Guest Column: Emmanuel Zvada

What does a leader look like? Think of two leaders, famous or not, whom you admire and respect. What do they do that is so different? Leadership is not a great mystery. Great leaders have specific traits in common. These traits can be learned and developed by you if you want to be a great leader. It is important to note that effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes or actions.
Results speak louder than actions.

Be exemplary

When you are a leader all eyes are on you, watching your every move as you set the expectations of employees. They will look at your willingness to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in an effort to achieve your team goals. They will look at you to see how you communicate at all hierarchical levels and they will analyse how accountable you are when things are going badly. Being a good role model for your team is vital if you want your staff members to be as professional as you are. Lead by example in everything you do at work. It can be very difficult to reprimand a member of staff for something if you are a habitual offender as leader.

Be a good communicator

A great leader is always a skilled communicator not only as speaker but as a listener, but someone who has the ability to take charge, direct, encourage or stimulate others. To become a great leader, one should be a great communicator. Great leaders are always considered as first-class communicators, they have a clear set of values and they always believe in promoting and inculcating those values in others. It is due to this reason that their teams appreciate them and follow them as leaders. Being a great communicator does not mean great talker. There is a big difference between the two. Great leaders have ability to connect to passions and ambitions while communicating their ideas with others.

Always have integrity

Integrity means following your moral or ethical convictions and doing the right thing in all circumstances, even if no one is watching you. Having integrity means you are true to yourself and would do nothing that demeans or dishonours you. One of the leadership qualities that define a good leader is honesty. When you are responsible for a team of people, it is important to be straightforward. Your company and its employees reflect you and if you take honest and ethical behaviour as key values, your team will follow.

Know when to let others lead

Knowing when to “take the lead” and when to take the backseat and allow your team members to drive results on their own can be one of the most difficult balancing acts a leader faces. Trusting your team to act alone and own their responsibilities can free you from constant micromanaging. But at the same time, your guidance as a leader and mentor is critical to your team’s development and success.

Admit your failures

Failure is the best teacher, as they say, and it is not a crime to admit that you have failed as a leader and give others a chance. If you want to be a great leader, do not be that person with such a strong ego and can’t accept other people’s suggestions, especially when they come from people who are more knowledgeable than you on the subject matter. Admitting your weaknesses will allow you to learn more about yourself and the things you have to improve on. Learning that other people would be better doing the task you are trying to accomplish, or allowing them to take part in your success, or even allowing them to lead is what we call leadership maturity.

Be a servant

Being a servant leader can boost engagement, increase trust and build better team relationships. Committed to serve the needs of others before their own, courageous to lead with power and love as an expression of serving, consistently developing others into leaders and continually inviting feedback from those that they want to serve.
If you hate true feedback from those whom you lead then you are not a great leader.

Make sound, timely decisions

It is imperative to note that when you are a leader you are in a position to make informed decisions quickly and the decisions you make can either affect everyone positively or negatively. To make sound decisions, try to base your decisions on fact rather than assumption, emotion or hearsay and approach your decision rationally. To make sound and timely decisions as a leader, assess the situation, seek out relevant information, weigh options, make judgments and initiate action as required to create a positive outcome. Timely decisions are the ones that are taken at the right time to have the best effect. The best decision taken and implemented at the wrong time is useless. Timely decision-making requires assurance and boldness.

Take responsibility

As a leader, your team will look to you for guidance and inspiration on ways to take the business to new heights. When things happen, whatever they may be, your first duty is to take responsibility for your actions. You should know that taking responsibility for your actions does include taking responsibility for the actions of those you lead. When things go wrong, they will turn to you to take corrective and decisive action. How you respond in times of adversity provides you with an opportunity to show an example of being a good leader.

Pursue self-improvement

We all have strengths and limitations or weaknesses. You build on strengths and find ways to compensate for your weaknesses. No one can excel in everything. However, as a leader, you must at least try to excel in your field of endeavour. You must, therefore, align your strengths to achieve professional competence in your particular field so that you maximise your chances of success. All this takes honesty and integrity to recognise where you are strong and where you are weak and to admit that you need to do something about it. But without honesty, you cannot really attain your full potential and thus, develop your full professional competency. As a result, you are bound to fail.

Give trust to earn trust

When you trust, you send a message that you believe in people and have confidence in them and, in turn they are more inclined to trust you. Trust must be earned because it comes from a conscious effort to walk the talk, keep your promises and align your behaviour with your values. Building trust is worth the effort because once trust is lost, it can be very difficult to recover. Consistently doing what you say you will do builds trust. Keeping commitments must be the essence of your behaviour, in all relationships, day after day and year after year.

