional $2,8 billion for the Command Agriculture programme, which targets the production of maize and soya beans.

While government has denied reports that the Command Agriculture funds were abused, the murky deals to finance agriculture were benefiting mostly Tagwireyi through his Sakunda Holdings.

Despite billions of US dollars and local currency splashed into the programme, Zimbabwe continues to import maize at an inflated price of US$600 per tonne from Tanzania and the country has also failed to end food deficits.

The Budget and Finance Committee report showed that several people had raised concerns on funding of the Command Agriculture programme through the fiscus.

Some suggested that the Presidential Input Scheme must be the one supported by the fiscus.

“Government must subsidise agricultural inputs at producer level. The Presidential Input Scheme should also be availed timeously and in the right mix to make meaningful impact,” the committee said.

The committee also urged Finance minister Mthuli Ncube to adhere to the provisions of the Maputo Declaration of 2003 on Agriculture and Food Security, which stipulates that expenditure on land, agriculture, water and sanitation must be at least 10% of the national budget.

A FEW months ago, a clash between Dynamos and Highlanders would have generated very little interest. The country’s oldest, biggest and most supported clubs were going through their most difficult times in years.

BY HENRY MHARA/FORTUNE MBELE

Results were hard to come by for both teams who were struggling at the wrong end of the log standings. Their supporters, often known to be passionate and fanatical, were losing any interest, and the attendance numbers at the two teams’ matches were dwindling.

The poor start to the season cost the two club coaches their jobs.

First to go was Dynamos’ affable Lloyd “Mablanyo” Chigowe and later to be followed by Madinda Ndlovu who stretched his fans’ patience.

Chigowe was replaced by Tonderai Ndiraya in April, and remarkably, results began to come.

Since his appointment, Dynamos has only lost once in the league, against Highlanders, and at one point looked like they would fight for the title. They have been recording draws of late, a lot of them for that matter. They have recorded seven draws in a row, but their supporters are not really complaining. The supporters argue that their team’s style of play is refreshing, and pleasing to the eye.

For Highlanders, its resurgence since the arrival of coach Hendrikus Pieter de Jongh has been even more dramatic.

The Dutchman arrived when the Bulawayo giants were struggling in the relegation zone, and facing a real possibility of getting demoted at the end of the season.

In the six matches that he has been in charge, Highlanders have won four and drew two. Add the victories over Dynamos and FC Platinum in the Chibuku Super Cup matches to that.

From relegation strugglers, Bosso are now somewhere near where they should be on the log standings. Following their 3-1 win over Yadah on Thursday, they moved to sixth on the log standings, and their fans are dreaming once again.

More importantly, De Jongh has brought enthusiasm and gusto back in the Highlanders squad. It looks blissful in their camp, and their fans are happy again.

“Morale is high in camp. We are in the right direction,” de Jongh said ahead of the two teams’ clash at Rufaro Stadium tomorrow afternoon.

“We are hoping to end the season in a good position. I have said before that a top four or five is looking possible or even if we finish top eight we would have done a good job,” reckons the Dutchman.

De Jongh has already tested the feeling of being in the dugout for Highlanders versus Dynamos, arguably the biggest match on the local football calendar.

His first game in charge of Highlanders was against Dynamos in the Chibuku Super Cup match at the end of September, a match his team won 1-0.

He felt in love with the atmosphere, which he has likened to the El Classico, the battle royale between Spanish powerhouses Barcelona and Real Madrid.

“I know how this is like. It is a big match for the two clubs and the fans. This one looks like a Barcelona and Real Madrid clash or Bayern Munich against (Borussia) Dortmund. The second game might not be like the first that we won but anything is possible. We go there for one result (which is to win) but it is not going to be easy,” De Jongh said.

The two teams are currently tied on 39 points, and the winner will likely move into the top four. So besides the bragging rights that go with winning this clash, getting all three points would be massive in the context of the movement on the log standings.

Highlanders will go into the match without their star striker Prince Dube, the man who scored the only goal of the game the last time these two teams met.

He is out due to suspension. While De Jongh would have liked his star forward to be available, it’s highly unlikely that he would miss him that much.

In Dube’s absence on Thursday against Yadah, Highlanders still scored three goals with Mbongeni Ndlovu, Godfrey Makaruse and Tinashe Makanda all on the score sheet.

