By Own Correspondent| The 55 year old Zanu Pf Youth League boss, Pupurai Togarepi who survived a horrific accident, has returned only to threaten violence on innocent civilians in 2019.

Pupurai Togarepi has said his party has been tolerant enough before and after elections but the upcoming year brings with it new rules of the game.

Togarepi said party youths will not tolerate any silly games neither will it take any prisoners since any provocation will be taken head on.

Said the Zanu Pf youth leader in a tweet on Christmas day:

“We have been tolerant enough before and after elections. No silly games in 2019.We won’t take any prisoners in 2019. Any provocation will be taken head on. The rules of the game have completely changed.”

We have been tolerant enough before and after elections. No silly games in 2019. We won't take any prisoners in 2019. Any provocation will be confronted head-on. The rules of the game have completely changed

— Togarepi pupurai (@TogarepiPupurai) December 25, 2018

Terrence Mawawa| Top radio and television presenter Sokostina (real name Tendai Garwe) has been
hospitalised following an accident that fractured both her legs and an arm.

The top radio and TV personality was involved in a road traffic accident
on 24 December 2018. A friend she was travelling with lost a leg.

Said friend and fellow radio personality Tinopona Katsande:
“Sokostina had an accident and she
needs our prayers big time. She is still in ICU. Both legs broken and one arm broken. You know munhu (Sokostina) vevanhu so I’m putting together a prayer vigil for her outside avenues clinic tomorrow evening between 6pm and 7pm. Open to anyone. We gather, sing, pray and dismiss.” 

Own Correspondent|ZANU PF Youth league has declared war on anyone who will stand up against the ruling party in 2019.

The youth league Secretary General Pupurai Togarepi made the war declaration in a Twitter end of year message early morning on Christmas Day.

“We have been tolerant enough before and after elections. No silly games in 2019. We won’t take any prisoners in 2019. Any provocation will be confronted head-on. The rules of the game have completely changed,” declared Togarepi.

We have been tolerant enough before and after elections. No silly games in 2019. We won't take any prisoners in 2019. Any provocation will be confronted head-on. The rules of the game have completely changed

— Togarepi pupurai (@TogarepiPupurai) December 25, 2018

DOZENS of security guards from different companies in Zimbabwe Friday staged a street demonstration in central Harare to press for a hike in their wages.

The placard waving keepers threatened to abandon the premises at which they will be deployed if their employers ignored their demands.

Security guards are paid amounts as little as $214 per month when they are often subjected to constant attacks by daring criminals and the elements of weather during the course of their duties.

Zimbabwe Security Guards Union (Zisegu) secretary general Philemon Nhema said Friday’s demonstration was only the beginning of what could turn out to be a major showdown with their employers if their demands were ignored.

“Today (Friday) we demonstrated over the failure by our employers to award us a 10 percent salary increment which we have been fighting to get since 2014,” Nhema told NewZimbabwe.com.

“Considering the current economic hardships, we approached our employers and asked them to award us $100 hardship allowances across the board.

“However, the employers have told us that if they give us the allowance, we must agree to work five days a week and get two off days as opposed to the current arrangement where we work four days a week and get three off days,” he said.

As security guards, Nhema said, they believed their employers did not care much about their welfare when it was apparent the firms they were working for made a fortune through their sweat.

“So the demo is just the beginning as we have given the sector’s employers to meet our demands before mid-January 2019 and failure to do so will leave us with no choice except to instruct all security guards across the country to down tools and abandon their duties nationwide,” Nhema added.

The threats by the country’s lowly ranked workers group follow a wave of job actions by civil servants, among them doctors and teachers, who are all demanding US dollar wages from government.

Hard-pressed Zimbabwean workers argue that their Real Time Gross Settlement wages have since been eroded by recent price increases which have seen the asking price of goods and services pegged at three times their September prices.

AllAfrica.com

Some 31 huts were burnt at Guta RaJehovah Church in Zvimba in a feud over control of a temple and shrine.

Congregants woke up to clashes on Christmas day as rival members reportedly attacked each other over the right to use the temple.

The clashes ended with 31 huts at the shrine being burnt.

A court order was in 2014 issued, granting the rival parties permission to use the temple and shrine alternatively at prescribed times.

A representative of Guta RaJehova, Francis Rukuni and a representative of Guta RaJehovah church in Zimbabwe spoke on the feud and the skirmishes.

The shrine is considered sacred with another member of the rival groups claiming one can only enter the supposed holy place after confessing their sins.

Within the shrine lies the body of the founder of the church, Amai Chaza who is said to be an embodiment of purity.

Police have since visited the church premises to investigate the fracas.

No human injuries were recorded.

Zbc News online

BULAWAYO judge, Justice Nicholas Mathonsi on Friday ordered Immigration Department bosses to stop conducting disciplinary hearings against eight Victoria Falls workers with whom they are embroiled in a labour dispute.

The department had summoned eight officers to a disciplinary tribunal last week, but the officers filed an urgent chamber application at the Bulawayo High Court on Thursday.

The employees sought an order barring the employer from conducting hearings until conclusion of a pending matter before the same court, challenging their suspension as illegal and demanding their salaries.

Justice Mathonsi on Friday granted the employees temporary relief, pending determination of the case.

“Pending the determination of this matter on the return date, the applicant be and is hereby granted the following relief: The respondents be and are hereby directed to suspend proceedings with the disciplinary proceedings against the applicants in this matter before finalisation of the matter pending under HC1689/18,” Justice Mathonsi ruled.

The labour dispute began in June when Immigration Department bosses suspended the eight without salaries over alleged fraud involving visas.

However, the matter was not prosecuted for lack of evidence.

But the department extended their suspension, forcing the eight to approach the High Court seeking an order declaring their suspensions illegal and not the worth of salary stoppages.

Before the matter was heard on November 19, the employer reinstated them, but reneged on paying their dues, and instead summoned them for disciplinary hearings.

NewsDay

Correspondent|The United States Embassy in Harare has suspended all services in Zimbabwe following a partial US government shutdown over budget spending.

The shutdown was in part caused by US President Donald Trump’s demand for US$5 billion to build a border wall between the United States and Mexico. The demand has been strongly resisted by the Democrats leading to the current impasse. In a statement, the US Embassy said,

Effective December 22, there has been a lapse in appropriations funding some parts of the U.S. Government.

All scheduled passport and visa services at the U.S. Embassy will continue, and emergency services for U.S. citizens are still available. All other routine U.S. Embassy services are suspended until funding resumes.

The U.S. Mission in Zimbabwe will not be updating its social media platforms during the lapse in appropriations.

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President Emmerson Mnangagwa has asked for patience on the road to recovery, which he admitted will face hurdles in some cases.

In his message on the occasion of the Christmas holidays reported on Monday in this capital, the president-elect of Zimbabwe noted that ‘2018 has been a historic year in which we began the process of national renewal and recovery.’

There is still much to be done … I am aware that many will have a difficult Christmas and I urge you to have patience, resist and work hard in collective unity in the creation of a better, democratic and prosperous Zimbabwe, the president added.

