A Russian trade delegation in Zimbabwe recently expressed interest in importing agricultural produce from Zimbabwe as the eastern European powerhouse seeks to establish new commodities markets in the wake of Western imposed trade sanctions. Russia already has local business interests in the mining sector.

Head of the delegation Igo Avakumo told local journalists ahead of a meeting with agriculture minister Joseph Made, that trade sanctions by the European Union and United States had propelled Russia to turn to Latin America, Asia and Africa for agricultural produce.

Before the sanctions , Russia’s food imports from the EU and the US accounted for over US$40 million annually. Avakumo said Russia’s need for citrus fruits would create business opportunity for Zimbabwe. “Imports of citrus fruits will be of interest to us as we don’t have much of that in our country. We have been producing them in greenhouses but the high energy demand for greenhouses makes it expensive,” Avakumo said.

“We are also proposing to establish a genetic selection centre in Zimbabwe which would supply Russia with high quality seeds particularly vegetables and potatoes.”

Made said in exchange Zimbabwe was also seeking credit loans for local farmers from the eastern European powerhouse. “We would like to study your credit finance structure that has enabled you to meet your grain requirements. We would like to understand the nature and structure of subsidies because that is where the crux of the matter is in terms of sustaining the farmers,” he said.

In September, the two countries signed several agreements to develop a $3 billion platinum project in Darwendale near Harare. Kuda Chideme/The Source

By L.S.M Kabweza If you’re a Classifieds subscriber then you probably noticed in the past couple of days an announcement by Webdev (the company that owns the property) that they have introduced Priority Advertising. What this is essentially is that now advertisers can pay instantly via Paynow to have their adverts prioritised instantly. This is the big change. In the past the only […] …read more

Read more here:: Techzim Feed

By Nigel Gambanga It looks like we are headed towards cheaper mobile money services and lower broadband prices if the State’s word is anything to go by. According to a report in the Herald. the government has directed the Competition and Tariffs Commission to investigate mobile transfer costs after there were concerns raised about the steep pricing structure. All this […] …read more

Read more here:: Techzim Feed

By L.S.M Kabweza TelOne, Zimbabwe’s sole fixed line operator, has just announced the introduction of physical prepaid recharge cards for their ADSL broadband service. The recharge cards come in $25, $45, $85 and $160 denominations which have data caps of 10GB, 25GB, 50GB and unlimited data respectively. We expected the different cards to have uniform speeds but a contact at the company tells us this […] …read more

Read more here:: Techzim Feed

WE warn our readers that this report contains some gruesome material. For reasons which we shall discuss later, Senator Diane Feinstein of California released a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) report which would have been best left buried somewhere in the archives. If, when reading some excerpts, you do not feel disgusted, you are fast losing your ubuntu (humanity).

Here are some excerpts. After an attack by Afghan-based Al-Qaeda fighters on New York Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, the US invaded the country and swept “suspicious” persons for interrogation into a camp called Salt Pit, or Dungeon. The dungeon was run by an American lunatic. One part of the dungeon was always pitch dark, while the other covered by flood lights, and white noise that disoriented prisoners. Afghans, with broken legs, deprived of medical treatment, were forced to stand for hours in stressful positions. Janat Gul was subjected to this torture. He was freed when they suspected wrong identity.

Majid Khan and five others were “force fed” from the rectum with a mixture of puree cocktail of humus, pasta with sauce, nuts and raisins. The enforcers were impressed by their own wickedness, the report says. Some detainees were forced to walk naked, shackled with hands above their heads, eyes blinded, while they were dragged up and down corridors with whipping as an inducement. Non-stop interrogation would last for seven days, without sleep.

Abu Zubaydah, was shot during his capture. Since his interrogation preceded his medical treatment, he was infected, leading to a loss of one eye. In Zubaydah’s case the CIA told the justice department a nicer story about his treatment.
At one facility, detainees who were shackled in both legs and arms, experienced total darkness, continuous loud infidel music, shared a bucket for bodily waste. The smell affected the viability of the unit.

The CIA had no track of the numbers, especially in Afghanistan, as they paid U$100 for suspects to be brought in. While the CIA said they had 100 prisoners, the Senate committee counted 119. Some probably died while in custody and their bodies disappeared. Of the ones they had, who had been subjected to abuse and other effects, 26 turned out to have been wrongfully held.

Khalid Sheik Muhammad, the September 11 mastermind was subjected to waterboarding, no less than 100 times. Waterboarding was invented by Catholic Inquisition in Spain. A suspect is drowned, and as he swallows water into his lungs, he cries for mercy. Apparently, if Khalid was water-boarded 100 times, the method did not work. The CIA lied to the Senate committee, denying its use. The committee, however, found an old photo, and buckets of water at the sight, synonymous with the craft.

