The Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Praz) has put in place new provisions for procurement officers to make them more answerable and transparent in carrying out their duties.
The new rules, which include a code of conduct, were introduced in Praz Circular Number 6, dated May 3, 2019, which will now require procurement officers to submit a signed undertaking to commit to given ethics.
The undertaking is in accordance with Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (PPDPA) Act and comes as government ramps up efforts to stamp out corruption.
“Section 70(3) of the PPDPA Act provides that ‘before a procurement officer enters upon his or her office as such, he or she, in writing, undertakes to (a) faithfully exercise the functions assigned to him or her as a procurement officer and (b) abide by the rules of conduct provided for by or under this Act, including the code of conduct referred to in Section 71’,” the circular read.
“The accounting officer is, therefore, directed in terms of section 7(b) of the PPDPA Act to submit signed ‘undertakings’ by staff employed in the procurement management units established in terms of section 17 of the Act; staff that form ad hoc ‘evaluation committees’ established in terms of section 18 of the Act; staff involved in the implementation of procurement contracts from operations and finance.”
Praz has given until end of this month for procurement officers to sign the new rules listed in the undertaking.
“Please, ensure that the signed ‘undertakings’ are received by May 31, 2019,” the circular read.
Part of the major actions that procurement officers will now be required to commit to abiding by the code of conduct in section 71 of the PPDPA Act and accepting the consequences of breach of duty.
“The code of conduct shall provide for all matters relating to the conduct of the officers and employees concerned, in so far as they are engaged in procurement,” part of section 71 of the PPDPA Act read.
IN what has become more of a ritual at the beginning of every term, some schools have started sending pupils away over unpaid fees.
This is a sad development in view of the fact that school fees, just like other services, have skyrocketed, while salaries have remained stagnant, and others even eroded as Zimbabwe’s surrogate bond note chases the elusive United States dollar value.
While it is understandable that schools need to meet certain costs if they are to remain viable and continue to offer quality education, there is need to strike a balance and come up with payment plans to allow hard-pressed parents to pay perhaps in instalments throughout the term while children are in school.
This will ensure that education, which is a constitutional right of the child regardless of whether or not their parents can afford it, does not become a preserve of the elite.
Everyone is aware of the economic meltdown that has significantly eroded the value of the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) dollar, so there is no need to be punitive. Parents also need some form of economic reprieve.
It is the desire of every parent to ensure that their children go to school and access education, so there is no need for schools to behave as if they are not operated by fellow human beings who also have children.
Parents are being forced by circumstances beyond their control to cut back on other essential services so that they can educate their children despite the ballooning cost of living.
Remember parents also have to buy other educational materials such as textbooks and pens, whose prices have also ballooned alongside those of other basic goods and services.
Having said this, it is important to acknowledge that the government is duty-bound to ensure that it puts effective economic policies in place to ensure that education does not become a luxury, but remains the basic right that it is.
The disparity between the US dollar and the RTGS dollar, in particular, has caused untold mayhem because it is an unsupported currency that has proved to be unsustainable.
The school fees debacle is just a tip of the iceberg pointing to an entire economy in a mess, given that the teachers are also disgruntled amid indications that they may embark on a go-slow or full-scale industrial action as price increases continue to erode their RTGS-denominated salaries.
The challenges that have come with the surrogate currency also extend to medical aid and funeral policies whose contributions have also been arbitrarily increased, leaving the majority of workers with very little disposable income.
The government cannot continue to ignore the need to adopt holistic and genuine currency reforms, as continuing on this trajectory will likely cause an implosion or catapult us back to the horrors of 2008.
Buy Zimbabwe says it will on Friday launch a national awareness programme emphasising the need for consumption of locally-made products to boost industry’s production capacity and eventually bring down the country’s import bill.
Zimbabweans are grappling with the ever-increasing cost of goods, most of them imported as companies increase costs to try and hedge against losses, including a falling RTGS dollar in order to restock.
