BY KENNETH NYANGANI

AN outraged Rusape granny struck a fellow villager with an axe after he accused her of witchcraft.

Manicaland police spokesperson inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa confirmed the incident yesterday.

According to Kakohwa, on June 6 around 4pm, Claris Bakare (66), who is being charged with attempted murder, was at her homestead in Musariri village under Chief Tandi.

The complainant in the matter, Edward Mutambira, who is from the same village, was on his way to see his brother, lan Musendo, and passed through Bakare’s homestead.

Mutambira reportedly shouted at Bakare claiming that she was a witch, accusing her of killing his son sometime in the past.

They started to exchange harsh words and Bakare, out of anger, went into her hut and took an axe, which she used to strike the complainant once on the head.

Bakare’s neighbour, Jesi Mugoneri, went to the scene and found the complainant bleeding profusely.

Mugoneri notified the complainant’s wife, Nyaradzo Maramba, who then took Mutambira to Rusape General Hospital before reporting the matter to local police, leading to Bakare’s
arrest.

guest column Emmanuel Zvada

You have heard it time and time again that most employees do not leave a company, but they leave a boss, especially the bad bosses.

Dealing with a difficult boss is no joke and staying in a toxic work environment everyday of your life is not worth it. Nothing is more destructive in the workplace than difficult bosses because they affect the way the employees behave. It’s actually an undeniable fact that every employee has had a series of bad bosses over their working career.

When you find yourself in a tough situation with your manager, remember that while you cannot control your boss, you can control how you react.

Most bosses are not as bad as some employees think they are. In fact, I would say that there are times when employees think the boss is the problem, when in reality, the boss may be trying to implement good changes while employees are trying to hold onto the status quo because they fear change.

However, there are some instances of really bad bosses. Bosses who cannot be “managed up”. These kind of bosses are described as toxic bosses and they act in a way that is hurtful to the employee or the employee’s career, mostly through manipulation, deceit, or some other abusive behaviour.

Difficult bosses are the most destructive factor in undermining an employee’s success. A bad boss can make a good job unbearable. These kinds of bosses normally exhibit a set of characteristics that make them dangerous to work with, whether it’s creating tension in the office with inappropriate comments and behaviour or their uncomfortable work habits.

If you are faced with an abusive manager, who is potentially damaging both to your health and career, careful manoeuvring may be required.

Most people do not understand that the boss-employee relationship is like any other; it needs to be fed and nurtured.

Many employees think that by just doing their best in the job, or by being a model employee, or by working harder and longer, the boss will recognise and appreciate them. Bad bosses or managers come in many shapes and form, with some being bullies, micro-managers, control freaks, fault finders, belittlers, credit-takers, you name it. But they all have a similar effect of making your worklife a burden.

What makes a bad boss bad?

If you want to manage your bad boss, it is also important to know what makes your boss bad. The reason is that what one person may consider as a bad boss, may not necessarily resonate
with that of a colleague, who might perceive the boss differently.

It is very important to note that many bosses fall into the bad-boss category because they fail to provide clear direction, regular feedback and recognition, which enables their employees to work.

Normally, bad bosses take credit for the successes and all the positive accomplishments of employees. They are also quick to blame employees when something goes wrong in order to cover up for their own mistakes.

What to do about your bad boss?

It is no fun going to work when you have to face the daily reality of working with a superior who is not on your side. If you feel harmed and you have decided it is time to do something
about your bad boss, then you should also take steps to avoid being the target.

Your first step, before soliciting help from your human resources department is to know your boss. Knowing him does not happen in a day, but with time, you have to know what triggers
him, his reaction, among other things, and try to do that which does not make him or her react negatively.

Below are other ways and means of managing a tough boss.

Be slow to anger

Anger is a natural human emotion. Your reaction to stressful situations at work might be to start shouting, or to go hide in a corner and feel sorry for yourself for a while. But at work, these types of behaviour could seriously harm your professional reputation, as well as your productivity. More so, thinking and analysing situations before you speak can help
in reducing anger at work.

