BY BLESSED MHLANGA

THE Zanu PF youth league says it will today release a list of corrupt captains of industry and Zanu PF leaders it says are in bed with cartels involved in economic sabotage.
The youths claim to be in possession of a damaging dossier which could bring things to a head in the ruling party and government.

Politburo member and Zanu PF youth league deputy secretary, Lewis Matutu, who is leading the crusade, told delegates at a youth empowerment programme in Marondera at the weekend that they had been silent hoping action would be taken by responsible authorities, including the
Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc).

“If we keep quiet, we become accomplices, because when you are in leadership, you have to act to protect the nation and the people and that time has come for us to again step up that fight against corruption,” he said.

Matutu said after naming a number of Zanu PF leaders, and businesspeople last year who included the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya, party secretary for administration Obert Mpofu and other ministers, no action was taken, forcing them to engage in a new name and shame wave to keep the topic alive.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa in June 2019 appointed a Zanu PF commission made up of central committee members to investigate the corruption allegations and submit a report, but more than six months later, no action has been taken.

“The commission appointed by the President has not yet done anything. It has not even met for whatever reason. This is what has forced us to come out, saying it is taking forever to take action while cartels are using those in political power to hide from the long arm of the law. We can’t have that! It’s not the Zimbabwe we envisage,” Matutu said.

He said the youth league would name and confront the corrupt today regardless of the consequences.

“It is our responsibility as young people to end this cancer called corruption. Corruption has taken so many things away from our country. We have been disadvantaged for so many years because we have a few individuals with long (fingers). It is not easy to talk about it, but it’s possible. This Monday, we have a big bombshell. We are going to stand our ground and tell them that enough is enough,” the Zanu PF youth league second-in-command said.

“We can’t allow three or four people to loot everything while we watch, it must end. I don’t care what will happen on Tuesday, even if I am no longer in my position by Tuesday, but you will have heard what I would have said, that’s what is critical.”

Since taking office in 2017, Mnangagwa has insisted that fighting corruption would be his number one priority, but it appears he is losing the battle, as the public and his own party appear to have lost confidence, especially in Zacc.

In its central committee report at the conference held in Goromonzi last year, Zanu PF said the perception that “government lacks commitment to tackle the endemic problem of corruption has been posing a serious threat to party mobilisation efforts”.

Matutu said corruption had become commonplace and a way of life which need radical engagement to eradicate, saying politics must not stand in the way.

“Corruption is everywhere and it’s now a culture that people are now used to, for so many years, but it must end with our generation. How does it end? If you are at an institution, say at school, but you see certain things happening and you can’t even speak out against such things, how do we expect you to be able to speak out against bigger things when you grow up?” he said.

MDC youth assembly leader Obey Sithole, however, dismissed the Zanu PF youth league as attention-seekers without the courage to name the real corrupt people.

“Naming or not naming, it remains fundamentally inconsequential because we have seen this happening before, but no decisive action was taken against the so-called corrupt people. Zanu PF are the authors of corruption and expecting them to genuinely fight corruption is tantamount to expecting to see an igloo in Al-Aziziyah,” Sithole said.

Al-Aziziyah is a town in Libya.

He said nobody in Zanu PF was clean.

“Absolutely, no one in Zanu PF has the moral ground to speak against corruption because it is their unifying lifestyle. I take the said naming and shaming slated for today as a well-orchestrated and desperate attempt by Zanu PF to divert the nation’s focus on real issues bedevilling the nation,” Sithole said.

“We have the topical issues around the increase in tuition fees against the background of low remuneration of civil servants. We have another serious issue of doctors who are still demanding better working conditions. These are the issues that they are afraid of addressing, hence they want to divert our attention for a moment.”

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

OPPOSITION leader Nelson Chamisa, who turned 42 yesterday, has said he wants to lead Zimbabwe before retiring from public life and politics.
In his birthday message yesterday, Chamisa, who will only serve two terms as MDC leader, said he had a dream of carrying the country out of poverty, human rights violations to a true democratic path.