Buy Zimbabwe spokesperson Tapiwa Ziwewe said the buy local campaign starting Friday would run under the theme Reviving the Local Industry through Stakeholder Engagement, Awareness and Participation’.
“One of the communication strategies being pursued is the conducting of roadshows countrywide using the public broadcaster to sensitise the general public and consumers on the importance of buying local products,” Ziwewe said in a statement.
Government has placed some products on import restrictions as part of a strategy to narrow its trade deficit, and help revive local industries.
According to the industrialists, Zimbabwe needs over US$8 billion to replace old equipment in its factories and revive local industries.
“In this regard, local companies are being requested to provide promotional materials to be used during the roadshows in the form of T-shirts, caps, fliers and products. Local companies are encouraged to participate,” Ziwewe added.
Buy Zimbabwe’s mandate is to promote, deepen and broaden the utilisation of locally-sourced and produced resources in order to yield quality and globally competitive Zimbabwean brands for sustainable economic growth.
As part of the local content strategy, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce has incorporated the local production and consumption awareness programme (Make Local Buy Local Campaign) under the government’s rapid results initiative.
The ministry has partnered with Buy Zimbabwe to conduct the ‘Make Local Buy Local Campaigns’, which are aimed at appraising various stakeholders on the importance of local production and consumption.
The programme has targeted various stakeholders such as government institutions, industry and consumers (wherein different messages and communication strategies are used for different stakeholders.
The intense scrutiny that a company like Facebook comes under, coupled with the sense the corporation is more than just business, means that rumour and speculation go hand in hand with almost any statement put out by the tech giant.
A couple of months ago, as reported by Bloomberg, Facebook sent out a memo with the following bottom line “Facebook is exploring ways to leverage the power of blockchain technology. This new small team is exploring many different applications. We don’t have anything further to share”.
The final line, “we don’t have anything further to share”, has not stopped a huge among of speculation and conjecture about what Facebook intends to do in cryptocurrency, and what the goals are with its “Project Libra”. For many, the most pertinent question is if you will be able to buy this so called “Facecoin” in the same manner, say, that you can buy Bitcoin.
Facecoin will likely aim for stability
The most likely answer is ‘yes’. Although, “Facecoin” (the name has been applied by the press, rather than Facebook) is expected to be fixed against a major currency, like the dollar, or perhaps a combination of major currencies. The idea is that the cryptocurrency will not be subject to the volatility that can attract Bitcoin traders looking to make fast profits.
Indeed, while there has been lots of media speculation over Facebook and cryptocurrency, more fuel has been added to the fire when the Wall Street Journal recently reported that Facebook was actively recruiting financial firms to start exploring a viable route to developing the cryptocurrency for the social media platform.
Part of the reasoning applied to this move by Facebook is transform its payments platform, allowing its users to buy the new token, and use it to make payments across Facebook and other internet sites. For Facebook the attraction might come with the elimination, or lowering, of processing fees by traditional payment companies.
Low cost cross-border payments could be key
At the moment, transaction fees are quite low – almost costless – with traditional payment methods if those transactions are end-to-end in the same currency. It becomes expensive at the point of exchange from one currency to another. That’s especially important in a region like Africa, and a crypto-payment that helps money flow in cheaply from abroad could be significant.
Other cryptocurrencies, specifically Ripple, have been designed to facilitate low cost cross-border payments, but it’s clear Facebook doing something similar could provide access on a completely different scale.
Yet, media reporting has stopped short of saying that Facebook’s payment system will be anything like, for example, WeChat Pay, the Chinese-backed internet payment solution that allows scanning an instant payment through smartphones. It’s been a social phenomenon in China, with the media focusing on the slogan, “even beggars have QR codes.” But it should be noted that WeChat Pay still relies on traditional banking, not using any cryptocurrencies.
Obviously, Zimbabwe has its own challenges with regards to an innovation like this, and it’s not as if people will be pinging Facebook tokens to each other on the streets of Harare. However, these types of innovations, especially if Facebook is able to stabilize the value of the token, could be embraced in Zimbabwe and other parts of Africa which have been hurt by hyper inflation in the past.
