BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE

A DEFENCE ministry accountant who allegedly stole US$20 million from his employer and went on a spending spree, buying four houses in Harare and 25 taxis as well as posh vehicles, was yesterday denied bail and remanded to February 11.

Simbarashe Zvineyi (36) appeared before magistrate Francis Mapfumo who remanded him in custody pending finalisation of investigations.

Zvineyi, who is also alleged to have channelled part of the money to the foreign currency parallel market, was advised to approach the High Court for bail.

Allegations against Zvineyi are that between January 2010 and December 31, 2019, he and Danison Muvandi who was a chief accounting officer in the same ministry, hatched a plan to defraud the government.

In pursuit of their plan on several occasions Muvandi, who is still at large, using his position and influence, allegedly misrepresented that there were classified operations to be carried out.

He allegedly instructed the chief accountant, Lameck Jackson, to deposit money into Zvineyi’s accounts at NMB Bank, CBZ, CABS and Steward Bank, using Zvineyi’s vendor number.

It is alleged, acting on the misrepresentation Jackson, transferred into Zvineyi’s bank accounts amounts ranging from US$40 000 to US$66 000 during the decade. The two would then allegedly share the money.

The State alleges that from investigations carried out so far, the Defence ministry has suffered prejudice of US$20 million and only four vehicles have been recovered.

On his second count Zvineyi, during the same period and acting in connivance with Muvandi and after they allegedly defrauded the Ministry of Defence, reportedly laundered the proceeds of the offence by acquiring various properties, which include more than 25 taxis, a Jeep Wrangler, a Isuzu KB300, a Honda Fit and a Toyota Vitz.

He also bought houses in Tynwald, Aspindale, Avonlea and Borrowdale.

Muvandi also allegedly acquired various properties some of which have been recovered.

George Manokore appeared for the State.

BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE

A HARARE magistrate yesterday said he would, on January 30, make a ruling on an application for discharge filed by two former Zesa bosses who together with ex-Energy minister Elton Mangoma, face corruption and criminal abuse of office charges.

Mangoma (64), former Zesa Holdings chief executive officer Joshua Chifamba (63) and Zesa Enterprise managing director Tererai Luis Mutasa (54) appeared before magistrate Francis Mapfumo on a charge of allegedly awarding a US$3 million contract to a South Korean company without following due processes.

The trio filed an application for discharge at the close of the State’s case.

In their application, the accused said the State had failed to prove essential elements of the alleged offence, adding that evidence led by witnesses did not prove that they showed favouritism to the South Korean firm.

Chifamba was represented by Oliver Marwa, Mangoma by Tonderai Bhatasara, while Givemore Madzoka represented Mutasa.

Allegations are that sometime in 2010, one Choi Young of Techno Company, met Mangoma at his government offices and they agreed to enter into a technology transfer partnership with Zesa Enterprises for the manufacture of switch gears.

It is alleged that Mangoma then instructed Mutasa to liaise with the South Korean firm with a view to establishing a partnership.

Mutasa then wrote to the State Procurement Board seeking advice on the procedures to be followed in such partnerships, and was advised to seek assistance from State Enterprises Restructuring Agency (Sera) on how to proceed.

It is also alleged that Sera advised Mutasa to prepare a memorandum which Mangoma was supposed to submit to the inter-ministerial committee on commercialisation and privatisation of parastatals, recommending the identification of a technical partner for the technological transfer through a competitive bidding process.

On receiving the business proposal memorandum and bid documents, Chifamba and Mangoma allegedly connived to by-pass the committee and the competitive bidding process as a means of showing favour and making sure that the South Korean company would automatically become the partner in the technology transfer agreement.

The State alleges that the trio proceeded to award the contract to the South Korean firm. As a result, Zesa Enterprises made an initial payment of US$850 000 to the South Korean firm.

Due to the trio’s actions, Zesa Enterprises allegedly suffered prejudice of US$850 000 and nothing was recovered.

