Sindiso Dube

MULTIPLE award-winning Bulawayo house music producer and wheel spinner Mqondisi Sibanda — popularly known as DJ Skaiva — recently released a nine-track Extended Play titled Testify. DJ Skaiva says his latest work is part of introducing his brand. It was produced under House Rebels Records and carries tracks such as Baleka featuring Paulla Paloma, Umcebele with Hwabaraty, Mudiwa with Ashley, Ijongosi, Time to wait with Joy and Rakeem, Nemis, Inkomo zabantu with Lord Skeelz, Zwakala with Sugar Shane and Mawiza and lastly Mpopoma Soul.

The musician holds three Bulawayo arts awards for outstanding house musician and one Zimbabwe Music Awards gong. He has worked with Fun Deepstar, Benny T, Sandra Ndebele, ExQ, Rakeem, Mzoe7 and others.

The artiste was born in Bulawayo and attended Mpopoma High School before going to Lupane State University where he attained a degree in Geography and Population Studies. He has shared the stage with South African DJs Oskido, DJ Fresh and Tira, Pepsi, AKA, Cassper Nyovest and Black Coffee.

NewsDay (ND) Life & Style reporter Sindiso Dube spoke with DJ Skaiva (MS) about the album…

ND: Let’s start with the name of the album – Testify. What is in the name?

MS: Testify is my latest work and it talks about God’s favour in one’s life. In my career, God has done a lot. I have been winning awards and getting regional gigs so I need to testify of his good works in my life.Most importantly, being able to wake up alive and make music is the greatest gift ever. I should testify and give thanks to the most high.

ND: The CD cover is predominantly black and red. Any significance to that?

MS: The red and black colours on the CD sleeve are my favourite colours and I believe I make the most underground sound and black and red are underground colours.

ND: After releasing two albums and six EPs, what did you have in mind when you were making Testify?

MS: The EP is a continuation of my work, my approach towards house music and it has been long since I last released new music and I think it was about time I did so.

ND: Where do you see this EP taking you?

MS: I am still building my brand and I want people to know my music and where I’m coming from and where I’m going. If this project is the one that is going to take me far, then let it be. I put all my effort into my projects but if this is the one to change my life story, let it be.

ND: Looking at the stiff competition from other local genres, in your view, does house music have a future in Zimbabwe?

MS: Yes, definitely, house music has a future in Zimbabwe. The problem is we have a few house music producers in this country and most of them are underground producers who are not known.

ND: How can that be resolved?

MS: If only we can have a movement like the Zimdancehall, we would go far. I think it will be much easier to do so here in the southern region of the country where house music is appreciated more. We flood the market with our content and people will notice us easily.

ND: When you look at your art, who has been your greatest inspiration?

MS: Black Coffee from South Africa.

ND: And do you have a desire to also break into the South African market?

MS: Yes, definitely. I wish to break into the South African market. I have even started working on that, hence I perform week in week out in that country.

Nqaba Matshazi

LAST Saturday afternoon, news that Tafadzwa Tamangani had died in remand prison started filtering in, with the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) presenting documentation showing they had pleaded with authorities to have him released so he could be attended by a private doctor.

Their pleas fell on deaf ears.

The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) declined to release him and ultimately Tamangani succumbed to injuries resulting from alleged police torture.

I had never heard of him before his death was announced, but I felt my heart sinking and it made me sick, as his death was certainly avoidable had the authorities just followed the law.

So far this year, the government has been sued several times over wrongful deaths and you would think that the authorities would learn something.

But it seems they are impervious to knowledge and they will stick to their crass tactics no matter the circumstances nor the results.

On Monday, I watched in utter horror as police officers unleashed their truncheons on activists that were singing outside the courts protesting the death of Tamangani.

No matter how annoying they were to the authorities, the activists posed no threat to anyone, they were going about their business in a peaceful and orderly manner.

