BY SHARON SIBINDI

HABAKKUK Trust chief executive, Dumisani Nyongolo Nkomo (pictured) has said he will be launching his book titled No Holds Barred — a collection of cutting edge articles which he has been writing for a while. The book launch is on February 7 at the Joshua Nkomo Museum in Bulawayo.

Nkomo told NewsDay Life & Style, that the book will cover a swathe of issues and principally analyses citizen participation, elections, service delivery, the revival of Bulawayo, devolution and local governance.

“What is instructive about the book is that it is more solution-orientated rather than just describing problems. As Zimbabweans and Africans we tend to rely on orature rather than documented literature,” he said.

“The book is a humble contribution to combat in ideas not fists. As Zimbabweans, we need to engage on ideas not on our differences.”

Inspired by the desire to contribute to the economic, social and political development of the country through written ideas which he says could be implemented by policymakers and development practitioners, Nkomo said the targeted readership includes opinion makers, policymakers, Zimbabweans in the diaspora and change agents in the country.

“The book is relevant to academics, the business community and politicians. I intend to write two more books this year. One will be on lessons in advocacy and community building based on 25 years of experience in the field,” he said.

“I am also working on a book on the Nkomo family well beyond the Joshua Nkomo, but also the early genealogy of the family going back to Ramatsatsi, his son Motsumi and his son Nyongolo Thomas.”

Nkomo said he would also be unveiling a film on human trafficking called Ziyanda which he has been working on for seven years.

BY TATENDA CHITAGU/CHARLES LAITON

THE trial of MDC deputy chairperson and Zengeza West legislator, Job Sikhala, who is facing a subversion charge, went off to a false start yesterday after the presiding judge was away on official business, while some of the witnesses were not available.

Sikhala is out on $5 000 bail.

High Court judge, Justice Garainesu Mawadze, was away on official duties and Justice Neville Wamambo, briefly presided over the postponement of trial to February 3, awaiting Justice Mawadze’s return.

Seven witnesses are going to testify against Sikhala, but only four were present yesterday.

Both the State, represented by Tawanda Zvekare and Sikhala’s lawyer, Jeremiah Bhamu consented to the postponement. Bhamu indicated that Beatrice Mtetwa will take over the case next week.

In another case, Information deputy minister, Energy Mutodi, who is being sued by former Defence minister Sydney Sekeramayi, and former Minister of Health and Child Care David Parirenyatwa, over a Facebook post allegedly defaming the two ex-ministers, is now set to be heard at the High Court before Justice Helena Charewa on Thursday.

Sekeramayi and Parirenyatwa jointly filed a defamation lawsuit against the musician-cum-politician sometime in October 2017 claiming $40 000 accusing Mutodi of having linked them on his Facebook post to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s alleged poisoning in August 2017.

BY VENERANDA LANGA

THE highly-indebted government will be allowed to borrow from non-State institutions without Parliament scrutiny if the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 2) Bill is signed into law.

The Bill to amend the Constitution for the second time is currently before Parliament and will undergo public hearings. It will also clip Parliament’s powers of oversight over international treaties on non-State loans.

Clause 23 of the Bill to amend the Constitution proposes that the current section 327(3) of the Constitution must be altered so that Parliament’s powers of oversight are clipped in terms of approving agreements entered into with international organisations even if those agreements impose fiscal obligations on Zimbabwe.

This is despite the country’s heavy indebtedness whereby according to the Parliament of Zimbabwe budget office, by the end of 2018 the total external and internal debt had reached US$20 billion. Of that amount, the external debt was US$11,5 billion including loans from Afrexim Bank, while the domestic debt was around US$8,5 billion.

Section 327 (3) of the Constitution which will be amended reads: “An agreement which is not an international treaty, but which has been concluded or executed by the President or under the President’s authority with one or more foreign organisations or entities; and imposes fiscal obligations on Zimbabwe does not bind Zimbabwe until it has been approved by Parliament.”

Constitutional law expert and lecturer James Tsabora said there is danger in clipping Parliament’s oversight on foreign borrowings, especially if the borrowings are of a fiscal nature and have an effect on taxpayers.

“Although there is a danger on amending the Constitution to clip Parliament’s oversight role, it is also international practice that a country chooses which treaty goes through Parliament for approval and which does not go through Parliament,” Tsabora said.

