BY FARAI MATIASHE

PLAN International Zimbabwe is targeting to educate more than 20 000 marginalised adolescent girls through its recently launched open learning programme.

The Supporting Adolescent Girls’ Education Program (SAGE) is being funded by the United Kingdom Aid (UKAid) and is part of the UK Department for International Development’s flagship Girls’ Education Challenge.

“Over 21 000 marginalised girls and young mothers aged between 10-19 years old who dropped out of school or have never had the opportunity to learn, will now have the opportunity to access to basic education, over the coming five years,” reads part of a statement from Plan International Zimbabwe.

The organisation, which supports the rights of children, said 63 community-based learning hubs had been set up in seven rural districts around the country where adolescent girls would have access to education starting this week.

The organisation said it was working in conjunction with the Department for Non-Formal Education under the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education and in partnership with Apostolic Women Empowerment Trust, Econet, Open University (UK) and Christian Blind Mission to roll out the project.

SAGE programme manager Obert Chigodora said they had realised that some young girls particularly those in rural areas did not have access to education, hence the decision to roll out the programme in remote areas.

“We have taken a bold stance to move beyond the four walls of the classroom to create a learning space for adolescent girls who are the hardest to reach under normal circumstances and who are always left behind. These include girls who dropped out of school because of poverty or early marriage and those who never have the opportunity to go to school, such as girls with disabilities,” he said.

SAGE, scheduled to run until 2024, is set to expand from seven to 11 districts including Mutare, Mutasa, Chimanimani, Mutoko, Epworth, Mabvuku, Tafara, Northern and Central Harare,
High-Glen, Imbizo, Khami, Reigate and Bulilima.

By NQOBANI NDLOVU

ZANU PF Bulawayo youths on Sunday allegedly assaulted two men, one of them because he was related to a former party provincial district chairperson who quit the ruling party to join the opposition National Patriotic Front (NPF).

Allen Nyamakope and Ashwin Banda, younger brother to Andifasi Banda – the NPF provincial commissar, sustained bruises following the assault by the Zanu PF youths outside the party’s Davies Hall provincial offices.

The two were walking past Davies Hall when Zanu PF youths allegedly assaulted Nyamakope for wearing a red T-shirt, colours they reportedly associate with the opposition MDC.

Ashwin allegedly attempted to apologise on Nyamakope’s behalf by revealing that he was related to the party’s former chair Andifasi, but that only incensed them further.

“They were accused of being MDC supporters and also being related to a sell-out. Why should it be a crime to wear a red T-shirt, let alone defecting from Zanu PF? This is all politically-motivated and my worry is that if they can beat my young brother, what of me who is into active politics?” Andifasi said while confirming the development yesterday. A
report was made at the Bulawayo Central Police Station under case number IR 6035/19.

Bulawayo acting police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube yesterday said he was not aware of the case.

“I am not so sure of the case as I have not heard about it,” Ncube said.

Zanu PF Bulawayo provincial spokesperson Christopher Sibanda refused to comment, saying: “Our province was dissolved so I am not commenting on any party issues.”

Soundtrack Hector Rufaro Mugani

THE conversation on music genres has recently been a growing issue in Zimbabwe, with a lot of discussions centred on the creation of certain music terms that have become a cause of curiosity.

Urban grooves is a term that came into being in the early 2000s after the 75% local content policy was introduced by the Information ministry. This gave rise to bedroom studios, also resulting in computer-generated music.

There was need to fill up the gap that had been created on the airwaves. A faster music production system was needed, in which the beat producer and the vocalist could make a song overnight for release on radio the following day.

Also, with the worsening economic situation, this was an affordable way of doing things. With a studio microphone and a computer, one would have assembled a whole band.
Urban youths worked day-in, day-out on their computers to create as much music as they could. Every genre that had been on radio, among them soul, RnB, reggae, hip-hop, rap and Afro jazz, needed a local replacement.