But in their wisdom, or lack of it, the police saw it fit to clamp down heavily on the activists, indiscriminately using their batons on them and detaining them in cells overnight.

Surely, there is no place for such heavy-handedness in a country that wants to shed its pariah status and there would have been no harm had the protest continued.

But we are led by a paranoid government that is afraid of people thinking for themselves or coming together for a common purpose.

This is a government that prefers conformity and sees anything else as an act of dissidence.

This is a government that claims it was voted into power by the people but is frightened at the prospect of the very same citizens exercising their rights.

They will go to every length to break protests, bar people from expressing themselves and above all instil fear in the hearts and minds of every Zimbabwean.

This lot will do anything to preserve power, not for our sakes, but for themselves even if it includes violating every aspect of our rights as enshrined in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.

Right now, it seems they are the only ones allowed to demonstrate, as they use all manner of tactics to bar the opposition from demonstrating.

As it is, the MDC applied to have a demonstration today and it was predictably blocked yet the government goes ahead with its tomfoolery known as the anti-sanctions march.

In what sounds like a sick joke, the day has been declared a national holiday, with supporters expected to march from just outside the Rotten Row Magistrates’ Court — the scene of the dastardly attack on peaceful activists — to the National Sports Stadium.

I cannot, with a clear conscience be part of this march, as it stands for everything that is wrong with this country — impunity, abuse, lack of accountability and complete disregard for human rights.

If I wanted to be part of something, attending Tamangani’s funeral is a much more meaningful exercise. A family has lost a father, brother, son and breadwinner in one of the most cruel ways and they deserve our solidarity.

I would rather visit MDC’s Malbereign councillor, Denford Ngadziore and activist Makomborero Haruzivishe, who were brutally assaulted by police officers outside court and find out how they are coping.

Those 10 other vendors that were arrested with Tamangani need counselling, they witnessed their colleague’s death and that episode must be playing havoc with their minds.
Their psychological well-being is far more important than a meaningless march.

Instead of attending tomorrow’s march, my time would be better spent commiserating with people that have seen their relatives dying because there are no doctors in hospitals since the government does not see paying the health workers a living wage as a priority.

Tomorrow would rather be a day when we all take stock of the harm that corruption has brought on this country from Command Agriculture to the Presidential Inputs Scheme that have somewhat contributed to the economic turmoil that Zimbabwe is going through.

Corruption, nepotism, cronyism and parochial back-patting by those in power have wrought more suffering to Zimbabwe than drought and sanctions will ever.

So, if ever I needed a reason to march, I will march to call for an end to government-sanctioned corruption and malfeasance.

I will be the first one on the street to march against sanctions if the authorities show a commitment to arresting everyone that is accused of corruption rather than this charade where they only go after political enemies.

If the authorities can show that they protect our rights and defend our freedoms, no matter how politically unpalatable, then I will gladly sing the anti-sanctions song.

If the government takes responsibility for Gukurahundi, apologises for Murambatsvina, accounts for activists Patrick Nabanyama, Paul Chizuze and Itai Dzamara and guarantees freedom of association and expression, then you will find me at the forefront of an anti-sanctions demo.

If the government prosecutes those who killed Kelvin Tinashe Choto, Tamangani and Sylvia Maphosa among a whole list of people who have been unjustly killed in the past 15 months, maybe the anti-sanctions march may be appealing to me.

But for now, the anti-sanctions march is an elaborate waste of time by a group of people that do not want to take responsibility for their actions and for that reason I will not be anywhere near that charade.

news reporter

Commodities baron Kudakwashe Tagwirei’s Landela Mining Ventures has emerged as the new joint venture partner in the Russian-led Darwendale platinum mine project, which has also roped in former Impala Platinum chief executive David Brown.

A statement issued on Tuesday by Great Dyke Investments (GDI), the company developing the mine, announced that Landela and Afromet JSC now have equal 50% stakes in the project. Afromet JSC is 100%-owned by Russia’s investment and industrial group Vi Holding, which has spearheaded the Darwendale project since its inception in 2013.

