BY KENNETH NYANGANI

Mutare City Council’s finance director Blessing Kapuya’s office was on Thursday last week allegedly broken into and there are fears that important council documents might have been stolen, NewsDay can reveal.

Council spokesperson Spren Mutiwi yesterday confirmed the alleged break-in, saying police were now investigating the matter.

“Yes, there was a break-in at the finance director’s office, but at the moment, we don’t have finer details. We need to find out what was stolen or not stolen because the finance director was not around on Friday, so he is the one who is going to see what was stolen, so the best day to get full details is on Monday (today),” he said. “The Criminal Investigation Department CID) department visited the scene on Friday to carry out their investigations.”

But council sources said the so-called break-in could be an inside job to conceal abuse of council resources.

“This is a white collar crime by management and the theft of crucial documents was pre-planned to coincide with the absence from duty of the finance director,” a source who refused to be named said.

“Cases of management making double fuel claims are so rampant and this purported break-in is a way of destroying incriminating evidence.

“Recently, all councillors and town clerk Joshua Maligwa received allowances to attend the late former President Robert Mugabe’s funeral in Harare, but there are reports that some councillors did not travel even after receiving fuel and money for the trip.”

Maligwa could not be reached for comment as his mobile phone went unanswered.

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

OPPOSITION MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has called on all Zimbabweans reeling under the yoke of Zanu PF’s maladministration to rally behind his party’s call for wholesale political, electoral and economic reforms, saying he had decided to lead the campaign for the good of the nation and not for his personal gratification.

Addressing belated MDC commemorations of the International Day of the Girl Child at the party’s headquarters in Harare on Saturday, Chamisa said the struggle for change was not about him alone.

“The issue is about the people of Zimbabwe. It’s about the women of this country, it’s about the citizens of Zimbabwe. Even if they remove me or eliminate me from the matrix, they will not have eliminated the will of the people, it is the will of the people that matters,” he said.

The MDC accused the Zanu PF-led government of getting into power through a stolen vote and refusing to reform critical laws for fear of reforming itself out of power.

Often accused of failing to respect women, Chamisa said he viewed the girl child and women in particular, as the backbone of his party and the economy.

“The backbone of this party is women. They are the drivers and the engine. The party has met and it’s stronger because of them,” he said.

The opposition leader said his foes were trying to use the gender card to weaken his party structures in the same way they attacked his predecessor, the late Morgan Tsvangirai.

“They insult me in the same manner they did my boss and/or leader Tsvangirai. For me it’s lessor, but for Tsvangirai it was worse. Maybe they attack me less because I am still young and want me to grow,” he said.

Chamisa has come under attack by former party members, including MDC-T vice-president Obert Gutu, who accuse him of being power hungry and determined to get into office even through the back door.

“They are power hungry, they don’t even have the interests of the people at heart and want to use street demonstrations to get to State House, they must forget. That won’t happen,” Gutu said recently in apparent reference to MDC’s planned mass protests.

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s broke government is reportedly expected to blow an unbudgeted $4 million on its anti-sanctions campaign to be rolled out in all the 10 provinces on
Friday.

This comes at a time government is at loggerheads with its restive workers, who have threatened to down tools starting today demanding salary adjustments to cushion them against the runaway inflation.

The event has been planned to be run concurrently in other Sadc member countries after the regional bloc resolved at its last summit in Tanzania in August to campaign in solidarity with Zimbabwe.

Zanu PF secretary for administration Obert Mpofu yesterday said everything was on course, but could not be drawn into disclosing the budget for the exercise.

“It’s well on course and the stakeholders met Thursday, to deal with the issues of anti-sanctions march, that is the churches, the non-governmental organisations, government and all those who are involved in the process. They have had meetings and they continue to meet in preparation for that great day, a national day,” he said.

Zimbabwe Concerned Citizens Forum (Forum) national co-ordinator Taurai Kandishaya said they had mobilised over 200 000 people to take part in the march in Harare alone, while others will take part in similar activities in various towns and cities.

