…Munetsi on verge of Ligue 1 switch

WARRIORS star Marshall Munetsi has struck gold after agreeing to join French topflight side Stade Reims at the beginning of next season, while Belgian side Zulte Waregem have also tabled an offer for the midfielder.

BY HENRY MHARA IN DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA

Impeccable sources told NewsDay Sport that the Orlando Pirates player, who turns 23 this month, has agreed personal terms with the French club and is expected to sign a contract soon.

“There are many teams across Europe who have shown genuine interest on him, but he has picked Reims,” the source said.

“He is heading for France. The deal is almost done and barring unforeseen circumstances, he will be playing in French Ligue 1 next season. His handlers have met with the club officials and they have agreed terms. Reims are now talking to Munetsi’s club Orlando Pirates.”

Reims are in the France top division and finished eighth on the league table last season, 11 points short of a Europa League spot.

The Reims-based club thrashed PSG 3-1 in the last match of the season.

They are home to a number of Africans that include Moussa Dombia (Mali), Hassane Kamara (Gambia), Jacques-Alaixys Romao (Togo), Abdul Rahman Baba (Ghana), Yunis Abdekhamid (Morocco), Edouard Mendy (Senegal) and Ghislain Konan (Ivory Coast).

If the deal is finally sealed he will follow in the footsteps of Benjani Mwaruwari and Harlington Shereni who played in the France top division.

Munetsi is currently with the Zimbabwe national team at the Cosafa Cup tournament in Durban, South Africa, a tourney the Warriors are using as part of their preparations for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals to be played in Egypt later this month.

But the utility player, who plays in midfield and in defence, missed the team’s quarter-final match against Comoros on Saturday after asking to be excused from joining camp to sort out his future.

He only joined the rest of the Warriors squad on Sunday in Durban.

Another source said Munetsi, whose stature is likened to the Ivory Cost legend Yaya Toure, is also being tracked by a number of other European clubs.

Belgian side Zulte-Waregem have reportedly shown genuine interest and are ready to gazump Reims for the player.
A medical examination has already been booked for the player in Belgium and the club wants the player to travel to the European club soon after the Warriors friendly match against Nigeria in Asaba on Saturday.
His air ticket has since been secured for the Belgian trip.

But Munetsi’s handlers, according to sources, have asked for the medicals to be conducted in Egypt where the Warriors will go soon after the Nigeria friendly, ahead of the Afcon finals tournament.

“His handlers feel that allowing him to leave for Europe during this crucial period of Afcon preparations will distract him in a big way. They have asked for the club (Zulte-Waregem) to travel to Egypt and do the medicals there. The club is determined to have the player and have been trying to convince him. They are phoning him almost on a daily basis. They want to better the offers that have been tabled by the other teams. Zulte-Waregem has started negotiations and Munetsi’s agent will meet with Orlando Pirates today (yesterday) to discuss the deal,” the source added.

Munetsi refused to comment on the reports, saying he wants to focus on the Cosafa and the Afcon competitions.
If the move to Europe materialises as expected, it would be a huge jump in the flourishing career of the player who was playing in the lower divisions a few seasons ago.

Munetsi played for Friendly Academy and Blue Rangers before he was signed by South African National First Division side FC Cape Town in July 2015. The team released a statement saying he was “in the mould of a typical Yaya Touré. Big‚ strong‚ mobile and a good passer of the ball”.

He was signed by Orlando Pirates in 2016 who loaned him to Baroka FC for a season.

Munetsi was recalled by his parent club in 2017 and has been part of the squad since then, playing regularly and caught the attention of coach Sunday Chidzambga.

And after impressing at last year’s Cosafa Cup where he helped the team clinch the title, he was drafted into the team for the Afcon qualifiers.

Again, he played an integral part as the team booked their ticket to the Egypt Afcon finals set to kick off in just over two weeks.

A lot is expected from him and his teammates with some suggesting that this squad is Zimbabwe’s golden generation at the Afcon finals.

Zimbabwe are in Group A, together with hosts Egypt, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The Warriors will open their campaign with a tough match against Mo Salah’s Egypt in the tournament opener on June 21.

Population Service International (PSI) recently donated several menstrual cups and sanitary pads during belated Menstrual Hygiene Day commemorations held at Heyshott Primary School in Mazowe District.

BY VANESSA GONYE

The day is commemorated on May 28 every year.