RECENT social media pictures of President Emmerson Mnangagwa helping himself to mazondo in an airjet and another of a sumptuous breakfast that the majority of Zimbabweans can only partake in in their dreams have become part of the enduring image of the leadership ineptitude and failure that he has become associated with.

NewsDay Comment

The fact that these images found their way onto the President’s social media pages at a time the country is facing a myriad of seemingly insurmountable problems depict a leader who either does not care about the situation on the ground or has no capacity to steer this ship out of the tumultuous waters.

One would have thought after the many years he walked with the late former President Robert Mugabe, he would have learnt some valuable lessons, but it appears he did not learn anything or learnt very little. Or perhaps in his attempts to completely dissociate himself with Mugabe’s legacy, he has transformed into something worse. Quite clearly, that long association appears not to have prepared him for the presidency.

What is obtaining on the ground appears to suggest that the November 2017 coup that ushered Mnangagwa into power was never about Mugabe’s perceived failures, but was a personal project to preserve Mnangagwa who was likely going to be jailed after he was fired from the post of Vice-President just before the coup.

The President does not inspire confidence that he or his government have solutions to the problems confronting this nation. If his responses or lack thereof to these problems, are anything to go by, then one gets the impression that he himself is equally stunned by the scale of problems the country is battling.

It is quite shocking that the doctors’ strike, for instance, has gone on for over a month, and yet the government, which is reluctant to meet the doctors’ demands, was quite eager to pump out a lot of money for a useless anti-sanctions march. Ever since Mnangagwa came to power, his government has not hesitated to pay huge amounts of money to international public relations companies to spruce up its image.

Just to show how inept this government is, it is quite clear, and they know what they are supposed to do because they made those very promises ahead of last year’s elections. One does not require any public relations whitewashing to fulfil their own pledge. And anyone with a little sense in their head would know that.

The government has not even shown any appetite to deal with corruption beyond a little tokenism that has however not fooled anyone. Once it implements the necessary political and economic reforms, everything will fall into place like the right pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

THE Political Actors Dialogue (Polad) has not spoken about pushing out Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) commissioners, but will instead retreat to Nyanga next week to discuss sanctions.

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

Polad co-chairperson, retired Justice Selo Nare dismissed suggestions by NCA president Lovemore Madhuku that the political negotiations would result in the ouster of Zec chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba and her team and replace them with new people.

“I think it was an individual opinion. We went into that at our last meeting and Mr Madhuku when he made that statement was talking on behalf of his party, not the opinion of Polad,” he said.

Justice Nare said, instead, Polad, which is made out of 18 presidential candidates accompanied by three assistants, will be going to the resort town of Nyanga to discuss sanctions.

“We are now on the second leg, where we will be dealing with issues that pertain to governance.

From there, one of the areas that we will deal with is that of the economy,” he said.

“The parties are going to deal with the economy with the advice from other groups that come in. We will be able to cover a lot of ground. Next week we will be going to Troutbeck to look at the outlying things that we have missed. But the area we are going to be looking at is that of Zidera [Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act] and be able to discuss how we can approach the people who have imposed sanctions on us.”

Madhuku insisted that he would be pushing to ensure that a Zec that can inspire confidence to elections can be set up in a manner that does not leave the appointment of the body to the President.

“Why else would we be in Polad if it’s not to lay a ground that will ensure that never again we have disputed elections? We are not there to agree with Zanu PF, I can assure you and those who think Polad will not achieve anything, will see that we have teeth and they will bite,” he said.

Nelson Chamisa’s MDC has refused to join the political talks and called them a choir with no stamina or desire to bring any change.

Justice Nare, however, said it was time Chamisa and others joined the talks because they were progressive and would bring the desired change.

The Polad principals joined Acting President Kembo Mohadi for the monthly clean-up campaign in Harare yesterday.

CAPS United coach Darlington Dodo fears the log leaders could be heading towards another banana skin as they travel to TelOne tomorrow for what promises to be a tough match against the relegation strugglers.

BY HENRY MHARA

After watching his side struggle against Herentals, who are also fighting to stay up, Dodo knows all too well the dangers that are presented by clubs fighting for survival at the other end of the table.

The log leaders were lucky to get away with a point on Wednesday as they had to come from behind to force a 1-1 draw.

“Playing these relegation threatened teams is very difficult. They are unpredictable, and they have more or less the same pressure like the one that we have,” Dodo said. “They will do anything to grind a result. What we need to do is to stamp authority in the game, to show why we are at the top of the standings.”

