BY Xolisani Ncube

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has dropped his Zanu PF hardline stance and once again invited his political nemesis, opposition MDC leader Nelson Chamisa, for talks to tame the country’s runaway inflation, which has seen prices of goods and services shoot through the roof, as the virtual Real Time Gross Settlement dollar chases the elusive United States dollar.

Mnangagwa, who has since last year’s disputed presidential poll failed to pin down Chamisa for dialogue as the latter insisted on the talks to be premised on resolution of the Zanu PF’s legitimacy issue, yesterday took to his official Twitter handle, to invite the youthful opposition leader for negotiations.

“Today, as we remember (the late MDC founder) Morgan (Tsvangirai) and his contribution to the nation, let us all choose to live those values which he embodied: Unity, dialogue and
patriotism,” Mnangagwa said.

The Zanu PF leader admitted that the country was facing a crisis and it was time for political leaders to set aside their different party ideologies and engage each other for the betterment of the people.
“We live in challenging times, and only by working together, irrespective of party, ethnicity or totem, can we build a peaceful and prosperous Zimbabwe. May Morgan’s memory be blessed and let us all join hands for the well-being of our great nation,” Mnangagwa said.

His latest overture to Chamisa comes after his engagement with nearly 20 other fringe opposition leaders was widely dismissed as a ruse and insignificant.

Chamisa narrowly lost last year’s hotly contested elections to Mnangagwa and has refused to accept the Zanu PF leader’s legitimacy even after losing the presidential election challenge at the Constitutional Court.

Several international bodies, including the European Union, have called for dialogue between Mnangagwa and Chamisa to address the legitimacy issue, which has been cited as the major stumbling block to the country’s engagement efforts and economic revival plans.

Some local church groups have also offered to broker the talks, but both Zanu PF and the MDC have remained deeply entrenched in their hardline party stances.

Mnangagwa has been holding talks with losing presidential candidates in last year’s elections, but Chamisa snubbed the talks demanding for a neutral mediator.

The Zanu PF leader had insisted that he would only engage Chamisa if the latter recognised his legitimacy.

Yesterday, the MDC, through its spokesperson Jacob Mafume, said the party was ready to engage with Mnangagwa through a credible process, provided he was sincere.

“The president, Advocate Nelson Chamisa, has been very clear and consistent. That is a welcome move and we don’t have time to waste. The people of Zimbabwe are suffering. We need to do something to help them. We don’t want to continue talking about dialogue, we need to talk and solve the crisis. This is what we represent,” he said.

Addressing supporters at Tsvangirai’s memorial service in Humanikwa village, Buhera, on Saturday, Chamisa bragged that he would soon drag Mnangagwa to the talking table “kicking and screaming” as the Zanu PF leader was under siege from a crumbling economy.

Speaking at the same event, Tsvangirai’s eldest son, Edwin, also pleaded with the two political protagonists to talk in the interest of the nation.

Edwin said, to save the country from further collapse, opposition leaders must draw lessons from Tsvangirai, who between 2009 and 2013, worked hand-in-glove with his rival former President Robert Mugabe in a coalition government.

“As you might recall, we had an economic crisis sometime back and my father sacrificed his life and family for the good of the people,” he said.

“I think we are at that point now where the economic situation is bad. I think we have reached the same levels, if not worse. Things are hard and we are saying let us put the interest of the people first.”

Chamisa has demanded that the talks between him and Mnangagwa be led by a neutral convener preferably from the region.

By Farai Matiashe

TEACHERS’ unions yesterday vowed to urge their members to embark on yet another go-slow as schools open for the second term tomorrow to press government to improve their working conditions, particularly their inflation-ravaged salaries.

Schools open tomorrow at a time workers’ salaries have been eroded five-fold as the Real Time Gross Settlement dollar continues to lose value against the United States dollar, triggering a wave of price hikes.

Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) secretary-general Raymond Majongwe told NewsDay yesterday that their members would report for duty as usual on Tuesday, but embark on a sit-in as they push for fresh salary negotiations because they were currently financially-incapacitated and demotivated.

Last term, teachers embarked on a similar industrial action, prompting government to award them a salary increase, which has since been eroded by rising inflation.

“No person will ever lead a war without counting whether his soldiers are in the barracks or not. So, we are simply going back to school to make sure that we create a strategy that must take us forward,” Majongwe said.