The shame
Every American child learns something about the US constitution in primary school. The lessons clearly state that the founding fathers, having experienced oppression by the wicked King George 111, decided to avoid the mistakes of the past and craft a new society. The 8th Amendment prohibits “excessive bail…nor excessive fines…nor cruel and unusual punishments” which the English ancestors exercised on the weak.

Every government employs a murder squad. But the US government wishes that such a reality remain unknown to the generality because it contradicts the ideological commitment to being a special country, with liberty and justice for all. For this reason, the George W. Bush administration hired two thoroughly contemptibe psychologists, paid them US$180 million to do the dirty work. This outfit of outlaws was indemnified by government for their vile deeds.

Debate
Now that the cat is out of the bag, the US has lost its moral standing in the world. The United Nations representative for Human Rights has demanded prosecution for the torturers. Compare this with the trail of African human rights abusers being tried at The Hague.

There is a very grave matter here. Some suspects they were dealing with, like Khalid, were beyond redemption. Khalid cut the throat of an American Jewish reporter, Daniel Pearl, and posted the video on the Internet. Khalid had promised him safe conduct. Should Khalid enjoy our sympathy when ill-treated by US agents? Yes. If we treat Khalid the way he treated Pearl, then we are in the same boat with him.

The rule of law requires procedures. Khalid deserves at least a kangaroo court, before facing the firing squad. That is how Australians found a way round this problem. The US definitely forbids torture. Las are a summation of common wisdom. People were detained and tortured who turned out to be there for wrong reasons. Rules are made in order to prevent such egregious mistakes. Most off detainees when released return to fight Americans almost immediately. I do not know if one can blame them. There is an 11 year old boy, captured in Afghanistan, detained without charge, and is yet to be released. It is possible that at US$100 a suspect, entrepreneurs would find it lucrative to settle scores that way.

Woman scorned
Feinstein was a stalwart defender of the CIA, even suggesting that whistle blower Edward Snowden be prosecuted. While she was investigating this matter, she found out that the CIA was spying on her. On another occasion, she says she saw a drone at her window. She suspects that her privacy was violated for blackmail. There is no woman more dangerous than a woman scorned. This is her revenge, exposing the CIA’s dirty work.

mufukak@yahoo.com

THERE is an air of melancholy pervading despondent Zimbabweans, and this is not without reason. The country went through its worst economic meltdown in history, characterised by runaway inflation, commodity shortages and much more. The years 2000 to 2008 were therefore the most difficult period for Zimbabwe in its economic history.

Now, there is a foreboding sense of déjà vu, and it is not surprising. Since the country ditched its worthless currency in favour of a hard currency regime in 2009, the situation clearly looked like it had taken a recovery trajectory. The hard currency economy, which everyone in the country had desperately yearned for during the hyper-inflationary era, ushered in a period of stability.

The economy indeed stabilised, with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth averaging over seven percent between 2009 and 2010, and inflation has been kept within the low, single digit level. But this growth was nonetheless accompanied by very large current account deficits, and very low international reserves.

Between 2011 and 2012, sizeable public sector salary increases crowded out spending in key, productive areas, and the situation was compounded by significantly lower-than-expected revenues, which in 2012 resulted in fiscal stress. GDP growth moderated from over 10 percent in 2011 to an estimated 4,5 percent in 2012.

Then finance minister Tendai Biti was forced to significantly adjust the national budget in the second half of 2012, but long after government had started accumulating domestic payments arrears. The economy had, once again, touched a slippery slope, which hastened in 2013 and failed to relent this year. Now, as the year 2014 comes to an end, and the year 2015 beckons, that sense of melancholy is deepening.

A number of companies closed between last year and this year, with more people becoming unemployed. Projections are that it may get worse. The challenge therefore is for government to ensure it plays its part — the larger part — in ensuring that an environment conducive to economic growth is fostered.

The 2015 National Budget was short in this respect, largely due to the budgetary allocations which were skewed in favour of recurrent expenditure at a shocking 92 percent. There might be very little Chinamasa could have done to avoid this, but there is more he can do to ensure industry and commerce prospers and jobs are created to enlarge government’s revenue base.

Industry and commerce has been brought to its knees by the cost of utilities as well as unreliable power supplies. These are key economic enablers, to borrow from government’s common lexicon. They have to work, and work in the best interest of the economy. This is possible, provided there is political will.

PANIC and desperation have gripped many parents and pupils still looking for Form One places as the ban on entrance tests fees earlier this year has created more problems than it sought to address. Government prohibited schools from charging entrance test fees to prevent the fleecing of parents, who were complaining about the exorbitant fees by some schools.

Though entrance tests had over the years easily become a fundraising gimmick by schools, they also created a mechanism where schools would place prospective students well in advance in a comparatively more orderly manner. With the absence of entrance tests this year, chaos and panic prevailed as parents, with their children in tow, thronged schools in unmanageably large numbers with many of them failing to secure places even when their children had passed.