Mnangagwa took the opportunity to recognize those who have offered their time to help those in need and said that this spirit should be highlighted when these holidays that allow to meet with the family and be grateful for the gifts received are celebrated.

Own Correspondent|A ZIMBABWEAN court has declared unconstitutional the practice by some school authorities of withholding examination results for students as a way to induce payment of outstanding school fees.

High Court Judge Justice Nicholas Mathonsi recently ruled that the refusal by authorities at Ihlathi High School in Bulawayo to release Ordinary Level examination results of a student over non-payment of school fees is unlawful and unconstitutional as it infringes on the student’s constitutional rights enshrined in section 75 and 81 of the Constitution. Justice Mathonsi also referred the matter to the Constitutional Court.

Justice Mathonsi granted the order after Prudence Moyo, who was represented by Bruce Masamvu of Dube-Tachiona Tsvangirai Legal Practitioners, in a matter supported by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, petitioned the High Court seeking the release of her examination results, which had been withheld for two years after she wrote her examinations in 2015.

The school authorities had been withholding the examination results since the time they were released in early 2016 to induce payment of the outstanding school fees, which stood at $412.50.

In her application filed on 27 November Prudence argued that the school authorities’ refusal to release her examination results on the basis of failing to pay school fees is unconstitutional as it violates her constitutional right to education enshrined in Section 75 of the Constitution and the rights of children guaranteed under Section 81 of the Constitution.

Prudence also argued that the school authorities’ actions of withholding examination results were unlawful as they are not provided for by law and there were lawful ways upon which they could recover their unpaid fees.

The school authorities actions, Prudence argued, infringed her fundamental rights as she failed to progress with her education without her Ordinary Level examination results.

ALLIANCE for the People’s Agenda leader Dr. Nkosana Moyo was one of the presidential candidates in the July 2018 elections. ZOOMZimbabwe caught up with him this past week for a discussion.

In this wide-ranging interview, ZOOMZimbabwe gathers his perspective on the current state of Zimbabwean politics and the economy. How did we get here, and how could we possibly get out of this situation? What lessons do we learn from the July 2018 elections?

Dr. Nkosana Moyo also weighs in on the hired private jet for former First Lady Grace Mugabe, the sanctions, the ZEC Chair Judge Priscilla Chigumba, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube’s budget statement and the whole spectrum of government policies.

Below are the excerpts from the interviews:

ZOOM Zimbabwe: Greetings Dr. Nkosana Moyo. Things are clearly not well in Zimbabwe at the moment. Where did we get it wrong as a country? What do we need to do as a country?

Dr. Nkosana MOYO: Greetings. We need to be clear what the problem in our country is. Our country is facing problems primarily at two levels.

The first level of problems facing our country is corruption. Our country is being destroyed by corruption. The second level of problems is that we have put people in jobs that they cannot do: meritocracy.

When you send your child to a school, you expect your child to get a proper education on the basis of teachers that have been trained and who know what they are doing. When you send your family member to a hospital, you expect your family member to get proper medical attention, based on the fact that the staff that are attending to your family member are properly trained and experienced in what they are supposed to do. When you send your car for service or maintenance, you expect that the company to which you send your car to employ technically competent people who have been trained and have been supervised to fix cars.

I can name any number of careers and professions where we take this for granted. But when it comes to running our country, for some reason we suspend this understanding that people need to be trained for the jobs that they are doing. If we fix these two – corruption and meritocracy – our country will run better.

ZOOM Zimbabwe: Is the current leadership of our country doing enough to fight corruption?

Dr. Nkosana MOYO: It is clear to everybody that that’s not the case. The question to then to ask is why is the leadership appearing incapable or unwilling to tackle corruption. Does it mean that the leadership themselves are compromised?

ZOOM Zimbabwe: Still on corruption, we have had cases of lawyers who are members of the opposition defending ZANU-PF officials in courts. What is your take on that?

Dr. Nkosana MOYO: Even at war, medical teams of the opposite party can attend to the wounded of their enemies. The lawyers are in a similar situation where they should defend whoever it is who needs legal services. That’s my understanding of how the legal profession is supposed to work.

In a functioning society, an individual is deemed innocent until proven guilty. Yes there will be an allegation, but the full course of the law should be taken without prejudging; we should let the courts follow a due process until the case is proven one side or another.

It’s important to follow due process until that individual is proven innocent or convicted. We should be careful and avoid kangaroo courts where we judge people who might be innocent.

ZOOM Zimbabwe: Dr Nkosana Moyo, what is your view on the 2019 budget statement presented by Professor Mthuli Ncube? Is it a good document?

Dr. Nkosana MOYO: We as a country have never had a problem with writing good documents. Whatever it is, we write good documents. Our problem is implementation.

My suspicion actually is that we write these documents without intent: we write these documents without ever intending to implement them. We are not honest. I keep saying when electing or hiring people… promises: anybody can make. Manifestos: Anybody can write.

The only thing that will tell you the truth whether somebody is capable of delivering on promises, look at their track record. Have they ever worked anywhere where people recognized their expertise and said, ‘this person is a professional, they know their job, they got promoted and given other jobs elsewhere… Let’s look at our people in that way.

When we start doing that, we will elect people who can run our country better; people with a track record of making promises and delivering on them; making company budgets and plans and delivering on them. But when we ignore delivery track record, we end up with exactly what we have got.

ZOOM Zimbabwe: What about sanctions? Do they have an impact on Zimbabwe’s economic recovery?

Dr. Nkosana MOYO: Of course when a country is under sanctions, the sanctions have an impact. But we need to know that we have destroyed our country. Firstly, we were very unstrategic. Why were sanctions applied on Zimbabwe? When you are managing a country or your own life, you need to understand the interests of other people who are operating in the same space as you do. And if they are stronger and bigger than you, if you are unstrategic about what you say or do, they are going to hammer you.

As they always say, the biggest gorilla sleeps where he likes. So if you walk into a lion’s den and get eaten, who is being stupid? Are you going to blame the lion for eating you? When you are a general and then you declare war on an army that is much stronger than you and then it destroys your army, you cannot then turn around and say the war was fair. What does that mean? As you go out and declare war on other people, you need to take account of their strengths, your strength and tactics. When you get defeated, it means you failed as a general. That’s point number one about the issue of sanctions.

Point number two is that when you look at the history of Rhodesia and South Africa, countries that came from the UDI and the Boers in South Africa, and the world applied sanctions on them, their economies never sunk to the level that Zimbabwe has come to.

So we need to look more broadly at what we have done ourselves, over and above the issue of sanctions. We have destroyed our country because of lack of application of meritocracy, and because of corruption. These two – corruption and sanctions – are within our control. But why are we not doing something about it? So let’s stop ask about what other do, because it’s beyond our control beyond a certain strategic level, but corruption and meritocracy are well within our control. So, why are we not doing something about it?