Of course, all of this is still just speculation. We are still waiting for Facebook to clearly define its goals for cryptocurrency. But as it stands, don’t expect the excitement over “Facecoin” to die down any time soon.
Zimdancehall chanter Freeman – real name Emegy Sylvester Chizanga (EC) – who shot to fame after releasing his hit song Joina City, continues to rise.
Having started off as a butcher boy, he is now one of the topmost Zimdancehall musicians in the country. He speaks to NewsDay (ND) Life & Style reporter Freeman Makopa.
ND: Who is Freeman and how did he rise to fame?
EC: I was born in 1988 and grew up in Bindura, and did my education there before relocating to Harare in 2007. I used to play soccer and in 2008 played for a Division One side. From there, I worked as a butcher boy at the age of 18. In 2010, that’s when I started doing my recording seriously.
ND: Usually, when artistes go to perform on big stages, some rowdy fans have a tendency of throwing missiles at them. Has that happened to you?
EC: Sometimes it’s not hatred, but the problem will be with the artiste. For instance, if you perform badly, that’s when you encounter such scenarios and as for me, yes, it happened when I was performing at Gwanzura Stadium in Highfield, Harare. I was later advised that it was a set-up.
ND: How do you deal with negative criticism?
EC: I have realised that if you have critics in your career, that alone will motivate you to scale greater heights. Being a musician is a tough journey, so one has to keep their head high.
ND: You had a childhood dream of playing for the national soccer team. Why did you shift to music?
EC: I used to play soccer from my school days, and I even played for Division One sides, NDS and Bindura FC. And before, I used to go for training after studio until I found that the music industry provided more opportunities.
ND: In February, ExQ walked away the biggest winner at StarFM awards for the song Nzenza, which you did together. There were social media rumours that you are no longer in good books, which is why he did not acknowledge you. Is that true?
EC: We are true friends and have always been in good books. Yes, ExQ didn’t give me credit, but he was just excited and he forgot to, which is not an issue. We met later and he gave me something. I can tell you that ExQ is my friend.
ND: Some fans, especially those who have never been to Harare, still think Joina City is a lodge or motel because of the lyrics in your song, Joina City. Can you tell us how you came up with that song?
EC: Joina City is a city in Panama. There was a friend of mine who went there when we were young and he used to say ‘Sly (nickname), come to Joina City here in Panama; it’s an amazing place.’ So, I was not referring to our local Joina City (mall) when I wrote the song around 2009 while Joina City was still under construction.
ND: Do you perform with a full band?
EC: Yes, it’s called HkD.
ND: Since you are married, how do you handle female fans that throw themselves at you?
EC: This happens a lot. Girls throw themselves at me, but I just treat them as my sisters because some of them come with a hidden agenda, targeted at tarnishing my image.
ND: Which international artistes do you wish to do collabos with?
EC: I wish to work with Vybz Kartel. He is one of my icons and in Africa, I would love to work with Stone Bwoy from Ghana and Patoranking.
ND: How do you handle your celebrity status?
EC: We are trying to walk in the shoes of celebrities, but at times it’s difficult to do something when you are a celebrity.
ND: Is music paying you enough to live on or you have other sources of income?
EC: Music is paying, I don’t want to lie. I thank God for that because I am where I am today because of music.
ND: How do your fans access your music?
EC: They do so through Facebook, my YouTube channel, Instagram, iTunes and my WhatsApp groups.
ND: Are you still recording in Dzivarasekwa?
EC: I record anywhere (as long as there is a studio available). In DZ, there is Bigyards, and I record some of my songs there. I have also recorded with Mount Zion, Jippers, DJ Tamuka and Simplex.
ND: Your parting shot?
EC: Stay strong and put God first in everything you do, and you will never go wrong. I will also take this opportunity to thank my fans who have supported me right from the start.