“At least 200 000 will add their voice in Harare alone, but the march is going to be done across the country and, as you are aware, this is a national crisis that will take every understanding citizen to self-fund,” he said.

Kandishaya pleaded with government to pour in resources to ensure that a solid statement is delivered to Western countries that have maintained frosty relations with the Zanu PF regime.

The anti-sanctions campaign, which has received backing from other Sadc countries, is aimed at piling pressure on the West — particularly the United States (US) and European Union (EU) — to lift sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe nearly two decades ago, and renewed recently.

Donald Trump’s US administration has maintained that the restrictive measures were only targeted at individuals and companies.

In a recent interview with Alpha Media Holdings’ HStv, EU ambassador to Zimbabwe Timo Olkkonen poured cold water on the Sadc anti-sanctions lobby, saying the planned solidarity marches would not help change the EU bloc’s position on Zimbabwe.

“Well, Sadc has the liberty of stating what it wants, that is their political statement that they came out with recently. When you look at the factual assessment about the facts, because in the Sadc communiqué, they were talking about the economic effects and the unfairness of it and from that perspective, we will not be convinced because we were just outlining the limited effect of the economic restrictions that the economic measures would have,” he said.

The bulk of the campaign money, according to government sources, will be channelled towards provision of food, public address systems and transport logistics for the thousands of mainly Zanu PF supporters who would be bussed to various centres throughout the country.

“The event will not consume less than $4 million in transport costs, food and loss of production costs given that no business will happen in most government offices on the day. Ministers, top civil servants and security personnel will be deployed for the event,” a government bureaucrat involved in the logistics committee told NewsDay yesterday.

Government this year hired an American consultancy firm, Ballard Partners, to spruce up its image at $500 000 a year with the contract running from February 13, 2019 to February 13 2021.

The owner of the consultancy firm, Brian Ballard, is a top fundraiser for Trump’s election campaigns.

The cash-strapped Mnangagwa administration has also hired another American consultancy firm, Avenue Strategies Global LLC, for US$1 080 000 to lobby the United States government to drop sanctions against the southern African nation.

The agreement signed on April 5, 2019 by chief executive officer Barry Bennet, will remain in full force and effect until April 5, 2020, but may be extended with written consent of the parties.

Opposition political parties have, however, said they will not join the march, describing it as a waste of taxpayers’ money.

MDC vice-president Lynette Karenyi-Kore called on Mnangagwa to address the human rights issues first before the West could consider lifting the sanctions.

“Who will help this country if we are busy killing our own people, abducting doctors, rights activists and ordinary people in the middle of the night? We need a government that does not impose sanctions on its own people for it to be taken as an equal on the world stage,” she said.

MDC youth deputy chairperson Cecilia Chimbiri said: “The biggest sanctions this country is facing is misgovernace, corruption and oppression all epitomised by the Zanu PF-led Constitutional Court government.”

Opposition National Patriotic Front spokesperson Jealousy Mawarire said the money being blown on anti-sanctions campaigns could better be used to fund social services.

“For sanctions to go, the government has to respect the Constitution. They have to stop abducting their own people and allow freedom of expression, freedom to demonstrate and to stop this rule by the gun. The marches will not help change anything,” he said.

Newsady

JOHANNESBURG — Rapper AKA took to Twitter on Thursday evening to complain about having to listen to Michael Bublé following a flight as opposed to South African music.
The rapper wants only local music played as passengers disembark, and the airline says it’s among “many other things” they need to fix.

“Dear @flysaa why do you play ANYTHING that is NOT SOUTH AFRICAN in our planes. You are the FLAG carrier airline of our country, furthermore, you are a STATE-OWNED entity. Please explain to us why I am listening to Michael Bublé as I disembark? Disgraceful,” he tweeted.The airline responded on Friday morning, agreeing with the rapper that this was not ideal.

“We hear you. We know that this — amongst many other things, is something we need to fix,” said South African Airways (SAA) on its official account.

“We are working on making flying SAA truly flying RSA and by making one little change at a time, we want to make you proud to #flysaa. Izandla ziyagezana, your criticism is our motivation.”