“It is my humble desire and cherished pledge to build, create and lead a new Zimbabwe before I ultimately retire from active public life. I have this strong vision and drive to make Zimbabwe great. We will make Zimbabwe a powerful, successful and wonderful nation,” he said.

The MDC congress held in Gweru last year passed a resolution limiting all its leaders, including president, to two terms each, leaving Chamisa with just the 2023 polls as his only realistic hope to achieve his dream.

Chamisa said he was a very difficult man to please, calling himself a perfectionist, who is driven by excellence.

“But I have a confession to make. I am a perfectionist. I’m difficult to please. I even hardly please and satisfy myself. I keep trying to be better. Excellence is my goal. I carry this infinite craving for knowledge and insatiable curiosity for wisdom. I love learning and books. I cherish knowledge, information and education. I love the Bible and the word of God. I love peace and bringing people together. I love gathering rather than scattering. I cherish uniting,” he said.

Chamisa became one of the youngest Cabinet ministers post-independence during the 2009-2013 inclusive government.

He was also thrust into Parliament in 2003 to replace the late Learnmore Jongwe, who died in 2002.

“I have sworn to dutifully and loyally serve my beloved country, Zimbabwe. I have been an MP and a Cabinet minister (inclusive government) and an advocate in the superior courts of Zimbabwe. I have served in the three arms of the State. I have served my country to the best of my ability in the Legislature, Executive and the Judiciary. I have also served internationally through representing Zimbabwe in the ACP-EU [African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States-European Union] in Brussels, Belgium. I thank God’s grace in all this,” he said.

Chamisa said he would retreat to Gutu, Masvingo province, once he retires from public life and would want to be buried there.

“My rural home in Gutu shall be my retirement home. Where I was born, there I shall retire and there I shall finally rest. We must all be our best then rest. I must retire before I tire and get tired,” he said.

In his reflections, Chamisa wants to become a mentor of young leaders, helper of the poor and an author.

“I often ask myself: What’s next and why? Who next and why? When next and why? When I die, what next? I care about the ‘hereafter’ and the ‘henceforth’. For the next decade, God willing, I hope to be serving my country and the wonderful people of God in Zimbabwe before finally exiting national duty and the public space. Thereafter, I settle to focus on leadership coaching and youth mentoring, philanthropy and winning souls for the Kingdom. I believe leaders must lead and leave. Leaders must leave and live,” he said.

Drought, Cyclone Idai and “policy missteps” drove Zimbabwe’s economic contraction in 2019, the first in over a decade, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says.

— newZWire

The IMF projected the economy to slump by 7,1% in 2019, before recovering by 2,5% in 2020. The drought, said by the United Nations to be the worst in 40 years, hurt agriculture and power generation, and combined with poor government policy to lead the country to the first economic contraction since 2008.

“Our preliminary estimates . . . indicate that gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2019 will be steeply negative as the effects of drought on agriculture and electricity impact, the impact of Cyclone Idai and policy, some policy missteps present headwinds to the economy,” IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters in Washington on Thursday.

He said the IMF remained in contact with Zimbabwe on its reform plan, including through the Staff Monitored Programme (SMP) and a recent meeting in Davos between Finance minister Mthuli Ncube and IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva.

“The IMF has a staff monitored programme with Zimbabwe. We had a mission to Harare in December to conclude discussions on our regular annual economic consultation, the Article IV,” Rice said.

“And Kristalina Georgieva actually met with the Finance minister of Zimbabwe just a few days ago in Davos and they discussed latest economic developments there too. So we are in close contact with the authorities to assist and co-ordinate reform and stabilisation efforts.”

Missed targets

The drought has decimated Zimbabwe’s crop, leaving over seven million Zimbabweans at risk of starvation and forcing government to increase spending on grain imports.

In 2019, the government abandoned the 1:1 currency peg, partially floating the Zimbabwe dollar. This set off the currency depreciation that, together with the drought and forex shortages, have driven inflation, which has risen to over 500% by some estimates.