To manage anger, maybe from the reaction of your boss, you have to take a few moments to collect your thoughts before saying anything. One way of being slow to anger as a way of
managing a bad boss is to focus instead on things you appreciate about the person or the situation that made you angry.

Identifying triggers of difficult behaviour

The workplace can be a stressful environment and may involve many situations that may trigger strong negative feelings. You should know that your manager’s bad behaviour does not just
come out of nowhere, but, indeed, it must have a trigger which, as an employee, you have to discover.

By identifying the triggers or an underlying difficulty and then removing the trigger or providing support, you will be in a position to handle your boss. Once you know what their
trigger is, you will know when to avoid contact with them.

Practice patience with your boss

Patience is a heavenly virtue and that’s undeniable. There may be problems you may encounter with your boss at work, and if you want to become an effective and efficient employee,
regardless of situations, you must exercise patience.

BY TATIRA ZWINOIRA

MOST of the country’s districts will be food insecure by September due to a poor 2018/19 harvests and “escalating” macroeconomic hardships, a food security report by the United States Agency for International Development (USAid) has revealed.

“Most poor households across the country have below-average incomes from crop and livestock sales as a result of the poor performance of the 2018/19 rainy season and macroeconomic challenges. Limited water availability and access, especially in semi-arid parts of the country, is impacting self-employment activities such as brick-moulding, construction, and gold panning. Increasing macro-economic hardships will continue to affect casual labour, remittances, petty trade, and other livelihood and coping activities, thus decreasing household purchasing power,” reads the report.

“Following the government’s removal of fuel subsidies on May 20, fuel prices increased by nearly 50%. Transport fares rose by up to 100% for some routes as fuel shortages continue. Immediately following the fuel price increases, the currency devalued by 33% on the official interbank market while parallel market exchange rates devalued even further. This triggered
further food and non-food commodity price increases.”

The report noted that the Ministry of Agriculture’s second round crop production estimates indicate the 2018/19 maize production is about 776 600 metric tonnes, 59% of the five-year
average while hectarage was down 9% while production reduced by 20%.

“Maize prices continue to atypically increase in most markets for this time of year due to the poor harvest and deteriorating economic environment. Poor households, most of whom did
not have a harvest and/or exhausted own-produced foods already, will increasingly face difficulties accessing market foods.”

BY BRENNA MATENDERE /SILAS NKALA

DIVISIONS have rocked the MDC Midlands provincial executive over the imposition of members to represent the region in the party’s highest decision-making body, the national executive council.

Members of the provincial executive and structures from across the districts convened at the party’s office in Gweru over the weekend to elect five members to be seconded to the national council.

MDC women’s assembly chairperson, Paurina Mpariwa, oversaw the process.

Instead of holding the planned elections, provincial chairperson Josiah Makombe reportedly pulled a shocker by calling out preconceived names of five party members and asking someone to
second them, after which he declared the process duly concluded.

The five were Gweru Urban MP Brian Dube, proportional representation MP Emma Muzondiwa, immediate past MDC Midlands South chairperson Francisco Masendeke, Beatina Majoni and Cephas Zimuti.

This did not go down well with party members because there were more than five members who had expressed interest in contesting for the national executive posts. These included
Redcliff mayor Clayton Masiyatsva, Mberengwa senior party official Luwelin Sibanda, Mbizo MP Settlement Chikwinya, MDC chief of staff Sessel Zvidzai, former Senator and Health
minister Henry Madzorera and former Kwekwe central legislator Blessing Chebundo.
Sources close to the developments told Southern Eye that these party officials had campaigned for the posts only to have Makombe, the current mayor of Gweru, pull the rug from under
their feet.

“What happened was totally unfair and undemocratic. We went there for elections, only for names to be imposed on us. It’s a sad chapter for the MDC,” a source said.

Takavafira Zhou, MDC Midlands provincial spokesperson, confirmed the disgruntlement at grassroots level over the selection of national executive representatives, but said the dispute would be resolved amicably.