When SAA said it had “many other things” to fix, it was not exaggerating.Moneyweb has reported that the airline has been in decline since 2012, suffering total losses of nearly R18 billion between then and 2017. By the end of the 2017 financial year, the airline reported that its liabilities exceeded its assets and equity by R17,8 billion.

June saw the dramatic departure of chief executive Vuyani Jarana. His resignation letter, which was leaked to the media, painted a picture of a sorry state of affairs at the airline.

He bemoaned the lack of support from government in tackling mounting debt, bureaucratic hurdles getting in the way of key decisions and a lack of trust between the State and the executive as some of the chief reasons responsible for government “systematically undermining” the successful implementation of the strategy.

The airline was in talks at the time with international and domestic lenders to obtain R4 billion in funding to run its operations for the current financial year.
— The Citizen

NewsDAY

JOHANNESBURG — DJ Zinhle (pictured) caused a traffic jam like the ones you find at Noord taxi rank with her mind-blowing Cosmopolitan magazine cover.
Sis posted a picture of the cover on Instagram, where she wrote: “Own the summer!!!”

Minister of Transport Mbaweezy would have needed to leave everything and come to Jozi to control the traffic, because wow beku rough shem.

Jealous down! She looked like a dream and caused umrivithi, a heatwave and load-shedding, siyakuvuma Sis, salute.

Denise Zimba was watching and couldn’t help, but gush over Zinhle. She also praised her work ethic.

“The way this woman deserves everything she gets! Hardest working human, so loving, loyal and humble! Best mommy ever!! Love you too much Sis,” she tweeted.
Some of us are queuing for gym memberships, holding the magazine as motivation.

December is around the corner, we also want to own summer, noma kanjani.

—Times Live

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

TEACHERS have declared that they have become so incapacitated financially that they are now only able to work two days per work starting today until government has heeded their demands for a massive salary hike to match the high cost of living.

In a letter to the chairperson of the Public Service Commission (PSC) Vincent Hungwe, the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) gave notice that its members were now incapacitated and unable to report for duty five days a week, unless salaries are adjusted.

“We give notice of incapacitation and with effect from Monday October 21, 2019, our members will be reporting for duty twice a week at most,” PTUZ secretary-general Raymond Majongwe wrote.

Majongwe said owing to the poor salaries, teachers were unable to buy themselves new clothes to properly meet government’s formal dress code.

“Mr chairman, teachers would also like to advise and notify you that because of their plight they will no longer be able to abide by the strict dress code rules as the little pertinence they are getting is not adequate to feed them and their families, let alone buy formal clothing. It is only logical, therefore, that the dress code be ignored until further notice,” he said.

Teachers are demanding that government pays them the equivalent of their last United States dollar salaries at the prevailing interbank rate.

At the time government banned the US dollar and a basket of other foreign currencies and introduced the exclusive use of the local currency in June, the lowest paid teacher was getting USD$500 after deductions, which would translate to $7 900 at the current interbank rate.

PTUZ joined the Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ), who also declared incapacitation last week, dumping the chalk over poor salaries.

The development comes as Grade 7, Form 4 and Upper 6 classes are sitting for their final public examinations.

Efforts to get a comment from Hungwe were fruitless as his phone went unanswered.He also did not respond to questions sent to his WhatsApp number.

Akinola Olojo

WHEN neither side can achieve the upper hand in a game of chess, it is only a matter of time before a stalemate is declared.

In a protracted battle in which no one enjoys the upper hand, the question is not if, but when there will be an impasse. Chess is, of course, a world away from the painful deadlock between States and terror groups characterised by the loss of lives and social upheaval – but it’s a useful analogy.

In the real world, countries in the horn of Africa, the Lake Chad Basin and the Sahel have formed coalitions against groups such as al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province and the Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin. Military campaigns against some of these groups have dragged on for more than a decade, sustained by shrinking budgets largely bankrolled from outside the continent.

The African Union Mission in Somalia, the Multinational Joint Taskforce and the G5 Sahel have managed very complex counter-terrorism operations with a measure of success.