“Our salaries have just gone below US$80 and we are talking of people here who are degreed,”Majongwe said.

“People have families to take care of, but it seems government seems to be insensitive or they are busy looking somewhere else. The painful part is we have patriotic teachers who want to turn up for duty, but it is almost impossible we are going back to exactly where the circle started. Teachers are incapacitated.”

He said it was unfair labour practice for government to come up with a plan that benefits a certain segment of the public service.

Teachers were last time forced to abandon their strike after government made some concessions, but very little of what was agreed on was implemented.

Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe president Obert Masaraure yesterday said what government had promised civil servants early this year, when they went on strike, was not
genuine and an industrial action was imminent.

“Our members are going to school, but they will not be working. They are simply going to log in, but will not be undertaking any duties. We will likely call for a complete withdrawal of
labour in the first two weeks,” he said.

“The promises by government were not sincere. Our members are failing to access the promised residential stands and duty-free cars.”

Government withheld salaries for some teachers who went on strike early this year over poor salaries and working conditions.

Some of the teachers claim they had been receiving death threats from suspected State security agents.

But Majongwe said they would keep on fighting for a better salary.

“Government may try to come up with laws to say people cannot demonstrate, but that is futile because that has been tried elsewhere. We are ready for them and we will keep fighting. As
PTUZ, we are not going to relent and be intimidated. We will continue saying what they do not want to hear,” he said.

However, Zimbabwe Teachers Association chief executive officer Sifiso Ndlovu said their members would be going to school when schools open tomorrow to demonstrate their love for
learners and the teaching profession, albeit under difficult circumstances.

He said the much-publicised April salary rise had come to naught and the promises made by government when they suspended their strike early this year had not been realised.

“The duty-free motor vehicle benefit has been committed to in principle and through a statutory instrument legalising that benefit, but the practical realisation of the benefit has been
shackled by absence of administrative instruments guiding application of the same. Housing benefit, promised as land for educators, has not moved from the realms of rhetoric,” Ndlovu
said.

BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA

OFFICIALS representing Newfield Investments, involved in granite stone mining in Mutoko, have denied reports that they sealed off boreholes they had sunk in the area, leaving villagers stranded for water.

The company’s managing director Gary Welsh yesterday denied claims by Zanu PF Mashonaland East political commissar and MP Hebert Shumbamhini that they had disabled the boreholes after winding up operations at Sidingo Mine in Mutoko East.

“Sidingo Mine is a responsible and compliant company, which values their relationship with all the communities surrounding our operations,” Welsh said.

“We have never sealed any boreholes and have continuously supplied water to the Makochera community, even though we have temporarily suspended our operations and placed our mine under care and maintenance. Sidingo has donated a Lister pump to the community, which has always been used to pump water for our operations.”

When NewsDay visited the communities at the weekend, two of the three boreholes were functioning, with villagers fetching water.

Shumbamhini last week told a Zanu PF provincial co-ordinating committee meeting that the firm had sealed the boreholes and refused to repair villagers’ houses which were affected by
heavy blasting from the mining site.

He also accused the company of failing to repair damaged bridges in the area.

But Welsh dismissed the allegations as unfounded.

“These unfounded allegations are absolutely untrue as all blasting we undertake is performed on loose rock formation as we cut the rock loose from the mother rock using diamond wire
saws and this prevents any damage to our granite formation and it’s impossible to cause damage to houses hundreds of metres away,” he said, adding that besides boreholes, his company had built a community hall, two classroom blocks at Gurure Primary School and refurbished a building at Makochera Primary School as part of its corporate social responsibility.

By Simbarashe Sithole

A 35-YEAR-OLD Guruve man was last week brought to court for masquerading as a gold seller before attacking a gold buyer with a machete, stealing the victim’s money and property in the process.

Forget Gwena, of Museka village under Chief Chipuriro in Guruve, pleaded not guilty before magistrate Artwell Sanyaytwi, who remanded him in custody to May 13 for trial.

The State alleges that on February 12, Gwena and his eight accomplices, who are still at large, called Timothy Mutanda on his mobile phone and told him they were selling gold.

Mutanda was attracted by the offer and drove to Guruve with ZWL$14 200 stashed in a satchel, US$3 300 placed inside a vehicle compartment and $20 in his wallet.

