JOHANNESBURG — South African Airways (SAA) appointed its head of operations as acting chief executive on Friday and said it needs four billion rand ($265 million) from the government to survive the current financial year.
Reuters

Zukisa Ramasia becomes interim CEO after Vuyani Jarana unexpectedly resigned last week after less than two years in the job, saying his turnaround strategy was being undermined by a lack of State funding and too much bureaucracy.

The revolving door at State-owned enterprises highlights the mammoth task South African President Cyril Ramaphosa faces to fulfil his promise of reforming State firms and weaning them off government support. They are regularly cited by ratings agencies as one of the main threats to the country’s economic growth.

It also does little to instil investor confidence in Africa’s most industrialised economy, which has for years struggled to grow.

Ramasia, who has more than 25 years experience in aviation, will start her new role on Monday after Jarana indicated that he will no longer serve a notice period.

SAA has started searching locally and globally for a permanent CEO to stabilise the airline and oversee the implementation of the long-term turnaround strategy, board member Thandeka Mgoduso told a news briefing at the airline’s headquarters.

SAA has not made a profit since 2011 and Jarana launched a revised five-year turnaround plan that includes slashing costs and cancelling unprofitable routes, requiring around 21,7 billion rand ($1,5 billion) in cash injections from the government.

Board member Martin Kingston said the new cash injection it seeks will enable the airline to finalise outstanding financial statements and enable it to continue operating until the 2021/22 financial year, when it expects to make a profit.

“We are currently operating at a loss.. and that is the background to the request we’ve made for four billion rand of support for the current financial year,” board member Martin Kingston said.

The airline is in advanced talks with lenders about repaying the 3,5 billion rand bridge loan due in July and extending the 9,2 billion rand long-term loan over a protracted period of time, on condition of the government’s ongoing financial support, Kingston said.

“They (government) are fully aware of the need to put in place not only short-term financing but in addition to that to ensure that we have a sustainable balance sheet to be able to support and underpin the turnaround strategy,” Kingston said.

“Repaying the 3,5 billion rand opens the door for us to access additional liquidity for the current financial year.”

Interim chief financial officer Deon Fredericks added that the airline had also approached three additional lenders, which include international lenders, for short-term funding.

Jarana’s departure from SAA followed the resignation of power utility Eskom’s chief executive Phakamani Hadebe last month, who had also been trying to stabilise his highly indebted company.

Asked about the board’s views on equity partnership, Kingston said the board does not have an “ideological” view on whether it should or should not have a partner, be it an equity partner or not, as that is for the government to decide.

The Public Enterprises ministry has said before that the airline should prepare for a strategic equity partner.
“We need to understand that there is nobody who is going to invest in any of these assets unless they are perceived to be profitable or capable of being turned to profitability,” Kingston said.

“The current challenges facing the board need to be addressed by the board. They will not be addressed by an incoming shareholder. The view will be, if the board and the current shareholder are not capable of dealing with them, then no incoming equity partner with a minority stake will be able to do so.”

Letitia Gaga, the Baines Avenue Clinic finance and administration director, has been re-elected for a second term as president of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators in Zimbabwe.

Mrs Gaga

She was re-elected at the institute’s annual general meeting at its headquarters, Dzidzo House, in Harare on May 22. Dr Sipithi Nkomo and Mrs Gladys Mudyahoto were elected vice-presidents.

Mrs Mudyahoto

Mrs Gaga, who was first elected president in May last year, is a seasoned financial expert with more than 20 years’ experience in both public and private sector finance. Her core areas of expertise include organisational development, strategic management, investment promotion, operations management and employee relations.

She chairs the Baines Avenue Clinic’s board of trustees. She is currently spearheading the clinic’s establishment of a Paediatrics Hospital.

A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators in Zimbabwe and a past chairperson of the institute’s Harare Branch, Mrs Gaga is a registered public accountant.

She holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Zimbabwe and a Diploma in Transformational Leadership and Leadership for Women from the Success Motivation Institute.

She is a member of the Board of the Private Hospitals’ Association of Zimbabwe and chairperson of the Conference Committee of Private Hospitals.

Dr Nkomo, who is retired, was, before his retirement, People’s Own Savings Bank risk manager and compliance officer. He is also a former distribution director for Cairns Foods.

A Fellow of the institute, he holds an MBA degree in Finance and Banking from the University of Wales in the United Kingdom and a Master of Science degree in Strategic Management from the Chinhoyi University of Technology.

Mrs Mudyahoto, who is also a Fellow of the institute, is executive director for finance and administration at the Scientific and Industrial Research Centre (SIRDC).