Quite a number of young musicians like Roki, Mafriq, Sani Makhalima, Tererai Mugwadi, Alexio Kawara, 2BG, Decibel and Innocent Utsiwegota emerged, and had the talent to cover the void that had been created by the new policy.

It is important to note that while this movement was taking place, other young musicians was also creating music, but using bands. They were not labelled urban grooves, and these were the likes of Willom Tight and Dino Mudondo, Africa Revenge, Victor Kunonga, the late Chiwoniso Maraire, including former Information minister Jonathan Moyo’s project, Pax Afro.

Now, I ask again: Is urban grooves a genre or culture? Kawara was once labelled an urban grooves artiste in 2009 after he decided to play with a band at the Harare International Festival of the Arts.

Kawara spent a good number of weeks rehearsing with a band at the Manneberg and after that he never stopped playing with a live band, and the urban grooves label almost vanished overnight.

With this, let’s look at the definition of a genre.

Genre refers to a style or form of art that involves a set of artistic rules. These rules are guided by the similarities in the artistic texture. These fit a certain model flair. In music, the word genre refers to a conventional category that identifies music pieces to a shared practice or set of rules. It is distinguished by form or style.

The musical form encompasses the arrangement of the musical units of rhythm, melody and harmony, showing repetition or variation. It also involves the type of instrument used.

The form of the urban grooves songs is usually closely related. The arrangement usually has an intro, verse, chorus then an outro. But then, this is a tool used in even rock, mbira, soul and other different types of commercial music.

When we come to urban grooves rhythmic styles, we find reggae, dancehall, soul, RnB, Zim-beats and the list goes on. And each artiste sticks to their rhythmic style, meaning they would be dancehall urban grooves or hip-hop urban groove artistes.

Rhythm is a key pillar of defining genre. For example, merely adding the offbeat chops to a song might alter it to be a reggae song and also by removing them, it might cease to be one.

The moment you start playing a swing-drum rhythm on the mbira song Chemutengure, it becomes a township jazz groove. Urban groove does not have a common rhythmic formula.

One typical song is Bhuka Tiende, a mbira traditional riddim (song), where people sing Mugara Ndega or Hurombo played on Buruka Tiende, a mbira song. Thomas Mapfumo puts it on a reggae tip.

Chiwoniso had an afro-house feel to one and on the same song she has a traditional song. With different form and style, a traditional song may fall into different genres, but still with a traditional influence.

We can look at melodies in two ways. First, the melodic formula. How does the melody move? Are they ascending or descending scales? Or are they arpeggio like? There are scales that each genre of music uses. For example, blue and jazz scales usually have five note scales, but also have an extensive use of scales, where sometimes even the chromatic scale is used.

The second way is the style of singing or melodic use. How they interpret the melody, each genre and music tradition is specific. The singer is expected to bring out their voice. In opera, you sing from the diaphragm, giving a wanted tone, in mbira there is extensive use of throat in the vocals, and in some Norwegian folk music, they use the nose.

In urban groves, some are emcees, while others are lead vocalists, but with the voices in use coming from different music traditions.

The harmonic style varies as well. Harmony is usually created from the melody and music traditions surrounding the creation. And if the melodies are not following a consistent formula then the harmony does not as well.

So, what is it that characterises urban grooves? Is it the cultural aspects or the languages that the musicians use? It is almost like the urban grooves culture gave Zimbabwean music listeners a chance to listen to different music genres in Shona or Ndebele. This means a group could take a Wyclfe tune and replace them with their own lyrics and it became urban grooves. This is like saying the Zimbabwean language would have become a key factor in urban grooves.

The second thing pertains to the use of the computer in the creation and performance of urban groove songs. This is another cultural aspect where the advent of the digital world saw the young urban musicians with access to a computer becoming pioneers in this culture.

This means they would perform using backtracks. This became one of the biggest definitions of urban grooves. Does the urban grooves have a band or is just an urban groove artiste?