“The 2019 year is marked for the project and GDI by the arrival of a new strong Zimbabwean shareholder — Landela Mining Venture, which is a part of the bigger experienced multinational commodity trading group Sotic International Ltd with business interests in minerals and oil trade across the Sadc region and Zimbabwe in particular,” GDI said in a project update.

In May, Bloomberg reported that a Zimbabwe army investment vehicle’s shareholding in the project was putting off potential financiers.

But President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the military had been bought out by a private company, now identified as Landela, which now owns 50% of the mining venture.

Tagwirei’s interest in GDI marks further expansion from the petroleum industry where his Sakunda Holdings is a dominant player, into mining.

The businessman, who is also a shareholder in African Chrome Fields, has been linked with bids for ferrochrome producer Zimbabwe Alloys, as well as Bindura Nickel Corporation and gold miner Freda Rebecca gold mine.

Obey Chimuka, managing director of Fossil Contracting, a company associated with Tagwirei, now sits on the GDI board. Chimuka has in the past sat on the boards of the ZMDC and Marange Resources. He also sat on the board of Sakunda Supplies, according to his company’s website.

Darwendale project’s first phase is expected to cost US$500 million, targeting annual output of 280 000 ounces of platinum group metals and gold.

Mine construction is expected after the financial close, which is expected by March 31, 2020.

The African Export-Import Bank was last year appointed as the main financial partner and lead arranger for the project. The continental bank has put up US$192 million towards the project.

“According to the agreement, Afreximbank’s mandate covers both debt (project) financing and equity raising portion in the amount sufficient for the successful implementation of phase 1 of the project. The target financial close date for the transaction is set up to March 31, 2020,” GDI says.

The company is negotiating with Zimbabwean, South African and Russian funders to raise cash for equipment, machinery and services procurement, the company said.

The Darwendale project will be implemented in three phases and is expected to produce860 000 ounces of PGM and gold per year at full capacity. To put the scale of the mine’s potential into perspective, annual output for Zimbabwe — from the country’s three PGM mines — was 978 692 ounces in 2018.

Seasoned mining industry hand Brown has been appointed to lead a reconstituted GDI board, taking over from the previous chairperson, Hesphina Rukato. She had been on the board to represent Pen East Mining Company, through which the military held an interest.

“The project team has covered much ground with respect to the technical viability of the project and has provided sufficient confidence for all stakeholders to ensure a successful delivery of both the development and operational phases of the project,” Brown said.

“The progress achieved so far is substantial and sufficient for transitioning to the next stage which will include detailed design, contracting for major equipment elements as well as the start of construction, all of which will be subject to the successful financing stage of the project being completed.”

Zimbabwe currently has three major platinum mines – Impala’s Zimplats, Anglo Platinum’s Unki and Mimosa, a joint venture between Impala and Sibanye Stillwater.

Karo Mining Resources, driven by Tharisa Plc founder Loucas Pouroulis and his son Phoevos, was last year granted a platinum concession on the Great Dyke and expects to start developing a mine next year.

— newZWire

BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA

Brave villagers from Kondo area in Uzumba on Sunday fought off and arrested eight armed robbers who had tried to rob one of their own.

In a movie-style incident, the villagers overpowered the eight, part of a group of 18 suspects who were driving a Toyota Hiace. One of the suspects died in the melee.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi in a statement confirmed the incident and applauded the villagers for their bravery.

“The ZRP applauds villagers of Kondo village, Chief Nyajina, Uzumba, for their bravery in apprehending eight suspects in a case of attempted armed robbery which occurred in their village on October 20,” the statement read.

According to police, on the said date, the eight suspects teamed up with 10 others who are still at large and hatched a plan to rob a 44-year-old villager who they suspected to be in possession of cash since he is a gold buyer.

The suspects were driving a Toyota Hiace and were in possession of three pistols, a bolt cutter and hammers.