ZOOM Zimbabwe: Dr Moyo, what is your take on the proposed national transitional authority or the Government of National Unity (GNU)? Will it help us as a nation?

Dr. Nkosana MOYO: A GNU can work, but one thing we need to pay a lot of attention to is that Zimbabweans are too presidential. Ultimately, the honest truth is that there is only one position in Zimbabwe which we as Zimbabweans need to pay a lot of attention as to who occupies that position. That position is the Head of State.

Because our institutions are still weak, the Head of State has to protect those institutions to make sure they function properly, and that these institutions including the army understand what’s expected of them. The Head of State has got to select the correct team a Cabinet level to make sure that

So, no matter what kind of government we put in place – whether it’s a GNU or a winner-takes-all, a transitional authority… the paramount question remains who is presiding over it? What track record and competency do they have? How honest is the person? What kind of leadership do they have? That is the key question we need to pay attention to, not whether we have a GNU or a transitional authority etc.

ZOOM Zimbabwe: What kind of governance system does APA stand for?

Dr. Nkosana MOYO: Alliance for the People’s Agenda (APA) stands for a government whose responsibility is to change the welfare of the people of Zimbabwe, by creating a country that is peaceful, that respects institutions, where state institutions are genuinely state institutions are genuine and not captured by a party.

These institutions should protect the rights of Zimbabweans When you as a Zimbabwean are driving around in the country and the police stop you, their whole behaviour should be such that it does not make a difference whether you are a member of the ruling party, a member of no party at all, or a member of the opposition. The way you are treated as a Zimbabwean must be indifferent or the same as if you were a member of the ruling party. That’s institutionalism. We believe in transparency.

The only sure way of making sure that a government of the day does the right things is if the press has got a free hand to expose what is going on, when the press keeps the government of the day on its toes and on the straight and the narrow.

We believe in meritocracy. In the public sector, everybody who gets a job must be somebody who deserves the job because they are competent and trained in what needs to be done. That is the only way Zimbabwe can be a leading country in every way including the economy.

We believe in a government that follows the Constitution rigorously. If there is anything in the Constitution that needs to be revised, the government ought to take it to the people or to Parliament as representatives of the people, rather than for the government to just wake up and choose to ignore the Constitution. So we believe in Constitutionalism.

We believe in proper, professional behaviour in institutions of government. We absolutely abhor corruption. And through these values and attitudes, we would create a country which is peaceful, prosperous, and which is inclusive in its behaviour and treatment of minorities. By behaving this way, we believe that our country and society would attain its rightful place in the global community.

So APA is all about creating a prosperous, peaceful country, and a country that is respected globally through running its own affairs in a manner that is compliant with meritocracy, constitutionalism, transparency and no corruption in the system.

ZOOM Zimbabwe: In your view, is the current regime different from President Robert Mugabe’s administration? Is President Emmerson Mnangagwa genuine when he says he is leading a new dispensation?

Dr. Nkosana MOYO: There are two ways to look at this. The first way is to give him the benefit of doubt and say he is genuine in wishing to do things differently, but his experience or lack of it gets in the way and he is not capable of delivering.

Another way is to say he was part of the Mugabe system and therefore we have no basis for believing that he is any different.

Ultimately, these two possibilities actually unfortunately lead to exactly the same result: we are not going to see any difference. We are going to continue the same way as we were before November 2017.

The only sensible way forward is to get a new person who will do things differently. Take what happens in the private sector. The private sector has incredible clarity that when a team of managers under-performs and the company does badly ,you get rid of all of them and get a new team to turn around the company.

Our situation is that a lot of people, for reasons I do not understand, expect the same team that destroyed the country to be able to turn it around. I have not seen it happen anywhere else. Maybe Zimbabwe will be the first, but we’ll wait and see.

ZOOM Zimbabwe: Going back to the issue of the national transitional authority, don’t you honestly think it is the best way forward?

Dr. Nkosana MOYO: Let me say this: it does not matter what form of government we put in place. Ultimately the quality of our government will depend on who is our President.

We are still at a very young stage of building our institutions, and in these situations, the person who is the President essentially gives direction and most institutions under him will just follow.

Let me give an example. We have to acknowledge that President Mnangagwa gave a direction about how the elections were to be conducted insofar as violence was concerned. For the first time in our post-independence period, Zimbabwe had the most peaceful campaign period ever.

Just because the President said so, the institutions like the police and the army followed, and there was peace throughout the campaign period simply because President Mnangagwa had given an instruction.

But I don’t think President Mnangagwa signalled to the Chairperson of Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) in a similar manner because her behaviour was appalling because she did not get an explicit instruction to act in a manner that would deliver a free and fair election. But on the violence side during the campaign period he gave an explicit sign that violence was not to be tolerated and the signal was followed.

If appointees like ZEC Chair think that the President expects them to do him favours, that’s what they do unfortunately. Mnangagwa hides behind a finger and says he does not control ZEC because they are independent, which we all know to be rubbish. The judiciary, ZEC and so on will behave in a way that they implicitly read from what the President’s attitude towards their work is. If they think that he expects them to do him favours in a country such as ours with young institutions, that’s what they do unfortunately.

So the ultimate question in a young democracy like ours is: who is our President? As long as we have a President who does not understand that he is President of everyone in the country, we will always be in trouble, whether we have an NTA or GNU or winner-takes-all leadership.

ZOOM Zimbabwe: Coming to the 2% money transfer tax… Will it help spur economic growth or it will be misused by government?

Dr. Nkosana MOYO: On the 2% tax, my view is that Mthuli Ncube misguided himself. He should have focused on reducing government spending by creating more spending room by raising more money and overtaxing Zimbabweans. So, this is totally misguided, it’s not going to help Zimbabweans in any way. It will reduce Zimbabweans’ purchasing power, and their the demand pull on growing the economy will disappear. And Zimbabweans will look to purchase goods and services from where they are cheaper than in Zimbabwe. So Mthuli got it absolutely wrong, and my suspicion is hat he knows it too.

ZOOM Zimbabwe: Some people including Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube have mentioned the adoption of the South African Rand as a solution to our economic challenges. Is it a viable option to take, in your view?

Dr. Nkosana MOYO: If Zimbabwe today adopts any current we like, assuming the owners of that currency allow us, we still will not succeed because the currency has never been our problem. Our problem is the abuse of the currency. We killed the Zimbabwean dollar through misbehaving and printing money as if it was going out of fashion, in a manner that was not related to the liquidity demands of the economy or the growth of the economy.

We are doing the same with the US dollar.

Whether we switch to the US dollar, Euro, Japanese Yen, Chinese Yuan, South African Rand… it makes no difference. Until we demonstrate responsibility in the management of the economy, whatever currency we adopt, we will still abuse it and debase it. The starting point is responsible management of an economy, and responsible behaviour and use of a currency. That is where our solution lies, not on what currency we are using.

ZOOM Zimbabwe: Dr. Moyo, what is your take on the issue that President Mnangagwa hired an expensive plane for former First Lady while people were dying with cholera?