On arrival, Gwena and his accomplices allegedly demanded some United States dollars from Mutanda as they assaulted him with machetes and robbed him of his money.

The court heard that the accused dragged Mutanda to a bush and tied his hands and legs to a tree using barbed wire.

They allegedly ransacked Mutanda’s car, took away three cellphones, a wrist watch, car chargers, a modulator, gas tank canister and car keys before fleeing.

Mutanda later managed to untie himself and walked back to his vandalised car.

Seeing that his car keys were missing, he sought overnight refuge at a nearby house and filed a police report the following morning.

Gwena was arrested the following day after a search was conducted at his house and two machetes were recovered from his wardrobe.

Police also recovered a piece of fake gold in his jacket inside the wardrobe.

Mutanda was called to the police station, where he positively identified the machetes used and the fake gold his assailants used to dupe him.

Albert Mazhindu represented the State.

EDITORIAL

WATER is life, so goes the old adage. Its scarcity spells doom. So it goes without saying that government should consider water provision as one of its top priorities.

Despite the critical nature of water, it is however, sad to note that several local authorities, among them Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru, Gwanda and Chitungwiza, to mention but a few, are currently reeling under severe water shortages and we believe it’s irresponsible for leaders to play politics over this life-saving resource.

Bulawayo residents have now grown weary of the falsehood that their perennial water shortages would “soon” be a thing of the past as successive Zanu PF governments always promise to
implement the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project (MZWP). The lies are given fresh impetus each time we draw closer to an election with the momentum dying down soon after.

Gwanda and Gweru have also had their fair share of this shameless promise from our politicians.

Harare has had the same narrative with talk of Kunzvi Dam resurfacing each time there is a looming general election. For decades, residents have been told that solutions to Harare’s
water woes lay east of the capital along Nyaguwi River in Goromonzi district. We have been sold this dummy of a story through many activities that included ground-breaking ceremonies and awarding of contracts to some Chinese companies who camped, or are still camped at the Kunzwi Dam site. Thousands of villagers were also relocated from the dam’s vicinity in
preparation for construction, but up to this very day nothing much has happened.

We really get worried when we start hearing that the Harare City Council (HCC) is now busy talking to some Turkish investors with the view to build, on a build-operate-transfer basis, a
new dam, south of the capital, through a special purpose vehicle, Independent Water Provider.

The council hopes to get Cabinet approval for the construction of Muda Dam at a cost of US$3,2 billion.

We are not against these initiatives at all if they are meant to ease the capital city’s unending water woes. But we take exception when our city fathers and government keep going in
circles over this issue. What has now happened to Kunzwi? Should we forget about it? What are the problems at Kunzwi that have informed HCC and government to take them this long to
build that dam? Similar questions can be asked of the MZWP, which has been an on-off since the Rhodesian era.

We are now beginning to doubt if government is serious about solving water problems facing Harare and other urban areas. We would have thought that if it was serious at all the water
sources to the country’s urban areas should be supplying water by now.

We are very much aware that politics and corruption have played a very big role, but if the Zanu PF government is a people’s government it should quickly act on this critical issue. It should not matter whether or not the people in the cities voted for Zanu PF, the government of the day should simply do what it is supposed to do.

BY OWN CORRESPONDENT

Award-winning gospel musician Tatenda Mahachi has released a single titled Victory, which incorporates English, Shona and Swahili languages, giving it the potential to attract several audiences.

Mahachi, who shot to prominence with the song Ndisiye Satani featuring the late music superstar Oliver Mtukudzi, said his track reminded Christians that they were victors in Christ.

“The song, which was produced by Rodney Beats, is done in three languages, (of) English, Shona and Swahili. It reminds Christians that all their battles were won on the cross when Jesus
Christ was crucified. Since we are victors in Christ, there is no reason to give up when we face difficulties,” he said.

“It’s a great track that I believe will compete at international level. I wrote it after praying and the realisation that many people lose hope in the midst of challenges forgetting
that no matter what we go through we are victors.”

Mahachi said the single is available on online stores and he would engage local radio stations for airplay.

“The track is available on all online stores. We are also engaging all local and international radio stations for airplay. This song is a build-up to my fifth studio album,
Magnifier, that I am going to release in June,” he said.