Upon arrival at the complainant’s residence, the suspects misrepresented to the complainant that they were law enforcement agents based at Murewa Business Centre before later claiming that they were from Bindura and wanted to arrest illegal gold panners operating along Nyaguwe River.

The suspects reportedly started smashing windows and fired shots at the complainant’s bedroom. The complainant reportedly fired back with his registered firearm and this awakened the villagers who besieged the homestead and fought the suspects.
About 10 suspects fled from the scene

Jesse Salah Ovadia

In August, a plaque was installed where Iceland’s once-iconic Okjökull glacier stood, before climate change turned it into a lake. “This monument,” the plaque reads, “is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and know what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it.” What is happening, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and virtually the entire scientific community warn, is the rapid approach of a climate catastrophe. And while much must be done to prevent it, for developing regions like Africa, this will require a new approach to industrialisation.

In many ways, the world is finally beginning to take climate change seriously. A total of 195 countries have signed onto the 2015 Paris climate agreement. In the United States, while President Donald Trump has withdrawn from the Paris accord (and rolled back environmental protections), state governments have taken up the mantle of achieving its goals, and Democratic presidential candidates are proposing ambitious climate strategies.

But it is young people, not political leaders, that are leading the call for action. The 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has grabbed headlines with her eloquent speeches, school strike movement, and voyage across the Atlantic on a zero-emissions yacht. OPEC’s secretary general, Mohammed Barkindo, recently described such activists as “perhaps the greatest threat” to the oil industry’s future. Barkindo also argued that the petroleum industry is not the sole cause of climate change. In some ways, he’s right. However, the oil sector also needs to acknowledge that our reliance on “fossil capitalism” is coming to an end. In his early July remarks, he noted that the international oil industry will need to have some difficult conversations about the future. But while efforts to shift to increasingly cost-competitive renewable-energy sources should be welcomed, the challenge this poses for developing countries with oil and gas resources – which have contributed far less to climate change than their industrialized counterparts — remains unaddressed. Fossil fuels have underpinned prosperity-enhancing industrialisation wherever it has taken place, from Europe and the US in the nineteenth century to China in the 2000s. But in the Global South, oil and gas resources have not translated into sustained economic development and higher standards of living. Instead, they have generally involved extraction from some for the benefit of others: a “resource curse.” In this moment of greater interest in sustainable and just transitions, an increasing number of African countries are pursuing new petroleum exploration and production. Understandably, they hope finally to reap the development benefits of their natural endowments. While more sustainable energy systems are crucial from an environmental perspective, during the transition – and while petroleum resources continue to be required – African states will need to make the most of their fossil-fuel resources and exploit them in ways that contribute to positive welfare outcomes. This is the logic underpinning petro-development. But even with substantial new investment, especially from China and India, the possibilities for petro-development are waning. What once looked like a source of infinite opportunity now has clear limits, given lower global oil prices and a shift in demand toward renewable-energy sources. As a former head of Nigeria’s national oil company, Barkindo is acutely aware of the difficulties in exploiting oil and gas resources in ways that produce net benefits to both the state and its citizens. As renewable energy becomes more cost-effective and societies make the transition to a post-carbon world, the conversation should not be about how the existing oil industry can be part of the solution, but rather about how the industry can make more contributions to socioeconomic development during the transition. Even if oil prices recover, it seems unlikely that most African countries will be able to achieve the desired petro-development without radically overhauling their approach to natural-resource management and governance. And that will require a long-term, carefully designed, and feasible strategy for social and economic development.

Such a strategy should, for example, recognise that new investment in the oil industry leads to billions of dollars of spending on a wide variety of goods and services from companies that, in many cases, do much more than service the oil industry. In recent years, Nigeria has been leading a push for African petroleum producers to capture more value by promoting “local content.” Across Africa, countries are trying to build local companies and encourage international companies to do more of their work in-country. In effect, they are trying to find a way to make good use of their resources before the window for doing so closes.

