BY CHARLES LAITON

Local businessman Wicknell Chivayo, who is set to answer to US$10 000 bribery charges alongside his company Intratrek Zimbabwe, has approached the High Court seeking an order to stay the criminal trial proceedings pending a determination of his application for review.

According to Chivayo, he filed an application for review at the High Court after a Harare magistrate dismissed his application for exception to the bribery charges when the trial commenced in August this year. Apparently, he said the State had indicated its intention to proceed with the trial on October 28, 2019.

“This is an application for interim relief suspending the commencement of our criminal trial before the second respondent (magistrate one P Maturure Ncube) pending the review of the second respondent’s ruling dismissing our exception to criminal charges against us,” Chivayo said in his affidavit.

In the current application, Chivayo, Intratrek Zimbabwe and former Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) board chairperson, Stanley Kazhanje, are cited as applicants, while Prosecutor-General Kumbirai Hodzi and magistrate one P Maturure Ncube are cited as respondents, respectively.

Kazhanje was this year tried and convicted on the same charge and sentenced to three years in jail for concealing a US$10 000 transaction with Chivayo’s company. He is, however, now out of custody on $1 000 bail pending appeal.

In his affidavit, Chivayo said Kazhanje has also moved for the quashing of the charges on the basis that the manner they were framed was contrary to law, adding “central to his (Kazhanje) motion was the failure of the State to indicate whether the US$10 000 was an inducement or reward”.

“I thereafter excepted to the charges together with the first applicant (Intratrek Zimbabwe). The third applicant (Kazhanje) similarly excepted to the charges. The basis for exceptions was that the facts alleged by the State as further particularised did not disclose an offence and, in the case of the third applicant’s further submissions, the charges had formal defects,” Chivayo said.

“Success for the first and second applicants (Intratrek and Chivayo) would be success for the third respondent as the cause of complaint went to the root of the matter. Equally, success for the third applicant would be success for the first and second applicants as the competence of the charge also founded the root of the proceedings.

“It will be noted that the second respondent in his decision, did not address his mind to the questions of whether the facts alleged disclosed the offences alleged or whether the charges were competently crafted.”

The matter is pending.

BY ALLIEWAY NYONI

A SIX-YEAR-OLD Zvishavane boy who disappeared on Monday morning on his way to school was yesterday found dead in a bush with his body stashed in a sack along the Masvingo-Zvishavane Highway.

Midlands provincial police spokesperson Inspector Joel Goko confirmed the tragic incident and said investigations were still underway to ascertain the cause of death.

In an interview, the mother of the boy, Takudzwa Siwanza from Isaya Park suburb said she made a police report after the head at Makwasha Primary School informed her that her son, Elohim had not reported to school.

“He went missing on Monday after I made enquiries from the school head why my son had delayed coming back home only to discover that he had not reported to school that day. We reported the matter to the police and we could not find him until I received news that the body of a boy in school uniform had been found in Lot 4 area near Masvingo road, only to discover it was my son,” the distraught mother said.

The same child was once stolen while he was still nine months old before the criminal was apprehended by members of the public in the town’s Mandava light industry area, Siwanza added.

A police detective, who attended the scene where the body of the boy was found, said he must have been strangled to death.

“The head was swollen and the boy suffered strong bleeding from the nose and head. It also seems he was strangled to death. I suspect it must be a case of ritual murder and his murderer might have wanted his blood before dumping the body in a sack on the roadside,” he said.

Meanwhile, a 28-year old Zvishavane man, Sylvester Sibanda has been remanded in custody for kidnapping an 11-year-old pupil (name withheld for ethical reasons) on October 9.

Sibanda is alleged to have tied the girl with a red cloth before carrying her to the top of a mountain adjacent to Zvishavane’s Escrow and Makwasha area.

The girl managed to escape while Sithole was relieving himself and she alerted members of the public, leading to the accused’s arrest.

Zvishavane district schools inspector Tranos Mahlokozera urged parents to accompany their children to school to ensure their safety.

BY FARAI MATIASHE

Construction of houses for Cyclone Idai survivors in Chipinge and Chimanimani has just started ahead of this year’s rainy season, Lands and Agriculture minister Perrance Shiri has said.
Addressing journalists on the sidelines of a workshop on climate resilient investment in reconstruction and development in cyclone-affected regions of Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe in Harare yesterday, Shiri said the resettlement areas and new infrastructure will be able to withstand future weather hazards, including tropical storms.

“This land is deemed to be reasonably safe from the adverse effects of climate change including flooding which was the main challenge in the Chimanimani area. The houses are designed to withstand the effects of weather,” he said.

Shiri said the government was working in partnership with China to construct houses for Cyclone Idai survivors.

According to the Department of Civil Protection, there are about 30 000 people from Cyclone Idai-hit areas, who are staying in tents and they risk to be washed away if there is flooding during the coming rainy season.

