Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

Source: Caaz boss denied bail | Daily News

CIVIL Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (Caaz) chief executive officer David Chawota has been denied bail.

Chawota is accused of criminal abuse of office after he fraudulently awarded a €27 900 000 contract to a Spanish company, Indra Sistemas (Indra), which did not meet minimum mandatory requirements in a previous bid.

Chawota reportedly engaged the company after the Supreme Court nullified the tender previously awarded to it in January 2016.

Harare provincial magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa denied Chawota bail, remanding him in custody to April 11, saying he is abusing the bail institution by violating his existing bail conditions.
Last month, Chawota was admitted to bail in another corruption-related charge after he allegedly authorised payment of $56 042,76 for promotional material to a company he had interests in without doing a comparative analysis.

Mugwagwa said Chawota is also threatening and interfering with State witnesses and was therefore not a proper candidate for bail.
The State, led by Zivanai Macharaga had opposed bail and called to the stand the investigating officer, Lawrence Mashawi, who testified that Chawota is not abiding by his existing bail conditions and is threatening witnesses.

Mashawi said Chawota had been threatening senior employees against cooperating with investigations on the current matter and workers fear Chawota will terminate their contracts if they cooperate with investigations.
He testified that in 2016, Chawota terminated contracts of executives after they cooperated with police in a matter involving him.

Allegations are that sometime in May 2013, Chawota floated tenders for air traffic control systems. It is alleged that one of the bidders which had submitted bids for the Radar Surveillance Systems, Selex Es, challenged the award to Indra, resulting in the cancellation of the award by the Supreme Court in January 2016.

The State alleges Chawota persisted in requesting the direct appointment on Indra, defying the Supreme Court ruling.
On July 27, 2016, Chawota allegedly implored the board to directly engage Indra, his preferred company.

However, the board resolved that a thorough and diligent technical search for companies that develop these systems be conducted and a tender be urgently floated thereafter.
Chawota allegedly continued to defy the board and Supreme Court ruling secretly engaging Indra.

He allegedly continued to solely engage the company and allegedly met with Indra officials at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe on his own without approval.

Chawota allegedly went on to request the State Procurement Board (SPB) to directly engage Indra under the pretext that it brought a funding package, which Caaz had been failing to raise.

The State alleges that the award was granted wherein Chawota was directed to carry out due diligence before the engagement.
It is the State’s case that Chawota travelled to Spain in December 2017 to purportedly conduct due diligence in the company of Blessing Ngwarai but went on to sign a contract with Indra valued at €27 900 000.

Despite Chawota’s assertions that Indra had the funding, the court heard that the company failed to implement the project due to lack of funds and Chawota is now engaging the Afrexim Bank to provide funds.

The post Caaz boss denied bail appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

FORMER Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, who served as a millitary leader between 1976 and 1979, says Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa seized power through a millitary coup that toppled his predecessor Robert Mugabe in 2017, the Zimbabwe Independent was told. This came as Obasanjo yesterday helped launch a book titled Democracy Works: Turning Politics to Africa's […]

Source: Fresh setback to dialogue . . . as ED rejects external mediator | Daily News

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has scoffed at MDC leader Nelson Chamisa’s attempts to rope in a foreign interlocutor to mediate in talks between them, the Daily News can report.

Chamisa is currently on a diplomatic offensive to regional countries, drumming up support for an internationally-backed mediator to break the country’s political logjam.

This came after Mnangagwa initiated talks involving all the candidates that participated in the July 30 presidential polls in an attempt to end the political discord that many believe could be contributing to the crisis ravaging the Zimbabwean economy.

Yesterday, presidential spokesperson George Charamba dismissed Chamisa’s effort, saying the MDC leader should see the light and join those who are already in talks.

“The solution is within the country and not outside. The problem is that he (Chamisa) is not part of the national dialogue. No solution will be found outside the country,” said Charamba, who is also the deputy chief secretary to the president.
While Mnangagwa has been persistent with his version of national dialogue, the initiative has struggled to gain traction.