An SMP agreed with the IMF in 2019 was seen as a key step to help Zimbabwe get back on the path to fiscal reform. However, the economic crisis has forced Zimbabwe off many of the targets under the programme. A report on the IMF’s last Article IV mission is expected shortly.

“But again we are engaged with Zimbabwe and looking to support Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwean people as much as we can,” Rice said.

The IMF’s 2019 projections were mostly in line with those of the United Nations and World Bank, although the UN does not expect a recovery this year due to continuing drought and government economic policy. The UN saw Zimbabwe’s economy down 5,5% in 2019 and expects that it will fall by a further 2,5% 2020.

The World Bank says the economy fell 7,5% in 2019, but may rebound 2,7% in 2020. Government projected a 6,5% decline in 2019 and 3% growth in 2020.

BY HENRY MHARA

FC PLATINUM might have disappointed in the Caf Champions League once again this season, but the team has picked a lot of positives which they say will be useful in the future.

The Zimbabwean champions are bottom of Group B with a point from five winless matches going into the last group match against Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia at the Rades Olympic Stadium tonight.

Coach Hendrik Pieter de Jongh, who is taking charge of the team on the continent for the second game, said although their chances of progression to the knockout stage had long since disappeared, the match was important as it was part of their learning process ahead of the new season. FC Platinum will again represent the country in the next Caf Champions League season which begins in August.

“The first thing is that the boys should enjoy the trip, and to learn for the next season of the Champions League. It is important that in every match we learn from mistakes and try to correct them in the next game,” De Jongh said on arrival in Tunis.

FC Platinum lost 1-0 at home to Al Hilal of Sudan last Saturday, conceding a late goal to Mohamed Eid to suffer a fourth defeat from five outings. Their only point came from a 1-1 draw at home to Al Ahly of Egypt early last month.

“Our last game against Al Hilal was a very good game although we didn’t get a good result. On Saturday, we have a big game to play. We will try to make an upset because the opponent is expected to win. It’s a big team. We have nothing to lose, we have everything to win. Let us go for a good result, and a good result is a draw or a win.”

De Jongh’s side has scored just two goals in the campaign, and their attacking department could be their biggest let down.

However, FC Platinum general manager Joseph Mususa believes that their disappointing campaign is due to lack of luck.

“We are making progress and the scoreline sometimes doesn’t do justice to the performance of the boys. We have been playing beautiful soccer, but usually tend to lose when we think we are pressing and we are caught by a counter-attack. By and large we are playing well, it’s just a matter of time before we start posting favourable results,” Mususa said.

Bottom of the group, the match against Etoile is a dead rubber for the Zvishavane side, but for Mususa, there is a lot to play for.

“The motivation is to get our first win in the group. And secondly should we win we will improve our ranking on the continent. It also benefits the nation because Caf might decide to give us an extra slot in terms of team representation in the competition in the 2021 edition.”

The team left Harare on Wednesday evening and endured a 12-hour flight to Dubai before connecting three hours later on another four-hour trip to Tunis. The home side will be looking to win the match and progress to the quarter-finals of the tournament. Kick-off is at 9pm.

The Tunisians are second on the Group B log on nine points – one behind Ahly and level with third-placed Al Hilal (but ranked ahead of the Sudanese side on head-to-head record).

Etoile know that a win guarantees them a place in the final eight of the competition alongside the likes of TP Mazembe, Zamalek, Mamelodi Sundowns, Wydad Casablanca, Esperance de Tunis and Raja Casablanca.

A draw or even a defeat could also be enough to progress, depending on the result of the other Group B game between Hilal and Ahly played simultaneously in Omdurman, but Etoile will be determined to keep their fate in their own hands by winning this match. In the reverse match, Etoile beat FC Platinum 3-0.