SELF-EXILED former Cabinet minister and Zanu PF politburo member, Jonathan Moyo, has accused President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government of systematically grabbing his property and others owned by G40 apparatchiks as punishment for refusing to recognise his administration.

BY CHARLES LAITON

Moyo made the claim in his court application yesterday, where he is challenging his eviction from his Mazowe farm by Agriculture minister Perrance Shiri.

He alleged that government grabbed his farm to “fix” him after he recently published a “hard-hitting” book, Excelgate, chronicling how Mnangagwa’s Zanu PF party rigged the July 30, 2018 general elections.

The former Higher Education minister, who twice served as government spin doctor in the late former President Robert Mugabe’s administration, claimed that he was last month served with an order to immediately vacate the Remainder of Patterson Farm measuring 622,9 hectares, although he had indicated to government that he purchased the farmland in 2002 for Z$6 million.

“This has been the case from the year 2004. I have always had problems with this farm whenever I have fallen out of favour with the ruling elite. The current problems can be traced to the political fallout leading to the ouster of RG Mugabe as President of the Republic,” Moyo said.

“I must point out that the military, led by the respondent (Shiri), announced that I was one of the criminals around the President who had to be weeded out. In the event, we were (weeded out).

“I also point out that the withdrawal (of the offer letter for the farm) has been made in the context of the publication, by me, of an academic book in which I expose what I consider to be the manner in which the 2018 elections were rigged. That the withdrawal comes hard upon the publication of that book is not a coincidence, particularly as it comes before I have exercised my full and effectual right to be heard.”

Early this week, Mugabe’s nephew, Robert Zhuwao, also petitioned the High Court with an application for review, challenging the withdrawal of his offer letter for his Zvimba farm.

In his founding affidavit, Zhuwao said he was offered the land under the land reform and resettlement programme back in 2004, but Mnangagwa’s government seized it in April last year on the basis of “false allegations”.

Moyo said the allegations that he had not been utilising his farm were false and could not be substantiated, more so taking into account that he was forced into exile after the military attempted to kill him and his family.

“The withdrawal of the offer letter is based on material falsehoods of a concocted alleged underutilisation of the land, which does not take into account the manner in which the State has sought to sabotage my investment for cheap political ends,” he said, adding: “… It, is however, unacceptable that the respondent’s administration can hound me out of the country and then turn around and say I have failed to utilise the land.”

He said it was also dishonest of the State to claim that a farm that had been fully utilised up until the November 2017 military coup was being underutilised.

“To what period does the under-utilisation relate, given that we are only in (2020)? How have the same officials that benefited from the 2017 military intervention separated the issue of that intervention and the political differences that exist between us from the farm issue?” Moyo queried.

“How can the issue of repossession of the farm only arise, since the year 2004, whenever I have problems with my political contestants?”

The former minister further said his relationship with Shiri had always been sour, given that the former Air Force of Zimbabwe commander has, in the past, labelled him a “liberation war deserter”.

“Respondent and I do not have an exactly cordial relationship … in a 2017 local paper’s publication, he falsely and maliciously referred to me as a liberation war deserter, with links to an outfit aligned to the Rhodesian security services. I do not trust that he can deal impartially with issues that relate to me,” he said.

“Further, his (Shiri) actions must be considered in their context. I was viewed by his administration as one of the chief enemies, leading to a siege on my house and a clear attempt to murder me and my whole family. That the issue of my farm has arisen in this context does not surprise me. That does not, however, make it legal or otherwise reasonably justifiable. It is in this context that I raise the issues that I place before the court for its determination.”

Turning to the issue of immediate vacation of the farm, Moyo said this was in breach of his proprietary rights and the government was not taking into account the close to US$1 million investment that he had sunk into the farming project.

He further said the decision was made without jurisdiction in that the State, having previously sought to acquire the land and having abandoned the process later, purported to once again acquire it in 2006, but he had already bought the same with the State’s consent and concurrence.

“… the offer letter was withdrawn on December 11, 2019 … the withdrawal was said to be with immediate effect.