She holds an MBA degree from the University of Zimbabwe. She is chairperson of the MARSH Umbrella Fund Board of Trustees and a member of the Advisory Committee of the Korea Programme on International Agriculture (KOPIA).

BY KEVIN MAPASURE

THE Warriors will test their ammunition by shooting at the Super Eagles of Nigeria as the two nations prepare for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers that will take place in Egypt from June 21.

Following the Cosafa Cup, where the players that will feature at the Afcon finals played two matches for Zimbabwe, the ultimate test will be against a star-studded Nigeria side that is looking to make an impact at the finals this time on, having missed out on the last edition that was staged in Gabon in 2017.

Zimbabwe are also billed to play another warm-up match against Tanzania, but whatever weaponry they will be looking to use against Egypt, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, they will want to test it today at the Stephen Keshi Stadium against the Super Eagles.

While a few players that will join the rest of the squad in Egypt stayed on in Durban, South Africa, for the third and fourth-place play-off against Lesotho played last night, Sunday Chidzambga took with him to Nigeria his big hitters.

Nyasha Mushekwi, who has not featured in Warriors colours since the Gabon finals two years ago, should be making his return in today’s
encounter.

Zimbabwe rarely test themselves against some of the big names on the continent, but they have been afforded an opportunity to gauge themselves well ahead of the Afcon tournament opener against Egypt on June 21 in Cairo.

The Cosafa Cup semi-final clash against Zambia on Wednesday was useful in its own way as the need to sharpen the shooting skills was laid bare.

Tino Kadewere missed yet another good chance in the Warriors colours and doubts are growing over his pedigree.

The return of Mushekwi at the point of the attack should solve the goal-scoring problems.

But some watchers of the game have had their misgivings over the fitness of captain Knowledge Musona and here is an opportunity for the talisman to get more minutes under his belt.

Nigeria are looking to give a good run to those players that struggled for game time at their clubs and the likes of Kelechi Iheanacho are set for considerable time on the pitch.

Striker and captain Ahmed Musa is also set to test the strengths of Zimbabwe’s backline, likely to consist of Tendai Darikwa, Alec Mudimu, Teenage Hadebe and Devine Lunga.

Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has also returned to the Nigeria side and should provide Zimbabwe with the sort of competition that they can use to examine themselves.

Warriors assistant coach Rahman Gumbo said the match against Nigeria would be important for Zimbabwe to assess their preparations.

“We are happy with the preparations, and we are going to play Nigeria in our next friendly match at the weekend. Now, we want to test our team against the big boys and see what happens from there,” he said.

Warriors Squad

George Chigova, Edmore Sibanda, Tendai Darikwa, Jimmy Dzingai, Devine Lunga, Teenage Hadebe, Alec Mudimu, Marshall Munetsi, Marvelous Nakamba, Danny Phiri, Ovidy Karuru, Kuda Mahachi, talent Chawapihwa, Khama Billiat, Nyasha Mushekwi, Tino Kadewere, Evans Rusike, Knowledge Musona

INTERVIEW Obey Manayiti

NEWLY-ELECTED MDC secretary-general Charlton Hwende says the Nelson Chamisa-led party will never split again as structural issues which were causing divisions have been addressed through constitutional amendments.

Hwende (CH) recently spoke to NewsDay Weekender (NDW) senior reporter, Obey Manayiti about his vision for the party and below are the excerpts:

NDW: You defied odds and clinched the secretary-general position, what can you attribute this to?

CH: I owe my victory to the collective wisdom of congress delegates and MDC members at large, who appreciated my election manifesto, nominated and voted for me to be their servant leader in the office of the SG.

NDW: As the SG, what are your immediate tasks?

CH: If you fail to plan, then plan to fail. We need to do things differently. We’ve a five-year mandate and my immediate task is to kickstart the process of developing a five-year results-based strategic plan, a blue-print which will define our path to power towards 2023 or earlier as well as articulate the technical and administrative competencies required to achieve our strategic objectives.

Nestled in the five-year strategic plan are short-term milestones. These will include a rapid assessment of the party’s administrative performance in the last five years, focusing
primarily on two questions: i) What is working and why?, and, ii) What is not working and why? Or what can we do differently?

This process will help us co-create a shared vision and plan of action for the technical arm of the party. We need to make strategic choices among competing priorities. And we can only do this if we’ve a strategy and plan in place. We are a learning movement.

NDW: What is your view of the newly-elected team? Do you think they have what it takes to deliver against Zanu PF?

CH: We’ve a winning team, under the able leadership of a turn-around strategist, Advocate Chamisa. We’re part of the solution holders to the deep-seated, multi-faceted crisis facing our motherland. Our past performance in government is a public secret.

