LATEST: Doctors and teachers turn up the heat on President Mnangagwa’s government

Now it is double trouble for the Mnangagwa led government, senior doctors at Parirenyatwa Hospital have downed their tools in protests against shortage of basic essential drugs and equipment while, the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (Artu…

Now it is double trouble for the Mnangagwa led government, senior doctors at Parirenyatwa Hospital have downed their tools in protests against shortage of basic essential drugs and equipment while, the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (Artuz) has resolved to embark on fresh protests to push for the reversal of deductions made on leave […]

Chamisa is a rebel — Mnangagwa

Source: Chamisa is a rebel — Mnangagwa | Newsday (News) BY XOLISANI NCUBE PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has described his political arch-rival and opposition MDC leader Nelson Chamisa as a “rebel”, just like the biblical Satan who could not co-exist with God in heaven. Addressing journalists at the closing ceremony of the Zimbabwe-South Africa Bi-National Commission […]

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Source: Chamisa is a rebel — Mnangagwa | Newsday (News)

BY XOLISANI NCUBE

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has described his political arch-rival and opposition MDC leader Nelson Chamisa as a “rebel”, just like the biblical Satan who could not co-exist with God in heaven.

Addressing journalists at the closing ceremony of the Zimbabwe-South Africa Bi-National Commission Summit attended by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Harare yesterday, Mnangagwa said his Zanu PF administration would not be pushed around by the opposition leader because he had already begun talks with “patriotic opposition parties”.

“We will not be swayed by negative forces because even the Lord upstairs was not able to keep his house in order; he had Satan. These things happen. He still remains there,” Mnangagwa said.

Chamisa and five other opposition party leaders have stayed away from the Mnangagwa-initiated national dialogue, arguing that the process was flawed.

The MDC leader has, instead, challenged Mnangagwa to swallow his pride and start “real talks” with him to resolve the country’s crisis.

But Mnangagwa, who won the disputed 2018 election by a slim margin, said Chamisa could “go hang”, since he was already talking to those who were willing and patriotic to Zimbabwe’s cause.

“However, in a democracy, it is not a crime to move away from progress by those who are not willing to come to the table with the rest of the parties and organisations in the country who are determined to work for the way forward of our country, to better the lives of our people. We cannot compel everybody to come to the table,” he said.

Mnangagwa said it was Chamisa’s democratic right to walk away “from progress”.

“But those who have the need and desire and who are patriotic to their country will always come together and contribute to the constructive ideas, to move forward. As a result of this endeavour, I have created the Presidential Advisory Council (PAC), which puts together the top brains of our people in Zimbabwe as well as top brains outside Zimbabwe,” he said.

The Zanu PF leader said from his PAC and the on-going dialogue, he was expecting to get the much-needed global acceptance for a better Zimbabwe.

“We need to leapfrog in terms of development to catch up with other developing countries,” he said.

Contacted for comment, Chamisa yesterday referred questions to his spokesperson, Nkululeko Sibanda.

“Talk to my spokesperson, I don’t want to be drawn into such issues,” he said.

Sibanda said Mnangagwa was “mischaracterising” Chamisa.

“I think the real Satan is the one who has blood in his hands, the blood of more than 20 000 people in Matabeleland, the blood of people in DRC [the Democratic Republic of Congo],” he said.

“But president Chamisa would not want to engage himself in this kind of politics. We hope that Mnangagwa will grow up one day and show maturity. He must be a Statesman and show maturity and not this kind of insults and demeaning statements. It is unfortunate.”

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Can Zimbabwe’s opposition party MDC hold a peaceful leadership contest?

There could be an intriguing contest for the presidency of the party between the incumbent Nelson Chamisa and the secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora. The two have a history of rivalry. Source: Can Zimbabwe’s opposition party MDC hold a peaceful leadership contest ? – CNBC Africa There could be an intriguing contest for the presidency of the […]

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There could be an intriguing contest for the presidency of the party between the incumbent Nelson Chamisa and the secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora. The two have a history of rivalry.