Dr. Nkosana MOYO: My understanding is that neither President Mnangagwa nor the government hired the plane, and that a private businessman. Let’s not be speculative. If we are going to be credible people, let’s deal with facts we know, and express our opinions on those. Let’s not deal with things we do not know, or are unproven and even contested, because then, our credibility will suffer.

But like I said, the money used to hire a private plane for Grace Mugabe when her mother died was not government money, it was not authorized by the President, but that a private businessman did that. If I am wrong, please let me know what the facts are.

ZOOM Zimbabwe: Do you believe the sentiment that some citizens are sabotaging the economy for personal gain?

Dr. Nkosana MOYO: I am not aware that citizens are sabotaging the economy; I would guess that citizens are doing everything they can to support themselves and their families. But because the government is not addressing their plight, the citizens will have to everything they can in order to survive.

Let me give you a simple example. I don’t see any justification whatsoever that politicians should not be paying tollgate fees. I think politicians like any other citizens should pay their taxes and toll fees so that they lives as everybody else, and when they make rules and regulations legislation and so forth, then those things need to apply to them as well. Only then will things be done properly.

ZOOM Zimbabwe: Do you think the Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube agrees with the way President Mnangagwa’s administration is doing things?

Dr. Nkosana MOYO: The question about Professor Mthuli Ncube is for him to answer. I left because I felt I was not prepared to serve a government that did things in a manner that was so unacceptable to me. It’s up to Mthuli to behave in a manner that tells us as observers whether he agrees or not. My view is that if you stay in a system that is doing things in a particular way, then the implication is that you agree with the way the system is doing things.

If you disagree with the fundamentals of what that system is doing, then you get out. That is my view. But I think this question should be addressed to Mthuli himself.

ZOOM Zimbabwe: With the way the economy is in a shambles, how can the youths be able to start successful businesses?

Dr. Nkosana MOYO: If the whole economy is imploding, the likelihood of the youths starting businesses and becoming successful is very small. So I think the environment is not conducive for the youths to start businesses and become successful The environment is not conducive to businesses becoming successful in Zimbabwe at the moment.

ZOOM Zimbabwe: There is a sentiment that inasmuch as the government has failed, what has killed the economy is the issue of speculators. Fuel, groceries, beverages, forex and so on are available in the country but the problem is speculators who hold onto to these for speculative gains. How big is that issue in the scheme of things?

Dr. Nkosana MOYO: In financial terms, we talk about arbitrage. That which simply means when you create circumstances where there is a sufficient differential which creates an opportunity for people to make money, they will take a position which allows people to make money. So the issue of speculation and arbitrage is not something that should concern us; what should concern us is why is our government behaving in a manner where these circumstances arise, which people, being rational, are then taking advantage of. That is the question to deal with: why is the government behaving in a manner that allows speculation and arbitrage?

ZOOM Zimbabwe: In concluding, what is it Zimbabweans need to do going forward?

Dr. Nkosana MOYO: We have a government which has just come into being, and that government has got a mandate for fives years. The best we can do is to learn from our actions so that in future we deliver a different result. Let’s take it at face value: Zimbabweans through a democratic election chose the current government.

I could argue that the evidence was there that this government could not deliver, but Zimbabweans chose this government. So what is going on now is simply for Zimbabweans to open their eyes so that they know how to process the options placed before them in future.

When politicians make promises in future, Zimbabweans need to be more diligent in processing the promises being made. If the majority of our citizens chose this way, then we as a nation chose this way. Democracy is a collective process.

Next time we as a nation, hopefully the majority of us, will consider the options available and make the best choice to avoid a repeat of what is happening.

What is happening right now should not surprise anybody, because the party that is running the country has run the country with the same people for the past 38 years. Same people! So, the basis for us to have expected them to do any different is what has to be asked of us. What was our consideration?

We as a nation made a bed, and we must lie on it. We have to put up with the consequences of our decisions and learn from that so that hopefully we don’t repeat the same mistake in future.

ZOOM Zimbabwe: Thank you very much Dr. Nkosana Moyo.

Dr. Nkosana MOYO: Thank you very much.

The video Mnangagwa suddenly deleted on Twitter on 24th Dec 2018 pic.twitter.com/XySFNURqkE

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) December 25, 2018

I’ve lived in countries where the Head of State has used the central bank for political purposes. Please respect the Fed’s independence, Mr. President. pic.twitter.com/lVzV8gyf64

— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) December 24, 2018

VIDEO LOADING BELOW…

Zimdancehall superstar Winky D, real name Wallace Chigumuro, was pelted by bottles by some hooligans before he could perform his controversial hit song, “Kasong KeJecha”.

The song has political undertones and has resonated well with some quarters as the economy continues to plummet.

However, Kwekwe also happens to be President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s home ground.

Winky D was forced to abandon his show at Kwekwe’s Solomon Lifestyle Cafe after hoodlums started pelting the stage with missiles.

While the perpetrators are yet to be positively identified reports from Kwekwe indicate that it was a preplanned and coordinated assault by ZANU PF aligned Midlands gold pirates who are informally referred to as maShurugwi or al-Shabaab.

Winky D was getting ready to come on stage with his band already playing and, as he was still warming up the crowd, bottles and rocks just started flying.

It was very violent and everyone started running away. One of the workers here saw a group of men that came in a white Isuzu hiding machetes in the flowers and we suspect these could be maShurugwi or al-Shabaab (not affiliated with the East Africa jihadist fundamentalist group).

While everyone ran away, a small group of men remained looking for Winky D but he had somehow managed to slip away together with his band. Four of the men then went into the hotel looking for them.

The maShurugwi and al-Shabaab Midlands gold pirates are notorious for their use of violence, including murder, to solve disputes and to gain control of gold mining claims.

Speculation is rife that the attack was politically motivated after Winky D fell out with the authorities over his new hit song “Ka Song Kejecha” which speaks on the country’s economic problems.

Winky D’s official Social Media account later said that the band was safe and sound. Said Winky D,

To God be the Glory. Management hereby informs you that Winky D and the Vigilance Band are all safe and sound. Have a blessed Christmas

Dear Fellow Zimbabweans,

This Christmas should have been a time of joy and families coming together to celebrate the festive season.

For an extended period of time, we’ve had no reason to celebrate, little to none to look forward to in the year ahead.

Sadly this year is no exception too, many lost their loved ones through the carnage on our poor road network.

Many more lost their loved ones through preventable diseases and the infernos that visited us throughout the country.

Millions continue to live in abject poverty as a result of the poor policies and decisions of the ruling elite.

The fuel queues continue unabated leaving many stranded and away from family and loved ones while the black market has stocks of unlimited supply at obscene prices.

This is an indictment on the political leadership of our nation which a few months ago promised us a country “flowing with milk and honey” in exchange for our vote.

Let us resolve on this Christmas day, that as a Nation, Zimbabwe, that we need the birth of a messiah and that Messiah is each and everyone one of us.

Our resolve means that this is the last Christmas we’ll spend in such deplorable conditions. Each messiah amongst us has a singular task to create opportunities for the next person.