Our president was voted best minister for his work in the ICT ministry; Honourable Tendai Biti is without doubt the best-ever Finance minister to lead the Treasury; Senator David
Coltart did exceptionally well in the Primary and Secondary Education portfolio; so did Professor Welshman Ncube in the Industry and Commerce ministry and Honourable Paurina Mpariwa as Labour minister.

NDW: Your predecessors, save for Douglas Mwonzora, caused splits in the party — what was the cause of this and how are you going to deal with it?

CH: We had a structural issue, which has its roots in the labour movement, our mother. The founding MDC constitution was heavily influenced by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions constitution, which has a very powerful office of secretary-general. This is a norm in most labour movements.
We’ve addressed this structural issue through constitutional amendments, which basically re-calibrated the balance of power to reflect the political reality, that the president is the head of our party. Conflicts are inevitable. In addition to the constitutional reforms, we are also working on developing a robust conflict management and resolution framework, a systemic tool to manage internal contradictions in the party.

NDW: Critics say you are very close to party leader Chamisa. With that closeness, would you be able to carry out your duties diligently and independently without protecting your relationship first?

CH: The office of the SG is a complex technical and administrative construct with an institutional mandate to help the president and the leadership collective to effectively turn the party’s vision and mission into a path to a power programme of action. I’ll turn my relationship with the president and the leadership collective into a partnership to help the party continue to win elections and, more importantly, transform people’s lives. Our people are suffering and they need solutions.

NDW: Are you also into any business relationship with Chamisa, as some people allege?

CH: I’m not in any business relationship with president Chamisa.

NDW: There are also claims that you are a divisive leader who uses dirty tactics, including using money to fight your opponents, how do you respond to this?

CH: The challenges we face are bigger than the smallness of our politics. This is the time to beat back the politics of fear and mudslinging, and focus on strengthening the party, articulate our alternative policy propositions, and consolidate the democratic value system which manifested itself during the just-ended elective congress.

NDW: Do you have a plan for the losing candidates?

CH: There are no losers in the MDC. In the MDC’s internal elections, it’s either you win or you learn. And, like I said before, we are a learning organisation and learning platforms are many in this great movement.

NDW: Where do you see the MDC in the next two or three years?

CH: I see a high performance party with superior technical competencies and administrative capacity to help president Chamisa and the party deliver on this founding vision of creating a modern democratic development State in Zimbabwe.

NDW: The MDC has threatened demonstrations against President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government, are you prepared to lead from the front?

CH: We will always stand with the citizens. We are a people’s party.

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

PRESIDENT EMMERSON Mnangagwa has revealed that government had resolved to abolish the multi-currency system and ensure that all transactions are conducted using a local currency to be introduced into the market before year-end.

Addressing Southlea Park residents in Harare after a clean-up exercise yesterday, Mnangagwa said the multi-currency regime had been adopted to deal with the hyper-inflation experienced between 2008 and 2009, but there was no longer any basis to retain it.

Mnangagwa said the multi-currency regime had served its purpose and would soon be put to bed, an announcement likely to trigger panic in the already jittery financial market, where the RTGS$ is fast long value against the US$ each day.

“In 2008-2009, for those who were older, you will remember that our money (Zimbabwe dollar) collapsed to a point that one would wake up as a billionaire after going to bed a
millionaire. Others became trillionaires,” he said.

“So, the government at that time sat down after seeing that our money was now valueless and came up with a basket of currencies, which included the American dollar, (South African)
rand, (Botswana) pula and other currencies used to trade locally, so that we solve the problems which had befallen us at that time.

“But we can’t walk our journey without our own currency. There is no country without its own currency. South Africa has its rand. If you go to South Africa with an American dollar, a euro or any currency, you go to the bank and change it and get the rand. This is what you use in shops in that country. If you go to Botswana, Malawi or Zambia, you do the same.”

Mnangagwa said the current price fluctuations being experienced in the market were being caused by the absence of a local base currency.

“The country can’t prosper going ahead without its own currency. Currency from other countries is printed by those countries. We only get it if we export, then you get paid in foreign
currency, or those with friends and relatives in the diaspora, you will receive it,” he said.

“As a country, we must have our own currency. That journey, we have started. We have started that journey because right now you go and sleep when the US dollar is trading at 1:5
(against ZWL$), the following day you wake up, it will be trading at 1:7 and it (ZWL$) keeps losing value and after they have said that, then they increase prices citing the exchange rate,”

The new currency, according to Mnangagwa, will end 11 years of a multi-currency regime.