PSI sexual and reproductive health technical director, Stephano Gudukeya told NewsDay on the sidelines of the event that the Heyshott community was the first to benefit from the free menstrual cups distribution which is set to be rolled out across the country.

“Cups will be distributed through the Concession New Start Clinic and right here the officials from the clinic will teach beneficiaries how to use them and demystify certain myths before distributing. Particular questions will be asked to identify the deserving beneficiaries,” he said.

“We will then embark on a distribution programme in June (this month) to Mazowe, Mutare, Makoni, Chipinge, Bulawayo and Gweru. We will target mostly communities that have less-privileged girls from 15 years old to 24. However, we are not just going to limit it to girls, but we will also target mothers. The cups are reusable, safe, easy to use and cheap looking at the 10-year period one is able to use them. You just need US$15 to buy it.”

Mvurwi town secretary Sheri Nyakudya commended the initiative.

“This is, however, a drop in the ocean. We need more teachings around menstruation because the (Mazowe) district is too big. I hope it is going to extend to other local authorities. This day challenges us all to think about the plight of women, especially adolescent girls and the young as they go through this non-optional phase in life,” she said.

Swedish Embassy’s head of development co-operation Mette Sunnergren reiterated the need to stop the stigmatisation of menstruation.

“We have to break the thinking that it’s a taboo and the stigma so that everyone knows it’s a natural process such that they go to school without being ashamed or getting harassed,” she said.

PSI commemorated the menstrual hygiene management day themed #NoMoreLimits with support from various stakeholders that include the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Menstrual Health Specialist Trust and the Family Health International (FHI360).

Dendera musician Sulumani Chimbetu thrilled fans during the commemorations at Heyshott’s soccer pitch.

Dancer Brenda “Subaru” Kaseke of the Wandiona Entertainment Dance Group and its leader Ruvarashe Muchero spiced Sulu’s act with energetic dances.

CELEBRATED United Kingdom-based Zimbabwean gospel songstress Ivy Kombo-Kasi last week released her 14th studio album titled Like Mt Zion to end a decade-long sabbatical.

BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA

The songstress last released an album in 2008 before taking a sabbatical to pursue other interests, among them building the now vibrant Upperview Ministries International alongside husband Addy Kasi.

The album was done by renowned producer Macdonald Chidavaenzi at his Studio Eternity.

In an interview with NewsDay Life &Style, Kombo-Kasi said she was pursuing other things before returning to the studio for her latest eight-track album which she said was already selling on various online platforms.
“The album is out and I am aware that it has been long. We were busy establishing our ministry in Europe as well as studying. I completed an LLB Law degree and an LLM Master of Laws with a distinction,” she said.

I have also just completed a second Masters in Project Management before moving on to become an accredited international civil and commercial mediator. Imagine, with having children at the same time in this country (UK), where no relative or maid can help, the good thing is that the album is out and we are back.”

Songs on the latest album include Ndiyaniko, Mwari Vataura and Zvinoita, among others.

The track Ndiyaniko is a prayer for those who lost their loved ones in the Cyclone Idai disaster that hit Chimanimani and Chipinge in March.

The songstress is also expected in the country to prepare for the return of the popular gospel fiesta Nguva Yakwana, that is set for end of this year.

Nguva Yakwana celebrations were very popular as they managed to bring together renowned South African musicians like the late Vuyo Mokoena, Thembinkosi and Buhle to perform in Zimbabwe.

Since 1993, Kombo-Kasi released more than ten albums, among them Ndaidziwanepi Nyasha (1998), Mwari NdiMweya (1999), Nyengetera (2000), Nguva Yakwana (2001) and Handidzokere Shure 1 &2 (2003), among others.

IF ever you did history in a Zimbabwean school or at least watched ZBC-TV, you are sure to have come across the name of Manicaland traditional leader Chief Rekayi Tangwena, who is famed for helping Robert Mugabe and the now late Edgar Tekere cross into Mozambique during the liberation struggle.

Candour with Nqaba Matshazi

Before that, Tangwena had led the resistance against the colonisers, refusing to be evicted from his ancestral land.

However, the Rhodesians soon crafted laws that forced the Tangwena people out and eventually, they were removed violently.

In anger and in frustration, Tangwena soon left for Mozambique to join the liberation war effort.

He had come face-to-face with the unjust Rhodesian system, tried to fight it in a civil manner and was left with no option, but to confront it.

For that, Tangwena is a celebrated hero, with roads named after him, while his face has, in the past, been plastered on commemorative postage stamps.