The industrialised economies, for their part, must do more to support African oil industries and make sure the negative effects of oil production are mitigated.
For such strategies to work, however, the oil industry must get on board. This means engaging sincerely with African governments, in order to figure out how best to support national agendas for development and diversification. The upcoming Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, hosted by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company – which will be attended by Barkindo, as well as numerous African energy ministers and oil-industry leaders – is an ideal opportunity to initiate such a process.
Working with other stakeholders, campaigners for a sustainable and just transition can also achieve something more: allowing carbon energy to have a positive impact on economies which have so far experienced only the negative effects of the oil-backed development of the twentieth century.

Rather than dismiss young climate activists as a business nuisance, the oil industry should be discussing openly how it can enhance its legacy of development. Only future generations will know if it did.

BY LIFE & STYLE REPORTER

TOP gospel musician Matthias Mhere yesterday dropped the video for the song Hembe Yemubhero — off his latest album Greater than Solomon — whose production he said incorporated high professional standards.

The video had by yesterday afternoon accumulated nearly 1 000 YouTube views.

Mhere told NewsDay Life & Style yesterday that his fans inspired him to produce a high quality video.

“The video for Hembe Yemubhero will be out today. I personally think it’s a good quality video because we employed international standards,” he said.

“Although it is up to the fans to judge the quality, I hope they will be satisfied.”

The sixth track off the new album, Hembe Yemubhero, is centred on a father warning his daughter against allowing any man to have their way with her as if she were second-hand clothing that any prospective buyer can just pick up, gaze at, try on, and then throw back onto the ground for the next potential buyer to sample.

Mhere said the video was directed by Slimaz Pro creative director, Willard “Slimmaz” Magombedze.

He added that they were currently shooting the video for Tirikufamba — off the same album — which features Jah Prayzah.

Mhere said he was marketing the new album through a national tour that has seen him travel to several parts of the country including Gwanda, Chegutu and Victoria Falls.

The musician will perform in Kariba this weekend ahead of another show scheduled for Beitbridge at a later date as part of the tour.

Mhere said he was satisfied with the reception that the album has had so far, with the tracks Tiri Kufamba, Mai John and Tizarurire proving to be the most popular among his hordes of fans.

Brian Nichols

Blessed with abundant mineral resources, rich farmlands, ideal weather, stunning national parks, and a well-educated, industrious people, Zimbabwe should be the economic powerhouse and the breadbasket of southern Africa, and even more popular as a tourist destination and business investment opportunity, as it once was.

What then, is holding Zimbabwe back? It’s not sanctions. There are only 141 Zimbabwean people and companies on the United States sanctions’ list. That’s right, just 141, in a country of 16 million. They are on the list for good reason. These are people who have engaged in corruption, committed human rights abuses, and undermined Zimbabwe’s democratic process. Blaming sanctions is a convenient scapegoat to distract the public from the real reasons behind Zimbabwe’s economic challenges —corruption, economic mismanagement, and failure to respect human rights and uphold the rule of law.

There is no United States trade embargo on Zimbabwe. American companies are interested in investing in Zimbabwe but are deterred by the massive levels of corruption, economic uncertainty, and weak rule of law. So, investors turn to other promising opportunities in the region and wait for the country to embrace the political and economic reforms that would make it a more attractive destination.

The greatest sanctions on Zimbabwe are the limitations the country imposes on itself. Zimbabwe is ranked 160 out of 175 nations on Transparency International’s corruption list.

Zimbabwe loses more than US$1 billion per year to corruption. That’s huge compared to the size of Zimbabwe’s entire economy — around US$26 billion. The government says fighting corruption is a priority but have government and government-connected perpetrators been held accountable? No. If the country’s laws were evenly applied and enforced, government coffers would be full and the economy would be humming; tax revenue and foreign exchange would not leak from the Treasury, and government would recover some of the money that has made a privileged few extremely wealthy. It’s not sanctions, it’s corruption.

