Government says it is engaging agriculture sector stakeholders to promote and implement a comprehensive transformation which will allow farmers to migrate from conventional farming methods to smart agriculture to improve their yields.

BY EVERSON MUSHAVA

The transformation will also see the increase in the production of export quality crops as well as adoption of broad pest control mechanisms in the wake of climate change.

In an interview with NewsDay on the sidelines of a cocktail meeting for agriculture transformation team leaders hosted by the Zimbabwe Agriculture Society (ZAS) on Friday, Agriculture permanent secretary John Bhasera said the involvement of the private sector in this ambitious drive was a game changer.

“For the first time, there is that buy-in from the private sector and we can see the farmers were well-represented as well,” Bhasera said.

“That leads to extreme ownership. For any transformation to work, there has to be some kind of that buy-in and extreme ownership so that we can get to a point where people say this is our thing. When that happens, implementation becomes very easy.”

The event, which brought together farmers representatives, extension officers, agriculture experts, economists and top government bureaucrats, was sponsored by seed company Syngenta.

Bhasera said the country was looking at climate-proofing its agriculture, which he said was vulnerable to climate change.

He said the country could tackle climate change by adopting climate smart seed varieties and also the development of irrigation as well as the adoption of water harvesting techniques.

ZAS chief executive officer Anxious Masuka said the initiative had the potential to revive agriculture so that it regains its status as the backbone of the country’s economy.

“Our aim is to make agriculture central to the attainment of government’s vision 2030 and so we need bold, radical and transformative ideas to transform agriculture to uplift communities,” Masuka said.

Syngenta senior agronomist Tawanda Mangisi said: “We should come up with a very good strategy on how we are going to improve the yields and subsequently build the economy through the agriculture sector.

He said the effects of climate change were real and the country had hoped for a better agriculture season this year after last year’s drought, but a mid-season dry spell has all but destroyed hopes.

“We encourage our farmers to go for those seed varieties which are adaptable to these new weather patterns like those varieties we have at Syngenta; the MRI514 and the new one which is the SY5944 which is quite tolerant to drought. So we urge all the farmers to go for the varieties which endure drought,” Mangisi said.

The Switzerland-headquartered agro-chemical conglomerate has taken the initiative to invest heavily in research on better seed varieties and chemicals which can withstand droughts and pests, particularly the fall armyworm which has wreaked havoc across the Sadc region.

GLOBAL human rights watchdog, Human Rights Watch (HRW) last week released a damning report, describing Zimbabwe’s human rights record as appalling despite President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s reform pledges.

BY VENERANDA LANGA

The report cited fatal shooting incidents that occurred last year involving State security agencies and alleged abductions and torture of civilians as tainting the country’s human rights record.

“Despite President Mnangagwa repeatedly voicing his commitments to human rights reforms, Zimbabwe remained highly intolerant of basic rights, peaceful dissent and free expression in 2019,” the HRW report read.

“During nationwide protests in mid-January, following the President’s sudden announcement of a fuel price increase, security forces responded with lethal force, killing at least 17 people, raping at least 17 women, shooting and injuring 81 people and arresting over 1 000 suspected protesters during door-to-door raids.”

The rights body said several civil society activists, political opposition leaders and other critics of the government were arbitrarily arrested, abducted, beaten or tortured, yet little to no efforts were made to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Some of those who were abducted and tortured last year included comedienne Samantha Kureya, who is popularly known as “Gonyeti”, Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association president Peter Magombeyi and Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe leader Obert Masaraure, among others.

“On September 14, as reported by the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association, three unidentified men abducted Magombeyi, a government employee and leader of the doctors’ union that had organised a series of protests to demand better salaries for government doctors. Prior to his abduction, according to his family and colleagues who spoke to HRW, Magombeyi received a text message from a local mobile number threatening him with disappearance.

“Zimbabwe’s Health minister Obadiah Moyo confirmed on September 16 that Magombeyi was missing and claimed to have activated all State security ministries to secure his whereabouts. After four days of torture and harassment, Magombeyi’s abductors dumped him outside Harare,” the HRW said.

