Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

Source: Govt denies plans to infiltrate MDC | Daily News

HARARE – Government has denied allegations that it has devised a plan to infiltrate MDC structures ahead of its congress saying none of the opposition presidential candidates could be a match to President Emmerson Mnangagwa who is set to contest the 2023 elections on a Zanu PF ticket.

This comes as MDC’s senior leadership has openly accused the ruling party of working frantically to destabilise the opposition party, ahead of its May 24-26 congress where secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora and vice president Elias Mudzuri are expected to contest the incumbent Nelson Chamisa.

Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services deputy minister Energy Mutodi has rubbished claims that the State is making arrangements to use security agents to weaken the opposition.
“Government is not worried who emerges the winner at the MDC congress be it Chamisa or Mwonzora. None of the two is capable of overcoming our 2023 Zanu PF candidate…Mnangagwa.

We have started reviving the economy and the gains are open for everyone to see,” Mutodi said. The MDC youth assembly has however, insisted that Zanu PF wants a “weaker candidate” to emerge as the party’s leader in May “for obvious reasons” — vowing that this would not happen.

“It is saddening that Zanu PF wants to give us a leader and we know why. We are, however, clear as youths and other organs of the party that we have Chamisa as our leader and the decision is ours not Zanu PF’s,” said Lovemore Chinoputsa, the MDC youth assembly secretary-general.

Mwonzora recently declared that he has rights including contesting the sitting leader since he is a “full member of the MDC.”
As a result, a lot of flak has been directed at him particularly following a mischievous tweet by Zanu PF deputy youth leader Lewis Matutu, who “predicted” the fall of Chamisa come May.

MDC vice chairperson Tendai Biti has angrily reacted to the suggestions that Mwonzora was likely to emerge as the new party leader after the May congress. He said the party would not accept to be led by “a ruling party chosen half-wit”. “We will reject any nincompoop given to us by Zanu PF. We already have a candidate in … Chamisa. So, we will not tolerate that.

“Our duty is to protect the legacy of our dear leader Morgan Tsvangirai and we know with Chamisa we will be able to do that,” Biti thundered. A senior member of the MDC national standing committee, who refused to be named for fear of victimisation, also told the Daily News recently that Mwonzora was likely to be rejected by party supporters as perceptions grew that he was allegedly a Zanu PF “Trojan Horse”.

“This does not augur well for our SG (secretary-general) because he will now find it difficult to campaign in the structures as he is now being viewed as a Zanu PF project, which is very sad,” he said.

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Source: Doctors, govt showdown looms | Daily News

HARARE – Another showdown is looming between doctors and government as the Health ministry has not yet addressed doctors’ demands agreed in the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) which saw the medical practitioners ending their industrial action.

In December the doctors embarked on a 40-day industrial action that ended in January this year, protesting the severe shortages of pharmaceutical drugs and equipment at public hospitals, among a host of other grievances.

In a letter seen by the Daily News, addressed to the Health Service Board Health and Health minister Obadiah Moyo, the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA) said their members were swamped with “anxiety and worry” after government had been sluggish in addressing their genuine demands.

“Most of the matters in the CBA have not been fully implemented as agreed upon. This has created an impression that the ministry has entirely abandoned its workers and is failing in its duty to honour legally binding agreements,” ZHDA secretary-general Mthabisi Bhebhe said.

Bhebhe added that the Health ministry has remained unresponsive to calls made for the need to procure hospital equipment that is required to diagnose and operate patients. “Hospitals remain in a dire state with no basic medical supplies. Most basic and lifesaving medicines remain unavailable and there has not been any form of communication on what the ministry is doing to address this challenge.”

Bhebhe further noted that State hospitals were also grappling with lack of proper working equipment, causing the public hospitals health delivery system to diminish dismally. “It has been observed with grave concern, cases of fatally ill patients being deprived lifesaving services because the diagnostic and theatre equipment is not fully functional.”

The doctors put government to task demanding them to urgently respond to the letter and to be sincere in its dealings with doctors.
Among the agreements in the CBA included a $6 million vehicle loan scheme, duty-free facility and accommodation and housing scheme and government is yet to address these.

Raising concerns on behalf of the distraught doctors, Bhebhe said the agreed deadlines have already passed. “Informed and guided by the CBA, which is a legally enforceable document, we request the ministry to respond why it has willingly opted to delay and violate this particular area of the agreement,” he added referring to the duty-free facility.

To add on, all of the monetary promises have already been eroded erratically by the new 2,5 percent Monetary Policy exchange rate.
The disgruntled doctors further stated that they also want their employer to review their salaries upwards above the poverty datum line they estimate now to be over $800.

With a basic salary of $329, on-call allowance of $288, $49 medical allowance and $70 housing allowance, Zimbabwean doctors remain one of the lowest paid doctors in the world. Meanwhile both doctors and teachers have suffered the same fate, as the cash-strapped government is also struggling to keep the country awake.

Government has been vexed with headaches from civil servants in particular teachers who have also been demanding a salary increment after the economy has degraded both their pensions and their monthly incomes. Apart from this, fuel queues have also resurfaced and foreign currency remains out of reach.