Chamisa was the first to throw spanners into the works after he declined an invitation to participate in the talks saying they were conditions which had to be met before dialoguing. One of the conditions was that Mnangagwa must accept that he does not have the legitimacy to govern following the disputed July 30, 2018 election results.

More people have since abandoned the national dialogue, accusing the Zanu PF leader of being insincere.
On Tuesday, another losing presidential candidate also poured scorn on the talks saying they are just meant to hoodwink the world into believing that parties in Zimbabwe acquiesce to his contested legitimacy.

Violet Mariyacha, leader of the United Democracy Movement, said the talks were not inclusive as they have been snubbed by other key actors.

“There is no serious discussion of why the country is in this current economic meltdown; why has Zimbabwe failed to attract foreign investments and what or where are the billions (of dollars) that Zimbabweans were told so and so are bringing into the country from the ‘Zimbabwe is Open for Business’ mantra,” reads part of her statement.

Mariyacha said there was an attempt by the conveners of the talks to frogmarch opposition party leaders to affirm Mnangagwa’s constitutional legitimacy, ostensibly to resolve the political crisis issue, propel the re-engagement process and lead to the possible removal of sanctions.
“This shows that the president is more concerned about his legitimacy and removal of sanctions,” she said.

Mnangagwa, who succeeded former president Robert Mugabe through a soft coup in November 2017, has been working around the clock to convince the world that he is a different leader to his mentor and has since engaged a reputable American lobby organisation in an attempt to have sanctions imposed on the country lifted.

After giving Mnangagwa a fresh start, western nations, appalled by his clampdown on protests in August last year and in January this year maintained sanctions on Zimbabwe and some individuals much to the chagrin of the ruling party which is seeking new lines of credit to jumpstart an otherwise comatose economy.
In a statement, MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume said Chamisa will not stop in his diplomatic offensive.

“The people’s president has been engaging the international community in a bid to get a lasting solution to the plight of Zimbabweans. He will be travelling to most neighbouring countries including Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia. Chamisa has already met with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa among other African leaders.

One of the key issues Chamisa is dealing with is the need for dialogue in Zimbabwe based on the five key issues of reform,” said Mafume.

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Source: Zanu PF in vote buying ahead of by-election | Daily News

ZANU PF is being accused of vote buying ahead of the Cowdray Park local government by-election slated for tomorrow.

This was after Vice President Kembo Mohadi donated 60 tonnes of maize and 30 tonnes of rice to Cowdray Park residents at a rally last week.

Zanu PF’s rivals are now alleging “vote buying”, with MDC Bulawayo provincial spokesperson Felix Mafa questioning why the donation was only meant for Cowdray Park residents out of all suburbs in the second city.

“How can a party just want to give the people of Cowdray Park all that food because there is an election?…
“We strongly condemn this kind of behaviour by Zanu PF; its clear President (Emmerson) Mnangagwa has not broken with Mugabe’s past,” Mafa said.
The Cowdray Park seat fell vacant after Happy Ncube of MDC died in December last year.

A local businessman Kidwell Mujuru is representing Zanu PF in the by-election in which 18 candidates are vying for the seat.
Two candidates — Collet Ndlovu and Nomagugu Mloyi — are representing the MDC after the party failed to resolve its internal fights.

Over the years, Zanu PF has relied heavily on food aid to drum up support especially in its strongholds — the rural areas.
But former War veterans minister Tshinga Dube who has been leading the Zanu PF election campaigns in Cowdray Park said there was nothing wrong with vote buying.

“Vote buying is allowed, the 60 tonnes of maize we are currently distributing is meant for Cowdray Park only but as for 30 tonnes of rice it’s meant for the whole province.

“Those who are accusing us of vote buying should just know that it’s allowed in politics anywhere in the world,” said Dube.
“What these other political parties should do is to use their own means to campaign just like we are using ours. At the end of the day what matters most is to win the elections,” he told the Daily News.

