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Source: Mugabe wins case against ex-manager | Newsday (News)

BY CHARLES LAITON

FORMER President Robert Mugabe and his wife, Grace, along with their family business Gushungo Holdings have scored victory against their former general manager, Stanely Nhari, who was claiming a whopping $756 401 for alleged breach of his employment contract.

This was after Nhari’s litigation for payment of his terminal benefits and damages was on Wednesday this week thrown out by High Court judge Justice Benjamin Chikowero. The dismissal of Nhari’s litigation followed Mugabe’s submissions that the matter was not civil, but purely a labour dispute.

Sometime last year, Nhari petitioned the courts claiming that the ex-President and his wife used illegitimate influence to force Nhari from his position in October 2015, but was nonetheless ordered to continue working for no pay until November of the same year.

This prompted Nhari to sue the Mugabes for allegedly “breaching the terms governing the relationship between the parties, by use of illegitimate influence, force and might”.

But when the matter was brought before Justice Chikowero, the latter determined that the lawsuit was not in any way to be adjudicated by the High Court.

“I do not think the appellation delictual, vis-à-vis this head of damages transforms into a delictual matter. What was important to me was that the damages suffered were to plaintiff’s (Nhari) employment prospects. The claim, therefore, remained rooted in labour law,” Justice Chikowero said.

“The principles applicable in investigating the question of liability and quantum of damages are labour law principles.”

The judge said there was a special platform meant to investigate the question of liability and quantum of damages, which is the Labour Court, which court he said also determines
such factors as the age, health and Nhari’s qualifications.

“The Labour Court, being a court of equity, is statutorily created and enabled to undertake that exercise … Finally, I wonder why the Labour Court is established and called by that name if labour matters can continue to be dealt with by the High Court at first instance. In the result, I order that the special plea is upheld and the plaintiff’s claim is dismissed with costs.”

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Source: Govt urged to introduce disaster management fund – NewsDay Zimbabwe February 23, 2019

BY VENERANDA LANGA/RUTENDO MATANHIKE

CIVIC society has urged government to come up with a disaster management fund to ring-fence the safety of artisanal miners after the recent tragic Battlefields incident near
Kadoma, where at least 24 artisanal miners drowned at Silver Moon and Cricket mines and more remain trapped.

Delegates during a discussion by the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (Zela) on the Battlefields mining disaster said it was imperative that government comes up with such an initiative through mining levies.

Zimbabwe Miners Federation president Henrietta Rushwaya said the country should have learnt from a number of other disasters like Eldorado, Colleen Bawn, and Mashona Kop to avert other disasters like Battlefields.

She said artisanal miners should be included in the formal economy.

“Most accidents in artisanal and small-scale mining are caused by human, technical and environmental factors such as pit flooding, groundwater inflow that can lead to flooding
and causes trapping of miners, digging of deep pits, unsupported tunnels, and tunnel collapses that can cause severe injuries, among others,” Rushwaya said.

“After the Battlefields case, government should now expedite regularisation of artisanal miners through regulations and a policy framework that is monitored and enforced so that
artisanal and small scale miners are included in the formal economy.”

Giving a photographic presentation of the Battlefields disaster, Alpha Media Holdings journalist Blessing Mhlanga described the unsafe mining methods used by illegal miners, where they go very deep, 63m underground in risky shafts, without protective clothing and proper mining equipment.

Mhlanga described how government was lax in its management of the Battlefields disaster after he observed ordinary gold panners risking their lives to rescue their trapped counterparts, while trained mining engineers, police and soldiers were not swift in their
response.

“The gold panners rescued each other and pulled out dead bodies of their counterparts, some of whose bodies were decomposed and skins were already peeling off. It was horrific and traumatic,” Mhlanga said.

Zela director Shamiso Mtisi said the issue of flooding of mines was well captured in the country’s mining regulations, adding that there was need for the responsible authorities to examine abandoned mines and secure them before more disasters occur.