With only a month to go, many pupils are yet to secure secondary places. “By this time most prospective Form Ones would be knowing where they are going to next year, but that has not been the case for a good number of them this year,” said Obert Masaraure, president of the Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (RTUZ).

With the results of the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (ZIMSEC) Grade Seven exams coming out on December 2, most schools opened up their doors to accept prospective Form One pupils to floods of parents and their children on December 3 and 4. A few other schools extended these days all the way up to December 11.  While a good number of the pupils secured places for Form One, plenty others did not get.

“It has been very hard to get a place with all that pressure. Too many people came to the popular schools and we couldn’t all get places. Then there was the issue of only those with four or five points getting places leaving children like mine with six not getting,” said one mother who spoke on condition of anonymity. “We still do not have a place after going to more than 10 schools. The pressure and disorder is what has been shocking.”

The Financial Gazette understands that elite mission schools such as Bonda, St Dominic’s and others were taking pupils with four and five points; while other mission schools were accepting four to eight points.  Elite government schools were accepting four to six; while the rest of the government schools were taking any points because they are obligated by government to take any pupils whether they failed or not as long as they are in the zones.

What has been exacerbating the situation and causing panic and chaos, according to Masaraure, has been that most parents have been trooping to the top performing schools — the ones known for good results — and ending up missing out. Even though their children had passed with sixes and sevens — when the schools filled up with four and five-pointers by the time they went to other schools with more lenient cut-off points they were finding that these had already filled up with pupils with, oftentimes, more points than their children as they had gotten there earlier or faster than them, Masaraure said.

“We have pupils with six points who have not yet managed to get places because when they failed to get places at the top schools by the time they went to other schools they found places already been filled by people with seven or eight points,” Masaraure said.

While with or without entrance tests, brighter students have always had an edge over those less bright, according to the RTUZ this year’s situation has been compounded by the lack of time. “Now many people will go for the Christmas holidays without yet securing places,” Masaraure said. “This causes stress.” Although the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) agrees that previously by now most students would have already secured Form One places, they believe that the current situation is good in that it allows for the Grade Seven exams to be used in the selection process.

“If we rely on entrance tests, when will the Grade Seven exams be used? What then is the purpose of the Grade Seven exams?” asked ZIMTA president, Richard Gundani. “The Grade Seven exams are nationally standardised exams which need to be used.” If the Grade Seven exams are not used, Gundani said, then other instruments used such as entrance tests compromised the system “because they are not standardised at national level.”

The RTUZ at its congress earlier this month, resolved to call for the lifting of the ban on entrance tests as they said these, in addition to allowing schools to test for the aptitude levels they wanted, also allowed pupils and their parents time to prepare as they would know well in advance where they will be going since entrance exams are done from June in the previous years.

“This enables parents and pupils to prepare in terms of tuition, buying uniforms and the like. This early determination of which students are going to which school also helps the schools in their administrative planning as they can do their class allocations well before schools open,” Masaraure said, “Schools cannot spend the whole holiday accepting pupils.” He also said in any case the ZIMSEC exams were now discredited following repeated exam leakages and that schools were better off using their own tests.

newsdesk@fingaz.co.zw

A SOMBRE economic atmosphere has made Zimbabwe a subdued nation. There is no celebratory mood to embrace the coming of Christmas. December used to be characterised by public gatherings and public entertainment. “Bonus” was a buzzword that used to excite many. In the current economic environment, it has since become a nostalgic word.

It appears cash-strapped Zimbabweans may have to kick off preparations for critical New Year expenses like school fees much earlier, at the expense of impending festivities. In the face of the big shifts in buying cultures, retailers have had to adjust strategies to stay in the game. But with profit margins dropping, these may not be working.

Retailers are struggling to keep the tills ringing, given the gloomy outlook. This is why they have stopped their old Christmas tricks to trap jolly shoppers; the fake mistletoes are not present this time around, no bright lights in the shops, no extended shopping hours and no relaxed credit terms that drove people to the shops in the decade prior to crisis.

While bond coins come into the market today, many Zimbabweans are still confused. What are their purpose considering that rand coins are now ubiquitous on the market? Will bond coins not distort already highly priced goods and services? Who stands to benefit from the introduction of these bond coins? Is the Zimbabwe dollar making a gradual return? Even the coins seem not to bring cheer to a country desperate for hope.

Finance Minister, Patrick Chinamasa revealed in November during his 2015 National Budget presentation that 4 500 companies had shut down since 2011. About 55 000 workers have lost their jobs as a result, while the few firms which are still operating are trading in the red. Unemployment levels are pegged at over 80 percent.  Were it not for the innovativeness of Zimbabweans, this country would be in a sorrier state.