“There were challenges over names that were left out in spite of submitting applications (to contest the posts). These concerns were brought to the attention of the presiding officers,
who in turn will make a ruling in the best interest of nurturing and protecting our democratic ethos so that our collective responsibility would add value to the party,” he said.

“It is not known where the list of the five people came from, and it was only fair for the elections to be held so that the popular members of the party would be chosen. People in the
party are angry,” another official said.

In a related development, the MDC Bulawayo provincial executive yesterday accused some non-delegates to the provincial council of trying to derail the election of members into the national executive council.

The remarks were made by the party’s provincial spokesperson, Swithern Chirowodza, during the election process.

He, however, dismissed reports that there was violence during the election, remarking the security personnel had screened delegates on entry, with those ineligible blocked from entering
the venue in accordance with the party’s constitution.

“The process was completed peacefully. What happened was that the security helped a lot in separating the delegates from the non-delegates.

“That was in compliance with the party’s constitution, article 6.9.3.2, which specifies who is a member of the provincial council,” Chirowodza said.

“There were some strangers in the provincial council, who wanted to be part of the process when they are not delegates so that when voting is done in their presence, they would start
complaining that the process was flawed and claim that non-delegates were allowed to vote.”

The party’s constitution stipulates that the provincial council should consist of all members of the provincial executive, chairpersons, secretaries, treasurers, organising and
information secretaries of district executive committees, district chairpersons of the women and youth assembles, all ward chairpersons, the executive committee of the women and youths
assemblies.

Chirowodza said Kunashe Muchemwa, Grace Mathe, Bulawayo Central legislator Nicola Watson, Senator Gideon Shoko and Desmond Makaza would represent the province in the national executive
council.

“The process went on well and the elections were done. We are waiting for the names to be confirmed, otherwise everything is above board,” he said.

Chirowodza said those who wanted to disrupt the meeting started singing obscenities about the provincial chairperson, James Sithole and the recently-elected provincial executive.

guest column Pearl Matibe

The Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) is anxious for international respectability. As a country in a post-election environment, with rich resources and at the centre of southern Africa, Zimbabwe finds herself with an opportunity to reform

Yet, despite its excellent international goodwill 18 months ago and geopolitical value, the country has yet to establish modern legislation to keep citizens safe and increase meaningful ties with countries where security benefits could be enjoyed.

The Maintenance of Peace and Order (MOPA) Bill — legislation with multiple and far-reaching implications — would still grant the security sector sweeping powers in the name of upholding peace and stability.

On May 23, top-ranking United States law enforcement officials speaking from Washington DC, including Heather Merritt, deputy assistant secretary of State for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), talked about security gaps that hamper progress in some African countries that the US wishes to increase bilateral ties with.

INL counters international crime, illegal drugs and instability, and does this by helping countries deliver justice through strengthening their police, court systems and prosecutors.

Through diplomatic engagement and on based on foreign assistance programmes, INL encourages reform, promotes effective governance, helps improve the rule of law and develops
accountable institutions — only one important elements of INL’s overall US relations with Africa.

Excluding Zimbabwe

Merritt explained that many weak and fragile States still lack the ability to address criminal threats, adding:“We recognise that crime increasingly knows no boundaries and that
unfortunately, drugs that are transiting Mombasa, including Johannesburg, Harare, Kinshasa and Luanda are not only a threat to the people of your countries, they are also a threat to the security and stability of the US.”

Over and above tough policing, Zimbabwe’s military plays a consequential role in civilian affairs. Without improved bilateral relations with a country such as the US, no commitments
to aid the Zimbabwe Defence Forces can be entered.

On May 29, speaking from Stuttgart, the US Africa Command (Africom) deputy to the commander for civil-military engagement, ambassador Alexander M Laskaris, assured that Africom aims
“to be a good partner, to be the best possible partner at a military-to-military level”.

He confirmed that Africom defines success as helping the US-African partners build militaries that “when civilians are in danger, they run towards their military, not away from it.”
And to do that, you need militaries that are capable. You need militaries that are clearly subordinate to elected civilian authority.”