Meanwhile, People and Earth Solidarity Law Network also said the Battlefields disaster exposed many issues concerning economic and environmental justice in Zimbabwe.

In a statement, the organisation said the right to access emergency medical treatment, as provided for by the Constitution, was dishonoured due to the carelessness.

“Lives were lost at Battlefields. The Constitution, nevertheless, provides for the right to life, environmental rights, human dignity and health care. Of the latter in a
disaster, the Constitution states that no person may be refused emergency medical treatment in any healthcare institution. All these rights were potentially violated due to the negligence, omissions and or inefficiency of State,” the statement read.

“Another issue is the culpability of large-scale gold miners who retain yet underutilised gold claims.”

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Following the announcement of the Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya (JM) this week that effectively liberalised the exchange rate between the US dollar and the local quasi-currencies, Senior reporter Tinashe Kairiza (TK) spoke to the central bank chief on how the just introduced interbank foreign exchange market will […]

Source: Mnangagwa presses on without Chamisa – NewsDay Zimbabwe February 23, 2019

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s team pressed on to dialogue with losing candidates in last July’s presidential election in the absence of main opposition MDC leader Nelson Chamisa and other key stakeholders who described the process as hopeless.

Chamisa has demanded that a neutral party mediates in the talks and that any dialogue must include the legitimacy of Mnangagwa’s presidency, despite losing an electoral
challenge at the Constitutional Court.

Mnangagwa did not attend the meeting at State House, angering the other leaders who had attended.

The meeting, which was supposed to lay ground work for the actual dialogue, was chaired by National Peace and Reconciliation Commission chairperson Sello Nare and reportedly attended by 18 of the 22 losing candidates.

Noah Manyika, of Build Zimbabwe Alliance, who attended the inaugural meeting, snubbed yesterday’s event, saying any dialogue without Chamisa would not yield any positive
results.

“It is my position that any dialogue that does not include the MDC Alliance and other critical stakeholders will not pass the credibility test locally and globally,” he said in
a statement addressed to Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Misheck Sibanda.

Manyika came short of telling Mnangagwa that his current efforts were meaningless and would not move the country out of its current political and economic crisis.

“Any dialogue that does not produce a democratic, competent integrous governance outcome that will permanently solve the socio-political and economic problems that have bedevilled our country in the past four decades, is pointless,” he said.

Daniel Shumba also pulled out his United Democratic Alliance party from the talks, which he said were choreographed and unlikely to achieve anything.

“The President didn’t even attend or extend an apology. It was chaired by a Nare, who was clearly out of his depth and following a Zanu PF script. It is insincere, choreographed and highly compromised process, with some political principals singing for their super,” he said.

However, Elton Mangoma, of Renewal Democrats, who attended the second leg of the dialogue, said they were progressing smoothly.

“We are basically still laying the ground work for an inclusive national dialogue. Among the issues is who should convene the meeting and how to include everyone, including labour, churches and civil society,” he said.

Mangoma said another meeting would follow in the next two weeks, where concrete decisions on the way forward would be made.

National Constitutional Assembly leader Lovemore Madhuku, who also attended the meeting, down played Mnangagwa’s absence

“It was not dialogue, but we, political parties, were just seconding people to committees so that we can kick start the dialogue. We could have easily done that using text messages,” he said.

Information deputy minister Energy Mutodi said there was progress at the meeting, with political parties in attendance establishing committees among themselves.

“Today, representatives of various political parties established committees to facilitate national dialogue,” he said.

“The national dialogue will go on without the MDC Alliance, who have refused to accept defeat in last July’s elections.”

Chamisa yesterday held a national council meeting with leaders of his party at their Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House headquarters, as the party steps up preparations for congress in May this year.

 

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HARARE – Businessman Genius Kadungure was back in court yesterday for continuation of his $22 million tax evasion case. Kadungure was represented by Jonathan Samkange when he appeared before Harare regional magistrate Vongai Guuriro. Prosecutor Shephered [...]