Mugabe demanded corruption evidence … Has accusers developed cold feet?

By Daniel Chigundu

WHEN Zanu PF held its lavish sixth National Congress with pomp and funfair last December, President Robert Mugabe took advantage of the meeting to denounce massive and well orchestrated corruption that has ravaged the country, and also demanded evidence of massive corruption cases that have been leveled against his lieutenants some of whom have already faced the boot, or the dreaded axe from the revolutionary party.

So horrible is the intensity and magnitude of corruption in the country that Transparency International last year in one of their reports ranked Zimbabwe among the 25 most corrupt countries of the world, while other organisations have also expressed deep concern over the situation.

These rankings do not auger well with most investors and financiers which the country is badly trying to lure.

The President’s stance during the congress gave the nation some sense of hope that now the cancerous behavior that has dragged the country down the abyss was now being acted upon and surely it was only a matter of time before the usually reliable Zimbabwe Republic Police get their hands on the corrupt officials.

What gave the nation hope is not the president’s speech alone, but also the vigor and energy with which the accusers used to claim that they have overwhelming evidence, through witnesses, some of it on video, audio and even on documents.

We were made to believe that some of these fly-by-night elites would soon taste the medicine given to those who choose to be selfish with the povo’s allocation of resources, but now we have passed the third quarter of 2015 with no one having been arrested.

As time continues to tick-tock with no arrests having been made and some of the accused making a lot of noise in the media more than before, the nation is now beginning to ask whether there really was evidence or it was just another page of dirty politics that normally characterise the build-up to every elective congress.

Or could it be a fulfillment of the notion that says jails or prisons were designed and made with the poor in mind, because we have seen how quick, cases involving the poor shoplifters or handbag snatchers are dealt with, that in no time the accused are sent to jail for their misdeeds, but those who steal millions still walk free and never come near jails and some even have the audacity to dare the police to come and arrest them.

Addressing delegates last December President Mugabe said anyone found on the wrong side of the law will likely lose his post and also face prosecution.

 “…Vakaita mhosva chaidzo dzecorruption hwabuda humbowo hwakakwana, vachatongwa. Ruzivo rwatinenge tapihwa kana wanga uri minister, civil servant, basa rinobva rapera. Tipei humbowo hwakakwana (those that are fingered in corrupt practices if overwhelming evidence is presented they will be prosecuted. When we receive this evidence even if you were a minister or civil servant you will lose your job. So give us overwhelming evidence of those corruption cases),” said Mugabe.

There is no doubt the president is a man of his words and on most occasions he has lived up to his words and with Joice Mujuru and other officials believed to be from her cabal having been already shown the door from government and party, we thought by now we would have seen those accused of serious fraud and corruption also being dragged to our courts.

Some of us with wild minds were already imagining ourselves scrambling to enter the courts to get a glimpse of the officials sitting in the dock, but alas they are still roaming the streets in their expensive cars, while we are walking along the pavements as usual.

Could it be that the president was lied to or misled, or is it that someone is sleeping on duty, or were the accusations really based on truth or was it a well choreographed smear campaign. Have the accusers develop cold feet, or is it that the police are still investigating and compiling charge sheets, these are the questions which we now have and unfortunately no one will answer anytime soon.

We have read in the media of how the former Vice President Joice Mujuru was going to be arrested some many weeks ago, which slowly turned to months and now a quarters, but she is still as free as a bird in the sky, what is happening?

Industry and Trade minister Mike Bimha told delegates at the Marketers Association of Zimbabwe (MAZ) awards dinner in January that the country has to work a lot in terms of trying to spruce up its battered image if there are hopes of attracting investors.

Zimbabwe is going through trying times economically which has seen most big industries closing shop or downsizing and economic commentators have heaped blame on corrupt officials who are bent on enriching their pockets at the expense of citizens.

So with all the cases of corruption that have been leveled against former Zanu PF and government officials, a question that is on a lot of peoples’ lips is whether there really is enough evidence that can warrant prosecution .