For those who are eager to learn more about leadership or who would like to become more successful leaders, start to develop yourself now.

While some of the leadership qualities may be more naturally present in the personality of a leader, it is definitely something you can develop and strengthen over time. Everyone can be a leader, yet only a select few can become great leaders.

 Emmanuel Zvada is a human capital consultant and an international recruitment expert. He writes in his personal capacity.

Batsira Chigama

BY CHELSEA MUSAFARE

SPOKEN word poet and award-winning author Batsirai Chigama is working on a new project to create space for writers and artists to showcase their work as part of her efforts to give back to the community.

Chigama, who was at the International Writers Programme (IWP) in lowa, United States last year said 2020 was her year of giving back.

“My 2020 resolutions include giving back to the society. It is about creating space for writers and artists to showcase their work. I am also working on my second collection of poetry, which I am very excited about,” she said.

The widely travelled poet and gender activist recently told NewsDay Life & Style she would continue to lend her voice to the women whose voices have been silenced.

“By lending my voice, I am not speaking on their behalf; I am using the gift I have to share their compelling stories with the world if they allow me to; sharing stories that I am allowed to share as well as the experiences from the environments I encounter,” said the poet.

Chigama said her tour to the US — which motivated her to help improve Zimbabwe’s literary industry — opened her eyes to how much work can be put to create space for writers that allow interaction, collaboration and possible revival of the literary scene.

Chigama’s name has been largely associated with poetry slams and her work is featured in over 15 poetry anthologies in Zimbabwe, the US, Italy and New Zealand.

In 2002, she became the first Zimbabwean to take part in the Italian Nosside World Poetry competition, where she won a medal.

She was appointed the Woman Scream Poetry International co-ordinator for Zimbabwe in 2014 and one of her poems, Bring Back Our Girls, in which she called for the return of the missing Nigerian girls abducted by Boko Haram, was featured on BBC Africa.

BY MOSES MATENGA

WORKERS at Harare’s biggest water treatment plant, Morton Jaffray, are allegedly involved in serious corruption – using official working hours for fishing and other personal business while abusing company vehicles, it has emerged.

Though millions of dollars have been poured into the refurbishment of the plant, including half of the US$144 million sourced from a Chinese bank, no progress has been made to improve water pumping to millions of residents within greater Harare amid reports of underhand dealings, dereliction of duty and lack of supervision.

Town House officials have also blamed the situation on maladministration and management’s lack of seriousness in dealing with issues.

The major water treatment plant, observers said, has now been turned into a “fishery” where people spend time engaged in fishing business at the expense of their duties.

Investigations showed that workers come to work for two hours or less and spend the rest of the time fishing, yet they are considered to have worked for eight hours.

“The plant is dirty, but it has many workers who spend much of their time catching fish than on council business,” a council source said.

Pictures of council vehicles being used to transport meat from poachers and manure have gone viral on social media.

“Workers, who report for overtime duty end up doing private business and we have a situation where empty containers are sold in United States dollars while council gets local currency,” the source said.

In the canteen, it emerged, workers who come for three hours are paid full shift allowances and overtime, something Town House described as fraud.

It also emerged that canteen workers were receiving chemical allowances when in fact, they do not handle such hazardous materials and it could not be established who was benefiting from the canteen proceeds.

“There is also gross abuse of vehicles for personal use by officials at the plant,” he source added.

It also emerged that the plant electricity was being abused by officials who have illegally connected power for other uses outside pumping water.

Harare mayor Herbert Gomba yesterday confirmed the rot at the water treatment plant, saying he would have a meeting with the town clerk on the matter.

“We cannot have a situation where supervision has collapsed to levels of impunity,” he said.

“I have seen the abuses myself and I am sure it is happening. I will investigate allowance payments and ensure we bring sanity. Workers must be productive or be made to be and managers must be pushed to do that. This cannot continue,” Gomba said.

Town clerk Hosea Chisango, however, said it was unlikely that this was happening, adding that Morton Jaffray was well-monitored as it was a small community.

“We have people on shifts 24/7 and we have supervisors on the ground at any given time,” he said, adding that there were CCTVs at the plant to monitor workers’ performance.

Chisango recently came under fire from Harare Metropolitan Affairs minister Oliver Chidawu for allegedly failing to properly run the affairs of the city.

Officials said a forensic audit must be carried out to establish the depth of the corrupt activities at Town House.