It goes on to advise that I was to wind up all my operations and vacate the piece of land … I draw attention to the fact that the purported withdrawal comes right in the middle of the farming season after I had made serious investments totalling around $120 000,” he said.

“For reasons that are political, I have not been able to get any inputs assistance from the State and the investment, thus, made represents our unaided investment as a family. In this regard, second applicant’s (Beatrice Ambiyo Moyo) financial interests are directly imperilled.

“Finally, though noticing that I had in November expressed the intention to place before him (Shiri) my fuller submissions having been hampered by the fact of my being in exile and the well-known fact that my house had been attacked and ransacked by members of the Zimbabwe National Army during the November 2017 military intervention, respondent dismisses my desire to assist him make an informed decision and hastily proceeds to reach a conclusion on the matter.”

Moyo said the value of the farm had shot up to over US$723 000 because of his family’s investment.

“I point out that we are involved in both crop and animal husbandry and have, at the present moment, some 120 heads of cattle and 55 hectares of maize, 35 hectares of soyabeans and five hectares of sunflower,” the former Zanu PF and government spin doctor argued.

The matter is pending.

Zimbabweans never cease to amaze me. They have a penchant to blow their own trumpet (kuzvifonera) at every opportunity, but nature has its own humbling ways. Examples abound of people swaggering and belching much ado about nothing.

When Zanu PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa took over the presidency from the now late Robert Mugabe in 2017, he vowed to revive the waning economy; he adopted the “Zimbabwe is open for business” mantra. Wearing his trademark Zimbabwe flag-branded scarf, he took on a whirlwind tour of the world to lure investors to revive a virtually dead economy.
His engagement drive took him to China, Russia, Middle East, across Africa and culminated at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The so-called new dispensation trumpeted that Mnangagwa’s trips were bearing fruits as more than US$27 billion worth of mega deals ranging from mining, manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, healthcare, defence and energy, were on their way to Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe is endowed with a cornucopia of minerals, a literate population, good soils and good weather, surely the country is an easy-to-sell brand. Millions of dollars in hard currency were splashed on Mnanagwa’s bloated entourages to those far-off countries.

But more than two years into his tenure, Zimbabwe has nothing to show for Mnangagwa’s endless junkets. The mega deals appear to have dissipated into hot air.

In 2013, Caps United owner Farai Jere blew the horn, announcing that his pharmaceutical company would construct a US$145 million five-star Hilton Hotel and office complex in Eastlea, Harare.

The project was supposed to be completed in 2016. Hold your horses, four years after the project was expected to be completed, nothing has materialised.

And suddenly, out of the blue, former Zifa president Philip Chiyangwa, and obviously itching to prove that he could not be outdone by Jere or anyone else for that matter, brewed another shocker. This week the world woke up to news that Chiyangwa had a dream in June 2011 — a dream to build a state-of-the-art sporting facility in Harare South’s Stoneridge suburb.

“I had a dream in 2011 when the Harare City Council issued a permit for the land. In terms of sporting and entertainment facilities, Harare South has nothing. This facility will change that,” Chiyangwa told the media. The former Zifa president wants to build a Moses Mabida Stadium which can stage boxing, athletics, musical concerts and conferences in Stoneridge.

The venue of the facility raises questions. Stoneridge is not a prime location to build such a property. The sporting facility will be surrounded by squatter camps.

With the Zimbabwean economy heading south, building such a facility could remain Chiyangwa’s strange dream on a cold night.

I doubt if Chiyangwa carried out a feasibility study before making such an outlandish announcement. A feasibility study to ascertain the likelihood of successfully completing the project was key.

Project managers use feasibility studies to discern the pros and cons of undertaking a project before investing time and money into it.

This feasibility study could have provided Chiyangwa and his team with crucial information that could prevent them from venturing blindly into risky businesses that could hardly give him return on investment.