Will former Vice President Joice Mujuru be arrested, if she is not arrested, then what will become of the many accusations that have been leveled against her by alleged enemies in a dog-eat-dog type of factional fights.

Former Energy and Power Development Minister Dzikamai Mavhaire and his Deputy Munacho Mutezo have also been fingered in corrupt practices and abuse of office, but then why is it taking long to bring them before the courts to answer their charges.

Why have these corruption cases reported to the media more than to the police if there truly is overwhelming evidence as we are made to believe.

And could it be not that those holding on to this important evidence are afraid to release it because they themselves played a role or benefited from the alleged corruption and it has now dawned on them that they maybe shooting their own feet.

Have we not become blind to the extent that we are now using the scarce state resources to help fund fights involving friends who have fallen-out with each other when we ourselves have no role or benefit from the result of the fight?

Are we not having a situation where the corrupt are being set up to catch the corrupt? Only time will tell.

Since the removal of Mujuru and her alleged cabal, what have we benefited as citizens, or has anything other than the bonuses and pay-dates of civil servants changed in the country, is it not the right time to say enough of this Mujuru nonsense.

Chigundu News.com: Our seats are safe: MDC Renewal …Mwonzora illegiti...

Chigundu News.com: Our seats are safe: MDC Renewal …Mwonzora illegiti...: MDC Renewal has described calls to expel members of parliament (MPs) aligned to it by MDC-T as a non-event, adding that those calling fo...

Our seats are safe: MDC Renewal …Mwonzora illegitimate

MDC Renewal has described calls to expel members of parliament (MPs) aligned to it by MDC-T as a non-event, adding that those calling for it are illegitimate.

Last week MDC-T secretary general Douglas Mwonzora wrote to the Speaker of Parliament seeking the expulsion of MPs aligned to MDC Renewal, basing his application on the recent of expulsion of Didymus Mutasa and Themba Mliswa by Zanu PF.

In a statement MDC Renewal said the speaker of parliament made his ruling on the matter a long time ago, and that only Tendai Biti is legible to write to the speaker on any MDC related issue.

“…We are therefore shocked that at a time when Zimbabweans across the country are trying to find each other and a common ground for building national convergence and national consensus, our erstwhile colleagues, who were suspended on the 26^th of April 2014 by the Party’s National Council at Mandel Training Centre and subsequently expelled by a legitimate tribunal on the 27^th of June 2014, are now engaged in a futile attempt to recall democratically elected Members of Parliament.

“While it is common cause that the Speaker of Parliament has already made a determination that the matter of who constitutes the legitimate leadership of the Party, we wish to make it unequivocally clear that there is only one Secretary General of the Party and that is Hon. Tendai Biti and until a legitimate congress is held, only he can write to the Speaker of Parliament or any other body on MDC matters.

“These actions by our erstwhile colleagues show that they are now in bed with Zanu PF because the net effect of them recalling MDC MPs is that they are knowingly donating these seats to Zanu PF on a silver platter, given the fact that they have declared that they will not participate in any election in the absence of electoral reforms, which reforms have not happened,” read the statement. 

The Renewal Team added that Douglas Mwonzora was elected by an illegitimate congress and therefore has no authority to write to the Speaker of Parliament as he was also suspended and subsequently expelled from the party.

“He cannot claim to be the Secretary General of the Party as he was elected by an illegitimate, illegal and sham congress. As a matter of fact, we know that some of our colleagues that are still trapped in that undemocratic faction are beginning to acknowledge that the October 2014 Congress was a farce.

“As a solution to this, we want to assure our supporters across the country that our seats are safe and that the MDC Renewal Team will continue to execute the people’s struggle in all platforms both within and outside the August House. Our solution is that we will radically confront the Zanu PF regime using democratic and constitutional processes,” added the statement.-

Renewable energy gaining ground

RENEWABLE energy has the potential to transform Zimbabwe’s fortunes in particular the agricultural sector.