ZESA has promised uninterupted power throughout the festive season. However, it had been reported that the power utility intends to take advantage of the annual shutdown in order to service its ailing power stations in Kariba and Hwange. Citizens are the ones who will be hardest hit by loss of power. They will have to make do with either candles or generators to keep the lights on during the festive season.

Even though the Zimbabwe National Road Administration has made efforts to patch up the country’s broken roads, which have since become death traps, road carnage remains one of the biggest killers in Zimbabwe. December is traditionally seen as a season for care-free drinking but it is important for Zimbabweans to drink responsibly to reduce unnecessary fatalities. No matter the situation we find ourselves in, there is still more to celebrate than mourn. We can only hope and wish for 2015 to be a productive year.

CSC lost its market dominance when the European Union banned beef imports from Zimbabwe in 2001.

THE Ministry of Agriculture has blocked a planned auction of Cold Storage Company (CSC) assets in Marondera, thwarting efforts by workers to recover unpaid salaries, the Financial Gazette can report. The move, two week ago, temporarily saved the beleaguered parastatal, with workers’ lawyer, Moses Nkomo, saying government has agreed to settle the money owed to the employees in terms of the judgment.

What it therefore means is that the workers could still pounce on the assets in the event that government fails to honour its commitment. Nkomo said government was given until to settle the outstanding salaries on behalf of CSC, which has failed to recover from a devastating crisis triggered by prolonged under-capitalisation. “We will proceed to execute if they don’t pay,” he said.

The workers had a judgement for US$356 649, over which they had engaged the Deputy Sherriff to attach CSC assets for auction. About US$360 000 in unsettled salaries has also accrued since 2012, confidential documents seen by this newspaper revealed. The attached assets included locomotives, lorries, cars and tractors.

The High Court instructed the Deputy Sheriff to auction the assets and pay the workers who have been condemned to abject poverty by non payment of salaries. They have been receiving about US$50 per month since 2009. “You are required and directed to attach and take into execution the movable goods of CSC,” the High Court instructed on August 19.

The Deputy Sherriff was intercepted by government officials who stopped the sale and said government would take care of the outstanding salary payments, workers said. CSC’s chief executive officer, Ngoni Chinogaramombe, however, denied that government had pledged to settle its obligations to the workers.

“The ministry did not undertake to pay the outstanding salaries. They only requested workers to bear with management until end of March 2015,” said Chinogaramombe. He said CSC, like most companies, had been negatively affected by the shrinking commercial national herd which he said could not sustain viable slaughter throughput.

“Unlike the other small to medium size players in the industry, CSC requires high slaughter volumes to operate viably. The company requires adequate funding which is not readily available,” he said. CSC also owes pension funds in excess of US$4,6 million for pension contributions it has not been remitting to pension houses on behalf of workers. The company, once one of the vibrant State-owned firms, has crumbled due largely to mismanagement.

It owes workers over US$715 000 in unpaid salaries since 2009, lawyers said. Confidential documents pointed to extensive mismanagement at the Marondera operation, which sparked fears of “embezzlement” and “plant cannibalisation”. And “adverse going concern indicators, persistent loses, negative working capital and operations below capacity” were escalating, the documents highlighted.

The Financial Gazette has previously reported CSC cannot account for US$4,6 million which was meant for pensions.
This week, we obtained fresh details of mismanagement in Marondera, indicating that “banking is not done as the branch literally operated from hand to mouth and used all collections before banking”.

“The security of the uninsured assets was greatly compromised by inadequately armed and aged security personnel armed with catapults, sticks and stones…their physical ability to pursue and neutralise any threat to the branch’s assets was doubtful.”

It added: “Endeavours to explore ways to resuscitate the branch in consultation with corporate (office) have not yielded tangible positive results. The configuration of the branch has since been out of synch with the recommended modern business structure which increases flexibility and responsiveness to changes in the business environment. The continued running of the branch exacerbates the precarious financial position.”

Internal auditors exposed a collapse of systems, with core operations grinding to a halt as revenue was now being “generated from hide sales, service slaughter, fees and tenants averaging US$6 000 per month.” CSC had a foreign loan on its balance sheet standing at US$21 million as at December 31, 2011.

“CSC operations were supported by revolving loan facilities, from both foreign and local financiers, which were readily available prior to 2001 when CSC was exporting beef to the EU market,” Chinogara said.

“Financiers then, were keen to support CSC due to the hard currency the company was generating from the export trade. After the Foot and Mouth disease outbreak of 2001, CSC lost its lucrative European Union market and, consequently, the financiers discontinued their support. The amount outstanding to Marondera employees is US$356 000 which was accrued over several years and even includes a substantial amount owed to former employees who were shed off through natural wastage and not replaced over the years,” he said.

CSC’s operating loss before interest and tax was US$3,4 million in 2011, from US$8,7 million in 2010, with its going concern status threatened by a US$11 million negative working capital position.