A feasibility study is simply an assessment of the practicality of a proposed project. As the name implies, these studies ask: Will the project give proprietors the return on investment that they expect? If that project is completed, it is likely to become a white elephant just like High Glen Shopping Mall and is unlikely to give return on investment.

Captain Fiasco as Chiyangwa is affectionately known, said he is partnering the government. Sounds a good idea, but the same government owns the 60 000-seater National Sports Stadium (NSS), which the Confederation of African Football (Caf) recently condemned for failing to meet international standards.

It is no secret that the government has a lot on its plate to accommodate Chiyangwa in this self-actualisation project.

If the government had the capacity to lend Chiyangwa a hand, then it should have shown it by refurbishing the NSS to ease the county’s stadia crisis. With the government failing its restless workers, how will it partner the Pinnacle Properties boss in a self-fulfilling stadium named after himself?

Even though Uefa president Aleksander Cerefin, who was recently in the country, promised to assist Africa with capacity building by providing sports infrastructure in appreciation of the vast contribution made by the continent’s stars in the global football stage, he sounded sceptical to fund such projects.

“I think we can help quite a lot. Our principles are that we don’t send money. We send experts, we help in building infrastructure,” Cerefin said. This is a slap in the face on Chiyangwa as his tenure at 53 Livingstone Avenue in Harare had been marred by controversy as he was fingered in misappropriation of Zifa funds. Advancing funds to that project is tantamount to throwing money into a bottomless pity.

The timely announcement of a June 2011 dream comes at a time Chiyangwa is caught up in an eye of a storm as the Felton Kamambo-led Zifa board is frantically trying to recover monies that Chiyangwa allegedly siphoned from the local soccer governing body during his tenure as the association’s president.

The media in recent weeks exposed how Chiyangwa allegedly embezzled thousands of dollars from the association through fraud and corruption, after the flamboyant businessman reportedly withdrew US$30 000 from a Zifa nostro account, months after he had ceased to be an official, in addition to using Zifa money to fund his lavish birthday party in 2017.

It is also reported that Chiyangwa leased the Zifa Village to one of his companies to keep creditors at bay, an agreement which he allegedly later used to loot funds from the association.

Chiyangwa has a weakness of having too many things on his hands, resulting in a lot of his projects not reaching completion. His hotel at “White House” along Crowhill Road in Harare is now an eyesore.
Maybe we should give him a chance this time around.

He is just hyping for something I guess! Or he could be diverting people’s attention from the Zifagate. Time will tell! It could be folly for Chiyangwa to go against the wind in constructing a project of such a magnitude.

I am not a prophet of doom, but based on the foregoing, Captain Fiasco could have been blowing his own trumpet as far as the Philip Chiyangwa Stadium is concerned. Lies have short legs.

Cliff Chiduku is a journalist. He writes in his personal capacity. Feedback: cchiduku@gmail.com

On or around January 8 2020, the nation was advised that President Emmerson Mnangagwa (ED) had proceeded on his annual leave and had for that reason nominated (Retired) General Constantino Chiwenga and (Retired) Colonel Kembo Mohadi, on a rotational basis, to act in his stead during the period of his absence.

It was inauspiciously advised that ED would be in the country for the entire duration of his annual vacation.

His Excellency has, however, subsequently performed certain Executive functions during the advised vacation. I have been consulted to give advice on the constitutional implications of these developments.

Paragraph 14(3) of the sixth schedule of the Constitution of Zimbabwe 2013, provides as follows:
“Where-
(a)
(b) two Vice-Presidents are appointed in terms of sub-paragraph (2), the President may from time to time nominate one of them to act as President whenever he or she is absent from Zimbabwe or is unable to exercise his or her official functions through illness or any other cause.”

In terms of this provision, an Acting President can only be appointed in two instances viz:
i. If the President is absent from Zimbabwe (this connotes physical absence) or,
ii. If through inability, he cannot exercise his/her official functions (this connotes physical or mental inability which must exist as a matter of objective fact).