In Parliament, Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi claimed the alleged abductions and torture of civilians were false.
The human rights watchdog said the late former President Robert Mugabe should also have been held accountable for his documented human rights violations during the 37 years he was in power.

Zimbabwe’s regulatory environment for women’s economic inclusion has improved over the past two years, but Zimbabwe is missing mention among 40 countries globally that enacted 62 reforms that will help women.

Equity Axis News

However, Zimbabwe occupies the third spot in Africa’s top five performers with a score of 86,9 points in as far as female participation in economic issues and legal rights protection is concerned.

The study titled Women Business and the Law (WBL) 2020, measures 190 economies, tracking how laws affect women at different stages in their working lives and focusing on those laws applicable in the main business city.

Conducted from June 2017 to September 2019, it covers reforms in eight areas that are associated with women’s economic empowerment, precisely on mobility, workplace, salary, marriage, parenthood, entrepreneurship, assets and pension.

The best performer from Africa is Mauritius with a score of 91,9/100 followed by South Africa scoring 88,1/100. Lagging behind Zimbabwe in Africa’s top five are Cape Verde and Namibia (tie) as well as Tanzania with scores of 86,3 and 84,4 respectively.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, 11 economies implemented 16 reforms in seven areas, but the Democratic Republic of Congo introduced social insurance maternity benefits and equalised retirement ages, while in Ivory Coast, spouses now have equal rights to own and manage property.

The most recent statistics published on the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe website makes reference to a FinScope Survey data of 2011 and 2014 which revealed that the level of access to formal ­financial services for women adults increased from 35% in 2011 to 68% in 2014 due to increased access to non-bank ­financial services, mainly mobile ­financial services. ‘

Major drivers to uptake of mobile money were to receive money (72%), to send money (57%) and to withdraw money (32%). The deep-dive analysis also revealed that 72% of female adults in Zimbabwe did not use insurance products at all, whether formal or informal.

In Zimbabwe, while the financial inclusion level is on the upswing, it is mostly men who are captured in the system, while women, across regions of the country, are set back by religious, cultural and educational factors, limiting their potential.

Late last year, Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development minister Sithembiso Nyoni said the government was satisfied with the impact Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinance Bank (ZWMB) has had towards increasing financial inclusion of women.

“I am satisfied with the impact of the Women’s Bank in enabling the financial inclusion of women. Due to its existence, women’s profiles in the banking sector has risen from 37% to 70%. Over the years, most women were not banking, but after the opening of the Women’s Bank the trends have significantly changed, heralding the bank’s importance and the impact it has had,” she said.

In December 2016, there were 1,46 million bank accounts and 770 000 of these were held by women. This translates to 52% of all accounts that were held by banks then. This is not too far from the structure of our population. Fast forward to December 2018 and only 26% of all the accounts held by banks are opened by women.

In the micro-finance sector, as at December 2018, active women clients constituted 40,78% of the total number of active clients compared to 32,50% as at December 2012. Total loans to women clients ($112,28m) constituted 29,01% of the total loans ($386,99m).

Key to the assessment of this matrix is the contribution of mobile money to Zimbabwe’s financial inclusion which houses about nine million people and accounting for 80% of Zimbabwe’s adult population.

FRUSTRATED Zimbabwean medical doctors are leaving the country in droves as government fails to break an impasse with the health professionals following a four-month strike action late last year over poor wages.

NewZimbabwe.com

The Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA) confirmed in a statement on Saturday, while also dismissing as false, claims by government that striking doctors had returned to work.

“Zimbabweans need not listen to fake news that doctors are back at work and, therefore, the situation in our hospitals has normalised,” the ZHDA said.

“Specialists and most middle doctors in Zimbabwe have shown patriotism without appreciation for a long time. Failure by the (Health) ministry to address the genuine concerns by doctors has hastened the already ongoing brain drain in our country.

“The situation in our hospitals is far from normal and as of now, most middle level doctors are leaving the country. The same sadly is now being seen with our consultants (senior doctors), who are specialists.

“Many registrars, who were in training locally, have left and gone to complete their training in other countries, leaving our own hospitals understaffed. All this has happened in a space of less than five months and the system continues to contract.”