TelOne will be desperate to get something out of this match, but Caps will be hoping to crush their hopes of a Premier Soccer League survival.

United could start this match on second position if current second placed side FC Platinum beat Bulawayo Chiefs at Mandava this afternoon.

With TelOne having avoided defeats against some of the big boys including Dynamos and FC Platinum in recent times, Dodo knows he cannot overlook the Rahman Gumbo-coached side.

“We need to keep working hard; we are still there at the top. As much as the gap has been reduced, we are still at the top and we need to still keep our focus. We are going to TelOne and it’s a must win game for us. We must make sure that we go and win there. But truly speaking, teams at the bottom of the log are difficult to play, but we will need to grind a result,” Dodo said.

The Green Machine has picked just one point in their last two matches, something Dodo has blamed on injuries to key players.

Defender Method Mwanjale has been ruled out for the season with an injury while goalkeeper Tonderai Mateyaunga and Kudzi Nyamupfukudza did not feature last time out. Dominic Mukandi is serving suspension.

“I don’t want to be a cry baby but I have some injured players who have been playing a big part in the team and with where the season is, it’s difficult because the games are coming thick and fast.

There are a lot of things that will happen to the dynamics of the team when you make those adjustments so the injuries have played a big part in the way we are playing. But we can regroup and get the results that we want.”

Gumbo refused to talk to the media on Thursday after watching his side surrender a goal lead to lose 2-1 to Rhinos. It appears the former Warriors gaffer is beginning to crack under pressure as he struggles to save his team which currently sit on 16th position and fast running out of games.

They have struggled for positive results of late, having won just once in their last five matches, form that is not good enough at this stage of the season to avoid relegation.

Matchday 29 fixtures

Today: Ngezi v Manica Diamonds (Baobab), FC Platinum v Bulawayo Chiefs (Mandava), Herentals v Harare City (NSS)

Tomorrow: Dynamos v Highlanders (Rufaro), Yadah v Chapungu (NSS), ZPC Kariba v Black Rhinos (Nyamhunga), Hwange v Mushowani (Colliery), TelOne v Caps (Ascot), Chicken Inn v Triangle (postponed)

Acting Tourism and Hospitality Industry minister Mangaliso Ndlovu has urged the government to allocate adequate funds in next year’s budget to resuscitate the tourism industry which suffered a 3% decline in the first half of the year.

By Nokuthaba Dlamini

Speaking at a pre-budget meeting in Victoria Falls yesterday, Ndlovu said tourism hubs like Victoria Falls needed adequate water supply, proper sanitation and uninterrupted electricity supplies.

“We need to establish an enabling tourism business environment with modern technologies, modern ports of entry, water and sanitation and energy so that in the process of rebranding our country, all systems are put in place,” he said.

MDC Mashonaland West proportional representation MP, Concillia Chinanzvavana said on top of providing adequate resources, there was need to make tourism destinations more affordable.

“The visa system remains partially computerised. Government needs to expedite the whole system so that our visitors spend less time queueing to enter the country as this impact negatively on the visitor’s experience,” she said.

“There is also need to reduce the average time taken to process a tourist visa by opening more processing counters. The e-visa platform still faces teething challenges and needs upgrading so that it is easily accessed by tourists from different source markets.”

Chinanzvavana said foreign visitors were finding it difficult to buy goods and pay for services due to shortage of cash.

“Curio market vendors do not have international point of sale (POS) machines. This implies that we are limiting tourist expenditure into the economy. The government through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe needs to ensure cash availability in bureaus, especially in our tourism hubs. The RBZ should also improve the availability of international POS machines,” she said.

“Fuel shortages affect the tourism operators’ ability to offer all-inclusive packages within the destination. Statutory Instrument 212 of 2019 is making it difficult to charge for future bookings to locals due to the inflationary environment while commissioning of the Zimdollar is not yet internationalised to allow for the conversion to other currencies.”

Hospitality and tourism establishments reportedly pay for 22 licences administered by 13 different agencies, hence the need to harmonise and reduce duplication.

“Government must create a one-stop shop for the multiple licensing and decentralise taxes and permits within the sector. The current system contradicts the ease of doing business and is expensive, thus government should consolidate a myriad of taxes that are making the destination uncompetitive,” Chinanzvavana said.