In this regard, it does not matter how the inability arises. What is clear is that whatever cause is relied upon by the President must speak to an absolute inability on his part to perform the functions of his office.
Further, the President cannot nominate both his deputies to act as presidents on a rotational basis. He can only nominate one at a time or to use the words of the Constitution, “from time to time”.

In this case, the President is in Zimbabwe and could not have nominated one or both of his deputies to assume the position of Acting President. He also could not have nominated an Acting President on the basis of inability to perform his functions given that such inability does not as a matter of objective fact exist. The grave and concerning surrender by the President of Executive power has neither constitutional warrant nor precedent.

At any rate, it is not open to the President, during the period in which an Acting President is in office, to exercise, on a random basis, the already delegated functions of his office. Executive authority cannot at that level be shared and once delegated, constitutional authority cannot, thereafter, be exercised by the delegate. The President cannot have it both ways.

Either he retains his authority in which event he exercises it or he delegates it, in which event he losses it for the period of the delegation. It is also clear that the President could not have validly nominated both his deputies to act as presidents on a rotational basis. In terms of the Constitution, he could only nominate one deputy at a time or “from time to time”. The unconstitutional act of appointing two deputies to act on a rotational basis is in my view deliberate and was meant to aid the President in his renunciation of the Constitution.

As a result, the country is currently operating under an illegal regime in which the President has not only abdicated his constitutional obligation to observe the law, but has altogether repudiated his position as President. The repudiation comes in that an absence from the country or an inability to perform functions, Executive authority cannot be delegated as has been done. The President not only having delegated the authority, but also having been prepared to share it with his deputies has by his objective actions repudiated his position as Head of State and government.

In terms of section 96 of the Constitution, the President can only resign his office by notifying the Speaker of Parliament in writing that he has done so. There is, however, no process required and none to be followed when the President repudiates his position. A sitting President is at large to repudiate his position either by word or conduct. Repudiation is itself a unilateral act and cannot be recalled. In the immortal words of the Shona, yadeuka yadeuka.

Zimbabwe has accordingly ceased to have a substantive President. In terms of paragraph 14(4)(a) of the sixth schedule, the last Vice-President to have acted in the position of the President, must now exercise complete Executive authority until his party nominates a substantive President in terms of paragraph 14(5) of the same schedule. That is a constitutional imperative.

Thabani Mpofu is an advocate at the Chambers, Harare

ZIMBABWE’S economic outlook is gloomy due to impending drought, prompting industry players to call for the country’s best minds to apply themselves to save the situation.

BY MTHANDAZO NYONI

The southern African nation has not received significant rainfall so far, raising fears of another drought this season.

Industry players who spoke to NewsDay Business said the signs of an impending drought this season were dampening the little prospects of a bright outlook for 2020.

“Our economy is mostly agro-driven and a drought strikes right at the core of any hopes for economic growth. We are optimistic though, going by what the bureaucrats are saying that the rewards for the austerity measures implemented last year will begin to show this year,” Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce Matabeleland chapter chairperson Brighton Ncube said.

Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries president Henry Ruzvidzo said real prospects of a drought “will require that the country’s best minds apply themselves to mitigate the social and business impact”.

The economy is facing stagnation characterised by negative growth, high rate of inflation, high levels of unemployment, chronic forex shortages and power shortages.

Gross domestic product (GDP) growth is expected to contract 12,9%, according to reports.

Ncube said government should continue improving the ease-of-doing business, adding that the policy interventions must encourage growth and attract foreign direct investment.

At present, he said, businesses felt over-regulated.

“Confidence must be instilled in the use of the local currency. There is need for business and general stakeholders to seriously start diverting to renewable sources of power as a means of long-term planning for the continued sustainable energy sources,” Ruzvidzo said

“Energy is a key enabler to an economy, especially in agriculture, manufacturing and mining, which underpin our economic growth and well-being. Corruption should be dealt with decisively as it is weighing down heavily all the other efforts to turn the economy around.”