Fortune Chasi, deputy minister of Justice

JUSTICE, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Deputy Minister, Fortune Chasi, whose political career had been shaken long before the wholesale purges in the ruling ZANU-PF started appears to have survived the chop after President Robert Mugabe sacked seven ministers last week but retained him.  Chasi had appeared to be on his way out after he crossed the First Lady, Grace Mugabe’s path by attempting to block her acquisition of more land in the fertile Mazowe valley of Mashonaland Central province for her intended projects.

Addressing party youths in Mazowe early August, the First Lady warned those who were undermining her projects that they were “playing with fire”. She told the jubilant youths that Chasi, who is the Member of Parliament for Mazowe South, was frustrating her intentions to take over Manzou Game Park, where she wanted to build a secondary school, hospital and a university to generate income to support the orphans she looks after at her children’s home.

Anti-Chasi slogans were to dominate a ZANU-PF Youth League conference held a week after the First Lady’s address. The youth wing had proceeded to pass a resolution asking President Mugabe to sack Chasi from office. Edson Chakanyuka, the then ZANU-PF deputy secretary for youth affairs, said at the time that the league had officially written to the President saying Chasi had to be fired for disrespecting the First Family.

Chasi’s fate appeared sealed when sources told the Financial Gazette later that month that the junior minister could be sacked for attending musician Thomas Mapfumo’s concert in South Africa without official leave. “There is nothing personal when you are in government.  The assumption is that you are a government official wherever you are,” Charamba said then of Chasi taking time off to attend an alleged personal whim. It is a requirement for government. The President has to grant you authority, to give you his consent. Besides the approval, this is also necessary in terms of risks inherent in travel; allowances, among other things.”

But Chasi, despite all this, largely remained quiet and on Tuesday, the soft spoken deputy minister said he never felt his job was under threat. “I was not aware that I was under threat at all. It was really a perception the media had but at no time did I ever feel that I was threatened nor was I distracted from my mandate. I became even more focused on the tasks that I am mandated to carry out,”  Chasi said in an interview with the Financial Gazette.

“If at all I was under threat, I would naturally be delighted to have escaped the chop but when one gets into this type of job, they should always understand that their superiors may either reassign or recall them from their jobs and this should not cause one to worry,” he said when asked how he felt to have escaped the axe. It’s a great opportunity to be allowed to continue to serve my country in this capacity and I will do my best,” he added.

Sources told the Financial Gazette that Chasi’s job was saved by newly appointed Vice President, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who now doubles up as Justice Minister on grounds that he is very hard -working and an asset to the ministry.  Chasi, however, said he was not aware of any particular intervention from his superior but acknowledged that it was possible that his boss played a role.

“I enjoy an excellent cordial working relationship with Honourable Mnangagwa and I cannot ask for a better boss. I am not specifically aware of any interventions the he made but I am certain that if that was necessary, he would do whatever it takes for his little boy to continue to work,” Chasi said.

Expectations are that with Mnangagwa now elevated to the Vice Presidency, Chasi would have to do more ministerial work, a situation which he gladly accepts. “I am very much conscious of the perking order. I am still deputy minister with a privilege of reporting to such a seasoned lawyer and Vice President. I am extremely motivated that with his esteemed new position, I could give him increased help to ensure that the ministry delivers what it is supposed to deliver,” he said.

newsdesk@fingaz.co.zw

WHAT a year in politics 2014 has been! Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) leader, Morgan Tsvangirai and his party set the ball in motion for the high octane drama that left Zimbabweans spellbound all year round. Right on New Year’s Day, Zimbabweans woke up to the news that his wife of just over a year, Elizabeth, had walked out on him because of undisclosed “sensitive personal differences.” The party was to give us more.

Enter Elton Mangoma
From then on, it proverbially never rained for Tsvangirai but poured. Elton Mangoma, the then MDC-T deputy treasurer-general, wrote a damning letter to the beleaguered party leader demanding he stepped down and blaming him for the party’s dismal performance in the 2013 general elections which they lost heavily to the ruling party, ZANU-PF.
This marked the beginning of internecine fights within the main opposition party, resulting in a second split inside a decade.
Then followed the purges of those linked to former MDC-T secretary-general, Tendai Biti, the ringleader of the split.
Not to be outdone, the Biti camp retreated to Mandel Training Centre in Harare and also declared they had fired Tsvangirai and loyalists from the party.

MDC-T split
The split of the MDC-T, which was the democratic movement’s second since its inception in 1999, pointed to the growing dissent with Tsvangirai’s leadership of the country’s largest opposition party by his former allies. His portrayed role as the “father” of the opposition movement in the country also came under intense scrutiny. Even more consequential than not is that the split of the MDC-T has not only further eroded its brand as a viable opposition party, but has left many wondering what the future holds for the party. With the next polls slated for 2018, the unspoken question at the back of the minds of many a voter is whether the MDC-T will still be a force to reckon with by then?