BaShupi is another example. Before he would use backtracks to perform, he was labelled an urban groove artiste, especially after recording with Stunner. The moment he started playing with a band, then he became an afro-fusion musician.

There are musicians that do not fit into this category because of failure to conform to a number of urban groove considerations, though they still use computer-generated music and preform with a disc. A number of gospel musicians do the same, most probably using similar beats, but are not considered as urban groove artistes.

It then comes to the message. The message also holds a key position, where most songs are about heartbreaks, love, joy and a young reckless life. The content is mostly about youthful adventurous minds and souls. These include songs like Usadaro by Makalima,Waenda by Mugwadi, Chibhugubhugu by Nesto, featuring Kawara, Chido by Decibel and In My Dreams by Utsiwegota.

The top songs are usually about love, either lost, found or that is being searched.

It seems there is a lack of research and education within the Zimbabwean music industry. People get excited and name things how they want because they can. Talent alone will not take you far. For the industry to be successful, there is a need for the artistes and producers to understand the science, business and culture around the industry.

Dancehall and hip-hop in Zimbabwe take their chronological journey, starting from the 1990s straight through to present day. They even benefited from the existence of the urban grooves culture. They were both part of it, but completely different genres. After a while of shaping the form and style, they finally become Zimdancehall and Zim hip-hop.

The use of the term urban grooves for a music genre seems to be a refusal to categorise music by its characteristic genre, but only through cultural configuration. It comes across as music that does not originate from Zimbabwe or Africa. Is it music from everywhere else, or is it a genre? Food for thought: Is urban grooves a genre or a culture?

BY Stephen Chadenga

THE Midlands State University (MSU) has banned the carrying of ballpoint pens, a range of cosmetics, cameras and other objects at its upcoming graduation ceremony as part of security measures, Southern Eye has established.

“Please, be advised that the Midlands State University 2019 first graduation ceremony will be held on July 12, 2019 at the main campus, Multi-Purpose Hall, in Gweru,” MSU said in a notice.

“Please, note that the following items will not be allowed into the graduation venue: Lipstick and perfume containers, sharp objects, knives, ballpoint pens and cameras.”

The banning of such items was introduced in 2017 following an embarrassing incident where former President Robert Mugabe was ambushed by placard-waving graduands at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ).

The UZ graduands were protesting against government’s failure to resolve the country’s high unemployment crisis.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, as chancellor of all State universities, who appears to be following in Mugabe’s footsteps by introducing tight security measures, is expected to officiate at the graduation ceremony.

In 2016, MSU graduands and their parents, who had not been served with a prior notice, were subjected to rigorous body searches by State security agents with a range of cosmetics, hair combs, toilet paper and earphones being seized by police officers manning the venue entrances.

During the same year, students at the National University of Science and Technology and journalists covering the graduation ceremony also had their pens confiscated by State security agents.

BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE

THE trial of former ICT minister Supa Mandiwanzira, who is accused of fraudulently appointing his personal assistant to the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory of Zimbabwe (Potraz) board was yesterday moved to July 16 for trial pending High Court determination on the State’s application for rescission of the judgment.

Mandiwanzira, who appeared before magistrate Hosea Mujaya, was represented by Advocate Thembi Magwaliba.

The former ICT minister is being accused of appointing his personal assistant, Tawanda Chinembiri to the Potraz board. The State alleges that the appointment of Chinembiri was criminal abuse of office because the said assistant was not a government employee.

But Magwaliba dismissed the State assertions during his application for exception of the charges that Chinembiri was not a government employee.

Magwaliba argued that the State in its own outline admitted that Chinembiri was appointed as deputy director and PA to the minister in March of 2015 and his appointment to the Potraz board was in February 2016.

He also argued in court that under the circumstances, the State had no case against Mandiwanzira and proceeding with the matter was tantamount to malicious prosecution and an abuse of prosecutorial authority.

Mandiwanzira had also complained in court that he has not committed any crime, saying the charges against him were a result of political persecution.