Describing the rising brain drain as counter-productive, ZHDA added: “Doctors are on demand worldwide and it is only patriotism and the desire to be in the homeland that was keeping doctors in the country. Our country needs these highly specialised medical personnel and it takes years to train one. Asking them to work without tools is counterproductive and has led to this brain drain.”

When contacted for figures of how many doctors could have left Zimbabwe in the last two months, ZHDA acting secretary-general Tawanda Zvakada said: “I don’t have exact figures.”

Meanwhile, the ZHDA said junior doctors who had returned to work were being financed by their parents or former sponsors to complete their two-year internship and leave the country.

“Junior doctors have reverted back to being funded by their parents and previous guardians to help them to go to work so that they can complete their internship and be able to leave the country,” ZHDA said.

“The question is: Should our country celebrate the return of our junior doctors to work when their financial incapacitation has not been addressed? This current scenario is far from normal and looking at it with a futuristic eye, one can see that our healthcare system will be more exposed in the near future, with no trained or experienced medical personnel.”

Pleading with the government to address the dire situation with urgency, the government doctors said: “We now call upon the relevant authorities in Zimbabwe to address this dire situation with the urgency it deserves. We hope they will see the need for a future with doctors in the country and do the needful.

“The situation in our hospitals remains critical. What is only remaining are buildings, but without specialised skills. The doctors remuneration remains paltry and the hospitals remain severely incapacitated.

“What use is a hospital with doctors, but nothing else? The equipment has since broken down with no replacement in plan.”

The United Kingdom’s National Health Service recently relaxed its requirements for recruiting doctors and nurses from Zimbabwe and other parts of the world.

Efforts to get a comment from Health minister Obadiah Moyo and Health permanent secretary Agnes Mahomva were unsuccessful as they were not answering their mobile phones.

Food, power and currency stability are the three things keeping Finance minister Mthuli Ncube awake at night.

The southern African country is facing drought for the second consecutive year, with more than eight million people food insecure.

The drought, according to the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects report for 2020, had a devastating impact, with the organisation projecting a contraction in Zimbabwe’s gross domestic product (GDP) to 7,5% in 2019.

“Activity has been further constrained by persistent shortages of food, fuel, electricity and foreign exchange,” the report read.

18-hour load-shedding

Zimbabwe is also going through a debilitating power crisis, which has seen load-shedding continuing for as long as 18 hours per day.

The Zimbabwe dollar lost some 90% of its value in 2019, with the exchange rate against the United States dollar dropping to US$1:ZW$16 by year end from US$1:ZW$2,5 in February when it was floated.

Ncube said, in the first quarter, government was prioritising setting aside resources to be able to import food by June 2020 and beyond.

“We are doing everything we can to make sure power is available, food is available, but of course, a key issue, which is a third issue among the three things that keep me awake at night which is food, power and the other is obviously currency stability.”

Stabilising the currency

“We want to make sure we do everything to stabilise the Zimbabwe dollar,” said Ncube in an interview with State broadcaster ZBC.

He said the Zimbabwe government was pleased that the exchange rate had been more stable in the last quarter.
“We want to keep it that way.”

As at last Wednesday, the Zimbabwe dollar was trading at ZW$17,06 to the US dollar.

Ncube said currency stability would be achieved by ensuring government expenditure was kept under control.

“Also, we want to make sure that the monetary targets that the central bank manages also stay within the range in terms targets so that we don’t have excess money supply contributing to currency instability.”

He said if the currency were kept stable, currency volatility would have a lesser impact on pricing among retailers, which would mean less price adjustment in US dollars.

“That will go a long way in dealing with the issue of inflation.”

Before Zimbabwe outlawed the publication of annual inflation figures, inflation had reached 176% in June 2019.
Independent estimates put November 2019 annual inflation figures at 481,05%.
— fin24.com

THE Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) will once again exhibit at the Spanish International Tourism Trade Fair (FITUR) commencing this week in Madrid, Spain, in a development likely to increase the country’s visibility as a tourist destination.

BY FIDELITY MHLANGA

FITUR will run from January 22 to 26 with over 10 487 exhibitors from 165 countries in attendance.