Formation of MDC Renewal Team
The MDC Renewal Team is the latest chip off the MDC block. Its emergence gave the clearest indication that all was not well among ZANU-PF’s rivals. Smarting from defeat in last year’s elections at the hands of ZANU-PF, top MDC-T officials who later on were to form the MDC Renewal Team had demanded introspection into what went wrong at the elections. With the realisation that Tsvangirai would not step down, the MDC Renewal Team was then formed with the hope of returning back to the MDC’s founding values — which its new leaders argued Tsvangirai had deviated from to morph the MDC-T into his “personal project”. A few months after its formation, the new political party last month merged with the MDC led by Welshman Ncube, validating its claims that it was committed to finding common ground and working with like-minded forces. Will the grand union last is the key question.

Mwonzora vs Chamisa
The split left the MDC-T broken and needing to restructure. They hastily arranged a congress which itself was reduced to a contest for the position of secretary-general between Douglas Mwonzora and Nelson Chamisa with Tsvangirai retaining the party’s leadership uncontested. The congress was held at City Sports Centre in Harare from October 31 to November 1 with Mwonzora romping to victory amid allegations of voting irregularities. The once seemingly invincible Chamisa was reduced to a mere card carrying member until Tsvangirai fished him from obscurity to appoint him into the national executive of the party last week.

ZANU-PF succession wars
Someone joked at the height of the MDC-T problems in May that they only served as a curtain raiser to what was in the offing in ZANU-PF. He was right. The stage for factional infighting in the ruling party had been set during the provincial elections of November 2013 that were marred by allegations of vote buying and rigging. Then, ZANU-PF was torn between two factions led by Joice Mujuru and Emmerson Mnangagwa.  As a precursor to the December congress, ZANU-PF held scandalous youth and women’s league conferences in August where the battle lines were drawn.

The Youth League election, in particular, had all the hallmarks of dirty factional fights. Party bigwigs, for their desire to line the structure with proxies and surrogates, used money to sway the vote in their favour and in the end there was chaos and confusion — the remnants of which stayed with the ruling party right up to congress. After President Robert Mugabe lashed out at the youths and the bigwigs involved in the vote-buying scandal, the women’s conference ended up having to resort to a power sharing agreement, balancing the factional equation. But not before reports of kidnapping were made.

Entry of First Lady Grace Mugabe into politics
The entry into politics by the First Lady popularly known as “Amai” still remains as much a shock to the system as it was the day it was announced in late July at a Women’s League meeting. Seemingly punching above her weight, First Lady Grace Mugabe brought in vigour in the lackluster politics of the ruling party, which has vociferously been marked by years of denials of any factional fights within its ranks. The First Lady fuelled things during her famous “thank you rallies” around the provinces where she let the cat out of the bag and came out guns blazing against Vice President Mujuru. For roughly two weeks, she kept the nation spellbound as she poured out noxious slurs against Mujuru, often making sensational corruption allegations against her and openly declaring that her time in the party was spent.

Many initially dismissed her, but now a member of the powerful ZANU-PF Politburo, Grace’s presence on Zimbabwe’s political landscape has been confirmed for the next five years. If her baby steps into the bloody political waters of ZANU-PF are anything to go by, then she will likely grow in the next coming months into establishing herself as a political force to reckon with.  For spectators and onlookers, more juicy revelations are in the offing as the First Lady is a thorn in the backside of her political foes and will keep everyone on their toes.

Treason claims
And boom, an assassination plot on President Mugabe was alleged. Mujuru was said to be the lynchpin. Behind her were several ZANU-PF heavyweight — those of no less stature than Politburo members — Nicholas Goche and Didymus Mutasa (both of whom now lie gravely ill in hospital).  Along with Dzikamai Mavhaire, Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, Olivia Muchena, Munacho Mutezo, Flora Buka and Shamu, these bigwigs failed to get into the Central Committee in elections held two weeks before congress. Their end was nigh!

Purging of ZANU-PF officials
The first casualty of the purge, Temba Mliswa was an easy target because he is temperamental and outspoken. The Mnangagwa faction was going for broke and a demonstration was to be made. A vote of no confidence was passed on him and it was upheld by the Politburo. Spurred by this success, more provincial chairpersons were targeted. Next was Masvingo’s Killian Gwanetsa, then Midland’s Jason Machaya, then Callistus Ndlovu, (although he was later to be re-instated), Ray Kaukonde, Andrew Langa, Amos Midzi, John Mvundura, Luke Mushore — all fell by the wayside. They were soon followed by Rugare Gumbo (then party spokesman), Jabulani Sibanda and Enoch Porusingazi. Sensing danger, some of the Mujuru allies started to cross the divide and seek refuge in the victorious faction. More followed them to the terraces.