Another celebrated hero is Chief Svosve, who, frustrated by the government’s lack of speed in land reform, decided to invade a nearby farm together with his people in 1998.

The Svosve people were said to have been settled on rocky and barren land in Wedza and so they took matters into their own hands, a move that legend says sowed the seed of the land reform process.

This is no small achievement considering that land reform is Zanu PF’s flagship policy, for which Mugabe was feted far and wide.

These two chiefs are celebrated because they identified an injustice and confronted it.

They refused to be conformists, refused to be co-opted and their driving force was the urge to end a system they viewed as patently unfair and prejudicial.

I was reminded of these two stories by what is happening to Matabeleland North traditional leader Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni, who has found himself in the crosshairs of the Zanu PF government because he has decided not to conform and, instead, confront a system that he sees not only as unjust and unfair, but heavily tilted against the people that he leads.

Ndiweni has a few “crimes” to his name, one of them being that he called for sanctions to be renewed against those causing suffering to Zimbabweans.

The sanctions issue is the biggest red herring in this country and I will not spend any time discussing it, because the anti-sanctions brigade seems to live under some false notion that once they are lifted, Zimbabwe will thrive; the biggest lie they tell themselves. The sanctions debate lacks nuance and common sense and I will not be dragged into it.

The other crime that Ndiweni faces is that he refuses to recognise President Emmerson Mnangagwa as the leader of Zimbabwe.

I wonder if Tangwena recognised then Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith and the lot before him.
Circumstances may differ, but the question of legitimacy still lingers on, while the propensity to use armed forces and violence to deal with civilians is a hallmark of both administrations.

In addition, Ndiweni is refusing to have a new farmer resettled on Ntabazinduna mountain, because he says it is sacred, while the local community is said to be quite happy with the white farmer who runs a lodge atop the mountain and does not want a newcomer.

Besides sacredness, the local community and their chief are best placed to say what is good for them and they do not need some bureaucrat from the capital telling them what they can and cannot do.

When it mattered most, our history shows, there are chiefs, like Svosve and Tangwena, who put themselves in harm’s way for the betterment of their people.

This is the same thing that Ndiweni is doing. He put himself in harm’s way, poured fuel on a car and threatened to burn it as marauding Zanu PF thugs bayed for his blood and threatened to grab his vehicle, only because he dared oppose the government of the day.

The government, directly and through proxies, has resorted to vilifying Ndiweni and long and shallow think pieces have been written about him in the State media, but all this has done is to elevate Ndiweni to a people’s hero.
The most recent criticism that Ndiweni has faced is that he dared attend an MDC congress, something untold of among chiefs, who are comfortable in toeing the Zanu PF and government line and are mortified at having their own independent thoughts.

But the major problem with this criticism is that people who are parroting it are blind to the fact that Ndiweni has also attended Zanu PF conferences and also met with former Vice-President Joice Mujuru, who is now in the opposition ranks.

None of Ndiweni’s critics care that he has reiterated that he does not belong to any party, but follows politics because most of his subjects belong to one party or the other.

The archetypical chief, for Ndiweni’s critics, is one who toes the Zanu PF line unquestioningly, who sees no evil, hears no evil and speaks no evil of the ruling party.

Ironically, this system of chiefs that toe the government line was put in place by the colonial government when they set up the Chiefs’ Council many years ago and made sure it endorsed its decisions.

The Chiefs’ Council, Smith writes in his book A Bitter Harvest, even endorsed one of the most cruel racist systems in the world, the Unilateral Declaration of Independence.

Smith was so grateful to the chiefs that he even gave them seats in the Senate; may anyone tell me how different this is from what is happening today.

Just like Smith’s, this government is only too happy when they have chiefs in their pockets and are willing, once in a while, to buy vehicles and give them an allowance to keep these traditional leaders contended.

They are not accustomed to a chief who cannot be swayed easily by trinkets and stands up for what he or she believes in, and Ndiweni is a shock to the system.

To show how badly captured and co-opted some chiefs are, some have written to the government to have Ndiweni dethroned; his crime being that he dared to bell the cat.

Where chiefs Tangwena and Svosve are revered for standing up to the Goliath that was injustice and unfairness, Ndiweni is crucified just because he has dared to raise his head above the parapet.

 Nqaba Matshazi is AMH head of digital. He writes in his personal capacity.

Higher and Tertiary Education minister, Amon Murwira has called on colleges and universities to lead the nation’s industrial development and modernisation process.