However, as time passes, battles build into a war of attrition with little prospect of a total military victory. This is because opposing sides show no sign of capitulation.

This situation raises two questions. The first is whether the predominant approach by affected countries, anchored by the use of force, is capable of delivering a lasting solution? The answer is no. Militarised responses have helped, but are unsustainable in the long term. This is because of the multi-dimensional nature of violent extremism or terrorism.

Another issue is that African countries and external actors have shifting financial priorities and capacities. At its peak, the African Union Mission in Somalia in the horn of Africa deployed over 22 000 uniformed personnel at a cost of roughly US$1 billion a year. The Lake Chad Basin operation has been similarly expensive.

This leads to the second question: Is it possible to begin to systematically explore an alternative strategy? As a researcher focused on transnational threats and international crime, this question is what led to my policy brief published by the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria.

The Global Terrorism Index lists al-Shabaab, Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, Islamic State West Africa province, among the deadliest terror groups globally.
All three demand a strict form of Islamic government or caliphate to replace existing State authorities they perceive as secular.

There have been calls to initiate some form of dialogue with some of these groups. But their rigid ideological stance and factional dynamics complicate efforts. It is difficult to identify specific individuals or factions to dialogue with.

Attempts at dialogue have also been short-lived due to other factors. Governments lacked political will and discretion. There was also a lack of consensus regarding objectives, process and expected outcomes.

This is particularly the case with the Lake Chad Basin. Nigeria witnessed mediatory talks with family members of the slain Boko Haram leader Mohammed Yusuf in 2011.

Later in 2012, Boko Haram itself voluntarily chose the president of the Supreme Council of Sharia in Nigeria as a mediator with the government. In 2011, one of the key individuals on Boko Haram’s side was unexpectedly assassinated. In 2012, the mediator on behalf of Boko Haram withdrew from talks while blaming the government for leaks to the media.
What’s at stake when considering dialogue?

The complex and sensitive option of dialogue should not be viewed as a one-off event. It should also not be understood as a one-size-fits-all strategy for ending terror in Africa.
Rather, dialogue should be more deeply explored as a complementary approach that goes beyond the short-sighted use of military might.

There is the unfolding case of dialogue between the United States and the Taliban in Afghanistan. It is still being tested, but remains a process which offers hope.
Where do we start? First, countries must overcome the limits of the assumption that terror groups can be defeated with guns and bombs. If this was possible, there would be peace in terror-affected countries by now.

In addition, the no-negotiation attitude by governments should be re-articulated and steered away from the prevalent perception that States are weak if they decide to talk to terror groups.

Second is the question of timing. It is often assumed that dialogue should only be initiated when terror groups are on the defensive.

This is misleading: Governments hardly ever choose to talk when terror groups are on the back foot. In fact, it is at this point that States feel a military triumph is in sight and, therefore, a final blow is all that is needed.

Based on evidence in reality and beyond textbook suggestions, there is really no “perfect” period for dialogue. Governments hardly ever initiate dialogue when terror groups are on the defensive.

A good example is the case of Nigeria when the government announced in late 2015 that Boko Haram was “technically defeated”. Following this, nothing happened – and then there was a resurgence of violence that continues today.

Third, in terms of actors or entities to engage, governments should start with communities affected by terror attacks. Assessing how communities feel about dialogue is essential. Communities also have an in-depth understanding of how these terror groups work.

This would also help identify, among other things, potential third parties.Depending on the local context, a mix of individuals and groups to consult could include militants’ relatives, Islamic clerics, mediation experts, women’s groups, youth organisations, traditional institutions, clan representatives and civil society organisations. Co-ordination and engagement with local actors must be conducted in a way that doesn’t compromise their safety.

Governments should also address the ever-present socio-economic challenges facing communities; this will help to establish trust and sustain engagement. Truth and reconciliation platforms should also be created to facilitate healing in communities.

Fourth, a dedicated commission should be established in affected countries and tasked with developing a communication strategy. Such a commission should involve representatives from affected countries, while maintaining a discreet strategy that is divided into phases of engagement.