He said the 2020 projection would also hinge on further policy measures, particularly on the monetary front and on energy supply.

Ruzvidzo said it was possible to have a policy mix that encourages growth as already signalled in the 2020 national budget.

“Production for both the local and export markets is key to turning around the economy. Policies must be evaluated on whether they increase or decrease national production,” he said.

“While the prospects for the year ahead appear quite daunting, a single-minded drive towards the national vision complemented by appropriate policies should be sufficient to have the desired
outcome.”

BY CHELSEA MUSAFARE

NETHERLANDS-BASED Zimbabwean songstress Vimbai Zimuto (pictured) is set to embark on a week-long tour of Harare to identify shooting spots for her music videos to be infused into her forthcoming album, NewsDay Life & Style has learnt.

Zimuto said she used last year to build her brand and she was happy with the results and was now ready to take her music career a notch higher.

“The main reason I am touring the Sunshine City is to work on my album, specifically in the studio,” she said.
“I scout for places with Simba Gee Studio Art Pictures and all the entourage I am working with. We have not really decided yet on the places for the video shooting, but most probably in the Midlands. We have already done Manicaland, Mashonaland East and West.”

Zimuto said her fans should be ready for a lot of studio time, photo shoots and community projects as this will be on her social media platforms during the tour.

She said her fans would be able to see that the album was done with a high level of creativity lacking in many local productions.

“I have changed a lot of things in my art. The album is very rich, current but ancient without following the trending vibes. It speaks volumes about my current life and my inner feelings. Basically I am sliding on top of my lyrics like swallowing okra by drinking it, and at the end no drop left. Some of my songs are heartfelt, fun, but most of all groovy,” she said.

The dancer said her project, unique compared to her previous productions, were produced by Netherlands’ Eric Lest Van De, Regine of Piramide Records from Belgium and Track Records’ Spencer Masango, who is behind the Hapana Kwaunoenda track.

She said after experimenting with different sounds in 2019, she has identified her trajectory as fans would realise from music set to be produced this year.

Zimuto, who has been nominated for the Best Alternative award at the Zimbabwe Music Awards 2020, said the selection confirmed that she worked hard in 2019.

TEMPERAMENTAL dancehall chanter Soul Jah Love yesterday said his heart went out to his former wife and fellow musician Bounty Lisa who has been battling ill-health after a growth developed on her right leg and hampered her music career.

BY FREEMAN MAKOPA

Bounty Lisa — real name Lynette Lisa Musenyi — was last on stage in 2017 and recently appeared at Prophet Walter Magaya’s Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries church service seeking divine healing.

Soul Jah Love told NewsDay Life & Style that despite the fallout that saw their marriage collapse, he had thrown his weight behind her search for recovery and was also praying for her.

“I just want to say, don’t worry Bounty, God is in control and you are always in my prayers everyday and I wish you receive your deliverance soon. Whether we are together or not, you will always be in my mind,” he said.

“I am just looking for a way to go and see her and if I am permitted, I will be at her gate in no time.”

Bounty Lisa reportedly caused a stir at PHD Ministries when she appeared live on Yadah Television during a live church service where she was accompanied by her father and one of her sisters.

She has previously disclosed that she ended the marriage to Soul Jah Love because she could not cope with his drug addiction and violent tendencies.

Meanwhile, Soul Jah Love said he had changed his marketing strategy after some of his fans pleaded with him to consider incorporating English lyrics to give his music an international flair.

“In terms of my music, I am now eyeing new market criteria and looking forward to going international as some of my fans have been complaining and wanted some of my songs to be in English and to go to other nations,” he said.

In pursuit of that dream, the chanter said he has done collaborations with Ghanaian singer, Jah khal on a track titled Dem Dead and he was currently working on another song with Jamaican Lutan Fire.

“His management has already sent their stuff and it’s on us now to add our input and the song will be on the market, but we have not yet decided on the name of the song,” he said.