He told trial magistrate Elijah Makomo that everything he was being accused of was absurd and he had done everything with the authority of his principals. Mandiwanzira said instead of
being arrested, he should have been congratulated for recovering US$30 million that had been fleeced from NetOne.

In April this year, High Court judge Justice Nicholas Mathonsi quashed Mandiwanzira’s charges of awarding Megawatt Company of South Africa a contract without following due process.

BY RICHARD MUPONDE

THE San community in Makhulela area in Plumtree have for the first time benefited from the government’s irrigation mechanisation programme after the intervention of First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa last June.

The San were the first Bantu people to occupy present day Zimbabwe yet they have lived as aliens for the past century, suffering at the hands of other tribes.

San people are found in Matabeleland North’s Tsholotsho district and Plumtree in Makhulela village in Matabeleland South.

The Makhulela San community, who previously survived on hunting wildlife and gathering plants in the Mabhongwane Game Park, were removed in the mid-1990s by the government of former
President Mugabe and settled in Makhulela village.

They were allocated land about four kilometres from Ndolwane Business Centre in the boundaries of the game park near the border with neighbouring Botswana.

Faced with the dilemma, the San community which numbered about 45 families became a source of cheap labour for the Kalanga people who employed them for domestic chores in return for food.

For years, the San Community in Makhulela wallowed in poverty living from hand to mouth.

Touched by the San’s plight, the First Lady, through her Angel of Hope Foundation, visited the remote area in June last year and promised to set up a solar-powered irrigation scheme for the 45 families.

A year later, the promise was fulfilled after the department of irrigation finished setting up the equipment and now awaiting commissioning of the project soon.

One of the beneficiaries Kgotso Moyo said their lives have been made easier by the setting up of the irrigation scheme a year after another donation of a borehole by the First Lady.

“She has shown us much love which has been rare. Last year, she donated a borehole and she came and commissioned it. We now have two boreholes with the other being solar-powered. This will help us have a sustainable horticulture project which will improve our food security,” Moyo said.

Another villager, Tjilisani Ncube said no one, even government, has done such a massive project for them.

Her sentiments were echoed by Bulilima West legislator and former disc jockey Dingimuzi Phuti in whose constituency the San community is domiciled.

He said the First Lady was the only high-profile person who has since independence remembered this vulnerable community.

guest column newZWire

In the report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) acknowledges the commitment by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government to stabilise Zimbabwe’s economy.

The fund also reveals that the IMF-Zimbabwe Staff Monitored Programme (SMP) — which entails close technical collaboration on the country’s economic reform, but without funding — will run for a year, starting on May 15, 2019.

The latest report has some 23 000 words and includes a Press release from the IMF, a staff report, a letter of intent jointly signed by Finance minister Mthuli Ncube and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya, as well as a memorandum of the government’s economic and financial policies.

“The economic policies of the ‘new administration’, as described in the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) and detailed in the attached letter of intent, constitute a comprehensive stabilisation and structural reform programme meant to address Zimbabwe’s deep macroeconomic imbalances.”

IMF staff report, May 30 2019

Here is what you need to know about the report:

What is an SMP?

An SMP is a programme agreed between the IMF and a memberState to co-operate in the implementation and monitoring of the said country’s economic reforms. SMPs are at the member state’s request.

In Zimbabwe’s case, the IMF will collaborate with the country as it pursues its 18-month TSP, which will run until the end of 2020.

Embarking on an SMP does not mean a member-State gets IMF funding. However, the programme seeks to assist Zimbabwe build a track record of sound economic management and restore macroeconomic stability, ultimately leading to the unlocking of international capital for the country.

The SMP will monitor Zimbabwe’s economic performance on a quarterly basis.

Which period does the latest report cover?

Given the economic volatility in Zimbabwe, which means conditions change rapidly, the timing of assessments of the economy is an important consideration. The latest report is largely based on discussions held by an IMF staff team with the Zimbabwean authorities between April 1-5, 2019. The report was, however, completed on May 21, 2019 and circulated to the IMF executive board on May 22, 2019.