“We were given assurance that the ministry had intervened to improve transport to work by procuring fuel for doctors who are working in government hospitals. In good faith, we believed it was the case.

However, facts on the ground are that, there has not been any intervention or improvement on this regard. Fuel is now expensive, in short supply and doctors continue sleeping in fuel queues,” said Bhebhe.

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MDC Alliance secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora said that his working relationship with party president Nelson Chamisa is excellent. Mwonzora was commenting on reports that he is working in cahoots with ZANU PF to capture MDC, by [...]

Source: 'Govt should disclose diamond revenues' | Daily News

Kimberly Process (KP) Civil Society Coalition has raised concern over non-disclosure of diamond contracts and revenues by government saying it punctures proper accountability.

The KP Civil Society Coalition is an international organisation under the Kimberly Process which is committed to promote a conflict-free diamond global supply chain. The coalition’s global coordinator, Shamiso Mutisi, who is an international expert in the area of diamonds, said government needs to publicly disclose revenues in the mining sector.

“So far we have counted more than 20 mega-deals related to the mining sector, and these were signed with ZMDC, ZCDC for example, the Government of Zimbabwe with the Chinese investors with the Russians, with, United Arab Emirates and with Belarus.
“But the question is, do these deals include responsible investments related to ensuring that the country gets benefits, adequate royalties, dividends and other payments that can trigger economic growth and then the non-disclosure of those contracts is a major issue,” he said.

Mutisi, who is privy to Zimbabwe’s diamond revenues through the Kimberly Process said this will also enable development as well as remove leakages in the system. “…Some of you might be aware of the Tuna Bond in Mozambique that led to the arrest of government officials.

“We looked at the contract and gave advice to Parliament in Mozambique because we are dealing with an issue of government guarantees, meant to prop up the regime in Mozambique and trigger investment by the military in Mozambique.

“So it is important for government, industry and civil society to come together and possibly form a multi-stakeholder forum for partly disclosure of mining revenues,” he added. The Mozambique scandal involved 18 indicted individuals together with government officials who were accused of concealing contracts scamming up to $2 billion, 12,5 percent of Mozambique’s GDP.

Zimbabwe has in the past lost a jaw-dropping $15 billion to alleged nefarious activities by some of diamond mining firms.
At the same time reports have shown gross corruption by conniving top officials who have also been benefiting behind closed doors.
Before he became president, Emmerson Mnangagwa had said the government had ordered a forensic audit of the seven companies that were mining in Chiadzwa as part of the investigations regarding the missing $15 billion.

In the 2019 budget statement Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube refers to the Extractive Transparency Initiative (ETI) which is a multi-stakeholder forum for disclosure of mining revenues and mining contracts. “We thought that was progressive but so far we have not seen any action on the ETI,” said Mutisi.

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Source: Mega-plant for tiles and granite rock products | Daily News

Zimbabwe is set to have another mega-plant that will be producing tiles and other related granite products, the Daily News can report.

This comes after Surewin Investment (Pvt) Ltd which was granted the Special Economic Zone status last year is setting up a manufacturing plant for granite cutting and polishing in Mutoko.

The plant is set to attract foreign direct investment to the tune of USD$20 million with an estimated revenue of USD$5 million per annum through both local and export sales of value added granite rock products. Mutoko in Mashonaland East Province is commonly known for the black granite which is now popularly used to furnish and tile modern homes worldwide.

Zimbabwe Special Economic Zone Authority (Zimseza) chief executive officer Edwin Kondo stated that the newly-approved investment is also expected to bring new technologies to the granite mining sector. “The project will see thousands of direct and indirect jobs created and a huge number of the jobs will be for the locals.

Twenty locals are expected to be trained on mine construction projects during the first year of implementation,” Kondo said.
Zimseza is a statutory body set up in terms of the Special Economic Zones Act (Chapter 14:34) mandated to designate, attract and administer Special Economic Zones in Zimbabwe.

While Zimbabwe’s “import over export” problem remains, the project is said to contribute greatly towards introducing new technologies and skill, value addition and import substitution.
“Furthermore, the country and its human resource will benefit largely from the transfer of new granite cutting and polishing technologies which will make our granite products competitive on the international market thus increasing value to our natural resource,” Kondo added.

While the Mutoko people have bemoaned exploitation of resources as the community wallows in poverty, Kondo said Surewin Investment (Pvt) Ltd has also undertaken the social responsibility projects to assist the local community.

“The organisation promises to undertake the following projects in its continued support and assistance to the local community construction of access roads, seasonal road maintenance, completion of learning blocks at Manemba Primary and Nyakabau Primary School and upgrading of local school facilities,” he said.

To date the authority has declared five special economic zones namely Masuwe stateland in Victoria falls measuring 1 200 hectares, Fernhill in Mutare measuring 87 hectares, stand 518 Beitbridge and its surroundings measuring 105 hectares, Imvumila industrial area in Bulawayo and the Belmont, Kelvin, Donnnington corridor also in Bulawayo.

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