Mahachi released his first album, Miyedzo, with Gramma Records in 2007.

BY DEMETRIA MANYONGA

TRENDING gospel musician Mathias Mhere says he has gone evangelical in his forthcoming album Greater than Solomon, themed largely on the subject of repentance and salvation which is set for release on May 31.

The album — which is Mhere’s eighth offering — will be accompanied by two videos, the musician told NewsDay Life & Style.

“The album was inspired by salvation and repentance. It will inspire a lot of people to be born again and I will release it together with two videos for songs Mai John and Jericho,” he said.

Mhere said he was excited by the album, which will be a fusion of old and new sound as the musician seeks to attract more fans.

“The album is a mixture of sounds. There is the old Mhere as well as the new Mhere and we are also bringing in Skeffa Chimoto from Malawi on this new album,” he said.
Chimoto features on the song, Nyika Dzibatane, which speaks of unity among nations, while Bosvo of Mbungo Stars features on the track, Chipanga Mazano.

Leaving no stone unturned in his bid to present a top quality album, Mhere roped some of the country’s finest producers in the mould of Oskid, Lyton Ngolomi, Maselo, Tatenda Viali and Macdonald “Mac Dee” Chidavaenzi.

Mhere, who released his seventh album, Panogara Nyasha, last year, said the quick succession of albums was simply meant to satisfy his fans.

“I am not affected by the fact that l quickly release an album after another because my fans are the ones who would be wanting new songs and l do not want to disappoint them which is why l release and most of them would have done well on the market,” he said.

The new album carries songs Hembe Yemubhero, Chipanga Mazano, Tizarurire, Mai John, Waikuda Nyika, Kamushini, Jakuchichi, Mukombe Uyu and Nyika Dzibatane.

BY SIMBARASHE SITHOLE

SUNGURA kingpin Alick Macheso’s fans from all over Mashonaland Central braved the cold weather on Friday and packed Shamwari Joe Hotel’s open space in Mvurwi to dance the night away.

Macheso, who had last visited the farming town last year, received an idol’s welcome from his legions of fans, many of them coming from all over the province in farm trucks.

Some fans, who spoke to NewsDay Life & Style, said despite the economic hardships, they could not resist travelling from far and wide to watch the sungura guru live on stage as he rarely performed in the province.

Others said the cold weather preceeding the winter season was not enough to deter them, with many coming from Centenary, Guruve, Chiweshe, Glendale and Bindura.

Masline Lija from Glendale said it was a privilege to have Macheso in the province.

“This is really a privilege to have Macheso in our province for the weekend since different provinces of the nation are also wishing to have him every weekend. l am sure you can tell by the crowd that he is really the man of the moment,” she said.

There was heavy police presence to ensure peace and order after a number of shows in the town in the recent past had turned violent and seen several people arrested.

Meanwhile, Macheso and the Ochestra Mberikwazvo performed in Mt Darwin on Saturday where he also pulled another huge crowd before wrapping up his weekend gigs with a family show at Club Las Vegas in Harare.

guest column Peter Makwanya

The indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) that have been the information banks of communities, local knowledge of knowing, unique to a given culture or society, facilitated communication and decision-making in given societies, as sustainable communication tools.

It is believed that, the basic component of any country’s knowledge system is its indigenous knowledge base. Despite concerted and spirited efforts to resuscitate indigenous knowledge systems (IKS), they are increasingly facing challenges and they are in danger of being eroded and forgotten.

Ranging from the recommendations of the Earth Summit held in Rio-de Janeiro in 1992, through the Convention on Biodiversity, whose article 8 (j) incites State Parties to respect, preserve and maintain knowledge, innovations and practices of the indigenous and local communities, the domain has great prominence and momentum (Nakashima and Nielsson, 2006). At this widely acclaimed forum, indigenous knowledge systems were reborn, revived and relaunched by the United Nations Economic, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, through the Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems Project of 2002, as one of the new generation of cross-cutting projects, heightening interdisciplinary and intersectional action.

Despite all these efforts, IKS continue to face challenges, maybe these challenges emanate from both sides, the traditional side against the technological base. In this regard, is it the traditional and local communities of practice which are mean with information, by being reluctant to share what they believes to be exclusively theirs, or is it the technological discourse communities which continue to frown upon indigenous knowledge, undermine it and disregard it as primitive, pagan and backward, thereby refusing to be inclusive and integrative.