“We are going to a point where it will be illegal to trade using the American dollar or (British) pound locally. You can keep it in your pocket, but when you want to buy, you will
have to change it to local currency,” he said.

“In our plan as government and our economics, we are predicting that by year-end, the things that I am speaking of will have happened.”

Former Finance minister Tendai Biti, speaking in London early this week said the only way to save the Zimbabwean economy was to re-dollarise, adding a local currency could not be
sustained given the poor levels of productivity.

BY CHARLES LAITON

FIVE of the seven local human rights activists nabbed at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport last month on allegations of attending a subversion workshop in Maldives as part of a plot to topple President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government, were yesterday released on $1 000 bail each following their appeal at the High Court.

These are George Makoni, Tatenda Mombeyarara, Gamuchirai Mukura, Nyasha Mpahlo and Farirayi Gumbonzvanda.

In granting them bail, High Court judge Justice Tawanda Chitapi ordered them to surrender their passports, continue residing at their given addresses and to report every day at their nearest police stations.

Their two co-accused, Sithabile Dewa and Beauty Rita Nyampinga, who are facing similar charges, are set to appear at the same court on Monday for bail ruling.
Justice Chitapi said the State had failed to prove that the alleged workshop attended by the accused incited them to embark on acts of subversion.

“The programme of the workshop was produced by the applicants, who wanted to prove that the workshop had nothing to do with subversion, but the State then pounced on the programme and tried to make it its own case,” the judge ruled.

Justice Chitapi said although he agreed with the State that the allegations should be viewed in serious light, it was, therefore, important for the court to balance the interests of the
State and those of the arrested individuals.

“This court will take judicial notice of issues of violence which has rocked the country recently, but the State failed to link the applicants with the previous disturbances … It is clear that the State arrested to investigate since prosecutor Clemence Chimbari submitted that the seized cellphones of the applicants and laptops were currently being checked for any subversive information at Potraz [Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe],” he said.

The judge also said the suspects told the court through their lawyers that their arrest and detention was unlawful and was done in violation of their constitutional rights to
liberty.

“They said they were not informed of their charges upon arrest. This was not contested by the State,” he said.

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

OPPOSITION MDC leader Nelson Chamisa, still basking in the glory of a fresh mandate given to him at the party congress last month, has rekindled his fight to effectively bar former vice-president Thokozani Khupe from using the party symbols, name and related regalia.

The MDC, in its resolutions at the just-ended congress held in Gweru, ratified the expulsion of Khupe, former spokesperson Obert Gutu and former organising secretary Abednigo Bhebhe, saying they formed their own political party and should, therefore, be stopped from masquerading as members of the Chamisa-led party.

“Congress noted that some former members of the MDC party, namely Thokozani Khupe, Obert Gutu and Abednigo Bhebhe, were expelled by the national council and subsequently left the party to form and found their new political home. Congress, therefore, confirms their expulsion by the national council and further resolves that they must, forthwith, cease or be stopped from using the party’s name, symbols, trademarks and intellectual property,” part of the resolutions read.

Spokesperson Jacob Mafume confirmed that their lawyers were putting in place measures to ensure that the legal case over party symbols and names between the MDC and Khupe was brought to finality.

“The case is already before the courts and after the congress resolutions, our lawyers are moving to ensure that the case is brought to finality so that our symbols and logo are not abused and used by people who are not part of the party,” he said.

Congress mandated Chamisa to clip Khupe’s wings by ensuring that she is barred from using the name MDC-T, slogans or party regalia.

“Congress resolved that the name of the party should not be used by anyone who is not a member of the MDC for any purpose without the authority of national council. In particular, no seceding, expelled or resigned person/s shall be allowed to use or continue to use the name of the Party or any derivative thereof,” part of the resolutions read.

Gutu dismissed the resolutions by the Chamisa-led party as “kindergarten gibberish”.

“They will not win this; they are allowed to day dream. They will not win this one, they are day dreaming, but they can try and, as usual, we will give them the Mike Tyson knock-out
punch,” he said.

Khupe has maintained that she is the legitimate successor of the late MDC founder Morgan Tsvangirai, adding Chamisa had used unorthodox means to wrest the party leadership from her.

By Stephen Chadenga

JUSTICE minister Ziyambi Ziyambi yesterday commissioned the Anti-Corruption Court for the Midlands province, where he called on judicial institutions and law enforcement agencies to keep abreast of sophisticated criminal activities and stay ahead of criminal syndicates which thrive on graft.

Ziyambi said corruption was the greatest threat to the country’s bid to attain an upper-middle class economy by 2030.