Grain Marketing Board (GMB) chief executive officer Rockie Mutenha allegedly misled Parliament on Tuesday when he denied reports that the parastatal received $9 million from the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) to repair its silos, NewsDay has learnt.
Mutenha told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Agriculture led by Gokwe Nembudziya MP Justice Mayor Wadyadyena on Tuesday that the GMB did not receive money to repair silos from GMAZ and never entered into a loan agreement with any institution.
But documents seen by NewsDay indicate that in 2017, GMAZ entered into a silos repair contract with government, represented by then Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa.
“This indicative term sheet sets out the basis upon which the GMAZ would consider financing GMB to enable the latter to rehabilitate, repair and maintain certain of its silos,” part of the contract reads.
The utilisation of $9 million was to be monitored by MetBank Limited, which was the “arranger” of the contract.
“MetBank, through whom the financing will be advanced to the Government of Zimbabwe, will jointly monitor the utilisation of the facility amount with the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Finance.
“The facility amount will be deposited by GMAZ into the following account held by MetBank. Account Name: GMB Silo Rehabilitation/Grain Millers/Metbank Escrow Account.
Account Number 0107003279714 for onward transmission to the Government of Zimbabwe into an account instructed by the Ministry of Finance upon satisfactory supervision of works in progress,” reads part of the contract, which was signed by Chinamasa and GMAZ chairperson Tafadzwa Musarara.
In a letter to the GMB auditors, Baker Tilly and Chartered Accountants, Mutenha, as the GMB general manager, confirmed that the parastatal had received over $5 million from GMAZ.
“GMB was given authority to utilise funding from the GMAZ facility for silo rehabilitation works. The entity has to date withdrawn $5 516 244,99. This was all channelled towards the waterproofing of silos,” part of the letter, signed by Mutenha on February 13, 2018, reads.
In 2017, then Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa also acknowledged that government had received funding from GMAZ to rehabilitate silos.
Contacted for comment last night, GMAZ spokesperson Garikai Chaunza said: “We can confirm the authenticity of these documents and we are still waiting for GMB to give us a full audited report of how the money was spent.”
Mutenha last night refused to comment over the matter.
“I am sorry I cannot speak on that matter over the telephone, worse considering I am in the comfort of my home,” he said.
THE opposition MDC party yesterday said it would soon give President Emmerson Mnangagwa an ultimatum to urgently address the deepening economic crisis facing the country, failing which government would face crippling demonstrations.
Addressing party supporters at Masere business centre in Mutare Central, where the party was campaigning for its ward 10 candidate Rosemary Mukodza ahead of a by-election scheduled for Saturday, MDC vice-president Morgen Komichi insisted that Mnangagwa was not the “legitimate” leader of the country.
“Emmerson Mnangagwa is not the leader of this country. He was given the power by the Constitutional Court. They rigged the elections,” he said.
“Let’s look at the economy; Mnangagwa will end up killing us all. We should give him an ultimatum to fix the economy because you are telling me that a loaf of bread is going for $4. We are going into the streets peacefully. That is what we are doing.
“We should not be tricked by Zanu PF. I am told they have started vote-buying. Let’s show them and go out in our numbers. We want to come here in our numbers on Sunday and celebrate our win.”
The MDC also accused Zanu PF of employing dirty tactics after the ruling party tried to divert attention by distributing maize to villagers.
HARARE residents have warned the local authority against the arbitrary demolition of so-called illegal structures in the city without following due process.
Addressing journalists yesterday, Combined Harare Residents Association’s (CHRA) director, Loreen Mupasiri said the local authority should respect the rights of all residents in the city.
“In as much as we do not condone illegal housing structures, we note with concern that the City of Harare has failed to respect citizens’ right to freedom from arbitrary eviction as enshrined under section 74 of the country’s supreme law,” Mupasiri said.
This follows reports that council was planning to demolish illegal structures built in Budiriro’s Tembwe area.
Mupasiri said demolitions which do not follow procedure resulted in humanitarian crises that leave residents vulnerable to disease.