Zimbabwe experiences abundance of throughout the year and could capitalize on this resource to provide marginalized societies in rural areas with long lasting energy solutions for their daily livelihoods as an escape route from poverty.

Unfortunately government has not done much to take advantage of the natural resources even in the face of untold power shortages which have literally crippled production in industries.

According to power generation statistics from the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), the country is producing something in the region of 1300 Megawatts (MW) against a demand of 2200 MW and this has resulted in massive load-shedding. 

This power deficit has also prevented government from connecting rural areas to the national power grid through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) thereby slowing down critical development.

While government has been playing a back-benchers role, ChiMuts Solar Zimbabwe and some other individuals and small companies around the country have taken it upon themselves to utilise these environmental friendly resources through bio-gas projects and solar.

The Norton based private enterprise (ChiMuts) has been taking a leading role in providing farmers with solar powered water pumps.

The company says it aims to empower farmers over a long-term, to enable them to use solar to grow top quality crops for at least three seasons annually, as opposed to relying on rain fed agriculture which is usually from November to March.

Addressing the media during a media tour of their demonstration site at Moncris Farm recently, ChiMuts Solar Zimbabwe co-founder Tendai Mutsvangwa said solar powered water pumps is the only way to go because they are low cost.

“…its maintenance free which means it reduces repair headaches. These solar pumps are not just economical solutions but also give peace of mind.

“They are efficient and you don’t need to worry about bills, yes they maybe expensive at the initial stage but in the long run you will discover that they become cheaper than other methods. So far we have installed these pumps since 2012 and all our clients have no complaints or maintenance issues.

“The other thing is that in Zimbabwe we have almost eight hours of sunshine which is great and ideal for these pumps.

“Other countries do not have such privileges but they still use these equipment so why not us when we have the resource readily available to both small and large scale farmers,” he said.

Since 2012 ChiMuts has installed water pumps in about nine sites across the country ranging from farms, schools and game parks.

ChiMuts is using the solar pumps with drip-irrigation which according to the farm’s irrigation engineer Matilda Borerwi, reduces weeds in the fields and also uses less power.    

ChiMuts’ efforts are in line with calls made by finance minister Patrick Chinamasa in his 2015 national budget where he urged local farmers to consider using sustainable energy systems on their farms in an effort to save the environment.

Zinwa ineffective: Murengwa

THE Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) has been ineffective in terms of providing adequate water to residents, Mvurwi Town Commission has said.

Addressing the media during an appreciation tour of Mvurwi Town organized by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), council chairman Vincent Murengwa said the service from Zinwa has been very poor.

“The provision of water is being done by Zinwa in the whole town but is not very adequate since we experience a lot of breakdowns and power outages. The communities can spend two to three days without water hence council augmented by drilling two boreholes in the high density areas.

“Efforts are underway to take over water from Zinwa as a way of improving supply management in the town. We are ready to take over, other processes have been done and we are now waiting for the relevant authorities to accept our bids.

“As town council, we believe we have capacity to manage water if we are given the chance,” said the Town chairman.

If Mvurwi bids are accepted it will join a number of local authorities in the country that have repossessed water management from Zinwa as major cities and some towns are now managing their water.

Zinwa was given charge over all the water management in the country some years ago but failed dismally to ensure effective delivery of water to residents prompting local authorities to bid for takeover.

Experts believe Zinwa which lay claims over all the water bodies in the country does not have capacity to effectively undertake the responsibilities of water supply especially in urban areas where there is huge demand hence its celebrated failures.

Although most authorities are now running their own water management, the some situation has not improved as they are facing challenges in purchasing water purifying chemicals due to lack of funds as the cash strapped residents are not fully paying their rates on time, if at all.

Mvurwi Town Council chairman also revealed that they have not been spared by the non-payment of rates but added the situation was not worse as in other town thanks to various regular engagements they have with the residents.-

Mvurwi courts investors …eyes municipal status by 2025

MVURWI Town Commission says it has been holding investors’ meetings in an effort to lure as much business to the town so that they can qualify for the municipal status by 2025.