This is the 12th time Zimbabwe has exhibited at the event.

ZTA acting chief executive, Givemore Chidzidzi said the fair presented a great opportunity for increasing the destination’s visibility.

“With this networking and intense exposure, Zimbabwe will leverage on this platform to reassure the market and further position Zimbabwe as a destination of choice” said Chidzidzi in a statement.

“Furthermore, with the strategic position of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) in Madrid, policy-makers within this body will meet to deliberate on global tourism issues under the auspices of FITUR,” he added.

FITUR is the global meeting point for the world’s tourism professionals. It is the leading trade fair for inbound and outbound markets in Europe. The showcase also attracts 142 642 trade visitors and last year over 110 848 entries were recorded as interest grows from the general populace.

Zimbabwe’s participation remains critical because it presents an opportunity to contribute as well as tap into the global travel ideas that impact on tourism development. The sessions will cover topics around sustainability, innovation, investment and destination competitiveness, among others.

Chidzidzi said the destination is on a drive to nurture the Spanish market which has shown positive growth patterns in the recent past.

“This is one of Zimbabwe’s emerging markets. In 2018 we recorded 13 528 arrivals from that part of the world. This was a significant 8% increase from the preceding year which recorded 12 583 arrivals,” he said.

“We’re proud to share with the world that destination Zimbabwe made it to Bloomberg’s 24 Best Travel Destinations for 2020. Additionally, Zimbabwe has also been nominated in Harpers Bazaar’s Where to Honeymoon in 2020. The renewed confidence in Zimbabwe is clearly reflected in these nominations and we are hopeful that this will drive traffic into the destination,” said Chidzidzi.

The Zimbabwe delegation comprising staff from ZTA, the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and tourism industry players will be led by Environment ministry permanent secretary Munesu Munodawafa.

THE country’s export promotion body, ZimTrade has urged small to medium enterprises (SMEs) to form viable associations to improve their performance and competitiveness on the export market.

BY MTHANDAZO NYONI

In its latest report, ZimTrade said small businesses and smallholder farmers have a potential to export their products and services but given the nature of their economic activities and economies of scale, they often face competitiveness challenges.

In most cases they end up not participating in global market activities, leading to minimal contribution to Zimbabwe’s export growth.

To address these challenges, ZimTrade said business associations play a crucial role in giving much-needed support to boost exports from small businesses.

“These associations form alliances to work together and improve their business performances and capacities. For example, it might be expensive for a local small business to pay for transporting goods outside Zimbabwe, but if they belong to an association, there is room to pull resources together and fund logistics required to transport goods,” it said.

“This arrangement will ensure that one small business does not bear the huge cost of transporting goods on its own and will be more competitive on the export market.”

ZimTrade said the pulling of resources could also assist small businesses to develop into larger enterprises, through acquisition of capital equipment that improves on efficiencies.

For example, one small business producing 500 pairs of shoes per week might fail to meet a demand for 10 000 pairs per month.

This target can, however, be easily met if five or six similar small businesses all produce the same required type of shoe and export as one consignment.

“This way, small businesses will have an opportunity to take part in the global export market, and over time grow their businesses,” ZimTrade said.

Additionally, entities that are members of business associations have the advantage that their issues are well represented at the level of government and other relevant authorities.
SMEs in Zimbabwe have become the key economic drivers due to the shrinking formal sector.

Former Water minister Samuel Sipepa Nkomo allegedly stalled progress on the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project by refusing to work with the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Trust (MZWT), the Southern Eye has heard.

BY SILAS NKALA

This was revealed by the newly appointed MZWT chairperson Richard Ndlovu at a Press conference in Bulawayo on Friday.

Ndlovu took over from the late Dumiso Dabengwa who died in May 2019.

MZWT chief executive officer Sarah Ndlovu said the board sat early Friday where they agreed on Ndlovu taking over the chairmanship.

Addressing members of the Press, the new chairperson said MZWT — which was registered in 1993, was aimed at pushing for development of Matabeleland after the signing of the Unity Accord in 1987.