I WAS born in the middle of World War II when children died in their millions, and mothers struggled to keep them alive in a world exploding with new weaponry and unending warfare, with fathers lost in nuclear conflicts, and superpowers annihilating smaller nations.

It is not just soldiers who die in war and violence; women and children, the elderly and the sick, refugees and the homeless, civilians and non-combatants of all kinds die in equal numbers. Babies die in bombed hospitals, young mothers perish because of neglect, the lack of drugs and the absence of doctors and midwives.

When 2000 years ago all the boy children of Bethlehem were massacred, a young child called Jesus was the real target. His family escaped with him to nearby Egypt. His time had not yet come. He grew to full manhood, and was killed by the colonial powers of his time.

Even today children keep dying in wars, for example in the Middle East, in revolutions in Latin America, through crime and drug addiction in the US, through unemployment in Africa and Asia, while migrating from great economic misery to “greener pastures”, crossing rivers and seas.

Children die in ethnic conflicts, in race wars (apartheid, “gukurahundi”, Rwanda) and lethal epidemics in tropical rain forests (Ebola!), and as “child soldiers”, being taught to shoot and kill before they have grown up enough to tell the difference between good and evil, and know that human life is infinitely precious.

Most childhood diseases can be eradicated, polio, measles, scarlet fever, mumps, diphtheria, tuberculosis, whooping cough, tetanus and malaria. But do we actually make the effort? Are we determined and committed to save the children?

Their parents, their brothers and sisters, families, clans and tribes cry to their Creator, to spirits and prophets: “How can our Creator, if He is a loving God, allow the children to suffer like that?”

Most people on this planet have long given up on this question. But there is an answer, hidden, secret, unknown to many, but it can be found.

It is the birth of a child. A messenger told a young woman: “You will bear a child, and name him Jesus.” This is where the Christian faith began.

Every child on this Earth is precious because of Him. We must accept every child with a loving embrace, because our Lord and Maker loves it, embraces it, gives it life and power. That is our Faith.

Even in the midst of war, epidemics and diseases, we care about children. Once the Spirit of the Creator dwells in us we care about the youngest and most vulnerable.

This week our children go back to school. Many parents, also single mothers, worry very much about getting their children back to school. Without education they have no future.

There is a race going on to make sure those children will have a future. Mothers turn to cross-border trading. It takes many hours to get across borders into neighbouring countries and to buy what children need for sale to Zimbabwean parents who want their children to look smart when they arrive at school. And successfully selling boots, school uniforms and satchels in townships, on farms and mine compounds is hard work. Those mothers will not have much sleep these days.

I have a friend who has no children of her own, but is in charge of hundreds of childen who have lost their parents. Another one is in charge of a school with 1 000 children, a tough job when parents cannot pay the fees. There are women without families of their own, but as midwives they have helped hundreds, maybe thousands of children to arrive in this world safely. They have done so because the spirit of mercy and compassion dwells in their hearts.

There was a time when teachers were respected and highly regarded. Teaching was not just a job to make money, but a vocation for men and women who loved children. Government provided them with living wages, transport and housing. Government can do so again if it does not waste much of the budget and spend too much on war and weapons, rather than on health and life. We will have nobody to nurse us and cure us when we are sick, unless our young people study science in school to be ready for a career in medicine and healthcare.

The walk-out by medical workers, and government firing many of them, have cost the lives of mothers and their little ones who were not welcomed into this world.

“Let the children come to me and do not prevent them,” said the son of Mary, having barely escaped himself from the massacre carried out by a tyrant.

This message must transform our world where the little ones are shunned. “See that you do not despise one of these little ones” (Lk 18: 10).“They are loved by my Father who loves you too, and wants you to love them as well”.

If you walk in the footsteps of the man born in Bethlehem and grown up in Nazareth, he calls you to stop all abuse of children and all violence inflicted on their mothers.

When schools open again, let us stop where necessary, so children can cross the road on their way to school. They are our children, the children of Africa.

They depend on us.

 Fr Oskar Wermter SJ is a social commentator and writes here in his personal capacity