By Learnmore Nyoni

Addressing a higher education capacity-building workshop in Kadoma recently, Murwira said there was need for a rethink on the country’s education system.

“Why are we importing medicines, while we export sick people outside to countries like India? Our people are not confident to cure our own people and referring them to countries such as India,” Murwira said.

“The paradox, however, is that when that doctor from India now comes to Zimbabwe and wants to practice locally they are now required to sit for a test. Then what are our universities doing? There is need to rethink our education system.”

The Ministry of Higher Education’s new philosophy dubbed education 5,0 focusses on industrialising the county through research outputs from the nation’s institutions of higher learning.

Murwira said universities should get rid of the colonial mentality that limits their thinking and hence their training.

“Our mission as higher education is to restore people’s dignity and confidence that we are equal to other academic peers internationally,” he said.

“All industrialised people are not led by confident people, but by people with brains. Our councils are failing simply because they are led by councillors who are largely confident more than they are intelligent.”

Murwira bemoaned the country’s high import bill which he said was a reflection of the failure of local tertiary institutions to come up with solutions to solve local problems.

GOVERNMENT should consider increasing the budget for e-learning in schools because it is now a basic need for pupils.

BY KENNETH NYANGANI

This was revealed by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on ICT, Postal and Courier Services acting chairperson Trevor Saruwaka during a fact-finding mission at Sakubva High 1 School in Mutare yesterday.

The fact-finding mission was meant to assess and verify the extent of computerisation in schools and to appreciate the challenges being faced.

MPs were accompanied by Postal, Telecommunications and Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) spokesperson George Manyaya.

Potraz has been donating computers to schools around the country.

“We are happy to see Potraz computers at schools we have so far toured. Some schools are taking great care of the computers, but we realised that in some schools they are not maintaining them well,” Saruwaka said.

“Some schools are also struggling to pay for internet services due to skyrocketing prices. Some areas are asking for more computers and government should consider increasing the budget so that we have an optimum computer:student ratio,” he added.

The committee has so far toured three provinces — Mashonaland East, Masvingo and Manicaland.

Manyaya told the legislators and Sakubva Secondary School authorities that government, through Potraz, remains committed to bridging the digital gap.

“The computers have been put to good use and we are happy that the pass rates have improved in most schools and we want to thank Parliament for its oversight role,” he said.

“Through government, we have so far given 10 000 computers to schools and it’s an ongoing exercise. Potraz is on a mission to connect the unconnected to the world.”

CIVIL servants have demanded payment of their salaries in United States dollars and have threatened to activate a pending notice for a potentially crippling strike, NewsDay has been informed.

BY EVERSON MUSHAVA

The workers met their employer yesterday, where they made the demand, but no resolution was made to allow government to make consultations.

Secretary for the Apex Council, the umbrella body for civil service labour unions, David Dzatsunga, confirmed government workers had forwarded their demands to the employer.

Dzatsunga, however, refused to disclose details of their demands, adding no agreement had been reached after marathon meetings for the past three days.

“We tabled our demands to our employer. Government will consult and bring back an answer. So far, nothing has been resolved,” he said. “I cannot tell you what we have demanded.”

But sources revealed that the workers said they no longer wanted inflationary adjustments, but to have their salaries paid in US$.

No decision was made on when government would report back to the workers.

The source, however, said the workers have threatened to activate a pending notice for a job action if government fails to meet their demands.

Tension has been rising between government and its workers over salaries as the RTGS$ continues to lose value against the US$ since President Emmerson Mnangagwa took over from his predecessor, Robert Mugabe in November 2017.

Civil servants complain that their salaries have been eroded eightfold due to the fall of the local currency at a time prices of most goods are pegged using the US$ as the reference point.

But Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe president Takavafira Zhou, whose organisation has pulled out of the Apex Council, described the move as mere “romance with government” by an illegal body.

He charged that the Apex Council was made up of people who were being used by government to stifle efforts by civil servants.

“Their demands mean nothing. It’s a way of seeking relevance because they know the tension within government workers. They do this and when government workers want to strike, they pull out. It’s a decision made a long time ago,” Zhou said.

Norton MP Temba Mliswa (Independent) recently tore into President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration, claiming the country was now on autopilot and blundering into the unknown.

By Everson Mushava

Addressing members from his constituency at Green Acres Farm, ward 15 in Norton at the weekend Mliswa, who has been known to be sympathetic to Mnangagwa, claimed the country was now drifting away on autopilot.