By SIMBARASHE SITHOLE

Confusion is reigning supreme over Chief Makope’s chieftainship in Mazowe after the installation of a substantive leader of the clan by President Emmerson Mnangagwa last year.

Mnangagwa installed Godwin Zambara (59) as substantive chief on December 4 last year, ending the reign of Jacob Mapirinjanja who had been acting chief since 2014 following the death of his father Newton Mapirinjanja.

Mapirinjanja has allegedly challenged the new appointment and continued with his chieftainship duties.

Provincial development coordinator Cosmas Chiringa confirmed the new appointment, saying Mapirinjanja’s court was illegal.

“I can confirm that President Mnangagwa appointed Godwin Zambara as the substantive Chief Makope on December 4 last year. If Mapirinjanja is conducting courts as alleged, it is illegal and he should be brought to book,” Chiringa said.

“It was made clear to both of them in December at district administrator Mark Kadaira’s office and the two accepted the President’s letter.”

Mapirinjanja was not picking up calls, but his clerk Mauritus Musundasora urged people to ignore Zambara’s appointment.

“We know people are saying what they want about our chieftainship, but my advice to you is to ignore the so-called new appointment,” Musundasora said.

NewsDay has it on good authority that Mapirinjanja held a traditional court hearing last week.

BY VANESSA GONYE

Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors’ Association (ZHDA) president Peter Magombeyi has resigned from his position as leader of junior medical practitioners, but vowed to continue the struggle to better conditions for health professionals.

In a letter to the Health ministry as well as the Health Services Board on Sunday, Magombeyi cited personal reasons for his decision to step down amid speculation that he was forced to quit.

“I do not intend to inconvenience you with this news and I hope you will accept my most sincere apologies in making Friday, January 24 2020 my last day as the president of the aforementioned association,” he wrote.

“I know this is unexpected, but I am happy to assist the association in the replacement process to help alleviate the transition.”

Magombeyi said he would remain a part of the struggle by doctors as they seek to get fair working conditions.

“I will never forget the struggle we go through every day, trying to come up with a functional public health delivery system that benefits all Zimbabweans and our welfare as doctors. Aluta continua!,” he said.

Magombeyi hogged the limelight in September last year when he was allegedly abducted and tortured by suspected State security agents before he was dumped in Nyabira.

He was taken to South Africa for further medical attention and has not returned home since then.

His resignation comes at a time the doctors are divided, with a splinter group having been formed late last year, whose majority membership is back at work, leaving the ZHDA to continue with the near five-month-long strike that began in September.

Community Working Group on Health executive director Itai Rusike applauded the move by Magombeyi, saying it served as an example to those clinging to power to know when to walk away.

He, however, bemoaned the demise of a united front by doctors as they have now been divided, compromising continued negotiations for a better working environment.

“The only sad thing is that his resignation is coming at a time when the doctors are fragmented and divided by the formation of a splinter doctors’ association that has weakened their negotiating and bargaining power,” Rusike said.

Pieter de Jongh

BY TERRY MADYAUTA

Premier Soccer League (PSL) champions FC Platinum are unsure if they will retain the services of Soccer Star of the Year finalist Never Tigere, who has not reported back to the club since the expiry of his contract on December 31.

News from Zvishavane is that Tigere has not availed himself to renew the contract amid reports that there were Zambian clubs courting him while ambitious Ngezi Platinum Stars are also reportedly keen to acquire his services.

He was not in the squad that played Egyptian giants Al Ahly in a Caf Champions League group match at Barbourfields Stadium on Saturday.

Losing a player of Tigere’s calibre would be a big blow to the Pieter de Jongh-led FC Platinum as he had established himself as a vital cog in the squad in the last two seasons.

He has also chipped in with goals with his last goal for the club being in the Caf Champions League late last year.

The platinum miners have also parted ways with five players that include Devon Chafa, Wallace Magalane, Charles Sibanda, Mkhokheli Dube and Rodwell Chinyengetere.

Short of personnel, they were forced to recall Cameroonian import Albert Eonde, who they had off-loaded early this month.

In trying to fill in the gaps that have been created by the departure of key players, FC Platinum raided the market and acquired Last Jesi, Stanley Ngala and Soccer Star of the Year first runner-up Ralph Kawondera.

Jesi and Ngala featured against Al Ahly, with the former scoring for the home side in the one-all draw.

Kawondera is cup-tied to feature in the Caf Champions League as he played for Triangle in the Caf Confederation Cup earlier in the season.

FC Platinum assistant coach Lizwe Sweswe has heaped praise on Ngala and Jesi on their debut performances. They were acquired from Manica Diamonds.