The most conspicuous example is the more than US$2,8 billion missing from command agricultural subsidies. Who has benefited? Where is the accountability? Up to 50% of the population faces food insecurity and hospitals lack basic supplies, life-saving medicine, and medical equipment. The money missing from the agricultural subsidies could help many Zimbabweans in need. The government should be working to get this money back into its coffers. It’s not sanctions, it’s graft.

An American firm won the tender for the construction of the Dema Power plant in 2016, but the government cancelled the contract and awarded it to Sakunda Holdings, which had not even placed a bid. This type of corruption damages Zimbabwe’s reputation and drives away investors who want to be sure the rules apply to everyone. It’s not sanctions, it’s dishonest dealings. The Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) is unable to account for US$25 million. How many roads could Zinara have repaired with this money? How much clean water could have been provided? It’s not sanctions, it’s stunning mismanagement.

The Zimbabwe Electricity Distribution Company (ZETDC), a subsidiary of Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA), paid US$4,9 million to Pito Investments for transformers in 2010. The transformers were never delivered. Similarly, the Zimbabwe Power Company paid 196 064 South African rand to York Investments for gas that was never delivered, and US$67 000 for coal that was never delivered. Corruption is at the heart of why Zimbabweans are suffering through prolonged power outages. It’s not sanctions, it’s a betrayal of the public trust.

The Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) paid US$3,1 million for a printing machine in 2016. Zimsec then failed to pay a balance of US$1,3 million, which delayed the machine’s delivery and commissioning. As a result, Zimsec had to later pay approximately US $2,2 million to outsource the printing of examinations in 2017. How many textbooks or computers could the Ministry of Education have purchased with the lost US$2,2 million and funds tied up in an incomplete purchase? It’s not sanctions; it’s dereliction of duty.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe, which the Auditor-General’s report described as insolvent, paid for furniture at the JM Nkomo International Airport in Bulawayo that was never delivered.

The list goes on.

The pattern is clear.

The government allocates taxpayer funds for goods and services that are never delivered because the very same funds are disbursed into someone’s private account.

There are people getting rich, many of them Zimbabwe’s political elites, as the economy continues to deteriorate around them and the Zimbabwean people suffer from crippling shortages of food, electricity, clean water and medicine. It’s not sanctions, it’s unmitigated greed.

Seventeen people died during mass protests in January. There were 17 reports of rape or sexual assault and police arrested more than 1 000 people in dragnet arrests in January and February. All of these reports allege police or military officers were the offenders. It’s not sanctions, it’s State-sanctioned violence.

The United States wants Zimbabwe to succeed. Since 1980, the United States has contributed US$3,2 billion in assistance to the Zimbabwean people, and is the country’s largest bilateral donor in health and humanitarian assistance to the population.

We will continue to support the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in Zimbabwe, which has brought the country to the cusp of HIV epidemic control, despite the aforementioned challenges. Thanks to United States government investments in PEPFAR and the Global Fund, over 1,1 million Zimbabweans are on life-saving HIV treatment. Our embassy will continue to work with partners in Zimbabwe to overcome the persistent threats of malaria, cholera, and tuberculosis affecting the Zimbabwean people, and step in and help them even if the government does not.

The United States is also the largest bilateral donor of emergency humanitarian assistance in Zimbabwe. The United States provided nearly US$8 million in Cyclone Idai relief. We contributed US$86,9 million in 2019-2020 lean season food assistance which is feeding more than a million food-insecure people. Today’s growing food need is a direct result of the government’s corruption and mismanagement, which turned the breadbasket of Africa into a country much of whose population requires international food aid.

But the United States government supports the Zimbabwean people and will continue to help ensure they do not starve.

The Zimbabwean government has set the goal of becoming a middle-income country.

To get there, the government should fulfil its promises of upholding the rule of law, fighting corruption, respecting human rights, and fully implementing Zimbabwe’s 2013 Constitution.