Together we can take back our country to its founding ideals.

Together we have the power to defeat those who continue to steal and further corruption with its corrosive outcomes.
Together we have it in our power to defeat those who use lies and propaganda to divide and marginalise us for political expediency.

Together we have it in our power to defeat the old order of oppression and tribalism.

Together we have it in our power to transform our country into an “Equal Opportunity for All” society.

On behalf of the National Executive Committee of the MDC-T, l wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New year.

Dr Thokozani Khupe
MDC-T President

How can this be ED's Christmas message? – Zimbabweans circulate this colourful graphic pic.twitter.com/Duz3JG6TBr

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) December 25, 2018

BUSH Killer Music Productions producer Jassie Kumbulani has taken his wife to court over infidelity after discovering WhatsApp messages to her lovers.

Tatenda Nhenje admitted to cheating on her husband with his best friend, Ephraim Saineti, popularly known as DJ Haice and another man, Hilton Zhuwao before Chief Makope’s village court. She was fined two goats for violating Ubuntu/Hunhu.

The court heard that Nhenje was in love with the two men, but did not have sexual relations with them.

Nhenje told the court that the music producer neglected her, and that is why she sought comfort in the arms of his friend.

She said Zhuwao helped her financially.

Both Zhuwao and Sainet were fined two bovines each, and pleaded with the court to pay one each and their plea was accepted. The fine is due in two weeks.

Nhenje, who was fined two bovines for the adulterous affairs, wept in court, saying the judgment was too harsh and the chief gave her a lighter sentence of two goats.

Chief Makope urged women to respect the sanctity of their marriages as adultery was punishable under traditional laws.

“It is a taboo for a married woman to accept love proposal from another man and for a man to do likewise. In our tradition, it is a punishable offence, and I will not take those matters lightly,” Makope cautioned.

In another case, a Centenary man wept in court after he was dumped for another man and was given a token of divorce by his wife of 10 years.

Chris Maraga approached Chief Makope’s court, demanding to know if his wife Serina Chibiku still loved him.

Chibiku told the court that she was no longer interested in Maraga, as he was abusive and had threatened to kill her on several ocassions.

“I am no longer interested in this man. He is very abusive. At one point he tried to stab me with an okapi knife, but was restrained by neighbours. On another day, he tried to burn my bedroom hut with petrol, so it is better for me to find a lover, not this abuser,” Chibiku told the court.

One witness testified that Chibiku was dumping her husband because she was currently staying with a shop owner at Rongore Farm, near Centenary.

Chibiku was ordered by the chief to give Maraga a token of divorce and she complied. Soon after receiving the token, Maraga wept uncontrollably, bringing court business to a halt for close to an hour.

NewsDay

MEMBERS of Parliament have demanded an increase in their allowances, saying they play an important role in the running of the country.

Norton independent MP Temba Mliswa (pictured) said their allowances have to be reviewed because they work hard in representing their constituencies and the country at various platforms.

“Our allowances mean absolutely nothing. The committee that I chair can sit from 8AM to 8PM working for this country but what they get is a pittance $75, not US dollars. MPs are people who are working tirelessly for this country in these committees.

“The committees have a risk on their own because they expose people who have money and who have the ability to even put a mafia together for them but what do we get — $75. That has to be reviewed so that MPs are able to execute their duties in a professional manner,” said Mliswa.

He urged Government to also review allowances that they get when going on duty out of the country.

“I’ll also talk about the allowances that we get when we leave this country. The allowances that we get are US$50 when leaving Zimbabwe. It’s not enough. The Minister of Finance and Economic Development has to look into this and increase that allowance we get when we leave the country.

“There must be a credit card which is given to MPs when they travel and what they must do is to account for it when they come back, not a situation where the money that we get is not enough even to buy meals,” said Mliswa.

The Government, he said, should provide MPs with cars that are suitable for the terrain in their constituencies

Mashonaland West proportional representation MP Goodluck Kwaramba urged Government to improve the welfare of legislators.

“I rise to make my contribution on the welfare of MPs regarding the cars which are allocated to us. Being an MP is a very tough task, especially for those who come from rural constituencies. The car which is given to the MP is a service vehicle which is used in the constituency.

“Even when there is a funeral, that car is used at that funeral and yet servicing the car is a very expensive exercise. At times we are not able to service the cars because of the expenses involved and our salaries are not enough,” said MP Kwaramba.

He said sometimes MPs are forced to use public transport to conduct their duties due to failure to service their cars. “Due to the situation, we’re forced to use commuter omnibuses to conduct our business. We’re saying, may the Government please expedite the process of allocating us vehicles for moving around because as stated before, the cars given to the MPs are service vehicles,” he said.

“It’s a universal car for the constituency. Whatever assignment has to be done in the constituency, the electorate expects that car to carry out those duties. I am pleading with the Finance Minister to increase allowances for better cars so that the MPs can maintain the integrity and status expected of them.”

In response, Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube promised MPs that they will get a Toyota Hilux twin cab vehicles soon.

“The issue of vehicles is under control. We’re dealing with it. MPs will get vehicles and I think we had even agreed on the model and if my information is correct unless they have changed, the model is a Hilux twin cab,” said Prof Ncube.

He did not respond to the request for allowance review.

A man, Munyaradzi Shope, was arrested on Monday after 4 fake immigration stamps were discovered on him by the Zimbabwean immigration.

The stamps were replicas of South
Africa’s immigration and one of Zimbabwe Immigration. Shope was arrested in a Toyota Fun-Cargo within
the border post at Beitbridge.

According to a report, he used the car as an office.The Assistant Regional Immigration officer in
charge of Beitbridge, Nqobile Ncube said:“The man was intercepted by our Regional Compliance and Enforcement team at around 2am. Team membersobserved that there was suspicious traffic of travellers at the vehicle and when he went to investigate, Shope and his two accomplices, who we are yet to identify drove off.

The team then gave a chase and managed to intercept Shope whom we have since handed over to the police for further management…”Chronicle

THE internal power struggle rocking the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA), pitting national chairperson Christopher Mutsvangwa and secretary general Victor Matemadanda, is heading for an explosive finish after one faction held a meeting at the weekend to plot the ouster of their leader.

Mutsvangwa, who is indisposed with an undisclosed illness, has not been seen in public for some time, stands accused of being behind wild-cat demonstrations by a group of former liberation war fighters calling itself the Welfare Committee.

The group stormed President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s office last week, demanding outstanding allowances dating back to 1997 and accused Matemadanda of stalling their progress as well as rubbishing the deputy Defence minister’s war credentials.

Matemadanda allegedly convened a meeting of selected war veterans provincial chairpersons on Saturday in Kadoma at which strategies for Mutsvangwa’s removal were discussed, as well as a plan to protect the ZNLWVA secretary general.