Source: Can Zimbabwe’s opposition party MDC hold a peaceful leadership contest ? – CNBC Africa

There could be an intriguing contest for the presidency of the party between the incumbent Nelson Chamisa and the secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora. The two have a history of rivalry.

By Tapiwa ChagondaUniversity of JohannesburgThe Movement for Democratic Change-Alliance, Zimbabwe’s largest opposition party, has announced that it will hold its elective congress in May 2019. The announcement has stirred interest – inside and outside the party. This is because there could be an intriguing contest for the presidency of the party between the incumbent Nelson Chamisa and the secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora. The two have a history of rivalry.

Mwonzora is Chamisa’s political nemesis. In 2014 Mwonzora unexpectedly won a contest for the position of secretary-general even though Chamisa, as organising secretary, was in a position to influence party structures in his favour and had been nominated by 11 out of 12 provinces. One theory is that the MDC’s former leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who died of cancer in February 2018, engineered Mwonzora’s victory by influencing the voting patterns of congress delegates. The reason given for this is that he wanted to curtail Chamisa’s political ambitions because of his perceived role in the MDC’s surprising poor showing in the 2013 national elections.

After his defeat, Chamisa was relegated to an ordinary party member, until Tsvangirai brought him back into the MDC’s executive. The speculation is that Tsvangirai did this because he sensed that Chamisa was still popular within the party’s structures, especially among younger members.

A Mwonzora victory is worrying for some of Chamisa’s most fervent supporters. This is because they believe Chamisa is the future of the party. He’s only 41 years old. Also, they believe he gave Zanu-Pf candidate Emmerson Mnangagwa a run for his money in the 2018 presidential elections. Chamisa’s camp believes he’s better placed to defeat Mnangagwa in the 2023 elections because of his widespread national appeal.

Mwonzora too has his fair share of supporters. He’s also widely respected within the MDC because of his easy going temperament.

What this all adds up to is that a victory by either candidate could split the party for the umpteenth time. Even a contest carries risks because the MDC has a chequered history in which violence has been used regularly against opposing factions. If the two do contest the party presidency in May – and Mwonzora in the past few days has hinted that he might – their supporters’ tactics could heighten the danger of violence and intimidation. This could further divide or damage the party and set Zimbabwean democracy back after decades of authoritarian rule.

Troubled past

Tsvangirai’s MDC had a “T” at the end – which stood for Tsvangirai himself. This was to distinguish his MDC from the Welshman Ncube MDC which had cut ties with Tsvangirai. Ncube was the founding secretary-general of the MDC.

Just before he died Tsvangirai had agreed to bring back former “rebels” who had been founding members of the party. This included Welshman Ncube, Tendai Biti and Job Sikhala. For his part, Chamisa agreed to accommodate and rope in his former “comrades-in-arms” into his election campaign.

The coalition under their umbrella became known as the MDC-Alliance party just before Zimbabwe’s 2018 elections. The reason for the name change was that former MDC member Thokozani Khupe was arguing in the courts that her formation was the bona fide MDC-T.

A succession puzzle was created in the MDC-Alliance when Tsvangirai, as president and before his death, appointed Chamisa as head of policy and research and then as one of three deputy presidents of the party. This muddying of the waters appears to have been deliberate. It meant that Tsvangirai could easily play his deputies against each other if he felt threatened by any one of them.

But having three vice-presidents – Chamisa, Elias Mudzuri and Thokozani Khupe – didn’t do the party any favours. After Tsvangirai’s death a bloody battle for succession ensued, and led to another split in the party.

The contest hots up

The MDC’s May congress has inevitably sucked in the ruling Zanu-PF. The two have been at loggerheads since 1999 when the original MDC was formed. A succession of bruising electoral contests, including the highly disputed 2008 elections which the MDC-T was widely believed to have won, galvanised the ruling Zanu-PF party into resolving to weaken, if not destroy, the MDC brand.