She condemned the use of the country’s security forces when carrying out demolitions and urged council to use the courts as opposed to the arbitrary evictions it is fond of executing.
“We reiterate that council must be armed with court orders rather that the gun when effecting the demolitions and we demand council to follow proper procedures before demolishing houses,” the CHRA director said.
The association said the city’s housing department was also to blame for the mushrooming of some illegal structures due to its poor town planning.
JUSTICE minister Ziyambi Ziyambi was yesterday grilled in Parliament over whether the 2019 national budget, which was presented by Finance minister Mthuli Ncube in United States dollars, had now been converted to the newly-introduced Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) dollars.
First to fire questions was Rushinga MP Tendai Nyabani (Zanu PF), who demanded clarity on government policy regarding multi-currency usage given that the RTGS$ and the US$ had different trading values.
In response, Ziyambi said: “We had a basket of multi-currencies like the US$, rand, pula and others, and now, we have introduced the RTGS$ through Statutory Instrument SI 133 of 2018 to increase on that multi-currency basket.”
Gokwe Nembudziya MP Justice Mayor Wadyajena (Zanu PF) then asked Ziyambi to further explain if the bond note was now the RTGS dollar? “Technically, according to SI133 of 2018 the RTGS$ and bond notes are different, but both are trading currencies in our laws and so, practically, they are the same,” Ziyambi responded.
Mutare Central MP Innocent Gonese (MDC Alliance) then asked: “In light of the explanation and the fact that now we have the RTGS$, yet the 2019 budget was presented in US$ and now the RTGS$ is trading on the basis of a floating exchange rate on the interbank rate, what does it mean in terms of figures to our budget, and to persons who deposited actual US$ in their accounts before introduction of the multi-currency (basket)?”
Ziyambi said all balances in the budget were converted to the RTGS$.
“So, what it means is that if the budget was US$10 million, it becomes RTGS$10 million; and there was a separation of accounts to nostro and RTGS$,” the Justice minister said.
“SI 133 of 2018 states that at the opening of trading, the RTGS$ will be equivalent to the US$, and then later, the rate will be determined by the market. So, if you had $10 000 and trading started when the US$ was weaker, then you have more money. SI 133 of 2018 says the RTGS$ will be 1:1, but when trading starts, then market forces will come into play.”
But Gonese said before the RTGS$ was introduced, some people had deposited real US dollars into their accounts and still want to withdraw them as US dollars.
“When the RTGS$ was introduced, it was 1:1 to the US$ and now market forces will determine what comes into play,” Ziyambi said.
Further asked by Kambuzuma MP Willias Madzimure (MDC Alliance) whether government considered this to be morally right, Ziyambi replied: “Issues of law and morality are different. I explained SI 133 of 2018 and whether you want to look at it from the moral side or not, I am merely stating the law.”
THE High Court yesterday nullified Nelson Chamisa’s MDC presidency and ordered the party to organise an extra-ordinary congress to choose a new leader within a month, but the youthful opposition politician vowed to go ahead with his party’s planned elective congress later this month while appealing the court ruling.
The verdict by Justice Edith Mushore follows an application by MDC secretary for Gokwe Sesame district, Elias Mashavira, who petitioned the High Court last year seeking nullification of Chamisa and his deputy Elias Mudzuri’s appointment into the party’s presidium.
The duo was handpicked and appointed as co-vice-presidents by the now late MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
But in her ruling delivered in the motion court, Justice Mushore said: “The appointments of the second and third respondents (Chamisa and Mudzuri) as deputy presidents of the MDC party were unconstitutional and, therefore, null and void. The appointment of second respondent (Chamisa) as acting president, and president of the MDC party were unconstitutional and, therefore, null and void.
“All appointments and/or reassignments and all actions of the second respondent in his purported capacity as deputy/acting or incumbent president were unconstitutional and, therefore, null and void.”
Justice Mushore also ordered the MDC party to hold an extra-ordinary congress within a month.