Africom has had beneficial ties with Angola, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Somalia and many others, except for Zimbabwe.

What’s problematic?
Zimbabwe’s civilian population runs away from its military. The State is afraid of protesters, and protesters fear the State. Meanwhile, the country is suffering a burgeoning
internal drug crisis, illicit financial flows, poaching and wildlife trafficking to illicit markets on the continent and Asia is ripe for smugglers that Zimbabwe’s under-resourced
law enforcing authorities battle to defeat.

When President Emmerson Mnangagwa served under former President Robert Mugabe’s government, their administration had a formidable grip on autocratic laws aimed at eliminating
criticism about governance, sharp social and economic decline.

Economic, security and political spaces are closing in parts of Africa, including Zimbabwe, but that can change; improving the economy, closing security gaps and strengthening weak government institutions would go a long way to solving corruption, crime and human rights issues.

The country faces no external threat, yet it is reportedly stock-piling arms to subdue picketers. For a country with mass poverty, mass cash crisis, mass arrests, mass detentions, it
has no demonstrable efforts to fight a mass illegal drug crisis, mass crime, mass corruption, and mass poaching and wildlife trafficking. That’s not to make any mention of the spike in
armed robberies and break-ins facing a police force without vehicles or resources.

Security gaps exist that put the brakes on progress. Is the country under martial law and is the regime in charge in need of survival? Its future direction needs interrogating.

“Obviously, the military-to-military relations between the US and Zimbabwe are derivative of the political relations,” Laskaris has clarified. He said: “As a military and Department
of Defence, we’re subordinate to our civilian leadership and so our relations with our Zimbabwean military counterparts really are on hold, pending political discussions of the

nature of the future of the bilateral relationship.”

Confirming in terms of budget, he said the US Department of Defence are a minority: “The largest single line item in the US budget in Africa is humanitarian assistance.

The second is public health assistance and the third is our contribution to international peacekeeping.” Two of these are very active and intense in Zimbabwe.
Elsewhere in Africa

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, President Tshisekedi’s “government issued a comprehensive plan to reform its national police. And to support this important goal, INL is working
to improve and expand Congolese civilian law enforcement capabilities and to professionalise police procedures and organisations,” confirmed Merritt.

In Kenya, since the governments of the US and Kenya have re-affirmed the importance of their bilateral relationship under the security and democracy pillar, INL has been committed to
“support two of Kenya’s priorities – building a modern and professional police service and increasing the fight against corruption.” INL is providing this through technical and
operational assistance to the internal affairs unit of the National Police Service, the independent policing oversight authority and the National Police Service Commission and other
programming.

Having INL as a partner, through improved ties with the US, would mean a government receiving help to develop the justice sector’s capacity, deliver citizen security and maintain the rule of law; elements needed to prevent and address non-State criminal threats.

At any rate, a government with unfettered authority to restrict civic movement, a police force enforcing laws through broad powers to muzzle demonstrations, and a military that silences
dissent with live bullets are all distinct indicators of an undeclared state of siege — martial rule.

There remains an urgent concern that the Mnangagwa government is saturated by the issue of security. Yet, the more the government pursues security, they’d have you suppose that the more
individual freedoms they claim to secure are subverted.

It’s crucial to interrogate the complex dynamics between order, peace, security, and freedom in Zimbabwe; who gets what, where, when and how when security authorities formulate policies for criminal, economic and political orders in negation of growing international ties that could benefit security within the country.

How then can it be said that emergency powers have not been derived from undeclared martial rule in a government-led process that has progressively militarised social and political
associations — from recent arrests, it could be said that the country is in a constant state of emergency.

If only the US-Zimbabwe relations were improved. Instead, the Zimbabwe Defence Forces have been camped out in rural areas such as Mt Darwin and Rushinga and haven’t moved back to the
barracks.