“Criminals, particularly those who thrive on corruption, use sophisticated means to achieve their objectives,” he said.

“It is necessary for us to design strategies which ensure that law enforcement agencies and judicial institutions stay ahead of the criminal syndicates.

“We are working towards achieving a middle-class economy by 2030. The greatest threat to these initiatives would be human created bottlenecks like corruption.”

Ziyambi said besides hindering development, corruption affected the poor most, with public resources diverted to benefit a few corrupt individuals.

“May I once again reiterate that corruption hits the poor the hardest because they are the most in need of goods and services yet they cannot pay bribes,” he said.

“Public resources are diverted to the pockets of corrupt individuals, instead of being channelled towards needed investments in transport, energy, health, education to mention but a
few. Undeserving people get their way simply because they can pay their way through and this should not be.”

Ziyambi said the challenges slowing progress in dealing with corruption cases had been dealt with, adding that trials of such matters would be “apparently in the short-term”.

He said people needed to move away from the perception that corruption only existed in public institutions, as it was also evident in the private sector.

The Justice minister said corruption not only deprived government of revenue meant for the country’s economic development, but also took away the credibility of institutions at all
levels.

Midlands is the fifth province to have anti-corruption courts, a project being spearheaded by the Judicial Service Commission to cover all the country’s 10 provinces.

BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA

ABOUT seven million condoms were distributed across Mashonaland East province last year alone, in a bid to combat sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and new HIV infections.

Addressing scores of villagers at Bondamakara in Mutoko during a belated World Aids Day commemoration yesterday, Health ministry representative George Machacha said about 6,6 million condoms were distributed, while more than 20 000 males were circumcised.

“Against a background of high STIs, at least 6,6 million condoms were distributed across the province in 2018. The coverage of voluntary medical male circumcision reached 22 348 males, while we are currently at 6,7% towards the 5% target of virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission. Our progress towards the first 90%, which requires people to get tested for
HIV , is now at 74%,” he said.

In Mashonaland East, STIs are highly prevalent in Marondera, Murewa and Nyamapanda as well as in farming communities and growth points along the Harare-Nyamapanda Highway.

Machacha added that 114 000 people in the province with HIV were on anti-retroviral therapy (ART).

“In addition to this, from when we started the ART programme in 2004 and with a negative economic landscape, Mashonaland East now has nearly 114 000 people living with HIV who are on ART, which is an 83% coverage. Of those that are on treatment, 83% are virally suppressed,” he added.

The World Aids Day commemorations were held under the theme Know Your Status.

Due to HIV prevention interventions such as condom distribution, male circumcisions, HIV testings, PMTC preventions and social campaigns for behaviour change, the HIV incidence rate has dropped to 0,48% in 2016 from 0,88% in 2011, while HIV prevalence rate remains stagnant at 14,1%.

BY CHARLES LAITON

AILING former Finance minister Ignatius Chombo, whose passport was recently seized by a State security agent at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport as he sought to fly to South Africa for a medical review, has petitioned the Supreme Court seeking an order to compel a Harare Magistrates’ Courts clerk to release his travel document, to enable him to proceed with his travel arrangements.

The former Cabinet minister’s passport was seized last month and handed back to the Harare Magistrates Courts under unclear circumstances. Chombo was about to check-in into- a South African-bound Fastjet airline when the passport was seized.

In his affidavit through his lawyer, Lovemore Madhuku, Chombo said his earlier application to the High Court was dismissed by Justice Nyaradzo Priscilla Munangati-Manongwa despite the fact that she did not make a determination that his travel document was unlawfully taken away from him.

Justice Munangati-Manongwa ordered Chombo to go back to the lower court and exhaust all alternative remedies, including filing for contempt of court charges against the clerk of court
who is alleged to have refused to release his passport despite an extant order.

“As the judgment of the court aquo (High Court) makes it clear, there is no factual dispute regarding the following; that the passport was unlawfully taken away from me (Chombo) by a State agent; that it was handed back to the first respondent (clerk of court) and that the first respondent is refusing to release it to me in accordance with the order of May 10, 2019,” he said.

The former minister further said he was now worried that if the passport was not released on time, he would miss his medical review dates and above all, the date upon which the court ordered the return of the same passport would be due with him not having utilised it.

“If my appeal is heard urgently before June 21, 2019 and it succeeds, I will be able to utilise the remaining days before June 21, 2019 and have very useful medical reviews. My failure to travel for medical treatment is causing me a great deal of mental and physical pain,” Chombo said.

“I fear for my health. I feel it every day that is passing that my health is deteriorating. At my age, these routine medical reviews are a source of strength.” The matter is pending.