Progress on these goals is the path forward to prosperity and deeper engagement with the United States and the international community.

Our targeted sanctions are not responsible for Zimbabwe falling tragically short of its potential. The fault lies in catastrophic mismanagement by those in power and the government’s abuse of its own citizens.

BY VENERANDA LANGA

THERE was drama in the National Assembly yesterday, which resulted in Zengeza West MP Job Sikhala (MDC Alliance) losing his temper and angrily labelling the Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda “a dictator”, adding that he was “turning Parliament into a kangaroo House” due to his rulings which were against opposition legislators.

Tempers flared after Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi and the Speaker barred main opposition MDC legislators from asking ministers questions relating to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s State of the Nation Address (Sona).

They said opposition MPs could not debate Mnangagwa’s Sona since they boycotted the address early this month.

What triggered the melee was when Proportional Representation MP Jasmine Toffa (MDC Alliance) asked Public Service minister Sekai Nzenza why the aged, sick and other vulnerable people were asked to pay for transport in order to receive food aid.

Instead of Nzenza responding to the question, Ziyambi interjected and said: “In terms of our Constitution, there is a Cabinet appointed by the President with a collective responsibility. In terms of the same Constitution, there is a Legislature constituting of MPs and the President who appointed Cabinet. If they (MDC) do not recognise the President, then they cannot extend a question and expect an answer from a minister appointed by the President.”

Mudenda then buttressed Ziyambi’s points and he ruled that the Justice minister’s assertions would stand and Zanu PF MPs cheered.

Norton MP Temba Mliswa (Independent) then tried to stand with the MDC legislators, saying that they had already been punished enough after the Speaker ruled last month that they would lose five months’ allowances for snubbing Mnangagwa. Mudenda ignored Mliswa’s point of order.

The Speaker ordered Toffa out of the House, and when she refused, Mudenda then sent the seargeant-at-arms Nicholas Marufu to eject her out of the chamber.

MDC MPs then cordoned off Toffa and vowed that she would not go out as they challenged the Speaker and Ziyambi’s ruling barring them from participating during question-and-answer sessions.

Police stationed at Parliament Building were then unleashed on the MDC legislators to forcefully eject Toffa, but she was heavily cordoned off by her colleagues, who also shouted at the police telling them that they were not allowed inside Parliament and must leave. The police then left after noticing that the situation might result in ugly scenes.

Seeing that the Speaker would not budge, Sikhala became highly emotional and he started shouting at the Speaker after he tried to raise a point of order and was denied.

“Having shown that you do not want to hold this institution as a democracy, you have reduced this Parliament to a kangaroo Parliament. I and my MPs tried to raise a point of order on the constitutionality of your ruling, but you have denied us. As a result, I withdraw my sympathy for you for what happened to you when you were eating ice cream (in Serbia). You are turning this institution into a dictatorial institution,” Sikhala charged.

“You are torturing our MPs on a daily basis. It is not allowed. Why are you abusing us? We are not kids.”

In Serbia, Mudenda was accosted while dining by a ZimEye journalist, who accused him of being undemocratic and asking him why he cut allowances for MDC legislators for snubbing the President.

Mudenda warned Sikhala to respect his authority as the chair, but Sikhala dug in.

“I used to have huge respect for you, but today, that honour has reduced to a quarter. You have disappointed me Mr Speaker.”

Mudenda responded: “I cannot accept to be challenged by an MP. I ask you to leave the House.”

Sikhala then cooled down and apologised to Mudenda and later he left, leaving Mutare Central MP Innocent Gonese to challenge the Speaker demanding constitutional clarity as to the basis of his ruling to bar the opposition from asking questions.

Gonese demanded that the Speaker explains the implication as to whether this would mean that the opposition MPs were now barred from debating motions and Bills before Parliament.