“The meeting was disguised as a business forum to discuss command agriculture as well as synergies for war veterans to make a living but the major issue was to discuss a way to get rid of Mutsvangwa. There is a slush fund in place to make sure the structures of the association deal with chairpersons and other officials seen as not towing the line as well as the campaign against Mutsvangwa,” a source told NewsDay but declined identification.

The meeting was chaired by Mashonaland West ZNLWVA provincial chairperson, Cornelius Muoni and was also attended by other chairpersons from Matabeleland North, Bulawayo, Matabeleland South, Midlands, Mashonaland East and Harare.

ZNLWVA deputy national chairperson Headman Moyo confirmed the meeting, but said he did not attend.

“I have been advised of the meeting, but I am on holiday and do not have much details. Talk to Muoni,” said Moyo who has been acting leader as Mutsvangwa recuperates. Moyo said a meeting of the ZNLWVA national executive will be held “after the festive season to deal with these issues”.

Muoni confirmed the meeting and also said that discussions around Mutsvangwa “were raised”.

“That issue [Mutsvangwa’s removal] came up but was not on our agenda. We were discussing command agriculture and the recent demonstrations by that small group. He [Mutsvangwa] has been criticising command agriculture, but has not explained his reasons.

“He has not been working well with others, and there is a feeling within our ranks that he is behind the recent demonstrations. Now we need the national executive to deal with the issue. We already have resolutions from our members that we have not acted on favourably,” Muoni said.

Muoni confirmed that Matemadanda attended the meeting and claimed other chairpersons had not attended due to “fuel problems”. Efforts to get a comment from Matemadanda drew blanks as he was said to be in meetings, with his aide answering his mobile phone.

In November, war veterans in Mashonaland West reportedly passed a no confidence vote on Mutsvangwa over his reported denigration of the command agriculture programme and having failed to meet structures since his appointment as Mnangagwa’s Special Adviser last November. Calls for Mutsvangwa’s ouster were supported by war veterans in Mashonaland East province amid claims the fight for control of the former fighters was part of an internal war of attrition between Mnangagwa and Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga.

Mutsvangwa has since been removed as Mnangagwa’s top aide.

A meeting of the association’s districts in Mashonaland East rejected the claims and confirmed their confidence in Mutsvangwa’s leadership.

Mutsvangwa is reportedly being targeted after openly attacking petroleum mogul Kuda Tagwirei, who has been funding the command agriculture programme. Tagwirei, seen as Chiwenga’s protégé, has been accused of “State capture” in a messy fight for the control of the fuel industry in Zimbabwe as well as in the ‘skewed’ allocation of foreign currency by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

— NewsDay

FINANCE minister Mthuli Ncube last week agreed to soften his stance on traffic fines, adding an amendment that allows magistrates to use their discretion when imposing them.

Nkulumane MP Kucaca Phulu (MDC Alliance) said: “For some of these driving offences – if you take into account the salaries that people earn like civil servants and even Members of Parliament – yes, the fines must be biting, but we will end up having our jails inundated with people that are unable to pay these fines,” Phulu said.

“This was the point of reference which led to the events of November 2017 (when former President Robert Mugabe was deposed), because people were being milked of their money using these fines. It is undesirable to have fines at that level because they are 300% of your salary. We suggest that perhaps these fines need to be rationalised massively, so that they are in accord with the level of income of Zimbabweans,” he said.

Zengeza West MP Job Sikhala (MDC Alliance) said even though fines must be in place for punitive purposes, if they were outrageously high, it would defeat logic and reason.

“The moment when a fine becomes unreachable by the intended offender, it is no longer serving its purpose,” Sikhala said.

Sikhala suggested that level one and level two fines should remain at $20, level three at $60, but he queried why the minister had jumped from $60 for level three crimes to $400 for level four crimes.

“I would suggest that level five be $200 and not $800, because how does it double from level four at $400 to $800?” Sikhala said.

Harare East MP Tendai Biti (MDC Alliance) said by fixing the traffic fines, legislators were treading on the grounds of the Judiciary, adding that section 2 of the Constitution recognised the principle of separation of powers.

“It is the Judiciary which sets fines. Penalties must be proportional to the wrong that is committed. So, you have a situation where, from $20 to $60, there has been a doubling up of the penalties since 2009.

“So, where you have $20, it used to be $10; where you have $30, it used to be $15; where you have $60, it used to be $30, doubling up. However, when it comes from level 4 to level 14, there has been a quadrupling of the penalty. What is the justification of quadrupling, when with level one to three, you have doubled? Is it because of inflation? It cannot be because of inflation because from 2009, our inflation has not quadrupled,” Biti said.

Finance minister Ncube’s response was that the levels of the traffic fines which he set were the maximums payable as penalties.

“For instance, from level one to level three, that is a spot fine, but beyond that, which is level four to level 14, that is the maximum that a magistrate can charge.

I am not saying the magistrate may not use it. They may use it. What I am proposing is that we insert the word maximum monetary amount on that column,” he said.

Ncube said level one to three fines, which are spot fines, would remain between $20 and $60, while level four fine would be $100, level five $200; level six $400; level seven $800; level eight $1 200; level nine $1 600; level 10 $2 000; level 11 $2 500; level 12 $3 000 and level 13 $5 000, while level 14 would be at $10 000.

In the 2019 budget statement, Ncube increased fines for traffic offences like proceeding against a red robot, overtaking over a solid line, encroaching into oncoming traffic to avoid congestion, dropping passengers at undesignated points, driving without head or side lights, among others, to fine levels eight to 10, which attract a maximum fine of $700 and imprisonment for a period not exceeding 12 months.

Opposition MPs felt that Ncube’s fine levels were too high to the extent motorists would end up filling jails for failure to pay them, and Ncube responded by amending clause 28 of Finance No. 3 Bill to read that traffic fines would be “the maximum, but not the prescribed level” to allow for flexibility.

— NewsDay

Local beers and soft drinks are among some of the products that have disappeared from supermarkets’ shelves thereby depriving embattled Zimbabweans of the things they had become accustomed to during the festive
holidays.

A survey by the Daily News over the weekend revealed that most retail outlets have run out of local beer brands and soft drinks, particularly
those manufactured by the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed Delta Corporation.Where one finds local beverages, the cost would
have gone up from the recommended retail price.

In most shops, shelves are filled to the brim by imported substitutes that cost an arm and leg.Some of the imported beers are actually being
sold in foreign currency as confirmed the Zimbabwe Retailers Association (ZRA) yesterday.Several other basic products, among them the standard loaf of bread, are also hard to come-by.

Government confirmed the shortages yesterday but said it is determined to bring cheer to long-
suffering Zimbabweans.Nick Mangwana, the permanent secretary in the ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, told the Daily News yesterday that government — through the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) — has disbursed foreign currency to the beverage companies and is in the process of releasing more hard currency for the procurement of their inputs.Daily News

VIDEO LOADING BELOW…

The video Mnangagwa suddenly deleted on Twitter on 24th Dec 2018 pic.twitter.com/XySFNURqkE

— ZimEye (@ZimEye) December 25, 2018

PRESS STATEMENT BY THE ZHDA ON THE IMPASSE BETWEEN DOCTORS AND GOVERNMENT

25 DECEMBER 2018
The Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA) would like to update its members, the press, members of the public and various stakeholders on the impasse between doctors and the government. Following the press statement issued by the Minister of Health and Child Care, Hon. O. Moyo, we would like to set the record straight so as to avoid misinfoming our fellow citizens who may be hoodwinked into believing that the ministry is being sincere in its dealings with doctors.