“They did well on their first day and they showed that they mean business. They are here to compete and make our team much stronger,” Sweswe said.

“The way they performed is very hopeful and I am hoping they will keep the momentum in all future matches for the club. For now we are focusing on the Champions’ League and I hope their first appearance goes a long way in boosting their confidence,” he added.

Ngala is reuniting with Perfect Chikwende at the tip of the FC Platinum attack, having played together at Bulawayo Chiefs.

Guest Column: Learnmore Zuze

Any objective person in Zimbabwe should carry the conviction that Zimbabwean law enforcement agents are thorough; they are competent if not the best in southern Africa. As poorly resourced as they may be, these men and women have been able to crack the nut where necessary. The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) carries the respect of many in the word in the sense that where they have to do their work unimpeded, they crack mysteries. We all know how, liaising with their Mozambican counterparts, they subdued and hounded Zimbabwe’s most infamous criminals in the form of Stephen Chidhumo and Edgar Masendeke in the remotest parts of Mozambique. The antics of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are a matter of record. The rebels in Mozambique have been kept at bay through army exploits at the Mozambique–Zimbabwe border. Back home, we have seen the ZRP, without leads, fishing out sophisticated criminals who had been terrorising residents in Domboshava.

It then befuddles the mind how the marauding influence of machete gangs has kept growing and their daring acts left unbridled. Much of last year was characterised by ludicrous acts of machete gangs commonly referred to as MaShurugwi.

The lawlessness perpetrated by these societal malcontents leaves one wondering whether this was taking place on a constitutional Zimbabwe or in some backwater country without an administration. On several occasions, these machete gangs have reportedly invaded hospitals to finish off their victims, sending health professionals scurrying for cover in different directions. The machete gangs have often invaded police stations and freed victims. Where does that happen in Zimbabwe? Are our law enforcers paralysed? Where is the law? How does this even happen?

The MaShurugwi danger, I believe, would be a forgotten phenomenon by now if, in all honesty, political commitment existed to end the menace. The army would have by now trampled the remnants of the evil practice but, as things stand, societies remain in palpable danger as these murderers, presumably protected by the powerful of society, go scot free.

It is evident that something does not add up in the whole mine terror gangs matter. The well-known Kwekwe case where machete-wielding people sent doctors and nurses scurrying for cover as the thugs searched for their victim has no known docket to date. One can choose to make a compilation of all the murder cases linked to the MaShurugwi gangs and clearly few arrests have been made, yet the media go to town daily about the machete gangs.

It inherently leads to an inescapable conclusion that these societal misfits may be operating under the shadow of some powerful individuals within society. How else can a lawful country explain this puzzle?

Unofficial figures confirm that these machete-wielding gangs operating in mafia-style have hacked hundreds of people to death with no consequence at all to them. The groups commonly known by code names like “MaShurugwi” or “Mabhemba” are neither alien people coming from some cryptic place to commit the heinous crimes as they defend their so-called territories nor some shadowy entity.

They are well-known people within communities, who bewilderingly are feared and untouchable even in the wake of numerous murder cases ascribed to them. These groups are notorious for butchering each other as they fight for lucrative mining claims. Of late, they have extended their unlawful activities to cowering of innocent citizens.

The terror gangs last month invaded a public bar in Bindura and assaulted revellers, with some reportedly left injured. It is also well-known that the terror groups, in typical clandestine style of killer gangs, do not report deaths to the police.

Many relatives of victims can confirm the unavailability of accused persons in the cases involving these terrors groups. It is incomprehensible how this phenomenon that seriously threatens national peace can continue unbridled.
It is as if to say those in authority are not alive to the fact that citizens are being murdered in broad daylight and no meaningful action has been taken to urgently halt the senseless killings.

Why the government seems to be turning a blind eye to this urgent predicament is quite a mystery. People are said to be dying in their numbers at Jumbo Mine in Mazowe and many more have reportedly been killed in these areas without any single arrest made. In any other jurisdiction, it would have been overwhelmingly urgent for the government to move in to save lives.

The MaShurugwi groups have terrorised society for a long time now that, naturally, it makes sense to believe that there are elite people behind the defiance of the groups. How else can one explain the fact that well-known murderers can roam the streets freely in a supposed constitutional democracy? Zimbabwe’s security forces, well-known, for their heavy-handed approach, even on unarmed protesters, surely it cannot play second fiddle to machete-wielding thugs.