The department has blamed government for delaying the approval of plans for resettlement.

But Shiri said inadequate resources had been a setback to the resettlement exercise.

“Yes, there has been delay here and there. Resources are not easy to come by. As far as plans are concerned, we are in charge of rural resettlement. We will do our best to ensure that some of the plans are approved. Some have already been approved,” he said.

Home Affairs deputy minister Mike Madiro said the disconnect between producers and users of climate change information needed to be addressed because currently the information was too technical and difficult to consume.

He said effective early warning systems, including seasonal forecast, was of paramount importance for people to prepare for weather hazards, but long-term weather predictions should also be incorporated.

Meanwhile, World Meteorological Organisation Africa programme manager Ernest Afiesimama said southern African countries were still not prepared for weather disasters despite threats of extreme temperatures.

“All the countries here (Southern Africa) are not fully prepared for the next year disaster. 2019 is the hottest year. A rise in temperatures will result in tropical storms,” Afiesimama said.

“We still have events that started in January. I am not a prophet of doom, but when we have high temperatures, we can expect more severe and extreme weather.”

He said after assessing the continent they discovered that Africa was vulnerable to climate change, yet governments lack coordination with their weather departments and agencies.

BY CHELSEA MUSAFARE

UNITED KINGDOM-BASED Zimbabwean businesswoman Maureen Mbondiah-Mandipaza on Wednesday said it was important for women to shift their mindsets if they were to identify and effectively utilise business opportunities available in the country.

Speaking at a Press conference in Harare, the Momentors Women in Business and Empowerment Forum founder said they were empowering local women to be business minded.

“We have come to train women who are struggling, help them to think differently because everything starts in the mind,” she said.

Mbondiah-Mandipaza said it was unfortunate that a lot of foreigners where identifying and taking advantage of business opportunities in the country at the expense of locals.

“Women’s Bank is offering women money for them to start their businesses but due to lack of knowledge, we do not know how to get access to the money. By so doing, our chances of being better individuals in life are being taken by outsiders,” she said.

Momentors, which has also been in the healthcare sector for over 20 years, is also supporting women with sanitary wear through Wadzanai Trust.

“Girls miss out in school due to lack of sanitary wear. Women in prison do not have access to sanitary pads. As women, therefore, we want to help and stand up for the girl child for sanitary wear to be free like condoms so that girls do not miss the opportunity to learn and be better business individuals in life,” she said.

Speaking at the same event, Botswana-based businesswoman Caroline Mashingaidze said there was need for women to secure opportunities just like their male counterparts through transforming mindsets.

“We are trying to work with Zimbabwe to place women in a position that they can be independent. We want to shift women’s mindsets to think in terms of business,” she said.

BY TAFADZWA KACHIKO

THE search for Africa’s cultural ambassador at the Zuri Africa-Global finals initially scheduled for Harare on November 1 has been moved to December 14 in Kenya after the organisers failed to secure the buy-in of government and other local stakeholders as the country battles an unprecedented economic meltdown.

Zuri Africa-Global founder and director Ryan Nush confirmed the development yesterday, saying Zimbabwe has proved incapable of hosting the inaugural event that would have afforded the country an opportunity to market its organic culture.

“Sadly, the competition is now being hosted by Kenya with more than 22 countries participating. National director for Kenya is now the host partner. We failed to get the right support from the Ministry (of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation) and financial support. There is no way we can sell our country without adequate resources,” he said.

“Zimbabwe has no resources to support this noble African initiative. We did all we could, we even begged but we are not ready as a country.”

Nush disclosed that South Africa was the initial choice before they settled for Zimbabwe since it is home to the founders.

“Our major challenge was lack of financial and technical support from relevant stakeholders,” he said.

Nush said their national director, Eutychus Chamunorwa, was searching for funds to support Zimbabwe’s queen, Patience Nomazulu Gumbo’s bid to clinch the African title.

“The national director is in charge of soliciting funds to cover travelling expenses for the country’s queen. That has to be through sourcing for sponsorship,” he said.

Participating countries include Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Zambia, Togo, South Africa, Rwanda, Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Eswatini, Tanzania and Lesotho.

Despite the cancellation of the Zuri Africa finale on November 1, a fashion show will be hosted on the day in partnership with the Zimbabwe Fashion Council.

“We are now making use of the day to officially launch the programme — have a fashion show and talent night. National directors mostly from countries represented are coming to witness and grace the Africa launch in Zimbabwe,” Nush said.

“Up-and-coming talent in arts will be showcased and musician Batsirai Shasha and Savanafrique are scheduled to perform.”

BY CHARLES LAITON

Prosecutor-General Kumbirai Hodzi has approached the High Court, seeking an order to forfeit four vehicles recovered from former Tourism minister Walter Mzembi and three other officials which they had allegedly converted to their own personal use following the hosting of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) General Assembly in 2013.