Nationally, the country’s leaders need to re-think their security priorities and get the justice system working well.
Meaningful security reform

On the bright side, repealing the long overdue Public Order and Security Act (POSA) is underway and since June 3, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Defence, Home Affairs and
Security Services were conducting, jointly with the thematic committee on Peace and Security, public hearings.

The Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill gazetted, and expected to be swiftly pushed through Parliament, is just the same as being an undeclared martial rule.

BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA

THE Zanu PF youth league in Mashonaland East says it is planning to roll out a number of rallies across the province to drum up support for President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s economic policies as well as preaching the gospel of ‘patience’ to youths who are currently irked by the current harsh economic conditions.

Speaking during a recent rally held at Mafudzi, Seke Constituency, provincial youth league boss Kelvin Mutsvairo said the youths should be aware that the current price hikes were not made by government but by saboteurs.

“As the youths, we are behind President Mnangagwa and we are aware of all the machinations by saboteurs who are currently behind the price hikes of basic commodities,” Mutsvairo said.

“From the interactions we have had with the youths, we are happy that they are now aware of all government efforts to deal with the current crisis. We have embarked on a tour of each
constituency, meeting the youths, identifying projects suitable for their areas for their benefit as we move on.”

Zanu PF has since met youths in Marondera and Beatrice districts with more gatherings being lined up. The next rally is being expected in Maramba-Pfungwe where the revolutionary
party commands a huge following.

Speaking at the same rally, Zanu PF Mashonaland East provincial chairperson Joel Biggie Matiza said government has no hand in the current price hikes and said his boss Mnangagwa will
get to the bottom of the crisis.
“Government is not behind all these price hikes. I want to assure you that President Mnangagwa is working on it and soon will descend heavily on those causing untold suffering of the
people.

“There are people who are sabotaging the economy and it will soon come to an end. We are passing through a tough phase and things will normalise. Your leadership is aware of the price
hikes and all that. The government is putting up all measure to ensure that things get back to normal,” Matiza said.

Matiza, who doubles as Transport minister also said government is in the process of securing more buses for rural routes as well as establishing people’s shops that will be selling
groceries at low prices as part of measures to cushion the citizens against the high cost of living.

The country is currently experiencing an economic meltdown characterised by 100% price hikes for basic commodities with a number of Zanu PF supporters mainly in the rural areas feeling the pinch.

Others who attended the rally include Maramba-Pfungwe legislator Tichaona Karumazondo, Zanu PF MP (proportional representative) Tatenda Mavetera and provincial youth league political commissar Lincoln Matare, among others.

Zanu PF youths recently toured Mashonaland Central preaching the same gospel.

BY XOLISANI NCUBE

SMALL-SCALE miners have struck a deal with a local financial institution, Metbank and Glow Petroleum to supply them fuel at their convenience.

The deal which was struck by the Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation (ZMF), will see registered small-scale miners being given preferential treatment at Glow Petroleum as Metbank has undertaken to settle their demand in advance.

“We have seen a number of small-scale miners spending time looking for fuel instead of being productive. This arrangement will see the bank providing funds so that fuel is available to
small-scale miners and they spend less on the queue and more time mining,” ZMF president Henrietta Rushwaya said.

This is not the first time that ZMF has partnered with Metbank to assist small- scale miners as last year, the association sourced a facility from the bank to capacitate artisanal
miners.

The financial services institution also acts as the financial adviser to ZMF.

The entrepreneurial development deal has helped to expand output by artisanal and small-scale gold and chrome miners.

In 2017, artisanal gold producers contributed 13 tonnes out of the national gold output of 25 tonnes.

“This agreement is a significant milestone on our on-going collaboration between ZMF and Metbank. We have come a long way,” Rushwaya said.
“Now this is the right time to strengthen our co-operation meant to develop, grow and empower the artisanal and small-scale miner.”

The bank has had similar working relationships with several other organisations, among them the Grain Millers’ Association of Zimbabwe, Oil Expressers’ Association of Zimbabwe, Bakers’
Association of Zimbabwe as well as Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce.

guest column Learnmore Zuze

AN economy cannot be managed through propaganda. Back in high school, the term “propaganda”used to tickle us as students of history.