Congress and more purges
The ZANU-PF elective congress held a fortnight ago from December 2 to 7 cemented President Mugabe’s control of the revolutionary party. While that was largely expected, it is the aftermath of the congress that has created further uncertainty as several party bigwigs have fallen by the wayside from Cabinet. What will those felled at congress, losing out on seats in the Central Committee, Politburo and Cabinet do next?

Will Mujuru accept her fate of being an ordinary card-carrying member in ZANU-PF for the next five years or she would pull out of the party — resulting in the first major split of the ruling party in modern day times? In an interview with the Washington based Voice of America last week, Mujuru downplayed talk that she was on her way out of the former revolutionary party, as that was the only party that she had been a part of all her life. Another high ranking ZANU-PF bigwig Mutasa is said to be resisting his axing, in a fresh sign that the dust has not yet settled in the aftermath of the congress.

“We refuse to be chucked out of ZANU-PF which some of us have been in for 57 years,” he said. By his own admission, President Mugabe indicated that arrests would be made of those implicated in the assassination plot against his life, in a sign that more heads are still yet to roll. Of interest will be to see which heads will roll after the Christmas and New Year break when President Mugabe returns from his annual leave.

The Pinnacle
The day following Mujuru’s dismissal, her long time nemesis, Mnangagwa was named co-Vice President along with Phelekezela Mphoko. Mnangagwa was a direct replacement of Mujuru while Mphoko took the job left vacant following the death of John Landa Nkomo. As of now, Mnangagwa is the acting President as the incumbent is on his annual vacation. Zimbabweans and their sense of humour Amid all this, Zimbabweans never lost their sense of humour, forever finding convenient jokes to ease their worries.

Report by Andrew Kunambura and Ray Ndlovu

newsdesk@fingaz.co.zw

By Nigel Gambanga Telecel Zimbabwe is still out to give you reason to cross over to its network, this time its with a workaround for the absence of mobile number portability. The Telecel number matching service has just been unveiled as part of its Switch Over Campaign. This service allows new Telecel subscribers who are crossing over from […] …read more

Read more here:: Techzim Feed

By Nigel Gambanga The Zimbabwean financial services sector has never been for the fickle.It takes a lot to survive in the territory, what with all the turmoil and uncertainty that characterises the industry. Just ask any of the institutions that have survived the local financial services roller coaster. Standard Chartered Bank, one of the surviving institutions is the one that […] …read more

Read more here:: Techzim Feed

By L.S.M Kabweza No, that #Mbudzi in the title is not a joke. Astro has actually released a phone by that name. It’s called Astro Goat. Mbudzi, for those of you not in Zimbabwe, is Shona vernacular for goat, and generally means feature-phone here. How the feature phone was named after the animal, I have no idea, and […] …read more

Read more here:: Techzim Feed

ZIMBABWE’S opposition parties never cease to amaze. When a lot is expected of them, they melt away like morning dew. As Zimbabwe’s economy heads south, it had been hoped that the country’s main opposition parties would emerge as the voice of reason in a muddled political environment. But alas!

The opposition parties have been watching the ruptures in the ruling ZANU-PF climax from the ringside — an indication that they themselves are clueless about what needs to be done to restore normalcy both in the country’s body politic and in the economy. Bitter infighting has fractured the ruling party, which to all intents and purposes has negated its responsibility of providing relief to the suffering masses.

Instead of offering some checks and balances, the opposition parties have been at war with themselves. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) led by former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, fresh from its own elective congress held in October, has not yet articulated any strong programme through which it seeks to gain the upper hand over ZANU-PF.

The breakaway formations of the MDC; the MDC led by Welshman Ncube and the newly formed MDC Renewal Team led by Sekai Holland have their hands full with thrashing out a framework to re-unite.  The re-unification of the two breakaway formations of the MDC will come with the associated twists and political skulduggery as party leaders from both parties slug it out for a place in the top echelons of the amalgamated party.

Instead of working out ways of gaining significant ground from the ongoing political developments in the country’s oldest political party, the opposition parties have been looking on inactively as bystanders. After resoundingly thumping the opposition in last year’s elections, the ruling party is currently at its weakest, fractured by internal fights. But even as the implosion in ZANU-PF continues, the country’s opposition forces appear nowhere close to gaining leverage over the ruling party.

In its most recent analysis entitled: Dissecting Zimbabwe’s Succession Conundrum, the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition postulates the implosion of the MDC has not helped matters, adding it may probably take another 10 to 15 years before another viable opposition emerges.

“Because the MDC is now very weak, ZANU-PF protagonists can afford to ‘point guns at each other,’ as they fight for control of the party. The party factions are now using the governance arena, thanks to an opposition void in Parliament, where a factionalised MDC can no longer speak with one voice,” reads part of the report.