Champions League fixtures today

Group A: TP Mazembe v Zesco United, CD Primeiro de Agosto v Zamalek
Group B: Etoile du Sahel v FC Platinum, Al Hilal v Al Ahly
Group C: Mamelodi Sundowns v Wydad Casablanca, USM Alger v Petro de Luanda
Group D: Raja Casablanca v DC Motema Pembe, JS Kabylie v Esperance of Tunisia

BY WINSTONE ANTONIO

NEO-SOUL songbird, Adiona Maboreke-Chidzonga became a household name as she gained fame through the reality television show — Idols East Africa — where she was a 2008 finalist, becoming a darling of hundreds of thousands of viewers, not just in Zimbabwe, but across the continent.

She reached the top five in the show and her career has continued to flourish with her recent stint as host of Zambezi Magic channel’s My Perfect Wedding Zimbabwe series.

Married to popular actor-cum-filmmaker Munya Chidzonga, the duo carries that celebrity couple tag.

Pressure

“The pressure we have as a celebrity couple is the same as every other couple, I feel marriage is marriage, celebrity or not. I think Munya and I decided a long time ago to focus on each other instead of comparing ourselves to other couples and that is what works for us, loving each other our own way and being friends,” she said.

So, how does she manage the pressure?

“I enjoy hanging out with my sisters, having a good red wine and laughing loud. I also enjoy talking to my kids. Kids do really say the funniest things,” Adiona said.

Motherhood

Adiona is mother to three boys – Pfumai (9), Diwai (4) and Yanai (4 months).

“Juggling has not been easy, but I am thankful for a strong support system that includes my husband, my lovely in-laws Gogo and Sekuru Chidzonga, my sisters and my brother-in-law. I am telling you when they say it takes a village to raise a child, they are not lying. If I did not have the support I have, I would have lost my mind ,” she chuckled.

A fully-packed day

“In my daily routine, I wake up and I cuddle my little one, whom I am still breastfeeding. He is an early riser so I am up between 5.30 and 6am. I get the other boys ready for school with help from our aunty, Christine, pack lunch boxes and Munya does the morning school run,” she said.

“I have a 30-minute workout, breakfast then my day begins. I have a million and one things to do during the day, so listing them will take a day or two.

“These include meeting clients, rehearsals, school run, auditions, photo shoots, studio, cooking etc. My day ends exactly as it starts, cuddling Yanai, and I love it.”

And food…

“My favourite dish is curried brown sugar beans mixed with diced beef served with rice. When I make it, my boys literally overeat and that is a huge compliment to any mum,” she said.

Her secret

“The important thing that my fans don’t know about me is I don’t think of them as fans. I think of them as family because they support me, which is what family does. In fact, I dislike the word fan,” she said.

“A silly thing is that I am very sensitive about people who chew with their mouths open. I literally can’t think when someone does that, I am not disgusted by it, but I don’t know what it does to me. It’s silly. Munya says it’s psychotic, but I think it’s silly.”

BY VANESSA GONYE/ Nokuthaba Dlamini

Six suspected poachers were arrested in Harare on Thursday after they were found in possession of two rhino horns.

Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) spokesperson Tinashe Farawo said Lee Dube (37), Yemurai Ndou (26), Adam Komela (33), Sibindani Silence (age unknown) David Kasere (24) and the other one only identified as Hardlife (23), were also found in possession of two rifles.

“We arrested seven people on Thursday for poaching a rhino and we recovered two riffles and two pieces of rhino horns,” he said.

They are expected to appear in court soon.

Farawo said the arrest came as a result of good stakeholder relations and the public’s commitment to help reduce cases of poaching.

“We are saying ‘no’ to poaching and we are on the ground. It is also a result of good working relationships with stakeholders and communities; the judiciary is doing a great job, most of these cases are thoroughly dealt with,” he said.

Meanwhile, ZimParks has received more than 50 cases of livestock being eaten by hyenas in Makonde district, Mashonaland West, amid resistance by villagers to move from national parks boundaries.

Felix Chimeramombe, who is the Mid Zambezi cluster manager said ZimParks has since deployed rangers in communal settlements to trap the wild animals.