1. Drugs and Medical Sundries
The said drugs which have been supposedly stocked at Natpharm have not reached any of our government institutions. If indeed the drugs and protective clothing are there, our members have made it clear that these should be seen at hospitals. This comes against a background of several promises of medicines and equipment made by the ministry since January this year, with none being fulfilled.

In addition, the stated stocks will not last our institutions long (a month to two at most), and we have requested the ministry set targets and provide timelines as to …when the target stocks will be reached, but to no avail.

2.RemuneratIon

According to the collective bargaining agreement 2 (CBA 2) of March 2018, our salaries and allowances are pegged in United States Dollars (USD). The employer has been countlessly breaching this CBA, firstly by applying it selectively across the health workers, secondly by implementing it unfairly, then unilaterally slashing on call allowances of middle level and senior doctors. The ministry did not heed our call to rectify these but has gone on to unilaterally decide to pay us in RTGS. This is a clear violation of the CBA and all we ask is the employer to honour the legally binding contract and pay us in USD. The minister went on to misinform the nation that the least paid doctor earns USD 1800. This is not true because we do not earn USD, and the association is yet to see a junior colleague who earns $1800. We do not know where the minister got this figure. Our members take home an average monthly package of way less than this, with the bulk of it being the on call allowance of around $1000 which the doctor is paid at an hourly rate for working non-stop during ungodly hours of the night.

This is the same allowance which we requested that it be raised from $7.50/hr, in line with the 2014 promise by the ministry to raise it to at least $10/hr. This promise has not been fulfilled to date.

Furthermore, the government through the ministry has been receiving health retention allowances (donor funds) quartely in foreign currency, whilst paying these to health workers in RTGS currency. The donors have since requested that the ministry facilitates the opening of Nostro FCAs for our members, and the ministry is trying to use this as a bargaining chip when they are not entitled to do so.

3. Unfreezing of posts

Noting that junior doctors are employed on a contract basis, we requested that the ministry avail posts for employment after the contract, as one cannot go into private practice soon after but requires a mandatory one year in full time government employment. The govemment states that they have availed these but there is no documented evidence or concurrence that has been furnished to us or our members to that effect. We requested the ministry to avail the evidence for these posts through a legally binding forum. These posts will ensure that staffing levels improve at all govemment hospitals to enable quality health service delivery.

We also note that the minister avoided stipulating working hours for middle level and senior doctors, despite our request to have these specified dating back as far as January 2018. This ensures that the system of overworking the few available doctors without compensation is perpetuated. We currently have doctors who work over 36 hours non stop.

4. Vehicle Loan scheme

The ministry has not comrnited in writing on a legally binding forum to provide this scheme to all doctors, and the stated dates of operationalisation are very vague.

5. Availability of fuel

Once again our fellow citizens have been lied to that fuel has been made available for doctors. Most hospitals have not seen or heard of this said fuel by the Minister. In actual fact, Mpilo hospital ran out of generator fuel recently for the hospital generator.

6. Supemumerary registrars.

The ministry has been taking advantage of senior doctors in specialist training who are not employed by the government. Due to ‘limited training spaces, some of our registrars have opted to train outside the employment of the ministry but continually see government patients without remuneration. It is unfair for the ministry to delegate this issue to MOHTE rather than create posts for their own. In the same vein, the employer has failed its main mandate to protect the welfare of workers if they cannot protect junior staff from victimization by their superiors
Negotiations for doctors and other health workers’ welfare take place a the Health Service Bipartite Negotiating Panel (HSBNP.), guided by statutory instrument III of 2006. The employer has not taken this forum seriously and since the first of December only three fruitless meetings have been held. What the minister is spreading are just informal discussions that have not reached this forum and are flawed, far from implementation and tantamount to propaganda.

To further show their lack of seriousness, the employer has failed to address issues but instead taken the association to court and ordered members to resume work disgruntled. Our membership has stated firmly that they will not risk the lives of patients by working under duress whilst disgruntled, and will not return to work in potentially hazardous spaces. Moreso, the doctors did not receive their December salaries and are incapacitated to go to work.

The response by the employer has been to suspend most of our members, pending hearings. This brutal, hard stance will not bring any fruit towards resolving the impasse, but instead is regressive. Following this move, middle level and senior doctors in nine (9) provinces have withdrawn the services and will only resume work when these members are reinstated and meaningful negotiations are underway. This means that most district and provincial hospitals will operate at minimum capacity, if at all.

The Health Service Board is playing politics with the Iives of our fellow countrymen, throwing a legal charade whilst failing to address the issues affecting our health sector. It is our view that the ministry and the Health Services Board have failed their mandate, and we hereby call for the dissolution of the Health Service Board and the setting up of an independent Health Service Commission.

We will only return to work when the government treats our health sector with the delicacy end professionalism It deserves.
…..

DIVERSIFED agro-processor United Refineries Limited (URL) has admitted to inadequate stocks of cooking oil and laundry soap citing limited access to key raw materials due to shortage of foreign currency.

The supply gap has seen retailers increase price of cooking oil beyond the recommended level of $3,50 for a 2-litre bottle to about $8, 99.

In e-mailed responses to Business Chronicle URL chief executive officer, Mr Busisa Moyo, who is also president of the Oil Expressers Association of Zimbabwe, said raw material supply gaps were crippling local industry viability.

He said for URL to effectively respond to the shortage in the market, the company requires up to $3 million in foreign currency.

“We do not have adequate stocks of cooking oil and laundry soap at present as letters of credit have been fewer in this last quarter than in all the quarters of the year. The company requires $3m in foreign currency once local oil seeds have been used up. Local oil seeds are used up within 1-2 months during the year,” he said.

Mr Moyo said for the first time in 72 months URL’s soap plant shut down in October this year.

He said in November the company received a letter of credit for 20 percent of capacity on soap and in December their letters of credit through banks will cover about 15 percent, though he indicated these were very low percentages.

Mr Moyo said his company was only receiving foreign currency support for the main raw material imports, which constitute about 65 percent of costs leaving them to rely on traders and holders of free funds for the rest of their inputs.

“We are receiving foreign currency support for only the main raw material imports being soya bean and crude degummed soya bean oil (CDSBO), which constitutes about 65 percent of costs. We now have to rely on traders and holders of free funds for the rest of our inputs hence the increase,” he said.

“Secondly, we have free fund holders who are toll processing crude oil and will charge at alternative market rates for products and finally for the main raw materials of crude soya bean oil. We are receiving only 25 to 30 percent of capacity, which makes it difficult to recover overheads at the lower prices level.”