In his application for a civil forfeiture order, Hodzi, through his principal public prosecutor, Tapiwa Kasema, cited Mzembi, ex-Tourism ministry permanent secretary Margaret Sangarwe and two others namely Susana Kuhudzai and Aaron Mushoriwa.

In his founding affidavit, Kasema said the vehicles in question – three Ford Rangers and a Tata Xenon double cab – were bought using money provided by Mbada Diamonds and Mimosa Mining Company which both donated US$815 000 and US$33 626, respectively.

According to Kasema, the vehicles were supposed to have been surrendered to the Tourism and Hospitality Industry ministry at the end of the UNWTO General Assembly, but Mzembi and his colleagues, contrary to government procedure, took permanent possession of them.

“The deliberate failure by the officials to surrender the vehicles to the ministry and converting them to their personal use after the completion of the UNWTO General Assembly was theft of trust property as defined in section 113 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act,” Kasema said.

“For the foregoing, I can conclude that Walter Mzembi committed a serious offence which rendered the vehicle a tainted property and subject to forfeiture to the State,” he said, referring to the other three vehicles.

Apparently, criminal charges against Mzembi’s colleagues were withdrawn before plea as the State felt it could not proceed to trial in the absence of the main culprit, who in this matter is said to be Mzembi, who has been declared a fugitive from justice.
The matter is pending.

By Harriet Chikandiwa

Economic sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the West have hit ordinary citizens and are having a negative impact on efforts by the country to promote peace, a National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NRPC) commissioner has said.

“The issue of sanctions and how they have impacted the social and economic welfare of the generality of Zimbabweans is of great relevance to us,” commissioner Geoffrey Chada said in a statement.

The United States and the European Union imposed sanctions on Harare over alleged human rights abuses, electoral theft and failure to uphold the rule of law in 2001, allegations which the authorities have denied.

The EU lifted sanctions in 2014, but maintained an embargo on the late former President Robert Mugabe and his wife, Grace. However, the US has maintained sanctions on 141 individuals and firms linked to the Zanu PF government, including President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, senior party and military leadership.

In March this year, US President Donald Trump extended the embargo by another year, citing Mnangagwa’s failure to implement political reforms.

Chada described sanctions as a declaration of economic war, warfare by economic means and gun boat diplomacy.

“Economic sanctions applied at international level like the sanctions against Zimbabwe involve restrictions on trade, financial transactions, and communications between the target state and the sanctions states. They fall in the intermediate class of collective measures, being more severe than diplomatic or political measures such as votes of protest, votes of censure, expulsion, or suspension from international bodies and non-recognition.”

For the NPRC, he said, peace involves the existence of freedom and human rights and without peace there can be no development.

“Peace guarantees full existence of freedom and human rights; peace guarantees free political participation in the public affairs of the nation, peace guarantees national social and economic development, without peace there can be no development,” he
said.

Lovemore Sibanda

ZIMBABWE is in the throes of a political and economic crisis of gigantic proportions. The country is literally burning. Unemployment has reached unacceptable and alarming levels.

Salaries and wages are eroded daily. Public service employees are either on strike or threatening to take industrial action. Doctors, who took the Hippocratic Oath, have been on strike for nearly two months now. One does not need to be a rocket scientist to see that the two major political parties in our country, Zanu PF and the MDC Alliance contribute differently to this political and economic crises. Both parties are to blame, but Zanu PF as the governing party since independence, is largely to blame.

By their very nature political parties, particularly in times of crisis are polarising entities who generate feelings of animosity and hatred. Arguably, the leadership of both parties is in politics for personal aggrandisement and gratification, not for the welfare of the people. Whereas Zanu PF aims at remaining in power at all costs, the MDC Alliance is desperate to grab the levers of power by all means necessary. Within the MDC Alliance leadership there is this misplaced hope that the economic and financial crisis currently gripping the country, will lead to the collapse of the government and ultimately Zanu PF as a party.

The different vision for Zimbabwe of the two parties after the sudden and unanticipated fall of the late former President Robert Mugabe has created this economic and political impasse.

As Zimbabweans, how do we extricate ourselves from this political and economic crisis? History has shown us that in times of polarity and deep divisions, compromise is the best course of action.

Compromise is not a weakness but strength and sign of maturity. Leaders who compromise for national progress demonstrate beyond doubt their selflessness and humility and love for their country. To them, the country is bigger than their political views, party or themselves.