“They are currently coming to raid livestock and recently we received several reports whereby the villagers are claiming that hyenas have pounced on more than 50 goats in that area,” he said.

“Right now we have got our rangers on the ground tracking them and indeed they have confirmed that this problem is very prevalent and they are trying by all means to track and destroy them.

“On human beings, for now we haven’t heard of any case except for one case whereby they killed two young children who were aged between 8 and 10 years in the Mbire district. The children went missing after going out of their homes following their parents who had gone away and they were pounced on. Villagers only managed to recover their clothes, but normally they target sheep, goats and cattle.”

Chimhandara said the resistance by villagers to move from protected areas was the main cause for increased human-wildlife conflicts.

“Lions too move out of the parks to prey because most people have moved from their communal area and settled close to parks boundaries and there is very thin line between protected areas and villagers. We used to have buffer zones, but they have ignored the gap and settled themselves in those restricted areas so cases of such conflicts will always prevail,” he said.

BY CHARLES LAITON

Former Primary and Secondary Education minister Lazarus Dokora’s estranged wife, Mercy Hanyani, has taken the former Rushinga MP to the High Court seeking an order to share the couple’s property following the dissolution of their customary marriage.

According to Hanyani, she entered into an unregistered customary law union with Dokora in May 2016 during which time the former minister performed all the cultural rites and paid lobola for her.

Hanyani said pursuant to the customary law union, she relocated from Mutare to Harare and commenced to live with Dokora as husband and wife and the couple was later blessed with a baby in September 2019.

The woman further said during the subsistence of their marriage, she made direct and indirect contributions to the acquisition of both movable and immovable properties through her personal earnings as a teacher.

“When the defendant terminated the parties’ customary union and universal partnership, he retained all of the parties’ acquired assets and forced the plaintiff out with only her and the minor child’s personal effects,” Hanyani said adding that was despite the fact that she gave comfort to Dokora as his wife which enabled him to devote his energies to his work, his political career and managing the couple’s farming and other businesses.

Hanyani said it was therefore, just and equitable, considering the lifestyle she was accustomed to as the wife of a minister, farmer and businessperson, that she should be awarded part of the matrimonial property.

“It would be fair distribution of assets, if plaintiff is to be awarded 50% of the immovable property listed in clause 15 (stand 172 Carrick Creagh of section 4 of Borrowdale Estate) above and the defendant retaining 50% thereof with the defendant having the option to buy-out the plaintiff’s shares….”

Hanyani also said she was demanding that Dokora give her 45% of the value of the general dealer and bottle store business in Rushinga, several household properties, Ford Everest or Mercedes Benz E300 and a Kawasaki motorbike.

The matter is pending.

BY PHILLIP CHIDAVAENZI/ PHYLLIS MBANJE

AN elderly man ambles into a pharmacy in the capital city, Harare, lamely holding a prescription for drugs, which he presents to a pharmacist.

He is told the cost of the medication — a cool US$10 or, alternatively, $245 — and slowly shakes his head.

“What if I buy for just one week?” The man asks, calculating the money he had, but the pharmacist stresses that they can only dispense the full allocation of the drugs.

The man slowly shakes his wizened head and walks out of the pharmacy. It is a heart-breaking sight.

This has become a common sight in the country as the cost of medication — and healthcare in general — continues to spiral out of control, with even those on medical aid forced to downgrade their packages to ensure that the medical cover does not swallow their entire salaries.

The pricing of drugs continues to cause a huge headache for many patients who are forced to pay mostly in US dollars as the bond equivalent is way beyond the reach of many and is often pegged way above the official interbank and parallel market rates to discourage clients from using the local currency.

This is despite the fact that many people earn their salaries in local currency — whose introduction after nearly 10 years of officially using the US dollar — has caused significant instability in the economy and seen prices of both medical consumables and other basic goods shooting through the roof.

Speaking to NewsDay Weekender on the pricing of drugs, Kuda Chapfika of the Pharmaceutical Wholesalers Association said there was too much instability and speculation in the market.