“So, I am coming to tell you that the situation is terrible. This is the news I have for you,” the outspoken MP said.

“The situation in the country is bad, I don’t have an answer to what is happening in the country. It is a bus that is moving fast without a driver. No one knows where it is heading to and what will happen to it. Only God knows what is happening to this country.”

Zimbabwe is struggling to deal with its worst economic crisis in a decade. The southern African nation’s local Real Time Gross Settlement dollar currency is sliding fast, having so far fallen by 91% on the black market and 121% on the official interbank market since its introduction in February this year.

A second fuel price increase of nearly 50% last month, following a 150% rise in January, has led to more price rises and increased public anger against Mnangagwa’s administration.

Shortages of hard currency and medicines continue to bite an economy struggling to come to terms with a drought-induced poor harvest and effects of the devastating Cyclone Idai-induced floods that ravaged the country’s eastern parts killing hundreds of people. The country is in the throes of an energy crisis that sees industry and households going for up to 10 hours without electricity.

But Mliswa, a confessed Mnangagwa relative and former Zanu PF member, has always pleaded with the nation to give the Zanu PF leader, who took over from former President Robert Mugabe in a military coup in November 2017, a chance.

The Norton MP accused Mnangagwa’s government of stealing from the people through its monetary policies. He also chided government for stealing from tobacco farmers.

“Tobacco is the mainstay of our economy. Tobacco farmers were promised 50% of their income in US dollars. Where is the other 50%? They are busy stealing from the people in broad day light. I have asked the Minister of Finance (Mthuli Ncube) that what type of a government is this that is always stealing money from the people,” the straight-talking Mliswa said.

“First, they claimed that the bond note and US dollar are the same, tomorrow you go to RTGS, you steal the people’s money. You wonder where we are as a country. You (government) are ill-treating your own people; who can invest in that country?”

Former Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko and his son Siqokoqela have sold their shares in Choppies Supermarkets Zimbabwe for US$2,9 million, the company has announced.

Zimlive.com

In a notice to shareholders, Botswana-headquartered Choppies said before the transaction, it held “93% of the economic interest and 49% of the equity while the Mphokos held a 7% economic interest and 51% of the equity” in Nanavac Investments, trading as Choppies Zimbabwe.

“Following completion of the Nanavac transaction, Choppies now holds 100% of the economic interest and equity in Nanavac Investments,” Choppies said in the May 21 notice to shareholders, although the transaction is said to have been completed on January 11 this year.

Economic interest refers to one’s share of the company’s profits, losses and distributions.

Mphoko was locked in a bruising fight for the control of Choppies Zimbabwe after he was removed as Vice-President in November 2017 following a military coup.

The conclusion of the transaction finally confirms that Mphoko and his son may have helped circumvent Zimbabwe’s indigenisation laws which required big foreign investors (transactions of US$500 000 and upwards) to cede majority shareholding to locals.

Choppies’ suspended chief executive Ramachandran Ottapathu said last year that Mphoko and his son had not invested a cent in the operation, and were only given 7% shares for “facilitating” the retailer’s entry into Zimbabwe.

“As a matter of fact, Choppies operations in Zimbabwe are owned, in the main, by Choppies Enterprises Limited, a company registered in Botswana. The reference of the 51% being owned by the Mphokos was done so as to comply with legislation which was put in place by the government which precluded foreigners from owning big stakes in businesses in preference to locals,” Ottapathu was quoted as saying.

The new government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa has committed to do away with the indigenisation legislation except for diamond mining – a move which triggered Choppies to move against the Mphokos.

Siqokoqela and his wife, Nomagugu had been hit with fraud charges instigated by Ottapathu over claims they went to supermarkets and took cash from tills without authorisation. The charges were dropped after they agreed to the exit.

Meanwhile, Ottapathu is fighting his suspension by Choppies.

Choppies said in a notice to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange that the CEO’s suspension was “valid and proper” and related to “an aggregation of activities and conduct” by him which would be disclosed soon.

“This is simple character assassination, which does not give me a chance to defend myself. I was suspended without notice and without a hearing,” Ottapathu said. “I deny the insinuations and allegations that I have done anything wrong.

“I have said repeatedly that I have not been involved in material wrongdoing or that I benefited financially from any of the transactions, which have now been under investigation since our shares were suspended almost a year ago. I’m going to challenge my suspension in court at the soonest opportunity — as I do not believe it is justified or that it was done in a manner which was valid or proper.”