Mudenda refused to respond to him and he ruled that the opposition chief whip Prosper Mutseyami and Zanu PF chief whip Pupurai Togarepi had reached an agreement over the issue,
which Mutseyami was supposed to communicate to the opposition.

The Speaker then ordered questions without notice to resume and left, leaving acting Speaker William Mutomba to preside over the House.

Mliswa then asked Mutomba to explain how the written questions would proceed as most were from members of the opposition and the ministers were not around to respond to them.
He then started shouting at the few ministers present, saying their counterparts were letting down Mnangagwa by truancy.

Mliswa then moved towards Zanu PF benches, where he pointed at ministers and MPs, labelling them G40 members who were sabotaging Mnangagwa by failing to attend Parliament.

Sensing that the situation was getting out of hand, Ziyambi then moved for the adjournment of the House, and Zanu PF MPs left, leaving their MDC counterparts singing “Chamisa, Chamisa”.

opinion

IF there is one thing Zimbabwe can ill afford at this critical moment in time, it is a public holiday. A holiday, by its very simple definition is “an extended period of leisure and recreation, especially one spent away from home or in travelling”.

So it boggles the mind when President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his esteemed Cabinet see it prudent to declare a holiday on October 25 just to allow some ruling apparatchiks to vent their frustration at being shackled by sanctions.

What also defies logic is: Why are we as a nation wasting so much precious time, money and energy demonstrating against the United States and European Union sanctions slapped on some individuals and entities when there are many other prosperous nations out there willing and able to help us ride out of this debilitating socio-economic quagmire?

This is Russia’s first real bold move to announce superpowers’ return to Africa. We hear that more than 50 African leaders and 3 000 delegates have been invited.
anctions which were invited upon us by the late former President Robert Mugabe.

If America and the EU don’t want to befriend us because of our bad human rights reputation, why are Mnangagwa and company dragging us into a useless fight? Is it not more judicious for him to gather the troubled nation of Zimbabwe and tell it that this is the time to put our shoulders to the wheel and work for the prosperity of this country because there are new friends out there willing and able to help us rise from the doldrums.

This holiday will only serve to make us look like fools and will completely disrupt an already disorderly environment of strikes and non-productivity. In coming up with the idea of a holiday on October 25, did the government ever spare a thought for the thousands of children who are currently sitting for their final examinations? It sounds as if this was just a rushed, off the cuff kind of decision made for political expediency.

business reporter

South African supermarket retailer Pick n Pay Stores Ltd posted a 9,5% rise in first-half earnings, with strong growth in its core domestic operations outweighing challenges in Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Pick n Pay, which also sells clothes, said comparable headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the 26 weeks ended September 1 rose to 85,03 cents from a restated 77,67 cents a year earlier.

Reported HEPS, which includes the impact of hyperinflation accounting in Zimbabwe, rose 17,5%.

“At the core of our results is a very strong performance from our South Africa division,” group chief executive Richard Brasher said in a statement.

“In this environment, retailers have found it difficult to balance their two key objectives: delivering solid sales growth while maintaining profit margins. I am very pleased that we have succeeded in growing both our sales and our profits.”

Pick n Pay, like its peers, has cut prices in order to attract highly cost-conscious shoppers and cope with the difficult trading conditions that have hit other retailers at home amid a sluggish economy.

Comparable group turnover grew 6%, with like-for-like sales growth of 2,9%. Trading profit rose 12,5% to R1,2 billion ($81,4 million).

In South Africa, where it has more than 1 600 stores, Pick n Pay delivered comparable sales growth of 6,5%, with like-for-like turnover growth of 3,5%.

In the rest of Africa, reported earnings, which include the hyperinflation accounting, were down 79,8% year-on-year, reflecting difficult conditions in Zimbabwe, it said.

“Economic conditions in Zimbabwe have been particularly difficult, with businesses and consumers grappling with political and social instability, high levels of inflation, currency devaluation and shortages of staple goods and services,” Pick n Pay said. — Reuters