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Source: Outrage over SA xenophobic attacks | Daily News

HUMAN rights activists have condemned xenophobic attacks in South Africa, calling on the South African government to act before the violence spirals out of control.

Thousands of foreigners, including Zimbabweans, have been displaced in the neighbouring country following sporadic attacks mainly in Polokwane and Durban.

The locals are reportedly accusing the foreigners of taking their jobs and occupying their economic space.

South Africa keeps the largest number of Zimbabweans, estimated at over three million, who have been running away from the economic challenges in their motherland.
The attacks come a few days after South Africa launched a five-year National Action Plan to combat xenophobia, racism and discrimination.

During his recent election campaign, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa also complained about the influx of foreigners who were setting up business in the country without following due processes.

“Everybody just arrives in our townships and rural areas and set up businesses without licences and permits, we are going to bring this to an end. And those who are operating illegally wherever they come from must now know…,” Ramaphosa was quoted saying.

Reports from South Africa say foreigners are being raided, attacked and pushed out of their homes with their properties being destroyed.
This is not the first time that the country has experienced such attacks.

South Africa is now dogged with a history of discrimination and violence, with most recent incidences happening in 2015.
Human Rights Watch southern Africa director Dewa Mavhinga, writing on the organisation’s website, said South Africa must work towards implementing its plan against xenophobia and stem the dangerous tides of intolerance for good.

He said virtually no one has been convicted for past outbreaks of xenophobic violence, including the Durban violence of April 2015 that displaced thousands of foreign nationals, and the 2008 attacks on foreigners, which resulted in the deaths of more than 60 people across the country.

“To effectively combat xenophobia, the government and police need to publicly acknowledge attacks on foreign nationals and their property as xenophobic and take decisive action.

This should include ensuring proper police investigations of xenophobic crimes and holding those responsible to account,” said Mavhinga.
“Inflammatory public statements — such as those made by Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba in December 2016, blaming illegal immigrants for crimes and calling on them to leave the city — should be strongly condemned. As South Africa prepares for national elections on May 8, 2019, political leaders should not incite xenophobic violence or promote discrimination,” Mavhinga said.

War veteran and politician Margaret Dongo said politicians must watch their statements that have the potential of inciting violence, especially the leaders.

“South Africa must know that it is not an island, today they are chasing away foreigners but they do not know what tomorrow holds for them. We housed many South Africans in Zimbabwe during apartheid and our houses were bombed but we never let them down. We are long friends in arms and there is no reason they should butcher our people like that.

“They are part of Sadc and need to be a good example and have to play an important role in the issue of violence. How can they be able to deal with violence in Zimbabwe when they are being violent on our people? They are not even considering that we are grieving after the devastating Cyclone Idai. I think Ramaphosa must withdraw his statements. I am calling upon all Sadc and the continent to call an emergency meeting to stop this before many lives are lost,” Dongo said.

Commenting on the same issue, the country’s biggest opposition political party the MDC, said there was an urgent need to address the xenophobia issue.
MDC leader Nelson Chamisa’s spokesperson Jacob Mafume, said the South African politicians need to be measured in terms of their speech as they campaign ahead of the elections.

“Our party, however, appeals to the conscience of South Africans particularly those in positions of authority considering our country is still mourning deaths of citizens who perished in the recent cyclone. Our nation cannot bear the pain of losing more lives in xenophobic attacks. We specifically urge those on the campaign trail to be careful when dealing with the issues that can raise emotions and tension.

“At least three people have been killed and property destroyed. This is why the MDC has consistently encouraged the South African government to take ownership of the Zimbabwean crisis particularly facilitating dialogue to end the ongoing political and socio-economic crisis. Finally, the MDC urges the Zimbabwean Embassy in South Africa to be proactive in ensuring the safety of Zimbabweans in South Africa,” Mafume said.

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