What does the IMF say?

Zimbabwe has deep macroeconomic imbalances arising from excessive spending, particularly between 2016-2018, financed by Treasury Bills and borrowing from the RBZ.

The President Emmerson Mnangagwa-led government is significantly reforming the economy, chiefly through cutting spending, removing distortions caused by a fixed exchange rate and seeking to promote investment in pursuit of a private sector-led economy.

Economic reforms will be difficult to implement due to political and social considerations.

The IMF projects the economy to contract by 2,1% in 2019 due to the impact of the ongoing fiscal consolidation as well as a poor farming season. The Fund, however, expects a rebound
in 2020, with gross domestic product (GDP) forecast to expand by 3,3%.

“A rebound in economic activity is expected in 2020 and over the medium term, as uncertainty declines, distortions from multiple exchange rates are removed, and relations with external creditors normalise,” the fund says.

The IMF expects headline year-on-year inflation to remain high throughout 2019, averaging 81%. Monthly inflation is, however, forecast to start coming down from mid-2019.

The IMF says while the Zimbabwean authorities realise that interest rates have to go up to stabilise the money and forex markets, they were reluctant to do so for fear of the potential
impact on economic activity as well as public debt. In his February monetary policy statement, Mangudya left rates unchanged, but said he planned to introduce a bank rate — the rate at
which banks borrow from central bank — as a guide for rates to the market.

Amid a clamour by banks for the central bank to remove a cap on rates introduced in 2017, the IMF warns that any further delay on the interest rate decision could further undermine confidence.

The IMF recommends that the RBZ gradually replace its savings bonds, whose maturity ranges from one year to five years, with short-term instruments of up to seven days.
Export retentions and the interbank market

The IMF advises the authorities to take measures to increase the supply of forex in the market.

The fund urges the RBZ to allow exporters to retain all their earnings, on condition that they sell directly on the interbank market what they are currently required to surrender to the central bank. The IMF believes this would allow for an effective price formation.

“Existing exchange controls, which limit FX purchases in the official interbank market for current account transactions, would continue to control demand for FX, but the sanctioning and enforcement framework would be applied transparently and uniformly,” says the IMF. The IMF also advises that any subsidies for specific goods or sectors, such as fuel and medicine, be channelled through the budget, not through administered exchange rates.

In talks with the IMF, the Zimbabwean authorities said they envisage gradually eliminating exchange controls to eventually allow for a full unification of the exchange rate.

newZWire

BY CHARLES LAITON

High Court judge Justice Nyaradzo Priscilla Munangati-Manongwa has dismissed an application by ailing former Finance minister Ignatius Chombo to have his passport back after it was seized by security agents at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport last month.

The judge ordered Chombo to go back to the magistrates’ court and exhaust alternative remedies, including seeking contempt of court charges against the clerk of court, who is reported to have refused to release the passport despite an existing court order.

The former Cabinet minister’s travel document was last month seized and surrendered back to the Harare Magistrates’ Court under unclear circumstances moments after he had checked-in for a South African-bound Fastjet flight. Chombo had obtained his travel document on a temporary basis to enable him to travel to South Africa for medical treatment

However, the clerk of court refused to give it back and a Harare magistrate declined to entertain his application, citing lack of jurisdiction. Chombo then filed an urgent application at the High Court, seeking enforcement of the magistrates’ court order.

But Justice Munangati-Manongwa dismissed his application, saying Chombo had not exhausted alternative remedies for him to approach the High Court.

“The court notes that there are alternative remedies which can still achieve compliance. The magistrate’s court can still stamp its authority by ensuring compliance of its orders. It is not for the High Court to enforce the orders granted by the magistrates’ court,” the judge said.

“Where a clerk of court refuses to obey a court order when called upon to do so amounts to contempt of court, it does not require a superior court to enforce compliance with an extant court order. Courts must ensure compliance with their own orders and not expect the High Court to ‘play big brother’ where there is neither a review nor an appeal.