“However, if the amendment goes through there is a danger in terms of foreign borrowings given that Zimbabwe has over-borrowed from foreign institutions which has landed us into the problems we are in right now, and Parliament is important to put in checks and balances,” he said.

Tsabora said if Parliament’s oversight role on loans and treaties is curtailed, government has the obligation to ensure that whatever it does is constitutional.

“What it means is that before the President approves the treaties and loans he must also ensure that they are constitutional. The current situation is that the Constitution allows for double oversight by Parliament, and also by checking its constitutionality.

“Parliament must debate loans and treaties. However, with the current system of Parliament where Zanu PF has a two thirds majority, Parliament’s oversight role has been weakened and it means that treaties will just be endorsed, yet any laws with a public finance bearing need to be fully debated,” Tsabora said.

Legal think-tank Veritas said Parliament’s oversight role over the State’s expenditure is enshrined in section 299 of the Constitution, adding that it is fundamental for good governance which is one of the founding values of the Constitution.

“Clause 23 of the Bill will emasculate this power. Over the past few decades the government has entered into innumerable loan agreements with foreign governments, banks and other entities, paying little or no regard to how the loans can be repaid. As a result Zimbabwe’s foreign debt is enormous, crippling the country’s development.

“To amend section 327 so as to remove or reduce Parliament’s powers will be utterly pernicious and will encourage a return to reckless spending by the government, mortgaging the birth wright of future generations,” Veritas said.

BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA

VISA delays have resulted in Harare football giants Caps United having to wait a bit longer before they could assess their targets from Nigeria who they have invited for trials.

The Green Machine last year invited goalkeeper Wakeel Adenkule Okunade, central defender Emmanuel Arinze Nwangwu and striker Sunday Kenneth Udoh for a two-week assessment.

But the trio is yet to arrive in Zimbabwe because of delays in the processing of visas.

No official comment could be obtained from Caps United, but a close source who is privy to events at the club confirmed that the club was still hoping to get the players into the country.

“The players are coming. We have already applied for their visas, but we don’t have the actual date because the process is taking long. The position with travellers from Nigeria is that they are required to get visas for them to come here. With other countries like Ghana and Cameroon it’s different, they do not need visas to come into the country,” the source who requested anonymity said.

Kepekepe have looked to West Africa as they seek to assemble a strong squad which can challenge for honours in the upcoming season after agonisingly coming close last term.

They were beaten to the finishing line by FC Platinum on the last day of the league programme.

Should the Nigerians possess the qualities that meet the Caps United demands, they would be given contracts.

Goalkeeper Okunade is expected to replace Prosper Chigumba and Chris Mverechena who have been offloaded by the club, while central defender Nwangwu, who has played for Kaduna United, Elkanemi Warriors, Heartland FC and Abia Warriors in his home country is set to help solidify the Caps defence which has been weakened following the injury to veteran defender Method Mwanjali who is now set to be redeployed as one of the assistant coaches.

Striker Udoh, who has played for Sunshine FC is also set to give Caps coach Darlington Dodo options in attack should he impress.

Caps United have already started their pre-season preparations as they await the arrival of the trio.

The team has been busy on the transfer market and have raided city rivals Harare City for three players so far; snatching away Munyaradzi Diro Nyenye, Ishmael Wadi and young Tatenda Tumba.

Apart from Harare City, Caps United have also snapped up two Yadah players Leeroy Mavhunga and Enock Karembo. Defender Carlos Mavhurume has also joined from Herentals, and so is goalkeeper Wallace Magalane, previously with FC Platinum.

There has also been a massive clear out at Caps United who decided against renewing contracts of a number of senior players including former captain Hardlife Zvirekwi, Dominic Mukandi, Carlos Rusere, Lincoln Zvasiya, Valentine Ndaba and Kudzanayi Nyamupfukudza.

The players were fingered in a player mutiny ahead of their league penultimate game against Ngezi Platinum which they lost 3-2 to give FC Platinum the edge.

Soccer Star of the Year Joel Ngodzo and striker Dominic Chungwa have also left the club to join Zambian teams, while Blessing Sarupinda is reportedly in Portugal for trials.

The club is also battling to tie down Soccer Star of the Year finalist Phineas Bamusi, who continues to be linked with a move to rivals Dynamos.