“Currently, there is a lot of instability in terms of pricing due to the fluctuating rates prevailing in the economy,” he said.

Chapfika also noted that the speculation was fuelling the glaring pricing disparities but admitted that wholesalers were forced to price their products in such a way that they would hedge themselves against losses as they were not accessing any foreign currency.

“Some players are being forced to speculate more than others in their pricing, hence the reported price disparities,” he said.

A snap survey by this paper revealed that the prices of the majority of medical drugs on demand were exorbitant, with a week’s supply of simple painkillers ranging from $100 to $120. In some pharmacies, however, the painkillers are going for US$1.

For common cough syrups, one would need to part with an average of US$10, which is an equivalent of $200 in local currency.

Those with chronic afflictions are the worst affected as they have to take their medication everyday, with most having to pay over US$30 for a month’s supply of a single drug, with epileptic drugs like phenobarbitone costing an average of US$9.

Pricing of drugs has remained one of the most contentious and in the absence of a proper regulatory mechanism, some pharmacists have been accused of wantonly putting higher mark-ups on drugs.

There have been reports that businesspeople with exclusive dealership on drugs were making profit margins of over 300% due to the relaxed pricing regulations for medicines in the country.

The scenario has been worsened by the situation in public hospitals which previously catered for many people at a lower price.

Patients have been accessing private medical care including pharmacies during the standoff between government and the doctors who are now slowly going back to work.

Many pensioners, who constitute the majority of patients stalked by terminal illnesses such as hypertension and diabetes, and in some cases HIV, have been hit the hardest by the increased cost of medical care and health products and consumables.

A Harare-based doctor who declined to be named citing professional reasons, said once the cost of medicines shot up, the next thing was default for those whose pockets are not deep enough to continue pumping out money for drugs.

“If people cannot afford medication, the next thing is default. If they default, then there are complications, especially from hypertension and diabetes, which lead to things like strokes, kidney failure, heart failure and blindness,” he said.

Social commentator, Robert Mhishi, said it was possible that many such patients could end up dying quietly as there had no recourse anywhere, and there could be a silent genocide going on in the country.

“Quite clearly, medical care has become a preserve for the rich,” he observed. “But the majority of those requiring constant healthcare are the elderly, many of whose pensions are nothing to write home about.”

He said those under medical cover were not safe given the spiralling cost of medical care and drugs, which has seen a number of clients downgrading their packages.

Earlier this month, one of the biggest healthcare funders in the country, CIMAS Medical Aid, increased its tariffs and introduced new inflation-proof packages to hedge well-heeled clients against the shocks of high medical costs.

In a statement issued in November last year, CIMAS managing director Martin Mushambadope indicated that their standard packages of private hospital, general and basicare would require co-payments.

“We have maintained three standard packages as part of our product offering. Please note that these packages will require co-payments at most healthcare facilities and these co-payments could be significant in some cases,” he said.

For those under the new packages — Healthguard Deluxe, Healthguard Essential and Healthguard Classic — will have wider treatment options without fretting too much.

Specialist physicians are now charging between US$30 and US$50 for consultation as top up for clients on medical aid.

Prohibitive costs of pharmaceutical products in Zimbabwe are pushing many individuals to source their medications from neighbouring countries such as South Africa where they are cheaper.

Although the government has been courting India for the provision of affordable drugs, medical doctors who spoke to NewsDay Weekender said it was imperative for the authorities to invest in its own public health system.

“We get most of our medication from India. So it is a good move to engage Indian companies. However, there is need for foreign currency to buy medicines from India. I am not sure if the government has enough foreign currency to meet that demand. We have our local companies that are struggling. Maybe government should also try to resuscitate these local pharmaceutical manufacturers,” said one local doctor.

“The government should also make sure that public hospitals are well-funded and equipped. Health services can then be offered to everyone at subsidised prices.”

For now, however, the majority of those battling chronic illnesses in particular, would be scratching their heads on how to ensure that they would not be forced to default by circumstances beyond their control.