Compromise is the hallmark of statesmanship. The United States is what it is today — the most powerful country in the world — because its leaders engage in compromise at critical moments in their history. To the Americans, the US and national interests matter most, not political parties or personalities. For example, the US constitution was birthed in compromise — the “Great Compromise”. Compromise is the catchword in American politics and the Americans have managed to navigate difficult periods in their history. At this critical juncture in our history, we desperately need a Zimbabwean version of the “great compromise”. The country needs both the MDC Alliance and Zanu PF. No party, MDC Alliance or Zanu PF can take us out of this economic and political quagmire. We are aware that some people are benefiting from this polarity and economic crisis, hence they want it to go on unabated.

Decades of Zanu PF misrule, tyranny, and gross economic incompetence under Mugabe and the 2018 election have deeply divided and polarised our country. The election of 2018 widened the urban and rural divide. A rigid dichotomy now exists between the urban areas controlled by the MDC Alliance and the rural areas still under the stranglehold of Zanu PF. Seemingly, the youth, born after 1980, intensely dislike the generation who participated in the armed struggle. To complicate matters the army viewed by many as the kingmakers are losing the support and goodwill of the people. As Zimbabweans, we do not speak with one voice either domestically or internationally. We sacrifice national interests and values on the altar of sectional and personal interests.

In the context of the unfolding debilitating political and economic crisis and polarisation of our politics we need a Zimbabwean version of the “great compromise”. Our people are suffering and our leaders both in government and opposition do not care. The masses who made heroic sacrifices during our armed revolution have not reaped the full benefits of our armed struggle. It’s for their sake that we urgently need a “great compromise”.

Zanu PF, MDC Alliance, other political parties, civil society, churches, students, and workers must engage in a robust and no-holds-barred national dialogue to unlock this impasse. We have reached a stage where the solutions to the myriad of problems bedevilling Zimbabwe cannot be left to MDC Alliance and Zanu PF alone. This was the mistake of the GNU. The government through Parliament should take the lead in this regard by providing a platform and framework for an inclusive dialogue. The pre-conditions for dialogue set by both MDC Alliance and Zanu PF are unacceptable. We are our own liberators and do not need foreigners to pull us out of our self-inflicted wounds.

MDC Alliance and Zanu PF need to move away from the election mode. People’s lives are at stake here and they are crying for solutions from their leaders. Name-calling and inflammatory statements from hardliners in both MDC Alliance and Zanu PF must cease forthwith.

That is the legacy of Mugabe politics which must be buried in the dustbin of history. MDC Alliance should learn to acknowledge where Zanu PF has done well and respect the institutions of Zimbabwe.

Opposition for the sake of opposition will take us nowhere. Zanu PF as the governing party must behave responsibly and maturely, and stop scorched earth politics. Both Zanu PF and MDC Alliance should understand that politics is a zero-sum game. We are all Zimbabweans. Our differences do not make us enemies.

History will judge harshly the leadership of both Zanu PF and MDC Alliance for their failure to put the country first.

If there is a time in the history of our nation we needed visionary and bold leadership, it is now. Our problem is the lack of leadership at this critical moment in our history.

BY MISHMA CHAKANYUKA

ZIMBABWE recorded a 3% decline in tourist arrivals to 1,115 million in the first half ended June 30, 2019 from 1,148 million arrivals recorded in the same period last year.

During the period under review, the country received most visitors from within Africa and the Middle East region.

Visitors from within Africa increased by 0,3% to 921 324 from a comparative 2018 figure of 919 023, while tourists from the Middle East region grew by 4% to 3 513 visitors from 3 364 recorded in the same period last year.

The European, American, Oceanian and Asian regions recorded a decline in tourists numbers to Zimbabwe.

Europe contributed 79 939 visitors to the total tourist arrivals, a 21% decline from 101 101 tourists recorded in the prior year.

American tourists to the southern African country nosedived 17% from 56 682 to 47 099 tourists in 2019.

Sixteen thousand two hundred and forty-four tourists from Oceania visited Zimbabwe during the period, a 7% drop from a comparative 17 511 visitors that were recorded in 2018.

Zimbabwe also saw a decline in visitors from Asia as the number of tourists was down 6% to 47 223 tourists from 50 433 visitors that were recorded last year.

The country’s tourist arrivals are expected to grow by a minimum of 10% by year end from 2,6 million arrivals recorded last year.

The tourism sector has stagnated, as tourist arrivals growth trajectory has remained steady since the first quarter of the year owing to the struggling domestic economy.

The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority is focusing on growing the tourism industry by expanding the source markets, particularly the overseas markets covering Asia, the United Kingdom and the Americas.

In 2018, the southern African nation recorded a 6% growth in international tourist arrivals to 2,567 million from the 2,4 million received in 2017.

The growth was driven by the notable increase in arrivals from all source regions and most major markets, with the exception of the Americas.

Tourism players have in the past blamed negative country perceptions as contributing to depressed tourist arrivals.

Government’s transitional stabilisation programme identified tourism as a key economic pillar contributing 15% to the gross domestic product from the current 8%.