They have, however, managed to retain some key players from last season such as Ronald “Rooney” Chitiyo, Justice Jangano, Valentine Musarurwa, John Zhuwawu and Kelvin Ndebele.

guest column:Learnmore Zuze

Zimbabweans in particular and the world in general clearly can’t find confidence in the Zanu PF governance system. The enduring crisis in Zimbabwe presents a conundrum to many people.

To the generality of Zimbabweans whose only desire is simply the pursuit of a dignified existence, the debilitating liquidity crunch, foreign currency shortages, rising inflation, spiralling basic commodity prices, erosion of disposable incomes, power outages and low productivity are a weight unbearable to carry. Retrospectively, inclusive of the Robert Mugabe era, it would be enormously accurate to say that Zimbabwe has shifted from one crisis to another for nearly two decades now. Twenty years of skills flight and economic instability are a long time of suffering.

It is for this reason that Zimbabweans seem to have resigned to fate to the extent of shunning the stayaways that always result in loss of lives and property. Zimbabweans passionately loathe the situation in their country but clearly do not have the wherewithal to alter it.

They are or rather have always existed in a survival mode; they are going with the tide of a catastrophe they cannot decipher. Zimbabweans born around 1999 are moving into adulthood having grown under the cloud of economic uncertainty; the Zimbabwean political and economic tragedy has become a definition of Zimbabwean life.

While it is easier to understand the Zimbabwean crisis in terms of how it presents itself through the economy, it is profoundly critical to realise that the Zimbabwean tragedy is squarely traceable to the politics of the day. This self-evident truth was reflective of the Mugabe (Zanu PF) and Morgan Tsvangirayi (MDC) political feud which culminated in the Government of National Unity (GNU) in 2009. In any set up, no economic progress can occur in the presence of a political crisis.

Today Zimbabwe finds herself caught up in the exact situation where the economic crisis is nothing but a silhouette of the terrible political problems bedevilling the nation. The current government has gone around the world on an offensive to win international confidence. The Bretton Woods institution, among many other monetary institutions with the potential to assist have been engaged towards extinguishing a colossal US$18,6 million debt and accessing new lines of credit from other financial institutions.

As things stand, a raft of measures including direct threats to businesses operating in the country and the austerity measures have been topical in an attempt to contain the revolting economy with little success. Banning of the use of the United States dollar has not stopped the public from using it. Liberalising of fuel imports has not tamed the ever-growing fuel queues in the country. It appears the more efforts are made to control the damage, the more the damage occurs.

This simply points to one thing: Zimbabwean problems indicate something deeply wrong with politics. Without pulling punches, the real key to unlocking the situation in Zimbabwe is to start by fixing the politics of the country. As long as nothing happens in the way of both political and economic reforms, then the country still has miles to go.

It is a given that one of the worst things to happen to the present administration is failure to win confidence of the Zimbabweans in particular and the world in general. For example, it is an open secret that Zimbabweans have plenty of foreign currency stashed in different places in their homes as they mistrust taking it to banks. History has contributed to this apprehension. People remain sceptical of taking their hard currency to banks in order to get the bond notes.

It is simply a question of lack of confidence in the government by Zimbabweans. The forex reserves held by people probably run into millions but an apparent lack of confidence in the system is feeding the crisis.

Coming to how confidence of the international community has been harmed, there really is no secret. America was honest enough to tell the Zimbabwean government that it needed to fulfil some tough conditions including political and electoral reforms, accountability for past atrocities and compensation for white farmers who lost their land under Mugabe’s land reform programme, among others.

The US even went further clearly highlighting that it was urgent that the soldiers who killed protesters in the August 1, 2018 post-election demonstrations be made to account. We may debate theories, postulate and pontificate about the economic malaise in Zimbabwe but the untainted truth is that massive changes have to occur within the broader politics of the country.

It must be clearly mastered that a simplistic view in mending the economy is self-defeating. Fixing the Zimbabwean crisis is not as easy as picking an alternative currency like the rand or pula.

In the absence of production, where almost everything has to be imported coupled with an archaic industrial infrastructure, then no economy can be revamped. It sounds rather trite yet it is the truth about the Zimbabwean crisis. Only when the essential political problems are adequately addressed can the international confidence return.

Zimbabwe is a country of massive potential, but remains trapped in an economic paralysis whose major panacea is simply the return of confidence in the presiding government.