To address the shortage, Mr Moyo said the solution was to grow enough oil seeds — cotton seed and soya beans — from the country’s farming community and for the Reserve Bank to allocate $3 million to the company per month at official 1:1 rate.

He said once allocated the foreign currency or upon receipt of a confirmed letter of credit, it takes five to 10 days to deliver oil at the $3, 50 price since cooking oil is one of the 14 monitored products, which Government wants to ensure is affordable.

The Department of Immigration on Monday morning intercepted a man believed to be part of a racket that is using fake customs and immigration stamps to clear people between Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Citizens of the two countries, most of them Zimbabweans illegally living in South Africa, occasionally give cross-border bus drivers or wheeler dealers their passports for endorsement at the border.

It would then appear as if they would have returned to Zimbabwe at some point and this “legalises” their stay in that country and in most cases they use fake immigration stamps.

The Assistant Regional Immigration officer in charge of Beitbridge Mr Nqobile Ncube said they intercepted one Munyaradzi Shope and recovered four fake immigrations stamps four (replicas of South Africa’s immigration and one of Zimbabwe Immigration).

He said Shope was intercepted while operating his mobile ‘immigration office’ in a Toyota Fun-Cargo within the border post. He said two other accomplices were still outstanding.

“The man was intercepted by our Regional Compliance and Enforcement team at around 2am. Team members observed that there was suspicious traffic of travellers at the vehicle and when he went to investigate, Shope and his two accomplices, who we are yet to identify drove off.

“The team then gave a chase and managed to intercept Shope whom we have since handed over to the police for further management. Let me warn the criminal syndicates that they will not be given breathing space. These abet criminal activities and cause loss of revenue to the State and help wanted criminals to move undetected,” said Mr Ncube.

He said they had adequately deployed to all key points to reduce incidents of irregular migration (border jumping) especially where child smuggling is concerned.

He said since the start of the festive season cases of child smuggling where on the decline.

“We have recorded less than 10 cases. We are glad our efforts are paying dividends. At the same time parents should desist from putting their children at risk from criminals and other vices. This trend, where we continue to have parents or guardians who expose their children to illegal migration is disturbing, ”said Mr Ncube.

State Media

A Harare man who was allegedly caught with a human head in the car he was driving after a high-speed chase appeared in court yesterday charged with murder. Emmanuel Matsika (27) was driving a suspected stolen vehicle.

Police had earlier recovered a headless body in a disused toilet in Harare’s light industrial area.

Matsika, who is homeless and stays at a dump site at the University of Zimbabwe, appeared before Harare magistrate Mr Elisha Singano who denied him bail and remanded the matter to January 7.

Allegations are that Matsika hatched a plan to kill the now deceased David Arendi.

He allegedly went to a disused toilet at the corner of Lyton and Paisley roads in Workington, Harare on December 21 and confronted Arendi, killed and cut off his head using a knife.

He then allegedly took Arendi’s head and left his body at the scene.

Matsika was later arrested after a high-speed chase and police recovered two blood-stained knives and the head in the car he was driving.

Matsika allegedly indicated to the police how he murdered Arendi at the crime scene.

Prosecutor Mr Shepherd Makonde applied for Matsika to be treated as a psychiatric patient, but the magistrate, Mr Singano dismissed the application saying Matsika was in his right senses and fully understood and appreciated the allegations against him.

Matsika is yet to disclose why he allegedly killed Arendi.

State Media

The 2019 National Budget sailed through the National Assembly on Thursday with legislators adopting the two percent intermediated tax which was one of the contentious issues in the Finance Bill. Parliament adjourned well after midnight after legislators debated the Budget.

Zanu-PF members defended the tax but opposition MPs were opposed it saying it was punitive to ordinary Zimbabweans.

Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said it was a revenue collecting measure.

“I move that this clause be adopted as is. I am actually quite surprised that we are still stuck on the same argument. We have just agreed to increase the parliamentary budget to $145 million, where do honourable members think that money is coming from? You are arguing for cars to be given to them, we have agreed and where do they think the monies are coming from? We are allocating $310 million to the constituencies of the honourable members, where do they think that money is coming from? It is coming from the two percent,” said Prof Ncube.

“We have also increased the budget for education, health. We have budgeted these monies and I believe that the exemptions that we have proposed will go a long way in making sure there is a relief out there and we need this money to balance the Budget.”

He said the two percent tax was a modern tax which recognises that people are using more electronic means to make payments, including mobile telephones.

“We have to move with the times. We are actually ahead of the curve compared even to the First World; they are actually catching up with us in terms of modern means of taxation using electronic platforms. So, I urge Members of Parliament to recognise that we are raising the much needed revenue to support the work they do here in Parliament but also to add more resources to their constituencies through the devolution process and to the social services sector,” said Prof Ncube.

In his contribution to the debate, Kambuzuma MP Mr Willias Madzimure (MDC) had said the two percent tax must be reduced.

“Going on to the real issue Honourable Chair, I think the best that the minister can do is give a relief to our people and reduce the two percent, it is punitive, 0,5 percent will be reasonable even though it is not the best way of doing it,” he said.

Former Finance Minister and Harare East legislator Tendai Biti said he was against the manner in which the tax was introduced by Prof Ncube in terms of the law.

“My submission is concerned around the manner in which the Hon. Minister has introduced this tax. You recall that the minister first announced this tax in his maiden press statement on the 1st of October, 2018. On Friday, 12th October, 2018, he then passed a Statutory Instrument that introduced this tax. The problem with the Statutory Instrument Honourable Chair is that it sought to amend a substantive provision of the Income Tax Act.

“The intermediated transaction tax is legislated; it has been in our law since 2002 where it was US$0,5cents per transaction. So, Section 22 (g) of the Income Tax Act provided that there will be a transaction tax of US$0,5 cents per transaction. What the minister did through a Statutory Instrument that he enacted on the 12th October, 2018 was to repeal and override a defined provision in an Act of Parliament,” he argued

Leader of the House and Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Ziyambi Ziyambi dismissed Biti’s argument saying it was him who introduced the provision.

“When he was Finance Minister, he made provision for what the minister did. He amended Section 3 of the Finance Act to authorise that, subject to confirmation by Parliament. Now, he is standing here to say what he authorised when he was minister is now wrong! However, I put a point to the effect that Parliament has procedures of rejecting or accepting Statutory Instruments,” said Minister Ziyambi.

Buhera South Joseph Chinotimba said legislators must not be double faced as they wanted allowances at the expense of the taxpayers.

“We cannot defend our own Budget as Parliament but we want to defend that for the people. The people who are paying taxes are the ones that we are telling that we want our money increased as Parliament. We are stealing from the people. Are we not? It is the same money that you would want this Budget increased. They should not be double-faced. It is unfair even if the taxes were to be reduced,” he said.

Chinotimba then called for the House to be divided and vote on the two percent tax.

A total of 80 legislators voted for the adoption of the intermediated two percent tax against 26, leading to its adoption into the Finance Bill.

State Media