It’s against this backdrop that Zanu-PF is being accused of having a role in the unfolding MDC-Alliance drama ahead of the impending congress.

Some top MDC-Alliance leaders in Chamisa’s camp have been claiming that the governing Zanu-PF has set aside between US$ 4 million to US$6 million to pay MDC delegates to vote for Mwonzora at the party congress. Biti, who is currently the party’s vice-chairperson, has said he will reject any candidates sponsored by Zanu-PF.

Best case scenario

As party leader Chamisa has the opportunity to foster peace, tolerance and democracy. He should make sure that the lead up to the congress is violence- free and that party members who are in good standing can contest any post without being intimidated.

He needs to be wary of political sycophants within his party who want to turn him into a demigod, as was the case during Mugabe’s long reign as the leader of Zanu-PF. Chamisa has already shown that he has nothing to fear from a fair contest.The Conversation

Tapiwa Chagonda, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Johannesburg

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Govt clarifies Byo deployment

Source: Govt clarifies Byo deployment | The Herald March 13, 2019 Mrs Thabela Talent Chimutambgi and Charmaine Brown Deployment of teachers at infant level takes into consideration the language of instruction, especially the mother tongue spoken by the learners, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has said. Speaking during a Press briefing to clarify […]

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Source: Govt clarifies Byo deployment | The Herald March 13, 2019

Govt clarifies Byo deployment
Mrs Thabela

Talent Chimutambgi and Charmaine Brown
Deployment of teachers at infant level takes into consideration the language of instruction, especially the mother tongue spoken by the learners, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has said.

Speaking during a Press briefing to clarify the deployment of teachers at infantry level, Secretary for Primary and Secondary Education Mrs Tumisang Thabela said there was need to set the record straight following concerns in Bulawayo over recently deployed teachers’ proficiency of local languages.

“In line with the ministry’s policy, the deployment of teachers at infant level takes into consideration the language of instruction, especially the mother tongue spoken by the learners themselves.

“For this reason, measures are being taken to rectify the deployment mismatch that was noted so that the rights of learners as enshrined in the Constitution are safeguarded,” said Mrs Thabela.

Mrs Thabela said concerns raised in Bulawayo were a result of glitches in the e-recruitment process.

She said teachers wrongly deployed would be withdrawn and redeployed.

“The ministry takes note of the concerns raised particularly by Bulawayo Province with regards to mismatch in the deployment of teachers at infant level.

“It is a result of some glitches in the e-recruitment process and due attention is being given to this issue by the ministry,” said Mrs Thabela.

“The ministry would like to apologise to the nation, the affected communities and recruited teachers for any inconveniences caused as the ministry goes through e-recruitment for the first time in order to improve efficiency and subsequently root out possible corruption in the recruitment process.”

Mrs Thabela pledged to deliver quality education in line with the 21st century demands.

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Beef supply under threat

Source: Beef supply under threat | The Herald March 13, 2019 Manicaland Correspondent Manicaland has registered a significant decrease in beef supply as farmers continue to battle disease outbreaks and limited funds to combat diseases. Provincial livestock production and development officer Mr Joshua Zveutete said more than 75 percent of beef in Manicaland comes from […]

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Source: Beef supply under threat | The Herald March 13, 2019

Beef supply under threat

Manicaland Correspondent
Manicaland has registered a significant decrease in beef supply as farmers continue to battle disease outbreaks and limited funds to combat diseases.

Provincial livestock production and development officer Mr Joshua Zveutete said more than 75 percent of beef in Manicaland comes from communal farmers who have been failing to acquire inputs, as well as vaccines for their cattle.

“The harsh economic situation has hindered the communal farmers from increasing production,” he said.

“Vaccines to protect their cattle from diseases are expensive, so they have remained vulnerable to various disease outbreaks.”

Molus Meats manager Mr Artwell Mwagura said they were facing challenges in buying cattle from farmers.

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