The famed Oxford Dictionary defines propaganda as information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view.

The dissemination of propaganda from political parties, media and essentially the government in this country, is scaling dizzy heights. The truth has become some kind of scarce
commodity; in Zimbabwe, one has to dig through many tomes in order to appreciate the truth of a simple matter.

It might be a simple story or just the quest to unfold reality regarding the shortages of fuel. There is just an avalanche of propaganda; propaganda so overwhelming that one would wonder if they are living in the country being reported on.

Perhaps, of all the propaganda being spewed by the governing party, the propaganda that continues to be churned out on the state of the economy is simply amazing. They may neither be
economists nor fundis, but Zimbabweans are very much alive to the fact of sugar-coated falsehoods.

It would appear former President Robert Mugabe’s era awakened Zimbabweans to the reality of propaganda; Zimbabweans can tell between what is true and falsehoods. At a time when the economy was crumbling at an alarming rate, with shop shelves empty and inflation hitting four-digit levels, just a minute of listening to the propaganda-laden bulletin at the ZBC in 2008 would leave one wondering if Zimbabwe was in a crisis at all.

A similar script is playing out under the “new dispensation”. I suppose it is much better to be truthful about the topsy-turvy state of the economy and make concerted efforts at rebuilding rather than act stoically when the house is burning. The Mugabe era was marked by stoic behaviour, which fundamentally denied a self-evident crisis.

I conceive that it is dishonest and unacceptable hypocrisy for a person in the position of a minister managing the energy portfolio to “confidently” and with a straight face tell the nation that they did not understand the reason for winding fuel queues.

A minister cannot try to shift blame in such a manner; the buck stops with him. From the responsible minister, the matter comes to the media, The Herald in particular, which has led the bid to make the citizenry believe that all is well. More often than not, one ends up appearing inane – or is it frivolous – by denying what is plain to the eye. Honestly, one is at a loss to realise that some of the leading titles in State media are meant for Zimbabweans, the very people who live with the horrors of skyrocketing prices.

Headings like Fuel crisis now under control, and More Zupco buses unveiled are an insult to the Zimbabwean who has to endure hours on end for the few Zupco buses whose administration is marred by chaos. It is even more nauseating to businesses that have to lose a lot of productive hours while queuing for fuel. Why can’t the media be truthful? We are all Zimbabweans and live with the truth daily.

Now, for a long time, the nation has had to put up with the sickening propaganda that the surrogate currency, the bond note, was equal in value to the United States dollar. However, as
I have asserted before, propaganda has its limits; there are some things that propaganda cannot do. The day of reckoning will come.

With the passage of time, it became increasingly apparent that grown-up men were fooling themselves and the nation at large, effectively realising that the bond notes did not have the same value as the US dollar. In fact, for all the things that propaganda can do, there is one thing that quite exposes it than any other. A government may propagate a political or economic belief, having control of the necessary effective media tools, but very little, if anything, can be done about the exchange rate. It is, to the discerning eye, the grand indicator of an ill-performing economy or thriving economy.

One simply needs to take a glance at the exchange rate of the bond note to appreciate the trouble that this country is in. The exchange rate is the best indicator against bad
governance. As things stand, the US dollar is estimated at close to 1:9 (one US dollar equals RTGS $9) What is worse is that the US dollar, for the ordinary citizen, is only obtainable from the street. The economy is certainly experiencing its worst ever period since 2008. This is a fact that must be admitted if the country has to embark on a recovery path.

Another source of propaganda that Zimbabweans are now really sick of pertains to the incessant mega deals, particularly from the East. Since the days of Mugabe, Zimbabweans have heard of mega deals being signed; deals supposedly meant to “boost the economy and create thousands of jobs”. What matters to the impoverished Zimbabwean is food on the table.

You can only talk to a hungry man in terms of bread and butter issues. This is advice sorely needed by the Zimbabwean government. The propaganda being conveyed daily through its media channels doesn’t do any good for, indeed, an economy cannot be managed through propaganda.