It leads to one inescapable conclusion that some elite groups could actually be protecting these groups. The elite groups somehow are the power behind these groups if not employers of these groups. Real action is needed, not cosmetic actions against terror gangs. The lawlessness has taken a shocking dimension and Zimbabwe must be saved.

 Learnmore Zuze is a legal officer and writes here in his own capacity.

BY SHARON SIBINDI

AWARD-WINNING Bulawayo-based writer Bryony Rheam will be the guest of honour at this year’s edition of the Cairo International Book Fair.

The Arabic translation of Rheam’s novel, This September Sun, was launched at the Egyptian book fete last year under the auspices of Egyptian publishers, Al Arabi.

The director of the local publisher of the book, amaBooks, Brian Jones told NewsDay Life & Style that since the launch the Egyptian publisher has described the book as having travelled the Arab world as far as Morocco and the Arabian Gulf.

“Its success has resulted in Bryony Rheam being invited as a guest of honour at this year’s Cairo International Book Fair. The book fair is the largest and oldest book fair in the Arab world, held every year since 1969. Last year, the fair attracted two-and-a-half million visitors. This year the fair runs from January 22 to February 4,” he said.

Jones said Rheam was ecstatic about the development and was looking forward to attending the fair.

“The author is very excited to be invited and looks forward to meeting readers of her work based in the Arab world,” he said.

“Previously she has appeared at a number of festivals, including the Intwasa Arts Festival, the Ake Arts and Book Festival in Nigeria and Africa Utopia in London.”

This September Sun was first published by amaBooks in Zimbabwe and was subsequently published in Kenya and the United Kingdom. The Arabic version was the first translation of the novel.

Jane Morris, the co-director at amaBooks, said: “We hope it will be the first of many translations. The novel “has legs” and continues to be popular and selling well. In the age of e-books, it is available throughout the world and has been particularly successful in this format, having topped the Amazon sales charts in the UK.”

Rheam’s skill as a writer has been recognised on many occasions and she was chosen as one of the five writers across Africa to be a Morland scholar, while This September Sun was selected as a set text for ‘A’ level Literature in English in Zimbabwe.

She has also published All Come to Dust and is currently working on The Dying of the Light.

Zimbabwe players have not been provided with the reason for the two Logan Cup matches that were supposed to begin on Thursday not getting underway as scheduled.

The first-class domestic tournament started on December 10 after a delay to the start of the season while Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) waited for the International Cricket Council (ICC) disbursement following its reinstatement as a full member in October.

The competition is in its fifth round and has already been disrupted once. Last week‘s match between Rhinos and Tuskers, due to take place at Takashinga Cricket Club, did not happen.

ESPNcricinfo understands that the players believe there are insufficient funds to cater for the matches, taking into account the costs of match fees and ground preparation.

An insider confirmed the players have not received communication about the rescheduling of fixtures. ZC did not respond to a request for comment.

However, a national team camp is taking place in Harare in preparation for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka, which takes place later this month.

The provisional squad has 25 players, including nine uncapped players.

Among them are Brian Mudzinganyama and Kevin Kasuza, who are third and fourth on the Logan Cup run charts and Charlton Tshuma, William Mashinge and Victor Nyauchi who are sixth, eighth and ninth on the wicket charts respectively.

Familiar names such as Brendan Taylor, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara and Donald Tiripano are also in training with the national side.

The series against Sri Lanka starts in six days’ time and will be Sean Williams’ first as Zimbabwe’s captain.

Zimbabwe have not played a Test since November 2018, when they drew a series in Bangladesh.

Since then, they failed to qualify for the 2019 50-overs World Cup and were unable to participate in the qualification for this year’s T20 World Cup because they were sanctioned by the ICC for government interference in the game.

The ICC has since reopened the door to Zimbabwe and provided the much-needed financial life-blood. ZC is dependent on ICC funds, especially to ensure the continuation of domestic cricket.

Zimbabwe provisional Test squad

Ryan Burl, Sikandar Raza Butt, Regis Chakabva, Brian Chari, Tendai Chatara, Chamunorwa Chibhabha, Craig Ervine, Kyle Jarvis, Kevin Kasuza, Timycen Maruma, William Mashinge, Prince Masvaure, Brandon Mavuta, Peter Joseph Moor, Brian Mudzinganyama, Tapiwa Mufudza, Carl Mumba, Tinotenda Mutombodzi, Ainsley Ndlovu, Richard Ngarava, Victor Nyauchi, Brendan Taylor, Donald Tiripano, Charlton Tshuma, Sean Williams — ESPNcricinfo