“Given the foregoing, the court finds that there are alternative remedies open to the applicant (Chombo) at the magistrates court to achieve the relief it seeks.”

BY KENNETH NYANGANI

THE Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers has warned that unjustified profiteering by retailers would invite the full wrath of the government which is threatening to introduce the unpopular price controls.

Speaking during a meeting between retailers and members of the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) in Mutare recently, CZR president Denford Mutashu said price distortions were not being helpful to retailers.

“The government is worried with the behaviour of some retailers. It seems every time l meet a government minister, he will be asking about the conduct of some retailers. If retailers continue unjustified pricing on their goods then we are inviting the full wrath of the government because we don’t want price controls,” he said.

“Some retailers need to be responsible and fair on their pricing; it is the distortions in their pricing that we are worried about. It is good for the world to know that we don’t defend mediocrity and we don’t defend businesses who misbehave,” he said

“We are actually working together with the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe and we will go across the country together educating the consumers as the most critical stakeholder and in order to give them the right information so that they are not short-changed.”

Mutashu said CZR was aware that the costs have been rising on the part of the retailers, but it was also a fact that many of them were taking advantage and charging exorbitant prices especially in areas where there were shortages.

“Our plea goes to the manufacturers who are demanding foreign currency. Retailers are selling to consumers who have no capacity to buy in foreign currency,” he said

BY MTHANDAZO NYONI

The government only managed to recover US$50,2 million from the command agriculture facility for the 2016 to 2018 cropping season, Finance and Economic Development minister Mthuli Ncube has revealed.

The government in 2016 launched a US$500 million command agricultural programme under which it intended to produce two million tonnes of maize from 400 000 hectares of land, a move meant to ensure food security and to reduce dependency on imports.

But the programme, designed to mobilise sustainable and affordable funding for agriculture so as to ensure food security and eliminate imports of food, was prone to abuse by top government officials and military chiefs.

Appearing before the Parliamentary Committee on Budget and Finance, Ncube told legislators that the amount recovered for the season 2016 to 2018 was $50,2 million.

“Basically, the amount recovered for the season 2016 to 2018 is, out of 44 617 farmers, $50,2 million. For the season 2017 to 2018 for maize again, we had 35 756 farmers and the amount recovered was $19,7 million,” Ncube said.

“Then for the wheat planting season of 2017, we have 2 270 farmers and what was recovered is US$13,7 million. Then for the wheat planting season for 2018, we have 74 847 farmers.
Then for soyabeans added for the season 2017/2018 from 2 041 farmers, it is US$1,5 million,” he added.

The command agriculture contracts were entered into by government and Sakunda Holdings.

The programme included farmers receiving seed, fertilizer and chemicals, with the proviso that they would sell part of their crop to the State as repayment.

Meanwhile, Ncube revealed that the budget deficit between January and August 2018 was US$2,5 billion, broken down as follows: January 2018 ($26 million); February 2018 ($61,5 million);
March 2018 ($146 million); April 2018 ($264,6 million); May 2018 ($361,4 million); June 2018 ($402,1 million); July 2018 ($593.8 million) and August 2018 ($600 million).

On the question regarding the amount of money borrowed and from where, during the same period of January and August 2018, Ncube said the total borrowed during that period in terms of the Reserve Bank overdraft facility was $929,09 million and the amount borrowed by the central bank directly was $55,96 million, while other loans amounted to $174,17 million.

“The total Treasury Bills issued for the period under review is $2,5 billion and was issued for budget financing, capitalisation of government institutions and for dealing with legacy
debts. The holders of these instruments are banks, insurance companies and pension funds,” he said.

“The split of that $2,5 billion in terms of budget financing is $343,39 million. It was used to deal with legacy debts of about $1,5 billion. Capitalisation and re-capitalisation of State institutions stood at $643,14 million, bringing the total to $2,5 billion.”

Ncube also revealed that central bank loans were $623 million, while loans from the private sector amounted to $188 million.