BY DEMETRIA MANYONGA

SUMMERTIME Gangster hitmaker Tatenda “Dash the Rap Killer” Gumbo yesterday said his music career was like the biblical Israelites’ journey from Egypt to Canaan.

The rapper told NewsDay Life & Style that music was his life, adding he was still to reach the promised land.

“Music is my life. My journey is just like that of the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan. They encountered a lot of trials and tribulations, but in the end, they got to the land of milk,
so also is my music journey. I can’t really say I have reached the promised land, but I can see the eves of Canaan,” he said.

“I see a lot of positive energy from everyone directly involved with my music. But trust me, since we started, it has never been rosy. I am still fighting my way up, and all eyes are on the goals.”

Dash said he was set to release a single titled Ndiri Mucheek, produced by Coco Beats, tonight.

He said the track was inspired by real life situations. Dash also expressed delight with his music career, saying his fans had now come to appreciate the music on his EP, which was
released in February.

“I released the song to celebrate everything that has been happening in my life and mostly my career. This is a celebration for me and my people. I have made it possible that people
listen to my music daily and the radio stations have also been putting us on the wave,” he said.

Dash is known for his tracks which include Chitubu featuring Dexter Baysiq and Sweet Corner.

By Veneranda Langa/Vanessa Gonye

HEALTH minister Obadiah Moyo yesterday told Parliament that there were enough anti-retroviral drugs in the country stocked at Natpharm to last until the first quarter of 2020.

He was appearing before Senator Morgan Femai’s Parliamentary Thematic Committee on HIV/Aids together with Health secretary Agnes Mahomva to speak on policy measures in place to ensure funds are allocated towards procurement of ARVs.

He said second line ARV treatment drugs will last up to the end of the year to cater for the 1,1 million patients on ARV therapy in the country while there were enough medicine for the
first line treatment till the first quarter of 2020.

Moyo, however, said that the country was heavily depended on the Global Fund for ARV procurement support and the United States support through Pepfar.

He was responding to Senator Lillian Timveous who questioned why there were stocks at Natpharm but poor distribution to clinics.

Moyo said the Global Fund takes care of 710 000 patients, Pepfar 193 000 patients and the National Aids Council 113 000 patients while the 5% gap of uncovered patients pertained to
about 53 000 people.

“We have received $72,3 million from the Global Fund, $23,6 million from government and $25,2 million from Pepfar for ARVs for 2019 and the shortfall is $6,6 million,” he said.

National Aids Council acting chief executive officer Raymond Yekeye said the last cheque of foreign currency they received through the Aids levy was $64 000.
Yesterday, the Thematic Committee on HIV /AIDS said it will follow up on the state of affairs at health institutions regarding drug availability following reports of a massive shortage
of second line ARVs.

During a fact-finding tour of Natpharm by the committee yesterday, acting Committee Chairperson, Morgan Komichi said their main focus was to check on availability of ARV drugs and the
general state of affairs at the drug procurement agency.

Komichi said the fact-finding brought to the surface the fact that Natpharm is dependent on donor supplies for its stock, a trait that exposes the country’s health sector should the
donors retreat.

This follows news of an impending disaster of drug shortages around the country, putting to risk people affected by HIV/AIDS.

Recent reports claim that Mashonaland West province is facing a critical shortage of second line anti-retroviral drugs and antibiotics.

Natpham managing director, Florah Sifeku said they have given off seven months’ supply of HIV/AIDS first line drugs, which are mainly from the donor community while second and third
line drugs are available in limited supply.
Meanwhile, NatPharm says at least US$ 80 million is needed to save the country from the drug shortages it is currently experiencing.

Sifeku told Parliament during the tour that they were mainly relying on supplies from development partners as government was unable to clear the US$ 80 million tender submitted last
year.

She pleaded with Parliament to push for their allocation of foreign currency so they could avoid casualties that are likely to come with shortage of supplies at her organisation.