Addressing Journalists on the sidelines of an investment conference, Mvurwi Town Commission chairman Vincent Murengwa said they hope to attract as many investors as possible to the town in line with their 2025 vision.

“Our vision is to attain a municipality status by 2025. We are trying to hold as many investor promotions in the form of conferences coupled with other initiatives so that we can lure more investors since this is one of the bases for being given the status.

“We have more land here and water that we are guarding jealously but which we are willing to give to investors. The town boasts of five water bodies and an educated people, thanks to the schools around the area although we do not yet have a university,” he said.

Mvurwi was given a town status in February 2009 and was effectively separated from Mazowe Rural District council in 2011.

Mvurwi is mainly an agro-based town with more farmers growing tobacco which earned it the title “golden leaf town”.

Some of the country’s leading banks such as the Standard Chartered Bank of Zimbabwe and the Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe (CBZ), the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange listed blue-chip company Delta Corporations has a beverages collection Depot, Farm and City and even clothes concern Power Sales have already registered their presence in the town.

Meanwhile, Mvurwi Town Council has been applauded by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) as being one of the few local authorities in the country that have been able to manage their waste effectively despite the well-documented challenges.

Unlike other well resourced local authorities in the country, Mvurwi only has three tractor drawn dumpers that service the whole town which has an estimated population of 10 492 people.

To make it possible, the innovative town council constructed about 17 communal bins across the sections of the town’s high density areas which serve as garbage collection sites, together with about five make-shift skip-bins and 10 steel bins donated by CBZ which are dotted within the central business district and other strategic areas as market places.

Murengwa said most of their efforts have been made possible by the various initiatives they have taken which include engaging residents on a regular basis which has seen some elderly women-vendors volunteering to clean the market area on Fridays and also watching out for litter-bugs.

The town chairman also revealed that council now has landfill designs in place but lack of funding is hampering progress as they are currently unable to conduct the required Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

MDC Renewal blasts demolitions

THE MDC Renewal Team says the current demolitions of homes in Chitungwiza and Epworth are clear acts of cruelty by government.

In a statement the team’s national secretary for social welfare Lucia Matibenga said her team was shocked by the act which resembles another evil Murambatsvina.

“The MDC Renewal Team expresses its dismay at the callous and heartless treatment of citizens by the current government, which has gone on yet another campaign of demolishing people’s homes leaving them without shelter. Hundreds of men, women and children have been left homeless by the government’s demolition of people’s homes in Chitungwiza and Epworth, which are reminiscent of the Murambatsvina   campaign of 2005 that saw the destruction of tens of thousands of homes by the same ZANU (PF) government, leaving over 700 000 people homeless and without access to livelihoods,” She said.

Matibenga said not only are the demolitions illegal but that the same government allocated those stands to people ahead of the July 2013 elections as a campaign tool but are now turning around accusing the occupants of being illegally settled.  

The trade unionist said it is now clear that the multiple housing cooperatives spearheaded by ZANU (PF) ahead of the elections were a vote-buying and rigging gimmick that had nothing to do with fulfilling the government’s social obligation of providing housing to the people. 

The renewal team says the demolitions are a blatant violation of Section 28 of the country’s Constitution, which guarantees the right to shelter for all Zimbabweans and are also ironic to the ZANU PF’s promise to 250 000 houses under the Zimbabwe’s Agenda for Sustainable Socio-economic Transformation (ZimAsset).

Matibenga says her team calls for the unconditional stoppage to the illegal demolitions, provision of alternative shelter to people who are settled illegally before demolition of their shelters, urgent mechanisms to regularize these settlements, stop to government interference with the operations of local authorities.

The team has also called for an independent inquiry and audit of illegal land deals in Zimbabwe’s local authorities and a review of the legal framework that governs the operation of housing cooperatives in Zimbabwe.