Finally, the global community’s contribution must go beyond providing military aid to genuinely supporting the facilitation of talks, or at least endorsing consideration of the idea. Western-backed airstrikes are counter-productive.

External actors can play a more constructive role, but one which will attain more impact if affected African States demonstrate political will and lead the way in establishing and owning the roadmap for this process.

BY Garikai Mafirakureva

Chivi residents are at crossroads with their local authority over what they termed unfair building levies charged by the council-run Madyangove Primary School.

Chivi Rural District Council (RDC) recently levied $21 per child to fund the construction of the new school, which has an enrolment of 1 700 pupils.

Parents and residents are arguing that council should use money from its coffers to fund the project, instead of levying one school to build another in a different location.

“We know that $21 is no longer valuable because of the runaway inflation we are currently experiencing, but we are saying council should learn to fund its projects from its own pocket. It should not burden parents during these trying times, considering that Chivi is the hardest hit area by the ravaging drought,” Johnson Zuvarimwe, a Chivi resident, said.

“This is not the right time to start any project, let alone building a school. It is unfortunate that we no longer have a viable residents association here in Chivi. It would have defended us from the abuse we are currently enduring from council. There is lack of checks and balances and that is why our council is taking us for a ride.”

Tadios Matseketu, a parent whose child recently set for Grade 7 examinations at the school, said he was failing to understand why the school would want a building levy from someone who is leaving the school.

“If they had demanded their building levy at the beginning of the year we would have not complained, but demanding it a week before the Grade 7 pupils write their exams is unacceptable. It will be armtwisting us into submission,” Matseketu said.

Chivi RDC chief executive officer Tariro Matavire, defended the construction of the school saying it would help ease congestion at the only primary school at the growth point.
“We just want to decongest the only school we have. We are going to name it Madyangove B, although the schools will be some distance apart. So we have no choice, but to collect the levy from the existing school,” Matavire said.

“If parents have problems with it they can write a letter to council as a team airing their grievances. This issue has, however, been finalised and others have already agreed to the levy.”

By NQOBANI NDLOVU

THE opposition Zapu party has vowed to go ahead with its planned sit-in at Mpilo Central Hospital and United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) nursing school today in protest over unfair enrolment of student nurses.

This comes amid reports that the two institutions recently enrolled trainees from other regions and overlooked applications from the Matabeleland region.

Vice-President Kembo Mohadi and Bulawayo Metropolitan Affairs minister Judith Ncube have also condemned the questionable recruitment, saying it was against government policy.
Yesterday, the Health ministry warned activists and politicians against “unwarranted” visits to hospitals after Zapu activists stormed Mpilo and UBH in protest.

Activists, political actors and other stakeholders from the region have questioned the recruitment processes of trainee nurses at Mpilo and UBH following revelations that the majority were from outside Matabeleland.

Mpilo clinical director Solwayo Ngwenya, who also heads the school of nursing, has been quoted saying the selection process was done in Harare after the introduction of an online nurses’ application platform.

Zapu yesterday said it would stage a sit-in at the two biggest referral hospitals in Bulawyao to protest against the unfair recruitment despite warnings by the Health ministry to stay away from the health institutions.

“When the government has to resort to propaganda to hide their inefficiencies, it is the duty of politicians to go and find out the truth for themselves, therefore, they lack the moral ground from barring politicians from visiting hospitals,” Zapu southern region spokesperson Patrick Ndlovu said.

“We don’t think it’s fair for the lessons to go ahead while this issue is unresolved. Hospitals are not PR [public relations] venues for the First Lady (Auxillia Mnangagwa) to prop up her dubious image.”

Zapu deputy national organising secretary Ndodana Moyo added: “Government must just address this issue instead of threatening political actors, activists and other stakeholders for raising concern over this issue.

“We are going ahead with our intended programme to stop lessons to stop this unfair recruitment. We invite all progressive people of Matabeleland to come in their numbers and correct this anomaly. Zipra [Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army] did it, we will also do it.”