In my view, both communities of practice are at fault by not sufficiently recognising each other’s breakthroughs, but whatever the case, it is the environment and people which are bound to suffer.

There are some widely acknowledged components of IKS that are within public domain and can be practised by societies, while some which are secretive and individual specific, remain family treasures or concerns. It is also an open secret that indigenous knowledge systems which have been passed on, not to every member of the society, but to specific individuals, are not in the public domain and they remain a family secret, but they can be used to help communities after consultations and charging money or livestock. But what is significant is that, all these forms of IKS are important and it is both in the interest of the community and the environment that they can be shared in order for the country to move forward.

For these reasons, and many others, whichever way one would want to situate themselves, IKS are facing challenges, not leading to their total collapse, but to their subsequent erosion and weakening. One of the reasons is that indigenous knowledge systems do not have a special place in the authorities policy frameworks, hence they continue to be paid lip-service to, talked about when it matters most or say something about them in passing and then they are forgotten about. Yet the investment in this fundamental community knowledge base can as well improve the fortunes of any given country, ecologically and development wise.

Some challenges facing IKS include, the fading and disappearing story-telling or folklore, which used to have a special place in the lives of indigenous people, as the stories taught young people and adults environmental conservation techniques, behavioural modifications and ethical considerations. Contemporary societies had much to learn from traditional
approaches to the environment.

Even nowadays, because of drug resistance in crops and livestock, it’s the traditional approaches being encouraged. Through storytelling, the wisdom of ages has greatly assisted in conserving the environment as well as achieving the ecological balance of nature and good climate change adaptation strategies.

Stories were told by seasoned, old and mature grandmothers and fathers to inspire the young people. Even if they are to be used today, quite often, stories assist in providing solutions to the current and unfolding environmental problems. Digital story-telling techniques are alright, but only available to those who can afford them, yet the centuries old story-telling is cheaper, user friendly and human-centred, where complex messages can be conveyed through simple narratives. Storytelling does not promote the use of languages which encourage habits that destroy the environment or discourses which only apply to a few, while leaving out the rest disempowered and not knowing anything.

The other IKS community of practice, which appears to be eroded and controversial is the use of herbs, not permaculture, but traditional herbs. The knowledge of herbs is still thriving in indigenous communities, but the new media technologies discourse communities and industries appear not interested in them. Even the print media, radios and televisions do not foreground them quite often. We have also not witnessed any pharmaceutical companies that are interested in processing traditional herbs into finished products, but people can go as far as India and China to be treated by herbal medicines.

Traditional food preservation is another dying community of practice. Although not very much documented, the concepts of drying, salting, roasting, preserving foodstuffs underground or adding herbs to some foodstuffs can assure the communities of sustainable food security.

All these can be integrated with technological back-up and communities would benefit from selling dried foodstuffs to the companies that process them into finished products like soups, powders, jam or traditional beverages. Some herbs can also be used to treat wounds of livestock and people.

Rainmaking ceremonies are no longer heard of, even in the background of erratic rainfall patterns, shifting seasons and recurring droughts. People have tempered with shrines and sacred places in such a manner that luck always by-pass or elude them. The role of shrines and rainmaking ceremonies have been replaced by cloud seeding, which can damage the ozone layer, but still there are no rains. Weather predictions and early warning systems would go a long way in predicting rains or droughts they should be integrated into multimedia technologies so that destructive floods, violent winds and cyclones can be closely monitored.

On the farming end, people continue to worry about inorganic fertilisers, herbicides and chemicals that are dangerous to the environment as well as human health yet there are large deposits of organic fertilisers in the country.

By not integrating IKS with new technologies, it’s not only the IKS community of practice which will suffer, but technologically driven industries and companies will be affected too.

By collaborating with IKS stakeholders, the idea is to gain more information and knowledge that we cannot afford to lose. It is not necessary to continue widening the knowledge and information gaps; ironically in the Information Age of this 21st century. Loss of IKS leads to loss of biodiversity and food security, which is the mainstay of our livelihoods and recovery programmes. It is important to uplift and strengthen our cultural diversities to regain our self-esteem and redefine our heritage and realise self-consciousness, in order to produce the most needed goods and services.