He said under the trust were committees such as the Matabeleland Action committee which instigated the construction of the maternity wing at Mpilo Central Hospital, the National University of Science and Technology and Solusi universities.

“In 1987 there was a Unity Accord and in 2008 we had the GNU (Government of National Unity) that is when we started having problems,” Ndlovu, who is also a Zanu PF Bulawayo provincial member, said.

“Minister Nkomo did not want to work with MZWT. He refused to work with us resulting in the setback.”
Ndlovu said they have since mended relations with government and now expect progress.

Ndlovu said they were pushing government to look at many water projects which can help Matabeleland, which currently faces serious water challenges.

“We are working with local authorities. We are trying to push government to relive water problems in Gwanda and other areas in Matabeleland. We have proposed that the government should construct another dam along the Tegwane River to help parts of Matabeleland with water,” Ndlovu said.

“Yes the Zambezi Water Project is a project which will benefit the whole of Matabeleland, but we also look at other water projects in the region.”

His remarks were buttressed by the trust’s board secretary Angeline Masuku who said the government has channeled some funds towards the project so that the region has enough water supply.

Contacted for comment yesterday, Nkomo said Ndlovu’s remarks confirmed that the project was a Zanu PF initiative and was bound to fail.

He admitted that during his tenure he had a standoff with MZWT because they wanted to privatise a government project.

“What made us not to agree is that the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project is a national project which is the responsibility of government to construct, not a private thing,” he said.

“During my time as a minister it became the National Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project because it needs to be a government responsibility like what the government did at Tugwi-Mukosi and Mtshabezi dam projects. The government funded these projects to completion because they were its responsibility and the Zambezi Water project must be handled the same. Why must the people of Matabeleland take responsibility of things that government must do? The problem is that MZWT wanted to privatise the project.”

He said during his tenure he spoke to then President the late Robert Mugabe, who said government was folding its hands because MZWT people wanted to make it a Matabeleland project.

“If they want more evidence up to the time I left government as to what made it fail I have it. At the time I was minister it was the National Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project and this was meant to make government take responsibility to complete the project, but these people still wanted to privatise the project. For it to succeed government must take full responsibility,” Nkomo insisted.

The Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project started in 1912 and to date it has not been completed amid concerns that there has not been any political will by successive governments to see the completion of the project.

State security operatives reportedly pounced on Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) leader, Takavafira Zhou’s office on Thursday last week following reports of his involvement in the planned national shutdown.

By Brenna Matendere

The majority of PTUZ members across the country are reportedly boycotting classes citing incapacitation, while the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions and the main opposition MDC party have threatened a national shutdown protest over the deteriorating economy.

Unsettled by these developments, three Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) operatives pounced at Zhou’s offices in Masvingo, while others called him from Kwekwe in a bid to thwart the impending shutdown.

“They were trying to the link teachers’ strike with threats of a shutdown and we informed them that our struggle is a dispute with the employer in which the employer unilaterally (devalued) teachers’ salaries from US$500 to US$35. That is tantamount to unfair labour practice,” Zhou told NewsDay on Saturday.

“I explained to the CIOs that the shutdown of shops is not part of our agenda, but staying away from work because of incapacitation. They also interrogated us on our 2014 banner, whose other writing thread demanded ‘accountability over diamonds and other minerals’ and I explained our expectation of responsible leadership that should judiciously use minerals for the benefit of all Zimbabweans as opposed to self-aggrandisement and economic banditry.”

Zhou also revealed that police from the Central Investigations Department (CID) contacted him over the stayaway by teachers in President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s hometown of Kwekwe.

“I also received a phone call from CID in Kwekwe, who wanted to know why PTUZ teachers have not reported for work and I also explained to them that teachers’ incapacitation was the modus operandi,” he said.

Last year, Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (Artuz) president Obert Masaraure was abducted by suspected CIO operatives, who tortured him for leading a strike.

Zhou said he was still assessing the situation in order to measure his safety.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi yesterday said he was not aware whether or not the police were investigating Zhou as he was out of office.

“I am currently out of office as it is a weekend. I am, therefore, unable to comment on that one because I can’t look for the facts at the moment,” he said.