Soon, ZANU-PF will find its feet again. And when that happens, that is when the opposition is going to rue the missed opportunities it has failed to take advantage of.

Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi with his wife and officials from Africa Albida in Victoria Falls.

TOURISM and Hospitality Industry Minister Honourable Walter Mzembi has endorsed Africa Albida Tourism’s investments in Victoria Falls as fitting his vision to boost infrastructure to vastly grow the tourist attraction’s economy to $30 billion a year. Mzembi was speaking at the 20th anniversary celebrations of Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, which was attended by more than 200 local and regional tourism operators, over the weekend.

Africa Albida Tourism, the parent company of Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, has invested heavily in its properties over the last three years, and work has begun on Santonga, an $18 million education, entertainment and conservation park, which will interactively tell the story of Victoria Falls.

“It fits very well with my own vision on biodiversity. It’s a biodiverse project that you are doing under Santonga, and I want to assure you that that project should go ahead,” Hon Mzembi said.

The new $150 million Victoria Falls International Airport, due to open next August, which will triple capacity, would be a big player in boosting earnings to $30 billion a year, to match Niagara Falls, Mzembi said. Tourism would become the catalyst for the economic turnaround of Zimbabwe, and the Minister hoped to kick start earnings by declaring Victoria Falls a special economic zone, which he described as a tax haven.

He appealed to local operators to provide input on how to shape his proposal, which could transform Victoria Falls from its current $1 billion a year economy between Zimbabwe and Zambia. Mzembi is due to report back to Cabinet next month.

In addition to the special economic zone, the Minister hoped to create an “ultra-modern” Victoria Falls on 300ha adjacent to the airport, to boost infrastructure and therefore earnings. “Next to the airport I intend to create a Niagara, a $30 billion economy … we realise that the difference between our own Falls and Niagara is that we have not planted any infrastructure that captures the imagination of the demographic dividend, the younger group,” Mzembi said.

However, the Minister gave assurances the actual Falls and their immediate surroundings would remain natural and untouched.

Africa Albida Tourism chief executive Ross Kennedy said despite several tough years for the tourism industry, he believed the future of tourism at Victoria Falls and in Zimbabwe was extremely bright. “That is why we have invested millions in our products in the last few years – our first move was to add the premium luxury Victoria Falls Safari Club, which we believe sets new standards for the industry and the area in terms of quality,” Kennedy said.

“Next we created the Victoria Falls Safari Suites, which are very high quality two- and three-bedroom accommodation offerings, that has plugged a gap in the market, and now we have fully refurbished and upgraded our flagship, the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge. We are fully committed investors and operators in Victoria Falls, and we have no other intentions than to be at the top of the pile,” Kennedy said.

The Victoria Falls Safari Lodge 20th anniversary four-day celebrations included an Amazing Race, in which six teams completed challenges at different sites in Victoria Falls, such as learning a traditional dance routine and solving a crime scene. It was won by Team Lokuthula.

The guests also enjoyed the Lodge’s daily vulture culture experience, as well as local delicacies, dancing and drumming at The Boma – Place of Eating, and dinner at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge’s MaKuwa-Kuwa Restaurant to the sounds of the Detema Jazz Band. A cruise along the Zambezi River was also part of the programme, and before guests departed on Monday they went on a tour of the Victoria Falls International Airport under construction, which is expected to change the face of the region.

Ground work began at Santonga, to be built on 80ha near Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, last month. The education, entertainment and conservation park, which is expected to draw 120,000 visitors a year, is due to open in June 2016. - Own Correspondent

By Prince Jones We are fast approaching the end of this year. Like every other year before it, there have been both hits and misses from the tech world. From awesome devices and software slip-ups here is a quick run through at what was worth the mention in this device and OS review for 2014. A for Apple The […] …read more

Read more here:: Techzim Feed

By Nigel Gambanga In this episode of the weekly Techzim podcast we discuss a host of trending topics in tech this past week. Some of the topics include the $20 Astro Goat WhatsApp phone from Astro Zimbabwe, the ADSL recharge cards that TelOne introduced in this past week, the number matching service introduced by Telecel and the latest […] …read more

Read more here:: Techzim Feed

By Nigel Gambanga This is a special edition of the Techzim Podcast that marks the end of the year 2014. In this episode we review the successes and failures in tech and what stood out for us locally and internationally in the world of technology. Topics discussed include broadband advances for the year liker the rollout of fibre, gadgets […] …read more

Read more here:: Techzim Feed

By Garikai Dzoma Recently during the holiday season my primary internet connection started acting up. It seems there is a signal problem affecting my upload speed, so it takes an inordinately long time to complete simple tasks such as processing the GET request although the download is a breeze once this obstacle is surmounted with download threads achieving the […] …read more

Read more here:: Techzim Feed