In July 2016, Tsvangirai handpicked Chamisa and Mudzuri as his deputies and when he passed on in February 2018, the party’s national executive committee and the national council annointed Chamisa and Mudzuri as president and deputy, respectively.
But Mashavira challenged the move, citing violation of the party’s constitution.
Justice Mushore said it was self-evident that, according to the MDC’s constitution, party presidents and their deputies were only elected at congress and not appointed.
“Second and third respondents’ (Chamisa and Mudzuri) claim to be deputy presidents is based upon the late president (Tsvangirai) picking them to be deputy presidents. They were not elected into those positions at a congress,” the judge said.
“The applicant (Mashavira) claims that the legitimate deputy president in the party, who still carries the title of deputy president, is the fourth respondent (Thokozani Khupe), by virtue of her democratic election at congress in 2014. That claim is aligned to the provision in article 6.4.4.1 of the party’s constitution. It is that simple.”
Justice Mushore further noted that after Tsvangirai’s death, the acting president, as per article 9.2 of the constitution, should have assumed the presidential duties and called for an extra-ordinary congress in no later than a year from the death or resignation of the former president.
“Plainly speaking, therefore, … the duty to call (for) the extra-ordinary congress for such an election would have been that of the fourth respondent (Khupe). The constitution is specific about this requirement …,” she said.
In his application, through his lawyers Mutungura and Partners, Mashavira had cited the MDC, Chamisa, Mudzuri, Khupe, MDC secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora and chairperson Morgen Komichi as respondents.
Mashavira also challenged the decision of the party’s national executive committee and the national council to elect Chamisa as party president outside congress.
He said, as a delegate representing Gokwe Sesame district, he was supposed to have been invited to an MDC congress organised by Khupe in Bulawayo last year.
“The fifth respondent (Mwonzora), as the secretary-general, did not invite delegates, neither did he take minutes of the alleged congress. My province, district, ward and branch were not invited to that congress and, as such, in terms of the MDC party constitution, no congress has been held to fill the vacancy left by the passing on of the president of the MDC party, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai. In any event, what was supposed to be held is an extra-ordinary congress, not an ordinary congress,” he said.
“Upon the death of Tsvangirai, provisions of the party’s constitution regarding the president’s succession automatically kicked in. However a dispute erupted between Khupe, Chamisa and Mudzuri.”
In a statement yesterday, MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume, however, said the party was going ahead with its elective congress set for May 24-26 in Gweru, regardless of the High Court ruling.
“We have just been advised of the High Court of Zimbabwe judgment issued by Justice Edith Mushore today. We fundamentally disagree with the judgment. The choice of leaders of any political party, the world over is the sole preserve of the members of that party,” he said.
“It can never be a judicial process. Equally, the actions, activities and programmes of a political party, being a voluntary organisation whose existence is protected by the Constitution, is the sole preserve of the members of that party.”
The MDC said it would appeal the High Court judgment, noting in their statement that the courts had become an extension of “Zanu PF hegemonic rule”.
“In just a few weeks’ time, the MDC will complete the process of democratically electing its leadership at a congress convened in terms of its constitution. Strangely, Justice Mushore’s judgment contradicts and totally ignores an earlier judgment of the High Court, which ruled on the case of Murimoga versus the MDC,” Mafume said.
In 2017, the High Court dismissed an application by Patson Murimoga challenging the appointment of Chamisa and Mudzuri as vice-presidents.
“We are fully aware of the machinations and strategies being deployed by the Mnangagwa administration to destabilise and destroy the people’s project. We reiterate that (President) Emmerson Mnangagwa is illegitimate and no amount of diversionary tactics will change this fact,” Mafume added.
He said “for the avoidance of doubt”, preparations for the MDC congress were at an advanced stage and 6 800 delegates would attend.
“That process is irreversible. We shall hold a historic and joyous congress under the theme Defining a New Course for Zimbabwe,” Mafume said.
An MDC appeal against the High Court ruling has the effect of suspending the judgment, meaning the congress can proceed without any legal hindrances.