“Hotels are being charged individual television licences as per the Broadcasting Services Act (Chapter 12:06). All this, coupled with excess power outages in the country are heavily impacting negatively on business operations in terms of overhead costs and inconveniences which are creating negative perceptions about the destination.”

Chinanzvavana said Victoria Falls International Airport facilities must be upgraded continually to increase access to Zimbabwe by international airlines.

DOCTORS have come out guns blazing after President Emmerson Mnangagwa accused them of being sponsored by foreign hands to destabilise his government through strikes.

BY BLESSED MHLANGA / RUVIMBO MUCHENJE

The striking doctors also for the second time yesterday snubbed disciplinary hearings conducted by the Health Services Board over their failure to report for duty.

Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA) said its members were not playing politics and did not need third parties to tell them they were suffering.

“The statements are unfortunate. It is clear that government is turning a purely labour issue into a political issue. That is sad. We do not need anyone to tell us that the money we are earning is not sufficient to pay for rentals and buy food. Nobody has to come and tell me that I am struggling to pay fees for my children because my salary is insufficient, doctors are not fools,” ZHDA said.

Mnangagwa, while addressing Zanu PF youth league on Thursday, said he was aware that some doctors were actually being paid by foreign donors to stay away from work.

He said his government was investigating the issue.

But ZHDA denied the allegations, saying if doctors were getting money, they would go to work instead.

“The people who go to government hospitals are our relatives, parents and sisters. Even fellow doctors come to public hospitals. We would, therefore, want to see those hospitals fully manned by motivated doctors so that we create hope for the people,” ZHDA said.

“Not going to work also affects and delays our graduation process. We therefore want to state clearly that we want to go to work. We can only do that when government capacitates us.”

Acting Health minister Monica Mutsvangwa said government remained open to talk to doctors as soon as they come back to their senses.

“We encourage dialogue. We have always said doctors should go back to work while we talk. They should be saving lives. Human life is important,” she said.

ZHDA secretary Tawanda Zvakada said doctors also wanted dialogue, but it had to be done on fair grounds.

“You talk when conditions are right. Government said come let’s talk. When we were getting ready to talk, they abducted our leader. When he was found, we said the conditions are right now let’s talk, then they bring a court order, then letters for hearings. That is not creating a platform for talking,” he said.

ZHDA president Peter Magombeyi was allegedly abducted on September 14 from his Budiriro high-density home and found a week later in Nyabira, about 30km north-west of the capital.

The HSB confirmed that doctors boycotted yesterday’s disciplinary hearings while dismissing reports of massive firing of the striking medical personnel.

“They didn’t turn up for the hearings, but as HSB chairperson, Dr Paulinus Sikosana alluded to yesterday, we are following the right procedure, which provides for going ahead with disciplinary hearings whether the doctor is present or not,” the HSB said.

“The outcomes of the hearings are confidential, hence we will communicate to individuals.”

Local Government minister July Moyo has set up a commission of inquiry to look into the affairs of the City of Gweru, including service delivery and reports of corruption.

By Brenna Matendere

The development comes two days after suspended town clerk Elizabeth Gwatipedza appeared before an independent tribunal to answer corruption charges.

Mayor Josiah Makombe yesterday confirmed the development, but was coy on divulging its mandate.
“Yes, there is an investigation team that is coming, but it is not true that they want Gwatipedza to be back in office,” he said, commenting on reports that the inquiry was meant to find ways to reinstate the suspended town clerk.

“The team has got its own terms of reference and, as council, we see nothing bad in that.”

Makombe also revealed that he had a discussion with Moyo about the commission.

However, sources told NewsDay Weekender that the tide could be turning on the councillors over the suspension of the town clerk.

“The position of a town clerk is a very powerful portfolio and the government of the day would want to protect it through a person loyal to them. While the MDC controls Gweru, it is Zanu PF which formed government and so it looks like the ruling party is moving to fight back the suspension of the town clerk,” said a source.

However, Makombe allayed the fears.

“Actually, I was aware of such a team coming because we discussed that with the minister before,” he said.

Asked whether the coming of the commission will not set a parallel process in the handling of the issue of the town clerk who is already under investigation, Makombe said: “I don’t think so, but we will see.”

In August 2015, the government, through then Local Government minister Saviour Kasukuwere dispatched a commission to Gweru led by former Masvingo town clerk Tsungai Mhangami.

There was, however, an outcry from residents that the commission looted council resources by awarding themselves hefty allowances and packages.